TeamE

Pool Fun!!

2011-05-29T15:48:00.002-07:00

A little pool fun with some of their best buddies, Charlotte and Gabriel.

Gramps' Birthday Celebration!!

2011-05-22T17:29:00.003-07:00

It's bittersweet to come back after a LONG hiatus of not posting when I see this is where I left off. We celebrated Gramps' last birthday at our house with a big homemade cupcake and ice cream. It was a great time for everyone especially because instead of Gramps being more of an observer like he had over the last few months, he was eager to share memories of his family growing up and other stories from his life. We all sat and listened and asked questions which perked him up and really made him feel special. The best part is that we thought fast and video taped a large portion of it. It was only three weeks later that Gramps went to Heaven. We are all so happy that we could spend that special day together with him.

Disneyland (yes, again!)

2011-05-16T20:19:00.004-07:00

Isn't this supposed to be the happiest place on earth? Or is that only Disney World?

This picture of Noah reminds me of the Tide commercial (or some random brand) with the little boy that never takes off his beanie and the mom has to wash it while he's sleeping. This is really Nate's hat but since Noah didn't have one I had to pack another of Nate's for him to use.

Finally, nice weather!

Noah and I are waiting in line for the Gadget Go-Coaster.

And here we are in the first car coming down the hill!

Waiting in line for Nemo's Submarine ride.

Nate in the submarine.

Jay on the rockets with both boys!

Noah's finally tall enough for Autopia. He loved giving Jay whiplash!

Nate sampled a lemon from our water during lunch.

Last night on our way out of the park. They wanted to sit together rather than in their own seats.

Noah read the map and reflected on our trip as we left the park on our last night.

Californ-I-A

2011-05-15T21:40:00.005-07:00

We drove all the way to California just to go to this really great park. No, just kidding. We forgot to take pictures the majority of our trip but we managed to take some pics at the park.

And boy, are they cute!

Our friends, Jesse and Theresa are the real reason we played at the park. They are our friends who just moved from NY to CA so we had to make sure to hang out with them while we were over there.

Happy Mother's Day!!

2011-05-08T19:00:00.002-07:00

My other rug rat wouldn't stop for a picture.

Nate's Walking

2011-05-08T11:56:00.002-07:00

I know I mentioned that Nate has been taking a few steps but now he is walking! Here are some pics...
And back to Daddy

New Movie

2011-04-27T19:24:00.001-07:00

FINALLY!! We have meant to change the video out forever, but it's never made it to the top of the priority list - until now. Nate loves the play set as much as Noah now and bravely slides down face-first. Check it out!

Egg Drop

2011-04-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

This year, our church didn't have their usual egg scramble. I know I've told a bunch of you about the "egg drop", but I think this picture helps paint the picture a little better. (Sorry I didn't have my camera switched to night-mode.)
This yellow egg (balloon) was filled with candy. They dropped it from the scissor lift and it popped so the kids could fill their baskets. It was a really cute idea!

Gerber Baby

2011-04-16T12:06:00.001-07:00

My Little Gerber Baby

Happy 1st Birthday Nafey!!!

2011-04-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday to my beautiful baby boy!

Ignore the chocolate chip pancakes (those ones are for me!). Nate loves roasted banana pancakes so that's what the birthday boy got for his birthday breakfast.

After celebrating Nate's 1st birthday with our family, we enjoyed yummy cake. The store gave Nate a little one of his own.

Noah decided to feed Nate a few bites. He was making airplane noises and everything.

After every bite, Nate would shiver because he's never had sugary stuff like this (except in the cupcake at his b-day party). We have it on video - it's so cute!

Luckily, between the two boys, they didn't care to eat much of the cake. Here is the end result...

Is he the cutest, or what?!

Praying

2011-04-07T07:27:00.003-07:00

My little love folding his hands while we pray. Now if he could just close his eyes and stop squealing we'd be getting somewhere...

Nate's First Steps

2011-04-03T17:20:00.002-07:00

Nate has finally taken his first steps. We've been waiting and waiting for him to take the plunge. He's held on tightly to the tip of our pinky finger for weeks, or actually a couple months now gracefully kneeling to the ground as soon as we slither our finger from his grip. He doesn't have the confidence or desire to walk but we tricked him this time. I don't know how we did it, but I let go, he took three steps and then he realized that he no longer had my hand. He looked up at me and then reached for security at floor level. He hasn't really trusted me since. Anyway, I know this isn't a picture of him walking. Like I said, after he took his steps, he wouldn't do it again - at least for the camera so I thought I'd at least document this day with a picture from the day and place it occurred - the play area at Chandler Fashion Center.

Birthday Fun

2011-04-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

This time it was not our birthday celebration. Charlotte's birthday is the day after Noah's (let me add that Charlotte's brother was born the same day as Nate - yes, same year. no, not planned). She had her party at the Bounce Jungle and boy, did the kids have fun!

2011-04-02T03:43:00.002-07:00

Nate loves the fridge! As soon as we open the refrigerator, he makes a mad dash to get up on the step and peek inside. He just likes to look around and tell us what he sees. It is so adorable and I feel terrible pulling him away when it's time to close the door!

2011-03-26T13:49:00.002-07:00

We had so much fun celebrating Nate's 1st birthday as well as Noah's 3rd!! Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate and to all who were with us in spirit!

I'm 3!

2011-03-24T07:31:00.000-07:00

Today is my baby's 3rd birthday! Grammy went all out with the decorations. She's been asking Noah for months if he wants a Buzz birthday or Thomas birthday and he goes back and forth. He decided on a Thomas birthday for his actual party so she surprised him with a Toy Story-themed birthday breakfast. He was set up with everything from plates, cups, and napkins to balloons and candles. We plopped his Buzz candle on his roasted banana pancake and the rest is history.

We also took him to his 3 year checkup. Grammy was able to join us which was a special treat. Dr. Nason gave us an A+ and off we went.

Stats:
29.4lbs - 25.61%tile
36 1/2" - 27.65%tile

Nate woke up early from his nap and played with Grammy.

To finish off the night, we went to Peter Piper Pizza. A million tokens later, Noah, Grammy, and Grandpa played every game, climbed every jungle gym, touched and pushed every button, rode every ride and threw every ball. Noah definitely left his mark! Too much fun to take pictures - sorry!

Sandbox Fun

2011-03-22T07:29:00.001-07:00

Grammy and Grandpa just arrived for the birthday festivities. First stop was the sandbox.

Birthday Fun

2011-02-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

Gabe and Ari celebrated their 4th birthday Toy Story - style with "Bullseye" and all!!

Birthday Cards

2011-02-15T13:40:00.001-07:00

Noah and Nate's birthday cards for their Daddy this year.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T09:27:00.005-07:00

Our two little Valentines...

While Nate napped, Noah decorated cupcakes.

Just Daddy & Me

2011-02-13T15:48:00.003-07:00

Jay took Nate out on the playset for a little one-on-one (a rarity when Noah's around - luckily he was still napping!).

Valentine Fun!

2011-02-12T19:16:00.002-07:00

This evening, Clint and Brandi had us over for dinner and to decorate cupcakes, cookies, and brownies for Valentine's Day. We had a blast!

Birthday Fun

2011-02-12T13:02:00.001-07:00

This morning, we celebrated Brody's 6th birthday. What a gorgeous day it was!!Noah all up in Brody's cupcake business.
Nate enjoying the decor!

Noah

2011-02-08T16:56:00.002-07:00

Noah loves helping me while I'm on the computer but it always takes SO much longer than I would prefer. I almost signed him up for a computer class through the city of Chandler but then came across a few preschool and kindergarten computer game/courses at Costco. He absolutely loves them and I no longer have to hover over him while he clicks away.

What!?

2011-02-06T07:48:00.002-07:00

I could not stop laughing and refused to take this Cheerio off Nate's face. He was completely oblivious as he wandered around the family room this morning.

ICE!!!

2011-02-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

When we were walking into Pei Wei for dinner, we spotted our first frozen fountain since we moved to Arizona. Jay thought it was picture-worthy!

Lunchtime!

2011-02-04T12:26:00.003-07:00

A few shots of my babes during lunch.

Birthday fun

2011-01-21T19:42:00.004-07:00

Tonight we celebrated Nana's birthday at their clubhouse. We indulged in overflowing bowls of ice cream sundaes and listened to their neighbors sing the night away during karaoke.

Uncle John and Noah played table shuffleboard. Noah was really good!! We are always amazed at how quickly he picks up things. A lot of things just click for him - he "gets" stuff right away and masters different games unusually fast. For example, he received a US puzzle for Christmas and had no interest in it until just recently. Now he dumps it out and puts it all back together by himself in less than ten minutes - with no help. He can name a large handful of states but now I'm going off on a tangent about his steel trap memory so I'll end with a very Happy Birthday to Nana! We love you!

Noah

2011-01-21T16:57:00.002-07:00

The scooter is officially an outdoor toy. Noah's been zooming around our halls for the last year but decided to make the transition to the great outdoors when he noticed all the older kids on their Razors.

Since we've had amazing weather for the last few weeks, Mimi and Popi gave Noah an early birthday present. Needless to say, he loves it! Anything that can be used outside, is a winner in his book.

Being Boys

2011-01-16T15:22:00.003-07:00

Noah loves his "monster truck" as he likes to call it. He likes taking "Nafey" (his lovey nickname for Nate) for rides around the neighborhood. And Nafey loves passengering! So it works out well!

9 Months

2011-01-13T12:34:00.004-07:00

Nate is 9 months today. I feel terrible that I don't do nearly as many updates as I used to but it's for very good reason. We had a church service awhile ago that talked about "going on the ride but missing the adventure" and that's sometimes what I think happens when I'm too busy clicking away rather than being apart of the fun and making memories with my family. Anyway, I apologize but I will give you a quick little update on his progress.
Weight: 17.56lbs - 8.62%tile
Length: 28" - 42.37%tile
Head: 17.4" - 26.17%tile
His pediatrician was really happy to see that he moved from the 5th to the 8th percentile for weight. Sometimes I think percentiles are a bunch of bologna but I won't get into that right now. His eczema has been doing so much better than it once was. I always wonder if the sun block we put on him at 3 months triggered this because his first episode sprung up after our weekend at the Az Grand water park. It's not always recommended to put sun block on an infant that young, but being that we were outside all weekend, we didn't want him to get burned... So we made the choice and are possibly suffering the consequences. I guess we'll see once we apply it again when we start swimming in a few months. On another note, Nate's tear duct still hasn't opened. Statistics show that 90% of these cases resolve on their own by nine months. His hasn't so there is now a 5%-10% chance that it will open by twelve months. Otherwise, he will have the procedure performed. *Prayers are welcome and encouraged* Nate has also been crawling like crazy. He loves to roam from room to room following Noah all over the house. He's been pulling himself up and rarely likes to be seated. He is also cruising a bit but prefers to hold on to mine and Jay's fingers rather than furniture.
Nate still has six teeth and is loving using them to eat everything we'll allow him.
Nate has also just begun saying "dada". Those two syllables are music to Jay's ears. He also says "ya ya" and couple other sweet sounds that are hard to put into letters/words. I love hearing the sweet sound of his voice and am eager to have him share more. Nate is also waving all the time. Once he discovered he could do this, he didn't stop. He sits in his high chair waving at all of us throughout meal time.
We have really been enjoying our sleep again for the last two months. Nate goes to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 and sleeps through the night till 7:00am. It is wonderful to sleep again without interruption!

Song

2011-01-12T21:05:00.002-07:00

For anyone who may be wondering why this song is on my play list, I'll tell you. Jay was humming some song a couple weeks ago. He's like "They play this song on the radio all the time. It reminds me of you." I had no idea what song he was talking about because my radio has been taken over by Thomas the Train and a random Christmas cd that Noah can't let go of. Anyway, I'm like, "Sing it! I want to know what about it makes you think of me..." He proceeds to sing it and I haven't the faintest what he's talking about. I make it a point to turn on the radio the next day on my way to the grocery store. What do you know? It's playing on the radio. I listened to the words and almost cried. So, I smother my husband with hugs and kisses. THEN, I log onto the blog and ta-da... he put the song on here as a reminder. Sweet, huh?

Santa and His Reindeer

2010-12-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Noah left some cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph.
He was astonished to see that they had been eaten when he checked the plate in the morning.

Dentist

2010-12-23T11:00:00.002-07:00

Noah had a great dentist appointment this morning. When we walked in, Santa was waiting for us. How fun!!

He had his x-rays taken and checked out the sucker straw.

It was a little bright for him so they let him borrow some sunglasses.

I am so proud of Noah! He followed directions and was such a big boy!

Family Bike Ride

2010-12-19T15:02:00.004-07:00

It was so gorgeous this afternoon! We took a bike ride around the neighborhood and checked out all the Christmas displays. This was Nate's first bike ride and LOVED it!

Santa

2010-12-18T17:31:00.001-07:00

We decided not to stay in the 3 hour line and wait for Santa. So we checked out the activities at Bass Pro Shops instead.

Noah thought the kayaks were rockets and insisted that he fly it. He also had to jump in and out of every row boat available.

Noah raced the cars around the tracks with the other kids while Nate watched.

A picture by the fireplace and Noah ramming monster trucks with other kids.
We were in the parking lot heading out to our car when we spotted The Taylor Fam. We told them there was a long line so we didn't get a pic with Santa. They were like, "Well lucky for you we got our pass earlier today and get to go straight to the front of the line. Join us!" Yay! So after all that, we were able to get a picture with Santa. Both Noah and Nate were great!

Noah thrilled with his candy cane and Nate's first meeting with Santa. But best of all.............

As we were loading into the car, another Santa (out of uniform) approached Noah and started talking to him. Such a sweet guy. Noah refers to him as the "real santa". Why? I don't know.

Noah's Preschool

2010-12-17T09:10:00.005-07:00

Noah has been asking to go to preschool for almost a year. When Nate was born I was tempted to put him in for a couple mornings a week, but after talking to my neighbor, I decided against it. She helped me realize that time flies and these years that he will be at home with me will be gone before long. Anyway, he's been so eager so I decided to sign him up for some mommy/kid classes through the city. They're not really anything like preschool but they do the trick. I'm just interested in him having the opportunity to follow directions from a teacher, cooperate with other kids, have time for just the two of us (my mom stays with Nate), and just have fun with other kids. He has this opportunity at church every week. In fact, he calls it church-preschool. It seems he really craves this type of structured classroom environment.
We've been taking a class called Toddler Time. They do obstacle courses, pretend they're trains/birds and fly around the gym, story time, dance to music, and use the parachute. That's always a hit! His teacher's name is Miss Kathi. He refers to her as Aunt Kathy. I'm always like can't you tell the difference? It's super funny though because she's always like "huh?" when he calls her that and I have to remind her that he has an Aunt Kathy.
Anyway, we also built a gingerbread house during a different class. He loved applying EVERY piece of candy that was offered to him.
Here are a few pics from the gingerbread class:

Teacher reading Gingerbread Baby before starting the house decorating project. In the middle of her reading, he started crying and ran to me. He didn't have an explanation of why except that he just wanted me to hold him. :(
All better as the decorating began...
Noah and his friend, Charlotte.
Next month, we start an art class called Messy Hands. Pictures to come!

Christmas Treats

2010-12-14T14:01:00.002-07:00

I wish I had taken pictures before they were all wrapped up, but I made some yummy caramel apples for all of Jay's employees and our neighbors. They were all dipped in caramel, then some were drizzled with white and milk chocolate, some rolled in coconut, and others rolled in mini marshmallows then drizzled with chocolate. They were delightful if I do say so myself!

Happy Birthday Jenna!!

2010-12-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Jenna's birthday tonight with ice cream cake and gingerbread (graham cracker) house building.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA!!

Party

2010-12-11T11:09:00.002-07:00

We had a great time at Garrett's b-day party this morning!!

Birthday Fun!

2010-12-09T21:09:00.002-07:00

Tonight, we celebrated Kristen's birthday - the last year of her 20's. We had so much fun at dinner with all of our friends. Happy 29th Birthday Buddy!

2010-12-04T18:46:00.002-07:00

Nate's joining in on the fun at the play area in the mall (well, sort of). I forgot to post that he scooches himself around via army crawling or doing "the worm". I haven't been able to take pictures yet because every time he does it, I just want to watch. But I will post some soon enough!

Meanwhile, Noah still thinks he owns the place and only allows certain kids aboard the bus/slide (requirements: must be boy, must be his age or preferably older). Trust me, I'm not proud of this. All we have to do is call his name. Then the troll moves away from the stairs and lets all the kids up.

Nate

2010-11-27T13:31:00.002-07:00

My baby

Making Pies

2010-11-25T10:51:00.004-07:00

We are usually in charge of the pies around the holidays. This year, Noah was eager to help!!

2010-11-13T18:47:00.002-07:00

Even though Noah and Nate have a Power Wheel, they still love sitting on them at Toys R Us.

My Boys

2010-11-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

Grammy & Grandpa

2010-11-12T20:00:00.001-07:00

We celebrated my dad's birthday at Texas Roadhouse. We had so much fun enjoying some adult conversation over some delicious steaks. Happy Birthday Paps! We had a wonderful time with you and Grammy and can't wait for your next visit. We love you both!

Grammy & Grandpa

2010-11-12T17:07:00.001-07:00

Noah playing at SanTan. (oops, don't mind the girl in the background!)

Great pic of Grandpa and Grammy

Noah getting a long overdue trim. He settles right down with a lick of a lollipop.

Grammy hangin' with Nate. Noah was so excited to get a bouncy ball after his cut. He always plays with these machines and is usually lucky enough to shake it the right way and have something fall out.

Another pic that Noah took and then one of Grandpa with the boys.

Grammy & Grandpa

2010-11-12T16:29:00.004-07:00

Grammy and Nate dancing. Nate is also working on crawling. He's only scooted around a bit before flopping back down or kicking/flipping himself over.

More fun in the backyard. I don't think I got a pic of Grammy up there, but I think it's worth noting that both Grammy and Grandpa climbed up to the very top on multiple occasions to hang out in the "secret" spot with Noah.

Grammy & Grandpa

2010-11-10T16:17:00.004-07:00

Noah took a few pictures this week - this is one of them.

Grammy & Grandpa

2010-11-09T17:42:00.003-07:00

Many afternoons were spent at the park!

PS: Jay's not in any of the pictures because he was sick almost their entire visit. He was at home in bed. :(

Grammy & Grandpa

2010-11-06T21:06:00.003-07:00

Grammy and Grandpa came out for a third visit this year. We are so happy that they choose to take a lot of their vacation time to be with us. We have a great time with them!

Bright and early, Noah took Grammy and Grandpa to the tree house. They were excited to see it because this is also their Christmas present to the kids.

Grammy and Noah splashed in the pool and explored the backyard.

There was a bbq and movie in the park for the neighborhood families this evening. Noah chased around other kids while Grammy watched.

Then Grammy had an idea. Since we didn't want to stay for the movie in the park (it was getting chilly) Grammy thought we should run to the store and pick up Toy Story 3. Noah saw the first one once and hasn't seen the second yet but you already see what impact it has had on him so he was thrilled about the idea.

They also took a detour and road some bikes around for a bit.

Noah was practically squealing in excitement the short car ride home. He couldn't wait to watch Buzz and Woody. Noah squeezed himself between Grammy and Grandpa and cuddled through half the movie. (We watched the other half the next night).

Chores

2010-11-04T12:30:00.002-07:00

Noah LOVES helping - especially vacuuming. Anytime we get out the vacuum, he immediately wants to take over. Not a bad problem to have, huh?

Sharing with Charlotte

2010-11-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Charlotte came over to play this afternoon. Noah dragged out his bucket of candy so they could sort through it and share a sugary moment together.

The Morning After

2010-11-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

sorting candy
rejoicing with Nate

Harvest Festival

2010-10-31T20:10:00.007-07:00

We celebrated Halloween at our church's Harvest Festival this year. Noah had tons of fun playing all the games. Whether he won or lost, he was given a handful of candy at each station.

He has quite the arm.

Making friends with the animals at the petting zoo.

Selecting candy

More games

Showing off his bubble blaster for all the kids to admire

He loved the swings!!

And the bounce houses!!

Visiting our neighbors Hannah and Grayson.

Loved the mini ferris wheel!

We didn't forget about Nate. He'll definitely enjoy this more next year!

Costume change into his pj's.

Noah would have loved the pony rides and pedal boats but the lines were super long so we passed this time. Hopefully, we'll be able to enjoy those next year.

Trunk or Treating

2010-10-30T20:19:00.005-07:00

We went Trunk or Treating with Tanj, Matt, and Mylie tonight. Noah immediately spotted his counterpart, Woody, (though he'd never met the kid before) and started shooting him with his bubble blaster.

Noah and Mylie playing ring around the rosie.

The next morning, first thing, Noah asks for his candy bucket. He dumps it all out, lines everything up, and admires it all. He was so cute picking up each piece and asking us what it was. The only thing Noah let Nate play with was an empty Reese's pieces wrapper from the night before. Nate was a sport. It won't be long before he won't put up with any of that.

Fun with Friends

2010-10-28T15:04:00.006-07:00

This morning, the boys and I visited Elisa and the kids. We were headed to the park in Gabe's power wheel, but they insisted on showing Noah all the sites in the neighborhood (the houses that are decorated for Halloween). Little Bella was gracious enough to give up her passenger seat to Noah. Gabe had the street memorized with what each home had to offer. They would park the truck, unload, and admire every detail while squealing, "Spooky! Isn't it spooky? Look, more Halloween stuff! Spooky!" Gabe was trying to teach Noah that skeletons are not pirates (he remembers them from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney) and that carved pumpkins are no longer pumpkins but jack-o-lanterns. It was so cute to watch their excitement as they would egg each other on.
Running away from the "spooky halloween stuff"On a super side note, I have a quick story to share about Bella (the little blonde). If anyone knows her, you know that she has quite the obsession with shoes. Any one's shoes - boys, mens, flip-flops, heels, boots, any size, you name it. If you can't find your shoes, check Bella's feet.
We were at the park eating lunch, when she got up and walked over to the play ground equipment, stopped dead in her tracks and threw up all over herself (and the artificial turf). Elisa quickly ran over to her rescue telling me that Bella has never thrown up in her life. Elisa's trying to comfort Bella when Bella looks down at the mess on herself and exclaims, "Oh no, my shoes!!" That's it. Nothing about her not feeling well, or what the heck just happened. Her only concern was for her shoes. Not to make light of the situation because it's sad to see anyone not feeling well, especially a 2 year old, but it was so funny to hear those little words come out of her mouth. So cute!
*For the record, as soon as Elisa cleaned her up, she was back to her usual, mischievous self.

Uncle Muskie

2010-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here's my muskie hunter of a brother doing what he loves to do best!

6 Months Old

2010-10-22T12:16:00.004-07:00

Nate turned 6 months on October 13th. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well as I would have wished. Nate still has eczema and the doctor is worried that it may be an allergy in my milk from something that I'm eating. She said that we will have to take him to an allergist to be tested at one year if it's still present then. His tear duct is still clogged. She is recommending we take him to an ENT doctor at 9 months if it hasn't opened by then. Well, the reason is two-fold. He also has a raspy voice and has had it since the day he started making sounds, but she is concerned that there might be something going on in his throat. He is growing but not on a consistent growth curve. Noah had the same issue but it is still worrisome. I can't help but wonder if he's getting enough milk. His stats:
Weight: 14.75lbs - 5th%tile
Length: 27" - 65th%tile
Head Circum: 16.75" - 15th%tile
On a brighter note, she has given us the thumbs up to let him cry it out at night. He's been waking up twice a night at the same exact time. This is how I know it's a schedule we've created that needs to be broken. The first night he cried a bit but the second he just kind of woke up and settled himself back down within moments. 8 hours is great but since he goes to bed around 7:30, I'm really only getting a 5 hour stretch, but I won't complain. It won't be long before he sleeps a little longer.
I also forgot to report that both of his bottom, middle teeth came in about two weeks ago (a day apart) and his top, right broke through. The top, left is on the verge - any day now.
We're going in for a weight check in 4 weeks, so please pray that something or everything has changed for the better!!

It Never Gets Old

2010-10-16T10:49:00.001-07:00

The boys are still not tired of their swing set.

Brothers

2010-10-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Getting closer and closer every day!

Fun with Friends

2010-10-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Trampoline Fun

2010-10-15T15:43:00.002-07:00

Grayson received a trampoline for his birthday a couple of weeks ago. If the kids are not on our swing set, they are jumping on the trampoline. We are so lucky that Grayson and Hannah love Noah like a little brother rather than looking at him as a baby. They have so much fun together!

Fun

2010-10-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

We are in the backyard playing on the swing set every chance we get.

Friends

2010-10-13T11:16:00.002-07:00

We went to the splash pad with Julia, Charlotte, and Gabriel this morning. One of their favorite things about going anywhere is the food. The funny thing is that the food is from home. Nothing out of the ordinary. It must just taste better somewhere else. I know food tastes even better to me when someone else makes it!

Fun at the Mall

2010-10-11T18:15:00.002-07:00

Noah asks to sit on every kiddie carousel he sees. We try to oblige to as many as possible. This time Nate joined in on the fun!
Noah has a Bob the Builder book and was very excited to see him "in person".

Our Cute Little Boys

2010-10-09T16:29:00.005-07:00

Just some more pics of the cutest baby you've (I've) ever seen!I can barely resist being right in his face smothering him with kisses all day long.The kids getting along AGAIN!

Only this boy could be so happy over a train!

New Movie

2010-10-09T16:25:00.002-07:00

Check out the latest movie. Noah is singing "Jesus Loves Me". This was filmed a few months ago but we still thought it was cute enough to share. The Twinkle Twinkle/ABC movie is under the April 10th post, I believe, if you want to go back to check that one out.

2010-10-09T13:25:00.002-07:00

Noah had so much fun at Bella's Tinkerbell birthday party. The girls wore Tinkerbell headbands while the boys wore eye patches. Noah has lots of girlfriends but when there's a choice to play with boys, that's where you'll find him - especially when it comes to "Little Gabe". Gabe, Garrett, and Noah are like the three musketeers. They were attached at the hip the whole morning.

And here's our very own Coppertone Baby

Brothers

2010-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming, but Noah is FINALLY interacting with Nate!

A Little Preview

2010-10-08T17:15:00.001-07:00

Noah just saw Toy Story for the first time and now loves Buzz Lightyear. He has been adamant about being Buzz for Halloween. After seeing what a piece of junk this $20 costume is (a thin piece of cloth) I tried to lightly persuade him into exploring other costume options. He wasn't having it. I then realized that this dinky piece of 100% polyester was everything he'd ever dreamed it would be. He had a twinkle in his eyes that I couldn't deny. We left the store with the costume and one very happy Buzz!

Birthday Treat

2010-10-08T15:32:00.002-07:00

Enjoying my birthday club treat from Coldstone...

New Favorite

2010-10-08T09:53:00.002-07:00

So we, along with Mimi and Popi, got Noah AND NATE (we had to clarify that for Noah) a swing set for Christmas (I'll try to remember to take pics). We decided that since the weather has been so gorgeous we would put it up to get maximum use - thank you Jenna and John, we couldn't have done it without you. This project took a week to complete. Jay said it reminded him of putting up a deck with his dad. Lucky for all of us, he enjoys this type of thing. Anyway, Noah couldn't be more excited. He is already talking about having a camp out (on the third level, no less). He also loves being able to see over the fences and into our neighbors' yards. I'm sure they're absolutely thrilled about that too. One of the neighbor's just got a trampoline for his birthday and they invite Noah over almost every day after school so he feels the need to check in on their status to make sure he's not missing out on anything in their yard. His favorite thing is the glider but is growing very fond of the swing as well. Aunt Jenna took Nate on the swing with her and he loved it! He has a swing of his own on order so he can join in on the fun soon.
The glider (he calls it his "motorcycle dolphin") - don't ask!

Fun

2010-10-05T15:36:00.002-07:00

The rain ruined our plans to go to the park with Tanj and Mylie this afternoon so we headed indoors - to Mimi's. Mylie and Noah sang songs, danced, chased each other around, and built a fort. They hid inside, giggled, and ate granola bars in the privacy of their own "home". They were so cute!

2010-10-02T15:43:00.001-07:00

A little bonding between aunt and nephew...

Nate

2010-10-02T13:39:00.001-07:00

We can't get enough of Nate and his little mouth wide open.

Noah's Swimming

2010-09-26T17:12:00.002-07:00

Noah is no longer a cling peach! He used to want to jump into our arms and swim around the pool while attached to us. Today he decided to actually let go. He loves it and talks about how he knows how to swim now! Yay Noah!

Nate joined us for a bit too! Our little baby swimmer!

Fun

2010-09-26T11:05:00.003-07:00

After church, the basin was filled with tons of balls. Noah was in heaven!

Disneyland - Day 4

2010-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Noah's first time on the Gadget Coaster. He loved it!!

Could this little critter be any cuter in his sling?

Noah spotted Goofy but he ran off before Noah could get to him.

On Small World

Trying on hats at the gift shop

He wouldn't take this one off.

His favorite thing of all. The bubble blaster that we bought for him.

Snacking on his toes. For some reason, this pic won't rotate.

On the monorail.

Disneyland - Day 3

2010-09-14T22:18:00.007-07:00

Rise and Shine!

Off to the park.

Tea cups

Playhouse Disney

N for Noah and Nate

Waiting in line for the Matterhorn

Jay and Noah in the bobsled

my little bugs

Recharging...

Where to go next...

On the train. Guess if Noah loved it or not?

Waiting in line...

On our way to World of Color at California Adventure

World of Color

Disneyland - Day 2

2010-09-13T21:08:00.002-07:00

Julia and me with the babies.

Noah and Charlotte waiting in line for Peter Pan.

the carousel

Nate meeting Mickey for the first time.

One of Noah's favorite rides, Dumbo.

Waiting in line for Winnie the Pooh. Lots of great pics of Nate.

Noah

Waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise and heading up to Tarzan's Treehouse.

Eating our favorite Dole Whip. Charlotte and Noah making the most of waiting in line for Finding Nemo.

The nights got a little chilly.

Disneyland

2010-09-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

We had a great (and exhausting!) vacation at Disneyland. Our friends, Julia and Thomas, joined us with their two kids, Charlotte and Gabriel. We had our hands full but it was so worth it!

Noah and I playing Astro Blasters. The Gessners playing too!

Nate LOVING "It's a Small World". He took everything in!

NATE

2010-09-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately for Nate, swimming wasn't on his agenda this weekend. We thought it would be better for his eczema if he chilled pool side:

NOAH

2010-09-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Noah LOVES our new pool!!

The Pool

2010-09-03T17:20:00.002-07:00

The pool is done! Well, almost. They will be re-staining the deck next week but that won't hold us back from swimming. More pictures after the landscaping is done.

Pool

2010-09-02T18:27:00.000-07:00

The patio was stained and interior tiled yesterday and passed final inspection this morning. Tomorrow the interior will be completed and will be ready for water as soon as they're done. Yay!! Guess what we'll be doing this weekend?

Pool

2010-08-27T08:19:00.002-07:00

Stamped but not stained...

Nate and Lamby

2010-08-25T12:11:00.002-07:00

Nate loves his little Lamby from Popi. Noah does too. He gets a little jelly sometimes and wants to play with him. This is when we tell Noah that Nate is sharing with him (something Noah is still working on).

Learning to Sit

2010-08-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Nate used to fall over a lot just like this:Now he's somewhat of a pro:
Getting a little tired, but wants to be a part of whatever is going on. He loves watching Noah play...

First "Food"

2010-08-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

Nate has been watching us eat for the longest time. He sits as our centerpiece on the table in his bumbo chair and stares at our fork as we jab something on our plate and follows it up to our mouth. We were going to hold off for a bit before introducing anything to his diet but his little eager face made us give in this morning during breakfast. He had so much fun participating in "family breakfast" with us this morning.

Fun With Friends!!

2010-08-20T21:55:00.004-07:00

Noah loves going to friends' houses where the rules are different. He had a ball having a pillow fight with all of his buddies!!

Noah Update

2010-08-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little update on Noah. He has been wearing his big boy underpants (exclusive of naps and bedtime) since Thursday. We don't use pull-ups anymore since he wasn't having any accidents.

The Pool

2010-08-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

The cement was poured this morning. We are extremely happy with the way it turned out. It will be stamped and stained next.

Yay Noah!

2010-08-15T19:32:00.002-07:00

We are so proud of Noah and his potty training progress! After some easy tips from Elisa, Noah is well on his way to keeping his big boy pants clean and dry. On Saturday, Noah let his first #2 go in the potty at Mimi's house. (I will spare you the picture, but yes, we took one.) It was exciting to see it in the potty knowing that it wasn't smothered on his behind waiting for us to clean it off him. He was so proud of himself. He kept walking over to the potty looking in saying, "Wow! Noah go poo in the potty!" He didn't want us to dump it in the toilet until he got all the praise in the world. Anyway, we were out a lot of the day on Sunday and he kept his pull-up dry the entire time letting us know when he needed to use the restroom. He sat on the toilet (without an insert) at the mall two different times, once at Home Depot, and also at church twice. He told the teachers in his classroom that he had to go and went without any problems. He is still very hesitant to go #2 on the potty and asks occasionally for us to put a diaper on him in order to go. Of course we don't, but I also fear that he might get blocked up because then he tends to hold it as long as he can. ANYWAY, I know this is probably all too much information for most of you, but this is such an exciting milestone for not only Noah, but Jay and me too!! Great job Noah!!

4 months old

2010-08-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

Our little Nate is already 4 months old. Time really does fly when you're having fun! We've had so much fun being a family of four and think Nate is the perfect addition. It's amazing to see how much he has grown and learned in such a short amount of time. He is already rolling from back to belly and belly to back. He has great head control when being held and also while on his stomach. He smiles as soon as he makes eye contact with anyone. He lives for any attention he can get from anybody. He is also very vocal. I always think he's going to say something because some of his sounds sound like the beginning of a word. He is laughing like crazy and makes this cute squealing noise that I can't get enough of. Nate loves his exersaucer. He is now touching everything and realizing it is all there for his enjoyment. Nate is also grabbing everything within his reach. If I'm on the phone and holding him, he grabs it sometimes hanging up on whoever is on the other line. If I'm holding him while writing the grocery list, he grabs the pen from me also. He has a death grip too. He pinches mine and Jay's neck as well as pulls hair. Ouch! It hurts! Nate is also working on sitting up. He can only sit on his own for a few seconds before losing balance but he works so hard to stay upright as long as he can.
Unfortunately, we have gone a little backwards with his sleep schedule. He used to take a 7 hour stretch but it has since been shortened to 5. His pediatrician says this could be due to a slight case of eczema. It is so sad to see his little creases red and dry and to know that he is uncomfortable but now that we know what it is, we are taking care of it and he seems so much happier.
Nate's tear duct is still blocked but making so much improvement. He used to wake up with so much crust in his eye that sometimes it would be glued shut. This hasn't happened in at least a month so we are definitely making progress.
Nate's growth has slowed quite a bit since his last checkup two months ago.
Weight: 13.44lbs 22%tile
Length: 25inches 55.52%tile
Head: 16.25inches 25.75%tile

Pool

2010-08-12T14:58:00.001-07:00

The concrete for the decking is scheduled to be poured on Tuesday. Jeff (our pool guy) says he is going to try is hardest to have us swimming in two weeks. Yay!!

Here we go again...

2010-08-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Elisa gave me some great pointers on potty training yesterday. Noah has not been the least bit interested in the longest time, but I think we may have it figured out. Day one was a success! Thanks Elisa!

The Pool

2010-08-10T12:58:00.003-07:00

We're moving right along!

Daddy's Helper

2010-08-09T20:46:00.002-07:00

Noah loves to be up on the ladder every chance he gets. Luckily for him, we have really high ceilings so we use it often. Tonight Jay and Noah changed the air filters.

Sometimes Noah will start up the ladder without Jay knowing. He'll say, "Excuse me Daddy. Noah climbing up ladder. Fix something." Jay turns around to find him with his toolbox at the bottom of the ladder and as many tools in his hands that he can carry.