April Fools Surprise

Last week, Greg was out of town for a couple of nights for work. So, Noah and I decided to surprise MiMi. She was very surprised.

Noah pushed this little red chair around the kitchen. My dad learned to walk pushing the same little red chair. It was very cute...see? Well, maybe not...technical difficulty... I'll work on it when I "fresh."

Anyway, MiMi doesn't work on Fridays, so she and Noah made pancakes. (MiMis let little boys do things their mommies wouldn't let them do...)

I conducted an experiment on the way home to see if Noah would have his nap in his new car seat. It didn't go well. He didn't go to sleep until we were about 10 minutes from home. He fell asleep reading his book. It was pretty cute. Although he doesn't look very comfortable.

MiMi had lots of ladybugs in her house. I kept telling her, at least it's just ladybugs. When we got home, we found ANTS! Every spring we have them. They make me crazy!! One year I had to resort to keeping my honey in the refrigerator. I might wear out my tile cleaning up under Noah's highchair. I've been mopping up every time he eats... MiMi, we'll trade you our ants for your ladybugs.

Noah's most favorite thing to do is read books. Sometimes, he'll just go into his room by himself and sit and read.

He's not walking yet...as alluded to previously. I'm certainly not complaining!! He gets into enough as it is. Yesterday I was in the kitchen tidying up and he crawled down the hall. I thought he was going into his room to read... I went to check just to be sure. He wasn't there. I followed the splashing sound to the toilet and found him playing in it! ICK!!! He lifted the lid even.

He recently found the laundry shoot, which we don't use because it only open about an inch. You can just fit a sock down. And, it's at the opposite end of the house from the master.

He also goes to the front door and yells because he wants to go outside. Lucky for me, he doesn't understand how the doorknob works...yet anyway.

Are these not the cutest socks you've ever seen?!?!?!? Greg calls them his tights.

Noah has a lot to say... He is constantly saying Hi, which is very cute. Especially when he knows he's in trouble. He tries to distract us with his cuteness. He also says, mommy, daddy, MiMi, Poppy, bye, done, please, turkey, teacher, ball, shake... He tries to repeat a lot of what we say, but it doesn't always come out right. It's still cute!

Noah Goes Green

I'm a little obsessed with reducing waste... I take my own bags when I shop; I recycle anything that can be recycled. I've thought about cloth diapers many times. I finally decided I was going to give them a try. Just look how cute he is!!!!

These are not like cloth diapers used to be... They are self contained...no rubber pants! There is an insert that slips into the inside of the diaper, which is shaped and contoured like a paper diaper. They even have snaps to adjust the sizing... I really like them.

Urp...

At long last, Noah has graduated to a "big boy car seat."

Trying it on for size in the middle of the kitchen

The first time he rode in it was on a Sunday on the way to church. The entire way (it's about a 15 minute drive), he was saying "Hi!" It was pretty cute! We have the seat in the middle, therefore he's able to see everything.

That evening, we decided to just go for a ride. The above picture was about 10 minutes before the very unfortunate incident...

We were just driving through some neighborhoods and then it happened... Noah got car sick. We were not prepared for it. We decided to just drive home and deal with it there instead of trying to clean it up with half a wet wipe. Do you know how hard it is to get stink out of car seat straps? I'll let you know once I finally get it out...

Spring has Sprung!

Noah is getting more mobile by the day...still not walking. He's into everything. He's also jabbering up a storm. Today he said turkey. He has a whole slew of words. He tries to repeat things we say too. He can't always quite get it out, but you can tell what he's trying to say.

He's also turning into quite the comedian. I used to be the funniest person I know, but Noah might be funnier. I'll say to him "Mommy's gonna get you," do tickle fingers, and then tickle him. This week, he started doing tickle fingers to me when he wanted me to tickle him. It's very cute!

On the way home from the grocery store. I looked back in the rear view mirror. He had his sock on his forehead...just sitting there like that's where it was supposed to be.

Noah's buddies the Hunters let him borrow this fun toy. He loves it! He would ride around in it all day if we'd keep pushing him. It plays music VERY LOUD. There's no volume button... Too bad.

Noah with his Hunter buddies, Atley, Avery and Canon

"Stuck" in Lily's crate (the Hunter's dog)

Helping with Laundry (or throwing it all over the living room)

Peeking through the cat door...a very common occurrence

"Eating" spinach...I kept telling him to put it in his mouth. Ironic, since when he's outside I'm always telling him to keep the leaves out of his mouth.

We've had some really nice days recently. Noah loves to be outside. He pitches a fit when I make him come inside. We've been taking lots of walks and playing in the yard.

I love outside!!

What is this thing? I like it, but I don't know what it is.

But, mommy, I'm not ready to go in.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Greg's birthday was on the 3rd. Noah made a card all by himself for his daddy. He also helped him open his present. (The card Noah made is sitting on the counter in front of the present.)

Daddy and Noah (Noah just got up)

Noah and Daddy reading the card from Mommy. It had sound...

...and scared him.

Noah and I planned a little surprise for daddy that night. We had some of our friends meet us at one of daddy's favorite restaurants. I forgot the camera... I can only remember so much. But we had fun.

I may have neglected to tell one of Noah's birthday stories in the last post. (By may have, I mean I did.) The day after his party, we had decided we weren't going to go out to eat after church. Once we got to church, we changed our minds. So, we're sitting at lunch and I look over. Noah is hanging over the side of the highchair. I thought he was playing. I said sit up and lifted his head. I couldn't really see his face, but Greg said his eyes were closed. For a brief second, we all panicked thinking he had chocked and we didn't notice. Turns out he had just fallen asleep. He was tuckered out from his party. He partied until he dropped.

CAT-astrophe

Monday afternoon, while I was nursing Noah there a horrible commotion in the hallway. When Noah was done, we went to see what happened. Jinx was laying on the floor in the guest room looking all innocent (which he probably was...this time). So, I looked under the bed. There was a roll of wrapping paper which was totally torn up and Truman was laying under the bed by a paper shopping bag. I went around to the other side of the bed to pull out the bag. It wouldn't come. Truman had his head hooked through the handle. It had previously been on top of the dresser. He was being nosy, I suppose. So he was freaked out because it was chasing him down the hall. He wouldn't come out from under the bed for 2 hours. He just moaned. Jinx kept sticking his head under there to see him, which made him madder. I put Jinx in the basement for a while. Eventually, Truman came out. When Jinx would get close to him, there was a huge fight. It was the most awful sound I've ever heard. There were clumps of cat hair everywhere. We talked about separating them for the night so we could get some sleep. We decided they would be okay. We got all snuggled into bed and they were at it again. They finally settled down. at 12:30a they started in again. So, I went down and separated them. Jinx then cried for about 20 minutes.

When they would fight it would scare Noah. He cried... Poor little guy.

The BIG Party

When I say big, I do mean BIG. If you can believe it, we got a little carried away. My mom and dad arrive early Friday morning, which was great! I would have never gotten everything done without them. Noah of course was a very big help. Here he is checking something in the cooler.

My mom and I made 863 cupcakes. Okay, it was only 72, but it seemed like 863. My mom did the decorating. She did a really great job.

Poppy with Aiden and Noah

Yes, Noah has on a tux, well at least the shirt and bow tie. Isn't he so cute!?!?? He had that in lieu of a silly hat, which he wouldn't have worn.

Is it time for the party yet?

The house was full (and I do mean full) of family and friends. I'm not sure if there would have been room for anyone else. But it was really fun. Noah loved it.

I'm not sure about this cake business...

...but it's really fun to play in.

Hey, you, want some of my cake?

Oh this is gooooood.

Yay! Two!

I did not think this through. I am not going to like it when mommy cleans me up.

Sugar high!!!!!!!!!!!

Chocolate ring left in the bathtub... It's gross, I know... There was a lot of chocolate on that boy.

A few of our guests stayed while Noah opened his presents. He got lots of fun new toys.

After he opened his gifts, he gave a concert. (He's very advanced.)

Happy Birthday!

Believe it or not, Noah turned one last Wednesday. (I know... Once again, I'm tardy in my blogging!) I decided I was going to make him a birthday sign and every year, I would add a candle to it and have it out for his birthday. It didn't exactly turn out the way I had anticipated, but oh well! I also made him muffins for his birthday breakfast. He really liked them. I tore off a few pieces for him and he wanted to hold the muffin and bite off of it. He ate all of it except for the pieces I tore off for him.


Noah looks a little dazed in this picture He's like his mommy...it takes him a little while to wake up in the morning. We tried to get him to blow out the candle, but he just wanted to grab the flame. I guess he didn't have much of a chance to blow it out, really.

We went to have lunch with daddy...where else, but Fortel's. Noah had peas, corn, cheese, olives (which he loves) and yogurt. I know, it sounds weird, but he loves it.

Noah and Daddy

He did NOT want me to get in the picture with him. He kept pushing me. I think I was distracting him from his yummy lunch.

The 1 Year Red Chair Picture

The previously mentioned birthday sign. It's incomplete in the picture. I hadn't put the candle or the ribbon on it yet.

After dinner, we took Noah to Target and let him pick out a toy, okay, two. He picked a remote control car and a cell phone. Both are "Parents" toys and are super cute.

I just can't believe he's already one. I mean, really, where did the time go??? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital.

Fun with Food

Last time, I mentioned Noah climbing over the rung of the bar stool instead of going around. He's stopped doing it, but I did manage to catch a picture of it.

It's funny how Noah has characteristics of different family members. He talks a lot, like me; he always has to be moving and doing something, like his daddy; and he squints every time I get out the camera, like his Poppy.

Noah is super messy when he eats... Which is what I was trying to demonstrate when I took the above picture. In the below picture, notice he's storing some for later under his chin AND, he has food smeared all over his face (including his eye and forehead).

He loves just about anything I feed him. His favorites are mac and cheese and grapes. I feel like I feed him the sames things all the time, but he doesn't seem to mind.

There is something very out of place in this next picture. Can you spot it? (I'll give you a hint... It's not the bean on his face.)

Here's Noah in his Peanut Shell. He loves to ride in it. When he used to ride in it, you couldn't see him... He's getting so big.

This past Sunday was Noah's first Super Bowl. He got to eat his dinner in front of the television with everyone else. He thought he was big stuff!

We had one family over to watch the game, our skiing buddies, the Kohlbeckers. About thirty minutes before they got here, Greg decided to light a fire. It was the first one we've had all year. I kept saying to Greg it was very stinky. A few minutes later, the smoke detector went off... The flue had been open all winter (and probably all summer too) and Greg had closed it before he lit the fire. Talk about inefficient heating. And, not to worry, we cleared the smoke out. Luckily, there was a heat wave on Sunday. It was in the 40s, so we opened the windows for a while.


We only got one picture of Noah with his buddy Luke during the Super Bowl. Noah was a little upset because he had to go to bed. Poor boy never gets to stay up past his bedtime.

So, back to "what's out of place?" This should give it away...

While he was eating his broccoli, he just reached up and put a piece in his hair like that's where it belonged. Never a dull moment around here!

Me and Froggy

Well, Noah is 11 months old... Is that even possible??? Where has the time gone? There was a little delay in the taking of the monthly picture. When we went to Colorado, we borrowed my mom's suitcase. When we unpacked, the charger may have been left in it. We didn't realize it was AWOL until the camera battery was totally dead. My good friend Shelly luckily had a charger we were able to borrow. So, the picture was 4 days late, but let's pretend, shall we?

He looks so old with all of his teeth. He has 7 now; 4 on top and 3 on bottom. He's developed quite an attachment for his froggy. He's always slept with it, but now he must have it when he sees it. Last night, when we were brushing our teeth, froggy went for a swim in the sink. Luckily, I'm very smart! We have 2 identical froggys. (Don't tell Noah. He doesn't have a clue.) I switch them out periodically so they are "loved" (or worn) and smell the same. Noah did not have to sleep with a wet froggy last night.

Have you ever done something and just thought "How can I be so dumb!?!?" Well, this might top them all! This week, I put some lotion into my hand out of a new bottle, and I thought this looks like soap. I looked at the bottle and it said "Hydration Lotion." So, I thought it must be lotion. I proceeded to lather (and I do mean lather) my right leg with it. I looked again... It was soap with 1/4 hydration lotion. I then realized that was why it was not with the other lotion in the store.

Noah has this new "distressed" whine. It's quite funny. He does it when he thinks he needs help. We just laugh. He also tries to snap his fingers like daddy. Also very cute!

A few days ago, I went into Noah's room to get him up from his nap and this is what I found... I have no idea how it happened.

Just in case you need a better view of how all the cool kids are wearing their sweaters these days...

And, just for kicks. Don't you wish you were this flexible?