I Want to Remember....

Noah is saying bye to things now.  "Bye Veggie Tales."  "Bye bubbles."  The other day he spit out his apples and he said, "bye apples."  Hilarious.

When Matt leaves for work, I always say, "Tell daddy bye, he's going to work to bring home the bacon."  The other morning, Matt left, and Noah looked at me and in a questioning tone said, "Daddy, bacon?"

Noah was rifling through the pantry a few days ago, and he found a box of beer Matt keeps on the floor.  He started to mess with it just as I walked up.  He looked up at me and said, "Daddy juice."  We have  never called it that, but it kind of works.  I just said, "Yes Noah, that's Daddy's juice," and laughed hysterically!

I like that Noah has begun to ask for things he needs/wants by name.  Like, he'll say, "cracker, drink, milk (mook), down, up, bath, shoes, outside, train..." He even has names for some of his books.  The ducklings book with ducks on the cover is "quack-quack."  The Little Engine that Could is "trains."  That's Not My Puppy is "doggie."  The Bible is simply "Bible."

Noah has also recently learned how to projectile spit.  It's fabulous.  And it's always with milk. He thinks it's hilarious.

He's saying, "1,2,3" now and "ready, set, go."  The other day he was walking down the stairs and counting.  He started at 2 and made it to 5.  That was awesome.

He is now big enough to climb up on the couches/chairs by himself.  Like right now, he's sitting on the couch reading a Christmas book.  It's so cute to see him as a little person, entertaining himself.

He is saying a lot of names now, including "Avie" and "Matt".  He also says, "Kye-Kye," "Aidan," "Reese," "Shanna," "Parker," "Tyler," "Papa," "Pops."  He's also transitioned from "mama" and "dada" to "mommy" and "daddy."  We like it.  It sounds so sweet in his little voice.

We have two large bookshelves in our living room, and Noah can easily reach the first two shelves on them both, but the one book he has started pulling out a lot is our wedding album.  He gets it, takes it to his chair and sits down to flip through it. 

I'm sure there are many more little moments to remember.  I need to do this much more often.

Weekend Review

 Noah is really interested in the band that was playing.  He was clapping his hands and staring.

THIS WEEKEND:

We had a lovely dinner with new friends, the Steele's.

We spent Saturday in Wentzville, where Jenn and I garage-saled, and the guys watched the kids.

We visited the Earth Day Festival at Forest Park.

I almost completed my very first toddler dress during a sewing lesson with Meg.

This smile makes me happy.

Noah loved Claire's little plane!

Mom Junket

Mom Junket is the mom's group we started in January because several of us moms were needing an outlet.  And I've got to say that I'm thrilled with our little...well, actually not so little, group of ladies.  I've really enjoyed our get-togethers and have made some new friendships with fabulous women.  Relationships at our church can be difficult to form since The Journey is huge, but since this group, I feel much more connected.  We had another meeting today at our house, and it was a really good time! Everybody brought a sack lunch and the kids played in the back yard. 

It was a great Earth Day play date!

See my Earth Day cake pops here.

Gardens Again

Sandra and I met up at the Botanical Gardens for another free Wednesday.  The kids had a good time, yet again, as they were able to roam free in the children's area.  It is so beautiful there right now.  I just love the flowers!  Noah and I tried to learn the Spanish words for fish and duck from Sandra and Saylah, but all I can remember is plato (and i don't even know if that's right!).  Noah really likes to feed the fish, and he likes saying "quack quack" when he sees the ducks, but he does not like getting strapped back in the stroller after getting the taste of freedom. Good thing he gets over it pretty quickly.

Saylah and Noah played in this extra large bee hive for a really long time.  They both acted so silly in it!

Just Some Photos

I took these pictures of Noah while we were at Lula's birthday.  I thought they were too cute not to post!

Birthdays Trip, Part 2

Lula's first birthday was on Saturday, and we had a lovely time with Sarah and Jay and their friends and family.  It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were all stuffed into a little hospital room watching Sarah act as if she had already been a mother for years.  I'll never forget how natural holding and nursing Lula seemed to come to Sarah, and I'll also never forget the tears in Jay's eyes as he became acquainted with his new little lady.  It was such a special time, and I was glad I got to be a part of Lula's first days!

 Baby girl is one now, and I was able to see the changes that an older baby has brought to Sarah and Jay's home.  Baby gates were up, toys were tucked away in cabinets and a highchair sat in a corner.  Sarah and Jay have a beautiful home, and Sarah decorated it perfectly for Lula's party.  She had so many sweet little details that made it perfect and special for Lu and her friends.

Happy First Birthday Lula!
XOXO

More details on the party decor at Dear London.

Birthdays Trip, Part 1

This weekend we went down to Springfield for two very important reasons! The first being that Janet is turning 30 and the second being Lula turning 1! Friday night we had a delicious dinner, followed by strawberry cake and homemade ice cream to celebrate Janet. Debbie made the cake, but Parker and Tyler added the candles.  Isn't it a beauty? We had a lovely evening chatting and watching the boys play. The next day we shopped at Tanger, where the boys took many a mechanical-ride break, ate dinner at Panera and then had a traumatic time at Andy's Frozen Custard.  The custard was delicious, but Noah about got himself run over by a van.  The boy is fast and he slipped away in the blink of an eye. Now, I have nightmares of him wrestling with cars. Praise God nothing awful happened!

 

I don't think there were quite 30 candles on this cake, but Janet did pretty well blowing them out.  She had a little help from her boys! And a lot of help from the rest of us when it came to eating it!

 

No, Brian is not making a gang sign.  He's signing "30!"

 

Noah LOVED Papa's homemade ice cream!

"Rides," as he likes to call them, are his favorite.  He would say over and over and over, "Daddy, ride! Papa, ride!" ...always in this really pitiful little voice. They totally gave in!
Although Parker and Tyler loved these mechanical toys, Noah was not a fan.  He didn't like it when they started to move.  Scared him.  Kind of weird since he's such a little risk-taker.
 


 

Helping Nana push the stroller.

  

Saying goodbye on Sunday before we headed back to St. Louis.  Tyler loves his cousin and Noah love him right back.  He says, "Ty," and he started saying "Pawker" right before we left.  He even said, "Nannana" one time. Still no Aunt J or Uncle Brian.  May be next time!

Botanical Gardens

We went to the Botanical Gardens yesterday and had an absolute blast.  I had never been into the children's area, and I was blown away.  It was incredible! There were so many things for the kids to do and most of it felt pretty safe.  Everything was very natural looking...like it had all just grown up from the ground.  It was also quite warm, so the water features were on and the kids had fun getting wet. After we played, Shanna and I ended up power walking around the gardens, and of course they were beautiful. Flowers blooming everywhere! Love that place! And I specifically love that city and county residents can get in for free on Wednesdays and Saturdays mornings.

Noah loved just being able to wander around freely.  I was on his tail, but I let him just go wherever he wanted.  He couldn't have been happier. He loves his freedom!  

Our friends, Shanna, Reese and Aidan, Sandra and Saylah, Susan and Lily, and Andrea and Lydia joined us.  Good times!

Thanks to Sandra for the pictures!

Today

Today I was singing Noah's favorite song to him...."every move i make, i make in you, you make me move Jesus, every breath i breathe, i breathe in you...na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na..."  In the middle of my "na, na's" Noah looks at me and says, "off."

Really Noah?  Really?

This Morning...

I found Noah in the bath tub, fully dressed. He had turned on the water and was playing in it.

A few minutes later, as I was upstairs, Noah began to cry. I rushed downstairs to find him lying flat on his back in the middle of the kitchen, surrounded by spilled milk.

Quite the morning!

Today

Today Noah said my name. Yes he did...clear as a bell. Reese and Aidan were over and Reese pronounces my name like, "Abbie" and so, as Noah laid on the changing table, he addressed me as Abbie. I was quick to remind him that I was mama.

Yesterday, Noah said Matt. Matt was outside grilling and I was asking him a question from the stoop. He didn't hear me so I raised my voice and said, "Matt!" And Noah apparently thought I needed some help getting dad's attention, so he also yelled out, "Matt!" It got his attention. We both laughed pretty hard.

"Stay-at-Home" Mom

I have several mom friends who are full time working women. They are each brilliant and dedicated to what they do and are amazing for being able to balance it all. I truly love and respect these ladies. I have often had conversations about working vs. staying home with these friends, and a few of them have said something along the lines of, "I could never stay at home, I'd go crazy!" So I thought I'd do a little report on how NOT to go crazy if you are a stay-at-homer. It's actually quite simple...don't stay at home!

For example, here was our agenda last week:

Monday: history museum, panera bread for lunch, grocery shop
Tuesday: ultrasound appointment for noah's little bump (which turned out to be nothing to worry about!!!), (normally, downtown moms' playgroup)
Wednesday: forest park walk and play with mom junket friends, community group girls' night
Thursday: stork sale, lunch out, target, friends over for dinner
Friday: babysat saylah, good friday service, dinner out with friends


Tip #1: Building up connections with other moms is so key. Could Noah and I do all of these things, just the two of us? Sure, but when he has friends, and I have friends, these outings are just more fun.

Tip #2: Incorporate a budget for lunches out. It's fun to lunch with friends, and it's a lot easier than having to go all the way home if we're out. It's actually not that expensive either if you go with a friend. I often, if not always, bring Noah's lunch, and then I split lunch with a friend. Friend Sandra and I have split $5 footlongs from Subway, and Shanna and I split just about anywhere we go.

Tip #3: I actually don't mind being home when we are home because I have so many things to work on. Personal hobbies that give me objectives and bring me happiness are key to remembering that while in the middle of raising Noah, I still have personal interests. Sewing, crafting, gardening, blogging, reading, scrapbooking...ect.

Tip #4: As a stay-at-homer, I also feel responsibility for taking care of my home and my husband. I must admit, this is my weak area. I often get so caught up in the more "fun" parts of my job (outings and hobbies), that I neglect the laundry. But, I do believe that I'm not only serving my family, but God when I fulfill these responsibilities. So when I do do them, I try to remind myself that even small chores have purpose. And I try to do at least one "chore" a day, alongside of the usual picking up and cooking.

Tip #5: Have a buddy. My closest is Shanna. We often do activities together and with other moms, but that's not exactly what I mean. If either of us have errands to run, we will often go with each other so that one can watch the other's car with the kid/s still in it. For example, if I need to run into the post office, I'll leave Noah in the car, and she parks right beside me and watches him. It saves time and is so much more convenient. Shanna and I have also given each other a "free day" each month. We each take a full day to stay home and watch the other's kid/s, so that we can have a day totally to ourselves. Without family in town to take on the babysitting, these are just some of the perks of having a stay-at-home friend who has children around the same age.

I'm sure a lot of moms already have this stuff figured out, and for me, it's definitely been a "learn as you go" kind of experience. I just started thinking about this this morning because we are supposed to be at our downtown moms playgroup right now, but Noah was in a really sour mood. I decided to put him down for a little nap, and I'm praying that he'll be feeling better when he wakes. Which actually is another tip I've learned...I have to be flexible! I joke with Matt that Noah is as moody as he is, so sometimes plans have to change; and I'm thankful to have friends who are understanding. It happens to them too!

HE AROSE!

One of my fondest memories of Easter is waking up and hearing my dad singing the old hymn, "up from the grave He arose; with a mighty triumph o'er his foes..." As Christians, Easter really is the crux of our faith. Without Christ's resurrection, we would be hopeless, and Matt and I want to teach this to Noah. He's a little young yet, but he did say "Jesus" today while watching the Easter Veggie Tales that his Nana got him! That was neat.

In addition to the founding truth that is Easter, we also want to have the commercialized fun with it. Egg hunts, bunnies, dressing up, baskets, dying eggs...etc. This year, as my previous blog explained, we egg hunted and saw the creepy bunny, but we also dressed up (Noah style that is...gray jeans and a cool button up top, courtesy of Nana) and opened Easter baskets.

We had a great, but busy weekend. Here's what it looked like:

Friday: Good Friday service with the Gourley's and Cornejo's; then dinner at Antoninio's with those lovelies.
Saturday: marathon across Tower Grove Park; Easter Egg Hunt; grill-out with Gourley's; Nana and Papa arrive; attend Easter (Saturday night) service; dinner at Favazza's with Nana and Papa; Nana, Noah and I walk home after dinner; prepare Noah's Easter basket; watch first episode of Mad Men; crash hard.
Sunday: open Easter baskets; Matt and I head to nursery duty while Nana and Papa stay home with Noah; eat big lunch in our backyard; eat cake; say goodbye to Nana and Papa; watch 2nd episode of Mad Men; friends, Jenn and Joe come over with their two girls; impromptu Easter Egg Hunt; leftovers; watch 3rd episode of Mad Men; crash hard again.

Noah, poorly, but hilariously dressed for a quick trip outside before church.

being coaxed inside by Nana, Papa and Daddy

Opening Grams and Pops Easter package full of lots of goodies!

Easter baskets for Noah!

Opening raisins from Nana and Papa's Easter basket on Easter morning!

My first attempt at Carrot Cake...not too shabby.

Matt chalking out Noah

Donley clan; Jenn with Olivia and Joe with Claire

Olivia in her Bumbo!

Jenn and Livvy!