Easter in Arizona

Trips like these really make you wonder why anyone chooses to live in Illinois.  Arizona over Easter weekend was beautiful.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  Sunny every day, no rain, perfect temps and no humidity!  I loved getting a break from changing temps and cloudy days.  We had a very busy trip, but a good one.  In the short time we were there we got to do a lot.  We did some shopping, got to check out my grandma' s golf ball business plant, ate at different restaurants, spent the day on a gorgeous lake on Saturday, more shopping, caught a movie, and just relaxed and hung out with each other at my grandma's house.  It was so nice to see everyone! 

Our first night there after a day full of running around, we went to a yummy mexican restaurant and had some pictures taken.

On Saturday we went to Lake Saguaro and boy was it awesome.  My grandma had rented a pontoon boat for the day and 2 jet skis for everyone to take turns riding.  I didn't take my turn but almost everyone else did.  The lake was so neat how it was in the middle of mountains.  Perfect weather and perfect scenery.  I have missed the sun.  I put sunscreen on twice throughout the day, however that wasn't enough.  I still managed to get very burnt!  That was the not so fun part. 

Can I say that I have a major interest in cacti after this trip.  I learned a lot about them and for some weird reason I found them very intriguing.  My grandma told us that you can tell when one is really old because of how many arms it has coming off.  They all grow different so it was neat to see all the different ones.  And did you know, under the green, they are wood?  Crazy, my grandma has a dead one that had been petrified on her patio and it is just the wood structure underneath. 

Also we learned about some that shoot off their spikey things when they sense movement.  Luckily we just saw them from the road and never in person.  What a defense mechanism.  Call me a dork, haha! I got made fun of the whole ride to the lake because I was so interested. 

 After a day on the lake we went to a neat marketplace with all sorts of shops and did some shopping, then we met up with Trevor, Amanda and Brandon for a little bit more shopping and dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen and then my favorite ColdStone Creamery.  Boy it has been way too long since  I have had it!  There was this really neat fountain, and fireplace in the middle of the outdoor mall and we couldn't help but stop for some photos.  Once it got later they also had a band playing in the middle, such a neat place.  I wish we had something like that around here.  I just love walking around and eating outside when it's nice!

What a great trip and visit we had.    We did miss our little boy very much, but it was also nice to get away and relax for a few days.  We were so busy it would have been so hard on him anyway so I was thankful he got to stay at our house and stay on a schedule and play like he loves.  We made it home safely and on time on Monday and made it home to see Noah before bedtime!  Now we have been playing catch up all week.  I was finally getting there but now am leaving again tonight for Randi's bachelorette party.  Matthew is also out of town for Adam and Jared's bachelor parties.  We have never really left  Noah much and poor guy has been left a lot this month.  We are excited to get to be a part of all of these events but also ready for life to slow down again!  

My Little Helper

Noah has just been such a little helper lately, it is just so cute!  I don't think he realizes that he's helping I think he just likes to do big things but either way I love it.  Some morning I will ask if he's ready to eat  breakfast and he runs in the kitchen goes to the fridge to wait for me to get the yogurt then he goes to the spoon drawer and waits for me there then he tries to move his high chair closer to the table.  Then most morning the dishwasher needs unloaded so after we eat we usually do that and he's ready to try and help me.  He loves to get the silverware out and tries to help me shut the door, most of the time before I'm ready. 

When we leave and are getting ready to get in the car he's ready to push the garage door button in the garage to open the door. 

He loves to help clean floors. 

When we go to the basement to do laundry there is a light right above the dryer and you have to pull that string to get it to go on, he always wants me to hold him until we get over there so he can pull the string then he wants down to help me unload the dryer. 

Alot of times if he's not too busy playing too and I'm doing something he will try to help however he thinks he can.  It's just too cute!!

It's funny to see how he's become such a creature of habit, like his momma and knows what we do each day!  I think he takes after me in a lot of ways, poor boy! 

Mini Vacation

Tomorrow we are leaving around 2:45 am for St. Louis and then on to Phoenix, Arizona and without Noah.  Wow what a weird weekend this will be.  We have only both left Noah twice and each time it was just for a short weekend and we were going on youth events each time.  While we had a great time, each time was with 50+ youth and that is not hardly what I would call a vacation. This time we are going on a mini vacation with some of my family to Arizona and will be staying with my grandma.  I'm excited to go and have some time away and relax but still going to miss my little boy like crazy. 

However he will be in great hands and he will be staying in his own house and sleeping in his own bed and will be watched by his "aunts Emily and Allison"  (they sure love him like a nephew) and then his Nana Jill for some of the weekend as well.  I'm sure he will be a little confused when he wakes up without us here but I'm sure he will do fine.  We debated back and forth whether or not to bring him and at the stage he is in now I think the flight would be enough of a trip for me.  He just hardly wants to sit still and we have a connecting flight on the way there.  Noah would want to run wild in that airport, I'm not cut out for that right now.  Also my grandma is a busy bee and has a lot planned for us out there.  Noah would be missing naps or bedtime or one of us would have to skip out to get him back to the house.  I just thought this would be good for us to get away and have some fun and try to be stress free.  We have crazy weeks/months ahead and I know once baby #2 gets here I will find it pretty much impossible to leave both of my kids for awhile.   With all the weddings this summer we also aren't taking any trips and saving our money so this is it for this year so we will make it all we can.

 We will miss Noah like crazy and this will be the longest we have been away but I know we will survive and hopefully he will be excited to see us when we get back.  Monday night I'm sure the flight home will kill me because I will be so anxious to see him.  Bad part is it doesn't get to St. Louis until 5 pm and thats if it's on time.  After we wait for luggage and get home we might have already missed him before he goes down for bed but will do our best to get home as soon as we can!  Have a great Easter weekend everyone!

It's a Boy!!

As you can see, we are definitely having another boy!  I am truly excited, I think so many people think I really wanted a girl since we already have a boy.  I see so many good things with having 2 boys though.  They will be close so can be great playmates for each other (hopefully).  I'm sure I will have days where they will have me wanting to pull my hair out but I can't wait to see them playing and growing up together.  Second another boy is so much better for our budget.  With buying a new house and stuff for it, and not expecting to have another baby this year things will definitely be tighter than other years so this will be good.  This baby might be able to wear some of Noah's stuff but a lot of it will probably be off seasons a little however after this year we should be set since Noah is now to the age where he is staying in stuff longer.  Plus girl clothes are so cute and irresistable so I won't be as tempted to buy as much.  Now we just have to come up with a name.. The hard part, I have a list of names I like but none of them have good meanings and that just really means a lot of Matthew so we will see what we come up with. 

On another note all looks great.  Baby was in a ball and at first she said she didn't know if she would be able to tell.. I panicked a little I just had to know but then she saw it almost right away.  That was the only thing he wanted to show off was his little boy part.  Everything else he tried to keep hidden.  They couldn't get a good look at the spine, brain and everything they really wanted to but said it all looks good from what they could see. Baby is 11 ounces and right on track.  I'm hoping he stays that way and doesn't grow into a 9lb baby like his brother.   I gained 3 lbs since my last visit 4 weeks ago, bummer.  I have already gained more than  I wanted.  Sooo frustrating.  I gained way too much with Noah and really wanted to keep it down this time, especially since I didn't loose all my weight from him.  We have been so busy and have had so much going on, I just haven't had time to work out like I wanted .  Now with the next month my time is still looking pretty slim.  Also I'm still extremely tired, I don't remember it sticking around this long and this bad last time.  However I realize this is a different pregnancy and things are different with each one so this one I think is just more calm and wants me to get more rest.  This one already seems a lot less active.  That could easily change in the next few weeks though.  My goal for the next few weeks is just to keep my sanity and get some workouts in and get my weight back on track for the rest of my 20 weeks.  I can't believe I am already halfway there and hopefully maybe a little more.  ( still hopefully for a baby a little earlier)   

What Noah's doings at 15 Months

Can't believe how much Noah is growing up, it's going by so fast!

At 15 Months Noah is quite the little character.....

He....

-drinks milk, YEAH!!! Finally he drinks 2% milk without any formula mixed in, took us awhile to get here but we made it.  He still has 2 bottles, a morning and bedtime.  We will be working on these next but for now we are so happy we got him to milk.  He still won't drink the milk in a cup so that's the issue. 
-is pretty much running now
-has 8 teeth
-talking more, he says many forms of da dad, mama and mom, shoes, juice, cheese, chips, does the sign for more in his own version, down, attempts Mickey, tractor, hot,ba ba, he mimics a lot of other words at times, but doesn't know them, just in that stage
- does a few motions from Itsy Bitsy spider and claps after each time we sing it
-knows his tongue, ears, nose and sometimes seems to know eyes, you have to wait until he's in the right mood otherwise trying to get him to do these are hopeless.  Tongue and ears are his favorites
-eats so much better and actually feeds himself (AWESOME!)  He loves green beans, grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries, yogurt, any type of pasta
-thinks he runs the house, he definitely thinks he is in control.  He is already trying to push me around the house to get me where he wants.  Sometimes he will get behind me when I'm sitting on the floor and try to get me to go where he wants.
-throws some pretty good fits
-is all over the place and loves to head right for the road when we go outside. 
-Loves it outside- at first he was cautious walking on the driveway, he wouldn't walk fast and wouldn't walk over cracks, now he is okay with them as long as they aren't big uneven spots in the concrete.  Those he will stop at and grunt until you hold his hand and help him over them.  He still doesn't get himself up most of the time when he falls outside because he doesn't want to touch the ground (poor kid takes after his mom when it comes to dirt)
-loves to help vaccum and swiffer the floors, he takes it pretty seriously, so cute!
-is so smart, and understands so many things we say we are already spelling certain things out
-Loves Mickey Mouse but the perk is, he gets cuddly when it's on (my favorite)
-still loves his paci and burp cloths-in fact loves them more than ever
-getting so skinny, his chub is pretty much gone.  He is getting to be more like his dad each day.  No more rolls, (tear...)
-is so cute I can't get over it sometimes! 

He may have been a little extra difficult when he was an infant, but wow has God given us such a cute, active, healthy, funny, loving at times, smart, ham of a son.

Boy do we love him.  We just can't get enough!

Thankful

Do you ever have those days when you feel so blessed?  I have many but today I have just been feeling extremely blessed.  We have had some stressful weeks and I have just felt like I'm struggling to keep up but when I really stop and look around and think about other people's stresses mine seem so small and petty.  I know so many people that are going through some huge things, some of which are close to me and my heart goes out for them.  Now as I sit here and look around, I have a wonderful healthy husband, a son who is healthy and full of personality, a huge family who loves us all so much, a home to call our own, able to pay our bills and have a sense of job security for ourselves and so far another fairly easy, healthy pregnancy.  Wow, God has truly blessed us!  And to think about all the things I'm worried/stressed about.    The most important things in life I have and in abundance! 

Great Sunday

I love Sundays!!  Sundays are the one day where we always get to sleep in just a little bit and have all of us home together in the morning.  Some Wednesdays we get to do that too, but not always.  Sundays are usually busy with family meals and Noah's schedule gets a little off, but it's still usually a good day!  Here is our little man before we headed off to church in his new flip flops which didn't last but 5 minutes.  Every couple steps he would loose one of the other so we gave up. They had backs on them but apparently they aren't tight enough.  He ended up with his old tennis shoes on instead.  I got these in 3 colors so I guess we will have to find some other shoes for summer. 

After church we went out to Grandpa John's.  He has been dying to give him a four wheel ride.  I don't know if I would call what he got a ride but he did go up and down the driveway once.  He didn't cry just seemed really unsure.  And for all you moms out there he went incredibly slow, I wasn't nervous! 

In the afternoon after Noah's nap we went to Papa Bobs and Nana Jill's.  Noah had a great time playing outside, we tried to swing on the new swingset, but for some reason he just isn't a fan of swings this year.  After playing in the yard we went up by the house and Noah found the kitty.  He is funny with it, he gets really excited about him, then in 5 seconds he was grunting trying to hit it.  I just love this picture.  My true ornery boy there, the face tells it all. 

After we left there we went on to Buffalo Wild Wings to meet Grandma Shelley and Kevin for dinner.  I didn't get a picture there but after dinner we went to Kohls to use our Kohls cash we had.  Noah for some reason just loves sitting in their carts walking around.  He is just too cute!  He sat like that with his hands dangling for quite some time.  Not sure why usually he is super chilled and leaning back but I think he was excited dad was with us and we were headed over to the toys, haha!

Noah in a trance in his new wild man pajamas! 

Watching some Mickey before bed.  Daddy was sneaking in some cuddle time.

Sundays always go by so fast, but the good days always do.  We were so thankful for the wonderful warm weekend we had, heck I even wished it would have been a little cooler yesterday. I want a little spring before we hit summer, not quite ready for sweating outside!

18 Weeks

Time sure is flying by with this pregnancy. Today I am 18 weeks along.  2 weeks from tomorrow we will be finding out the sex and I couldn't be more excited.  It seems so much more real once you know what it is and can start buying clothes and planning for the baby.  I cannot wait. If we are having a girl well we will really need to get some stuff but even if it's a boy it won't be born in the middle of winter like Noah was so it will definitely need a few items for warmer weather! Also once we know what it is, we can really start trying to figure out a name.  I have quite a list for each right now, but figured we'd wait until we knew before trying to get it down to one on the boy and girl lists.  I still haven't taken any belly pics yet, so I really need to get on that.  But in all honestly I really don't want them this time around.  Maybe once I get halfway and the belly is a little more pregnant I will break down and let Matthew take one.  Right now I'm still at that annoying fat stage, not feeling like the belly is completely pregnant yet.  All my current clothes are getting incredibly small and all the maternity is still way too big.  It's such a waste buying clothes for the in between since I won't be there very long. So I'm just pretty much uncomfortable in clothes and have nothing to wear.  It's only a stage though, I will get to wear maternity soon.  Now it sounds great but I remember with Noah I got so tired of wearing stretchy pants and weird waistbands!  I couldn't wait for regular clothes again!  So far all is still good and we are looking forward to seeing baby #2 on that wonderful screen and hearing it's strong heartbeat and hoping it cooperates to show us what sex he/she is!