Happy heart day!

We had a lovely Valentine's day. It started with pink, heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes which, oddly enough, Luke didn't like. He and Noah both got several Valentine's treats which they liked a lot. Mimi gave Luke some more art stuff (as we call it around here), and he couldn't wait to get started creating more fabulous projects. For dinner, I made red food for my boys: spaghetti, tomatoes & mozzarella, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Gary got me a beautiful arrangement of red, long-stemmed roses, and we've all enjoyed having a little candy around the house.

I love my boys! Happy Valentine's Day!

Got yogurt?

I've been letting Noah try to feed himself yogurt for the past two days. We obviously have more work to do.

Noah's makeover

Noah got his first haircut today! I was holding out as long as I could since this will be the last first haircut for me, but Noah's stringy, straggley hair won out and today was the big day. He actually did pretty well and only fussed a little. I gave him a lollipop for entertainment, and we were both very stick by the time the whole thing was over. He looks like a big boy now and not a baby (which is a little sad for me.)

The first snip!
"I would get a haircut every day if it meant getting a lollipop!"
Ewwww . . . the stickiness!!

What a handsome boy!

What a character!

Here are two funny Noah stories:

When Noah's eating, he likes to feed whomever happens to be closest to him. Yesterday we were sitting on the floor, and he was eating Cheerios. When he was done, he walked away; a few minutes later he walked back to me and put something in my mouth. At first I assumed it was a Cheerio, but as soon as he put it in my mouth, I knew it was something I didn't want to eat. When I took it out I discovered that he had just fed me a piece of dog food. Yummy! I told him I didn't want it and to give it to Molly, which he did. Then he went back to her dog food container, got two more pieces out, and tried to shove those in my mouth as well. You just never know what a day will bring around here!

Yesterday (right around the time he fed me the dog food), Noah discovered Luke's toy recorder. When he heard the noise he could make on it, he cracked up. He'd blow into it and then laugh, laugh, laugh! Sometimes he was laughing so hard that he couldn't blow on it anymore. It was so very funny!

Awwww!

Noah's latest trick is to walk up to the sofa or recliner and lay his head down so everyone will say, "Awww! What a sweet baby!" He also loves on anything soft - his blankie, t-shirts he has pulled out of a drawer, a burp cloth -again so everyone will exclaim, "That's so sweet!" It's funny how quickly they learn what gets them attention!

Hey, good lookin'!

But I get my winning personality from my mom!

Sleepy-head

More nighttime hijinks from Sir Luke.

Update

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything, so let me update all my fans on what's been going on around here lately.

NOAH . . .

-is walking full-time now, and has been for about 2 weeks. He's really fast - I think he'll be running before long.

-turned 13 months last Friday. He still loves to get into the trash; he puts stuff in and pulls trash out. Yesterday he found the crust of his sandwich in the trash and gave it to Molly.

-waves "bye-bye", blows kisses, signs "all done", "drink", and "more".

-has started to scream really loud when he's mad.



LUKE . . .

-Is a teenager in the making.

-Loves his stuffed animals so much he stuffed them in his pj's.

-Is a red Power Ranger!

Bug guy

Luke LOVES roly-polies, and he was thrilled to find one last weekend.

Whassup?

Think it's time for a haircut?

I want candy!

Gary's given Noah tastes of a Blow-Pop enough times that he knows what it is when you get one out. Gary got one out during lunch last weekend, and Noah nearly had a fit until Gary let him have some. He was happy until he dropped it, and then the theatrics started again. Gary gave it back to him because he refused to eat the sugar-free lollipop Gary tried to give him instead. All was good until Noah got down to the bubblegum and Gary took it away again. Looks like we've got another sweet-tooth on our hands!

More walking

Noah is pretty much walking full-time now. He crawls every once in a while, but after he discovered that he could stand up without pulling on anything, he is much more likely to keep walking even after he falls down. Because of this new-found mobility, he has sustained many more head boo-boos recently. I think he got three yesterday, and he busted his mouth pretty good earlier today. Someone asked me if he was getting into more stuff since he's been walking, but since he got into everything when he was crawling, there really isn't much of anything left for him to get into. Famous last words . . .

"I'm walkin', yes indeed!"

The Sunday before Christmas, Noah was taking 3 or 4 steps at a time. Today he's walking about 75% of the time. It's amazing how far he's progressed in a little over a week. I think he'll be walking full-time in the next week or two. It's funny to see him stagger around with his tongue hanging out (I think it helps him balance) and his arms stuck out like Frankenstein. Today he mastered the one-foot pivot turn so he can officially change directions. This isn't the best picture of him walking, but you can at least see that he's upright and moving.

Stinker

In case you're wondering what's in his hand, it's a bag of batteries.

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.