Fun running errands

Noah loves going to the grocery stores that have a car attached to the front of the cart. He could not have been happier pretending he was driving us around the store especially when I would speed or jerk the cart around a corner. He likes everything rough - he's definitely all boy!

Trouble

Here comes trouble! This is not something we condone at all, but Noah has just found enough strength to pull himself up onto his toy box. His original inspiration was to flip the light and fan switch on and off, but ever since we pulled it away from the wall, he is satisfied with just standing on it. I know it doesn't look like it (because I took pictures) but we are really working keeping him down from there. As of right now, going in "the naughty corner" is worth those few moments of exhilaration for him.

Kisses!!

Noah has just recently started kissing with his mouth closed. He puckers up but pops out his bottom lip as if he were pouting. I'm working on getting some better shots of this cute thing!

Happy Birthday Elisa!

Noah and I spent the morning/afternoon with Elisa and the kids. Her mom made a surprise visit with a dozen delicious gourmet cupcakes from Sprinkles. They were extraordinary! (And they should be - she told me how much each one cost - yikes!) Anyway, every bite was worth it. We enjoyed our visit and the special treat (although Noah's treat was a banana). Happy 25th Birthday Elisa!!

Skating Party!

We had so much fun celebrating Tanja's 29th at her 80's themed skating party. Happy Birthday Tanj!

More fun!

We also went to AZ Mills. Jay and Noah both spotted the carousel this time and just HAD to ride.

Visit

This afternoon, we visited Great Grandma and Grandpa S. After playing up in their apartment for awhile, we headed downstairs for a friendly game of pool. Of course, Gramps won.

Goodbye!

Goodbye to another vehicle. Our lease us up on the Pathfinder tomorrow so we let it go a day early - and 103 miles under contract. Again, Jay would like to keep track of our cars so he and Noah can look back on them some day. If you look closely, you can see the palm trees getting a small taste of monsoon season. It hasn't officially started, but it's right around the corner.

Swimming at Aunt Jenna's

Aunt Jenna and John had us over again to swim in their community pool. I was a little disappointed about them moving away from the pool, but delighted to hear that there is another pool in their new neighborhood - good choice guys!!
This picture is of John teaching Noah how to pet a dog. Noah has very little experience around animals and though he loves them, he can get overwhelmed with them getting so close.

Happy Birthday Mom/Mimi!

Poppy surprised Mimi with a small surprise party. We had a spectacular meal of broiled sea bass, fried halibut, fried bay scallops, cole slaw, and french fries. It's funny how you can take a potentially healthy meal and throw it in some oil and all the nutrients go right down the drain. It certainly was delicious though. I made blueberry crumble for dessert and boy was it scrumptious with vanilla ice cream melting on top. I definitely slacked off with taking pictures because I was tied up helping to prepare the meal. Jay, Noah, and Mimi swam while we slaved in the kitchen. We had a great evening eating and telling stories. Happy Birthday to the best mom in the world! When I say that, I mean the best mom for me - I hope that everyone thinks that their mom is the best!

Happy Birthday Giana!

Today, we celebrated Giana's 3rd birthday at Claudia and Luckey's. Everyone had fun catching up and, of course, eating pizza and ice cream cake.

Cooling off

Noah took a little ride around Mimi's pool this afternoon. She also found some fruit puree popsicles, so I folded and let Noah have one - mainly because I was so warm and wanted one myself. I would've felt terrible eating a refreshing treat in front of him while he continued to bake in the sun. Needless to say, he enjoyed it, but believe it or not, he didn't want to eat the whole thing.

Fun at The Taylor's

Jake and Elisa had us over for a night of dinner and dancing. We indulged upon shrimp scampi pasta and then danced to The Grateful Dead. The kids had a permanent smile on their faces. A song would end and Gabe would say, "More music!" It was a night of silly fun. We all need some of those!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! Despite others concerns that Noah might be scared of fireworks, we had to at least give it a try. Guess what!? He loved them! He even oooed with everyone. He heard all of us admiring them and then chanted along with us. It was so cute!

Sandbox Fun

Even though we're well into 100 degree weather, Noah still loves to be outside. Jay took him out to play in the sandbox this afternoon. In order to keep him cool, he sprayed the hose on the mist setting while he played. Then, of course, he had to run through the sprinkler to rinse off.

Swimming Lessons

After two weeks of lessons, Noah has completed his first set of swimming classes. We had fun playing in the water together and getting to know the other kids in the class. We'll start another course next summer.

Friends

Happy 3rd Birthday Saylee! Yes, this was at a birthday party. I feel terrible that I don't have a pic of the birthday girl - only random stuff.

These are some of my closest friends: Kristen, Tanj, and Elisa

What Noah's up to

It is really getting difficult keeping track of everything Noah's up to. It just seems that he learns so much and progresses daily! He knows almost all of his body parts (hair, head, eyes, nose, tongue, teeth, hands, belly button, toes). He will repeat anything you say and jabbers so much. I really feel there's very little we can't communicate to each other one way or another. You can pick out a recognizable word or two in each babbling sentence. None of it makes sense though. He walks into the pantry, grabs a box of Wheat Thins, brings them to us, and says "cracker". I'd say it's probably his clearest word that he says. He knows most of his animals, but still won't say the name, but only the sound it makes. He'll see a cat and say "meow" instead of cat. It's cute though. Noah also loves stacking blocks. We bought him a set for Christmas, but has just started using them correctly over the last month or two. He loves playing with older kids and loves to do everything they do. I wish I could think or more to report, but it seems that he's really sharpening his skills rather than learning a whole lot of new ones. I guess I can mention that he sleeps from about 8:00 or 9:00pm to 7:15am. Noah has also officially weaned himself. He stopped nursing at 14 months almost to the day.