Noah turns 1

July 4, 2012 - Happy 4th of July and Happy 1st birthday, little man!

I can't believe a whole year has gone by since I first held you in my arms.  You have been the greatest surprise of our lives.  We didn't know you were missing until we had you and now we can't imagine this place without you.

You have been the happiest, easiest baby.  You love books and insist we read to you several times a day (just like your big brother did at your age).  You are walking now and love that you are finally a 'real' part of the action.  You love your brother and sister (and like to take away their toys, too) and go back and forth between being a daddy's boy and a mommy's boy.  You are still nursing, though, so primarily, you are a momma's boy. :) 

In the past few weeks, you have had a word explosion and you will repeat just about any word we say to you.  Some words we know you say:  kick (as you chase your ball around the house kicking it), scoot (as you wiggle down the stairs), up, all done, hat, outside, Maggie, Daddy, no no (of course), juice (what you call anything in a cup), quack, neigh, night night, hi and bye.  I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that come to mind...still no mama or mommy, though (unless nana counts).

You could spend all day everyday content with a ball.  Before you could walk, you would get so mad if mommy didn't take you around the house holding your hands so you could kick it repeatedly.  Daddy has high hopes that you will share the same love for soccer that your big brother is currently displaying. Now, you kick, throw, etc and it can entertain you for hours. 

You blow and give kisses (even to the crying baby in one of your books).  Speaking of, one of your new favorite things to do is snuggle one of Emily's baby dolls.  It doesn't entertain you for long, but you do love to snuggle.  You have always been a snuggler, so this isn't much of a surprise.  You also love to shake your booty and feel your hair whip around as you shake your head back and forth.  I have a feeling you will have your shaggy locks for as long as mommy and daddy get to decide what kind of haircut you have.

You are one of a kind, amazing, sweet, smart, and the perfect addition to our family!  We love you more than you'll ever know!  Happy, happy birthday, firecracker!



* Some pics from the big day - unfortunately, none from the main event, though, which was the sprayground.  Noah love love LOVES the water and had a blast*

Opening gifts

He had helpers, of course

Oh yeah, choo choo is another of his new favorite words

Picked up Spiderman cupcakes at Walmart b/c the real party is in August

Noah walks

He's been 'walking' for a few weeks now, as in able to string together 10 steps or so and walk across the living room.  He is just now deciding, though, that he's going to use it as his primary mode of transportation.  :)

Potty Training, take 2

My big girl and her beautiful smile

So, in case you didn't know or forgot, we attempted to potty train Emily before we left Texas.  It was a no-go.  She wasn't ready and we were so stressed with the move, that we were not as a patient as necessary.  We decided to put it off a couple of months and pick it up again later.

Kyle had a work trip scheduled at the beginning of May, so my mom decided to come out and help me with the kids for a week.  I figured what better time to potty train than when I had a whole week's worth of help.  It turned out to be much easier than expected.


This time, I decided to modify our 3-day potty training approach.  I bought a couple of books that Emily loves and set a timer.  We did still ditch the diapers and go straight to undies, though.  I also reminded her every minute or two to tell mommy when she needed to go potty.  If there was an accident, we rushed straight to the potty.  One of her books, Duck Goes Potty, really helped the whole process.  I set a timer on my phone to go off every 15 - 20 minutes.  I just so happen to have a duck timer on my phone, so this was perfect.  She would race to the potty with her book, exclaiming that duck said it's time to go potty.  After a few successes, duck wasn't necessary anymore (but, she still liked to hear the timer so we kept it going for a few days).

By day 2, we were down to very few accidents and by day 3, we were at the zoo - no accidents at all.  She now goes to the potty all on her own and tells us whenever we are out and about. 

In more recent news, she is also paci-free now.  After several failed attempts of getting rid of the paci (she even used 'broken' pacis that we cut the tips off of), she bit her tongue one day last week.  She cried that her paci hurt her tongue that night, so we told her to just hold her paci.  She never realized that her tongue had healed and was convinced her paci would hurt her tongue.  So, after a few days of holding it to go to sleep, she threw it in the trash.  Hasn't asked for it since.  She's getting so big!  All that's left before she attains full big girl status is transitioning from her crib (I don't see this one happening any time soon, though).  :)

Back in the saddle...

...the blogging saddle, that is.

There has been so much going on around here and I have been so terrible about updating the blog.  But, I am determined to get back to it.  So, here we go:

A little run-down of the goings-on of the summer (many of these will get their own post with lots of pics) -

1.  Soccer - Kason started soccer a few weeks ago and he is an all-star!  And, no, I'm not biased at all.

2.  Swimming lessons - Kason has also started swimming lessons.  He loves it and is doing very well.  I'm sure he'll be a little fish in no time.

3.  VBS - Kason just finished up VBS last week.  Again, he had a great time and is really looking forward to starting up pre-school again in September (can you believe he'll be in preK???).  Emily will also start a Children's Day Out program in September.  She was very upset that she could not attend VBS, so I'm sure she'll love school in the fall.

4.  Noah got his first haircut.  It was a teeny-tiny trim, but much needed.  He needs another one now.  :(  I love his shaggy locks!

5.  Noah turned 1!  What?!  Where in the world did the last year go?

6.  Emily is 100% potty-trained.  This is actually from May.  I potty trained her, with the help of my mom, while Kyle was away in Vegas on a work trip.

7.  We've had a few visitors, but were especially glad to catch up with the Fergels and meet their precious little girl, Aurea.  We are excited to plan a trip to Tucson in the coming months.

I know I have a million more things to talk about, but these are the biggies.  Individual posts are coming soon.

Just hangin' at home

I'm trying to get the kids out of the house more and involved in more activities (i.e., gymnastics, soccer, swimming lessons, playgroups, etc), but we still spend a lot of time at home. So, enjoy some pics of our down time.

*I was playing with my camera and Emmy made the perfect model*

Playing in the sandbox - they hate that giant blue shovel

Pretty sure she wanted me to stop taking pics here

They love to have lunch out on the deck

At Dinner tonight...

Emily looked at Noah as he was eating his spaghetti and said, "Oh, NoNo, you a messy boy.  What we gonna do with you?".  Then, she flashed the cutest little grin you've ever seen.  :)

Bath Time Fun

Emily had a nasty fall into the bottom of the tv stand the day before this pic. It's mostly healed now, but I'm afraid it might leave a little scar.

Happy Easter!

We started Easter Sunday off with a visit to a new church in the area. We are hopeful that this will be our church home. It is also where Emily and Kason will attend preschool next year (Emily will be in the Children's Day Out program and Kason in PreK).


Best we could do...Kason practically choking Noah and Emily showing her great displeasure


This is what Emily views as proper photo-etiquette :)


I have given up on the idea of a good family photo :(

The Easter bunny made his stop during nap time and the kids were thrilled to get their Easter baskets when they woke up. A little later in the afternoon, Josie, Megan and her husband, Jared and his brother, Spencer joined us for Easter dinner, games with the kids, and an egg hunt. It was a great day!




A little more cooperation for a photo with Grandma


The Easter bunny brought bubble guns!












Kids with their baskets (the eggs were way more interesting than the camera)


Our best attempt at a post egg-hunt family photo

Life Lessons

I'm filing this one away in lessons that my children need to learn. As much as I hope Emily learns these lessons, I also think there's a valuable lesson for my boys in here about the type of girls that are worth their time as they get older.

Taken from http://kateelizabethconner.com/ten-things-i-want-to-tell-teenage-girls/

1. If you choose to wear shirts that show off your boobs, you will attract boys. To be more specific, you will attract the kind of boys that like to look down girls’ shirts. If you want to date a guy who likes to look at other girls’ boobs and chase skirts, then great job; keep it up. If you don’t want to date a guy who ogles at the breasts of other women, then maybe you should stop offering your own breasts up for the ogling. All attention is not equal. You think you want attention, but you don’t. You want respect. All attention is not equal.

2. Don’t go to the tanning bed. You’ll thank me when you go to your high school reunion and you look like you’ve been airbrushed and then photoshopped compared to the tanning bed train wrecks formerly known as classmates – well, at least next to the ones that haven’t died from skin cancer.

3. When you talk about your friends “anonymously” on Facebook, we know exactly who you’re talking about. People are smarter than you think they are. Stop posting passive-aggressive statuses about the myriad of ways your friends disappoint you.

4. Newsflash: the number of times you say “I hate drama” is a pretty good indicator of how much you love drama. Non-dramatic people don’t feel the need to discuss all the drama they didn’t start and aren’t involved in.

5. “Follow your heart” is probably the worst advice ever.

6. Never let a man make you feel weak or inferior because you are an emotional being. Emotion is good; it is nothing to be ashamed of. Emotion makes us better – so long as it remains in it’s proper place: subject to truth and reason.

7. Smoking is not cool.

8. Stop saying things like, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.” First of all, that’s not true. And second of all, if it is true, you need a perspective shift. Your reputation matters – greatly. You should care what people think of you.

9. Don’t play coy or stupid or helpless to get attention. Don’t pretend something is too heavy so that a boy will carry it for you. Don’t play dumb to stroke someone’s ego. Don’t bat your eyelashes in exchange for attention and expect to be taken seriously, ever. You can’t have it both ways. Either you show the world that you have a brain and passions and skills, or you don’t. There are no damsels in distress managing corporations, running countries, or managing households. The minute you start batting eyelashes, eyelashes is all you’ve got.

10. You are beautiful. You are enough. The world we live in is twisted and broken and for your entire life you will be subjected to all kinds of lies that tell you that you are not enough. You are not thin enough. You are not tan enough. You are not smooth, soft, shiny, firm, tight, fit, silky, blonde, hairless enough. Your teeth are not white enough. Your legs are not long enough. Your clothes are not stylish enough. You are not educated enough. You don’t have enough experience. You are not creative enough.

There is a beauty industry, a fashion industry, a television industry, (and most unfortunately) a pornography industry: and all of these have unique ways of communicating to bright young women: you are not beautiful, sexy, smart or valuable enough.

You must have the clarity and common sense to know that none of that is true. None of it.

You were created for a purpose, exactly so. You have innate value. You are loved more than you could ever comprehend; it is mind-boggling how much you are adored. There has never been, and there will never be another you. Therefore, you have unique thoughts to offer the world. They are only yours, and we all lose out if you are too fearful to share them.

You are beautiful. You are valuable. You are enough.

9 Months Old

In 3 short months, my little man will be a whole year old. Wow!

At 9 months old:

You are an angel baby; so calm and happy, the perfect addition to our family.

After being such a huge newborn, you are now much smaller than we expected, but still a healthy size at 19 lb 13.5 oz and 28.5 in...50% all around. You are also my only baby that has been solely breastfed without an ounce of formula in your life. The fact that you refuse a bottle of any kind probably plays into that a bit. During the day, you have 3 solid meals plus 2 snacks a day and are just starting table foods (bits of bread, pasta, meat, fruit, cheese). You really enjoy feeding yourself and even do pretty well out of your sippy cup.

You sleep fairly well, but have out-of-control allergies that can sometimes wreak havoc on your sleep. Most nights, I nurse you at least once, but then you are back to sleep right away.

You love bath time, most nights trying to squirm your way out of our arms and into the tub before we can get your diaper off. You have very little patience when it comes to bath time, screaming at us until you get your reward...SPLASHING!

You have two 'words' that you seem to say with some recognition: dada and 'awwww duh' (all done). You say awwww duh while wildly waving your hands back and forth (your sign for 'all done') to let us know to stop shoveling food in your mouth. You also sign more and wave bye.

You love to play "So Big", "Peek-a-Boo", and "Pat-a-cake". You love balls, cars and trucks, and even Emily's Minnie Mouse, which seems to be the perfect size for throwing. You throw her, watch her bounce, crawl to go get her, and repeat.

You pull up on everything - toys, tables, chairs, people, and even the dogs. You are getting very stable and I think you will be standing on your own very soon. You do a little cruising between toys, but for longer stretches, you still choose to crawl. Speaking of crawling, you still prefer the army crawl to hands and knees, although you can do both. Your big brother was the same way.

More and more, I see you resembling your big brother. Just the other day, I was walking down the hall and subconsciously thought a picture of Kason was you. Much like your brother, you are a real mama's boy. You hate for mommy to walk in a room and not immediately pick you up or walk out of room without you in her arms.

Emily and Kason continue to love on you constantly (a little too much, especially now that you are mobile). We try to tell them you need your hands, but just being near you is not enough. They love you so much, they need to be touching you/holding your hand constantly. We love to watch the 3 of you interact and are really enjoying seeing your personality take form as you find your way in this crazy house.

The days around here may be chaotic, but they sure are fun! We love you, NoNo!

Not Sure Where to Start....

It's been so long since I've updated the blog, I'm not sure where to start. So, here's a little story of the past month and a half in pics.

While in Colorado on a house-hunting trip in February, we got an offer on our Texas house. After a little negotiation, we were under contract. The house closed on Monday, April 2. We loved our house and our neighbors in Texas, so while it was a definite stress-reliever, it was somewhat bittersweet.




We spent much of the last few weeks in Texas enjoying the weather, time with friends and family, and saying our goodbyes.


















Kyle and Tony (old college friend) and their newest additions


Kason & Maddie (Tony & Amanda's daughter)








What was left of the cupcakes I took for Kason's last day of school. We took the leftovers to share with neighbors as we said goodbye over pizza, beer, and lots of fun.



After the movers pulled away, we spent the night and much of the next day with our wonderful neighbor, Patti and her daughter, Lilly (Emmy's very best friend). Patti was the very best neighbor we could have ever asked for and we will miss her, her mom, Carol, and Lilly very much!

Sunday afternoon, we headed to North Texas to spend a couple of days with my parents and my brother's family. The kids had a blast.








And, now, we're here...


This pic really doesn't do the view from our master bedroom justice. It is beautiful on a clear day and at night, the lights of the city are even more breath-taking.


Thankfully, between Kyle's aunt Josie, who lives nearby in Littleton and his mom, who came to visit for a few weeks, I have been able to get the entire house unpacked and we are all settling in nicely. We have been lucky in that we seemed to have found another great street to live on with loads of kids to play with and friendly neighbors. We look forward to getting to know the area a bit better in the next few months and lots of great adventures this summer.