Hot, hot, hot!

O.k. We're all sweating to death down here. Especially the big, huge, pregnant one. When you're this big, it's hard enough to breathe anyway and then the humidity goes and steals what little breath you have... I've gotta get this baby out of here!!! Anyway, just found this sweet picture of Chicks. I think it might be kind of old, but I just love it and it gives you an idea of just how sweaty we all are. :)

Poor thing had shots today. Actually, what really set her off was a little finger prick to test her iron levels (which were fine) and unfortunately the nurse did that before the doctor came in (not sure why). We had so many questions for the doctor and had to try and have a discussion while Noa was screaming the whole time. I felt bad for her... she just couldn't calm down. Finally, Dr. Hutton left (after we caught about nothing she said - way too distracting) and Noa calmed down only to have the nurse come back in and give her a shot. Thankfully it was just one, but that was definitely enough for Noa to feel frightened, betrayed, out of control, etc... What a maddening appointment. Anyway... say a prayer for her tonight. :) We don't want any adverse reactions to the vaccines. She's such a sweetie. I can't believe she'll be a big sister soon.

Chickie's Day!

Evie came over!
Unfortunately Noa isn't the snuggliest baby on the block. I guess she takes after her Mommy in that respect. Evie is always so excited to see Noa and loves to express that through many hugs. Noa always just braces herself until Evie's done and then they go about their business...

They kept trying to sit in that cupboard together - it was the cutest thing!

Noa and Evie need to get all their BFF time in before Noa has a new BFF in just a few weeks!


Noa's new favorite book
This animal noises book is the cutest thing, but it is just huge, and after reading it 1,000 times, we don't want to hear another animal noise! We hid the book in the closet for the time being, but she was overjoyed to find it once again... She decided Daddy was as good as any chair, so she's been relaxing on his belly while he reads her favorite book over and over! :)


Chickie's Day!
We got to thinking we only have a few more weeks with just one child at home so we decided to take Chicks to Target and the mall the other day. We got her a little outfit (which really, she could care less about), and let her wander around in the toy aisle, which she really liked. We didn't end up buying her any toys (she has too many already), but she's still young enough to think that the toy aisle is exciting in and of itself. :)


We had to trade her daddy's real phone for her "blackberry" that she picked up. She wasn't happy.

We ate at Chick-fil-a and she shared my 3 piece chicken strip meal with me. She ate 2 of the chicken strips and most of the fries! Maybe we need to get her a kids meal next time so I can eat!

If you've been around Noa lately, you know that all she wants to do is point at lights...

We finished our time at the mall by splitting a Dairy Queen Hot Fudge Sundae. DQ was pretty busy, but I was determined to get my, um, I mean Noa's sundae. After I made my order I was waiting for the girl behind the register to make it. She handed me this sundae (I hardly want to call it that) that just looked like a cup of vanilla ice cream exploding over the sides of the cup. She politely explained that she had put too much vanilla ice cream in the cup and therefore only had room for a little hot fudge. I politely explained that I'm almost 9 months pregnant and "just a little hot fudge" wouldn't do, not to mention the ice cream was running down my hand. Somehow she was puzzled, but re-made my sundae. All the while I was just committing one more story to memory about how pathetic customer service has gotten these days - maybe my #1 pet peeve. Either way, the 2nd sundae was wonderful and Noa also enjoyed it very, very much!

We're goin' pink!

I've been so behind on getting things ready for Ruthie's arrival (come August), I'm trying to get myself pumped up by going pink and letting you all enjoy pictures of Noa's first day of life. It's hard to believe how swollen my face was and yet even harder to believe that we'll have another little girl hanging out with us soon. Awww... but look at that sweet little chicks! I can't wait to do it all again!

Vacation Part 2 - Wisconsin

After we spent a week in Cadillac, MI, we drove down around Lake Michigan and back up to Door County Wisconsin. We decided it would be fun to spend a night in Chicago since we were passing right through it, but it was actually probably the worst part of our trip. We haven't really been in a big city with Noa and quickly realized that there's definitely a reason people with young kids don't choose to live downtown. All of the elevators were too small for the stroller, she couldn't get out and run around anywhere, the hotel room was teeny-tiny, people looked at us like we were strange (especially having a one year old and being pregnant), we were ready to leave as soon as we hit traffic going into the city! Maybe we're just wimps, but I think we'll opt for kid-friendly traveling next time around.

Russ and Noa enjoying their first Big Boy experience.

When we were downtown Chicago, someone told us about The Leggo Store, so we thought it would be a great place for Noa to run around and a chance for us to get out of the heat.


We didn't end up staying very long. Noa wasn't really interested in the Leggos, and the store wasn't that big of a deal anyway. Russ and I kept wondering how the store made money because really, how many leggo sets can one buy? Or want? Anyway, Noa just kept laying down on her blanket, so we decided to get something to eat instead.

We then stayed the night at Brian and Lindsay's house. What a cute house! It was so nice to spend some quality time with them (twice! - once on the way there, and once on the way back) and meet their sweet boys. They're definitely great hosts and we just wish they lived a little bit closer. Noa and Ryland are the same age, so it was fun watching them interact and sort of play together... Somehow we didn't get pictures of anyone else. Maybe we were too pooped by that point.

Spaghetti and Oreos! What could be better? Side note: Doesn't Noa look like a weird old man in this picture?

We finally made it up to Sister Bay, WI and were just amazed by the beautiful views. We both thought it reminded us of Northern Ireland when we were there 2 years ago. My Grandma lives in a nursing home up there, which is why the Roberts Family Reunion is held there. It was so nice to see uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends that I haven't seen in years, and so nice for them to meet Russ and Noa too.

Of course it was so nice to see Grandma too. It has probably been about 8 years or so since I've seen her. She'll be 89 in August and is doing great. My Grandpa was a pastor and an incredible man of faith. He passed away maybe about 2 years ago but they are the reason many of us came to know Christ as our Lord. I am so thankful for a strong Christian heritage and love the challenge of passing that on to our own children...

On the first night we had a sing-along and ice-cream social for the residents at Grandma's nursing home. It was such a great time to minister and the ice-cream was great too! I know one little Chickie who liked it!


My brother Chris and Noa



My uncle has a beautiful place overlooking Egg Harbor, a quaint little village not too far from Sister Bay. We were able to relax there on our final night in Door County.


On our way out of town, we quickly swung into The Village Cafe for something to eat and had one of the best brunches ever! Little did we know it had just won an award for the best restaurant in the state for the month of June (or something like that)! We took a few pictures, but they don't really do it justice. It was such a quaint little place and if Noa had been more cooperative, we would've stayed a little longer...



Okay... I'm worn out! That was way too much blogging for me. I'm taking a week off. :)