First Motor Home Vacation!

This was our first motor home vacation! We had plans to cheer on the Cowboys at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona as well as go skiing at Santa Fe. I was thrilled about taking the boys without worrying about entertaining them in a car seat for 14 hours plus. Nice! I think the boys were pretty excited about going too...

Pop, Luke, and I got out at this look-out. Grammy was hanging out with Noah in the back bed while he took his afternoon nap. It was beautiful lookout (although I didn't get a picture of the lookout because of the sun shinning) and Pop bought Grammy and I beautiful necklaces from this Indian lady. She did an excellent job with all her work.

After a full day of traveling, we got out to eat at Golden Corral. Noah had his first experience with cotton candy. He is funny about weird textures and wasn't a fan of the treat...he went back for ice cream.

Luke also got a little taste of ice cream thanks to Pop...learning to love their grandparents for one of many reasons!

The boys also highly enjoyed moving in and out of the hotels every night. The cart was a hit every where we went. Noah loved climbing to the top and riding trying to give Mommy a scare and Luke just walked around it trying to climb on.

On Sunday, John flew out (thanks for Grammy's airline miles!) to meet us in Glendale, Az. He stayed to preach at church on Sunday instead of leaving on Friday with us. Monday, we took Noah to a place called Jump Street. It was so neat. They had so much to do and it only cost $4 to get in! Mommy and Daddy got to play as much as we wanted too!

This was a really big slide. John, Noah, and I all flew down it so fast. It went up to the ceiling! So cool!

These long trampolines went up the wall. Very neat! These were the smaller ones for the younger children. They have another bigger set for older kids. They also had a maze, a dodge ball trampoline court, a tramp that went off into a pit, etc. Neat place to say the least!!!

Here is our family picture at the game. This was the first full football game for the boys. We've taken Noah to about a quarter of a game before and he was very disinterested and wanted to run around. I wasn't sure how he would do at this game. But the boys did so well. Luke slept the whole first half (minus the last minute) and Noah was entertained the whole time (not really by the game). He ate popcorn, a hot dog, had a sucker, played games on the I-Phone, etc. It was such a fun game. A great memory for us!

Noah really liked the mascots and the band.

Luke had fun playing with Great Grandpa. It was so sweet seeing them play together. I will cherish that for a long time. I just had to have a picture of their hands meeting. So sweet! Love you Grandpa!

On the way home, we stopped at Denny's and a sweet lady made Noah a monkey! She did such a great job. Her husband and her (as well as another couple) both moved there to be missionaries. They do this on the side for a ministry and to supplement their income. So cool! Great entertainment for the kids while waiting!

The next morning we drove to Santa Fe to ski! John and I had a great time. I hadn't gone in a couple years because I was pregnant with Luke last Christmas. Grammy and Pop watched the boys while we had a blast! We hope to take Noah next year when I is 4. I bet he will love it! Loved the views...God you are amazing! What a beautiful creation!

I love skiing! It was such a warm beautiful day! The runs were great and they had even more snow than Colorado! What a fun time! Looking forward to the next ski trip already!

Thanks Grammy and Pop! We had such a good time!

Noah is 3!!!

My little man turned 3! Wow, cannot believe it! It seems like just yesterday when he was brought to us in the hospital in a stocking! He was born at 10:38 pm on Christmas Eve after 21 1/2 hours of labor. Absolutely loved holding him after his birth. What a blessing straight from God!

He has brought so much joy to our lives.

He is joyful,

handsome,

active (please let me out!),

full of adventure,

full of fun,

so sweet,

a perfectionist,

smart(working on #4),

full of an imagination,

and full of love!

Love you my sweet boy!

First Hair Cut

Luke had his first hair cut yesterday, on his big brother's 3rd birthday! What an eventful day!

I've always cut Noah's hair. He has gotten one professional cut and it costs $18 and it took her 5 minutes...not going to do that again!!! I may not do the most professional job but I am certainly not spending that kind of money for all three of the males in my life to get hair cuts...I cut them all myself. I will say Luke was pretty difficult though! Noah is pretty still as he watches TV but Luke's wasn't so interested. I tried to turn a Baby Einstein on but it didn't work. I got all around his head well but cutting the line around his ears and neck wasn't pretty difficult with a twitching child...reminded me of Buddy the Elf at the doctors office!

Here is the handsome boy!

He looks so much older! Where did my baby go?

9 Months!!!

Luke was 9 months yesterday! He is such a joy! I love him so!!!!

Updates on Luke...

-he eats pretty good. I do have to be a bit deceptive with some of his vegetable servings like mixing in applesauce. His favorites are still cereal (breast milk with oatmeal) and any meats. He has taken one bottle of 3 oz. when he was really hungry and I was gone. He is not a fan of the bottle! But, I guess I know that he'll survive if Jesus takes me home!

-he is over his separation anxiety. I am still his favorite but he is letting others hold him and play with him now. And thankfully not needing me all night long.

-he loves hugs, snuggling, and rocking. He is very loving and full of joy! Such a happy boy!

-he is increasingly more interested in Noah and what he is doing. He is starting to try to get in the mix while John and Noah are wrestling.

-loves taking a bath in the big bath and especially when Noah is in there! He just giggles and talks the whole time!

-he is still a bad sleeper. Right before Thanksgiving he had actually slept until 4 or 5 for a few days. I was loving it! But then he got a cold and ear infection from all the drainage and has been sleeping bad again. But now I have hope that he will sleep well one day soon and I will one day get decent sleep again. It has been way too long!

-his favorite thing to say is 'dada' but also says other things like 'mama.' He mostly likes to fake laugh like his big brother. They laugh often but I guess they feel the need to fake laugh too. So full of joy!

-lately his favorite thing to do to show off is give me a high five or flex his muscles. He loves flexing his muscles after we say 'strong.' He is soooo proud after he does it too! So cute!!!

-he has had 8 teeth for a few weeks now. I am sure the next will pop through any time now. I sure would love a break though!

-he has become quite the professional cruiser. He walks all along the walls and all through out the house. Dangerous!

-his favorite mission is sticking his hands in the toilet. He loves playing in the water. I am thankful he loves his bath but now a fan of this past time!

-he likes to follow his brother every where and even tries to crawl or walk in his walker to his room while Noah is napping.

-he has become extremely hard to change-whether it be his diaper or clothes. He just wants to turn over and crawl or stand up ALWAYS!

-he also still loves pulling my hair and trying to eat it. He is always playing with my hair and sometimes his!

Luke, you are such a joy! I love you more everyday!

New Jammies

Thanks Grammy! Noah thought is was so neat that they matched!

They bless my heart! Love them!

Hanging with Noah

Grammy gave Noah some new Thomas stickers and he had a blast with them. It was a really neat pack with lots of trains, people, trees, etc. He was so proud of his creation...

So handsome, joyful, smart, full of energy, and love. Love that boy!

Earlier that day, we had a picnic. "Just me and you," as Noah would say.

My plate is the one on the bottom... apparently he thinks I eat a lot.

He is always counting things out with his fingers. He has seen John and I do it and absolutely loves the fact that he has mastered the art. The first picnic picture was a '1' and now '2'

and here is '4.' I guess I missed the '3.'

So proud! Love him! He is so smart and learning leaps and bounds. He is maturing well and it finally seems that he is learning things that I have told him 1,000,000 times. I continue to pray for patience each day as I train them in the way they should go. God is good! I am so blessed. My heart is full of love for those precious boys! And I of course I am so in love their Daddy! I am so blessed!

Football with Daddy

I truly enjoy seeing John teach Noah many things. I had to get this 'class' on camera. Daddy holding for Noah has he learns to kick the ball...

Good job Noah!!!

Noah wanted to take his turn at holding for Daddy...

I love seeing how Noah perfectly copies the things we teach him at times. Sometimes that can be scary...praying he remembers the good and throws out our sinful displays!!!

Noah and I do many different things to play 'school'...today we wrote our letters and numbers in shaving cream. Here is our number 2...

His attention span only lasts so long. He had a little fun after that :)

8 Months!!!

My baby is 8 months old! I cannot believe it! He is running through his milestones like crazy! He is a cruiser...crawling to everything he can, pulling up, and stepping around it.

He tries to get to his brother any chance he can. Although it is normally not too hard because Noah loves playing with him and it is normally right there.

You are still as sweet as ever, always willing to give a smile. You absolutely are in love with me. You crawl, crawl over, pull up, cry, and do whatever you can to get to me. It is sweet. I cannot get enough hugs and kisses from you...at other times, I would like to get some sleep. Nights are still rough around here. It is a good night when I get 5 hours of sleep and typically it takes 3 different times at night after feeding you, etc. to get that. But as soon as you say Mama, give me a smile, and squeeze my neck I again forget I've been slept deprived for over 10 months...yes, even in the womb.

You still will not take a bottle but you are doing well eating food. I can tell you belong to the Woogie family with your sweet tooth. You love fruits and do most veggies besides peas and some squash. I think you are weirded out by certain textures like your brother and Daddy. Your favorite is breastmilk in your cereal.

You love your Daddy. You love to play with him, smile him, snuggle with him, and grab his face. I hope you continue to look up to him and want to reflect your life after him as he does after Christ.

You got sick for the first time over the last month and are just about over it. I thought you were sick a few months ago but you were teething. You got your first ear infection and possible a viral infection. I think it was mostly due to your 7th tooth that came in. Can we take a break from that now??? Over all, I am so grateful for how healthy you've been. One sickness in 8 months...cannot ask for more. You are a little miracle from God!

Noah thought it would be great to sit with you and hold hands....so sweet!

Love you Luke! I am so blessed to be your Mommy. Check out those sweet boys. I am so grateful!

1st Brothers Bath

It is neat to see Noah and Luke doing more together. Noah is enjoying Luke increasingly as he learns to do more physically and now as he says Dada and Mama...love his sweet voice. He talks back with him and asks him to play with him. Noah asked Luke to come into the box with him...Luke was all for it because he is wanting to do everything Noah does.

He made it!!!

Since the boys have been sick, we did not go trick-or-treating...glad I didn't buy any costumes! Noah was going to be Woody (found it at a thrift store last year and he wore it for our church game night) and Luke was going to be Pooh (a friend let us borrow it.) Since they missed out on that, we thought we would make the night special in another way. We had the boys take a bath together for the first time. Until now, Luke has been taking one in the kitchen where we would place his baby bath.

Luke is just looking at me thinking...Mom, are you crazy...in here with Noah...I will never survive...Noah is thinking....he,he,he...this is so much fun!

Strategically placing the trains...

And this is where Noah had a thought that it would be great to dive into the water...

And that is when the bath ended with Luke falling in the water, hitting his head, pulling up on the side of the tub crying for me to come get him...it was bound to happen.

I am looking forward to many more baths and activities that they can enjoy together. Fun times!