9 Months Old

Our little/big boy is 9 months old today.  He doesn't even seem like a baby anymore because he's so big.  Michael's sister weighed him a few weeks ago when we were in Indiana and he weighed 25 pounds!  My back and shoulders believe it!  =)  He's still a happy, easy-going little guy and we are beyond grateful for that.

 He's starting to get mobile... scooting all over on his behind, pulling up to things, and rolling all over.  He gets up on his knees and pushes himself backwards.  We're guessing he'll probably master crawling within the next few weeks.

 His sisters love to torture him.  :)  He wears headbands, crowns, hats... pretty much whatever they can dress him up in before I catch them.  He just smiles and goes along with whatever their plan is.  I'm sure he'll get them back someday.  He loves to grab handfuls of their hair so they're learning to keep their distance.

 He's still a great sleeper!  He sleeps about 11 hours each night and 2-3 hours during the day spread out between 2 naps.  He wakes up happy and lays in his bed chatting away until we go get him. 

 He loves to stand up to things and is close to pulling up to a standing position.  It's about time to get the baby gates out! 

He has two teeth on the bottom but drools consistently and has been a bit fussy at times so we're guessing more teeth will soon pop through.  He loves to eat just about anything, bananas are his favorite.  He's doing great with table food although we have to watch him because he'll quickly stuff lots in his mouth and then gag on it.  He started clapping, waving, and holding his bottle last month.  We're working on baby signs, mainly "eat" and "all done".  He's done the sign for "eat" a few times but not consistently.  He'll say "Bubba" (that's what we call him)every now and then and clap for himself.  Overall, he's learning and growing and such a joy to all of us.  He definitely has quite the cheering section in our house! 

Grandma Murphy

 Three weeks ago my Grandma passed away.  Today she would've been 83 years old.  I'm so happy that she's no longer suffering but I do miss her and it seems so weird to think that the next time we go visit my family, she won't be there.  She was a fun Grandma with lots of spunk!  She never minced a word and you never had to guess what she was thinking as she would gladly tell you.  =)  I see a lot of her spirit and spunk in our girls.  Below are pictures of her with each of the kids.  I'm so glad they each had some time with her even though Anna will probably be the only one who will remember her.  The girls prayed for her often as she was in and out of the hospital a lot over the past 6+ years.  My Mom and Aunt Carol did a wonderful job caring for her in their homes.  What blessings they were and what servant hearts they modeled for the rest of us to see.

 Anna (14 months old) trying out Grandma's walker 

 Audrey (5 months old) with Grandma Murphy and Grandma Kathy at Grandma Murphy's 80th birthday party

Noah (5 months old) with Grandma this past April.  We had a very good visit with her and I'm so thankful for that!

Grandma in December of 2009.  She was beautiful as an older woman and beautiful as a young woman too! 

Love and miss you Grandma!

Say "Cheese"!

This is Noah's "cheese" face.  He cracks me up every time he does this!  And he seems to know just when to do it too. 

 He's such a sweetie and quite the "ham" when it comes to taking pictures.  Love this boy so much... he's getting ornerier by the day!

PJ Days

The girls love to have pajama days so when we've had rainy days this summer (they've been few and far between after such a wet, nasty spring), I've let them stay in their pj's for the day.  Something about being in pajamas all day brings out the silliness in them. 

 Good thing Audrey's such a peanut... Anna loves to give her piggie back rides and Audrey loves to get them!

 Here's another deal for Audrey... sit on a blanket and let Anna pull her around the house on the hardwood floors.  Score!  =) Guess they gotta burn energy somehow on days when they can't play outside.

Eating out!

We have had some very nice evenings this summer that have allowed us to eat outside on the deck at dinnertime.  It's so nice to have the sun on the front of the house in the afternoon/evening so that we can enjoy the shade at that time of the day.  The girls ask to eat outside almost every night.

 The next two pictures were taken over the 4th of July weekend.  Anna was way into her fried chicken... nothing was stopping her from eating!  :)

 I love eating on the deck because 1- I love to be outside and 2- it's much easier clean up.  Noah tends to be a messy eater and it's not as big of a deal if he throws something off his tray when we're eating outside.  :)

Cool Shades

I got the kids each a new pair of sunglasses on clearance and they've loved playing in them.  Noah leaves his on just a few seconds and then takes them off but usually giggles when they're on too.  The girls of course will wear theirs to eat, play, go to the bathroom, whatever!  =)

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fairly low key July 4th weekend which was ok.  Holidays spent without family and friends are tough but we try to make the best of them by doing special things just the 5 of us.  We enjoyed watching the fireworks our neighbors shot off.  It was great to not have to deal with traffic and large crowds.  We made a few red, white, and blue desserts and had a cookout with some of Michael's co-workers.  It was especially nice to have Michael home for a long weekend!

Anna's 6th Birthday

I'm so behind with blogging... here's a few pictures from Anna's birthday celebration on June 28th.  She had a great day and loved getting phone calls from our families. 

Make a free picture slideshow

3 Sweeties!

Whether they're playing down by the pond or soaking the dirt off in the bathtub, our 3 munchkins love being together!  Of course the girls argue and fight, but thankfully they are quick to make up and are openly affectionate and loving with one another.  And poor Noah... I'm sure his cheeks get so tired of kisses but his sisters can't resist just the like we can't.  We are so blessed by these 3 miracles!

Happy Father's Day!

What a great day to celebrate the God-fearing father my children are blessed to have!  He patiently teaches them, plays with them, and loves them unconditionally.  Below are a few of my favorite pictures of Michael with the kids. 

I'm also celebrating my dad today!  He's taught me what it means to work hard and how to get back on your feet after life knocks you down.  He's a fighter - must be where our girls get it!  :)  Thank you dad for sharing with us your love of music and for never being afraid to say, "I love you!"  Lots of hugs to you!

11 Years

Michael and I celebrated 11 years of marriage a few weeks ago and were so blessed to be able to go out to dinner tonight by ourselves.  Our neighbors watched the kids for us for a few hours and we had a nice quiet meal with no interruptions, no crying, no spankings, and no arguing.  :)  It was wonderful!  I am so blessed, proud, and honored to share my life with this wonderful man! 

Strawberry Festival

 Last weekend we visited the Strawberry Festival at Trax Farms (one of our favorite places to go).  I LOVE strawberries and would've loved to pick some with the girls but we ran out of time and the weather wasn't the best as it was sprinkling off and on.

 The girls don't really care for strawberries but they did enjoy their chocolate milk shake and the ice cream that came with our strawberry shortcake!  :)

 So yummy!

 They had a few stations with farm animals which the girls loved of course.  Anna was content to pet the animals on the outside of the fence while Audrey ran right in the pen and excitedly fed anything that would come near a bottle.  She got attacked by the goats and baby lambs as they all wanted the bottle and she giggled the whole time.  The goats were even nibbling her clothes and hair and she laughed even harder.  Nothing fazes her!  I thought the baby cows were so cute!

Silly Kiddos

I love to hear the kids laugh and hearing Noah's belly laughs just brighten my day.  His sisters are great at getting him to giggle!

7 Months Old

This past Saturday, June 4th, Noah turned 7 months.  Let me wipe the tears....  I know I'm not supposed to be sad but my baby is growing so fast and I know it'll all seem like a blur.  The previous months already do seem like a blur.  Why can't infancy last longer especially since we have such a happy, easy-going baby?  Sigh...

 We've started expanding Noah's food choices just a bit trying to get him used to "table food" and practicing picking things up on his tray and getting them to his mouth.  We gave him a teething biscuit the other night and he loved it plus it kept him busy for a long time. 

"Want to try a bite?"

"Ummmm!"

He continues to be such a great sleeper!  We are so blessed!  He goes to bed between 8:30-9:00 and gets up the next morning between 8:30-9:30.  Sometimes I have to wake him up at 9:30!  He usually takes two naps a day... the first one being an hour or hour and a half and the second one being about an hour and a half to 2 hours.  If his second nap isn't very long, he'll take a 30 minute 3rd nap in the evening.  He prefers to sleep on his tummy usually with his taggie right up against his face.

The boy LOVES water!  He's a fish just like his Daddy and is so happy in the tub (or anywhere!) and loves to play with the fishing pole the best (hmm... wonder where he gets that from?).

 I could just eat him up!  =)

Surprise!

This past weekend we celebrated my dad's 60th birthday and my sister's 40th birthday.  It was a surprise party and we had a great time celebrating and surprising them.  The girls especially were so excited! 

Happy Birthday Dad!  Happy Birthday Jen!

 Noah got to meet many family members for the first time, one of them being my Grandpa Heidenreich.  I'm so thankful for the time Michael and I have had with our Grandparents in the past few months.  Our time with them is very limited and we're thankful our children have gotten the chance to spend time with them as well.