Loving Books

I love that my kids love to read. It seems that lately they would rather read books then play with any of their toys, which is fine by me. Leah is at that stage where she wants to know what everything is and she has taken a liking to this book that has different themes and is filled with lots of random things. She brings me this book often and sits on my lap so that we can look through each and every page over and over again. I just love watching her learn and I know that reading books is really going to help her in that department :). Here's to reading!

A Little Party

Today we had a little party with my cousins and their kids. I am so thankful to have such wonderful cousins that are close in age with me...I really do feel like we have grown up togther, and now that we all have kids that are all the same age makes getting together even that much more fun! Good times!

Each of the children made their own little pizza. I think Noah had more fun making it than eating it!
I was able to meet my cousin's beautiful little girl for the first time...isn't she a doll!!
My Grandma Fowler was able to show Leah how to play the piano. What a picture perfect moment :).

Then we decorated, and devoured, some dang good cookies! Noah was resisting eating his cookie when I took this...as soon as I snapped this, he dove right in!

Leah had fun licking the frosting off of her cookie.
She look so guilty in this picture...makes me laugh.

3.5

Noah is officially 3 1/2 today! Love this boy more then words could ever describe and I am amazed at how much he has grown in the past 6 months. He is definitely a 3 year old and has been doing some interesting, and not so interesting, things lately. So, here's what my Noah has been up to lately...

• He is still into trucks, but lately he has added the new dimension of building. He builds things constantly and is always looking for new ways to create something. I love watching him build something and see his little mind at work.
• He is full of questions, and sometimes he asks me things that I don't even know the answer to! That is how deep some of his questions are. For example, he asked us the other day why his arms and legs were hard under his skin, so which we told him that his body if full of bones. Now he is obsessed with the bones in his body and wants to know the names of all of them. "What's the name of this bone? that bone?". I love seeing what he is going to ask next :).
• He is very imaginative lately. He will have pretend conversations with his stuffed animals or on his phone. I love listening to these little conversations...they are pretty interesting!
• He LOVES his bike...the one he got for his 3rd birthday. It's a two wheeler with training wheels, but he is so dang good at riding that thing that I'm thinking we should take the training wheels off and see how he does. He is going to be so dang sad when he can't ride his bike outside anymore...I don't look forward to that day.
• He has a pet, well, two pets. We have taken in two fuzzy bear caterpillars and I am amazed at how dedicated he is to feeding them and taking care of them. He reminds me every day that we need to feed them...I'm impressed.
• There was a point where he wouldn't watch a show on TV to save his life, but lately he has been drawn to some really fun shows and has actually learned quite a bit from them. No, I don't let him watch TV or movies all day long, but in the morning there are a few shows that he loves and looks forward to watching. He loves this show called Word World, and it really is the cutest little show. Even I enjoy watching it with him :).
• He has the most amazing memory. It's crazy! He remembers the tiniest of details...just like his daddy! He also knows how to get from our house to pretty much anywhere, so if we are going to Grandma's house and I go a way that he is not familiar with, then he gets so frustated. But, then he memorizes the alternative way to Grandma's and will NEVER forget it. I really am amazed of the things he remembers.
• He is obsessed with letters and talks about them constantly. I'm so grateful that he has this interest and wants to learn more about them :).
• Like I said, he has really started to test the waters with us and is constantly trying to persuade us let him do things that he knows he shouldn't be doing. I was not prepared for this...really! I won't go into details, but let me just say that if he doesn't get his way, then watch out! He will get so upset and to the point that it is hard to calm him down so that I can reason with him. Oh boy! Once he is calm and I can talk to him, all is well, but when I initially tell him that things aren't going to go his way...I just brace myself. We're working on it, but I just did not see this coming! He has thrown me a curve ball and we are still trying to figure it out. Oh my!
• He has, just recently, started to take really, really short naps. Now, he has always been an amazing sleeper, and he still knows that he needs to get some rest during the day, but 20-30 minute naps?!?! Really? I so am not looking forward to the day that he has no naps. He is just so much happier if he gets a good nap in. Like today for example...he didn't take a nap and was the BIGGEST grump from 5:00 to bedtime! I really don't like being around him when he's like this...and then add in the factor when he doesn't get his way...WATCH OUT! Seriously, I thought we were past the terrible twos! I'm beginning to believe that three is the NEW two.
• He LOVES music and I think that listenig to music is very calming to him. He loves The Killers, just like Doug and I, as well as Coldplay, Metro Station, Francis England {love her...she writes children's songs and her songs are so much fun, as well as very calming}, Barenaked Ladies, and the list goes on.
• He is so dang funny and he says the greatest things sometimes. I love it when he says something just to get a smile out of us. Love it!

Well, there's some highlights on our boy.

Noah ~ We love you to the moon and back. You are simply the BEST!

Lip Biter

Leah's a lip biter, just like her Daddy. Whenever she is nervous or is really trying to focus on something, she will bite inside of her lip. It makes me giggle every time because she looks exactly like Doug when she does it.


I just had to add this picture...look how cute she looks on the little red tricycle?!?! She's getting so big...I didn't expect her to fit on this bike so soon. Wow.

Sewing

Being creative is my outlet. Sometimes I don't feel like I have the time to do the things that I, me, Angie, enjoy doing. Yes, I love being a Mom, and it is my top priority, but when I have the time to be creative...it feels so good! I really do LOVE to sew...love it! It is so calming to me and I feel like I am just lost in my own little world when I sit down at my sewing machine. And the satisfaction that I feel when I complete a project...it's great! That said, I have been doing a TON of sewing lately :). Once I start, I just can't stop! I am in the process of making my first actual quilt, which is coming along nicely and I will post some pictures of it soon. And what's even more exciting is that this quilt is for me! I don't usually make stuff for myself, so I'm excited to make something that I get to use :).

I also made this cute purse a few weeks ago and I am just in love with it. I love the colors...I am loving orange lately and I just fell in love with this fabric. I wonder what I am going to make next ;).

Writing Letters

Noah has been very interested in learning his letters recently and he is constantly asking me "What letter is this?", "What does an 'L' look like?", etc... He knows most of his letters and he can write a good amount of them too, so I wanted to find a workbook that would make it fun for him to learn write his letters. I gave Noah this workbook today and he spent close to ONE HOUR tracing the letters over and over again. The cool thing about this book is that you use a dry erase marker and then just wipe it clean when you are done...I love it, and so does he :). Here's to learning!

Cousin Ryan Came to Play

I am so thankful that my children have cousins that are close in age to them. Growing up, I had a lot of cousins that were close in age and some of my fondest childhood memories involve them. I look forward to all of the many memories that my kids have with their cousins.

Ryan is 4 months younger then Leah, and he is pretty much the same size as she is and I think that they both realize that they are close in age and meant to play with one another. I watched Ryan this morning and I had so much fun watching him and Leah play together. They would "talk" to one another and it was as if they knew exactly what the other one was talking about. They went into Leah's room and played together with the same toys...and they shared too! Amazing! Leah wouldn't leave Ryan alone, and I have a feeling that Ryan wanted a little space from her, but he put up a good face and went along with what she wanted to do. He even let her give him hugs...one right after another. Too cute! I have a feeling that these two are going to be good friends :).

Hugs! This picture makes me smile. Ryan just let Leah hug him over and over again. What a good cousin :).
They would take turns pulling each other around in the wagon...as soon as they went down the hall, they switched places without a word. Leah loves being pulled around in this wagon, but Noah isn't really into this game so I am sure that she was thrilled when Ryan played along with her. They really must understand one another!