Six Months Old!!!!!

Daddy helps Noah try on his newest jammies... what a big boy in the button up "Cars" pj's! He is so long in the torso and his legs are like stilts, that he has outgrown all the little baby sleepers already. We have to shop in the toddler stuff just for the length of outfits. Needless to say, he's so lean that the bulk of his clothes are far from tight around his tummy, but the length is always stretched to the max.
Noah is really getting good with his finger dexterity... he puts his own pacifier in his mouth, and even surprised me the other day when he held his hand in front of his mouth when he sneezed, so his pacifier wouldn't go flying out of his lips! He munches on it more than he sucks on it, trying to soothe his aching gums I imagine. Still no teeth for Noah, but hopefully soon! Can't you just MELT from the handsome eyes he looks at us with though?!!!

Yes, his hair really is this wild 99% of the time! ha... He has a little ring around the back of his head where most of the hair has been rubbed off, but now that he's sitting on his own, and upright more often than laying down, hopefully some of that hair will start to fill back in. In the meantime, he just loves playing with his brothers, and is SO curious when he sees the camera come out (thus, no smile... he was just laughing before I snapped the picture, but wonders what's in front of mom's face when the lens cap comes off).

NOAH'S SITTING NOW!!!!!

Noah has really been learning how to sit on his own!! He even has such great concentration, that everything can still go in his mouth while practicing his balance and sitting techniques. Here he slobbers all over his rubber ducky... one of his newly crowned favorites!!! It gets tricky to hold on to after a while, because it's thoroughly coated with his slobbery drool.
When not sucking on a toy or a toe, he's sucking on his tongue and trying to soothe his gums, which are surely going to burst with teeth erupting soon! His amount of drool and slobber surely indicates he's working on teeth at least in the NEAR future, if not immediately (although I've been thinking they're going to pop through the surface in his mouth for the past couple months). I think waiting for baby teeth to arrive is like waiting for Christmas when you're 5... it just seems to never happen. ha.

Daddy and Noah have countless moments of enthralling conversation!!!! Noah's looking over at Coconut, Kristen's doggy, as he tries to come over and steal Noah's ducky.... little does the pooch know that there's no way he'd give it up on purpose (unless his mommy left it in Wisconsin by mistake) ha. But you can just see the balance and skill he's developing quickly as he grows WAY too fast!!!!!

Hard Working Baby...

As a part of a weekend project, we dug a spot where we're going to be moving a shed to in the near future. We had a truck load of sand delivered, and all that sand had to be shoveled into place. Ed got out there and got started early Saturday morning, expecting Benjamin to come out and help him when he woke up. Noah and I watched from the house, and it wasn't long before guilt overtook us. We went outside to help daddy (yes, that's mommy's shovel in the trailer... I just HAD to take the photo for a minute).
Noah's "Bumbo" seat was the perfect thing for keeping him close to us (he didn't like laying on a blanket I'd put down for him in the shade), and keeping him entertained while we shoveled all the sand. He liked riding around behind the lawn tractor, and he didn't even put any dirt in his mouth!!

"Hey Mommy, aren't you going to jump on for a ride?" He seemed amazed at the whole process of riding through the yard, and watching us work, while he kicked back in his seat.

Just a peak over the edge, as the trailer went by. He was really getting the hang of this "yard-work" gig. We finished the job, and now we're ready to move the shed in the near future. I wonder how Noah will help us out then?

Bottle Dance from Matt's Play

Watch this amazing fun clip from Matt's play... he's the one on the far left (of the four gentlemen doing the dance). I was skeptical at first, but they all assure me that they really ARE balancing the bottles (so did the director, when he told me how many bottles were dropped and/or broken in rehearsals), ha. Not a bottle has fallen during performances!!! At the end, when they all yell "HEY", Matt's the one they have hoisted up in the center! (No, the beard's not all his... mascara does a lot in theater appearances) ha. Enjoy!!!

Fiddler on the Roof!

Matt is staring in the SPA (Summer Performing Arts) production of Fiddler on the Roof this summer, and their first performance was last night. He's having SO much fun with it, and he pulls off his part perfectly!!! He's Motel, the tailor. Here, he begs for Tevye's daughter's hand in marriage.

His beard looks so real too (no, it's not his own facial hair... he's not THAT old yet) ha.
Here, he and his beloved are married. Now if that isn't hard for a mom to see!!! Good thing I know it's only acting. haha.

This "Bottle Dance" was in the wedding celebration scene.... they really are balancing these 1/2 filled bottles on top of their heads!!! It was one of the first things they started working on with this production this summer, as it has taken a LOT of practice to perfect this dance, and not have the bottles fall all over the stage (not a single bottle fell in last night's performance, either).

This next part of the dance was AMAZING... they are on their knees (as you can see below), and they drag themselves across stage (without teetering or tipping) and switch legs, and swoop across in the other direction too.... WONDERFUL choreography... VERY cool with all the music, and the other actors cheering them on!!! Looked like so much fun!

Matt was happy to greet us after the show, once he got his beard removed. He had to wash off (and peel off, he said) all the glue/adhesive they use to attach it. But as you can see by his glowing smile, he really enjoyed the performance! We're so proud of him!!!

Just another random photo of Matt from last weekend's Thompson Days (BEFORE he played mud volleyball in the rain)! ha. He's growing up so fast... heading for his senior year this fall will be a hard pill of reality for me to swallow... but I can't keep him at home forever, can I? I'm truly blessed with my sons... they continually make me SO proud!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Noah's first weekend at his grandpa's lake cabin was so much fun! He borrowed his cousin's floaty-meshy-water-toy, and LOVED it! Well, "LOVED" might be a bit hopeful, but he didn't cry, so he must have liked it. ha. I don't know if it was the fact that his feet could dangle in the water or the bright yellow duckies in front of him, that he liked better.
"Mom, quit bumping the tube, I'm trying to play here!" Noah loved laying on the tube, which we had flipped upside down on the grass by the cabins. He could be outside in the fresh air, and play with his daddy at the same time.

Grandpa Dean wasn't keen on the camera, but since his two grandsons are on the scene, he endures the moment, and begs me to get it over with. Devon eyes the campfire, and Noah chews on his jammie shirt. Fun by the campfire a few times a year... life is good...

...especially with this sunset! I have always loved the sunset which graces the view of Dean & Karen's shoreline. I've probably got over 100 pictures of this exact view over the years... it's just such a pure image of tranquility. Breathtaking, in person!!!

I hope your 4th of July left you with countless breathtaking, hilarious, memorable moments as well!

Big Boy at Dinnertime

Noah has started sitting in a highchair now for supper... he LOVES sitting up, rather than laying back in a bouncy seat, to eat his cereal. He's now eating veggies and fruits too, liking peas, squash, sweet potatoes, (hates beans), pears & applesauce. We haven't tried the bananas yet, but I'm sure he'll follow Ben's lead, and gobble those right down as well. Matt's anxious to feed him fun stuff like yogurt or jello, but I have to remind him that babies can't digest all those things quite yet. I know, I KNOW, it's not going to kill him, but that's the beauty of raising a child... you get to do it YOUR way. ha. I don't have to allow others to give him the junk or treats, until I'm ready for him to have them. He'll grow up fast enough, and be able to try new things all along the way, but for now, it's Gerber's Baby Foods 1 for Noah! :)