Grams and Pops, Again!

Yep, we're back in Florida! I wanted to get in one more trip to Grams and Pops before we have to start paying for Noah's passage, so here we are! Grams found an awesome park for Noah that had a carousel.

 Pops bought Noah a Slip n' Slide, and he loves it!

Of course once he got to the bottom he just wanted to play in the water.

Today we went to the beach, and Pops made Noah a race car in the sand. The same kind he made for Ben and I when we were younger, and a little to our surprise, Noah played in it for a while.  We expected him to get some sand on his hands and be done, but he sat in the driver's seat ready to go. ( He doesn't like getting "yucky.")  He started out smiling, but saying "yucky, yucky, yucky..." So funny! But he really enjoyed playing in the car. Thanks Pops!

Girls' Weekend

The only sad thing about our girls' weekend in Chicago, is that it's over!  We had such a blast.  Chicago, good food, awesome shopping, tons of laughs and closer friendships...It was amazing!

We...

road-tripped with Erin and I at the wheel

talked about samurais and first kisses

ate at Portillo's

shopped at a powerless Ikea...it was hot and dark but we still managed to shop for 4 hours

grabbed a slice of Chicago style pizza at Gino's East

got a little taste of the Jersey Shore just down the road from our hotel

night shopped at Macy's and Urban Outfitters

had cocktails and dessert at Cheesecake Factory

learned that Lucy is hilarious

kept each other awake with snoring and a heartburn-inducing, unborn baby

shopped at Ikea...again, power was back on

shopped at Woodland Mall

learned that Catherine used to be good at hiring skanks and hoes 

ate at Rainforest Cafe

shopped at the Chicago Outlets

drove through an adorable little town...Plainfield (it was not plain)

ate delicious Mexican food at a cute little restaurant

got a first hand look at Sandra's Latina charm

laughed at our server who should have never been hired as such

returned back to st. louis at midnight

rearranged vehicles and all of our goods, and headed home

It was a really good weekend. I feel like I got much closer to these girls, and of course I stocked up on tons of fabric and various household goodies.

 

(My name scribbled on the wall at Gino's East.)

Our Week in Pictures...

Naked ice cream eating after a hard afternoon of swimming! Good times.

One morning I turned on PBS for Noah, and I went upstairs to get ready for the day. When I came down to check on him, this is what I found. As cute as it was, I think this pretty much defines the reason the TV should be limited!

Reese and Noah having PB&J at a Downtown Mom's get-together.

Niko and Noah becoming good buddies.

This morning Noah started doing this.  I don't know who taught it to him, but it sure as heck wasn't me!

He was pretty happy with himself.

Today

This morning, I was still dazed from my 11pm dosage of Nyquil, so Noah snuggled with me while I napped. He watched Super Why.

Today, Noah and I danced to John Mayer. He laughed.

Today, I was a horse and Noah was a rider.  He got bucked off many times. The horse had to retire.

Today, Noah and I got "stuck" under his living room chair.

Noah has recently started saying, "what happened to __________?" For instance, he'll throw his truck down, and say, "what happened to truck?"  I will reply, "well, you threw your truck on the floor, that's what happened to it."  The examples could go on... cup, cars, books, anything...

Today, Noah all of a sudden decided that he loves his stuffed puppy, Cordy Roy.  When I went in his room after his nap today, he had thrown him out of the crib and was saying, "doggie, doggie." I realized he was talking about Cordy, so I handed it to him, and he held on to Cordy for the next hour or so.  Matt said he was asking about Cordy this morning too.  He's been sleeping with Cordy for over a year now. It's bizarre, but for some reason, I really like him having that connection. May be it makes him seem like a baby to me again. I don't know. It's cute though.

I was talking to Janet today about how frustrating it is to take Noah somewhere that is solely for his enjoyment, and then for him to be whiney and grumpy.  Today we went to the fountains at Tower Grove, and he got really whiney because he wanted to go play on the playground instead of the fountains.  I took him to the playground for a bit, and then took him back to the water and he threw a little fit.  I was not in the mood to deal with that kind of behavior today, so we packed up and headed out. 


(FYI:  I'm trying to write down more of our every day happenings, even when I don't have new pictures to post.)

"It's Cute"

A couple of days ago, Noah walked into our closet, held out the arm of one of my blazers, and said, "it's cute."  

I laughed really hard, and then thought that perhaps it's time I scale back the trips to Baby Gap.

I Want to Remember...

that Noah...

• kisses us goodnight through the stairway spindles.
• stands up in his crib and yells, "mommy, daddy or bi-per (diaper)!" each morning.
• asks, "what's that" about everything, multiple times.
• counts, but he'll start somewhere between four and ten.
• yells out, "daddy!" when Matt comes down the stairs each morning.
• crawls on top of us, bounces up and down, and says, "horse."
• loves playing with his trucks, wagon, big car, and lightening mcqueen car.
• also likes to "hammer" things (things like walls, floors, cabinets, and toys) with the hammer pops made him.
• absolutely refuses to say "please." 
• just started saying "popcal" (popsicle)
• says, "outside boys" when he wants to go outside (pops unknowingly taught him this).
• still cuddles on my shoulder at night before I put him in his crib.
• kisses the phone when saying goodbye to any of his grandparents.
• says, "tweet tweet" whenever he sees a bird.
• learned how to jump on Sesame Street and now he likes to jump down the stairs.  With each step he says, "jump!"
• has started to recognize that babies are "sad" when they cry. 
• says, "I'm okay" after he has fallen down...even when he really isn't okay.
• says, "ready home" when we're out and he thinks it's time to leave.
• says, "Reese, Aidan" when we get to a destination.
• loves water, buttons, veggie tales, and trucks.

(This picture was taken while he was experiencing his first watermelon of the season.  He loved it and asks for it everyday! Like mother like son!)

The Sandidge's Came!

Sarah and Jay came to visit us last week for three full days before continuing their trek to Ohio.  We haven't spent that amount of time under one roof since they lived with us (several years ago when they were in transition back to Springfield from Nashville). We  had such a lovely time togther.  It made me homesick for my friend.  Whenever we get to spend any amount of time together we always grieve about the distance between us.  We dreamed a little about what it would be like to live in a compound-like situation.  Everyone helping with everyone else's children, sharing the cooking, the chores, the farm responsibilities (because of course we would have chickens and a cow)...  

Well, back to reality.  If I can't live in the same city as my bff (or on a compound), at least we can have visits. Sarah, Jay and Matt had to work during the week, so one of the days, I took Lula and Noah to lunch and Walmart with Shanna, Aidan and Reese.  I loved it! And I think Lu had a good time. At lunch, Aidan asked Lula, "where's your mom?" "where's your dad?"  He was talking to her and offering her his crackers, just like she was another one of his friends. That  kid cracks me up! Lula was happy to take his crackers.  Later, I had a little moment of "how am I going to get two kids into Walmart when there's only one seat in the cart" panic. I quickly remembered that I had the Bjorn in the trunk, so I put Lu in that and Noah in the cart.  They played happily together as I shopped, and I thought to myself, "I can totally do this!" 

During their visit we also, took walks, had a picnic in the park for Will Malone's birthday, played in the Tower Grove fountain, visited the Cupcakery, went shopping, and watched a few movies (It's Complicated, An Education, and about 5 minutes of 2012...don't waste your money on that one).

 

 

 

Lula and Noah bonded, as is obvious in these last photos.  They were giving each other goodbye kisses. So cute!