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...