In Her Own Words

These are just some things that I'm writing down for myself because I don't want to forget the funny things that Anna sometimes says.

This is not Dora. It's Dia or occasionally just "hola".

This is Sticky Mouse.

These are belly slippers.

This is a country called VietMOM.

There are so many funny things that she's saying right now. The other day Nathan and I were saying that we don't want her to learn to speak any better than she does right now because it's just so cute to hear her make up little phrases and sentences. But every time we say that we just want to freeze time and keep her at a certain age forever, she gets older and cuter and even more entertaining!

Hollywood

This week while we were out with Ashley and Kendall and Kate, the older girls got some new sunglasses. Kendall's were green with yellow polka dots. They were super cute and I wanted Anna to have the same ones but they were too tight on her head and she got pretty mad when I tried them on her. She started yelling out, "Pink ones! pink ones!" so that's what she got instead. The girls were so funny sitting in their strollers, wearing their new glasses and smiling at each other. Unfortunately we didn't have our camera then, but Anna provided plenty of photo opportunities when she insisted on wearing her glasses for the rest of the night. These just crack us up because they look so trendy and celebrity :)

Here she is just chillin', watching an episode of her current obsession, The Wonder Pets.

Happy Day

Happy 32nd (one day late) to my wonderful hubby! He's just as cute today as he was 30 years ago...and he still likes cake too. ;)

Little Man

First let me say that I continue to stand by everything I said in this old message. Baby girls really do have the upper hand when it comes to fashion. The selection is bigger and the clothes have tons of sweet little details that are just not there with the boy things. But since having Noah I have started to really like little boy clothes too! Instead of enjoying ruffles and bows I'm enjoying all the things that make him look like a miniature man. I bought this little shirt last week and when I put it on with tiny khaki pants I just couldn't stop laughing. What a little man! He looks like he's about to go play a round of golf or something! Love it.

Notice he has also inherited his sister's furrowed brow and concerned face ;)

Speaking of, here's a funny picture of our suspicious little girl. This shirt was so tight across her round belly that I had to lay her down just to get it buttoned. We went out for the day, and after a few errands I looked down to see that her belly had popped that bottom button right off, never to be seen again!

Sleepy Heads

Ahhh for those rare times when they are both asleep.....

Anna is usually awake when we go into her room in the mornings, but yesterday we had to wake her up earlier than usual to get to Noah's doctor's appointment on time. I almost never see her sleeping any more and I was shocked at how HUGE she looked in her bed. Of course I made Nathan go and get the camera :) Yes, she insists on sleeping with a million toys, books and pillows.

Then she sat up and showed us her fashion statement of the day.

Noah is still just a little bundle, but I love his little dimpled baby hands and chubby arms in this picture. He's actually in a swaddle blanket here, but he (Baby Houdini) has managed to get one arm out the top and the other arm out the part that should be down by his waist.

Oh! My time is already up! I can hear Anna back in her room yelling, "Chicken! Sheep!", a sure sign that she's awake and launching stuffed animals across the room.

**Update: In my pathetic attempt to get more rest, I just went back into Anna's room and crawled in bed with her. I never do this so she got really excited. I was saying all sorts of nice things like, "Let's snuggle. Get in this blanket with me", but she misunderstood and thought I was challenging her to a wrestling match. For about 5 minutes she was jumping and throwing herself on top of me, almost breaking my nose at one point. Finally she settled down and laid her head next to mine on the pillow. She pulled the blanket up to her chin, smiled at me so sweetly, and said, "Get out mommy".

So we both got up and went to play Weebles :)

Family Portrait

Here's what happened after church on Mother's Day when I asked Nathan to take a picture of me and the two kiddos. Not good of any of us but such a perfect example of our daily lives that I had to share. Anna is diving off to one side, Noah is crying, and I am laughing at the absurdity of it all.

A few days ago Anna was laying on the couch with her arm out and it seemed like the perfect place to sit Noah and take a few lovey pictures of brother and sister. As you can see from Anna's face the love was not so strong. But Nathan made some funny faces and all was happy again.

Noah had his 2 month check-up today and he's still a healthy little boy. He's not gaining a pound a week anymore (thank goodness!) and right now he weighs 12 pounds exactly and he's 23 inches long. He got his first shots and I think Anna cried more than he did. She kept yelling "Noah! See Noah!" and trying to wedge her body between me and the nurse to get closer to him. They were happy to hear that his reflux is under control too.

He's looking so big to me lately and I just want to gobble him up. Even at 2 a.m. I have to laugh at his chubby little legs. Just look at those toes! Yummy!

Bumbo Boy

I am taking plenty of pictures, but I never have time to download, choose, and write about them on this blog. But I do normally have some time to check my email and when someone sends me a funny video I just have to share. My sister is going to let us borrow her little Bumbo seat, and when Noah found out I caught him watching this video and taking notes :)

Part 1:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=392011&cache=1

Part 2:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=602153

Wow, that daddy has a LOT of time!

Six Years Later

How is it that we've already been married for 6 years? And together for 10?! This picture was taken about 3 years ago. I was actually pregnant with Anna but didn't know it yet.

Nathan and I looked back through some of our vacation pictures tonight and we both had to laugh at how different we were back then. Now that we have two children (what?!) we think about what we should have done with ALL that time we had back then. But would we go back to the 18 year old me and the 21 year old Nathan that we were when we first met? No way. As much fun as we had back then, none of it comes close to the everyday joys we find as husband and wife, mommy and daddy. We still crack each other up daily (because we're big nerds) and being parents has been more wonderful than we could have ever imagined. We feel so blessed, and we can't wait to see what the next 6 years will bring!

So since I didn't mention it in last Friday's message...Happy Anniversary to us!

Play Doh Therapy

Things have been pretty rough around here lately. Noah's medicine has not been the miracle cure that we hoped for and he has continued to scream his way through most days. Yesterday he was so hysterical in Target that numerous people came up and actually offered to help me. How, I don't know, but I guess they felt like they should do something for this poor girl having a breakdown in the candle aisle.

We called the pediatrician back to tell them the medicine wasn't helping and they suggested we give Noah a tiny dosage of Mylanta before each feeding, just to coat his stomach. It's only been one day, but so far he seems much happier. And last night he only woke up one time! Let's hope this is a sign of things to come.

Believe it or not, this has been his "happy" face lately!

Poor Anna has been a real trooper. She's almost always trapped next to Noah (in a car seat, shopping cart, etc.) while he's yelling. The other day I finally got him to sleep so I took Anna in her room for some "just us" time. She wanted to play with her Play Doh and I think it was good for both of us. After rolling out a few snakes we were both feeling calm and happy. The funniest thing was that when we dumped out the orange Play Doh Anna immediately said, "It's not cheese mommy". Then while she was playing I could hear her whispering to herself over and over, "It's not cheese, it's not cheese" as if she were willing herself not to eat it.

Big Sister

Now that Anna is officially the oldest child, she thinks she can do just about anything.

This look says, "Busted!"

Hair of the Week

A Whale of a Time

Tuesday Amy and Sam and Max came over to play (and to babysit while I went to the doctor). Poor Sam was sooo eager to get into Anna's new whale shaped swimming pool. He kept running over to the window saying "Umm, I'm just gonna look at the pool" and then he would get all happy and smiley and excited. So after I got home they ate about 2 bites of their lunches and Amy dressed them all in their swimsuits and slathered them head to toe with sunscreen while I fed Noah.

Until this day Anna would just sort of sit or stand in the middle of her pool and say "Cold cold!" over and over....well, she would occasionally try to drink the water too, but she didn't really do anything too exciting. Sam changed all that. He asked politely if he could get in the pool and when I said yes he ran back about six feet and took off, landing with a big splash and lots of excited squeals from Anna. Having Sam jump in the pool over and over was about the most fun Anna has ever had.

Here are some action shots:

Max did NOT enjoy the pool:

Noah preferred to rest on a towel in the shade:

**Speaking of little Noah, he had a trip to the doctor this week to confirm what we already knew, he's suffering from a bad case of acid reflux. Poor little guy was screaming from one feeding to the next all day long! He's been on his medicine for 4 days now and he is a new man! He's much happier and he's sleeping better too. As bad as he felt before we went to the doctor, it didn't stop him from eating. Our little Munchie gained 2 pounds in only 13 days, and now at 6 weeks he weighs over a pound more than Anna did at 2 months. If he has to eat 25 times a night at least it's paying off! And thanks to Aunt Amy for bringing this over, now he is napping in his crib every day. Yippee!