Old MacDonald Had a Farm...

Well - we had an awesome time today trick or treating with the animals at Gifford Farm. We had several friends go with us, Sara & Ethan, Rachael & Melissa & Gabriella & Rachael's sister. The boys loved being with the animals and out in the beautiful weather. Josh really loved the pig until it tried to nibble on his finger - that was the end of that. Thankfully the horses were there to ease him back to his love of animals...I think they may have been his favorite. Noah also had a great time with the horses, the pigs, the goats, the chickens, he just really loved all the animals! There was also a big slide that landed you in a pile of hay - this of course was a big hit with Noah who wanted to go again and again. There are tons of pictures on Kodak...and a few here...also check out the link to the photobucket album for Oct. where the videos are (it was quicker to upload them there, sorry)
Oh and to top it off, we stopped at a local consignment store to pick up some more winter pjs for Noah since the ones I bought this summer are too big...anyway, Noah stood up to get out of the stroller as we are leaving, he sees that there are cars in the bed of the truck (they had fallen out the stroller and were in the middle of the bed of the truck) So of course Noah wants his cars, I hoisted him in the bed and told him to get the cars while I put Josh in the truck. My thinking was he would be fine and safe in the bed of the truck he is contained and hasn't ever tried to jump out of the truck. I took the stroller to the other side of the truck to fold it down and put it in the truck, Noah is still there in the bed as I'm walking around. Well I go to lift the stroller into the bed of the truck and Noah is no longer in the bed of the truck, oh no he is standing on the roof of the truck...on the roof! He's excited and exclaiming with arms up in a proud notion "I did it Mommy! I did it!" I stayed calm some how (maybe because he's a dare devil I think and lately it doesn't surprise me much what he does, we're trying to steer his adventures in appropriate places and manners!) and climbed ot the bed of the truck, got him down and as soon as he was safely in the truck in his car seat told him to NEVER EVER do that again! Monkey!

Finally an Update this Week...

So seriously the week has been full, busy and crazy...but we've had a blast. I'm going to try to get in as many updates from our week as I can.

First Saturday after some pancakes, we headed out to run some errands and went to Touch-A-Truck. It's a really neat, free event they do in Omaha, lots of trucks from all over in one big parking lot. The kids got to, well, touch the trucks. They climbed in and pretended to drive, watched these little radio control cars/trucks doing cool tricks, blew the horns on some of the trucks and watched a helicopter take off. Noah, Elora, and Josh all had a fabulous time!

Sunday we of course went to church, then tried to have the truck fixed...well I thought it needed fixed, I thought we needed some lights in the back replaced. Turns out that no we don't have to have them replaced, the taillights work, the brake lights work...so the other lights are going to wait til Mike gets home to be replaced since we can drive legally. Apparently the bedliner has to come out or something...ugh it was frustrating. Then Holli was taking pictures of her boys out by the fields by the church and was kind enough to offer to take pictures for us. Holli takes great pictures and I was thrilled to take her up on the offer. After that we went and had dinner at a Chinese buffet with Alexis and boys. Simon and Noah were good, but energetic and it was so nice that the people around us weren't just annoyed as we tried to remind them of manners and to sit while they ate...instead they made comments about how Noah was going to be a good drummer one day and how happy the boys were. Seriously, bless these people do you know how kind and welcome those words to two very tired mommas? How wonderful! I hope that I can be that kind to others, it really just was affirming and so nice to not feel we were a burden on them while they ate, we were trying to have the boys have polite table manners, but for the 2 and under crowd is a thing that takes constant reminding!

Monday Josh had a follow up for his ears. The good news is we have a referall to ENT - we'll be seeing the ENT doc on base since they have one again, I was a little disappointed with that. I really liked the doctor that Noah saw and was hoping to see her again with Josh. I want to keep an open mind, and our appointment is the 12th of Nov. so that's not too far from now. His ears were slightly red and still had fluid, lots of fluid in them. Poor little man. We also got something new to try for his eczema...it is now just all over. It seems to be working. We also changed what he's getting bathed in so hopefully we'll have it all under control before the really cold weather comes in town. We also all went to get shots...yes all of us. that wasn't much fun, I didn't take the stroller in...silly on my part. Noah only had to get 1 and when he saw me get two, he said my turn and took it super well! I was so proud of him. He only had to get a flu shot, I got my flu shot and a tetnaus booster, Josh got a flu shot and his last Hep B shot. We also made it to the Y on Monday and then had dinner with Sandi (we're doing Monday night dinners, it's such a treat!)

Tuesday was the Y again and the pumpkin patch with Alexis, Simon and Ryder. The boys had a really great time playing on their playground and were super excited to go on the tractor ride. The "big" tractor! We picked out a pumpkin and took tons of pictures.

Wed. was of course Bible study, lunch, then we got to hang out with Ethan again. That was lots of fun and I'm so glad to finally be able to return the favor to Sara! We squeezed in a trip to the grocery store too. We also had AWANA that evening, the girls worked super hard Wed. night, Sandi & I were so proud of them! Wed.'s always seem to just fly by!

Thursday we did a little swimming, had fun while Elora was over and tried to do a little baking. I also had to go have a filling redone - not the most fun but it wasn't bad. Thursday night was also the big Auburn vs. West Virginia game; since we of course root for the Blue & Gold at our house, we had to invite Alexis and boys over to let them root for the Blue & Orange. Simon is so cute when he says Go War Eagle; I asked him if he could say Let's Go Mountaineers and he promptly told me NO! LOL! I'm not sure the pompoms were a good idea - more like weapons than cheering aids and I think we only watched maybe 15 or 20 minutes of the game but we did have fun all around.

Friday has been the Y again (notice the trend? The Y is being very generous and supportive of military families at the moment and I am very appreciative and taking advantage of getting to workout while the boys are watched and playing or using the pool to have fun with all of us together!), the post office, a quick run to Target. The boys took awesome naps today too! That was so exciting, I got both bathrooms clean, the kitchen clean, and 2 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded and put away - that is HUGE in this house! We made milk jug pumpkins this afternoon, which was lots of fun. Noah and Elora both enjoyed shaking the jugs all around to get the paint all over. We had Bible study tonight, I left both the boys tonight too...so thankful for Michelle & Mike for not minding the little man who takes a little more work. He went to bed at his normal time though and I guess did just fine. Noah of course loved playing with the big boys and didn't sit still for long.

So - we've been crazy busy this week, but it has been a great week. Tomorrow we may go to the farm...depending on the weather. I'm updating the Kodak site almost daily if you want to check out even more pictures.

Pancake Letters

So, Saturdays at our house mean pancakes - even with Mike being away it seems important to keep up our Saturday morning ritual/tradition. I was a little grumpy this morning (Noah was up at 1015, 1130 - 1145, Josh then was awake from 1200 - 100...I really am wondering if they aren't trying to work out their schedules just to get the maximum time awake for mom...) - so I didn't want to, but knew it was important and needed done. To try and make it a bit more exciting, I thought I would try making pancakes letters for breakfast - I'd seen it in a magazine somewhere and as the boys get bigger and learn letters more and more, thought it would be a lot of fun. Good thing I started early - I need some practice! Noah did realize that his pancakes were letters, so that was encouraging. Josh just liked eating, I don't think he cared what shape his food was in this morning. So here's our first attempt at pancake art/letters - we'll have to keep trying and see if we can improve!

Things You May Here at Our House These Days...

Just a few things you are likely to hear at any moment at our house at this point in life....

From Josh...

• crying - if you leave the room or he needs more water in his sippy cup



• clapping



• Dadadada



• dndndndn



• squels



• giggles

From Noah (who of course is a bit more vocal!)

• I did it Mommy



• More T please Mommy (T = TV)



• Done night night



• More chocolat milk please



• Hi Kasey



• All Right!



• No Way



• Potty, Potty - then quickly NO POTTY!



• Please



• Thank You



• My Turn Now



• Go Bye Bye



• Me Go Bye Bye

Things I am Thankful for on my Birthday

Today is my birthday, though it doesn't necessarily seem like anything extra special to me to celebrate - I am reminded of just how much love there is! I am so very thankful for so many things, so many wonderful people in my life to share these moments, big and small and for friends making sure the day is special. So today I am just thankful, here are just a few reasons...
1. For Kasey coming home - she escaped through a slat that came loose in the fence
2. For my dad who is always calm when I just need someone to freak out to - reminding me to stay calm even though I know that is what I should do - it's good to have a reminder
3. For grace from friends when I am running late because above dog escaped and ran
4. For a husband who makes sure the garage is organized and stocked so I can handle any repairs and fixes that need done
5. For a yummy cake (thanks Sara) and friends to help me celebrate my birthday
6. The huge pile of cards in my mailbox from family and friends

How could I even doubt that this day should be special? I really am such a very blessed lady, thank you to all who help make it so!

* Kasey ran away but did come home, somehow not getting gas yesterday turned out to be a good thing, we had to come home so I could get my wallet and go get gas to keep looking for Kasey I thought, we pulled in the drive way and she leaped toward the truck once we were parked. The fence is fixed despite the rainy weather, and both boys napped long enough for me to do that - it has indeed been a good day!

Happy 10 Months Josh!

Really, time is slipping away so quickly it seems. This morning as we were taking Josh's month picture, Mike kept telling him we had just done this! It sure does feel that way. Josh is sleeping through the night consistently now!!! WHOOHOO! I'm sure if you have ever not slept through the night for 7 months and then on and off for the for the next month, you'll understand our excitment! Even if not, trust me this is a REALLY good thing. Other than that, Josh continues to cruise around the house, he's a very speedy crawler and loves to chase after Noah and any other friends that are here playing. He likes to take steps when we hold his hands, but yet I don't see the same excitment that Noah had when he's just cruising around trying to let go and take steps on his own - which we are certainly fine with - so I'm not sure we'll be walking anytime soon and that's okay! Josh is also starting to clap for reasons, it doesn't seem he just randomly does it anymore, instead he claps when Noah comes in the room, or I walk in the room, when he sees someone he knows. Separation anxiety is also improving this month, hopefully it will continue to be good. Other than that, Josh is an eating machine! He is almost always eating more than Noah eats these days and apparently loves burritoes!

We are starting to introduce the concept of no to Josh, of course that means we say no and simply redirect him to something else, but he is into absolutely everything he shouldn't be in it seems. He loves the fireplace and unrolling toilet paper and throwing Kasey's food all around the kitchen. Josh it seems is also going to have a pretty good arm, or atleast a love for throwing. Hours a day are spent throwing dog food, balls, letters and then chasing after them.

Josh seems taller too, though he won't have a check up until he's 1! He does have a follow-up on the 20th for his ears, he's had 3 ear infections since he's last follow-up...poor baby. So I figure we'll know how much he weighs and I'm going to see if they'll measure his height too just to satisify my curiosity.

Check out his 10 month picture...he really does seem to be growing tall and lean! (sorry we dont' have the other pictures on the computer, we got tired of the slowness and pain of Vista and went back to XP - so all the pictures are on the external hard-drive and I haven't transfered any old ones back...)

Just a little update

I doubt anyone believes this will be short - but I think that it will be! We are having a pretty good week so far. We honestly haven't been up to much out of the ordinary, which is kind of nice since the ordinary keeps us pretty busy most days. Just a little about what the boys are doing...

Noah is loving being out and about and just playing outside, we have spent the past few nights outside in the backyard. He's been playing pirates and baseball and football mostly. He just loves to go and to play. Yesterday a friend came over to play and will be able to come over to play a little more today! He's about a year older than Noah I think - which means that Noah absolutely has adored playing, he's always wanting to follow the big boys. We had so much fun yesterday!

Josh is going through another rough couple of nights with sleeping, hopefully that will improve again soon because it was SOO nice to sleep through the night. Other than that he has started giving high fives sometimes, not very consistently yet, but sometimes he'll do it. It's pretty adorable I think. He is also doing better with separation anxiety at church when he is dropped off!! This is a huge praise, because while I know that he is just loved on so much when he is in the nursery at church, it is still hard to leave when he's crying and reaching for you. He really has been happy when we go to pick him up, so I know he likes to be there, just that leaving thing was hard. I guess he realizes that either mommy or daddy will always be back. I have a few pictures from this morning, but time isn't allowing them to be posted just now, so I'll try to post them later tonight. Miss you all!

Happy Early Birthday Mike

We are celebrating a little early this year for Mike's birthday, which of course meant that we had chocolate cake with peanut butter icing for dessert tonight. Noah and Mike both seemed to really enjoy it!

Other than that, things are going really well here. Josh seems to be recovering fully this time from his ear infection. He is really getting an arm on him already, he loves to take balls, rings, and really just about anything he can get his hands on and throw it across the room. Once he's tossed it he'll crawl after it and do it again. The boys are so much fun lately, they have especially loved spending time outdoors with their daddy. It's funny, Josh will crawl around constantly while he is inside, but he'll sit still for a good 10 or 15 minutes. He seems to just take in his surroundings. Today both the boys had a blast at the learning center. Noah loves to ride the tricycles, he even got one peddle in today - normally he just uses his feet "flintstone" style. He also sat and sang 4 songs this afternoon during song time. That's a long time for him it seems, the songs are so fun though and have motions and activities to do with them...I think he's getting more accustom to them and so he's more comfortable participating. For such an outgoing and brave boy, sometimes he's a little reserved when he's unsure. It was definitely lots of fun.

quick update

Well it has been a busy week in some ways and totally lazy in other ways =) Isn't that the way life is though? We went camping this weekend for Friday night and stayed through Saturday evening. Everyone had a great time and we went to the SAC Museum that is right by the camp grounds too. Noah loved all the planes and Josh loved exploring too. Mike is still busy with training this week, hopefully he'll be finished tonight! We have otherwise done our normal thing, the gym and playing and AWANA on Wed. Today Kristen and Sandi came over with their kiddos and we had fun having lunch together. They were kind enough to keep Noah here while I took Josh to the UCC - he has another ear infection (we just finished antibotics on Sunday!) Ugh, no wonder he's been incredibly fussy. So back on antibotics...poor baby. Enjoy the pictures.