We ran over to Home Depot to get sand for Noah's sandbox. We had him in the seat for awhile. Then we let him walk around, but he wouldn't move once he saw the balloons, so we put him in the basket of the cart. Guess who loved it? Don't worry, I held on to him the whole time so he wouldn't tip over or fall out. It was so funny though because it looked like he was surfing the way he was trying to keep his balance while the cart moved. Anyway, I'm embarrassed to say that Mimi and Poppy gave this to Noah for his birthday and we are just getting it put together and filled with sand. It was a great gift though because someone I know LOVES it. We thought it would be a lot easier to clean him afterward if he were only in his diaper - we were right.
Noah's birthday dinner from Mimi and Poppy kept getting put off for one reason or another so we finally got around to his little celebration tonight. A little back story: There is a mailbox store in our Walmart that also sells cards/balloons/gifts. Mimi knows how much he loves balloons so whenever we're there, she brings him over to touch the Mickey balloon that is always on display. He gets so extra excited about this balloon for some reason. She loves Noah so much that she tells Poppy every detail of everything she can think of that happened while she was with him. She didn't forget to mention this because Poppy stopped at the store before meeting up with us to surprise Noah with one of his favorite balloons. The look on his face was priceless - he was so excited! Unfortunately, our camera ran out of batteries as soon as we walked into the restaurant so I'll have to get a picture of Noah with his balloon tomorrow. Thanks for a nice night Poppy and Mimi! Updated: Added picture of Noah with Mickey balloon the next morning. It sat with him in his highchair during breakfast too.
We had plans to go over G & G Sottosanti's after dinner on Sunday, but someone fell asleep on the car ride over so we had to detour home. Nana and Papa had a little egg hunt and basket planned for him, but we had to take a rain check since the main attraction wasn't able to be there. They came over tonight instead and "hid" three eggs for him. He found them right away (they were pretty much out in the open) and would not put them down. He didn't care about his basket except that he could put his eggs in there and then take them out over and over again. He loves all the attention that Nana and Papa bring when they come over. 
I started feeling under the weather on Thursday night and it caught up to me a little more by Saturday. Thankfully, since it was a weekend, Jay was home and was able to play with Noah while I rested for a couple hours. I woke up to this card on the fridge from Noah. Jay said Noah did it all by himself. In fact, Jay said that while I was laying down, he taught Noah to write and spell and on top of it all, it looks like Noah has his daddy's handwriting. Well, it was a cute story anyway. Just picturing Noah making the card for me made me feel so much better. He also made me this Easter card. Thank you to the Taylor Family who gave Noah a really cute set of beginner markers and paints for his birthday. He absolutely LOVES them!! 
We were at the mall when Noah and Mimi spotted the Easter Bunny. The Santa thing didn't go well in Decmeber so I wasn't really thinking about a picture with the bunny. Mimi apparantly was. She ran straight to the line. Noah was very interested in the bunny from a few feet away, but almost as soon as he sat on his lap, he wanted off. He was okay as long as Mimi was holding him. We're definitely making progress because there were no tears this time - he just didn't want to be on his lap.
What a wonderful life she lived! Her life was a testimony of love, caring, and putting others before herself. The most important things to her were serving her Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ and making special memories with her family and friends. Grams loved Mexican food, she loved Arizona and the wonderful weather, she loved pink flowers - especially petunias, tulips, and gardenias. One of her most special loves was Noah. He was the light of her life. I am so happy to say that he said "GG" about a month and a half ago which elated her. Grams never quit caring about herself. She had her nails painted every couple weeks, the nurses put makeup on her everyday, and her hair was done every month at Desert Cove (the nursing center she lived at since 2007). She became one of the favorite residents quickly receiving the name "Queen of the Cove" because she was so friendly, accepting, and loving of everyone there. They loved her equally as much. As her life here grew closer to the end, it was amazing to see the effect she really had on everyone there. Even in a deep sleep and unable to communicate, everyone came to visit her before and after their shifts - nurses, doctors, am and pm chefs, maintenance, social workers, administrators, all of which she considered her friends. It was powerful to see all these people who truly cared about her whispering loving words into her ear. As sad as it is to not have her with us right now, we are so excited for her to be whole again with our Heavenly Father and all of our other loved ones who have passed before us. We will see her again soon and we will never have to say goodbye again.
