Easter 2011

We had another wonderful Easter this year and it was full of family and fun. My mom came over and decorated eggs with the boys - well the intention was to decorate with both boys, but Noah slept the entire time. Easter morning we woke up and the doorbell rang - Connor was thrilled to find his Easter basket outside waiting for him!! We got ready to head to my dad's house for egg finding but Connor's basket that had his eggs in the fridge was empty when he went to grab it! We explained that the bunny must have grabbed them to hide at Papa's :) We joined my dad and Tashi at his house to search for eggs and then went to visit with all the Barnes family. We had a yummy meal and got to spend time with family.

he was so excited about finding his Easter basket outside

We put puffs into Noah's easter eggs and he was thrilled with it

on the hunt for all of his eggs inside Papa's house

11 Months Old

I completely forgot to mention in his 10 month update that Noah took his first step on April 23rd. He walked in his 10th month just like Connor - actually almost to the day the same as Connor. The big difference here is that after Connor took his first step, he never stopped walking/running. Bear took two steps and then did nothing for the next couple weeks. I thought that having an older brother would have Noah walking super early but I think I had it wrong. Yes, he wants to tag along and keep up with Connor but he's realized he can do it way, way quicker by just crawling after him really fast!

Something hilarious about Noah that I'm not sure I've mentioned is how he crawls - he rarely puts his knees down. He literally bear crawls, up on all fours. It's hilarious and everyone comments on it when they see him. Sometimes he'll crawl normal if he's not in a rush, but once he decides he need to speed up, the knees pull up and he's off!!

Health wise, Noah is doing great. The tubes have really seemed to make a world of difference for him which I'm so freakin thankful for. I think he's had a couple ear infections but we just use the drops and it's fine after a couple days. Amazing. They usually last 6 months or a bit more, so I guess we can anticipate them falling out sometime about 3 months from now. How will I even know? It will likely be a glob of earwax, right? Is it like the nasty belly button where suddenly you just find this gross little gob of something in the crib. I hope not, because Noah will probably just eat it. Ew. Sorry about that. Anyway...Noah had a bout of stomach flu this last week but it only lasted a day. Being such a great sharer, he shared it with Connor who threw up at a birthday party yesterday so that was lovely. They both seem to be feeling better now but we're still keeping them on super bland food to avoid starting it back up again.

Noah is quite chatty now though he still only says a couple things - mama and dada. I'm so thrilled to announce that mama was his first word! YES!! Connor said dada first so it was definitely my turn for the priority and I'm loving it. He'll wander around trying to find me saying "mamamamamamama". I love him.

He's still eating a lot of food. He came home from school the other day and his little daily report said he had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch...and a corndog for snack. Maybe it was an error...but I kinda doubt it. My bear loves his food!! :)

I'm planning a flashback post here in the next week since Noah will be ONE this Saturday but everytime I look at his old pics I get all weepy. My little baby, turning one. How is that even possible?

Help us win please!

allow my begging to commence...

This picture of the boys was taken by a local photographer, Nissle Fine Photography and is a finalist for a really fun contest for Father's Day. The company asked entrants to dress the kids up and bring props that went along with their theme "My dad is..." so I suited them up in their jerseys! Jeff is an Accountant for the Arizona Diamondbacks so we had lots of fun with it. I brought my laptop and an old adding machine. I brought a roll of receipt tape and flung it all around and then dropped some fake money I printed all over. I think it turned out pretty cute and had a difficult time selecting the photo for the contest becaue I really thought that lots were great. This is a surprise to Jeffrey so I told him to stay off facebook until the contest ends on 5/31. We'll see if it stays a surprise - I'm honestly amazed that Connor hasn't told him about the photo shoot yet!!

So, here's where I could use help...please vote for us. That's it. Well, after you vote, help spread the word to your friends so they can vote for us. Here are the simple steps:

• Like Nissle Fine Photography on Facebook


• Like Connor and Noah's photo


• Spread the word by reposting on your own FB page - I am linking to my own page here and you can just share what I said if that's easier.
  

I really, really appreciate it!!!

Linds

Connor's 4th Birthday Party - Part 2

Connor putting together goody bags for his friends

Connor & Jacob

I love that I got a pic of this :)

thought I'd end with this one because this is how a bear eats his food :)

Connor's 4th Birthday Party - Part One

holy blog slacking I behind on my posts. Life is busy folks, really busy and with no signs of slowing down I'm going to stop making promises of being better :) I will try, but no promises.

Connor turned 4 on April 18th and it's unbelievable that my itty bitty baby could be this adorable, strong, smart kid. He's opinionated and totally independent and really always has been so that shouldn't surprise me...but it still kinda does. Like we did the past three years, we had a party at the park to celebrate. We have lots & lots of family and Connor is now at the age where we start inviting his friends instead of ours.

This year, Connor said that he wanted a Toy Story 3 party - not just a Toy Story party, but a Toy Story 3 party. We obliged, mostly because it's so popular right now that planning wouldn't be too tough. Plus, we kept it simple this year and didn't go nutso on theming it up...It was a good time and we really appreciate those who were able to make it out to celebrate Connor's special day. Thank you, thank you!

Noah had a blast, obviously.

Papa & Tashi were there too!

having fun at the coloring station

Connor & Grammy Van Hook

Connor's AMAZING cake - it was really yummy too!

Connor & Aidan enjoying the potato sack races

Madison, Kaci & Noah Bear

Cadence, Jacob & Brody

Levi, Kaitlyn & Samantha

Up Next...More pictures of the birthday boy!