Monday, December 19, 2011

Happy Holidays 2011!

Well, Christmas is nearly upon us and we have some VERY excited boys in this house. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season filled with family and friends and good times. We have a lot to be thankful for this year. Please enjoy our "holiday letter" blog-style. This year features a lot of Noah (shocker, I know). But Sammy has been holding his own around here, I'm sure he'll have his share of quotables for next year.

1/7/11: Noah often denies having poopy diapers because he hates the changing part. Today I, after a suspicious smell was noted, asked him, “Noah, did you poop your pants?” He said, “No mommy, I spiderman. I make a spider poop.” Ever the superhero.

1/15/11: Mike has been telling Noah how he has “old bones” and can’t be jumped on too harshly. Today Noah told Mike, “Daddy, I don’t have old bones. I have happy bones!”

1/23/11: I was explaining to Noah about how Sam had a cold and wasn’t feeling well. Sam was crying in the other room. Noah offered a helpful suggestion, “Maybe he needs to go back in your tummy?”

1/27/11: Mike was giving Noah a bath. They were just about done when Mike pulled the plug to drain the water. Noah asked about where the bubbles were going, and Mike said “To BubbleLand, where all the bubbles go to have fun!” Noah thought for a minute, watching the bubbles go down the drain. Mike asked, “would you like to go to BubbleLand?” Noah swiftly replied, “Yeah, but I’m a little bit afraid to go down the drain.”

2/6/11: Ellie was randomly barking at something and Noah asked “what’s she barking at?” and I said, “Who knows!” Noah thought for a moment then asked, “Is she barking at her nose?

3/12/11: After a night spent at Bamma and Bampa’s house, we went to Blueberry Hill for breakfast. Marcia and Cello, my parents friends were potentially going to meet us. Noah asked, “where’s marshmallow?” - meaning “Marcia and Cello.”

3/12/11: At a recent trip to Walgreens, Noah got a small plush Mickey with a hook on it for hanging on zippers and such. He calls it his “hooker Mickey.”

4/9/11: I was putting Noah down to bed after celebrating Mike’s birthday. We said our nightly prayers and Noah opted to pray for his daddy, “Dear God, please bless my daddy (you know the guy in the living room with Sammy). It’s his birthday and he is my favorite daddy. Please keep my most famous daddy safe and healthy. Amen!”

4/20/11: Noah recently got over an ear infection and was doing well. However during his bath I reminded him not to submerge his head because I did not want him to get water in his ears. He dipped his head slightly in the water and said “see mommy, I didn’t even get an ear confection!”

5/20/11: Mike's mom (Abba Abba) passed away and at the wake we were having a family moment at the casket, Mike and I were teary eyed and explaining to Noah what the casket was and how we should pray for Abba Abba. It was a very sad moment and then Noah turned to Mike and asked, “Is Abba Abba going to heaven in this box!” incredulously as if we were sending her via UPS.

5/21/11: At the end of the funeral for Abba Abba, Noah was very concerned about who was going in which car. He noted that Daddy was going in the big black car (the limo) and he was going in the car with Mommy, and that Bamma and Bampa were going in their car, etc. Then he asked, “Is Abba Abba walking to heaven?” You betcha she is!

6/8/11: Noah refers to things in the past as, “a long time a back ago.”

7/29/11: Meera and Jason were visiting with their twins Kali and Kirin. Noah had a blast playing with them at the lake house, but had some trouble remembering their names and nicknames. At one point, Noah was told to stop tickling Kirin, because he did not like it. Noah pouted for awhile in the corner and Mike went to check on him. He told Mike, “I’m sad about my new buddy, my buddy with the round head.”

7/30/11: We put Noah, Kali, and Kirin all in one room to sleep. We overheard them chatting over the monitor we had put in their room. Noah was explaining how they should all say prayers. We about fell over laughing when we heard Noah say, “Hey, Roundhead, say a prayer for me!”

10/1/11: Noah and CJ got to spend some time together after CJ's Great-Grandpa Hull’s memorial service. The boys went to the bathroom with my supervision, in separate stalls. Being recent potty graduates, they were both yelling tips to each other. Noah started with, “Aim for the water CJ!” and CJ responded with, “Don’t forget to shake when you’re done!”

10/1/11: Mike and I were talking about our wedding how we danced together. Noah thought for a moment and then said, “I wish I had a girlfriend to dance with!”

10/8/11: I took the boys to get flu shots this morning and as we were driving home, Noah whined from the back, “why did I have to get a flu shot, it hurt and made me sad, why did I get one?” I explained that it would help him stay healthy this winter. He thought for a moment, then replied, “Yeah, I don’t want to throw up in the snow, that would be terrible!”

10/22/11: Noah has been going through a very inquisitive phase lately and the number of “why” questions we hear each day is epic. Today, while visiting Josh and Tia at the lakehouse he asked Tia, “why don’t you have a baby yet?” She paused (probably to gather her thoughts and come up with an appropriate answer) and sagely responded, “because I’m not old enough to have a baby.” Noah, without missing a beat said, “Oh, that’s responsible.”

10/28/11: On a walk today we saw lots and lots of geese at the local high school fields and Noah told me, “Oh mom look, the geese like to eat the Mountain Dew.” I was puzzled and so we had a lengthy back and forth to try to get to the bottom of his statement. Finally I figured out that awhile back we had explained how the ducks and geese liked to drink the morning dew off the grass.

11/13/11: Noah’s interesting form of negation ~ “But Mom, I amn’t throwing it!” for “am not.”

12/7/11: After a conversation with Aunt Michelle about “sensible” coats to wear in rain, winter, etc, Noah came home and announced he was wearing his “sensitive sweatshirt.”

Friday, December 9, 2011

Strap on your boots, mom!

So, if you didn't know, IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT!!!! Dear golly, it's the 5th latest date for first snowfall in Chicago history. Apparently when you are 3 this is a BIG deal. Noah announced at 6:45am this morning (after we had changed pee-soaked sheets, cleaned up dog puke, and eaten breakfast) that he was going to, "strap on his boots and head outside." After stalling for an hour, we got ready to head out...
So here it is, the big moment when they first hit the snow for the season. Sam is sporting a one piece snowsuit meant for infants that Noah wore his first winter. Hilarious. It has the cuff closures for his hands and after refusing to wear his mittens I folded them over so he had stumps for hands.
He was happy for about 2.5 seconds before saying, "up, Up, UP, UP, UP!" My sensitive little Sammy was not thrilled about the cold.
The big kid was all over it though. In the 15 minutes we were out there he tested out his shovel, made some snow angels (a bit pathetic looking in the whopping .3 inches of snow), and threw some snowballs for Ellie.
Speaking of the big guy, we got his school pictures this week. Check him out! I was impressed how they turned out. But before you get too impressed check out the class photo...Yep, there's our goofball! At least he's smiling!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Onward...to Christmas!

Are you trimming your tree? Downloading holiday music? Sipping mint hot cocoa? Baking Christmas cookies? That's what we're doing! Not all at once, of course, but we're getting the house all set for the best month of the year! Sam's ready for the baking part...Noah's art is decking our halls. A cute preschool project that I may steal in years to come...
At the tree, the tree! We put it up this morning with relatively small amounts of yelling, trauma, and disaster which was great!
My little elf apprentice! He actually was gentler than expected with the tree!
Two new additions to our tree this year. A bird for our "birdie" (Sam's nickname)...
and a monkey for our "monkey" (Noah's nickname).
Ridiculous headbands, I know, but I did NOT force them to wear them. They wanted too! Sam thought he was hilarious, he couldn't stop chuckling at himself.
Seriously. Goofballs.
I love how they look to each other for reactions, too funny!
I love that my boys love the holidays :) Of course that may have something to do with the gift giving and excitement they feel in the house!
Now some shots in front of the tree. Sam, could you look any more melancholy? Sheesh.
When they are so close you really notice the stark difference in eye color. Cuteness!
I can't stop taking and posting photos! Who could with these two sweet cherubs?!
Starting to lose it mom... grip on Sam more forceful, smiles more strained... mayday, mayday!
And how most photo shoots end, with a wrestling match on the floor. Agh, BOYS!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Holidays survived: Thanksgiving 2011

Holy Bananas! I can't believe we made it through the week unscathed! It was awesome, but busy. It started out with a reunion/playdate with some high school buds on Tuesday night. You know, the Florida 7 gals. This time it was just 4 of us (myself, Jenn, Elizabeth, and Philie) and our combined 5 offspring. Here we managed to get a group shot. From left, Cal (18 mos), Fred (3), Sam (15 mos), Noah (3), Morgan (3).Then the three 3 year olds did a funny pose. I can't believe how big they are getting. They played so well together and sat together at dinner chatting about the foods they liked and disliked. Can't wait to see what next year brings!
Not to be outdone, here's Cal's silly face. How cute is he, even if he does outweigh Sam by 10 lbs (not exaggerating at all there).
Then on Wednesday, Auntie Kimmy came with Nick and Cesca. We had a blast pre-cooking for Thanksgiving and getting some cupcakes baked for the kids.
Seriously Noah, can you NOT look at the camera?!
There was some major cousins vs Uncle Mike wrestling time. This is the hair that resulted. So Rodriguez that coarse hair of his!
On Thursday we got ourselves all spiffed up and hosted about 20 people at our house. It was a lovely day, here are the cousins just before everyone arrived.
Sam got a seat of honor at the "big" table with his hook on chair while the other kids were relegated to the kids table. He thought he was pretty cool.
The inevitable post-Thanksgiving nap featuring Phil Hewes. This was part one, he moved to the couch for part two.
Noah's not a big pie man, unless it's french silk. And apparently Baker's Square doesn't allow you to pre-order french silk for Thanksgiving, a travesty Josh uncovered this year. So Uncle Josh came through with special cake for Noah. If you could hear the picture it would sound like the Thundercats battle cry, but with "CAAAAAKKKEEEEE!"
Don't worry, the little man got some too!
Life is good when you are surrounded by wonderful family and friends and chocolate!
Pants came off and relaxing time commenced with Auntie Faith. She rubbed his belly and he was a happy little buddha.
Now, on to my fav, CHRISTMAS! Do you think we'll have any spoiled boys in this house come December 25th? Methinks perhaps.....

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Gettin' ready to Gobble Gobble!

Hope everyone is having fun gearing up for Thanksgiving! We have been busy this week with preschool parties and prepping our house for 20 some people... AH! On Thursday I was able to go in at the end of the preschool feast to hear them sing some songs.This time (as opposed to the Halloween party) Noah sang his little heart out. I could hear him over the din of the rest of the class, it was awesome!
He always gets excited when his picture is being taken, he can't help but look over!
He proudly wore his turkey headband for the afternoon, he told me he picked out the purple feather on the turkey just for me (my favorite color). He said, "I wanted to make you happy mom!" Too sweet!
In other news, brother #2 is proving himself to be QUITE the handful. During baths I sometimes feel like he should be wearing a helmet the way he dives around, and I should be wearing a wet suit because of all the splashing!
He even blows bubbles by himself. Look at that tiny tush!
And, in even more fantastically exciting news, he's walking! After a few months of physical therapy, he is starting to walk on his own. We are SO proud of him :)
He gets so excited and proud of himself when he's strolling around the house!
Hope everyone enjoys the holiday, we'll be back with pictures after the big turkey day! I am especially thankful for my wonderful, healthy, beautiful family!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Artist and The Peanut Savage

Probably Noah's favorite thing about preschool (aside from getting juice and good snacks) is that he gets to do art projects. His preschool is a bit old school, so it's always interesting to see what he comes home with. This last week it was an "Indian Headress." Not really culturally appropriate, but certainly cute. He wore it for the whole day.
Sam has been a HANDFUL lately. We call him the Peanut Savage (Noah came up with it) because he is so small but acts so big and eats so much. This week I had to pull him away from Evie numerous times because he was slapping her. Literally slapping her across the face. But they made up later :) Sammy truly is a peanut. We went to the doctor for his 15 month check up. He is 20 lbs 6 oz, which puts him in the 5th percentile for weight. Where this smallness comes from I couldn't say because the kid ate an entire cheeseburger yesterday!
Ellie, just tolerating life. Noah wrapped her up in the newly pulled out Christmas blanket.
Noah's art is slowly taking over our house. Today I finally decided to recycle a bunch of it since the dining room table was basically invisible under it. But we did keep some of his best work to hang up in the basement. He did color and cut these out all on his own. Pretty good, eh?
The artist with his work, this is just a third of what he has done in the last 2 weeks!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Sickday Saturday

It seems we have had sickness in our house since August. I know I should be thankful, it's been only colds and such, but we have had our share of runny noses, cruddy coughs, and burning sore throats to last us through 2013! This week we've been hit with trying to prep for time change (keeping the boys up later) although this sometimes results in random napping, as evidenced by the picture below. On Wednesday my dad had the boys and Sam did not nap according to plan. He napped during his haircut, well his partial haircut. When they woke him to do the back, he had a meltdown so he's now rocking a semi-mullet. Awesome.
So, what do you do on a cold Saturday when everyone is coughing? You make cookies! Mike stayed home today due to his feeling awful. He managed to pull himself off the couch to participate in the cookie assembly line. Here's what we were making.... cutie bugs!
Here's our quality control expert, he checked out all the ingredients for us. Pretzels? Check. Nutter butter cookies? Check. Mini M&Ms? Check. Melted chocolate candy coating? Check.
Noah has really been into helping do things in the kitchen lately, so he and daddy donned their matching jammy pants and got to work. Mike was the dipper and Noah was the decorator...

The cutie bugs turned out to be much more difficult then advertised (aren't all projects like that!). So we did some random decorating of our own. You got your ghosts, your snowmen, your silly faces, whatever....
We do have one cutie bug worthy of posting. Isn't he cute? Here's to hoping everyone feels adjusted and better soon!