What Mommies are For...

Noah: "Mama. Paci. "

Translation: "Mommy, get my pacifier. It fell on the floor. Right there." (see little finger pointing down)

Enjoy that paci while it lasts, kiddo...one of these days it might just disappear into thin air.

18 Months

Today, marking 18 months for Noah, I received a number of potty training e-mails in my inbox from various baby websites. This must mean that we are saying goodbye to the baby stage. I sincerely doubt Noah is anywhere near potty training, but I did catch him "in the act" one day and he finished the job on the potty. So we'll see.

Noah sleeps about 14 hours a day. Isn't that great? He is very cranky without his naps, and as challenging as it is to keep him at two naps a day....we'll keep going with it, since he obviously seems to need it.

Jason took this picture of him this morning, cuddled up in his crib between his blankie and his teddy bear.


Noah has lots of new talents. Here are a few that I can think of at the moment.

• He loves to color and draw. (Thankfully the "Magic Eraser" has saved us a few times already--crayon on the bookshelf and writing on the wall.)
• He has learned how to flush the toilet (and of course is fascinated by that!).
• He loves to throw things in the trash can. Good thing Mommy checks the trash can before taking out the trash or else we would be out a number of toys and sippy cups.
• He also loves to take his clothes off and run away. I am crossing my fingers that he won't figure out how to take off his diaper, because once he learns that we are in big trouble!!!
• He has learned how to climb on top of the dining table! What a talented climber we have. :)

Noah loves to play with legos now. He is good at building towers and stacking them very tall. He also likes the shape sorter toys, and he can usually figure out which shape goes in which hole.

Doesn't he look like such a grown-up?

Playing in his "new" playhouse tent. (I rescued it from being taken to the dumpster at my gym!)

Noah...you have officially been outside the womb for 2/3 of your life! =)

A Huge Blessing... A Second Car!

Hebrews 13:5-6
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

This year our family has strived to live frugally to say the least. We are determined to live under our means of one income, being careful stewards of the resources that God has blessed us with. In a culture of immediate gratification, many times we do find it difficult to be patient. To save. To wait. To save. To wait....to slowly save for something over many months. Sometimes it is hard in our human desires to see others live lives of luxury, and twinges of envy creep into our hearts. But then we stop and realize just how blessed we are. We are so very thankful for what God has done. We have wonderful family, food, clothing, a roof over our heads, and healthy bodies. The rest is just "stuff."

All of that is to say, among many other frugal decisions, we spent the last year using one vehicle as we patiently saved for a second one and searched for a good deal. Though a second vehicle is not entirely necessary since Jason does use a motorcycle, as the cold weather nears and I am picking up more work hours at the gym, it is becoming increasingly difficult to share one car.

And this week we were surprised and thrilled to be able to purchase that second vehicle. Though it is far from new and certainly has seen a share of miles, it is everything Jason was looking for and more. (Including the fact that it is a stick shift and gets 36 miles to the gallon!)

We praise God for His faithfulness to us! And we are encouraged to continue striving to be good stewards with God's resources.

Why You Shouldn't Feed Ravioli to a Toddler

Noah looked like this after eating ravioli for lunch the other day....

Swimming!

We went swimming last weekend at the pool in Cicero with my family. The local pool there has a baby pool and a regular pool, but we mostly played in the baby pool. We determined that it is time to get some arm floaties for Noah!



Jason and Noah in the big pool!

My sister Christine with our nephew Benjamin.

Noah enjoying the cold water on a very hot day.

Everyone was so tired afterward, we all went home and slept!

Fun at the State Fair

We picked up Jason early from work and went to the State Fair on Wednesday. We had picked up a few papers on Monday with free tickets for the fair entrance. Here Noah was reading the fair program to decide what we should do first.



We went to Little Hands on the Farm, where little kids can experience the whole process of farming. Noah got to wear a little apron and get a basket to collect things through the process. First he got to take some corn and soybeans to put in his basket and feed the animals.

Then he planted some seeds in the garden and collected some fully grown (fake) vegetables.

Noah got to ride a mini tractor around the farm. All of the kids were given these green hats too!

"Shearing" the sheep....really just brushing his fake coat.... After he did this, he got to collect a piece of real wool to put in his basket. We skipped the station for milking the cows because there was such a long line!

Putting all of his leftovers back in the bins at the end. He got to collect a fake dollar and go shopping in the store. At the store he bought a string cheese with his dollar! =) It was definitely fun for us and him.

In a different exhibit, Noah played with toys in the corn.

Here he is with second cousin Kirsten, whose family we ran into at the fair. (In the background you can see Jason sitting and talking to his cousin Stephanie.)

Having fun in the play area at the same exhibit.

What would the fair be without a share of fried food? Jason insisted on the barbecue chips or whatever they were.

Noah and I shared a frozen custard from the Dairy Barn (which also refilled his sippy cup of milk for free!) Noah definitely enjoyed the ice cream!!

We ended the night by listening to a bit of the Jeremy Camp concert going on in the grandstand.

Video: Playing in Puddles

I wanted to post this video of Noah splashing and playing in the puddles last night. During a scattered shower, I took Noah out to the garage to watch it rain. He ran right out into the rain fully clothed and eventually we stripped his clothing and let him run around in his diaper. As the rain let up, he discovered the puddles!

17 months old

Noah is 17 months old today. He now weighs an even 27 pounds, and I have started making him walk more often since he is so heavy (and such a good walker!). The doctor had said at his last checkup that he is in the 90% percentile for height and 60% for weight. Sounds like tall and skinny like daddy! Noah is entirely in 2T and 24 month clothing (which he seems to try to destroy rather quickly by staining them...good thing Shout is so awesome!)



Noah loves reading books every day, and he calls every animal a "dog." He is talking a little more now, and he definitely understands more too. Noah understands conversation like, "Go get your shoes" and "Where is your milk?" He will help pick up his food off the floor if I ask him to help me, and he loves pushing the laundry basket to wash the clothes. During the day if I ask him "Where's Daddy?" he runs to the window looking for Jason on the motorcycle. He also points to many parts of his face/body when we ask him to find them. He just started saying "please" using baby sign language, and I hope to teach him "thank you" and "more" in the next week or so. Jason and I both feel like Noah is a learning "sponge" right now....just soaking up new words and information.

Favorite foods are hot dogs, balogna, chicken nuggets, cheese slices, pasta, bananas, tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, apples, cereal bars, french fries (uh-oh), ice cream (double uh-oh). He won't have much to do with some vegetables, but we are working on that.

Happy 5 Years to us

Jason and I enjoyed celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday on August 7. We have shared many memories in our five years of marriage... among which include:

traveling to 6 countries

living in 5 houses/apartments

moving to 4 cities

changing 3 jobs

claiming residency in 2 countries

and having 1 baby boy

I love you Jason Wayne! You are my best friend and soul mate. You are one of a kind, and I am so glad God brought our lives together! We have shared so much together already, and I look forward to seeing what else God has in store for us in the future.

Just Like Daddy

Jason often enjoys reading the newspaper.

And since Noah is a little copycat now, here is what we get.

Too cute!