Spreadin' the Love

We spread the love out over 4 days.  Valentine's Day was quite fun and eventful this year.  ;)

Thursday was Noah's Valentine party at school.  He took THE cutest Valentines for his friends.  As we were passing them out, almost all of the parents RAVED about them.  He said all of his friends thought they were "really cool."

Friday night, Noah went to Mimi's house to spend the night and have a special Valentine's celebration with her (bowling, shopping, scavenger hunt, special supper, etc)  We went on a dinner and shopping date with Emma.  ;)  Mimi also sent us home with a plate of her super yummy cookies - even made up a little bag of little ones for Emma!  De-lish!

Saturday night, we had a special little Valentine's Day "celebration" at home.  Heart shaped pizza for supper, fondue for dessert, the kids gave little gifts to each other (and then to us) and they also got to open fun Valentine cards from Grandpa and Grandma - they were thrilled!

Sunday night, we got to go out on a kid-free date.  We considered spending Valentine's with the kids special enough, but this got to be an added bonus.  ;) We went out and had a fun Hibachi dinner and then went to a movie (American Sniper) afterwards.

And then there's these:

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

10 Months Old!

We are inching closer and closer towards a first birthday.... who would have ever thought 10 months would have come so quickly?!?!

She:
- Gets into EVERYthing.  All.the.time.  Noah never really did this, so this is quite new for us.  She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure!
- Got her big girl car seat since she's grown out of her infant carrier.  She loves it and feels like big stuff.  ;)
- Likes to mimic.  Talk loud.  Babble.  Dance.  Make silly noises and faces.
- Stands for longer periods of time and barely holds on to things when she walks.  Now... if she'd only just let go and walk.... we see this happening soon.  ;)
- Plays independently SO WELL!
- Has 5 teeth!
- Is getting easier and easier by the day.
- Still loves most all foods and will try anything!
- Changes almost daily and is more fun than we ever could imagine.  She makes our hearts SO full!  :)

Now.... to bombard you with cuteness.....

9 Months Old!

Can't believe we are at the 9-month mark already!!!!!  And what a GREAT 9-months it has been!

She:

* Still sleeps like a CHAMP!  7:15pm-around 8:00am!  WOW!  Blessed for sure.

* Eats most anything.  Except we are thinking she is starting to not like baby food and wants more solid people food. Which is fine.... except that we have a TON of it made in the freezer.  :/  (guess we'll be making a lot of smoothies....)

* Took her first step on Noah's birthday.  She's tried hard ever since but hasn't done it again. She will push anything she can and use it as a walker around the house though.  She LOVES to walk!

* Is starting to get into things more and more.  We have to constantly keep an eye on her and keep her out of the kitchen cabinets & the food pantry, keep doors closed, put gates up and etc.  Feels like we say the same thing all day long: "that's not yours, Emma. Let's play over here!" ;)

* Has her 9-month well-child check on Tuesday. Can't WAIT to see her stats!

* Has another tooth!  Up top this time.  So she now has one on the bottom left and one on the top right.  We call her snaggle-tooth.  ;)  (we also jokingly call her "Moon Pie," but if you don't watch The Big Bang Theory, it really wouldn't be all that funny to you - :)) 

* Hasn't really been sick.  We've been blessed with healthy kids and the knowledge of how to use essential oils.  

* Waves!!!

* Fits into 12-month clothes already!

* Loves her brother and loves to chase him.  Never a dull moment around here with those two. ;)

* Keeps us on our toes!  All of us.  She's such a blast.  :)

Can't get enough of this picture.  She's just so beautiful!  Could just sit and stare at her for her whole nap when she sleeps....

Her new favorite toy - a rubbery cow that when squeezed, its eyes pop out.  But she keeps it in her mouth and chews/sucks on it like a binky.  Hilarious!

An us-ie (not a selfie - ha!) with big smiles.

Lunch at Steak 'n Shake. This little girl ate pretty much half of a cheeseburger and a whole pouch of sweet potatoes!!!  

Annnnnd.... here we are getting into the cabinets.  Generally a no-no, but this was just way too cute to say no to.  We'll work on redirecting another day.  ;)

Will play forever with her cow in her mouth.  :)

Loves the dishwasher!  We'll see if she still does in a couple of years.  ;)

So silly.  :)

Five Years Old!

So there's this boy.  He lives in our home. We can't really call him "little" anymore.  He'll always be our baby, but he's not a baby anymore.  Our joy boy.  His name is Noah and he just turned five. FIVE?!?!  HOW can this be?  HOW can we get time to slow down just a bit?

So Noah, our joy boy, has been obsessed with everything Star Wars and Legos this past year.  Such big boy stuff.  So we threw a party for him and his friends today fit for the Star Wars lover.  He was beaming. Hardly stopped smiling.  Shook with excitement practically the whole day.  And he deserved every bit of it. He's an exceptional young man.

He had his "friend party" (as we like to call it) at The Home Depot this afternoon - and what a fabulous place to have a birthday party, too! We had made masks for the kids to wear upon arrival - they were a big hit!

Then, they each got an apron with their name on it and went right to work on the TWO crafts that were set up on the table for them.

We also passed out some snacks and "yoda soda" to keep all the kids fueled during their labor.  ;)  After that, it was time for presents!  You've never seen so many kids rush the birthday kid with their gift, practically shoving their gift in his face with excitement.  Noah hardly had any breathing room and we were lucky to get any decent pictures! BUT.... he was almost trembling with excitement with the opening of each gift, so it was totally worth it.  :)

After that, (cookie) cake and ice cream!  Since he's not a huge fan of cake, we did cookie cakes this year. They were quite tasty and the kids (and parents!) seemed to thoroughly enjoy something a little different!

After all the fun and excitement was over and it was time for everyone to go home, Noah passed out goodie bags to everyone who came (that included Star Wars Pez, Star Wars fruit snacks and Star Wars candies), as well as lightsabers.  Oh the chaos that ensued after passing out the lightsabers.  lol.  We were glad we passed those out at the very end.  ;)

 

We can't even describe the fun time that he had.  This party seems to have been his best one yet!  :)

After his friend party, we headed home for his "family party" so we could celebrate with just his family and spend time with just them. At his request, we had Jimmie John's sandwiches and all of his favorites sides for supper - topped off with some of the cutest cookies ever!

Happy FIFTH birthday, sweet boy. We love you so.