Is this surprising?

Noah is drawn to the open dishwasher like a moth to a flame. Not surprisingly, he figured out how to climb onto the door a couple of days ago.

Joy to the world!

Making a special treat for Santa at the annual cookie decorating party. Heading off to church on Christmas Eve.

Noah wasn't much into taking pictures Christmas Eve.


We've been busy the past couple of days! We went to a cookie decorating party Sunday night, and we all had lots of fun. Then on Monday Luke, my mom, and I went to the family Christmas Eve service at church, and then Gary & Noah came with us to another regular service at 5:00. Luke was SO excited about Christmas and had fun putting out cookies and milk for Santa and special food for the reindeer. I always like having my mom here on Christmas morning, so that made it special for me. Noah had no interest in opening any presents, which meant Luke got to do double duty. His favorite presents were the two transformers G-mommy and G-daddy gave him. He also really liked the Spiderman Web-blaster my mom gave him. I got a new MP3 player, and the best part is it's pink! We spent the rest of the day playing with new toys and enjoying being with one another. I hope all my friends and family had a merry Christmas!

Hooray - a transformer!

How big is Noah?

Here are the official 1-year stats for the peanut:

-length: 29 1/2 inches (50%)
-weight: 19 lbs., 5.5 oz (7% - that's right, as in 1-2-3-4-5-6-7)
-head: 18 inches (50%)

Birthday boy

As far as first birthdays go, Noah's was a success. He really didn't want to open his presents, but luckily we have a present-happy four-year-old who lives here and was quite eager to help. Noah did, however, LOVE his cake. My friend Donna once again made the cakes, and Noah's smash cake was adorable. I knew he'd dive right in (unlike Luke who didn't even want to touch it), and true to form, he did. Once he got a taste of that yummy icing, he ate with gusto. When he finally decided he was done, he signed "all done" (which he does by shaking his hands), and he flung cake and icing all over the place. He got some new toys that Luke has thoroughly enjoyed playing with. Maybe one day Noah will, too.

"Whew! This is a lot of work!"

"Happy Birthday, dear Noah!"

One

A year ago today I was lying in a recovery room, calling all my friends and family to tell them that Baby Noah had been born. And now, a year later, we have a birthday boy! I just can't believe that he's a year old. We're having a small party later this afternoon, so I'll post more pictures later, but I wanted to get the official 1-year picture posted.

Christmas Show and Tell

Luke's school Christmas program was yesterday, and this year was a big improvement over last year for him. You may recall that last year Luke refused to wear his angel costume, and by the end of the program (which is all of 20 minutes) he was sitting down, putting his foot behind his head. This year he actually sang all the songs and did the motions. He was originally supposed to be Joseph, but during one of the practices, he decided he didn't want to do it, mainly because the costume made him "really sweaty." He's obviously not destined to be in the lime light, but that's OK. If he had been Joseph, he wouldn't have gotten to sing the songs and ring his bell during the last song which he really enjoyed.

Hmmmm . . .

Here's what I found when I went in to check on Luke last night. He is absolutely sound asleep.

Scary Claus

I took the boys to see Santa yesterday. Noah DID NOT like him. I put him on Santa's lap and backed away so they could take a picture. Noah turned around, took one look at Santa, and got a panic-stricken look on his face. Then came the silent scream; I think he was too horrified to make any noise. Oh well, this was basically the reaction I expected from him.

Lesson learned

Up until yesterday, I let Noah play with our cordless phone. I know I probably shouldn't have, but it entertains him for quite a while, and I guess I was being lazy yesterday. I will not be letting him play with the phone anymore. After playing with it yesterday afternoon for a few minutes, he put it down and crawled away. I checked to see that it wasn't on, and a minute later it rang. The caller ID said "City of McKinney" (can you see where this is going?) and a woman said, "Someone at this residence just called 9-1-1. Is everything OK?" I was completely confused, and when I professed my innocence, she repeated that someone - "it sounded like a child" she said - had dialed 9-1-1. I confessed that my baby had been playing with the phone, and after answering a string of questions, I quickly hung up, extremely embarrassed. If I hadn't answered the phone, the police would have come, and then I would have been mortified. I'm SO glad I answered it! The phone is no longer one of Noah's toys.