The Parsons Family Visit!

It's been amazing how many family and friends we have had over at our new home in just a month and a half.  Most recently, we got to see the Parsons.  Zak and Heather have been in Care Group (Bible study) with us for years.  They have a little boy Ronin who's just a few months older than Drew.  They were about 45 minutes away at a lake, staying at a relative's cabin, so they decided to visit and see our new place!

We tried out a new pizza place (Mangia Pizzeria), which was delicious.  After dinner, we headed outside and kicked the soccer ball around and talked and talked.




I had fun just snapping a few pictures of being outside.  Here's Heather and Ronin.


Ronin was watching Noah kick the ball with Zak, and his faces were too funny.




The three boys sat in a chair together so we could grab a group shot.


We are blessed to have you as friends, Zak and Heather!

Blueberry Picking

Noah, Drew, and I went blueberry picking for the first time ever with some new friends down here.


Noah claimed he didn't like blueberries before.  He declared himself wrong.




They had quart and gallon sized jugs cut open so that you can thread a belt through the handle, wrap the belt around your waist, and then put your collected berries into the jug. 


Drew happily tried them.


Not surprisingly, he loved them!


He waited for me to pick more with his fellow baby friend.



We got 2 1/2 pounds of blueberries.  I've frozen most of them or else Noah and Drew would have gobbled them up in the first two days we had them.  I might have to go back in order to get enough for baking something.

Close Up & More Firsts

I have been having fun taking some close up pictures lately here and there when I have a few seconds.








Drew has been learning more and more new things.  Noah gets so excited when he learns a new skill.  Sometimes, his yells of joy have startled Drew.  A week or so ago, Drew decided it was time to climb the stairs.  The responsible mom that I am decided to see how far he could actually get (while I was right behind him).  He climbed all the way up the step, the landing, and fourteen steps with one break halfway.  It's definitely time for the gate, wouldn't you say?


The cute little troublemaker.
 

On July 18th, he pulled himself up on his farm and toy bins.


And then later, when he should have been sleeping, he pulled himself up in his crib.  Since then, I have never found him laying down in his crib.

The Everyday

Since Drew's birthday, we have had a lot of fun.  I've been trying to be more intentional about capturing the everyday kinds of things.

Like my happy baby.


And the little curls on the side of his head.


And his arm chub.


And his monkey feet.


And his silly eyes.  The video shows goofy face -- the smile -- and silly eyes -- lowering his face while doing something strange with his eyes.  Noah did this, too, without being taught.  Since Steve did it, too, I'm going to blame it on genetics. ;)


And my big boy's first loose tooth (it's been loose for three weeks at least!).


And how my sons play together so well most of the time.
 

And Drew cruising, getting stuck cruising, or pushing things to get around.
 


I love my job.

Drew Turned ONE!

To celebrate our second son's first birthday, we were ecstatic to have our family visit!  My mom stayed for a week with us and got to see the house for the first time in person.  Steve's parents and two of his sisters also came for a few days!  It was really wonderful to see everyone and spend time together.

Of course, I had to go and try to do something fancy with the cupcakes which totally didn't work in the time I had allotted to do it. Thus, I took my loving and thoughtful husband's suggestion and did something simple to decorate the cupcakes. I piped chocolate in the shape of a ceiling fan.

Why would anyone do that? The answer is simple: Drew loves fans. He waves to them and starts giggling. You would think it's Christmas when we turn it on. He gets so happy. So, in its own goofy way, it made perfect sense to put them on his cupcakes.

Here's Mrs. Fan. (Mr. Fan is in the living room.)


And here's the cupcake version of a fan:




Here's the birthday boy confused as to why everyone's singing and staring at him.


Do you know what's great, though? Drew definitely didn't care what was on it. He thought his first taste of cake and icing was delicious!


He got some birthday cards as well as some great clothes and toys.








He also got his first balloon.


He hung out with PopPop some, too.


(This photo is one of my favorite pictures of the day.)

Building, Market, & Haircuts

For Noah's birthday, he got new bedroom furniture from Grandma (my mom).  He's been using the bedroom furniture that I used all of my unmarried life.  And it was my grandmother's.  In that way, it was special to me because I never met her, and yet it was ours together.  On top of that, I've thought it was sweet that my sons used one of their great-grandmother's furniture.  However, I wanted Noah to be able to easily use his own dresser.  Since he couldn't, it made getting dressed and putting away his clothes difficult at times.


So, I built the new ones that my mom generously bought.  (Thanks, Momma!)

Here's what the hardware alone looked like for the dresser.  Missing from this were 22 cam bolts and a few other pieces.  I needed to organize them because I kept getting poked by the screws in the bag.  Ouch.


And, after 3 3/4 hours, this is Noah's (and Drew's) new dresser!


This is the hardware for the bunk beds.  Note how it doesn't even all fit in the shoebox lid.


Noah was a big help to me (encouraging me to finish if nothing else) and even helped with some parts.  I don't think I could have put it together by myself without him holding one of the footboards. :)  He was SO excited.


He wanted Drew to share in his joy.  And, yes, Drew was still in his pajamas.  I was building bunk beds.  There was no time for changing out of pajamas until almost lunch time! =P
 

This video truly shows two of my favorite things about Noah: his enthusiasm AND his love for Drew.
After all of the furniture construction and room rearranging, Noah and Drew are sharing a room. They have adjusted very well so far; it's been almost two weeks. Our extra bedroom is now the playroom/guest room. It's great because Noah can play with his LEGOs in there during Drew's nap, and then it's easy to leave it out for the day (and close the door) or just put them away, too.

We also went to Market Square's Farmers' Market on a Saturday morning. We really enjoyed it. We bought some fresh cookies from a bakery, some corn on the cob, iced coffee for Steve, and a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone for Noah. The thing about Noah's ice cream cone is that it was REAL mint chip. They took mint leaves, mushed them up, and put it in homemade ice cream along with chips of chocolate. I took a taste and, expecting the usual processed flavor, puckered my lips. It was weird but refreshing at the same time.

Noah loved it. I'm thinking of trying peaches or vanilla bean next time.

Oh, and -- as you might have noticed in that last picture -- Noah's hair was getting long. With the heat outside and having a backyard in which to play now, we realized he was long overdue for a haircut.

Before (L) and After (R):


He looks much happier, right?  I love those dimples!

2,920

If you had told me 2,920 days ago that I'd be living in Tennessee, I would have looked at you funny.  For one reason, I had only lived in Maryland my whole life.  For another, it was Steve's and my wedding day.  The day we became man and wife after we exchanged vows.  Though it may sound corny, my favorite part of my vows is that I'll lodge where he lodges.  The very idea of always living with my best friend -- day after day -- sounds pretty sweet.  

So, TODAY, we celebrate 2,920 days of marriage, which is also known as eight years.  I am amazed at how the guy I had a crush on became a great friend, asked me into a courtship, asked me to marry him (!), and has loved/is loving me with a real and very patient love.  I truly have the best husband I could ever want.  (I love you, Stevie!)



Also, you are a wonderful -- albeit, very silly at times -- father to our sons.


(A serious pose ... looking off into the distance.)
 

Our two boys.  Noah loves him SO much.  Drew loves his big brother unless Noah is stopping him from getting into trouble.