Catch up in 20 pictures or less

I've been a little dazed and confused between all the illnesses and the holidays, so this is one quick post to catch up the past 1.5 months before I get to the Christmas post. Enjoy!

Snuggling with my boys


Kason and Emily painted these at a birthday party...I was trying to get them to pose. This is what I got instead. :)




Happy boy...I think he loves this jumper more than Kason and Emily did combined






Tire swing at Aunt Frankie & Uncle Larry's house






Kason's Thanksgiving feast at school. He thought it was pretty cool to eat lunch with Emily. This was the first day of the never-ending sickness around here. At least that was a good day. :)


Pumpkin and turkey shaped pb&j I made for Kason's Thanksgiving feast at school


Nom-nom






Painting pasta




After tasting her paint...yuck-O!




The kids' annoying obsession: Caillou



*Pictures from the Christmas Train, a festival of lights in Alvin, Tx)

Checking it all out


Christmas Village at the Christmas Train




The kids paraded around in a train for a loooong time


Guess I went a few over with my pics. Oh well! I hope you enjoyed them!

5 Months Old

Noah turned 5 months old on his baptism day. He is still the most content and happy little guy. His sleep, unfortunately, has been a little all over the place, though. Between his 4 month shots, 3 colds, 2 ear infections, and teething, I would still say we have been lucky to get decent stretches each night, but his days of 9 or 10 hrs at a time are gone for now. We have also been forced to take him out of his swaddle permanently since he decided to roll over in it, so that doesn't help the whole sleeping situation, either.

He's been able to roll both directions since right at 4 months, but he definitely prefers to roll from his back to his belly and reach and attempt to scoot for things. Just in the past week, though, he has started really rolling all over the place. He is also REALLY trying to crawl and does this little inchworm thing all the way across the living room floor. So cute!

As we were coming home from Thanksgiving, we noticed he was cutting his first tooth - a bottom canine?! It poked all the way through with the tiniest little bit of white, but has since gone completely back under. Can't even feel it in there. He was miserable for a few days and I don't want him to go through that again, but I must admit, I'm happy it went back under. I don't want him to look like a vampire baby. :) He is now working on one of his bottom front teeth. We'll see how long it takes to actually pop through.

You talkin' to me?


Chillin' in my pink bouncy!


Where'd all my toys go?


Surprise!

Noah's Baptism in Aggieland

I am going to post a few things out of order because this is the most important of them all.

Last weekend, we traveled once again to our beloved College Station (Gig'em Ags!) to have Noah baptized at A&M UMC, a church that holds a lot of special meaning to Kyle and I. It is the first church that we would call our home together (even though I was never actually a member). Our first pastor there, Jerry Neff, drove from Tyler to officiate our wedding. It is also the church where Kason and Emily were baptized and is now the church where I was baptized. Growing up, I was raised Baptist and it was the belief that you were not to be baptized until you were able to profess your commitment to God. While in my heart, I have always been a believer and committed to live a Christian life, I was always too shy to stand up in front of the church (which, honestly, intimidated me very much) to be baptized. So, last Sunday, I was baptized alongside Noah.

We were so happy to spend some time with Kip on Saturday to discuss the baptism the following day, to catch up, and to pray together. We are so thankful that after being away from College Station for more than 6 years, that Kip and A&M UMC still have a place in our lives.

Noah being baptized


Kip & Noah







Kids snuggled up watching toonies Sunday morning

Sick, sick, sick!!!

Remember that post from last year about being a little too 'under the weather' to update the blog? Well, it's happened again...except this time, I am NOT pregnant. :) I've just been busy taking care of sick kiddos for the past SEVERAL weeks. Kason, Emily, and Noah were all verrrry sick. Within the span of 4 days, they had all been diagnosed with ear infections and Noah with RSV. We assume they all had RSV. After 2 weeks of that, it finally hit me, but whatever I had must have been something different, because poor Emily and Noah got it again. Noah and I are still recovering from the latest bout of sickness. Ugh!

What sick looks like in our house....

More Fall Fun

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Tyler to visit our friends Michael and Ronit and their baby boy, Heaton. We actually met them in Tucson and they moved back to Texas a few months after us. We had a great time at their lodge in the country. Kason got to go help Mr. Mike and Daddy check on some hog traps (they even got a hog) and got to do some "fishing". We all had a great time and we can't wait to see them again.


Daddy and the kids on the porch swing. (Can you tell who takes all the pics around here? We really need to do something about that.)


Kason and Emily loved these little chairs.

Then, last weekend, we traveled to San Antonio. Our original intent was to go to Sea World, but a last minute change in plans took us to the zoo instead. I must say, it was a great choice! The San Antonio zoo is awesome! It feels like it is nestled in the Hill Country with the beautiful rocky backdrops and wonderful shade trees. So much nicer than the Houston zoo.


Emily loved the monkeys!


Lots of people were waiting to take pics here and as you can see, Kason and Emily were not super cooperative, so this is the best we could do.


Now Kason's in the picture-taking mood. He stopped every 5 feet for quite a while and posed, saying "Take a picture, Mommy". Silly kid!

After our recent travels, we will be spending the next couple of weekends at home before heading up to the D/FW area for Thanksgiving. It is nice to spend some down time at home and around town.

At the park




At home, in the play room

4 Month Appointment

Since I last posted, Noah has become a rolling machine. He has mastered both the belly to back and back to belly rolls very quickly and I am curious to see if he will become fully mobile before Kason and Emily did. They both began rolling belly to back around 4 months, but back to belly was closer to 5 months and beyond. Since he is rolling now, we went cold turkey and ditched the swaddle. I am happy to report that he loves sleeping unswaddled, cuddled up to his lovey.

Aside from that, his 4 month appointment went great. His ear infection is gone and he handled his vaccines like a champ. I think the rotavirus vax is taking a toll on him now, though, as he has been sooo gassy and uncomfortable the past couple of days. He weighed in at 15 lb 13.5 oz and was 26.5 in long. Still our long (~95%) and lean (~70%) little guy. Well, not really lean, more like just the right amount of chub. :)



Here I go!


Almost there...this is hard work!


Yay! I made it!

Big day around here

In my earlier post, I said that Noah rolled from back to belly for the first time today. After rolling from back to belly several times, he decided to change it up a little and also rolled from belly to back. Go, little man, go!

Aaaannnnd....to make it an even bigger day around here, Kason ran to me after school exclaiming, "Mommy, I was on blue today". His teacher then came over and told me what a great day he had. Kason is, so far, the only kid in his class to ever get to move to blue (the highest level on the behavior chart). I am so proud!

4 Months Old + a few days :)

The camera is in the car, so the pics will have to wait. But, here's the rest of the story:

Noah, you are 4 months old (as of November 4). We have been lucky to have 3 very happy babies, but you have been, by far, the most laid back (and, Em was a pretty laid-back little girl). Your laughs are infectious and you smile ALL.THE.TIME! You love to be tickled on the belly, playing airplane (tummy time on Mommy's legs), getting chomped by the alligator :), being sung to (oh, how you love to be sung to!), your elephant blankie, and your plush pyramid. You are really discovering your own voice in this chaotic house and we all love to hear your high-pitched squeals of delight! You, much like your sister, love to put things in your mouth. Just today, you rolled over for the very first time (back to belly), just so you could go after a toy and shove it in your mouth. :)

You still nurse several times a day, but are nice enough to let mommy and daddy get some much needed sleep at night. You do still wake once or twice, but you always go right back to sleep after some snuggles and a quick nursing session.

We love watching you discover new things and grow alongside your brother and sister. It is our prayer everyday that the three of you will be the best of friends. So far, so good!

We love you, baby NoNo!

*Stats, pictures and some videos to come after your 4 month appointment tomorrow*

Fall Fun + Picture OVERLOAD

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year (love Spring too, though). I love the cute wreaths and pumpkins everywhere. I love for the smell of apples and cinnamon to fill my home. I love Aggie football (whoop!). I love the weather. I love the holidays - the fun of Halloween, togetherness of Thanksgiving, and the spirit of Christmas. This fall has been a little lacking in the proper amount of good weather and outdoor time due to unexpected high temps and bajillions of mosquitoes. But, we are still having a blast and have the pictures to prove it!

*These were taken at our church's pumpkin patch with Lee, Lindsey, & Brendan*

The best group pic I managed to get. Em's sooo not in to pictures right now!


This one looks just right!


Sleepy babies...Brendan and Noah


I'm a mess, but I'm cute!


I'll take this one!


How many punkins can I hold?


*Fun at home*

Riding my new Razor (I can't believe how good he is on this thing)


Check out those blue eyes (disclaimer: the flash makes them appear slightly more blue than they really are)


The boys and their Razors (Kason, Christopher, Christian)


I may be a little partial, but I think Kason might be the most photogenic child ever! :)


Hugs and kisses


Just swingin'


Trying to hula hoop or posing for a pic? Not really sure.


Ahhh! This is sooo much fun!


Snoozin'


And, more snoozin'


Hope you enjoyed all the pics and are having just as much fun as we are!