Deployment Gifts | Month Three {And a Party}

Ben requested that we give the kids their deployment gifts a couple of days early this month, so that he'd be able to stay awake for a while with them.

They LOVE getting their gifts from Daddy. And think the "close your eyes" part is super fun. Although Ellie usually can't contain her excitement and her eyes are almost always half-way closed while she bounces up and down on the bed.

Noah just adores his Batman and Ellie was hardly seen without her new jewelry all day.

Thank you, Daddy. We love and miss you!

♥

After naptime and dinner, we headed over to Aunt Connie and Mickey's house to celebrate Megan {Mae-Mae} turning four. I couldn't help but giggle when we didn't even make it through the front door before Amanda was passing out hugs to her very willing and elated to see her second-cousins.

Made me smile and remember a page from one of my favorite Cynthia Rylant books, The Relatives Came.

A certain little birthday girl, however, requested that no one sing her Happy Birthday. And then promptly turned on the shy routine when we belted it out.

As you can tell, Noah loves a birthday party... and wanted to have the front row seat for both blowing out the candles and opening presents.

Happy 4th Birthday Mae-Mae! We love you!

Snowed Out

We were suppose to head home today. We took a few last minute photos.

Mom went to work late so she could take care of the kiddos while I loaded up the Sequoia.

I filled the car with gas and filled my cup with Starbucks. Luckily, Ben called just as I was getting on the highway and highly encouraged me to call a friend to check the weather. So, I called and was shocked to hear that there was 4-5 inches of snow on the ground!

Needless to say, we turned around.

But, at least that meant we got to spend a little time with Miss Mae-Mae and her Momma!

And I was cracking up this evening when I came into Mom and Daddy-Man's room to see Noah helping his Nana play the BrainAge game on Papa's Nintendo DS.

Mae-Mae's Birthday Party

Our little Mae-Mae {Megan} is turning ONE tomorrow! {Which means that Noah will be EIGHT months tomorrow!! I can barely believe it!} Connie and Mickey threw Mae-Mae a family birthday party this afternoon.

Happy First Birthday Megan!

She loved her cake.... and needed a bath right afterwards!

They are seriously the same size! And, don't you just love this picture? They were so excited to sit next to each other and it was almost as if they barely believed that the other was real. :)

And, of course, Noah had to get in some extra time with his Grami.

Baseball and Boys

Tonight BB, Noah and I went to watch our cousin Andy's baseball game. For being in the middle of July in Oklahoma, it was actually really nice weather! Andy did really well too - he even made a run... though after looking closely at the picture, I'm not so sure the ref made the right call. ;) Noah enjoyed a little extra time with his Great-Aunt Connie and cousins, Amanda and Mae-Mae (they are STILL so close in size and she turns one next month!)

It was great to spend a little time with them and of course, to see all the wonderful things I have to look forward to with raising boys:

The Longest Day

It's been a long day and as I'm sitting here listening to the crash of pins (Wii Bowling) I can hardly believe what all we've done today.

Ben arrived last night at 11:00PM and we all (the girls) picked him up without Noah... needless to say, I was fearful that he would wake him up as soon as he saw him, so I left him at home with my Mom and Daddy-man. He's had lots of snuggle time with him today though!

Jessie, my youngest sister, is working as an intern at KOMA 92.5. As a special treat for all of us, she arranged for us to be able to go into the studio for a tour. It was pretty neat to get a behind the scenes tour and Danny Williams even mentioned all of us on the air! :) We're now famous.

We're also hoping that Jessie will get a full time gig there (hint, hint!) and she's even been co-hosting (and hosting solo last weekend and this weekend!!) the Sunday morning Christian music show on KMGL 104.1. We're so proud!!
After lunch and a few rounds of Wii with Michael and Morgan, Ben, BB, Noah and I went over to Connie's house to get a few pictures of Noah and Megan in their cute little matching outfits that I made. Since it was a pretty nice day, we decided to take the pictures outside and trust me... it took a while to get a few good pictures of the two of them. Thank goodness Connie had a Bumbo since I didn't think to bring Noah's over!
And we can't take pictures of anyone without also taking a few of Amanda too... she's wearing Mae-Mae's sunglasses because she thought it was funny that Ben was wearing Noah's... I just wasn't quick enough to capture that picture! Also, an Easter gift arrived today from Noah's Grandma and Grandpa Haze - the little bunny is too cute! (Sorry the picture is so dark.... ) Thank you!

Cousins!

Noah was a sleepy-head this morning and did not want to wake up (even though he was fussing and wanted to be fed). I love his bed-head.

So today we finally got to get Noah and Mae-mae (Megan) together for their first visit! My aunt Connie has three kiddos, Andy, Amanda, and Megan. And Megan is exactly four months older than Noah (August 10)! Mom and I went to visit Connie, Mickey and the kids after she got home from work (we didn't want Daddy-Man to be left alone and the Stanley's have been sick recently) and they were all so very excited to get to meet Noah. Here's a few pictures of the cousins....

Megan was so excited!

I think she was trying to give him a kiss. :)

They are, quite literally, the same size! I can't wait until we get them dressed up in their matching outfits (the shirts are nearly too small now!).

He's also learning how to blow spit bubbles.... though I haven't yet caught it with the camera.

Everyone else is doing great too! ;) Daddy-man is making good strides every day and the whole family is just enjoying every moment with Noah.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Ben came home this morning from his TDY to CO and spent the whole day with Noah and I! What a special Valentine's Day surprize! Here's a couple of shots of Noah in his Valentine's shirt (the one above I took several days ago so I could edit it) and snuggling with his Valentine puppy, Daddy and Mommy.

I also finished up Megan and Noah's shirts last night.... I still have to make her hat, but I wanted to go ahead and post the picture. And, good news! Megan is home now from the hospital!!

Tummy Time!

Noah had some good tummy time today - he was so comfortable that he let me take several pictures and nearly fell asleep too!

And, here's what the table looks like when Ben is TDY and I've been working like crazy on a few gifts: both papercrafted and sewn! (It almost looks like it did on Saturday, minus the extra sewing machine!)

Hopefully I'll be able to finish up Megan's hat, shoes, and both Noah and Megan's shirts tonight while Noah is taking his evening nap! And, speaking of Megan, she's still in the hospital, but it looks like she'll hopefully be discharged tomorrow and her feeding tube will be taken out tonight. Please keep praying for her! Also, my Grami's gallbladder surgery went well and she's at home resting and recovering nicely!

Nine Weeks Old.

Noah is nine weeks today!! :) I guess I can stop counting it out for ya'll now!

Day one of Ben's TDY is going well - it's hard, but we're making it work. It's weird because I'm use to just doing whatever while Ben is out of town, but now I've still got someone else to take care of!

We received a package from my parents today with a Valentine's Day gift for Noah, Ben's birthday presents and the sling that Mom crocheted for me! I didn't add a picture of the sling though, because she's going to have to take a few more inches off since Noah hung down around the top of my thigh when I put him in it! But he liked it already! Good Job Mom!!

Noah with his puppy - part of his Valentine's Day gift!

I also got a chance to finish up his hat and shoes during two of his naps today:

However, he didn't seem to like them when I put them on him or maybe it was the fact that he was still a little hungry. Not to mention the fact that they are HUGE on him! I made the size "small" on the pattern, but evidently I still have a "newborn" on my hands!

Update on Megan: she's still in the hospital and the fever has finally started to come down. Still looks like it'll be a few days before she gets to come home. Please keep praying for our sweet little girl!

Two Months

I'm a mommy of a two month old!

We haven't done too much today, just got Ben ready for his TDY and hopefully later, if Noah will allow me, I can work on his shoes and hat! I'm going to make him and his six-month-old second cousin (my aunt's youngest little one) Megan a matching set to wear when they finally meet each other in March.

***Please be praying for little Mae-mae (Megan): she's in the hospital right now with a kidney infection. Having been there so recently, I know how tough it is to have your baby hurting and being unable to do much to help them feel better. Connie and Mickey are able to stay with her, Andy and Amanda are staying with Mickey's parents, and we're hoping she'll be released on either Tuesday or Wednesday. All prayers are gratefully appreciated.***