POTD

I'm still plugging along on my Project Life. I've taken a picture everyday this year and I am already LOVING the results. I just got my first batch of pictures back and into the album. Here are a few of my favorites.

Watching tv.

The day I got my kit!!

One Saturday, Noah really wanted some pancakes. I didn't have any Bisquick so we resorted to Mickey D's. Here's Griffin chugging some orange juice.

My baby.

Trying on Mommy's jams. : )

Noah loves to take pictures.

This was the Sunday that Noah and I both gave talks in church. He practiced so hard and did a wonderful job.

My boys playing in their "tent". Or just under the sheet on our bed. It's the little things...

Mom and Noah.

Play-doh. I thought Griffin was watching a movie... 'til he came down the stairs looking like this!

This was NOT posed. I walked down the stairs and happened upon this precious moment. If you look closely, you can see the bird Noah is watching.

Griffin feeds himself!

This was at a friend's birthday party. While we were singing Happy Birthday, Griffin hammed it up for the camera. I think he thought we were singing to him.

Playtime!

Noah's hair is much shorter now but, for awhile, I really enjoyed giving him mohawks (or "Drew hair" as Noah calls it... my brother, drew, spikes his hair)

Beautiful eyelashes. Beautiful boy.

Got these for Christmas and I wear them ALL THE TIME.

I love when our room looks like this!

Noah's first day as a Sunbeam! I cannot believe that my baby is old enough to be in Primary. It blows my mind. And makes me hug him a little tighter, a little longer.

Big Boys

Ammon keeps asking me if I'm EVER going to blog again. I don't know why I've been in such a blog rut lately. I want to blog. I really enjoy documenting bits and pieces of our beautiful life. It's especially fun to go back and read previous posts. It's amazing how easily I can forget little things my kids say and do. I'll do better, dear husband. I will.

A little over a week ago, we were cleaning Noah's room. The whole family was there and we were all helping out. We have wood floors throughout the house and things get pushed under furniture so easily. Ammon pulled out the trundle to clean under it. There were so many blocks and cars under there, he had to resort to a broom to get it all out. Anyway, Griffin LOVED the trundle. He kept laying on it and snuggling right in. Ammon suggested we let him graduate from his crib (in his own room) to the trundle. I was hesitant. Ammon was persuasive. The first night went ok. Griffin climbed up on Noah's bed and banged on the walls for awhile (happily). He and Noah talked and laughed for an hour and a half. We went to check on them after hings got quiet.

Griffin was back on the trundle and Noah was exactly where we left him, tucked in his bed.

The next day I asked Noah "How did you like having Griffin sleep in your room?"

"It was good. But, he keeps wanting to get on my bed and talk to me."

"Oh yeah? What did you do?"

"I didn't talk to him. I just pet him on the head."

"You pet him on the head? How?"

Then he rubbed his hand so gently across my hair over and over. It made my heart melt to realize how well he takes care of his little brother.

Here's how they were the second night we went in and checked on them. I like to think that Noah put Griffin to sleep by petting him on the head.

: )

And here's the 3rd night.

They're doing really well adjusting to the change. Well, mostly. Griffin likes to get up after we put him in bed. He gets up on Noah's bed. He turns the light on. He bangs on the wall, and the door. He cries. Sometimes he makes it back to his bed. And sometimes I have to scoop him off the floor in the middle of the night to tuck him back in his bed. Maybe with a little more time, this won't be an issue... We'll see. Noah has been extremely understanding. Even though Griffin wakes him up much earlier than he would like, he still is happy to share a room with his brother. And since they're now sharing a room, we've changed things up in this house. Griffin's room is now the boys' bedroom. And Noah's room is now a playroom! I am so excited about this change. I always hated that Noah's room doubled as a playroom. No more toys in the bedroom. No more tv in the bedroom. No more MESS in the bedroom. All they have is their beds, their clothes, and a couple books. It's refreshing to have a place designated for sleeping, and nothing else. I'll get pictures of the switch soon.

Bradley and Tara

I'm not sure if any of my readers are in a position to help this wonderful couple but, you never know! Tara served a mission in Idaho the same time that Ammon did. They've been great friends ever since and I hear wonderful things about her. I wish I could meet her in person because I just know we would hit it off. I don't know all the details but I do know that they desperately want to expand their family and are hoping to adopt. Click on the button above to learn more. Our prayers are with you Bradley and Tara!

Back to life...

...back to reality

We're coming to the end of our first "real" week after the holidays. It's been nice to get back to some normalcy but I really hate sending Ammon off to work everyday. I wish he could stay home with us... I'm very grateful for his job -- don't get me wrong. I just miss him a lot when we're not together.

Noah has had a very busy week. He started swimming lessons again. He's in a class with 4 other boys and is obviously the youngest one there. These other boys are very wild and not afraid of the water at all which is good for Noah. He's not scared of the water but is very timid and cautious. His teacher, Miss Michelle, is coming to understand that Noah needs a little push sometimes. (he now calls my sister "miss michelle" due to swimming lessons. cute!) So, swimming lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

On Wednesday, gymnastics started up again. Noah loves gymnastics. He got one of those hippity-hop balls for Christmas. You know the kind, right? It's a big bouncy ball with handles. You sit on the ball, hold the handles and jump. Well, they use these balls in his gymnastics class. And since Noah is timid and cautious (already mentioned) he would never jump. He would sit and hold on but no jumping for him. He would just bounce in one spot. We've been working with him and he finally got it! He jumps all over the place. He couldn't wait to show Miss Holly. I didn't get to go to his class because I had a YW Presidency meeting but Ammon said he did great. I'm so proud of that little guy. He amazes me all the time.

Like last night. I took him to the gym and put him in the daycare while I went to shake my thang at Zumba. When I came back an hour later to pick him up, he was teaching Miss Demi sign language. Miss Demi is an older woman, I'd say in her late 60s. Noah used to call her "Grandma". (which she LOVED) I think she'd admit to everyone that Noah is her favorite child. Everytime he comes in, the hug eachother and just talk about life. So back to signing. I walk in and I hear him saying, "put your hand up like this. and put your thumb in and that's B. Now shake it and that's blue. And this is white. No, not like that. Like this. And this is yellow. Make a Y. No, with your pinky promise and thumb. Yeah! Ok, shake it and that's yellow." It was adorable.

This is Ammon's last week of class. Well, this class at least. It's been a really tough class but, I'm so proud of him. He's so disciplined. He'll be taking a break after this week and I can't wait to get some more time with him. We'll have to live it up before his next class starts.

I'm pretty much recovered from getting my wisdom teeth extracted. Today is my 3 week mark and I just stopped taking Ibuprofen 3 days ago. I still have holes in my face but they don't hurt anymore. My jaw is just slightly sore but not bad. That was the worst part for me. Pain in your jaw is miserable! I'm glad that's over.

I haven't talked about Griffin in this post. I guess because nothing new started for him this week but here are some things he's saying these days:

dad

mom

noah

uh oh

dude

diaper

nononono

He are his signs:

dad

mom

candy

more

eat

please

thank you

There might be more in both of those categories but, I can't think of them right now. Ammon - can you think of any more?

So that's been our week, more or less. Oh! One more thing. Ginger took the boys Monday evening and Ammon and I got to go on a date! We went to my favorite Thai restaurant and then we played Scrabble at our local coffee shop. It was so great to spend some time with the cutest man on earth!

Project 365

I am SUPER excited about this! In the year 2010, I will be taking a picture every single day. I love to say that I scrapbook but honestly, I don't remember the last time I really sat down and did a layout. It makes me so sad. If you scrapbook at all, you must know about Becky Higgins. She is super talented and has already had an amazing career. She is branching out on her own now and has made a kit called, Project Life. When I came across this kit, I knew it was just what I needed to get back into scrapbooking and photography. It is simple. I can do this. I still want to create and come up with new layouts but for right now, when life is so hectic, I know I can at least accomplish this much. I'll post my POTD (photo of the day) weekly on this blog so I have them in digital form. Here's to a wonderful year -- documented!!

Christmas Trip to VA

We spent this weekend up in VA at my parents' house. It was a short visit but we all really enjoyed it. I have been experiencing some pretty intense pain in my ears these past few days. I guess that has to do with getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted last Friday... I had my dad and my Ammon give me a blessing last night. And while it still hurts, it doesn't hurt as bad as it did yesterday. With all the pain, I didn't even think about taking pictures of our trip. Sad. If I had pulled out my camera, I would have taken pictures of these things:

• Griffin sitting on the piano bench, playing us a beautiful song.
• Mom's beautiful Christmas decorations. Noah kept saying things like, "this room is so beautiful!" or "i love all your Christmas stuff!"
• Poppy laying on the floor, playing with the boys.
• Griffin laying his head on Nana, giving her some love.
• Me rocking Noah for "10 minutes". That's the time limit he put on this activity.
• Soft pretzel and beef jerky from the Dayton Farmers Market.
• The boys having a blast chasing Sloopy around. (the dog)
• Both boys jamming on Josh's drums.
• Noah and Poppy snuggled on the couch watching Horton Hears a Who.

We really had a wonderful time. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Christmas Card 2009

I'm not going to feel guilty about taking the digital approach this year. We have been so busy and some things had to get crossed off our list. Sending out Christmas cards, unfortunately, was one of the first things to go. And hey, if you desperately want our adorable family adorning your home, just print out the picture above and there ya go. Feel free to frame it and treasure it always. ;) Merry Christmas!

No Will Power

It snowed over the weekend. A lot! We got about a foot of snow. Everything was so beautiful and white. We were all sitting in the living room together and honestly, it felt like we had no choice. I mean, there was lots of snow on the ground. We were staring at our Christmas tree. The presents under the tree were begging us to open them. It just felt like Christmas. Ammon and I decided to exchange gifts. I gave him some Smurf buttons to put on his messenger bag. I also made him a photo book which he LOVED. It was full of pictures taken this past year. He's excited to show it off to everyone he sees. : ) He went all out on me. I knew I was getting a netbook and a case (we ordered those last week) but he surprised me on Saturday with a beautiful pearl necklace! I've been wanting one for awhile and he can take a hint. : ) The netbook was supposed to be delivered on Saturday but due to all the snow, they said it wouldn't get here until Tuesday. I was bummed. Then tonight, the doorbell rang and Ammon came upstairs carrying my cute little computer! It was such a pleasant surprise. Merry Christmas to me! I'm blogging while laying on my back in my comfy bed. I love it!

We're making the boys wait until Christmas to open their presents... We're so mean.

Free Stuff

Ammon LOVES getting free stuff. We usually get free things in the mail every single day. Most of it we don't need but since it's free, Ammon has to have it. Some of the things we've received free of charge:

lotion

dry heel cream

gas medication

tampons

face wash

chocolate

dog food

cat food

jar opener

caulk

diapers

and most recently, breathe right nose strips.

Neither one of us snore, unless we're congested, but we both wanted to use the nose strips. We were curious to see what they felt like. So last night before we turned out the lights, we put on our nose strips -- so sexy! They weren't uncomfortable and I got used to them very quickly and fell asleep. When the tv came on this morning (we use it as our alarm clock), I was exhausted. Ammon asked me how I slept, like he does every single morning. I told him that I didn't sleep well because I had dreamed all night long. At least that's what I thought in my head... I'm not sure how it came out. I remember him saying that he dreamed all night as well. And this next part might not be accurate. See, it takes me quite awhile to really wake up. I think he said he had a dream that he and I were shopping. And then somehow, my little sister came into the dream and she shot someone! I'm sure there was more to the story but, I don't remember. Just like I don't remember any of my dreams from last night.

So, back to the nose strips -- I don't think we'll be using them again.

Pilot Mountain

A few weeks ago, we stumbled upon a Saturday where we didn't have any plans! It was so nice to decide for ourselves what we were going to do. It was a beautiful day so we decided to head to Pilot Mountain. It's about a 15-20 minute drive and it's beautiful up there! This was the first time I had been there (along with the boys). Ammon used to go as a teenager to rock climb.

Anyway -- the kids LOVED every minute of it. They were both running and jumping up the mountain like it was nothing.

Noah was playing in the leaves and Ammon kept tossing pebbles his way... Noah had no clue what was going on. : )

Griffin got to play with sticks.

Crazy face!

This kid loves dirt.

Yelling at the sticks. Ha!

So adorable...

And here are the obligatory handstand pictures. Griffin.

Daddy.

And Noah.

Blurry family picture. I think I need to get a point and shoot camera... For many reasons really. One of the most important being other people have NO CLUE how to focus my DSLR.

The men in my life. They make me so happy.

It was great to get out in nature for a few minutes. I love where we live and I'm grateful for the beauty of the earth.

So far behind!!

What is up with me not blogging lately? It stresses me out to think about editing all the photos I want to post so... I'm not going to. I'm going to throw a bunch on here and worry about editing them later. Or not.

So I'm sure I'm THE LAST person to blog about Halloween. We had a lot of fun festivities planned but on the actual day of Halloween, it rained. And my boys were sick. We were able to go to a Halloween playgroup that week and visit with Granny.

Ever since Noah saw a Diego episode about Spectacle Bears, that's what he wanted to be. So we searched the internet until we found one that got his approval. We found Griffin's adorable lion costume at a thrift store for $4!! He was completely in love with his costume. We got it months before Halloween and Griffin would find the costume, bring it to us and sign "please" all the time. He wanted to wear it everyday.

Noah in his costume. This was taken while we were at Granny's house.

The boys and their playgroup friends. : )

Griffin at playgroup. Cutest lion ever!!

1 post down. Only 20 more to go!

Gratitude

I came across this doodle today and it really connected with me. I am so grateful for my life and all the blessings that have been sent my way. Big and small.

doodle via.

Brady Bunch Boys

We went to Pilot Mountain over the weekend to do some exploring. The boys LOVED it! They made me nervous quite a few times. Especially when we went to the overlooks... More on that later. I just wanted to share this picture that I snapped in the parking lot. It wasn't posed or anything.... Griffin kept pushing Ammon's head to the side so they could look at eachother. So sweet, huh? I love these men so much. It totally remind me of this:

two things...

First of all-- my husband is adorable.

And B-- I have been called, sustained and set apart as the Young Women President in the Mount Airy ward!! Talk about overwhelming! Things have been crazy busy thus far. And I'm sure things will always be busy but I'm hoping the "crazy" part fades with time. I am confident that I can do this. I love these girls so much already. Not too long ago, I was a teacher in the Young Women program so I feel like I already know the girls fairly well and they know me. I have 2 fantastic counselors and secretary. They've already been so much help to me.

Ammon is still in the Young Men Presidency and is not being released from that calling. They have called someone to help the Young Men on Wednesdays though so that he can stay home with our boys while I am at mutual. Life is hectic but really good.

I have more to say but Ammon just got home... It's snuggle time!

Dear Jess

There was a day

There was a day you made my heart skip a beat

There was a day next to you was always my seat

There was a day when you took my breath away

There was a day I hung on every word you'd say

There was a day all I could think about was you

There was a day I would follow no matter what you wanted to do

There was a day my love for you knew no bounds

There was a day your laughs were my favorite sounds

There was a day a touch from you warmed me from head to toe

There was a day I would find a reason to bask in your glow

There was a day I could look into your eyes forever

There was a day you were my every desire

There was a day I wished your kisses would never end

There was a day you were my best friend

There was a day you were all I thought about

There was a day our love I would not doubt

That day, is this day, and every day, forever

~Ammon

the end of a bad week

This week:

Griffin gave up his morning nap.

Noah gave up naps altogether.

It became apparent that both kids still NEED these naps.

There was constant whining.

Noah spilled wax all over my bookshelf/wall/floor.

Noah colored on 4 walls, the floor and the exersaucer.

Both kids got flu shots and haven't felt good.

I didn't get to go to my friend's Halloween party tonight.

I've had a headache every single day.

I lost my cool a few times.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday! I might let Ammon do everything child related...

Mumbo Jumbo

We've been SUPER busy lately. Seriously. I guess I'll start with today. Every other Friday, a group of us moms get together so the kids can have a playdate. We plan all sorts of fun stuff for them to do. Today was pumpkin picking day! Will and Ginger live next to this super nice man who own acres and acres of pumpkins. I think he supplies the Wal-Marts or something. Anyway, the past few years he has let us come up and pick pumpkins free of charge. Nice, huh? Especially when a single pumpkin can cost you around $5! Ridiculous... So our playgroup all met up at the church and I led the caravan up the mountain to the pumpkin farm. On the way up it was raining and there was quite a bit of fog. Once we got to the patch, the rain had stopped and the fog made for a nice spooky feel.

I know I photoshopped this picture but, you can still kinda see the fog. Since they were done picking for the season, we were told to pick as many as we'd like! I think I brought 6 home.

Griffin is the friendliest kid you'll ever meet. The other day, we went into Family Dollar and one of the male cashiers held his hands out to Griffin and he immediately jumped out of my arms and into the arms of this stranger. He does stuff like that all the time. He loves people! Isaac came over to talk to Griffin for a second and as you can see, Griffin totally thinks they're friends. : )

Griffin picked his own.

Not long after we got there, Noah had an accident and had to sit back in the car. (he peed his pants) This is the only shot I got of him. And it's blurry.

So after all the pumpkin picking fun, we caravaned back down the mountain and headed to the fire station. (after a quick stop home to grab a change of clothes for Noah) They were doing some sort of safety presentation for children ages 0-5. Pizza, cupcakes and drinks were served and they got to watch a short safety video. Then we all piled in garage to let the kids take their turn getting the fire truck!

I couldn't get a picture of the whole engine... there were too many people. But here is Noah in the fire truck. He had a great time!

Right before it was over, the kids were given fire hats to take home. One firefighter put a hat on Griffin and it made him incredibly happy. He took off running. If his hat shifted or fell off, he immediately put it back on and kept running. The lady in charge took a picture of me holding Griffin with his hat and it turned out SO cute. She said it'll be in the paper so I guess we'll look for that!

Noah and his hat. He has since broken it. Boys...

Isaac, Peyton, and Noah. Haha. This picture cracks me up. Look at Isaac! : )

Ok, so... That was today. Well, just this morning actually. Ammon is borrowing his parents' tent and practiced setting it up in the front yard last night. The boys were thrilled to spend some time with their daddy.

I probably shouldn't have textured this photo considering it's of their faces but... oh well. I like it. Here they are inside the tent. Griffin was playing in a pile of leaves during this time.

These leaves.

And another thing that is keeping us busy is swimming lessons for Noah. We go on Tuesdays and Thursdays and he is loving it so far. I took him to a water exploration class this summer. It was a parent/tot class so I was afraid that he would freak out when I didn't get in the water with him but, he's been doing really well. On the first night, we found out that his good friend, Isaac, was in his class. I think that has helped him not be so nervous.

There are some crazy lights in the pool area and I've been having trouble getting my camera settings right while I'm in there.

This is the only good one I got. I'll keep working on it and have some actual "swimming" pictures soon.

So, that's what we've been up to.

What about you?

Our Trip to Tweetsie!!

I mentioned in my last post that we live close to the Tweetsie Railroad. Yesterday, we were able to go with Gigi and Pap! When I was looking at the weather forecast, the high for the day was 44 degrees! I actually called Tweetsie hoping to get a refund and try again for a different day but, they wouldn't do it. So, we bundled up and headed to Tweetsie for a GREAT day! There were tons of photo-ops but I was too cold to take my mittens off most of the time. We did get a few... In no particular order, I bring you.... Tweetsie!

Here we are in the green car. Noah got to ride in both the green AND the red car. : )

And here is Tweetsie #12.

I love these pumpkin men! I wish I had some to put outside my house! (with a different saying)

Noah got a GIANT lollipop and a day later, he is still working on that thing. : )

This picture cracks me up. Noah kept doing this weird face. He wouldn't move his head -- just his eyes. Silly boy!

Noah's 1st train ride!! Brr... It was freezing. We actually saw snow!

So, not only do they have a train but they have a "county fair" in the park. Noah didn't care about any of it. All he wanted was to ride the train. I managed to get him to ride the carousel with me. He wasn't a fan.

Griffin drinking some warm milk. This kid did so well! He didn't nap the entire day and we heard very minimal whining from him.

Family picture in front of the engine. If you look closely, you'll see lollipop all over Noah's face.

Another shot in front of the engine.

Another one of the county fair rides. Noah wouldn't do it so Ammon took me for a ride.

Griffin's 2nd train ride. He's such a good baby!

Noah's 2nd train ride.

We finished the day by seeing where Pap used to live while going to Appalachian State and then eating at the restaurant he and Ginger used to eat at when they were dating. : )

Thanks Gigi and Pap! We had a wonderful day with you! Noah can't wait to see Tweetsie again. Maybe we can go back next year. And maybe next time we can go when it's not snowing. ; )

One Track Mind

(it looks like Noah has a wicked unibrow in this picture. don't fret. it's just a wrinkle.)

Noah LOVES trains. Plain and simple. I'm not even sure how it all started. I think I found some at a yard sale when he was a baby and it was love at first sight. Since then, I have found multiple train sets at yard sales. He now has a train table (thank you Craigslist!) that keeps all of his trains in one place. No more having to maneuver around twisty tracks and little engines. He plays with his trains every. single. day. He knows their names and what kind of train they are. He knows the names of all the different kinds of freight cars. He is always asking us to talk to his trains like they are part of the family. Often I overhear him talking to his trains and being genuinely interested in what they have to say.

A couple weeks ago while we were up on the farm, a show came on the Discovery Channel that was all about trains. "Monster Machines" I think is what the series was called. Noah watched the entire show and was completely captivated the entire time. This surprised me because the show did not cater to children at all. I got online and checked the listings to see when the show would air again. Gigi and Pap said that they would record it for him. He now asks to watch his "train movie" all the time.

We are lucky enough to live close to Tweetsie Railroad. I've never been but, it seems to be an amusement park devoted to trains. Hello! We're going later this month and Noah talks about it everyday. He keeps asking me to get tickets so he can ride the train. I am so excited to see his reaction when he sees and rides a real train.

More proof of the obsession:

* Everytime we go over railroad tracks, he HAS to look both ways to see if there is a train.

* He is an excellent sharer EXCEPT when it comes to his trains. He can get very posessive.

* He lines up anything to make a train. Fruit snacks, blocks, cars, etc...

* When he finally decided to do his business in the potty, all he wanted was a new train from Wal-Mart.

* One of the only ways we can get him to eat is to do "train bites". He names each bite after one of his trains. The bite then has to go on a journey up the hill and then down before he'll eat it.

Digital Scrapbooking

Do you scrapbook? Digital? Paper? Or Hybrid? I like to say that I scrapbook but really, I can't remember the last time I did a layout. I have a whole room devoted to this hobby but haven't mastered all of life's demands yet. Hopefully I can do that soon... There are so many things that I want to do.

Anyway - I'm not a digital scrapbooker. Paper is what I know and love. But it's hard not to notice all the cool digital scrapbooking stuff out there. Whenever I see a free kit or quick page or template, I am quick to hit the download button but rarely do anything with them. Well today, I found this quick page and decided to use it right away. For those of you who don't know, a quick page is a layout that has already been completed. The only thing you have to do is add your picture and text. The layout above took me all of 2 minutes to create. I don't know... I think I'll stick with paper for now but, I do love the whole 2 minutes per layout thing.

(no animals were harmed in the making of this layout)

(sorry razzle)

Good things...

We have been having so much fun lately. I have the pictures to prove it but, sometimes it's just too much of a task to edit and upload them. I'm working on it. Life has been good. Here's a list of good things we've experienced these past few weeks:

• We went to the circus.
• We went up to VA to visit with my family.
• We spent this past weekend up on the farm and tried to listen to General Conference.
• Noah is potty trained.
• Griffin learned how to walk.
• I've been doing a fantastic job keeping the kitchen clean.
• Ammon got to ride his mom's motorcycle on the Blue Ridge Parkway. (picture above. notice the sign. apparently motorcyclists die when they ride here. this is why ammon will not own a motorcycle)

And here are some things we have to look forward to the rest of the month:

• Temple trip with my adoring husband.
• Tweetsie Railroad with Gigi and Pap.
• Girls' Day Out to IKEA.
• Lots of fun playgroups.
• and festivals.

Love it!!

Down time

The boys are in bed. Thank goodness! Griffin refused his morning nap so he was definitely ready when lunch time rolled around. Noah was GREAT this morning but as we got closer to lunch time, he got more and more whiny. Whiny days are hard and really exhaust me. It's nice to have a quiet moment to myself... I'm hoping they both take 3 hour naps. Ha!

I'm printing out some Joy School stuff right now and I'm really excited about using this program to teach my young children. You can research it here. It's really a great curriculum and Noah is so excited about doing "school". I finished the calendar today and Noah loved putting the date up. Next on my list is the weather chart.

Tomorrow, we are going to the circus with Gigi! I can't remember the last time I went to a circus... Actually, I can't remember EVER going to the circus. Maybe this is my first time? Mom? Noah is thrilled that he might get to see elephants, tigers and lions. He also put in a request to see little lizards... I sure hope not but hey, it's the circus! You never know what might happen.

Then later this week, the boys and I are heading up to VA to visit with my family! My brother and his family will be there for part of the time too. It will be great to spend some time with them. Mom and I have made some fun plans. Noah has been talking about seeing Poppy and Sloopy (the dog) for a week now! Maybe our new calendar will help him realize how many days are left until we get to go. We'll miss Ammon while we're away but, he's in a tournament Friday and Saturday. He won't have lots of time to miss us. I just hope he eats while we're away. If I don't cook for him, he doesn't eat. Boys are weird.

Little Grasshopper

The other day, I took the boys to playgroup at the church and when we were done, Noah kept saying that he needed to find Daddy. This was right at noon so I knew that Ammon was probably headed to Cookout for some lunch. The man is a creature of habit. McDonald's Monday - Thursday and Cookout on Friday. I headed towards Ammon's work hoping to see him along the way and we did. We found Daddy! Noah said that he needed to eat lunch with Daddy so we all headed to Cookout. We found a table and Noah took his floppers off. He was enjoying his lunch which consisted of this:

Yep, dragging his finger through the ketchup and licking it off. Lovely... All of a sudden he starts giggling and saying, "a bug is on my foot!" over and over.

This grasshopper landed on his foot and stayed there for quite a while. Noah thought this was awesome and was excited that I got a picture of it.

My adorable 2nd son... He is amazing.

'nuf said!

not done yet...

I forgot to post these. It's a bad picture but it kinda gives you a feel for the porch decorations.

Noah's homemade birthday banner.

Love you baby boy!

Farm Birthday Party - the rest.

I have SO many pictures from this party... I think I'm done blogging them but who knows... you could see another post. or two. on the subject.

Noah driving the tractor.

This is my studly brother, Josh. My boys LOVE him!

During his "Happy Birthday" song.

Or maybe not... In this picture the candles are lit and in the previous picture, they are not... I think THIS one was during the song.

Eating a piece of the pig.

Nana kinda took over Griffin duty... Thanks Nana!

A few of my helpers. Aren't they adorable?

I spy a hayride... Can you?

Coming back in from their ride.

Daddy and Griffin playing on the parachute.

He loves balls! So much in fact that it's the theme for his 2nd birthday next year!

xoxo.

We had such a fun time at this party. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who helped me and to everyone who came. Noah had a blast with his friends and so did I. My baby is 3. There's no turning back time. He is a fantastic little man and I love him.