One Little Monkey

Yes, that is a bruise...and yes, he was jumping on the bed...

It didn't seem to make him too sad though. :)

My Big Helper

Here are some pics of Noah "helping" me put things away. It's definitely more fun to take the stuff out of the Lazy Susan!

Moving Day and Getting Settled

We moved from our townhouse into our new place this weekend. I'll let the pictures tell the story...


Most of the after pictures were taken right after we had moved in, so there's still a lot of unpacking and arranging that needs to be done. We're really grateful to everyone who helped us get the house ready! We love our new home!

Thanksgiving Fiesta!

Our Thanksgiving this year was a little non-traditional, but definitely memorable! Tara was hosting the feast and Andy, Jess, & Josiah had made plans to drive up for the weekend. Well, the morning of Thanksgiving, a couple of the Hayes' boys came down with the Chicken Pox! (They had all been vaccinated, but somehow they had the Chicken Pox.) So Andy and Jess decided not to come, and we decided not to risk it either. What a sad, disappointing day!

I still wanted to eat a traditional turkey-and-all-the-fixins meal, so we drove up to Mt. Sterling to go to Cracker Barrell--along with everyone else in the surrounding counties--the wait was close to an hour! We couldn't wait that long with a hungry mommy and 1 year old...so we drove back to Winchester, and went to the Mexican restaurant! :) It's our favorite place to eat, and it was not crowded at all! In fact, we were the only patrons in the entire restaurant! The food was muy delicioso, and Noah had the whole place to run around in.

Though I would have much rather had Tara's turkey and trimmings, we made the best of things and had a Thanksgiving meal to remember! (On our way home, I was fortunate enough to get a piece of pumpkin pie at the Frisch's drive thru...yummy!)

Operation Christmas Child

For the past few years, my parents have gone to help process the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. They shared a video with me that I would really love to show on our blog...

Hey, Daddy! Guess What?!?!

We found out some exciting news today!

Since Noah just started walking, I thought this would be a fun way to tell Jeff.

New House Progress

I haven't really given an update on our new place in a while. We worked diligently to get the entire inside of the house painted...Thanks again to Tammy and Tara for helping us get the painting done! Then this week, my Uncle Danny drove down from Indiana to help us get our flooring installed. He worked very hard to get the laminate in the living room and hallway, and tiled the master bathroom, guest bathroom, kitchen, and utility room. It looks fantastic! I'm so excited to see it all come together! Hopefully, we'll be able to move in soon!

I'm so thankful to have such talented family members who have given their time and efforts to helping us get the house ready!

A New Neighbor

Our next door neighbor, Rachelle, already had German Shepherd named Lady, and recently decided to add a Golden Retriever to her family. She got a little girl dog, and named her Lucy. Lucy is such a sweet girl, and Noah loves getting to play with her! The first pictures are from the first time Lucy and Noah met, and the last few are from a day when I dog-sat for Lucy. It was a beautiful day, so we took Lucy for a walk.

Though it may look like Noah was screaming in terror, he was actually laughing and having a really great time!

Hey, Lucy, let's go in here!

Peeking over the side of the stroller to watch Lucy...

Ummm, could you not lick me, please?!?!?!

He's Walking!

Today, one day past his 16 month birthday, Noah decided to walk! I was talking on the phone, and I looked over to see him standing up in the middle of the living room....and then taking off across the room! He's been cruising around holding onto things for several weeks now, and I knew by the way he could support himself that it would be any day. Jeff was over at the new house doing some work, so I called him right away to come home and see what Noah was doing. As soon as Jeff walked in the door, I told Noah to show Daddy some walking. Noah stood up and walked clear across the living room to get to Jeff! He was laughing and grinning the whole way--so proud of himself! Here are a couple clips of the little guy in action...

Punkin Carvin'

I haven't carved a pumpkin in ages! Since we got a pumpkin for Noah at Bi-Water Farms, I thought it would be fun to carve it. Originally, I had planned to let Noah help me, but then opted for having Jeff's help while Noah was sleeping. ;) We hollowed it out, and planned its face together. We even roasted the pumpkin seeds! It was really fun!

The Pumpkin and Noah meeting for the first time.
How's it look?

Hanging with My Cuz

Jeff had to work in Carrollton, this weekend, so Noah and I went down to Knoxville, for a few days. Jessica and I had a nice time relaxing and hanging out with our boys. It's really fun to watch them play together!

Giving Josiah a kiss.

Wow! He's actually sharing the remote!

A Day at Bi-Water Farms

We took a family trip to Bi-Water Farms today. They have so much fun stuff to do there! First, we visited the animals in the petting zoo. Next, was the hayride...they stopped to let us off the hayride for a quick trip through the corn maze. (Well, we didn't actually go through the corn maze, but had fun just walking a little way into it!) Then we rode a rocking horse, and went down some slides! Last we picked out a pumpkin and some apple cider. It was such a beautiful day for it!

Family Portraits--Fall 2009

Today we went to the Lexington Arboretum to have some pictures taken for family portraits. It was a beautiful day!! Unlike some family portrait sessions, this one was a lot of fun! The photographers were Ray and Angela Breakall. They just had us walk around and play with Noah, while they followed us around and captured the moments.


These are just a few of them, if you'd like to see more...

http://www.breakallphotos.com/

1) Once you're there, click on the "Clients" tab at the top left of the page.
2) Another window will pop up, and our album is the last one on the page.

I'm not sure how long the photos will be up on their site, but I know it will be at least another week if you want to check them out.

This Boy's Got Talent!

Today when Noah woke up from his afternoon nap, I heard him playing in his crib. I went in to find this...

He was laughing and grinning behind those pacifiers! :) I'm so glad I had the camera near by!

Dinner with the Olivers

This weekend, we were able to meet up with our friends Brice and Sarah, on their way back from a wedding in South Carolina. Since they had been in the car for HOURS, and their girls needed a chance to stretch their legs for a bit...we met at a play land! It was great to get to catch up with them!

Check This Out!

Grandma Nancy, and Grandpa Don, got Noah this car for his 1st birthday. He's been figuring out how to use it, and just recently started running across the room with it! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for my fun car!

Jeff's 30th Birthday!

Well, he finally came along to join me in the world of 30-somethings! Happy Birthday to my best friend! I love you, Jeff!

Jeff's big present this year, was his trip out to Seattle. He flew out there to hang out with his roommate from Purdue, Jeremy, and see the Boilers play against Oregon. So when the day of his birth came, we had a small celebration at home. I made his very favorite, yellow cake with chocolate icing, and I sang to him. :) And, sad to admit, but Jeff and I polished off the whole cake...it took us a week...but it's all gone!

Aunt Nay and Some Dt. Dew

What more could a little guy ask for?!?! Aunt Nay stayed the whole weekend (even after our freeze-out-camping-adventure). What's really funny is that she had made Noah two little "wave" bottles of his own, with buttons and a oil/water mixture inside...but he still goes for her Dt. Dew bottles every time!

Ornamental Gourds Apparently...

...make great toys! I put these gourds out on my dining room table to bring a little seasonal touch to our home. Well, every time Noah and I sit down for a meal, he points and hollers for me to let him play with them. So I finally gave in, and let him bang them around for a while...

Backyard Camping Adventure

For Teagan's 5th birthday, Jeff and I decided to let him choose an adventure that he'd like us to take him on.

He had his choice of 4 things for his special day:
1) the zoo
2) the apple orchard
3) a train ride
4) camping by the fwreek (i.e., creek) in their backyard

Without hesitation, he chose to go CAMPING!! So we waited for a free weekend, and we set up camp in the Hayes's backyard...


Renee even drove down from Muncie to join us. We had hot dogs, smores, and hot chocolate around a blazing fire! It was a blast! Well, until we had to step away from the fire to go to bed...it was sooooo cold!!! Jeff took Noah home to sleep in a nice warm house, and Tara, Tayman, Taylan, Teagan, Renee, and I toughed it out in the tents. That next morning, before 7 a.m. we were all up and ready to make a mad dash for the house! Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I know we definitely created some lasting memories! :)

Round and Round We Go!!

Thanks!

After working 7 straight days, Jeff managed to get three days off in a row! We've been looking for chances to go get started on the new house, so we seized this opportunity! We were very grateful that Tammy came up to help us! Jason, Tara, and the boys also popped in whenever they had a free minute too. In those three days, we finished painting all 3 bedrooms, the master bath and closet, and got a really great jump on painting the living room and hallways. Thanks to all of you for your help!

From Piney Flats to Pineville...

After our overnight in Piney Flats, we drove to Pineville, KY, and met my parents for the afternoon. We had lunch at the Pine Mountain Resort. Following lunch, we thought it would be nice to take a short hike through the woods. This was definitely not a stroller-friendly trail, so someone had to carry Noah the whole way! We had a great hike and even had a special treat of seeing two deer along the way, however, we somehow managed to miss the "loop" part of the trail and ended up going a lot farther than we had intended! I guess we can say that we got our workout for the day!

Papaw and Noah walked around the whole dining room!

Mamaw and Noah picking out dessert! Yummy!!