What a wonderful holiday!
Noah and I took Christmas Eve off. We had lunch with Hilary and Cheree before going to "obby obby" (Hobby Lobby) to pick up a few things. Then we picked Dave up after work to go to the 5:30 p.m. candlelight service at church. Such a lovely service, even if it's harder to pay attention than it used to be!
We opened gifts Christmas morning - Noah got a tent, a keyboard and some "cool" small things, like bath paints, a water bottle like Dad's and some other treats. The tent is much bigger than we thought and looks like a fish. The part that zips up is the mouth, and there are teeth hanging into the tent! He LOVES it!
We took off for Concordia later that morning. We beat Josh, Veronica and Alli by about four hours! They were supposed to get there late Christmas Eve but had to stop in Arkansas because of the weather. Brave people, making the trip in that weather. But we were all so glad to see them. Alli was perfect, only crying when Aunt Kelly picked her up for the first time! She didn't seem bothered about being passed from person to person, and she had big smiles for Grandma and Papa.
The rest of the McGinnis clan, minus Jeff and Braxton (poor guy was sick), came later, and Mickey and Regina were there, too. I think we had almost 25 people there! Lots of good food, great visits and tons of pictures.
We decided to come home that night - it's always nice to get into your own bed! Norita came yesterday morning, and she spent the night with us. Had a great lunch at Flat Branch and homemade enchiladas for dinner. Noah loved chasing Grandma around the house, and he even managed to get a nap in!
We were pretty low-key today. Mostly read, watched TV and played with Noah's toys. We're trying to go through them to pull out things he doesn't play with or books he doesn't care to read, but we're having a hard time with that. He seems to play with most of his stuff, but we can also take a lot of it to the farm. Hmm. There's an idea!
Now, on to the pictures . . .
Our Christmas tree
Noah holding Cousin Alli
Christmas was the first time all the grandkids were together
Watching Alli
Two-year-old Noah fits in the doll stroller
Chad, Kelly, Dave, me, Josh and Veronica
Regina, Mickey and Noah
Noah, me and Kelly (that's not dirt on his face - he walked into a doorknob at daycare last week, and the bruise is just now fading!)
Grandma Pat, Todd and Lori opening "big kid" gifts
Kelly and Chad opening gifts - Grandma Pat is notorious for wrapping gifts in food boxes. The first year Chad came for Christmas, he got a gift in a hot chocolate box. He didn't open the box because he was so excited to get hot chocolate! So he definitely got a hot chocolate box again this year!
Noah decided to take a picture of Uncle Josh and Aunt Veronica
And of Uncle Todd
In lieu of a nap, Noah opted to lay down at the top of the kitchen stairs when he thought he might be getting tired
So happy in his new tent
Dad and Noah on his new four-wheeler from Josh, Veronica and Alli (this is actually the second one they bought - the first was stolen when their garage was robbed! Apparently, they weren't looking for big-ticket items, as they left most of Josh's tools and Veronica's vehicle that was unlocked with the keys and her purse in it!)
I think we're all somewhat ready to have a somewhat normal week. Noah keeps talking about Nodney (Rodney), Jeje (Ginger), Seesee (Lacey) and Avery. Rodney, Ginger and Lacey are Carol's dogs, and Avery is a little girl at daycare! He says yes when we ask if Caroline is still his girlfriend, but he can only say Avery's name!
What a great day at the White Stone!
Grandma Pat's cousins (Sandy, Diane and Vickie), her uncle Virg, Sandy's and Vickie's husbands (Gary and Louis), Vickie and Louis's friends Kim and Kim's husband (didn't catch his name!), Tracy and Roger, Grandma Pat and Papa Rusty, Mickey and Grandma Regina, and Dave, Noah and I had quite the afternoon!
We had a nice, warm lunch (some even got to watch football during lunch!), then there was lots of visiting. Then we started baking cookies. Well, some of us baked cookies (Tracy, Dave, Grandma Pat and Kim). Others had some wine. And still others cleaned the house.
Noah found Mickey's vacuum and insisted on pushing it all around the house. For a few hours. With me beside or behind him almost the entire time. Even when he wasn't near the stairs or kitchen area, I heard, "Mommy, come. Peas."
Grandma Regina wanted to give Noah an early Christmas gift. Oh, boy!
Then we took several pictures of Grandma Pat with her cousins. We get to see Sandy and Diane a little more often - they're in Concordia to see Virg and to check out the craft fairs! But Vickie and Louis live in California and don't get back as often.
Dave made shortbread cookies - they came out wonderfully!
Other than being extremely tired (my feet are worn out from walking around and around and around, and I think Dave's are from standing in the kitchen so long!), we're looking forward to spending Christmas with our family and to remembering why we celebrate it in the first place!
We haven't actually fallen off the face of the earth!
Had a great time visiting family over Thanksgiving. We had lunch in Concordia and dinner in Dover. Then we had breakfast with Norita the next morning. Noah has become quite the "coffee drinker." He likes dipping a spoon in a cup of coffee, so he gets a taste of it!
I turned 30 that Saturday and had such a wonderful birthday! I got to sleep in til 8 a.m.! Then Noah and I ran some errands while Dave cleaned the house in Dover. Dave threw me a bowling party in Independence at this great bowling alley off the Square (thanks, Nicci and John, for introducing us to Diamond Bowl!). We got to see so many family and friends! Most of our "local" friends and family, as well as so many out-of-towners. Then Dave told me we were going to dinner, just the two of us, at a place I'd always wanted to eat but had never been. Hmm . . .
So we drive through Independence, then Blue Springs, then into Grain Valley. Then I realize we're going to Gambino's, and I felt sorry for Heather because I knew we were going to Gambino's, and she would be jealous she didn't get any. I told myself to remember to get her some leftovers! So we walk to the door, and I see Mickey and Regina, then Erica and Russ and it all dawns on me - surprise party at Gambino's! So good! I had one and a half pieces of cake on my birthday (Mom brought chocolate cake to the bowling party, and Regina brought carrot cake to the pizza party)!
After that, several of my girlfriends came to the house in Dover for a slumber party! We (well, at least I) had SO MUCH FUN! Nicci brought her Wii, and we played Rock Band for a while. Never thought I'd be the one to have a video game birthday party! Mostly had margaritas and talked for a while. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better 30th birthday! The party lasted about 12 hours!
Dave's birthday was the next day, and we didn't party nearly as hard. But I think he had a nice day, too! He came up to cook breakfast for me, Noah and Laura (everyone else had to leave earlier) before we started heading home. Had a nice afternoon, then we met several friends for dinner at Outback.
Last weekend we took Noah out to Starr Pines near Boonville to get our tree. He loved riding the hay wagon out to the field to get the tree! They have a barn full of candies, ornaments, tree necessities and hot apple cidar where you pay for your tree. There's a huge, old farm scale inside, and Noah loved weighing himself (26 pounds - woo!).
He liked the tree when it was outside, but he wasn't so sure about it once we got it in. Dave and I decorated the next night. Noah woke up around midnight while I was still proofreading, so I went in to get him up. We came back through the living room, and he saw the tree all lit up. He said, "Ooooohhhhh! Light in tee!" He loves seeing the lights on the tree and hearing Dave's Star Wars and train ornaments when we first plug it in.
I know he doesn't do so in public, but he really is a ham when it's just us and grandparents! He talks all the time and climbs everywhere - tonight he tried to climb up the back of the dining room chair I was sitting in! He ran from his bath and crawled into Dave's fleece - the one Dave was currently wearing.
He also loves wearing our shoes around the house.
We borrowed Mom and Rusty's Tahoe Saturday to get the tree, and Noah and I went to get it. I had to borrow their car seat because I couldn't get Noah's out of my car for my life! So we followed Grandma Pat into the garage, and she said the garage was a mess. Noah has been repeating "zage mess Papa" all week! Yep, that's what Grandma Pat said, isn't it? Un huh.
And now I'm just waiting to hear from my friend, Jeanette - she went into the hospital tonight to have her second baby boy!
Noah has been learning so much at preschool the past couple months. Carol has a different lesson every Tuesday and Thursday. She said he really seems to enjoy the lessons, and he is so proud to take his projects home!
They've learned about school buses, manners, how to help with chores at home, colors and shapes and, most recently, opposites. Carol has some creative ideas for crafts and projects to go with the lessons. Sometimes they make masks or practice making the shape with their hands (we have to make triangles with our hands before bed every night!). She helped them attach all the planets to strings tied to a hanger when they learned about space and astronauts.
When they learned about opposites, she drew a smiley face on a popsicle stick and cut a popsicle-stick size hole in a styrofoam cup. You pull the stick back and forth through the hole to learn about "in" and "out." Noah loves his "in and out" cup!
He surprises us with the things he says. We haven't heard him say some of the simple ones (like "car" or "grandma," though he has said "dama" a couple times - usually it seems he's referring to Grandma Pat, Grandma Norita and Papa Rusty when he says "papa.") very often. Tonight, though, he said "onas" for onions! He always talks about garages and wonders if people's garages are up or down, and he points this out as we're walking through the neighborhood or driving somewhere. He can say "T-shirt" and "sheet," but he just started saying "dog" the past couple days. So silly but so fun!
Noah has been very excitable lately, but we don't really know why! He's been running around, talking pretty quickly and not wanting to take any naps!
We've been trying to play outside for a few minutes when we get home. Noah does not like coming inside, so I'm not sure how the winter is going to go! One of his favorite things to do is pretend to drive Dave's car!
We had a great day - never got out of pjs today! Not a bad way to spend a rainy Sunday.
We went to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival this weekend with Grandma Pat and Kaylor!
I've been hearing about it for several years, but we always seemed to be out of town that weekend (like going to Josh and Veronica's wedding last year - happy anniversary, guys!) or didn't hear about it until after the festival was over. So we were thrilled to be able to make it this year.
We got there around 10 a.m. and ended up having to drive through the town in order to park. This is a town of about 100; we passed several hundred on our way through town! We kept having to stop to let people pass, and eventually we made it to the gravel road on the way out of town. I think we ended up parking about a mile away. As I said, we got there at 10 a.m. - it started at 9 a.m.!
This is maybe about halfway down the road - you can't even see the town (but you can see Noah sitting on Dave's shoulders in shadow!).
After wandering through and watching Kaylor in the bounce house, we decided it was time for lunch. They had several food stands, but Dave found one that had both pulled pork and cheese steak sandwiches. Thirty-four dollars later, we had three sandwiches, three drinks and a basket of chips! There were a few picnic tables in the area, but they were all taken. So we grabbed this "picnic spot!"
We found a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, so we had to stop! Noah and Kaylor had a good time wandering around, and they did a great job finding the "small" pumpkins. We did not want to carry the larger pumpkins all the way back to the car!
There was a corn maze on the way back, but we (at least the three big kids) were too tired to check that out - maybe next year!
It felt like it took forever to get back to the car, and we were surprised to see so many people still coming in for the festival! People were parked maybe four or five miles from town!
We ended up taking the River Road back to Columbia, thinking maybe Noah and Kaylor would conk out on the way home. No such luck! Kaylor entertained Noah, leaning back then shouting, "Boo!" He thought it was hilarious and chuckled like we rarely hear!
So now we have four pumpkins of varying sizes (I'll have to take pictures of them all before Halloween). There's Charlie (the pumpkin Harlan Rasa gave him), Chuck (the pumpkin Grandma Norita brought last week), Charlotte (the pumpkin Noah chose at the pumpkin patch) and Carlos (the mini pumpkin Kaylor and Noah picked out at one of the stands at the festival). We figured if Charlie came with a name, the others needed names, too!
This is Noah with a few of his favorite outdoor toys! He likes kneeling by Charlie to pet him!
We have spent lots of time with lots of fun people lately! Noah spent last Saturday night with Aunt Kelly, and Dave and I celebrated our anniversary (the big 0-6) by going out to a nice dinner and watching a couple movies in peace and quiet at home. We're wild and crazy people, we know!
We spent a good part of this week with Brandi and Laura (or "Di" and "Lala," depending on who's talking to them). Grandma Norita came down last night, and she stayed with Noah while Dave and I went to a party with lots of friends. Had a great time, but we didn't get to bed til after 1 a.m. Normally we could handle this, but we got up around 6:30 this morning to go to a 5K run/walk in Jeff City! I think we all did OK, though!
The race started in downtown Jeff City (near Chez Monet and the Coffee Zone, if that means anything to you). It looped through downtown and went around the Capitol. Then it continued on Main Street over 63 Highway and almost halfway to Granny and Mickey's old house! I thought I'd have to ask Molly and Koil (their old neighbors and friends) to pick me up! The course turned onto High Street and went back over 63 Highway. Then we got to climb the very steep hill near the Truman Building! It was a great walk!
After the race and running a couple errands, we went to Mickey and Regina's for lunch. Everyone had a great visit and wonderful lunch (as always), and Tracy (Regina's daughter) joined us. Noah loved running around their house and climbing all over the furniture. He ate pretty well, too, and was asleep before we got back to 63, I think!
We spent the rest of the day playing and dealing with diaper rash. Poor guy! We'd switched to the Target brand diapers, and I feel like he's had at least a little bit of rash since then. I think he had additional problems today, but Dave ran out for some Pampers, just in case! It really stinks because the store brand is so much cheaper! Not worth this horrible pain, though.
Boys in my house have been sleeping for about three hours now, and I've been hanging out! Got my nails done, watched some shows and read. Great way to end a crummy work week, and we're looking forward to Grandma Pat visiting tomorrow. Hope she has pictures of Alli with her!
Noah is loving preschool at Carol's. This week they learned about animals and made chicken-face masks. We can't always get Noah to try on the things he makes, but he loved showing us the mask! No, you can't actually see his eyes, but you can see his nose sticking out!
Noah started pre-school at daycare this week! Carol has pre-school lessons for the kids once they reach 2 years old. They have lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays; she sends the general idea for what they're focusing on each month. Yesterday, they started out talking about their names and ages. They also talked about school busses because Noah and Harrison (the two newest) like busses so much! Anytime Noah sees a delivery truck, bus or van, he says, "Bus!" If he hears an airplane, half the time he says, "Bu-bus!" I'm not sure where that comes from, but it's great fun when I say, "No, it's a truck," and he laughs and says, "Noooo. Bus!"
They also made school bus glasses! I got to see Noah's intact when I picked him up. They "accidentally" tore when he was checking them out later at home.
He seemed pretty excited on the way there, and Carol said he did really well, considering he wasn't exactly sure what was happening! Looking forward to hear about tomorrow's "class!"
We had another full weekend - pizza night Friday was about as calm as it got! Noah and Kaylor spent Saturday and Sunday with Grandma Pat. They had a great time playing blocks. Mom said they all made it to church together just fine Sunday morning, but they had to keep checking each other out when they all went to bed Saturday night!
Dave and I went to my friend Cheree's wedding in Waterloo, IA. It was our first time in Waterloo, IA! It was such a nice wedding, and all their family and friends were so welcoming.
Sunday we came to pick up Noah and went to Gambino's in Grain Valley! I was so excited to learn there is a Gambino's so near us; apparently, there's another one in Lee's Summit.
Then we took Grandma Pat with us to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. It was a warmer day than I expected, but it was nice to wander around and check it out. We mostly walked around but did sit to watch a couple shows. Noah's favorite part was the bubble machine on top of one of the shops. We visited that area twice!
Looking forward to a quiet Friday night, then it's off to Street Fair! Can't wait to see friends and family and ride rides with Kaylor!
