The Wrestler

Lately I have had a little wrestler on my hands. From what I hear it's a boy thing, but I didn't expect it to start at 10 months! Noah is still practically a baby!

Here is our little Hulk wrestling his new stuffed animal that Uncle Joseph bought him last week.



It is funny because we thought the stuffed dog would be something Noah would snuggle with or lay on, but it's quite the opposite. Instead, Noah loves to wrestle with the dog. Joseph would be so proud! Well, I guess I am in a house full of testosterone, but I wouldn't trade my boys for anything.

On a side note, I thought I would share with you the kind of weather we have had to endure the past week in Fort Worth.

It has been SO hot! I guess if we can make it through June, July, and August then we should be good. Today when we walked outside we thought it felt so good. You know what the temperature was? 94. I guess having a week of straight 100s makes you appreciate the 90s.

Have a great day!

Shake

Before we moved to Fort Worth, we had stuff packed up and scattered throughout the apartment. When it came time to feed Noah, rather than moving everything out of the way to get the high chair, I decided to just do it on the ground. So, of course, our little bottomless pit (no, I'm not talking about Noah) was begging for food. It doesn't matter what kind of food it is, Einstein wants it.

This is the lovely look we get from Einstein EVERY time we are eating something.

As much as we love this little pug, it gets quite annoying sometimes having two beady little eyes stare us down for food.

Now don't you start feeling sorry for him. He knows how to use those sad eyes to his advantage. He is definitely not underfed. Last time we took him to the vet for shots and a check up he weighed 40 lbs!! We were shocked. In fact, probably a month before his appointment we had started him on IAMS weight control food. So you can just imagine the look on our faces when they told us how much he weighed.

As I write this, Josh and Einstein are on their nightly walk. Eating healthy food just wasn't cutting it for Einstein. We had to incorporate some exercise into his daily routine.

Anyway, that night I was feeding Noah some baby food on the ground. Of course Einstein was right there by his side hoping he might get a little taste of the delicious goodness that is Gerber's baby food.

And then this happened:



It was SO funny! Noah would reach over and grab Einsteins hand to play with it, but Einstein thought, "Oh goody, he wants me to shake hands!" To Einstein, Shaking hands = FOOD!

I just love Noah's expressions too. He is like what ARE you doing Einstein??

And since Einstein DID shake hands with Noah, he got to do this:



Silly little pug!

Our Little Family

This post will be short and sweet. Mainly because I have to get up early and need to get to bed.

I promised you our family pictures, so here they are! Well... minus Einstein. I'm sure you would appreciate it if I kept the details to myself, but basically Einstein was feeling pretty down and out that day.

Anyway, we were so pleased with how our family session turned out. As always we had a lot of fun with Chriselda!



Talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight!

It is Hard to Believe...

... Noah is 10 months old today!

Is it possible that 10 months can come and go so fast and that in two short months he will be a year old? No way!

Sometimes I look at him and think, "How did you get so big?"

I look back at this picture of Noah when I was 8 weeks pregnant,

and I can't help but think of the following words:

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be." - Psalm 139:13-16

Do those words not leave you in awe of God? They do me.

God knew my precious Noah before he formed his little body. He loved Noah before we even knew him and loves him now more than we can even comprehend. Sometimes I think, "how could God love Noah more than ME??" But He does.

Honestly, sometimes it's a struggle for me to completely place Noah in God's care. I worry about this and that and often think, "what if??" But when I take the time to reflect on the scripture above, I am reassured and am reminded that God is in control. He loves us, He created us, He sent Jesus to die for us, so why would He not protect us?

Thank you God for creating my little man. Thank you that I can trust in you and have peace knowing Noah is in good hands with you.



P.S. Thank you faithful blog readers for all of your sweet comments! I loved reading them. For those of you who are still in hiding, come on out! Don't be shy.

Goodnight!

Drop Me a Line

I love to blog. I know, I know. You're saying, "duh Libby."

No seriously, it has become one of my favorite things to do. I LOVE sharing our story with you. How great is the concept of blogging, to be able to keep family and friends updated on what is going on in our lives. I hope when you sit down to your computer to read our blog, you enjoy yourself. I hope it brings a smile to your face or even makes you laugh sometimes.

So... I'm just curious; I often think to myself, "I wonder who my faithful blog readers actually are?" Yes, I'm talking to YOU. I want to know who you are. So here's the deal. If you are reading this right now, please leave me a comment. It doesn't have to be long, and you can say (almost) anything you want. Even just a hello would be fabulous! Just click the word "comments" below my name, and drop me a line.

Before I go, I thought I'd share with you a preview of our family session we had not to long ago with Chriselda. Coming soon...

Movin' on Up!

I would have never thought my little laid back Noah would already be doing this at 9 months:

That's right, you saw it with your own two eyes... Noah is pulling up! He has been a busy little boy around here the past two weeks.

Remember the post about Noah pulling himself up on his knees in the bath tub? Well, not too long after that, Noah discovered he could reach a little bit farther to get what he wants by standing on his feet. Noah had no problem at all getting to his feet! He just pulled himself right up, and from that point on he has been pulling himself up on everything: his crib, the patio window, the dishwasher, Mommy, Daddy, Einstein. You can bet that if Noah can climb onto something, he will.

The other day I was in the kitchen cleaning up, so I had the dishwasher open to load the dishes. Noah was with me in the kitchen getting his little self into everything he could. He was crawling around opening the pantry door and kitchen cabinets, and before I knew it Noah was doing this:

Awww! What a sweet little boy, helping Mommy load the dishes.

And is this picture not the cutest thing you've ever seen?! I just love it!

Would you like to see some more pictures? I thought you might.

Of course I can't just show you pictures without letting you see the little guy in action!



Is this the start of Noah leaving babyhood and entering toddler-hood (I know, I just made that word up)? Maybe so, but everyday with Noah just gets better and better!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Last week, Grammy (Gay Lynn) and Josh's grandparents Pa and Nanny were headed to a family reunion in Paris, Texas. Thankfully, Fort Worth is on the way, so they stopped by to visit us! We were so happy to see them, and all had so much fun together. Other than spending time with family, which is always the best, the big event of the weekend (well at least for us) was going to the Rangers game. Pa and Nanny were so sweet and bought all of us tickets to go to the game. And as you can see from the picture below, we had GOOD seats!!

Daddy and Noah excited to see the Rangers!

Noah at his very first pro baseball game! You can tell he is excited about it!

Layin' back and relaxing...



As much as he wanted to watch the whole game, he just couldn't help it.



Josh with Nanny and Pa



Noah with Daddy and Grammy after the game.



Noah worn out from all the fun, but still manages
a half smile for Mommy!



Our family at Noah's 1st Ranger's game!

The next day before Grammy, Pa, and Nanny left for the reunion we all went to eat at Mimi's Cafe where Noah had a taste of lemon. The funny thing is Noah loves anything that is sour.

Apparently this one was pretty sour!

Still a happy boy!

After we finished eating, we went to an outlet mall in Allen. Boy was it hot! We all looked like we had just been swimming. We forgot to bring a hat for Noah, so that is what we ended up looking for the whole time we were there. In fact, that is the only thing we bought. Noah has his daddy's fair skin, so even if we are out in the sun for even just a short time he starts to get red.

Here is the hat we found for Noah. Isn't he the cutest little cowboy you've ever seen?

Thank you so much Grammy, Pa, and Nanny for coming to visit us! What a fun time we had! Hope it's not too long before we can be together again. We love you!

I Still Can't Believe...

... I am 26 today!

For some reason 26 hit me a little harder this year. I guess it's just that I'm that much closer to 30. Oh well.

Despite the mourning over turning 26, I had the best birthday! I got to spend the day with my three favorite boys: Josh, Noah, and Einstein!

We originally planned on a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo today. I know. Why would a 26 year old want to go to the zoo for her birthday? Well I can't give you a good explanation why, but I thought it would be a fun family activity. Josh thought it would be fun too, but he still gave me a hard time about it. Imagine that.

We decided it would be better to get up early and go so we wouldn't leave the zoo completely wet from the humidity later in the afternoon. The weather is something we are still trying to get used to, and I think it is gonna take us a while. I thought the weather would affect me more, but it's funny because Josh is the one always complaining about it. Anyway, to make a long story short, we ended up sleeping in a little too late. Oops. So we decided we would go either this weekend or first of next week.

So, my birthday was filled with swimming, mexican food, and a little bit of shopping! Both Josh and Noah were good sports and let me drag them around the mall. We all had so much fun together. It doesn't matter what we are doing. We could have done absolutely nothing today and I would have been perfectly content. All I wanted for my birthday was to have my family together, and that's what I got! Here is a picture of me and Noah at dinner:

Oh and by the way... I got the job in the Newborn Nursery at North Hills Hospital!!! I couldn't be more excited. I called to tell my grandmother, Gigi, about the job and she said to me, "it is God's birthday present to you." I couldn't agree more! God provided, and I am so thankful for this opportunity to grow. What a blessing to see God at work in our lives here. Thank you so much for your prayers and for being my faithful blog readers!

Before I go I have some exciting news to share with you. My younger sister, Abby, is getting married! I still can't believe it! It seems like just the other day I got married, and now it's Abby's turn. We have a lot of fun wedding planning ahead! Congratulations Ab! Love you!

I guess tonight I resumed my title as the "Blog Hog!"

The Love of the Game

Hey guys, Josh here with a post for the first time in a looong time, because Libby has been hogging the blog lately. In fact, I think I'll start calling her the Blog Hog. I'll probably pay for that later.

Today, Libby had a job interview at North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills. It's about 20 to 25 minutes from our apartment, and Noah and I decided to go along for the ride. There is a nice mall right by the hospital, so we ended up going there while Libby interviewed.

Anyone who knows Noah knows that he's an easy-going baby. But don't let his laid-back ways deceive you; Noah has some quick little hands on him. In fact, I'd say they're pretty darn quick for a baby. We entered the mall through Dillards, and before we could get halfway across the store, we'd almost pulled down 2 clothing racks. Noah would grab clothing tags as we were walking by and hold on for dear life as I unknowingly walked on.

Terrified that my 9 month old might get busted for shoplifting a $350 handbag, I got out of Dillards as fast as I could and stuck to the main walkway outside the stores. I was too scared to go in any store because of Noah's sticky fingers and also because of my clumsiness with the stroller. So we made our way around the mall, prisoners to our walkway.

Then I saw it. Dick's Sporting Goods.

Sure, I knew there were plenty of things for Noah to grab a hold of in there. Sure I knew I might accidentally bowl over a rack of hockey sticks with the stroller. But both of us were drawn in like moths to a bug-zapper. Noah even started lunging forward in his stroller as we drew nearer to the store.

Thankfully, we made it safely to the back of the store where the basketballs were kept. We found a bin of mini-basketballs, and I decided it was as good a time as any to introduce Noah to my favorite sport. We passed the ball back and forth, or more correctly, I placed the ball in his lap and picked it up a couple of seconds later, making all kinds of sound effects as we went along. Noah loved our little game! We played for about 10 minutes, both of us grinning and laughing the entire time.

Then, it was time to leave. And, though I considered buying the basketball and bringing it home, it was way overpriced, so I took the ball from Noah's lap one last time, and making my most dramatic and outrageous sound effect yet, I dunked the ball back into the bin. We started to head for the exit, and this is the look I got from Noah:

Noah has been giving us those wicked little looks for the past week or so when he doesn't get his way.

From what I hear, these tantrums won't go away anytime soon, but never has a temper tantrum so warmed my heart. Noah loves basktetball. Or at least he did for 10 minutes. Combine that with the fact that Noah absolutely loved jumping in the bouncer when he was younger, and I think I have something to build on. Maybe I'm the father of the next LeBron James. Maybe I should have named him LeNoah to give him a head start. All I know is Noah loves basketball, and I'm thrilled.

Of course, Noah also loves chewing on Einstein's dog bones. So, maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up just yet.

--Josh

A Furry Brother

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."

That explains Einstein perfectly. Einstein is the most loving dog I have ever known. As you all know he was our first "baby." Life was good for our little pug. He was the center of attention and he knew it. Walks, treats, clothes, you name it, Einstein had it. Well, at least until August 27, 2008. On that day, Einstein became a big brother and he didn't even know it yet!

On the rainy Saturday of August 30th, we brought Noah home for the first time and Einstein met his little brother. I will never forget this precious moment:



Einstein was no longer the only child; everything had changed for him. Despite the changes and adjustments he had to make, Einstein's love for us remained strong and faithful, and I can honestly say he has loved and watched out for Noah since the day we brought him home.

Let me show you what I'm talking about.

Where ever Noah is, you will find Einstein. They are always together. How sweet is that?

Einstein takes on the role of Noah's Protector very seriously. Anytime Einstein hears anything or even if there is absolutely no noise at all, Einstein stops what he is doing and will bark until what he hears or doesn't hear is gone.

Even though the Baby Einstein DVD's are for babies, Einstein doesn't care. He still watches them with his little brother.

And Einstein is always willing to share his toys with Noah. Isn't that sweet of him?

Einstein even helps bathe Noah sometimes.

Out of all the ways Einstein shows his love for Noah, I think his gentleness towards Noah is his greatest act of love.

It doesn't matter if Noah is pulling at his tail or ears, Einstein takes it.

Noah could be crawling all over him, but Einstein doesn't care.

The fact that Einstein is always so gentle, shows how much he loves Noah.

What a wonderful companion Noah has in Einstein. Thank you Einstein for your wonderful example of selfless, unconditional love. We love you!

Noah's Yellow Submarine

Last week my parents, a.k.a Granddad and Mimi, came to visit us... and by us I mean Noah. I'm not kidding. When you have a baby no one cares about you anymore. Ok, well maybe they do a little.

Mimi, Noah, and Granddad at the pool

Granddad and Mimi only stayed a couple days, but even though it was a short visit, we had so much fun together. We have a really beautiful pool area, and the best part is that the pool is only about 20 steps from our apartment. So we decided it would be fun to take Noah swimming! We really look forward to using the pool a lot this summer. Here are a few pictures we took before we walked to the pool:

Granddad and Mimi brought Noah a surprise... a floaty! We call it his Yellow Submarine. We all had so much fun at the pool together. Noah wasn't sure what to think the first time we put him in the water, but once he got used to it he loved it! Here is a little video of Noah in his Yellow Submarine:

Isn't he a happy boy!? Floaties are fun! I guess that's why they make them for adults too. Here are some more pictures of all of us having some fun in the sun!

What a cute little ducky!

Thanks Mom and Dad for driving up to see us! We had so much fun! Hopefully we can do it again soon!