Zeezas, Roars...and a Turtle

While we were on a walk last week Noah started talking about seeing the 'zeezas' (zebras) and 'roars' (lions) at the zoo.  And, he kept talking about it (and talking about it some more), so we made a date with Mads and Amy to go.

This morning he woke up saying, "Ads? Mamy? Zoo?"  Yes, Noah today is the day we're going with Mads and Amy to the zoo.

I was way too busy with a two year old and two month old to take a lot of pictures, but we sure had a lot of fun on this sunny January day.

The boys loved seeing the 'zeezas,' 'roars,' 'affs' (giraffes), and 'ee-ee-oo-oos' (monkeys).

But this time there were also some docents out with other animals that they could get really close to, like this 85 year old turtle.

I was too busy dealing with a fussy Luke and trying to take a picture to remember what this little guy is, but Noah sure liked him.

And we finished off our time at the zoo with the boys' favorite, a train ride. I'm pretty sure they'd be happy if we came to the zoo just to ride the train and then went home.

Luke was pretty much a champ.  He spent his time at the zoo sleeping, eating, fussing just a little, and then sleeping some more.  I sure love that guy for being cooperative and sweet so much of the time.

Can't wait to go back!

The Guys

A little over a year ago, I started taking Noah to the gym with me.  Each day we'd walk by the racquetball courts on our way to the childcare.  There are some regulars who play and we'd always say hello to them.

Noah is pretty friendly and comfortable in most situations, so smiling and waving turned into high fives and even blowing kisses as he got older.  His 'Guys,' as we call them, have been very generous and probably given Noah a total of twenty racquetballs.  Over the summer one of them asked if it would be o.k. to bring his old racquet for Noah to have.  Wow, was Noah sure excited about that one.  The Guys all cheer "Noah" when they see him and even stop their game and leave the court to come out and say hello.

They're pretty awesome.

So on Monday I got a call from the gym.  I was sure it was because I haven't been much since Luke joined our family, and they were wondering if I was ever coming back.  (I wonder that too...)  But really they called because Terry and Jim, two of the Guys, have had a present for Noah and wanted us to give them a call so Noah could have it.

Today was the day.  Noah woke up saying, "A gym? A gym? Guys?"  He's missed it too and asks to go a LOT.  After walking in, we rounded the corner and, just like always, heard the guys say, "Noah!" in unison.  They excitedly gave Noah his present, all wrapped up. And, of course, they had another racquetball for him.

Here's a little clip of the experience.  I wish I would have taken more:


Those sweet Guys sure know our Noah.

He felt pretty special to have a new, big dump truck from his buddies.  So far he's dumped blocks and cars out of the back and given his bear and Elmo a ride.  Sure do love those guys and how, each and every day we've been to the gym, they've made our Noah feel special and important.

Two Months

Luke is two months old!

And to celebrate, his mean mom took him for his first shots.

It was rough.  Luke has never cried like that.  Real tears were spilling out of his eyes, and he was a bit of a mess.

Shots aside, I was anxiously awaiting his growth measurements:

Height: 24 inches (89%)

Weight: 14 pounds, 7 ounces (89%)

Head Circumference: 41 centimeters (93%)

He weighs two more pounds than Noah did at this point and  is quite the little meatball.  I love it.

This round-faced guy is getting chubbier by the day.  That double chin is coming in nicely.  He loves to eat and is a feisty one at meal times.  He grunts, gulps and burps constantly.  Manners are definitely not his specialty at this point.

Right around the 6 week mark we started seeing tiny smiles.  Day by day they have gotten a little bigger and now Luke really interacts by smiling.  Melt my heart.

A few other things to remember about the month include:

* He's on a schedule!  Oh, we both needed this to happen.  To have some kind of predictability and routine is saving me.  Three naps a day is working well for us all -- although I can't wait until it drops down to two.

* Staying healthy while the rest of us each battled some form of that nasty stomach flu. 

* Luke has quite the old man hairline as it continues to recede.  He's also got a nice case of cradle cap that is taking its time to resolve.

* He is noisy -- and not just at meal times.  The early morning hours are the worst, but he is a noisy sleeper pretty much all night long.  Most of the time it's this annoying goat-like sound that wakes us up.  But he IS sleeping for longer stretches, usually for five and a half or six hours during the night.  Thank goodness.

* Luke won't sleep flat on his back.  Right now it's not much of an issue, because he's still in the rock and play (best thing ever, by the way), but at some point he's got to make the transition.  I keep trying, and he keeps letting me know that he hates it.  Eventually, right?

We're in the thick of the busy season and balancing this two kid thing on my own has taken some time.  A schedule and a little more sleep at night is making it easier.  I'm so grateful for the help of family and play dates with friends.  I think I need the social time just as much as Noah does right now.  It's hard to believe baby Luke has only been a part of our family for two months.   These boys are pure sunshine on even the dreariest days.  We are so blessed.

These Guys...

I might just be that mom who is excited to dress her boys alike -- or at least very, very similar.

We joke that my side of the family bleeds blue, because we have three generations of BYU alumni.  These little Cougars would make it four.  Might as well start planting a seed for college aspiration early, right?

Snow much fun!

Last week was the first time all of the family has been together up at the cabin.  Oh, we had a good time!

We had a bumpy start that included stopping to feed Luke and then Noah throwing up for the very first time about 20 minutes before we got there. Wow, that was an eventful drive for sure.  Just picture sweet Noah standing on the side of the freshly plowed highway in just a diaper (but not for very long!) trying to figure out what had just happened.  We definitely had some cleaning up to do.  But after that, everything went great.

We couldn't believe how much snow was on the ground and on the cabin!

Those are some big icicles.

The first night we all just kind of hung out and spent time together.

Santa brought quite a few iPads this year.

Noah was beyond excited to see Brennan and his cousins who had driven up from Bakersfield.

We also opened our sibling gifts since we were all finally together.

But, by far, the most fun was had when we ventured out into the snow.

This was Noah's first time in the snow. 

He liked checking it out and trying something new.

But, there was so much of it, that it was hard impossible to move without help and, therefore, kind of frustrating.  I kind of felt the same way some of the time!

But the bigger folks had lots of fun sledding and being silly.

Some of us walked down the road from the cabin to a little hill for sledding.

Grandpa didn't hesitate to try out the hill.

K.C. and Tyler were pretty brave too.

And so was Olivia.

But some of us were content to just watch the fun.

 

And Luke was content to just sleep through the whole thing.

Love that kid.

Twice a year just isn't enough for all of us to be together, but we take what we can get.  We squeezed in as much togetherness as possible and can't wait for summer to come so we can do it again in much warmer weather!