You Never Know What He'll Say (or Do)

One night I was getting Noah ready for bed. He had his shirt off and he kept sniffing. I asked if he needed a tissue. He help his arm up and looked at it as if he were thinking about wiping his nose on it (which is what he usually does!). Since he didn't have a shirt on, he decided that would be yucky. Instead, he got down on his hands and knees and wiped it on his rug... All you can do is laugh.

Noah is still learning how to share. (It's such a hard thing to learn. Really...I don't like to share sometimes.) Anyway, he was trying to keep John from getting his new birthday toys and was trying to hold everything. And, a picture is worth a thousand words... Talk about being backed into a corner...

Happy Birthday, Sweet Noah!

Noah turned 3 on February 18... How is that possible!?!??!

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Waking up to find his presents waiting for him.

Giving the scooter a test drive... The helmet (which is for ages 3 and up) was way, way too small.

Thanking John for his new books.

After Noah opened his presents, we headed to Chick-fil-A for breakfast. Some people went in their jammies. Noah had the whole play area all to himself! He was in heaven.

Take one... Daddy is trying to be discrete; Noah is telling him to put the phone away.

Take Two

A candle in his sandwich

Make a wish!

Helping make his cupcakes.

3 year old red chair pic

So sweet! (And a rarity! Both looking at the camera AND smiling!)

Noah's party was the day after his birthday. Normally, it's very cold on his birthday. But this year, it was actually pleasant! On Friday, we decided maybe a bounce house would be fun. So, we walked next door and asked our neighbor, Mr. Jim, if he could do it. (He does party rentals.) Thank goodness he's our neighbor! We were very last minute with our planning!

Frog Cupcakes (Yes, they are homemade! I'm sort of proud of them!)

Watching patiently as Mr. Jim put up the bounce house.

FINALLY! Getting to jump!

Noah with his buddy Josiah

Happy Birthday!



Not sure if he blew out the candle or sprayed it out...

Noah had a great birthday. We had lots of fun with him on his birthday and the day after at his party. He is such a sweet little guy and we are so blessed by him!

11 Months

Sweet little John is 11 months... Can you believe it? His birthday is this month... I really feel like I just blinked and he's not a tiny baby any more.

He is crawling, army-style. He's quite fast! He's pulling up and cruising. Although he hasn't quite figured out how to get down yet. He takes the roughhousing from his brother well. (He's not always the victim though. He does his fair share of roughhousing too.) He does cry occasionally, but I think I would too! He will eat anything you serve him. He's got 7 teeth and the cutest blonde curls. He says mama, dada, MiMi, baby, and nono (I think he means Noah). He is a very good baby. He's so much fun!

The aforementioned roughhousing

Snow Days...

Will the winter ever end? I don't love cold weather and snow. It's very pretty, but it's so messy when you  have to get out in it. I think we've had more snow this winter than we've had in the past few years combined... Well, it seems like it to me. There's no fact behind that statement...

Noah has loved it!

Making a snow angel (He always has to make one more when I tell him it's time to go in.)

This picture is a little deceptive. John was none to pleased about this! And, they may have tipped over right after the picture was snapped, further aggravating John! He ended up sitting in the stroller in the garage watching Noah play.

Just when I thought everything was melting and it was going to stay warmish for a while, it got nasty again. Greg and I had quite a laugh watching the forecast for the "Big One." Monday night they were predicting 2-3 inches of ice and then 6-18 inches of snow. They were totally sensationalizing the weather. They had people on location. There had been a little freezing rain, but nothing major... One girl said, "It's like a ghost town around here." Greg and I looked at each other and said, "It's 10:15!" Another girl picked up what appeared to be rock salt saying it was ice. (It could have been ice, but it looked suspicious.) Someone else said, "Look at these street signs. They're just COVERED in ice." It was a riot. They even had a logo that flashed up which reminded me of the election watch. Then Tuesday night, after we got a few inches of sleet and a few inches of snow, they said "We really dodged a bullet here!" The roads were bad yesterday. But they were milking it.

We made snow ice cream today. Noah thought that was just the best. I had a little trouble finding snow that didn't have leaves or pine needles in it. And, it was deceptive. It looked like there was lots of snow, but mostly it was sleet. I think we only ate a few pine needles. Fiber, right?

I make all of John's food. I tend to make lots at a time. It's just easier that way! Then I put it in the freezer. We do not have a deep freeze... Greg has started referring to the freezer as the cannery. (In addition to what you can see in the picture, I also have 4 pumpkins I cooked and froze.)

Sunday night we got in the car and headed to Red Mango (a very delicious frozen yogurt place). We got there and it had just closed. Noah of course nearly melted down. So, we went to Orange Leaf instead (a slightly less delicious frozen yogurt place, but delicious nonetheless). We may have eaten froyo for dinner... John had a taste. This was the face he made after every bit, but he wanted more.

Baby brain freeze

The other day, Greg sent a text and said he wanted Noah to send him a picture of him doing something cool before the end of the day. After reading the text, I turned around to see this. I don't think this was what Greg had in mind, but hey...

Well, John found the cat door. He hasn't yet started chucking his toys down. He places them nicely on the top step. Every time I go downstairs, I hear him crawl to the door and then I hear the cat door open. (Excuse the poor quality...phone picture.)

Fun for the Whole Family

Our sweet friends, the Gilberts, got Noah this super cool Plasma Car for Christmas. It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen! No batteries, no sound... Just manpower! It's a mother's dream! You just turn the handles back and forth and it goes. Noah likes to push mommy and John on it almost as much as he likes to ride on it himself.

You Never Know What He'll Say (or Do)

Noah recently called my dad Popcorn and Popsicle on two different occasions. (He normally calls him Poppy.) Of course, we all laughed, so he keeps doing it... (He used to call Popsicles Poppysicles.)

A few weeks ago, we went to our nephew Luke's baptism. Noah was nearly beside himself during the service because he didn't want to get in the water. We told him he didn't have to. Later (when we weren't trying to be quite in church), we explained to him you get baptized after you ask Jesus into your heart. He said, "I want to ask Jesus into my heart." (So sweet!! I thought I would cry!) Then he said, "Now can I get babatized?"

I got a paper cut. I was off getting a Band-Aid. Noah was moping around. I asked him what was wrong. He said, "Now you can't take care of me."

Last night during dinner, I had to keep telling Noah to turn around and eat. (Come to think of it, I have to tell him that every time he eats...) Anyway, he finally looked at me and said, "I am not having this conversation. I'm not having any spankings." I did what any reasonable person would do... I laughed. And of course, that didn't help...

10 Months

Hmmm... I started this post 22 days ago, I'm embarrassed to say. And now, it's already outdated! Oh well! You can never have too many cute pictures!

Christmas: Take 4

Sunday night, we drove to Columbia to Poppy and MiMi's house. We celebrated Christmas with my mom's side of the family on Monday. My aunt and uncle were in from Texas. Unfortunately, my cousin wasn't able to come. She had to work. (Jobs are great, except when they get in the way of your social life.)

Forget the present! I'll just have this chocolate. 

Still enamored with the wrapping.

Rub-a-dub, dub, dub. Three men in a tub.

(I'm not sure who was more wet, the boys or my mom and I.)

Christmas: Take 3

As previously mentioned, we drove to Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas morning. The rest of the family arrived either later that night or the next morning for the Schuster Christmas.

Sunday morning we went to church. Boy is it hard to keep two wiggle worms who are used to going to Children's Church/the nursery quite and still in church... John didn't make it through (which may have been partly due to the "surprise" he made as soon as we sat down).

We ate lots of yummy food and got to spend time with most of Greg's brothers and sisters and their kids. Before we opened presents, the kids had a Christmas parade. I wish I would have had my video camera going! (What is wrong with me!?!?!? That's twice now in a matter of days!) Mary (Tori) rode out on a donkey (Rosie) and Joseph (Luke) followed behind. There was a drummer boy (Noah), and shepherd (Carter), a cow (Hailey), angels (Bella and Audrey), and three wise men (Brent, Jake, and Garrett).

Greg's mom came out and got the wooden spoon which had been used to spank Noah earlier. Everyone was joking about how funny it would be if he came out with the spoon. And sure enough...

The Baby Jesus was played by a doll. William (who is 4 months older than John, but weighs less) was not interested in playing the part. Grandma wasn't sure Tori could hold on to John. (I think she might have been right... He's a wiggle tail!)

John also got to play in the snow. I brought a bowl in for him to play in. He did not love it.

Christmas: Take 2

We spent Christmas Eve at home. Our original plan was to let the boys open their stockings on Christmas Eve and then open their presents on Christmas morning when we woke up. Greg thought it might be a better idea to just open everything Christmas Eve and let them play with it (instead of jumping in the car as soon as they opened their things). I think he was right. Besides, it's a process for them to open presents.

Before Christmas, Noah was in the Family Christian Store with Greg and saw a VeggieTales train. He kept talking about wanting it. That was the first time he kept saying he wanted something after it was out of sight. It was so cute. So, he got his VeggieTales train. I wish I would have had the video camera running when he opened it. He was so excited.

 And, I go the embroidery machine I've been wanting for years! I had started saving my own money for it. Let's face it, pulling nickles out the washing machine is not a quick way to save up for something!

Our plan was to go to the Christmas Eve service at church and then go out to eat. Church was cancelled because the roads were bad. So, we did what any reasonable family would do: we jumped in the car and went out to eat anyway. Probably not the best idea we've ever had, but we made it home safe and sound. It was a really great Christmas with our sweet little family.

Winter Wonderland

On Christmas Eve, we had lots of snow! It was snowing when we woke up. Noah wanted to go out to play as soon as he saw it was snowing. He finally got his chance! Greg and Noah built a snowman (Noah's first).

When they went out, they told me to have a carrot ready for the nose. I told them all I had was a baby carrot. Greg said they weren't going to make a big snowman... I'd like to know what his idea of big is then!

Noah also had his first go at sledding. The hill in our front yard was perfect for him. He even carried his own sled back to the top.

Christmas morning we went to Grandma and Grandpa's. Noah and Greg had more fun in the snow.

Once everyone got there, all the kids and dads played in the snow. It's questionable as to whether the adults or the kids had more fun.