Snow?!

Merry Christmas everyone! Our Christmas has been magical and amazing - the sound of 7 kids fills the house, and we are really enjoying these days spent together. Christmas Eve was fun and hectic, and today we have lounged in pajamas, eating leftovers. Santa visited us on Christmas Eve, and the boys loved all the presents they got. We haven't gone through the Christmas pictures, but here's a sampling of the boys' first experience with snow!

Merry Christmas 2008!

We will be heading up north tomorrow, so we may or may not be blogging before Christmas. :-)
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Aaaaachooo!

Our household is bracing itself for yet another round of colds...


Braiden loves blowing his nose!


Now we just need to teach him not to put the used tissues back in the tissue box...!

That Was Some Dinner, Mama!

Noah sends his compliments to the chef.


(Notice the macaroni in the hair!)

P.S. Happy Anniversary to us!!! :-)

Team Work!

You push me...


... And I'll push you!

Chatterbox and Daredevil

Sending his cousin an email.

Braiden has really mastered numbers 1-10 and the alphabet, and it has been such a joy to see his joy and pride over learning new skills. At this age, they are such sponges! He is constantly looking for letters and numbers wherever we go. Click here to see a video of him.

He is also becoming quite the chatterbox. He is talking a lot, sometimes even in full sentences! This has all been happening over the last couple of weeks. One day, out of the blue, he said, "I play, please" when Michael was holding a little car. He has been unstoppable since, and it seems to us that he is talking more and more every day. He keeps a constant chatter up, especially in the car. Naturally we have to respond to everything...! He also likes to praise others, which is cute. Just this morning I heard him say, "Yay, mama!" after I fixed his toy car. Some of his favorite exclamations are "Whoa!" and "Oh my my my..." We are also proud of the polite boy he has become: he has been saying "thank you" and "please" without us prompting and reminding him.


Our daredevil! If you need more proof, take a look at his forehead.

Noah is becoming more and more daring. He is climbing, taking steps (3 steps this weekend!) and standing by himself a lot. He would also like to nose dive off couches and climb on coffee tables, but so far, his no-sense-of-adventure parents have stopped him. Noah has also been signing more, which is exciting! He has been signing "more" and "airplane" consistently.

Oh, oh, oh, almost forgot: mice are gone!!!!

Mouse Update

It appears Braiden and Noah were looking for the mouse too?? Well, it wasn't in the bookcase.

My life is starting to resemble the movie Mouse Hunt. So, Monday night as we were watching tv, the mouse again made its way from the laundry room into the living room. We chased it back in the kitchen, where it snuck away not to be seen again that night. We put a trap in the laundry room, and lo and behold, yesterday afternoon, we caught one. I thought that was the end of it.

Oh no. All remained quiet until last night, when I was sitting on the couch, under a blanket, watching tv. All of a sudden... I felt something rather large on my upper thigh, crawling up towards my stomach. It took me a split second to realize what it was. After that, I don't think I've ever moved so fast. The mouse was under the blanket, so I grabbed it through the blanket, flung it off my lap, and catapulted up. My poor laptop made it across the room in the commotion as well. (My sister asked me if I screamed, and no, it was silent terror.)

And of course this happens on a night that I am home alone with the boys. Michael was (still is) doing an overnight field exercise. Thankfully he is due back any minute now... So anyway, afterwards I couldn't find the mouse again, but set a trap in the living room, stuffed towels under the boys' doors, took my computer and barricaded myself in our bedroom. :-)

No sign of the mouse since then...

Mouse in the House

The boys playing a feet drumming game... or something like that.

Had you driven by our house at 04:10 this morning, you would have seen me in a nightgown and sneakers, wielding a broom handle. Classy. And really, you would have seen me, because we had the front door propped wide open.

Around 4am, Michael kissed me goodbye and left for work. A couple minutes later, he comes back in, informing me there's a mouse in the living room. We turn everything upside down, trying to chase it out the front door, but the little stinker makes it through the kitchen, into the laundry room instead. Michael had to leave for work, so guess where the mouse is? Still there - or at least I hope so. We evacuated the house and left for playgroup, but I've been quite paranoid, hearing little pitter patter everywhere.

I get it, it's cold outside, the little guy just wanted to get warm. But seriously, we have a crawling baby in the house. I would almost prefer the lizard we had in San Diego to this.

Anyway, moving on. Click here to see a video of Braiden and Daddy's lightsaber duel.

Noah's 1st Year in Pictures

Noah's first year, for me, has gone by so fast. Lots of things have happened, the biggest being our cross-country move, but it's so hard to believe our baby has turned one, and we now have 1 and 2 year old boys!

Noah had an appointment yesterday, and he weighs 23 lbs 6 oz and is 31 inches long. Or those were the nurse's measurements, with a margin of error as always. Everything looks great, Noah is meeting (and exceeding, in some cases) his milestones and is a very healthy baby.

Noah says three words: dada, mama, and num-num. He also signs more, all done, and hi, and imitates lots of others. He also makes car and firetruck noises - true little boy! He's a pro at cruising along furniture, but hasn't tried to take any steps without his trusty airplane push toy.

Noah's best friend (and at times, nemesis) is naturally big brother Braiden. He follows Braiden from room to room and is always most interested in the toys big bro is playing with. He's also learning to stand up for himself if bullied (he's getting quite good at pulling Braiden's shirt to get him out of the way)!

Noah is our cuddly guy. He loves to be held and is very social. He's very happy and laid-back and has the best smiles and a belly laugh - as long as he isn't tired or being denied the pleasure of pounding on my laptop. He loves everything from cars and trucks, going through kitchen cabinets, taking baths, playing outside, his binkies, sippy cups to M&Ms.

This little guy just loves life! We are so blessed and thankful that he is in our lives. We love you, Noahy!

Here's a trip down memory lane...


December 2007 - 6 days old.


January 2008 - 1 month old.


February 2008 - 2 mos old.


March 2008 - 3 mos old.


April 2008 - 4 mos old.


May 2008 - 5 mos old.


June 2008 - 6 mos old.


July 2008 - 7 mos old.


August 2008 - 8 mos old.


September 2008 - 9 mos old.


October 2008 - 10 mos old.


November 2008 - 11 mos old.


December 2008 - 1 yr old!

For those of who really want to reminisce... Take a look at Braiden's first year here.

Happy Birthday, Noah!!!

At precisely 11:03 am today, Noah turned 1 year old! We brought some cupcakes to playgroup and had a little celebration.

After we got home, Noah got to open his card and stickers from Aunt Sennu & gang (thank you!!! it was a big hit :D) and got a bite of chocolate from his new advent calendar (thanks muori & vaari!!).

Noah's 1 yr check-up is tomorrow, so we'll do a longer update then!


Despite the low attendance today, Noah had a great time partying with Braiden, Kiersten and Sarah!


Singing "Happy Birthday". Braiden is embarrassed. :-)


Handsome birthday boy.


The boys, surprisingly, ate their cupcakes quite neatly today!

It's December!

Noah checking out the nativity scene.

It's December already! We started decorating yesterday (although the boys' advent calendars still remain in the garage... bad mama), and Noah real birthday is tomorrow!! We're also anxiously awaiting our trip to my sister's house for Christmas!

Click here to see a video of Noah eating his birthday cake! And here is a video of the boys playing yesterday morning.

Random pictures from last week...


Braiden was both disgusted and fascinated by finger paint.






Last trip to the park? It was cooooold!


Boys getting ready to go to church on a rainy Sunday morning. And yes, that's Noah standing all by himself!!


A rare sleepy picture of Noah.

Noah's 1st Birthday Party

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a week with Grandma and Grandpa Bill. We miss you already! Thanks so much for coming to see us.

Even though Noah's first birthday is still a few days away, we celebrated last night with some cake and a few presents, since Grandma and Grandpa Bill had to head back home today. I'll let the pictures tell the story!


Noah especially liked the paper.




... But in the end, the present itself was a hit too!


Party time!


Oooh, Noah knows something good is about to come!




He made short work of the cake, earning a bath afterwards!