Let's do a quick recap of the last couple of weeks shall we?

We've officially survived exam month which puts to rest one more year of education. It feels so nice to be that much closer to our goal of applying to Dental school. The online applications open in June and Ed will write the DAT in November. They say by December we'll know if we've been accepted. We're both nervous and excited.

I am so proud of Ed for all of the effort and work he put into his schooling which paid off when he went over and beyond what he thought he would and did fantastic during his finals. I am also grateful that he's the one with the Math smarts. Our children would be hopeless without him.

Right now we're just chilaxing at home, waiting for the warmer weather to show up, and fighting off sickness. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, let's rewind a couple of weeks.

To Easter.

This was taken at the Easter Egg Hunt that we did at Uncle Josh's house. I left the video camera at home thinking that Noah wouldn't really be into it. Well I stand corrected. He.took.off. Running down the road and through the field picking up every colorful "ball" he spotted. His bucket was starting to get so heavy we had to sneak up behind him and grab hand fulls of Easter eggs just to lighten the load a bit so he could keep going. We did a smaller hunt at home the next day but the video is long and boring so I won't share. I'm glad I didn't go overboard with the candy. I still have some hiding in my closet and no one is really interested in it. Maybe I'll send it to Amanda - I know she has a love for all things chocolatey.

Oh and excuse me, but when did my baby boy grow up?

He looks so big to me.

Worlds of difference from this wouldn't you say?

I wish I would have taken more time to kiss that adorable belly and tickle those delicious rolls. Sigh. I have a bad case of baby fever.

Oh and props to Auntie Janay for those strategically placed blocks on the floor. I'm sure one day he will thank you for the serious lack of nudie pictures we have of him.

This is what happens when you make your mother-in-law's amazing guacamole and your son uses it as body paint. (after he ate more than his fair share of course)

And this is what you do with said Son after dinner :

Chuck him in a nice soapy tub.

I love bath time pictures. They're always so happy and full of smiles. Which I am indeed grateful for since this last week Noah came down with the flu and smiling was the very last thing on his mind. We had just walked in the door from an evening walk when I look over at Ed holding Noah, both of them covered in an unpleasant, smelly muck. I immediately start dry heaving into the kitchen sink. All the while Ed is rubbing Noah's back saying calmly

"Good job buddy, get it all out. It's okay, Daddy's here"
What?!

Isn't that supposed to be my job? Isn't Ed the one that's supposed to be plugging his ears running from the room shouting that vomit makes him nauseous?

Yes well, it wasn't one of my finest moments.

And given Ed's past history with his innate need to be clean, I think he deserves a good round of applause!

Thankfully Noah bounced back to his old self this weekend and we are enjoying having a little boy in our house again instead of a crusty bear.

We celebrated Lulu Bean's 3rd birthday this month as well. Fun was had by all. I wish there were pictures to share. Noah is her number one fan and when the two of them get together it is trouble. Once they closed themselves in the bathroom when no one was looking, threw a cellphone into the toilet and started splashing around so loudly I came to see what the commotion was about. You should have seen the looks on their little faces when I flung the door open. It was priceless. Ed wasn't very amused but it still makes me laugh when I think of it. They talk on the phone a lot about who knows what and Noah throws his head back with a hearty fake laugh and pats his little protruding belly. I will try and tape it one day. It's to die for.

Since there was barely a handful of nice days these last couple of weeks we've had to make our own entertainment indoors and frankly I'm running out of ideas. This morning we listened to the 'Scatman', blew bubbles in our living room and danced in our underwear. True story. I thought of it on a whim (as you can tell) but it was a huge success. Noah kept running over to me with a big grin on his rosey little cheeks and giving me kiss after kiss. I think I won the best Mommy award for that. It motivates me to be more spontaneous and crazy. After about an hour of that we both crashed and had a nice two hour nap. Have I mentioned how much I love being a mother? And that naps are one of the best perks? ( besides dancing in your underwear that is)

I wanted to put the last picture on here to just clear a few things up...

#1. YES, we know Noah's hair is ridiculously long. He looks cute and we like it this way.

#2. NO, we are NOT planning on cutting it.

SO STOP ASKING.
thanks.

Oh and lastly this is video Auntie Janay has been requesting for awhile now. We had two different versions and the other one was cute, but I opted for the one where you can't hear Janay and I cackle with laughter. It was pretty scary stuff. So here it is, in all it's cuteness.

Enjoy!

my dearest Noah

Today you were particularly difficult. Destructo-boy. Everywhere you went, a mess was left in your wake. It was so exhausting! Your bedtime could not have come fast enough. I'm always telling your Dad that it's a good thing you're as cute as you are, or we would have sold you to the gypsies a long time ago.
For me, one of the biggest challenges in being a new parent, is adjusting to the inconsistency of childhood. I've expected that if I tell you not to touch something once, it will register and we won't have to talk about it again. Or that when you begin sleeping through the night, you will continue to do so for the rest of your life.
Hah.
I've quickly learned that I have expected too much from you. For one, you're still a little guy. And two, that's not how our relationship with God works either. If it was, there would hardly be a use for repentance. If we all learned our lesson the first time we would live in a much different world. As mortal beings we make plenty of mistakes ( heck, I'm still not done making all of mine.) and we all have our off days. But we have a Father in Heaven who knows what it's like to grow and learn and to experience and to be challenged. Thankfully he is also patient and kind and incredibly understanding. I want to be more like that for you.
I know one day it will click in that adorably big head of yours that if you continue to hit people, you will continue to sit on the time-out chair. That me saying "No thank you" does not in fact translate into "that was fun. Please do it again" And even that remaining still during a poopy diaper change is actually a very brilliant idea.

Here's to that day!

Love you,
Mom