2 Doublestacks in One Day

Liliana loves doublestack cheeseburgers from the Wendy's 99 cent menu...this is something I have come to notice over the past couple of weeks...then...today around lunch time Liliana, Noah and I went through the drive through on our way to church to do some work in the toddler room and I ordered her one (with extra pickles, of course) and one for me and Noah to share and some fries to share...well, she ate every bit of her very own doublestack and even offered to finish Noah's half, which he took like 2 bites of...then...later in the evening we went to church for service and she went to Donnie's office w/him and rode home with him...she told me that Daddy bought her a Wendy's hamburger...a doublestack...and she at the whole thing...Donnie was so amazed and even more amazed about it when he learned that it was her second doublestack of the day!!!! Where does her food go??? In height, definitely not in her width...lol!

Buzz Buzzzz

As the Nursery/Toddler Director at church, I spend LOTS of time in the toddler room...probably too much...lol...I am working on that! Well, a couple of weeks ago I made a couple of bees out of playdough for fun and the kids loved it! Liliana tried to make one too and did pretty good. Well, today, at least a week later, as we were at church working, Liliana made a bee all by herself...I had no idea what she was up to...

A perfect little bee...

Thanksgiving

For the second year in a row, we spent Thanksgiving with the Grosvenor's. We had a wonderful, very relaxing day! They are wonderful, very laid-back people. While we have no "family" beyond the four of us anywhere near New England, we are ABUNDANTLY BLESSED with our family in Christ!!!

Speaking of family, I am so thankful for those who have in a sense, "adopted" us into their families here in CT! Love you all!!! :o)

Noah's Turns 2

Our sweet love-bug is

2 years old today!

We got him a guitar for his Birthday. He LOVES it!!! He slept with it the first night...I went in and snuck it out of his bed after he fell asleep.

We went to Moe's for lunch...not realizing that most of the "artwork" in there is of guitars...too cute! "Happy Birthday to you!!!"

I totally DID NOT even "think" of this ice-cream being pink...it is Friendly's Peppermint flavor...yum...sorry boy!!!

YUMMY!

After the birthday cupcakes & ice cream, we headed to Forrest Park in MA to see the lights...

Didn't plan this, but we HAD TO hit the Cracker Barrel on the way home...we love Cracker Barrel!

So...the mommy scoop on her boy turning 2:

It felt like Noah was 1 forever! :o) I am SO, SO happy for that!!! I truly feel like I lived each and every day to the fullest and enjoyed every moment this past year with our little guy. He is still my super-snuggle-bug...just as sweet as can be!!! Still very compliant and calm and easy going and just the best!!! He still naps perfectly and sleeps great at night. I think he missed his nap like one day ever and that was due to scheduling...not by his choice!

When I look at him I still see and remember that warm sweet baby I layed my eyes upon the day he was born and I kissed on the cheek. I remember how when I looked into his new sweet warm face and talked to him just minutes after he was born I knew he knew me...he opened his eyes for me as best he could and his face was smiling with love for me...his mommy. I am the most blessed woman in the world!!!

Thank you Jesus!!!!!! :o)

Mommy Loves NY

Donnie and I traveled on the Peter Pan bus with about 50 others to New York City!

Me texting on the bus:

Donnie and I standing in front of the Rockerfeller Plaza Christmas Tree Star by Swarovski.

I touched the tree! "Ooooh" LOL!

LOVED this hot dog...made me feel at home...my dad is from Long Island and I lived in Queens when I was 5 and went to first grade there...the onions on this dog were just like ones my dad makes! Awe!

"Money, Money, Money!" Sheryl was so fun!

Dora...I mean..."Jen, The Explorer"...packpack and all!

Lunch at Carnegie Deli...Delicioso!

Starbucks...infront of some Sports News place... Pretenting to be one of the cast...lol! This was at Radio City Music Hall. We saw the Rockettes! Excellent Show!

On the way home...

I loved every bit of New York!!! LOVED IT! Look forward to going back...many times!!!

Thanks to Mrs. Pat for capturing these moments...tooo funnn!!!

Liliana's First Sleepover!

Liliana has spent the night by herself over at the Snyder's and at our house with the Nott's while we were away for two nights, but this was her first "with a friend her age" sleepover! Awe! Since we were heading to NY early the next morning we had her stay over Friday night at the Groves with her since-birth-friend. She had a blast!!! They went to Missionettes together at Bethany's childhood church in Willimantic and enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner with the Bourquin side of the family the following day. She had a blast with like 11 "cousin" friends there!
We are SO THANKFUL for our adopted families here in Connecticut...The Grove's being one of those families...Thank you Auntie Bethany for loving our SWEET girl!!! (Bethany went on and on saying that Liliana is like the BEST kid ever and that she is welcome to stay at their house ANYTIME). Awe!!! She is such a special girl...so sweet, smart, unselfish, thankful for the smallest things, happy, joyful, animated, and expressive! We LOVE you, big girl!!!

My Dancin' Man!!!

Noah loves to tap his toes and clap throughout dance class, but today he did everything the teacher was having the class do! WAY TOO CUTE!!! He was gettin' down in that stroller!

Turn your volume up.........

Tap Time!

Helping With Chores

I try to do the dishes when Noah is in his highchair eating, if not I need to work fast so he doesn't try to close the door or get stuff out while I am loading it, etc. Well the other day he helped out with loading the dishwasher.....this is what I found when I opened it up after it was done running.....a super clean.....bowling pin!!! It is the brownish red and black thing up front next to all of the little green cups.....

Noah is the sweetest...he will give you the sweetest kiss on the cheek if you ask for one. He is very concerned and loves to ask us "you okay?" Yesterday when Liliana wasn't feeling well he "checked her temperature" like 20 times. He loves to count to four "One, two, free, four!" and he will tell us at times to "go away"...???...ha! He calls dvd's "ddd's" and when he asks to watch one he says "noise, watch it?" as he points to the dvd player...noise...yes, that is all it is...lol! He is a little creature of habit, so I have to restrict things with him so much more than I do with Liliana. For him, you give him one lolli-pop and that is all he will ask for the next two days...you let him watch a dvd and he wants to watch one constantly. Liliana is so different. She could have one lolli-pop a year and be happy and could totally do without the t.v.!

A "Thank You" Craft for God

I almost never cry, but I just might as I write this post. My sweetest Liliana had some sort of stomach bug the past two days. It started with a sore throat at about 4 a.m. the day before yesterday (Friday), she came to our bed to tell us about it at that time. The sore throat lasted, then she had diarrhea then threw up 3 times yesterday afternoon. I only go into such detail to document this for Liliana as she counted the times she had to "spit-up"...such a sweet girl... Well, today she is all better. She was very tired this morning and took a big nap to recuperate. By the afternoon she had most of her appetite back and was feeling chipper. We played Candyland and had a sweet time together. Later in the afternoon she worked for about 30+ minutes making this craft for God. It is a "thank you" craft for Him for healing her. She was so excited about making this for Him. She said a few times in a very excited "tickled" voice "He's going to love it!". She also said that some of the craft is for Joseph and for one of his brothers. .......

.......the Joseph thing explained: She loves the Joseph King of Dreams movie by DreamWorks. She has watched it many times over the past two weeks (we own it). It is a very good and accurate portrayal of his life, so I am delighted for her to watch it. About a week ago she dreamt about him towards the morning hours and awoke with the dream fresh in her mind (when you do this, the dreams feel more real to you). Well, ever since that very morning she has just been in love with Joseph and wants him to live with us. She planned out that we need to buy him a bed and everything and that all of his brothers wont fit in our house. Seems almost like a sweet little crush...I had a crush on the Pink Panther when I was about her age...too sweet!!! She asks Donnie and I if she can "keep" Joseph for herself. She says he is her best friend and that he is sweet and today she spent about 2 minutes imagining he was in our living room. Hehe!

Big Sister!

Yes...it happened...hehehe...Liliana painted Noah's finger and toe nails...all 20!!! She was painting hers and he marched into the kitchen and got in on the action...

Half-way through, he stood up to grab his drink. Look at him sitting there with his drink, like he is at a spa or something!

Liliana: "God is making me do this"

Me: "hehe, why is God making you do this?"

Liliana: "He is making me share because it makes God happy when I share."

The world would be a very, very boring place without big sisters and little brothers!!!

Too sweet!!!

Tap Time!

All 20 Baby Teeth!

Noah had woken up the past two nights crying for Boz...a dvd we borrowed from a friend...ugh...moments like these...a 2 year old crying for Boz in the middle of the nights are the moments I more than ever want to get rid of the TV all together! :o) Not because I am "bothered" by having to get up...but because I want my kids to be so full of peace and rest that they are not overstimulated to the point of sleeplessness by unnecessary things...like Boz...as "good" as he is......Okay...I could get on more of a soapbox...but I won't! ha! :o)

To my POINT...tonight...as he was fussy before bed...just like last week or so...I decided to peak in on the progress of his molars...sure enough...the top 2 molars have broken through!!! Awe! This does tell me that it is not Boz's "fault" that Noah couldn't sleep...I suppose... :o)

These last two molars complete his set of 20 baby teeth...right before the age of two! Awe! What a big boy! Over all, he was an excellent trooper with all of his teething. These last 4 are the only ones that really gave him any trouble and that wasn't even bad.

Friends

Liliana and her sweet friend Emma. They usually spend at least one long afternoon together a week at either Auntie Joy's or our house. They play so sweet together with the little people, ponies, my pet shop...that kind of stuff. They are good at imaginary play together, Liliana's favorite! They also trade off toys each week. This week Liliana has the pink poodle pictured below...she named it Kiki.

After Emma left, Liliana and I made and apple pie...

Nevers With Friends

Liliana and Noah with their little friend, Manny. Manny loves Noah..."Noah, Noah, Noah..." Awe!

Here they are all saying "Cheeeeeeese!"

Almost 2

Noah has always been my sweetest little love-bug, and especially with him being the second child I am kind of having to refocus my thinking in that he is on the verge of being 2! Yes, this means temper tantrums more frequently, and in public with audiences...ahaha...ahhh! :o) I don't mind the audiences...he is 2 and they have to get over it! :o) I am sure that there really aren't as many audiences as I feel like there are at times...being in the moment and doing what I can to get him to calm down and refocus.

Today my busy almost 2 year old got into my makeup...look at those lips...I could tell he was focusing on how they felt with stuff on them (eyeshadow, I think) by the way he held his lips shut and didn't talk for a minute or two...

He didn't want me to take his picture...maybe shy about the makeup...?? :o)

Here is my love bug at dance class thumbing through my bible. He wanted to bring it in from the van. He kept waving to Liliana and calling her name "Iyana" during dance class today...too sweet! He loves his sister immeasurably!!!

While Noah is definitely busier and getting into more "trouble" and throwing more tantrums, he is overbalanced by his sweetness and his cuteness!!! He is attached to mommy, for sure and loves to just look at me and say "mommy" in various tones, usually wanting nothing but for me to kiss his cheeks and that I love to do!!! He is still a super-snuggle-bug! *sigh*

Loving Every Moment!

Our Little Preachers

(Notice the bible in Noah's hand)

I must start off with the cutest thing Liliana said today before bed as I was reading some prayers to her (a cool book called Prayers for Little Hands or something)...as I was reading the one that starts "God be in my head and in my understanding"...she then stopped me and said "Does God eat the food that is in my stomach when Jesus lives in my heart?" AWE!!!! Tooo Sweeet!!!

Yesterday, after church, I found Liliana coming down the stairs with the two red chairs pictured below. Thinking she was just "doing whatever she so desired to rearrange the entire house", I stopped her and said "no, bring that back upstairs".....then she said in a very urgent and mature tone "but I need to preach"......"WELL, in THAT case...go for it...here I will help you"...lol! (see Liliana's pink NT on the couch...and the charmin on the floor...I had just gone to BJ's...ha!) We lined up some tiny happy meal stuffed animals in the chairs and had church!! :o) She had me lead worship, she preached and ended the service in prayer. We held two back to back services. Her first sermon was on a miss-mash of Bible truths in her head...anything that came to her mind "God loves you, deep and wide" and a little 3 year old tongues in between. Her second sermon was more eloquent..."you need to hold your mommy's hand when you are in the street or a car could come and there's lots of cars and they could give you a booboo and so make sure that you always hold you mommy's hand..." A very good and important lesson to "preach", indeed!

Then we had quiet/nap time (Noah had been napping all along)...The above photo was later in the evening when we played church for at least an hour. Lots of singing, running, preaching, praying...Woooh! The best! :o) Noah is in preaching mode too. Since yesterday evening he has had his Bible with him almost non-stop. He layed down in bed with it last night and had it in his hand when I greeted him first thing in the morning. He later took a nap with it and I found him awake 2 hours later sitting there talking by himself and looking through his bible. He then layed down for another 10 minutes and just flipped the pages over and over again...so peaceful! Tooo Sweet!!! He says "Bible" His Aunt, Donnie's Sister Darla gave him this bible for his first Christmas, 12/25/07.