Whew! What a Week!

And we thought life would slow down once we had a baby..... huh!

Monday
We woke up tired..... it had been a loooooooong night the night before. Noah got up quite a few times during the night, probably because it was so hot in the house. After everyone was up, had breakfast and showers, Jen, her Mom, and Noah immediately hit the road and ran a TON of errands. They got back just in time for Jen and her Dad to go on a date. Dinner and a movie! They went and saw Shrek3 in 3D. It was awesome! Had they remembered to take a picture, here is what they would have looked like with their 3D glasses on:

Haha.... ;)

Greg and Noah had "guys night" at home, spending quite a bit of time outside. MUCH later that night, after putting Noah to bed and cleaning up from the whirlwind of a day, Greg ran out and got us Blizzards from Dairy Queen. One of our summer favorites. We definitely needed a nice cool treat to cool off that night. Plus we had a sweet tooth. ;)


Tuesday
It was birthday night! We celebrated Becca's birthday with a fun dinner, presents, and yummy birthday cake! The weather was even SO nice that we took a nice looooooong walk after dinner. The neighbors down the street from Mom and Dad Kelly got goats, so of course we had to go over and see them. Jen wants a goat..... maybe someday. ;) We also went to the next door neighbors to Mom and Dad Kelly to show off Noah. They've been waiting like crazy to see him and we finally got to go over and introduce him! They just got their pool all ready for summer, so maybe we can take him over one of these sweltering hot days - or maybe next year instead when he's bigger. ;)

Noah visiting the goats. =)

Wednesday
Such a FUN day! Jen went and played Ultimate Frisbee with Becca and her work mates. Brian plays too, so it was fun for her to be able to hang out with the both of them. A good friend of Jen's from high school works with Becca and plays on the team, so it was fun for her to catch up with him and reconnect. (It's crazy how small this world REALLY is.) Mom Kelly, Auntie Cheryl and Noah watched from the sidelines and cheered them on. Afterwards, they were supposed to go on a picnic, but the wind was blowing 8 million miles an hour, AND it was cloudy - what do you know though, that as they were coming out of the restaurant after lunch, the sun was shining. ;) That night, we went and bought Noah an exersaucer. He won't get it until we get back from Arkansas though since we just got him a door jumperoo. Don't want to spoil him TOO much within a short period of time. ;) He's getting more and more mobile, and less content with his same ol' toys. So what were we to do but get him the next step up in toys! =)

Playing Ultimate Frisbee!
How Noah watched half of the time. =)

Thursday
Another busy day spent cleaning, preparing for the trip, and appointments and etc. That night was kinda supposed to be a date night alone for us since Jen's heading out of town for 2 weeks next week, but we decided to have dinner and dessert back at the house with our good friends Matt and Trisha. =) They live about 3 minutes from us and will be moving at the end of the month to Monument. After dinner they took us to see their new house that's almost done being built - we hope to be their "neighbors" again by next year at this time and show them OUR newly built house.

Noah in Papa and Mimi's bed. He slept. We "partied." =)

Friday
Jen worked half a day (she's really getting into this "working only when it's convenient for her" deal). The other half of the day she spent doing laundry, cleaning, and getting ready for the trip. Needless to say, since neither of us wanted to make dinner after working that evening, we picked up pizza and garlic knots from our favorite pizza place here in town (Boriello Brothers) and enjoyed dinner while watching the lightning show and listening to the thunder. We had quite the rain and hail too and were under a tornado watch for quite some time!


Saturday
We did nothing but pack and spend time together alone as a family. It was a gross, dreary day, so we didn't mind staying in and hanging out in our jammies all day.

All packed and ready to go! Bye, Daddy!

Whew!

Five Months Old!

Yes, believe it or not, we are the proud parents of a 5-month-old. Is it as hard for YOU to imagine as it is for US? Can you believe we've had Noah in our lives for 5 months now? He sure is growing up SO fast. We try to savor every moment and soak it in so as not to forget each and every little milestone since everyone has told us how fast babies grow up. It's amazing - you don't truly believe it until you have one of your very own.

What a precious gift we've been given. He truly is THE smartest, THE cutest, THE most fun, THE sweetest, THE most loved, THE most spoiled, THE most well-behaved........ =)

Here's some of his best pics lately......

His favorite way to sleep lately. It looks like it would hurt.......

Fun in the bath with daddy! Standing up! =)
His OTHER favorite way to sleep lately.
Chillin' in his Bumbo!
Fun with his play mat.
Snuggles with Aunt Becca.
Tummy time!
Playing with his new stuffed animal.... it's almost as big as he is!
Boys are the best! =)
SO adorable when he sleeps. =)

We're also seeing a "boy" theme in our life lately. Noah's gonna have LOTS of little guy friends to grow up with. Sister-friend Erynn is having a boy (Nathan). Our friend Ali is having a boy (Elijah). Jen's childhood friend is having a boy (name TBD). Our friend Ryann just had a boy (Riley). Jen's friend Laura just had a boy (Tanner). Jen's high-school choir teacher's son just had a boy (name unknown)...... this choir teacher also said she had a theory as to why so many women lately are having boys - because we are in desperate need in this world for some strong Christian men to be raised up in the Lord to lead us, so He is having these women have boys so they can do just that! So if you are pregnant, and don't know the sex (which we know of about 5 people right now who fit into that category), think about that. You are probably going to have a boy. ;) Just sayin'....... =)

(By Greg)

Saturday, June 5th, (tomorrow) is my test day for Level 2 of the CFA exam (http://www.testprepreview.com/cfa_practice.htm), finally! I've been studying since October ('09) and it seems like the studying is never-ending. Since this is my second time around on Level 2 (I failed Level 2 last June), you'd think it would be a little easier, but it's not. I've been able to recall a lot of stuff, but it's still difficult! With 4,000 pages worth of material to study from and only a 120-question test, the questions can be from anywhere. On the bad side, if I fail again tomorrow, I'll know what to focus on next year and what to do different and how to study better.

Please pray for me as the exam starts at 9:00 AM and goes until 5:00 PM! And please pray that I pass this time around!

Estes Park

Yes..... we seem to be traveling fools lately. Every weekend, for the past few months, we've either been on vacation, out running the roads, hanging out with friends, or busy doing something big around the house. THIS past weekend, we got to go to Estes Park, Colorado. We've had this trip planned for quite some time now - it's one of our MOST favorite places to go. It never gets old. We generally go in September/October, but this year, we also wanted to go when it was warm out as well! It was the best weekend get-away. MUCH needed too. Condo by the river in the mountains, eating world-famous hamburgers , being with family, seeing the sights (and the wildlife) at Rocky Mountain National Park, shopping, and just relaxing. Life doesn't get any better than this! =)

Elk everywhere!

Noah's first Elk sighting. =)
ALWAYS look to the left and right before exiting your condo......
Sittin' by the river. (Greg's new favorite picture)
All dressed up and ready to go into the park!
"Trusty."
Noah LOVES his Bjorn..... he also loved to shop and people watch!
Downtown Estes.
Noah loves to look at the cute boy in the mirror. ;) (Himself, not Greg - LOL)
All that walking around wore him out at the end of the day...... he was SO good.

On The Road Again....

This past weekend we found ourselves in Albuquerque, New Mexico again. You're probably thinking, "sheesh, what again for THIS time? Weren't you JUST there LAST month?!?!" =)

We were there for a baby shower! As most of you already know, our friend/"sister" Erynn is pregnant and is due with her baby in July. Of course we couldn't miss out on all the fun! We had such fun meeting and hanging out with the girls on Jon's side of the family too. It was almost like we had become family with them too by the time we left!

Jen had such fun at the shower! There was lots of fun, yummy food, they played a really neat game that involved making baby onesies for Nathan, and Erynn was blessed with lots and lots of good stuff. Nathan is one spoiled and loved little guy already - and he's not even here yet!

Greg had fun hanging out with the guys at home playing ball outside and Rockband downstairs. Of course, Noah and studying for his test occupied a lot of his time too. ;)

Noah got spoiled with lots of hugs and kisses. Everyone loved passing him around and playing with him. His Gammy Mangum even bought him a couple of fun things too. =) He even had his first play date with a couple of kids that the Mangum's watched for a few hours on Saturday! =) He sure loves kids - and Caleb's puppy, Joey, too!

Going through the pregnancy with Jon and Erynn (and when Jen was at the shower), we realized it's amazing how much parenthood itself teaches you. No amount of reading "the rules" in books, can ever fully prepare you for the things that lie ahead when it's your first baby (maybe even for the second one too, who knows). Not that we're pro's or anything, but it's been fun helping Erynn and Jon along the way, answering questions, giving advice, helping them register, and tipping them off to some things that we've learned with Noah that have helped us. We've been SO glad to help them, especially when there were some things that no one had ever told US about! Albeit, their situations will probably be different, but for the most part, they're all the same, and we were glad to be there to help answer any and all questions, and alleviate SOME fears. ;)

Less than 7 weeks until baby Nathan is here! We can't wait! =) =) =)

The Wizard of Oz

Colorado Springs is not in Kansas anymore......

It was SO much fun tonight! We went to see The Wizard of Oz at the Pikes Peak Center! Since that was one of Jen's most favorite movies growing up (she can pretty much quote the whole movie), and the highlight of her trip to Washington D.C. oh so long ago (Dorothy's shoes), Greg surprised her for Valentines Day this year with tickets to see the Broadway musical! =) We definitely enjoyed ourselves and think that we could possibly get into the whole "theater" thing. =)

Next thing on the list to see: Wicked. The next time it's playing in Denver (or hopefully the Springs), we plan to go!

Mother's Day Baby Dedication

(By Jen)

This Mother's Day for me was vastly different than last year.

Last year, only a hand-full of people knew I was pregnant. This year, everyone did, so it was fun to share my first Mother's Day experience and have everyone be excited with me! Last year, I spent Mother's Day feeling sick to my stomach while sitting on the bathroom floor at home most of the day. This year, I felt fine and actually got to go to church! =) Last year, Noah wasn't here yet. This year, he was - and what made Mother's Day extremely special THIS year, was that we had him dedicated to the Lord at church this morning! =) It's a day that we will always treasure and remember, and it was so special to be able to share that moment with our family and close friends.

Four Months Old!

Today Noah turned 4 months old. He also had his 4-month well child check today too! Poor baby had to "celebrate" by getting 2 more shots and an oral "vaccine." He's gonna hate going to the doctor if we're not careful, but for now, he LOVES him! (whew!) Jen didn't have to wait in the waiting room this time since he did so great with his shots. Such a trooper! Anyways.... the good news is, he can now start having some rice cereal introduced into his diet! Yay! We started that tonight. Quite the experience. ;) It wasn't totally what we were hoping for (WE were probably more excited about it than HE was), but like the doctor said, it might take him awhile to get used to it. He can have it one feeding per day for one week. If he likes it and gets the hang of eating from a spoon, we can go to twice a day in a week or two! He weighs 14 lbs 12.5 oz, he is 24 inches long now, and the doctor gave him another clean bill of health. We sure have been blessed with such a happy, healthy, and one good sleeper of a baby!!!! =) Hopefully his baby brother or sister will be like that too.... but we don't EVEN want to go THERE right now.... ;)

His "war wounds" from today. :(