Batty Noah

Happy Halloween!
I am going to confess though.  I do not like Halloween.  I've never been a fan of dressing up or going to costume parties.  I've always loved working at the police department on this day to be a part of all the crazy shenanigans and therefore missed the crazy college Halloween parties that probably would have made me more excited.  Either way, this year, I'm a little more excited because of Noah.  We're still not doing anything crazy.  I still refuse to hand out candy. But, we will be helping Grandma (who's super excited) hand out candy at her house.  That's the best I've got. Oh ya, and I guess Noah might be dressing up.

House Schedule Update

Today may be the day we break ground and I'm cautiously excited as we were supposed to break ground over two weeks ago.  The builder had some problems getting a permit in time for when we thought to break ground so we're just at the mercy of this little permit to begin.  I've heard today may be the day.  But even without the house having been started we have still been busy making decisions and even getting our first payment for the house! I thought I would give our current schedule for anyone else who may be interested in the process or anyone else who may be thinking of building as well.  So here we go!

Oct 8 (Day 1) - We signed our contract and everything is official!
Oct 9 (Day 2) - Expected ground breaking - delay with permit.
Oct 14 (Day 7) - Pick out front door, interior doors, house molding, door knobs, and decking and siding.
Oct 15 (Day 8) - Fireplace
Oct 21 (Day 14) - Faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets.  Also garage door.
Oct 23 (Day 16) - Cabinetry for the whole house - knobs and handles

Day 16 probably has been my favorite so far.  The kitchen is the most exiting place for me as I'm going to be spending so much time there.  I've always imagined an all white kitchen and I'm well on my way.  I tried to find the cabinets we chose but through the whole process there are just so many options that online they all look the same.  I guess we'll have to wait for the install processes to check the pictures out.

Here is the best I can do for picturing our current kitchen layout.  The cabinet above the stove will actually be a custom built hood similar to this one.  The cabinet on the most right of the picture will be a glass door to display pretty glasses and most likely be some sort of drink station. Originally we wanted an navy blue kitchen island, but apparently if it's not a "normal" color you pay way extra for the custom paint.  We ended up having a "designer" color that although is not the stock colors and we still payed a little extra, it was not the major expense the blue island would have given us. So far we're looking at a dark grey island and white cabinets.  Similar to this.

The most important thing was that when we walked out of the store we came in under budget! Woop!

Next on the list we have counter-tops and back-splashes for the kitchen and bathrooms.  We also still need to pick appliances.... Most of the big stuff is pretty much picked! Who knew this would go so fast. 

Pumking Patch & Cute Little Goats

We finally made it out the the pumpkin patch last week.  Nothing like waiting 'till the last minute, although we really had no other time.  We even skipped out on buying pumpkins this year as we probably would not have gotten around to carving them anyway. Unlike last year, Noah was much more excited.  We looked at all the animals while Noah made cow noises.  Noah fed the goats after he found that goat food wasn't for babies, and we finished the day taking the typical pumpkin pictures.

Noah and I finally were able to wear out matching shoes.  Mama in love!  This is as close as I'll ever be to matching with a boy. =)

Toddler Meal Ideas Part 2

I feel like all Noah ever wants to do is eat, and eat some more.  When he's done eating then he wants more milk and maybe even a snack.  It's no wonder the kid is huge.  I can't say I blame him though.  Food is pretty yummy, especially when your mom makes it. =)

For more toddler meal ideas you can find some here.

For snacks, we usually do some milk and  fruit or some crackers.  We've really enjoyed trying the Gerber toddler snacks like these banana cookies, these cheese puffs, and the little biscuits.  They are especially great when you're on the run and are easy to grab and stuff in your diaper bag.  For all the moms in the Meijer grocery store area, the Meijer brand is super similar and cheaper too when the others aren't on sale. 

Here are some more toddler meals ideas for you guys:

1. Chicken Parmesan - blueberries
2. Taco meat w/ cheese and tomatoes - raspberries - bread
3. Chicken and cheese quesadilla with humus - tomatoes - strawberries
4. Risotto - turkey meatballs - mixed veggies
5. Mini pancakes - blueberries and strawberries
6. Brats w/ catchup - bun pieces, cheese and cheezeits - cooked carrots

Looks like it might be tacos for dinner tonight!  Feels like a good taco day. =)

Mommy Noah Time

As promised to Noah it was all about enjoying the outdoors this weekend as we're approaching winter and snow.  It's was actually a little cold for my taste already.  I am not looking forward to all the snow!  Noah took out his trusty mower and walked up and down the lawn over and over.  Then ran around the house in circles exploring new areas as he went.

We're lucky where we live we're so close to the beach and the city.  We're next to a college full of young people but also surrounded by corn fields and farms.  It's like the best of everything wrapped up in one.  In our little neighborhood we can walk a couple of blocks and butt up right up to a dairy farm. We're been taking Noah there since he was born but never really showed interest.  Now that we're learning a little more about animals he seems to be getting that they are actually cows and not giants dogs so we've been working hard on all the animals noises including our cows.

He seemed to enjoy it a ton this time around.  Made the cow noises the whole time and we sat and watched them for a good half hour while I snapped some pictures.  Mommy/Son bonding at it's finest.

Citrus Lane Giveaway!

Thank goodness it's Friday!  I'm so ready for the weekend to begin and get to spend a little quality time with Noah. It's seems this week was just so busy and I catch myself at night thinking how little time I actually spent playing with Noah.  We have a birthday party to go to this weekend and hopefully some dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the weekend we'll spend relaxing, I hope.

Also on the schedule I'm hoping to get a lot of cooking done so we have leftovers for the week.  Noah has been a great helper and watches everything I do in the kitchen.  As long as he's sitting on the counter next to me he's content the whole time. 
It's also getting much cooler outside and before you know it the snow will be here so I'm hoping so soak up the best of this fall weather with some walks around the neighborhood and playtime in the back yard.  And now that the winter subject has been brought up, I've already been thinking about winter gear for this guy and got him these little mittens.  But have you ever tried to put mittens on a toddler?  They are so worthless as their hands are like jello.  Good thing we have at least a month to figure out how to get those bad boys on.

But until winter gets here, lets get prepared for some toddler activities we can do inside.  Citrus Lane is giving away two boxes of their monthly subscription to one of you guys.  This subscription box is so great because it's centered for a child of the age you request.  You type in their birthday and they'll only give you items and activities appropriate for your child.  As I typed in Noahs age I got a couple examples of what would be in my box.  A fun dinner plate, a cuttle little backpack to stuff their little stuffed animals, some toys and even some snacks!  Enter below to win this for your little one!

Family Weekend Fun

Last week was another busy one for us.  Jeff worked so late so many nights he ended up sleeping in the basement to catch up on sleep and so Noah wouldn't wake him up in the morning.  I had to work the weekend and some extra overtime and I'm pretty sure we saw each other for a total of a couple of hours all week.  I can't wait for the fall semester to be over and to have a little more downtime.  Some family time and a couple date nights sound pretty good right about now.

But even though we're busy this time of year we try our best to spend time together.  Even if that means spending time at work! Grand Valleys' homecoming was this weekend and they had all sorts of family week festivities for adults and kids.  I took Noah to family night and met up with Jeff for a little fun.

As social and outgoing as Noah is, I think he was actually a little overwhelmed by the amount of people and stayed pretty close by.  We tried some cookies and frosting which is a rare treat and even had a balloon hat made.  That lasted about two seconds on his head and then I carried it around the rest of the time.  Probably should have known better?

We're already knee deep in house meetings and this week we get to finalize our cabinets throughout the house as well as pick out a fireplace.  Aren't fireplaces all the same?  I guess we will see!  Cabinets though I'm excited for.  How do you think the designer will look at me when I tell her I want to paint my kitchen island navy? Eeek!  So exciting.

We're Building A House!

It's been a long process trying to build this house and it's taken way longer than we would have thought.  But here we are.  Almost nine months later and we have signed our contracts, made our payments and settled on a house plan! We should break ground sometime in the next two weeks and our house will be filled with our little family just in time for summer.

 

We're really only a couple of miles from where we are now as we looked up and down for property next to Grand Valley where Jeff works.  Not only are we only about a mile and a half from the school but we also happen to be right on the lake will be perfect for Noah and our future kids as well and Jeffs triathlon training.  No more swimming in the school pool in the summer!

Noah obviously is really excited about this house too. =)  He has no idea what's going on, but this house will be our forever house and probably the only house Noah will remember so I know it'll be special for him as he grows up.  I'm excited to document the building and decorating of this house as it's really a dream come true for me.  I've always wanted to have complete say in building my house and I'm lucky to have a husband who has been able to give this to me.

The thing I've already learned about building a home is that it's expensive and apparently my taste is expensive too!  My biggest challenge will be to get everything I want in the budget we've set for ourselves.   And of course as this isn't only my house I'll have to compromise a little along the way with Jeff. (Although he knows I always win out in the end. =)

So wish us luck because we have a long road ahead of us and lots of decisions to make!

Sixteen Months

We're at sixteen months today and although I don't feel like we've done much with Noah this month I will say spending time with him has been really enjoyable.  He laughs a ton and plays independently much better for longer times and that makes for a happy mom who can get so many more things done.  We've started Kindermusic this month and so far only two sessions but we're having a great time.  Noah's one of the oldest and biggest kids in his class so I do a lot of running around making sure he doesn't trample on the other kids.  Otherwise, it's nice to spend some time outside of the house which I know he's getting bored in.  Plus, it's kind of a little workout for me too.  Lots of lifting and bouncing and rocking Noah and at almost 30lbs that's like a kettleball workout for about 45 minutes!

Anyway, lets get to this months stats.  The kid is still  huge and the doctor said he was looking good.  Personally, I'm a little worried at his lack of speech but the doctor wasn't too worried yet and said next visit we would reevaluate.

• Stats: Size 4 Diapers | 18mo to 2T clothing (finally out of overnight diapers since we sized up but sometimes still pees out in the morning)
• Size: 28lbs 13oz (98%) - 33.5 in (98%) - head 19.25 in (93%)   (Dr. Stats for his 16mo update last week)
• New Abilities: Still babbling a ton.  Understanding a lot of commands. Is using a lot of signs and seems to appreciate being able to communicate.  He is trying to talk but sounds out the syllable patterns mostly but he can't quite get words out of his mouth. His climbing abilities are much better and can get pretty much anywhere.  Finally he's gotten his giggles down.  The kid can laugh at anything and it's the funniest thing ever.  I had gotten the best video ever, about a minute long of him rolling on the couch just laughing and laughing and I would so show it to you, but he's nakey. So not for the internet but hopefully I can get another one soon. We've also taught him how to swat flies since they seem to be everywhere in our house.  He'll go up to the slider door and act like he's swatting them even when they're gone.  ...and of course he laughs and laughs until he finds something else to laugh about.  The cutest baby in the world. ;-) 

• New Words: Nothing new this month. We're still working on mama directed at me. : (
• Sleep: Sleeping consistently from 7:30pm to 7:30am. Naps twice during the day. A morning, an afternoon.  Both naps are getting shorter so I'm assuming soon we'll be switching to one nap? About 1.25 in the morning and 45 mins in the afternoon.
• Mom Check-In: I bought myself the girliest Nikes ever at JCrew when I found they were finally on super sale.  That store is so cute but I could never get myself to buy anything full price so I was super excited to find they still had some left in my size.  As of Monday they were still on sale in case anyone is still interested.   ...and this little jewelry tray for all the things that sit around the bathroom.  I also decided it was time for an upgrade from my iPhone 4s so I went for it and bought the 6.  Now I just have to be patient and wait for it to arrive.  So... shopping therapy for like the next year is done! But it does feel good to do a couple things for yourself once in a while.

Weekend Cuddles and a Climbing Baby

I worked all weekend, what a drag.  Noah had daddy daycare and I'm sure he loved every minute.  When they are together it's just so chill, and with me the kid is so emotional.  I don't know how Jeff does it.  I wont complain though.  I got my fair share of couch cuddles while Noah tried to figure out the password for my phone.

He's also started the dreaded "climb on anything" stage. We were pretty close by during these pictures but once in a while we catch it trying to climb on something all the way across the room and we sprint dive trying to catch him before he kills himself.  The worse problem right now is when he chooses to use his pirate ship on wheels as his stool to get on higher things and obviously the wheels do him absolutely no favors.  If we can get him to grow a couple more inches he should be able to get on most things and hopefully he will be more satisfied.

Overall, slow weekend for mom over here.  I missed being away from Noah all weekend. Especially with overtime at work.  I will say though I got to catch up on all the fall premiers and some of them are really good!.  Scandal and Grey's right at the top for me.  My new favs though are Red Band Society and Scorpion.  Those have some good potential.  What are you watching this fall? 

Wordless Wednesday - Time w/ Aunty Molly