Punkin Time!!!

It is certainly harvest time around here. This year we got a few nice pumpkins from our garden. And Noah is determined to tote ALL of them wherever he goes. It is pretty funny watching him move them from room to room so that he can gaze at them while he is doing whatever he is doing! My only request to him was "please do not roll them down the stairs" I really do not want mashed pumpkin at the bottom of the stairs.

Well, bedtime came tonight and he insisted he sleep with ALL of them! But since there is simply not enough room in his crib for them, he settled for having them within reach, so he could pet them.

Stacking them just right is the key of course!
And does not his eyes say everything!!! I just Love Fall-hurry up and get here already!!

The Littlest Man is 3!

A very sleepy and happy boy full of evidence from the day's activities. Fresh raspberries popsicles and chocolate cake still gracing his face . Life is good!
No more riding on his sisters pink Barbie Hot Wheels;)
Noah is captivated with Thomas and trains right now and it has been a lot of fun to add to his collection.
Grandma and Grandpa Watkins, and Aunt Molly came out for the day on Wednesday to celebrate his birthday. Noah chowed on Grandma's yummy brownies!
The Thomas quilt is in the works for Noah-I may just finish it if Noah allows me to take it away for awhile.

Three years ago-yesterday, it was a Sunday afternoon and I was taking a nap with Bell who was not much over 2 years old. A strange thing woke me from my sleep-something that I had never experienced-LABOR-THAT STARTED NATURALLY! Noah was our fifth yet to arrive and with all four of our older kiddos, I had been induced-I had never had the excitement of being able to say-This is it! I was pretty excited, with the likelihood of Noah being our last, it felt like such an incredible gift from the Lord to be able to have a moment like this. I still just cannot begin to express how precious this was to me. And how peaceful the transition was into Noah's entrance into our family. I waited for about a half hour to see if these contractions were regular, and while I paid close attention, I cleaned of course:) Still makes me laugh. I was still in quite a bit of shock because it was two weeks before his due date(another oddity-the other kiddos were always late). Well... I got the fun oppritunity to call Matt, who was in a meeting at church, and say...."I am in labor, you better hurry" We always knew that if I were to go into active labor on my own, I may just end up delivering at home with how quick my labors were(with the exception of my first). And of course to make the story a little more interesting, Matt did not pick up his phone the first few times I called and I was just imagining packing up all four of the kiddos myself and hauling them into the hospital while in labor-could have been interesting;) So, as I waited for Matt to call back, I called Mom and said "Can you come now?", Finished packing for the hospital, and had a friend come over to watch the kids till Mom arrived. Matt and I had such fun being able to walk in to the hospital and say, We are in labor! And sure enough as soon as I was settled into a room, they discovered what we already knew, Noah would be arriving very soon! Finally we would be holding the child I had known we had yet to meet since Cole's birth.

Noah turned 3 yesterday! I am amazed at how watching a little man grow can carry with it such tremendous joy and ache at the same time. Anxious to see who he grows to be, loving the new stages but wanting him to stay cuddled in my lap forever too. Yesterday, Noah was especially cuddly, I went out in the backyard to play with him, and all he wanted to do was sit in the grass all cuddled up in my lap. Thank you Jesus! What a perfect day for me to capture in my memories.

The Littlest Man is TWO!!!

Our littlest guy is two today! Noah arrived to us a perfect gift from God. A gift that was worth infinately more than any struggle or pain that came with bringing him into the world. He was the little man I always knew I had yet to meet, the little man who has shaped his brother and three sisters into amazing helps and blessings to their Dad and I. He is the fifth in a mighty little nation who I know God has plans for. He is the sweet boy who was so rolly polly that he didn't roll over till he was 11 months! And now he is the solid wild man who runs too fast for me to catch! He has a humor that causes most of the laughter in this house, and a curiousity that I know keeps the Lord's angels very busy! He is the brother Cole prayed for through three arrivals of sisters, each being God's perfect plan and perfect timing. He and Cole are the bookends, the protectors of our three little princesses, one to go before, and one to go after. He was the first surprise to Matt and I, and will remain the best surprise of our lives. He was protected safe in my womb during three surgeries to place new pic lines to my heart which kept me hydrated during my pregnancy, he was protected while I could keep no food in my body for almost 5 months, he was protected while I had to be medicated 24 hours a day for extreme nausea. He was protected from my depression which came from being so ill and loosing my ability to care for my family as I had grown accustomed to. He was planned by the creator and I was so privaleged to carry him. He brought new relationships to our families life, new friends, and closer old ones. He gave my kiddos a chance to fall in love with thier grandma, my mom, as she cared for us many days each week. He brought the joy of life to us just as we almost lost my Dad, and was a soothing balm and comfort during that time. He brought a calm and peace to the home that Matt and I have come to see as one of God's most amazing gifts to us. He keeps us young, hopeful, and excited about God's plans for our family. He has brought us to trust the Lord even deeper and see that His will is so much better than ours! WE LOVE OUR NOAH!

Oh the Tears-Babies First Haircut

There are a few things I am slow to give it when it comes to my little ones. I have been through the changes five times now and it only slips by faster with every one! I enjoy those few baby stages as long as I can. But there is a time for everything, right? So yesterday, after tossing around the idea of Noah needing his first haircut for some time, I finally gave in. I held off as long as I could knowing that a simple few cuts changes their appearance forever. No more baby-now a toddler. No more whispy bangs, no more baby curls.

So I stood Noah up on the toilet in the bathroom being down to only his skinnies, and wet down his hair. All the while Noah being quite amused. I had two onlookers with me in the bathroom as well. Joslyn and Bell were there for moral support and of course directions on which hair I should cut. I started with the front and everyone cheered how cute-yeah! But as I turned Noah to work on the back-a small plea came from my Bell. Not the Durls!(that is curls in Bell language), I of course am thinking the same thing and not appreciating the reminder of how hard it is to cut these sweet things off! So I said, I know sweetie, I love them too, but I have to. She pleaded again and I took my first cut. Just as though my heart was audible, Bell broke out in sobs! There will remain to be first times for everything in this house-and this one was bittersweet. Never would I have imagined Bell would be so attached to Noah's little curly Q's! She actually left the bathroom sobbing, so distraught that I had cut his curls. Like my heart was not aching enough, now I had crushed my daughters heart! Well, I quickly finished up the haircut and snapped a few pictures. I went out to talk with Bell and she assured me that she could not love Noah without his curls. Do not worry though, she was hugging on him within the hour talking about how very "Dute"(cute) he was.






Noah is so cute, and such my little man now. All boy-mischief, laughter, and love. Here we come terrific twos!