Happy Birthday Noah

I'm not sure how we got here so quickly, but today our sweet silly boy is two years old. He is incredibly smart, and picks up on things quickly. He has so much personality and is such a funny, goofy little guy. He loves to be outside throwing rocks in the creek or playing in puddles. But he also loves to snuggle with us on the couch to watch a movie. He loves cars, trucks, and airplanes, and is especially attached to a little stuffed bunny puppet. The last two years have been so amazing, and I can't wait to see how much he changes in the next year.

We had a small party for him on Saturday at our house. Like last year, he was not at all interested in his cake and wouldn't even blow out the candle. Luckily, Miss Rebekah was there to help us out with that part. He was a little more excited to open gifts. He got lots of trucks, airplanes, some blocks, clothes, and shoes. He liked all those, but this was the most exciting gift.

A battery powered Tow Mater. Can't you tell by the big smile on his face how much he enjoyed it? Even though he wouldn't smile for a single picture all day, he did not want to get off of this toy. He also has Lightning McQueen at his grandparents' house, so they brought him for the other kiddos to ride. They had a blast just riding around in the cul-de-sac. It was a fun day with our sweet silly boy. I can't wait to see what the next year holds for us.

Labor Day 2013

For Labor Day, we took Noah to the mountains to Vogel State Park. We wandered around the lake for a while looking for ducks (which we didn't find), then headed to play in the creek. Noah really likes throwing rocks in the water. So he found a good spot with plenty of rocks within reach and planted himself there. He stayed in that one spot for quite a while until we convinced him to go play on the playground. He had a lot of fun going down the slide and climbing up the plastic rock wall over and over again.

We took a break for a picnic lunch and then explored a little more. I kept trying to get a picture with this little weasel all day, and every time he would run away and say "Nooo!". So we had to trick him into taking a picture with me. We stood him on a bench and got him to say cheese, and then I snuck in behind him.

We explored a little more and then headed over to Helton's Creek to check out the waterfall. Noah found more rocks to throw and had a blast climbing around on the rocks and playing in the water. He was completely worn out by the time we headed home. As soon as we got off the mountain, he passed out and slept the whole way home. It was definitely a fun day.

Little Big Foot

I will admit it. There are always shoes laying around our house. Usually more than one pair. And Noah loves to put his tiny feet in our big shoes and try to walk around. He has a hard time with Taylor's. They are big and heavy. He actually manages to walk around pretty well in mine.

One day after church, he found a more girly pair to try out. They are not on the right feet, but he still walked around in them for a bit. We'll hang on to pictures like this to use to embarrass him one day when he's older.

A Day of Spray

I found a post online that had a list of things to buy at the dollar store and what to do with them. The list included all kinds of school supplies, bubble bath, small toys, shaving cream, pasta, and many other random items. I bought a few things and on this particular day, we decided to try out things you can spray.

The first item we tried was silly string. Yes, it makes a big mess, but I thought Noah might like it. Turns out he wasn't really strong enough to press the nozzle down to spray it, but he enjoyed watching me spray it all over him and the bushes.

The next thing we tried was a spray bottle filled with colored water. Noah really loves spray bottles and they are great for keeping him happy in his stroller when we go for walks. He ends up spraying water all over himself, which also helps cool him off on these hot summer days. So it's a win-win.

Noah enjoyed this one a lot more than the silly string. He went around the yard spraying everything that I would let him spray until we ran out of water. What the website did not warn me about is when your child inevitably sprays the water in the air above his head, his face will end up like this.
 

My ear looked much the same after he got the drop on me and blasted me. Luckily, it washes clean with a little soap and water.

Noah Goes to the Pet Shop

Noah seems to really like animals, so we thought it would be fun to take him to the pet shop to see what he would think. My plan was to get them to bring out one of the puppies and let him play with it, but they smelled really terrible so we skipped that part.

He was pretty excited to pet the fluffy white kitten.

He was fascinated by the giant tortoise that lives in the store.

He liked seeing all the colorful birds, especially this beautiful red one.

He seemed most interested in the fish and reptiles. He stood there for quite a while, pointing out the coolest ones to us.

It was a fun little outing for him, even if it was a little more smelly than we would have preferred.