The Softer Side...

Today, Noah discovered my Buzz Lightyear figure- it's not really a doll, because it's not soft. It's made of hard plastic, and used to talk when you'd push a button. I had put it in his closet up on a shelf until he wanted it. Today he saw it and pointed to it, so I brought it down. He grabbed Buzz, and immediately said "down'tairs", so we went downstairs carrying Buzz. He arranged his furniture to look like a crib, and said "nigh, nigh" and laid Buzz in it. Then he ran back to the steps and wanted to get his "nigh nigh" blanket. I wasn't allowed to go up the stairs with him. Every time I tried, he turned around, said "no" and pointed to the bottom of the stairs. After he got up to the top, he disappeared into his room, and appeared at the top of the steps with his blanket- I carried him back down the steps (of course I followed him up the steps, have you seen how many steps we have in our house?), and we put Buzz "nigh nigh". Then we put Noah "nigh nigh" with Buzz. When Daddy came home, we repeated the same routine- complete with getting the blanket from upstairs- because, silly Daddy had brought it back upstairs.

My little valentine...

My first year teaching, I was across the hall from a lady who has now become one of my close and dear friends. Her name is Bernadette, and if it wasn't for her, I probably would not be teaching Chemistry. Some days when I was having a really hard time, she would stay after school and teach it to me until I understood what I was doing. Other times, if I had never done a certain lab before, she would stay after school, help me set up and do the lab with me. We're not good lab partners- if we had been partners in school, one of us would have gotten injured, we're both sure of it.

So, what does this have to do with my little valentine?

Well, every time there is a holiday, Bernadette always makes cupcakes for our department. She buys the specially shaped cupcake tins, the special cupcake mix, the special colored frosting, and brings the special sprinkles so people can put their own toppings on. On Friday, she made cupcakes for Valentine's Day, and at the end of the day, she left one on my desk for me to bring home to Noah- she's always thinking of others.

Let's just say, my little valentine, really enjoyed his cupcake, especially the frosting. Thanks, Bernadette, for remembering my little boy.

Special Bedtime...

Tonight I got to put Noah to bed. Normally, Ryan reads Noah 2 stories and puts him to bed, because he says it's not fair that I get to get Noah up in the morning and get to snuggle with him. Tonight, Ryan has tunnel vision- if you know Ryan you know what I'm talking about. Last night we had sump pump issues. Long story short, it's currently 7:15 pm, and my husband is outside in the backyard attempting to dig up the sump pump pipe that we buried when we built our house over 5 years ago. Yes, I realize that it's February and the ground isn't thawed, and we could just run a hose over the lawn until the ground is thawed. I realize that, but like I said, my husband has tunnel vision.

Anyway, thanks to his tunnel vision, I got to put Noah to bed tonight. Noah really likes the Sandra Boynton books. He has 5 of them, and every night he picks two to get read to him. He always picks, "Moo, Baa, La La La"- I think Ryan and I have that one memorized, and then he usually lets Ryan pick the second, but sometimes he doesn't. Tonight, I got to read him "Moo, Baa, La La La", and then I read him "Oh My Oh My Dinosaurs", and then I read him, "The Going to Bed Book". He wanted me to keep reading him books, and I wanted to keep reading him books, but then I noticed he was rubbing his eyes and yawning, and could barely keep his eyes open, so I reluctantly decided to put him in his crib. I realized at this moment, that my little boy has really grown up. He's going to turn 2 in a couple weeks, and eventually, he won't want to sit on my lap and look at books. So the next time my husband has tunnel vision, I'm going to read him as many books as he wants!

Sandals in February?

Yes, that's right, I'm wearing sandals and capris today, February 10. It's supposed to be 65 degrees today, and I of course, am stuck inside at work.

It was beautiful outside this weekend, so we gave Noah every opportunity to be outside. He loved it. We made him wear his boots, because there were still piles of snow outside, and he enjoyed stomping through them. We also went for several rides in the big red car that he got last year from Auntie Jaime and Uncle Bill. Every time we went inside, he cried, because he wanted to stay outside- but usually we were going in to eat- and you can't keep this pregnant lady from her food!

Sunday, Ryan set up the smoker and smoked 3 racks of ribs. 1 for our very nice neighbors, 1 for us and 1 for our freezer. That night at dinner, we noticed that Noah was getting all stuffy and congested (again!). We set up the vaporizer in his room and put him to bed. He went down like a champ, no moaning or rocking. Yesterday he was still congested and had started to cough. This morning, he was up coughing at 4 am- poor kid, and he was covered in snot. Right now, the positive thing, is that he's still in good spirits and running around. I just hope he doesn't get as sick as he was the last time he had the plague, although it has been a while since we watched "Cars", and Noah does love Mater and 'Queen.

Daddy's little helper...

Noah definitely takes after his daddy. He likes to help. So, back in December, Ryan decided to paint baby ladybug's room. We're not done with it yet- soon. All that's left is for me to draw on the walls- something I really enjoy doing. Anyway, the day Ryan decided to tape the room, Noah was determined to help. Ryan was very patient with Noah, giving him tape after tape after tape, and showing him how to put it over the baseboard. Noah enjoyed it, and was very focused on how to put it up (tunnel vision, just like his dad).

Now, Noah will be able to tell baby ladybug that he helped prepare her room for her arrival!

My boy and the Bell...

If you know Ryan, you know that he loves Taco Bell. We don't know why he likes it, because being a food scientist has turned him into a snob. Ryan loves authentic mexican food, and we all know that Taco Bell is no where near authentic. Nevertheless, Ryan would eat it every day if he could.

Noah has recently joined Ryan in the love of Taco Bell. He is fond of the bean burrito. Check out the pictures below- why we gave him a fork to start with, I'll never know, but he made sure the burrito wasn't alive before he began to enjoy it, after he had his first bite.

Super Bowl Saturday...

Yes, I know that the Super Bowl is on Sunday, today, but with our kids, we decided to do it on Saturday. That gives all of us a chance to indulge in the gluttony that is part of the super bowl, and allows all of us (kids included) to recuperate on Sunday. So we all went to Jaime's house to do our Super Bowl party. There's a bakery in McHenry that makes these cookies, and Grandma Vicki bought 3 of these football cookies, and 1 valentine's day cookie for the kids (now if you're counting, there are only 3 kids... but then if you count me there are 4). Rori picked the "beautiful heart cookie", which left the football cookies for Liam, Noah and myself.

Since there wasn't a football game to watch, Jaime and I labeled all the girls' clothes that she is very generously letting us borrow. Seriously, I don't think ladybug will need any new clothes for her first year of life. They had one gigantic bin of clothes, and then a smaller tub of clothes. While Jaime and I labeled, Liam napped and then Noah napped, and Ryan and Bill played the Wii. Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Jim entertained the boys, until they had to leave early because Grandpa was having eye issues, and we all thought he had a detached retina- he fit all the symptoms. Great-grandma Rose stayed behind for a few more hours and played with Rori. Noah also discovered Rori's Snow White princess and carried her around in a car seat for part of the day.

After Jaime and I finished labeling clothes, the kids used them to jump off of... well, not all the kids. Noah wouldn't jump unless Daddy or Uncle Bill held his hands. Liam was a crazy dare devil boy. Below are some pictures of the day. Please note, that Liam's face is NOT covered in blood- it's frosting from the cookie.