I love to laugh, ha ha ha ha...

No, ma-ma

I thought Ma-ma was naturally the first word that ALL babies said. Ok, not really, but I was hoping it was the first word that my baby said. However, Noah prefers Da-Da! It's pretty cute (and slightly maddening :)). He goes around all day saying, "Da-da. Da-da-da-da-da-da." I encourage him to broaden his vocabulary with "Ma-ma." He simply smiles at me and says, "Da-da". Oh, occasionally he will through ba-ba-ba in there, but I've only heard ma-ma one or two times and it was when he was whining...more like, "mamamamamama". Soon enough, soon enough.

9 months and other stuff :)

It is so hard to believe that Noah is 9 months old already. I remember walking through the store when he was brand new and everyone commenting on how tiny he was...now he's the big boy! I compared his newborn diapers (I saved one) and his size 3 diapers, what a difference.

My big boy has even started snacking on Cheerios! He loves them and even prefers them over the flavored Gerber Puffs. Here's a little clip I took...feel free to stop watching after he gets the first one in his mouth...the video just shows him doing it a couple more times. :)

I decided to include a couple of my new favorite pics...beware...there may be a naked bottom...you've been warned. :)

Cuddle time with Daddy:

Playing with his "new" toy:

(thanks again Isabella and Lily for sharing your toys with Noah!)

Changing time:

This has become a bit more interesting... if he can get away, he will (or scream trying)!!
Noah and his buddy Will:

Surviving Step and Going Green

Today I accomplished a couple of things that I've been wanting to do. They may not seem very significant, but I'm proud of myself!!!

First, I got back to the gym and signed Noah up for the Kids Klub. I joined LA Fitness to shed the unwanted "Noah Love" or baby weight, back in October, but in all honesty I haven't been very good about using the membership. I have a list of excuses that is at least 10 miles long and some excuses are really valid, but if I want to see those pounds actually come off, I figured I better find a way to shorten the list and get back to the gym. My number one problem was childcare for Noah. Noah's a pretty scheduled baby and I really try my hardest to make sure he gets his naps and feedings on schedule (and I reap the wonderful benefits of a baby who sleeps through the night!!) so finding time to make it to the gym and back seemed almost impossible during the day, when he was younger. When Hylke comes home it's time to eat dinner, get Noah ready for bed and then put him down. 7pm would seem like the perfect time for me to head out to the gym...Noah's sleeping, Hylke's home to watch him...BUT...my sweet husband just wants me home to spend some time with me. :) Honestly, I try and remind him that those extra pounds won't shed that way...but I have to admit, I'd rather be home with him too. Therein lies the problem...I never make it to the gym. After talking with some gals from church (one of whom uses the Kiddie Klub and assures me that my sweet one will be fine) I decided to go ahead, sign Noah up, and get my bottom (yes, a little bigger than it should be right now) back to the gym!! YAY!! Today I took the step plus abs class...it was a wonderfully painful (literally) reminder of how desperately I need this!! I feel good and am happy that I can now bring Noah with me and get in a workout while Hylke's at work! Oh, and I actually enjoyed the step class today...you can read my first experience here.

The next thing I did was use my reusable grocery bags! We can't afford to "go green" in all areas, but I did realize that there were some small changes that I can make to help the environment. We already use the light bulbs that are more eco-friendly, we got energy efficient washer/dryer (yay for front loaders!) and now I have my very own grocery bags instead of using the plastics bags provided by the store. Costco sells a 3 pack of reusable bags (and they are SO BIG) for $3.49. I can load so much into one bag, it's wonderful. The bags also have longer handles that fit over the shoulder...a perfect way to carry in all the groceries at one time (or maybe two).

So there you have it, my accomplishments for the day!

Wild Animal Park

This past Thursday the 3 of us (with a friend and her 3 kiddos) headed down to Escondido, Ca to visit the Wild Animal Park. Noah's still too young to appreciate all of the animals, but we had free tickets and mommy and daddy had fun! Here are a couple snapshots of our day. Thanks, Beth for inviting us along!

Around the world in 7 days

Well, at least up the coast. :) It's Monday morning and we're home, unpacked and getting back into the swing of things here (you know: laundry, cooking, cleaning, 0h, and blogging for me....work for Hylke). We had a wonderful trip this past week visiting friends and enjoying time together. Noah was sick most of the trip, but a trooper to say the least. He woke up with a nasty cold last Sunday (the day we left) and is just now beginning to get better. We took him to the dr. and found out that he has an ear infection too! Despite being under the weather, he was sooooo good the entire time; in great spirits and so flexible. We had some rough nights (especially at the beginning); poor guy would cough himself awake all night. :( But he's back on track and sleeping like a champ. Hylke and I were pretty miserable being up most of the night with him...we didn't mind though, we wanted to do whatever we could to help him rest. Here's an idea of what our week looked like:

Sunday: Drove to my mom and dad's house so they could have some time with Noah.

Monday am: Drove to Santa Barbara and visited one of my childhood friends, Sarah. It was so fun to see her after about 15 years!! She and her husband have an adorable little girl, Reese and live in a beautiful home (with an ocean view) in SB! Thanks, Sarah, for having us over! Hopefully we can meet up again...before another 15 years passes!

I found a couple pictures of Sarah and I from years ago:

The first one is from one of my birthday parties. You may not recognize me with my blonde hair (most people don't believe that I really did have blonde hair...the color changed without my help!) Janna, if you're reading this...there you are too!

This picture is from another b-day party...I've set all my pride aside as I post these pics...what was I wearing?!?!? Yes, acid-washed jeans WERE in style. :)

Here's one more:

We're all grown up!!

Monday pm: After our visit with Sarah and Reese we headed up North (Santa Cruz) to visit some of our good friends, Terry and Bethany Madsen.T and B's son Will is just 2 months older than Noah. Will is SUCH a cutie!!

It was so fun watching the boys play together...we sure wish that we lived closer to them; Noah already misses his buddy. I'm hoping to fly out this summer and spend some more time with them while Hylke is in Romania. Bethany took lots of pics of the boys playing. When I get them I'll post some.

Bethany, I'm so grateful for your friendship...what a blessing you are!

Even though it was overcast and rainy most of our time, we had a fun time walking along the coast in Capitola. Once again, Noah's yet to see a sunny day at the beach. :) Here we are all bundled up!

Wednesday pm: We left Santa Cruz and headed further up North to Santa Rosa. While in Santa Rosa we visited Sean and Krista Hembree, some friends from Temecula. It was so nice to spend time catching up with them. Noah had a fun time with Ginger, their golden retriever! Sean and Krista were some of the first friends we made after we got married and moved to Temecula. We always enjoy the time we get to spend with them. Unfortunately, my camera never made it out of the car....:( No fun pics to enjoy. Sorry.

Friday am: Left Santa Rosa and headed back down to my parents house. Along the way home we spent the afternoon and evening in Turlock, visiting the area where I lived from kindergarten through 7th grade. I had only been back 2 times (maybe 3) but the last time was almost 11 years ago!! Things in Turlock have definitely changed. I couldn't believe how much has popped up. There was even an IN-N-OUT! It was fun navigating through my old town...although there has been growth, much of Turlock remained the same, and I had no problems finding my way around. Our first stop was my old house, 605 Cornell Drive. I wasn't expecting to find my old house so different!

605 Cornell Drive then:

605 Cornell Drive now:

After snapping some photos of my old house, we went down the street to see if Sarah's parents were home. Sure enough, Bob and Mary were both home! It was so fun visiting with them and catching up (briefly) on about 16 years!! Thanks for inviting us in and sharing some fun memories with us!

We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting significant places, Calvary Baptist Church, Crowell Elementary School, what used to be Turlock Junior High and some others. Before we left town there were two other stops to make: the Perrien's and the Perry's.

The Perrien's were good friends of ours from the day we moved to Turlock. I still remember Janna bringing me a card on my first day of Sunday School...we were good friends my whole time in Turlock. Although Janna is now married and living in Colorado (with two adorable little ones) we stopped by and visited with her mom for awhile.

Finally, before heading to my parents house, we stopped by the Perry's house for dinner. We had a great time reminiscing and eating pizza.

After a wonderful visit we headed back up to my parents house. We left Turlock at 9pm and got to my parents house at 1:10am...not bad! Grandma and Grandpa let mommy and daddy sleep in until 10am!!!

We finished off our week celebrating Isabella's 4th birthday. I can't believe that it's been 4 years since she was born...we love you Isabella!

Now we're home. Mommy is sick, daddy is working and Noah seems to be on the mend. Laundry is almost done, groceries have been purchased and now I'm wondering when we'll get to do this again! :)

Valentines Day

We had a wonderful day yesterday! Hylke always has Thursdays off so it was great to have him home on Valentines Day. We started the day and ended the day with some of the yummiest food. For breakfast I made some delicious cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting...mmmm. For dinner (which Hylke took care of all by himself!!!) we had some juicy steak, baked potatoes, asparagus and salad! For those of you who know my dutch sweetheart, his kitchen skills are very limited (though his grilling skills are superb!); what an extra special treat it was when he announced that dinner would be taken care of. He did everything from the grocery shopping, to the cleaning up! I must say that he did an outstanding job in the kitchen...but don't worry babe, I won't put you to work full time. ;) And to close off the evening, we had a yummy "pizzookie" for dessert (ok, I made that). Since Noah goes down at 7pm (well, 6:45 last night :)) we decided to hold off on dinner until he was down. It was special to have a wonderful dinner, and adult conversation, in the comfort of our own home. Oh, I forgot to mention the gorgeous roses I came home to after a visit with some friends. I truly have the best Valentine ever! I love you, Hylke!