Cousins!!

We love when Lorann and her crew come to town! Yesterday we had so much fun playing with Joshua and Caleb, and they were so nice to include Noa in the fun. I think Noa especially liked pulling on Joshua's face. We tried and tried to get a picture of the three of them smiling (or at least looking at the camera), but you know how those things go...





Noa has really been getting around lately! She hasn't transitioned into a full, fluid crawl yet, but she somehow gets where she wants to be. I think it is through a series of sitting up over and over again. She also LOVES to stand. This week as we've gone in to get her after a nap, she's been proudly standing up in her crib! And yes, she thinks she's hot stuff! (Side note: Notice she's totally destroyed the crib bumper- ugh!)

Noa & Mommy

I can't explain how incredible it is to be a mother. No one can. I know all those flower pink cards try to explain it, but I think it all ends up being a little too frilly and dainty. Simply stated, in my opinion motherhood is a gift from the Father, wrapped up in countless little moments in time - both sweet and frustrating - that is unlike anything else. I'm so glad to be Noa's Mommy. She's my girl...



Here we have "CeCe Winans" or "Cranks" starting to manifest...

Trip to Lake Lure, NC

What I really wanted for my birthday was to get away and see some fall color. I would rather make memories than get more stuff that I don't need any day. So, we decided to take a little trip to our friends' cabin in Lake Lure, NC. The colors were just starting to come out and I imagine the trees will be beautiful in about 2 weeks, but it was enough for me. I think our lives are too complex. The simplicity of this trip reminded me of the beauty of God's creation in so many different ways. Family. Nature. Lakes. Windy Roads. Small town people. Board Games. Ice Cream Shops. Honey and Homemade jam. I loved it. I'm so glad we had the chance to go.



We decided to take a little tour of the lake to see all of the beautiful houses that you can't see from the road. We also wanted to take Noa on her first boat ride! Even though the tour was an hour long, she was perfectly content until the very end. She loved feeling the wind when the boat would go faster, and she entertained everyone on the boat with her contagious smiles. There were a few older couples who didn't have grandkids yet and didn't think they would anytime soon. I thought to myself, 'This is right. This is good. Children are a heritage from the Lord and there is no greater joy.' What a blessing our little Noa is.




This was a view out the front of the boat (obviously). Some of the homes on the lake had this view and while a picture could never capture it, it was spectacular. I bet they're on their porches constantly when the leaves are at their peak and the sun is setting... What a beautiful God.

Here we are eating at an Italian restaurant for my birthday lunch. I wanted to stay and have the Tirimisu (I'm totally not into birthday cake - yuck), but Noa wouldn't play along. She would fuss unless we were standing up with her - and that got old even in spite of the view. But the food was GOOD! And Noa liked my pop. :) (Just kidding. I didn't give her any. She's been really into cups and bottles lately though...)

Homemade Dipes!

I'm so proud of my latest creations. Check out Noa sporting these cloth dipes! I made them from blankets that she's never used. How's that for saving money? We'll see how it goes...

Day at the park

Since Russ had The MAN Retreat this week-end and we were missing him terribly, we decided to get outside and have a picnic at Waterfront Park today. I was so glad to get out of the house and enjoy this beautiful Fall weather with my babe! We had a perfect spot in the shade between 2 trees overlooking the harbor. Noa absolutely loved being outside and kept herself busy trying to crawl. (That's her new thing... and she thinks she's hot stuff again).







Then we went walking around downtown. This was the hotel we stayed in for part of our honeymoon.

Of course there are all kinds of nooks and cranies to photograph in Charleston. I love the understated charm of this city.







After a long walk we ended up at Starbucks to sit down for a minute. Noa was sleeping the whole time but decided to wake up just as we were sitting down. Bummer. So we kept on walking. She was totally content though. She loves looking at people and taking everything in, so this little adventure was perfect for her.

Blogging

I've found myself totally unmotivated to blog lately. Being that it is an excellent way to keep family and friends aware of what's going on in our lives - well, mainly Noa's life - I really need to get back in the game. This morning I was thinking of 10 reasons I haven't blogged and I thought I would share them with you while I'm waiting for new pics (Yay!) to download.

10. I've been sleeping. Noa has revolted against a full 8 (or full 6, or full 4) hours of sleep at night, therefore forcing Mommy to sleep all day long.
9. I've been busy making baby food with my new Beaba Babycook (fancy little steamer/blender from Williams-Sonoma). I'm fascinated with this little machine and wish she ate food faster so I could make more.
8. I've been shopping. Who would choose blogging over new clothes?
7. I've been going green. Lately I've spent all my time researching cloth diapers. I've become a little obsessed with it and need to cut back.
6. I've been REALLY going green. I found old shirts/etc. in the house that I've cut up to make burp clothes and wipes. I told you I was going crazy...
5. I've been with friends. We've had a new "mandate" (if you will) at our church to have couples over for dinner twice a month. It feels like we've had about 5 months worth of get-togethers already! It has been so much fun though!!
4. I've been hanging out with my babe. Russ and I have had a lot of time together lately. Sometimes we take Noa out with us and sometimes we get to have quality time just by ourselves. I can't think of anything I would like to do more.
3. I've been lazy.
2. I've been constantly cleaning up poop. No lie. Today I looked over and Noa was in her exersaucer. I noticed she was kind of slipping and sliding around as she tried to stand. Low and behold it was yesterday's carrots. Yep, that's right... bright orange... she pooped them right out the side of her diaper. She didn't seem to mind, but of course, each little adventure like this takes about a 1/2 hour to clean up (bath, diaper change, exersaucer sterilization, laundry...)
1. I've been trying to make pajama pants. It took me about 4 hours to figure out how to thread the sewing machine. The pants still aren't done and when they are I think they might only fit a 400 pound man. I'm still plowing ahead...

O.k... enough with the boringness. Pictures are downloaded!!

Noa has been wanting to crawl, crawl, crawl lately! She gets up on all 4's and wiggles, but that's about it. She can rotate on her belly, but she can't even really scoot yet. Anyway, she's getting so big!



Here's a sweet little embroidered towel that Jim & Deb Dean sent to Noa. Thanks!! I'm sure Jim had a big part to play in making it... :)

Here's the table I refinished! It goes with the 2 chairs I recovered. Wow, I'm so domestic!

Bug Bites!

Since we've had such great weather here the last few days, Noa and I decided to go to James Island County Park and take a walk. It was wonderful! She LOVED being outside and loved being able to look around at everything. I convinced Russ to come with us after dinner for another walk. The 2nd one didn't go so well. She definitely did not want to be in the stroller and let us know as soon as we strapped her in. So 10 minutes into the hour long walk Russ picked her up and walked with her the rest of the way, which, if you've ever held Noa can get REALLY heavy. Then came the mosquitos. Blah! They were everywhere! I didn't even see one earlier in the day, but they had suddenly come out and were feasting on Noa. She has bites on her legs, her fingers, her forehead, and you can see how bad this one is on her eye. :( Poor thing. It doesn't seem to bother her though. I just know it took about 3 weeks for the last bug bite to disappear, so I'm hoping this one goes away sooner.


On a brighter note, Noa received a sweet package in the mail from Char the other day! Yay!! Thank you Jim & Char!! Actually, Mommy liked the cute outfits that were inside and Noa Jane liked eating the paper. To each his own. :)

And here's Noa in the John Deere outfit Abby got for her - hat and all! I think she looks soooo funny! I couldn't stop laughing, and I had to take a pic!