Never say no to blogging again!

(The title of this post is in reference to Special Agent Oso....all of their titles are remakes of old James Bond movies...haha)

Anyway, since it seems like we're ALWAYS behind on blogging and almost every post discusses why we are catching up, I won't waste time in this post reiterating that I am in med school, Nick works and we have a 20 month old son....We are busy (that's sort of a given.)

But, I will update you on what's going on in our lives at the moment.

First of all, Noah has such an awesome, fun, undeniable personality. For a boy not even 2 yet, he is so expressive! Maybe it's the eyes, I don't know, but it's like you can almost always tell exactly what he's thinking.... He's got a great sense of humor, too. Trust me, I'm not bragging. This could become a little challenging in the years to come....here's an example. The other day, We were riding in the car on our way back home from the grocery store, or eating, or something. Nick was driving and we were talking about how he was going to be going in very late to a job he just got for orientation. Nick stopped and looked back at Noah and said, "Noah do you love Daddy?" With a sheepish grin, Noah replies, "MAMA!!" Now, if you have a child, you know the worst thing you can do in this situation is laugh....but you also know how that is almost impossible! We cracked up! Okay, it's not something funny to say, and Noah eventually answered that he in fact does love his Daddy, he just waited until the fun of the joke wore off.... This actually goes back to several months ago, when Noah had just learned "Mama" and "Dada." Nick would ask him a similar question, "Noah, can you say 'Dada'?" And Noah would reply, "MAMA" with the biggest smile. He's got the best sense of humor.... :)

Also, it's so neat to see Noah learning to listen to Nick and me. Of course there are times when he doesn't do something we ask him to (i.e. come the first time we ask him to get his pajamas on), and he can be impatient (what not quite 2 year old isn't?), but for the most part, when we ask him to do something (pick up a toy that he threw, bring us his shoes to put on, etc)....he usually does it. For example, the other day he was riding his tractor in the driveway and when he got to the end, instead of turning around and coming back, he turned toward the neighbors' house (testing his limits, for sure.) But when I told him, "Noah, turn around and come back up the driveway. If I have to come get you, we will be putting the tractor up and going in the house." He immediately turned his tractor around and headed back up the driveway (which if far less exciting than the sidewalk, I assure you.) Although it seems very small to most ppl, for me, it felt like such an accomplishment. Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're doing things right as a parent....but at that moment, as small as it was, I felt like we had to be doing something right....

Since this post is getting a little long winded, I'll cut everything else a little short.....

Since the last post:

****Dawn is officially 3/4 of the way done with med school!!!!****
****Noah developed a hernia and will be getting surgery in the next 4-8 weeks :( ......please pray for our little guy. We have to decide between an open surgery (just fixing one side and a little less invasive) or laproscopic (check both sides to see if there's a hernia on the other side while he's out, but not as routine.)****
****Nick began working a 3rd shift job. He's such a great husband. Working 3rd shift and staying home part of the time to take care of Noah. He's such a champ. Praying for stamina for him to have the energy to keep it up.****

We have a lot going on....but we're in the home stretch with med school...and we're just trying to enjoy every moment we can!

Now for some pictures!

*Left*

So, we get a lot of comments on Noah's "handed-ness." Since he began throwing a ball (around 9-10 months old) we've noticed that he loves to throw with his left hand. Lately he's been using his left hand to hold a fork/spoon, too. Here's Noah this morning being a little ambidextrous! :)

*Right*

Noah enjoying a little pool time on a super hot day. He LOVES outside! He would probably spend every minute outside if we let him....but it would be too much trouble to carry his crib up and down stairs every day...haha

Cute baby feet....I guess they're "toddler" feet now....but I like to think of them as baby feet still.... :)

A Merry Christmas....and then....

We had a wonderful Christmas in our very own house this year! Noah's second Christmas was so fun (even though he's still more into the paper and boxes than the actual presents....) Since Noah loves balls so much, we decided the best present for him this year was a little tots basketball goal and boy were we right! He LOVES it! It was so cute Christmas morning to see him trying over and over to put the ball in the hoop and then we he got it in there for the first time how excited he was. Luckily, we got the whole thing on video, which we will be sure to post some of sometime soon. It was nice spending time with our own little family of three at our very own house this year, but there was still a lot of driving that had to be done....even so, we had a WONDERFUL time with our families (both mine and Nick's sides) and we definitely made some very special memories, too!

Unfortunately, after all the Christmas celebrations had come to an end, Noah came down with a stomach bug that eventually got to anyone who had been in a 20 foot radius of him that day.... (We are still SO sorry for everyone who got sick! We really wish we had known that Noah was coming down with something.....We could tell he wasn't really acting like his normal, happy self, but he's teething and we just figured that was the majority of it....boy were we wrong....)

Noah was basically up all of Monday night, but seem to feel so much better Tuesday morning....just in time for Mommy to get it. Nick did such a great job taking care of him that day...until he got it later that night. Fortunately there was one well parent that could take care of Noah while the other parent tried to recouperate. Wow....not a great way to spend the last week of the year....but we are all pretty much back to ourselves again, just in time to start a wonderful 2010!

Here are a few pictures from the past month or so.....ENJOY!

This is Noah sitting on Santa's lap for the very first time. He did so well. Nick went to get him and he wasn't even ready to leave. He was having a very nice time reading with Santa.

Noah loves the tree this year....somewhat more than last year.... :)

Family photo!

Sweet little boy! Cheesin' for the camera :)

Llamas and donkeys and lambs, oh my!! Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Kinman Farms, a little farm just a few minutes from our house. We had so much fun there!


This calf loved to lick!

These llamas were a little creepy....I'm pretty sure they wanted to spit on us....

This goat really wanted to get Noah....and Noah really wanted to get the goat....

What a friendly little donkey!

On the hayride on our way to the pumpkin patch and corn maze!

I love Noah's Carhartt coat....such a little farmer! :)

Giving Daddy a break in the cornmaze....I think Noah feels this is the only way to travel!

Noah in the pumpkin patch....look at that smile! He had a blast!

Noah's pumpkin he picked out with Daddy's help.

Family picture before we left.... :)

Home from School!

So, Nick was feeling under the weather today....possibly the flu....so I stayed home from rotations to spend the day with Noah so that Nick could rest (and keep his germs away from Noah.) I was a little bummed because today is my last day with the Internal Med In patient team, and I was looking forward to telling everyone "Goodbye" and also Team Lunch with Dr. Weisfelder and Team C at Via Vite (I've never been there, and it looks sooo good!) But I am very happy to fulfill my wifely/mommy-ly duties and take care of my boys....So while Noah naps, I thought I'd blog for just a minute and update some events that are LONG overdue!

First of all, we still haven't posted pictures from Noah's first birthday! We had such a great time with family and friends! It was so wonderful to celebrate such a special day with people we love. The fact that we have been blessed with this amazing little guy for a whole year makes us so thankful that the Lord brought him into our lives. His sweet personality and contagious laugh make each new day even more special than the last.....Anyway, here are some pictures from the day!

It took Noah a little while to really want to eat the cake....he might be like his mommy in that respect....

He finally got into it.....then had to be majorly cleaned up!

This is Noah playing on the playset Mommy and Daddy got him!

Whitney Sheets made a FANTASTIC cake that got so many wonderful comments! I have to post it, it was adorable!

This isn't the best shot of the cake, but the really good ones are on my mom's camera and I haven't had time to get them....it was the BEST Noah's Ark cake EVER!! Thanks Whitney!

Also, Grampa Smith had some work problems come up and couldn't make it that day to the party, so we had a special "repeat" first birthday the day after so he could celebrate Noah's special day with us, too. Here are some pictures from that.

Another special event we need to catch everyone up on is Noah's first haircut! He did SO great! He didn't cry at all and smiled most of the time. He got to sit in a little car and the girl who cut his hair was so sweet.....Here are a couple of befores and afters. Now that we're finally posting on here it's almost time to get his hair cut again!

We also went to Kinman Farms (a little place kind of like Huber Farms just a few minutes from our house) and picked pumpkins and went on a hayride and pet some animals at a petting zoo....We took several pictures and they're very cute. We'll try to get those up soon...and we'll probably put more on facebook as soon as we can....

Anyway, that's about as much catching up as I have time for.....time to get back to my boys...(and some much needed studying.) Take care everyone! Write again soon....Dawn

Professional Pictures!

Lots to do tonight, so an actual "update" post will have to wait....but we did want to put up a few of our favorite pictures we had done in September. We love them and are so happy with how they turned out! :) Enjoy!!

We'll get an actual post up (with pictures from Noah's birthday + the last couple of months) up VERY soon!! Gosh, we're busy!! :) Take care everyone!

Updates!

Things have been very busy in the Meacham household over the past month. Dawn had her first rotation: family medicine in patient. It kept her busy (needless to say) with overnight call every 4th night. She loved her team, though and learned a lot and is so excited about her future as a doctor! Even in a time of stress and being away from family and trying to squeeze time in for everything, she was able to see how much good she can do up close and in person! It was awesome!

Noah is doing more and more every day! It is so amazing to watch him grow and learn new things. We are so truly blessed! He's started blowing kisses lately....just every once in a while....and it is too adorable. He also LOVES throwing balls....but he gets that honest from his daddy and uncles. We're not sure about handedness yet, but it seems like every time we hand him a ball (even when he takes it in his right hand) he passes it to his left and immediately throws it. We may have a little "southpaw" on our hands! :)


Although we love to have free time, it seems like the next few weeks will be very busy for us! Here's an itinerary in case you need to find us!

* September 4th: Dave Barnes concert! (It's time for a night out for us parents....we are so excited....Nick has never seen Dave Barnes in concert and Dawn hasn't in years! It should be so fun! The concert is at Southeast Christian Church - call and get tickets if you're interested!)
* September 5th: Kentucky Football game here in Cincy! Tailgating with Nick's family, then heading to Madison for a gathering to welcome David Rosser back to town! It will be so fun!
* September 6th: The Alcorn Cup! Nick is looking forward to this, while Dawn and Noah will be out at Gramma and Grandpa Smith's hanging around the farm!
* September 7th: Noah is getting pictures taken! We're praying for no rain....
* September 10th: Probable Team meeting with my Fam Med in patient team! YAY!
* September 12th: NOAH's FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!! We are SOOOO excited to celebrate with our little man!!!! :)
* September 18th-20th: Trip to Indy (hopefully) with a possible Kenny Chesney/Montgomery Gentry concert and Noah's first trip to Butler!! :)
* Septermber 26th: Nick's 10 year High School Reunion! (Yes, it's been that long....haha)
* October 3rd: Kentucky v. Alabama Football game! And possible night out for Momma and Dadda if the TBD game is early enough thanks to Janelle! :)


It's a lot, and it keeps us very busy....but we wouldn't know what to do with free-time.... or would we??? We actually took advantage of a "reading day" that occurred due to a scheduling error at the hospital and Nick and Dawn decided to take Noah to a Coach Calipari book signing at Borders and then a fun/exhausting day at the zoo!! Noah's first trip to the zoo was great and he had a really good time, but Momma and Dadda were very worn out by the time we got home....it was definitely worth it though! And it was spontaneous, which is exactly how we like it! :)
- of course there was reading/preparing for rotations done on this day, too (hence "reading day")


- at the book signing!


- it's an ELEPHANT!


- and a GIRAFFE!


- and a RHINO!

Enjoy the pics! More to come very soon! (Much sooner than last time, hopefully!)

A LOT of catching up....

A lot has happened in our lives since the last post, but we'll try to keep this as short, sweet yet still informative as possible.....(Sorry in advance for the probable long post anyway....)

*Big stuff first:
- We have officially moved back closer to home! Praise the Lord for getting us back closer to our family and friends! We feel so extremely blessed for everything to have worked out so wonderfully.
- We bought a house in Hebron, KY. We love it so far!
- Dawn is officially a 3rd year med student! Our lives are pretty busy, but we're managing pretty well so far....

- moving out of Pikeville....

- Daddy and Noah went to the Florence Aquatic Center while Mommy was studying for boards.....Noah loved it!

*Noah stuff:
- Noah is almost 11 months old! He's getting so big, and is so very active and curious....It is so amazing to see all the things he's learning to do and say. We are so blessed to have this sweet baby!
- Noah has had a lot of firsts over the past couple of weeks.
--> Noah has been to his first Reds game (and also his first Rays game - while we were in Tampa)
--> He's been on his first plane
--> He's seen the beach/ocean for the first time
-->While at the ocean, Noah cut his first tooth! (yeah, his mommy and daddy got their first tooth a little later than others too....)
-->Noah went to his very first sheep show
-->He's been to two family reunions (one on each side of the family)
-->He's been LOVING table food....we gave him just a little on vacation, and he's been signing "more" for it ever since! :)

- Noah: driving the cart while Daddy played golf on his birthday while we were on vacation! - on the putting green!

- Noah and Daddy at the beach!

- Noah's first tooth!

- Hanging out in the cabana!

Noah's first sheep show! Uncle Deron's last year in 4H.

- Noah at his first Reds game!

- Noah and Daddy at the Aquarium in Newport checking out the sharks!

*Other info:
- Dawn is finished with Boards (Step 1)!!! Well, for now....more to come, but it feels nice to not have something to worry about studying ALL the time....
- Dawn's rotations are going well. She had her first night on call last night and it went pretty well. Things are very busy, but she's learning a lot.
- Nick is currently staying home with Noah. Even though he'd like to find a job very soon, it's been nice to have this transition time for Noah after moving and a very busy couple of weeks. It's good for him to have Nick at home with him, even if it is just for a couple of weeks. Nick's been able to work on some logos lately, so that's been very good.
- And finallly....Noah is going to have a cousin in a few months! We are so excited for Jonathan and Bethany and cannot wait to meet the newest Meacham! (We're also glad they told everyone so we can celebrate God's blessings with all of you!)