Silly Little White Dog!

This weekend we had another canine visitor. Max came to stay with us! This is one of Michelle and Bob's dogs. He was a prince! Noah thought he was so funny, and Ellie just kept badgering him to play with her. Max, I think, was not impressed with anything or anyone else besides the wonderful outdoors. He loved hanging out on the deck, yelling at the neighbors and squirrels, and trying out all of our outdoor chairs. After he left Ellie sat on the steps and cried and Noah passed out!

6 Months Old!

Noah has amazingly managed to make it to 6 months old already! I can't believe how much he's changed. We took many pictures today to commemorate his 1/2 birthday. Here are some of the highlights. I can't get over how big/old he looks! Hooray for Noah!

Hill-Billy Baby!

If anyone else listens to Eric and Kathy in the morning on the radio, you'll know that last week they were discussing "hill billy babies." This husband wrote an email about his wife always keeping their baby in only a diaper and a t-shirt, thus making him a hill billy baby. Well this weekend Noah was also a hill billy baby. It started out with a fun game in the laundry basket, where he eventually ended up in a baby cage. Then he pooped out his clothes and was due to eat (he's eating sweet potatoes now, whoopie!), so I decided to just to leave him in his diaper for his meal. He thought this was hilarious and giggled thru the whole meal. He ended the day by grabbing his bowl and throwing it on the floor purposely so that Ellie could have some. This boy, I tell you!

Schwimming...

To see some cute pics and a short video of Noah and his BFF Fred, go to:
http://www.sjworst.blogspot.com/

My great friend Philie, watched Noah while I went to a few hours of an institute day on Friday. She and her husband Stan took the boys to Fred's swim class. I think they had a great time. Also, be sure to scroll down to see another video of them playing. Look for the "To be 29" post. It's a little shout-out to our friend Kathleen on her birthday. We used to LOVE Hanson in like 1997. How old are we, sheesh!

The Fatman Diaries

Noah went to the doctor again, this time just for a couple shots. His weight is now up to 18 lbs 9 oz, which is a gain of over a pound and a half in one months time. Pretty impressive! He's now eating rice cereal 2 times a day, we may give some veggies a go next week. In other exciting developmental news, this week he mastered sitting up by himself. We still get the occasional face plant, but he's getting sturdier everyday! Not bad for a not-quite-6-month old!

Da Bears!

Noah is already learning with ways of his football-crazy mother. He wore the full ensemble for the Bears game this week, and what do you know -they won! The girl at work who gave us the outfit (who is even more hardcore than I am) now claims that it's a good luck charm and that I'm not allowed to wash it. So, no pooping in your bears outfit, Noah!

The Rodeo!

We went out to Fort Madison, Iowa this weekend for the annual Tri-State Rodeo. This year was the first with Noah and his buddy Ayla. It was really fun to play "pass the baby" with a whole bunch of loving adults. Of course we had to dress the kids up for the parade. Noah ended up looking more like a farmer than a cowboy, but regardless he was cute. The shoes were a gift from Aunt Val and the hat was a gift from our hosts the Krogmeiers. We had a wonderful time!

Noah vs. Noah

One of the fun things about moving is being able to finally get out all those toys we had stored away until Noah got older. One of his favorites is the cute little people Noah's Arc he got from his Benhart cousins. But, as you can see from the play-by-play pictures, he ditched the little Mr. Noah pretty quicky in favor for the elephants and eventually the entire boat in his mouth (well at least most of it). It's so fun to see him interacting with his world more. We call him our "little scientist." He gets that curious look from daddy.

Home

We have been working feverishly to get ourselves all moved in at the new place. I promise I'll post some more house pictures when we're finished. Yesterday/Today's project has been Noah's room. The poor kid has been sleeping in a pack'n'play his whole life. So we finally got his crib and dresser unboxed and placed and his clothes all put away. Meanwhile, Ellie has been really enjoying her backyard. The only downside is her allergies have flared up. So, she's happy but bald and itchy. And the 8 benedryll a day the vet prescribed doesn't seem to be working. Oh well, we're very pleased with the new place and hope to have it all together soon so we can finally have people over!

Labor Day Weekend

We went up to the lake again this weekend for one last celebration of summer. This time, a bunch of the Rodriguez family came along. Noah was so lucky to have ALL his grandparents there as well as several aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a fantastic weekend filled with food, boating, and drinking (some folks managed to do all three at once!). We had a wonderful time!