mommy and baby joshua

everyone keeps asking for photos of me on the blog. not sure why...the kids are much cuter!
off to visit pbskids.org so noah can play while j-man sleeps and daddy and riley are on a run!

smiles.

new kicks

for some reason we have been startled by the rapid rate at which our eldest son is growing. yesterday when we got his first real tennis shoes (maybe that is weird....we've done keds up until now) it became official - noah is a BIG boy! isn't he darling?

joshua has been snotty the last week, so we've been battling a loud cough and drippy nose. poor baby! he's on the mend, though.

yesterday jeff took the boys to the science center ("dinosaur museum" according to noah) and i thought this was a cute picture. it's weird to me (but rather convenient) how the science center has these very non-science play rooms. that is usually where we spend the most time!

happy sunday.

a doughut sundae?!?

growing up i was taught that counting calories was something every good girl should do. you exercise in the morning, eat rice cakes for lunch, and for heaven's sake, only one bite of dessert, please!...these are all important to maintain that southern girl beauty.

needless to say (for all of you who know me) these practices have not forged their way into my adult life! in fact, there are fewer things i hate more than counting calories. how in the world does anyone have the energy to chase after two young lads on 1200 of those little things? i say, enjoy dessert! yes, exercise for sanity! but rice cakes, come on!

so our family discovered last night the end-all, be-all dessert. krispy kreme has been heavily marketing their newest treat offering, a doughnut and ice-cream sundae. at first i thought this was a disgusting marriage. but yesterday, as we drove past the 'hot doughnuts now' sign on our way to party city (for a balloon for a friend) i found myself having a hankering to try it. so last night, was jeff ever relieved to hear me say after dinner, "want to go try out that new sundae at krispy kreme?" "REALLY?" he asked. and off we went, noah and jeff ecstatic, joshua in his pj's, and me happy to break all the rules!

we ordered, watched them pile swirled ice cream atop a hot glazed doughnut, add your sauce of choice (chocolate) and your topping of choice (sprinkles, please) and enjoyed! we sat in a booth next to the doughnut machine and jeff explained to our two children the facets involved in proofing, frying, and icing doughnuts. people filed in, families, couples, all to order their very own sundae. most of them eating one all by themselves (at least we shared ours!). so maybe counting calories might be worth something....

with full bellies and sticky fingers we left, still chuckling at the middle-aged man who, when we first arrived, was leaving in his mercedes sports car with a coy look and his very own doughnut sundae packaged to go.

(it is worth a try....it's $3.19 and we encourage sharing. i think if i were to go back i'd order a hot doughnut and an ice cream separately and just eat them together. it's cheaper that way too. oh, and the ice cream is really good. it's soft serve and only 1.39 per cone.)

(oh, and there are cuter photos of noah in his hat, but this one of riley is again, priceless...she is talking back to jeff because he's asking her to sit and pose in the picture.)

coffee!

as a no-longer-nursing-no-longer-pregnant mom i am enjoying the benefits of full throttle coffee! the problem, it seems, is that there is no limit to what i need. i feel like i walk around tired all the time. what is the deal?!!!! (please NO ONE comment that it's the coffee that is my problem, alright!) perhaps noah's screaming 'want to play in my room' for half an hour at 12:30 this morning doesn't help matters.

so noah is at camp again today (M,W,F this week). not only do i love the break, but he is just so thrilled to go! i can't believe it. this morning a magician is coming to do tricks for the kids (it's magic week, whatever that means!) so i'm hoping my cell doesn't ring due to noah freaking out over a man in costume (that happened yesterday when we happened upon the children's museum and OH! WOW! Raggs was there doing a concert...some group i never heard of but i guess if four LARGE busloads of kids are there it must be popular, right! )

forgive the sarcasm please! (i need a nap!)........so noah got the cutest haircut yesterday, and well, just to not leave out our easy-peasy numero deux child, here is the j-man on the swing too. too cute! i am getting a bit sad, though, that the only thing anyone can say about joshua is that he is so darn chunky! oh well. perhaps that awesome metabolism will kick in soon!

and now, off to fold clothes and yes, drink more coffee....................a happy day to you all.

the beach!

we're still tired from our travels, but i wanted to at least post some photos.
perhaps they speak for themselves anyways......

Boys!

sometimes during dinner i look at my captive audience who is eagerly awaiting supper, and think to myself, "i am that mother with all boys! ah!" i usually think this is a wonderful blessing, but there are times when i feel a bit outnumbered! at least they are cute! (don't notice the leftover containers....yes, i can easily serve leftover rice, leftover beans, leftover pasta, and leftover peas and call it dinner!)

we're heading to the beach tomorrow morning, our family plus some dear, dear friends. we're looking forward to time away, indeed! just wanted to post some cute photos and say it may be a few days 'til we are back online. let's call them our pre-tan pictures!

does anyone else do the undressing of your baby in the highchair like we do?!!!

Cheerio Patrol

riley: the name of our beloved standard poodle who, with each child, becomes more annoying (sorry!) and therefore ignored. poor thing. i feel sorry for her, true. but i just can't take care of anyone else! we keep her because she maintains a useful role in our family...

.....the after meal cleanup! i saw her today, as she eagerly awaited her relished moment--when she's appreciated and she gets treats. joshua is pretty good about scarfing down most of his food, but there is the occasional morsel left for her. this was taken moments before she was allowed entrance. a priceless look, i must say!

so our day: we visited this brand new zoo-thing this morning at our natural science center. not a full-blown zoo, but still WAY nicer and WAY more manageable than a proper zoo. i'm sad i forgot the camera but it was so cool! lemurs, monkeys, alpaca (sp?), miniature horses, a peacock with her feathers all spread out (she was MAD at this chicken who wouldn't leave her alone!), baby alligators, baby meerkats (they kept eating their mother's tail...come on guys!), a cool jumpy water fountain and much more. also, we saw two sibling tigers who, just as we spotted them, geared up, ran towards each other and had a serious spat. it was crazy! and you say, all in greensboro, north carolina?! it was nice to have some amount of excitement in suburbia!

seriously, i left feeling VERY impressed that our small city is really thriving in the entertaining-young-children department. i am so thankful that for nearly $200/year i can frequent both the children's museum and science center as much as i want to, with no parking fees or crowds. how do people do it in big cities?

so it's good to be thankful, i guess. even for just another morning that wore out the kids (check!) and for big poodles who need lots of lovin.

wild man!

enjoying joshua wasn't always easy. as a baby (0-4 months) he rarely slept between the hours of 10pm-4am, unless of course i went out at 2 in the morning (which i did a few times!) to drive him around the neighborhood. i remember thinking to myself that i didn't really like him! and shouldn't i be institutionalized for not adoring my sweet little newborn baby that everyone else finds so enchanting?

well now i think he is the cutest, most fun little guy in the world! one of my favorite people, in fact! he is bold. entertains himself. fun. risky. we would say wild. it is refreshing to be around him.

so encouragement to new moms....you may not be crazy if you don't just melt when you look at your screaming newborn.

and a reminder to us all to breathe deep................and wait to see that things may be more beautiful than they first appear!

Playground Party

we had noah's birthday party on saturday and think (well, hope anyways) that it was a success! i managed to get out of cleaning my house by having at the playground, which was an added bonus! seriously, the three year olds that attended enjoyed the water balloon toss (except for noah) and good old-fashioned round of duck,duck goose. thanks to all who participated happily! and to our dear friends who braved bringing their three-week old baby drew out in the heat (our youngest guest! isn't he just darling?..........)

we also had a great overnight visit with yah-yah. so good to have extended family around loving on your kids!

a joyful day to you all.

noah is 3!

so we survived the fourth of july and have enjoyed noah's 3rd birthday!

the fourth: we hit a festival downtown, a mini neighborhood (not ours!) parade and the pool (whew!) and today woke up and drove to the zoo an hour away in asheboro. more like a five-mile hike (uphill) than a zoo, but hey, we did get to see some animals. jeff and i both agreed this would be something we do once every five years.

the fifth: noah had a great day! he's been saying for weeks, "i so excited" (about his birthday). and he woke up saying the same thing. he told us exactly what to do: bake a cake, provide gifts, daddy is to stay home from work, and last night at the grocery store reminded me, "mom, you get me a card yet?"

so we did it all at breakfast. the gifts were opened, some cake (blueberry muffin) was eaten, the card was enjoyed, and we even sang. then off to the zoo. man, it was hot! highlights? he loved the puffins and sea lions, he found all of the hiding turtles and snakes in their cages, and we caught joe-the-zookeeper feeding the elephants (no, not peanuts! actually sweet potatoes, carrots and apples...you know you are saying 'hmmm....interesting' right now!)

we returned home for playtime with his favorite gift so far--a baseball glove and ball. he's throwing like a pro! (jeff taught him how to pitch tonight and he's already got the leg up and everything!) we of course had some chocolate cake and ice cream too. all day i asked noah what he wanted for dinner, hoping we could start that tradition of me cooking the birthday kid's favorite meal, but all he said was,

"cake, please."
"no, noah, we can't eat cake for dinner."
"okay, muffins."

so we ate our rice and beans, thanked God our little boy has become quite a smart, cute, and thoughtful little man, and wished, as he blew out his candles, for many more years like this.

happy fourth!

happy fourth everyone!
today is like every other day for us....jeff is working so we can go to the beach as a family (for an extended weekend) next week, and we're piddling around the house still in our pjs at 9:15. oh well! perhaps we'll hit a parade sometime today.

so everyone always asks me if noah looked like joshua at his age. so i thought i'd post a comparison and see what ya'll think. knowing them as people makes similarities between the two hard to imagine. appropriate, as well, to post a baby picture of my nearly 3 noah-bear!

enjoy the fireworks for me!

off to check the voicemail from superman on noah's spiderman phone (noah really needs me to go get it from the car)!

getting organized

so we're getting organized today......trying to get my desk in order so that our life becomes more functional. i definitely don't feel that our home works for us, so we're gonna stop whining and do something about it!

it was an interesting day........noah insisted on wearing his goggles ALL day (and no, we never hit the pool!) i was in such a tired mommy fog that i never even thought to ask him to take them off! joshua began the day getting to know riley better! this kid is refreshingly bold!

in two days noah will be 3 and we are LOVING this age. nothing like your kid looking at you out of the blue and saying, 'mom, i love you.' and meaning it like no one ever has before!

it's good to laugh: at dinner tonight (due to tired mommy fog) i began spitting napkins out of my mouth. we all got hysterical, laughing the kind of belly laugh that makes you say 'thank you JESUS!'. our tummies hurt we were laughing so hard! hope you all are relishing similar moments in your lives.

another monday

so we've finally joined the rest of the free world and are blogging!
we hope you enjoy the pictures and updates from our little world....definitely not just any other monday around here!