Our little man is growing up!!

This will be a very quick post, I just wanted to share all the fun things Noah has been doing lately!

Cute story #1: A couple of weeks ago, Nick and I were driving home from Nick's parents' house after a long weekend. I was talking to my mom on the phone when she told me she wouldn't be able to watch Noah the next day because she needed to stay with my Grandma in the hospital. So, we decided to pull off the exit and sit in a McDonalds parking lot while we got ahold of Nick's parents to see if they could just keep Noah overnight and watch him the next day. They agreed and we began to pull out of the parking lot to go and meet them. Just before Nick pulled out, we heard Noah from the back seat, "Daddy, no...." Nick quickly turned around and said, "What buddy?" To which Noah replied, "Donald's!" It was so cute we had to stop and get him a milk and part of an oatmeal cookie...haha

Cute story #2: About a week ago, we took our buy one get one free hibachi dinner coupons to a japanese place in Cincy. To get Noah to get ready quickly, I told him we were going to get rice (Noah LOVES japanese....he is our child after all.....) As I was putting him in his carseat he looked up at me and said, "Rice?" To which I replied, "Yes, we're going to get rice!" I was pretty shocked since I hadn't mentioned it since before I started getting him ready. The next day, we decided to grab a quick lunch with Nick before he had to work since we wouldn't see him for dinner. We were going to Subway (or some other place like that close to our house) and Nick told Noah we had to get ready because we were going to go eat. Noah quickly exclaimed, "Rice?!" Unfortunately, no rice for lunch that day, but it was SO cute!

Cute story #3: While Nick was playing in the Meacham Cup this past Saturday, Noah and I hung out at my parents' house and did "farm" stuff. While taking a break on the porch, my dad came in for a few minutes. As my dad was leaving he asked my mom what they would be doing the rest of the day. My mom said it was probably up to Noah, but just to make sure, she asked Noah, "Noah, who's the boss? Grandma or Noah?" Noah thought about it for a few seconds and finally said, "Papaw!!" It was hillarious!! :)

Cute story #4: Picking Noah up from the nursery at church the other day, we walked in and saw Noah....calmly walking around with one shoe on and one shoe off, carrying the shoe that was off. Nick and I both said, "Noah, ready to go?" He turned around with the biggest smile on his face and ran to the door. One of the workers picked him up, checked his number and handed him to us. At this point I usually say, "Noah, tell them 'Thank you'." But this time, the lady handed Noah to me and he quickly turned around, put his hand to his mouth and said, "Thank you!" (Only it sounded a little more like "Thant you!" It was an awesome "Mommy moment..." My heart melted!! So sweet!

Final Cute/Big boy story: Noah was eating lunch today and I was counting out a few french fries for him. I quietly put 1 on his plate, then another, then another....and Noah says "three...." (I didn't even know he was counting (I hadn't said a word!) So I then started counting out loud....
Dawn: "four, five...."
Noah: "Six!"
Dawn: "seven, eight...."
Noah: "Nine!"
Together: "Ten!"
I was SO proud! What another awesome "Mommy moment"....My heart literally warms just thinking about it. What an amazing way for God to show me in that tiny little moment how everything is worked out and how everything is so worth all the work and effort we put into it. Noah is such an amazing blessing!


Nick turned the big 3-0 last week! This is a picture of Noah wiping his face after his Montgomery Inn ribs.... :)

Our NEWEST addition!

So, for Nick's 30th birthday, I wanted to do something big for it. Something that he never expected. Something that he's talked about since we had to find a new (wonderful) home for Wrigley when med school, a busy job and a new baby were too much for a VERY hyperactive (somewhat neurotic) dog. And I found the perfect idea. A new puppy! (And a golden retriever, at that!)

So these pictures are from the first couple of days with Bogey (this name came after much debate...I'm pretty sure he thinks his name is actually puppy....haha) He was VERY laid back, the opposite of Wrigley, and we were thinking...."Wow, what a great idea and a great time for a puppy!" Then, day 3 hits....like a ton of bricks! I'm being a little overdramatic, yes, but this puppy is now WILD! I guess he was just homesick the first couple of days, because he is DEFINITELY playful, and possibly making up for lost time! Anyway, we're having fun with him and he was definitely a good idea. Sometimes when you're stressed and overwhelmed with everything going on, it helps to throw something fun and playful (and VERY cute, I might add) into the mix....We're totally pumped about the new pup, and can't wait for everyone to meet him.

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!