My Wild Little Indian

It is amazing how cold {like really cold} it has been in Fort Worth over the past month; apparently the cold weather is not a norm around here. We have loved all of the beautiful snow, but honestly, the cold weather is getting kind of old. We are ready for some nice, warm Spring weather. Please don't misunderstand me; I'm not talking about the hot weather. Oh I dread the summer heat! Thankfully, we have a really nice pool we can cool off in. We enjoyed it so much last year, and I bet this year Noah will really have a lot of fun swimming.

The other day we finally had a beautiful day where we could go outside and play! We can get kind of restless when we have to stay inside all day, so it was nice to be able to run around and breathe in some fresh air. Noah was having the best time running around like a wild little Indian. I thought I would bring my camera along to see if I could get a few cute pictures of him playing. He was so cute running all over the place. I'm sure he was as sick of being stuck inside as I was. I didn't think I would get a single picture of him because he was literally running all over the place, but I surprised myself and got a few that I just love!





My Favorite! What a cutie.



Hopefully the weather will start warming up soon so we can enjoy more days playing outside.

My 3 Favorite Captions

Thanks to everyone who left a comment!
They were all really funny!

The Headless Dog

Each night after Noah takes a bath we spend time reading together before he goes bed. I love reading to Noah, even more so now that he has begun to sit back and listen instead of running around the room like a wild little Indian. Noah loves books, and often we will find him in his room with a book in hand flipping through the pages. The other day Josh and I heard him reading to himself as he turned each page of the book he was holding. It was so, so sweet. We have so many cute children's books, but out of all of them Noah's favorite is this one:

He loves it! In fact, he loves it so much that he keeps it in his bed with him when he sleeps. When we sit down to read a book, often I will tell him to go get a book, and, as expected, he will walk into the living room with Dog in his hands.

So tonight, once again the book of choice was Dog. Noah sat on my lap, and I began to read to him. One of Noah's favorite things about Dog is that throughout the book there are pull tabs which make each dog do something different. For example, on the front cover, when you pull the tab it causes the pug's tail to move back and forth. One another page, it says "Fleas make an itchy dog scratch, scratch, scratch!" When you pull the tab, the dog's leg moves up and down so that it looks like the dog is scratching himself. There are several pull tabs, as well as different textures to feel, throughout the book.

So anyway, we were reading through each page looking at all the different dogs...



... and then I look at the next page and see this:

My sweet {ok, maybe not so sweet} little Noah decapitated one of the dogs!

This poor little doggy used to shake his head. I couldn't help but laugh. It was so funny turning the page and seeing a headless dog. I knew that would happen eventually.

I just had to sit down and blog about this. It's sweet memories like these that are so easy to forget, and I am so thankful to have a blog where I can look back and remember the night we were reading Noah's favorite book and discovered the headless dog.

Is that You,Terrible Two's?

Well. Today has been an interesting day, to say the least. I think we are getting closer and closer to the terrible two's! Yikes.

It all started out this morning. Noah has decided he is quite fond of the word, "No!". I have to admit it was really cute hearing him say "nu-uh" when I told him to come put his jacket on. But after the first time, I realized this little behavior isn't so cute after all, and we are going to have to nip it in the bud {quickly}. I am also starting to realize how difficult parenting is going to be. But, what a blessing Noah is in our lives, and I pray God gives Josh and me wisdom to know how to discipline Noah in the right way.

So tonight, Mr. Noah, was in some kind of mood. He was tired, but things really went downhill when I got a treat for Einstein. I thought it would be cute to let Noah give Einstein the treat. I thought wrong.

"Noah, give Einstein his treat."

Noah looked at me with rebellious eyes as he slowly brought the treat to his mouth.

"No, Noah. Give Einstein the treat. These treats are yucky; they don't taste good."

Of course, Noah didn't care if they tasted good or not. He wanted Einstein's treat! Noah always shares his food with Einstein, so he did not understand why he couldn't have some of Einstein's food. I quickly realized Noah was not going to give the treat to Einstein, so I took it away from him and gave it to Einstein.

Oh heavens. I don't know if angry is a strong enough word to describe Noah's reaction. He was in a state of wrath. Noah stomped his feet, started screaming, and shook his fist at Einstein like he was going to choke him. I had to keep myself from laughing {gosh, sometimes it's so hard not to laugh} at his outrage against Einstein, who hadn't done a single thing wrong. Poor, poor Einstein.

So anyway, after Noah realized Einstein wasn't going to do anything about his crying fit, he turned around to me and gave me his sad story:

And in case you are wondering, I didn't run and grab my camera to document Noah's crying fit. What crazy mother would do that? Ok, maybe I would. But really, I was taking pictures of Noah and Einstein together and happened to have the camera near by when Noah let loose his fury. He sure is cute when he is mad though. I think he gets that from his daddy.

On a side note, Noah and I had a really fun day today! We met some friends, Laura & her nine month old, Ian, for lunch, and then we went to the Fort Worth Museum to play. The museum has a really neat children's play area, so we thought it would be fun to take the boys. We all had so much fun together! I'll share more on that later. In the mean time, you can head on over to Laura's blog and read her sweet post about our day.

Straws

Noah's most recent infatuation: straws. He discovered them in our pantry not long ago, and since that time he has been mesmerized by them. You should see our house. Straws everywhere. In Einstein's food bowl. In the dishwasher. In his bed. In the couch. On our computer desk. I mean everywhere. I feel like I am constantly picking up straws. Oh the joys of cleaning up after a toddler! The straws do bring a little lot of color to our house, that's for sure. Just look at how happy & content Noah is with a handful of straws.

But Noah's relationship with straws is complicated. It's one of those love-hate relationships. One minute, he loves the straws, and no other toy in the world could bring him more joy. A split second later, he hates the straws. Despises them. Wants to rip them in half and throw them in the trash. You see, it irritates him like nothing else when he tries to hold all of the straws in his little hand and a couple of them escape his grasp. He can't stand not being able to hold all of them at the same time; he just becomes more and more angry with each fugitive straw.

Uh oh...he's getting angry.

Oh my goodness!
If I could read his mind, I might have to wash his mouth out with soap!

See how the anger turns into disgust.

Oh Noah. You funny little boy. Some day your hands will be big enough to hold all of the straws.

Name This Photo

Einstein expressions are the best.
I just love them. Don't you?

This picture is just too funny not to name.

What caption would you give this photo?
I want to hear from you {yep, that means you}
in the comments section below.

I'm sure there are some pretty
funny captions out there, so let's
hear them!

Night.

Noah's Moves

Noah loves to dance. Loves it. And I'm telling you, it is the cutest thing I've ever seen. He bends his knees, sticks his hiney out, bounces up and down, and moves his head back and forth like a chicken. It is so funny! I have tried a million times {no lie} to get him on video when he dances, but as soon as he hears the video camera turn on, either a.) he gives me a blank stare as he stands there like a statue or b.) he high tails it to another room. I thought I would never get his dance moves on video, but tonight he finally let me video him {even if it was just for a split second!}. Thank you sweet Noah for finally giving in! We were watching Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie together, and when the song, "God is the God of Second Chances," came on, he started dancing. So without further ado here it is:



Isn't that hilarious? I just love it!

Splish Splash

Noah loves bath time. And over the past week or two his favorite thing to do in the bath is fill up his cup with water and pour it on his head. And then he just laughs and laughs. It is too cute! And he sure was making his mommy laugh with all of the laughing and screaming he was doing in the bathtub tonight.

I guess he didn't like his Mohawk.





I just love his expression.

And boy did he have some wild hair going on after his bath.

I just love this little boy!

How to Taste the Rainbow

Not long after I wrote the blog post about Noah's Rainbow Pancakes, I started getting texts, emails, and messages on Facebook asking, "How did you do it?"

It's really not too hard. In fact, it's pretty darn easy. Anyone who can flip a pancake and squeeze a bottle of food coloring can make rainbow pancakes. {In case you forgot, I got this awesome idea from Amanda at iammommy.typepad.com}

So, my inquiring friends, I'm back with these pretty little pancakes and a tutorial so you can get busy in the kitchen & make them too!

So let's get our hands dirty & get started.

Here are the ingredients you need:

The recipes yields 8 servings:

-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 tablespoon white sugar
{I actually used powdered sugar & it worked just fine}
-1 1/4 cups milk
-1 egg
-3 tablespoons butter, melted
-Food Coloring

Depending on how big you make your pancakes and/or how many you want to make, you will need to adjust the amount of the ingredients. The recipe I use for pancakes is on allrecipes.com. I really like this website because you can customize the recipe to how many servings you want. Click here if you need to adjust your serving size.

Ok. So how do we make these bright, colorful pancakes?

First, grab a large bowl, and sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Then pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter; mix until smooth.

Next, heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over low/medium heat. Keep the heat on the lower end, because the key to not browning the pancakes too much is to cook them slowly.

After you have turned on the stove, grab the food coloring, and the fun begins! Get 5 to 6 small bowls and divide the pancake batter evenly in each of the bowls. Mix the food coloring {I used about 10 drops or so} into the batter until you get the color you want. Something like this:

{The picture above was taken from here because
I didn't have any cute little bowls for display}

Now it's time to cook them on the griddle. Remember, the key is to cook them slowly. Don't rush, or you will have some ugly looking pancakes {I speak from experience}.

Just pick a color and pour it on the griddle. Do one color at a time so you don't get any weird color mixes. Once I've poured the batter on the griddle, I usually turn the heat up just a tad, but not too much. Be patient! You'll know the pancakes are ready to flip when little bubbles start forming at the top of the batter.

And then you have rainbow pancakes! They are almost too pretty to eat {key word: almost}.

Hope this little tutorial helped! Good luck!

Baby Fever

This little princess is giving me some serious baby fever.
Meet Emily.
She is a nursery friend of Noah's.



Is she not an absolute doll?!

I love my camera. Love, love, looooove it. It was my one & only Christmas present from Josh, and it was totally worth it. Over the past couple of months of hands on practice with my camera, I have really found an interest in photography. I've always been a "smile for the camera" kinda gal, but it has become more than that lately. I love experimenting with my camera and playing around with the different settings. I've quickly learned that natural light is my best friend. I've read and researched information about my camera until my eyeballs felt like they were going to fall out. But I am definitely in the beginning stages. I still have so much to learn. Wow. I have quickly realized that photography is so much more than simply snapping pictures. There is so much more to it than most people realize. It actually overwhelms me to tell you the truth. But, I am challenging myself to learn. To become better. To take classes. Read tutorials. Practice, practice, practice. Maybe someday this interest in photography will go somewhere. Or it may simply be a way for me to capture memories of my family for years to come. We shall see.

So let's talk about this little girly girl who is giving me baby fever.

Ok, take a breather Libby...

A few weeks ago, I asked her mommy if I could come over and take some pictures of Emily to get some practice with my camera. Practice makes perfect, right? Of course, her sweet mommy didn't mind, so we planned what day & time to meet.

I was so excited to take pictures of a little girl for a change. There is nothing better than taking pictures of my precious little Noah, but it sure was fun dressing this little sweetie up. And her mommy even let me pick out her little outfits, headbands, and such. Of course, since pink is my favorite color, my eyes naturally gravitated to all of the pinks in her wardrobe. Oh goodness. If I ever have a girl Josh better hide the credit card. Ok, back to Emily.

Anyway, she was the happiest little baby. She smiled non-stop, which made it that much easier for me to capture her sweet personality. I had so much fun, and I am thankful for the opportunity to practice with my camera.

Now, I hope this baby fever passes soon, or Josh will never let me photograph another baby again! Haha.

Goodnight.

A Fabulous Invention: the Padalily

This is a product you have to see! Why, oh why, did I not think of something like this?

It's called the Padalily, which is simply a cushion that wraps around the car seat handle making it comfortable and easy to hold. And aren't the fabrics on these beauties fabulous?!

I totally wish I had a Padalily when Noah was a baby. There were so many times I thought my arm was going to fall off when I lugged him around in his car seat. You can bet I'm gonna have a Padalily on our car seat with our next baby {and no, that's not a hint}.

What a perfect gift for a mother-to-be! Click here if you are interested.

On another note, I have had several requests for a Rainbow Pancakes tutorial, so I just wanted to let you know I am working on it and will post it soon!

The Chocolate Kiss

Noah loved the big chocolate kiss he got from Mommy & Daddy yesterday for Valentine's day.

And he had a chocolate mustache to prove it.

Of course, Einstein just couldn't understand why he didn't get a chocolate kiss.

I just love his face. It practically screams, "Where the heck is my chocolate kiss?"

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's day and had a chance to spend it with the ones you love.

Happy Birthday...

...Valentine baby!



Einstein turns 3 years old today.
{And you can tell he is thrilled about it}.

Don't worry Einstein. You don't look
a year older!

What a blessing & joy you are to our family.
We love you gorilla face!

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day to each and everyone of you!

Valentine Rice Krispy Treat Pops

I've been baking up a storm in the kitchen this morning making Valentine Rice Krispy Pops to take to our church lunch tomorrow.

Aren't they adorable?! If you need a last minute Valentine dessert, try these pops out. They are really easy to make {and yummmy!}. Click here for the recipe.

Hope you are having a wonderful, relaxing Saturday!

Taste the Rainbow

Breakfast...



is...



served!



What's better than starting off your morning
with a plate full of Rainbow Pancakes?

Nothing, I tell ya.

And little Noah, oh boy, he loved them!
Here is his reaction to the Rainbow Pancakes.

"Ok, now how in the world am I supposed to eat these?"



"I guess I'll just start with the red one."



"Man, how much does this thing weigh?!"



Noah got half way through the top layer,
and then he was done eating.
The bright, colorful pancakes
were way more fun to play with.



From the looks of Noah's sweet face,
he thinks Rainbow pancakes
are the greatest invention
a mommy could come up with.

I wish I could take credit for these
fun pancakes, but sadly I can't.
I got the idea from here.



This is Noah's "If I eat one more bite I'm gonna be sick" face. Haha

Anyone craving pancakes now?