A Very Happy First Year!

For the past few days I have been working on a photo/ video montage of Noah's fist year. I can't believe he will be a year old on the 23rd! I sorted through tons and tons of pictures and videos (our iphoto album has doubled in the past year) and narrowed it down to my favorites that ended up being a 20-minute video. I then narrowed it down even further to about 12 minutes for the blog. So if you have some time, you can check out a video of our first year with Noah below:

On a side note. . .  Noah is more of a hulu (hooligan) than ever. He gets into EVERYTHING. Just this morning he has gotten into our night stand like 5 times. Once he got some really old lifesavers out of the package and was walking away with one in each hand and one in his mouth. Another time, I caught him putting a battery in his mouth. Never a dull moment around here!

Noah Walks!

Check out this footage from this morning:

He started pushing himself up to a stand first thing this morning, and suddenly became a lot more comfortable with walking. He has been taking steps for about a month, but was super afraid to really walk on his own. He loves dancing to his singing Christmas stuffed animals. He learned to blow kisses a couple days ago, and loves to high five. He is becoming a toddler so fast!

Excited for Christmas!

My mom came into town last week, and we loved having her. We went into the city on Friday, and she showed us some of her old stomping grounds from when she lived in San Francisco 25 years ago. We had lunch at San Wong's in J-Town then hit up Union Square. We rode the escalators to the 7th floor in Macy's so Noah could see Santa. He loved the Christmas wonderland and Santa! I don't know if I should be happy or nervous, because Santa was kind of mean, huge, and creepy. Noah didn't mind, the guy had a killer suit and chair. It was a fun day! Most the pictures are on my mom's camera, but here are a few from my phone:

Noah tried on some hats in H&M

Noah sat still the whole time!

Can't wait until Christmas and of course Noah's first birthday!

Thanksgiving 2011

For the first time in our lives, we weren't with our parents or extended family for Thanksgiving. With Sam's new job, he just couldn't take the time off to travel. So our little family hit up Ruth's Chris in Walnut Creek. It took us over an hour and a half to get there (traffic on Thanksgiving?!), but once we did we had a great time.

I'm most thankful for my boys!

Noah got tired, but was such a good boy!

My sweet cousin, Erica, felt bad we would be without family on the holiday, so she planned a pre-Thanksgiving dinner before she and her family left town. She made amazing turkey, potatoes, and green beans. I made the easy sides, salad, and dessert. We had a blast! Sadly, the only picture I got was of the beautiful tablescape Erica set.

Halloween 2011

To all five readers. . . Sorry I've been so bad at blogging lately, it's not that I am not on the computer everyday; I'm just horrible at uploading photos. So, today I am playing some catch-up. Noah was a chubby lion for his first Halloween. I really wanted him to be lion, but could not find any cute pre-made lion costumes. So, I found the knit hoodie and pants at Gap, and my mom sewed on all of the trim, tail, mane, and ears. My mom found him the cute paw booties. We took some creative liberties, but as a family we were the wicked witch, cowardly lion, and scarecrow. Halloween took place right in the middle of the move, so things were crazy to say the least. Somehow we managed to keep our costumes out of boxes and attend a couple parties on Saturday and take Noah trick or treating with the Terry family on Monday. Finn's costume was so adorable. He was Christopher Robin. The moving truck was packed up Monday morning, so Noah's costume lacked his bear paws for trick or treating. Sam headed towards California before dawn in the 26' truck Tuesday morning.

He loved the fur and kept his hood on all night!

Noah with his buddy Finn

Maui Photo Shoot

We got some family pictures done while we were in Maui in August. I chose some for our Christmas card and one for the blog header, but here are some more of my favs:

Noah waved for the first time during the shoot!

P.S. I'm no longer sending out birth announcements (seeing as Noah is turning one at the end of the month). I just threw some of his newborn shots on the Christmas card. Let me know your address if you would like me to send you one!

Our New Home

This past week we scoured the bay area for a place for us for the next 6 months- a year. We finally found some new apartments in Sunnyvale, CA. We move in Nov. 1.

Now, I have to find some good renters for our place in Orem. I'm not looking forward to the packing and huge move. But, I  guess it will be worth it to escape Utah right before winter hits.

P.S. the other day I remembered I never got Noah's birth announcements sent. I had them formated since before he was born, but when I printed them the font was weird. They will probably come with the Christmas cards, just in time for his first birthday. . . I'm so on the ball.

Things are Crazy

So. . . it has been a long time since I last blogged. The more time that passed, the less I wanted to blog. . . there is way to much to update. So here are things in a nutshell:

August

• We went to Maui. Stayed in an amazing villa at the kea lani (thanks mom & dad) and had a fabulous time with the fam. It was a much needed vacay. Noah loved every part of the trip except the beach. . . he is not a fan of the ocean.

Gang's all here

Sisters

Time for a walk

luau

• Noah turned 8 months. . . oh and started waving (in Maui) and pulling himself to a stand somewhere between 7 and 8 months.
• We moved from NJ back to UT (hallelujah!)

September

• Sam enrolled and started taking 19 credits toward his Psychology degree at BYU
• We got things back to normal at the house and settled into our old routine
• We went to Wyoming for the weekend with our good friends, the Deatons 

Noah rode the 4 wheeler 

Noah, Sam, and Noah's buddy Dominic

Love my boys

• Noah turned 9 months:

. . . And was happy to ride in the shopping cart for the first time at Target

• Stats from his check-up:
• Height: 29 inches (75%)
• Weight: 22 lbs. (75%)
• Head: 50 cm (100%). That's right, the doctor measured it twice because he didn't believe it. He is going to be quite the brainiac, but for now it is just hard to fit shirts over it sometimes. 

• Sam flew to San Francisco to meet with a solar company. They offered him a great job, and after a couple days of talking and praying about it. . . we decided to accept. We are moving to the bay area---very soon. 

October

• Sam withdrew from BYU, packed his bags, and moved to San Francisco. We will join him as soon as we find a place to live (probably the first week of November). I've been really emotional about the move. It is happening so fast and is going to be super hard. I have grown so attached to our home and friends. Sam and I always said we wanted to end up in California, but I was secretly pulling for Utah. We started our married life here, went to school and graduated here, bought a house here, started raising Noah here. So many great memories. I hate to leave, but it is time for a new chapter in our lives. Sam has a real job, which is such a blessing. I'm so glad to be done with summer sales and the chaos and uncertainty that job brought. I'm  excited for the weather and all the attractions in California. I'm excited to make new friends and live closer to my cousin, Erica, and her kids. 
• We are going to rent out our house in Utah, so  I am going to try to post some pictures of it before we leave. I'll try to keep the blog updated on the CA house hunt and the move, and of course Noah.
• P.S. He has six teeth now (4 on top, and the originals on bottom). His teeth show when he laughs now, I LOVE it.
• He FINALLY holds his own bottle (but I still do it most the time, because I love holding him)
• He loves people food, and eats what we eat for the most part. His favorite thing in the world is buttered toast, and Ella's kitchen baby food. . . he won't touch any other kind.
• He took his first two steps on Friday,  Oct. 7. He has yet to repeat them.
• He is my buddy, we have such a blast together!

Lucky #7

Noah turned seven months a little over a week ago! Six months was a huge milestone and he has changed so much over the past month. Here are some of the things that are new.

1. He started army crawling, and now he has almost completely mastered crawling.
2. He started talking more. (Yes, he has said "dada" a few time in his ramblings)
3. He got a high chair, and started to feed himself gerber puffs and baby food.
4. Yesterday he crawled over to the stairs and pulled himself up to his feet. It is only a matter of time until he figures out how to crawl up the stairs.
5. He attempts to crawl/ swim every time he is in the bath. Bath time is now a two man job.
6. His hair has grown a lot!!! . . . now he actually has enough for us to mohawk it
7. He discovered door stops, computer cords, and electrical outlets, basically he heads for anything dangerous when he is on the move.
8. He learned to take his binky in and out of his mouth and has to have it with him at all times. He can also hold his own bottle, but gets lazy so he still makes us feed him.
9. He started teething! On July 16th he got his first two teeth. Here they are:

He is so fun, and definitely keeps me busy all day. We are heading to Maui this week, and couldn't be more excited. More on that when we return!

Update

Just realized I haven't blogged in a while. We are in New Jersey for a bit, it's beautiful. Noah is army crawling all over the place. Oh yeah and he likes to gnaw on anything he can get his little paws on these days. Case in point:

Have a great day!

Happy Half Birthday to my Favorite Boy!

Noah is six months today! We celebrated poolside at my parents house. Clearly I took every precaution to help Noah avoid a sunburn!

Noah by the pool in sunny Las Vegas (110 degree heat!!)

He had his six-month check up early last week. He was so brave and barely cried with the shots, but got bruises almost immediately after and was in pain for the next few days. It was so sad!

Here are his 6 month stats:

Head- 46 cm (98%)
Height- 28 inches (94%)
Weight- 18.35 lbs. (71%)

Lately everywhere we go people think he is around a year old. It's weird considering he has no teeth and can't walk, let a lone crawl. But, he has been loving his baby food and gets around by rolling and scooting.

Happy 5 Months!

Noah is five months old! I can't believe how big he is getting!

His Favorite Things:

1. EATING: He chugs an 8 once bottle 4-5 times/day. He gets rice cereal once a day and has tried an avocado. I am going to try to add in more and more solids this month.
2. Being held (especially if he is hungry or tired)
3. Rolling onto his stomach: He hangs out there until he gets fussy and I roll him back over
4. "Peek-a-boo"
5. Songs
6. Smiling and laughing
7. Tubby time
8. Getting his diaper changed
9. His sunglasses and sun hat: didn't even try to take them off when he wore them the other day
10. Playing with his toys: Especially Jerry the Giraffe, Beatree the bird, his Winnie the Pooh book, and his Sesame Street loud toy (he rolls over and trys to push the buttons himself)
11. His binky
12. Holding hands, noses, faces, shirts. . . pretty much anything
13. His carseat
14. Drooling.
Exhibit A:

Just trying on his new sun hat

His not so favorite things:

1. Being swaddled: He never really liked this one
2. Being rocked to sleep: He used to LOVE this, now he just likes me to put him in his crib and walk away or hold his hand for a bit
3. Clothes: He freaks out every time I get him dressed and smiles or laughs every time I undress him.
4. Sleeping: He is a GREAT sleeper at night, but loves to be awake and part of the action during the day. His naps are getting shorter and shorter.

And I can't get enough of Noah in his jean diapers:

Twinners! Noah and Aunt Kaity

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my buddy tons and tons. He is getting more fun every day!

Noah Went Swimming!

I was so excited to take Noah swimming. He LOVES to kick and splash in the tub, and thought he would be ecstatic about the pool.

On Saturday, we went over to Lana's house to swim in her heated pool with all of her cute nieces and nephews. It was past Noah's nap time and he was so tired. When we got in the pool he didn't react AT ALL. In fact, as I walked home to my parents house (they live right around the corner) Noah fell asleep in his wet swimsuit, hat, and sunglasses. Poor guy!

Plus, I was so caught up in bringing all of the pool gear I forgot my phone and camera. Don't worry. . . I will definitely post pictures next time!

As of Late. . .

Things have been pretty crazy the past couple months. First, Noah sat on his own for the first time on March 26th, it was only for a few seconds. Now, he is getting better and better at it. . . but still can't do it for more than 10 seconds. 

 Next, I had a birthday. It was fun spending it with family in St. George.

 Sam helped me with a few home improvement projects I had been wanting to do for a long time. (The photos really don't do the spaces justice, they were taken with my iphone in poor lighting)

1.) I have been dying to do a gallery wall and wanted metallic stripes in the background. About a month ago, Sam painted the stripes and hung my sunburst mirror, and I am busy trying to get some more frames and art to complete the look. For now, I am loving it the way it is!

Before

During

After

2.) We back-splashed our kitchen! All by ourselves. I love the way it lightens up the whole space.

Before

During

After

After

On April 21st, Noah had his first go at solid food. This picture pretty much sums up the way he feels about rice cereal:

On April 22nd Noah rolled over for the first time. He rolled from his back to the stomach in his crib while he was sleeping, then from his stomach to his back later that day. Now he basically just rolls from his back to his stomach and gets stuck and cries for me to roll him back onto his back. I hope this ends soon because it can be super annoying. . . especially when he does it in the middle of the night.

My little Gerber baby

We headed to St. George for Easter. On Saturday, Noah turned 4 months and we hit up the Art Show. Sam took his daddy duties very seriously. 

When Noah wasn't in the Bjorn, Sam used it as a Sandwich carrier.

Noah loved the goods the Easter Bunny brought him on Sunday morning:

But was fed up with pictures by bedtime.

A couple weeks ago he had his four month check-up:

Head- 44.5 cm (91%)

Length- 26.5 inches (90%)

Weight- 16 lbs.  (68%)

He is a big guy. The doctor said he was the size of an average 6-8 month old. No wonder I have such a hard time lugging him around in his carseat.

Also, we had some good times hanging out with Grammy, Grandpa, Aunt Kaity, and the dogs in Las Vegas. . . but I'm not too good at taking pictures.

Time is really flying by. . . my little Noah is growing up way too fast!