Noah pics

Noah is so much fun! I love spending my days with him; he really does bring us so much joy! Enjoy these pics:

Drinking his "choo-choo juice":

BIG SMILES!!

Post nap bedhead:
Looking handsome at his cousing birthday party:

His first time hitting a pinata (thanks for the help uncle David):

Belly pics

Belly picture from two weeks ago:

Belly picture from today;

So...I'll get the official word tomorrow but there is a chance my c/s date will be moved up. I've been measuring ahead of schedule (ummm 3-4 weeks ahead ?!?!) my past two appointments. My dr. sent me in for an ultrasound to see if there was extra amniotic fluid, or if the dates were off. Baby is also measuring about 3 weeks ahead of my due date. Although they say that the first ultrasound is the most accurate, this has happened with both pregnancies. With Noah, my first ultrasound put me due on June 20 (although I was pretty sure all along that was off) when my subsequent ultrasound and my own measurements showed me further along, the dr. changed my due date to June 12. I went into labor on June 4th and delivered Noah on June 5th at 7 lbs. 14 oz and 20 3/4 inches. This time around my first u/s puts me due on 3/8...but baby (and my size) give me a new edd of 2/22. This really wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't having a planned c-section. Since my c/s is scheduled for 3/2 (just 8 days after my "new" dd) I'm not sure if the dr. will bump up the c/s date or not. We'll know tomorrow.

The significance of a picture

Today a friend said to me, "You really need to update your blog!" I explained to her that since the passing of our dear camera, nearly 2 weeks ago, I've not been motivated to blog. :) Surely people are far more interested in pictures than my words! I've been in a bit of a blogger's depression. We have not purchased a new camera (though we have been researching them...:)) and well, I've wanted to wait until I had a picture to post. Well, today I have a couple pictures to post and I will explain why they are so significant.

Picture #1: About 4 days after the "toliet accident" I decided to see if I could turn on the camera. They always say to let it dry out first. It attempted to turn on, but no luck. A couple days later I tried again..to my surprise it turned on!! I was actually able to take a picture and this is what it looked like. Clearly, it's a picture of my handsome hubby. :)

Picture #2: A couple days after taking picture #1 I decided to try again...and, well, this is what I got!! Yep, a bit more clear.


Picture #3: This afternoon I thought I'd try one more time...just to see. Well...

Yep, there he is again, my handsome (and a bit caught off guard) hubby.

It seems as though there is new life in our camera!! Not only was I able to take this picture, I was also able to take a short video. I was also able to view them and download them to my computer with NO PROBLEMS!! I did have some issues at first as I changed the settings...I would put it to video and it would read "beach"...none of them were correct. However, after playing with it some, it seems like even that kink has been cleared up.

I fully anticipate making up for lost picture taking time. I'll even show you the latest belly picture...measuring 4 weeks ahead! I'll post more about that later. Could our little baby come early? What's your guess? And for those curious about Noah's size, he was 7 lbs. 14 oz.

I was going to....

have a fun post with pictures this morning...including the latest belly picture. BUT....I just found my camera...in the toliet. Welcome to life with a toddler. Let's hope the camera is not ruined forever.

**UPDATE** Here's what happend...Noah and I had just finished reading a book and he went off to get his puzzle...or so I thought...I was picking some stuff up in the living room and he came back out to me and said, "water, water". My first thought was that he wanted to take a bath...though thinking back he usually just says, "bath". Sometimes in the morning I just let him play around in the bath...he LOVES it. Anyway, I followed him down the hall and he turned into our guest bathroom. At first glance I thought the toliet was filled with poo...GROSS! Then I realized, no that dark thing in the toliet is our camera. Our very nice, splurged before Noah arrived and while I was still working camera!!! I rescued our camera and took everthing out, trying to dry out every nook and cranny. After researching it a bit, I'm pretty certain it's gone for good. Fortunately I was able to laugh about it (at first). After I got him cleaned up from splashing in the toliet and down for his nap, it seemed a bit more overwhelming. We're not in the same position to replace that camera as we were when I was working. Oh well. It's just a camera...and it can be replaced. :)

19 months

Today Noah is 19 months old! WOW! Instead of an 18 month check-up, he had a 19 month check-up. That's what happens when Mommy forgets to schedule the 18th month well baby visit at the 15 month visit...oh well. :)

This was an interesting visit. Noah screamed, and I do mean SCREAM, the ENTIRE time. The second, literally, that the doctor walked in, he went from being his happy little self, to screaming at the top of his lungs. I have NEVER heard him scream so loud or for so long. He kept saying, "all done" and "bye-bye". The poor doctor didn't have a chance. My other surprise this visit was that Noah didn't break 30 lbs. I thought FOR SURE he was over 30 lbs...but he's really just under. With all clothes and shoes on he weighed 29.2 lbs. He's 34 3/4 inches which puts him in the 80th percentile for weight and 95th for length. What a big boy! :)

Cleaning up

Last night we began taking our Christmas decorations down. I must say, it feels good. I love the coziness of the lights, tree, garland and other decorations, but Hylke and I both agreed that it just wasn't the same anymore. I think our time away visitng family and being up the in the mountains helped me transition. :) Noah's excitement seemed to die down as well. He would come out every morning and ask to turn on all the lights...since we returned home he's only mentioned them in passing. This morning when he came out and saw that the tree was down and lights were removed he just looked at me a little confused, "yights?". He was a big helper and brought me each of the 9 strands of lights that lit our tree and helped me put them in their boxes along with some other decorations as well.

So now comes baby preparations. Yes, I still have 8 weeks....or should I say, I only have 8 weeks? I think I may be nesting already...maybe it's because I know I'll be too big to be doing some of this stuff later, and since I'm cleaning and putting away now, I may as well be getting some of the baby stuff out and in their appropriate places. Or maybe the nesting instinct is really taking over?? Either way, I've decided to go ahead and begin getting things in order for Little Miss. Noah's toys used to be where our Christmas tree was, but before we put up our tree we reorganized a bit, changing our dining room into a play area with a nice shelving unit with baskets that keep toys, blocks, books and other various items. We moved our dining area to our back room (attached to the kitchen...) we never really used that room, so now it's nice to use our space a little more efficiently. Anyway, we wanted to move his stuff so that 1. he'd have a bigger place to call his own and 2. there would be room for some baby stuff to come back out.

Although I haven't completely gone mad with getting things in order, I figure over the next few weeks there will be evidence that a new little one is on her way. What a strange, but exciting reality. :)

Cabin Getaway

Getting all bundled up:


Heading out the door:


Noah sledding with Uncle Alex and Lily:


Noah sledding with Daddy:


The snowman I made while others were sledding:

2 months

Two months from today we will be welcoming Elliana Joy into our family. Wow! I am feeling very pregnant these days and at times I can't imagine her growing for 8 more weeks. Where will she fit?!? At the same time, I can't believe that there are only 8 more weeks until she's here. Will we really be a family of four?

On a different note, we just returned home from 4 days in Lake Arrowhead with my sister and her family. We had a wonderful time. Our cabin was nice and cozy and we had the best area for sledding just a walk away. And, we had it all to ourselves!! All three of the kids had a blast sledding and playing in the snow; Isabella was even able to go down the "slopes" all by herself! When did she get so big??? Noah had the best time with his cousins...he just loves them to death.

We planned out a detailed menu for each of our meals and brought everything we needed to have a very relaxing and very comfortable trip. I baked some ahead of time so we had more goodies than any of us could eat (though we did our very best..) we also made sure to pack enough tea, hot coco and coffee to warm us all up after a long day in the cold air.

Our cabin was just the right size...Amy, Alex and the girls shared the loft (which had 3 beds and a set of bunk beds) and Hylke, Noah and I shared the main bedroom downstairs. Once we figured out how to get heat to the game room we had a fun time playing pool and air hockey....even the kiddos hit some balls.

As soon as I upload my pics (and get the ones my sis took) I'll be sure to post some. In the meantime, it's back to unpacking and putting away. :)