10 year (ehhh...11 year) reunion

Last night Hylke and I attended my "10 year" reunion...but it's been 11 years! :) The ball was dropped for the 10 year, but better late than never, right? I wasn't sure what to expect and originally wasn't planning on attending. But, after a change in venue and price we decided to attend! I am so glad we went!! It was so much fun catching up with everyone! There were some friends i'd kept in touch with over the years and others I hadn't seen since graduation (or shortly thereafter). Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I'm waiting on friends to e-mail some pics from the night. It was held at Sampa, a Brazillian steakhouse on Ventura Blvd. in Encino, a great venue for the night. The laid back atmostphere made it so easy to catch up and laugh with friends. We were given back letters that we wrote ourselves just before graduation in which we wrote where we saw ourselves in 10 years and what we hoped we'd have accomplished. Mine was pretty close to where I am now. I wanted to have married a man who loves the Lord, have 1 or 2 small children, kept in touch with some special friends, and not have waivered in my faith. I thought I'd have a degree in nursing, but instead I have a degree in counseling. I want to write myself a letter for my 20 year reunion! :) I'll post pics when I get some.

Animal sounds, words and signs

We've been reading several books about animals lately and Noah has loved every minute of it. We've read some of them so many times that he "reads" the book to us. Well, I guess he doesn't quite read the book to us, but he looks at what animal is on the page, says the name of the animal and then flips the page. So far he knows:
Dog: Woof, Woof
Cat: Maaw (high pitched voice)
Cow: Mooooooooooooooooo
Chicken: ba, ba, ba (bok, bok, bok)
Sheep: baaaaaaa
Pig: hmmm...he attemps a snort...it's pretty cute

He's also really started trying to say some new words. We visited our friends Mark, Amber and baby Joel, this week and he knew all of their names:

Amber: baber or bamber
Mark: Mar
Joel: Doe and Doel

He's also been using his signs so much. I'm really glad that I spent time teaching him the signs. There was a period of time when I wondered if it would really work, but for a couple months he's been using them...he's been consistently using them for the past month or so. Here are the signs he uses most:

Please
Thank You
Milk
All Done
More
Eat
Water

I may introduce a couple more, but these work well for now. Yesterday our friend Mark was watching Joel and Noah so that Amber and I could visit our friends and their new baby. Mark called and said that Noah was using all of these signs at lunch and he had no idea what they meant! Hehe.

First Trimester Fatigue

At times it's a little overwhelming...where is all my energy going? Oh, right. It's all focused on this growing bean inside of me!!! It's amazing how the energy gets sucked right out of me. Yesterday the nausea began. It's not horrible, just an unwelcome visitor that hangs around me for the day. Yes, indeed, this is the first trimester!

One Year Pictures

Sorry I didn't post these earlier!

Double Stroller

Ok, so I know I have some time until I'll need a double stroller (approx. 34 weeks :)) I still like researching and reviewing different double strollers. Do I want a side by side? Tandem?? There are a couple of specs that I know I want...lightweight and durable. After my c-section, I know that I won't want to be lifting a 50 lb. stroller in and out of the car. I also want to be able to hook an infant carrier onto the stroller. I plan to use a sling most of the time, but there are times when it's simply much more convenient to hook the carrier onto the stroller. Here's my problem....some of the ones I really like are soooo expensive!! I'm willing to spend money on something that will be worth the purchase, but when am I simply paying for name and when am I paying for an exceptional product?

Feedback? I'd love it!

Reading

Noah loves to read books. This past week we (Noah and I) visited some good friends while Hylke was at summer camp and one thing that we did a lot of was read books. Noah got everyone involved! If I was done reading a book, he'd grab another and take it to someone else. I love that he enjoys books; reading is something that we'll continue to make an important part of our day!

Baby #2 is on the way!

In case you missed the new ticker that I added, we're expecting baby #2! I'm very newly pregnant, but am so excited to blog about this journey. We decided that we were going to celebrate this new life from the very beginning! I found out last Friday, but since we're visiting my parents, I wanted to wait and tell them in person. I made a cute onsie for Noah that says, "Big Brother" I also made a tank top for me that says, "Baby on Board". Grandma spotted Noah's onsie before we even finished say hello!! :) Now that family is informed, I decided it was time to tell my blogging family. (if you're part of our church family, please keep this information to yourself for now. We haven't had a chance to tell people in person that we'd like to tell, and we're not ready to make an annoucement with the youth...so please keep our news quiet for now! :) Thanks!)

We are so excited for this new little life, sometimes it's crazy to think that we're starting all over again, but I can't wait. I enjoyed my pregnancy with Noah and I look forward to this one as well. I must admit, having Noah is definitely a wonderful distraction...I'm thinking that the 8 months will go by quickly. I have been feeling a bit nauseous and very tired...in fact it was those two things that lead me to taking a test...I was feeling it earlier this time around. I sure am glad that Noah is still taking two naps!! I've begun napping for a bit while he naps. AND...he's been sleeping in!! Yesterday he slept from 7:30 pm until 8:00 am and it's 7:41 am and he's still asleep!! YAY!

Baby #2 is due on March 8th...they will be 21 months apart. Since I will most likely have to have another C-section, I'll probably deliver earlier than that.

Ok, I should probably go get ready to relax!! Oh the joys of being with Grandma and Grandpa!

I'm back....

Sorry that it has taken me so long to post. I don't really have much time now (I'm trying to pack for our long weekend to my parent's house) but I thought I'd post a couple of pics for you. We will be out of town for the next week and a half, I'll try and post some while we're gone, and certainly when we get home.

Can I just say how much I love Trader Joes?? I LOVE TRADER JOES! First, their prices are outstanding (for the most part) the quality is excellent, the food is fresh and healthier than much of what you may find in another grocery store. Our TJ's is right next to Von's; I'm able to get what I need from Von's that I can't get from TJ's and take advantage of the double coupons that Von's offers. Anyway, one of my new favorites from TJ's (and I've found it other places, but at TJ's first) is this:

My parents actually introduced me to this cereal, and I just love it. Want to try something new, and yummy??? Go get yourself a box!

Here are a couple pics of our sweet Noah. I have to warn you, one of this pictures may be a bit shocking, but I'll explain.

First, daddy had fun pulling Noah around in the laundry basket this morning:

Noah and I have had so much fun at our Mommy and Me swim class. Noah loves the water, and now loves going under the water. He jumps off the side of the pool to me (and goes under) and even dives down for toys (with mama, of course). He's had so much fun seeing his friend Sienna (two weeks younger) every day the past two weeks! Today Sienna and her mommy invited me and Noah over for dinner after our swim class; we had so much fun. We decided to give the kiddos a bath and get them all ready for bed, but since I hadn't planned on going anywhere after the class, I didn't have any jammies for Noah. Sienna so kindly lent Noah some jammies....don't tell daddy:It sure beat having to wake him up to change his clothes when we got home. :) I'm curious what Hylke's reaction will be when he sees Noah in the morning...haha.

More later!