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.