Happy Thanksgiving!

We have been enjoying a very quiet, calm Thanksgiving. We were supposed to go with our friends PJ & Lai to their extended family Thanksgiving, but I have 2 sick boys on my hands:) Needless to say, both are on antibiotics and its nice that today is the first day all week that we are all feeling semi-normal.

I have been working with Noah all week on saying "Happy Thanksgiving" but the closest we have gotten is "Happy giving too!":) Its amazing for me to think that by next Thanksgiving, he'll have no trouble at all. When I think back to how different he is this year compared to last year, man...the change is amazing!!!

I have to admit...I'm one of those people that is used to a big gathering and have felt in the past that there is something missing when it has been just a few of us...but this year...I'm really enjoying our special unplanned holiday together! (and I got the great leftovers too!)

I hope you have found so much to be thankful for this year and that God reminds you of his everlasting love!!

(P.S. Bear with me, we are without our big computer right now, so pictures are going to have to wait:))

Helper

This has been quite a snowy week! It has snowed on and off the whole week and mixed in the middle of all that snow, we have been fighting colds. Noah has definitely been a trouper and shown me how big he is by coming up and telling me to "blow nose, Mama". I feel like I've been chasing that nose all week! But he has been sleeping well the whole time (thank goodness!) so I have been able to get plenty of rest and think I was able to avoid most of a cold. I don't think Aaron was so lucky, but hopefully he'll be back to normal in no time.

This was going to be a quick, short post but there were too many good pics to share. I know, I know...I probably post way to many, and I know my family gives me a hard time but can I help it if I want to show you all the facets of the goofy, quirky little boy my life is centered around.

Being silly with Daddy...for some reason, Daddy likes to pretend we're sleeping-alot!

Apparently, Noah has decided socks would serve a better purpose than for keeping toes warm:) (This is how I went in to find him after his nap today)

This isn't a completely accurate picture, but its atleast a snapshot into Noah's new obsession with books. Normally, there are tons more surrounding him:)

All bundled up for our first trek into the snow.

And of course, he wouldn't settle for anything less than the shovel...looks like I can finally take a break from all that shoveling!

And now, Noah wants to show you how he now climbs the stairs...

"First you have to turn off the light...thats very important"

"Then you reach up behind you and pull yourself up with the railing."

"Ta Da!!-You should try it, Mommy says you'd definitely get some good excise!"

Its snowing!!!

You know...as much as I really don't like snow (I hate having to drive in it or shovel it) there is just something beautiful about a new snow.

Constant Change

I feel as though I have been slacking when it comes to the blog. We have been enjoying some much needed family time at home! YEA! Aaron has finally been grounded, so its been really nice to know he won't be traveling anytime soon!

Noah has become such a fun, outgoing, growing, changing little boy. Its hard to believe he is about to turn 2!!! He is very communicative-I actually think he uses up the daily allotment in the first 10 minutes he's awake! But I love that I can understand him and he is definitely getting his points across...over and over and over again! He has a sudden fascination with light switches, his new hot wheels "trah truh" (trash truck-it goes every where!), guac-mole (from Chipotle, of course!), and books. We are working on his demandingness in that he trys to tell you what to do...i.e. telling me to read a book at the same time as he is and when I don't turn the pages in my own book fast enough..."turn page, Mama" and if I'm still not fast enough for him, he'll reach over and turn the page himself!

I'm forever finding myself in the dark, with the door shut and everything closed up while he goes around the house "taking care of it for me"!

He has such a good memory too! Last night, I told him we would give him his dessert (dates) when we went out to run our errands but he would have to wait until we got to the store. I jokingly told him to remind Mama and Daddy so they wouldn't forget and sure enough, we pull into the parking lot, get out of the car and before we've even made it into the store..."Mama, dates!!" YIKES, thats scary! What else is he remembering?!?!?

Making sure Daddy is getting his quota of reading for the week.

Noah's showing you his "trah truh" (trash truck)

We are full blown into project mode over here...(thank goodness, that nesting feeling was starting to get pretty bad!) Aaron finished up organizing his garage last weekend so the work on the guestroom/office downstairs can begin. We finished cleaning out the room at the beginning of the week and were finally ready to paint Wednesday night. I love the color. I love painting because you can see an instant change! I love seeing my envisionments come to life on the wall.

So below are the 'before' pics of the rooms...and you'll just have to wait for the 'after' photos until the rooms are completed:)

The 'before' pic of what is currently the office/guestroom and what will soon by Poohba's room:) (and yes, it is definitely messier than normal as we prepare to make the switch)

Pics of the 'before' guestroom/office downstairs-a clean slate!

Pregnancy #2 is going so smoothly that there are moments I forget I'm even pregnant. And then I have to get up off the floor, or Noah runs into my belly and I remember all over again:) This little boy is a kicker. Noah was definitely a stretcher. I used to joke that he did yoga in my belly. Well, then this one must be practicing karate!

When we ask Noah where baby brother is, he points of my belly and then promptly points to Daddy's belly too!! Uh-oh...maybe that one isn't so clear to him yet:)

I'm starting to really envision this next little one and I have to tell you, I'm pretty excited. I know it will be a lot of work. I know I will have more moments of exhaustion than I can count. But holding that little bundle, a combination of what Aaron and I are together-okay, so Aaron hogs more of the looks department than I do:)-just sounds wonderful! And I can't wait until these 2 little boys start playing together. Noah will make a great big brother and I can't wait to see him in that role as Poohba's protector, guide and friend.

Whew! I think that's all!!! Hope you enjoyed the super-long, very late update:)

Tag-I'm it...

Okay, so I have been tagged by Christine and I thought it would be fun to try it out. Surprisingly, this was harder for me than I initially thought it would be.

Here are the rules:

Tell everyone three things you like about yourself.

Tag three people to play along.

Go on in peace.

So here are the 3 things I like about myself:

1. I'm organized and clean-to a fault. My house is always ready for company, I know where to find anything and it I love that clean feeling I get when I get something organized.

2. I'm flexible (no, not the bendy type...the no matter what I'm doing, I'll have some fun type). It doesn't take much to relax, enjoy myself and when things change, I can roll with the punches.

3. My devotion and loyalty to God, my family and friends. I am always looking for ways to grow and improve so that I might bring more glory to God in each of these areas.

And now to the fun...the three people I tag are:

Sarah

Steph

Kristin

RIBBIT!!!!

Hi there! I told Mommy I wanted to show you all what animal I got to be yesterday...can you guess? I like to be silly with Daddy! Here we are all ready to go trick-or-treating.

Its pretty crazy...you walk up to strange houses and strange people (even though Mommy tells me not to every other time) and they give you candy!! What could be better than tons of candy!?!?!

But don't worry, I'll share some with Mommy and Daddy.

After we went around to all the houses, we went and had dinner with Pat and Lori. They're our neighbors and really good friends. We even got to have pizza!!!

(Mommy side notes: Noah did so well...he would even say trick-or-treat at every house we went to but often he was so quiet, they didn't hear him! Several times, we would stop and talk and while the adults were busy, Noah would be in the background filling up his little pumpkin!! He actually walked the whole circle around our neighborhood and had a lot of fun. The weather made it a perfect evening of family fun!)

And of course, I wanted to show you what Mommy and I did today...I can't wait to jump in the big pile we make!!!

(Mommy side note: WHEW! Let me tell you how much more tiring it is to rake leaves when you're pregnant! I'll have no trouble sleeping tonight...thank goodness for my little helper!)