thomas the train extravaganza

we spent friday afternoon at thomas the train day at the historic train station near here. we may have over estimated noah's knowledge and "love" of thomas though. and it was possibly a year- even two- too early for him to really understand. oh well- that's how i learn i suppose. the tickets were kinda spendy- and the only part that you were paying for was the train ride itself- which as you'll see below- was not exactly his favorite part! it was about a 30 min ride, but that's a long time for him to sit still. anyway, he did love all the train tables to play on and absolutely loved feeding the animals. they were hungry little things too- almost lost a finger or two more than once. my dad and gail were here for the weekend so it was great to have them along. noah has since been walking around the house looking for grandpa and grandma. thanks for coming guys- and we can't wait to see you both when the baby gets here!

on the bus out to the train depot- he chatted it up with a little girl sitting behind himplaying with the train tables they had set up
more train tables- it was hard to share the trains with the other kiddos.....
future firefighter- i had to bribe him to get out of there and give someone else a turn!
i think this is an alpaca- not the prettiest creature- but hungry none the less
loving the train ride!
a horrible pic of me- but it was the only group one we had

i love these boys

happy father's day!!!

and happy father's day to terry and my father in law- galen! we love you all!!!

our bright new furniture

so noah is big into climbing- as we all know- but what he really loves is climbing into his very own new chair. it's just his size, and he can get in it from the top, the side or even like anyone else might- from the front. we don't get in it that way very often though. our friend kathy found this gem at a garage sale last week and thought of our little man. after a little scrub down in the washing machine it was good as new and has added more than a little color to our otherwise neutral living room. what better way to enjoy some cheerios, milk and a little backyardigans?

head-banging and gigi loving

we made a trip to il this past weekend to see some family. lisa came with us and it was SO great having her there. she was such a huge help to me- i even got to sleep in two mornings. that never happens! and i mean sleep in until after morning nap... i know- it rocked! anyway, my cousins jess and bets and her little man colton were back too so it was a bonus to see them- and a great trip all around. for some reason- and i am told it is a toddler thing- but noah has taken a liking to banging his head on various things around the house. be it a soft material or hard it doesn't seem to matter to him. he still bangs away. i'm also told that he won't do it hard enough to hurt himself- but it doesn't look like any fun and i have yet to see the excitement in it. and of course with the head banging comes that whole "why is he doing that- should he be evaluated by someone" thought process. the same folks tell me no- that he is fine- so we'll just watch him for now i suppose. he seems to do it when he gets really excited and i think isn't sure what the heck to do with all that excitement- that's my professional opinion anyway. and since we have been back i have been organizing and cleaning stuff out like crazy. i never really did this when i was pregnant with noah- but this time i feel like i have SO much to do and not a lot of time to do it in. but then on the flip side- i can't wait to be done being pregnant and have the baby here. i'm guessing i just need to relax and enjoy it. back to the trip.... here are some pics of the boys playing and some photo ops with gigi (great grandma). the boys were less than happy to be taking pictures- but we at least got them in a few. get ready though- there are a lot. and regarding the shirtless kiddos.... it was a little warm that evening and who wouldn't run around showin some skin if they could?? can't get enough of cute baby fat......

trying on grandma's slippers- they are so soft!

this is where the head banging occurred- at least it was soft.....

chillin in colton's "pool"

can't get enough of the lovey- maybe his head was hurting??

gigi, lisa and noah

the first attempt at that photo.....

worked out better when we got in it too

we love gigi!!

a little thing called tulip festival

we get to attend this festival in aaron's home town each year. we love going back to see grandma and grandpa, great grandma and great grandpa and some of aaron's friends from high school. the flowers are beautiful and there is lots for the kiddos to do. this year we had a full house with all three kiddos and us, as well as rachel and my mom and terry. we had tons of fun- and minus a few swats at eli by noah- i think they had fun too. eli- we're still sorry about that! here are some pics from our trip. we are off to the water park tomorrow with some good friends and hopefully we'll get some photos there too. and for anyone reading this- any advice on stopping the hitting would be greatly appreciated. we're currently trying "time-out"- but it's not really that great. anyway- we'll take what we can get! have a great night....

new rocket racer- thanks rylan!

the crazy slide- loved it!

i can slide down all by myself

me and my cousins- our mommies make us take this pic every year

see you cats later!

uncle nathan's old dutch costume- loved it!

long time again

it's hard to believe it's been two and a half months since i last posted. i have no idea why i find it so challenging to get on here and post. it's not as though i'm not on the internet- or not looking at other blogs- but none the less i struggle to get on here! lots to share. we know what we're having- but there are a few folks in the fam who don't want to know so for them we won't post what it is. i'm pretty sure that most who read this knows what it is anyway...... pretty sure my "blogging" (or lack there of) is of no interest to people who don't know us. regardless- we are getting really excited. i can't wait to get things together and get that sweet "baby stuff" out again. i guess it hasn't really been away for very long though. i am fairly certain that noah has no idea what's coming his way- and i probably don't for that matter either! he does pat my belly and point to the baby- however- he may think that "baby" is the belly button cause we can't seem to get that part down. some days i look at him and can't believe he won't be my baby anymore because he seems so little and then other days i think he is getting so big- and so fast- that i am ready for this new little person. we'll see i guess. we're looking forward to this summer and the warmer weather. i've got some pics to post here soon but for now better sign off.

can't think of a good title

i don't know about anyone else- but i am so ready for spring. and i'm sure noah is right there with me. we keep having these teaser days that promise spring- and then it sleets or snows. plus, we bought our tickets for hilton head which isn't until october but i can't wait!! let's see..... we have a lot to do before that- spring, summer, have a baby and what not. i know it will go fast, and i won't have my one on one time with noah anymore, but i feel like it will take forever. right now i just want to know what this baby is. do i get out the boy stuff or do i get to go shopping (not that there won't be any if it is a boy.... but i probably won't be able to get away with as much :) i didn't want to know with noah, but now for some reason I CAN'T WAIT. well, i guess i will wait, cause i can't find out yet. today was better- at least warm enough to go outside. we went to the park and fed the geese. they are kinda scary to a little person i think. he was a little unsure- but enjoyed being outside. i will post some pics when blogger lets me- and i think i forgot to add the rest of the pics from last time too. as i type my child is throwing all his toys down the stairs so i better tend to that. bye for now!

new pictures

ok- here are some pics that we ave taken over the last month or so. the water ones are from a water park here that noah loves..... he can't get enough of the waterslide. other ones are from a visit from the jones family and their kiddos melia and liam and then just some from around the house- and of course noah and the tent that daddy got for him. this lovely blue piece of "furniture" had graced our kitchen for about a week until i couldn't handle it anymore. now it is down in the family room and if we are down there we are definitely hanging out in it. hope you enjoy them. we'll talk later. i'm thankful for:
- MOPS meeting today- spa day!

-noah's great afternoon nap so i could get some stuff done

-it's tuesday so daddy gets home early

monkey bizness, monkey towels and mohawks

well, here i am not keeping up with the blogging. so we have done a lot and i have lots of pics to post. that's what the next entry will be- no writing to read- just some pics to tell you what we have been up to. we have had lots of visitors over the last few weeks. some friends of aaron's stopped for the night on their way to california- they drove from nc all the way to ca- no thank you! good thing their kiddos are so sweet, and we are glad to say they made it safe and sound. then g&g k. came and stayed for the weekend. so great to see them- and noah really enjoyed having someone with lots of energy to play with him all weekend. we did some re-arranging which seems to have satisfied my "need for a bigger house" for the time being. trying to figure out how to fit another person in this house has been challenging- but i know it can be done. really what we need is simply less stuff. then this past weekend grandpa h. came and stayed for the weekend. we went to open gym on friday afternoon with nana and our friends krysta and rylan, then we had reagan's birthday party at monkey bizness. what a busy friday for us. the rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, grandpa reading books to little man and just hanging out. some of you live in snowier areas- i understand- but the 4+ inches that fell last night was less than welcome- that's for sure. i am so ready to get outside- and ready for the pool to open up. i don't think i ever really minded winter until noah came- and i can only imagine the fun next winter will bring trying to gather up 2 kiddos to take out. we'll wait and worry about that one later. anyway.... i think that's all the updating i have for now. i am excited to say that noah is eating better- turns out that everyone was right- when you feed less and less baby food one gets hungry enough to eat what his parents are eating (within reason of course...) have a great sunday- and i'll post those pics here soon. almost forgot-

i am thankful for:
-noah finally eating real food

-a reassuring appt at the dr and a strong heartbeat of 165

-finally not feeling as tired

top ten reasons i knew i was pregnant

surprise, surprise...... we are pregnant. truly- a complete shock. i should have known though.
1. the obvious...... i missed the lucky day
2. i cry at everything- then i cry again at myself crying
3. anything that smells drives me crazy
4. i could eat a grilled cheese sandwich or cereal for every meal- on the random occasion that i feel like i could eat
5. my house looks like world war 3 has hit
6. laundry seems to be a thing of the past...... we're wearing our summer clothes at this point- we've just layered them
7. poor noah has spent 6 of the last 7 days in jammies all day- much like myself. the one day he was dressed was because his daddy felt sorry for him and got him dressed
8. i would love to have a 4 day nap- i have recently accepted that i may have to settle for an hour here and there
9. need to get the bigger bras out
10. one minute i love my husband and think i should thank him for this wonderful gift and the next i don't think i can stand to even look at him- poor guy.

i really have good intentions of keeping this up to date- i feel a little more settled at this point in time- with some direction at least. glad we have a date now- sept 1st is what we're going with at this time. we'll see. back to work i go. have a great day.

i'm thankful for
1. a healthy baby brother or sister for noah in my tummy
2. a relatively patient husband (usually)
3. the time we got to spend with my dad and gail this weekend while they visited

paradise park

a good friend of mine told us about this awesome place near us called paradise park. it is so much fun- and noah loves it! this is the second time we have been there. we went there with my sister in law and her kiddos when they were here a few weeks ago. they have a ton of stuff to keep him busy- and a great price to go with it. today my mom and i took him out there and i would have to say that the slide was his favorite part- he loves to go down and then climb back up. some pics from our fun day.

i'm thankful for:

-having my mom and terry so close that they are able to spend a lot of time with noah
-that it rained today instead of snowed
-naptime!

back from a break.....

i have no good excuses, no reasons to have not stayed caught up on the blog- so i will try to sum up the last few weeks. had an amazing time visiting family and friends- as you all know i love the holidays. noah was a lot of fun this year too although i think he was more into eating the paper than what was actually in it. i have also come to realize that he may have acquired my patience from the gene pool. doesn't exactly have any...... especially when it comes to toys in packages with a million twisty ties holding it in there! we had a great christmas with our family here, then traveled to il to visit family there and then had another great week with more family after that. my sister in law, her hubby and their kiddos stayed for a week and celebrated aaron's 30th birthday with us and new years! a full house- but lots of fun. we had a surprise party for aaron which we somehow pulled off. he sure made it challenging though. it will be awhile before i attempt that again- so if anyone hears me even thinking about it- remind me that i said that! i got this amazing new camera from my entire family so i have been taking lots and lots of pics. still have some learning to do- but i practice often! it will be hard to pick which to share. it's a goal of mine to keep caught up on this for all our family and friends- starting today :)
here's hoping everyone had a great holiday and are starting the year off right. the pics above are a few of what we have been up to lately. i think i will add a thankful list- just a few each day- at the end of my posts to remind myself of everything i have been given (even the little things) so that when i print this out someday for my kiddos they will know how truly lucky we are. so here goes things list #1:
i am thankful for :
-the means to blog and keep up with family and friends
-a sweet little boy who makes me smile every minute
-a great start to a new year