It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I was starting to wonder if we were going to decorate this year. We have been busy this month and I was a little worried about a 21 month old + Christmas decor. Would the temptation be too much? Then one day I came home from shopping and it was all done...I have the best husband!! I'm so glad we didn't let the busyness of life or the fear of Noah breaking something keep us from celebrating this holiday season.

We love white lights, can you tell?

My grandparents gave Noah a "choo- choo" as an early Christmas present. Boy does he love it! I'm excited that it will be a part of our Christmas decor for years to come.

Here's a look around the house....

The Christmas tree behind locked (aka rubber banded) doors

Christmas lights on our back porch

A nativity scene we found in the attic of our 1st house, Noah likes to steal baby Jesus and the animals.

Mike decorated this wreath & I love it. It looks beautiful from our street at night.

Even Noah has a tree in his room!

This little guy is cute, he bobbles around.

Confession: I love fiber optic Christmas trees. I think they are beautiful and I find it relaxing to watch the colors change. Last year I decided I had to have one, but finding the "right" fiber optic tree is a harder task then you may think. I finally found one at Lowe's, but not before I found 2 smaller ones. I'm proud to say they are all up this year. I think we have 5 Christmas trees but this one is my favorite. Unfortunately, you can't see the vivid colors in this pic but trust me, it's awesome and you too should consider a fiber optic for your home! Lol!

The stockings hung from the chimney with care...

Check out the stocking Noah made at preschool. The reindeer is made from his foot and hand prints.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is getting a new ornament each year. It's so much fun to see Mom's tree and all the ornaments she has collected for us over the years. Each ornament has a special meaning to our family and I'm excited that we are slowly filling up our Christmas tree. Noah's ornament this year is extra special because we had it made with his little hand print, ahh!! It's Santa Claus with his red hat on (Noah's thumb) and his white beard (Noah's fingers), can you tell?

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!

The makings of the perfect Christmas card picture.

Since Mike & I got married we have sent out a Christmas card every year. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail from our friends and family and I hope to share that joy by sending them. The "perfect" picture, before Noah entered the world, revolved around how my hair looked. Here are some of our pictures from the past...

2005

2006

2007


2008

Well a baby changes everything! Our goal is to have 1 picture that Noah is smiling and that we are all looking in the same direction. Here are some of our failed attempts this year-

Why do I need to hold Noah's shoe? Who knows!

This picture is wrong on so many different levels, what are we looking at, what is going on with my mouth, why are we grasping Noah's knee....

Luckily we had a talented and patient photographer (thank you Darryn) and we got lots of great pictures.

And here is the finalist, the one that made it to the card




We wish you a very, merry Christmas!!

Halloween 2009

What a great Halloween filled with family, friends, and a LOT of candy.

And a LOT of pictures...

We went to a Fall Festival where we enjoyed listening to the music of a live band.

My boys.

The 1st house.

I was standing in the road watching Noah and Mike walk to the front door of the 1st house thinking this will be the beginning of many Halloween nights. I remembered back to when I was a child and although it was fun dressing up and running around asking for candy, I'm really enjoying the amazement in Noah's eyes as he discovers life. I once heard being a parent allows you to see life a second time but this time it's through the lenses of your child. It is so true, can't wait until Christmas!

Wow! They just gave me candy.

Mmmm...candy.

It didn't take long for Noah to learn what Halloween is all about. He would jump off the hay ride and chase the older kids as fast as his little legs would carry him to many doorsteps in the neighborhood. As we watched him run ahead of us, we were so proud of the independent, energetic boy he is becoming and praised God for sharing him with us.

Our little pumpkin is growing up.

Really, did this just happen?

Our baby got 5, count them- 5!! Stitches!! It was incredibly traumatic for us all :( but we survived our 1st trip to the ER.

On a Tuesday night, after bath and pjs, we were letting Noah play just a few more minutes before putting him to bed. Oh how I wish I could turn back time. He was playing on the fireplace, laying on his tummy and pulling his legs in the air. As he scooted off the fireplace his chin caught a ruff edge and he sliced it wide open. Instantly we knew he needed stitches which would involve a trip to the ER, in the middle of swine flu season....need I say more? I will spare you the details of me being neurotic but a 19mo running around the ER = stressed out parents. In a way it was a blessing that we had to wait 3 hours for the procedure because by the time it finally arrived we were so D-O-N-E we were like please just get it done so we can go home. During the procedure I had to step out and cry while my strong, brave husband stayed in the room and monitored the wound tech's suture technique.

My pediatrician called the next day and told me that Noah was officially a part of the "Boy's Club" cause every boy has a scar under his chin. It made me feel a little better.

So far everything is healing nicely and Noah is doing a fantastic job of leaving it alone. The injury could have been much worse, thank you God for your protection.

I haven't updated our blog since March, I am clearly dedicated.

We had a fantastic summer. It was filled with swimming, gardening, milk shakes, job decisions, and family.

Here is a picture of Noah at the beginning of the summer before the puddle jumper life jacket changed our lives. Seriously, it's not pictured on the blog but it is the best life jacket for kids. Noah was jumping into the pool before the end of the summer. Highly recommend it...google it.

At a friend's community pool at the beginning of the summer, Noah was a little scared of the water. Oh how that would change- ha!

Check out his face- what is going on?

WARNING: the next picture includes nudity.

Are you ready for this?

I hope Noah doesn't disown me when he is 18 and I put this in his Senior yearbook.

Here it comes...

Ahhh baby bottom, too cute!

And then here he is at the zoo. Mmm, I love that little guy.

We went on a our 1st family vacation with Noah. Here he is in Cozumel.

Relaxing at Rum Point.

Attempt 1,276 to get a family picture, not an easy task.

Building sand castles at Rum Point.

Summer night entertainment-- riding the lawn mower with Daddy around the backyard!

We had so much fun, can't believe it is over.

Spring Break 2009

I had a great Spring Break. Off 11 days from work and got to spend a lot of time with my sweet boy.  

All Aboard!! 

My beautiful sister Emily

Look how cute with a baseball cap on. 

Yummy Popcorn!

Noah & Emily going down the slide at Tillery Park