A 2 Year Old Princess...

Two years ago Friday (December 21st), our pint size Princess came into our lives. What a wonderful two years it truly has been. She is the light of our lives and has taught us so much about the simple pleasures in life. Thank God for all little ones!

Thursday evening I wrapped her birthday gifts and Tom put together a Little Tike's Kitchen that we bought for her. We thought it would be fun to have it sitting in the family room for her to enjoy the moment she woke up. Of course it was a big hit and she immediately jumped into the role of cook and made some eggs! I went to go jump in the shower to be begin getting ready for her two year old doctor's appointment. As I was finishing us Noelle came in and loudly exclaimed, "Thank you Mommy, so much!". I looked out and there she was holding a present I had wrapped! She picked out the birthday wrapping from the Christmas wrapping under the tree and decided to open some presents! I asked her why she opened the presents and her response I couldn't argue with, "It's Noelle's Birthday!".

We went to her doctor appointment and it was very traumatic. For some reason she was very scared of the doctor and only wanted me to hold her. Of course, she was very healthy weighing in at over 21 pounds and 34 1/4 inches in height. While we were there I decide it would be best for her to get a flu shot especially since we will have a newborn in the house very soon and I would like to avoid getting a little baby sick. Surprisingly, the shot yielded the least amount of tears! Apparently, when her ears are checked it is causes more discomfort than a needle! Oh, the drama of a two year old!

Poor Noelle, no Birthday party was planned for her because we have no family to come. We did, however, have Tom's office party to attend. I dressed Noelle is a gorgeous pink and black dress and we headed there after a failed attempt at a nap. For the affair most of the office personnel and their family attended a wonderful catered dinner. It was great to see all the children running around enjoying themselves. We stayed past 7pm and decided without a nap it was time to head home.

I did get Noelle a birthday cake, but because we got home late on Friday we thought it best to wait until Saturday to dig in. After Saturday's dinner we lit some candles and sang to her. She was quick to enthusiastically blow out her candles, but had no concept of making a wish! She did enjoy the cake though and she dove face first into the "beautiful flowers". We also let her open some more presents from Grandpa Roehrig, which included some puzzles and art supplies. My parents also got her a tricycle that she has been riding around for the last couple of days. Despite not having a big party I think she made out very well and we all enjoyed celebrating her second birthday. I look forward to the upcoming year in which I know Noelle will continue to grow and flourish, especially since this year will be one that she will be able to see in!

Sugar Cookies!!

Since I was a little tot with glasses, sugar cookies have been pretty much synonymous with the Christmas season. I was determined to "bake" some this year no matter how pregnant I was feeling. Thanks to the wonderful people at Pillsbury I was able to get about three dozen done this weekend. I have heard that the pre-made dough is really good and because there was no way I was going to make some myself, I had to try it. Um, yeah, it's basically the same! I can't believe I hadn't tried it sooner.

I had Noelle up on a chair next to me. She was very helpful as I rolled out the dough and continued to have these paranormal, lighting quick hands that reached out and would pull off chunks of dough and shove them into her mouth before I could protest. A very triumphant little voice would then say "Yummy, Noelle eat dough!"

Once the cookies cooled we decided to include our little Princess in the frosting process. We set her up with a plastic bowl, and toddler knife with some frosting and let her go to town. It was very entertaining to say the least. Oh, by the way we started frosting around 3pm on Sunday and we were all still in our pajamas!! She quickly got the hang of dipping her knife in the frosting and putting a very, very little bit on the cookie and inserting the rest into the mouth! Soon frosting became "painting" and Noelle made stories about how she was painting Zeus in the snow and Mommy and Daddy too. We just let her go because large quantities of sugar is what every toddler needs on a snowed in Sunday!

Take notice in the picture of the perfectly decorated Christmas Tree and the little tongue darting out to savor the sweetness of the frosting from the knife. Well we finished our cookies and I will say the taste is awesome, but the visual isn't the best. Tom and I just slapped the frosting on knowing that we would be the only ones privy to their view.
Backtracking a bit, Saturday Noelle and Tom teamed up to make the dough for some chocolate crinkle cookies. Noelle was terrified of the mixer but "helped" with the measuring. The dough sat over night and those also made an appearance on Sunday. We didn't have to frost them and I easily rolled them into little balls as she took a nap.

Last Christmas Tom and I couldn't wait for Noelle to be of the age to help with cookies. This year she did not disappoint and it was truly joyful for us to experience this "coming of age" occasion!

What A Week...

I'm counting last weekend as part of this week because it was a high point in what was a very long week. It seems best to look for the bright spots and hold onto them.

So, last Saturday we got up and headed into Sturgis for the day. It would be our last time getting together with the Roehrig Clan before the baby comes. We were even able to see Tom's brother Don and his family, which we haven't seen since May!! Noelle loved being around her cousins and was instantly taken with baby Macy. Granpa Roehrig was also a big hit, as always! Noelle was able to open some presents and really made out well. For dinner we had a wonderful roast (Granpa Roehrig is a really great cook and makes wonderful meals when we come in) and all the extras, you can't beat that! We headed back to our house after dinner. We only stayed for the day but we had a wonderful time, and even without a nap Noelle was in good spirits.

Onto the first bad part of the week. Wednesday rolled around and we got up extra early to head over to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center for Noelle's first appointment. I knew going in that there was a great possibility we would end the four hour appointment with depressing news, but I held my head high and said a lot of prayers that my genetics would not be passed along. Well it seems that my genes are very strong! Noelle not only needs glasses, but her prescription was so high that the doctor was surprised she hadn't suffered any developmental delays! Those of you that know Noelle are well aware of the fact she is a typical two year old and definitely doesn't have any developmental delays. To add insult to injury, she not only has a very high prescription, but her left eye crosses and most likely will have to be corrected with surgery and patching. We go back in March to see if the glasses alone have made the correction. The doctor was very honest and told me that it doesn't look promising and surgery will probably be our next course of action.

After getting Noelle's prescription we went to the store in the office and picked out some frames. The whole time we were at the appointment Noelle was an angel, she wanted to play with the toys and then while the doctor examined her she sat on my lap and did exactly as the he asked. When we went to pick out her frames, she had had enough and didn't want to try on any glasses. We settled on a frame, although there were not many to choose from because of the size of her small face. I really didn't want something that would stick out and draw more attention to the glasses. They will arrive in about a week and I'm sure as soon as she puts them on she will love them because she will be able to finally see things! I will post pictures when we get the glasses.

I'm not thrilled about this, as I had hoped and prayed she would not have the same problems as I had with glasses. I was teased a lot during school and because of my prescription I was not able to get contacts until seventh grade. The good news is that in today's world glasses are a lot more fashionable and they can do a lot of reduction to the lenses so they are not "coke bottles" that produce "bug eyes". Noelle is healthy and that is really all that matters. The tears I had shed over the disappointment of me causing this to her have dried and I now am trying to focus on the good, the fact she will be able to see.

That was my Wednesday, now onto Thursday. A day that I had high expectations for. I had a routine doctor's appointment scheduled. I dropped Noelle off at a friend's house because Tom was unable to get out of work to watch her. At the appointment I was give a quick ultrasound to see how the baby was doing. Unfortunately, a silence fell over the doctor's usual chatty exterior as she studied the monitor. She explained that at my point in pregnancy I was showing signs of some low levels of amniotic fluid, not too low that action had to be taken as soon as possible, but low enough to make her concerned. Also, while looking at Max and taking measurements he was showing signs of being on the small side, at only 3.5 lbs, where the average at this point is around 5 lbs. She ordered a more in depth ultrasound for Monday to check on Max's growth and my fluid levels. She did say that he looked very well developed and healthy, just a little small. I wanted to go in and for her to say something along the lines of "everything looks great, see you next week". The good news is that it is better error on the side of caution when it comes to his health and I'll do whatever the doctor says. More information will be had after the ultrasound, but for now I'm taking it easy and praying for the best.

That was our week. Next week better will be better, I can feel it. Monday is my ultrasound, Tuesday our 3rd Wedding Anniversary, Thursday I have another doctor's appointment and then on Friday our little Noelle Rose turns 2. We have her doctor's appointment and Tom's office party at 5pm. It will be a busy week filled with last minute shopping and many appointments and one dinner away from Noelle.

About A Month, Oh My!!

It's a strange feeling knowing the exact time and date of your child's birth. I'm having a hard time grasping that in less than a month we will have a new addition in our house. Maybe it's because of the whirlwind that the Holiday's bring, or the fact that Noelle just occupies most of my thoughts and time.

Tomorrow (December 12th) we head into a pediatric opthamologist to get get her eyes checked out. The constant crossing of her left eye is a good indication that I have passed on my horrible genes. I am praying that surgery is not on the menu for her as it was for me and my brother. Glasses are something that I don't want her to have, but can deal with.

Like I said Noelle occupies most of my thoughts! I was planning on having this post be all about how the pregnancy is going and my thoughts about the upcoming birth. Then, I can't help but put a paragraph in about her! I guess that is the great thing about having children, they are your life.

Anyways, I'm 34 weeks pregnant and have 29 days until Max comes along (minus 10 days from the countdown on the left hand side of this blog). A trip to the grocery store is tiring and causes some major soreness. It doesn't help that my ovarian cyst is a discomfort on a regular basis. Thankfully the cyst will come out along with the baby. The doctor has told me that traveling is now out of the picture and I need to stay around home. Of course, I can still do shopping and get out to just get out, but no traveling to visit family anymore because they are just too far away.

Surprisingly, I have more energy than I thought I would at this point. Noelle must be a big factor in this energy because I try to keep up with her and entertain her with different activities through out the day. Although, some days we watch A LOT more TV than we probably should because I just don't want to do anything! Household chores are not at the top of my list but my Wonderful Husband Tom has been helping pick up the slack there. For some odd reason cleaning products have the instantaneous reaction of me throwing up. That in turn makes a way bigger mess, so Tom does the bathrooms and I try to keep up of the other things. Emotions are another fun by-product of pregnancy and mine are in full swing!

I have a mile long list of things that need to get done as far as baby needs go that I getting together but not attempting until Christmas is over. We plan on taking down all the decorations, including the tree, the day after Christmas so that we can focus on preparing the house for the baby. I love the decorations and just want to sit back now and enjoy the Christmas Season without stressing too much about the other details right now.

One of my biggest fears while having this baby is being away from my other baby. We have never spent more than one night away from Noelle and we will have three of them to deal with. My Mom is coming down to stay with her and I know she is in very capable hands. I just have a hard time knowing that I will not be there when she wakes up in the morning and needs her "snuggle time", or the way she gives us "special kisses" through out the day. This is something that I'm sure all moms struggle with and can sympathize with me on. I am trying very hard to do a bunch of preparation with Noelle so that she is not blindsided. She understands that baby Max will be here soon and while Mommy is away Granma will stay with her. At least, I think she understands this after drilling in into her for the past few weeks. I can't wait for her to visit me in the hospital and see her face the first time she views her brother, priceless!

Well, that's it for now. Wish me luck at the doctor tomorrow!

Babcock Family Christmas

On December 1st, last Saturday, we attended the Babcock Family Christmas, which consists of my Mom's side of the family. It was held at my Aunt Shawn's beautiful house in New Baltimore, about a two hour drive for us.

When we arrived Noelle was dressed in comfy traveling clothes. My Grandma (unable to make the trip up from Florida because of the cold weather) had bought four beautiful dresses for Noelle. She eagerly tore through the wrapped boxes and exclaimed with bight eyes "WOW! Dresses SO petty!". We held them all up for her and let her pick one out. There was a gold one, a white one with gold snow flakes on it and a matching sweater (she chose this one), and two different pink and black dresses. She was very excited to put the white dress on, I on the other hand was a bit hesitant at the color and certainty of staining it!

Noelle did exhibit a bit of shyness but after a few minutes playing with the dogs and running around exploring the house, she felt right at home! People began arriving and she was happy to see family that we haven't seen in awhile. I, too, was thrilled to see some of my aunts, and cousins that I haven't been around. I try to keep in touch and visit, but like everyone else sometimes time passes by and soon it seems like forever since I've seen everyone.

Extremely yummy Chinese food was ordered, along with some cheesy potatoes (not the best pairing with Chinese food, but a family tradition nonetheless) and we all dug in. After the big group's stomachs were filled to the brim we gathered around the tree. Thanks to technology we called up Grandma and Grandpa Babcock and we were all able to tell them how much we wished they were with us!

Noelle was quick at digging into her presents and made out very well with lots of great gifts. The adult gift exchange was a big hit with everyone getting the chance to "steal" gifts and trade.

Due to a big storm moving in, we decided to hit the road around 7:30pm. Noelle did not want to leave, stating, "stay people's houses!" over and over. She just loved being around everyone and it didn't hurt that she had a gorgeous dress on, because everything is fun while you are dressed up!

When we left, the weather was atrocious. We saw many accidents throughout the drive home and thank God we didn't end up in the middle of any of them. It took us about three hours to get home, but we were safe and sound and everything was covered in a beautiful coat of snow and looked "so bu-ti-ful".

P.S. - 10:30am is the official time that I will be going in for my c-section on January 10th.

Mark Your Calendars!!!!

Friday I went to the doctor and it looks like Baby Boy Roehrig (tentatively named Max, unless he comes out looking like something entirely different!) will be born on January 10, 2008! They still have to confirm the time and unless something drastic changes that will be his eviction date!

Our Little Mini Model!

Professional Christmas pictures are always a dicey gamble with children, but luck seemed to be on our side yesterday evening. Last year we went to Sears and were not overly impressed with the photographer that took the pictures so this year I decided to try out JCPenney and their portrait studio. The photographer was very enthusiastic and bubbly right off the bat, which I believe contributed to our success.

On Monday, Noelle and I went to buy her dress. I gave her the choice between three dresses and after careful consideration she proudly proclaimed "this one SO petty" as she went for the red one of the bunch. I continued on Tuesday to talk up the pictures and kept telling her how much fun it would be. Wednesday, I had a bit of a schedule for myself to keep so that a good nap was insured along with a bath and some possible hair curling if allowed. Noelle was very cooperative and took a very good nap. After a refreshing bath she wanted to get dressed right away her pretty dress. I gave in and hoped a mysterious stain would not appear. She was so thrilled to put on her tights alone, then the dress came and a smile to rival all others appeared on her little face. She proudly spun around and said "Noelle Rose Roehrig so petty, beautiful!". I asked if she wanted me to put a few curls in her hair and much to my surprise she agreed. She sat still and I was very excited about the outcome with hair curled for the first time. She is a girly girl through and through! (The picture on the left is just a quick snap shot that I took right before we left to show off her cuteness!)

At the studio Tom met me to help make the possible disaster go more smoothly. Much to our surprise she posed in the exact spots that the photographer asked for. Although we had a few faces that were scrunched and one picture with the eye crossed, most of the pictures turned out very well. She even stayed in positions with her arms folded and legs crossed! She was truly a little mini model.

After ordering the pictures Tom took Noelle home and I went to meet a friend for some quality Mom time. Karen and her three little children were also getting their pictures taken and trying to wrangle three opposed to one is a lot more challenging! Next year with Noelle being almost three and then Max almost a year I don't' think it will be a walk in the park. Anyways, Karen and I had a wonderful dinner filled with much laughing and relaxation. We headed to the fabric store, after indulging in some shared dessert, where I was able to pick out some blue fabric that Karen will so magically turn into a wonderful baby blanket for my new little boy. We wandered around the store, talking and enjoying each other's company. I had a great time and really needed to get out, I guess that is why God gave us friends! It's amazing how just a simple dinner and some fabric shopping with another Mom can really rejuvenate a person!

Today Noelle and I going to put up some decorations and have a very low key day.

Turkey Bliss

It was one of those perfect Thanksgiving Weekends and a wonderful start to the Holiday Season. It all started Wednesday morning when we all woke up around 9am and took our time getting ready. We packed our bags, loaded up the car and headed out. Because Tom was able to take the day off of work we beat most of the traffic on the drive, and arrived in Traverse City around 3:30pm.

There is something about being Up North that puts a big smile on my face, especially when I woke up Thanksgiving morning and everything was covered with a beautiful blanket of snow. Noelle was so excited and kept saying "play snow please". We bundled her up, still in her pajamas, for her first tryst in the snow this season. She was immediately smitten with the beautiful snow and jumped right into eating it. She helped clean off the cars and even attempted to make a snow angel. When her little nose was red as a cherry and her cheeks boasted the same color we decided it was time to come in and warm up. She screamed and cried and just wanted to be back outside. The amount of joy that was brought on by just sitting in a snow pile and scooping up mittens full of snow was the perfect start to the Thanksgiving Day of 2007.

A 30 pound Turkey was cooking away in the oven, the side dishes were being prepared, and people began arriving. Charlotte woke up extra early and drove up just to spend the day with family! My Mom's sister and her family were staying at the Great Wolf Lodge for the Holiday and naturally headed over to my parents' house for dinner as well. It was so wonderful to have lots of family mulling around. Dinner was exceptional, my Mom really out did herself once again, even though cooking isn't her favorite thing to do she always pulls out the stops for Holiday dinners. After dinner everyone pitched in with cleanup and it seemed to be done in a blink of an eye. We plopped our turkey induced comatose bodies onto the nearest couches and chairs to watch the Detroit Lions finish losing to the Packers. An early dinner always is the tradition in our family so that the rest of the day can be spent recovering from all the wonderful food!

Dessert was calling our names within a few hours and we all dug into an array of pies. When that was complete we decided to take Noelle over to the fabulous water park in the Great Wolf Lodge. She, being a water baby, was so excited and wouldn't stop talking about the "Big Pool" on the way over there. We dressed in the room and headed out. Fred and Kathleen went into the water with Noelle and I. They both had formed a bond with Noelle over dinner and she loved playing with them in the water. The kiddie pool had a few slides that I was sure Noelle would not want to go down. Of course, I was wrong and after one time down the smallest one, she was completely hooked and wanted more, eventually insisting on the biggest slide! A trip down the lazy river was kindly given by Fred and Kathleen. After the river she was shivering quite a bit and I took her out to warm her up. She was not happy about this and protested greatly between shivers. After she was warm we left her go a few more rounds with the slide. This water adventure completely wore her out and we headed back to my parents house to put her down for bed.

Friday morning came and both of my parents went to work. I was not one of those people that wanted anything to do with the "Black Friday" shopping, keep me away from the crowds please!! Instead, Noelle and I went to visit a great friend of mine from college whose parents live just mere miles from my parents new house. Noelle was not a happy camper at first and just cried for Daddy the first couple of minutes. After being introduced to huge stuffed dog, she quickly warmed up and began menacing! We only visited for a bit, but it was wonderful to catch up with Jackie and show off my little pride and joy! After we came back Uncle Alex and Daddy took Noelle out to build a snowman. It was more like a snow midget, but Noelle had fun anyways! She loved just being in the snow again. Soon it was time to come inside so that Uncle Alex could get ready for his hockey game. She really had a ton of fun at the hockey rink; the metal stairs seemed to occupy most of her time during the game. Unfortunately, the Traverse City Central Trojans lost a hard fought game, but we were just glad to see Uncle Alex play! I'm not sure I will be able to see him play again for a while with the new baby coming, so for me it was a special game. I have always enjoyed watching my brother and anytime I can see him out on the ice it's worth it!

Saturday came and we headed back home. We wanted to avoid the traffic and spend one day recuperating from all the excitement of the weekend. It truly was a sensational weekend filled with many wonderful memories. I hope everyone else had a memorable weekend as well.

More Pictures and Stories

Here are some pictures from last weekend at Grandpa Roehrig's house and one I stole from Amanda Feyes of Olivia and Noelle sharing a goodbye kiss (pictured with Noelle are Grandpa Roehrig, Aunt Mary (Tom's big sister Mrs. Potts), and Olivia Feyes):
















This past weekend we attended the Mitzel's 5th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Dinner. This is our second year attending in which the Michigan vs. Ohio State football game is watched and then a wonderful potluck Thanksgiving dinner is had after the game. Unfortunately, this year we had to bring Noelle with us because our babysitter got sick. Of course we love our little girl, but we were looking forward to some time away from her! Luckily, she was well behaved and even took a really good nap. She loved seeing a few other babies that were there and enjoyed playing with toys that weren't her own! Tom and I enjoyed being around friends and eating a wonderful feast, the actual football game was the only negative...maybe next year.

Tidbits of Noelle:

When asked if she wants something, she always responds enthusiastically with a very loud "Yeah, Ok, I do"

Any sporting event viewed on TV is accompanied with hands thrown in the air and a great big "GOAL"...it doesn't matter if it is hockey, football, baseball or anything else

Our dog Zeus has been given a new name: "Zeusy Boy!"

Noelle's version of 'Ring Around the Rosie': "Ring round rosie, pocket posies, ashes, ashes all fall down" she then quickly gets up and spins around while repeating "ashes, ashes, ashes, ashes ashes, all...fall...down"

After hearing some suspicious noises in the kitchen I get up and walk toward the noises. Noelle quickly runs toward me, grabs my hand and leads me back to the couch and says "mommy sit on couch, stay" then she tells me "mommy play puter (computer)" and she runs back into the kitchen! I had to check out what was going on and I quietly sneak around the corner and there she was drinking juice out of her sippy cup and spitting it into clean pans, then adding some Cheez-It crackers to the mixture.

Any time she is put in time out, when she gets up all her little animals called "guys" and her baby take turns sitting in time out too.

I let out a very unlady like burp at the table and right on cue Noelle says "Cuse you Mommy".

Caesar, our cat, has become a favorite attraction in the house. When he appears from hiding Noelle loves to lay on top of him and basically crush him, like she does to Zeus. Obviously, Caesar does not like this and has bit Noelle a few times. When this happens she cries and points to the spot, usually on her hand and says "Caesar bite me". We then ask her if she was laying on him and we usually get a response of "yeah, I do". I can't blame Caesar!

For some odd reason Noelle smells everything. When I say everything, I mean it! From the cart in the store, to any food you give her, any toy she picks up, clothing, cups, literally everything gets smelled! She doesn't always comment on the smell, only if it is "yucky" or "Stinky" and the occasional "SO petty" when something like a flower or perfume sample is sniffed. I hope this habit doesn't continue too much longer!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving filled with tons of turkey and all the trimmings! We are headed up to Traverse City and I promise to post pictures when we get back.

Swimming, Family, and Friends

Last Monday Noelle and I started to attend a local parent/toddler swim class held twice a week from 10-10:30. The first day was a hit. She talked about going to the "big pool" all day Sunday and woke up Monday yelling "Big Pool Please Mommy" from her room. She jumped right into my arms and loved the water. She even went under with no problem. After a half hour of kicking and slashing her lips started turning a lovely blueberry color and her speech was being hampered by the constant chattering of teeth. When we finally were all dressed Noelle continued to shake and was unable to talk for about an hour afterwards! Of course she had her hat and winter coat, along with pink and white night-nights to keep her warm. On Wednesday we went back and the aerobic class before us was getting dressed when we entered the locker rooms. Noelle did not like all the older women coming up to her. I think it was the fact that they were completely naked and kind of smothered her. She started crying and wanted nothing to do with getting undressed. I finally figured out that if we saw the pool first she was quick to changer her mind! I guess naked, old, loud women kind of get a little overwhelming to a tiny tot! I wish I had pictures but a digital camera, pregnant mom, a toddler, and water would probably end up disastrous for the camera.

Friday we headed into Sturgis to visit Tom's family. The two hour drive is so much easier than a five hour drive! Noelle instantly remembered how much she loved "Grumpa Roe-ig" and was smitten with him the entire trip. Mary, Tom's sister, and her husband Jasen also stayed the weekend.

Saturday we headed over to the home of Andy and Amanda Feyes. Andy is a childhood friend and we haven't seen them since Noelle was about a few weeks old and their daughter a few months. Olivia, their daughter, and Noelle are two months apart and so similar! After a few minutes of getting to know each other they seemed to hit it off. They have similar voices and vocabulary so at times it was hard to tell which one was talking. Olivia seems more outgoing than Noelle and definitely more brave. The men headed outside to tend to the grill and watch the girls and Amanda and I chatted inside as she prepared an awesome lunch. Olivia was so adorable and I couldn't get enough of the two of them playing together. It made me wish Noelle had a few more friends that live closer. When Noelle started to exhibit signs that her nap was close enough to grab we headed out. It was a very successful meeting of old friends and two little precious girls. In the ten minute drive from the Feyes's house back to Grandpa's, Noelle was out within the first five minutes, apparently she had had too much fun!

Back at Grandpa's house we enjoyed a lot of relaxation. Noelle loved to take walks outside and look for rabbits. Unfortunately, I have no pictures because our camera ran out of batteries, but I hope to get some from Mary soon.

Sunday morning we all slept in and had a great

breakfast of homemade sticky buns (thanks Mary). Tom's other sister Liz and her family came over for a big early dinner. "Grumpa Roe-ig" made a fabulous pork roast and all the trimmings to go with it! Noelle did her best to help out by rearranging all the can vegetables and wanting Grandpa to hold her while he cooked so she could keep a very watchful eye of things. We headed home after dinner so we could do some things in the basement, but it was wonderful trip.

In other Noelle news, she has found a new favorite song to sing. The First Noel seems to have been made for her! She only sings the refrain, but boy, she belts it out! It really is very cute.

Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween!!

The last few days we have been prepping Noelle for this exciting day. She learned to say "trick-or-treat" and I told her we would be walking to people's house's and getting candy. All day yesterday she continued to tell me "we walk people's house's morrow". Because she was dressing up as a tiger she also had to perfect her growl, which was accompanied by a very strained and intense face and clenched hands. Too cute!

Well, of course when it came time to put on her costume tonight, it wasn't smooth sailing! For some odd reason, Noelle was very against putting her tiger outfit on. We tried multiple bribery tricks and to no avail. Finally, some wonderfully sweet Skittles candy did the trick and she transformed into a little tiger and was happy about it. The costume came with little mittens for her hands and those immediately had to be cut off because they did not make the Princess happy.

After a very trying picture session, only yielding a few good pictures, Noelle and I headed out into the neighborhood. I was planning on hitting a maximum of three houses so as to not tire her out and have a cranky toddler to haul home. We went to the first house and she did better than expected! Her little fingers gripped my hand tightly and she belted out in a very high pitched girly voice "trick-or-treat"! A smile quickly appeared as candy was handed to her, it was as if a light clicked in her little head and she decided this was a lot of fun. We went to the three planned houses and I said it was time to head back to our house. My little tiger looked at me and sweetly said "More people's houses please!". How could I say no to that. She even insisted on holding her bag even though it was getting heavy and dragging on the ground. Three turned into about eight or nine! I was amazed at how much she really enjoyed herself. She walked the entire time, even after I offered to carry her multiple times as our all ready extremely slow speed seemed to be hampered by the quickly approaching bed time.

When we finally made it home Noelle had to go through all the candy and sample as much as we would let her. A bit of a sugar high kicked in and she was gleefully gallopping through the house. We finally stettled her into bed with the promise that she could eat lots of candy tomorrow. I wasn't sure she was going to be old enough to really enjoy herself and only Tom and I would reap the benefits of cute pictures. She definitely proved me wrong, and unfortunately enforced the point that she really is no longer a baby! Enjoy the pictures below of tonights fun:

24 and the Third Trimester

There are milestones during a pregnancy that every women looks forward to reaching. Hearing the heartbeat, seeing the the baby during the first ultrasound, getting through the critical first trimester, feeling the baby move, basically every week is another wonderful achievement in the baby's life. I have finally reached the beginning of the third and final trimester. The true countdown until little Max arrives has begun. The third trimester is the home-stretch. My little boy will be packing on the pounds and his body systems will finish maturing before he graces us with his presence around mid January. I am hoping that during the next few doctor's visits I can schedule the date of my c-section and really start preparing for the exact arrival date.

I have been feeling pretty good overall. I have my very emotional cranky days, as is to be expected. This baby sits a lot lower than Noelle. I am truly amazed at how different my stomach looks and feels during this pregnancy compared to Noelle. He, hopefully, is much bigger than she was. I would like to hear any opinions out there (from the, oh, three or four, regular readers) as to some predictions on weight and height, and even eye and hair color. To refresh some memories, Noelle was 17 inches long and 5 lbs. 3 oz. and she was born four days before her due date. I'm personally hoping for around 7 pounds and 20 inches. I would like him to have blond hair and some blue eyes like his mom, but I have a hunch he will have dark hair and eyes like Noelle and Tom.

Yesterday was my Birthday. I am now the big 2-4! Tom and Noelle gave me some wonderful presents last weekend. I took it easy yesterday and swore off all household duties for a day. When Noelle woke up I told her to say Happy Birthday and she did! It had to be the best birthday wish ever! I continued to remind her throughout the day to say it and every time she did it was followed by a hug and/or a kiss. That in itself is the perfect birthday present.

Tomorrow my sister Charlotte is coming to visit and watch Noelle. Tom and I are probably going to go to a movie. Charlotte is doing my hair as a present to me and I'm so excited. I'm going a little crazy on the color to "spice" things up in my semi-dull Mom hair existence, and I have complete faith in Charlotte that it will look fabulous!

Burning Love!

We had one of those weekends where a smile was fixed on my face and at times my stomach was aching from laughter!

A loud, high pitched voice cut into our dreams around 9:30am Saturday! Noelle and Zeus were kind enough to both sleep in that late. Tom quickly got up and brought Noelle into bed with us. We watched some cartoons and slowly let our bodies awaken. The sun was shining bright and there was a slight nip in the air, the perfect fall morning if I may say so myself. After a few more hours of laziness and a failed attempt at a morning nap, we decided to dress and head outside to cut the grass and enjoy the weather. The grass needed a bit of raking after mowing and Noelle was quick to grab her rake and help Daddy out. After the front yard was finished Tom moved to the back and we jumped in Daddy's car. Noelle loves to sit in the driver's seat and push all the buttons on the radio and windows. She also enjoys opening all the compartments and playing with Daddy's things! We literally spent about 45 minutes in the car as Tom finished up the yard. I couldn't believe how content she was just dancing to the music and rolling up and down the window and playing with some hidden stickers we found. I wasn't about to complain because I just sat in the passenger seat and relaxed! After the yard was complete we were all hungry and jumped in the car to head to Big Boy for a late lunch/early dinner. One never knows what to expect when taking a toddler into a restaurant, but it was very pleasant and we all had a great time. When we came home Noelle was ready for a nap. We put her down and then I jumped into bed to get a quick nap. The rest of the evening was very uneventful.

On a little side note to the the actual goings on of the weekend, I want to mention Noelle's new obsession with her baby. She has named her baby, Max, and he/she (it is dressed in pink but has a boy's name) has to have their diaper periodically changed, share meals with Noelle, and is always being mothered. She even sings songs to the baby which basically goes like this, "Twinkle Twinkle Star (insert a bunch of mumblings that are so close to being part of the song, but not really, although the melody is close) what chew are", it is so cute and makes us crack up because she is trying very hard and her little face is intent as she rocks her baby! I hope all this very close attention and scrutiny towards the baby's well being is just a good sign that she will be a very loving big sister!

Sunday I got Noelle up and she ran into our bedroom and yelled at Tom "Daddy Up! Daddy Up Please!". I was going to let him get a bit more sleep but Noelle was not having any of that! Breakfast was not much because groceries were lacking! I went to get Noelle when she yelled that her nap was over and when I opened the door there she was with a newborn blue cap (her new brother's hat that we were using for the baby) on her head. It fit, although a bit small, and she looked like a little hoodlum! I busted out laughing! As we were getting ready to go to the store, Tom told Noelle we were going shopping and tried to get her all excited. She did indeed get excited because shopping to her means "New Toys for Well!" ever since she went to Toys R Us with Daddy about a month ago. We promised her that if she was a good girl she would get a new toy and she was, so she received a little bribery toy.

After groceries were unloaded, a completely clad Noelle went outside. She insisted on eating an apple and took it out with her. For some odd reason while throwing a ball for Zeus she kept throwing her apple! It was humorous to see Tom throw a ball and then an apple follow suit. Sometime during the evening the cute pony tail that keeps her wild hair out of her eyes came out and she had Elvis hair. We told her to say "Hunka, Hunka burning love" but it sounded like "Hunka Hunka Love" and was very funny to hear! When it came time to put pajamas on Noelle hiked up her pants almost to her armpits, and her top was tucked in and she walked around. Again we were laughing so hard!

So that was our weekend. Not really much, but the weather was incredible and we enjoyed a lot of time together and Noelle was so much fun.