The Weary Traveler

Christmas is my favorite time of the year...but it's also one of the most exhausting. We usually travel to see family. The weekend before Christmas, we went to Albany, Missouri to have Christmas with Poppy's side of the family. It's always fun to go, but it always seems like such a quick trip. This was the furthest Noah had ever been from home.

One of Noah's new favorite things to do is take off his shoes and socks...in the car, in his crib, wherever. When he got up from his nap in Albany, he had of course taken off his shoe. He had an imprint of a lion on his cheek from his Robeez...

Poppy & MiMi with all the grand babies (Taylor, Noah, Aiden, & Jenna)

Noah opening his presents

Aiden opening his presents (he was much faster than Noah)

Noah playing beauty shop (don't tell Greg)

Aiden & Noah in the bath tub (there was a lot of splashing going on...)

Matching Christmas Jammies

We had our Christmas at home in St. Louis on the 23rd. Noah got lots of fun new presents. The cats even liked some of them. They stole some of the balls he got.

Give me your best pitch!

Veeeeeeeery slowly unwrapping his presents... He would pull a little teeny piece of wrapping off and wait for one of us to take it from him. I think he enjoyed tearing the paper as much as he enjoyed the presents.

I love Christmas!

Tearing teeny pieces of paper off of a big present

Let's see how this thing works...

Noah with his new Ball Popper - Not too sure what to think yet...

Then on the 24th, we were off for our crazy whirlwind trip! First we went to MiMi and Poppy's to celebrate Christmas with them. MiMi said I just made Noah have naps the whole time we were there. (A boy needs his sleep!) The next morning, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's. Two of Noah's cousins were sick and couldn't come. That night, we drove to Uncle Matt and Aunt Vicki's in Kansas City and spent the night.

We flew out of Kansas City to Denver the morning after Christmas. We weren't really sure what to expect with Noah on the plane. We had to get up pretty early to get to the airport, so by the time the plane took off, he was pretty tired. The flight was just under two hours and was totally full. Noah did very well. We had toys and snacks ready for him to keep him occupied. He thought the barf bag was the most fun "toy." He also found his banana very fun. We let him hold the whole thing like a big boy. It was very cute. I would have taken a picture, but I couldn't really get to the camera. He did sleep for a little bit on the plane. I was very surprised. He usually won't go to sleep unless we lay him down and leave the room. He's such a good boy!

We spent the day in Denver with our friends, the Kohlbeckers. They flew in from St. Louis as well. We went to Bass Pro Shops and the Aquarium.

Noah and daddy with a big moose at Bass Pro

Look carefully...There is a shark behind us!

By the time returned to the hotel after dinner, well, a picture is worth a thousand words...

Mr. Fix-It

Noah is 10 months today. Really, where has the time gone? It seems impossible!

A few days ago, I walked past the Christmas tree. Noah was laying near it with a package. He wasn't holding the package, but he had moved it. (It was no longer under the tree.) He looked at me and very, very slowly reached down to tough it. It's so hard not to laugh at him!

His other new favorite thing to do is pull the vent cover off. Yesterday, I heard him pulling it off. When I went to put it back, he had his arm down in the vent. Like so...

It's a little hard to punish someone so cute! So, I took a picture instead.

The monthly red chair pictures are becoming more fun!

Classic Noah Expression

So Cute!

Gimme that camera...

How big is Noah?

SOOOOOOO big!

Is it hot in here?

I neglected to tell a particularly funny story in my previous post... Friday night, we packed up in the car and went to Bass Pro Shops. We got Noah all bundled up; it was cold. About the time we got there, Noah started fussing. We got out of the car and Noah felt like he was a little warm. I pulled his hood back and his entire head of hair was totally soaked. We were a little embarrassed to take him in, but we did anyway.

It's All Fun and Games...

...until someone gets trapped in the basement. One night last week, I went downstairs to feed the cats. Greg wasn't home from work yet and Noah was playing in the sitting room. When I headed up the steps, I notice two little hands stuck through the cat door. I opened the little door so Noah could see me. I think it startled him a little. He pulled back, but didn't really back up. I couldn't get the door open because he was in front of it. I managed to get my arm out and move him enough to get through the door.

You will be happy to know the "sock bandit" was caught! Static electricity was to blame. Greg found my sock stuck to one of his shirts. Once he found it, I became obsessed with finding Noah's cute sock. I unfolded all of his pajamas, sheets, onsies, etc. trying to find it...nothing. A few days later, I was changing Noah's sheet and what did I find? The sock! I really thought I had inspected all the of the sheets when the sock was missing. Since his sheets are round and have elastic all the way around, things tend to get caught in there...

Noah is doing all kinds of fun things! If you ask him what a lion says, he roars. It's very cute! I'm working on teaching him baa like a sheep. He clicks his tongue, claps his hands, his favorite...spitting. We're trying to keep him from doing that. His newest trick: If I say "how big is Noah?" he puts his hands up over his head. It's pretty cute!

He's also figured out how to pull himself up. So far, he just does it in the bathtub. Where else??? It's pretty tricky to wash a baby who is trying to pull up. Our favorite: the bath time curly mohawk.

On December 9, our church had its annual Christmas Tea. It's always super fun. Each table has a hostess who decorates the table. All the tables are different, which sounds like it could be a little overstimulating, but it's really not. They're gorgeous. Everyone uses their china. Here's a picture of my table from this year. (I now have the centerpiece in my kitchen. Greg doesn't so much like it. It gets in his way.) And, Aunt Judy, mom, I used your "favorite" dishes this year.

Greg and I really like modern things. So, a traditional Christmas stocking will not do. I had a very fun stocking my friend Eryn gave me several years ago. But this year, I decided to make Greg and Noah stockings. I even made the pattern myself. (I'm a little proud of them!) I want to get names put on them after Christmas. Hopefully, you can tell which one is mine.

Here is a super cute video of Noah. It needs no explanation. But we already have a Tiger fan on our hands.

Yesterday, Noah was following me down the hall. (He still crawls army style.) He sounded like he was working extra hard at it. I turned around and looked. His pants were down around his ankles. When I put them on him, I knew they were a little big in the waist but thought they were okay since his shirt covered them... I tried to get the camera really fast, but he had them almost off by the time I got back.

Noah LOVES to pull the tags off of the presents under the tree. My mom told me I shouldn't have presents under the tree yet. But, I really don't want Noah under there anyway. At least with the presents there, I can hear something.

He also loves to chase the cats. They don't love it so much. Truman just runs when he sees Noah coming. Jinx lets him get right up to him before he runs off. Here's Jinx playing with Noah's balloon and Noah trying to pull his hair.

Noah has figured out if he bangs his head on something intentionally, it gets our attention. When he's done playing in the Johnny-Jump-Up, he grabs the door frame and bangs his head on it. Is that normal?

The Sock Bandit

What exactly happens to the socks that mysteriously disappear in the wash??? Noah and I each lost one sock in the wash. I've always been able to find them, but so far, nothing... Noah's were super cute too!

The Thanksgiving Tostada

Noah had a good first Thanksgiving. We spent it with some friends here in St. Louis. Noah was the hit of the party. We walked in the door and one of the girls took Noah and this is what happened...

Still the center of attention...

Noah wasn't really in the mood for a family picture.

Seriously, he wasn't in the mood.

I managed to "punch" sweet little Babs in the mouth... Greg told someone she was trying to take the last piece of turkey. She was washing dishes and I was trying to be helpful and pull her sleeves up so she didn't get them wet. It slipped out of my hand and I punched her in the face... I felt really bad.

Last week, Noah decided the burrito was for the birds. I'm so glad he did too! I thought I was going to have to make him a new one. They don't make one any bigger than what he has; his little toes were about to break through the end. So, as my aunt said: "Now he's a tostada."

Saturday, Greg and I went to the MU/KU game. It was miserable! When we left home on Friday, Greg checked the forecast. It was supposed to be 50 and sunny. We packed accordingly. It was 40 (if that) and snowy/rainy. We weren't dressed appropriately. The people we were with had an extra hat and blankets. If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have lasted.