Noah & Daddy

Hot August days are spent in the pools; Noah's little kiddie pool or the big pool with Daddy. Noah LOVES his Daddy. He has several names for Daddy. He can say "Daddy," but he prefers the following:

Dee Dah

Dadd'N

Dia Wuh

Splish Splash
Dee Dah & Noah

Dadd'N & Noah

Dia Wuh & Noah

Aunt Rebekah & Uncle "Bry"

Aunt Rebekah & Uncle "Bry" just pulled out of the driveway and I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on our visit. They didn't get here until late last night because Sam, Lucas, & Alice were spending the night at Paw Paw's place. We didn't do anything "special," but it turned out to be such a nice visit. We stayed up until 1 am (which for sleep deprived parents is really late!) talking, telling old stories, and laughing a lot! This morning, when Noah heard the stair gate open, he was so happy to see Aunt Rebekah. He couldn't wait to give her sugars. He told Aunt Rebekah, "play" and then proceeded to take her to his play room where they played. A few minutes later "Bry" came down and joined the fun. Noah had so much fun playing with his aunt and uncle. Seeing them drive away this morning made me a little bit sad, because it's so special having them here. But I try to focus on the blessing that it is to have such a wonderful family. Love you Rebekah & Bry.

Our ATEMPT at beach pictures

My sister-in-law & brother-in-law (Rebekah & Brian) were so generous to invite us to stay at their condo in Florida. I wanted to contribute something, so, of course, I thought, "What better way to commemorate our trip than with a big family photo of all of us on the beach?" Of course, I didn't have this thought until about a week before our vacation, in which I spent several hours looking at pictures online and seeing which of the photographers I liked wasn't already booked. Miraculously, I found a photographer that could do the pictures the Friday before we left at sunset. We checked with the family to see if everybody could do it. We thought it was a go. Thought being the key word! Poor Brian was only notified well after he'd been in Florida that he needed to be at the rehersal dinner for his little sister's wedding...the Friday before we left. The day we scheduled pictures. We still held out hope, though, because his family didn't tell him exactly what time to be there...until Friday afternoon. (Let's just say that Brian is very happily married & was not exactly sure about this wedding in the first place.) So, our 1st bummer is that our big family picture was without a big part of our family...Brian. This was a bad start. My boys wore white shirts & khaki and I found a lovely white Calvin Klein dress. Very picturesque....of course not for long, right? Just before we left I felt my hand get whacked by my dress. What? Oh, no they didn't......yes they did. THE BIG HONKIN' SECURITY TAG WAS LEFT ON MY CALVIN KLEIN DRESS! We didn't have time to do anything, but try to brush it out of the way! I'm sure the pictures will have a big, ugly plastic tag sticking out of them! SERIOUSLY! Then we get to the beach...Grayton Beach State Park, late, of course. The photographer was NOT the girl I talked to on the phone, but some guy instead. Another oops. He first had us stand in some area on the way to the beach. He pointed out some grass burs and said, "Oh, those are stickers. They'll hurt. Don't step on those." We've got 4 kids. Seriously?!? Sure enough, the stickers are embedded in the "safe" area as well. People are getting stuck. Noah melts down just because he's tired and hot. So I pop a blue M&M in his mouth. Big mistake. He spits the M&M into his hand after wiping it all over his face, and proceeds to smear it on his shirt & then Michael's shirt. We got out of the stickers & tried to take a few pictures near the beach but I'm pretty sure Noah was misreable and that my big, plastic tag on my dress was sticking out. Michael was livid, cursing under his breath. Alice started crying and refused to sit with the group. Noah melted down some more. Just a lovely time! We eventually found a sandcastle that was pretty cool. It looked like a birthday cake and had real sand dollars in it. Needless to say, our photo session did NOT go as planned. Maybe by some miracle something will have turned out. These are just a few of the snapshots I took throughout the mayhem. Sorry you don't get to see the lovely tag! Grammie with Lucas, Alice(not happy), Noah (jumping away), and Sam

Noah with the sand castle

The kids play with the sand castle

A pretty picture of Alice & Grammie

Noah & Daddy walk on the beach

Lucas, Alice, & Sam watch the water

Rebekah tries to appease Alice. Noah is eating Grammie's bracelet.

Now Noah is hitting Alice in the head with Grammie's bracelet.

Lucas & Sam. Sweet boys.

Daddy & Noah

Celebrating Noah turning 18 Months Old

Noah turned 18 months old on August 4th, 2009. We left for our beach vacation that day, so we didn't celebrate the momentous occasion. So today, I bought Noah some new toys (a longhorn, gorilla, animal magnets, and animal blocks) and we had a special pizza dinner & cake for dessert. He had a great time! I can't believe my baby boy is 18 months old!

Things Noah loves right now: Animals, balls, riding the lawn mower, playing in the water, books, watching "shows," blowing kisses, going outside, breaking into Mommy & Daddy's room, showing his muscles, trucks, climbing, playing chase, and playing with his cousins.

Noah's First Vacation

Here we are on our way to Noah's 1st Vacation, a trip to Rosemary Beach, Florida. Michael's sister & brother-in-law were soooooo generous to allow us the opportunity to stay with them in a beautiful condo on the beach. We're so lucky to have such loving family. Not everyone would WANT to spend their vacation with their family, but we are so blessed to be friends with our family. (Thank you Rebekah & Brian!) We drove all night to get to Florida...11 hours. Noah only slept about 5 1/2 hours, and Michael & I didn't sleep at all. (Which was the general sleeping pattern of the trip!) Even with little sleep, Noah was a GREAT traveler and did so well on the trip! We stayed in a condo with Aunt Rebekah, Uncle Brian, Sam, Lucas, Alice, and Grammie. Noah had SUCH a fun time playing with his cousins. He called Uncle Brian "Bry" and called Alice "Awwwa." Sam & Lucas were so nice to him, and graciously shared their toys, even though Noah often came through their room and made a tornado run through the place. He'd only give Aunt Rebekah kisses on the mouth, and would kiss everyone else on the cheek. He got to see the beach for the 1st time which he loved, but it tired him out quickly, so we only spent about an hour at a time on the beach. Noah got to meet his Great Uncle Lawrence and his cousin Lisa for the 1st time, which was a special treat. I had a photographer meet us on the beach so that we could take family pictures on the beach, but Uncle Brian couldn't go, and the kids were SO tired by the time we had the pictures at sunset. It did not go as I had envisioned in my mind, but hopefully we'll at least have some pictures on the beach that turned out. On the last day, Noah gave everyone kisses, and we began our long journey home.

Daddy shows Noah the ocean for the 1st time.


I tried to wave at Daddy but Noah was so fascinated with the ocean water.

Mommy & Noah on the beach


Noah in the ocean water for the 1st time

Noah loved the sand

Daddy & Noah played in the sand

Noah enjoyed going out to the patio. It was fenced in so he felt so big being able to just go outside.

We had a great view from the patio. We'd sit and watch the people ride their bikes.

Noah got to meet his cousin Lisa for the 1st time
Pictured: Lisa, Grammie, Sam, Aunt Rebekah, Daddy, Noah, & Uncle Brian ("Bry")

Grammie spent all day cooking for the family.

Isn't Grammie pretty?

Noah loved to give Aunt Rebekah kisses

Here Uncle Noah is meeting Great Uncle Lawrence for the 1st time.

Happy boy in his beach shirt

Noah & Daddy @ Grayton Beach State Park

On the way home, we stopped at the Sci-Port Museum in Shreveport. It's voted a top 10 in Parents Magazine. Noah had a great time & was glad to get out of the car & run around!

Bye Bye Sci-Port. We're going home!

A long ride home

We've been vacationing at Rosemary Beach, Florida for Noah's 1st vacation. On the way there, we drove straight through, all night long. Now I'm in the car with Noah & Michael as we start our journey home. We're going to split up the drive because we're so sleep deprived. We haven't had Wi-Fi so I haven't been able to access civilization, and I'm looking forward to getting home again. Why does it often take us going AWAY from home to recognize JUST HOW GREAT home is?

Noah at 17 Months

Against my better judgment, I didn't get a 16 month picture of Noah, because Michael kept hounding me to slow down. I listened. I did. Last month. However, it's so important for me to be authentic, and honestly, I just didn't feel good not having it done. I literally found myself thinking about it at night when I couldn't sleep. It's not like we didn't have any pictures of him at 16 months. I think we have somewhere around 600ish. But, I like having an "official" picture for the month. All I can come up with is that it is somehow related to my mother's death. I'm keenly aware of that lost presence and I guess somehow having a picture made is physical, tangible, "stuff" that Noah can one day have. Anyway, I compromised, and, instead of going to my favorite photographer, went to the dreaded SEARS photo department. One day many years from now, I hope Noah and Michael appreciate all that it takes to spend 2 hours with a toddler, in a confined, hot space. I wore shorts and a tank top to the session and I was still sweating after 10 minutes! BUT, at least I have an official picture of my Noah at 17 months. Here are a couple! Sometimes, it sure is tough to have those obsessive compulsive tendencies!