enjoying another beautiful day!

Noah does not like the grass. He kept lifting up his feet when I tried to get him to stand on it. He is army crawling all over the place and is a much happier baby!

fat guy on a little slide

Those big thighs just wanted to stick to the slide!

Noah

I just thought this picture was so cute; I had to post it.
Grandma Cathy always takes the grandkids out for lunch for their birthdays, so today was Eli's birthday lunch. What a special thing! They went to Applebees, and he was still talking about it when he went to bed. Thanks Grandma!

Spaghetti

At least one of my family members appreciates my cooking.

frustrated

This is how Noah spends much of his day- pissed off because he can't crawl. He has started army crawling a little bit, and he can crawl on his knees two times before he falls on his tummy.

Day 5

No pictures! Mom, Krista and the boys left around 11:00 this morning. I haven't heard how the dreaded car ride went (Drew is not always the best traveler). I hope it wasn't too bad. Last year after Mom got home from this trip she wasn't sure she was coming back for another spring break. I hope you're not feeling the same way now!!! Thanks for coming down. We had a lot of fun!!!!! LOVE YOU!

Day 4

Did we not get enough to eat for supper??? After we ate, the boys had a sucker and a popcicle. 5 minutes later, they had the step stool from the bathroom and were helping themselves to a snack.

Back to the real world. Mom and Krista got to see what my day is like with a house full of boys. Grandma was tired out after taking the 5 big boys outside by herself. She was rewarded with a little nap, and then treated us to a wonderful dinner!

Day 3

Everyone enjoyed our near 80 degree weather.

Mom and Krista visit day 2

What a wonderful day for a birthday party! We had pizza, Eli opened presents, we had cake, and everyone played outside. Eli has been having fun playing with all of his new presents. He even got to try out his new bike today after spending the morning in his pj's playing leapster.

Mom and Sister visit

Mom, Krista, and the boys got here around 4:00 on Sunday afternoon, and brought beautiful weather. As soon as they got here, we went straight to the park. Yesterday we spent the morning at an indoor park, and the afternoon outside again. Noah LOVED swinging! Then it was time for Eli's birthday party.

Noah napping

He looks so cute and comfy. One might think he could take a nap that lasts longer than 45 minutes!

Noah's Happy Places

The kitchen and the discovery dome are the two places Noah will actually sit and play by himself. The whole teething thing, stuffy nose, snotty nose, and frustration from not being able to crawl, are turning this once happy baby into quite a crab!! He sure does know how to turn it on for the camera! He was crying right before I took the picture of him by the kitchen.

My babies

What is it about balloons anyway????

24 hours later

Here's the snow!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Joel and I were supposed to go to a concert and stay in a hotel tonight while the boys stayed home with Aunt Jennifer. Waking up to freezing rain and conditions only getting worse as the day went on, made us decide to stay put. I don't know why I plan to go anywhere in the winter that doesn't involve an airplane and warm weather. This is the second time in a month that I have changed plans due to weather, and trust me. I don't make many plans!!!!

Noah

7 months old already. Can you believe it????? He has started giving 5's and kisses and loves any real people food he can get someone to feed him (notice how he is busting out of another 12 month outfit). I took him to the doctor before we went out of town last weekend to see what we could do about this cold that he's had for 2 months. Turns out he had an ear infection. It's amazing what a little antibiotic can do!

family fun

We spent the weekend with my family at a hotel in Roseville. We arrived at the hotel around 3:00 on Saturday, and went right to the pool. I couldn't believe how much Eli loved swimming. He wanted to do it all by himself, and he could've spent hours going back and forth in the pool. In fact, it seemed to take him an hour just to get from one side to the other. Grandma got a lot of swim time with him! Noah didn't really care for the swimming pool, but he liked the hot tub. On Sunday morning we went to Edinbourough Park which was fun for everyone! The adults had as much fun on the slides as the kids did! Sunday afternoon was spent in the pool for most. Eli took a marathon nap, but it was much needed. Our friends Sean and Tonya stopped to see us, and my aunt Cindy and her two kids got a room for Sunday night to join the fun. Cindy made us a delicious dinner. We did a little more swimming before we left this morning. Everyone had a great time. Things we'll remember or hopefully forget: -Noah getting woken up both nights as his loud brother was supposed to be going to sleep. Joel spent most of the weekend with Noah in his arms, -Katelynn falling off her bed and rolling under Craig and Jen's bed -Drew crawling around the bed all night, so Krista and Brent did not sleep Saturday night, -me getting locked out of our room and having to call Craig's cell phone at 2:00 am to let me back in.

Valentine's Shmalentine's

I'm reading about everyone's Valentines Day, and I thought I would write a little something about mine (okay- a lot of something). I left the house for an hour on Tuesday night, and when I got home, Eli said "where's mom's card?" Needless to say, I ended up getting my card and present that night. I decided to give Joel his present later that night, and he said, "Why are you giving this to me now?" I said, "Because we don't really see each other in the mornings". Well- here's how the day went. I always get up at least a half hour before Joel (someone has to stay in the bed with Noah). I knew Joel was going into work a little early, but he got out of the shower and said, "I have to go", to which I replied, "I don't even get to take a shower?" He said, "Hurry up!" During my 5 second shower, Eli joined Noah in the bed, and as soon as I got out, Joel said, "Eli's with Noah; they're fine", and he left. As we're walking down the stairs, Grandma Cathy and Don are at the door with our Valentine's (which we loved very much). As I was giving Noah his bottle and changing his clothes, Eli ate a sucker and a KitKat. The next hour was a blur. Mom calling, kids coming, breakfast.... and yeah! Jennifer comes. I ran to Target to get our family pictures that were supposed to be in; found out they wouldn't be there until 3:00. Stopped at Walgreens to pick up pictures I had taken for parent Valentines; realized the pictures were too big for the frames. The boys all took pretty good naps which means I had a pretty good afternoon. When Joel got home from work, I went back to Target to get my pictures. They didn't come in which I was told never happens, so I left and got our fabulous Valentine dinner at Taco John's. Joel had basketball practice from 7-8. When he got home, I relaxed and watched One Tree Hill. I stayed up late to watch American Idol because it wasn't going to be on until 10:30- after the Iowa basketball game. I turned it to Fox at 10:30- no American Idol. Joel informs me that the basketball game wasn't on, so I missed American Idol. I went to bed with a headache, and it was still there when I woke up this morning.

Suns shirts

Here are the boys in their new Phoenix Suns shirts that Grandpa Jim sent. I decided they better wear them before Noah does his Hulk move. Who would've known that he'd be busting out of a 12 month t-shirt? His name is no longer Bubba. Now, we just call him "the fat kid". Thanks for the shirts Grandpa!!!!

Do they need a new mini cheerleader?