May I Never Forget...

...my O, just the way he is right now.

He is truly the sweetest child I have ever known. He loves his Brother with a selfless concern for his well-being. Owen is always the first to hear Noah crying, almost as if his ear is always tuned in to his "No-Nos'" needs. He is quick to offer Noah a toy if he is growing restless; even quicker to retrieve Noah's paci if it falls. He is always good to go chat with Noah to pacify him until Mommy can come remedy the situation. Owen has never told Jeremy or me that we are loved, but several times O's sweet lips have adamantly declared, "I love you, No-ah!" with a sound smacking of a kiss to follow.

O loves his Brother!

Owen tries so hard to obey. As a two-year-old, the choice to obey or not to obey and face the consequences is sometimes a struggle, but usually obedience wins. The struggle to choose is evident on his sweet face, and he is so proud when he makes Jesus and Mommy and Daddy so happy by choosing to obey.

Owen loves to pray! He has started composing his own precious prayers. I can not even imagine the joy it must bring our Father to hear O's sweet voice calling upon His Name. His prayers usually go something like this: "Thank you, God, for...(insert names of everyone in his entire extended family and anyone he may have encountered throughout his day). We often stop three or four times during a meal so that Owen can say more "pay-ers." How it thrills my heart that he has a desire for God already!

Owen loves to sing and make music. We make up silly nonsense songs all day long about whatever we might be doing in our day. He catches on quickly and joins in with fervor. He lets the joy in his huge heart spill over in the form of music. Such a happy little singer!

O is a boy who loves order and routine. He is very bothered when something is out of place in his environment. For example, if a block accidentally gets put in the Little People cubby, he is very alarmed and must immediately put it in its proper place. I left Owen's sandals on the floor of his room instead of putting them away during nap. No sooner had I shut the door of his room with O tucked cozily in bed before I hear frantic crying. "Put shoes back away, Mommy! Back away!" He keeps me on my toes...and my house straightened! The same goes for our routine. There are some things that we can never vary without causing disruption. One morning, Owie and I shared a bowl of yummy cereal in the living room, backs up against the wall to prop up tired Mommy. I guess O really enjoyed his breakfast! Now, as soon as he spies the cereal box, he is already sitting in the exact same spot waiting for his bites. I tried to move to a different bit of wall once, and was admonished with a, "No, Mommy, heee (O's word to denote a specific place or way of doing things)!" Silly O! He also must always match his plate/bowl to his eating utensils. This poses quite a challenge when the only clean bowl is orange but our only spoon is blue! Get out the soap, Mom, and start color coordinating!

Thank you, Father, for the opportunity to mother this precious Boy! My cup runneth over.

Water-logged

Ash, Turner, the Boys and I headed out for an Aquarium adventure. Shortly after our arrival, a huge (and unexpected) thunderstorm blew in. Long before the storm passed, the Boys were growing restless and tummies were rumbling, so we decided to brave the wind and the rain and make a run for our vehicles, parked a long ways away. The sympathetic Aquarium ladies gave us some trash bags with which we could waterproof ourselves, and we did have a couple of umbrellas between us. I am sure we made quite a spectacle racing through Fair Park dodging lightening and attempting to keep our Babies dry! What a memory we made today!

Bear Bottom

What's Up with Noah

Noah is learning so many new things every day! We so enjoy watching him discover more and more about the world around him. Here's a bit of what's been going on with Scooter!

So happy in his Bumbo. Even his sweet toes are happy!

One of my favorite stages: Noah discovered that the short stubby things on the ends of his feet are awfully fun to play with. I can't wait for him to try to taste one. Yummy!

Such sweet chubby nakedness!

What a joy! This is how I find Noah after he wakes up from his nap these days. He just flips over on to his back and babbles for awhile.

Noah is nearly sitting by himself! He has mastered the "tripod."

I just had to post this picture showing off Noah's huge blue eyes. Where did he get blue eyes, you might ask, seeing that Jeremy and I are both of the hazel persuasion. We can only think that it must be recessive genes from both beautiful, blue-eyed Grandmas!

Progression

Two happy babies playing on the floor

"Noah touch Owie arm!" O is Noah's best cheerleader and praises him profusely for every little thing he does. It is precious to see Owen's excitement over Noah's accomplishments.

Uh-oh! Now they've got the giggles!

"All this happiness is making me hungry," says Noah, who always has food on the brain. "Is it okay to nibble on my Brother?"

How Many Cooks in the Kitchen?

THREE

very happy cooks!

We had so much fun making yummy snacks for Daddy's guy night!

Check out those grins!

Puddle-jumping

The O and I have loved this rainy, drippy, warm weather! We have had such fun splashing in puddles, floating leaves downstream into the gutter and praising the Lord for His blessing of rain.

"Thank you, Gee-sus for the rain. AMEN!"

Glee

All this delight over the antics of a rather plain butterfly that joined our picnic. We dubbed him "Bill" and had such fun creating stories about him as he flitted about.

Disclaimer:

Please ignore the Cheeto mouth and fingers. It was a special day that warranted the very rare consumption of yummy Cheetos.

Noah Is 5 Months Old!

What a joy our little guy is! Here is a little of what "No-nos" (O's name for baby brother) has been up to:

He LOVES his "jump-jump"! If Mommy absolutely has to get something done (change O's diaper, shower, throw in a load of wash), the jumparoo is our best bet for a ten minute time span to crazily rush around and get as much done as is humanly possible before Noah needs some more attention.

Eating his good friend, Puppy.

Hanging out with Dad on a lazy Saturday.

Discovering the yumminess of Yaya.

Getting love and kisses from his favorite hero!

Cured?

This is the face the old Noah used to wear 95% of his awake time. I realize I have posted quite a few smiley, happy pictures of Noah on this blog, choosing to show you out there how smiley and happy he was...for 5% of his awake time. The remainder of the time, he looked more like this:

After having a desperate chat with our pediatrician, he diagnosed reflux and prescribed Zantac. Within 24 hours, our baby looks more like this:

and this:

Zantac did not cure all of our woes. I would say Noah is still extremly sleep-challenged and feels a strong sense of abandonment if put down from my arms...ever, both of which lead to lots of (rather shrill, remember?) screaming. But he has so many more episodes of contentment, which gives my heart such joy. It makes my heart hurt to think that all this time maybe he was not just ornery but was in pain from the reflux. Thank you, Lord, for a great doctor who listened to me and acted with wisdom!

Where's the Beef?!

In an attempt to assist Noah with his poor sleeping habits, I started him on rice cereal. My rationalization was that surely he would sleep more soundly (I was PRAYING!) with a stuffed-full, happy tummy.

He was not too sure about it at first...

...but by the bottom of the bowl, he was pulling my spoon-laden hand towards his mouth with all his strength while "crunching" up towards me to get to the food faster. It was hilarious! One thing my Boy has never had trouble with is eating! He's a natural! He could not overcome the strong to desire to still suck on his fingers while eating though. Thus, we headed straight to the tub for a spray-down after the meal.

Some of my compassionate friends may be wondering if my attempts resulted in a more solid night of sleep. Let me just say I was up no fewer than seven times between 10:30 and 2:00! After that he did sleep a solid three hour stretch before rising with a grin and a squeal! At least he starts his day full of energy!

Ode

To the woman who gave me life

(one of my best friends, my teacher, my confidant, the Mom God blessed me immeasurably with; the best Yaya ever!),

the woman who gave my Love life

(a giving, generous woman who has chosen to love me as her own; the most wonderful mom-in-law I could imagine; the best Gigi ever!),

and the three Boys who allow me the privilege of being a Mommy.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I love you all!

Bowling Party

We celebrated Erica's 30th Birthday with a smashing bowling party. It was so much fun watching all the kids learn the fine art of bowling. As with all other sports, Owen was a natural, scoring a 93 on his first game! Bowling is also a great way to learn about taking turns. What a difficult thing when you have waited your WHOLE LIFE for the chance to bowl!

Daddy and O anxiously watch to see how many pins fall over.

Mommy and O give the ball a good, solid send-off .

The make-shift bowling game we have rigged up at home, since bowling is O's newest passion. Now all we need is some stylin' bowling shoes!

More party pics:The Birthday Girl and Baby Will

Papa and Clayton had a great time!

Great form, Jeremy! STRIKE!!

Three happy partiers and one crabby little baby. O appears to be checking out the score. Yes Honey, you are still in the lead.

What Noah Learned Today

Noah has been a busy little learner today!

First thing this morning, he surprised me by blowing raspberries! Very fervently, I might add. Spit bubbles were flying everywhere! Such a cute trick!

And then at lunch time, he held a rattle to play with it! He has been batting at toys for awhile, but this is the first time he has been able to grasp one to play with it. A whole new world of entertainment possibilities has opened up for Scooter!

Just Call Him "Dewey Decimal"!

Our little counter was doing so well. He could count to eleven without batting even one of his super-long eyelashes. What happened? All of a sudden, the numerical system has changed on me! Now, according to my little "Dewey," the scale goes, "One, two, three, six, ebeben (11), tirteen (13)!" Don't even attempt to correct him, either. He is adamant that this is the way things are!

Happiness

I absolutely love this stage of babyhood! There is an abundance of smiles. What could be more heartwarming than the grins of a content baby?

My Two Peas

They may look and act like they are from different "pods," but that doesn't stop me from having fun dressing them alike! What amazing Boys the Lord has entrusted to me! I am so privileged to get to spend each day with them!