Noah Shakes It!

Noah is really close to crawling!  And, he's perfecting his dance moves.  Check him out below...

Thanksgiving 2012

We spent Thanksgiving with the Krafve family this year.  We drove up to the farm and arrived in time for Thanksgiving dinner (or lunch) and returned home on Friday evening right at bedtime.  It was a nice visit with mom and dad, Christi and Bart, Nancy and Ralph.  Jenni and Aaron were with Aaron's family and we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of their little girl, who is due December 6!!  We ended up getting about 1 in of snow on Thanksgiving Eve too.  And, of course, we have a video to share of Joy and Noah...

Halloween

Halloween was so much fun for us this year!  Joy came up with a family costume idea we couldn't say NO to.  She wanted us to be the 3 little pigs and dad to be the big bad wolf.  I have to say, I think we were a hit.  It will be a challenge to top this idea in years to come.  We were blessed with 3 occasions to dress up for: Grandma Rainbow's Childcare party, trick-or-treating, and a belated birthday/Halloween party for little friend of ours.  We made some great memories together!

October Fun

Well, October came and went in the blink of an eye, like this whole year so far.  Joy continues to talk constantly and her sense of humor is developing more.  She says and does some pretty funny things these days.  Like, she will insert an animal noise at any random point in the day, timing it perfect, and making everyone in the room crack up laughing.  She has been working hard on learning to hopscotch, as you'll see in the video below.  She was a little unsteady the day I took this video, but it gives you the idea anyway.  Noah started giving us high 5s at the beginning of October.  He also loves to knock over towers that we build for him.  Lastly, he really likes music evident by him bouncing when music is on, whether it's Danny's guitar, music from a toy, or on the radio.  He continues to be a happy and snugly guy.
Business has slowed at Danny's golf courses.  The course in Watertown is now closed for the season but the course in Waunakee is still open.  It will remain open until the weather stays cold for a period of time or the snow flies.  Though we are thankful for a successful golf season, we are ready for Danny to be home both days of the weekend, for a few months anyway.  Since he really didn't take any paternity time off at the time of Noah's birth, he might take Fridays off this winter, which will give us 3 day weekends!!
Enjoy the video that captures some of the joy our kids bring us.

Noah is 6 months old

Noah is 6 months old already.  We can hardly believe it!!  His personality is shining through and we adore him!  He is very snugly baby, giving hugs and resting his head on our shoulder often.  He also remains a big boy with a few rolls, as you'll see below.  He's already 20 lbs and wearing 12 month clothing.  He really enjoys watching our cat, Angel.  If he is having a crabby moment, which doesn't happen very often, he starts smiling as soon as he sees her.  He also enjoys: sitting while playing with toys, jumping, playing peek-a-boo, bath time, and watching his sister.  He continues to be a great sleeper, with a few hiccups here and there now that he is getting teeth.  His first two bottom teeth are in and the doctor said the top two will be here soon.  Mama's not too excited about teeth.  He had his first double ear infection with a cold a few weeks ago, but has recovered.  I can't get enough of this little guy.  I often thank God for letting me stay home and soak in this time with him and Joy.  Enjoy his pictures and video below.

Joy is 3!

Well, it's been a month already, but Joy turned 3 on September 12!  She is a pretty amazing little girl.  If she is comfortable around you, she will talk nonstop and tell you everything you did, or did not, want to hear.  She loves her little brother, a little too much sometimes.  :)  Her favorite things include: hiking, visiting her grandparents and the kids at Grandma Rainbow's childcare, playing with her baby dolls, baking, board/card games, and reading/looking at books.  Right now, if we had to guess, Danny and I think she will someday be a Broadway or Movie star.  She loves to watch videos and have books read to her, which is almost always followed by her acting out what she just watched/read.  Danny often gets drug into the pretend play and has to play a role in her scenario.  He's a much better sport about it than I am.  Joy's most recent, great accomplishment is giving up her pacifier.  The timing was finally right and she rose to the occasion.  God surrounded her with angels during this transition because I never expected her to do so well.  She shed only one tear the first night, but was excited to earn her 'BIG' cupcake for working hard to sleep that night.  She made it from 8:30 to 7:15 AM!  And, now we are past the rewards and she is doing fine.  She is so proud and has told everyone what a big girl she has been.  We continue to praise her for being so brave and working so hard.
Below is her 3 yr old pictures and a video capturing her during the month of September.

August catch-up

Here are clips from videos we took in August.  I'm a little late because we had a birthday to celebrate a few days ago.  I'll comment about that in a future post, since this is my catch-up post.  Joy and Noah continue to keep us busy and happy.  We are so blessed with such great kids!  In the video, you will see that Joy continues to adore her brother.  She did have a change of heart one morning when she told us we could give him to another little girl.  But soon after that, she was upset because we didn't have time for her to sit and hold him.  You'll also see that Joy is our little performer and she is getting more and more coordinated.  Noah is growing SO FAST!  Someone please slow it down for us.  He likes to lay on his back and play with his toes.  He started sitting at exactly 5 months old.  He also started perfecting the skill of spitting in August.  As you will see, he can really get some distance now, which causes a problems when he eats.  Yes, eats, Noah has started baby food.  He has had sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and green beans.  And, Noah has started to laugh and giggle a lot more.  He finds his sister especially hilarious and giggles at about anything she does.  He has also discovered his voice has volume, all of which you'll see in the video below.  Thanks for checking in!