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.