It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We put up the tree on Thanksgiving weekend as we always do. It was actually an event this year; Noah really got into it. He was such a big "helper." Noah was very particular where all the ornaments went, and we only had one casualty. I think that Chris was secretly hoping for more "oopps's" because he thinks we have too many ornaments. Overall we had a great time. Noah had hot chocolate for the first time and called it his "special drink." He is doing really well with the tree and knows that we only do the "one finger touch." The only problem with the one finger touch is that it is very different this year; it is more like an "aggressive one finger swing." Oh well, we tried, but what can you do? He's two.

Noah very carefully hanging ornaments

Noah and Chris under the tree putting on the tree skirt.

Trip to Cookeville

Noah and I went to Tennessee about a month ago to see some of my family. We had so much fun hanging out with my cousins. Noah absolutely LOVES his 2nd cousins, Carson and Wesley. They were so sweet to him, Noah felt like he was one of the guys. He would do anything for them. 2 nights ago I asked Noah who he wanted to thank God for and he said Cawson and Weswee. (that was almost a month later...)

How sweet is this? Carson, Wesley and Noah watching TV together.

If I had told Noah to wear a helmet, he would have said "No way!" Wesley says, "Noah you always wear a helmet when you ride." and Noah says, "Okay" By the way, it worked the same way with diaper changes, getting dressed and brushing teeth. (Did I mention that I almost took Carson and Wesley home with me?)

Halloween pictures...just a little late...ha ha

Here are some late pictures of Noah's halloween. He was Bob the Builder. He was a little skeptical of the whole trick-or-treating thing at first, but after the 1st kid came by, he changed his tune. Noah and I ventured out. I figured that we would stop by 4-5 houses and then head home. Well...about 20 houses later Noah was still going strong. He would walk up to the door and knock (which was his favorite part), then he said, "treat" (no tricks from him), then he would say "thank you, you're welcome." I had to coax him home with the hope of eating 1 thing out of his bag.

Noah's hard at work...getting things done. Can we fix it? Yes we can!

Trip to Hilton Head

Here is a little slide show of pictures from our trip to Hilton Head the week of Oct. 19th. We had lots of fun taking walks on the beach. We also got to spend some time with Noah's great grandparents...such a treat. (I still can't believe that I didn't get any pictures of Noah and his Ninen...definitely next time.) We even got to take Noah kayaking at Palm Key. Noah was so good. He "helped" row, and was fascinated when we showed him snails on the reeds and shrimp jumping in the water. After working up an appetite rowing, we had a fantastic family style dinner. Noah's Ninen and Great Grandaddy came down to meet us for dinner. I can't even explain how relaxing it is to go to Palm Key. Everyone was so laid back and gracious; it made it so much easier to have a 2 year old that just wanted to run around outside...everyone just smiled and said don't worry about it. (insert *sigh*)

Enjoy the slide show. I think it will be the last slide show for a while...at least until Christmas.

A brief break from the updates...

I thought that these pictures were just too cute to wait to post. It was pretty chilly outside today, but we all needed to get out of the house. So we bundled up and headed out for a walk. Noah discovered the joys of pockets! It was pretty cute looking at him walking like such a big boy with his hands in his pockets.

Check out the "cheese" for the camera.

Such a sweetheart!

State Fair

Actual date: September 26th

When I was younger I loved going to the state fair. When my family lived in Jackson, I would go every year at least once and usually 2 or 3 times. As an adult, it isn't quite as much fun to eat food that will surely make you sick and ride rides that could fall apart at any moment, but Noah hasn't yet developed that cynicism. :-) So, when our friends, the Hollands, told us that they were going, and it was free admission and rides until 11am, Noah and I were there. (Chris was out of town that day.) Noah wasn't sure about the rides, but he couldn't resist the big red truck. He still talks about Emma being brave and riding "Nemo." After riding the carousel and the trucks, we headed down to the petting zoo. Now that was more Noah's style. He LOVED the petting zoo. They had a zebra, a camel, goats, a wallaby, an emu, a turkey, a snake, and a tortoise. He can still tell you all about each one and it has been about a month.

Pictures of Noah and Emma riding the "big red truck"

Doesn't Emma look cool in her shades?

I love this picture of Noah and the goats. He is bending down to talk to the goat. I guess you could call him a bit of a "close talker." :-)

Grandpa's visit

I've decided that I'm going to try to catch everybody up on our lives in the next week or so. That way I can begin again with current events soon.

A few days after Noah's birthday, his Grandpa came to visit for the weekend. He loved hanging out with his Grandpa. Noah got a big Home Depot tool bench for his birthday present...pretty cool. Here are a couple of sweet pictures from the visit.

Noah enjoying a good book with his Grandpa

Here is Noah's cool new tool bench. He loves to go around and drill things and sand down anything than may need it. (that includes knees, tummies, elbows, etc.)

Updates...better late than never...

Well, our family has been a little preoccupied over the last couple of months. If you are family or have talked to me over this past couple of months, you would probably laugh and call that the understatement of the year. So please forgive me if blogging hasn't been the first thing on my mind. I admit that I should have updated much sooner than now, but...

Around Noah's birthday (actually the day before Noah's birthday) our lives got turned upside down. My father (Noah's Papa) had a fall and hit his head. We all sat around that night and thought nothing of it. The next morning he woke up with a headache but thought that maybe it was because he hadn't had his morning coffee. So, Mom and Dad went ahead and flew home as planned. Once they got home Dad became physically sick from the headache. He was taken to the ER and they found that due to him being on blood thinners because of a heart surgery about 3 years ago he had a subdural hematoma. They quickly "thickened" up his blood with multiple plasma transfusions and he had brain surgery to releave the pressure. A few days later he was put back on blood thinners again and his brain began to bleed again. He was transferred to Johns Hopkins and a team of the best neurosurgeons performed a radical surgery and removed 1/4 th of his skull to allow his brain to swell due to the trama. Dad has spent around 60 days in the neuro ICU and 3 medically induced comas, multiple blood clots, a brain shift, and many other complications (that I won't even mention) later, he is in rehab at Mt. Sinai in Baltimore. Praise God!!! He still has a long way to go, but it is a miracle that he is alive, and for that we are grateful. He is scheduled to have his bone flap replaced on Dec. 11th and then if all goes well, he will finally be home for Christmas. What a wonderful Christmas present that will be! Now you have heard the VERY short story.

Since I last posted, Noah turned 2 years old. What a big boy! He also started going to a Mother's Morning Out program on Tues. and Thurs. mornings. I think he really likes it. He has been coming home singing new songs and talking about all sorts of new things. Luckily, it has all been positive so far. Here is a slide show of Noah's 2nd birthday party. We had the party at Gymboree and had a blast! Many of Noah's friends and family were able to come and celebrate with us. I hope you enjoy the pictures...

Too cool pool

Noah and I went swimming with our sweet friends Melissa and her daughter Kendall. It was SO much fun. Just look at the pictures...how could it not have been fun? The entire pool was only 1.5 feet deep and full of fountains, just perfect for Noah. He was such a big boy walking around all by himself. It was a pretty relaxing day for me too because I didn't have to hold him the entire time. There were lots of tears when we had to leave, but other than that it was a perfect pool day. Thank you so much, Melissa, for letting us come with you guys. Any time you don't want to go swimming by yourself, just let us know. :-)

Our trip to the Aquarium and Centennial Park

Last week Noah and I went with some friends to the Atlanta Aquarium and then we ate lunch and ran around in the fountain at Centennial Park. It was a long day, but we had lots of fun. Noah loved the fish and kept yelling "Whoa!" at everything. He is very easily impressed.

Noah loved looking at the sea otters. I know that you can't really see what is behind the glass, but Noah thought he was so big climbing up and seeing over the bar.

Noah wasn't so sure about the fountain at first, but once he figured out that he could get to the middle without getting too wet, he liked it.


Sajan, Libby, and Noah all sitting in the back seat together after a long, fun day of playing. We all rode together to make it easier. It was so funny to look in the back seat and see the three friends just chatting with each other and "sharing" snacks.

Our week in Baltimore...

Noah and I returned from our big adventure to Baltimore last Friday. Noah was an angel during the flights; I was so impressed! I was especially impressed because 2 days before we left he learned the word "NO." Noah has this crazy idea that when he says the word it should carry the same effect as when I say it to him. Yea...um...not so much. We're working through his new way of expressing himself. Silly me, I thought the "___ two's" (not using the word that goes in the blank) was when he threw a few minor tantrums...I guess I was wrong. Enough about our new life. I know that you just want to see the pictures from the trip. I'm sorry that I don't have any from the actual plane...I was a little preoccupied.

Noah's ready to go. He has his monkey "backpack" and his headphones.


Noah spent a lot of time outside. He loved the sandbox, the water mat and the pool. It was pretty hard to get him to go inside. (Remember his new form of expression...)


Noah also loved playing inside. We thought that it was pretty funny that even though he had tons of toys to choose from, he picked TP stacking to pass the time.


We went to the Science Museum on the harbor one day. It was great! It had a really neat children's area that Noah thoroughly enjoyed. As you see in the first picture they have a pretend submarine that you can push the buttons and things light up...pretty cool. In the 2nd picture Uncle Stephen is showing Noah the dinosaurs. In the 3rd picture...we thought we should get a picture of all of us before we forgot.


Everyday Noah got to take a walk through the neighborhood. He loved to see the big fish in the "lakes." Nana and "Ampa"/Papa are much nicer than I am and let him get out of the stroller to feel the water and look for rocks. :-)


Noah loved helping Papa fix the lawnmower.

The last 2 months in pictures...

It has definitely been a while since I have posted anything. The slide show should get you pretty much caught up. Noah has developed quite a personality lately. He definitely knows what he wants, but he is getting to be lots of fun. He likes to say "Big Boy" or "Big Dude" a lot; usually these phrases come when he is about to do something that only big boys should do...pretty funny. As you can tell by the pictures, he loves going to the park and herding the ducks. We have been hanging out at the neighborhood pool whenever Noah is well. Also, Noah is still enjoying Gymboree classes. In other words we have been keeping pretty busy. Enjoy the slide show! Hopefully future postings will be less than 2 months apart.

New Posts coming soon!!!

Okay, I know I've been the worst blogger ever! Well, maybe not ever, but pretty close. There has been a lot going on so I'm trying to get all the new pictures organized so that I can share with you guys. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will get my act together and update you on the last 2 months. Check back soon for new pictures of my precious little man. You're not going to believe how much he has grown. :-)

Reading with Dad

Noah really likes to "read" books and have books read to him. Lately some of his favorites are the "Critter" books by Mercer Mayer. They are great!

Noah and Chris reading Cowboy Critter.
Noah especially likes the part when Cowboy Critter eats hotdogs and baked beans.
(for some reason the phrase "baked beans" is hilarious)

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere...

Our lives have been pretty busy lately. I'm so sorry about being so lazy with posts.

Noah got a bubble machine for Easter, and it is pretty amazing. It blows 4000 bubbles/minute...crazy! We have had some requests for pictures of this amazing bubble machine, so here they are

As you can tell, Noah loves bubbles. We have so much fun running through the bubbles and trying to stomp all of them.

Easter Slide Show

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the Easter pictures. These are the pictures of both the neighborhood egg hunt and the "chaotic egg scramble" at the church. There are lots of pictures that I have been wanting to post, but I've been trying to keep things in order. So...I will be posting more frequently for a little bit to get you all caught up on the life of Noah.

This is my 1st attempt at a slide show using Adobe...be patient with me.

Busted...

Noah has always had a fascination with Abby's food and water bowls. For some reason Abby doesn't really care too much even if there is food in the food bowl. For the past couple of months Noah has been leaving the bowls alone, so we have been leaving them on the floor instead of always putting them out of reach. All that to say, this is what Chris and I found a few nights ago...hmmmm.

So now we are working on another way of keeping Noah away from the bowls. He has recently discovered how to walk backwards. So, if I see him heading towards the food and water bowls. I say, "Stop, back it up!" and then make a sound like a backing up truck, "Beep, beep, beep." It is pretty funny, and he giggles while shuffling backwards away from the forbidden bowls. The only problem with this technique is that we did that over and over for about 15 minutes yesterday. Oh well...at least his socks were still dry.

Florida Trip

Here are some pictures from our trip to Florida weekend before last. He had such a good time, and it was go great to see everyone! Thank you so much, Gram, for opening your home to all of us. We hope to see you again soon.

Noah is showing off his RedSox cap.
It was so warm in Florida that day that we all were wearing shorts and T-Shirts.

I'm not quite sure what was going on, but here is Noah sitting in a tiny rocking chair hugging the bear that originally occupied the chair.
We thought it was so sweet.


Here is Noah splashing in the puddles with Chris.
It rained really hard on Saturday morning, but never fear, Chris and Noah both knew exactly what to do after a big rain storm. They both had a great time! Who needs the ocean?!


Noah and his Great Gram.
I think they are having a good discussion...probably about either the Patriots or the RedSox...just a hunch...


Noah with his Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie


Noah and his Grammie watching Cars together.


4 generations together!