Dance

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time! I danced when I was little, and I absolutely loved it, so, of course, I was excited to get Leah involved when she was old enough. I really didn't know how Leah was going to act in a dance class, so I was a bit hesitant to go to an actual studio and sign her up for something that she didn't enjoy. Lucky for me, our local rec center has a dance program, and the first class is free! So, I wasn't going lose anything with this set up. She was a bit hesitant when we first walked in, but after I walked her over to the group, she sat down and started to participate. The problem was that she kept calling for me and wanting me to come over with her. My solution was to leave...and it worked! We sat in the hall during her class, and she did great! I guess she doesn't need mom around anymore. I am so proud of her. She did a fabulous job and listened so well to her teacher. She has such a great little memory and had the dance that she learned memorized...I was amazed, to say the least! I'm thinking that we will put her in an actual studio this coming month...I am SO excited! I can NOT wait for her first dance recital! It'll be so, SO cute...I just know it!

Stretching out with her class.
I had to take pictures from the hall...just look at that cute little face!
She looked so darling in her little dance outfit! She loved it too and insisted on wearing in for days afterwards! She's destined to be a little dancer :).

Isaac ~ 10 Months

Isaac has grown so much this past month. He is learning so much, so fast...it's really is amazing to watch. He is really starting to discover the world around him and figure out how things work, and how to get reactions from people.

Highlights from this past month...

~ He sticks his tongue out all of the time. I love watching him crawl around as he chews on is tongue. I guess does it because he's teething? Who knows...but it's cute!
~ He is so, SO ticklish...just like Noah and Leah. I can't help myself and tickle his cute little legs every time I change his diaper. The giggles that I get out of him are music to my ears. Love it!
~ He absolutely loves playing in Leah's room, and I always catch him in there playing with her toys. My favorite is when I peek in there and see Leah playing with him. She is so soft and sweet with him {most of the time} and he is so content having her near. It's precious.
~ Noah has really started to be protective of Isaac lately. Now that Isaac is mobile, Noah will play the "big brother" role and make sure that he is OK when he goes from here to there. If he gets too close to the stairs, he'll move him and try to distract him so that he doesn't go back. He's a concerned big brother and enjoys watching out for his little bro :).
~ He absolutely loves books and is very content sitting on my lap as I read him a story. As long as it's a colorful board book, he's good to go :).
~ He dances whenever music is playing. It's absolutely adorable to watch him bounce around as he listens to the tunes.
~ He loves his mommy and daddy, as he definitely prefers us to anyone else. He'll usually whine a bit if I hand him over to someone that he doesn't really know. As soon as I take him back, he'll cuddle up to me and put his head on my shoulder. Melts my heart every time.
~ We *still* don't know what color his eyes are going to be. They are now a light grayish/brownish color? I don't know...they change all of the time.
~ One things for sure...he has dark brown hair. It's definitely not getting any lighter. Now, I just have to get the courage to give a trim. I'm not a fan of the first haircut with the babes.
~ He has found his voice and has figured out how to scream. Not necessarily a good thing, but at least it's not as bad as Leah when she was a baby.
~ He is finally starting to gain some good weight. At his 9 month well check, he was only 16 pounds. Two weeks later, he was 18 pounds!
~ The one hard thing that we have had to deal with this month is Isaac's ear infections. When I took him in for his 9 month well check, the doctor told me that he had double ear infections. I was surprised because Isaac didn't show any sign of having any. After being on an antibiotic, I took him in to see the infection was gone. I was pretty confident that it was because Isaac was back to his happy little self. Well...it wasn't, and his ear infections were worse than before! Total shocker! Isaac must have a way good pain tolerance, because I was convinced that they were gone! He is still on the second round of antibiotics, so we'll see what happens. He's been a bit fussy lately, but I hope that they're getting better. Poor little guy :(.

That's all that I can think of for now. He's a keeper...that's for sure ;).

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? :)