Merry "First" Christmas!!!

Our lives, this Christmas season, have been filled with so much joy and so many fun things/traditions!

Like:

Meeting Santa.....

Trying on "torture devices" at Target.....

Making Christmas cookies.....

Making cute things to hang on the tree.....

Seeing fun lights around town.....

Getting the mouth-watering seasonal drinks.....

Making our first gingerbread house.....

Watching "Elf".....
Enjoying our tree and anticipating presents.....

Filling stockings.....
Being a family.....


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

From our home to yours,

Greg, Jen and Noah

The Elves of 2010

It was always fun to do this every year, just the two of us, but now that we have Noah, it's even more hilarious. =)

Check it out! We "elfed" ourselves! Make sure your sound is on.

Original Version

Surf's Up

Toes In The Water, Buns In The Sand.... Life Is Good Today!

Finally.... we have time to post some pics of our much-anticipated vacation!!! (All 3 of us have been badly out of commission this week.)

Aside from the fact that we missed Noah like crazy every single day, we had the most fabulous time ever. Our room had a balcony that we pretty much spent most of the 9 days on, we ordered room service most of those days, our ship was the largest in the whole Carnival fleet, we stopped at St.Maarten, St.Lucia, and St.Kitts, we came home with a TON of neat things, and the list goes on and on with so many more fun things. =)

Instead of posting a bazillion pics, we're putting them in a slideshow. And instead of posting almost all 400 pictures, we picked the 40-ish best ones - which was VERY hard to do. We took SO many great pictures, we wish we could share them all with you!

Enjoy! =)

Eleven Months Old!

It's amazing how some people have told us, "oh, well, that all will change when you have kids." Or, "say goodbye to all those date nights and all that alone time!" Or, "yeah, life as you know it pretty much ends when you have kids." Or, "enjoy sleeping in now!"

Seriously??

Life just begins when you have kids! =) These past eleven months have been some of the best, most fulfilling months of our lives. Wouldn't trade them for anything! And as a side note, don't believe and get caught up in all of the negative things people tell you - in reference to the above statements, we're less selfish (always a plus!), we still have date nights and alone time, life has only gotten more fun, and sleeping in has really never been a thing of the past (our boy loves to (and always has loved to) sleep!).


So the last month with Noah...... well, nursery at church has been a slow-going process. It didn't start off great, but we're taking it one step at a time and it gets a little better each time. We're sure we get some looks when we refuse to let Noah stay in there and cry the whole time, but that's OK.

Every week, we get emails in our inboxes from BabyCenter.com about where your baby should be at this week/month, things to avoid, fun toys to buy, etc. Well, so far, Noah's been far more advanced than the BabyCenter emails indicated he should be. We always think to ourselves that "they need to catch up!" =)

He absolutely loves to just lay in his bed and have his own down-time/quiet time. Quite often during his naptime, we'll sneak in and check in on him, and he'll just be laying there, holding his blanket, sucking his binky, and staring around! Even when he catches us looking at him (which we try to avoid at all costs), it doesn't phase him - he will let us know when he's ready to be bothered. =)

He has now learned to wave "bye-bye." We think it's SO CUTE!! =) We are working on more words (since he somewhat talks) and a lot more signing for things he wants. Mimi taught him how to say "up" when he wants picked up instead of pulling on your pants and throwing a hissy fit. ;)

He has now seemed to have a distaste for most of his baby food. For the most part, he just won't eat it. He wants what we're having. He has loved eating the fries, cheeseburgers, and sweet tea from McDonald's. His new favorite is chicken nuggets, waffle fries, and peppermint chocolate chip milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A. He also loves Mexican food, most meats, and cheese. Sounds like we're horrible eaters, but we figure when we treat ourselves to a little "bad food" every once and awhile, he may as well get some too! It's only fair. =) We're trying hard to not be one of those psycho parents who doesn't want their kid to ever have anything bad for them. ;)

We have also joined a playgroup at Gymboree which Jen and Noah will start going to once we get back from our cruise. Hopefully he'll like it! =)

So Noah's eleven months..... the next time we blog about him, he will be a year old. Where has our baby gone? Are you as in as much disbelief (and somewhat denial) as we are?

Now for some pictures of the cutest kid ever! =)

Silly boy. Binky's in upside down! =)
His first cheeseburger at McDonald's. He ate about half of it!
"N" for Noah! =)
Cute sleeper.
Cute jammies.
Uncle Brian (4 or 5) and Noah (10 mos). Same tent. Same fun.
Bundled up and off to the Donut Mill!
His new favorite place with one of his favorite people. =)
First donut. He ate about a quarter of it.
Snuggles with Daddy.
Another silly face. =)
He will hold his own sippy cup now, thank you!
Walking around the store! Looking cool in Auntie Cheryl's sunglasses.
Mmmmmmm! Peppermint chocolate chip milkshake from Chick-Fil-A!
Thanks Auntie Erynn for my awesome new beanie! =)
Playing "fort" behind the couch with Daddy.

Here's a song we think of often...... (it's by Country singer Darius Rucker)

It Won't Be Like This For Long

He didnt have to wake up

He'd been up all nite

Lay'n there in bed listen'n

To his newborn baby cry

He makes a pot of coffee

He splashes water on his face

His wife gives him a kiss and says

It gonna be OK

It won't be like this for long

One day soon we'll look back laughin'

At the week we brought her home

This phase is gonna fly by

So baby just hold on

It won't be like this for long

Four years later 'bout four thirty

She's crawling in their bed

And when he drops her off at preschool

She's clinging to his leg

The teacher peels her off of him

He says what can I do

She says now don't you worry

This will only last a week or two

It won't be like this for long

One day soon we'll drop her off

And she won't even know your gone

This phase is gonna fly by

If you can just hold on

It won't be like this for long

One day soon she'll be a teenager

And at times you'll think she hates him

Then he'll walk her down the aisle

And he'll raise her veil

But right now she up and cryin'

And the truth is that he don't mind

As he kisses her good night

And she says her prayers

He lays down there beside her

Till her eyes are finally closed

And just watchin' her it breaks his heart

Cause he already knows

It won't be like this for long

One day soon that little girl is gonna be

All grown up and gone

Yeah this phase is gonna fly by

He's tryin' to hold on

It won't be like this for long

It won't be like this for long

The Fulkerson's Fall Fun

So we have a lot of fun around our house. Never a dull moment. And having Noah in our lives just adds that extra element of fun and excitement. :) A new fun - a fun we never knew existed.

November's been full of fun for us. Corny title for the blog post, yes, but hey, it just happened to fit all the circumstances. :)

Let's fill you in a little bit on what's happened and what's to come......

The month started off GREAT for Jen! Her and her good friend Trisha booked a whole morning at the spa being pampered with facials, massages, manicures, pedicures, and fun little drinks/cookies. They ended the afternoon with trying a new place for lunch, and decided to definitely make this a yearly tradition, if not a semi-annual tradition! ;)

At the end of that week that started off so great, we booked eye exams for ourselves. We're not even going to say how long it had been - it's somewhat embarassing. But since Jen hates her eyes messed with, that was one of the reasons we had been putting off. Well, we finally went, and can now see better because of it. ;)

Noah had his second round of the flu shot earlier this month too. Yes, second. Jen almost had to put on her big girl pants and go all by herself, but her Mom and brother ended up being able to go. Noah didn't like it much, but didn't cry as much as he did the last time he got his flu shot. It still broke his mommy's heart nonetheless. We also finally found Noah's first Christmas ornament! One wouldn't think that such a small task would bring great anxiety, but we wanted it to be memorable and perfect. We'll show you what we came up with once our tree is up! =) Jen also went on the great hunt to find Noah some fleece (yes fleece, not flannel) sheets for his crib so he'd be extra warm this winter. She ran across the best fleece sheets ever and Noah seems to sleep like a dream on them. He must like to be warm and cozy like his Mama. =)

On the 15th, we celebrated 8 years together. We always celebrate our dating anniversary doing the same thing we did on our very first date - fondue at The Mona Lisa! We had to celebrate on the 12th though since they aren't open on Monday's, but it was still a fabulous night. Happy 8 wonderful years to us!

We participated in the Operation Christmas Child box event this year. Another one of our favorite Christmas traditions. Noah "helped" pick out things and pack a box too. It will be fun someday when he really knows what he's doing and why. We have also begun our Christmas shopping. Almost done too! When the tree goes up, we like the look of presents underneath it instead of it looking all sad and bare. =) For some strange reason, there's a ton more to wrap for Noah than there is for anyone else! ;) We'll put our tree up after we get back from our cruise instead of doing our traditional day after Thanksgiving tree trimming.

Speaking of a cruise, we leave soon! =) 9 whole days. Room with a balcony. Life won't get any better than that. Of course we'll be missing Noah like crazy..... we're sure he won't be missing us TOO much though. He'll be getting spoiled absolutely rotten by his Mimi and Auntie Cheryl. =) His Gammy who lives in Albuquerque is also supposed to be coming up to spoil him too - hopefully she'll be able to make it!

Noah's first Thanksgiving is coming up! We've looked forward to this for awhile too, and little does Noah know, he'll like it too now that he can eat everything on the table! It will be fun to watch him eat lunch with us and see what all he likes and doesn't like. =) Noah also had his first trip to the Donut Mill in Woodland Park! We decided to skip church one Sunday morning and head up there for a little get-away. He enjoyed the drive, seeing new places, and most of all, the taste of a donut! =)

Our time with Netflix is coming to an end. We've enjoyed endless movies and being "Netflix junkies" for awhile now. Maybe NOW we can start getting more things done around the house. Haha! =) Or maybe, we'll just renew. =) Speaking of house, we had our first house showing! Obviously, it's still for sale, but God has his perfect timing for when we should move.

We've had a lot of fun with friends this month. Both separately and together. Sometimes we just don't feel there are enough days in the month to plan and do things - our calendar gets so full! Jen has even enjoyed being able to turn down days at work to stay home with Noah and enjoy him, as well as taking him to playgroups. =) Ah the perks of being able to work only when one wants too. =) Greg has even enjoyed going out and getting in a few racquetball games with Brian. Might be his new exercise obsession. =)

Speaking of friends, BFF's Jon, Erynn, and Nathan came up and surprised Jen this past weekend. Everyone was in on it but her - they'd been planning this for weeks. Jen was surprised to the point of speechlessness. They got her good. It was a MUCH needed weekend with them that (as always) went by way too fast. They came on a good day too. Last Friday was the pits!

Can't believe we're already talking about 2011! We're planning trips for next year and other fun events. Sounds strange to say 2011, especially when it feels like 2010 just started! Life flies by so quickly these days.

Hope y'all are having as great of a Fall as we are! =)

Binky Buddies. "Little N and Big N."
Daddy's and their boys.
Big Cousin & Little Cousin. (They look thrilled, huh?)
Couldn't you just eat him up??? =)

Jen's new favorite picture of her boys. =)
Oh, we just love you guys! Thanks SO much for the weekend!

October's "Cute Kid"

Just for the heck of it, we decided to enter Noah into a "Cute Kid" contest that our local news channel advertised about last month. We figured we'd get an email or something stating if he had won, so when we didn't hear anything after a month, we just figured someone else had gotten picked.

Not so!

Look who was October's Cute Kid!!! =)

http://www.my719moms.com/events-for-moms/ - (scroll down and it's on the right hand side)

http://www.my719moms.com/news/noah-fulkerson-9-months/ - (the actual submission)

We sure were surprised to see this - not that we had any doubts as to whether he was cute or not. ;)

Ten Months Old!

Time just needs to stop now. Noah can quit growing up at any time - we dislike this "growing up" thing very much. He is being such a little boy now and no longer seems like a little baby. Of course he will ALWAYS be our baby, but to him, he's a big boy.

He is walking now instead of crawling. We pretty much never see him crawling anymore. He's getting the hang of balancing and catching himself, and we still hold our breath when he falls down and bangs his head on something - but he just jumps right back up and keeps on walking like nothing ever happened. (He's not a cryer, that's for sure!) Now that he has a new found love of walking, he is exploring everywhere and getting into everything. We have to keep our eyes on him now more than ever! He loves to pull open the drawers and pull out all our tupperware onto the kitchen floor. (We hadn't planned on getting cabinet locks since we have the house up for sale, but we guess we might have to anyways.....) He also loves to get into all the drawers in his room and see what all he can dig out. ;) He loves to help Jen with the laundry, he loves to sit on the counter and watch whatever we're doing in the kitchen, he has to make sure he can see everything that is going on at all times (if he can't, he will pull on your legs and pants until you lift him up!), and he loves to flirt with certain friends of ours who are female. =) Whenever he lets you hold him for more than 2 seconds, he loves to play with the hair in the back of your head. We find it SO cute. =) He also likes to come up to you and randomly lay his head in your lap or on your leg for a few seconds. We think he's giving us a little bit of love and we LOVE it! =)

He now has 8 teeth. Can't believe THAT! Every time we open that kid's mouth it seems like another tooth is trying to come through. He's a trooper though. Getting teeth seem to never phase him! Everyone says he's too young to have that many teeth. We think he's too young for a lot of things that he's been doing!

He loves to mimic anything we do (his Uncle Brian has fun with THAT!), and a couple of weeks ago, Jen's Mom taught him how to wink. SO ADORABLE!! =) He also recently has started to point at things. So now we're explaining things and telling him everything he points to so he can learn. So fun! =)

Can't believe he's entering into his eleventh month. We truly just don't know how this happened.

As always, here's some (very cute) pictures of Noah from the last month:

Daddy, how come my pants are on my head?

Removing the table and playing "fort" together. =)
Peek a boo!
Looks like he'll be a plumber some day. ;)
New silly face - showing off some of those teeth.
Snuggly jammies.
His highchair brings out the "ham" in him. =)
Loves a good shopping trip to Kohl's!
Grabbed a hold of Mommy's coupon..... with his mouth..... guess a little paper never hurt anyone.....
Here's an idea of what that "laying his head on us" thing looks like - except it's on his crib. =)

He feels like he's in jail. Haha!
SO happy after his nap. Doing his silly face.
Here's that pointing thing we were telling you about.
Always has a smile on his face. Happiest kid in the world. =)
Priceless.
Gorgeous.
=)
Wearing Uncle Brian's old baby sunglasses. "Hey, Dude!"

Funny! =)