Noah's FIVE!

I have officially been a Mom for five years!

My Noah turned FIVE on April 12! Noah has grown SO much over the past five years...it is so crazy to wrap my head around all that he done and accomplished...it's amazing.

We had a fun week celebrating Noah's birthday. Noah has been SO excited to celebrate his special day, so I made sure that we had a great week, full of lots of fun!

On Sunday, we went and had a little pre-birthday dinner at my parent's house. Now, Noah informed me that we needed to make a cake for this dinner, so that was what we did :). Noah even decorated it all by himself!
The Birthday Boy, the morning of his birthday! So sleepy...and so happy!
Noah requested pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Yes, my boy LOVES eggs, especially fried eggs. And being the great eater that he is, he at 3 whole pancakes! Yes, he will definitely eat me out of house and home when he is a teenager!
Once Doug came home from work, we headed to out for a fun evening. After dinner, we went to Boondocks. Now, we really didn't know what to expect there, and all I can say is thank goodness it was Tuesday and everything was half price! The kids had a great time, but they are still little and have a short attention span. We did miniature golfing first, and, to our surprise, it was a big hit. While Noah learned to golf...
...Leah had fun walking around the holes, and Isaac was content watching everything that was going on.
My happy, happy little guy :). Man, I LOVE those big brown eyes!
It was getting a bit chilly by the time we were done playing golf, so it was time to come in and play laser tag and video games. Doug and I each took a turn at playing laser tag with Noah, which was so.much.fun! Noah caught on so fast...he had a blast! Then we let him play games until he just couldn't play anymore. Thankfully, he could play them all for free, which made for one happy mom and dad ;).
After getting home way too late, we opened some gifts. I think that Noah had a wonderful day!
To make this week even MORE fun, we had a Pirate Birthday Party with all of our family and friends. It was a blast. We played Pin the Treasure on the Map...
...Noah got it right on! Doug and I think he was peeking {wink, wink}!
Then we went on a little treasure hunt. Noah was sad that he didn't find the clues {notice him in the back a little sad}. After a little pep talk, he was good to go and found the next one. The clues let to a treasure chest full of bags of candy!
Five little candles on one big cupcake. Yum!
Isaac was such a sweet little guy and loved being held by everyone...just like Leah's party :).
Then we opened some presents, and gave hugs to everyone. OK...I really think it is so cute how all of the little kids love to gather right around when it's time to open presents. They were all so excited to see what Noah got...
Noah has been playing with all of his new goodies ever since. He has a new obsession with Legos and he just can't get enough. Thank you to everyone for all of the fun gifts!
Since it was Spring Break during the week of Noah's birthday, he got to celebrate his special day at preschool the following week. He was thrilled to wear his birthday sticker that entire day!
Whew...that post was a huge undertaking. It was a busy week, but it was so much fun. I'll say it again...I LOVE celebrating my kid's birthdays! Noah, Leah, and Isaac {and Doug too!} mean the world to me and I am so thankful that I am their mom.

Meeting Elmo and Cookie

Leah introduced Isaac to Elmo and Cookie Monster yesterday.

Elmo usually freaks most kids out when they first see him...he's pretty loud and obnoxious {definitely not my favorite toy}. Isaac's reaction was just the opposite from what I thought it would be. He just sat there with this curious look on his face and watched Elmo talk...it was as if he was thinking "what is this thing?".

Isaac would totall win Elmo in a staring contest... And then...the Tickle Me Cookie Monster came to life... He was just trying to figure out what the heck was going on. After I took these pictures, he started to dance and laugh along with them...it was hilarious.

Elmo and Cookie sure know how to make things entertaining around here :).

**The best is watching Leah with these two. She has everything that Elmo says memorized...I'll have to get a video of that to share!

Let Soccer Season Begin

I wasn't able to go to Noah's first soccer game this season because both Leah and Isaac have been WAY sick. It was just too cold to take them out. I was able to remember the moment by taking some shots of him in his soccer gear...what a little stud! While Noah and Doug were freezing at the game, I was able to chill and cuddle with Leah and watch....BARNEY! Whatever makes her happy! Leah has had the worst head cold this past week...her eyes have been watering all day and she is SO stuffy. My heart aches for her every time I look at that sad little face. I do think it is adorable how she insists on wearing a hair bow even when she's sick...she's such a girl!

Snow...

This happens every year...so I guess I shouldn't be the least surprised! It was 70-degree weather on Friday and Saturday...then is SNOWS on Sunday! Awesome.

Noah and Leah were begging to go out and play in the snow, so, of course, we gave in and let them. I'm not going to miss putting on their snow gear...that is seriously a chore in itself!

Hello Spring

The weather today was beyond beautiful, and all I have to say that I hope this isn't an April Fools Day joke. I have faith that this weather is going to stick. SO...

...Leah and I officially packed up all of our winter gear! In true Leah fashion, she tried on every single thing that we boxed up! Every hat, glove, goggle... THEN we went outside and welcomed SPRING with open arms by pulling out and playing with the bubbles. Spring...warm weather...oh, how we've missed you!

Big Boy

When did my baby get so BIG! I went shopping at Old Navy the other day, and Noah doesn't fit in the little boy sizes any more {sniff, sniff}! I had to go shopping in the "big boy" section for the first time...I guess there's no turning back now!

Isaac ~ 9 Months

STOP GROWING Isaac!

I seriously *love* having a little baby around the house! Especially Isaac...he is the sweetest little baby ever! He is so calm, happy, snuggly, smiley, etc... I couldn't have asked for a better baby, especially when I have two other little ones to take care of. I am so thankful for his patience {most of the time}...it just makes my life so much easier having such an easy baby around! Isaac hasn't changed too much the past month, but here are some things to document:

~ He is moving around so well and is starting to get into everything! I can't leave this little guy alone for a second! He has dicovered the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen, and he is always SO curious to open and shut them. AND pull everything out of them...of course, that's always fun!
~ He is such a Mommy's boy...and I LOVE it! I love that he knows me, and wants me...makes me happy! He is also really good having other people hold him, but if I'm in his view, then he'll cry and reach for me.
~ He loves to eat...although you wouldn't know it from how tiny he is! He's definitely a bottomless pit...he can really eat so much! His new favorite food is the Gerber Puffs!
~ He is incredibly interested in all of his toys and he'll spend a good amount of time in his room playing with all of this little goodies! Leah is really good at sitting in his room with him and showing him how everything works.
~ He still thinks that Leah is the funniest thing ever! She can get him laugh when no one else can. Noah doesn't like this too much...but I always tell him that he and Isaac have a different bond. Noah is so good at watching out for Isaac and making sure that he is OK and safe.
~ He is discovering his voice and likes to "talk" often...it's very cute to listen too.
~ He is finally sleeping through the night {KNOCK ON WOOD!}. I really can't believe that he will be ONE in only 3 short months. I had better really enjoy the next few months while he is still a baby :).

Playing with Leah. He's a lot more wiggly lately, so I usually have to give him my camera lens capso that I can get a picture :). Ah...he LOVES tubby time! Getting into the drawers in the kitchen. He really good at pulling everything out and banging them together! Brotherly love! I left some magazines out, so, of course, Isaac thought he'd tear them apart! Playing with his toys. Look...he can sleep in his carseat! It's a miracle :).

Leah's Quilt

I have been working on this quilt for a quite a while. It's definitely hard to find time to get projects done around here now a days, but I managed to get it all done!

I had a very specific idea for this quilt, and I couldn't find anything with the colors that I wanted...that's when I decided to just make it myself! I really wanted to do Leah's room in a soft pink and a light turquoise...I really think these colors compliment one another so well! So, the hunt for the fabric began, and luckily I found this series of fabric pretty quickly...thank goodness! I wasn't going to settle for just anything, so I'm glad I found what I wanted early on. Now, this was the first patch quilt that I have ever done, so I had to talk to some people on how to sew it right...I really didn't want to mess it up! My good friend, Danielle, made some quilts for her kids that I just loved, and that's where I came up with the idea for the design. She totally helped me out with measuring everything out. Once everything was sewn together, which seemed like forever {I pretty much put the quilt on hold once Isaac was born and waited until Isaac was like 4 months old to finally finish it!}, I had to get it quilted. Danielle was so awesome and did the quilting for me and she did a FABULOUS job! She really is so talented!! Then it took me another 2 weeks to do the binding! So...after 9 months of work, Leah's quilt is finally done! I am beyond thrilled with how it turned out! I was actually a little nervous to put it on Leah's bed because of all the work that I put into it...I'm not going to lie...I was a little nervous about Leah spilling somehting on it, or ruining it in some way. After a little talk with Leah {wink}, she *promised* that she would take care of the quilt that I made for her. Now I just need to get everything else in her room done! Oh, the joy of decorating...but it really is so much fun!

Leah put Kitty on top of the quilt when I was taking pictures...I mean, it's practically Kitty's quilt as much as it is Leah's...right? :)

Leah is 3!

Leah turned THREE on March 21! I still can't believe that my little princess is three years old...that's just crazy talk! I feel like it was just yesterday that she was just born and I was holding her in my arms. I miss those days, but at the same time I am so enjoying the stage that Leah is in right now. She is such a fun, loving, caring, happy, funny, etc... little girl. She adds a lot of spice to our life, and we love her for it :).

Here's a recap of Leah's birthday... We spent most of Leah's birthday at home because we had just gotten home from California the nigth before. I had so much to do around the house, but I definitely made sure that I made time for the Birthday Girl. For breakfast, Leah chose to have...wait for it...Lucky Charms! She was beyond thrilled that I let her have her favorite cereal in a "big girl" bowl! Oh, the joy of being three!

I love Leah's long lashes. I took this during the afternoon...during one of her costume changes :). I think she changed her outfit close to 5 times today! For dinner, Leah chose to go to our favorite restaurant...Texas Roadhouse! She was so, SO happy and dancing around in the booth the entire time. She even shared her bowl of ice cream with Noah...what a sweetie! Opening some of her presents... Noah gave her a GeoTrax car...boy, oh boy, was she happy to have her very own car! Plus it was PINK...BONUS!

PARTY TIME!

Leah requested a PINK Birthday Party...so I made sure that we had lots and LOTS of pink. She was definitely happy about all the decorations.

Oh...the treats turned out good too :). The joy of blowing out THREE candles! Cute Connor having fun! Isaac was so good being passed around...he seriously loves anyone who holds him :). Leah loved opening her gifts...and she was so sweet to everyone a hug when she opened their gift. Doug and I gave her a darling little dollhouse, but I don't have a picture of her opening it. I'll have to post some pictures of it later...it really is so cute and she adores it! She got a cute scooter that she is in love with! Pinata... We love our sweet Leah to the moon and back. Happy Birthday, Princess!!!