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.

Pumpkins!!

Tom decided to use up a vacation day on Friday. We left our house around 11am and headed up to Traverse City. Traffic was not an issue, but our broken DVD player presented a challenge for Noelle. She is a very good little traveler and after we explained that Barney, Teletubbies, and Little Einsteins could not be viewed, tears fell then she found other things to keep her busy. We expected her to take a bit of a nap, but of course she fell asleep about 20 minutes before we arrived! Go figure!

Saturday we all went to a pumpkin patch and had so much fun. Noelle loved petting the animals. There was a little pygmy goat for sale, we tried very hard to convince Grandpa to buy it, but for some odd reason he was opposed to that idea! Although he was willing to buy it for us, as long as it went home with us...yeah, Zeus and a pygmy goat in a very small SUV for five hours, that sounds like a blast! We grabbed a little yellow wagon, put Noelle in it, and headed out to the pumpkin patch. The wagon ride had to be the best part because Uncle took her "super fast"! She loved picking out a little pumpkin of her own and carrying it back to the wagon,. When it was time to leave, a little girl dressed in pink, did not like that idea! Here are some pictures to enjoy (you can double click on the images to see them bigger):

From all the fun as soon as we got home Noelle went down for a nap! I decided to start to get ready for my dinner date with Tom. My parents so wonderfully offered to watch Noelle for us. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and we decided to take this opportunity to go out to dinner and hit the mall. I have been craving the Olive Garden lately so that is where we went. It was so good, and I know it's not that special of a restaurant, but it's what the pregnant women wanted!! After a fabulous dinner we went to the mall. Of course, being parents we ended up getting ourselves nothing and bought some things for Noelle and Max (what do you guys think of the name? I'm trying it on for size and would love opinions!).

While we were out Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Alex decided to carve Noelle's little pumpkin with her. Apparently, she was too delicate and girly and she did not want to touch the guts with her hands!! She did like touching them with a spoon and from what I was told thoroughly enjoyed herself! Here are a few more pictures of Noelle's first ever pumpkin carving experience:

Sunday we left around 2pm and made it home around 7pm. It was an easier ride because Uncle lent us his DVD player and Noelle was able to watch her favorite shows. I on the other always have a very hard time leaving my family. I hate living so far away. Five hours is a very doable drive, but I can't help and imagine how wonderful it would be to live closer. To call and pop in whenever I needed a "Mom hug". Noelle loves to give me hugs, and sometimes I want one from my Mom! Just to have them close by so they would be able to spend more time watching Noelle grow and change. With the new baby coming I don't want them to miss anything. It is always so wonderful to visit, but harder to leave.

In baby world, Max (again, let me know what you think of the name) is now right around 14 inches and about 2 pounds. He is a very active and I am really enjoying feeling his kicks during the day, and night. I am feeling very good, although the nausea seems to have returned, but I can deal with it. I do enjoy being pregnant, it is a blessing.

When Mama Gets Made Up!!

I have mentioned this to some people and even though I hate to put it in writing, it is a little memory I will look back on and laugh.

Being a stay-at-home-mom my daily wardrobe consists of yoga/comfy pants, no makeup, no contacts, and a pony tail. When I do venture out into the real world I stick my contacts in, sometimes throw on real pants, usually blow dry my hair, and put some make-up on. Noelle now associates any of these activities with "we going' bye-bye"!! She will go get her shoes and get very excited. She has even gone as far as to put our dog into his crate for me! Even if I just feel like doing my hair for myself, or wearing jeans instead of black yoga pants, I spend the next hour convincing her that we are not going bye-bye and sometimes Mom just wants to feel pretty. Maybe I need to make more of an effort to not look like a slob all the time!

The other night I went into our stored baby clothes to dig out a our very limited supply of neutral newborn outfits I remember having. Noelle decided she had to try all the clothes on herself! Tom and I laughed and laughed at how much she looked a hobo with the too small clothes on her! Enjoy these pictures: