Walking with Daddy

Every Monday night while I'm at dance class, Matt takes Noah for a walk to Gelato Di Riso. To get there, they have to walk past our local donut shop, and Matt snapped this picture this week.  Noah is in his favorite car, with his new favorite hat (from his cousins), walking to eat one of his favorite foods...ice cream!

Rooftop Party

Last Monday night, we spent the evening in our old hood, downtown. Oana's son, Mateo was having his 5th birthday party. It was such a wonderful evening...the temperature was so pleasant, the sky was clear, and the view was incredible from the top of their building. The kids had a great time playing together too. One of Noah's favorite parts was riding a little bike down the deck ramps. At one point I told him to "make it happen," and so every time after that, he would get to the top of the ramp, and before taking off he would call out, "make it happen!" He must have gone down that ramp a dozen times! I think it was fun for Matt to see Noah playing with his downtown friends too. It's kind of interesting to watch him develop into this little social bug. I'm getting closer to the ladies in my downtown mom's group, and I'm really enjoying those friendships. 

This party was another great get together, and the bonus was that our hubbies got to meet!

(if anyone has the picture of all of us together, please send me a copy. i only got one picture, and it didn't turn out.)

Looking Out the Window

Look at these two cutie pies! I don't know what was out there, but something sure had their attention. Sandra and I thought they looked adorable standing there together, so we whipped out our cameras! This was a sweet moment up until they began hiding in the curtains, and then bending the curtain rod! It literally bent in half after Noah fell down while holding tightly to one of the panels. We were letting them do it, so I couldn't exactly get upset!  A few dollars later, we have a new curtain rod, and Noah is not allowed to play with the curtains anymore.  Sorry buddy! Good time while it lasted.

All Aboard!

Last Sunday, we took Noah to ride a mini steam engine train in Eureka. We had a great family day together. Noah just stared at the trains and the conductors...it seemed like it took him a while to get out of being in awe! Finally he loosened up a bit, and he would say things like, "all aboard" and "choo choo." And after we had a little break in the train ride, he said, "come on everybody" (wanting everyone to get back on the train). He also really liked going over a bridge. By the end of the ride, he was ready to go home, and he started asking for the Jeep! Such a mess.

buying the train tickets

noah was so intrigued by the real steam engine

walking on the train tracks during the ride "intermission"

10 things i'm loving

i love
...that noah asks for a kiss when he's hurt.
...that he pretends the pillows on our bed are his "car," specifically with two doors (two side pillows).
...that noah and daddy run (with way too much energy for me) down the stairs in the morning.
...that noah remembers his grandparents. (grams and pops = ocean and the water slide, nana and papa = golf cart and boat.)
...that he knows the biblical characters on the front of his children's bible.
...that he can ask for specific books by name
...that he is finally saying please and thank you.
...that noah still says "happy baaarthday tyler" even though that was almost two months ago.
...that noah asks me to sing before putting him in bed.
...that he is starting to drink from a normal cup vs. the sippy (without mega spillage).

Don't Let Me Go

This morning, as happens many Friday mornings, Noah did not want Matt to go to work. He didn't scream and cry, he simple hung on. He laid his little head on his daddy's shoulder, wrapped his arms around daddy's neck, and wouldn't let him go. Of course this broke both of our hearts, and Matt laid down on the couch with him for a bit. We were finally able to distract him with "Super Why," so that Matt could get out of here before lunch. So sad, but so sweet. I love that Noah loves Matt so much.

Peach Pickin'

PEACHES!!!

"Nummy" peaches...Noah couldn't wait! He ate a total of three peaches today.  (Tomorrow's diapers should be awesome.) We had a really fun day, but oh my goodness, it was one of the hottest days of the year. Mid-peach picking, I was sweating so much that my make-up was running in my eyes. And I'm not a huge sweater! Noah was also melting...his hair was wet, and he had little beads running down his forehead. He didn't seem to mind at all though. He just wanted to eat peaches and "dribe" the tractors.

Friend Jenn from our Downtown Mom's Group let me know about this Peach Picking Day, and then some girls from Mom Junket came too.  We had a really good day gathering peaches, riding on the trailer, riding in the wagon, having lunch together and then a little custard to top it off.  I think we were all exhausted, and ready to go home by the end of the day, but it was a really good time.

Summertime Fun

Last Month:

We hung out with our friends from our Downtown Mom's Group. Everyone came over for play time and lunch at our house.

We also met the Downtown Moms at a local theater to watch a free movie, Ice Age. About halfway through, Noah decided he was more interested in climbing the stairs and messing with the lights on the wall than watching the movie!

This summer, Noah's been helping me in the kitchen. Here, he's helping me cut up some watermelon.

In this next shot, he decided that cutting the watermelon was an unnecessary step. He found a more direct method.

We took Noah to a new park a couple of weeks ago, and we didn't realize there was a fountain. If you would have seen Noah's excitement when he saw it, you wouldn't have been able to tell him no either! So even though I didn't have a change of clothes or even a towel, I let him go for it. After all, we were only a couple of minutes from home! He had a blast, and he rode home naked!

Just a cute shot of Noah and Parker the weekend of July 17th in front of Brian and Janet's house.

(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.

Dog Sledding

This is exactly what it look likes! 

Every Monday night, while I'm taking my amazing cardio hip hop class, Matt takes Noah on a "car" ride. (This ride usually involves a stop at the local gelato cafe.) Last night, Matt decided to try dog sledding city style. You can tell that they've got a little speed going by the look of Noah's hair flying in the wind.  I'm just glad Noah didn't end up with any road rash. Geez! Matt's usually the 'safe' one between the two of us, so I was quite surprised that he initiated this craziness.  Kind of funny though!

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!