My New Favorite Book

I FINALLY ordered and received our family blog book for 2008 and I LOVE it!!! It took hours and hours of editing and organizing, but was so worth it. I now feel like it is worth so much more to blog. I know this book will be flipped through, browsed through, read, re-read, and loved for many years to come. I do believe I will switch to doing a book every six months so that the task is not so cumbersome.

Here it is, in its 244 page glory!



This is the back cover. It is written in a fairly small font, but means so much to our family.

I definitely recommend the image wrap cover. It really adds to the book and you don't have to worry about the dust jacket getting ruined.

FYI - I ordered it through blurb.com where you can "slurp" your blog posts to the program, which is fabulous! They have recently updated their program so I believe it runs faster, which is nice because it was pretty slow going before. This particular book cost me about $75 and I had found a coupon code online for free shipping. Not too bad for the quality and 244 pages. Compared to the other book making programs out there, this is a GREAT deal!

Chippie

A few glimpses into the chipped mouth of my adorable 15 month old~

I realized Carter is not as much of a tooth-grin child as Andrew is. With Drew's smiles I am pretty sure I have full view of every pearly white in his mouth. Carter, not as much....but these were a few of the shots I could get of his cute little chipped tooth! His teeth are not afraid of the bath tub incident and continue to move right in. He has two stop molars, two bottom, and then his bottom incisors are working their way in. He has noticed that when he chomps his mouth together his molars click - it is so cute!

For the record:

15 month well check

Loved the moon and stars mobile above the scale, as always - smiled at the doctor - demonstrated he knew who mommy was - was his usual charming self - cried a bit with the two shots - clean bill of health

Weight: 21 lbs 5 oz. ~ 10th percentile

Height: 30.5 inches ~ 25th percentile

Head circumference: 47.1 cm ~ 50th percentile

Small body, a little below average height, and big brains. Overall healthy, happy, and cute!

And so it continues....

New school year

New teacher

New bus driver

New friends

Same charming Drew

I have already witnessed the kisses hello from the girls, hugs goodbye at school, compliments from the bus driver, and adoration from a grandparent.

I picked Andrew up from school today and had the chance to chat with the grandmother of a girl in his class. She asked me if my son was the "cute little boy". The consensus was yes...he is the cute one. She ooooed and ahhhhed at how cute he is, how happy he is, and how much her daughter talks about Drew at home. Mind you this little girl just met him on Monday.

He never ceases to amaze me. There is just something special about this little miracle of mine and I love him to pieces!

Big Weekend

**Andrew LOVES to play pretend and wanted to be a "doctor". It was so cute. I love his new underoos!**

Our little Andrew is growing up right before our eyes! This past weekend we started potty training and moved him into a big boy bed! Potty training is still in the works and we are working on a plan to be successful, but let me tell you - he is ready! We had great successes the first day. All it takes it a nude boy and the right motivation! Now we just have to make it work with clothes on. *smile*

We prepped him by getting cool underoos, a treasure chest, surprises, stickers, and fun straws. When we had success on the potty he got to pick a prize and when he at least tried he got a sticker. He drank more than ever with the cool straws, thus better success on the potty!

As for the big boy bed - we have been putting this off since he stays in his crib no problem. He doesn't climb out or even attempt to. I even had the side down to the low setting so it was easier to take him in and out, but he is doing so great we decided a big boy bed was well deserved! We have have the bed itself for months now, but needed to get a mattress. Drew was SO excited. We still need to get rails for the side since the bed is so high, but in the meantime we just moved the crib to the edge, filled the gap with blankets and he has slept and napped wonderfully!

This morning I came in to get him out of bed (it is so high he can't get down) and he was at the end of his bed on his belly kicking and moving his arms. He informed me he was swimming and then proceeded to "blow" blubbles in the water. He went on to talk about how poppie jumped off the "jumping board". It was too cute! Apparently his new red, brown, and tan striped sheets remind him of swimming! Funny kid!

This week we are moving forward with brace wearing. We are working to help his walking and the brace does really well. It has been a challenge, but he is making improvements everyday. He even wore it to school today!

I am so proud of my "baby". He is such a big boy now, but still my baby. Whenever I hold Andrew and Carter at the same time, Andrew says "two babies!". It is adorable!

The Gift

I like to cook and bake and I would like to think that I am am fairly good at making things that taste good, but there is one thing I can't seem to get quite right -

my mom's choclate chip cookies.

I just don't have that magic "touch". When she makes them they just taste different....better...soooo good! I can tell you who inherited the gift...and yes, it is a gift. If you have ever tasted one of these heavenly cookies you will realize it is a gift. Shelley has this gift and I am so glad I live close to partake of these tasty, gooey, sugary, warm, soft cookies from heaven!

Mind you - I wish my Mom lived closer and I could have hers, but alas...she is so far so I will have to live vicariously through Shelley and her cookies!

Hmmm....all this thinking about these cookies sure makes me want some. I may need to give that little sister of mine call! *smile*

Patience

Before bed last night Bry and I finished our prayer together and I reminded him to pray that I have patience for the next day. I honestly, ernestly pray every morning and night for patience in my parenting, patience in teaching my boys, patience in discipline, patience in everything. I want to act instead of react. Teach by example and not just dictating. I really want to parent as Christ would parent my sweet boys. I want to be kind, loving, soft-spoken, yet still consistent and firm.

I told Bry I pray for this....and he said "Well, that's your problem."

What???

He explained that since I am praying for patience, Heavenly Father is giving me situations to help me develop my patience.

Duh...I should have realized. I am not going to just all the sudden be super patient and calm in all situations, especially with parenting. I need to learn and practice.

I will continue to pray for help with my patience and parenting, but be more conscious of the situations I am given...and hopefully over time I will be able to develop this skill I so much desire! Some days are definitely harder than others...and boys will be boys, but I will keep on trying!

A good motivator for me is in parenting is the book "Christlike Parenting". I think it is time to give it another read. I love that book!

"Grant me patience Lord. But hurry!"

Noxious Weed

Have you ever had ivy in your yard - if not....DON'T!!!!

There is ivy on the side of the house with a little ivy grower thing, but there is also ivy at the front of the house and the side of the front of the house and in the backyard amid the rocks, but that is nothing to what I came home to after our little weekend get away. There is ivy IN THE HOUSE! Seriously, how did this thing come through the wall and grow up the office/play room. It is still there and I am charting its growth. When we buy our own house will never plant ivy - that is for sure! I wouldn't mind so much if this plant produced some tasty grapes, but no....just spreads like a weed!

These pictures were taken TWO DAYS apart. This thing grows like crazy. Tomorrow I will make sure Bry gets the weed killer on it and hopefully it will stay away, otherwise we will have a serious problem on our hands.

Back to School

My Andrew started school on Monday! He was SO excited to go back. He is at a new school with a new teacher this year. I was sad to switch him, but he got into our home school which means he will be closer which makes me happy. Bry will take him to school on his way to work except for Friday when I take him. I had planned to pick him up from school the first week.....but Andrew had other plans. He was devastated to say the least when he did not get to go on the bus home. He now rides the bus home and he is one happy camper!

He is adjusting well and there are only 3 other kids in his class right now. They have the children with special needs start a week before the tuition kids start coming so that is nice. I am sure he will love having more friends in his class - he is such a social bug!

My futile attempt at getting a picture of these two together...standing...outside...smiling....riiiiight!

I can't believe he is back in school....I know he needs it and loves it and learns so much, but I am going to miss him. His days are quickly filling up with school, therapy, and doctor appointments. I know I will really love the weekends together as a family.

As for school shopping, this was the first year I felt like he was in need of clothes. I have been really good at getting clothes out of season and storing them until he is ready to wear them, but he is growing and I had no stock. I waited for sales...and ended up hitting Children's Place. I brought home 8 shirts, 5 shorts, 2 pants, 1 sweatshirt, 2 pairs of crocs for playing in the water, and 2 hats for $75! Not too shabby! They are nice clothes too and hopefully will last!! I didn't pay more than $2 for each shirt, except one that was like $4 and the sweatshirt was only $6. I was pretty happy leaving that store with my big bag of school clothes. One stop shop! I know he will need more pants, but he is set for now! Hooray!

**It was hard to not buy clothes for Carter with that screaming sale, but I know he has so many clothes from Drew...but I kinda regret it now - I am sure we will have more boys eventually and I am sure they would have been put to use. Oh well - maybe at the next sale, right?***

1 1/4 Years Old

Carter Noble is now 15 months old - I know I say it allll the time, but does time ever slow down? He is growing and gets cuter every day! He is officially walking, not quite talking, but sure does have a mouth full of compers! We absolutely adore having this little miracle in our family and love him to pieces. He has a very animated face and makes me laugh and smile hundreds of times each day. I mean really - can you really look into those baby blues and not smile?! His goofy grin is almost too cute to handle!

Here is an update in the life of our little Carter Cakes (chipper as Bry so lovingly calls him) -

*Loves to play outside and gets sad if someone else gets to outside and he doesn't

*Is starting to torment his brother. He pokes, points, teases with toys, and follows Drew when he gets put in time out. He just adores Andrew though. He loves to follow him all around the house and occasionally I will find them laughing and playing together!

*Is still working on all four of his molars - the two on the bottom are almost all the way in and the top ones are coming in. Makes for better chewing!!

*I chipped his front right tooth - poor baby - still waiting to get a good picture of the damage.

*To say he LOVES animals would be an understatement. The joy a pet store brings to this kid is amazing!

*Blows bubbles in the bath water - this makes me nervous because he is always choking on the water!

*Can blow a whistle very loudly.

*Loves Andrew's train set and has figured out how to work the remote to the train.

*Still a great eater, but his favorites change daily. I can say he consistently loves madarin oranges, blueberries, chocolate chips, cheese quesadilla with cafe rio pork, peas, and yogurt to name a few.

*Is getting to be quite the walker and is verging on running. I am not sure I am ready for another fast mover.

*Started dancing while standing up as of last night. He would bounce when sitting, but it is SO cute to watch him dance standing!

*LOVES to be without a diaper. He gets so excited when I let him run around in the nude.

*Sleeps about 11 hours at night and takes one 2-3 hour nap (big difference from Drew at that age..he was such a big sleeper) Carter could take 2 naps, but that is a struggle so we are working on just one and that way the boys nap together.

*Still not a huge talker, but says mama and dada. He will make a monkey noise and bark like a dog, as well as all sorts of car noises and funny noises.

*Has some stinkin cute shoes!

*I still rock him and sing to him before he goes to sleep, but he can go to bed without me putting him all the way to sleep.

*I am not sure on his stats right now, but should have a doc appt this month. With our scale at home and my guess I believe he is just over 21 lbs, maybe 22 lbs on a good day...but I have no idea on the height or head size. We shall see!

Beach Bums

While in California we HAD to be sure to make a trip to the beach and I am so glad we did. My parents live a whopping 10-15 minutes from the beach which made it so convenient! Andrew was SO excited. He had learned all about the beach in preschool last year and remembered all about it!

***He has the most beautiful profile - I love it***

Those baby blues just make me melt!

They wasted no time getting into the sand. They are definitely boys! We picked up In-n-Out on the way and ate it on the beach. I pretty much hand fed the boys to avoid them eating too much sand. There is nothing like In-n-Out and the beach....ahhh that is the life!

Andrew was stoked to get down to the water. It was quite cold, but that didn't really bother either of the boys. The waves were all Andrew could talk about for days when we talked about the beach. They played and jumped over waves. It was fun...but cold so we headed back up to the towels to play in the sand.

We buried our feet and it really actually helped to keep them warm.

Carter chased the birds - - - Andrew chased Carter

Shelley dug a nice hole to bury the boys. Andrew went first, but was not a big fan. Carter sat nicely and tried to take a drink of sand out of the bowl. Yuck! He even sat back and relaxed for a minute. It was too cute!

I have so many memories of going to the beach while I was growing up. Hopefully we can go often enough and take lots of pictures so that my little family will be able to have these wonderful memories as well. Thanks mom for taking us - it was so much fun!

Before we left Grammy took Drew for one last trip down to the water...what a wonderful Grammy she is!

A Little Weekend Getaway

Shelley and I survived our drive to and from California. I was a bit worried, but it was not so bad in the car. I brought movies, CDs, books, new little toys, and lots of snacks. The favorite toys were the little ball on a stick with lights that spin in it when you push a button and a little flute thing....probably not the best idea to bring a loud whistle type toy in the car, but they sure enjoyed it!

Andrew watched his movie with his blanket on his head...funny kid. Carter was even entertained with a water bottle.

We arrived in about 7 hours and only stopped once! Yee haw!!! We went right outback and the boys stripped down and got in the pool with Poppie! Andrew was sure slick on his naked bum going down the slide. He had so much fun!

I ADORE this picture of Huckleberry with Poppie.

Grammy shared her hot chocolate with Carter and boy did he love it!

Carter gave me my first flower from him. He picked it himself. What a charmer! It was SO nice to be outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, but I guess that is what you get when you live in California 15 minutes from the beach! I am a bit jealous!

We made a trip to the mall because I forgot sweatshirts for the boys. There was no way Drew was going to allow us out of there alive without riding the train. They sure enjoyed it. To be honest it made me a little sick watching them go around and around in such a tiny circle!

The night before we left we went out to Wood Ranch with my parents. Shelley was so sweet to curl all my hair. I didn't get a good picture of it, but she did a great job. I may have to borrow her another night before a date with Bry! She is so talented! And this is a picture of a guilty face if I ever saw one. My Carter is just obsessed with buttons - look at that cute face!

Poppie and Andrew (and Carter for a bit) enjoyed watching Spongebob on the computer. Andrew was thrilled to say the least. Grammy and Poppie got in some floor play time with the boys. It was so fun to watch my babies enjoy their grandparents. We miss having them so close by.

I changed Carter's diaper after church and the kid loves to be diaper-less so I let him roam a little. I just thought he was too cute with his little black socks and black shirt and nothing else. Then again - I think he is cute in anything!

Andrew loves his Poppie. He snuggled right up to him on the couch. What a pair! Jess and Tami came over for dinner on Sunday night. It was SO fun to meet Tami and have some time together. Unfortunately I took a whopping two pictures, but at least I know Drew and Jess had fun. Side note - dinner was AMAZING. We had two styles of chicken strips and they were both divine. As far as the Jell-O goes, lets just say that Drew distracted Grammy a bit and they forgot to add the cold water so we had some quite stiff jello, but it was still tasty!

We made a trip to my dad's work and Andrew had a blast. It was fun to meet all the people he works with. Andrew liked all the machines and the stairs in the office! He fits right in there with all his construction accessories and glasses. He was ready to take off and drive that thing!

My dad looks a little puzzled sitting at his desk....because his computer was off. Give Carter about 5.2 seconds and he will get under the desk and find the power button to any machine. I thought I caught him fast enough, but apparently not!

Carter is in button heaven....look at him look at alllll those buttons!

Ever since we were young we always congregated to my parents room and hung out on their bed. My mom had to capture the moment as we continue to do this.

We could not leave California without stopping for some donuts from a real donut shop....not Krispy Kreme, not the grocery store, not from a fancy bakery...but a real donut shop. They were SO good. The sweet lady there gave both my boys some sprinkled donut holes. They loved them, but what a mess!

We had SO much fun. It was so nice to just get away and relax. We did a whole lot of visting and just enjoying being together without the stress of a "to do" list and appointments. I loved the great weather and the great company. I missed Bry terribly and I know he missed me too, but I think he was in need of a break from me and my stressed out self!

I was so glad to have Shelley with me. She is a wonderful sister and great friend. What a trooper to drive the entire way there and back...pregnant! She would not do so well turning around to take care of the boys, but I mean...wow - that is a lot of driving and I thank for her for that.

It was so fun to see my parents and spend time with them. I miss having them so close, but am excited that we will see them again soon.

I am sorry to my friends out in Cali who I didn't get a chance to visit. The time went by too fast and we just were not able to make it happen - next time we will I promise!

We also made a trip to the beach....but that will be another post, as this one has way too many pictures already (makes for a good blurb book!)