Christian is FIVE

Christian,
How have five years already gone by? I do not like this age. Five is too old, no longer little, and mommy just can't think of my boy as being this big! You have done so much growing up this past year. Your speech has very much improved and now you talk all the time. You love anything to do with nature and insects. If there is a bug nearby (specifically grasshoppers) you will find it and catch it. Christian, you are very stubborn and testy which can drive mommy bonkers sometimes. But you have such a tender heart and it shows. You are head over heels in love with your little brother and I can see the bond continuing to grow between you two which just melts my heart. We love you so much Christian and are excited to see what the next year brings you!

Vacation - Ohio!

Our vacation may have been over 2 months ago but I still want to get these posts finished up to have. So please excuse me for being so behind. Anywho...

We drove down to Ohio on Saturday, July 6 taking our time. It rained off and on the whole ride there, sometimes pouring so hard we could hardly see. We made our annual stop at Cabela's where I'm sure we walked out with several items that Gabe thought we just had to have but in reality didn't. Ah well, at least we only go there once a year.

I was really hoping to make it to the Ox Roast by closing time but the rain and Noah really slowed us down. (Side note: I now realize that driving in the rain scares Noah which was why he was not a happy traveler this day.) Unfortunately we didn't make it on time but my wonderful mother still brought me home my most favorite lemonade from there!

The next morning we made it to the Ox Roast and had a great time. The weather wasn't very hot but boy was it humid! The kids wanted face paintings and as only they would, they chose the silliest but still adorably cutest ones.

Afterward, we headed over to my sister's house for a family get-together. The guys started a fire for s'mores. At one point I looked outside to find Gabe and my brother rounding up dead sticks/branches for firewood and caught them attempting to break a big one. Looks like a recipe for disaster, doesn't it? I had my camera ready to catch the next $10,000 winning Funniest Home Video but sadly luckily for them, no one was injured, impaled, or hurt in the breaking of that branch.

We did another grandchild picture like our Michigan one and it went surprisingly well. There were no tears and everyone cooperated! And just look how cute!

In order of oldest to youngest - 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 5mo, and 2mo

Here are just a few more random photos from our first couple of days.

Games with Grandma

Daddy's shirt makes a perfect sleep shirt.

And my favorite pic of the trip.... This is how Noah spent quality time with his grandparents.

Noah - 5 Months

Weight - 16 lbs

Height - 26 in

Appearance - Your baby face is going away and I think you look like a little man. Your hair is getting longer on top but I don't want to cut it yet so I swoosh it to the side making it look almost like a comb over. :) You have TWO, yes two teeth!! I was really hoping that gummy smile would stick around for a while but you just aren't having any of it.

Eating - You are becoming very interested in people food but mommy and daddy haven't allowed it yet. You are nursing every couple of hours but you are easily distracted. If there are other people around making noise, you turn your head to see and momma is not a fan of that!

Sleeping - You sleep from around 8 or 9pm - 7am usually waking up once, sometimes twice to eat. Naps are sporadic and are usually short cat naps. Mommy would like to get you on a schedule or at least longer naps but with being in and out of the house all day, it's so hard. BUT, even with only short naps you are always happy so I don't mind very much.

Sizes - You are in size 2 diapers and mostly 3-6 month clothes. When wearing your cloth diapers, 3-6 month sizes are getting too small.

See the teeth?

Milestones - TWO TEETH! The first came out on Friday, August 30 and the second on Thursday, September 12. They were your bottom two middle teeth with your right side coming in first.

Not only are you crawling like an inchworm, but you are getting much closer to actual crawling! You have been holding yourself in the pushup position for a while and have just begun getting your knees under you so you are on your hands and knees.

We got you a walker and you love it. It only took you a couple of days before you discovered you can move in it. Backwards, but just this week, you can now go forward too.

You are close to sitting on your own. You can sit up to 10 seconds and I think you will master it this month.

You had your first swing ride and just absolutely loved it! You would laugh every time the swing started going forward.  
 

 Likes - swings, taking a bath, chewing on everything, watching Alena and Christian play, people watching
Dislikes - when you have a dirty diaper, waiting to eat, being put down when you are tired (you like to be held or nursed to sleep)

 

Noah, my angel. We are having so much fun with you. Your funny personality is really starting to come out.You are always such a good and happy baby and we are constantly told from others about how great you are. Christian is completely head over heels in love with you and is such a good big brother to you. He is always coming to check on you, give you hugs and kisses, and to tell you how cute you are. I can see how much you want to try big people food but you'll just have to wait a little bit longer until mommy and daddy feel you are ready.  Noah, we could not have asked for a better baby than you and we are so glad we get to be the ones to raise you! Love you!

Never Forget

It was just another day in Biology class when an upperclassman came in announcing the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. We all thought it was a joke until we turned the TV on. "Oh, how awful!" But it only got worse...

I remember watching the TV as the second plane hit. Nothing can describe how we all felt in that moment. I remember the horrifying sight of seeing many people jump from the upper floors and watching them fall to their death.

I was in my Spanish class when the first tower fell. You could hear the collective screams and cries throughout the school. Confusion, sadness, helplessness, fear, so many emotions running through everyone on that day.

I will never forget this day. Will you?

11 Kids, 1 Picture, Not Having it

So in my Michigan vacation post, I had showed you our best photo we had of the 11 grandkids. Even then, it was quite a mess. We had ages 11 down to 2 1/2 months. We tried to get them all to sit in chronological order but with three of them being 14mo and 22mo twins, getting them to sit together was just not happening. Stick them with older siblings and it's a little better but with a lot of tears. Ah well, it made for a great memory!

Here are some of the outtakes...

Noah isn't sure what to make of his crying cousin.

If you ever attempt to do a similar photo, just accept that it will not go as planned, be perfect, and you will not catch everyone looking at the camera and smiling all at once. It just won't happen.

Vacation - Michigan (picture heavy)

I've been putting off my vacation updates and after being home 7+ weeks already, I suppose it's time. 7 weeks, sad, I know. So anywho... After vacationing at the Cottage, we headed further east to see the rest of Gabe's family.

We were there over the 4th of July so we got to view the fireworks from the Cascade Falls. We were directly below the fireworks so we had a great view! Noah did great and watched them too! I was afraid it would scare him but they didn't.

We had been on vacation for only a week so far but we were EXHAUSTED. The long drives and late nights were killing us so we slept in a little the next morning. We lounged around that day waiting for Gabe's siblings to come over for dinner. I love big family gatherings and this was no exception. Even though we were missing his youngest brother, we had his oldest brother and his friend, second oldest brother and his wife and five kids, older sister and her husband and three girls, Gabe and I with our three kids, and his mother!

Gabe and his second oldest brother may be 5 years apart but they could definitely pass for twins! So much so that even Noah was confused when one was holding him and the other was standing there talking to him. He just stared at them both not sure what to do!

And since we had all 11 grand kids under one roof, of course we had to take pictures. It was not easy and out of probably twenty photos between my phone and camera, this was the best one. Getting that many kids to sit still was such a pain! I may post the outtakes in another post. We tried putting them in order of age and it worked except for the youngest ones. The boy and girl in the top row are twins.

Gabe with his three older siblings in order of birth.

Secrets secrets...

The night before we left Arizona, Gabe made a water rocket from PVC pipe. This was his second creation (his first was successful) and he wanted to make it so the person launching it wouldn't get wet. Of course him and his brothers had to try it out! They launched it like normal and then tried to make it more aerodynamic. That wasn't successful but still fun to watch!