Party Time!

As you know, in our previous post, Noah turned one. =(

So of course we celebrated and had a big 'ol party for him this past weekend! =)

Since his nursery (which is slowly turning into more of a little boy's room) is a sports theme, we decided to do a sports themed party as well. And as luck would have it, when we went to the party store here in town to pick up all the paper goods and decorations, they happened to have a first birthday, boy, sports theme! (Yay!) Needless to say, this made us very happy. Anyways, everything ended up looking WAY cute once we got it all back to "party station central" and got it all out and ready to go. The party went off without a hitch - no meltdowns, sleepiness, crankiness, or anything (from Noah or any of his other little friends)! His Mimi made him his own little baseball cake to dig into, and gave us a crash course on how to "professionally" decorate sports balls on the tops of cupcakes for all the guests. We served punch, Keurig drinks, and a little bit of snack food to go with all the cake. Only a few people that were invited couldn't come, so needless to say, the house was packed! It was fun watching Noah dig into his cake.... although for like the first 2 minutes, he wasn't quite sure what to do or think about it. He still didn't get completely into it and all over himself like we thought he would have, but he did seem to enjoy it anyhow. After cake, he got to open all of his presents - and did a pretty good job of it too! He got a ton more than we ever expected and we have NO idea where we'll put everything! We're pretty sure he has every toy and book on the market now. ;)

So that's it - in a nutshell! =) Fun stuff!! =)

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us and helped make Noah's first birthday party so much fun! Thank you to everyone who offered to help, and DID help - it made it quite a success!

Our mutual friends Heather and Taysie did a great job of taking pictures and videos of everything with our cameras, and the memories they helped us create turned out great. Here's a few pictures of all the festivities that day.

Twelve Months Old!

Can we just say we woke up with tears in our eyes and a lump in our throats this morning? Twelve months old. One YEAR old. It seems absolutely impossible that Noah should be a year old. This has been the fastest year of our entire lives. We just can't believe it. Again, we always thought people were kidding at how fast time flies by when you have a kid and that they grow up so fast, right before your eyes. Now we know - they're NOT making this up! He is most definitely our pride and joy - pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to us.

This past year has been probably one of the most joyful and fulfilling years for us - in ways we never though possible. If this year was so amazing, we can't wait to see what the rest of our life with Noah (and other children) will be like. We're sure it sounds like we're not "keeping things real" when we always post positive things about our life and life with Noah. But the reality is, there really hasn't been anything un-positive to share! Of course, adjusting to a new way of life the first couple of weeks was a little different, but that's all it was, an adjustment. Once we figured out a new routine for our new way of life, it became a breeze. He fits into our family effortlessly and with ease, and has always adjusted to any and all situations like a pro. He went through a period where he had his "fussy time," but it didn't last long once we figured out just what he needed and responded to best. The biggest thing we learned early: never wake a sleeping baby, learn what his needs are ahead of time and how to respond to those needs immediately, let him run the household schedule, and put him to bed when it's "bedtime." That makes for the happiest kid ever - in this household anyways. He is literally the easiest baby, and the happiest baby - we've been told that AND we just so happen to agree. ;)

We read a book that said, "when blogging about your child, people don't always want to read how your child is the best kid on the face of the earth, can do no wrong, has no faults, and that life is always good - and when posting pictures, pick only a couple of your favorites since everyone thinks their kid and the pictures they've taken are the cutest ever and people can get sick of too many pictures." We hope that this last year of blogging about our son hasn't seemed overwhelming with too much "sappy" information and overwhelming amounts of pictures that make you say, "could this post BE any longer?" We're just so amazed and proud of our son that we can't help but let you all know. What kind of parents would we be if we weren't verbally proud of our kid? Obviously, we won't be posting about him and his new accomplishments every month now, but we can't wait to let you know about our life with him going forward and what all's going on in our life! =)

We have a one-year-old now, folks. His party on Saturday will make it seem all the more real and official. We'll have to post pics to show you all of the fun. He has his one-year well-child-check in 3 days, so it will be fun to see all of his new stats. Not so much fun though, to hear him cry from the shots. =( And lastly, he has his one-year photo shoot with a photography company here in town tomorrow. Can't wait to see those! =)

Noah has officially been dubbed "The most photographed kid in America" by a friend of ours. We laughed when we were told that, but we also really can't deny it. All family and even most of our friends can't keep the camera out of his face. Of course that makes us beam with pride. =) So here ya go. Pictures - all coming from anyone who's taken a good picture of him the last month. Enjoy!

"Hey, Noah!" "Huh?"

Snug as a little bug in his carseat.
First time "coloring" with crayons in a restaurant.
LOVES to be (almost) naked!
Always happy about something - cute clothes maybe?
Look, Ma! I can pick up my binky off the floor without using my hands!!
He's discovered lately that he can frown..... =)
Snuggles with Daddy after a nap.
Wishing he could go outside, but it's too cold out. =(
A new way to hold his BFF in his mouth.
Mommy loves Noah. Noah loves Mommy.
Bundled up all cute.
His new favorite way to sit in the shopping cart. =)
Dang, he is SO incredibly CUTE!!! (Jen's new favorite picture)
Getting his teeth brushed for the first time. He thought it was big fun. =)