Snow

Noah going down the slide

Giving Daddy kisses

Noah and Jack having fun in the snow

We have had so much snow already this year. Last year we had a lot, but it seemed to happen so fast this year. The worst of it has been how cold it is, but the past two days have been warmer, getting to almost 20 degrees during the day. Noah and Jack were very ready to go outside and play in it, so they were glad for the warmer weather. Josh has been out in it regardless of the temperature snow blowing, it started out as a fun thing for him to do, but it's quickly losing its appeal!

Bouncing and Freezing

It has been freezing over here lately. During the day it only has been getting to about 10 degrees and today it got down to five. So, needless to say we're all going a little stir crazy, especially Jack and Noah. Our solution for Noah is taking him to this great place called Sport Gymnastics. Five days a week they do a play group for little kids and they are able to play with each other on all of the gymnastics equipment. He loves it! We ask him if he wants to go bounce with the kids and he starts bouncing all around the house. We went this morning and he had an extra good time because his Daddy was there and he is able to be a lot more active then I (I am avoiding the trampoline for obvious reasons!)



After we played we decided to go to Leavenworth for a couple of hours to check out all of the Christmas decorations as we hadn't been there in a while. We underestimated how cold it was by a long shot! We had Noah all bundled up, but Josh and I were not dressed warm enough at all. It was so cold that your face would hurt after just having been outside for a couple of minutes. We got to the point where we were just going into stores to warm up. We decided to head to the Chocolate Factory and get out of there! Noah got his usual, marshmellows on a stick and was working on that until his little hand hurt so badly from having his mitten off. We rushed back to the car and headed home. It was a fun day, but far too cold to be outside for any length of time. Noah did get to see Santa up close and personal (for about the fifth time this season!) And of course the only time he cried was when they took his picture, during the real visit!

Josh's tattoo

For a long time, Josh has been talking about getting a tattoo on his wedding ring finger. A lot of times when he drums he takes it off and also when he wakeboards, snowboards, plays sports, etc. So he thought that it would be a good idea to have a wedding band (with a J in the middle..for Jaime, of course!) tattooed on his finger. So, when he made the final decision to do it I started researching and found a good place in Fremont (that was VERY clean and had a lot of good reviews!)


The boys trying their best to look tough before the appointment

So, we made an appointment and we left yesterday to get it done, my Mom was able to meet us also. I had called ahead and talked to the girl doing it and she was very nice and helpful. I asked her if it was going to hurt him too badly and should he take some tylenol, she started laughing and said that it wouldn't be too bad, but that he could if he wanted. This whole conversation took place while Noah was screaming in the background, we were definitely not the customers that they were use to. It was no surprise when we walked in that she knew who we were before we even said, we stuck out like a sore thumb!


Noah and Ashley (or Ash Wednesday, that was her tattooing name!)

Everyone at the place was so nice and it turned out to be surprisingly kid friendly. We got this picture of Noah on the tattoo table, we were thinking that we would have a few more years before we got to that point! The funny thing was that Noah spilled on his shirt before we got there and he ended up having to put on a preppy one, so he really stuck out!

Josh is really happy with how it turned out and it didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would. From a ways away it looks like a wedding band and when he has his real ring on you won't be able to see the tattoo at all. I kept asking him if he was sure but he said he was, I guess we're stuck with each other forever now!

The final product!

Whistler

This last weekend Josh and I went to Whistler and had so much fun! Josh's 30th. birthday is coming up on the ninth and I wanted to do something fun for him. A party was out because of all my baby drama (committing too far in advance was too risky) so I asked him what he wanted to do and he decided that he wanted to snowboard at Whistler. We had such a good time up there by ourselves, it was really nice to have some alone adult time. I'd forgotten what that felt like! We went to a movie, had really good dinners, walked around the village, shopped, saw some live music, and Josh snowboarded. He was worried that I would be bored while he was gone, but I assured him that I might actually enjoy being alone for a little while! I was glad that he had a fun birthday weekend!

My Mom and Mike stayed with Noah and Jack while we were gone and had a good time with the boys (thanks Mom and Mike!) They must have worked the entire time because when we got home things were repaired, deeply cleaned, and organized. I joked that my Mom was happy to finally get rid of me so that she could get the house as clean and organized as she would prefer! It was a nice surprise to come home to and Noah and Jack had such a good time with their grandparents. Noah was not happy when he woke up from his nap to just Josh and I, he walked around the house for about ten minutes saying Nana!

For some reason I decided that it was a good idea for me to go swimming. I thought back to before I had kids and what I thought when I saw pregnant women in swim suits. I always said that it was fine for them, but I sure wouldn't be in one that pregnant! It's funny how your perspective changes, you will do almost anything to just feel comfortable for a few minutes. I did wear a tank top over my maternity bikini however!

When we got home Josh, Noah and Jack played outside for most of the afternoon. It was about thirty degree's outside and they were all freezing. I had ordered snow clothes for Noah a couple of months ago and decided that it was time to break them out, even though we don't have any snow yet. Needless to say it all fit and Noah LOVED his new boots. He didn't want to take them off! Our poor doggy, his brother might love him a little more than he would like!

Potty

Josh and I have been hoping that Noah would potty train early (us and every other parent!) They say that cloth diapered kids tend to do it earlier as they don't like the wet feeling. With the second surprise baby almost here we have been working on going potty in the toilet with no luck. I wasn't anticipating having two kids in diapers, but here we are so I'm doing my best to get down to one as soon as possible!

We had a huge surprise tonight. Noah got out of the bath and was getting ready to run his naked lap around the house when he ran back into the bathroom and started going potty on his toilet. Josh moved it a little closer (we need to work on the aim!) and he finished going in the toilet. We were so excited and Noah was so proud of himself for his big accomplishment....and the piece of chocolate he got after certainly didn't hurt (bribing with food would not have been my first choice, but I am adopting the whatever it takes method now!)

The Weekend

Noah and Sam in the bath tub

Noah and Uncle on the swing

Noah and Sam wrestling


Noah and Daddy resting

This weekend started on Friday when Josh's Grandpa (Papa) and Shirley came over to visit. They hung out with us for a lot of the afternoon and the evening. The next day we went and got apples with them and Noah did a lot of playing with Papa. It was really great to see them and it was so nice of them to come and visit us. Noah is still saying Papa!

Before Papa and Shirley left my Dad, Grandma, and my brother Sam got here. We all hung out most of the afternoon and Noah couldn't get enough of his Uncle. He was so happy he was here and wanted to do everything that Sam was doing. Josh took Sam for a long quad ride and even game him a few drum lessons. It was so nice to be able to spend some quality time with my Dad and Grandma as well.

I just took the picture of Noah and Josh, they are VERY tired from all of the playing! It was a busy weekend, but we had so much fun with our family.

Just Some Pictures

I had brought the stroller inside to take some pictures of it and he spotted it! I posted it on Craigslist and all of a sudden Noah loves it. He wanted me to push him around the house all afternoon, which I did.

My cousin Shaney lives here and she and her two girls have been over a couple of times this week to play. Noah loves his cousins and Dina is almost his age so they play really well together. They both have been known to hit on occasion, so it's interesting when the two of them get together. Noah had never been on the receiving end of it, so it was good for him to get a taste of his own medicine. He hasn't done it since!


Here is what I have named, my medical station. I have a whole half of the table devoted to it! I take blood pressures, blood sugars, and medicine multiple times a day here. I'm falling apart! I keep reminding myself that I will be healthy in only nine more weeks!

I had never thought to let Noah lick the spoon before. So after I made brownies I handed it to him and he was so excited. This picture is so funny because he is just hanging out while he's doing it!

This picture was so cute, his baby-sitter Kaitlyn took it when I was at one of my Doctor's appointments. He has so much fun with her and this day was no different.

Halloween

Noah had so much fun yesterday in his dragon costume. His Nana bought it for him about a month ago he kept wanting to wear it so we had to hide it from him. He was so excited to put it on, he kept saying "Wow." He first got to wear it to school in the morning and he was very excited to see that his friend Mia was also a dragon. (This isn't a very good picture of the two of them, but they looked really cute together.)



Later that evening Noah, Josh, my friend Amy (the cow girl for the evening!), and I went to a few houses for Noah to go trick-or-treating. He had a lot of fun getting candy, but also looking at the other kids. One thing that I couldn't believe was the amount of parents who were following their kids trick-or-treating in the car! To save my life, I can't understand why they wouldn't get out and walk with them up to strangers doors. I guess I have just never seen it done before, there must be some reason for it! Noah had a really fun time and he was definitely over supervised as his ratio was 3-1!

Noah's first cookie making experience!

Two nights ago Josh decided he wanted Snickerdoodle's and so we got busy making them. Noah kept wanting up to see, so we thought that he could help. He sure tried! He was putting extra ingredients into the mixer and removing some. We were thinking that it would be a miracle if they came out okay, but they did! It was a huge mess, but he had a lot of fun "helping," and eating them was, of course, his favorite part.

Our Weekend

We had the busiest, long, fun weekend. Last Wednesday night we went to Puyallup to stay with my Mom because I had a doctors appointment in Seattle the next day. Noah had a great time while Josh and I were gone going to school with my Dad. He teaches junior high PE and Noah was getting tons of attention from all of the staff and students. My Dad told us that when the kids would run lines that Noah would run with them too. When they sat down to stretch, so did Noah. I wish I could have seen it, but it sounds like they had a fun time. The highlight of the day for Josh and I was that after the long (4 1/2 hour!) appointment we were able to have dinner by ourselves. That doesn't happen too often, so it was really fun for us.

The next day was my birthday and we were able to get some Christmas shopping done. For my birthday dinner we went to the Milton Wok with my Mom and Mike, I had been wanting it for months (Josh too.) Wenatchee has the worst Chinese food so we avoid it at all costs, but the Milton Wok is the best! Josh and I went to a movie that night also, it was more action then we've had in a long time! Oh and I can't leave out the cake. My Mom and Mike make the best German Chocolate cake, which is my favorite. I guess its a really big pain and it takes forever to complete, so they are glad that its just a once a year event. It's worth it though!

Josh had class the next day so Noah and I hung out with my Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunt Jane, and Ally. We left to go home that night and were very excited to see Jack. The next day Josh's Mom and Dad came over for a visit. We went and bought some apples and had a really good time just visiting and playing with Noah and Jack. It is so fun for us to have visitors and Noah had a great time playing with his Grandma and Papa.

It was an exhausting weekend, but we had a lot of fun. I wish I would have taken more pictures though, but I did get one!

Pre-School Picture Day

Things got off to a good start


And went down hill from there...


And got even better!

Noah had school picture day and it was hilarious! He walked right in front of the camera alone and Josh was able to get him to smile. Then it was time for the class pictures. We felt especially bad for his teacher, who seems to have unlimited patience, and the photographer as well. Because the parents go to class with the kids, they suggested having the Mom's in it to calm the kids down. Two out of the four of us are pregnant and weren't crazy about the idea, so thankfully, those turned out even worse! Overall the experience was really traumatizing for a couple of the kids and just irritating for the others who weren't wanting to sit still (our son is in that category!) I think that everyone was glad when it was over, but we were thankful to get such funny pictures.

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Pumpkin Picking


Noah and Nana on the Wild Ride!


Noah riding the Horsie

Noah, Josh, my Mom, Mike, and I went to a pumpkin patch in Peshastin this weekend. They had a corn maze and a petting zoo which were very fun for Noah (and the rest of us.) We also picked our pumpkins and Noah had a great time riding with them in the wagon. The really funny part was when Noah wanted to go on the cow ride. We couldn't believe how fast the guy was pulling them with the tractor. We decided that Noah couldn't go alone and my Mom was the only one small enough to fit in the little car. Noah laughed the whole time, but my Mom was ready to get out of there!

We discovered that one of the big fruit growers in Wenatchee sells organic fruit directly to the public at a much cheaper price than at the Farmer's Market or the grocery store. We are going to go today and stock up...the things I get excited about these days!

Day of Fun!

Lately, Josh has been gone ALL the time. He leaves early in the morning to work on his Internship hours and is gone until the later evening or sometimes the middle of the night for volleyball. On the weekends he has either a Volleyball Tournament or class in Tacoma. It has been really hard on all of us, especially being in Wenatchee without our family and not having as many good friends around. It gets lonely around here!

So, I convinced Josh to play sick from work, internship stuff, and volleyball on Monday and we had such a fun day! I named it Mommy, Daddy, and Noah's day of fun! We decided to go to Seattle and head to the zoo, as Noah had never been there. I think I was the most excited out of all of us, mostly just to get out for a while. We realized also that Noah hadn't been to Seattle since he was a baby. He kept pointing and "Wowing" at the big buildings. We don't want him to be a weird Eastern Washington kid, so we need to make sure that we are getting him out more!

We started off at the Spaghetti Factory (Josh's pick...of course!) where Noah drank A LOT of pop, I let him because it was a day of fun after all! We then went to the zoo where Noah pointed and said "Wow" to all of the animals. He had a ton of fun walking around and looking at everything and watching him was the highlight for Josh and I. He especially liked a gorilla who was also very interested in him. He just learned how to make the monkey sound, so the timing was perfect. Noah kept almost falling asleep and I kept reminding him that he couldn't because we were having fun! We then went to Whole Foods Market, my favorite grocery store, to stock up on some things. This wasn't fun for Josh or Noah, but it was for me, so I think it fit in with the theme for the day!

It was so nice for all of us to spend some time together and to just play and not think about anything. We miss Josh and are counting down the days until he gets to be with us more. We are proud of him as he works so hard for our family. We love you!

Here we go again...

I went to the Doctor yesterday and I was a little worried about what she would tell me. I had noticed that I seemed really swollen and that I was getting very dizzy and light headed, so I was worried that I was having blood pressure trouble again. I was right. My blood pressure was 160/100 (its normally 110/60) and I had gained 10 pounds in the last three weeks (thats what really freaks me out, thank goodness it's water!) With Noah I had pregnancy induced hypertension around 30 weeks and was put on bed rest and then induced at 37 weeks. I knew that my odds of getting it again were better because I had had it before, but I was really hoping that it wouldn't be the case, especially this early. I am starting medication (which makes me very nervous,) and I'm going to a specialist in Seattle in the next week. On the bright side, they are having me do a 24 hour urine test (it seems all too familiar!) and when we got home Noah decided to play with the "supplies!" He thought it was a hat and that the big jug was like his sippy cup! Thank goodness he got it out of his system before I had to use them. They are now hidden as he can't be trusted!

Noah and Jack

Those two boys really love each other! Lately, Noah has been very into his brother. When he doesn't feel like being cuddly with his Dad or I, it is not uncommon to find him snuggling Jack. He also loves to give him kisses, he is so funny about that. We'll tell him to give Jack a kiss and he goes over and gives him a very loud one! It's hard for me to get pictures, but today when Noah was watching Curious George, he had some good cuddle time with Jack.

Sometimes we feel so sorry for Jack. He looks at you with these big eyes and you can tell that he would like to move, but he knows that he can't if Noah is laying on him. I think he likes it more than he lets on though! It is so nice to have a dog who you don't have to worry about. If I can't find Noah in the house for a minute, he is almost always somewhere with Jack.

A couple of weeks ago Noah and I came home after having been out for about five hours and when I pulled in the driveway I realized that our front door was open. Jack is an indoor dog and only goes out in the backyard to play or go potty, so he stays inside when we're gone. So, when I saw the front door open, I threw the car into park and ran toward the house (already crying, of course!) and when I was almost to the front door Jack came running out to greet me! I could not believe that he didn't leave to go exploring. I was so happy that he was safe, especially considering that we know that he likes to run in front of cars! As it turns out, I didn't lock the dead bolt on the front door and the wind blew it open. Someone later asked me if I was nervous that someone was in the house or if anything was stolen and it was funny because I didn't even think about that. I won't make that mistake again!

I think that I am far too neurotic to have a dog and that Jack will be my one and only doggie baby. I am not taking into account how the rest of my family feels about that, but its definitely how I do! I worry about him so much when I'm not with him and I am always concerned about his physical as well as emotional safety, he gets his feelings hurt so easily! I know that Josh feels the same way that I do, thought he tries to act tougher about it. We are those crazy dog people that you hear about, I'm sure if they made clothes big enough for him that he would have some! Jack is hairy, a worthless guard dog, and often very lazy, but we love him so much and can't imagine what it would be like if he weren't a part of our family (obviously as I just dedicated a whole long blog to him!) We have two great boys and we can't wait to see what gender this third baby is!

The Fair

We went to the Fair last Sunday with my Mom and Mike, and Noah had such a good time! I think to say that he was overstimulated is a huge understatement. He fell asleep in his stroller, something that he hasn't done since he was a little baby, I couldn't believe it! We weren't sure how he was going to do on the rides, but we thought we would give it a shot. We should have known that he was going to love them! Noah is very good about trying new things and the Fair rides were no different. He had so much fun doing that, petting the animals, and of course, eating all of the different foods. (I had been dreaming about scones and so we headed there right away and then you have to bring the huge bag home...it's terrible!)

After having worked there for all of high school and most of college, (me and every other kid from Puyallup!) I don't think that I have the same love for the fair as most people. After a few hours I am ready to get out of there, but its always fun to go. Josh is so funny about it, he's very serious about his food, so he plots what he is going to eat before we get there. It is so funny, but to give him some credit, he did share well with me this year. Though I'm sure he was cringing on the inside every time I said, "I'll just have a bite of yours," he went along with it!

Noah Update

Noah in the Paint!

Noah is doing so much better and we are so thankful! He has had very few fits or even melt downs in the last five days. I think part of it was that it was just a phase and part of it is that he is understanding that it's not getting him anywhere. I felt like things were improving and I knew that the true test would be how he did at school.

Josh was able to come with us to check out the class. He was coaching a game in Walla Walla that day and they let him miss the whole day as the bus left so early. Noah got off to a great start and was going from station to station very well. Teacher Noel told Noah that there was paint in the other room and acting as if he understood he took off running. Before we could get in there Noah is covered in paint. He had so much fun with it. The other kids didn't want to get their hands dirty, but Noah sure didn't mind! Paint and glitter make me very nervous, so it was hard for me to sit there and let him get himself, his friends, and the whole room painty, but he was having so much fun that we just let him do what he wanted. His teacher is great and really encourages them to experiment, even at the expense of a huge mess.

It was fun for Noah to have his Daddy there with him and it was good for Josh to see first hand what Noah and I do at school. The first thing he said after we left was that this is really good for Noah. I couldn't agree more! It is such a neat group of kids and parents and it is really good for Noah to hear other people give him directions. He is also learning that he doesn't always get to do what he wants, when. We are so glad that he is making better choices, having fun, and learning a lot at school.