Out With the Old...

camera that is. I'm in the process of uploading and posting all the pics from what is now my OLD camera. This is good news! For my birthday/Christmas gift, I got a brand new camera! Yippee! So for the next couple of posts, I'll have the last several pics I took off of the old camera. In the meantime, I have a ton of reading to do to figure out how to take advantage of all the fun new features on my new camera. I can already say though, it takes pictures that are worlds better than what I've been taking. So exciting to me, since our kiddos are little--I want to be able to get really *good* pics of them. I've already taken a few, and the quality is just so much better.

Here's a pic with Noah and Kyle laying on the floor together. We told Noah if he held Kyle's hand, we'd give him a candy corn.



This is what happens when you mix sidewalk chalk that has been left out in the rain and is now so wet it's practically pastel-like, and an almost three year old.

Finally able to wear the New York shirt Uncle Brian bought him before he was born!

Kyle in the Baby Papasan chair. A chair that has been all but retired since this pic was taken. He is such a mover already, that this chair is used maybe once or twice a week now.

Where Santa Claus Lives

So this morning we were asking Noah different questions, amazed at all he knows. He knows that when I say "your parents" to Chris, I'm talking about Mimi and Papaw. So then I asked him, "who are Noah's parents?" and he said, "Mommy and Daddy." I then asked him, "who is Mommy's mommy?" He said, "Gigi" (what he calls my mom). I said, "who is my brother?" and he said "Uncle Brian." So then Chris said to him, "where does Santa Claus live?" and he answered, "in North Carolina!"

Cutie!!

The Last of the Pumpkin Pictures

Noah and I made Halloween cookies and he was in charge of tasting and decorating with sprinkles.

At one last pumpkin patch with our friends Kristie and Raegan.

This time we got to take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. They must stock this little area with all kinds of kid sized pumpkins. There were hundreds of these little medium sized pumpkins laying around. We both were allowed to choose one--he chose one for me too. =)

Lift!

October Pics

Here are a few more pumpkin patch pics. Chris and I took the boys to a pumpkin farm where there were fields of pumpkins. That's not something you're used to seeing in Southern California! Southern California's idea of a pumpkin patch is setting up a mock field in the middle of say, a Target parking lot. Somehow, it's just not the same. ;P

We had some great weather in September and October with plenty of sunshine. Both boys wore their costumes that day. Noah picked out a lot of gourds and one pumpkin, and Chris had fun picking out the odd ones. I always like the ones with the really long, gnarly stems.

After we picked our pumpkins, we got to feed a donkey some carrots. We ended up giving our last carrot to another kid, cause those donkey teeth can be pretty intimidating--especially when he CRUNCHES that carrot in half--yikes! We ended our day with a yummy caramel apple that Noah loved (and slobbered all over). Yay for Fall!!

The Un-Potty

So remember all my bragging about how Noah had potty trained himself? Well, that lasted all of about a week. He *did* really potty train himself--poop and all, it's just that he decided that it wasn't for him. He's decided that the toilet is completely overrated, and I've decided that changing an almost 3 year old's poopy diapers is overrated. I guess the good news is that he *can* do it. He just chooses not to. So I'm not pushing it. For now. He will use the potty at night before bed--go figure. He'll say, "I have to go pee." Great, now do that like, ALL THE TIME.

Here's a pic of our little man when he was excited about the potty:






That's his Backyardigans potty seat he's holding. Now if I could just find some Backyardigans underwear. You'd think that they'd be making those along with every other marketable item imaginable. But nope--no underpants. If he could just wear Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, Uniqua, and Austin on his butt, I'm sure that would get him *going* again! ;P

A Few More Random Pics

Before I upload all the pics that are sitting on our camera! I am so behind in keeping everyone updated. Kyle (and Noah too) are growing so fast.

Kyle turned 4 months on the 7th. I totally don't know how that happened. This last summer seems like a big blur in my mind! At the time, I was really pretty stressed with adjusting to a new baby and a high energy toddler. Things have settled down so much now. Kyle is definitely more in a groove--his colic is long gone and he's a pretty easy baby (except for the nighttime sleep thing!). He's fun, and screamy, and feisty already. He started rolling over from back to front and then back again the day before Halloween, and hasn't stopped since. He's ahead of Noah on that one, and I really believe it's because he can't wait to run around with his big brother!

I love that newborn stage, but in a way, it's a big haze. I have to admit, I'm glad we're past it now and on to the next phase. Noah is almost 3, and he has really shown us some growth lately. His "behavior" that he was exhibiting at around 2.5 has subsided a lot, and he is very eager to help Mommy and Daddy, and Kyle too. In fact, the last two days, he has let Kyle borrow one of his favorite blankets to nap with. He is such a good boy!

Anyway, these pics are random, but cute we think! Thanks for looking again! =)



Fabio. A.K.A. Kyle:

I picked up this furry little orange (pimp) hat at the Dollar Tree. That pink thing in his mouth is one of those lint remover thingies that you use for clothes. Who needs toys??

Kyle struggling after we tortured him with these sunglasses:

Overdue Pumpkin Patch Pics

When Chris was out of town at the beginning of October, my sister-in-law Linda came down from Detroit to stay with us. I had so much fun having her here. When the kiddos were down for the evening it was nice to just have hang out/girl time and eat ice cream and watch politics! It's always great to be on the same political side and get to blab about that with someone who "gets it" ha ha!! ;P

The Sunday that she was here, we took Noah and Kyle to the pumpkin patch. It was fun for Noah to look at all the pumpkins--and he even had one picked out. What stunk was that he had to put it back because the lines to pay for the dang things were SO long that there's no way we could've waited.

When Chris got back, we went to another patch, so I'll be uploading pics soon off the camera to share. It's been way too long since I updated!!

I told him to "smile" and this is what I got (???):

Super muscles!

Brothers

All for one and one for all

My brother and my friend

What fun we have

The time we share

Brothers 'til the end.

~Author Unknown

All Things Potty

I have been waiting for the right time to really get serious about potty training with Noah. When Kyle was first born, I knew I didn't have the time to devote to Noah and the potty, and that wouldn't be good. I wanted him to be able to be successful when we tried it, and that would require Mommy to be able to make a real potty commitment.

The last week or so, he's shown a real distaste for a soiled diaper. He wanted to be changed right away, and would even get a disgusted look on his face when I'd change him. We had bought some big boy underwear and tried it out a few times, but he was never consistent in his interest, so I'd give him the choice of diaper or underwear.

Two days ago, he decided that he wanted underwear. So the first day he had no accidents except for one, and that was my own fault. I was talking to a mommy friend that was over visiting with her kids, and he kept saying, "Mommy! Mommy!" which is not unusual! I kept saying, "just a minute honey..." Next thing I knew there was a puddle on the floor. Poor Noah!

The night before that, he told me he needed to go potty. I was busy drawing his bath, so I had my back turned. He then calls out, "Mommy, LOOK!" I look, and lo and behold there is a little something in the toilet. I couldn't believe it!! He went #2 without even telling me! Then last night, he sat right up there and pooped again in the toilet! Amazing!!

Today he wasn't feeling very well. He had a runny nose and was very slowed down. He had one accident of each, but still did very well. He even went on an hour walk with Dad and came back dry and then used the potty! I was positive that he would be back with wet pants, but he waited. I couldn't believe it. This kid is literally training himself. It's awesome!!

So, I think we've been at it 3 days now, so who knows how it will continue, but so far this is so much better than what I was expecting!!I think you'll thank me that I have no pics to go with this story.

I do have pics to show off, but my camera battery is dead and I can't find the charger. ARGH! That will be one of my weekend projects!

Halloween Sneak Preview!

Noah has decided to be a bat (the Old Navy version) for Halloween. We looked online at a bunch of costumes, and he saw the skunk at ON and wanted it, but when we got to the store, they were out of it. He spotted this and liked it immediately and wanted to try it on. I honestly didn't think it was that cute til we put it on him, and then OMG! Sooooooo cute! =)

He's been wanting to zoom all around the house in it and flap his wings. I'm so excited that we got one more year of him wearing a cute (are bats cute??), furry little animal costume!

It's Been a While!

Since I last posted, we've had a lot going on! My mom came to visit us from California last week. She had never met Kyle, so it was definitely time! She got to see first hand what a sweet and smiley baby Kyle is. Noah was happy to have someone else in the house to be able to talk to--since that *is* his favorite thing to do!

We also had our first annual Fall Kickoff Party. We decided to try to get all of our friends and their kiddos together on one date! We had a great turnout and had a lot of fun, so we've decided to make it an annual event. When you've got small kids, it's so hard to try to get together with people as often as you'd like, so it was really nice to see so many of our friends that day! Some time with other adults was sooooo welcome! We had lots of yummy food--we did it potluck style and we had some really tasty things to eat (thank you everyone!!). I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to. I guess I was too busy enjoying myself which is a good thing! We had neighbors, friends from the area, and Cranmommies and their families come. I think one of the highlights of the day (at least for the kids) was when Ken, Addie's husband, was out on the grass with a tribe of kids running after him. It was HILARIOUS! Ken is definitely meant to have his own kids--they all loved him, it was so funny.

We were all cracking up that the kids thought they were hidden by fence posts! LOL!


Andrea, a good Cranmommy friend holding Kyle. Did Kyle give Andrea a case of baby fever??

Addie and Ken's son Nate. He seemed to really like hiding under this table! LOL!

Andrea and Kurt's oldest daughter, Leah

Their youngest daughter Mallory, who by the way is so grown up already!!! She was so cute. If you pointed the camera at her, she gave you this little face:

Ken with a tribe of kiddos chasing after him

Zach and Sam, some of Noah's little friends that we met at the library over a year ago

I sure wish I had taken a lot more pictures! We had such a fun day with everyone.

Adventures With Boys

I've got a story for ya. I have a feeling this will be the first of many of its kind.

So over the weekend, Chris was behind our couch dealing with a broken lamp. Our couch is one of those curved sectional thingies, so it's pulled out from the wall a good foot and a half. He was back there a few minutes when I hear, "hon! you've GOT to see this!"

So I go back there and Chris points out what is known as

a BOOGER WALL.

Apparently, our little sweetheart likes to go back there and dig for gold. And then save it. On the wall. There were probably 4 good ones smeared on this particular wall. Nice.

After I looked at it, we looked at each other and laughed so hard we couldn't talk.

I have a feeling raising boys is going to be, um, interesting.

Getting Caught Up...Kyle, Yogurt, and a Reds Game

Here's a fresh Kyle after a bath. He always smells so good after a bath! Funny thing about Kyle is, he has the best hairline and such a nice shaped head (must have been the quick delivery!), and after a bath, he always looks so handsome! He still has Fred Mertz hair in the back though--it's all fuzzy and sticks out all over just like a little old bald man!




Here I'm trying to conquer my inner control freak. Noah is eating yogurt in his new booster with a spoon. He got very IN to what he was doing, shall I say!??


Stinker!! I don't know who said it recently--maybe one of the wonderful ladies from my Mommy Board, but I remember she said, "you can either get mad or get the camera!" I decided to take a new approach. I wouldn't usually get *mad* per se, but I would definitely be fighting the urge to stop the mess ASAP. What's the harm in finger painting with yogurt?? You're only a kid once, right!?



Going in for the kill on the second container of Diego yogurt.


My little sweetie pie, who by the way, is sick today. I felt so bad because yesterday he was in RARE form, and I was not very patient. Today it was obvious he felt awful. We watched lots of Max & Ruby and played Memory together and had a better day together just cuddling a lot. He hardly ate a thing today and was pretty hot at bedtime, so we gave him Tylenol. Poor Noah.

Wonder Noah!!!
Yes, that is his favorite blankie tied around his neck.

Our friends Jared and Mindy at a Cincinnati Reds game Saturday night. We got free tickets through Chris' work and the four of us went together. They played the San Francisco Giants and won! It felt a little weird rooting against a California team!

I'm wearing my glasses cause my contacts are so dirty you can SEE the dirt on them. I couldn't get an eye doctor appt. until September 12!

The Great American Ball Park





Before the game, we had passes to the Riverfront Club which is some froo froo restaurant inside the ballpark. It was fun though--we had seats overlooking the ballpark, but it was too spendy to make it worth it. Next time we all agreed we'd stick with a hotdog and a beer. =)

Today is Chris' birthday--Happy Birthday, hon!!