A Walk with the Wards

Daddy Daughter Dance

2010-11-16T17:15:00.000-06:00

Seth took Halle to the Daddy Daughter Dance at Piedmont High School this past Friday! She was so excited to go to her very first dance!

Halle was confused about what daddy was bringing to her...

Trick or Treat (a little late)

2010-11-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

TRICK-OR-TREAT

Halle, the monarch butterfly

and Noah, the cowboy!

Halle and baby chase

Halle and Nathan

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!!

the fever continued!!

2010-09-19T13:55:00.000-05:00

So we haven't heard much about the "fever" around out house! Saturday Halle decided she wanted to stay with her grandma instead of going to the football game. So I told Halle, I don't want you to talk about Justin Fever or any other boys with your older cousins. You are there to play with barbies, play puzzles, read books, etc. She asked, "How will you know if I talk about boys?" I said, "because I'm your mom and I know everything." I also told her not to eat any candy, or to have any more chocolate milk. We were on the road for about ten minutes and I get a text from grandma..."Halle and Noah were eating cheetos and Halle asked if cheetos have sugar because she said she's not supposed to have sugar or talk about boys!" Thats my girl!!

On another note, she brought me a piece of paper this morning and wanted to know how to write his name. Then wanted to know how to write "I love Justin Fever." I said no, you don't love him, you love your mom, your dad, brother, and family...and friends. You don't love him. She said, "how do I write I like Justin Fever." So after a while, I said take your colors, paper, etc and go put them in your room...and she said, "but I need an envelope." Me: "For what?" Halle: "to put in an envelope and send it to him."

deep breath.....count to 10! I think if i hear Justin Bieber's name one more time....i'm gonna go nuts!

I think I'm going to have my hands full!!!!

2010-09-16T16:35:00.001-05:00

So...this is the problem...this Justin Bieber kid!! Today I get a people magazine in the mail and what do you know....Justin Bieber is in the magazine, with CHER! They are standing next to each other....hmmmmmm. SO I tell Halle to come look...she smiles and starts giggling, like a girl with a real little crush! She said, "that's Justin Fever.....but wait, who is that next to him?" Let me preface this by showing you a picture of what Cher was wearing in the picture and by adding that Halle says she loves Justin Fever, she doesn't know him, but loves him because her cousin Gracie loves him!

So this, friends, is what Cher was wearing in the picture with Justin "Fever." SO back to Halle's question "who is that next to him?" Me: (very casually) "That's his girlfriend." Halle: "eew I don't like her, her face is not even pretty...she is not even cool at all!" She wanted me to tear out the page of fever so she can have her own little poster of him...but of course she didn't want Cher in the picture! That girl makes me laugh!! But that's not the end....About 10 minutes later she comes up to me and says come here (waving at me to lean down so she can tell me a secret). I said, "Halle, no one is hear, you don't have to whisper." She tried to whisper something three times before I said, "just tell me, I can't hear you." Halle: "Do you know Justin Fever's number?" WHAT???????? uh huh no way no how, I know you just didn't ask for his phone number!!! She continues in a very serious tone...."please mommy, I want to call him." Okay, it was cute when we pretended to call Santa THIS LAST CHRISTMAS and my dad was on the other end of the phone.....but wanting to call Justin Fever??....NOT CUTE! She kept coming up to me saying "7899" "02889" mom, his number is "0899" Too bad my phone battery is dead!!

Labor Day Zoo Trip

2010-09-12T19:04:00.001-05:00

We went to the OKC zoo for Labor Day with our best friends, the Crooks. Nathan is 10 months older than Noah, but their age gap is starting to close and they are enjoying each others company! We brought the double stroller but Noah wanted to ride in the wagon, of course!

Nathan didn't leave Halle out, he "chilled" with her for a little bit too!

Noah thought he was so cool riding in the wagon!

Love this picture! Noah loves his buddy!

The children's zoo. I didn't get very many pictures here, but OKC opened a new children's zoo the beginning of this year. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. You can buy nectar and feed the birds, pet several different animals, play in the water, etc. It's a great new addition to the OKC zoo...as well as Oklahoma Trails.

Halle and Noah loved the giraffe.

We started out taking the shirt off....

then we lost the shorts! Noah loves the water!!

Look at the water!

Seth and Tony playing with Nathan and Halle

Melissa and I before enjoying a relaxing day!

My first 5k this year!

2010-09-12T18:41:00.001-05:00

My friend Ladonna has been training for a 1/2 marathon and has kind of motivated me to start running more. Before I got pregnant with Noah I was running 3 miles about 3-4 times a week with my friend Bri. I kept gaining weight, got discouraged, and then found out I had PCOS....which makes it more difficult to lose weight. It's been a battle ever since. I am determined that I need to get in shape, and do something that will help relieve stress! So I have decided that I am going to start doing 5k runs. I am not competitive and don't care what place I finish, just as long as I finish. This morning, Ladonna, Melissa, and myself ran in a 5k celebrating "Making the move with Martha." She is moving to the Hallmark channel. We didn't have to pay for the registration (because I wouldn't pay to support Martha Stewart)...however, we did get free stuff, like the shirts we were wearing, a wooden spoon, kitchen towel, and an apron. It was a nice morning to run and I was glad I made it without stopping. I have a few more 5k's that I plan on doing in the future....such as Remember the ten, Run for Courage (Jim Thorpe's run...where seth had his rehab after his wreck), and the OKC memorial marathon. I think this is going to be a fun hobby and allows me to support different charities. I hope that a lot of my friends will join me. I think it would be great to meet once a month to run together!

Game Day!

2010-09-12T18:33:00.000-05:00

Seth and I took Halle to the first football game of the season on September 4th! We played Washington State and won 65-17!! She had a great time, but tuckered out early and was almost out at half time. We left early, but enjoyed the day with her!

Before the game

grandparents are the best...

2010-09-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

The kids and I went to Okmulgee the last weekend in August to visit my parents. Papa finally got to play with the "play guns" with Noah....which he bought before Noah could even walk! We had a great time at the Tulsa zoo and ate at Red Robin, followed by a little shopping. We had a great weekend.

I couldn't help but post this picture....Noah was so upset about mommy and Halle being on the four-wheeler. I tried to get him to ride, but he was terrified! I grew up riding and thought the kids would like it! I may have to expose him a little more so he is not scared! Poor Noah!

Much better here! Going for a walk with Nana!

Halle and her Grandpa

Grandpa was always a big hunter and fisher so he is so glad to have a grandson to share those interest with!

Such a beautiful day to go to the zoo!

Halle and her cousin Madi watching the elephant show

We haven't seen the elephants in the OKC zoo for a while, so Halle was excited to see them. Tulsa has had them since 2008 I believe! This was a very good show!

Sweet cousins!

Halle loved the petting zoo!

Halle and Noah's cousin Bri. She is just eight weeks younger than Noah. They haven't seen her for a while so they were very excited!

I think the excitement wore off when Noah had to share the stroller. Here he is fussing about her touching him. She is so sweet! Look at those big eyes!!

"Justin Fever is hot"

2010-09-08T20:57:00.000-05:00

So it all started a few weeks back.....
with Halle telling me randomly that "Justin Fever is hot mom!"
Me: "You don't even know who Justin Bieber is."
Halle: "so, Gracie (her cousin) told me he is and did you know that he even wears eyeliner and mascara" (won't mention what daddy told her about boys that wear eyeliner and mascara....and I'm don't even think Justin Bieber does. Am I even spelling Bieber right?? Oh well)

fast forward to the second or third day of pre-k...
Halle: "mom, I have two jackson's in my class!" "I like the jackson with white hair mom."
hmmmmm okay Halle! (this is a random note...but just to show that my child is already boy crazy??? what???)

fast forward to tonight at Target....we were checking out and the guy helping us was a Justin Bieber look-a-like in his own special way. As soon as we get to the car,....
Halle: "I really like that boy that paid for our stuff mom."
Me: "Nobody paid for our stuff Halle, do you mean that boy that checked us out?"
Halle: "yes, I really like him."
Me: "No, you don't, you don't like boys yet."
Halle: "yes I do" (all giddy, laughing...probably only because of my reaction)
Me: "Your not old enough to like boys Halle" (Seth and I have already informed her that she's not getting married until she is thirty).

I put her in her carseat after we load up the groceries and before I can shut her door she is yelling out the door..."mom I really like him."

So I get on the phone with my mother and tell her the amusing story and how a few weeks back she was on this Justin Bieber kick. When I get off the phone, Halle had me rolling with her next conversation...

Halle: "mom, I don't even know who Justin Fever is...I just talk about him but I really like that boy mom. Mom, it's just hard being a kid."

That is my Halle....not so sure I like that boy talk, but I love her funny Halle moments!!

4 year old survey

2010-08-26T16:35:00.000-05:00

1. What is your favorite color? Purple
2. What is your favorite animal? Zebra
3. What is your favorite tv show? Yo Gabba Gabba (only because it's on right now)
4. What is your favorite movie? Tiana (princess and the frog, which she has only seen once) What else do you like to watch? Franklin and Berenstein Bears.
5. What is your favorite food? Chicken nuggets with oranges but my favorite fruit is peaches
6. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk
7. What is your favorite book? berenstein bears books, (she also loves gigi books and fancy nancy)
8. What is your favorite thing to do outside? go down the slide and swing
9. What is your favorite thing to do inside? play baby dolls
10. What school do you go to? Pre-k momma =)
11. What is your teacher's name? Ms. Adler
12. Who is your favorite friend? morgan and jackson (with white hair)
13. What do you like to do at school? Play at the playgroud
14. What do you and mommy like to do together? watch movies together, color, and play

Here are a few pictures of my four year old!

Noah's big boy haircut!

2010-08-23T21:46:00.000-05:00

Before! Looking at this picture, I kind of wish I left his hair alone! His hair is so straight though and was getting kind of shaggy. I wasn't sure what I wanted done so I just told the lady to shorten it up around the neck and ears and just a little bit on top. She got kind of scissor happy!

some other before pictures

AND.......

AFTER!

Doesn't he look like such a BIG little boy?!?!

I think this hair cut makes him look so much older....I want his baby hair back!!

1st day of school!

2010-08-23T21:37:00.000-05:00

Halle started pre-k at Piedmont Primary on August 19th! She was so excited!! Doesn't she look cute!!

She goes to her aunt's house every morning and her aunt Lala takes her to school at 11:50 and she gets out at 2:50. They offer all day pre-k, but I think half day will be a good choice for her to kind of ease her into it. Her aunt lives less than 5 miles from the school so it is very convenient for her to take her. On her first day, however, I drove back home to take her to school. I am so glad I did. I was one of the calm mom's! There was a family there video taping the entire thing, from their child placing their backpack on the hook, finding their name tag, and sitting on the rug. I guess I'm a slacker because I just brought my cheap little camera with me and snapped only a few pictures. Speaking of pictures, the one above is what she wore to her aunts house, her pj's! I didn't want to send her in an outfit, just to spill her lunch all over it before school! sheesh!

Here is my baby girl on the way to her first day of pre-k!

Her cute little friend Morgan is on the left leaning over waiving to Halle. I am so glad she has a friend in class and I hope she has an easy time making new friends!

When I picked her up from school I asked her how she liked her teacher and she said, "She's PERFECT!" She also said, "mom, do you know how to spell red? I do! R-E-D! That's how you spell it!" I am thankful that she has such a sweet teacher and I hope that Halle does well in class.

Ballet class started back after a long summer break and her second class landed on the first day of school! This made for a long day since Halle didn't get a nap. By the time we got home she was more than ready to go to sleep! Halle's friend Remington enrolled in the same dance class so they will have a fun year together!

Halle's other friend Peyton is also in the class (in between Remi and Halle)...I am looking forward to watching these girls dance! Halle loves dance and it makes me so happy to see her happy!

meet the teacher; 18 months appt.

2010-08-17T21:30:00.003-05:00

I can't believe summer is almost over! Tonight we had "meet the teacher" night for Halle! I can't believe my little girl is going to pre-k! She loved her teacher, her school, and the classroom! She even told her teacher, "it was nice to meet you." I am so proud of her and what a sweet spirit she has. She loves to pray and loves her Jesus! Halle and I went shopping for some new clothes and shoes and she is so excited for school to begin! I hope she does well with not only her learning, but socializing with the other kids too! She has been staying with her aunt lala, brother, and cousin for her first six months of life and then when she turned two until now. She interacts with other kids here and there at gymnastics, ballet, and recently church, but never on a daily, more than an hour or so occasion. I am sure she will do well, and that I'm anxious over nothing. I have decided that I am going to pick her up everyday from school. I just want to be able to hear what her day was like and get home at an earlier time to help her with homework, play with noah, cook dinner and eat together as a family. It seems like it's so easy to get wrapped up in to work, and time slips away....before I know it I'm home just in time for dinner, baths, and bedtime. I am looking forward to picking her up every day at a decent time!

This past week we have established a set bedtime! YES! This summer we haven't been very strict with bedtime and Halle was staying up pretty late. It's actually nice when she is in bed at 7:30!! She is getting the rest she needs and I am able to have a little "me" time before bed! Somehow or another she always ends up in our bed by five in the morning.

Noah had his 18 month appointment today! He weighed in at 23 lbs 15 oz (25th percentile) and measured 33 inches in height (65th percentile). He has said several different words and repeats a lot. He still doesn't talk a whole lot. He would rather squeal and scream for what he wants! He still loves balls, and hitting/kicking things! I was getting worried for a while b/c he seems very aggressive with his behavior, hitting everything with whatever he can get his hands on. I was reassured that this is just a "boy" thing. Noah's new thing is motorcycles and monster trucks! His cousin conner has several that he lets Noah play with and he will actually play nice with these! I've only seen him hit his sister once with a motorcycle!

We started going to a new church back in June and I feel very welcome there! I love the fact that they have childcare and a curriculum for the little kids....(which we didn't have at our other church). I am torn because I feel like the preacher at the church we went to before always delivered a great message, but they didn't have childcare or praise and worship music). Seth and I have been several times and I really enjoy it.

I am not the best at keeping my blog updated but hope that I can do better in the future. I think once we kind of get in the swing of things with school and routines I'll have my head on straighter! Still trying to wrap my head around how I will ever have time to keep laundry caught up, the house clean, caught up at work, dinner on the table, etc etc etc. I need to work on my time management skills!! Until the next time.....au revoir!

Halle turned 4!

2010-07-29T22:29:00.001-05:00

Halle turned four on July 5th! My mom and I took Halle out for her actual birthday (pictures to come). We celebrated at incredible pizza with family the day after her birthday (pictures to come soon). Last but not least, Halle celebrated with her friends with a "tea party princess birthday party." (or so that's what she called it!)

Halle and Noah posing before Halle and I went to her tea party!

We had her party at A Spot For Tea in Oklahoma City.

Each girl chose between two dresses for their tea party outfit.

Each little princess chose jewelry....

and hats or tiaras........

and shoes!

My beautiful niece madi!

Princess Peyton

and her aunt Linda!

Morgan and her sweet mother Amy.

Peyton, Madi, and Mieka dressing up for the big tea party!

Laci and Addi

My mom and Madi

Isn't she cute?!

Halle and the owner of a spot for tea, also our tea party leader.

The birthday girl! They took a picture of Halle with each birthday girl. They gave each girl a framed picture before the party was over, along with a ceramic teapot for a party favor.

My girl!

Emmerie, Madi, and Halle

Miss Laci

Emmerie, Halle, and Morgan

sweet maggie!

Picture before the fashion show

the girls making their grand entrance for the fashion show

Introducing Princess Halle

Maggie, Ellie, Mieka, Halle, Madi, Addi, Rylee, Morgan, Laci, Remi, Peyton, Reese, Madi, and Mieka (and not pictured..Emmerie)

The girls enjoyed a puppet show and story-telling! (all about etiquette at a tea party)

The birthday cake

Halle and her cousin emmerie

Rylee and Reese

two cubes of sugar...a must!

The girls enjoyed strawberry muffins, grapes, cheese cubes, and heart shaped pb&jelly sandwiches. They sipped on pink lemonade.

Hands in your lap, along with your napkin.

Unless all of the napkins end up on the floor! =)

Mieka

Madi and Remington

We had such a great time at the tea party! We are birthday partied out for now =)

Thank you to all the little princesses who came and made it such a special day for Halle.

Visit from Nana and Grandpa!

2010-07-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

Aren't they cute?! These are my sweet parents and I love them so much!

On June 12th they celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary!

They are such great parents and I love watching them with my children!

and here are just a few other cute pics...just because I love my babies...

Halle loves her conner, to the extent that she even likes to pose like him!

June Happenings

2010-07-29T20:42:00.001-05:00

I am so behind on blogging! I need some motivation to get back into it! I will do a quick post to try to catch up. In June, three of my close friends had babies all within the same week! They all teach together at the same school and are very close! One of those friends came over for a cookout and about 45 minutes after she left her water broke!

Here is Melissa about 2 hours before her water broke...we had no clue...and she wasn't even cramping!

Here is Melissa's 2 year old Nathan and Halle.

Noah and Nathan are about 10 months apart and their age gap is slowly closing! They are starting to play with each other more and more!

And here is that sweet baby boy!! Chase Ryan!

Halle wasn't very good at sharing cousin chase, but I wouldn't be either! He's so cute!! Uncle Tony was very good with Halle while she held baby chase!

Halle and Noah after we left the hospital...people watching!

I had to get a picture of my two favorite guys!
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My best friend and old college roommate Ladonna and I bought tickets this past year to go see legally blonde, wizard of oz, cirque dreams illumination, and Rain. We loved going so much that we bought season tickets for this coming up season! We are very excited to get to see shrek and beauty and the beast along with the other ones scheduled!

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Also in June I got to spend a whole day with some of my girls! Although it was a boring interesting continuing education class...we still made the most of it! Shanna and I went to undergrad and graduate school together! She is a hoot and always fun to be around!

Shanna and Julie used to work together in Hennessy and now Julie and I work together! Shanna told me i'd love her and she was so right! Julie and I carpool to work together almost every day! She and I are pretty much inseparable! She knows what I'm thinking before I say it and visa versa! She has the sweetest spirit and I just love her! I am blessed to work with her everyday and she is one of my favorite gals!

Amanda also works for the company Shanna and I work for. She and I became friends over the phone and talked frequently. We just hit it off and didn't meet for over several months! It's such a small world because her and shanna switched out positions in ada and Shanna actually lived in Amanda's rent house for a while! God definitely puts people in our lives for a reason! I just love these girls!

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Halle, Noah, Jaxon (julie's son), and I spent an afternoon at the omniplex! I have to say that I was a little bit disappointed because a lot of the exhibits were shut down! They still thought it was amazing though!

The nail bed was a little scary! Halle wouldn't even get close to it!

We had an awesome time! I love this kid...(and his mother too), he plays so great with my kids and always looks out for baby Nono's!

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Another thing that happened in June was Relay for Life. My friend Linda (pictured below) was the co-chair of the Oklahoma City Chapter and was our team captain! She worked so hard organizing fundraisers to help raise money for this cause!

We had a great team (even though half didn't show up for the event). But here are the ones who did show up! The event was at the bricktown ballpark and the theme was 'cruisin for a cause.'

my sweet friend Becca and I kept each other entertained the whole night!

Here is allison. She is the bubbliest person I know. She is really under 5 foot (sorry allison) but I think I'm squatting down here or something! =)

I tried to talk Ginger into staying all night...see how much fun she is! =)

Here is our campsite. We sold iced coffee (and a lot of it!) We also raffled off tickets for footballs signed by some famous OU people. I bleed orange, so I really can't tell you their names!

I walked in memory of my grandfathers Richard Petford and Edwin Childs, both of whom died of cancer.

"For HE shall give HIS angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways." Psalms 91:11

prayers requested

2010-07-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

http://holdingcourtblog.blogspot.com/

My cousins sister-in-law....taken too soon. Please pray for peace for their family!

2010-07-18T21:19:00.002-05:00

http://www.fallingwhistles.com

awesome baby gift!!

2010-06-26T07:31:00.001-05:00

I found the neatest baby gift!! This is one inventions that I think every mother will appreciate.

http://www.padalily.com/

so proud!

2010-06-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

This is my mother and father in law at Christmas time. My father-in-law started having some health problems and they both decided to get on the atkins diet about 2 months ago.

This is my father-in-law today! I still need to get a picture of my mother-in-law and her weight loss! I am just so proud of both of them. This is life changing!!

Classic Disney

2010-06-20T22:06:00.001-05:00

Classic Disney June 7th 2010

"Mickey Mouse Club"

The greatest teacher ever, Lexie!

Halle's friends in dance!

Make-up makes the girl smile!

Halle did such a great job!!! She loves dance and is very excited to start classes again!

Halle with her Great Grandma Pet and Nana!

Halle and Daddy!

Halle's cousin Ramsey

Halle was so excited to see cousin Conner there!

"cousin" nathan

Gramma Ward

Halle with her proud mommy and daddy!

Happy Father's day!

2010-06-20T21:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day Seth! You are a wonderful dad to Halle and Noah! We are so blessed and we love you!

Happy Father's day to these very special men in our lives!

a brief random update

2010-06-04T22:49:00.000-05:00

I have been neglecting my blog lately. Life has kind of just been flying by! I have full intentions of updating my blog with pictures over the weekend!
I feel like things might be slowing down a little now. Halle's ballet recital was last night and I will be posting pictures soon! The theme was classic disney and she was a little minnie mouse! The costumes were so cute and she was so happy during the entire recital! I am so proud of her! She is such a sweet little girl and made new friends and had a wonderful year of ballet. She loved her teacher and occasionally names her baby doll after her. I am a little relieved the recital is over and we will only be in gymnastics over the summer.
We had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend. We went to Seth's grandma's lake cabin in Ft. Cobb for the weekend with just our little family! It was nice to have just the four of us together for quality time!
I haven't been able to spend as much time with them recently as I'd like to. I have been in the process of moving and setting everything up in Kingfisher! I transferred there from Lexington on May 20th.
I miss seeing some of the people that I used to work with at Lexington. After you work somewhere for so long, it's kind of hard to leave. However, I love my new location, Kingfisher and I have a wonderful friend to work with everyday! The drive is wonderful, only 19 miles from Lauren's house. I drop the kids off with her every morning and before I know it i'm at work! Crazy!! It is so nice to not have to drive through construction on I-35, and all of the traffic to Lexington. I did receive a ticket the other day on the way home from work =( BOO!! I even asked for a warning instead, but he replied with, "I don't give warnings!" This is my second ticket in three weeks along with a wreck! I think God is trying to tell me to slow down! The wreck wasn't my fault. A lady rear ended me when I was letting someone turn into his neighborhood. She wasn't paying attention and didn't even put on her breaks! Noah screamed and I panicked just praying that Noah and Halle were okay, which they were! Her full size SUV was totaled, so that should give you an idea of how hard she hit me. I just got my car back from the body shop yesterday and the blinkers aren't working so we have to take it back again! uugghh.
Noah is growing so fast! He is beginning to look more and more like a little boy, not a baby! His receptive language is great and he listens very well (when he wants to!). At other times he is all over the house! He turned 16 months on the 30th of May and now climbs up on the couches and different chairs. Today I walked in his room and he was up on his tool bench! I have to watch him like a hawk! He is so much fun and makes the cutest "Uhhh OOOOOHHHHH" sound when something falls or he drops something. He completely over exaggerates the ohhhh part. He loves the dogs and his sister and I think he expresses his love by chasing the three of them with a plastic golf club or a baseball bat (plastic, of course)! If they are lucky, he'll have one in each hand! He is very persistent about using his own spoon or fork during meal times. He is getting pretty good at eating with them. He also prefers to drink with a straw and actually does pretty well. He loves his new vacuum cleaner and gets very upset if anyone takes it away. We have actually strapped him in the car with the vacuum on his lap. Noah is still all about balls (kicking, throwing, bouncing) and is starting to get more interested in trucks and trains. If you hold a truck and a ball in front of him, he'll still reach for the "ba." Noah is still using a "B-B" and we are trying to only let him have it during car rides and while sleeping. He is such a sweet boy and loves to cuddle and snuggle up with mommy! We haven't had any other issues with his apnea. Occasionally he will spit up a significant amount during the night, but his monitor (ours) hasn't went off at all! He is sleeping more and more through the night, which makes mommy and daddy very happy!! =)
Halle is doing wonderful too! She is so very sassy and loves posing for pictures! She is constantly singing and making up new songs. She has been minding very well and we have started using a "chore chart" with her. She wants to start doing her own chores and has stated that she will feed and water the dogs, empty her trash, take her clothes to the hamper, help with laundry and dishes, and make her bed. We haven't done many of those since the chart began, but she does a lot for a 3 year old. She is very helpful around the house! I love that the weather is nice lately and she can go outside and soak up some vitamin d! She is limited on the amount of tv she can watch, especially during the week. She hardly has time during the weekend to watch tv either! I must admit that I'm a little jealous with how fast she is getting tan! She gets covered in sunscreen everyday and spends time outside swimming all of the time with her aunt and she is already so brown. She has her birthday coming up in a month so I will do a 4 yr old post with more info.
I am blessed beyond measure with my family and friends! I am so thankful!!!

I couldn't imagine.....

2010-05-13T17:12:00.002-05:00

This is a blog that I follow and the story today really touched me. I am going to help....are you?
http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/2010/05/heartbreakingtaylor-paige-cosmas.html

Luncheon at Nonna's Cafe

2010-05-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Saturday we had a luncheon for Melissa and Chase. Melissa has been a very good friend of mine for a while and we wanted to celebrate the upcoming arrival of baby Chase. This will be her second boy so she didn't want to have a traditional shower. We had lunch at Nonna's downtown and enjoyed good girl talk, presents, and the best food! I am so glad that I brought Halle with me. She had such a great time and wanted her picture taken with each of Mommy's friends! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to meet baby Chase as well as all of the other babies!

So happy to go to lunch with mommy and the girls!

Halle and "yissas" (melissa) the guest of honor!

Bri, Stacy, Melissa, Rona, and Emily all of the mothers to be!

Merrilee, Halle, and I join in for a group picture!

OH Halle!!!

2010-05-04T22:24:00.002-05:00

Halle has been having major ATT-I-TUDE lately! Little miss diva! She has been having meltdowns every day, talking back, not going to bed, not listening. I spanked her the other day after several attempts at time out failed. She yelled at me, "that didn't even hurt me." She puts both hands up in the air and shakes her head at her dad and me when she doesn't agree with something we say. She often says, "that doesn't even sound like fun to me." She has been trying to manipulate her daddy and I and often tells daddy that mommy said it's okay or asks mommy if daddy says no. All in all she is a great girl and has so much love in that heart of hers! Every night she tells me, "I love you mommy, I never want to have another mommy." I reassure her that she's stuck with me as her mommy forever! She has been in this new stage where she and her cousins emmerie and conner play house and have pretend weddings. I am not so sure that conner is really into this or not. Halle asks me on a daily basis if she will get married and have a baby someday. This could have something to do with the fact that almost every one of my close friends are pregnant or just had a baby. We had a conversation the other night that went something like this. "mommy I think that I will get married and have a baby girl. Maybe I will have a baby boy and a baby girl in my tummy together. Maybe when I'm 35 or 30 or maybe even 17." I hear a loud, "NO" from Seth, overhearing our conversation. Yesterday while walking in the Target parking lot Halle asked if she could have a baby when she gets older. She continued to ask if she would live at home with me with her babies. I said well, you will probably be married and not want to live at home. She said I am going to live at home forever. I told her that sounds great with me! She then got into a whole conversation about what the baby would be to me and if I would be the baby's nana. I told her I don't want to talk baby talk anymore, lol. She just needs to enjoy playing with her baby dolls and playing outside and with her friends. HA! Does anyone else have their 3 1/2 year old daughter already asking about babies??!
Tonight we had a picnic at the park and kicked the soccer ball around. We were later getting home than normal so Halle jumped in the shower with me while Seth gave Noah a bath. I was shaving my legs real quick and Halle said, "what are those green things on your legs." Me, wishfully thinking she was mistaking the shaving cream for green...."what are you talking about?" She then points to the veins in my legs. I am not a tanning bed kind of girl, so I better get these white legs out in the sun soon! She then asked if she was going to get green lines on her legs (yuck) and I told her I sure hope not, they're ugly. She then pointed to one spot..."eeww mommy look." Thank you Halle for pointing out my "green lines." I love your brutal honesty!
On another subject, next week is Halle's last gymnastics class of this session and I have made the decision that we are not going to attend over the summer. I need a break! This Saturday is Halle's last soccer game and my mom and niece are coming up to see it. I'm very excited to spend some time with my mom and Halle can't wait to see her cousin and Nana. May is going to be a busy month getting ready for Halle's ballet recital. She has practice the next two weeks, then pictures, and three mandatory rehearsals in one week before the recital June 3rd. It's free admission for anyone who wants to attend. The recital is "classic disney" and will have everything from Minnie Mouse to the Lion King to Mary Poppins. I think it should be really cute.
If anyone has any tips for the "attitude" please send them my way. She is almost 4 going on 24....wanting to wear makeup everyday and becoming a little diva. Of course I don't let her wear make up and she thinks I'm so mean because she can only wear her "lip stuff or cheek stuff or eye shadow stuff" when she plays dress up. Love my Halle Kate!!

15 month check up

2010-05-04T21:47:00.001-05:00

Noah had his 15 month well check yesterday. He wasn't really feeling well though. The night before he woke up with a 102.7 fever. I went ahead and took him in, but knew he wouldn't get his shots. His ears and throat look perfect, no cough or congestion. The only symptoms were severe fussiness and fever. The doctor said if he could talk he would probably say he has a headache because that is what's going around. Poor baby! It wasn't the most pleasant trip, but we made it through. I just love our doctor. He is so great with our children and always spends more than enough time with us at each visit!
He wanted to know how many words Noah is saying now. Hmmm....you would think as a speech pathologist I would know this. Well, I don't....I started thinking about it on the way home and here is what I can remember him saying (for my own record): Boo (for booze or any dog...they are all named Booze, right?!), Ba (bath), Ba (ball), mama, dada, bubba, nana (for nana and banana), papa, dak dak (duck or quack), kaka (cracker or any food that resembles a cracker), ama (gramma), mi (milk), my (mine), mo (more), eye (while pointing to his eye or jabbing at mine). I'm anxious to get rid of his "bb" so we can actually understand what comes out of his mouth.
Noah can point to his eye, nose (although he would rather grab at mine), sticks out his tongue when asked where his tongue is, opens his mouth when asked where his teeth are. He likes to try to brush his own hair and brush his teeth. He still loves playing with his plastic golf club, bat, or hammer and especially loves to chase the dogs around and hit them.
He loves to run and kick the soccer ball, swing the bat and do a dance when he hits the ball (or daddy hits the bat with the ball!). He likes to sneak into the laundry room and play in the dog water..yuck! Noah loves bath time although he doesn't love getting out of the bath. We rock him to sleep and have since our vacation, which kind of got him off schedule. I am okay with that, I love cuddling with him! Noah is such a sweet baby. He loves to give hugs and kisses. When he does hit the dogs or sister he is quick to hug and make up! I love my little guy and enjoy watching his little personality develop. He is 31 1/2 inches tall which falls around the 25th% and 22lbs 4oz which is around the 10th%. We go back next Friday to get his shots and hopefully he'll be feeling much better!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

2010-04-20T20:25:00.000-05:00

Noah's doctor called last Thursday and said his monitor download came back with only one episode and after speaking with a neonatologist, he has decided to discharge the monitor!!!!!!!! He has done great without it and I am so happy! Noah has had the monitor for over 7 months (that's over half of his little life)! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for him and our family!!!!

Another Update on Noah

2010-04-07T21:25:00.003-05:00

We finally heard back from Dr. M, Noah's pediatric GI doctor yesterday. Click here to read about that appointment on March 9th. He finally convinced the doctors that read the ph study and sleep study (that post is here) to correlate the results to determine whether the apnea was related to reflux or something else. He told me that one of the complete airway obstructions was related to a ph lower than 4 and three of the other apneas was related to a ph under 4. Dr. M isn't sure what is causing the other events. He stated he was going to discuss taking Noah off the monitor with our pediatrician because Noah is getting bigger and it's a lot easier to get tangled in the cords. I asked him if he thought it was safe to take him off the monitor and his reply word for word was, "I can't tell you if your going to get in a car wreck tomorrow." I really thought that was inappropriate and I think that my question was a legitimate question. His response didn't exactly give me a safe feeling about it! I know that he specializes in GI issues and couldn't explain the other events and could only discuss the results related to reflux. His recommendations were to continue with the prevacid twice daily and continue the monitor until I speak with Dr. V. I heard from Dr. V's nurse today and she said that he is not ready to take Noah off the monitor yet. Since speaking with Dr. M., he has been trying to decide whether to send Noah to see the ENT, pulmonologist, or neurologist. He decided to schedule Noah to see a pediatric pulmonologist and to have a barium swallow study. These will probably be done in about two weeks. So keep little Noah in your prayers and pray for wisdom for these doctors. Home health came out today to download the information from his monitor so we should get those results in a few days. We are expecting to receive good news! I would love to see a perfect reading! Noah is also experiencing a side effect from the prevacid, sweating. Not just typical sweating, but when he sleeps he is often drenched with sweat. I picked him up from his nap the other day and when Seth walked in the door he asked if he had a bath. We are praying that this stops. Other than these issues, Noah is such a happy, active, fun little boy! He is 14 months and already teases his sister and the dogs. He has decided he doesn't want to have anything to do with sign language now and would rather scream and point. (nice) He loves any kind of ball and loves to throw and kick. He has been eating more and more lately! His favorites are chicken nuggets, cheese, and quesadillas. He is into everything so we have to watch him like crazy! He will sit in a swing outside for hours if he could. When he is swinging, he is just so peaceful. He doesn't make a sound and you can just see how relaxed he is. I love it! I love him!

Our anniversary

2010-04-05T22:06:00.001-05:00

Seth and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary last month. It was actually snowing pretty heavily when we woke up and we weren't sure if we would be able to celebrate, but it wasn't as bad as they predicted! We dropped the kids off with gramma for the night and had a great time! We went to the movies and watched 'She's just not that into you.' It was very funny (lots of foul language but very funny)!! We then went to have a pedicure together and then headed downtown to eat at Crab Town. We enjoyed drinks and buckets full of crab, shrimp, pork chops, and all the fixins! Afterwards we enjoyed cake, ice cream, and wine at La Baguette and stayed the evening at the Colcord! It was nice to have an evening with just the two of us! Here are a few pictures from the evening!

Getting ready for our date

website

2010-03-27T11:46:00.000-05:00

I think everyone should check out Happy Hour Mom! Especially the daily confessions!

garage sales...

2010-03-27T11:38:00.000-05:00

I am sitting inside my garage freezing! This doesn't feel like spring weather to me! The wind is blowing like crazy and I am considering shutting down early and taking a hot shower! Seth took Halle to her soccer game and Noah is at gramma's house so I am here by my lonesome! I have had some neat 'shoppers' today! One couple is having a baby boy and decided to buy all of my boy stuff (of course I didn't sell the "good" stuff that I will be passing on). I don't think they had a real sense of sizes for what age and what the season will be, but they got a great deal so hopefully what they can't use they can pass on too! Sometimes I think "why don't people want this?" I think very highly of my "junk." ha!

So why I sit out here freezing in what should be 80 degree weather....I will think happy thoughts about what I would rather be doing!

Playing outside in the sun with these two kiddos tops my list!

would rather be watching "Alice in Wonderland" at the IMAX

I would love to be at the beach right now!

Mmmmm starbucks!!

Shopping...shopping...shopping! I gave up shopping for lent (recreational shopping), but I did buy shoes for the kids and an Easter dress for Halle. I figure those don't count, because they are essentials. =)

I would love to be getting a pedicure right now! Love them! I very seldom get one, but had one last weekend for our anniversary date and I want another one very very soon!

My hubby is bringing me home Wendy's Chili! Thank you Stacey for bringing some by yesterday! I could eat this chili every day. It's awesome when you add some french fries! (can you tell i'm hungry?!)

I will continue to sit here hoping people come by my stuff. But I am shutting down at 1:00pm. Seth will be home shortly with the kids (and my chili) and we have a birthday party to get ready for! Happy birthday Gallagher!

Crazy moms...I might be one of them?!

2010-03-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

Today was enrollment for preschool at Piedmont! We are technically not in Piedmont school district,....yet! We are putting our house up for sale tomorrow, and are going to try to sell it by owner. We don't really have plans yet as to what to do when it sells. We are just praying that it sells...and sells quickly. We will probably just rent for a while until we find a house we want to buy or build. I am not in a huge hurry and don't want to feel rushed about our permanent residence yet. I also don't want to be stuck with two mortgages. So please pray that our home sells and that it will be a blessing to whoever is the new owner. We have had wonderful memories here! People have asked why we are moving to Piedmont. Halle and Noah both stay with their Aunt Lala. That is such a huge blessing to me! Since I am unable to be a stay at home mom, I love that they get wonderful loving attention from her. I also trust her completely with Noah and his monitor situation. When school starts, I won't be able to pick Halle up everyday at 3pm or take her at noon, so the best situation is to have her in Piedmont schools where her aunt can do the taking and picking up. This has been something that we have been planning since I was pregnant with Noah. We have just been dragging our feet a little bit thinking it would be too hard with a newborn. I think it might be hard with a new walker too.
Back to my enrollment story. I have heard how people almost practically camp out to enroll their kids in pre-k....and that it's first come first serve. However, when I spoke with the secretary, she told me that they would allow parents to line up at 3:30 and enrollment begins at 4 pm. So I pull up in the parking lot (which was full) and see this loooong line of parents. I finally get parked in a muddy field and walk to the line. I just kind of stand there and a guy (in a bright orange sweater) tells me where the back of the line is (in a not so friendly tone). So I make it to the back and meet up with my friend Stacey. Well this wasn't a "real" line and the guy was crazy to think we would walk in single file fashion to the front doors of the school. When the last bus left and we were able to cross the street to get in the real line a lady starts running and then I see an orange flash (psycho eager dad) running to the door, I grab my friends arm and we book it to the door. Crazy dad still beat us and claimed position #1. I am proud to say that we were #8 and #9 in line! It ended up being first come first serve so I am hoping that Halle will be in the afternoon class. They are now offering full day pre-k and I felt kind of pressured to make a decision. We were taken in by groups of 25 and had to make a decision right then giving our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice out of full day, 1/2 day a.m., 1/2 day p.m. I wasn't aware that there would be an option for full day. I feel right now the best option is 1/2 day pm. Halle will be able to spend time with her brother in the morning, eat breakfast and lunch with him, and then go to school from 12:10 to 3 p.m. (Also, the thought of me having to get her to school at 8 a.m. for 1/2 day a.m. kind of freaks me out. I run late every where I go!) I think she would be fine in all day, but had to make a decision right away. To my friends of preschoolers and teacher friends.....what did you choose or do you recommend? I am hoping that I made the right choice. And it's not the end of the world if I didn't. I didn't even go to preschool when I was little and we didn't even have all day kindergarten. Times are changing!

I Love You So...

2010-03-20T11:53:00.001-05:00

I love you as BRILLIANT as each sparkling star,

and as WAY OUT as space,

I love you THAT far.

I love you as GIGANTIC as a great lion's roar,

and as DEEP as the ocean, I love you MUCH more.

"That IS a lot," you say, "but HOW did it start?

WHERE did love come from to be in your heart?"

YOU put it there, really, when you and I met.

AND I knew for certain WITHOUT you I'd fret.

From MY HEAD to my TOES, I was feeling inside

a devotion for you SO DEEP and SO WIDE.

And now it's ENORMOUS and wonderfully real

and hard to describe HOW MUCH I feel!

I love you as AWESOME as a thundery sky,

and as SOARING as mountains, I love you THAT high.

I love you as SILLY as a puppy dog's kiss,

and as QUIET as midnight, I love you like THIS.

"Do you love me EVERY day?" you ask with doubting awe,

"or does love go UP 'N DOWN like a teetering see-saw?"

I love you as STEADY as the earth rounds the sun,

though SOME days of life are the FARTHEST from fun.

"Like when you feel MAD?" you ask with distress,

"cause i've BROKEN the rules or made a BIG mess?

Or, when I'm UNKIND, and your feelings are BLUE,

do you love me ALTHOUGH I do what I do?"

I love you being NICE, and when you're CRANKY, too.

I love you without like the NAUGHTY things you do.

My 'love you' DOESN'T change like the temper of the days.

It's a CERTAIN kind of thing in many DIFFERENT ways.

You're my SWEETIE, my dear, my SMILE and laughter.

You're my PLAYMATE for always, and my JOY ever after.

Hanging out WITH YOU is where I want to be...

eating ice cream sundaes or watching the TV.

UNDER your umbrella, behind you on a bike.

BY you and BESIDE you is what I REALLY like.

"Do you love me just AS MUCH when I'm FAR away from home?

Is your loving still THE SAME in distant lands I roam.

I love you NEAR or FAR. I love you HIGH or LOW.

My love is there with you WHEREVER you may go.

"Even when I'm SICK...and I can't get out of bed?

Do you love me better HEALTHY than a fever in my head?"

I love you sick or able. You're ALWAYS you to me,

the ONE I LOVE forevermore. Undeniably.

I CAN'T IMAGINE life before YOU came along...

me there singing senseless, no MEANING to my song.

Call it MEANT TO BE, or simply blessed fate,

you fill my heart WITH LOVE...and for THAT I celebrate.

I Love You So....

by Marianne Richmond

do you ever wonder while you wander.....

2010-03-14T23:19:00.000-05:00

I have known that I was adopted for as long as I can remember. I was always told that I was "special" and "chosen." As a child, I would walk through the stores and if I saw a tall blonde walking around I always wondered if that could be my biological mother. Everyday I would think about who she was, where she was, what her life was like, did she miss me or think of me....and so on. This is not to take anything away from my amazing adoptive mother, who is my MOTHER. She raised me since I was 18 months old and I don't remember life before her. She and my father have been the best parents to me and gave me "life."
I think it is normal to wonder who your biological parents are and why they made the choices they did. When I was about nine or ten I remember getting some of the biggest news that I have ever received. I was outside playing with a neighborhood friend, when my mom and dad called me in the house. They asked me to sit down on the couch because they had something to tell me. They told me that my biological mother had passed away. This was something that was very hard to hear. I can't explain it, and it may not make sense. You may think that it shouldn't be hard since I never knew her. I had always hoped to someday meet her. I always knew that when I was 18 I was going to find her, just to meet her, not to have her replace my mother, but just to see where I came from. I still searched for many years, hoping I might uncover something. It seemed like a never ending search. I did find out that my fathers name, and that he was at one point living in Norman, Oklahoma. I also found out my mothers full name. I found out that my maternal grandfather was indian, cherokee and choctaw. My maternal grandmother was blonde with blue eyes. My maternal aunt and grandmother both had radical masectomies. I know that I was raised by my grandmother until DHS took me away. I know that my mom probably wanted an infant, but when she saw me with my big belly and big eyes, she couldn't turn me away and I will forever be grateful. I was told how they would have to take the food away because I would eat and eat and eat, like I wasn't going to get another meal. My mom said that from day one all she had to do was put me in bed and I didn't make a sound. She told me she thought it was probably because I was used to no one responding when i did cry. I have maybe one picture from the foster home, and it was a very smoky background and I was in a playpen. My mom's friend told me recently that she remembered the day my mom and dad brought me home and they stopped by their house and she remembered that I was the snottiest little girl, that my nose just ran and ran when she got me. I suppose that picture with the smoke might explain it. Wait, and there were a couple of other pictures, one with a faux-hawk and one with food all over my face. My lovely parents did get pictures taken when they adopted me....thank you for that! Maybe that is why I am a freak about taking my kids pictures all of the time, because I don't have any under the age of 18 months. My dad made up for the lack of pictures and I think he always had a camera in his hand!
What is so strange is that most of my life I have had this desire to meet my biological family. This desire has faded drastically since I married and had my own children. I used to think about everything daily. Now, it seldomly crosses my mind! Recently, I have learned of three friends that are adopting through DHS, and this has just kind of brought some thoughts back up. It was always kind of different growing up with two parents that looked so different from myself, and a brother with dark hair and dark eyes....that blended in perfectly with them. Everyone would know that my brother was part of the family, but I kind of stuck out like a sore thumb because I had blonde hair and bright green eyes. I kept getting taller and taller until I was taller than everyone in my family. I always wanted to have children and just have that one person on this earth that looked like me. When I had Halle, she had thick black hair and looked exactly like her daddy. To this day everyone tells me that she looks like Seth! She is beautiful, and I love that she looks like her daddy! Everyone tells me that my son looks exactly like me. I just think it is so neat to have this person that looks like me. Everyone has always told me that I looked like my mother. I don't think it's that we look alike, but that we have the same mannerisms. Now my mother and grandmother look identical!!
God has blessed me with the most wonderful mother and father. I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the "life" that God and my parents gave me! My happiness isn't measured by the size of my house, the car that I drive, or other earthly "things" but rather by my relationship with God, my family, my parents, my husband, my children, my grandmothers, my in-laws, my aunts and uncles, my brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews, my cousins, my friends, my dogs, my work, giving, learning, and loving others. I wanted to say thank you to my mom and dad for everything you have given to me. Thank you for being such wonderful grandparents. Halle and Noah are blessed to have such a great Nana and Grandpa! I am so thankful that you "chose" me!

Noah Update

2010-03-11T20:44:00.000-06:00

Tuesday afternoon was Noah's appointment with Dr. M., a pediatric GI doctor. I had hoped that when we walked out of his office, that we would have orders to stop the monitor and that we would have answers. I was disappointed because we received neither. I am a fan of Dr. M. and I do feel that he has Noah's best interest in mind. He told me that the plan was to get the doctor who did the ph study to correlate the results with the sleep study, both done on December 22nd of last year. I then told him that our pediatrician has been trying to get that done since the study and the doctor refused because Noah wasn't technically her patient. This didn't sit well with Dr. M. and he said this has been a problem for a while and these doctors only do part of the test. He stated over and over that it is very important that the results are correlated to see if the apnea episodes are related to reflux directly or if they are central, related to the sleep center in his brain. He said it is tedious and takes a long time, but that is the whole point of the test to begin with. Dr. M. also stated that when he drops the ph probe in patients and sends them for a sleep study, he correlates the information. This has me wondering why he was not the doctor to do it in the first place, since he has been Noah's doctor since he was a couple of months old. He said we might have to redo the test if they both simply refuse to finish their job, but that would be crazy because the data is already there. Dr. M. told me that the plan of care as of right now is to continue with the monitor until told otherwise and continue with the increased medications. The plan of care for the future is pending on the results of the testing done in December. During the 22 hour study, Noah had 146 episodes of reflux! Keep in mind that this test was done with him being off of his medicine for 5 days prior. Dr. M. said that over 8% of the time Noah is refluxing. He said that one occurrence lasted over 8 minutes. This occurrence, of course, did not obstruct his airway. I would think that based on the ph test results, it's safe to assume that his apnea is related to reflux. The doctor will not assume anything though (which I am happy about, completely). He said that if he has any central apnea, then he will need another medical work up to see what is going on with the 'sleep center' in his brain. Central apnea is related to SIDS and the brain doesn't start or maintain the breathing process. This form of apnea is usually seen in preemies (which Noah wasn't) and usually has a neurological cause, so I am believing that this isn't the case. Dr. M. explained that the plan of care might include fundoplication surgery if it is related to reflux alone. This is where they wrap the stomach around the esophagus and sew it into place. This tightens the valve between the esophagus and the stomach. Dr. M. also stated, which I remember very clearly that 90% of general reflux cases improve on their own by the time the child is two!! So we definitely have hope that Noah will not have this for very much longer! His daddy suffers from reflux daily and I do not want that for my son. I want him to be healed of this, and I would like to throw the monitor in the fireplace, honestly!! So there is my update, and i'm sure there will be more to come. We are disappointed, but I know there will be an update in the future where I can write that all of this worry and waiting is over and he is healed!!

hope more

2010-03-11T20:01:00.003-06:00

"Fear less, hope more;

Eat less, chew more;

Whine less, breathe more;

Talk less, say more;

Love more,

and all good things will be yours"

disappointment and hope

2010-03-05T22:58:00.000-06:00

Noah has an appointment scheduled with his pediatric GI doctor on March 9th! Our pediatrician told us about a month ago that he hoped the March download (from the apnea monitor) would show significant improvement with the increase in medication and hopefully Dr. M would discharge the order for the monitor. We have been and still are looking forward to this appointment with Dr. M! However, home health downloaded the monitor on March 2nd. I received a call from the pediatrician's nurse Thursday, the 4th, telling me that dr. V wanted to make sure we are keeping Noah on the monitor and not to change anything until we see dr. M. I asked her if she received the results and she said yes, but she wasn't able to interpret them. I asked to be transferred to someone who could and she did. I was told that Noah had 8 central apnea episodes that lasted over 16 seconds and 1 that lasted over 20 seconds. This is an improvement from 12+ episodes but I am not sure what dr. M. is going to say. I just get so frustrated and disappointed because I am sick and tired of the monitor, but at the same time blessed that this technology is even available. Noah has spots where the electrodes go that look like they are forming calluses from the rubbing and constant pressure. Hopefully those will go away. I am not trying to have a pity party and I know that every family has their own hurdles and ups and downs. This is our little hurdle and in the grand scheme of things, it is small. He is safe, he has a monitor that alarms if his breathing stops, and nothing will happen to him. As his mother, I want him to be able to sleep without a tight band around his chest, alarms going off, cords going everywhere inside his crib, etc. I am also selfishly ready to get a full nights sleep!!! He is now waking up every three hours (like a newborn). If I let him cry it out, his alarm goes off for tachycardia. I am just praying that when we meet with the doctor on Tuesday, we will get some answers. I have plenty of questions and concerns that I hope will get answered.

Always on the go!

2010-03-03T22:17:00.001-06:00

It seems like our lives are getting busier and busier and time is not slowing down! Halle started soccer and her first practice was Monday evening. We bundled her in layers and she practiced outside with her team in the 40 degree weather. It wasn't that bad and she didn't practice for that long. It was interesting to say the least! Our friend is the coach and her twins are on the team, as well as a couple of other kids that she knows. She seemed a little timid, which is to be expected for her first time to ever play. She was more excited about wearing her shin guards and soccer shoes than actually playing and I must say she looked adorable standing out there kind of clueless! Her first soccer game is this saturday at 10am! We are very excited!
Halle usually has ballet on Saturday mornings so we are temporarily changing her ballet class to the Thursday class. I hope it works out because there are only three kids in that class and 9 in her Saturday class. Hopefully she'll pick up more of her recital routine. They actually gave us a cd and the instructions to practice with the kids. Personally, I think it's kind of fast music for three year olds. I had to google Tendu and passe because I didn't have a clue and there was no way I was going to remember from my childhood ballet days. So I watched the videos on youtube and tried to practice with Halle and she kept saying, "no, mommy, not like that, no." So I think i'll just encourage her to listen in class and do her best! I think she'll look cute on stage no matter what!!
So with gymnastics on Tuesdays, we are a pretty busy family! I told her that I wasn't going to re-enroll her in gymnastics this next session and she was heartbroken! She kept telling me that she wanted to be in her friend Remi's class forever and ever. So I think I will keep her in it. Soccer season is short and I really don't mind being on the go with the kids in tow!! Halle has so much energy and doesn't get very much interaction with other little girls outside of activities so it's a great opportunity for her to make friends and burn up that exuberant amount of energy! I actually look forward to gymnastic Tuesdays because the mommy's get time to chat as well. Oh how I miss getting to just chat with friends! I try to engage in conversations that last more that 5 minutes, but it's hard with Noah trying to go up the slide backwards, trying to eat trash off the floor, licking the mirror, or disappearing into the lobby.
This week was going to have something every night...soccer practice, gymnastics, zoe's vet appointment (for vaccines), ballet, dinner with friends, soccer game, baby shower....on top of working.....can you say OVERLOAD! I cancelled Zoe's appointment and made a doctors appointment instead for Noah. He's been running a fever since Monday night. We've been giving him tylenol and motrin (which I feel works better) and it was still at 102.4 tonight. The doctor said it was a virus and he has pus pockets on his tonsils. So I understand now why he isn't wanting to eat! Tonight I felt so bad for him b/c he wanted to be held all of the time and when I sat him on the ground he just laid his head down and whined. His papa came over and just rocked him and prayed for him! I love that they are always there for us and our children at a moments notice. He started feeling a little better when papa got here and actually started to play fetch with the dogs. He throws the ball and they actually bring it back....even though they need a little motivation to let go of the ball. Once we can teach Booze to let go and drop it in noah's lap we may have an activity that could last for hours! I really hope that Noah starts feeling better quickly. I was really looking forward to having dinner with friends we haven't seen in a while but know that it will be worth waiting until he can really enjoy himself (and isn't contagious!)

*Update on Booze: he laid around the house for about two days after his little snip snip and didn't show any interest in peeing on anything......until we had friends over for a playdate! He then decided to pee all over a curious george cardboard puzzle that was on the floor. We got the crate back out and he will stay in it while we are at work. Hopefully someday we can leave him out without having everything chewed up or peed on!!

February...I didn't forget about you!

2010-02-23T20:58:00.010-06:00

It has been forever since I have posted something on here...and I kindly got reminded from my good friend angela today that my blog is so far behind, so I better catch up!! =)

This month has kind of flown by!! We are staying pretty busy with Halle's activities, work, church, and slowly trying to get our house ready to sale! We finally rented a storage unit and are going to start moving some stuff little by little to actually make room for people to walk through during an open house!!! I think we have accumulated too much junk!! I am at the point where I never want to shop again! I never want to buy anything to clutter up our house ever again!! Not sure how long that will last! I did, however, give up recreational shopping for lent. I know it's a strange thing to give up, but I love to shop! I don't really enjoy the mall, or going with other people. I just like to go to Ross, or preferably TJ Maxx or Marshalls by myself and walk around and end up with a cart full of stuff that I don't need! It's kind of therapeutic to shop. So that is exactly why I decided to give it up! I think that it is even more refreshing to drive by where I usually stop and just keep on driving! I don't need any more stuff!! Now I say Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!!

Halle and Noah are both over their ear infections and seem to be feeling great! Noah is doing well with his medication increase and we will see his GI doctor March 9th to see if we need to do anything else. My fingers are crossed that we will be able to stop using the monitor. Wouldn't that be great!?!!!!

My male boxer Booze has been in the "doghouse" this month!! He has started chewing on things and then urinating on them!!! So far this month he has chewed up noah's diapers from his trash, chewed up my living room rug and then urinated on it (or that may have been January), and vomited (from chewing up the diapers) on the play room rug. I'm not even close to done! Last Friday I was feeding the kids breakfast and getting ready to take Noah to the dr. Halle complained of her neck hurting and wanted to get down from the bar. When I got her down she vomited everywhere. I cleaned it up and put all the nasty clothes/towels, etc in a sack to deal with when we got back from the doctor. I walk in to see that the clothes were spread all over the living room and there was the empty target bag...with piss all over it!!!! And how do I know it's Booze....because he darts towards the back door and just shakes like he knows he is in trouble! Oh I forgot to mention, he even managed to make time to chew up Noah's golf club! (granted, it was plastic, but still!) So you would think he would learn his lesson. Nope!! And neither did I!!! I walked out the door today and forgot to shut the bathroom door.....with a target sack full of diapers (all wet!!), pull-ups (which were mostly dry), etc! So when I walked into my room today, to my surprise, I find the trash all over my entire room!!!! I think, okay I need to leave to go get the kids in just a minute...so I can shut the bedroom door and clean it up later (secretly thinking Seth will be home before I get back and he can clean it up)...and I walk by the living room to see that Booze wasn't satisfied enough with trashing my room, he wanted to trash our living room as well! Deep breath, count to TEN very slowly......BOOOOOZE!!! I am really not that mean, he spent the next hour outside in the cold. BUT, he is going to see the nice vet Thursday morning and is getting neutered!!!!! The vet said the dog next door may be in heat and his hormones might be going crazy and if we aren't breeding him by the time he is 6, then we should neuter him to cut down the risk of cancer. He'll be 5 in May, but I need a change in behavior. I desperately need the dog whisperer to come pay me a visit.......plllllleeeeeaaaaasssseeeee!!! Here is a pic from this afternoon!!!

On to a happy note....this was Valentines day month, which means Seth and I got to go on a date!!!

Halle wanted to take my picture...

and our picture together....

and another of me. I really don't need the top of my head anyways!

Seth and I went to eat at Texas Roadhouse and to see the movie Valentine's Day. We had a great night and the kids got to spend some time with gramma and papa!

Halle was really into Valentine's day and making valentines for her friends. I had every intention of helping her make homemade cards, but we didn't get around to that, just like we didn't get around to making the princess cookies that she wanted to make. She wrote her name on her Ni Hao Kai Lan and Princess and the Frog Valentines. She also put together gift bags for her cousins and her friends at gymnastics and ballet.

Noah on Valentine's Day. "mom's lil' romeo!"

Future olympic skier!

There is just something about my kids and posing!! Halle was giving me her "this is how you pose for soccer, right mom?" kind of pose.

Then she decided she wanted me to take a picture of her sitting on the floor!

But aren't they so sweet?!

I am trying to teach Noah that he needs to kiss with his mouth closed and Zoe isn't helping my case any!

My sweet valentines!!

My family was unable to come up for Noah's birthday because of the weather so my mom came up last weekend to celebrate! She brought both the kids a book that her and my dad recorded for them! They just turn the page and can hear my mom and dad reading to them, with some interjections from their dog, maizie! Mom brought Noah a car and a train to go with his silly town play center! He loved them!

open it...eat it...whatever gets the job done, right?!

Noah loves his car and wants to be pushed around the house at least once a day! Fortunately, in this crazy winter, we've had a couple of days this month where we were able to go for walks around the neighborhood!

This is Halle's new thing....she points at me and yells something about how I can't catch her...and then....

She's off!

We almost had a meltdown when Halle wasn't able to ride in the car like Noah, but mommy came to the rescue. What in the world could make a broken hearted 3 year old happy after being told she can't ride in noah's car.......FAIRY WINGS!

And here are a few more random photos from this month:

Noah has started running and keeps his hands behind him. Buddy, we need to change this!

Halle had a sleep over with her cousin, Emmerie. They love bath time and COULD stay in for hours until their little fingers turn into raisins!

Noah playing soccer, making daddy proud!

Halle playing in the snow!

Noah trying a sucker for the first time! He loved the sucker and kept slurping and jumping up and down and squealing! And yes, he has a little mullet...but I can't say much, with the way my hair is looking! I am not sure what to do with his hair, so I'm just leaving it alone for now.

Halle playing with her "doodle" (caboodle) and doing ladonna's makeup. Halle loves to play with makeup. She likes to pretend to do her babies makeup and always wants to play in it. This is very strange since her momma is lucky to leave the house with the right shoes on, let alone makeup! Halle did her eye makeup as well and said, "close your eyes ladonna and look in the mirror!" Classic!!

Halle would put a little on herself, then ladonna, then herself! What is it with opening your mouth when putting on eye makeup?! Thank you Ladonna for playing with her, she talked about it for days!!

Noah sitting in a big chair! He didn't want to get down!

And that wraps it up for the month of February!

Recap on a horrible, no good, very bad week!

2010-02-07T08:34:00.004-06:00

This past week has been a very tiring, stressful week. Noah had his 12 month well check Monday. The "fill-in" nurse tried to give him a shot standing up without warning Seth or myself. This resulted in a mess, to say the least! Monday night was the highlight of the week. Our friends, Chad and Ladonna came over with their baby girl, Finnley, for a nice dinner. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night, Noah's monitor went off more times than I can remember. I think every time I finally fell asleep I heard the monitor again. After it went off Tuesday night (4 times) for tachycardia the doctor wanted to see him. He said if it continues to go off for tachycardia he would order an EKG but at the present time we shouldn't worry about high heart rates, we are mainly worried about his heart rate dropping with the apnea events. Noah did end up having an ear infection in his right ear. This makes for his 5th ear infection and the doctor asked if we wanted to see an ENT now or wait until his recheck. I want to wait. I think his ear infection will heal and his ears will be clear. I would like to avoid tubes if at all possible. Noah has been on omnicef now since Wednesday night and I think he is feeling much better. The doctor also said watch for RSV symptoms because a lot of babies are getting that. Noah did have some cold symptoms Wednesday, but they are getting better each day and I don't think we have to worry about RSV. Wednesday night, Noah's monitor went off for bradycardia......ahhhh. Thursday was a very bad day for me. As much as I try to stay positive, I kept thinking, "great, this has set us back two more months!" The doctor said that Noah has to have two 30 day monitor downloads that are event free in order to d/c home health and the monitor. So after being "absent" at work...meaning my mind was always somewhere else, I was able to call my mom and vent and have a little "moment." I just kept thinking about Noah getting RSV, and when babies are sick, reflux acts up more, and apnea events happen more often, etc, etc. I think at this point I was just exhausted and delirious. I think about 20 minutes after my little "moment" or breakdown, I received a call from the nurse saying that they received the results from the download (from Monday)..(which I might mention was supposed to be done January 14th...just a few weeks behind...uggghh). She said that he had an episode 12/19 at 5:56 am that was over 19 seconds but since we increased his medicine (double the dose) he has made significant gains!! He only had six episodes that were seven-seconds long. That was music to my ears!! Just what I needed to hear! Thursday night the alarm went off like crazy and I was starting to think the leads were bad (and I just put brand new ones on Monday...so it would make sense for the crazy week!). I changed them out, and we haven't had a single episode in two nights!! I am not sure if it was the leads or if he was having a bad week with the immunizations, cold, reflux, etc. Right now I am choosing to believe the leads were bad. I missed a call from the nurse at around 5:20 Friday afternoon saying that she had some news and I could call her back Saturday at 10:30. I was able to get ahold of her yesterday and found out that his GI doctor wants to see him around the 2nd week in March and wants to have another download completed March 2nd. He is hoping to review the past two monitor downloads along with the newest one and hopefully take Noah off the cardiac/respiratory monitor at that time since the last download showed improvement with the change in meds!! I am so looking forward to March!!!

On another note, Halle had a wonderful day at ballet yesterday and is learning the routine for a Mickey Mouse dance for the June recital. It's always nice when she decides to watch the teacher and try to imitate her moves rather than dancing to her own tune in the mirror, although that's pretty cute too! I love watching her. She definitely loves to dance!

As if Halle isn't staying busy enough with ballet and gymnastics, we also had a parents meeting at the YMCA for soccer Saturday. The time has come that Seth has been looking forward to....Halle is old enough to play soccer!! He is so excited to kick the ball around with her! At least soccer season doesn't last very long, at least at her age.

Thank you to my 5 or so readers. I think this blog is more for me, than for others, but I am thankful I at least have a few followers! =) I hope that each of you have a wonderful week ahead!! Now it's time to go get ready for church!

just some randomness about my Halle Kate!

2010-02-03T16:56:00.001-06:00

At the doctor with Noah on Monday, Halle was having a hard time sitting still. She opened the door to look outside our little room we were in. Sometimes she feels it necessary to have a little attitude! She looked at the doors (where the numbers are) and with one hand on her hip and one hand doing a valley girl kind of point along with the rolling of her eyes and a valley girl voice, she said, "ONNNNEEE, TWWWOOOOO, THREEEE.......SEEEEEE MOM, I know MY 'letters'!!"

Halle has a behavior chart that we use for rewards and to encourage good behavior. She pretty much has the chart (14 objectives) memorized. Everyday, I hear something to this effect:

"Mom, your welcome for not interrupting you on the phone!"

"Mom, your welcome for putting away my dirty clothes."

"Mom, your welcome for being a good listener."

"Mom, your welcome for brushing my teeth."

She received 50 stars the other day so we took her to target to get her reward. She looked all through the toys and wanted this really cheap makeup set (by all of the dress up stuff). They wanted $14.99 for something that looked like she'd be interested in it for oh about 10 minutes! I finally talked her into going to look for something to put all of her "make-up" and jewelry in. She loves to play dress up with makeup, jewelry, and heels! We finally found the perfect reward...a caboodle for $9.99. I didn't even know they still made caboodles!!! I had one forever ago. It was purple and pink and I thought I was pretty cool I must say! So she loves her "doodle" and when anyone comes over she loves to do their make-up!!

Today, I got a call from Lauren and she said she had the following conversation with Halle.

Halle: "Lala, do you love Noah?" Lauren said she told her she loved her and her brother.

Halle: "Then can you keep him so I can have a sister?" Lauren told her that she'd miss her brother.

Halle: "no, I would see him everyday when I come to your house and once I get my sister, we can get him back!"

Halle has been asking me lately if she can have a sister. I tell her she has a brother and she should enjoy playing with him. For some reason she is always trying to pawn her brother off on someone else! Silly girl!!

Noah Ryan, it's already been a year!

2010-02-02T00:23:00.014-06:00

Noah Ryan, I love you so very much and am so thankful God has brought you into our lives!! I remember one year ago on January 30th, 2009, your daddy and I went to the hospital anxiously looking forward to your arrival! The night before we went to chili's and I could barely eat because I kept having pretty intense contractions. Later Nana and Grandpa arrived to stay the night and take Halle to childcare for a while until they could bring her up to meet you. We were supposed to arrive at the hospital at 7am and we didn't make it until around 7:20!! It was very hard saying bye to Halle that morning. I was so worried about her knowing she was loved and still our baby even though we were having another baby!

When we walked up to the nurses station, my doctor was there and looked at his watch and laughed! He said, "let's get this started!" He told me to get my gown on and he was coming in to break my water! Talk about your heart dropping!! I was thinking, I don't have an IV in....seriously, this quick??? I remember the progression with Halle and breaking my water was not the first step with her! I was basically freaking out! The doctor came in oh about 3 minutes after I got my gown on and was ready to go. However, he discovered that you were not head down! After getting a quick ultrasound, it was confirmed, you were breech! He scheduled the C-section for 11:30 and left the room. That was that. Mixed feelings were running through my head. The anticipation of labor and delivery and how my body would handle it. Every thing you think and consider during the entire pregnancy about how labor will go was now out of my control. I made a few phone calls...."change of plans"....and rested, prayed, and visited with family until it was time to walk to the operating room. It was very cold, very sterile, and different. I had the most amazing nurses and physicians ever! The procedure went by so fast! I heard one nurse say, "your right, it is a boy...." and I said, "how do you know?" She replied, "because he's out honey!" Amazing!

Proud daddy! Welcome to the world Noah Ryan!! 1-30-09 11:47am. Weighing in at 8lb 2oz and 19"long! (exact same stats as sister!)

Your sister was so happy to see you! She kept wanting to hold "her baby!"

This may be my favorite picture of Halle!! Look at that smile! She received a big sister gift (a baby doll) from her baby brother!! I have documented every milestone and special moment in a calendar for you! During your first year, your daddy and I have collected different news articles and memorabilia to put in a time capsule for you! We'd love for you to look back and see what the world was like when you were born!

THREE MONTHS

The hat is from one of daddy's coworkers! They knew that daddy wanted to name you Rufus (seriously, no joke). Rufus Charles was your daddy's papa's name! He loved him dearly and wanted to pass the name Rufus on to you! I couldn't get past Rufus, and so we were trying to decide between Gabriel Ryan and Noah Ryan. Noah is perfect for you! Noah, meaning "rest, comfort, peace" and Ryan, meaning "little king."

SIX MONTHS

NINE MONTHS

TWELVE MONTHS

These past twelve months have been so wonderful! You are a true blessing from God and we pray over you and thank God for you every night!

You had your twelve month well check today! You weigh 20lbs 8oz (10th percentile) and are 29.5" in length (50th percentile). Your doctor told me to start feeding you as much as you'll eat. Your pretty energetic and are all over the place! The doctor said that your last monitor download (nov 15-dec 18th) showed 12 central apneas over 16 seconds. I keep getting different information from nurses and the doctor. I guess it doesn't matter. I know your perfect and safe and you won't remember anything about the monitor and tests! You will know love, safety, and security because we show that to you every day! The doctor did say as soon as we have two months without one single episode we can take the monitor off! Home health came by today to record information from your monitor so we are praying that this will reveal one month of perfect uneventful sleep!

Your favorite snacks are yobaby yogurt and gerber veggie puffs!! You would snack on those puffs all day long if I let you! You also like cheese, raviolis, waffles, turkey hot dogs, cooked carrots, broccoli, turkey meatballs, pasta, bananas, and green beans. You have always loved veggies and haven't been very big on fruit. You are starting to like it more and more.

Your now walk everywhere and love to kick the ball all over! Daddy says you'll be his little soccer player! You love to play with soccer balls, baseballs, and basketballs. You love to throw the balls around so mommy, daddy, or sister can go get them and bring them back to you! You also love to play with cars and trucks and even make the raspberry sounds while you're pushing them around! You love your little yellow and green plastic golf clubs and have pretty good hand/eye coordination if I do say so myself!!

You wave and say "haiiii" (with a very country twang) and wave and say "baiiii baiiii" (with the same twang!) You say: "ma ma" "dada" "Boo" (for Booze), "ba" (for bath), "ba" (for ball), "mo" (for more). You point at everything and make the cutest facial expressions when your upset, can't get something, or are surprised! You sign: more, all-done, water, bath, milk, play, cheese, banana, thank you, please, and ball. We encourage these signs, but you love to imitate them in your own little way!

You have two teeth on bottom, and just in the past two weeks your top two teeth broke through. You have two more that look like they're fixing to break through anytime! You had a very gummy smile for about the first ten months of your life!!

You currently wear size twelve months in clothes. You can wear some 18 month shirts, but they are still a little long in the sleeves! You are still wearing size 3 diapers.

You stay with your aunt Lala, cousin conner, Aunt Ashley, and sister Halle everyday while mommy works! She loves you and teaches you new things everyday! Most of the time you take two naps a day, around 10am and 2pm. You also love napping in the car!

You love bath time. Every night after dinner I ask you if your ready for a bath, and you immediately perk up and sign and say "ba ba ba ba." (while squealing with delight!) You would stay in the bath for an hour if I let you! On the other hand, you know when you get out of the bathtub at night you have to put the monitor on. You try to do everything you can to get away from me when I lay you down to dry you off and get you ready for bed. We thought that we'd be able to say goodbye to it by your first birthday, but just hold on buddy, because we'll be done with it before you know it! After bath time you get a bottle, usually from mommy, and we rock. You are a wonderful baby! I lay you down in your crib after you finish your bottle and you only fuss for a few minutes and your asleep! You still wake up at least once at night, but hopefully that won't last too much longer!

We love you and have enjoyed you so much! You are a true blessing and I am looking forward to watching your little personality grow and develop! I hope that you will always know what a blessed, loved little boy you are!!!

Noah's 1st birthday party!

2010-01-31T00:33:00.003-06:00

Leap on over for some birthday fun

Noah Ryan is turning ONE!!

January 30th, 2010

1:00pm

We celebrated Noah's 1st birthday at our home with friends and family. Unfortunately the weather kept many friends and family away, but we still had such a wonderful day! Nana and Grandpa, Noah can't wait to celebrate with you soon!! Here are some pictures from the day! Warning...this post is very long, and full of pictures for Noah to look back at!

My sweet birthday boy!!

brother and sister

My babies!!

Noah's uncle Derek! Derek is such a wonderful uncle! He loves to play with Noah, hold him, put together his toys, and keep him out of trouble! Noah loves to take off places where he shouldn't be and Derek always keeps a watchful eye on Noah.

Noah's papa. Noah's papa is an amazing person! He has so much love for Noah and would do anything for him! You will find him wrestling on the floor with Noah and Halle, feeding Noah ice cream or ice chips, watching OSU football/basketball (okay well any sports) with Noah. He lights up when Noah comes for a visit and always tries to beat Gramma to the door so he can be the first to hold him! Thank you Larry for being such a wonderful "papa"!

Noah's Gramma. She loves her grandbabies and loves more than anything to spend time with family! I learn from Debbie everyday! She knows what's important in life and doesn't take time with family for granted. When Noah and Halle come over, you will find her on the floor playing puzzles, rolling the balls, playing with trucks, or the golf clubs. Noah is obsessed with the plastic golf clubs!!

Noah's aunt Lala came to spend the day with us! Noah loves his aunt Lala very much!! He lights up when he sees her! Lauren keeps Halle and Noah everyday while I work and she is such a wonderful person, friend, and sister! She teaches, nurtures, and is a role model for them daily! We love you aunt Lala!!

If you've seen any of my pictures, then you've seen this sweet boy in many!! Cousin conner spends every single day with Halle and Noah. He loves his "baby Noah" and "baby Halle" (which he called her until she was about 3).

Cousin Skyler is sweet, very social, and such a good big cousin! Noah and Halle love their "kyky!"

Cousin Zamian: sweet, very caring, and energetic!!

Cousins Zamian, Quinton, and Ramsey! Thank you for Sharing the day with us!

Ramsey, Halle, Emmerie, and Gracie! Halle loves her cousins! What is a party without a bride and a princess?!

Cousin Isaac and Andrea! We love you guys and are so thankful you braved the roads and made the trip! We had such a wonderful day and always look forward to seeing you!!! Halle and Noah love you and your children!!

Thank you for being so sweet with our children!! They will forever know your love for them!!

"uncle Tony and Aunt Yissas" Our very close friends that would do anything in the world to help us and visa versa.

Our boys are 10 months apart and are going to be such great friends!! I look forward to watching these two boys grow up together!! Nathan will be a big brother in June!! So many of our friends are pregnant and we can't wait for the play dates to begin!! Bring on the babies!!

Nathan, Angela, and Addi! We are so blessed to have these great friends!! They are always there to help, celebrate, or just have a good time! It's not a party until they arrive!!

Halle loves her Remi! They get to spend every Tuesday together in gymnastics while Noah and Gallagher play in the ball pit and go down the slides!! Before you know it, sweet Addi will be joining them!!

I told you that most of our friends are pregnant!!!!

They have a blast together!!

Nathan tickling Halle (and her baby). This was the cutest thing ever!! Nathan wouldn't touch her but was cracking up thinking he was getting Halle!!

Gallagher loved the ball pit!! Come over anytime G-man!!

"uncle Scott"-Halle has adopted that from the term from the Montgomery kids!!

Scott and Linda are some of the sweetest most giving people we have ever met! We appreciate their friendship very much and look forward to many more memories with them!! Thank you both for sharing in Noah's special day!!

Rona and Jared, Thank you for coming!! We are so looking forward to Lynnlee Paige!! She is going to be one blessed little girl!! Jared has been a friend to Seth since childhood! We consider them not only friends, but more than that, Family!!

Present time!! Noah received a lot of donations for Haiti as well as a few presents for himself! He is one special boy and I hope he will grow up to know the importance of giving and helping others!

His buddy Nate helping him open the presents! Noah is still more interested in the bows, rather than what is under all of the paper!

Cake time!! (and yes, this is probably the ugliest baby cake ever...I made it with left over cake from his frog cake...but I'm pretty sure he didn't mind!)

Noah kept his head turned during the entire time we sang "Happy Birthday." I think he was a little shy with everyone singing to him!

The kids enjoyed chocolate frogs, cake, and dirt cake! Can you see the teacher side of Melissa? I like to think that is a halo above her head, lol. Thank you for entertaining the children!!

After eating, everyone watched the slideshow of Noah's first year of life played with "This kind of Love" by Sister Hazel! Everyone filled out a note to put in Noah's time capsule! Everyone predicted what he would want to be when he got older, where he'd go to school, and just wrote a sweet message for him! We collected several things from his first year of life, as well as magazines, newspapers, cd's, and movies that came out this year! We will let him open it when he graduates high school! We did this for Halle too and I really think they will enjoy it!

Conner, Noah, and all of the donations gathered for Haiti! (yes I think conner is crossing his eyes in this pic...he's a funny kid, gotta love him!!!) Thank you to everyone for giving for such a great cause!

After a long afternoon of playing most of our guest went home. Halle and Noah's cousins stayed around to play some more, watch a movie, eat pizza, and more playing! Halle didn't want the fun to end so she went home with gramma for more playing so mommy and daddy could clean up and Noah could rest!

Yes, this is my daughter wearing a pink spiderman shirt, orange (too short) leggins, hot pink socks, and baby pink shoes! (not to mention, her diaper bag that was used for her when she was a baby!)

YES, I let her pick out her own clothes (most of the time)...and YES it looks pretty crazy!! (you may remember the picture of her playing outside recently in her red/black capris with her light/dark blue striped shirt) What can I say, "That's my girl!!!"

Happy birthday sweet Noah Ryan!! We love you more than you can ever imagine!!
Thank you to all of our guest for making this such a memorable day!! We love you!

Iced in and making the most of it!

2010-01-30T23:47:00.015-06:00

We have been stuck inside most of the day Thursday and Friday because of the weather!

We have had some great "special family time" as Halle calls it. I think she got that phrase from the Berenstein Bears...and I like it! All of our family time is special! Seth and I went ahead and gave Noah his birthday present ahead of time and he and sister thoroughly enjoyed it! Seth and I enjoyed watching Halle and Noah play and laugh with each other. Noah's personality is really shining and he is such a happy, outgoing, active boy that loves loves loves his sister!!

Seth and I also did a lot of preparations for Noah's party. We weren't sure what the weather was going to do, but decided to prepare anyways. We knew that we were going to celebrate regardless of the turnout.

This is the picture we ordered from Piggies and Paws. If you look closely that is Noah's footprint in the golf bag. I think it is very cute, and they have some wonderful ideas. I may try to make my own sometime soon. Who's in??

Halle helping mommy prep Noah's cake

I decided to make Noah's cake on my own. We wanted to make a frog cake, so I found a picture online that I liked, and although mine didn't look anything remotely close to that one, I was still pretty happy with the outcome!

The eyes

The body and legs

The finished product!! I made buttercream icing for the first time, and it turned out pretty tasty! My hand mixer almost died, but other than that it went pretty well. I would like to buy a stand mixer but am not sure if I'd use it very much. Maybe if I continue my new years resolution of cooking more my hubby will surprise me with one. (are you reading this seth...dear?)

kind of a mess, but very worth it!!

Seth helping me in the kitchen!

Chocolate Frogs

Making the dirt cake

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Dirt cake and lime flavored candied popcorn

The Candy Bar

For each guest to fill their bags and attach to a balloon!

Our Hope for Haiti table! For Noah's 1st birthday, we asked that instead of bringing presents for Noah that they bring toiletries for "Clean The World." This is a non-profit organization that is moving supplies into Haiti.

Just a few funnies

2010-01-29T08:51:00.000-06:00

Just a few funnies:

Yesterday I was feeding Noah in his high chair (well actually giving little bites of noodles at a time b/c if I put too many on his plate he chunks them at the dogs...not that they mind or anything). Halle was sitting at the bar and eating lunch and really wanted me to sit by her. (sweet, I know!) I kept saying, Halle I can't right now, b/c I need to feed Noah. I desperately want a table that is lower to the ground b/c it is very difficult to feed him since his high chair is lower. So I continue to stand in the kitchen and feed him. (You might be thinking get a booster seat for Noah and that is a lot cheaper!) I JUST thought of that the other day but I am not sure if he's old enough for it, etc. So back to my story....Halle said (in her very parental voice) "MOM, I have told you a HUNDRED times and I am NOT going to tell you AGAIN! SIT DOWN!!"

Today, Halle was playing with her kitchen stuff. She put on her apron, oven mitts, and chef's hat and started singing, "I'm a girl muffin man, a muffin man, a muffin man, I'm a girl muffin man, not a boy muffin man, no I'm a girl muffin man but Noah is a boy muffin man." Always a laugh when Halle is around!

My how they've changed!!

2010-01-27T21:59:00.001-06:00

Brady turned ONE January 23rd and Noah will be ONE January 30th!!

Stay tuned for Noah's birthday post!!

Weekend Happenings

2010-01-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

This weekend was filled with lots of fun!! We barely had time to sit down!! Saturday morning Halle, Noah, and I left to Okmulgee to see my parents for a short visit! Halle has been asking all week if her Nana could watch her one day while I worked, and I think she finally realized how far away Nana lives. The night before Noah actually slept through the entire night, which is the first time in a very very long time that this has happened! I thought he would be a great traveler, but he didn't want to take his morning nap at all. He was still in a great mood all afternoon and enjoyed time with his Nana and Grandpa.

As soon as we arrived my dad took me to show me the "toys" he bought for Noah! My dad loves guns and I think little Noah might just be his hunting buddy!

Something about this picture reminds me of my mother. hmmmmmm what could it be?! I think Halle is going to take after Nana and be very interested in reading! Here, she is reading to her baby doll.

Daddy would be so proud!

I love this picture of my dad and Noah. Dad loves his little grandson so much! This picture says it all!

Noah getting ready to go to his buddy Brady's 1st birthday party!

Noah getting cuddles in with Nana before we had to leave. Halle doesn't get to see Nana very often so she decided to stay with Nana during the party.

Brady, Braxton, and Noah

Noah and Brady! Brady's momma, Jessica, was actually due February 28th, but Brady had other plans and decided to come exactly one week before Noah. They will have such a special friendship and I am looking forward to many play dates with them!

Noah, looking over Brady's new presents, with Makenzie and Carly.

My long time friend Jessica and Noah

Noah wanted to join in for some bath time fun! Just wait until the summer boys....I see pool parties in our future!!

We have been friends for years now and I always look forward to seeing these girls!

(top row) April and Logan, Leah, Jenn and Avery, Jessica, me and Noah (bottom) Amanda and Carly, Michelle and Makenzie, Jess and Brady.

After having a blast at the birthday party we headed back to celebrate cousin Ramsey's 11th birthday!!

Skyler, Noah, and Ramsey

Halle loves her cousin Emmerie!

Noah and Halle looking at "Vada" with uncle Dave.

Cousin Isaac and Halle

Isaac, Noah, Ramsey, Gracie, Halle, Emmerie, Skyler, and Zamian

We had a wonderful time with friends and family on Saturday!

Sunday, after church, we enjoyed bowling at Tinker AFB for Derek's 25th birthday!! Thanks to Isaac for taking us there!

The birthday boy!! (always flexing!) =)

Quinton and Gracie

Ramsey, Halle, and Emmerie

Lauren and Conner.....so serious =)

Halle and her cousin Conner!

Ashley! (I think I see a smile!!)

Daddy and Halle, watching her ball....STRIKE!

Daddy showing Halle how it's done!

Andrea and Noah

Isaac and Noah

My goofy, sweet, beautiful baby girl!!

Andrea

Superstar Lauren

The Happy Dance!!!

We had a great fun filled weekend and are blessed to have such great friends and family!! Maybe we can rest a little this week!!

Fun in the Sun!!

2010-01-25T13:16:00.000-06:00

We finally got to spend some extended time outside last week!! The weather was so nice that I couldn't wait to get off work each day to spend time outside with the kids!

Booze was inviting Noah outside to play!

Update on Noah's tests

2010-01-16T00:15:00.004-06:00

As soon as I got in my car to go to work this morning I received a call from Tammy, a nurse for Noah's doctor. The first thing out of her mouth was "Missy, well......I don't have very good news." I should start off by saying that I love the nurses that work for Dr. V. They are always so helpful, well most of them are anyways. I do have my two favorites and Tammy is one of them, however, after hearing that opening statement, I really didn't want to talk to her. I just called two days prior because I was tired of waiting on the results and another nurse told me they thought everything was fine with the test that were done on December 22nd.
The nurse proceeded to tell me that during the sleep study Noah had 6 central apneas and two complete airway obstructions, which both caused his oxygen levels to drop. (I would think it's a given that if you stop breathing, your levels would go down.) The nurse told me that complete airway obstruction can be caused by reflux, adenoids, or tonsils. I was (and still am) confused about what "central" apnea is. I was told it's related to the brain. I read that the respiratory control centers of the brain are imbalanced. I, honestly, am too scared to even read about it. I kind of figure if I don't read about it, then I won't have anything to be scared of. Lack of knowledge = lack of fear....right? Not so sure about that, but I don't want to be up all night worrying so I may read more tomorrow. The nurse also told me that they forwarded all of the results to Noah's pediatric GI specialist and to an ENT to review. Dr. V is also having a specialist look at the PH study results and the sleep study results and correlate the info to see if the reflux is causing the apnea. We are supposed to follow up with 'some' doctor for upper airway resistance testing. (not sure what exactly that entails) Dr. V did increase Noah's prevacid from 7.5 mg once daily (in the am) to 7.5 mg twice daily (morning and night). I am praying that this "fixes" everything!
The nurse also received the download from the apnea monitor, which was the results from Nov. 16th-Dec. 18th. This is the third consecutive month long download that hasn't had a good outcome. Noah had apnea episodes ranging around 18 seconds in length. They said it is verified by the change in heart rate.
Our hopes of getting this monitor off by his first birthday have now went down the drain. I hate this.....I hate that he has to wear the monitor for about 12 hours at night and 2 hours during the day. I hate that his skin is so irritated from the electrodes and that he cries every time I put them on him. The nurse said, "it only takes one time of not putting it on, not having the alarm go off, it only takes one time." She is right and I will continue to do everything they say and recommend. I am finished with this apnea stuff. BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED and I know that my Jesus has already paid the price and we are healed and we will walk in health! I know that my son is perfect and I need to CAST OUT ALL NEGATIVE THOUGHTS OF THE IMAGINATION! "FOR GOD DID NOT GIVE US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF LOVE, POWER, AND A SOUND MIND."
I want to thank all of my friends and family for praying for us. My children are my life and I am asking for you to please continue to pray for Noah. Thank you!

She's not a baby anymore!

2010-01-14T21:57:00.003-06:00

Well, it's not Halle's birthday, but she did turn 3 1/2 on January 5th!! It seems like yesterday that she was learning to take her first steps and learning to say new words each day! Now she runs everywhere, even when she's supposed to walk and I have a hard time getting a word in because she is very verbal! She is so very special to me and I am so blessed to have such a sweet, caring, sensitive, confident little girl!! She just started doing chores to help mommy out! She loves to fold and put away her play clothes, socks, panties, and pj's!! She also helps mommy set the table! We have created a chart to help Halle earn stickers by "listening to mommy and daddy's words," "getting herself dressed," etc. She is very capable of getting herself dressed, brushing her teeth by herself, etc, but sometimes likes to get a little more help when she sees that brother needs help. Tonight we took her to get her first reward since she reached 50 stars! She chose a sleeping bag/sleep over set for her baby doll! We started this chart about a week ago and she is doing very well with it. We restrict tv time and most days she goes without tv altogether. However, the days that she watches tv and we ask her to turn it off, it can very easily turn into a meltdown. We are hoping that this will cut down on meltdowns, and encourage her to go to bed (and stay) in her own bed! So far chart = success!!

I mentioned how Halle is sweet....this is an understatement. Everyday she says, "mommy, I need to tell you a secret!" So I lean down to hear her whisper "I........lllloooooovvvveee........YOU" She is very compassionate to everyone and insists on giving hugs and kisses to all of her friends/family members when she says goodbye! She prays for everything! Her prayers are priceless!! When we drove to gramma's house on Christmas day she prayed for the people who's cars were stranded and wanted Jesus to keep the people and babies safe! Her prayers always included thanking Jesus for keeping her safe! Anytime something hurts, she wants someone to pray for her. I love that she is learning so much about prayer at a young age and I hope that she will always turn to prayer! The other day she prayed and told Jesus that she was sorry for sometimes being crabby to her cousins! Another time she told Jesus that she was sad that her red balloon flew away but she was happy that he's keeping it for her. I was very surprised because this balloon she was speaking of was lost over a year ago! Her memory amazes me! I am not sure about other three year olds but this child can remember any and everything!!!

Halle Kate gives seth and I (and i'd like to say everyone that knows her) such joy!! She is definitely an individual and very independent! I believe she is going to be a strong leader.

I know things change very quickly, heck I can change my mind 5 times in a minute, so I would like to record some of her favorites!

Halle's favorites: "from Halle's mouth"

Favorite color: "purple and pink is my favorite color momma"
Favorite: me =) She wouldn't let me finish "what's your favorite..." and she blurted out "my momma" love it!!
Favorite animal: "butterflies" me: "what about your favorite zoo animal?" H: "zebra is momma"
Favorite farm animal: "pig and cow momma"
Favorite song: "all of the songs" me: "can you pick one?" H: "a candy song is, tell me which candy I love momma." me: "halle, tell me one song you love." H: "oklahoma song" (don't think she's ever heard that.) She normally sings 'Jesus loves me' as well as several nursery rhymes and fun toddler songs!
Favorite candy: "dum is" Translation = "gum" (Which she never gets, except on very rare occasions)
Favorite cartoon: "wow wow wubbzy is my favorite show, yo gabba gabba, and max and ruby is" However, she loves loves loves 'Wonder Pets.' She also likes 'Ni Hao, Kai Lan.'
Favorite movie: "a barbie movie" me: "what's your favorite barbie movie?" H: "I don't remember all the movies, the one with Tika." (Island Princess) She also loves dancing princesses (another barbie movie).
Favorite food: "chiten nuggets wis setchup and ranch"
Favorite snack food: H: "fruit snack" me: "and gogurt?" H: "I call it yodert"
Favorite thing to play: "my breakable tea party, having a picnic." She also loves to play with her babies, in her kitchen, with her desk (coloring and drawing), and with her doctor stuff.
Favorite drink: "chotlate milk" This is a given...she would have chocolate milk all day long if we let her.
Favorite pair of shoes: "my cowgirl boots" I was expecting her to say her shoes like her uncle adam. She has a little pair of DC shoes and every time we try to get her to wear her nikes she wants her shoes like her uncle adam.
Favorite part of her day: "spending time with you." Yes, she really said that, and without cueing from me! Gotta love her!!
Favorite game: "the diamond game." She has a fishing princess gem game. She also likes to play old maid and crazy 8's.
Favorite activities: she loves ballet and gymnastics! I must be crazy because I just enrolled her in Spring soccer. This is going to make for a very busy Spring, but we're up for it.
Favorite book: "arthur" Not sure where she came up with this...she loves her picture prayer book, her big sister book, and her "bible book." We have been reading the 'Princess and the Frog' chapter book and started 'Ramona Quimby goes to kindergarten.' She loves reading time.

At 3 1/2 Halle is 41 lbs. (will add height soon). She knows all of her letters and the sounds that go with each letter. She can read some simple words. She can spell her name and count to 42 (with a little assistance...after 29 she wants to say 20-10, same with 39, 30-10). She loves to help mommy cook and bake. She loves loves loves to ask questions about everything everywhere! She always wants to learn more and I'm hoping this trait will continue when she starts school and continue! Halle stays with her aunt lala every day and does "homework" not because she has to, but because she wants to. She is a very loved little girl!!

To finish I wanted to post some cute HALLE MOMENTS, b/c I never want to forget the precious things she says! Most of these were from when she was two, and were all jotted down on sticky notes.
1. While taking a drive around Piedmont when Halle was two, the sun was shining in her window and she said, "move the sun daddy." It's precious to think that Halle thought her daddy could move the sun.
2. "When I go to school mommy, I use my imagination." She said this when she was about 2 1/2 and still going to new horizons childcare or school as she called it.
3. "Mommy, I want to take Jesus out of my heart and hold him in my hand."
4. "that's inappropriate." She randomly said this and Seth and I couldn't stop laughing! Not sure where she heard it!
5. "this is redicuous"
6. "beat beat heart" = "stephastote" (stethoscope)
7. "holy moly halle-gator"
8. Halle wanted to play with fake tattoos. She had a tattoo on her arm and on her leg. She looked at one tattoo on her arm and said "that's for daddy." She looked at the one on her leg and said, "that's for noah." She looked at the other arm, which didn't have a tattoo, and said, "ooops, mommy went to work"
9. She calls an elephant a "efanant"
10. When counting to three (trying to use discipline) me: one........twooooooo......threeeee... H: 45678 Needless to say, she didn't get in trouble b/c I couldn't stop laughing.
11. When learning to count in the twenties, Seth and I: "twenty" H: "tony-one, tony-two" (seth has two friends that are named Tony, that Halle sees quite a bit)
12. I told Halle to put her gloves on and she said "these aren't gloves mommy, these are mittens."
13. (while still attending new horizons childcare center, 2 yrs) looking at a bus, H: "that's a bus, not the tumble bus but a reguwar bus."
14. While praying "thank you for my mommy, my daddy, my zoebooze (zoe and booze)."
15. Halle wanted to go outside out back. She said her friend was out there. I said "halle, no one is out there." She said, "mommy, it's Talle, my friend." I said, "halle, honey, no one is outside." H: "Fretend (pretend) mommy, it's Talle, my friend by the fence."
16. Every morning I place Halle's clothes in our bathroom on the tub ledge. Seth walked out of his closet and moved her clothes and Halle said, "oooh you know better daddy, you know better!"
17. There was a frog on our front porch. H: "I won't make him sad, I hold him in my hand and feed him." She treated the frogs in our flower bed like pets...she loved looking for them each night.
18. Just the other day H talking to herself: "I'm a real real real real doctor, I'm a cowgirl. Maybe I can be both...yeah, a cowgirl doctor."
19. She loves to ask me now as we leave any store. "mommy was I good...i'm a big girl mommy, i listen to your words." Yes, Halle, you are a big girl and I love you more and more each day!!!!!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-10T12:52:00.003-06:00

Unfortunately Noah ran a fever all day on New Year's Eve and had a virus. I stayed home with him and Halle and actually went to bed by 10:30. We have had a wonderful year, but I am definitely looking forward to a new year, new beginnings, perfect health, and lots of memories to be made!

I always make some sort of resolution, I may not stick to them, but I make them! Here it is the second week in January and I have already stuck with my #1 resolution for a week....yay! =) (It doesn't sound like such a big deal, but when you read what it is, you will be impressed...if you know me at all!). I am posting my resolutions so I will be held a little more accountable! I am expecting YOU, my friends and family, to keep me accountable and encourage me! So here we go.

2010 RESOLUTIONS

1. Cook 5 days out of the week!! I plan to PLAN on sundays our menu for the week and make our grocery trip Sunday for those items! I have cleaned out my kitchen and have made things more functional! Seth got me new cookware set and utensils for Christmas. I organized my recipe box and added new recipes. (desperately trying to get motivated!) I have a picture holder that holds 5 pictures and instead I place 5 recipe cards. We have been stuck in a rut and have been getting too much take-out and fast-food! At the end of the day when Seth asks what we're having for dinner it's the same "I don't know, what do you want?" I get tired of digging through the cabinets and the fridge trying to figure out what I have to make what. This was an easy solution! Now I just choose a card the night before and make sure that I have everything set out or thawing in the fridge to make dinner as easy as possible! This resolution will hopefully lead to more healthy eating habits and help save $$.

2. Eat at the dinner table: normally, as sad as it is, we sit in the living room while eating and watch wheel of fortune (don't I sound old?!?!). I hate that we have such a high table (that was bought before we had children). It makes it very difficult to feel like we're eating as a family with Noah sitting lower in his highchair. We will make it work until we can sell this bar height table and get another one. I am so glad that we are eating at the table together. Growing up we ate every meal at the table. It is a very special part of our day now! Halle helps set the table, Seth prays before each meal, Halle adds her own little prayer interjections during daddy's prayer, and we are able to really enjoy each other and learn about each other's day!

3. Stay on top of cleaning: We were having someone clean our house, but I have been wanting to stop spending on unnecessary things so we are going to tackle the mess ourselves. I used to have an organized way of cleaning and it seemed to work. Each night I clean one room, dust everything top-to-bottom. We vacuum frequently anyway because the kids are always on the floors playing and we will mop weekly (which I dislike very very very much!) I don't like spending 2 hours on the weekend cleaning the whole house, so 15 minutes each night seems a whole lot better to me! I also hope to run 1 load of laundry a night to stay caught up.

4. Read more books and learn new things. I want to read more non fictional books and gain knowledge in areas that I know nothing about! I also want to read more books just for fun and stop watching so much tv! If you have any suggestions for light, entertaining books, please share!

5. Game time: I want to play more family games after dinner. We actually started doing this before Christmas and we enjoy it so much that we want to continue doing this! Sometimes I wish we could just get rid of the televisions and find other sources of entertainment! But then I realize I would really miss my shows! So I just dvr them and watch them after the kids are in bed!

6. I want to blog more.....more journaling through my blog. I don't care who reads or doesn't read my blog. It's just kind of therapeutic to write things down and a way to record memories and thoughts!

7. While I'd like to say I want to run so many 5k's or exercise daily, I do realize that I am a full time working mother of 2 and I am a wife. I would love to exercise but I also realize I am not going to wake up at 5am just to exercise when I could get 2 more hours of sleep! So my goal WILL BE to park further out in the parking lot and not search for close spots so I don't have to walk more, go on daily walks/runs with my husband and children this spring and summer, use my eliptical during the winter when I watch my recorded shows, and maintain healthy eating habits! I am not going to stress over going to the gym because I honestly don't have the time and when I get off work, I want to see my children!

8. BE HAPPY: I am so completely blessed with such a wonderful family and the best friends anyone could ask for!

My last Christmas post....finally!

2010-01-09T23:39:00.002-06:00

I have been so slow about blogging our Christmas happenings.....but finally, I am posting my very last post for 2009. We celebrated Christmas with my mother, father, brother, two nieces, and grandmother the Sunday after Christmas. I was very disappointed that my grandma from Kansas couldn't make it, but completely understand that the weather has affected everyones travels this holiday. This trip to Okmulgee was one of the best that I have had in a long time! My brother spent a lot of time with Halle and his daughter Madi building a snowman and decorating a gingerbread house. The girls had such a great time together! Noah and Brianne are interacting more now that they are getting a little older! We ate a non traditional brisket, which we loved! By Sunday I was pretty much burnt out on Turkey...so this was a nice change. Halle was having so much fun that she didn't want to leave, but we will be back soon! We made so many wonderful memories that day!

I love the "charlie brown" Christmas tree!

Nana had personalized stockings hung by the fireplace!

Nana and Halle

Noah and Bri

Baby Bri

Uncle Nick took the girls outside to play in the snow!

Halle and Madi

Noah enjoyed watching from inside the warm house!

The snow wouldn't stick, so they made a miniature snowman, with a corncob nose and well, corn for the teeth and eyes as well!

After playing outside, the girls came in to get warm and wait for a special visitor!

Madi wasn't sure what to think, but I'm pretty sure Halle asked for a doll center, again!

Bri did okay with santa for about 2 minutes and then had a little meltdown.

Noah wanted nothing to do with Santa. I had to take him in the other room because he became so upset. Santa did give him a tasty treat that he seemed to enjoy!

The girls enjoyed decorating the gingerbread house together!

I may have mixed up a little too much water with the icing..let's just say the decorations pretty much slid off! However, they enjoyed making it, and maybe next year mommy with do a better job with the icing!

Noah started catching on to the "opening presents" thing!

Bri checking out her new toy!

Madi loved her new presents too!

My wonderful dad...modeling his new sweater!

My momma and Noah.

Halle and her uncle Nick

Christmas Celebrations

2010-01-07T23:30:00.000-06:00

Halle and Noah woke up to find Santa Clause had made his visit!

Halle had received her baby center that she had asked santa for!

Santa even left Halle and Noah a letter! She was very excited about that!

Halle loves princess socks (these, and the ones with actual disney princesses on them!) In fact, before this, she wore the same three pair back to back to back! Not because she was limited on socks, but because she loves them! She's been known to put her princess socks on top of the socks we pick out! Thankfully, she received several pair of princess socks!! (available at payless...for any mothers out there that may come across this situation!)

Noah was so happy with his first present that he really wasn't interested in opening anymore! Halle was very helpful in helping him with his presents!

He had a wonderful time Christmas morning, but became tired pretty quickly!

There was no slowing Halle down! She was really enjoying everything! She kept saying thank you so much for all of my toys, I love them!" She is a very grateful child!!

Halle and Noah in their pj's they opened the night before! Noah didn't get to wear them the night before because I completely forgot he can't wear footed sleepers with his apnea monitor. I made sure that he got plenty of wear out of them on Christmas day (as you will see in future pictures!)

We had a wonderful morning and let the kids play for a little while...waiting for the ice to melt a little before our trip to gramma and papa's house!

After a 45 minute drive (for what usually is a 15 minute drive), we arrived at papa and gramma's house! Conner greeted Noah with hugs!! He loves his "baby Noah."

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We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of cinnamon rolls and biscuits and sausage gravy, watched the kids play, opened presents and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner! We also sang happy birthday to Jesus and enjoyed the cupcakes and cake that Halle baked!

My niece Skyler, 12

Conner, 5 and Adam

Little miss emmerie, 4

Zamian Joel, 8

Gracie, 6

Adam and Lauren

Aunt Gigi and Noah

Gramma found a CPK named Halle ("HALLIE") (yes, she is wearing her cousin's new helmet!)

and a boy with the middle name Ryan like Noah, along with blonde hair and two bottom teeth!!

Jenni and I modeling our new rain boots! I know I'm super cool with my wind pants tucked in!!

Don't hate! =)

and Miss Ashley! This was a very special moment, to see ashley taking the initiative to open her own presents! Ashley was put in the hospital December 26th of last year...placed on a ventilator, had a ng tube, catheter, and everything else you could imagine. She was in ICU for weeks and weeks! She has overcome so much and this past year we have been praying for progress and continued improvement with her communication, physical abilities (dressing, feeding, bathing), and socialization (hoping to see her smile again, interact with her siblings, nieces and nephews). This was a huge moment!

Derek trying on his dallas cowboy beanie. Derek is by far the biggest Dallas Cowboy fan that I have ever known! I think he is also trying to flex his muscles in this picture! He wanted some weights so he can beat seth in arm wrestling! Derek is a great brother-in-law and uncle and such a joy to be around!

Debbie opening another picture...she was so happy with all of the pictures! I can't wait to see them hung on her freshly painted walls! We had such a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed to have such a close family!

Since our trip to Great Grandma Ward's got cancelled on Christmas Eve, we made it over there on Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed spending time with Seth's Dad's side of the family! We ate brisket and ribs, opened presents, and visited for several hours!

Cousin Matt playing with Everett and Noah.

Cousin Shelly with Halle and Noah. (oh, and Sam, the dog!) Shelly was in great spirits for being stuck in her car for over 10 hours the night before on I-35...not to mention she is approx 20 weeks pregnant!!

Halle showing off her ballet moves to cousin Eric.

Matt with his son Everett.

Uncle Luchen playing ball with Noah.

Justin and Kim

Aunt Joni and Aunt Sally dancing with Ev

Skyler, Lauren, Larry, and Ashley

Debbie, Grandma Ward, Seth, and Matt

Matt, Derek, Seth, Eric, and Justin

Ashley, me, Shelly, Kim, Lauren, and Peggy

My sweet baby boy had a wonderful first Christmas!!

Thank you great grandma Ward for the radio flyer shuttle...I love it!! -Noah

More pictures from Christmas Eve

2010-01-07T21:25:00.000-06:00

I blogged earlier this week about how we spent Christmas Eve, since we were snowed in...and I seemed to leave a few things out! I don't know how I could forget the "dance off" in the kitchen! Halle and her daddy danced to several Christmas songs! It was fun to see her dance and just laugh with her daddy! If I learn to post video footage, I will upload it! Sooo funny!!

Noah wanted in on some of the action too!

Halle received reindeer food with her santa letter....so the only trip outside was to put reindeer food on the back patio for Rudolph and his gang!!

After a long day of playing, cooking, reading, watching movies, and preparing for santa.........

they were out...one by one!!

And then Santa's little helper got to work on the most important present on Halle's wishlist...something she's asked for for months now.....

her very own baby center to take care of her babies!

Change of Plans!

2010-01-06T08:37:00.002-06:00

Traditionally, we spend every Christmas Eve at Grandma Ward's house.....but not this year! The weather had different plans for us! Seth told me on the 23rd that I should plan on staying home because the weather wasn't supposed to be good, but I was set on going to work. I woke up the 24th and heard something coming down outside, but planned to go in early and get off early.....wrong. I looked out our back window and ice was already covering the patio.

I would rather be safe, warm, and spend the day with my babies! I am so glad I decided to stay home...so many were stuck out on the roads that day/night, including our cousins that were coming up from Durant. Not only did they have their two dogs with them, but she is pregnant, and they were stuck in their car for over 10 hours!
We spent the majority of the day in our pj's, read books, played games, watched a movie, and made birthday cupcakes and a cake for Jesus, as well as cookies for Santa! We weren't able to make it to Grandma's house that night, but it was kind of nice relaxing in our own home Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful white Christmas!

We used the easy bake cookies this year! Not only do they only take 8 minutes, but they are pretty tasty too! I think santa liked them too!!

Attempting to make very colorful cupcakes!!

We weren't brave enough to go outside Christmas Eve, but it sure was beautiful from the inside!

What a beautiful white Christmas it was! Christmas pictures to follow!