Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas Fun!


We had a fun family get-together at Uncle Dave and Aunt Stephanie's house on Christmas night. The first thing we saw when we arrived was Jacob's Christmas gift - a full drum set! Noah was instantly fascinated, and Jacob was very willing to share his present with his baby cousin. The night was filled with drumming!

Another highlight of the evening was Grammy sending her first text message. Travis and Connor got new cell phones for Christmas, and it was fun to text back and forth. Here's pictures from our evening together.
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Rock Star!

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!


It's been a wonderful, relaxing morning here at Grammy and Grandad's house. Noah had a great time opening presents and throwing away the wrapping paper. He had lots of fun inside his new play tent - he was quick to put his most treasured objects inside the tent: puppy, cars, and goldfish crackers. It's nap time now, and after nap we're going to Uncle Dave and Aunt Stephanie's house for Christmas dinner. Here's the pictures from the morning and we'll post more pictures this evening.

We hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas day!
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Wishing You a Happy Hanukkah!

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

"Na Na"

Another new word we hear quite often is "na na," which is "night night." Noah loves to pretend to sleep and to pretend that his toys and animals are sleeping. He lies down and makes the "shhh" symbol by holding his index finger up to his lips. He makes his cars and trucks sleep by tipping them on their side then saying "shhh" and "na na," and it's the same with his stuffed animals. Some days, he can spend quite a bit of his play time pretending to sleep in some way or another!
Noah is wearing his pajama pants on his head in this picture.
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"Hi!"

Much to our delight, Noah started saying "hi" about a week ago. His first "hi" was to his animal wooden puzzle. His second "hi" was to the little animals that go in his Noah's Ark... you can see where this is going... For two days, he only said "hi" to his animal toys. It was so cute! He would take them out of his toy bin and be so delighted to see them. I've been trying to make a point of modeling talking for Noah during the day, and I had been saying "hi" to his toys for months now. I think he gets the idea now!
Then, Matt and Noah were having fun with the red brick blocks one night last week. Matt made a hole in the wall so Noah could peep through. Noah saw Matt and said "hi" in the cutest sing-song voice. It was adorable. The next day, we were playing with the bricks again and I re-created the hole in the wall. That was when I got my first "hi" from Noah. It was the sweetest moment.
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Monday, December 22, 2008

Making Cookies With Daddy



Noah and Daddy had a great time making sugar cookies together last week. Noah helped with everything - measuring the ingredients, watching the mixer, rolling out the dough, cutting the cookies out, sprinkling them with green sugar, watching them bake, and then of course - eating them! He loved the whole process and they really had a great time together. Here's the yummy pictures!
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Breakfast With Santa

Noah met Santa in person a couple of weeks ago when we had breakfast with Santa. We met up with our friends the Waites and the Burrows, and as you can see, there are seven kids between the three families! When Santa made the rounds, Noah didn't want to get too close to him. Instead we sat next to Santa, and Noah gave him a high-five. Here's a few pictures.
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Haircuts and Firetrucks

I gave Noah a haircut this morning, and I usually sit him on my lap and have him watch home videos of himself on our laptop as I snip. Noah has been interested in fire trucks lately, so I decided to try something new. I still had him sit on my lap, but I played this video of a firetruck parade. He was enthralled by the video, and he watched it again and again - long enough for me to finish cutting his hair - usually it takes a few sessions to finish. The best part was that Emma stood at the front door and howled the whole time!
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Mommy's Helper


Noah loves helping with chores around the house. His absolute favorite chores are doing laundry and unloading the dishwasher.
We push a chair up to the washing machine so Noah can watch the water come in and the bubbles form. He helps me load the washer, and he isn't satisfied until it's full to the brim! He likes to count down until the washer starts swishing, so it can get very exciting once the machine starts. He likes to watch the swishing as long as he can, and if we're still upstairs, he likes to check in on the rinse cycle too. Noah has made up his own sign for washing machine - he circles his hand around and around while he makes a "wrrr wrr" sound, just like the sound the washing machine makes. He also likes to help put clothes in the dryer, but it isn't nearly as satisfying as helping with the washing machine.
We pull up a chair to the silverware drawer, and Noah does a great job of unloading the clean silverware. He does a pretty good job of getting everything in the right slot. After he unloads it though, he usually takes all the silverware out of the drawer and puts it back into the dishwasher basket.
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Monday, December 8, 2008

There's a Reindeer in the House!

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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a nice Thanksgiving in Atlanta with Baubie and Jim, who flew in from CA. Wednesday and Thursday were spent gathering groceries, prepping and cooking the feast. All the dishes were delicious, and everyone agreed that it was the easiest Thanksgiving dinner to prepare because of the prep work done beforehand.

At dinner, I loaded up Noah's tray with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and he wouldn't touch it! Maybe he didn't like the look of the gravy. Matt tried again, and this time he dipped everything in ketchup. Noah loved the turkey and stuffing with ketchup! He's quite the ketchup lover! Noah would only eat each bite if the ketchup part of the bite entered his mouth first. Noah is still a good eater, but he quickly forms an opinion about his meals, and if he decides he doesn't like the sight something, it's hard to get him to reconsider.

We went to the Atlanta History Museum, where we enjoyed an exhibit about Jim Henson and the Muppets. We also went to the Coke Museum and had fun sampling Coke from all over the world.

The drive to and from Atlanta was rough, but it was nice to have a long stretch of time with family. Here's some more pictures.




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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving Dance Party

A Boy and His Dog

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Happy Birthday Mommy!

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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Go Deacs!

We bought season tickets to the Wake Forest football games this year, and we had a great time going to three games. The game vs. Boston College today was a little cold, but it was still fun. We sit on "Deacon Hill" in the endzone. You bring your own blanket, and the area is full of families with kids. We're really close to the action on the field, too. Noah likes watching the game, clapping with the band, and people-watching. Here's some more pictures of our day at the game.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Nature Boy


Noah is quite the nature boy. He studies everything outside, and he loves to explore. He has been collecting leaves and tree bark, he has been watching the leaves blow off the trees. Here's some recent pictures from Jetton Park and Lake Norman State Park.
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Up Up And Away!


While we were driving to Lake Norman State Park, we saw that this hot air balloon was about to lift off. We pulled over and it started to lift off as soon as we got out of the car. It was perfect timing!
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So Much Work To Do


Noah conducted a thorough test of Daddy's computer and determined that it works just fine. We met Daddy for lunch last week in uptown Charlotte, and Daddy was kind enough to share his Jimmy John's sandwich with Noah. Noah loves sandwiches, and he ate close to half of a large sub. Noah had fun waving and blowing kisses to the ladies on lunch break!
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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day 2008

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Monday, November 3, 2008

Has It Already Been 18 Months?

Noah had his 18 month doctor appointment today, so I wanted to share his stats:

Weight: 24lb, 13 oz. (25th - 50th percentile)
Height: 32 in. (25th percentile)
Head: 20.25 in. (95th percentile)

Noah's measurements have always made me giggle. He's been in pretty much the same percentiles his entire life, so his growth is following the right "curves" on the growth chart. The part that makes me giggle is his head measurements. He has always had quite the noggin!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!


Mr. Monkey had fun trick-or-treating tonight! He brought home some great candy for Mommy and Daddy to enjoy. We practiced saying "trick or treat" all week. When Noah says it, he opens and closes his mouth, but no words come out. It's so cute! Here's some more Halloween pictures.
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A Boy and His Dog

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Toddler Heaven


Toddler heaven is...visiting Grammy and Grandad in Michigan, having fun with cousins Travis, Connor and Jacob, and Aunt Stephanie and Uncle David. Noah had seven people (other than Mommy and Daddy) catering to his every whim for a week. Life doesn't get better than that! We were visiting during the peak of color change, and the trees were beautiful! The weather ranged from 75 degrees with beautiful blue skies to 50 degrees and rain.

Noah went to his second University of Michigan football game and enjoyed the crowds and the band. It doesn't matter which team won, does it? Noah lasted for about a quarter, then fell asleep on Daddy's shoulder for more than an hour as Daddy walked around in the shade outside the stadium.

As you can see from all these pictures, we had a very busy and fun week with family.
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Happy Fall!

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Saturday, October 4, 2008

Pure Happiness


Noah is swinging upside down between Granddad's legs in this picture - it's pure happiness! Granddad also used to swing Laura upside down between his legs when she was little :-)

Noah had Grammy and Granddad all to himself last weekend when Mommy and Daddy went to a retreat in Charlotte. Noah soon became best of friends with Grammy and Granddad. They had so much fun playing outside (especially just after the rain), coloring, watching football, and spending time together. Noah's current favorite activity is filling and emptying anything and everything (the key basket, crayon bin, bin of trains, toy baskets, etc.), so they also spent lots of time watching Noah putting things in and taking things out.

For a little guy who doesn't say too much, he sure is communicative! Grammy and Granddad didn't have any problem understanding what Noah was trying to tell them over the weekend. Noah developed a very special bond with Granddad, who he now calls "Ya Ya." So cute! Here's more pictures from the weekend.

Next week, we're off to spend a week in Michigan. Noah will get to spend some fun time with his Uncle David, Aunt Stephanie, and cousins Travis, Connor and Jacob, who will all be travelling to Michigan from Arizona. And of course, Noah will also have lots more time together with Grammy and Ya Ya. I'm sure we will have lots of pictures to share from our trip!


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