To the one who made me a momma...

There's this necklace I want very badly. It was made for us; it already has your name on it.

via

The fact that it has, "Love has no words..." etched into the silver? Well, it hits something deep in my heart. Because the fact is, Little Man, I haven't heard the word "Ma-ma" dance across those sweet lips of yours in a very long time. But the coolest part is that I don't need to hear it to know when you need me. In fact, even though I do a little dance with every new word or phrase that you surprise us with? They don't compare to the completely unprompted kisses you give. Or the way you still bury your head in the crook of my neck like an infant. Or how you reach those little arms around me when we hug, tugging as if I there's any possible way we could be any closer. When those beautiful eyes light up at the sight of me, it makes this mommy's heart soar.

 

Your sweetness knows no limits. Even those quiet little split-second fits most people would call a "tantrum" are cute. Your smile brightens even the worst of days, and people are automatically drawn to you. The Starbucks barista even lights up when she sees you coming for your weekly pumpkin bread, which she keeps in stock especially for you.

Little boy, you are such a gift. God is going to use you in amazing ways. You fill our home with lots of joy (and Curious George and cars and dirt...), and I'm just so thankful I get to be the one to help raise you. Thank you for making me a mom and giving me a reason to feel extra loved tomorrow.

Love you to the moon and back, sweetpea.

Easter



Our Easter was a bit of a dud this year.
Okay, well not really. In fact, Brad keeps saying how, other than being sick, this was his favorite Easter ever.

Friday night, we went to my dad's to dye Easter eggs with Noah. Oh my gosh, Noah looooved it this year! He totally understood what we were doing, and he wanted to be the one to put them in, scoop them out... and frankly, make a big mess.

That night, Brad came down with a bad tummy bug. This was absolutely AWFUL timing, because we were supposed to be doing a photo swap the next day with Jess.
I was also doing a photoshoot with my little sister and niece for my sister's 16th birthday present. So basically, we weren't going to be getting our pictures done, and Noah was going to have to come with us. The girls got their makeup done by my stepsister Sarah (who is amazing, btw), and we headed to the park I chose for both shoots.

It all ended up working out. Jess will be back in June for our shoot, and the girls kept an eye on Noah while I worked with her family. It was a team effort once I got to their shoot, though. The park is more like a massive field. No playground... just trails, a couple of barns, and lots of dirt for Noah to play in. It was awesome.

To see some of Jess's pictures, go here.

To see some of my little sister and niece's pictures, go here.

The next day, Brad still wasn't feeling very well. I wasn't about to just leave him alone on a holiday, so we decided to hang at home all day.

We did give Noah an Easter basket, which was fun to watch. The boy now loooooves bubbles and asks for "bu-bu-sss" multiple times, every day.

We also gave him some chalk, which he proceeded to pick at instead of actually draw with. Whatever makes him happy, I guess.

And that was our Easter. :)
Now I need to go catch up on everyone else's posts!

fiddlyfart

- Spring is being stupid. I was bragging last weekend about how it was all sunshine and 80 degrees and "yay spring is here!!". Well HAHA on me. It's all cold again. Well, cold being 55, but I'm a pansy when it comes to cold weather. Unless it's going to snow, cold is totally useless.

- I remember odd tidbits about people. I think it's just part of being that wallflower/introvert type person. I sit back and listen to everyone's stories and file them away in my brain. Like one of my friends in elementary school had a weird obsession with the Calvin and Hobbes comics as a kid. Or the random gossipy details of certain couples in high school. Or the time a coworker got sick at work and said it was because she ate a funny tasting pickle. Or the time my friend thought she was drunk on root beer in the 6th grade.

- These are the kinds of things I pin on Pinterest. I can promise you I won't ever get around to painting my nails to look like little Easter eggs. But jousting peeps? That I can do.

(couldn't find original source)

- Has anyone else seen the Bible series on the History channel yet? I've only seen a few minutes of the first one, and it looks pretty good. I don't mind a good Bible story, but here's my issue... I don't really like watching real-life Bible depictions, because everyone is always dirty. And not the kind of dirty where they're a little sweaty or hadn't bathed in a couple of days. It's like people rolled around in dirt and nobody told them they had a little bit of somethin' on their face. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that people walked around with dirt all over them at all times. I guess it's possible, but I just have a hard time believing it was that big of a problem.

- Remember how I mentioned I don't have a fancy phone? Well not having a fancy phone, yet being addicted to instagramming kind of creates a problem for me. If Brad's around, I'll sometimes grab his phone. But most of the time, the iPad is closer. So when Noah does something cute, I grab it. I'm aware of how ridiculous I look.

- Noah has decided that he loves to brush his teeth. Like he looks forward to that part of his bedtime routine now. I started singing this little song from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood recently, just for fun. He thought I was the most clever person on earth. I love that I amaze him so easily. So the other day, Noah starts doing this when I sing:

ps. please pretend you didn't notice I was in one of Brad's old tshirts and some pj pants from the 9th grade. I wasn't planning on being recorded (I almost typed "filmed". I'm so cool).

recent happenings

Last week, we took a day trip up to Asheville to visit the Biltmore. Brad had gotten free tickets through a work friend, so we picked a weekday (when it wouldn't be busy) and headed on up there. I hadn't gone since high school, and Brad had never been.

 

Noah did SO well. He even walked some of the tour and didn't try to jump on any beds or anything. :) He liked the tunnels in the basement, and his favorite part of the whole trip was the bus ride to the house.
When we were getting dropped back off at the parking lot, he starting waving and saying, "bye bye"... not because we were leaving, but because he wanted to go "bye bye" longer in the shuttle bus. lol.

I won't bore you with a ton of details of the house, but if you're in the area, definitely go for a visit. Especially if you watch Downton Abbey. It's very very similar to that. Except I recommend going in the spring. I mean, it was great for a free trip, but it would've been nice not to be so flippin cold!

(dude. bright sun. yikes.)

 We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but we did grab a quick shot with Brad's phone of Noah and me at the indoor bowling alley. The quality sucks, especially since it was pretty dark down there. It is what it is. Photos of me with Noah are rare, so I'll take it.

 

Because Noah did so amazingly well, we decided to give him a treat. They had a little vintage toy shop, full of old timey type things like spinning tops, marbles, etc. They also had plenty of Melissa & Doug toys and these cool clocks (which Noah was mesmerized with). He found some trains, so we grabbed him one of those. And I was kind of surprised that the price wasn't too bad... $6 for a high quality, metal train that makes sound is better than those Thomas ones.

We also stopped by the candy shop, and his little eyes couldn't believe all of that chocolate behind the glass. He got a chocolate covered graham cracker, which he only ended up eating a few bites of (momma helped him with the rest...).
I'm kind of regretting I didn't get any cute candy shop shots with my fancy camera, but it was a little hard juggling everything (purse, backpack with Noah's stuff, stroller, etc).

 

We had a really good time. Brad was a little creeped out by some of the darker hallways, saying how he'd hate to visit at night. It did have a little bit of a haunted house type vibe goin' on. I'd like to take one of those tours where they show you the secret tunnels and doors and stuff.

You can get a better idea of just how big the house is by comparing how small Brad and Noah look standing next to it (bottom right, with the stroller). Now that I'm a mom? I kept telling Brad how I couldn't imagine raising kids in that house. I would be scared to death one of them would fall down the stairs or hang off a balcony or something. Or I'd lose them in a secret passageway.

Other Random Happenings:

The tickets we got expired March 1st, and part of the reason we waited so long to go was because Noah kept getting sick. I swear it's the school. He gets therapy there on Mondays, and it seems like by Thursday, he's sick again. Thankfully, it was just a fever this time, but it was still sad to watch him feel so lousy.

 

***

 

I've already decorated for Easter. I got my snow, so I'm good to move on now. 

 (bunny bums make me happy)

Actually, even though I'd like spring to show up early, it'd make for an awful summer. The mosquitos around here are ridiculous, and an earlier spring means more mosquitos (and other bugs). I'd rather wait a couple more weeks than get eaten alive.

I've also been planning Noah's Easter outfit. I'm so excited about it that I'm not even telling Brad what I have planned yet. Mostly because he'll probably veto it. He tends to do that when he can't see the whole picture yet. Seriously, half the fun of having a kid is dressing them up, and dangit, that's what I'm going to do.

***

We got a knock on our door recently. It was a surveyor telling us that our fence was on our neighbor's property by a few feet. Brad was super annoyed, since we'd had our HOA send out someone to check out the property lines before we built it. Turns out, that guy wasn't official.
So Brad went ahead and moved it now before it got too hot. Our neighbors behind us have a little girl who is about a year older than Noah. She was adorable chatting Noah's ear off, and most of it just went right over his head. He loves playing with other kids, and it cracks me up that little girls are drawn to him. They must think he's a great listener. ;)

 

Toss in a few hours of play doh and some therapy appointments, and that's pretty much the last couple of weeks for us.

Happy Tuesday!

Valentine's Day

As always, we had a really low-key Valentine's Day. In fact, I didn't even get around to decorating for it. I like the idea of the cute pink/red paper banners and filling vases with conversation hearts. But I'm also in the middle of painting our loft (what may break the record for slowest-paint-job-EVER). Frankly, I just wasn't in the mood to bother, especially since I'm the only one in this house who would even care.
We never go out on Valentine's Day, because everything is overly packed. Traffic is terrible, the wait is endless, and the "special Valentine's menu" is usually overpriced. I really didn't think we'd be doing anything, but my husband is a smart guy. And he knows that even if I say I don't care about Valentine's Day, I also don't want to be the only wife in America who didn't get anything special. So he ended up fixing me a cute fondue-for-two dinner last night. It was really sweet, and I ate too much. But at least it was food like salmon that I ate too much of, right?

Noah loves his Special Ed teacher at the public school. I'm still not too sure what her role in his therapy is, but I don't even care. He adores that lady, and she told us that she looks forward to Thursday every week, because she gets to see Noah. And that, my friends, is the sign of a good therapist. Anyway, in therapy yesterday, they made a Valentine's craft for me. I think it was my favorite part of the whole day.

He's shy about his crafting skills, so it's hard to get him to hold his projects for me... hence the blurry picture.

 

Hope y'all had a great Valentine's Day!

And even if you didn't, I guess take solace in the fact that it's over now, chocolate will be discounted, and it's Friday!!

 

Have a great weekend!



Better late than never?

Um, hi.
Y'all still there?

I really didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging. It just kinda happened. And honestly? It's been nice. We've had lots of good quality time together... impromptu trips to the mall, playtime at the park, and pillow forts on those freezing rainy days... the good stuff. There have been times where I felt like my head might explode if I didn't sit down and write something. But overall, it's been nice to shut the computer off and chill with my family.

Noah's schedule has been a mess since Christmas. The other night, he slept from 1:30am - 5am. Then was up till 9:30am. Then slept until 2pm. Most nights, we haven't gotten to bed before 3am. Yeah, total mess. He's also given up naps, so my free time to sit and write has been limited. And in an effort to embrace the new year resolution vibes swirling around, I've been busy re-organizing, rearranging, and revamping the house.

So. I'm really behind. Like really really. Christmas was what? Two, three weeks ago? In any case, I started this blog to document our life, and I need to hurry up and do that before I forget. So here goes. Few words, lots of pictures. And no, they're not perfect. But I wasn't going for perfection. I was going for remembering. :)      

Dad's Birthday.
My dad was born on the 18th, and we always try to make a point to celebrate it separately from Christmas. So each year, we (my little family, my brother, and two step-sisters with their boyfriends) head on over to my dad's for a little party.

We don't buy ice cream at our house. Mainly because it's my weakness, and I'd be 500 lbs if we bought it. But Noah knows exactly where his grandparents keep their ice cream. He'll drag us to the freezer, over and over again, and point to the ice cream box. If he's able to reach it, he'll grab it out of the freezer and bring it to us. Clearly, the boy got it honest.

I love watching my dad with Noah. He's never had any issues bonding with Noah, despite the fact that Noah doesn't talk yet. He gets him... what makes him tick, how he likes to play, how to make that little face light up. He understands that it takes a little bit more effort to bond with Noah, and he enjoys putting in that effort. He and Noah have a very special relationship, and I love that.

Christmas Eve.
We always do Christmas Eve with my parents. It leaves us with fewer places to run to on Christmas Day without losing that Christmas-y feel.

First up was my dad's. We had given them a couple ideas of what to get Noah this year. He loves shape sorters, so they got him this Melissa & Doug one that's a little more challenging. They also gave him one of his favorite OT toys... veggies that you slice with a (play) knife. He plays with it constantly.

 However, they surprised us with one of their gifts. They originally planned on getting him a rocking horse, but they couldn't find what they were looking for. My stepmom happens to drive a little Mini Cooper. So when they saw this, they couldn't resist...

Noah loves it! Actually, he got annoyed with Brad, because he wasn't putting it together fast enough. :)

As for us, my dad got me a flash for my camera... not a Nikon, obviously, since those are super expensive. It's a Vivitar, which he says he used for his pro-level camera back in the day. I've had some time to play with it, and I'm loving it so far. I'm more of a natural light photographer, but I'm wanting to learn more OCF techniques. Sorry, I'm going totally off topic.
When we first drove up, there was a HUGE ladder propped up against the house with a big red bow and a tag with Brad's name on it. He's always having to borrow big ladders to clean gutters and all that on our house. It was the one thing I told my parents Brad needed, so I thought it was a great way to give it to him.

My Mom's.
After we visit my dad, we head straight to my mom's house, who lives about 5 minutes away. My grandmother (aka "MamMaw") usually spends the night there on Christmas Eve, and we have a PJ party. My mom makes sandwiches and appetizers, and my stepdad builds a fire. We have a cozy night in, and it's one of my favorite traditions. This year, my younger cousin Cameron was staying with my MamMaw, so we decided not to make him feel weird by being the only one in normal clothes. But my little sister kept the tradition alive. ;)

Seriously, this photo sums up my mom's personality. Totally.

This year, we asked them to help us out by getting Noah an iPad. We were really stressing about how we were going to afford one, even an older version. All the Craigs List ads were sketchy, and retailers have to price them all the same, so no major sales. We asked them to just take whatever they'd normally spend on us and put it towards an iPad. When my mom asked my stepdad about it, he told her to tell us not to worry about it. They'd go out and buy one, no questions asked. In his words, "Anything for that sweet boy..."

(testing it out)

It's been such a hit with Noah. He has several favorite apps, but the one I'm most impressed with has been the spelling app by TouchAutism.com. Noah didn't know his ABC's at all before. He still doesn't know them in order. But this app has taught him what the letters are, so if I say "A" or "F", he immediately points to those letters. Honestly, I think it makes more sense to him this way. Before, they're just arbitrary letters with no meaning. He gets numbers, because they make sense to him. They have a purpose. Put the letters in a specific order, and they suddenly mean something for him. Anyway, it's pretty amazing.

And of course, they still ended up giving us a Christmas. My mom has a problem with seeing her kids not open something on Christmas. They were super awesome and got me a Keurig (hallelujah! see above paragraph about Noah's sleep issues...) and a few other nice things. Knowing Brad needed a tall ladder, they gave him a gift card to Lowes (thank goodness we didn't end up with two huge ladders, lol!).

My mom's house at Christmas (the house I grew up in, and the house Brad proposed to me in front of)...

"Clark, is your house on fire??"

Christmas Day.
I was up until 4am building that firehouse. Brad and Noah crashed when we got home, and I realized Noah's big present wasn't put together yet. I sure wish Santa would bring this stuff pre-assembled. *Ahem*

But it was so worth it. Noah thought it was the coolest thing ever. He loves simple toys, preferably with a vintage feel to it. So I knew this would be a hit.
The only thing I didn't get for Noah that I wanted were cute Christmas PJ's. By the time I got around to looking, all the cute ones were gone. So I had to make do with what we had. Hey, he's wearing red. I count that as a win.

 

 

There was only one thing that Noah really wanted this year, which I didn't find out about until a few days before. Again with the vintage taste. Thank God for Craigs List.

After our little morning together, we always head on over to my grandparents' house where we meet up with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc for lunch and gifts.

 

 

Brad's parents came over that night for dinner and presents. I didn't really get any pictures, since we were all pretty tired by that point.

Hope y'all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!!