Santa 2009

Last year Noah was terrified of Santa. This year, he's still not so sure about him. It took a candy cane to get him on Santa's lap but Noah's face says it all. Allison really couldn't have cared less. The result: children of the corn. Maybe next year we'll get a little more enthusiasm out of these two. Merry Christmas!

Nasty Baby

A few weeks ago I was helping Noah on the potty when the phone rang. Normally I would have just let it ring but I was expecting an important call so I ran to get it leaving Noah and Allison alone in the bathroom. I thought the worst that Allison could do was unroll all the toilet paper. A few moments later I heard Noah yelling, "Nooooo baby!" and I ran in to see what she was doing. Noah had gone poop and then got off the potty after which Allison proceeded to go fishing for poop. And she took a little taste as well. Never a dull moment.

The picture is of her eating dirt, but you get the idea.

Halloween

So, I just realized I forgot to blog about Halloween. Silly me! Last year Noah was afraid of his costume. It was a little bee costume and we wrestled him into it despite his protests. We were hoping that once he saw how it looked he'd warm up to it. It turns out, we probably just traumatized him.

This year I was determined to get Noah into a costume. I spent a lot of time talking to him about Halloween in the weeks leading up to it. He still said "no way" to wearing a costume. Then, one day, we were at the store and I was showing him a bunch of different costumes still getting the same response. I picked up a Superman costume and took it out of the package just to see if it would fit. The moment he saw it out of the box, he wanted it. I never thought it would be so easy! After that he couldn't wait for Halloween. He's cured! This all happened about 2 weeks before the holiday. When we bought the costume it fit perfectly but by Halloween it was a little small. Kids grow so fast!

We went over to Burke Lake to take a ride on the ghost train and the carousel. They handed out candy and we had cotton candy too. The kids were loaded with sugar before they even went trick or treating! We went with some friends. Here they are in their costumes. The little kangaroo is Allison's buddy Savannah (they are only 3 days apart!) You can see that we put Allison in the dreaded bee costume of last year. Luckily, Noah was not afraid of her.

That night we went to a friends house for a little potluck and then went trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was great fun despite the rain that hit about half and hour in. One of the best

things that came of all this was Noah finally discovered what his very favorite candy is. Drum roll please........................SMARTIES! That was all he would eat from his bag. It was great because Keith and I got to eat the rest. Here they are with a couple of friends from the trick or treating group. So much fun!

Noah Turns 3

Monday was Noah's 3rd birthday. It's so crazy that it has been 3 years since he was born. I asked Noah if he'd rather have a party or a trip to the zoo for his birthday and he chose the zoo. We went last Saturday and the kids had a blast. Sunday we did cake and presents. Now the countdown begins again to November 16th 2010......here's a little tribute to our oldest.

Incubation.

The day after he was born.

His 3rd birthday! He's growing up so fast!

Music Time

It seems that our children have some musical talent. They certainly have a great deal of enthusiasm for singing!

Here's Allison singing the Batman theme song and Noah singing ABCs.

I seem to always blog two entries at a time so check out the one after this, I just wrote it 10 minutes ago.

Catching Up

Here are some snippets of what has been going on with us over the last several weeks.

Allison is getting so big. He hair is growing fast and I was finally able to give her pig-tails. I can't tell you how long I've waited to give my daughter pig-tails. They didn't last long though, her hair's still pretty short.
She still enjoys an occasional dirt snack at the park. But, in her defense, she's getting better about it every day.

We took the family to the Cox Farm Fall festival. The kids had a great time and especially loved all the pumpkins. Oh, and Noah got nice and dirty as usual. See below.

Vindication

Lately, Allison has been impossible at the grocery store. The main problem is that she always stands up in the cart. I'm not talking about the main compartment, I'm talking about the basket in the front. Now, you might be thinking, "why don't you just use the straps?" They don't work, you'd sooner hold back the wind then get that girl to sit down. After a few experiences of getting stern looks and judgemental words from strangers I decided that I would start putting her in the main compartment with Noah. She can stand up there and it's less dangerous. Unfortunately, she thinks it's fun to throw all the groceries out of the cart. So, do I let her stand in the basket and endure the judgements of others or put her in the main compartment where she'll chew through the butter box and throw everything else out?

Today I saw a mother with a little girl Allison's age standing in the front basket. Finally! I'm not the only one. So I say, let them judge! I know that my baby girl is safe because I'm standing right there and I will catch her if she falls.

Backpacking Trip

Last weekend Keith and I left the kids and went on a 2.5 day backpacking trip in Shenandoah. I've never been backpacking before but I like hiking and I like camping so it seemed logical that I would also enjoy backpacking. So, here's what I learned....

-although fun, hiking with 30 pounds on your back is actually hard work

-seeing deer in their natural habitat is so much cooler than at the zoo

-hiking down a mountain is MUCH harder than hiking up

-I have the best hubby in the world

We went about 13 miles total and towards the end of our second day my legs and knees were so tired that I could hardly walk. Keith was amazing, he took as much of the weight off my pack as he could carry. Who said chivalry is dead? Now, if I could just get him to do the dishes....

Here are some pics from the trip:

Here's Keith at the summit of Robertson Mountain. Right before the "thigh-burning" descent.

Here's a picture of the deer that wandered into our camp. She just hung out and stared at us for a while. It was pretty cool.

This is the first day (hence the smile). I'm sitting on the stool that Keith fashioned out of three sticks, some rope and a peice of fabric. Yeah, he's MacGyvor.

A Year in Review (tribute to Allison)

Allison is now a year old. We celebrated her birthday last Saturday and I really can't believe that our little girl is growing up so fast. She even started walking today. Sigh. So, here is a nice picture overload of Allison's first year. Enjoy!

Summer in Review

It seems that I have not been the world's best blogger but I will attempt to make up for lost time. Here are some of the things that have gone on this summer. We went on a camping trip several weeks ago which proved to be quite interesting. It was Allison's first time and she slept in her portacrib in the tent. She found it difficult to stand up as there are no bars to grab. But, alas, she found a way.

Here is Noah on his first day of potty training. He was so determined to earn a popsickle that he sat on the potty for two hours while watching tv.

Noah and I have been having some fun baking cookies with our new-to-us Kitchen Aid mixer. His favorite part is, of course, eating the dough.

A few weeks ago Keith had a get together with all 5 of his brothers. We were able to convice a few of the other wives to come out. The men went to Kings Dominion and spent time playing frisbee golf and paintball. The ladies (and 7 children) picked raspberries, and went to the Prince William County Fair. On the last night we all got together at the swimming pool. It was a good time and was so awesome to be with family!

Noah and his cousin Jacob just chillin by the pool, eatin' some chips.

Allison with her cousin Ella showing off their cute bows. My wonderful sister-in-law makes these and you can buy them at her website ellasbows.com.

Stay tuned for more posts........

Potty Training

We've officially survived potty training. I've always heard that it is really difficult but one can't really appreciate how difficult until you experience it. I couldn't have done it without Keith. At the end of the day, when I had reached my breaking point, Keith was always there to take over. Now, a week and a half later, Noah has very few accidents and wears underwear all the time. Yeah for Noah!

Independence Day

It's great when the 4th of July is on a Saturday because we get two days of fun instead of one. I guess people feel like they get jipped if they don't get a day off work. So, we started celebrating on the 3rd. We went to the Water Mine with the cousins, which was a blast. The kids really enjoyed it. Well, Noah did. Allison slept for a lot of it.

On the 4th we went to the Burke Ward Picnic at Accontink Park and won the water balloon toss. Yeah, us! Noah also got to ride the carousel which is quickly becoming one of his very favorite things to do. That night we went to a friend's house and had a bbq and they lit off hundreds of illegal fireworks. It was pretty exciting! Noah had a grand time and, again, Allison slept for much of it. Independence Day might be one of my favorite holidays. We are truely blessed to live in America and have all the freedom and prosperity that we enjoy. God bless America!

Noah on the Carousel at Accotink Park.

Recovery

Ever since I can remember I have been a nail biter. I know, it's a very gross habit. I've lost count of how many times I have tried to quit. Most of the time it lasts a few weeks, maybe a month, before I have a relapse. Well folks, 2 1/2 months and counting without biting a nail. You might ask, how can one quit a habit of 24 years? I didn't think it was possible myself.

The change happened when I ran the half-marathon. That was something I didn't think was possible either. After the race I wondered why I was able to make myself do something I didn't like (running) but I couldn't make myself stop doing something I didn't like (nail biting.) Shouldn't it be easier to not do something than to do something? Suddenly, I found the will power. Oddly enough, it takes very little will power anymore. I don't even have much desire to bite. Something about running that race changed me in a fundamental way. I have realized that I can do hard things.

A Day at the Pool

We had a fun day today visiting with our friends in Baltimore. Here are some pictures from the day. The first one is of Allison eating some leaves, yummy!

Farewell to Transience

Since we got married in 2004 Keith and I have not stayed in one place more than 8 months, that is, until now. It's kind of funny to think about all the places we have lived:

Burke, VA (4 months)
Chicago, IL (4 months)
Burke, VA (8 months)
Fort Collins, CO (4 months)
Great Falls, VA (8 months)
Oklahoma City, OK (4 LONG months)
Salt Lake City, UT (6 months)
Fairfax, VA (3 months)
Ashburn, VA (1 month)
Burke, VA (11 months)

Oddly enough, it seems we have come full circle. We have lived in more cities in 4 years than some people live do in a life time. I am thinking about this because we are now fast approaching our one year mark of homeownership.

I used to beg Keith to give up door-to-door sales so we could just stay in one place for a year. Recently, I started to feel a little itchy. Like we need to pack up and move. It feels strange to still be here. Although, cumulatively, we've lived in Burke for almost 2 years. When I really tried to imagine moving I realized that what I really want, and have wanted all along, is to put down some roots. We talk with our friends about our kids going to kindergarten together and I hope that we stay long enough to see that come to pass. There is no reason for us not to. Hopefully we can put down roots here. It just feels like home. In all the places we've lived, nothing feels quite like home the way Virginia does.

DC Trip

I've been meaning to post this for a while but I just forgot about it. A while ago we went downtown with some friends to see the Natural History Museum and some of the monuments. First we went to the museum and had a great time. We went to the butterfly exhibit which was so cool. You go into this room and there are butterflies everywhere and they even land on you. Allison was the only one fortunate to experience a butterfly landing on her and she didn't even notice. Noah noticed and insisted that we get it off her. So protective.

After the museum we were on our way to the Lincoln Monument and Noah blew out his diaper to the point that his pants and shirt were soiled. He hasn't done that in about a year so I had stopped bringing a change of clothes for him. I ended up buying him a t-shirt from a cart ("I Love DC") and putting Allison's spare pants on him.

While I was changing Noah the others found a fountain to splash in outside of the museum. The moment Noah saw that he was all about it. I was fine with it until he fell in and soaked the new clothes I had just put on him. So, I bought ANOTHER t-shirt and took the pants off Allison to put on him. Then, Allison had her 3rd poopy diaper of the trip and used my last diaper so when Noah soaked through the one he was wearing he had to borrow a pink pull up from Ava. Phew! This is long. Well, you know what they say.......a picture is worth a thousand words.

Summertime

Well, it is offically summer here in VA. We've had quite a few hot humid days and have taken advantage with trips to the pool. Although, oddly it seems that every time we go it starts thundering. We've been having thunderstorms almost daily for the last few weeks. Yesterday, we were at the pool and some really loud thunder came from nowhere and we had to scurry home as quickly as we could. We make it inside moments before big chunks of hail started coming down. Noah was scared out of his mind. Here's a cute picture of Allison in her bikini. It's ok to put a baby in a bikini right?

Fears

So this has been an interesting week for little Noah. For the past while I've noticed that Noah is absolutely scared of everything. He's scared of dogs, the wind, carousels and the doctor most of all. The last one I can understand but the wind? Really?

On Friday we went to the doctor. At first he was nervous but Allison was first to see the doc so he got to sit back and watch. After watching them examine her it was his turn. Not only was he not scared, he was delighted. The doctor had him eating out of her hand. She was looking for Diego in his ears and had him blow out a pretend candle to listen to his lungs. Amazing, best doctor ever. Needless to say I was pretty happy with how well it went.

Earlier this week we also came across a few dogs. He started to have his usual reaction of panic but it was half-hearted. They were just little puppies and he was curious. Next thing, he had those dogs eating out of his hands. 2 fears down, 2 to go.

Saturday we went to Burke Lake Park to ride the train. They also happen to have a carousel there. The last time Noah rode a carousel was about a year ago and it was quite a traumatic experience. I was extremely surprised that he immediately wanted to "ride the horsies." So, we got a ticket and I sat him on a horse and he said, "bye mom!" and off he went. Had the time of his life.

This afternoon we went for a walk and there was a nice breeze and a few gusts of wind. This would normally send Noah into a panic but instead he said "ooooh, it's windy!" and smiled. So, now I ask him, "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" It appears that my little boy who was afraid of everything, overcame all his fears in one week. If only it were that easy for us grown ups.........

Video madness

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Bears and Baltimore

Our good friends April and Luke recently moved to Baltimore for the summer. They have 2 kids also. The oldest, Ava, is Noah's age and they get along really well. In fact, they are sort of betrothed. Normally they live in Utah so we are taking advantage of every opportunity to see them while they are so close. Since the half-marathon we've been to Baltimore twice. The first time we went to the Aquarium and the second time we went to Port Discovery which is a children's museum. I never even knew something like that existed before. Noah had a great time at both places with his buddy Ava. Here are some pictures.

In the rain outside the Aquarium. Noah is quite the gentleman. This will be a good one for the wedding slide-show. :-)

Those kids would have jumped in and swam with the sharks if we would have let them.

Our little jester.

Yee haw!

The happiest baby in the ball pit. Okay, the only baby in the ball pit.

Allison has hit a major milestone. She's now as big as Buddy the koala bear. Where does the time go?