A Fright!

The Boys were happily playing in the playroom with Jeremy after dinner. I was delivering clean, folded laundry to its proper place. I entered O's darkened room to put his clothes in the closet. What did I see on O's bed, but two gleaming eyes and one huge grin! I let out quite a squeal before realizing what it was:

Nosy was perched on O's bed in the pitch dark, as happy as could be. Little stinker!

Later on, I caught him in the act.

The solitary climb...

...accompanied by many grunts of exertion.

Oh, now I see! He had a secret rendezvous with John and Jeremiah, O's babies! Scooter just can't get enough time with O's most special toys.

The scary descent. No babies were harmed in this plunge to the ground. I guess we need to give a bit of thought to moving O's chair to a different location!

While You Were Sleeping

Dear O,

I love you so much and you are my favorite playmate, but I must admit that sometimes I can't wait for your nap time. While you are sleeping, I secretly get to play with your most prized possessions, the ones you never let me touch. I head straight for your golf clubs, baseball bat and squishy baseball. You'll never know and Mommy promised she will never tell. So here's to long naps and uniterupted play time!

XOXO,

Noah

He Gets Around

I really can't believe Noah isn't walking yet! He has such a go-getter personality and has been cruising and walking holding on to things for ages. But I guess he doesn't really need to walk! He gets around in his own special way!

Sweet O is so patient with Nosy, being sure to walk slowly so Noah doesn't fall down.

I realize more every day how blessed I am to have two wonderful boys who love each other.

Rear View

People sometimes ask me if I have time to work out. Does changing Scooter count? Seriously, by the time I get his clothes and diaper changed, I have worked up a considerable "glow." The little stinker is strong, of body and will. When he is determined to escape, escape he will!

Does it look like he's laughing at me...because he is!!

He's a goner!

The chase is on!

A Walk to Remember

It was finally warm enough to get out on our daily walk again today. Walking with the Boys always leads to some memorable conversations. I have been trying to instill in O the truth that we can talk to God anytime about anything. He is always listening and loving us.

I asked Owen if he had any problems or worries that I could be praying about for him. I had no idea what he would respond or if he even understood what I was asking. Without hesitation he piped right up:

"I do have a prob-em. I have snots." So matter of fact. "Say a prayer for it, Mommy." Of course I did.

As soon as I had finished covering O's "snots" in prayer, he spoke up again! "Nosy wants my toys. Say a prayer for that too, please." Good idea, O! After I prayed, O turned around and looked at me. "I like to share my toys with No-nos, Mommy!" Prayer answered already!

I asked O if he would pray for something that was worrying me. "Oh yes!" I explained to him that Papa did not have a job to go to right now and how sad and worried it made our family. Listen in on his precious prayer: "Dear God, please give Papa a new job. Please give Papa a good job. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen!"

A Bumpy Ride

The story of John and Jeremiah's very first wagon ride. It's like a flip book...

There they go, off on a grand adventure!

Ever so carefully, O helps the wagon down each step.

Another safe landing. He was so gentle with his babies!

This is fun!

Time for nap, so we head back into the house. Oh no! Both babies spill out of the wagon onto the hard concrete!

O tenderly places them back in the wagon and makes sure they are comfy. No one was hurt. That was a close call!

All is well. Back inside for a nice long rest!

The Unabridged Version

I have shared before Owen's ritualistic suppertime prayer. He has been saying the same thing every night at dinner for about six weeks. Well, last night, the prayer tripled in length, out of the blue!

"Dear God, thank you for this fun day. Please help Mommy to get good sleep tonight. Please help Nosy to learn to obey Mommy. Help Daddy to eat a good supper. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen."

What a funny guy!

Homemade Fun

A very sweet friend of mine had a brilliant idea for a fun activity on a yucky day. We have had our fair share of yuckiness around here lately, so the Boys and I decided to try it out.

The idea: color vanilla pudding with food coloring, making edible finger paint! Super-fun!

While mixing up some of our favorite colors, O and I took the opportunity to talk a little about the color wheel. Our favorite experiment? Yellow and red make (drum roll please!) orange! I'd like to mention that Owie is a stellar stirrer!

O, garbed in an old t-shirt of mine to protect his fave football pj's, was not too sure about the sliminess. Evidently, the pudding was also very cold. He kept a washcloth close by so that he could keep his fingers as clean as possible. He had fun painting, but he could not quite get past the messiness.

I was wondering if he would sample much of the pudding. I had let him lick the spoon after mixing a batch. He exclaimed, "Yum! It tastes like we are baking cookies!" (He's never had pudding before.) However, that was the only taste he took. He did not even try a finger full of beautiful pudding.

How did Nosy react, you wonder?


His very first reaction was to dive in double fisted and make a bee-line for his mouth. He wasted no time at all swirling the pudding around in any way. How could he possibly have known it was a yummy treat?! That Boy can just sense it, I guess!

I can almost hear him saying, "Mama Mia. This is a little taste of heaven!"

He was literally dripping with pudding by the end of it!

What a fun way to spend a rainy morning! It is definitely something we will do again!

Favorite Pastime

This is the Boys' newest trick:

Pushing each other on Scooter's tractor push/ride-on toy. It never gets old...and our home is filled with delighted squeals from both of our Guys!

It started out with O pushing Noah. Pretty fun stuff! Nosy is sure getting a kick out of it!

Soon it led to this. Owie's weight on the push toy slows the speed down (especially on the wood floor) to a more comfortable pace for Noah, and O gets a free ride.

Sometimes O "helps" Noah by pushing with his feet. Then Nosy races to keep up with the faster pace. No matter how many times Scooter falls over, he always pops back up ready for more!

Is that You, Pablo?

Here's our own little Picasso in the making:

O got this great easel and new paints for his Birthday. Quiet, please. He is hard at work fashioning his first masterpiece!

Such concentration!

The finished product. Looks like something wonderful and abstract to me...definitely worth a fortune!

A funny story about the easel: It has to live in O's room because there just is not space for it anywhere else. We stuck it an empty corner, easily accessible for whenever the artsy bug bites. Well, if you know O, you know that any disruption to his space can be traumatic. That night, a few minutes after we tucked Owie in, we heard quite a rucus coming from his room, some screaming and crying and banging. We didn't know what to make of it, but both Jeremy and I raced to O's rescue, sure to find blood and all sorts of trouble. But no (thankfully)! The culprit was the horrible easel, daring to sit right out in the open where it has never been before. And so, we folded up the menacing easel and tucked it behind his dresser, completely out of the way. O was only partially appeased (He wanted it completely removed from the premises), but at least he was able drift off to dreamland...and we can still get at the easel rather readily when we want to.

Game On!

Nosy, you seem to have grown up quite a bit this month! You are now 13 months old!

What a little game player you are! Not only do you enjoy a good game, no matter how simple it might be, you also often initiate games.

Some of your faves:
Hide the ball under a cup or in my hand. You will guess which cup/hand the ball is in, with incredible accuracy, I must add!

Throw food off your high chair tray. This "game" prompts you to throw back your sweet head and laugh and laugh...until the stern "No, No!" that comes from Mommy. Then your little face crumples with tears.

The fake hiccup game. Once, when you got the hiccups, you made such funny faces that Owen and I couldn't help but get the giggles. Now you muster up a fake hiccup just to get us laughing.

Throw the ball. You could literally play ball for hours without tiring. It has been a bit of a challenge to teach you that while tossing a soft ball is acceptable, tossing anything you feel like is not.

The old stand-by: peek-a-boo. Sometimes I catch you hiding under a cloth diaper or behind a church bulletin. What are you doing, crazy Boy? Then you pop your head out with a mile-wide grin! Peek-a-boo, I see you!

You have added a few more words to your repertoire this month:

"Na-na-na-na-na!" (No!) Said with violent, whiplash-inducing head shakes, mostly when I need to clean your face with a wash cloth.

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-MA!" You so sweetly call me...and get gradually more insistent.

"Ba" for ball is another new addition.

A few times we think you have said "O" to call your Brother, "nana" for banana, and "Aa-da" for all done.

You jabber constantly and often crack yourself up with whatever you are talking about. I can't wait to know more of what goes on in your fun-lovin' brain!

Your one and only walking step was on Christmas Eve. I am beginning to think it was an accident, seeing as how it has not happened again. However, you are definitely not as content to crawl anymore. You want to be up-right. Your solution: Pull up on my pants and cling for dear life as I take mincing steps and you follow behind. It takes me forever to accomplish a task that way, but you are so proud of yourself "walking" right along with Mommy. You will also do this with Owen from time to time. He is not as accommodating, I'm afraid!


You really think you can feed yourself and jump at the chance to hold the spoon. It causes quite a mess, but it's so much fun to watch you try. You get so excited when a bite actually makes it to your mouth!

You make our days such fun, Noah!

Celebration Day

Owen's third birthday dawned bright and early. What's the best way to start the day? By getting bucked off your trusty pony!

After being give the choice of whatever his hungry tummy wanted for breakfast, he chose chicken nuggets, applesauce and OJ. He passed up cinnamon rolls or waffles for chicken nuggets? Who's kid is he?

After Scooter's nap, we headed to Aunt Julianne's house for a cousin birthday celebration. We were greeted with wonderful homemade art on the front door and b-day banners throughout the house. O felt so special!

These kids are star performers! They started off by teaching Owie a new dance. He is suspended in mid-air in this pic!

Then it was time for a quick wardrobe change and the vocal part of the performance.

Owen was having the time of his life! Not only was he being lavished with attention from his cousins, but he also got to jam with the band!

Rockin' Ally. This girl was born to be a star!

Maddie got a big hug from Mom.

Swaying to the music with Mia

Will and Gigi clap along

Julianne tried to coax Noah to take a step. No luck, but he sure had fun!

Thanks, Julianne and kids for making Owen's birthday so extra-special! He felt so loved, and we all had a great time!

Then it was home for a quick nap followed by a pajama/pizza/movie party with Daddy!

Owie got to pick any movie at Blockbuster that he wanted. He chose a Dora movie about stars. What a treat!

Relaxing with Daddy after a wonderful day.