I Love my Aunt Elana!

If you know Elana, than you know that she loves her nephew and goes above and beyond to take care of him, visit him, spoil him and love on him! So fun!! And yes as you can see in the pictures our tree is up.....

About.com: http://www.macys.com/campaign/pinkpig/index.jsp

About.com: http://www.macys.com/campaign/pinkpig/index.jsp

Black Friday...

It is not a secret that I am not a fan of shopping, so why would I ever load up my family the day after Thanksgiving for an outing to Lenox Mall, certainly not to shop.
Our goal was to take Noah to the "Pink Pig" (link above) get in and out and not even enter the mall. Mission accomplished! It took a minute to find a parking spot, but nothing like expected. We walked right up to the tent and immediately boarded the "Pink Pig". Noah sat with Grammy while Mommy took pictures and the rest of the family waved from the sidelines. Noah didn't seem to care at all that he was on a ride and surrounded by Christmas Trees. He tends to need sometime to warm-up especially in situations that even for an adult are over-stimulating. This was certainly true today. It wasn't until we got to the car that Noah started saying "Pink pig, pink pig, Pink pig". You get an "I rode the Pink pig" sticker that seemed to be the biggest thrill of the day as Noah wore it, then held it and added stickur (sticker) to his chant for the day.
And except for a quick restroom run we didn't even enter the Mall!

Thankgiving 2007

This year Thanksgiving was hosted at the Harper's. We are so grateful to have our families with us. We enjoyed good food and great company. Grammy, Aunt Elana, Grandma, Pop pop, Uncle Ray and cousin Phillip all joined us. Noah loved saying every one's name over and over as he went around the table naming our guests. Phillip (Daddy) said it was "weird" to hear Noah using his name this weekend as he addressed his cousin Phillip.

Noah's vocabulary has been expanding by the minute. Last week he was putting 2 to 3 word sentences together like, "Mommy please help", "more drink please" Read another book". This week his vocabulary has sky rocketed. Thanksgiving Dinner Noah (enjoying his Mommy's cooking) said "Mommy, Daddy may I please have more sweet potatoes please?" That is a 10 word sentence. Since Thursday the sentences continue, normally around something he wants. Some examples from this week "Daddy may I please listen to my CD please", "Mommy may I please have a taste please?" (referring to Mommy's ice cream cone after he had finished his). Yes, Noah uses the word please twice in his sentences. He truly seems to get sweeter and sweeter each day.

This week makes for a total of 4 times that Noah has gone Pee pee in the potty. There is still really no rhyme to our reason. When he asks to go potty and before and after nap, Noah gets a few books and sits and reads and sits and sits and sits. It seems that if we let him sit long enough eventually he goes. We have been celebrating with "A Potty Party" which includes tons of praise, high 5's, clapping, hugging and kisses. Noah seems to respond extremely well as he has always shown a desire to please.

I am so grateful and thankful to have been surrounded by our family this Thanksgiving and for the joy that Noah has brought into our lives these past 21 months. I continue to be reminded of how much I have and have been challenged to become more thankful and live a life that reflects how thankful I am, not just during this season but everyday.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Chips a vehicle for Dip

This morning Noah and Daddy spent some quality time together, while Mommy had sometime for herself and got a massage and strolled around some stores! I am not sure how Noah and Phillip put together this ensemble, but he was dressed to impress, complete with Mommy's UMASS basketball hat from her college days.

Another exciting achievement is that after months of practicing Noah can catch a ball. Daddy must have practiced with him a lot, because by the time I got home and Grammy arrived for the weekend Noah was catching a ball like he had been doing it for years. Grammy's favorite is the "celebration" after he catches it.

After a morning of catch and crazy outfits we enjoyed the weather and had a picnic. The picture above is Noah's big dip into the hummus. For Noah a chip certainly is a vehicle for dip!

Noah does it again!!

I don't know much of the details, except for our little guy went on the potty again. It was a special night with Daddy and Grandma since Mommy was at work. Noah had another potty party!! Way to go AGAIN Noah!!

Giving Thanks

I am so grateful for my amazing life and family. In anticipation of a full house for Thanksgiving I have been praising God and thanking Him for my life, my home and my health, yes even now... I have NEVER mentioned in my blog that I have been struggling with a strange "head pain" since April 07. I want to read this years from now and have it to remember how I much I love being Noah's mom and Phillip's wife and how God has poured blessing after blessing on to us, not this pain. I have had a few days recently where I have been in such a pitty pot and so frustrated. After many Drs,tests, alternative treatments and several medications the pain remains. I have been told by 5 Drs that I am completely healthy there is nothing wrong. Needless to say the pain remains. How frustrating! How confusing! I have known since the pain started that God is telling me to Glorify Him in all things including this. This is hard when you are in pain.

As we are cleaning house, buying groceries and teaching Noah about Thanksgiving in preparation for this Holiday, I have been reminded again how much we have, how much I am loved and how much love I have to pour into my family. I am so thankful that nothing has ever been found to be wrong medically. I am thankful that I have amazing friends who pray for me and my family, who encourage me, who call me after Dr appts, who have sought God in prayer specifically for healing and that they pray without ceasing. I am NOT thankful for this pain, but I am thankful that I have faith in the Greatest healer, comforter, counselor and friend. The Lord Jesus Christ!

Okay, enough preaching and on to Noah...

Wow! He is truly amazing. How does he know a color, from shape, number or letter. How does he remember a bible verse after only hearing a few times and lyrics to songs after hearing it a handful of times. He truly is a sponge. Noah continues to repeat EVERY word he hears and then he soon incorporates that word into his ever growing vocabulary.

Some favorites these days:
Words :
snack, lunch, buddy, football, baseball, street, fire engine, cookie, Aunt Elana, Jesus, church, bicycle, crescent (as in the shape of the moon, not another food),leaf, crayon, craft

Friends/People: (these are the names he repeats several times a day, if you are not on the list, don't feel left out - Phillip and I aren't either)
Mrs Pinson, Ty, Eli, Baby Maddy, Russell, Aunt Elana, Uncle Ray, Mason, Faith, Mrs Sullivan, Matthew

Teacher: Mrs Overstreet

Singer: Mrs Sullivan

Things to do/play: Soccer, catch, running races, dance party, reading, color, trains, counting everything, naming everything he sees, storytime at Borders or the library, going to big church to hear the instruments and Mrs Sullivan, giving and receiving hugs & kisses

Songs: I've decided to follow Jesus, ABC's

Books: Brown Bear, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, 10 Little Ladybugs, God Gave us You

Letters: A,B,N,O,H,P,S, V

Food: Applesauce, Heart Cereal, Bananas, Ketchup, any fruit

As for dislikes the only big ones these days are vegetables and sharing. I am okay with the vegetables for know, it's the sharing that we are working on

Happy Thanksgiving!