Merry Christmas!

I hope you were all blessed with a wonderful Christmas spent with your family and friends. We've had a few whirlwind weeks, but isn't that what the holidays are all about? We are now trying to have a few lazy-ish days, catch up on the extra laundry pile and get back at it. Celebrating the birth of Jesus is all worth a little extra mess around the house.

Noah has finally cut those pesky molars that have been taunting him. Well, at least 2 of them, one is still just under the surface and the 4th still seems a few weeks off. I am so glad they finally popped through. Poor guy was having a rough couple of weeks with those puppies sitting there. He is an adventurous little boy and always into something. He loves to test Brian and me....look at something, get the "no thank you" from us and then go to grab it. Always testing the limits. Phones are by far the most awesome toy ever and I have no clue why we buy him anything else. Of course, it is not a working device, he wants nothing to do with it. I swear, he knows when I give him the cordless phone with a dead battery. At the moment, our old cell phones that still beep seem to be working, I know only a matter of time before he figures that trick out. HA HA HA

Brian has been off of work for the past week and will be home for the next week as well. It is great having him home during the day. I love sitting back and watching him play with Noah. And of course Noah just can't get enough of his daddy...those two are two peas in a pod. And to much disappointment, Brian has passed on his pacing ways to Noah. When he is "talking" on his phone, he walks back and forth on the hearth. Oh. My. I don't like the pacing trend and I am surrounded by pacers.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Noah actually slept in a little bit so I guess that was his gift to Brian and me. He played with his gifts from Brian, Santa and me and then we were off on our way of visiting family. Mom had a wonderful breakfast for us, then we went to Memaw and Pepaw's for lunch. Unfortunately, Memaw wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't able to make it downstairs with everyone. We just want her feeling better and are praying hard for her. After we opened gifts at Meeps and Peeps, we went up to say goodbye to them. Memaw was having her nebulizer treatment and Pepaw was sitting next to her on the bed just holding her hand. It is hard to explain how powerful that was to me. I know they love each other dearly, but seeing them holding hands like that was just wonderful. Fifty-two years of marriage and still holding hands, such a simply gesture to show your support, love and feelings.

Tomorrow, we are off to Maryland for a quick trip to celebrate Christmas and Patty's birthday. Brian's Grandma really needs some prayers too. So, please remember to add her to your prayers please.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and may 2009 be filled with much joy and happiness. Much love!


Checking out his loot from Santa


Christmas Eve dinner


Enjoying his quad from Uncle Jason and Aunt Hannah

December, really?

Oh my word! Where have I been hiding? Where has time gone?

Bri was gone, Noah and I stayed busy trying to make time fly. Thanksgiving came and went. I know the older you get and once you start having babies, the faster time goes, but this is just crazy! I can't keep up. Maybe it would help if we had a napper of a son. ha ha

So, Brian came home from his trip. Noah would kiss his picture while he was gone and toward the end of his trip, you could really tell Noah was missing his daddy. He would try and get as much attention from men around him as possible. He needed extra hugs from Grandpa. When we picked Bri up, Noah gave him a look for a minute (he was super tired and in the back seat) and then smiled. Noah just listened to us talking the whole drive home and once we walked into the house, Noah would not let Brian put him down or go far from his sight. That just made Bri's heart swell. Mine too. For days all Noah wanted was Daddy. It really was wonderful.

We spent Thanksgiving in MD. We all enjoyed eating all the fattening foods and just being full and happy. I am still dreaming of Jen's sweet potato casserole. So guilty and delicious. Andy taught Noah how to use the heavy bag and the speed bag, so then N. spent the time walking up to the heavy bag, hitting it and yelling "boom. boom". That didn't get old, I know Andy can't wait until Noah actually knows what he is doing and can teach him all his martial arts moves. Andy also taught Bri how to ride a motorcycle. They went for a ride together through the neighborhood in the freezing cold weather. Boys and their toys....

Our friends Jason and Hannah have a new pooch, Reba, so Hondo finally got to meet her. Hopefully their meeting will help Hondo remember that Jason and Hannah are our friends. You'd think after seeing them at least once a week for the past 6 months he would get that, but, this is my wonderful Hondo Bondo we are talking about. ha. Poor guys is just so nervous.

Sorry to break it to you all, but no pictures this time. I promise to get them up in a few days. But right now, I want to sit back and enjoy watching A Charlie Brown Christmas :-)

Holy cow, where has the time gone? Sorry it has been so long since I've updated. I've been a little busy chasing Noah around the house and trying to keep busy while we are done one member of the house.

Brian is going to be in for a shock when he gets home. Noah is practically running around the house, saying much more and has just changed so much. I need to remember not to yell at Hondo. If Hondo starts barking, Noah will yell at him, repeating my bad habits. OOPS, big time!! He loves to say "dooo" and "doo doo". The second of which, I am not sure if it is supposed to be "dog dog" or Hondo. Either way, I love it. Oh and he refers to Bryce and Buster as dogs too. HA HA

I am actually getting somewhere with my knitting now. I am *almost* finished with the pair of pants I started with. I keep stopping them to work on other projects in between. I must be getting tired of looking at the same yarn.

Hard to believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner. We'll be enjoying the holiday in MD with Brian's family. It will be nice having Noah actually be able to participate in the day this year. Last year, he slept in his swing while Brian and I ate....we didn't want him to be, but at that point, didn't want to wake our 6 week old baby either.

Hope everyone is doing well! Much love from us all!

First ride forward facing

Playing with Sammy in the toy basket

Party pics

I figure it might be time to finally add some pictures from the birthday party.





Noah is still trying to master the art of walking. He is doing really well considering he just started. He is having fun trying to take off fast and then crashing into the ground and trying again. He is always keeping us on our toes and we are always cracking up at this house. Fun times around here, that is for sure.

We have a walker!

Ladies and Gents, Noah is walking! For a few weeks, we could get him to take one or two steps before he would crash and burn (well, start crawling). We started to leave him alone and let him move at his own pace, he wasn't too fond of B and I picking him up and trying to get him to stand and walk all the time, well starting last week, he would take 1-2 on his own and as of last night, he is taking sequences of steps all by himself!!! It is so awesome to watch and I know we are in big trouble now. Unless he is in a hurry, he already seems to prefer walking. I'll try and catch a video of it for you all soon.

We had Noah's birthday party Saturday, what a great time! Noah did wonderfully, especially considering how tired he was and how many people wanted to see him. We've got quite the little trooper. He was blessed with lots of new toys to fill our home, I'm sure he'll be busy discovering them all for at least a week before he is back wanting to play in the tupperware. HA!

We had a wonderful day with beautiful weather. I am guessing we had about 40-45 people at Mom's for the occasion, many from out of town. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

After the party, Brian's brother and sister in law stayed with us for the night. Noah and our niece got to have lots of playtime the next morning, I just love seeing the two of them together. I hope we'll be able to get them together more often.

I'll wrap up with a hilarious video of Noah laughing at Hondo

Happy Birthday Noah!

One whole year. 366 (leap year) days. 52 weeks. Where has the time gone?

Our baby boy is 1 today! Happy Birthday Noah, Mommy and Daddy love you so much. You bring so much light to our lives and we are so blessed. We thank God every day for bringing you to us.


I always knew I wanted to be a mom. I never got the cliche' "you won't understand until your a mom". How true that cliche' is. When Brian and I found out I was pregnant, we burst at the seams with joy. That joy was nothing compared to what we would feel when we finally met our baby boy. A tiny baby, with perfect fingers and toes, beautiful gray/blue eyes, perfectly pursed lips and ears as funny looking as Daddy's. How your world can change. Those first moments, still in a bit of shock. We were parents.

Brian was able to have a good hour or so with Noah before I was able to see him again. The pictures I have of him in those moments are so precious. I will admit, I was quite jealous that Brian got to spend all that time with him, discovering him, before I was back from my c-section. My time came though. Brian was such the perfect dad, he wouldn't let anyone else hold Noah until I was able to, so thoughtful. He was there when Noah got his first shots, his bath and footprints.

Once I was finally able to hold my baby and nurse him, I knew. I got the cliche'. I was blessed, life would never be the same. This tiny 7lb 9oz baby was my light, what I was supposed to care for. God entrusted him to us. So, as I sat there, soaking in every wrinkle, wondering where the long fingers came from, the world around me could have stopped, I my love for him made my heart swell.

The first night brought a few issues with nursing; Noah didn't want to wake up to nurse; but we made it through. Brian was up all night with me, trying to get Noah to latch on, both of us eager to have him get it down. A year later, it is almost funny that we were so scared that first night. Noah is such a booby baby and loves his mommy milk. We were so determined to make nursing work, in my mind, there was no other way.

Here we are, 1 year later and I can hardly believe it. He is growing so fast. He is such an amazing little boy, full of such joy and has so much love to share. He has taught me so much about loving and trusting. He is so precious and I cannot wait to see what this next year will bring, I just hope it goes slower.

Thinking back

A year ago today, I was wishing my water would break, contractions would start or something would happen so I could meet the little boy I was carrying. A year ago?!?! 366 days. Noah had other plans, he didn't want to arrive on his due date ;-)

We are 5 days away from his birthday and I am a big mess. It is kind of hard to explain. Guess it is the craziness in me. I am thrilled that he is getting to be such a big boy, but sad that it is going so fast. I know how precious these moments are with my little boy and I just don't want them to go away. If I take one more breath, he is going to be 18 and graduating from high school, two and he'll be living on his own and my gosh any more than that, he'll be married with babies of his own. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, but time really is flying and I want to soak every minute with him.

Birthday party plans are coming together. It is going to be a great day! Send me your good vibes for the next week, I'll need them to get by.

Where has time gone?

ACK! It has been nearly a month. Not sure where time went, but apparently I've been busy and haven't had a chance to update.

Me, well, I am learning to knit! Everyone, expect a scarf for Christmas, maybe a hat. HA! I am also busy trying to plan a party for our little man, all while crying because a year has almost passed. sigh

Bri, busy with work as normal and loving every minute of it.

Noah, the one we are all here for, has taken steps! Ok, lets not get too excited like I want to, he is just taking like one step, maybe two and then falling. But, he is learning and he'll be there soon. Then I will not know what sitting down is unless Noah is sleeping. He already keeps me going while on 4's, I can't imagine how fast he'll be on 2.
Tooth number 7 also finally cut the gum, after sitting there for what seemed like forever. That one gave Noah a bit of a hard time.

OK, now I am back to try and finish this post. I started it 2 days ago, didn't get a chance to finish and then had a sick little man. Poor Noah has hand, foot and mouth and feels awful. He has little interest in food and just wants Mommy. I'm getting plenty of cuddle time this week.

And now, Bri has Poison Ivy. It is quite the uncomfortable week at our house. So far, I am in the clear, but I am a bit nervous about what may pop up.

Please keep our little man in your thoughts, he needs them this week.



Our attempt to get our 11 month basket pictures. Didn't go so well.

Lazy Sunday

Everyone in the house is having one of those 'let's just sit around and sit like a blob' kind of days. Nice to have every now and then. I could go for a nap about now, but we all know the likelihood of that happening is not so great. When Noah naps, I never seem to be able to settle my brain enough to finally crash and fall asleep.

Anyway, back on track. We did check out a new church today that I really liked. We went for a contemporary service and Noah LOVED the music. He would sing a little when the band played and make expressions when it stopped like he was wanting it to come back. Really cute. I think we will check it out again next week. I really want a church on our side of the water to call home.

We are going to try and spend as much time as possible at the pool this week. Our last week for this summer. How can summer be ending already? Didn't it just begin? *sigh* I guess that is what happens when you have children, you really begin to realize how fast time does go. Noah adores going to the pool. He will squeal with delight once we get in the gate and he sees where we are. At first he will just hang out while I pull him through the water and after time, he begins to splash like crazy. Nothing better then getting mom soaked.

Bri and I are in full swing trying to plan a birthday party. I want to cry every time I think about it. There is no way that my baby could possibly be getting ready to turn one. No way....he was just born. I know, it is so cliche', but it is what it is. Man, I keep getting off track today (I know, nothing new). So, we are blessed to have a large family, so planning bday parties will be interesting. Trying to figure where you are going to have a party for so many people...all works out and we borrow Mom's house ;-)

Ok, well, I think I am going to join my family and sit in the laziness. Have a great week!

Noah and I at the zoo. A great shot thanks to my CAB Kelly

crawling around at the zoo in the nice shade we found

The lone 10 month shot that came out decent (a little late)

Nothing much to say today. Just that I love sitting and watching my baby explore the world and learn to do new things. I cannot believe he is creeping up on being one year old. These precious moments are flying by way too fast. I'm off to go and play in the floor.

Bye-bye sand and sun

we had a great week at the beach! It was so great to come home and sleep in my own bed though....a week in a twin bed, not so fun. HA! Noah slept ok, not the best, but he started to get back into his routine toward the end of the week. He did nap great though, I guess I would too if I got to crawl all over a brand new place with plenty to discover.

The water was great...warm all week and didn't even get choppy until the end of the week. Perfect for taking Noah into the ocean. Brian was able to be down with us for a couple of days. It is always great when he is able to take leave and join us. Noah had fun playing with Daddy and crawling on the Daddy jungle gym. He was so happy to see his daddy when we got home, smiles ear to ear and just about jumped out of my arms to get to him. That is what it is all about, talk about making your heart melt.

We had some company while we were gone. Hannah came down to visit with us for a day, we had a blast. We went for a wine run and came back with loads of wine as well as tons of food to munch on. We got plenty of strange looks from the family. The next day, Kelly, Tanner, Jenoa and Ava came to visit. More fun and Noah got to play with his buddies too.

Learning how to tantrum

I think the title says it all! Noah has discovered that he can have little tantrums. Nothing terrible, but boy do you know it when he is not happy these days. That high pitched scream. It is terrible, but I do find it hard not to laugh. And then, there are the moments when I have no idea what the screaming is about and have to just about give up. I love it!!!

These days have gotten interesting when we (bri or I) snack during the day. Gone are the days of Noah semi-fussing from across the room while we ate our snack. Now he sees us walk in the room with something and it is like he turns on the turbo crawl. He is across the room in no time at all. It cracks me up, snack for me = taking cheerios or puffs for Noah too.

Our interesting set up of the coffee table and excersaucer blocking the TV stand is about to come to an end. Noah is underneath the saucer at least once a day and soon he'll be doing the same with the coffee table. *sigh* Time to figure out another method of blocking.

We are heading to the beach tomorrow! Woo Hoo! Nothing like soaking up some sun and being a beach bum for the week. Bri is only going to be able to come down with us for a day, but we'll take what we can get :-)

Until next time...

Going everywhere!!

So here we are, about one month after this crawling adventure began and Noah is into EVERYTHING!!!! Bri and I love watching him try to figure out where he is going to go next. It is hilarious to see something catch his eye and before I can even think "he is going after that", he is gone! We still don't have doors on the TV stand, so at this point that is his favorite place to travel to. Nothing like banging on a receiver that is all lit up.

Tooth number 5 just cut the gum earlier this week. He is going to have a mouthful soon. And along with those teeth come the occasional bite to the arm, leg or anything else that looks tasty. He has learned quickly not to bite when he is being nursed...as Brian put it "don't bite the boob that feeds you" HA!

Our little man is sleeping much better these days. WOO HOO to that!!!!!! I didn't think I would ever see a stretch of sleep longer than 3 hours again. We are still working some kinks out and as always, afraid of how Noah may decide to change his sleep pattern, but things are going great right now. Still just likes to catnap, but that is fine by me.

Hondo is loving Noah more and more each day. Of course, it helps that Noah is eating normal finger foods now and loves to share. Hondo has even walked right up to Noah and taken a graham cracke from his hand. N. Bear looked a little confused, but didn't complain about it one bit, just smiled and laughed at Hondo. Bryce and Buster have their moments when they enjoy Noah's company, Buster more than Bryce. Noah loves it when their tails swing across his face.

Noah sharing toast with Hondo...well Hondo waiting at least.



Noah with cousin Sammy.



One of my latest favorite pics of my baby boy.

Here we go

Noah started to crawl yesterday!! FINALLY!!!!! I was starting to think it would never happen.

So, on to the blog...I decided to give it a whirl...maybe I'll update more than I did our totsite. We'll see, doesn't hurt to try.

Check out Noah's first crawl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEPRngSy1U