crazy spring

to say our spring was busy would be an understatement.  after noah's birthday weekend, at least part of our family was out of town each weekend for the next month!  all fun things, but nonetheless crazy, especially when trying to balance baby, marriage, work, and life in general. 

here are a few pictures of the weeks before and after noah's birthday before the travelling started...

busch gardens

still bathing in the cooler - i know it's weird, but it's easier and saves water

looking more like a little boy and not a baby

easter egg hunt with addie (and the nsa mascot)

trying to get him to eat something green (spinach strawberry smoothie)

billy's birthday dinner at aw shucks

 here's how the madness played out...

april 19th weekend - the three of us went to boston for the marathon.  had a great time bringing noah to one of the cities we love for the first time.  we stayed in a cool south end loft with our friend drew, had some good meals (both cooked in and out), went to a red sox game, walked around the public garden and down the beautiful streets in back bay, visited harpoon brewery, and did the marathon (well, i watched it, but lugging around the stroller and baby, i felt like i had run it :)).  such a fun weekend. 

first easter - he only lasted about 20 minutes in church, and there was no nursery

there was a great little park right outside our loft!

billy and drew getting ready for the race

5th boston - check!

twins :)

april 26th weekend - noah and i flew to atlanta and then drove with my mom to clemson for my grandpa's 90th birthday celebration.  we had a nice picnic lunch, went walking in the botanical gardens, and then had a dinner at their retirement community center, during which i ended up chasing noah around outside for a good deal of the time.  noah loved the music at the party :)  that was lots of fun to catch up with everyone, and we're thankful my grandpa's in such good health for 90!

steel drum & percussion concert on friday night before the birthday festivities

strolling in the gardens (they lost our bob on the plane - thankfully found it by the time we got back to atl - so we picked up this little stroller at walmart :))

may 2nd weekend - noah and i flew to atlanta again for kel's bachelorette weekend.  he stayed with my parents at bryan and kristin's house, while the girls took over my parents house for a fun weekend that included making pizzas on the green egg, consuming too much of the "death cocktail" that i made (several people got sick, but it was delicious before then!), lingerie shower, pool time, blowouts at the heat lounge, and a yummy sushi dinner followed by karaoke, per kel's request!  such a fun time and so happy for this exciting time in kel's life!

all decorated for the weekend!

karaoke!

climbing the tree with pop :)

more pictures and posts of our spring to come...

happy birthday noah!

can't believe we have a one year old already!  seems like just yesterday that we were bringing noah home from the hospital and trying to figure out our suddenly-changed new life.  the first year definitely had some rough moments and new things to get used to - like more messes around the house, a lot less (or more interrupted :)) sleep, more noise (sometimes happy giggles, other times crazy meltdowns), and a feeling of being out of control a good deal of the time - but it has been an incredibly wonderful year, and we are filled with so much joy and gratitude for our little buddy that was an answer to many prayers over time.  it's crazy to think that we have a kid and how quickly life changes once that is the case, but we love him so much and have had tons of fun watching him learn and grow from a baby into a little person.  yes, he's only one but it definitely feels like he's out of the baby stage and onto being a toddler!  we are thankful for God's blessing on our family and are excited for many more great memories ahead.  

for noah's birthday weekend, most of our immediate family was able to come up, and we had a great time celebrating and hanging out for several days!  my mom had come up earlier in the week to spend a little extra time with us and also help get ready for the birthday party, and everyone else came in friday and saturday.  we had a noah's ark themed party on saturday (his actual birthday!), and earlier in the week, i came up with the idea to build an ark out of a washing machine box (which my dad, brother, and sister finished into a fine piece of art - haha).  the kids had a good time playing in the ark and mini ball pit and just running around the yard.  several of them came as animals from the ark too, so that was super cute!  we are thankful that so many friends and family members came to celebrate with us, and it was a great party.  

my parents had to get him his birthday balloon!  he's very excited about turning 1 :)

birthday lunch at the marina restaurant

building the ark - noah only has two dogs and a giraffe to bring with him at this point

yes i squeezed him into his giraffe halloween costume from when he was 6 months old

finished product (after taking a little beating by the kids)

loving the cake

 

  

 on sunday, we had his baptism since it was the only time over the past year that everyone was in town, so that was special to have our families there for that.  everyone cleared out by monday, leaving us a few days before the craziness that was our spring continued!  i don't have any good pictures from that yet, but hoping that kel has some that i can steal :)

months 9-11

9 months:
weight - 20.5 lbs
noah continues to be very active - he's gotten to be a great crawler, going through his tunnel and our end table, and chasing around the dogs.  with all the activity, he's started to thin out more and doesn't look as babyish.  he has gotten more interested in food and would rather eat part of our dinner than baby food.  he makes a smacking noise with his mouth when he eats and gets so excited (maybe that means i'm a messy eater if he's mimicing me!).  he loves bathtime, continues to be a good traveler, and loves playing with other babies (although we've been hesitant to take him to the church nursery lately b/c he always seems to get sick there).  noah and i met my family in charlotte for a wedding, and when we left, he said "byebye" - love!  he's also trying to say "dog" we think - it sounds like "bahg", but we're pretty sure it's "dog".  his little personality is developing more - he's doing some belly laughs, giving hugs and kisses, etc. he waves his hand around when we carry him, like he's in a parade or something.  we love our precious boy very much!


10 months:
during noah's 10th month, we took him to his first uva basketball game, which was fun.  he got a new friend, baby grant hansard, so we're excited to meet him soon.  noah continues to love music (ranging from piano to rap to country to baby songs) and waves his hands around like a little conductor when he hears it!  he also stands in front of the keyboard we've set up in the basement and "conducts" the demo music there and bounces/dances!  he loves reading, as well, and has started to turn pages in books and actually know what to do in the "touchy feely" books.  "pat the bunny" and "dog" are his favorites.  his favorite foods seem to be yogurt, hummus, and bananas - healthy eater (although he also tried cake and pizza and loved them!).  parenting fail of the month - noah found a piece of glass from a broken beer bottle (we have no idea where it was or how old it was!), and i saw him chewing on something and then bleeding from the mouth.  thankfully he didn't swallow it and the mouth heals quickly, but he was bleeding a decent amount and sooo angry when i took the glass piece away from him!  he's cruising very well and will push around his dog from Christmas - maybe on the verge of walking!  billy also taught him to shake his head, so he has added that to his list of tricks :)

11 months:
noah started walking this month! he has always been an active little guy, but this brings things to a whole new level :)  he's on the go constantly, which means it's tough to get anything done while he's awake - but we're enjoying this stage very much and having him with me for one more month until he starts daycare.  i'm a little sad about needing to send him to daycare, but i think it'll be a good thing for all.  he will love having some social interaction with other kids every day, and i'll be able to get a lot done at the office and then enjoy our time together at home more!  he loves swinging at the park and going down slides - head first, fearlessly, of course. and he loves to climb up on anything - fireplace hearth, step stool, dog, etc. as i keep saying, i think we'll have lots of er visits ahead!  he says mama, dada, byebye, and bah (while pointing, basically at anything he's excited about).  can't believe how fast the past year has flown by!

lots of snow!

jefferson & brooks love the snow

getting bigger!

first uva basketball game

we gave him juice when he was sick and he LOVED it...here's billy's snapchat shoutout to arrested development :)

sleeping on the dog bed when he wasn't feeling well

playing in atlanta

sliding with emmy

valentine's day care package

card we made for billy

terrier footprint wasn't quite as easy as baby

noah's due date buddy, addie :)

loves yogurt

and reading (pat the bunny - his favorite!)

we have a climber on our hands!

wearing billy's outfit from when he was little :)

fun at the park

fun at the office

climbing on the steering wheel - loves to "drive"

one of his last days at the office before starting daycare