Noah's 2nd birthday party

I hadn't planned to do a birthday party with family for Noah this year... mostly because I am not going to for Ty, but then I thought Noah was still young enough to have a family party before we start the friend birthday parties next year. So we had alllll the family (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and 3 sets of Grandparents) come over for a celebration. Luckily it was a beautiful day (20 degrees with no wind) so we did the party out side, and thank goodness because there was a big turnout. We had watermelon and chips and ice cream cake and it was just perfect. We love having family so close and are so lucky to have so many people love our little Noah so much. He was spoiled with clothes, toys, books (from Aunt Jody), a Boogie board (a drawing board), a blow up pool for summer, a foam couch, some matchbox cars, and a cute bowtie. It was a lot of fun. Now pictures!!

 Ready for his guests to come. Check out his pinky toe poking out. 

 Trying it out. 

His new bowtie and some toys.

The yummy DQ cake. 

One candle blown out.. check out the smoke, ha.

Testing the icing while Dad cuts the cake. 

haha this is basically how Noah ate his cake. He loved it. 

Noah, Nate (5 days apart) and Aiden. Lots of rides by Auntie Cass and then Auntie Jody ran across the lawn pulling Ty and Noah and they loved it. 

Those blue eyes, Noah's crossed leg, Ty's arm around Noah... These two are just sooooo cute. This was after a day spent outside in Noah's new pool. 

Noah is 2!

Noah has been in our family for 2 years now. I still call him my "baby" and I just adore him. He gives the best kisses.. If you play hard to get he will grab your face and pull it towards him desperately for a big smooch... I live for that. He loves to snuggle. When Michael gets home from work he will often ask to be held and put his head on Michaels shoulder and lay there for even up to 10 minutes sometimes. Noah is such a happy boy. He says "hi" to everyone around him all the time. I will even look over at him and he will give me a sweet "hi" with a big smile. It is just the cutest thing. He doesn't talk much yet, which still makes him seem still so young. I am cherishing this age he is at. So sweet and independent. When he doesn't want to hold our hand while walking, he will put his hands in his pockets. Noah adores Ty. If Ty leaves the house he calls for him over and over. He just loves his big brother so much. Lots of mimicking. Noah is such a joy in our home. I cannot imagine our lives without him. He has just enriched our lives so much and I am so thankful I get to be this sweet little boy's mother. Happy 2nd Birthday our sweet Noah.

Here are some photo's Michael took of Noah over the past year.

 One of my favorites ^^^ We cut his hair shorter and I just miss his longer hair so much. I love the back of his head here with his little neck. 

 Smiles allllllll the time. Look at that beautiful face.

 This one had to have been around when he turned one, but no one usually sees the film photos Michael takes. 

 Those blue eyes!!

I am so sad Ty blinked in this photo. I had to still post it. 

Noah folding his arms.. Ah, so cute. 

puzzles, speech, haircuts and more

I just wanted to do a little update on the boys.

 The boys have been doing puzzles a lot lately. I've been working on teaching Noah how to do puzzles and he is getting the hang of it. Sometimes the kids will get out a puzzle and Ty will show Noah where the pieces go. It's such a nice activity because it keeps them fairly quiet... though Noah can get pretty frustrated sometimes. The puzzles in this picture aren't even all of the ones we own. 

They love to play in our bed. In fact I made the bed this morning and they have pulled all the covers up and are playing underneath and the pillows are on the floor. 

Noah's speech hasn't been progressing in the last few weeks and on the evaluations the Dr sends out of where he "should" be he is really behind... as in he doesn't check off anything on the vocab part of it. I read at Ty's speech appointment that sometimes if kids hearing isn't good they might not be able to pronounce certain sounds or their speech can be delayed. So I took the boys in for hearing tests and they are good! I think I will wait a few months to see how Noah's vocabulary progresses before I make a speech appointment. I am not super worried, but I just wanted to be sure his hearing was fine. 

 This never happens. 10am and just fell asleep on our bed. 

 Michael did Noah's hair for church one day and I couldn't stop laughing.. so nasty!! haha.. I love his forhead/hair to face ratio. Don't worry, he didn't leave the house like this. 

 This picture and prayer is on Noah's wall. It was a gift to me when I was 2 from my Great Grandma Nan (Larsen)

 haha Ty took the photos on the right. Ty was telling Noah to lay down so he could take a picture of him. LOL

I decided last minute to give the boys haircuts. This is Noah's shortest haircut yet and I have to say I am missing his longer hair... I think he looks adorable no matter what but I just think his hair longer in front is so "noah". I think I'll grow it out a bit now. Ty likes his short hair but he says I took so much hair off. haha. Ty's hair is just so straight it's hard when he moves because his hair doesn't hide any mistakes... it was going to be shorter but I was kind of sick of blending so I just buzzed it all off. 

I have been working lots lately and I cannot get over how good my kids are when I work. Sometimes my clients will bring their kids and it's like a playdate, and sometimes they watch a movie, or just play together. They get a little irritable around mealtimes but I find it so easy to work at home with them around. I am so blessed to have a job where I can work and have my kids at home too. 

Ty has become so helpful around the house. I can ask him to clean the living room (puzzles everywhere, books on the couches and floor, pillows all over, cups or bowls on the floor) and he will clean it up without a fight (most of the time). He helps me unload and load the dishwasher, he cleans the front entry, he cleans the toy room, he puts his diapers in the garbage and laundry in the basket. He will wash his hands, and get "ingredients" out for meals (taco chips, milk, apples, cucmbers, etc). He will go down under the stairs to get a food storage ingredient, he will put his coat and shoes on and get in the car and buckle himself in. He gets his own PJs out, diapers for Noah, cleans up the bath toys, puts recycling where it's suppose to go.. I could probably go on. He is just so helpful and I'm grateful for his independence. Noah has started helping out with the dishwasher and laundry and garbage. I'm training these boys well to help out with bigger chores someday. I grew up doing chores my whole life, and I don't plan to be the only one cleaning up after the whole family all the time. I was doing most of my own laundry by grade 7 and I want my boys to be capable and responsible around the house. 

I took Noah to his first movie the other day. It was a spur of the moment decision to go with the Gundersons. We saw Paddington Bear and it was cute but a little boring for Noah I think because it wasn't fully animated. He spent a good amount of time staring at the projector behind us, haha. 

We are back to working on potty training (#2) with Ty. He was bad for about a month and the last few days he has made a bit of progress but it's especially frustrating after he had been fully potty trained for 3 months. 

That's all I can think of right now. Noah will be 2 soon and we have something fun planned for his birthday for just our little family. Our plan is to take them to the Calgary Zoo (they have never been) and spend the day there and then eat something for dinner and then go play at chuck e cheese for a few hours. We took them last April in Edmonton and Ty still talks about it so we can't wait to go back. Ty loves watching Wild Kratts (he used to call it Wild Craps) and so he learns a lot about wildlife so I think he will love seeing all the animals at the zoo. Noah will probably mostly enjoy any birds because he is obsessed. He will be silent and when he sees a bird he will yell it so loud and continue until you acknowledge that he saw it. BIRR BIRR!!! We are so excited to have a nice birthday with Noah and just enjoy it as a family. 

Weight loss challenge

My whole life I have never had any discipline with what I ate. After having both babies, I got down to pre-pregnancy weight, and then gained 3 lbs within a few months... Recently though, my eating habits backfired and I started putting on weight... like almost 10 lbs. So I texted my amazing friend Char-Lane and told her I was a fatty and that I needed help. She's a personal trainer, and I attend her boot camps every summer. She has the BEST outdoor boot camps. Each class is a different location throughout the city and each class is a different workout. So after I text her she tells me she is doing a points challenge so I join in for 3 weeks (before Christmas) and I did horribly. I had some discipline but no eating after 7pm just was not working for me... We took a Christmas break and in the new year we started a new 8 week points challenge! I will tell about the challenge criteria later, but the first 3 weeks I gained 3 lbs! Whaat the...? Then I realized I couldn't just follow the rules, I had to change my diet. So I did and over the remaining 5 weeks I lost 8lbs! Then we took a week break (where I put on a few more pounds... note to self... don't eat everything I have been missing out on when this next challenge is over) and now we are 2 weeks into the second round and I'm about 5 lbs down. It's a little too much in such a short period of time, but I promise I'm just following the rules, working out lots, and eating healthy. I've realized this type of challenge is perfect for me. It's almost like a game and I love games, so it motivates me.

For the challenge everyone has put $20 in a pool which is divided in "prizes" for each week and a grand total prize.

The person with the most points wins, obviously.
1pt for contact with someone doing the challenge
3pts for 64oz of water
3pts for not eating past 8pm
3pts for 2 fruit servings
5pts for 3 vegetable servings
5pts for no sweets/sugary treats (only 6 days a week)
5pts for keeping a food journal
5pts for 30 mins exercise or 7pts for 45 mins exercise (only 5 days a week)

Each day you total your points, and you get 10 points per pound lost (calculated once a week with your total amount) and 5pts for maintaining your lowest weight.

So we weigh ourselves every Monday morning.

I'm hoping to lose about 7 more lbs (to get down to 125... though I might not want to go that small) and then I will be very happy at my weight. I don't want to be really skinny, I want to have muscle still.

I have really enjoyed cutting sugar out of my diet.. I do enjoy sweets, but this gives me a reason to say no.. I need to work on not just being motivated for this challenge, but having my own discipline. I also have loved working out 5 days a week for the past 3 1/2 months! I love to work out and I totally find I am able to do it if I just commit to make the time for it.

Monday and Thursdays I go to our ward playgroup where the kids play in the gym and us Moms turn on a workout DVD, usually Jillian Michaels.
Tuesdays I go to Booty Barre (my fav) at the college with Reagan and Amy B. It's such a good workout and its fun to go with friends.
Wednesdays I will be running about 5k in the evenings (as soon as the group gets back up and running) and the last day I will sometimes go to Char-Lanes house and do a workout, or I'll do a workout at home.

I really would love to do this challenge year long! I cannot rave enough about how much I love doing it. Somedays I get discouraged and somedays are hard, but when I started, I had a hard time getting all the points everyday, and now I am getting all my points every week.

I just wanted to document this so 5 years and 15 lbs down the road I can start back on this. :) haha

best friends

These kids are at such fun ages. They love to do everything together. We often go to Stay and Play at Sunnyside School (a free drop in program), our ward playgroup twice a week (we bring the kids bikes and they all run wild while us moms do a workout DVD), lots and lots of puzzles at home, playdates with friends, taking Ty to Joy School twice a week, and taking Ty to soccer. Thank goodness soccer is over. I don't think Ty learned a thing. He was not interested. He preferred to hit his coach on the butt, hang onto his coaches leg, lay down in goal, and sit on the sidelines. Even with all sorts of bribes we couldn't get him to participate. There were a few times he kicked the ball back and forth to his coach, or saved a few goals, or ran up and down the field.. It wasn't all bad. There's something awesome about putting your firstborn in sports at a too-young age and hoping they will love it. In the end, I think we learned maybe sports are best for a 4 year old. We will try again next year and for now we will stick to swimming lessons.

 Diapers over jammies over diapers. Noah's idea, Dad's doing. 

 I know I've said it a million times but this boy loves puzzles. He has 2-100 piece puzzles that he can do over and over on his own. One day he completed the same puzzle 5 times. How cute is this.. sleeping with his puzzle, ha!

They are the best of friends. It's really the most wonderful to watch your kids love each other so much. One day Ty wanted to tuck Noah into bed, he turned off the light and as he was closing the door he went back in and then came out and closed the door. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was "petting Noah's cheek". 

Noah started saying his own name "Mo-ah" haha. Too cute. My Dr mailed me a 24 month questionnaire to do for Noah and he is fine with most things but I realize he is behind with his speech. He has a lot of words he says but I find I am learning his language rather than him learning ours. He can't put two works together yet, but I know he is learning new words every week. With Ty I might have been concerned, but I know Noah is just behind. He will catch up. :)

I'm starting another 8 week challenge. I am frustrated I didn't lose more weight last round though I learned lots and I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I can use my mistakes from last time to maximize my results! 

Michaels hair is growing longer and longer everyday and whenever I suggest cutting it, he says it makes him want to keep it long for longer.... haha is he 14? kidding. It's beautiful hair so maybe if we grow it out a little longer he will agree to cut it all off and we can donate it. That will be an event worthy of it's own blog post. 

Ty's first drawing and more

 See that thing in Noah's mouth? It's no longer a part of his life! He bit through it just after Christmas so I ripped the nipple off and continued giving it to him with a big hole in the middle. He had it for naps and bedtime for the next few days and would try to bite on it, or he'd stick his finger in it and after those few days I stopped giving it to him and he's done! Easiest wean ever. I thought it was going to be a long hard battle but it kind of happened all on it's own.

Noah also started getting out of his crib after Christmas. It's really nice now because he easily gets out and comes and gets in bed with us in the morning. Ty never got out so this is a nice change.

 One of Ty's favorite people, Becky Leavitt, picked this up at the thrift store for him. He calls it his "Earth puzzle" and he loves it. 

 Noah's crooked jaw smile.  

 Ty wearing my hoodie.

 He decided to switch things up and make a bed on his floor... haha. I was so surprised he actually fell asleep. 

 A proud moment for me. :) Ty drew his first person?? haha. Give him a pencil or crayon and he can't do much other than scribbling, but he seems to be able to do a decent job with his finger. He drew one of these in the snow the other day. 

 We went to Popson park.... little did I know it is a dog park... or at least it seemed like it with the 10 dogs running around and up to our kids. We've had amazing weather so far this year with lots of good weather for walks and being outside. We all got very muddy!

 The ice shattered so cool when we kicked it. 

 I love this face... The kids loved throwing rocks in the river.... or on the ice.. haha

Dad and his "boots".. The kids grab on and he says "look Ames, I got new boots". The kids love it.

 Noah with his cute new Moccs.

 Ty loves riding his bike now. We ride all the way to the park on the south end of the green strip. 

 Bed head.

 Caught Noah staring down at his nipple. haha. Such a curious little boy. 

 Triple date with Cass, Glenn, and the Gundersons. All you can eat sushi, and U of L basketball game.

 I started at a brand new salon in a nice area of Calgary before I had the kids. People would bring their own kids for haircuts at guinea pigs and I did a LOT of kids haircuts. It was often frustrating to deal with clients who couldn't/wouldn't sit still only to make very little money. I always thought cutting my own kids hair would be a battle but everytime I cut their hair they sit so patiently. Noah's haircut was no exception. He sat as still as can be and it was so wonderful!! And how cute is that long hair in the back? Don't worry, it's a bit shorter now. 

 This is how Noah eats Candy necklaces... no hands involved.

 The kids holding their newest cousin, Max Fyfe. He is so tiny. 

The latest news is that Cassandra and Glenn got engaged!! We are all so happy Cassandra found someone perfect for her and Aiden. He will be an amazing addition to our fast growing family! They get married on August 1st!!