Happy 1st Birthday

Noah's turns one today - we are absolutely amazed at how quickly the year has gone. We feel so blessed with what he has brought to our lives and what the future holds.

Let me tell you a little about Noah's 1st Birthday - Lesson #68 for Jesse and Sara - the Best Laid Plans of mice and men often go awry.

- 4:30 am - Birthday boy wakes up screaming

- 4:40 am - Birthday boy not going back to sleep, Mom goes to see what is up

- 5:00 am - Mom realizes it is teeth and a cold at work, not an attempt at early partying, attempts to put Noah back to bed

- 5:15 am - Mom realized, attempt is futile and gets up

- 5:30-7:15 - Rotation of screaming, eating, seeking out Mom if she leaves sight, go for walk to get screaming to stop

- 7:40-8:10 - Sit in car while very tired Noah naps before leaving at daycare

- 10:00 am - Mom calls Dad and apologizes for being snarky, Dad says thank you, Dad says I have to go now to get the live bird out of the house that Ethel brought in

- 11:00 am - Phone call from Dad indicating "nut free" cupcakes are not to be found at Freddies as indicated

- 11:30am - Mom and Dad rejected from taking cupcake to Noah due "nut free" zone at daycare; dejected Mom and Dad visit Noah for a picture

- 11:45 am - Mom and Dad have lunch and discuss where the reset button is

- 12:15 - run into Jordan, ask her about drawing on her arm, how applicable "stay in the present"

- 12:45 - confirm babysitter for evening - need to go out and have drink as a couple

Moral of the story - plans can be made but they almost never go as intended.....roll with it, learn from it, laugh at it - or when all else fails have a drink!!

Happy 1st Birthday Noah - you are the apple of our eye:)

Nearing a year!!

It gets more and more difficult for me to keep up with blog. But Noah continues to bring us so much joy each day. He is growing so quickly. He recently had his last fitting for his Halloween costume (first one at 9 months), Jody said he had grown two inches in his leg since 9 months. He is really stretching out. Noah started childcare at the beginning of September 3 days a week. He loves it. He is around other kids so lots of socialization. The teachers say he is very much a busy body and likes to be around everyone - I have no idea where this trait came from:) He is on the verge of walking - stopping occassionally to balance completely on his own, and when he realizes that is what he is doing, he sits down quickly. And so, he will be 1 year old in 17 days - so hard to believe!!

Vacation in Michigan

We are officially on our first family vacation in Michigan.   The weather has been absolutely incredible.  And we are doubly thankful to be here considering it has been over 100 in Portland.    We are sending cool thoughts to our friends and family in Oregon.

We have been spending lots of time with family.   Noah is just blossoming as he spends each minute with Aunts, Uncles, Grandma, Grandpa, cousins.   He loves his morning routine of waking up and eating a banana with the early risers sipping on OJ, coffee and whatever dessert is left from the prior night.   He relishes in the fact that his eating skills are in the likeness of a bigger boy.   He works his way around the ottoman - honing his walking skills.  This morning there was a surprise laundry basket which added another 15 minutes of fun.   We then make our way out to the lake and sit on the bench at the end of the pier and wave goodbye to Daddy and Grandpa as they go out for their morning fishing adventure.   He loves to look in the water, watch the seagulls and generally explore.   We have been hitting a nap at 9am like clockwork.   Then the rest of the day is filled with adventures like hiking, going to the beach, taking golf cart rides on the trails, sitting in the tube in the back yard or in the water, playing, you name it.   Noah is having he time of his life exploring with so many new faces and things to do.   

Just a couple of pics of our adventure.

First Summer - It's the best

I love summer - I especially like being naked in the summer.   My Mommy and Daddy let me play in my baby pool in the backyard.   It used to be Dugan's pool but he shares with me, he is a good dog.   I love my dog Dugan....I sometimes even trick my Mom and Dad and say, "Doog".   I'm tricky like that.    I like to crawl a lot these days.   It looks a little bit like an army crawl but I can get around.   I can also stand quite well when left to my own devices.....stairs, here I come.   I think I might be getting some new teeth soon.   I like to bite things right now - really anything, I'm not too picky.   But overall, life is good:)  

Father's Day

Our first father's day was pretty low key but all about family.   Noah and Mommy brought Daddy coffee in bed....well, a double shot americano.   We thought about breakfast but Noah thought it would be cooler to focus just on coffee.    Pops (Grandpa Sampson) came for a visit in (since Paula was away) and we took him to breakfast - Noah found his voice.   We took a family hike.  He loves the outdoors just like his parents.   And we ended the day with a wonderful meal:)   Family.

Just pictures

Delinquent blog updates

OK...well, we have been busy so our blog updates have been few and far between....but here are some new pics.

Noah is on the move these days.   He is not crawling but very efficient at the army crawl - he does laps around the living room.    He is also very verbal - I have no idea where that came from...