Brave or stupid???

Probably a little of both. Nevertheless, my best friend (brave mother of triplets plus one) and I spent Saturday afternoon making cookies or cackies (according to Kate). It actually went very smooth condsidering. Though it is hard to narrow it down, I think everyone's favorite part was Sprinkles.

Belated Christmas post

Santa arrived on schedule Christmas morning and while he had a hard time competing with the boys' Grandparents and Great-grandparents, I think they were pleased. Chase was at least. Noelly only wanted to play with Chase's stuff and take the ornaments off the tree. Fortunately, they felt much better that day. We spent Christmas eve morning in the Doctor's office where Noel got steroids added to his regimen and Chase was diagnosed with a severe sinus infection.

Ain't no party like a birthday party...

Essentially, the photos in this post are backwards, but I am blogging from our laptop at home and it is too difficult to make changes.

We celebrated Noelly's birthday a little bit early this past Sunday. I was somewhat hesitant to follow through with it given his sickness and grumpiness, but I didn't really know when else we would have it so we carried on. He did great. He completely smashed his cake, opened his first present and only wanted to play with it, and was his incredibly cute self. He didn't really eat any cake but as you can see he kindly offered me some.

The Albuterol Blues

that is what we are singing at our house. After a really rough night on Friday, I took Noel to the doctor first thing Saturday morning. I honestly thought they would tell me he had a cold, at worst, a sinus infection. I am soooo glad I took him because he had a double ear infection and bronchiolitis. The doctor did not like the way his chest sounded. She gave him a breathing treatment right in the office and sent him home with a nebulizer to do breathing treatments 4 times a day. The good news is he is much better as of this posting on Sunday night. The bad news is the side effect of Albuterol is nervousness and agitation. He doesn't want to be held or put down. He doesn't want to sleep but he is soooo tired. It is a little frustrating but all that matters is that he is on the road to recovery.

A Different Child

I was just scanning over some of my past posts and read the one about Chase's disasterous last shopping trip. I feel I owe him his due to report on the kid I took shopping yesterday. I took a vacation day from work to take Chase to the dentist, attend his school party, and then finish my shopping. I always have a multitasking agenda. Chase had the opportunity to stay home with Aunt Jessica but chose to come along instead. I made the parameters of that choice abundantly clear to him before he decided.

He was an absolute, helpful, witty, charming angel of a kid the entire day. When my mother in law asked what was making him be so good, he said "Well, it is getting close to Christmas." When I was contemplating a pair of mittens for Noel he suggested I write him a note to put his hands in his pockets (a line he had heard in "It's Christmas time again, Charlie Brown). We both decided that wouldn't be practical considering he can't read. And lastly when I asked him if he wanted to pick out something special for his dad on his own, he said " No, I really want you to save your money...Long pause...then you can buy more presents for me." He actually hugged me at one point and thanked me for taking him shopping. Me thinks he was craving a little one on one time.

Unfortunately, Mr. Noel is a bit of a different child himself. He has a terrible little cold that is making him quite short tempered. Hopefully he will feel better for his big birthday party this Sunday!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Santa and his helpers.

A'camping we did go.

What is the most logical thing to do after getting over a 24 hour stomach virus on the coldest weekend of the year so far? Take your family to join five other families camping in the mountains, of course. Ok, so that is actually the opposite of logic, but that is exactly what we did this past weekend. For a couple of months several families from church have been planning this grand adventure, so who was I to let a little fever, vomitting, and diarrhea hold us back.

I was actually feeling much better by the time we left on Friday and wasn't running a fever so I did not contaminate the entire party, and to clarify we were in campers and cabins. In fact, we were in the (around 23 of us in the 3 room efficiency style) cabin the majority of the time because it was so cold outside.

Noel, I decided is a warm weather baby because every time we got him bundled up enough to go outside he was not excited.

The main event of the weekend was a community Christmas tree lighting, caroling, hay and train riding extravaganza. The hayrides began at 4:30 with the evening to culminate in the tree lighting at 6:30, not one member of our party managed to brave the elements and see said lighting. The above picture is the point (at I would say 4:45) when Noel had had enough.

That night after dutifully eating my bland Chicken and rice soup the whole time I decided I could partake in a hamburger. How wrong I was, and as I write this on Monday afternoon I have to say I am still not feeling great. But, here is what made the whole experience worthwhile:

Chase had the time of his life in the "wilderness" as he called it and got to be with his best buddies for a full uninterupted weekend.

Wordless Wednesdays

We don't "do" mornings.

What is this?

This is what happens when I ask Chase to get the pillowcases off his bed to be washed.

Busy Mom/Happy Mom

This picture was intended to grace my Thanksgiving post in which I expostulated on the many, many things we as a family count as blessings. I mean doesn't that look like the face of one lucky mom? Well, it is (the face) and we are (blessed), but considering I am posting this one week from the intended day I will just offer up a brief re-cap.
First of all Thanksgiving feels like it was a month ago, not a week. I think I feel that way because I have accomplished a great deal in one short week. Thanksgiving was a blast spent with Chris' extra large family (over 55 people in attendance). One of the highlights was watching Noel interact with his cousin, Joe, only a few days his senior. The event was held at Joe's house and I think he was less than crazy about this bruiser taking all his toys away.
That night, rather than take my tired bones to bed, Chris' youngest sister and I plotted then executed a serious Black Friday shopping plan. That's right, we arrived at the Outlet mall at midnight and then hit each store as it opened. At first I questioned my own sanity, but one of Chase's must haves was $40 off at Target so I felt like it was worth it. We actually had a blast and spent most of our time laughing at ourselves. I then spent the rest of the weekend decorating the house for Christmas and am happy to report I was completely done by Sunday night.
This week at work has been sheer madness as it is the last "normal" week before finals begin. That translates into several late nights for me, not to mention the days being even more insane than usual. In addition to that we have a mission going on at our church, so by the time Friday rolls around we will not have been home one evening this week. That, in itself, puts me way out of sorts. Somewhere in all this, I also managed to take Chase to the dentist, get Noel's 1 year pictures made and take the boys to see Santa.
Noel's pictures mainly consist of his backside going out of the frame. He was not interested in staying still. The photographer accused me of giving him sugar before the appointment, but I assured her that he is just a busy boy. I , of course, forgot my personal camera when we went to see Santa and we don't have a scanner. So you will have to take my word that Noel did really well and sat very calmly on Santa's lap.
You will also have to take my word that I nearly died of embarrassment when Chase knocked over a hanging display of sweaters in JC Penney. Lucky for him, his life was spared because a kindly older couple kept telling me it was an accident and accidents happen. I knew they would probably call DFCS had I given him the beating he so richly deserved. Seriously, I was so angry and mortified I couldn't really do anything. I made him take all the hangers that were broken to a saleslady and apologize. That didn't really drive any lessons home though because she went on and on about how sweet he was to bring them to her and apologize. I was afraid she was about to pull out some kind of treat to bestow on him. Grrr. The curse of having a cute kid.

So, that is what we have been up too, and why this post was so long in coming and long in length.

Fabulousness

Ok my BFF MaryBeth awarded me. I figured I might as well accept the award and confess my addictions as well.

Here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

Here are my five addictions:
1. My morning coffee. I am not sure when I became a coffee drinker ( I am guessing when I went back to work after having Chase) but now it is a must first thing in the morning! It has to be strong coffee with lots of cream and Splenda.

2. Kissing Noelly under his double chin.
3. Laughing at/with Chris and Chase. Comedians those 2.
4. Bargain shopping. I pretty much refuse to buy anything that isn't on sale. This is a double edged sword because if I find something to be a great deal I simply cannot resist.
5. Books on CD. Between a full time job and full time motherhood that is the only way I read. If I find myself at the end of book without time to go by the library, I am totally out of sorts

Sadly, I could go on and on.

Here are the blogs I nominate:

Stacie at The Rowdy Rowleys

Gilly at JellyHamandCheese

Lindsey at Family Oliver

Amanda at Bonded in Byerly

Tara at Family Rowell

Eleven Months!

Mr. Noel is eleven months old today. I cannot believe how big he is and all the things he does. He is and has been so physically advanced my Grandmother complains he was never a baby but has acted like at least a 6 month old from the time we brought him home. So therefore we should put in our request for another baby right now (preferably a girl). Now with him running around, waving bye-bye and playing patty-cake the point is driven home even more.

He scoffs at being put into the exersaucer and walker, and baby food has been out of the question for 2 months. Last night we had pizza and I was tempted just to hand over a whole slice because he was getting so frustrated at my pinching off little bites. Other than not getting fed fast enough, he remains totally laid back and happy. And he actually has the hunger problem figured out too. I have noticed that when he is hungry he goes to the drawers where his food and formula are kept and starts pulling the stuff of the top. Even though his eating has not slowed, his weight and height are definitely more proportionate.

I can't believe a year has almost come and gone since we got that wonderful phone call. Chris and I were discussing Christmas gifts this weekend and when I commented that I had no clue what to get Chase he said "Well last year he got a Wii and a little brother. How do you top that?" I guess you don't.

Paging Moses

The title of this post is my attempt at a comical biblical reference because since October 29th we have been battling the plague(s) at our house. Granted there have been no frogs or famine at our house, we have been inundated just the same. It all started when I got a terrible cold, then Noel began to run a fever and Chase quickly followed suit.
Noel was terribly congested and kept tugging at his ear so I took him to the doctor. No ear infection just cutting six teeth at once. The doctor did not want to see Chase that day and assured me his symptoms were in line with a virus that was going around and he would likely feel better in 24 to 36 hours. For most kids that would likely be true but since Chase is so susceptible to ear infections we ended up there the very next day. He also had randomly begun vomiting and did so in our van on the way home from the doctor. He was so pitiful and kept apologizing repeatedly. Of course, it wasn't his fault but I think even he could tell that was going to be no picnic to clean up. Noel in the meantime was alternating between constipation and diarrea and those teeth weren't really making any progress.
Chase eventually got well enough to go back to school and this week started off fairly normal except my cold was trying to make a comeback. I valiantly tried to ignore that fact and press on, but Wednesday afternoon ended up at the doctor's office. She diagnosed me with a sinus infection but honestly I have not felt this bad in as long as I can remember. I had to just give up and go to bed. I have pretty much been there ever since and think in addition to the sinus infection must have picked up the virus Chase had.
I will say today my throat doesn't hurt like it did before, and I can stay up for longer periods at a time without feeling totally exhausted. Noel, however, has stopped alternating and now has constant teething diarrea. For the past two nights he has had to have a bath and bed changes at 3:30 and 1:30 am respectively. In short, I might prefer frogs.
I think at least two of the six teeth have broken the surface, so hopefully we are back on the road to wellness. I have learned the valuable lesson that sometimes trying to power through sickness isn't necessarily the most time efficient thing and willed myself to stay in bed all day despite the horrible state of affairs in the rest of the house. Hopefully, I will be posting Noelly pictures sporting a toothy grin and fun family stories in the very near future.

Getting his hair did

Oddly enough, the most difficult thing so far about adopting a child of a different race had been haircare. Poor Noel, not only was he adopted by painfully white people, but painfully white people with fine straight hair. So, after ten months of mostly avoiding the issue we took it "head on" last Friday. My dear friend at work put out a call to all the mothers of boys she knew to get me some info.
It will come as no surprise that washing it and putting some moisturizer in it did not suffice. I was going to have to suck it up and comb through it. Now that may not sound like such a big deal, but some of Noel's curls are the size and tightness of the spring in a retractable pen. Also, from fear of hurting him this is a task that has been majorly neglected.
Alas one half jar of cholesterol (didn't know there was such a thing) and a lollipop later, he was tangle free. His has was so soft and manageable until oh Sunday. I am thinking this will become a once a week event at our house. By the way, Chase took these pictures. I think he is probably the best photographer in our house.

Hey Buddy...

did you know it was National Adoption Month?

Noel surveys the pumpkin before the carving begins.

Dad and Chase working on their masterpiece.

As usual the Jack-O-Lantern began as a family project but quickly turned into a chore for Dad. He always does a great job, and this year was no exception.

I am thrilled to announce I got my wish and the boys did dress in tandem...

A storm trooper and Chewbacca.

Yes, he was even cuter in person.

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween Flashback






Chase's 1st (Giraffe) and 2nd(Monkey)Halloweens

Overheard

Chase was giving Noel his bottle on Sunday morning while I was getting ready for church. He was going on and on telling him how cute he was. Then he said, "You are so cute. You are so brown and fuzzy and cute." Mr. Brown Cute and Fuzzy is now officially a walker. Yikes, my baby is now a toddler :(.

What is NOT happening at our house at,oh,5am

I seem to have an early riser on my hands. The past three days my day has begun at 5:00am. Have I mentioned I am not a morning person? Noel is though. He wakes up bright and early with a big grin on his face, anxious to begin his walking practice. The practice is paying off and just this morning he took six or so steps from Chris to me. Also, I noticed he can throw a ball. This may be right on track developmentally, but it struck me as quite advanced. He found a small, soft ball in his room and threw it (with correct form I might add) then crawled after it and threw it again. Even at 5 am he is a pretty amazing kid.

Picture pages

Sunday I had a little fall photo shoot for nearly 10 month old Noel. I mainly did this because I am feeling intense second child guilt for not having his picture made as much as I did Chase's. I so wish I were a better photograher! The close ups turned out pretty good ( I think I will get some prints of them) even though Noel wasn't smiling. He was busy watching Daddy run Chase around the yard. Why, you ask? Because while Chase did not want his picture made, he didn't want any one else to. The one picture of him below, where I think he looks like a teenager actually kind of matches the attitude he had on Sunday. So much to look forward to!!!

Gimme three steps

That could be little Noelly's theme song right now. He has bravely taken three steps on his very own. He began going diagonally across the playpen and has now branched out a little but he still prefers to crawl because that is much faster. I find it odd that both my sons walked at 9 months, though they are not genetically related.
Noel is definitely a more timid walker than Chase was. Chase was a late crawler and the first time he really "got it" he crawled right to the couch, pulled up, and began to cruise. He never looked back. Noel will pull up and contemplate letting go for a really long time. Then he may or may not. He isn't big on cruising either. If he wants to be somewhere, he just drops to his knees and crawls there. With these few steps under his belt though, I know it won't be long until he is running and climbing.
The latest Chaseism happend yesterday afternoon. He was trying to ask me why we celebrate Halloween, but he wasn't phrasing it that way. He had me totally confused, and finally he said, "What did God do on Halloween?" That turned on the lightbulb and I had to explain the difference between Christian and non-Christian holidays. We then, of course, had to analyze every single holiday to determine the difference. Including the holiday where we eat the "really big chicken", Thanksgiving, and "Crazy sock day", which they celebrate at his school. He actually was teasing when he asked about crazy sock day which totally cracked us both up. I wonder where he gets that wit???

Pictures 5 / Teeth 0

I thought everyone might enjoy this series of pictures taken in attempt to get a snap shot of the new tooth. ( He now has 2, thank you very much, but he still isn't showing them off). In addition to costume suggestions (see below), I am also seeking night waking advice. Noel has decided 2:30 am is prime play time. He wakes up and talks to his stuffed animals for a while then decides he wants a little more interactive conversation. Long story short, we usually get him back to bed after about an hour and a half. Anybody got a solution for me?