So much blogging to do!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, we sure did!! We just got home from visiting with our families; we always love spending time with them. As I sat down to upload some pics to our computer, I realized I haven't blogged much lately. There are some fun pics to post, so I think I'll make up for some lost time and post some fun pics. I'll start with some cute Christmas pics...Noah sure was spoiled this year (which means that mommy was spoiled! :)) And I was spoiled on my own too....how blessed we are to have so much. Here is my favorite Christmas present (I know, he's 6 months old, but still..)

Noah's still at the age where the wrapping paper and tissue paper are way more exciting than the gifts...here are a few pics of Noah unwrapping his presents:

Luckily he has two older cousins that just LOVE getting and opening gifts...they helped him out. Noah actually took a nap during most of the gift exchanging so when he woke up there was still a big pile of presents that hadn't been unwrapped...the girls were so excited that the festivities weren't over. Even if the gifts were for their baby cousin, they were just as happy helping unwrap!! I'm sure glad we got an SUV this year...we were packed full both ways and that's with the 3rd row flat.

We took Noah to get Christmas pics taken with his cousins...well, that didn't go quite as planned. Isabella was great, she had no problems, and Noah was as happy as could be...Lily, sweet Lily, was not at all interested in getting her pics taken. That's the sweet way of saying that she screamed at the top of her lungs and wouldn't even let us attempt a "cousins" portrait. We ended up just having Noah's pics taken...they turned out sooo cute:

We got a family portrait taken later that week:

We had Noah's pics taken at the beginning of last month...they turned out so cute! I didn't post them b/c they were Christmas gifts for grandparents and great-grandparents (and they check this blog for updates) so I thought I'd post a couple now.

Well, I should probably get back to my unpacking. I can't imagine what it's like to travel with 2 or 3 children...It seems like we've doubled or tripled our load with just Noah!! Happy New Year (a couple days early) to all!

Santa Baby

Noah is our "santa baby" this year! It has been so much fun having Noah wear this santa hat. Believe it or not, he doesn't mind having it on, at all! He has never tried taking it off. I love putting it on him when we go out...people think it's the cutest thing (and it is) but it also seems to bring some holiday cheer...who can resist smiling at this sweet boy with his Santa hat, right?? I know that this will probably be the last Christmas that Noah will be happy to wear the santa hat all over, so I'm going to take advantage of it while I can.

My 6 month old

I really can't believe that Noah is 6 months old. People always told me that the time would fly...they were so right! :) The craziest thing to think is that he is closer to being a year old than being 1 day old (only by a couple days, but still!) Turning 6 months is a big deal! Our sweet Noah has given us so much joy this past 6 months. I knew I'd love being a mommy, but this is far greater than I could have imagined. Each little stage that he goes through is so wonderful. I remember thinking that I did not want him to grow out of that newborn baby stage, but then came the big smiles, then the laughing, the talking, the excitement of seeing mommy and daddy, the playing, the sitting...each different stage has been awesome. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful gift you've given us! May we be the best parents we can be each and every day! Sweet Noah, I can hardly believe that you are 6 months (and 2 days) old! We can't wait for what's in store for us!! We love you!

Noah James 1 week old:

Noah James 6 months old:

My Stocking Dilema Update

After going back and forth on what to do, and even getting some wonderful advice from you all, I decided to go ahead and order the matching stocking for Noah and hope for the best. My friend Julie told me that she has the same stockings and ordered her youngest son's stocking this year and it matched perfectly with ones she had ordered 4 years ago. I did like some of the other stockings, but when I held the pictures next to each other it was like lime green next to hunter green...not very nice!

I am happy to report that Noah's stocking came in yesterday and it is a perfect match! YAY! I went online and ordered a couple more today (with no personalization) so that we have them if our family expands....and if I don't use them, there's always ebay. :) They are a great price and free shipping...I just couldn't pass it up. Now, if the tree skirt would just go on sale, I'd be a REALLY happy camper.

happy decorating,
Jodie

NAPTIME

It's raining it's pouring and I bet I was snoring...actually, no, I don't snore...;) Anyway, even if I wasn't snoring, I WAS cuddled up in my covers in our king size bed all to myself for 3 hours this afternoon while Noah was napping!! :) It's been raining all day here (I LOVE it!) and the weather, mixed with my droopy eyes made for the perfect afternoon to nap.
When Noah and I got home from our MOPs group at church it was just about time for his afternoon nap. After having some lunch I put Noah down and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to lay down myself...3 hours later we woke up! WOW!! **I did take one phone call during that time. And, after remembering where I was and what I was doing, I was able to make some sense out of our conversation; sorry, Amy. It took no time at all to fall back into the wonderful world of dreamland.** I can't tell you how refreshed I feel!!
Now, I'm making some homemade corn chowder for dinner; the perfect rainy day meal! With our Christmas tree lit and glowing in the front window, and its wonderful smell lingering in the air, I'm in wintertime bliss (at least for now). What a great way to usher in December!

What a week!

Last Sunday we took off for a week of fun with friends and family. We started off our week visiting some good friends in Ventura, CA. We always have so much fun with Steve and Colleen (and Zach and Josh too) so it's no surprise that we stayed up laughing well into the night both nights!! It was so great visiting them and just relaxing. On Tuesday afternoon we headed to Santa Clarita to visit my parents and had a great time. We got to spend some extra time with Bella and Lily when Amy and Alex went to see Wicked on Wednesday night (a great show). I know my parents were thrilled to have their 3 grandchildren there all together. Grandma and Grandpa loved on Noah the whole time (of course!) and the girls couldn't get enough of him. We took some cute pics of all three of them, but with my moms camera. On Thursday afternoon we headed south to spend 2 nights with Hylke's family. 4 grandchildren and 2 on the way...it's slowly becoming the Hylkema zoo. :) We enjoyed a WONDERFUL traditional turkey dinner (even though it was lunch time) at my parents house and a delicious tri-tip dinner at Hylke's mom and dad's. I LOVE the way my mom prepares Thanksgiving, everything was sooo delicious...my dad even worked on it too...thanks for the yummy mashed potatoes, dad! Can you believe that after a week of fun with friends and family (say that 10x fast!) I have hardly any great pics. I have some, of course, but not as many as I should. I know my mom has some on her camera, but I wish I had snapped more than I did. Here are some fun ones:

Noah giving mommy some lovin':
Spending some time with Grandma and "Baca" (it was hard to get him to sit still :))

Grandma loves her little grandson, and Bella loves her little cousin:

Noah when he first woke up:

Here's what happens when daddy is in charge of changing:
Lots of laughs...

but pants end up....

on Noah's head!

Silly daddy! My two favorite boys have SO much fun together. I am blessed.

Look at those sweet brown eyes and rosey cheeks.

And that sweet smile!

Well, I just looked at the clock and realized that I should probably turn in. Goodnight!

Rolley Polley

It's official. We have a roller! Noah is making his way all over. It's not too out of control yet, but if I have him on the playgym go to another room and come back a minute later, he has rolled somewhere different! Here's a pic I snapped the other day:

He started out on the playgym mat, and in no time at all he was by the couch (playing with his toes of course)

If you read my other post about Noah playing with his toes, you'll appreciate this. I love watching him sleep; occasionally I'll just peek in to see my sweet boy in dreamland. The other day I went into his room and this is how he was sleeping:
I love the story that this picture tells....Noah was playing with his favorite, built in toys (toes) and finally after a long struggle got the one sock off...trying so hard to remove the second sock (notice the stretched out toes) he realized that he was just too tired to keep trying...satisfied with the one, he called it a day.

Two nights ago we gave Noah his first veggies...peas! :) He actually really liked them at first (and still does like them), but after the first few bites, he started making the funniest faces.





But really, he likes them...haha.

Survey Says....

Ok, I need your help. I'm trying to figure out what stocking to get for Noah...I know it may seem silly, but I just can't decide. Here's my predicament:

Hylke and I have these stockings, which I love:

Of course they have our names...:)

So I was thinking I would just get Noah one too...but here's the problem...what if the colors are off, just enough to look tacky. We got ours 3 years ago...chances are the colors won't be a perfect match...and could be just enough different to look really bad. The other problem I had was, what if they stop making this one and when our family grows it will look really odd when mom, dad and baby #1 have the same stocking, but baby #2 has a different one....I like order.

So then I thought about getting one like this for Noah:

Colors are in the same family, but it's a little different...order, yet it doesn't have to be perfect. Or how about this one:

I like the stripped ones...or maybe even one like this:

Again, the stripped one. The colors are still in the same family, but it's not the same stocking...I'm ok with that.

Let me know which ones you like. I know several of you don't have a blogger account, and don't leave comments, but e-mail me or let me know! :) I want to take advantage of the free shipping...which ends TODAY! :)

Waiting to hear.....

Recipes

'Tis the season to be baking! I always love when the weather cools down, the night begins sooner, and you can smell the fireplaces burn...this is the time of the year when we turn off the outside grill (for the most part) and turn on the oven. Although we've only had a few really cool nights, I'm hoping that Fall will truly show it's face soon....no more 80 degree days. I thought it'd be fun to share some recipes on here...and PLEASE, if you have a favorite...share it too. I always love getting recipes that are tried and true. As I plan my meals, it's nice to have a good variety. Although this one isn't a dinner recipe, it's one of my favorites for the fall!

Buttermilk Spice Muffins:

Muffin Batter:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk


Nut Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Grease the baking tins with butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 375°.
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer.
When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.
Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.
Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.

Make the nut topping:
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine or use paper baking cups.
Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry.
You may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time according to your home oven.

Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.

This is the perfect fall treat with a nice cup of coffee! Enjoy!

Toes

Noah LOVES to play with his toes (and try to eat them). I've taken several photos of him grabbing his feet and some with his feet in his mouth.

You get the idea. Well, today it went to a whole new level...I peeked in while he was napping and this is what I found:

socks off, sound asleep, holding onto his feet. My silly little boy. :)

Haiti

Well, my mom leaves tonight for her 3rd medical missions trip to Haiti! We are all so proud of her and can't wait to hear all about her trip. Noah wanted to send her a note...

incase you couldn't read it, it says...
We are all so proud of you, mom! We'll be praying for a great trip! Can't wait to see you in 2 weeks!!

Halloween 2007

Even though Noah's not quite at the Trick-or-Treating age, we had fun putting him in a little costume. Our church has a big Halloween event, Halloween Happenin', we have about 4,000 people from the community come trick-or-treating to the different booths we have set up. The JH group ran about 8-10 booths and had a really fun time. I thought I'd post a couple pics of us dressed up for Halloween:


Our adorable Hotdog:

Mommy and her hotdog:

Sidenote: our friend Evan dressed up as "Waldo" from Where's Waldo...in this picture you can only see a portion of him and it reminds me of a real Where's Waldo picture. :)

Daddy and his Hotdog:

Our tired little hotdog:

We do have a family picture, but it is on a friends camera. I can't wait until our little man is walking around and saying, "trick-or-treat"....too fun!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad....MOM

Left her son in his bouncy seat for all of 3 minutes and came back to find him like this....

And I want you to know, he was still playing!! I guess it's time to strap him in. :)

Sitting Pretty....ehhh..Handsome

Here's the fun we've been having lately...Noah is learning to sit on his own. He's definitely just in the beginning stages, but he's doing pretty good.

And here's a great one of his big smile

So I was sitting down yesterday, typing out my 101 list (101 things that I want to accomplish in 1001 days) and I think that #1 should be "finish my 101 list". Julie, I looked at your list again for inspiration...WOW! I feel like I should have a "10 things I want to accomplish in 1001 days" list. :) You are soooooo creative Jules. Maybe I should post 10 items at a time that way I'll have some time to think through the rest. Does anyone have any great goals for me?? :) Ohhh...I just thought of one more...I should go type it in....

101 List

Here is a list of 101 things I'd like to accomplish in 1001 days (these are listed in no specific order of importance)

Well, here's the first 15:

1. Cook a new recipe for dinner each night of the week for one week. (Does anyone have any favorites?? Let me know!)

2. No soda for one month (not even diet)

3. Run a 5k

4. Send 2 people handmade cards each week for 2 months

5. Loose all my baby weight plus 10 lbs

6. Take a new picture of Noah each day for a month

7. Go to Hawaii again...with just HYLKE

8. Have another baby

9. Videotape Noah once a week (until his 1 year birthday)

10 . Have someone over for lunch or dinner one time a week for a month

11. Visit friends in Washington and Colorado

12. Go to disneyland

13. Buy a house

14. Go to the gym 3x a week for one month

15. Memorize one verse a week for 3 months

Hmmm....

So, day two of cereal and Noah had no interest. I suppose I'll give it a week and try again...we're in no rush.

Speaking of a week...I can hardly believe my little baby is almost 5 months old!! I feel like I just started saying he was four months and now he's almost five months old...time FLIES! But, what I REALLY can't believe is how quickly he grows out of his clothes. I have to admit, I feel so guilty when I look at how many clothes this boy has. I'm packing away a TON of clothes that have been worn 1, maybe 2 times...perfectly good condition. I really hope Noah has a baby brother that can wear some of these things. I never knew how much fun it would be to shop for a little boy. I did just find these "onsie extenders" little pieces of material with snaps that snap into the onsie and give some extra length. Perfect! Noah has so many onsies that fit great, except they are too short (thanks to daddy for the tall genes :)) , and the neck starts scooping down. I figure since nobody will see the extender, it's a great fix!

I've been thinking about my 101 list...I'll post it soon....

Rice Cereal

Today was a big day...Noah got RICE CEREAL!! At his 4 month check-up the doctor told us that we could begin giving Noah cereal anytime. I wasn't sure when I'd actually begin, I just decided to wait until I thought he was ready. Lately he's seemed a bit more hungry and has actually started waking up much earlier to eat (and chows down!!) I also started noticing him watch me eat and try and grab my food. So, today we decided to give i a try. 1 T of rice cereal after his 5:30 feeding. At first he wasn't quite sure about it, but by the end he was grabbing my hand and shoving it in his mouth. :) Hylke was taking pics...some turned out blurry, but you'll get the idea. Noah looks soooo chubby in this first picture...it cracks me up!

He kept grabbing my hand, and the cereal was going everywhere!!! It ended up all over him. This is after we had already wiped him down a couple times. :)

I'm not sure if you can tell, but in this picture, Noah is grabbing my hand and pulling it into his mouth!

Well, since he's now knocked out (just a little nap before bedtime) I should probably clean up all the dishes from dinner. Hylke is leading worship for the College group tonight, so it's just me and the little one at home. I'll try to get everything done before daddy gets home!

Thank Heaven for Vacation!

Well, we just got home from our little getaway and boy was it nice to be away and to relax!! The weather in Scottsdale was perfect; we laid by the pool, went around the lazy river, and took a day trip to Sedona. We had never been to Sedona...it is so beautiful! All of the rock formations are just gorgeous. Here are a couple pics we took.



















Noah was such a trooper! With our day trip to Sedona he ended up being in his carseat a bit more than we anticipated and a bit more than he'd like! After we walked all throughout the park looking at the rocks, he was ready to take a nap...going, going....gone:

Noah loves the water. We had so much fun taking him in the pool. We love this resort because of the great pools that they have. Noah had fun splashing around and floating with us. He even went in the lazy river! I had him lay with me in my tube; he loved it. After we all went around, Hylke took Noah and let me float in the lazy river all by myself for awhile, it was WONDERFUL! I didn't think about anything, I just laid back with my eyes closed and listened to the sound of the waterfall...I could use a lazy river in my backyard!! :) Here's our little man all ready for pool time:

He liked having his own lounge chair too. I took this cute video of him playing with his toes:


Well, the little bambino is sound asleep, and I have some unpacking to do. Hopefully I'll get to hit the hay a bit earlier tonight than I have been. Hylke and I took some advantage of alone time (with no housework, church work or other work calling our names!) to watch a couple late night movies in our hotel room...I stayed up past midnight 2 nights in a row!! Unheard of for me (since having a baby of course! :)) Anyway, I think I'll enjoy some extra sleep tonight!