Gardner Village ~ 2008

I LOVE Gardner Village...especially at Halloween! It is so much fun to wander around and see all of the wonderful decorations that they have everywhere. Today, I went with the Smith Family to Gardner Village and had a fabulous time. Thank you, girls, for a fabulous afternoon out! Click here to see some pictures from last years visit...it is amazing how much things have changed in one year!

The Smith Cousins

Me and my sweet kids!

I just love how Noah is actually smiling, but Leah has her tongue out! It is SO hard to get a good picture of these two together!

Maya, Karin, and Noah watching the ducks.

Ryan's Blessing

Our nephew, Ryan, was blessed today, and I will forever remember this day because it was the first day that it snowed this year {really...snow in the middle of October?}. Spencer gave Ryan a beautiful blessing and it was so nice to have the entire family together for this great occasion. Afterwards, we went to the Box house for brunch and were able to visit with everyone. It was a wonderful day and we were glad to be a part of it with Spencer, Alli, and Ryan.

I thought that this picture of Alex holding Ryan was adorable. Alex is such a sweet and gentle boy and he is so helpful when it comes to helping with the kids in the family.

Cute family!

Noah is 2 1/2 Years Old!

Noah is 2 1/2 years old today! I think that calls for a post dedicated to my little man. It is weird to think that in 6 more months he is going to be 3...wow! Here are some things that Noah has been up to...

~ He talks SO much! Doug and I just love to see what he is going to say next. He catches us off guard every day with the things that he says. He is putting words together and saying full sentences and we are able to have an actual conversation with him. It so much fun to sit and have a fun filled talk with a 2 year old.
~ He adores his little teddy bear, who is named Snuggles, but he just calls him Bear. Lately, he takes Bear everywhere with him. Bear is definitely his little buddy and it is so cute to watch Noah talk to him like he is a real person. If we are going somewhere, he will ask me "Bear go bye bye with Noah?", to which I say "Yes" because he would be heartbroken if I were to say "No".
~ He is almost completely potty trained! Yes! All of my hard work and patience is finally paying off! When we are at home he will go potty all by himself, so he is beginning to understand that he doesn't need to be asked to go, which is great. The only thing that we are working on now is going when we are not at home, which seems to be a challenge all of its own. We are working on it though and we'll get there! All I can say is that I am SO excited to not be changing the diapers of two kids...well, not as many as it has been. I am really so proud of Noah and how fast he has caught on...bribery really does work :).
~ He sleeps in his big boy bed and we loves it! We didn't have any problem with the transition from crib to bed...this just reinforces the fact that he is really a big boy and can handle changes in is life.
~ He is such a picky little eater. He will eat fruit and treats {what kid won't eat treats?} with no problem at all, but we have to do a lot of convincing to get anything else in his mouth. He is gradually eating more and more stuff, but it's a challenge at times. Again, this is where a lot of patience comes into play...we're getting there {slowly, but surely}.
~ He has learned to ride his little bike and, if he had his way, he would be outside riding his bike all day, every day. We have actually cleared out some stuff in our garage so that he will be able to go out and ride his bike when it is cold. He was so proud of himself when he finally figured out how to push the pedals and steer...that smile of accomplishment was so wonderful to witness! He is learning how to do more and more things everyday, and I am so glad that he is proud of himself in figuring these things out.
~ He is such a great little helper to Doug and I. He loves to help me set the table, do the laundry, clean the floors, put away the dishes, and the list goes on. It is so great that we don't even have to ask him for his help, he just offers to help willingly, which makes me even more proud of him :).
~ He loves being outside, and it truly makes me sad that we are not going to be able to go outside as often as we have this summer. He loves going to the playground and running around in the big open field at the park. He also loves to go running in the stroller with me in the mornings. I really do hope that this winter goes by quickly...for Noah's sake!
~ He is already a big Utah fan. His jacked of choice is his Utah hoodie and he loves to dress Bear in the Utah shirt that we got for him. We are extremely proud of him and HIS choice to be a fan of the one true school :).
~ He is the BEST big brother to Leah. The first thing that he does every morning is get out of bed and go see Leah. She is usually on my bed, so he will climb up and give her a big hug and a kiss. It really is so precious to me to see the bond that they share with one another. If she needs a toy, he will go and get one for her without being asked to. He also loves to make Leah laugh, and every time that she is in her Jumperoo, he will show Leah how to jump up and down by doing it himself. Once she sees him doing it, she starts to jump around like crazy! She is learning so much from him and I am so thankful that Leah is lucky enough to have a brother that cares about her the way that Noah does. I really do look forward to see how their relationship progresses over the years...I just have a feeling that they are always going to be close to one another.
~ He is very independent. He loves to do things on his own and he will only ask for help when he really needs it. I love that he is learning to do things without the assistance of others, but at the same time it makes me sad that he doesn't need my help as much as he used to. Don't get me wrong, I love that he is learning, but a part of me wishes that he still wanted my help with everything that he does. I guess that is just a part of being a parent, right?
~ He has a great sense of humor! He loves to make people laugh and he loves to laugh along with them. I really do love this about him!
~ He is an incredibly lovable little boy. He showers us with hugs and kisses all of the time, and we just love it!

Here are some pictures that I would like to share of Noah...

Noah loves to help me bake, and, of course, his favorite part is licking off the beaters!

Noah and Bear
Having fun with mom.
Mr. Independent
Noah playing with Leah. He really does love playing AND sharing his toys with her.

Here's Noah helping me make Macaroni and Cheese. He's really good at helping me grate the cheese....he is such a great little helper!
Noah riding his bike.
Cute boy!

Baby Legs

I have been playing with my camera a lot lately, and, of course, my subjects tend to be Noah and Leah. Well, since Noah pretty much avoids the camera when I pull it out, I decided to take some shots of Leah. I bought these Baby Legs for Leah before she was born, and since it is getting a little chilly, I pulled them out to put on her, and they are so dang cute! Very neat little piece of apparel for babies, if I might say so myself :).

Sweet Dreams

I rarely let Noah sleep in our bed, but when he came up to me this afternoon and asked if he could sleep on "Daddy's pillow", which was accompanied that cute pouty face {I am sure that you all know what I am talking about}, I couldn't help but give him what he wanted. He was sound asleep within minutes of hitting Doug's pillow. I hope that he has sweet dreams!

Peeled Apple!

I did it! Noah and I love apples...peeled apples, that is! I have never peeled an apple all the way, until today! I was actually really proud of myself because whenever I peel the apple it breaks right when I think to myself "Is this going to be the day that the peel doesn't break?". As soon as I was done, I showed my accomplishment to Noah and he started to jump up and down and said "Yay, mommy!". I am glad that he was just as happy as me. It's the little things in life that make it fun :).

"Happy Birthday"

I was looking at some videos of Noah from one year ago, and I came across this cute video. For those of you who are not around Noah very often, let me just tell you that he LOVES birthdays...LOVES them! One of his first sayings was actually "Happy Birthday", as seen here. I also can't believe how baby like he is in this video...I love his baby fat around his face and his long hair {we're thinking of growing his hair out again so that he can sport this hairdo this winter...we'll see}.

PS. Andrea ~ I thought that Connor would like this video :).