Video?

Ok, so I'm attempting to post a video here. A shout-out to our friend "Uncle Bob." Noah has been talking more lately, starting primarily by saying "bob." We occasionally get "dad" rarely still we get "mama" but "bob" is a staple in his verbal vocabulary. Of course!

Head out on the highway!

Noah got an awesome hand-me-down from his cousin Nick. A Harley rocker! He has been loving climbing on and riding, usually to the sound of Daddy making motorcycle noises or mommy singing the william tell overture. He seems to ride it sports style, leaning down for maximum aerodynamics. Ride on, brother!

Belly Boy

A few days ago we spent some time outside without a suit on! It was overcast (yes, I still put sunscreen on him) so he went in just his diaper. This is totally just a "he's so darn cute" post. I just couldn't stop taking pictures of our chunky little man. Look at the rolls he's rocking on his legs! We were dogsitting Webster, Noah kept desperately trying to share with Webster, it was so funny. That last picture there is him pointing out an airplane. Since we live under an O'Hare flight path he's pointing up just about every 3 minutes during the peak arrival times.

Monster Cookies with the Monsters

Philie and I got the crazy idea of making monster cookies in our heads this week (thanks, JOSH). So we gathered the ridiculous amount of supplies (12 eggs, 18 cups of oatmeal, 3lbs of peanut butter, etc...) and got to work on Wednesday. Thank goodness the boys are old enough to "help" and/or play together fairly well. We made the dough in the morning and started baking in the afternoon. After 4 hours of bake time and nearly 100 cookies we were beat. It was an experience that I'm sure we'll repeat in 1-2 years. Mike, we need a kitchen remodel with double ovens, stat! Oh and that last picture, Fred is on his tip toes. He is taller than Noah, but not THAT much taller.

New activities, Harry Potter Injuries, and Fruit Friends

Now that Mike is working 5 day weeks, and Noah is becoming more active, we have been searching for fun things to do together. The latest has been coloring. I think he more enjoys taking the crayons in and out of the box more than anything else. We also had a MAJOR head bonk this week, nailing the dining room table face first right on the corner. The result was a nice Harry Potter-esque bruise/dent on the forehead. Finally, Noah has been befriending fruits lately. On the cruise he carried around an orange for literally 3 days straight. We named him Sunny and Sunny went to sleep with Noah, took a shower with Noah and went into Mexico with Noah. Amazing! The last night of the trip we had a solemn ceremony where Sunny went overboard to be with the fishes, since we knew he wouldn't make it past US customs. But all is well, today we purchased a new friend, Kiwi. Noah and Kiwi took to each other right away and have spent the morning together. We'll see how Noah feels when we have to hack Kiwi up at dinnertime. Oh Well!!!

Feeding time a the zoo!

Noah is quite the eater these days. Well, I guess he's always been an eater. But lately it's gotten out of hand. On the trip he devoured Tia's poppyseed muffin sans hands. Then this morning I left him for literally 10 seconds while I ran to take some trash out. Mistake! A 15 month old plus a cup of milk within reach minus parent supervision equals.... a mess! We went to the doctor yesterday. Noah is weighing in at 24 pounds even (the 50% for his age) and 32 inches tall (the 75% for his age). This means he gained about 1.5 pounds and grew 1 inch in the last 3 months. So perhaps the eating is necessary. I just wish it didn't require all the clean up!

Visits, Pirates, and Flip Flop Incidents

We had a really fun 4th of July weekend up at the Lake. It kicked off with a visit from Kathleen and Emmett, which was wonderful, on Friday. Friday night involved some martini-fueled bag playing with all the cousins that we don't have much photographic evidence of. Speaking of photography, Tia brought along her camera (which is bigger than her) for school and got a few shots. Then on Saturday there was the annual parade on the island. This year was a pirate theme, so the boys got tattooed and scarred and looked great. After the parade Noah waited patiently as 4 cousins tried to "share" their suckers with him. It was very sticky, but very cute. Finally the weekend culiminated with Josh rescuing my flip flops. They had ended up on the roof during the previously mentioned bags night. My cousin Deewee and I were locked in a battle royale on the bags field (aka the driveway, with a couch there for spectators, very white trash). I was caught up in the moment and threw my shoes at him, he proceeded to throw them on the roof. Fortunately my tall brother used a ladder and some golf clubs the next day and came to the rescue. Thanks Josh! Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th!

Noah and the Sprinkle Pool

If you were to ask Noah, the best part of the trip was the Sprinkle Pool. They had this area with tons of sprinklers and a big mushroom shaped sprinkler in the middle that he LOVED to run around in. It had some timed sprinklers (like geysers) that Noah would stare into and wait to get blasted in the face with water. It was hysterical to watch. We got our workouts chasing him around make sure he didn't faceplant too massively. Towards the end of the trip he discovered the salt water pool. It was so funny to watch his face (picture lemon face times 12) when he got some salt water in his mouth. Heck, next time we don't have to go on a cruise, just buy 20 sprinklers and Noah is all set!