13 Months, a Competition, and a Giveaway

{Hope you're ready for this one... it's a long post!}

Noah turned 13 months old today! It's crazy to me how much he has changed over the past year. One year ago, he loved to fall asleep on Daddy or Mommy and now, all he wants to do is be chased by us! And forget about holding still for anything but food {and, occasionally, Skype}! We love you so much Buddy and are so proud of all things you can {and will} do.

Things Noah Likes at 13 Months:

• Playing chase


• Riding on his "moving" toys


• Reading books by himself


• Chicken Quesadillas, yogurt, and bananas {just like his Daddy!}

***

Ben and I are {slightly} nerds. We've never denied that. So, this year, to only prove our geekiness, we've decided to have a little competition between the two of us. A small business competition! The basic gist of it is this: we each create a small business to run for a year. The "winner" is the person whose business makes the most profit. We haven't decided what all is going to be in the winner's package {right now all we've decided on is a "Noah-duty-free-day" and choosing where to donate the tithe from the profit}.

Ben's small business plan consists of buying products at low/clearences prices and reselling them for profit on Amazon. He's actully quite good at it, as was proved last Christmas when he bought and sold two Wii's for profit {and talked a couple of his friends into doing the same thing}. So, he's opened an official store on Amazon.com to sell video games and other things that he can find at rock-bottom prices. He's already doubled the "seed money" that he recieved. Amazing, I tell you.

I, on the other hand, am planning to open up a shop on Etsy {I <3 align="center">***

And, last but not least, this is my 500th post! To commerate the event, I've decided to do some sort of a "giveaway"... I'm still not sure what I'll send the "winner", but likely it'll be something handmade and personalized, just for them. {Or, if you have a kid, it might be a shirt or a handmade toy... etc.} So, to put your name in the drawing, simply leave a comment telling me about one of your favorite "Noah" posts, or, if you are a crafter too, leave me a comment about something that is on your "to make" list that I can add to mine. I'll close the comments Wednesday at midnight, put all the comments in a hat, and announce the winner on Thursday's post. I'm always curious to see who is actually reading this, so please, leave a comment and let me know that you've stopped by.

Also, I've changed the way that you leave comments on my blog, so you no longer have to have a Google account. You can now leave them annoyomously, just make sure you sign your name at the end so I know who you are. I do, however, still have comment moderation turned on, so just a reminder, your comments won't show up until after I read them.

A Goal Review

Noah and Ben playing, just before Ben left for "Man Night" with the guys from small group.

***

With the ringing in of the New Year, I usually review {and often times, revise} my goals for the year. And there are a few revisions.... for example, I'm decided to just average one book a month {whatever one I want to read at that moment, fiction or non-fiction}. With everything else that is going on, I think it's a more attainable goal and one that I am okay with. Right now, I'm reading The Lucky One and as soon as it is finished, I'm {re}reading Sense and Sensibility for our Girl's Book Club.

As far as my creative goals for the year go, I'm no where near being updated in my scrapbooks {I haven't even started Noah's and I owe a few people some pages too! I've got to get to work!!}, but I am getting close to being ready to open a shop on Etsy {watch for updates on that tomorrow!} and I've got ideas picked out for my Project Linus blanket.

My physical {health} goals are a work in progress. I've realized that in order to maintain my A1c at it's current level {especially with the endocrinologist that I have}, I've got to take a more pro-active stance... which means better logging of my blood sugars. And, how's the fixing {even} healthier meals going? Very well. :) Ben loves the new salad spinner.

I've also added one over-arching goal, that really doesn't fit under any one heading - getting {even} more organized. Ben and I both thrive under schedules, routines, and order. It's those first born tendencies. So it's no wonder that when we move, the chaos of it drives us to the edge of insanity. And added to the chaos from the move, since Noah was born {nay, since I got pregnant with him!}, my usual, very organized ways have slowly faded - not disappeared mind you, just become less pronounced. So, we've been trying to get back in the groove and are finally making progress. I've starting using FlyLady to help me get back my organized home. And it. is. awesome. My kitchen has never looked so good. Now, granted, I've never had a kitchen this big {remember how I used to have to store food in the bathroom?!}, but nevertheless, it feels great. Here's a shot of my newly organized and clean pantry:

Playtime Fun

One of Noah's favorite toys remains the Busy Ball Popper - he loves the music {his dancing when the music starts is proof enough} and he loves to chase after the balls when they pop out.

Tonight, while we were playing before bedtime, Noah decided that the best way to get one of the balls from the popper was to just reach in a grab it.

And he still goes for the pink one.

{Another} Wordless Wednesday

We have a Toddler.

We have a toddler. Is that news to anyone? Probably not. But now, we officially have a toddler. Noah has gone from cruising to timidly taking a few steps to all out toddling around. He's still gaining confidence, but several times this afternoon and evening, I caught him walking {instead of dropping down and crawling} to his desired destination. We couldn't be more proud!

{I love the way he lifts his legs when he doesn't want to stand! haha!}

He's just growing up way too fast.

***

And, just because I laughed so hard.....

While I was getting lunch cleared up, I thought Noah was playing in the playroom {even if he wasn't, I thought everything he could possibly get into was picked up}. Evidently, he wasn't in the playroom. When I realized how quiet it was, I went looking for him and found him as I walked around the couch. He had found the baby wipes I had left on the end table. And had proceeded to pull nearly half of them out of the wipes container. Nice work Buddy. Not to be wasteful, we {Noah pretended to help} cleaned the doors throughout the house... my house now smells like baby wipes.

The Cow Says "Moo"

This morning, Noah and I had the pleasure of spending some time with Jadyn, Erin and Josh's little one. Noah just adores Jadyn - he likes all kids, but for some reason, he really likes to follow Jadyn around and I've never seen him do that with any other kiddo. She's such a doll and always makes me crack up with her facial expressions - she's so expressive for a 2.5 year old! And, of course, because all kids {except for Noah and Elijah} like Ben more than they do me, one of the first things she asked me was, "Where's Mr. Ben?" Oh, Jadyn. Sorry he wasn't able to chase you around this morning!

Coloring while we watched Sesame Street during Noah's nap.

Lunch time... during which Jadyn requested that Noah sit next to her.

Come visit again soon Jadyn-dear! {And you too, Erin!}

***

Noah's laugh is just so infectious - I love hearing and making him laugh! While we were playing this afternoon with some of his puppets, he started laughing hysterically when the cow "moo"-ed. I caught some of it on video:

Thanks!

Ben has been a little busy lately:

Thanks to his Christmas presents {the Lowe's gift cards were put to good use!} and his savvy use of coupons, he was able to get the perfect cabinet for the garage. He calls it the "other" man cabinet. :) He's started painting the garage too and hopefully we'll be able to get it all finished up this next weekend. I'll post more pictures once it is completed.

And, while he was running errands to get a few things to help get the garage organized, he picked up a little something for me too...

Leaving so soon?

We had fun these past couple of days!

And we miss you already. Come back soon!!

NCCIL

I've been wanting to go to the NCCIL since we met Mo Williems back in November. I just haven't had a really good opportunity to go see his exhibit. So, when we were trying to decide what to do today, the first thing that popped into my mind, was going to the NCCIL. And, while it was a little smaller than I had anticipated {and I had expected it to be small!}, it was a really great exhibit and we all enjoyed ourselves - which is the most important part!

Jessie pushing Noah around - he really seemed to like the museum.

The museum had an interactive art piece where you could draw Pigeon yourself... so I helped Noah draw Pigeon too:

***

After we left the NCCIL, we walked around downtown Abilene a little, just to see what we could find. We stopped into Relics {such a great store!} and I had to snap this picture of Mom, Daddy-Man and Noah on the brightly painted stairwell:

Yay for a fun family outing!

Playtime with the Aunts

This afternoon, the Akers family rolled into Abilene for a visit! Because we had just been up to Oklahoma for Christmas, we weren't really expecting to get to see them again so soon. But, since everyone was having Noah-withdrawals, they decided to come down for a visit before everyone has to go back to work.... and we're so glad they did! Daddy-Man hadn't seen the house with electricity, and Mom and BB hadn't seen it since I painted the living room and the master suite, so it was a little fun to show them all the changes in person.

Noah loved all the extra attention and extra playmates!

Playing with the puppets with Aunt BB:

Playing chase with Aunt Jessie:

Noah loves playtime with his Aunts!

2008 in Review

I can hardly believe 2008 is over and it is already 2009 - the year literally flew by for us and while we're already looking ahead to what's to come in this next year, I wanted to take a moment {or two} to celebrate and remember some of the memorable {and not so memorable} moments from each month. Below is the opening sentence from a post {some important, some just silly, some even a little sad} from each month... to read the entire post, click on the month name:

January: Happy One Month Noah!

February: An update on Daddy-Man: he's off the ventilator!

March: Hmmm.... Noah woke up from a nap (yes, in the swing) and was in an exceptionally good mood.

April: ...who's the fairest baby of all?

May: Not many people have five generations alive at one time - but we do.

June: Oh my goodness.

July: Now that we're back in the south where it gets really {REALLY} hot...

August : Here's the photo tour I promised!

September: Just when we had made a decision on Baby #2's name...

October: I just love this kid!

November: Maybe Noah should have been named Linus...

December: Happy Birthday Dear One.

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's Eve!

We had a pretty laid back New Year's Eve this year - traditionally, we'd go out to eat and then come back home to play games, watch movies and ring in the New Year with fireworks. This year, Ben and I stayed home for dinner and we invited our small group friends over for snacks, desserts, {drinks!} and games. It was so nice to just stay in! The guys played tons of matches {last I heard it was over 70} on Street Fighter on the Wii, and the rest of us were stomped in Balderdash and Scattergories by David {and Erin}.

Before we got started with any games though, Jadyn and Noah played some of their own:

Jadyn trying to get Ben.... and Noah trying to get to Matt {or perhaps trying to get out?}.

Just after midnight, enjoying the champagne:

Happy New Year!

Craft Day

We finally had a craft day this afternoon and it was MUCH needed! Stephanie and I were the main crafters today, but throughout the day {and night!}, almost every gal in our small group came over... some to craft and some to just chat and fellowship. We had a blast and even the boys got into the fun... though they didn't craft, they played Wii {of course!}.

Stephanie very graciously posed for a picture after taking a break from scrapbooking to crochet. :)


She also brought her Cricut and oh my goodness! I'm definitely saving up for one of those now!! They are so much fun! The "Merry Christmas" was cut using the Cricut - so neat! Thanks for letting us play with it Stephanie!

Monkey-Butt

We often times call Noah a Monkey-Butt. Why? I've no clue.

But it's funny and it's stuck. And there have even been songs written about it. And now, thanks to his Grandma and Grandpa Haze's birthday present {or Christmas present, I can't remember now which box it came in!}, he really will be a Monkey-Butt!! :)

Thank you!

Hugs and Kisses

We made it back home....

but not without some last minute....

hugs and kisses.

Can't wait to see ya'll again soon!

One Year Ago

Almost as much as I've been looking forward to his birthday, I've been looking forward to this date - one year ago today, my baby came home. One year ago, we finally got to bring him home, to stay with us. No more NICU touch times, no more nurses watching over our shoulders. No more hours wasted waiting in the hospital cafeteria or driving on the LA freeways. And while nothing compares to the moment that I first laid eyes on him, the moment that Ben finally got to take him out of the carseat at our home comes in a very, very close second. We love you little one.

***

Look what I finally caught on film! Noah has been taking several little steps lately, but never at moments when I or anyone else has a camera handy. So when Mom and BB were "making" him walk, I grabbed the camera to capture it on video and YAY! Good job Noah!! Mommy and Daddy {and everyone else here!} are so proud of you!

***

This afternoon, we spent some time with Grami and Papa Snow... needless to say, Noah enjoyed playing with Grami's toys, crawling and walking around to everyone and just exploring. And I'm pretty sure that Grami and Papa Snow enjoyed watching him do it all!

I'm so glad we got to spend a little extra time with ya'll today! :) We love you and thank you so much for the firewood!

Christmas Lights and More

Ben, Mom, and Daddy-Man braved the after-Christmas sales this morning - Noah and I, on the other hand, stayed at home in hopes of getting a little sleep... evidently, the child thinks that getting up early every morning while we're on vacation is fun! {I believe that he thinks that the sooner he gets up, the sooner he'll get to play with everyone!} After Wal-mart and Target had been marked off the list, they came back to the house and we headed for lunch at the mall. We didn't find too much: Ben got a new pair of shoes and we found a couple of shirts for Noah. We then headed for a visit with Aunt Marsha and Uncle Mike! We even got to see Brenda and her husband, Chad, since they came into town for Christmas.

Noah had so much fun playing with Aunt Marsha and Uncle Mike.

Spending a little time with Cousin Brenda while Chad looks on.

***

After dinner, we all went down to Bricktown to see the Christmas light display along the canal. I really wanted to visit Chickasha, but since it was a {slightly} long drive and nearing Noah's bedtime, we decided that Bricktown would be our best {walk-through} bet. And, while it wasn't the greatest light display we'd ever seen, it was nice to get out, spend some time together, and just go for a walk. :)

The view from the bridge

The Silly Ones :)

Noah slept the entire time that I carried him, but as soon as Ben took him....

he was wide awake and enjoying the lights.

Shutterfly Update

Shutterfly is updated with November's pictures... and also with our family portraits! We had a local photographer, Caroline Joy, take family portraits for us and I absolutely love the way they turned out. Email or comment me if you need the password. Take a look and enjoy!

{I'm not sending out an email update because I'll be updating with December's pictures soon, so I'll send one then.}

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Dear Jesus!

Noah woke up early this morning {though, I'm not quite sure that it was because he thought that Santa had visited him}. We spent the morning playing, laughing, Skyping, and watching Tiny Toons on DVD!

Noah was so excited when he realized that his Retro Rocket was out of the packaging and ready to blast off!

He and Papa had a lot of fun playing with it.

They also enjoyed playing with Papa's remote-controlled Lighting McQueen!

***

After everyone got ready {and the food was ready too!}, we loaded up in the cars and headed over to Grami and Papa's for Christmas dinner/lunch. We had way too much food and even more fun! Here's just a few of the pictures from the afternoon:

BB and Amanda

Andy {I think this might be my new favorite picture of him}

Erin and Megan {Mae-Mae}

Philip showing us his mad dancing skills:


Proof that the boys can be sweet:

Noah, wishing he could take the wrapping off of the {very delicious!} chocolate snowman that Uncle T and Aunt Bettina sent from Germany

We were all pretty tired when we got home from Grami and Papa Snow's house, everyone, that is, except for Noah. He was ready to play!



Merry Christmas!!