Happy 5th Birthday Noah!!!!

Noah had a good time at Chuck E Cheese for his birthday. Poor guy though, he has been sick since we arrived here in Maryville (we all have with the flu or what ever this is going around...) and he was so wiped out. It was hard to catch him with a smile on his face for the pictures although he said he had a great birthday and fun with all his little cousins as he played. Lots more pictures to come. I have limited access to what I can do with my photos right now while traveling, but wanted to put a few pictures up here. =)

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Today is Noah's 5th birthday, and Doug and I can not believe he is 5 years old already. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital... It's been a wonderful, exciting five years with our sweet little man. We are in Tennessee and tonight Noah is having a Star Wars party at Chuck E Cheese. Lots of pictures soon! Stay tuned..... =)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! It's been a busy day here for us. The kids woke up to their valentines from Doug and I and then we had to get ready and out the door to school. Noah had his Valentine party at school today (which Rachel really enjoyed as well). Wow did Noah rack up on the Valentines and treats today! Then he stayed for Lunchbox Kids and played with his friends. It's been a great day for all of us. I hope you all had a great Valentine's day spent with the people you love the most!

Enjoying the Sunshine

The weather for the last couple of days has been been better (of course, it's cold today) and we have been able to get out and go for our walks. I miss walking with the kids everyday. Not only do we need the excercise, but I just love being out in the sunshine. The kids love it too - I know they can't wait until spring when they can really play outside in the back yard. We have drainage problems and most of the winter the back yard stays pretty wet and squishy. Noah has gotten really good at riding his bike up the hill next to our house. I used to have to help push him up it, but his little leg muscles must be growing because he has had no problems lately. =) Rachel likes the stroller, but loves this little car (Noah loved it as well) and she just drives along, shifting the gears and honking the horn. It's cute. Noah took that picture of Rachel and I - Not bad for almost 5, huh? He thought it was the coolest and wanted to take a bunch more.

Transformers

The last few days have been cold and wet here again and we have been trying to keep the kiddos busy. We rented Transformers on Thursday night and had a movie night of sorts. Noah loved it! He has been talking about Transformers for a while now as some of his friends at school are into them and he was pretty excited about seeing the movie. He likes the character Bumble Bee the best and he says probably Optimist Prime after that. It was cute to see how much he was into it. Star Wars is still his favorite though. =)
Rachel decided last night that she is going to color in the lines like "Wowah". It was cute to see her concentrating and trying so hard to stay in the lines. Also the kids playing some file folder games (some games I have from my preschool days). They love playing them and it keeps them busy for a bit, so I like it! ;)

Remember This Shirt?

Noah wore this Elmo shirt on his first birthday. He had an Elmo themed party and this shirt was just perfect. It was a little big, but check out his sister at a bit over 2 years old wearing the same shirt. LOVE that they both got to wear this and love that they both loved Elmo and this shirt so much. I dug this out of a small box of stuff from Noah's babyhood that I couldn't part with and Rachel loved it the minute she saw it. We added in some red bows to make it a little more girly. Check out those chubby cheeks our wee man had. Love that too. =)

Birthday Bash!

Noah seemed to have a blast at Birthday Bash at preschool today. There were only 2 birthdays this month in his class, him and his buddy Nathan. They were really cute today as you could tell that they knew the day was all about them. They each brought cupcakes to share to school (Noah brought Scooby Doo cupcakes) and they played games and watched a movie. It was pretty cool because as a parent of one of the birthday boys, I helped with the games and got to see Noah interact with his friends all day. He laughed and played the day away. The photos of the three boys at the bottom - Noah and two of his closest friends in school (Nathan and Brody) - you can see they are holding hands and having fun doing the Hokey Pokey. I love to see him having that kind of interaction (also seeing him doing a bit of cutting up - Knowing how reserved he can be). Love it. The bottom two photos are of Noah yesterday when we had just finished making his cupcakes. He was so excited for Scooby Doo cupcakes and also for his turn to take snack next week when he gets to take his 'Scooby Snacks' and Scooby Doo napkins. Cute, cute. =)

A Converstation With Rachel

Sitting at the table eating this morning -
Rachel says:Wanta bite Mommy?
I say: hmmm, okay.
Rachel says: 'Nother bite Mommy?
I say: Okay, but just one more - I'm going to dunk it in my coffee, k?
Rachel says: Why Mommy?
I say: Because it's good.
Rachel says: Why Mommy?
I say: Aren't you a little young for the WHY's?
Rachel says: No Mommy.
=) She also surprised her Daddy yesterday by counting to 13.

I've Seen It All Now...

...well, maybe not... After all, Phoebe has been Yoda, Scooby Doo, a fireman, a pirate, a rabbit... I mean, why not Snow White and dozens of other characters I'm sure she'll be dubbed as... Poor Phoebe... She puts up with a lot. Bless her. =)

By the way, it was 62 here today and we finally made it to the park!! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeee! It was a blast and a well needed day out. Also, Rachel's eye was almost completely back to normal this morning. So no pink eye. Thank goodness!

Holding Her Own...and Her Dog

I had to share these pictures I took tonight. Noah's passion right now is Star Wars (as most of you know) and there are a lot of lightsaber duals at our house right now. The kids were cracking me up tonight as they played. Rachel is getting pretty good at holding her own against Noah with her lightsaber. She was so funny running around with it, her dog and her pink hat on... The girl loves pink... anything pink (or peent, as she says). Speaking of pink... looks like she's coming down with Pink Eye - Cross your fingers for us that it was just a little irritated tonight. We'll be off to the doctor's office tomorrow, if it hasn't gone away by morning.

Happy Friday

Noah doing his favorite thing right now - LEGO Star Wars on the play station.



Okay, we're ready for SPRING! Noah told me today he just wants to go to the park... ME Too!!! I am so ready for warm weather. Yesterday it rained most of the day and was so cold! Today it's clear and gorgeous, but still pretty cold outside. The kids still love their new toys, but they want to run, climb and play and I'm ready to let them... Can you say Cabin Fever? =)
Here it is already February and that seems just nuts. It's all good though because February brings good things: Valentine's Day, Noah's birthday and a quick trip home to Maryville. We can't wait! This past weekend we finished picking out the birthday party stuff for Noah's birthday and he is more excited than ever for his birthday to come. He has been a little bit confused because the birthday party at school is on Monday, (Once a month there is a Birthday Bash for all the kids in the class to celebrate that have birthdays during that month) and we get to take cupcakes. He's very excited. Rachel loves the conversation hearts that February and Valentine's Day always bring about. It's a great motivation award for potty training. ;) Hope everyone is doing well and not suffering too badly from cabin fever in your part of the world!!