4th of July (Yes, I know it's the 7th)

I'm behind. In my defense of taking so long to post recently, I've been on a few trips and had some crazy things happen recently (which I will blog about). Does it count that I set my sister up with a blog the other day?? I should get brownie points for that one. Oh - and you should check her blog and leave sweet comments to encourage her to keep blogging :)

I have three things to talk about: 4th of July, my trip to Portland, and the latest dog madness that had me in constant tears yesterday.
This post will focus on the first cause I don't have much time and it will be told in pictures (I love pictures).
For the holiday, Jason's brother and his wife came into town with their little dog, Wally. John Parker - a friend of ours - also joined us for the celebration (he also brought his dog). Everyone crashed at our house which meant 5 adults, 5 dogs, and 2 kids - super fun. We went to a party the Stadels invited us to that was heaven to Lincoln (and super fun for all of us): it included TONS of our door play things, sweets galore, and a circus of kids and fireworks. We wore him out! And happy to report, he LOVED the fireworks! He pointed and made an "AUHHHH!" sound of amazement everytime one blasted. Here are some pictures!


Daddy bought Lincoln some fireworks and let him thrown them.

The Dead Period

This week starts part #1 of vacationing for us. One of the big mis-conceptions when Jason and I got married was that he was a teacher and therefore gets summers off. Not the case. In fact, he's on a 12-month contract and according to AAA rules, all coaches/players must have a 2-week "dead period" the last few weeks of June where they are allowed NO communication with players or anything basketball. A forced break. I always say this rule was made for the coaches wives. :)
So that's where we are - in the middle of the "dead period".
We met Jason's parents in Hot Springs where they rented all of us this unbelievable 4-level condo on the water. It was gorgeous and so relaxing!

Lincoln has gotten his fair share of swimming the past 3 weeks, and he got to go twice a day while we were in Hot Springs. It's so fun watching him doing things he enjoys so much.
It got to a point that, in the mornings, he would eat breakfast and then go get out a "little swimmers" diaper, bring it to us, then gather up his swim toy and wait to go.

He LOVES it when I throw him to Jason in the pool. Looking at these pictures it looks kind of scary, but the kid goes crazy over it! After he comes up from the water, he's signing "more" and saying "please please"!

He got to feed the ducks off the peer...

We went with the grandparents to the zoo where he got to feed lots of animals...
It's been a fun getaway so far with Jason's family! Noah has had the time of his life getting to be held non-stop. :) We get home late Sunday night and then I get to leave Wednesday to hang out with some college friends in Portland!! I'm super excited about this but I do think it will be hard to be away from everyone for that long. :( I'll miss my exciting boys!

My Sweeties

I think I've mentioned before that Jason is a CRAZY Celtic's fan?? Well, guess who wants to grow up to be just like daddy (seriously this would be our son's dream come true to be exactly like his daddy in this little stage of life)....
Welcome Rondo's mini-me:
And he really was that excited when the game started and they announced the line-up and all. I thought for a split second "Holy crap - he really is excited about this game!" But then I realized his daddy was excited and that's enough to get our little man hopping around like a lunatic. Too cute.

Way back when, I taught Lincoln where most of his body parts are, and he LOVED showing off when you'd name them. And here we are...months later, and he still LOVES this "game". I use it a lot as a distraction when he starts getting whiney and it works almost everytime. :) It's fun though, cause now he can say the words and point out other people's "belly" (it has to be bare though, so be ware!) and "toes"...he particularly likes showing me all of Noah's parts and figures in books when we read.

His most favorite of all is the belly. When I'm changing, I have a little toddler chasing me trying to get my belly. :) Another thing he has started doing in the last few months or so is trying to put his own clothes on. He has been able to take them all off for some time now (with help on the shirt), but has become crazy interested in putting it all on recently.

In this picture, he attempted to put his shorts on...yes - he did this. :) Today I told him we were going "bye-bye" and he met me at the door with the Baby Bjorn wrapped all around him (and insisted on wearing it all the way to the car). I've carried Noah in it twice recently, but little observer already knew what it was for!

He can successfully put on his hats and that's about it. But he sure tries!

And then our Noah...today he finally fell asleep on his TUMMY (no flipping of the pancake!) for his nap and slept that way for 4 hours today! Hopefully he can do this again through the night. And with that, I'm going to bed. :)

Our Little Noah

Literally...he's TINY. Comes in measuring at a whopping 12 pounds for his 4 month check-up (which really isn't that whopping). But the doc said he is progressing beautifully on the growth charts and didn't want us starting any solids until 6 months. This one's head is actually in a normal range :) and his height is about at 50% right now. Over all, he got a great report! He came home and took a 3.5 hour nap (we had to go wake him up so he would sleep through the night)...I guess his little shots just took it out of him. Poor thing.
As of yesterday, when you lay him down on his back, he immediately rolls over. The problem is he can't roll back over and will eventually get pretty frustrated. But the minute you roll him back, he's already rolling to the tummy again. Little rascal.

We still think Noah is going to be more of a little introvert. He loves to be snuggled and held and talked to softly. He still HATES the car which makes for some pretty exhausting trips - even to Walmart.

He is doing much better with baths and rarely even cries anymore.

He gets a bottle every 3 hours of 5oz. of milk. He was getting 6, but we cut back b/c he was spitting up so much. This seemed to help.

He takes a lot of short (20-30min) naps throughout the day, but always one very long one - anywhere from 2-3 hours. We usually do this one when Lincoln goes down. So far, it has worked perfectly.

He has gotten better enjoying the stroller which is great because we go out a lot. He has been to many fun trails, lots of parks, tons of eating places, the mall, and to the pool a handful of times. We're going on a big trip with Jason's parents in a few weeks...please Noah. like the car better by then!!!!!

He does great in the nursery as we've been trying out new churches every week. It helps that he gets a bottle usually about 30min. after he gets there. :)

As far as sleep goes - he's pretty good, actually. It was hit/miss there for a while, but for the past week, he goes down around 8-9pm, we wake him up to give him one last bottle around 11pm, and then he sleeps until 6-7am. At that time, I bring him in bed, feed him, and sometimes he'll fall back asleep - even until 9:00. Then he's ready for his day. :)

We're loving our little Noah and for the most part, he's a fairly easy baby. He's been a lot easier (as far as sleeping/crying spells/tummy problems) than Lincoln was. Lincoln hit his stride at 4 months and since, has been extremely easy. Noah has just kind of took it all in stride since day 1. How fun is it going to be to actually watch them start to play together??? I can't wait.

On Life

Here are some of the latest thoughts that stream through my head at random times…thought I would share.

On Moving…
I’ll admit I was somewhat nervous moving and wanted to back-out a few times the closer the move came…and though we miss our friends and old town, we are LOVING our new home. We went for a long walk in our neighborhood last night and talked about the different houses we saw for sale and we could see ourselves buying in this neighborhood someday. The boys and I spend a few days a week exploring something new about the area. Perhaps my favorite thing to anticipate is the outdoor ice rink they’re building on the square that will be ready in the fall…seriously, how fun is that?

On Finding a Church…
We have visited a couple and are anxious to pour our hearts into one in the areas God has gifted us to serve. We’re still not certain, but it looks like we’re both leaning in a direction of where we feel God would like us to go and I must say – it makes me super excited!!! We have both prayed over Lincoln in the last few nights that someday he will find a church home (when mom and dad don’t decide) and understand the importance of belonging and fellowshipping with other believers.

On Lincoln…
I know I wrote a post on him the other day, but there is something I didn’t share that he has been doing now for the past couple of months that brings joy to our souls. I think I mentioned this part before, but Jason (a few months ago) started praying with Lincoln every night when he put him to bed. We taught him how to pray (putting his hands together – okay, the motion of praying at least!), and within a week, he had it down perfectly and would remind us to pray if we forgot by putting his hands together with a big smile on his face. He now does this at meal times, too. Within the past few weeks, he has become very still throughout the prayer, never letting his hands go, and studying what we say. When we’re done, he’s the first to exclaim “Maman!!” I know as parents we are teachers of a lot of things, but to have the privilege of teaching your child the things of Jesus is unbelievable.

On Noah…
His 4 month check-up is coming tomorrow, so there will be more details, but in short, he is starting to develop his unique personality! He smiles tons (never hard to get one to crack) and still loves extensive cuddle time. I still predict he’s more of our little introvert.

On Chick-fl-A…
Yes. They deserve a medal. Me and the boys went and did a trail this morning for mommy’s workout and afterward, hit the park, then the famous chicken place. It was lunch time so it was crazy busy which added to the madness that is me trying to juggle in 2 tiny people and all their luggage (not to mention ordering food and pulling out the wallet all while holding toddler’s hand and infant in carrier.) So when I ordered and they asked “Do you want us to bring your food to your table when it’s ready?”...Um, YES please. So we got our booth (Lincoln on the inside, of course) and our food was brought to us ASAP. And then, while we were eating (remember, it’s crazy busy), we had at least 3 different workers come by our table offering to get us things and throwing away our trash – aren’t we suppose to be at a fast-food place??? Lincoln ate like a champ (fruit and nuggets – what’s not to love), then he went and played in their awesome play room for about 20 minutes. It was time to go and he waved by to all his new “friends” (he spared each of them the usual hugs/kiss this time), and we went and got back in the big line to order something for daddy so we could take it to him. THIS IS AMAZING: When we got our food, a worker came rushing around the corner offering to carry Lincoln out to the car with me – seriously???! People – they were SO busy yet took the time to be total servants over and over! I’ve always loved this place, but I now LOVE this place.

On Losing the Baby Weight…
Most of you know this has been way more frustrating for me that it was with Lincoln. In fact, I realize now I was totally spoiled with Lincoln by losing all the weight in 6 weeks. It’s now been 4 months and I am still about 8lbs away. I know that might not seem like much, but my clothes just don’t fit right and that’s way more frustrating than the number. I workout most days a week, but have recently started running again and upping the cardio in hopes of getting rid of the last bit. I will admit that I struggle between being totally annoyed by the extra weight and being “okay” with it. Part of me needs to just come to grips with that I am getting older, have 2 kids now, and might not be 115 naturally anymore…sigh. I go back and forth. Last time I wrote, I was 15lbs away, so I am making progress.

On Old Friends…
In 4 weeks I am flying to Portland to meet up with two of my very best friends from college whom I have not seen in almost 3 years – crazy!!!!!!! Melissa, Adri, and I are all meeting up at Adri’s house (who will be almost 9 months pregnant!) for 4 days. I am seriously giddy about this. It will be the longest I have been away from my kids (except Lincoln that one week when Sharon kept him), but I think this time with my friends is long overdue!

That was a lot…so done for now.

Found the Camera

Noah turns 4 months old in a few days. Amazing. We have his 4 month well-check next week, so I will do a little update on his happenings then.
However, I was thinking about our little toddler today as I was loading these pictures and how FAST he keeps growing into a little boy every day. It's like lightening speed people! Anyway, thought I would update on his latests, because last night I spent a few hours re-reading the updates I used to do on him and I don't want to stop :)

Lincoln's Latests...
* He loves anything having to do with water. Whether its baths, drinking from water bottles, playing in dog's water bowl, the pool, playing in sprinklers in the yard - he LOVES it. Now that we have a pool right down the street and go often, he starts getting pretty crazy excited when we get him ready to swim. He even loves getting sprayed with suntan lotion. The good news on this is that he is literally fearless when it comes to the water and that he truly enjoys it. The bad news is, well - he's fearless and has to be watched like a HAWK. Before you know it, he'll be half-way up the stairs on the big slide headed straight for the deep end (yes - this has already happened).

And Noah just likes the breezes outside while big brother swims. :)

Walking to the pool with dad. * HE also loves the outdoors. I think he would sleep outside with the dogs if we let him. Now that it's summer we're cooking out a lot and this little toddler toddles all over the yard, squealing and running from/chasing the dogs. He loves it. And he comes in tracking mud everywhere and with remnants of outside all over his face - i love it. * Berries. All kinds of berries. He loves them. He calls all of them blueberries and it's so stinking cute. If you're getting something out of the fridge, you better watch out because a hand will swipe past you and grab a handful of berries - he knows right where they are. :) So our snacktimes have consisted of assortment of all different kinds of berries (these make for colorful diapers as well).

*He also now has his own seat - out of his high chair pretty much most of the time. I will put him in his high chair when he eats something very messy, but other than that, he sits like a big boy now!

* We put up his big boy bed the other day, but I am going to wait for that transition until Noah outgrows his bed (20lbs) and needs to be moved to the crib. For now, we spend a lot of time on Lincoln's new bed getting used to it. We read lots of books there and he loves "counting" all the fish on his bed.

* He has a HUGE personality. Lincoln LOVES having friends over and gets so excited to hang out with other kids. He waves to everyone when we go out (which is humbling to me because I get in my own world sometimes). There's no doubt we have an extrovert on our hands. I couldn't be more proud of the fella.

* He FINALLY got rid of his night time bottle - so much harder than I thought it would be, especially since "No-a" still gets them. But we're all done with them as of last week!!

* And sleep? Yes he still gets TONS of it. Because we've been busy lately, he's only gotten to take one nap (that is between 3-4 hours) but this still has to come in the morning - not the afternoon! He can make it to the afternoon, but starts fading by lunch usually. If we're home, he'll still take a second nap. Hilarious. He wakes up consistently around 8:00am.

*He still loves his baby brother. He loves giving him kisses and hugs and hasn't gone through the jealousy stuff - not yet, at least. I am super thankful for that because I know that can be tough.

* He knows where daddy works and LOVES to play in the gym with the players. When we go see daddy (or just pass by the school on our way somewhere), as soon as we get close to the football stadium, he starts yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" Super smart kid. I was shocked he knew that the first time he did it.

So there's some in the life of a 19-month-old.

At Least I've Got One

You see I'm definitely a visual person...I love reading all of your blogs, but I LOVE reading them with pictures!! So, me - being self-centered, I guess, think everyone else must, too, be like me, and so I have realized my posts have been far and few in between because I have NO PICTURES!
So the other day I "took care" of this, yet now that I'm ready to write (something brilliant of course), I can't find my camera!!
But I did have this adorable little picture on my phone from earlier today that I will share and goes along with what I have to say. :)

What do I have to say, you ask? Not a ton except that I made a new friend and am falling in love with Bentonville. My new friend (who happens to live 2 houses down and used to work with Jason at the Siloam Springs Middle School - crazy!), made the comment to me yesterday that Bentonville is a stay-at-home-mom's dream, and well, I'm starting to glimpse what she means!
Today she introduced me to a beautiful trail through the woods right off the square, a look-out point for the construction site of the new AMAZING art museum being built in Bentonville, a fantastic closed-in park right off the square with tons of little friends for Lincoln and lots of shade (yes - it's the little things), a cute cupcake shop off the square where we stopped to let the kids have a snack, and proceeded to inform me about two other great trails in Bentonville that I hope to have blazed by weeks end (one is even a dog park!). And not to mention, her son is absolutely adorable and plays so good with Lincoln. So today I was thankful for a new friend, and an introduction to tons of fun stuff I can't wait to try out in this new place!

Oh - she also told me some other fun stuff about our neighborhood I LOVE - for instance, this 4th of July, they close off one of the streets and all the kids decorate their wagons/riding toys and have a parade through the neighborhood before meeting at the clubhouse for a cookout - how fun is that?!

Here's the picture I promised - Lincoln and his new friend eating their cupcakes :)