Stark Christmas 2010

What a cheeser! 

We celebrated Christmas with the Stark side this year a week before Christmas weekend. We spent our time together at the lake with Uncle Brian, Aunt J, Parker and Tyler, and of course Nana and Papa. We enjoyed our traditional Prime Rib dinner together and then woke up the next morning to open gifts. And gifts there were! Tons of them! These three boys (well, us adults too) are a little spoiled!

I didn't know what these were until Deb told me the boys wanted them. Oh the things I still have to learn!

Noah was much more excited about this train set than his face shows here!

All the boys wanted to play with Tyler's new truck...some mediation was required!

Aunt Ev does not approve!!!

Firetruck!

And the airplane from Papa that got immediate play time. Papa always picks out great gifts!

Parker and his bug glasses!

Enough with the gifts, let's go outside! Actually, I think we were getting ready to go to the outlet malls (the trip where I secretly bought the "Big Brother" shirt for Noah), but we let the boys play a little outside first. It was a really nice day.

I just think he looks so cute in these pictures!

...hmmmm, how much trouble will we get in if we go into the woods?

We had a great weekend with the Stark family. And although spending time with loved ones is the objective and the most important aspect of holidays together, I can't NOT mention that this was the year of the Cuisinart Food Processor, purchased by my MIL for me for a crazy, amazingly good price! Thank you Deb...I love it! We also appreciate all the work that goes into to having all of us down at the lake. 

So after the Christmas celebration, but before heading back to St. Louis, we stopped by Uncle Brian's fire station.

Noah is in his own little personal heaven.

He even got to try on a real fireman's hat. It was a little heavy!

This boy loves his Uncle Brian!

Brian made Matt try on all his gear to get a feel for it.

This is about the time when Matt realized he is quite comfortable behind a desk.

Noah: "Can I drive again?"

Uncle Brian: "Anything for you buddy."

And how about some Oreos to top off the experience? Guess where Noah wants to go every time we go to Springfield now? I wonder why! Time of his life. Thanks Uncle Brian!

Aarrrrgg Matey!

Another catch up...

We spent Halloween 2010 in Springfield with Brian and Janet and the boys. Noah was a pirate, Parker was Peter Pan, and Tyler was Captain Hook. We spent the evening at Boulevard doing Trunk or Treat. It took a little bit for Noah and Tyler to get into it, but once they figured out that candy was being handed out freely, they got their little acts together! And all three of the boys ended up with tons of candy! It was our first year having to deal with the candy issue. We of course let him have some, we "shared" some, and some of it got thrown out! After trunk or treating we went inside the church where there were games and bouncy houses set up. The boys had a blast. On one of the bouncy things, there was a steep incline, and Noah couldn't quite manage it himself. His cousins were there to rescue him though. They pushed and pulled until he made it to the top, and then they slid down together. Such teamwork and so cute! On our way out, they wanted to play on the playground, so we let them a bit. There were some costumes that Noah thought were scary, so he started calling it "the scary playground!" He's so sensitive sometimes and such a little monster at others. Keeps me guessing I suppose!

Brian and Janet's October Visit

I am going to start trying to catch up on blogging! I've been dreadfully awful about it for the past few months, and feel like I haven't written down things and now will never remember them! Awful! Here's a post I started, but never finished...  Of course I don't remember the tiny details that make memories, so the pictures will have to tell the story.
Brian and Janet and the boys came up to visit us in October. It was the first time they'd seen our new house. It was SO nice to have an actual room for them! The boys are playing so well together now, and I expect that to just continue to escalate as they all grow older. Parker is such a caretaker, and Tyler is the wild man setting the standard of danger! Noah loves his cousins so much...he talks of them constantly and has a blast when he's with them.

A Weekend with Friends, Part 1

Friday night we caught up with the Gourley's and Rappaports. Now that Shanna is a working woman again, we only have the weekends to hang out. It's great for her, but sad for me (and Jenn)! We had a kid friendly dinner at Fuddruckers and then spent a little time at the Magic House. Fuddrucker's has a game room that we let the kids play around in before dinner. This is one of the only times you will see a gun in my son's hand (that is until I'm completely overrun by Matt, Steve, Brian and Janet)! Cute picture though, right?

 The Magic House had a "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" themed display. Noah enjoyed driving the Smart Car and the Recycler Truck. Really, because they had steering wheels, certainly not because they were environmentally friendly!

Mmmmm...apples!

Next, we worked on composting.

Then he used the compost to fertilize the garden!

He worked on recycling experiments.

 I love this little cutie!

Next, we hit up the Legislative and Judicial Branches, along with President Obama's office. All the boys were anxious to speak into the microphone in the courtroom, and as cute as Noah was, Aidan won the entertainer award by boldly singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game!" He's such a ham! Abe, Jude and Jenn can be seen behind Aidan as he makes his presence known!

Saturday morning, we bundled up and took a walk to the park. We walked around the Farmer's Market, let Noah play on the playground, and then we attempted to join the Malones in a little soccer practice. Noah, however, was more interested in picking up the soccer ball with his hands, and then losing his mind when he got knocked down. We didn't force it.  Matt ended up just letting him roam the grounds, which made our little wanderer extremely happy! We ran into several friends in the park too. I love living in a place where we run into people we know. St. Louis continues to feel more and more like home. I'm really digging that feeling!

Tomorrow, Pumpkin Patch!

(another) Weekend Away

One of the reasons I haven't posted any new pictures recently is because my camera is full, and I haven't put the pictures and videos on my computer to free up space. I'm not sure why this is hard for me to make happen, but it just is.  Anyway, I figure I need to update, even without the photos, so that's what I'm doing!

We headed down to Nana and Papa's again this weekend. We visit a little more in the summer because Matt loves to ski and now Noah loves going out on the boat and swimming too. He especially loves driving the golf cart that takes us down to the lake, and he asked to do it at least every 10 minutes the entire time we were there! And of course Nana and Papa took him on many rides. He jumped off of the boat many times while we were on the lake too. Each time he had a huge smile on his face. He seems to be getting more and more comfortable with the life jacket on in the water. It can be cumbersome, but the more we do it, the more he learns to maneuver around in it better.  He's kicking his legs pretty consistently now too.

This weekend, he ate "pocals" on the kitchen floor with Nana and had blueberry pancakes BOTH mornings we were there. He also likes watching "George" at their house. This morning, he said one of the longest sentences I think he's ever said..."want to go down the stairs and watch George." He put all of that together pretty clearly...I thought it was great.  I also let him have chocolate milk for the first time. There was just a touch of chocolate syrup in the milk, but I didn't call it chocolate milk, instead I just said it was a treat.  He took a few sips, realized that it was some form of chocolate, and then decided he was finished.

He has started saying "I don't want it" when he's finished with something, or when he just doesn't want something. It comes out real snotty sounding though, so I'm trying to teach him "No thank you." On Saturday, Nana bought him some new clothes from Baby Gap, so I was thrilled about that! She also got him this super cute little backpack, to which he responded "I don't want it." Rrrrrrrr...I do not like it a bit when he has that attitude.  And, I'm a little at a loss as to how to respond to him when he talks that way. He's using his words, he's expressing what he's feeling; it's just rude. (I'm open to suggestions!)

Saturday night, Steve and Deb watched Noah for us so that we could have a date night. We were supposed to have a double date with Brian and Janet, but Tyler came down with a high fever, so they needed to stay home with him. After stopping at a couple antique shops, Matt and I still went to dinner, and then we went over to Jay and Sarah's to see their new old house. It's great...lots of projects to be done, but it's a really special house, with lots character, and I'm glad we got to check it out.

Sunday morning, we left the lake and headed to Brian and Janet's to say hello before coming back to the Lou.  The boys got to play for a little while, Matt and Brian caught up, and Janet showed me what she's been doing for home school.  Next stop was Harter House to stash up on some meat, and then we headed home. We got home, I made a quick dessert, and then we went to the Steele's for dinner. A dinner that took about a month to plan! We had a really nice time with them and the Malones:  we ate a delicious lasagna, Noah took one significant spill off of the couch, the kids flew about 30 feet in the air on their monster swing, Joel made us these amazing Brazillian cocktails, we indulged in some chocolate dessert, and then the kids started breaking down because it was bedtime. This crazy weekend is not over, because while I'm staying up writing this blog, Matt is already in bed because he's leaving at 4am to go to a conference in KC.!

One busy busy weekend, but it was fun. We are always thankful for our family and friends.

The Fourth

What a fantastic weekend! Started with a full day of Tyler-esque celebration...he turned three! We met at the park in the morning for the kids' party, and then we had a family party that evening at Brian and Janet's house. The boys had fun eating, playing and opening gifts together.

I feel like 40 years from now, I'll take a picture just like this, and it won't look that different. 

Noah loved so many of Parker and Tyler's toys.

Parker and Noah chilling together watching Veggie Tales.  Parker is an amazing big cousin. He's so sweet and nurturing with Noah. Such a good kid.

Noah and Tyler are playing the piano together. Tyler was singing "Jesus Loves Me."  Noah thinks Tyler is hilarious and wants to do all the things he does.  The two of them seem like they have similar personalities.  Risk-taking, strong willed, hilarious little boys! They're going to be so much trouble when they're teens. I just can't think about that yet.

Aunt J thinks Noah has musician potential. She said that most little kids just bang on the piano, but Noah was hitting keys individually.  That made me excited! I want him to love music, and so far it seems like he's on that path.  Aunt J was teaching Noah "Jesus Loves Me" on the piano.

On Sunday, the Fourth, we spent the morning in church and the afternoon on the lake. Noah loves to "drive boat," which he talks about ALL the time! That and "drive cart," (driving the golf cart).  He jumped off of the swim deck into the lake with little reservation, and then fell asleep on the way back to the dock. He had a blast! That is one lucky kid to have one set of grandparents who live on the lake and the other set who live at the beach.

A little Allstate boat insurance PR!

This is Noah's face of exuberance! It could be confused with a face of extreme unhappiness, but I assure you, he is having the time of his life!

Falling asleep with Nana.

We had taken a break from the water to let Noah rest and to make dinner, and then we headed back down to the lake to see the fireworks from the boat. Since I've know Matt, whenever we are in close proximity to his family on the Fourth, we go out on the boat to see the fireworks. We are surrounded by thousands of other boats, whose lights shine like little stars across the water. The twenty minute firework show goes off literally right over our heads, and once it's over all the boats share a celebratory honking of the horns! It's such a wonderful way to spend the night. Sadly, Noah fell asleep 5 seconds before the first firework went off. He was worn out from the day. I tried to wake him up, but he wasn't having it, and he slept on Nana for the rest of the evening.

Before falling asleep though, he enjoyed the boat ride out to the show.

The next day, Brian, Janet and the boys joined us at the lake. We swam, boated, and skied.  It was quite the exciting day, because Parker and Tyler skied with Brian for the first time, Janet got up on skies for the first time, and Noah jumped off the dock for the first time (which is a 2-3 foot jump) into the water (with either Matt or I waiting for him of course)! We were so proud of his progress! He can blow bubbles and kick his legs. Hopefully he'll be swimming by next summer. And, it was really fun to watch our nephews brave up to the idea of skiing, because since before we had Noah, we've talked about teaching him early, and seeing Parker and Tyler do it made me anxious for watching my own little guy out on the water!  Anyway, I don't have any pictures of this fun day because my camera was full. Such a bummer.  

Great weekend!