Picture should say it all!

Happy Birthday Big Guy! Daddy, Mommy, and Big Brother love you very much!

Too Much Birthday Brownie?!?

Noah's 1,2,3's

Noah loves doing puzzles and saying his numbers and letters. Thankfully I found all these great puzzles at a garage sale last year. I totally forgot that I had them. We pulled them out and Noah has had so much fun with them. There are ABC puzzles, shapes, numbers, right and left hand, and animals. We have been having school about 2 days a week. The main thing we have been learning is how to draw a circle. I will have to take a picture of Noah's circle. It is big, but you can definately tell it is a circle. He does so well coloring and doing his flash cards. Hopefully this will help get him ready for pre school in the fall.

We Love the Park!

We are soooo thankful for the many parks that are in and around Lakeland. We literally have about 5 to choose from within a mile or two. Noah and Jacob absolutely LOVE to go to the park. It's very hard sometimes to get Noah to come down or leave. In fact, we went through a day where I was telling Noah to do things like, "Noah, come and eat, or Come and pick up your toys, or it's time to go night night." He would reply, "No Way Mommy!" After this happened a couple times, I looked at him in the eyes and said, "Noah, you do NOT say No way to mommy, you say No Thank You." So, yesterday we were at the park and it was time to leave to eat lunch. I called for Noah to come down and he yelled, "NO THANK YOU MOMMA!" I had to laugh, but things like that have been happening all day. Time to go potty, time to take a nap, time to eat, time to clean up our toys....."No thank you momma" is what I get...... Now for lesson 2!

Thom and Terri's Wedding.

Here is another couple I met through craigslist. Only problem was, I had scheduled their wedding before we moved to FL, so I had to drive back to shoot it! Video and pictures turned out pretty good if I do say so myself ;-)

COCKROACH!!!!!!!

Okay, my mother warned me when moving to Florida, the bugs get bad. Well, when we lived in Gainesville I honestly do not remember a single bug in our apartment. I am not saying they weren't there, we just never saw one. Well, we have been in this house for almost 2 month and this is the 4th roach I have seen. AHHH! I HATE bugs especially ones that crunch when you step on them. The big guy in the pictures was in my kitchen. MY KITCHEN OF ALL PLACES! I JUST scrubbed the floor yesterday too, so guess I will have to do it again during naptime today. Anyway, he was on his back but his antenae were still moving a little. So, I thought, oh yeah, he's dead. I got Noah to come in and take a look at it. He kept saying Look, bug! Look Bug! He was no help to get the thing off the floor and I surely couldn't wait for Josh to come home, who usually comes home for lunch but today is eating with a couple recruits on campus. So, I tried to sweep it up into the dusting pan. Little did I know the "THING" was still very much alive and once touched, started flailing it's arms and legs for everything it was worth! I screamed, Noah screamed, it was aweful! Now, not only do I have to get rid of it, I have to KILL it too!!!! So I grabbed one of Josh's tennis shoes and dropped in on the thing.....opps missed, and the thing started moving faster. AHHH!!! I hate this, so I picked up the shoe, and started beating the thing several times. I left the shoe on it the last time I hit it, thinking, Maybe I could just leave it here covered up with the shoe, and let Josh take care of it. Great plan, until I thought about the almost one year old. Jacob would probably move the shoe, and try to eat the thing......okay, I had to clean it up. Noah and I swept it into the dust pan, antenae still moving by the way, and then flushed the sucker down the toilet. Noah did the honors and waved him a "Bye Bug! Have a good day! See ya!"

The adrenaline is still rushing....I know I am pathetic and am going to have to get over it!!!!!! I live in Florida and that is just the price I pay! But for real, that guy is HUGE!

Our Big Man!

This is our Big Little Man! I can hardly believe that he is going to be One a week from today! He has been popping up like this for a couple days now, and finally got it on film. He's not walking yet, which I am very thankful for, I can't imagine 2 walking!!!! Yikes. Anyway, here he is in all his glory!

Some of My Recent Favorites...

Fun at the Family Fun Center!

We have discovered a place right down the road called Family Fun Center. It has Putt Putt, Arcades, and a HUGE indoor playplace. The playplace has slides, HUGE ball pits, ziplines, nets, tunnels, you name it, they have it. Well, we went today and Noah, Jacob and I were the ONLY ones there. Noah was so excited! He climbed, zipped, jumped, crawled, ran, pretty much every adjective you can think of. It was so fun! There is even a little play place for little guys like Jacob. He likes to play in the balls and crawl through the tunnel. The cost for Noah is $2.99 and Jacob is free, and the best part is, he can go all day, or we can come back at night with daddy and they don't charge us again! After we were done playing we stopped by Little Ceasars for some pizza and came home. I think I am going to make Wednesdays our fun center day. I signed Noah up for Preschool today! There is a Methodist church about 2 blocks from our house (actually on the same road) that offers part time preschool for a great rate! So, in the fall, Noah will be attending Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-12. They said he will have a supply list and everything! Sniff Sniff! I can't believe he is already needing SCHOOL SUPPLIES!!!! We toured the place and it is actually an excellent program. Noah went out for recess while the director and I took care of the details. He did so well and just played with all the kids like he's been doing it his whole life! This is a great thing for him! He is really going to do well I think. On other news, I think I have 2 more piano students which is very exciting! I love getting beginners! Well, the boys are up, so back to work!

I was tagged....thanks michelle!

Four jobs I've had:
1) Mowed lawns for my dad for about 10 years!
2) Worked in the Oakland County Jury Office
3) Waitress at Big Boy (yes, THE big boy)
4) Sixth Grade Teacher (miss you FCS!)

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1) Lord of the Rings (ALL OF THEM)
2) Hitch
3) Princess Bride
4) National Treasure

Four places I've lived:
1) Holly, MI
2) Greenville, SC
3) Lafayette, IN
4) Gainesville, FL
I could keep going......

Four TV Shows I watch:
1) LOST
2) America's Funniest Home Videos
3) Friends
4) Jon and Kate Plus Eight

Four places I've been:
1) Mexico
2) The Bahamas
3) Ireland
4) Grand Canyon

Four people who email me regularly:
1) Suzanne
2) Mom
3) Margaret
4) Facebook ;-)

Four of my favorite foods:
1) Mexican
2) Cheesy Breadsticks
3) Outback Cheese Fries!
4) Reeces Peanut Butter Sundae from Baskin Robbins

Four places I would like to visit:
1) Hawaii
2) Australia
3) Oregon (to visit MaryAnne!)
4) Costa Rica

Five things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
1) The volleyball season
2) Myrtle Beach with the family in June!
3) The development of my boys
4) Visiting Chicago and hanging out with my family and Suzanne and Gavin!!!

Four friends I'm tagging:
1) Suzanne Dobbertin
2) Karen Bell
3) Rachel Rhinehart
4) Sheri Vogt

That time of year..

Garage Sales!!!! Yeah! I guess it's garage sale time all year round down here, because too often I am driving around town on the weekends and am following cardboard signs. The boys and I went out last weekend and picked up some GREAT DEALS!!! The deal of the day was Noah's train table that came with wooden tracks, thomas trains, car, a cool bridge, and accessories. Not bad for $30. I have been on the search for one that came with everything and I couldn't find one for under $75, so when we pulled up and I saw this, we were very excited! Jacob has been cruising for what seems like forever! More like 2 months, but it seems longer. I found him a little car for $2 that he can ride and push all over the house. He really likes it! Jacob is 100% weaned and is eating all table food! He will be one year old in a couple weeks. Wow, that doesn't even seem possible. He "talks" to us frquently. It's usually a grunt after we ask him a question, but it's talking nonetheless. Noah is very into trains right now. He loves to push them around the tracks, and put the tracks together. We are in the process of getting him into a Half Day, 3 times a week preschool. He LOVES being with other kids and does so well. When Josh picked him up from church yesterday he was sitting on the front row with his hands folded in his lap ready to sing. Too cute!

The team had a tournament last weekend at home, so we walked over (that was so nice) to watch. The boys did great! I packed a picnic lunch and they sat in the stroller and watched as balls were flying everywhere!

It's been very rainy here lately, but hopefully we can get to the park today! More later!

Our Trip to NC!!!

We just got back from a week in NC! I had to go back to shoot a wedding that I had scheduled before we moved. It was fun! We stayed with our friend's David and Tana and their two kids Savannah and Micah. Noah had SOOOO much fun with his friends that we left behind. On Friday we drove up to Greensboro and spent some time with Nana. Nana watched the boys for me during the wedding. The boys had so much fun spending time with her! We got up early on Sunday and drove back to Raleigh to go to church. It was rainy and COLD! We left on Monday morning for the long drive home. The boys did so well! Jacob did a lot of sleeping, and Noah did alot of watching videos, but on both trips we only stopped ONE time! Crazy I know, but it's true. We strategically planned lunch, gas, and diaper changes on that one stop. Worked out great! We had so much fun and miss NC! I have to go back the 18th to shoot 2 more weddings that I had already had scheduled, but this time the boys are staying at home with daddy and I am catching a plane ride there.