Halloween pictures

I'm a puppy with a pumpkin bucket!

I'm tired already.  Can we go home?

I'm taking a picture.  Quick!  Close your eyes.

Looks like Pap Pap is more excited for Halloween than Noah

Little Children, keep yourself from idols

Last Sunday evening, Brandon, Noah, and I attended a fellowship event at one of our church member's homes.  Appropriately named "Fired up for fellowship," there are many families, food, and bonfires!  We stuck closer to the miniature fire pit and stayed away from the bigger fire since we have a little one. 
Still, as we were eating, drinking, and keeping cozy by the fire, we had to remind Noah not to go near the flames.  We constantly had one hand on him (don't worry Pap Pap!), just in case he had a sudden whim to disobey us.  He was wearing a hoodie that evening, so I basically held on to his hood.  But this evening Noah was very obedient and all the extra precautions were ultimately unnecessary.   
As I sat around the fire, conversing with others while caring for my son, I realized that this must be a small glimpse as to what God is like in His love and protection for us, His children.  Noah has no idea why he can't touch the fire.  The fire is enticing and warm and lovely.  He has never been burned yet (thank the Lord), so he cannot understand what would happen if he did touch it.  All he knows is that Mom and Dad say not to touch, so he does not (not always the case obviously).  We tell him why not to touch- because it is "hot!"  Noah repeats "hot, hot, hot!," while pointing to the flame and then stays away.  He is much more enthralled that Mommy is allowing him to drink juice at the party- a rare treat indeed. 
Is this not a shadow of God and His love for me?  He has given me his commandments, I don't understand why all of them are to be obeyed, but He tells me why not to in words that I can understand, He keeps one hand on me at all times, especially in my infancy as a believer, and he keeps me safe from the flames of destruction.  When I obey him, He blesses me with a balm to my soul.
Now one day, Noah will be old enough to stand next to fire and I will not be holding on to him.  He will grow up and I will expect him to know better than to touch.  He will need to believe me without the safety net.  In regards to a fire, I expect he will not fail.  However, there will be other things less obviously painful than sustaining burns that he will need to learn away from my safety net.  I know at times he will succeed and other times he will fail.  I will mourn for the times he fails because he is my son and I love him.
As I am no longer in my infancy stage of Christianity, or at least I would like to believe that i have moved on to meat, God has "let go" on occasion.  I would like to say that I have succeeded more times than failed, but alas my Savior mourns because of me often.  I am more grateful than I can even know for Jesus.  His death atoned for my sins, so even though the 10 commandments are so very clear, I still need someone holding my hoodie.  Jesus keeps me safe from the eternal fires.    
 1 Tim 2:15 (NKJV) says, "Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self–control."  I have to admit that this verse used to always confuse me.  But now that I am a mother, I realize how true this verse is.  I can see so clearly with the eyes God has given me how patient and caring He is because I resemble that.  Of course, He is perfect and I am just a poor man's generic brand.
I am thankful for a God who loves me, who gives me evidence in my life as to how He loves me.  I am thankful that He gives me love for my son.  And I thankful that my son has an opportunity to know The Son through my love.  As Noah grows out of his infancy, may he know God not only through his parents, but through the Word, the Church, and sacraments.  And may he need his hoodie tugged less often than his Momma.     

Noah has fun with Sunshine

(Annie and Noah)

This past week, the Hobbs stayed with us so Collin could attend and speak at a conference down town.  Noah had a wonderful time with little Annie Sunshine even if he didn't always show it in the most appropriate of ways.  When Noah would wake up, his immediate response was, "Baby!  Baby!"  He would run out and give Annie a big hug (which I'm not sure Annie really appreciated all the time) and then he proceeded to try to sit on her or do other various types of body slams.  This is the way that boys show affection, at least my boy, but he hasn't quite learned yet that other tinier girls don't know how to reciprocate in that fashion.
One day, Kara and I took Annie and Noah to the park (we had a thrilling conversation about schooling) and Noah learned that Annie loves to swing too!

The next day, we took the kids to Soergel's.  They have a little play area and petting zoo for kids.  We discovered that they actually named the donkey Noah!  However, our Noah was not a big fan of donkey Noah or any other animal.  They seem so much safer in books and in cartoon-form, don't they?  Little Annie, who is about half the size of Noah, however, loves the animals and had a fun time with the goats.

The Donkey's nameplate

Daddy trying to comfort Noah at the "scary" petting farm

We had many more adventures with our hobbit friends, including a yummy excursion to a Thai restaurant.  We love to have house guests.  Were much less boring people when we have to do stuff with others.  If you are ever in need of coming to the Burgh', come stay with us.  I make yummy Chicken Parmesan! 

Stop making me pose, Mommy!  I need to get back to my patients.

Summer memories

Noah likes to tackle people.  Unfortunately, Mom and Dad are about 3 times his size and he doesn't have brothers or sisters yet, so he doesn't get his need to tackle out on a consistent basis.

Well, when cousin Nolan and Evan came to have lunch at Eat N' Park with us this past weekend, his need for full body contact were fulfilled for the day.

Noah's Mia and Papa as well as his Aunt Andrea and cousin Allie also enjoyed watching the boys demolish one another.

You know it's serious when Noah takes his shoe off

We were sad our time with Noah's cousins was so short, but we were happy to see them again.  Hopefully next time we will have a whole camera full of body slams.

(R to L: Evan, Noah, Nolan, Allie)

I put this image as our desktop background, and now Noah won't leave me alone when I am on the computer.  He keeps asking me to see his cousin Onan which means Nolan.  I am glad he doesn't really have a cousin named Onan.  He also says Allie quite well, while Evan's name is a work in progress.  Last night, Noah's Mia called Brandon, and Noah exclaimed, "Hi my mia, Hi mamma mia!"  I will be sad when Noah stops talking like a baby, because he just says the funniest things right now.

Cute and Pertinent Information about Noah

My son is adorable.  I know I am biased, but I know you all think the same thing too.  He is now a 18 months old, and I got to say that this is indeed a great age.  He is old enough to walk on his own, so my back feels a lot better than it did 6 months ago.  He can say quite a few words now, so I can usually understand what he wants.  He loves me so very much and I get free kisses and hugs anytime I want, which I know won't be the case when he is older. 
Noah just recently started using a blanket at night.  I know that he is a late blanket user, but if your son had lung problems as an infant, you would avoid anything that could constrict breathing like the plague too.  But we finally caved, and now Noah loves his blanket...he just doesn't always know what to do with it.

Noah also loves many noise makers. Every time he sees and hears an airplane over head, he points to the sky and shouts, "Errorpwane! Errorpwane!" He also loves music and does a little tap dance to songs. I'll try to capture that on video sometime for you all because that is just about the cutest thing he does. Interestingly enough, though, Noah is not a fan of all sounds. Some sounds scare him (although, in general he is a pretty fearless kid) and make him cry. Noah does not like the vacuum cleaner nor does he like my blow dryer. The vacuum makes him cry every time, but the blow dryer is less scary. Noah is just scared for me and wants to protect me from the evil heat. I have to blow dry my hair in the living room because our house is old, and we only have two-pronged outlets in the bathroom, so I can't escape Noah's concern.  Ironically, both of Noah's nemesis are pictured below (no, not me).

This is why my hair is usually a mess or wet or both when I go places.  I guess Noah's tactics of protection have worked on me since I hardly ever get up the courage to use my hair dryer around him. 

Noah loves his Mommy and Daddy very much, but since turning 18 months (and with Dad being home a lot due to summer vacation) Noah has been favoring Daddy.  If Daddy isn't with Noah and Mommy, Noah can be heard speaking of his Daddy ALL THE TIME.  If Noah sees a car that is like Daddy's, he questions, "Daddy?"  If he sees a man with an outfit Brandon might wear, he exclaims, "Daddy!"  When Mommy does something that Daddy might normally do (like change his poppy diapers, heeheehee), he explains, "Daddy." 

Hello?  Didn't Mommy breast feed you for 12 months?  Don't I get some sort of credit here?  Nope, but I am glad Noah loves his Daddy so much.  With so many children lacking a father-figure today, Noah is truly a blessed 18 month old.  

 

More money down the drain

Have you ever been to Janie and Jack?  Don't go.  They'll steal all your money (Brandon said this is only true if you are female). 
Janie and Jack is a clothing store for babies, toddlers, and young children.  But, unlike other kids clothing stores, everything they sell is ridiculously adorable and ridiculously expensive.  When I go mall walking, I always make a special trip to their door just to "ooh" and "aah" at their clothes, even though I know I could never justify buying them for Noah or any other future child. 
Well, right now they are having their 60% off sale, which means that everything is still ridiculously expensive.  But, Brandon was kind to me and let me buy Noah one outfit (which was ridiculously expensive).  I basically make Noah wear at least part of the outfit everyday just so I feel like I get my money's worth.  I know Noah could care less what he wears, in fact, I think he would rather not wear any clothes at all.  But what is the point of having a baby if you can't make him look adorable, right? 

What is your favorite children's clothing store? 

  (Note: Noah is not allowed to touch outlets or plugs.  He was being a naughty little monkey, but it was the only way I could get him to stand still for a moment to get a picture.)

Vacation

I am going away this weekend, so I don't have time to post a really awesome post today.  However, I know most of you could care less about my writing and really only check my blog to see cute pictures of Noah.  So, here they are:

Baseball Dreams

About a month ago, Brandon and I took Noah to his very first baseball game post-womb.  Brandon had been dreaming of this day probably since he first wanted a child.  I bought Noah a special outfit for the game, and we brought the camera and were ready for a great memory with our sweetheart.

-Then, reality set in-

Baseball games are boring.  I know my husband thoroughly disagrees, but for the average toddler, they are boring.  Average mommies don't always enjoy them either.  But, add to the fact that our local team is the Pirates, and then you realize that this Baseball dream is going to quickly turn into a nightmare.  Noah liked the pregame festivities because there was applause and singing.  When we sang the National Anthem, Noah put his hands together to pray and then at the end of the song he screamed aloud, "Amen!"  Everyone in the seats near us laughed.  Noah liked the hot dogs and the nachos that we bought for dinner.  I am sure he wished that was our typical dinner every night.  But after that first inning, Noah was not so much up for sitting on Mommy and Daddy's lap anymore because there was nothing to cheer about.  The Pirates ended up losing the game 7-0 and you could tell from the very first inning that we were in trouble against our opponent, the Braves.   
So, I think we are going to cool it on baseball games with Noah for a while.  I'd like to say we'll take him back once the Buccos are good again.  But, I might be dead by then. 

Kennywood Memories

As a child, I have no fonder memory than my time at Kennywood park.  If you grow up in the Pittsburgh area as a child, you probably feel the same way.  Every summer since I was Noah's age, my parents would take me to enjoy such rides as The Whip, The Thunderbolt, and The Turtle.  In the winter months, when the park was closed, my brother and I loved and missed the park so much that we would incessantly watch a PBS movie about the history of the park.  My brother and I still know most of the movie by heart.  The movie is a bit dated now, as some of the rides are no longer there (and the 80's hair-dont's), but I would still highly recommend the movie to you to get a feel for the park.
This past Friday, I was able to yet again make a very fond memory at this dear amusement park with my own son.  Although this was the first time Noah was able to ride a few rides, this was not the first time he had entered the park.  Two summers ago, he came and rode on the train (the pic to the right is all three of us waiting for the train to come).
Noah's first choo-choo ride (post-womb) sure seems like it has arrived too soon.  When Noah was in the hospital, every day felt like an eternity.  Now all the sudden he is 17 months and gives me smooches on the lips.  I'm not so sure Noah was in the mood for kisses after his first couple kiddie land rides though.  He liked them to begin with and then he got scared and then by the end of the ride, he was calm but not really that happy.  I think next year he will enjoy the park more.    

   
Noah's favorite items at the park were the water fountains and the merry-go-round.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of that ride, but dad was riding a horse while Momma, Grandma, and Noah were sitting on a motionless bench on the turn table.  Noah really enjoyed the old-timey music and watching Daddy go up and down, up and down.  I really enjoyed seeing a grown man ride a colorful plastic horse.

If you are ever in town, I would really recommend Kennywood to you.  This is one of the most family friendly amusement parks in America.  They have something for every age group and the prices are reasonable in comparison to most theme parks out there.  Use Kennywood as an excuse to come visit us here in PA!  

He's a boy, dagnabit!

I am consistently frustrated when people mistake Noah for a girl.  Being sensitive to the colorblind and the visually impaired, I want you to know that I understand and I am not mad at you.  But for the rest of you, WHAT IS YOUR EXCUSE?

Other than the fact that Noah really does look like a boy and most certainly acts like a boy (he can't sit still for longer than 10 seconds), do you really not see what he is wearing?  When a baby is wearing blue, that is your social cue that the baby is a boy!!!  Sure, girls can wear blue too, but unless the baby is wearing a blue dress or has a blue ribbon in its hair, I would strongly recommend you guess boy first.
Another social clue is if a baby is wearing non-pink sports paraphernalia, I would guess boy first also.  When we were at Noah's first baseball game, a kind lady asked me, "how old is she?"  Now, I was kind to her and gently let her know that my Noah was a boy (especially since I did not know about her visual aptitude), but in my head I was screaming, "He is wearing a blue, green, and yellow outfit on with a baseball mitt in the center of his shirt, how could you confuse his sex???"  After gently informing this lady that my Noah was a boy, she responded, "Oh, you must get that a lot."  I just shook my head in agreement as to not offend and said, "Yeah, because he is so cute."  I don't really 'get that a lot' but it's just enough to get under my skin.  I could understand the confusion if I dressed Noah in a purple tutu, but other than that I just don't get it.
Lastly, if a baby has a boy name, guess boy first.  One day, before Noah was born, a friend of ours asked if Brandon and I had a name yet.  We did and we were sharing, so we said "Noah Michael."  Our friend responded, "Hmmm...Noah Michael, so is it a boy or a girl?"
Um, gee, I wonder.  I know there are names out there that could go either way, but Noah Michael to my knowledge is not one of them.  Come on people, do we live on the same planet?
To sum up, my son is a boy and you annoy me if you mistakenly think otherwise.  If you aren't sure of his sex, just say, "You have a cute baby," then I won't know if you are a moron or not.       

May Festival @ Soergel

The Family Advantage

Noah's Uncle Michael came to town this past weekend.  He came to visit Noah, wish me and our mother happy Mother's Day, and to visit for our birthdays (Mom- May 19, Me- May 16th).  We had a very happy time at the Cheesecake Factory.  If we ate there more often, I would be rotund.  If anyone is curious, this is what I had for dessert (Chocolate Raspberry Truffle):  
 As my parents, Uncle Michael, Noah, Brandon, and I sat around the table (that we waited an hour for), I thought about how happy I was, how Noah was being such a good boy considering the wait for food and all the noise and distractions, and I thought about how God has so richly blessed Noah to have extended family that truly loves and cares for him.  Noah has been truly blessed.
For one, Noah has been baptized into a Bible-believing church.  He is a covenant child of God.  I pray and many others pray for him daily that he will grow into a man of God and that he will be blessed with salvation (if God has not already blessed him with this).  He will be raised to love and fear God.  Noah already knows how to pray with us before meals, during our family devotion (which I confess does not happen often enough) and right before bedtime.  When he hears the words God, Jesus, or Bible, he often folds his hands together and bows his head.  What a sweet testimony to God's goodness to our son. 
Secondly, he has grandparents and aunts & uncles who truly care for him and want to be involved in his life.  Noah has the privilege of being the first grand baby on my side of the family and the 4th on Brandon's side.  Although we love the idea of having a large family (and want to have one of our own), there are certain perks when you are one of a few grand children.
  Thirdly, Noah will always be surrounded by godly friends.  These friends will also be raised to love God and keep his commandments.  He will have peers in his life that he will be able to go to and not feel pressure to disobey God's righteous will.  He will also have friends that will not know Christ and it is my prayer that he will be a godly witness to them at a very young age. 
Fourthly, and lastly (sounds like one of my pastor's sermons), Noah has already suffered physical pain and sickness.  You know the first time I truly suffered?  Noah's birth.  Noah already knows what it is like (even if he doesn't remember why) to suffer and make it through to happier times.  Oh sure, I had little problems here and there when I was growing up, but nothing that I could consider true suffering.  Noah has already had to "grow up" in a sense.  I mean, he is definitely still a baby, but I think his difficulties at the beginning of life will only continue to produce good fruit as he grows.  God, as always, has turned a bad thing into a very good thing.
Noah is a blessed little boy and I am a blessed Momma.  Thank you Lord, for my son and thank you most of all for Your Son.   

The Necessity of Naps

I did not write a post early this afternoon because today I have been feeling lousy and needed to nap when Noah was napping.  Noah decided to wake up at 7:30am even though we put him down at 9pm the night before.  Most of the time he sleeps 12 hours, but he woke up with a...ahem...surprise in his diaper.  That always wakes him up.  After I changed him and fed him, he fell back asleep relatively soon and thus I followed suit.  I was very thankful that God answered my prayer for more sleep.  When I really need more, I always ask for it from Him and many times He grants me this request.  When He does not, He always gives me the strength to stay awake and suffer for His glory and for the benefit of my son's needs.
 Now that Noah is a little bit older, I sleep quite well actually.  But as most mothers understand, that was not always the case when Noah was little bitty baby (was Noah ever really a little bitty baby?).  Even though there were very, very few benefits from having Noah be so ill when he was born, one of the only nice things was at night I could go to sleep and have the nurses take care of him.  That was about the only nice thing of having him in the hospital for so long.  When we took Noah home, I realized within a day that I had been very spoiled with the nursing care I had available to me.
After a day or two of constantly waking up and feeding him, I specifically remember thinking: How does Amanda Ewer do it?  I mean, I only have one child and I'm about ready to throw in the towel- she did this FIVE times (she is about to do this for a 6th time as I understand)???  My body hurts so much and I don't have the strength to breast feed anymore.  Then my mind went to this time when Amanda was feeding one of her little ones and I thought how she must have cosmic-strength, like some sort of super hero.  I came to realize later that when your baby gets older, he/she does most of the work and you just sit there.  But, at that point I was NOT thinking clearly and I had yet to experience a feeding that didn't require me to do most if not all the work.  
 (Just as a side note, Amanda is an older sister in Christ to me that I know from Bloomington.  I know many women who have been very fruitful in motherhood, but for whatever reason, her example stuck in my mind during my sleep-deprived trials as a first-time Mama.)
I have never been a particularly good napper, but man, am I grateful to God for naps now.  When Noah sleeps, I can be a very productive home-maker and clean the house and get supper started.  But for those days when I need the extra rest, I am grateful for a schedule that can leave a little room for some catch-up sleep.  Now I am just dreading the day when Noah realizes that he doesn't need a nap anymore.  Any advice for keeping your kids on a nap-routine until they graduate high school? 

The Very Busy Noah Boah

Noah's new obsession is Eric Carle's The Very Busy Spider (Board Book).  Even though I would consider Noah an antsy child, there is one time he will sit still without me forcing him.  He will bring a book to me out of his toy box and request, "uh!?!"  In baby language, that means "read this to me!?!"  Carle's The Very Busy Spider (Board Book) is his number one request.  We have a rule in our family that Mommy will only read a book two times during a segment of the day.  That means we read this book twice in the morning, twice after nap time, and twice after dinner.  This does not include the times that Dad will read this book (and others) to him too.
So, even though I just about have this book memorized, I am very grateful for it.  Noah loves it and thus loves reading in general.  The Very Busy Spider has taught him at 16 months of age many animal noises and he now recognizes what those animals look like.  Noah already knew how to bark like a dog, but now he knows how to neigh like a horse (that's his favorite), moo like a cow, baa like a sheep, maa like a goat, oink like a pig, meow like a cat, quack like a duck, and cock-a-doodle-doo like a rooster (sounds more like doo-doo-doo-doo-doo).  He hasn't figured out how to "whoo" like an owl, but that's the last page, so I his attention is thus spent on getting another book for his Mommy to read to him.    
Obviously making animal noises is a popular thing for a baby to do.  Does everyone else have this book too?  How did you teach your children how to make animal noises?

Growing Noah

Hello Dear Readers,
It has been many months since I have posted about Noah and how he is doing. Praise God that we no longer have to post on a daily basis for his physical prayer needs. He is a happy and healthy boy and just lights up a room. He is a naturally friendly baby and every time I take him out he makes many friends. He particularly steals the hearts of the ladies at restaurants. He often gives hugs and kisses to complete strangers (something we'll have to stop him from doing when he is older).

He is walking all over the place now. He started walking around 12 months, but now, 2 days away from 14 months, he is becoming an expert pedestrian. He still only has about 4 teeth, which can be wearisome since he is hungry all the time. At least I don't have to nurse him anymore! Instead, we just hang out in the kitchen over half the day.

Noah is a very proficient talker. He can say "ball, dog (he also barks like a dog), up, hat, light,dad,mom, pap pap, no!no!no!, and this." He also clasps his hands together when we tell him we are going to pray. This melts my heart. Noah also loves when Mommy and Daddy read books to him. Sometimes we end up having to hide the books as he doesn't want us to stop (I think 8 times is enough for one sitting!).

He loves to talk on Mommy's cell phone. Be careful, he may just call you! He called Pap pap and Chuck E. Cheeses without asking Mommy first. I think Pap pap didn't mind though. He takes after his Daddy as everytime he holds up anything that looks like a phone to his ear Noah says, "Eh?" Canadian for hello, no doubt.

I love him so dearly and wish that he could always stay this age. But I am also so blessed to see him grow. May God continue to answer my prayers in regards to my son!

Beating the Titans with Cuteness

Portraits of Noah

Noah recently did some modeling for a photographer at our church. Here is the link to the website. The pictures turned out really cute!

No, we're not Cubs fans, but our friends are!

My second video

Well, I think we can all agree that this video is better than my first attempt. Definitely room for improvement, but I hope you all enjoy.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program