Noah turns ONE!

October 2014

Ocotober 2015

My baby, my last one.  I went back & read Lucas's first birthday post, and I thought he was my last one! Our family was complete, at the time, with Lucas, but little did I know just how much we needed you, sweet Noah.   When we had Lucas, I thought we were done having children, but it wasn't definitive. When you were born, there was no question, no wondering. You were the one that made our family a family of five and there was no doubt in my mind that God planned so perfectly for you to be our third (and final!) child.

Noah, you are such a delight. You remind me of Lucas as a baby - your smile starts in your eyes then when you do smile it's a great big smile. You are mischievous - oh yes, already. You know when you get into something you shouldn't have & you crawl from me as fast your little legs and arms can take you, giggling all the way. You love being outside and exploring the backyard. You throw tantrums earlier than your brothers did - laying on the ground, kicking and screaming. At this time, it's humorous. I may not think so when you are older :)

You adore your big brothers (and they you!). You try your best to keep up with them, which means wrestling. You've gotten hit in the face twice with a soccer ball and you've been knocked over countless times. Being the youngest brother is teaching you to be tough. It would not surprise me if you are my one who is most into sports because you will know about teamwork, fairness (and unfairness), how to get knocked down and get back up again. You know how to hold onto a toy or food for dear life when your brothers try to pry it from your hands. You are not giving that toy/food up without a fight. When your brothers play with you, you laugh. You jump on them, you sit on them, you get in their face & hit them (which we are reprimanding you for). Through it all, they are so good with you. They tolerate you doing all that & simply move if you are in their way.

You are my one who takes the best naps (your brothers only took 20 minute naps). You nap for two hours when Lucas is at preschool & I LOVE IT. You love to eat & I can never feed you enough. I pray that you are my non picky eater. If you see anyone with food, you immediately cry & demand that you get some too, even if you already have something in your hand!

I am so looking forward to watching you grow up. While every "last" is bittersweet because you are my last, I find myself enjoying them more because I know how fleeting it is. I will miss the baby stage. While I won't miss it with an ache to have another, I'll miss it because you are my last.  I love when you reach for me and you put your arms around my neck, and snuggle in. I pause longer and simply hold you, knowing that while you will still give me hugs as you get older (just like your brothers do), these are the last of the baby hugs. That contented sigh you give when you've been crying and I scoop you up, when you feel safe & comforted. Your babbling and the way you squeal with delight. While it is fun to watch you as you learn to talk, those baby babbles will be missed. Those first steps will soon turn into running footsteps as you play with your brothers.

 While I am already missing the baby stage, I joyfully look ahead to your toddler stages (minus the tantrums & potty training). People comment on what it must be like to have three boys, and I must say that you, Noah Jonathan, are making this third boy thing pretty easy  ... so far :)

Noah's One Year & Family Pictures

Jordan - 6.5 years old 

Lucas - 3.5 years old 

Noah - almost 12 months old 

The photographer added the quote - I almost cried when I saw it. I just love it!! 

Catching Up

What a whirlwind it has been since my last post.

We moved to our new home the last weekend in June & six days later went to Oregon for 12 days. I was unpacking to repack for our OR trip.

 Our Oregon trip was eventful this year! On the way up, something went wrong with the van on the 4th of July. We were towed to a city where there was a Honda dealership, but it was closed. There were no places open to get a rental car, so we called David's mom to drive down & get us.  We were about 2.5 hours away from where she lived. Thankfully she was able to come down and we waited indoors at a Mcdonalds (yay play place!).  It made for a very long day but we were able to get there in time to do fireworks with the cousins.

While in OR, Jordan went to camp where David used to be a camp counselor. Jordan's counselor was actually one of David's campers ten or so years ago! Fun times. Jordan loved it, and David loved being a parent volunteer. We plan to have all three of our boys attend the camps as it's a great Christian camp and a day camp, which we do not have down here.

Jordan on the Big Swing

With David and Jordan at camp, Lucas and his cousins too swim lessons. Lucas took to it easily and was eager to show what he learned. He often did not wait for the instructor to finish giving instructions before he just leaped out into the pool. He certainly kept the instructors on their toes!

Jordan lost two teeth while we were on vacation. The first tooth was knocked loose by another camper swinging his lunch bag around & it hit Jordan in the mouth. The second tooth was knocked out by yours truly - me. I threw a toy to the back of the van where Jordan was sitting & it hit him square in the mouth. Poor kid. He told me next time he'd hold up a pillow so the toy wouldn't hit him in the face. He was a champ & handled it all well.

When we came back from OR, it was unpacking, unpacking, unpacking. Noah used the boxes to learn how to climb onto things.

In August, Jordan started first grade. He adjusted really well to the new schedule. We leave the house around 7:20, drop off is at 7:35, school starts at 7:55 and ends at 2:20.  Jordan is my introverted one and needs to just have time after school to unwind. It can be difficult since his younger brother is always wanting to be with him, but they are learning to work it out.

Lucas started preschool in September. When I pick up Lucas, he's immediately showing me his craft and telling me all about it, before we even make it out the door. He does not need to unwind when we get home - he usually is asking me if I'll play with him.

When Lucas is in preschool, Noah is napping! It's the two hours of my day where there's complete quiet & I am able to get stuff done (like updating this blog). Noah is 11 months and is all over the place. He's cruising when he's holding on to things, crawling, starting to stand on his own and climbs up onto things. He loves eating (and is still small, just like his brothers were). He loves to be around his brothers and they love him. They wrestle with him ... something I am still adjusting to & making sure they are around soft surfaces (not near the fireplace or chairs, etc).  Here's a few videos of Noah!

Quick Post

In the midst of packing up & moving to a new home (eek!) I wanted to quickly document some things.

* 7 months, Noah is doing the army crawl. He started doing this around 6.5 months.  The little guy is fast!  He also gets up and rocks on all fours but has yet to figure out to crawl on his knees.

 * Jordan is finishing kindergarten next week. His teacher is wonderful and I wish she could be his teacher in first grade too!

* Lucas decided he wanted to have his hair grow down to his nose and gets mad anytime you try to brush his hair. I convinced (bribed) him to at least get a trim and his hair is still long enough for his liking.  Sorry, I will not let you grow your hair down to your nose.

* It's going to be a crazy month between packing, VBA, moving and then heading to OR after we move (providing the timeline works out for our move).

Noah - 6 Months

Our baby, our last one, is six months today.  While I love to watch all my boys grow, there is something bittersweet for me when they hit the six months mark. We've survived the endless feedings, night wakings, and always having the baby in a swing or on the playmat.  I've always marked six months as a milestone. I look forward to the next six months and all the developments that brings, but I'll miss the times of just holding my snuggly sleepy baby who was content to just be in my arms. I focused on those moments more intentionally this time around because I knew that it would be the last time I was going through that season of life. I'm getting emotional here!

At six months Noah is:

- starting to sit on his own without assistance
- rolling both ways (back to tummy, tummy to back). He most often is on his tummy.
- sleeping from 7:30 - 5, then sleeps for maybe 45 min - hour after his feeding.
- the older he gets the more aware and alert he gets, which means when his brothers wake up, so does he! The joys of having 3 boys share a room :)
- started solids and loves it. I try to avoid putting him in the high chair unless I am going to feed him as he now associates the high chair with food. I do not feed him solids as often as he would like - Momma's busy!
- loves his big brothers. He gets picked up, laid on, his face gets smushed and he takes it all with a smile (most of the time).
- spends most of his time in what I call "baby jail". It keeps him safe from those loving brothers of his. Also loves being in the exersaucer.
- Noah is a happy baby. He pretty much cries only when he's tired or hungry, or his brothers have annoyed him.  People constantly comment on how happy he is and how often he smiles. I'm told "he's going to be very laid back!" ... yeah, I was told that about Lucas too. (Lucas - 6 months). Then he turned 2 and his personality erupted. We'll have to wait & see what Noah's personality is like as he gets older.

A One Hour Glimpse of Mommyhood

I was telling my husband the other day how I am seemingly incapable of getting one thing done. I feel like I am constantly interrupted or get distracted by something else.  Since I am much better at putting my thoughts down via paper  blog, I figured I would write it out here. Everything below pretty much happened in a one hour timespan.

I made dinner and put it in the oven. Pat on the back for actually getting dinner ready at a decent time. I open the dishwasher to unload and pull out a blue plate. This reminded me that I left Lucas's blue sheet in the dryer and I should grab it to make his bed. Otherwise it will be bedtime while I'm scrambling to make his bed {not that I'm speaking from experience or anything ...}.  I take out said sheet and go make his bed.  En route to the bedroom I pick up the dirty clothes in the boys bathroom and toss them into the hamper. On the way back I pick up a load of laundry to toss in the wash. While taking the laundry through the kitchen (laundry unit is in garage) I notice that the table is messy, so I should clean that up. I start the laundry and come back into the kitchen.  At this point the baby has noticed that I've emerged from the kitchen so he's starting to fuss a little.  I walk by, make silly faces and say that Mommy will be there in a minute. This appeases him momentarily. I grab the placemats and clean them off.  Baby is starting to fuss again and I notice that one of his brothers hands him a toy to keep him quiet. I am leaving baby in exersaucer because he is safe from his well meaning older bothers. Upon clearing the table I start picking up the random toys in the room and tossing them in the play room. Again talk to fussy baby and say I'll be there in a minute. (like I said I would be there 10 minutes ago).  The alert for the meat thermometer beeps so I stop to check the temperature  of the meat. I realize that I should get the rest of the stuff for dinner ready (as it's a two part meal). One of the older boys comes in asking for food, I shoo him out of the kitchen. Start getting everything ready, and baby is REALLY fussing. I quickly grab him and put him in the highchair, and try to put avocado on his tray. I then realize how essentially ridiculous this is, because I'm 32 years old and I can't even pick up the darn avocado pieces without them sliding all over the tray. The baby is 3 days shy of 6 months with nary a pincer grip. So I grab a spoon and start feeding him a bite here and there as I dash about the kitchen. Almost bang into the door of the dishwasher as I have left dishwasher open from the first time I opened it. Timer for oven goes off, I need to retrieve the food. Realize I haven't finished putting the second part of dinner together. Give baby a bite of food. Quickly put meat on cutting board & grab knife, laying it down beside the meat. Finish putting the rest of the dish together and slide it in the oven. One of the older boys comes in asking for food, I shoo them out of the kitchen. Carve the meat & throw it in tupperware because I actually made dinner TOO early, as my husband was working late and was not home yet. Realize baby is fussing because he is tired, not hungry (good job Mom).  Put baby down for a nap, and decide that instead of the dishes, maybe I should shower. I haven't showered yet today, I look a mess and have grease stains on my shirt from hot oil splattering on me. Grab dish out of the oven and add it to the meat. Hop in the shower and get interrupted a few times by children asking for food. {They never STOP asking} Baby wakes up as I finish shower.  Dress, get baby, give him a toy & tell his oldest brother to keep an eye on him. Go back to kitchen, check recipe and realize I never made the side dish.  Remember to close dishwasher door this time.  Finish making the side dish right as husband walks in the door. Still haven't done the dishes that I started to unload .... an hour ago.

Oh Happy Day!!

What a sweet and joyful moment we had in the Thompson household last night!  Our Jordan, aged 6, asked Jesus into his heart!

   Yesterday was Good Friday. I had been talking to Jordan off and on throughout the day what Good Friday meant, how Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and so forth.  Jordan attended the Good Friday service at church with me (David was playing). On the way home, I talked to him about the service and what he got out of it. He talked about Jesus being on the cross and I asked him how he felt about it. His response: sad.  I talked about what Jesus does for us when He's in our hearts, how He helps us to obey (I told Jordan that Mommy does not like obeying, but Jesus helps me because He's in my heart). By that point, Jordan was starting to zone out, so I let it be.

  Later that evening, at bedtime, I had to feed Noah so I was sending the boys to bed by "themselves". Jordan came in saying he did not want to be alone. At first I said he had Lucas with him, and he still didn't want to be alone. Then I said Jesus was always with him. Jordan asked me to tell him more about Jesus, and I did. I explained that once you ask Jesus into your heart, He will never leave you. Jordan told me that he had Jesus in his heart. I said when? He said "now". So I asked if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart and he said yes. As I turned on the light to see Jordan better (important moment, you know!) After I turned on the light, Jordan saw a book on the nightstand and asked to read it. I responded we could, did he want to pray before or after? He wanted to read the book first, then pray. I love it - it's so Jordan.

  After we read the book and I tucked the older boys into bed, I asked Jordan if he still wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. He did, so I prayed and he prayed after me. What a sweet moment! I told Jordan how happy I was for him, he responded he was happy too and promptly fell asleep.

  When telling my parents the next day, he said "I asked Jesus into my heart. It was exhausting!" =D That boy, too funny.  (Exhausting because he fell asleep right away)

My Jordan, your Daddy and I are so beyond happy for you that you have asked Jesus into your heart. We pray that He will guide you and you will look to Him always, in every circumstance. Life is not going to be easy - there are valleys and hills, but you will get through them with Jesus by your side. We do not know what plans He has for you, but if you let Him, He will mold you into a great man of God and do great things with you for Him. We love you Jordan!