Opposite end of the spectrum

Matt's schedule is SOOO busy, he's never home, so in order to plan a birthday party for him, I had to make it a SURPRISE, and he was a little ticked that none of his friends were able to hang out with him last night... but little did he know that they'd all gather at his place afterall.
He was surprised (so he says), and it was a fun time, with nearly 20 teenagers arriving to celebrate my "baby" boy's 18th birthday!! Ben helped decorate, and it was a really neat time.

There was cake.............................

and pizza...................................

And a lot of laughs! Noah fit in perfectly, and was the hit of the party (sorry Matt, he stole your spotlight).

It isn't a guarantee that a mom will be allowed to help her kid celebrate his 18th birthday, laughing and joining the gang of teenagers for the evening... so I was honored that I wasn't banished from the festivities. We even pulled out the baby albums and scrapbooks, and Matt was a great sport, laughing at the memories of his own childhood.

It seems like only yesterday that this handsome young man was born... 18 years ago today... my the joys life has brought in those 18 years! I love you endlessly, Matthew!!! Happy Birthday my son!!!

Pooped-Out Pair

Ed willingly offered to take Noah and rock him to sleep for his afternoon nap the next day, after his big Birthday party! I couldn't understand why it was taking Ed so long, and it seemed like more than a half hour had passed since he'd gone in the other room.................
little did I know it wasn't just Noah that was catching some ZZZZZZZ's. What an adorable photo op'. Daddy and Noah, fast asleep ~ what's more precious than that?!

MESSY CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!

Oh, Noah... where do I begin to express the LOVE and JOY in my heart for you?! I can only share a glimpse of what a thrill it is like to be your mommy!! This was an awesome day!!
Happy Birthday To You!!! First Birthdays are something special, and this was no exception! Of course, you needed help blowing out your candle, before you grabbed it. ha. I helped as you sat in awe while your friends and family sang to you!!

"Are you sure I can dig into this?" Noah was looking around the room, making sure nobody was going to stop him, before he stuck his fingers in. Then he grabbed a quick fistfull, and it was ON!

I wonder if there's ever been research done to estimate the time it takes a child to demolish an oversized piece of birthday cake, before ever getting any of it into his mouth. hee He sure loved the ooey, gooey feeling of the frosting and cake between his fingers.

"Here mommy, let me share!" He's actually really learning to be polite and share... I didn't think I needed this exact moment to be a learning opportunity, but hey, when the moment presents itself, why fight it?! ha. It really was delicious cake (Ed baked it, he's such a great daddy!).

I had to have a photo of the aftermath... it was just too great a mess to wash away without first snapping a few pictures. Good thing for garbage disposals though.

1st Birthday ~ can you believe it?!

Our little Noah is fast escaping the "Little" phase! We had his 1st Birthday Party on Saturday, Valentine's Day. He started the day truly happy, and stayed that way for the most part! Noah has a way of lighting up a room when he smiles!!
Grandma Karen loved seeing Noah (So did Grandpa Dean and Stephanie), and it was super to have them join us for his birthday party! He especially loved that Grandma shared her Triscuits with him! YUM!

Matt played with Noah and his new card... a giant card that plays "Shake, Rattle & Roll", and Noah still loves it, even days later! It's almost as big as he is! ha. I think he was learning to direct the band in this photo. ha.

Noah got a lot of fun toys, books, and clothes from friends and family! He's such a lucky little - erh - BIG boy! :) It was a great day!

Big Boy Clothes

I don't know when my little baby boy grew up... it must have been while I blinked! He's all decked out in new duds, all grown up like a big boy! No more rompers and warm cute baby clothes... he's officially a big boy! Even has a little hint of an attitude (I think I'd just taken the remote control out of his hand when I snapped the picture.... doesn't he look sad?).
But his attitude never lasts long... we can always get a giggle out of him, like we did here! He comes after the camera when he sees me pull it out, so my photos are either far away without him looking, or up-close-&-personal, but with this smile, it's well worth it!!! I love you Noah!!

Little Bucket Head

Noah loves putting a bucket on his head, and trying to walk around the room. We giggle, and he's under that bucket laughing his head off. He watches the floor by his feet, and he's never fallen with it on his head yet.
I think the little slit for the handles also gives him a place to watch where he's going. He's just too funny! If we put it on our heads, he wants to tap on it, like a drum.

But when we try to tap on the drum while it's on his head, we get the "What are you thinking?!" look from him! TOO FUNNY!!

THE NEW PUPPY!!

Yes, I think I'm insane, so you don't have to tell me that. ha. But, this is one case in which Ed "pulled a Karyn".
When Taylor, our family yellow lab, had a very hard time this winter, we realized it was time for her to leave this earth... so she is in doggie heaven. Ed had previously said that we wouldn't get another dog until Noah was around 4-5 years old.... I guess that didn't happen. ha. After a week or so of Taylor being gone, Ed was antsy, and started asking me to look online for puppies we could adopt. His "criteria" was a puppy that wouldn't shed long hair like Taylor had, but also a puppy that didn't require frequent trips to the groomers. Boy, that kind of limits the choices. We thought of pugs, beagles, terriers, etc. Upon searching animal rescues and humane societies, we came across a litter of puppies in northern MN, and thus, we have Jessie, our new puppy.

Jessie is a fiest/terrier mix (no, I have no idea what that is, hahaha). But I best describe her as a little "Fraiser" (the show) dog. She's not a Jack Russell Terrier, but she certainly has some of the physical characteristics of that breed. She has short, stubby legs, and will remain fairly small. She's not yappy (yet), or jumpy (yet), so we'll try to help her learn not to develop those traits. All we know, is we love her, and she's a cuddle bug!

Here's a couple pictures in which you can see her coloring, and she is as adorable in person, as she is here (cuter in person, actually).

(ps... I'm not sure why the photos are uploaded so small, but I tried to share them anyway).

Growing boy(s)...

Of course in an average, normal, hectic day, we don't always notice how fast our kids grow... I mean, we don't always SEE the growth - see them getting taller and stronger, and plain ol' growing up. But here, I've SEEN my kids getting bigger, and I'm astonished by it. Where does the time go?
Noah sits on Ed's lap like such a big boy, sleepy enough that he's not wanting to get down and run right then, but instead sits and cuddles with his daddy.

Noah's not the only one growing - Ben's legs seem to stretch out every day. He has always been "lean", but with a growth spurt in progress, he's really trim and lanky. He's almost as tall as me (still have a few inches to go, thankfully), but he's tall enough for Noah to certainly look up to (figuratively and literally).

Here you can see the height that Noah's carrying around. He looks more like a toddler - a 3 or 4 year old, not just an 11 month old (to me anyway). I love my boys so much, and love that they're growing into such fine young men/boys.