Christmas 2010 and New Year's Resolutions

Christmas was a blast this year! Noah was enthralled with a hanger that his Christmas jammies were hanging on for most of Christmas morning. He grabbed it out of his room when he woke up, it wasn't even part of a present! Then at my Mom's house he zoomed a car he had received on his 2nd birthday around the perimeter of a card table for most of the afternoon. And at Wolfe Christmas he played with his cousin's Little Drummer Boy nativity set instead of opening his own gifts and was thoroughly jealous of Jack and Molly's new wagon. Grandma Wolfe did some great laps running Noah and Jack around the gym "faster!" in that wagon, way to go, Grandma! Then we had a Christmas brunch with my sister and her family in which Noah played the jealous cousin while his Mommy cuddled and eventually bounced his little cousin to sleep...I still have the touch! He also wasn't too happy I was playing peek-a-boo and making her laugh once she woke up either. But Abby and I sure had a blast anyway!

I think Noah really had a fantastic Christmas, besides the funny highlights above which are typical for any two year old...he got spoiled with new gifts and tries to use them all at once. He sits at his new coloring table, with a train in one hand and a puzzle piece in the other, with his LeapPad Laptop sitting in front of him on the table, while watching his new DVDs. Talk about a little multi-tasker!

I wish I had pictures to share, but my Christmas present was a new camera which was without an SD card, so I wasn't exactly able to capture Christmas this year. I'm hoping for some pictures from my Mom so I will post them as soon as I can!

So, as we look to the New Year, the year of 2011, I am anxious to see how God uses us to bless others and how He will bless us this year. Here is how our resolutions are shaping up so far...

Tony:
- Run a full marathon
- Lose a little weight in the marathon process
- Get more into the Word

Jen:
- Read through the Bible in a year (This is NOT the first time this has been on the list, but I have a new tool to help me out this year, so I'm really optomistic that this will be the year!)
- Read at least 6 other books this year (Does not seem like much for all of you readers out there, but that would be a big accomplishment for me.)
- Run 2-3 miles at least 3 times a week. I'm hoping to train for another 1/2 marathon eventually, but the race in May is all about Tony running the full and my sister and her hubby running the half, so I agreed to be the babysitter! But stay tuned for a summer/fall race for me!

Noah:
- Move to a biggie boy bed
- Encounter a visit from the binkie fairy who is going to take his binkies away and give them to a child who needs them more than he does.
- Potty train!!!

Praying for a great year in 2011, and if that isn't God's Will, then bring on the rain...we will just have to put on our raincoats and rainboots and learn how to dance in it! Last January I started the year with no expectations...and that month I lost both my Grandpa Ring and my Grandma Yost. It was a rough month for both sides of my family and I learned that there is little in this World I can control and that I need to make the most of what I can control..and that is myself and my ability to be prepared for God's plan despite my own. He always has the final say in the end and it is always a better plan than my tunnel-vision faith could have ever seen. I may get there kicking and screaming, but somehow, Praise the Lord, I get there. I pray my Grandparent's legacies contines to live on and that every moment of our fragile lives is cherished and not taken for granted! Happy 2011 everyone!!! Lamentations 3:22-23

"I Two!"

Noah's 2 year stats:

29.8 lbs (75th percentile)

33 1/4" tall (25th percentile)

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Party Pictures!!!

And here is a glimpse as to why it took over an hours to open his gifts...he is distracted and meticulous! Too funny!!!

More Pictures!

Who am I?!?!?!?!

Best seat in the house...

Leaves!

Off to the train show with Grandma & Grandpa RStarr!

Silly Boy

I see you!!! (Those are toddler-size legos -- but apparently they make good binoculars as well. Although the funny thing is, he was saying "CHEESE!" while holding them so I think he was using them as a camera.) What an imagination...

We do clean up nicely!

Family!!!

Random Noah Sillies!!!

Showing off on the slide at Price Park!

Happy Bathy Time

Climbing into the pulpit during Sunday morning worship practice...now if only we could have gotten him to stay there until Rick came up to preach...

Wearing Mommy's headband and making scribbles!

Little Artist

Just lounging around...hilarious!

Sooooo happy!!!

CHEESE!!!

Zoned out on Sesame Street...too cute!

HALLOWEEN!!!

This was a few days before trick-or-treat...Mommy wanted to make sure the costume still fit and see him in it since I was gone for Halloween.

Happy Little Dragon!!!

Do you LOVE the tail on his costume, he looks so cute and little in this picture...I can't stand it!!

First Family Vacation, Haircut Take Two & Tantrums

Enjoying our packed lunch at the outdoor seating of a McDonald's!

(Mommy bought a Diet Coke so we were legit customers)

The three of us packed up the car, dropped off the dog, and headed down to Cincinnati, OH on Saturday morning, September 4th...and we had a blast!!! We actually drove straight to the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky first and only ended up spending about an hour there. Labor Day weekend had attracted some big crowds and you weren't allowed to have strollers in the aquarium until after 4pm, so we had to take turns wrestling the fully-energized Noahman. But, nevertheless, we saw some pretty amazing things there, take a look...

These froggies were a life saver since we couldn't have the stroller, finally, something Noah was allowed to climb on!

Check out the cool pictures below - he definitely was not supposed to be standing in the little observation bubble, but there were some pretty neat sea creatures swimming around him!

This is a shark petting area, that's the shark right below Noah, his little arms were too short to reach, but he splashed in the water and almost got us all in bigger trouble!

We had a great setup in our room, it was a suite, so Noah slept in the pack 'n play in the "living room", we were able to create a barrier with the closet and bathroom door from noise/light, and then the bedroom was in the back. This was especially good news for me, who is a night-owl, and wanted to be able to watch tv after 8pm. He slept like an angel both nights at the hotel and we were right next to lots of restaurants where we could order in and just enjoy being together!

On Sunday we headed to the Cincinnati Zoo, what a beautiful day it was for walking around outside. Again, the crowds were definitely apparent, but once everyone got through the gates and spread out, it really wasn't that bad. We packed our lunches and after playing all morning and enjoying a yummy lunch, Noah fell fast asleep in the stroller so Mommy & Daddy could walk around for awhile longer and enjoy the atmosphere! It was so fun to just be on our own time schedule and not have any obligations. Although I will take a sidebar here to mention that, although vacation was in full swing, so was training for the half marathon. We were actually able to figure out a 2-mile route around our hotel-area for me to run and I did manage to complete 9.5 miles after returning from the zoo that day!

Mommy got sunscreen in Noah's eyes...or wait, it really was more like, Mommy tried to put sunscreen on Noah, he wanted to help rub in onto his arms, and then he decided to rub his eyes, it was fairly tragic for about 30 minutes. This picture is after turning him upsidedown so we could rinse his eyes out with a water bottle.

Check out our fearless navigator...Binky and all!

PIGS!!! Or, at least, in Noah's World they were...

Hi Elephant, Hi Zebra, Hi Giraffe, Hi Tiger! Not sure which animal we were observing, but he waved at them all and said "HI!"

Watching the lions sleep...Zzzz...

Out little Monkey, isn't his angel face just precious?

The Zoo is exhausting...he fell asleep right as we got to the barn animals and petting area, which was kind of disappointing, but it was still a great visit to the Zoo!


We ordered in again that evening and went for a swim in the pool, then Noah took a splashy in the tub while Tony ventured across the parking lot to Graeter's to get us some yummy ice cream, and then it was lights out for Noah and ice cream for us!

Running down the hallway, ready to jump in the pool!

Patiently waiting for the elevator to take us to the pool...

Yep, he's in a flower floaty, we borrowed his little cousin's floaty, he was happy in it for a little bit, but he really just wanted to splash!

So, he did!!!

So much fun swimming with Daddy!

Catch me...1...2...3...jump!

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Noah also discovered a new talent while at the hotel...

Oh, my!

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He also enjoyed his Sunday morning cartoons in the luxury of our King-size bed!

On Monday, we hit the road toward Eaton, OH to visit my sister, Dave, and Baby Abbers Cadabbers! We had so much fun just chillin' at their place, enjoying the kiddos, and helping out with meals and Abby cuddle time! Our visits with them are always way to short, but Wednesday morning came quickly, and it was time to head home. Tony and I had completed a couple other training runs while at my sister's house and decided it was time to invest in new running shoes.

So precious!

Out little lefty...coloring away! He LOVES coloring!!

We came straight up to Second Sole from Eaton, OH on Wednesday and were fitted for shoes...our official last spoiling of the trip!

Noah & I picked up the crazy Puggle the next day, and we are all back under one roof again. We were all definitely ready to get back home and sleep in our own beds, but vacation was a blast and we feel so blessed to have been able to enjoy that time together just the three of us, it's good to touch base and be reminded of the things that matter most in life.

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Haircut take TWO!!! Look at how adorable his little boy cut is...his hair has really filled in, although it is still curly and unruly, especially around that double cowlick of his!!!

I couldn't keep his hand out of his mouth...apparently teething is serious business!

It looks so cute in the front and on the sides, the back is a little mangled from the ride home, but I love it!

Check out that crazy red hair, those big, beautiful blue eyes and adorable, pinchable cheekers! Priceless!!!

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Tantrum Time!!!

Just imagine these pictures as a film strip...and yes, I took pictures of my child's entire tantrum...you have to capture these moments!

Enough said...