A Little Date

We don't watch a lot of TV around here with Noah, but there is one thing that he loves, and that's watching the Disney channel in the morning. So, being the fun mom that I am, I took Noah to see this today...

Yes, I took Noah on a little date this afternoon, and we had SO MUCH FUN!! Just me and Noah. To me, this was a little reminder of how our world was before Leah came along. Just me and him during the week. Today, he just kept close to me the entire time...held my hand while we walked there, sat on my lap and put his head against my chest during the show...it was simply sweet!

He had never been to anything like this, so I didn't know what to expect from him, but I had nothing to worry about because he was so good. He was familiar with all of the characters, so he would get so excited when they would all come out to sing and dance. Just seeing the excitement on his face made this little date all worth it {Even though it cost an arm and a leg to go to one of these...seriously...they make a killing off of these shows! The place was packed! Again...it was worth it :)}.

Yes, I totally gave in and bought Noah a souvenir. This little Handy Manny Light Twirlly Thingy made his heart jump with joy. I don't quite understand the point, but he loves it :).

Noah had a smile on his face during the entire show. I couldn't stop watching him.

All of the characters on stage.
Me and Noah
This was taken at the end of the show, and he wasn't very happy that it was over. I just had to get a picture of us together :).

Afterwards, Noah and I went to The Gateway to walk around. We went inside the old train station and Noah could have stayed there all day. He loves trains and was amazed by all of the paintings and stained glass arrangements of trains. We spent about 20 minutes in there just looking and admiring the beautiful art. Oh...and he had fun running from one wall to another :).

Once we got in the car, Noah requested his new little toy, and a granola bar. Then he said..."Thank you, Mommy". I love him...I love him more than he will ever know!

Five minutes later he was out cold.

What a fun day!

Pondering

Noah is a ponderer. He usually spends his morning sitting at the table, eating his breakfast, and getting lost in his own little world as he gazes out the window. I would give anything to know what he is thinking during these moments. {He was so lost in thought when I took this picture that he didn't even know that I was there!}

Doug's Birthday Party

We had a Birthday dinner with Doug's family and friends this past weekend, and it was wonderful. I reserved a room at Carrabbas {yum}, which was so nice because we were able to have the room to walk around and chat with everyone. Thank you to all who came to celebrate this milestone in Doug's life ;). We always enjoy getting together with family and friends, and it was so nice to spend this occassion with the ones that we love. It was a perfect evening...even with all of the kids running around!

A party wouldn't be complete without a lot of balloons ;).

The Family
Doug and the Princess

I think reality set in when Doug saw the candles on his cake!

Noah helping Daddy blow out his candles.

Our Family

Oh, how Noah LOVED his cake! He couldn't get enough!

Into Everything

It's official...Leah is getting into everything! I knew that it would only take a matter of days after she learned how to crawl. Oh boy...I really, really need to do this baby proofing thing, and soon!

So innocent!

Happy Birthday Doug!

When I first met Doug, he was 21 years old! Today he turns 30 years old! Where, oh where, has the time gone?

I absolutely adore this man and I am so grateful each and every day that he is mine! He is the best husband, father, friend, etc... He's the BEST!

Happy Birthday!

I love you forever!

Doug took the day off of work, which means that he got the luxury of sleeping in. While Doug was sleeping, Noah and I decorated the house with lots of balloons, and boy did we have fun! Noah was so excited to have Doug come downstairs and see our decorations. I also made Doug a yummy breakfast, and then we opened his gifts. Doug had a midterm at school tonight, so most of his day was spent studying, but at least he was able to be home with us. We are having a big party for him with our family this weekend, so I will post more pictures then.

The Birthday Boy!

Noah was more than willing to help Doug open his gifts.
He's so cute!

I'm thinking that these balloons are going to stay up for a little while. Both of the children love them!

This card, from Noah and Leah, was perfect for Doug, as he is every one of these things, plus more!

Notice Noah's artwork on the card. Very nice!

Awesome, Brave, Caring, Dynamite, Excellent, Fun, Generous, Helpful, Incredible, Joke Teller, Kind, Loving, Mighty, Noteworthy, Outstanding, Patient, Quite a Guy, Reliable, Special, Terrific, Understanding, VIP, Wise, Xtremely Wonderful, You Rock, & Zillions of Other Nice Words!!

Leah's Quilt

I love handmade quilts! I have received a number of quilts from my family growing up, and they have meant so much to me. When I was pregnant with Noah, I received about six handmade quilts and they have been the best blankets for my kids. There is one blanket in particular that is a favorite to Noah and I am sure that he will have memories of this blanket as he grows older, as I am sure that it is not going anywhere any time soon!

Leah never received any quilts specifically for her, so I took it upon myself to make one. My sister-in-law received a beautiful quilt for her little boy and I fell in love with its design as soon as I saw it. Of course, I changed the colors and made a very girly version for my sweet little Leah. It was a very simple quilt to make, but it did take a lot of work to create it. I just finished hand stitching the binding yesterday, so I thought that I would share it with you.

I also made the bumper for Leah's crib. I knew exactly what I wanted, but I couldn't find it anywhere. After looking high and low for the fabric, I finally found it on eBay {go figure! You really can find anything on eBay!}. I just need to finish the curtains and her room will be complete. Here's her quilt and portion of her bumper {not the best picture, sorry}.

Close up of the quilt. I think she likes it too.

Leah ~ 10 months

Leah is 10 months old today. She is growing and learning faster than I ever imagined possible. She is such a delightful baby and we are thankful every day that she is ours! I didn't post a 9 month update because not much happened during that month, so here is a little update on what she has been up to the past 2 months...

~ She has two cute little teeth on the bottom. Leah was incredibly grumpy when her teeth were coming in. She hardly ever smiled and she kept her mouth shut majority of the time. The only reason she opened her mouth was to eat and cry. She didn't drool at all when her teeth were coming in, probably due to the fact that she never opened her mouth! Once those dang teeth popped up, she was back to her normal happy self and was back to showering us with her glorious little smile :). It melts my heart when she smiles and shows her cute little teeth...it's so cute!
~ She pulls herself up on everything and she is starting to get really steady on her feet. I am very cautious and try to be with her whenever she pulls herself up on the furniture because I really don't want to have any casualties {you know...having her fall and smack her face right into the furniture or some sharp or hard object.}. Whenever I go and get her out of bed in the morning, she is standing in her crib with the biggest little grin on her face.
~ She's crawling! Ready or not, here she comes!
~ She loves Cheerios and puffs {aka. Gerber Stars}. She just loves sitting in her high chair and popping them in her mouth one by one. She's very coordinated and hardly ever drops them! Well done Leah!
~ Her new favorite time of day is tubby time...WITH Noah! Oh, how she loves splashing around and laughing in the tub with her big bro. It's a sight to see!
~ She is a wonderful little sleeper...thank goodness!
~ She is at the stage where she can sit and play with a toy for a good amount of time {15 minutes or so} and be completely entertained, which is wonderful for me ;). Before, every time that I put her down she would just cry for me to hold her. Now she enjoys discovering all of the toys that we have for her and she especially loves to do this with Noah. Noah is more than willing to play with Leah...I am so grateful for the wonderful brother that he is to Leah, and so is she :).

I could go on and on, as she is learning and doing new things every day, but I'll just stop here. Until next month, here are some pictures of our little Leah...

She absolutely adores her daddy. I don't blame her...he's pretty awesome!

Looking cute in Noah's hat.
Bed head!

Leah's cousin, Georgia, gave Leah this cute little doll for Christmas. She loves to put the bottle up to the doll's mouth.

"A little for you..."

"...and a little for me!"

I love her rosy cheeks when she wakes up.

I love her tiny features...she's a beauty!

Simply precious!

Standing up in her crib.

Painting

Noah loves to do anything artsy, so today I decided to buy him some watercolors to paint with. He sat at the table for close to an hour painting paper after paper. I don't know why I didn't think of doing this with him before. I put an old t-shirt on him {just in case this project became a total mess}, but he didn't get the paint anywhere except his paper. He smiled the entire time and he was so proud of all of his little creations. Yeah for arts and crafts!!!

Connor's Party

We celebrated Connor's Birthday this past weekend, and I know how much he enjoys watching videos, so I just had to post this just for him. Everything about this little video is so cute...Jacob trying to eat the cake, Connor patiently awaiting blowing his candle out, Connor blowing his candle out right on cue, and then the shrugging of his shoulders afterwards. Too cute!!!

Leah's Crawling

It's official...

Leah's Crawling!

She has been getting up on her arms and knees for almost 3 months now and she has moved forward a little, but nothing that would be considered actual crawling. Her method of moving around has been the "army crawl". Well, she has decided to take the plung, and now she is crawling everywhere!

Let the baby proofing begin {again!}.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Happy Birthday Connor!

We love you so much!!!

Hoodie Towel

I made this pink hoodie towel for Leah this week. I was given one as a gift for Noah and it is so nice, so I thought that I would make one for Leah. I added a little ribbon to it to make it a little more girly :).

**Leah is still a little sick...that's why she's not smiling. She hasn't been giving us many smiles the past few days...poor girl. I'm hoping that she will feel better soon.

Perfect

Christmas 2008 ~ SB Page

Standing Tall ~ SB Page