Friday, May 30, 2008

First Steps


Noah's official first steps were on May 13th. He was walking back and forth between Mommy and Daddy on the grass of the amphitheater in Seaside, when all of a sudden, he took two steps on his own. In the following weeks, he has taken a few hesitant steps on his own, but walking independently hasn't served much of a purpose in his life. If he really needs to get somewhere, he crawls or waits until Mommy or Daddy holds his hand so he can walk. However, he has started to have bursts of walking in the last few days. He will all of a sudden take 8 to 12 steps, and he has the most surprised and excited look on his face while he's walking. It's so cute! Of course, we haven't been able to get any actual steps on film or video yet. This picture is from a few days ago when Noah was cruising around the table while wearing Mommy's hat.
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Mmmm....Whole Milk


After Noah turned one, we have gradually introduced whole milk into his diet. We tried using sippy cups, but he didn't really like those types of cups. Now we use the thermos cup in this picture, which has a built in straw and keeps his milk nice and cold for hours. Noah really likes drinking through a straw, especially when he can drink whatever Daddy is drinking. Noah loves his whole milk so much now that we walk a delicate line between making sure he drinks enough, but not completely filling him up so that he's still hungry for meals. Also, Laura is very happy to announce that Noah is completely weaned, so we are officially leaving babyhood and entering toddlerhood. Here's a few more milk pictures.
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Thursday, May 29, 2008

Silly Daddy


Silly Daddy! Noah and Daddy have so much fun playing together. Noah gets so excited when Daddy comes home from work. He shrieks "DA DA" at the top of his lungs. Here's a few more pictures.
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Sunday, May 25, 2008

Getting Closer


It's great to be back home again, and a lot of progress took place on our porch while we were gone. All the handrails are up, as well as the stairs, bench and lattice. All that's left is painting, the ceiling, gutters, screens, screen door, and replacing damaged siding (ok, so now that I listed it all out, there's still a lot more until we're finished). The handrails and posts will be painted white and the floor, steps, bench and lattice will be stained a natural color. The ceiling will be white breadboard (vinyl). We really enjoy our new outdoor space in the evenings and early mornings before the crews arrive, and we are eagerly awaiting the day when it's finished. Here's a few more pictures.
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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ahh...Vacation...


We had such a great time in Seaside, Florida. We rented a little cottage about 100 yards from the beach and stayed for eight days. The weather was beautiful for the most part, with a few rainy days that forced us to really take it easy and relax. Noah loved his beach cottage, especially the three flights of stairs. He could climb from the first story to the third story without any problems. We had everything we needed within walking distance of our cottage...groceries, lunch, dinner, ice cream, shopping, everything! It was the perfect way to celebrate our tenth anniversary, and we hope to spend time in Seaside again in the future. Oh yes, if you've ever watched the movie The Truman Show, you've seen Seaside - the movie was filmed there. We wanted to do our part to promote Seaside tourism, so here's some more pictures.
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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Seaside!


We have spent the past five days in glorious Seaside. We have enjoyed every minute of this quaint town on the Gulf of Mexico. Noah has experienced many firsts including: first independent steps (he took about two), first swim in the Gulf of Mexico and his first trip in a bike carrier. We have spent many hours walking the tree lined streets, lounging on the beach, eating in the outdoor cafes, relaxing and reading. See a few pictures of our trip here.
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Friday, May 9, 2008

It's Been a Busy Week!


Our house has been rocking lately...literally. We've always wanted a screened porch on the back of our house, and we're so excited that the porch is almost finished! Our backyard will no longer be a barren wasteland of heat and bugs in the summer. These pictures detail the project up until it's half-way point, and we'll post the rest of the project in the near future.

We're packing the car to go to Seaside, Florida and live in a little beach cottage for a week to celebrate our tenth anniversary. We are so excited about our trip! We'll stop and see Grandma Marilyn on the way and celebrate Mother's Day with her.
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Do You Like My Party Hat?


Noah loved his carrot birthday cake, and he thought the noise makers were really funny. He was so excited by all his new "big boy" toys. Here's some pictures.
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Saturday, May 3, 2008

Captain Noah


Noah took the wheel of the Catawba Queen on Lake Norman yesterday. He liked wearing the captain's hat and moving the wheel, but he really wanted to touch all the other levers and buttons. The captain even made an announcement that it was Noah's first birthday. We all had fun on our lunch cruise. It was Grammy and Grandad's first time on Lake Norman, which they got a kick out of because Norman is Grammy's maiden name. Here's some more pictures from the boat.

Last night, Matt made Noah's birthday cake: carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Noah's absolute favorite food is carrot muffins, so we think he'll like his carrot cake! We're going to have cake today at lunch, so that Matt can share the fun. We'll post more pictures later in the day.
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Friday, May 2, 2008

Happy Birthday!


Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to Noah
Happy birthday to you!

More pictures to come soon...
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