Easter, birthdays, lunch dates, and other recent happenings

 Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to over the last few weeks:

 Noah has really gotten the hang of walking over the last few weeks, so we decided it was time to get him his first pair of real shoes. He's typically always barefoot at home, but now that it's nice out, he has been practicing walking in the grass and is absolutely loving exploring outside. We went and got him fitted two weeks ago.... and sure enough...the boy has extra wide feet! Noah's favorite part about his cool, new shoes: the Velcro. It's been his favorite source of car entertainment since he got the shoes and he is forever trying to take them off.  

Last week we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday, complete with juicy, grilled chicken and potatoes and some delish dark chocolate pb cupcakes. I've never made cupcakes from scratch before and so, despite the messy and tedious icing process, I was quite pleased with how they turned out. 

We visited GiGi at her new office last week. As you can see, Noah was loving sitting at her desk. The other office ladies enjoyed him so much that he was hired on the spot and now gets to come in weekly to help everyone get a dose of baby smiles. I hear it's good for employee moral and productivity. 

EASTER was a few days ago. 

We celebrated our Savior and His precious life that has forever changed our lives. 

We were thrilled to be outside most of the day.

We saw good friends and relaxed with family. 

We ate too much ham and hunted for plastic eggs.

Noah had his very first soccer lesson :-)

Yes, it's true. 

Dan firmly believes it's never too soon to get a baby on the field for drills.

Who knows what passions and gifts Noah will have. Obviously it's a bit too soon to tell. 

Soccer or not, we are so excited to find out what will get Noah "pumped up" (the husband's term, not mine). He may find joy in music. He may love building stuff. He may want to hike the Appalachian Trail. 

Or, he may just love the sport of soccer. 

Whatever "it" is, I'm already thrilled. 

And finally. Birthday party planning is in full swing. 

I've been feeling pretty emotional lately looking back on the last year we have had. I can't even believe we are here, about to celebrate a 1st birthday, already. 

Life moves fast. I'm learning every day to STOP and ENJOY the

 little,

beautiful, 

important,

hugely precious

 moments. 

May You Dream of Beautiful Things

just a cute song. 

Eleven

Noah had a VERY busy 10th month. It felt like every day he was learning something new...like copying our moves and mimicking our sounds, developing his ever-increasing sense of humor, discovering just how to climb all over a moving dog...you get the idea--this boy is on the go!

We continue to have a blast watching him grow and learn new things. A friend said to me recently just how much she loved this age with her little boy because there are so many "firsts" and it's just an overall fun and exciting stage. I really couldn't agree more. I am loving spending my days with this boy. Noah is such a happy, easy going baby and we usually spend our days laughing, exploring every inch of the house, and socializing with and bringing smiles to the old ladies at the local grocery store.

Here are few thing that happened:

- Taking STEPS! His record is 10 steps so far, although crawling is still is primary mode of transportation. The face he makes when he is walking towards us is hysterical and the most special. I just love seeing him try to walk. 

- Waving "hi" and "bye bye". With each, he always does it about five seconds after we have given up trying to get him to do it. Like this morning for example, we stood at the door waving "bye" to Dan. We kept trying and he just wouldn't do it. Dan gives his final kisses and leaves. Three seconds later...Noah is waving like crazy. Silly boy. 

- His own language. We now have full conversations with Noah, espcially when we are in the car, where he shouts something like "Mama" or "yaaaa" or "blablugaaa" and we repeat it back to him. This goes on and one and it's so fun. I swear when I'm at a stop light, the cars beside me are freaking out wondering if I'm okay. They see my waving and yelling, mouth wide open, and smiling from ear to ear. Oh well....

-  Finally laying himself back down in his crib. He used to just pull himself up and cry when he was laid down for his nap. Now he stands up, complains for a minute, rests his head on the side of the crib for about two minutes, and then lays back down and goes to sleep. It's been fun to watch him master this on the video monitor. 

- Stacking rings. 

- Pushing his cars and making a loud "errrrr" noise. 

- Stopping and looking around every.single.time he hears the train passing outside. I say "choo choo train" and he smiles.

Happy 11 months, little man. You are continually filling our hearts with the most special joy. Thank you so much for teaching us to stop and enjoy the simple things in life every single day. Your love of all things fast and high scare me for sure, but you are truly an adventure seeker--you love finding new "toys" around the house (clothes pins, remotes, shoe laces, and paper) and are so very determined, social, observant, sensitive, and happy. You are one cool dude and we are blessed to be called your parents.

I love you!!