I Love the Moments

I love...

... the moments when just my presence in Noah's room with a hug around his little body calms his fears when he is crying at night.

... the moments when Noah crawls to me wanting to sit in my lap and we snuggle together for as long as he will let me.

... the moments when Noah comes crawling as fast as he can when he hears me put Einstein's leash on so he can go outside with us.

... the moments when the wind blows in Noah's face and he starts laughing with a huge smile across his face.

... the moments when he crawls in Einstein's (filthy) bed without hesitation to wake Einstein up.

... the moments when he stuffs too many apples or prunes in his mouth because he loves the way they taste, and he looks like a little chipmunk.

... the moments when he pretends to be gagging just to get our attention (he knows it will work every time!)

... the moments when I arrive home after being gone for a while and Noah crawls over to me as fast as he can to meet me.

... the moments when I'm reading to him from his story Bible before bedtime, even though he loses interest as I hold the book in the air as I read to prevent him from tearing out the pages.

... the moments when he puts up a fight to prevent me from brushing his teeth or changing his diaper.

... the moments when I tell him to say, "Mama" and he proceeds to say "Dada" instead.

... the moments when he tries to put his finger in Einstein's nostrils out of curiosity.

... the moments when we put Noah down for a nap and he lies there and talks to himself for 30-45 minutes before he actually falls asleep.

... the moments when he throws every single toy he has out of the bathtub just so he can watch them drop to the ground.

... the moments when I go in his room and find his bottle on the ground after he chunked it over his crib when he was finished with it.

... the moments when he discovers new places to hide such as the dryer or the kitchen cabinets.

... the moments when I go to pick him up after my women's Bible study and I find him conked out in a swing.

... the moments when he thinks it is so funny to push Josh's face away when Josh gets real close to him. That's their little game they play. It's so funny.

... the moments when I lay him down for a nap and he doesn't protest. He just grabs his blankie and lies there calmly until he falls asleep.

... the moments when I look over at Noah while I'm feeding Josh something and Noah has his mouth open like a little birdie wanting to taste whatever Daddy is eating.

... the moments when I am sleeping and Josh brings Noah in to wake me up; Noah is always so excited to wake me up.

... the moments when I tell him to give Mommy a kiss, and he just smiles and leans forward a little bit to let me kiss his sweet face.

... the moments when Noah stuffs down Daddy's "unhealthy" breakfasts like he hasn't eaten for weeks.

... the moments when he throws the ball for Einstein to go catch it.

... the moments when Noah stares at one of us when we are eating (including Einstein) and he starts making a chewing/smacking noise with his mouth.

I don't think I could even come close to listing out all the moments I love about Noah. I can't imagine our lives without him. He brings so much joy, excitement, laughter into our lives, and I praise God for the precious child He has entrusted us with. We are truly blessed.

Noah is...

Oh how I've neglected our blog this week, and I seriously haven't meant to. This week has zipped right on by, and it's hard to believe I haven't sat down any this week to write. I told Josh tonight while we were eating dinner that if I didn't sit down and get busy we'd have two grandmas on the war path. So I'm back!

My goodness. Where do I start? There has been so much going on around here lately, and I have so many new updates on Noah. This post is going to be pretty random, so in no particular order, here we go:

Noah is...

...talking. He has definitely become more vocal lately. I love to hear Noah talk, and often we have some very interesting conversations throughout the day. Some of Noah's favorite words to say right now are "Mama," "Dada," "Uh-oh," and "Oh." He is starting to identify me as "Mama" and Josh as "Dada." The other day, Josh was about to leave the house to run an errand, and as he was walking to the door Noah crawled after him saying, "Dada." It was the sweetest thing ever! When we are driving in the car together I always have Christian music playing, and lately the sweetest voice I've ever heard has been singing along to the music. What a blessing, even at such a young age, to hear your child singing praises to God with his sweet little voice!

...singing the ABCs. Well, he's not really singing the ABCs, but he smiles and laughs every time the song comes on. It's his favorite song these days; he loves it! The other day he lifted his hands in the air when he heard it. We are going to have to work on that because we're a Baptist family, you know.

...a Momma's Boy. But occasionally he will let Daddy hold him without crying.

...starting to stand on his own. He is starting to gain confidence in standing without support, and a couple of times has taken a few steps towards me. It was so funny today because he was trying to balance himself, but he looked like a sumo wrestler in the way he was standing. I'm thinking it might not be too long before he is walking all over the place.

...growing curly q's. I can't believe how much Noah's hair has grown. It is so funny to look back at old pictures of him when he was a baldy. Now we have so much hair we don't know what to do with it! No really, his little curly q's are so cute! We have been going back and forth on whether we should get his hair cut or not. We have decided to wait on the hair cut, and when it gets to a certain point where it becomes unmanageable (like Josh's hair) we will go get his first hair cut.

...locked out. Of the cabinets, that is. Josh graciously took 5 hours out of his day to baby-proof 3 of Noah's favorite cabinets. Those cabinets just so happen to contain all of our cleaning supplies and Einstein's food and treats. So now that Noah's favorites are no longer accessible, he figured out something even better. Watch.



...eating like a grown man. I am not kidding. Noah can eat and eat and eat. So far he has done really well eating what we place in front of him, but I hear everything changes around 18 months. Noah's faaaaaaavorite food is graham crackers. Papa (Darrell) is quite a fan of graham crackers himself, and he has apparently passed that gene to Noah. Noah loves loves loves graham crackers. One weekend when Papa was here, he was eating some graham crackers, and Noah crawled over to him and stood there in front of him wanting to taste what he had. So Papa broke off a piece and gave it to him. (Of course, it wasn't long before both Noah and Einstein were sitting in front of Papa, staring him down for pieces of graham crackers) That day Noah discovered his favorite food. I'm not kidding when I say Noah could eat graham crackers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Oh, and of course at snack time too.

...is not a fan of juice. To our surprise, Noah prefers water over juice. We have tried both apple juice and orange juice, but Noah just takes one or two sips, and then he's done. He pushes it away making it very obvious he does not want any more. I guess that's a good thing that he likes water, right?

...back on the wagon. We have not been successful with weaning Noah from the bottle. I just don't know how we are going to do it. Noah never took a pacifier (thank the Lord), but I realized the other night the bottle is kind of like his pacifier. It is the only thing that will settle him down when he is crying. So we are back to square one.

...wearing a size 5. In diapers. More food means more, well, you know. I can't believe he is already in size 5 diapers! (I change a lot of diapers at work, as you can imagine, and it's hard to believe Noah's little hiney use to be in those newborn diapers!)

...getting to be a big boy. Is it really true my little baby is laying on the couch all by himself?

...going to Wee Care. Recently, I have started a Women's Bible study on Thursday mornings at Christ Chapel Bible Church. The Bible study I've joined is called, "Shout to the Lord." We are studying and focusing on specific Psalms throughout the week, and then meeting together in small groups and corporately to study God's word. What a blessing it has been; I've grown so much already. God knew exactly what I needed. And God knows exactly what Noah needs too. I was so excited to find out there was a program for Noah on Thursday mornings too. Noah has been going to "Wee Care" which is Christ Chapel's nursery. They provide a fun place for the children to stay while the mother's are in Bible study, but the most exciting part of it is their mission which is to "come along side the family in reaching kids with the gospel of Christ and growing them up as Christ followers." The first week was kinda scary for Noah because of the unfamiliarity of it, but he is starting to adjust to the new environment and people around him. I'm sure the more we go, the more he will feel comfortable there. I'm so thankful to God and I praise Him for what He has done for us.

Before I go, have you ever heard of Playgrounder.com? Josh found this website not long ago, and it has the coolest stuff for kids. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

Have a wonderful evening!

Missing in Action

I have very much missed my blog the past couple of days. Whoa. Actually I think it has been more like a week. And you are probably wondering what the heck I have been doing all this time. Well I've been at the Texas Baptist Deaf Youth Camp all week as camp nurse. And yes I did leave Noah for five whole days! I can't even begin to explain how much I missed my baby. Especially when I called to see how Noah was doing and I would hear his voice in the background, or I would talk to him and then hear his precious voice saying, "mama." You can imagine I got very emotional. But knowing he was in good hands with my Mom and Dad made it just a little easier being away. Thank you SO much Mimi and Granddad for taking care of Noah all week; we really appreciate it and know Noah loved being with you!

As much as I (and Josh too) missed Noah, we really had a great week at camp. The theme for the week was "Live out Loud" with the focus of being set a part for God and wholeheartedly living for Him. God was definitely at work in my heart this week and I left with convictions and a renewed passion for Him. I want to know Him deeper. I desire to be a godly woman, wife, and mother and I pray God will continue to mold me to become more like Him. I am so thankful for this past week at camp.

But, I sure am happy to be home, and I have loved every minute being with Noah today. I missed every little thing about him while I was away. And it was so hard for me to lay him down for naps today and bed tonight because I missed him so much all week and I have to go back to work the next two days. When I saw him today it looked like he had grown in just a couple of days. It's amazing how fast little ones make changes so quickly. Speaking of growing, Noah will be a year in 16 days. I think I just shed a tear. A year has come and gone so quickly. It feels like just the other day when I was holding a 7 lb 14 oz Noah in my arms. Sometimes it's hard to believe he was ever that small. What a joy and blessing he is in our lives this past year. I can't imagine our lives without him.

Noah a couple days old

Noah almost One!

I am anxious to share Noah's most recent pictures with you! I have a few already, but they are hidden away until his invitations to his party are sent out. They are the cutest things I've ever seen.

Have a fabulous day!

First Words

I never knew the word "Mama" could melt my heart the way it does when it comes from Noah's mouth. Yep, Noah said "Mama!" And it is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. He may not know yet that I am Mama and Josh is Dada, but he is talking and it is precious!

The first time Noah said "Mama" was on June 1st, which was the day we moved into our new home. I will never forget that day for those two reasons. Noah loves to say "Mama," and I love hearing it! There is just something about hearing your child talk for the first time.

Noah is also learning to lift his hand to say bye bye and it's funny because he will mouth "bye bye" in a soft whisper. So so sweet. Noah is beginning to imitate words, sounds, and actions. It's amazing how quickly he is picking up on things. My little baby is growing so fast, but what fun it is to see him learn and grow.

Ok I'll stop talking now and let you see the video of Noah's first words. Here it is!