Noah's First Sleepover

Eva Hutchings came to stay in early September. She & Noah had a great time pushing each other in the truck & Eva showed us her 'Dukes of Hazzard' move!

My Obama Man

(August 27) Thanks for the t-shirt, Auntie Ali & Uncle Austin!

Farm Life

(August 20)

Books with Buppa

(August 13) I love that it's hard to tell who's reading to whom. Noah loves his Buppa!

Mama's Little Helper

(August 8) So it took me 3x as long to make rolls that day. But he was SO cute!

Little Nakeds, Part V

(July 31)

Reinvented

(July 31) It amazes me how kids can find a million uses for toys that have nothing to do with their original function. Why use this as an art easel when it makes such an excellent tunnel?

The Cake

I posted a recap of Noah's 2nd birthday long ago, but I promised myself I would eventually include a special section dedicated to the cake. And to the INSANE amount of hours I labored on that thing.

(Probably to remind myself to BUY one next year.)

I forget how many hours I spent on it - but it took up a large portion of 2 days. Why? I'm an amateur, an overachiever & a perfectionist. Yikes.

My plan: stacked double-layered 12" and 8" rounds, with raspberry filling & Thomas decor. (Easy, right!?) We (meaning my Mom & I - she's only in 2 of the pictures, but there would have been NO cake without her) baked twice the amount normally planned due to measuring issues (mine). We had to piece part of a layer back together because I got a bit zealous with the fishing line (don't ask). But all in all, it turned out perfectly - even better than I'd hoped.

And given my mother-of-a-toddler-short-term memory, you'll likely find me next year, planning another ginormous project. At least I enjoyed myself (most of the time)!


Thanks for all of your help, Mom. It was fun!

On the Farm

For his bday weekend, Noah enjoyed some down time on the farm: "working" with Papa Chet & Scott Bybee & playing bubbles with cousin Olivia!

A Boy, His Dog & the Zoo

(July 14 & 15)

Man, we really miss Mars. He was a good sport!

Noah loves the 'safari' part of the zoo!

The Great Escape

For Dave's birthday/Father's Day/our anniversary, I planned a surprise weekend in Bend. I actually kept the secret until July 10 when we were in the car & I handed him a map from our house to the hotel. He was shocked! We had an amazing weekend, just the two of us.
(MANY thanks to my Mom & sister for making it possible!)

A few memories...

On the way there, drinking fresh water tapped from the mountain (eat your heart out, Dasani)

Living on the wild side (for me, anyway!), trying on dresses in an open-air market (& reprimanding my husband for taking pictures)
Taking a break & enjoying the gorgeous day along the river

Feasting on crepes (wearing our new hats)
Stopping to marvel at the shoe tree (seriously, a tree bearing hundreds of shoes, in the middle of nowhere by the side of the highway!)

Hangin' in the covered wagon; a large rocking chair; enjoying our new hats from the Hatter Dashery; draping strings of jerkey across the car visors; stuffed from lunch at the Sno Cap Drive-In; marveling in God's creation on a beautiful drive home; the perfect corner dinner spot in downtown Bend; pie at the Austin House

Where to next year, Love?!

Let's Back Waaaaay Up...

Since this serves as my digital scrapbook (as measly as it is), I have a lot of catching up to do from the summer. I already know that I'm going to get bored & wander off before I'm done, so bear with me...we'll get caught up eventually.

(June 16) Noah at the park. I love how he does this sweet little thing with his hand when he wants you to tickle him under his chin...

Mama's beautiful boy (taking a drink from a germ-ridden park water fountain)

The only decent pic I have of me & my sweet little ring bearer at Jessica & Ezra's wedding on June 27

Mr. Nudee Butt, running around at my folks' house on July 4th weekend

Just back from a great jeep ride in the desert on July 4 (Dave's dad, me, my niece Emily & nephew Ben)

We Miss You, Mars

I wish I could tell you a joyous tale of Marley's speedy recovery and homecoming, but life doesn't always end the way we'd like. After hours of seizures, every possible medical intervention, and much prayer, Dave & I finally had to resign ourselves to saying good-bye to Marley at 8:45 p.m. last Sunday.

This has been a long week of grief, memories, and of realizing just how much Marley was a part of our lives. He was the world's coolest dog! I know the numb feeling will eventually subside & we'll likely even get another pet - but his spot in our hearts will remain. He entered our lives at a pivotal point, he made us a family, and he was Noah's first companion. We miss you so much, Mars!

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts, kind words, and prayers, and for loving him almost as much as we did...

Pray for Mars

Marley is having seizures again.

(The long story short is that he's been having them more frequently for awhile now, and we finally decided it was too much this afternoon when he'd had his 14th in 18 hours. So we switched vets & Dave took him in over an hour ago.)

Our new vet told us that this would only get worse & that it was time to put him on daily meds. (The attempts to treat him with homeopathic remedies just weren't working.) Since it's a weekend & Mars has to be monitored while they get the dosage of this medication right, he'll be spending the night at the pet ER.

So please pray for him - the vet thinks there's a great chance that he'll recovery fully, but it's possible that some damage has been done. And the meds may take awhile to adjust - it's essentially a narcotic that will keep his brain from getting anxious & misfiring - and it sometimes is a little tricky to keep the dog sedated enough to not seize, but lucid enough to still be normal.

Not a huge big deal, I guess, since this happens to lots of other dogs all the time - but it's our Mars (& our pocketbook!) so we could use your prayers that this all goes smoothly!

It Goes By So Fast...

He's already two. And there's so much we love about him...

Noah is playful. He loves to be tickled (he lies on the floor saying "teek" until you show up, or just tries to do it himself!) and he giggles often. His "grinnies" are the best: part nose scrunch, part smile!

He is all boy: he loves his trucks, tractors & Thomas and absolutely adores his Daddy.

Noah is social. When at the zoo, he is far more interested in watching other kids than viewing animals. And the whole point of visiting the grocery store isn't to get food; it's too make new friends.

This kid is systematic about everything. When encountering something new, he takes his time to figure it out - but once he feels good about it, he's all in.

Noah is particular! He wants things a certain way & will let you know about it when they're not. (When he's ready to nap, you can't do anything to stop him. He lines up his trucks & likes things to be clean & orderly. And he can't stand to have sticky hands, just like his Daddy when he was little!)

He is very independent. He goes forever playing on his own & always wants to walk by himself. (But he's more than willing to cuddle when there's suspense in a movie - like when Sir Handel the train gets stuck under an avalanche!)

Noah loves books. He sits & reads on his own almost every day & he gives us directions to the library if we're anywhere close. He also loves music - he'll sing & dance, swaying back & forth...

We love watching him run - he is FAST! Our friends call him "Zoom." He is always on the go, and we are always running to catch up.

We adore so much about him: his toddler belly, his ghetto booty, his sweet little voice & indecipherable chatter...and how every day he becomes a more complex, more amazing little man.

Happy Second Birthday, Noah David!

Choo Choo...Noah is TWO!

Noah turned 2 on July 26, so we celebrated Thomas the Tank Engine style with our family & friends in Twin Falls.

Weeks ago, Dave scored a whole bunch of great Thomas stuff at a garage sale. He set it all up while Noah was sleeping, so he would come downstairs to his amazing gift!

All ready, waiting for the birthday boy...

Our two-year-old sporting Thomas jammies,
SO excited about his gift!

Watching as I put the finishing touches on his cake
(and wearing an adorable Thomas outfit complete with striped engineer shorts!)

The finished product!

Enjoying the sweetness of being two!

And eating "soup" & getting his face cleaned shortly before bed.

What a wonderful celebration it was.
Thanks to all of our friends & family who made it such a special day!

A Meeting of Vehicles

Noah decided that he needed to get everything with wheels together (for a meeting, or just an informal chat?) He had a great time setting them all up!

Sandbox!

Noah's Auntie Heather & Uncle Mike bought him a sandbox a few weeks ago. He wasn't too sure of it at first, but after Dave put the hose in it, he loved helping to pack it down & make towers. (This is also Dave's first sandbox, so he kept 'working' even after Noah moved on to other projects!)

Little Nakeds Part IV

Sporting the new haircut in the bath that night. So grown up!

First Haircut

On June 20, just in time for his third round as a ring bearer,
Noah got his first haircut.

My hairdresser Erin was absolutely amazing, and Noah did pretty well. He cried at first, but Dave's pocketful of Starbursts did the trick (note the chipmunk cheeks in several pictures!) I kept his little ducktail-curl.

No more baby - this kid is a little man now!

Helping again

There's nothing like mowing the lawn with a corn popper!

Noah & The Girls

Our friends' daughters, taking a spin with NoJo in his new truck!

New Truck!

Noah's New Ride!

A few weeks ago, Dave went garage saling & bought Noah some great toys for outside. A truck, an easel & a really cool table/chairs. Noah loves his first set of wheels!

Helping

My parents & I re-potted my plants the other night (Dave is out of town & they're here hanging with Noah Jones). Noah was very helpful - he loved moving the dirt back & forth!

I Heart Thomas

My boy, with his Thomas The Tank Engine (thanks, Auntie Heather!)

And looking cute in his cool-boy California shirt (thanks, Auntie Alison!)

Popcorn!

Noah was really insistent on having popcorn the other day (his daddy eats it all the time, and he wanted some, too!) It took them quite awhile to get through it - Dave had to bite off the kernel part first. Noah loved it - so much so that he wanted popcorn for breakfast the next morning!

Welcome, Riley Cash!

Noah's newest cousin, Riley Cash Jones was born this morning, in Chicago to proud parents RC and Jessica (Dave's brother & sister-in-law). We can't wait to meet Riley soon. We already know that he's gorgeous, smart & incredibly funny (he's got good genes!)

CONGRATS to Buck & Jess and welcome, Riley! We love you!

Growing Up

Noah sure is growing up!

He started walking around in my shoes yesterday, and I can't believe how old he looks in these pictures. Wasn't it just yesterday....

Funny man

(May 8) Too tired to sit up while driving his truck on the couch...but never too tired to try on my sunglasses!

The Curl

I love all of Noah, but there are a few things that I will really miss about his baby/toddler years:

his little, dimpled hands,

his pudgy toddler belly, and

the blonde little duck-curl at the nape of his neck.

He'll have his first haircut soon, and that will be the lock that I keep.

Toothy Grin

(May 7)

My New Favorite

I love this smile. He loves smiling this smile!

(Every night after his bath, I hold him in front of the mirror, count "1, 2, 3!" and we both wrinkle our noses & smile at each other. I love that!)