Fun At The Beach

We were blessed to be able to spend our anniversary (5 years!! woo!) at Seabrook Island (SC) again this year. We love it there so much, and had so much fun. Noah was only 3 months old last year on our trip, so of course the ocean, sand, and waves were new to him. He LOVED it! He played hard, and he rested hard. He slept so well (naps and night time) while we there, which was great because Tyra and I had a chance to catch up on some R&R.

Here are a few highlights of our trip:

- Chased Noah up and down the beach...as he was chasing the "Ducks" (aka seagulls). He would say "quack, quack" at them. He's also a little confused and thinks that birds also "Meow" like cats, so he "meowed" a lot at the seagulls. I estimate he ran at least 1 mile during this 2 hour time period.

- Strolled the streets of Charleston, ate at AW Shucks for lunch, which was good. Noah enjoyed walking out on the pier in Charleston.

- Swam with Noah in the pool. Noah enjoyed sitting in the little jet ski float we got him.

- On Seabrook Island there is a lot of wildlife. We saw dozens of deer...yes, Noah thinks they "meow" too.

- Food is one of our big weaknesses at Seabrook. We devoured our favorite shrimp & grits at Rosebank Farms Cafe (twice), ate a cinnamon roll almost every day from Newton Farms grocery store(with extra icing!!), and I cooked a special anniversary dinner of filets and crab cakes. We decided to cook at the house for this meal so that we could have an "us" dinner after Noah was in bed! It was awesome.

Now for some photos:

So excited to be in the ocean!

Our home for the week! We loved it!

Let's go look for sea shells

Wiped Out On The 45 minute Drive From Charleston to Seabrook

He loved this little net

He was so brave, he didn't even want to hold hands

High steppin'

These waves are cool

Best buddies

Eric's Favorite Pic (part 1).....

....(part 2)

Curious George

Sunset from our kitchen window on our last night

View from the back deck! Peaceful!

Want To Sing The "NO" Song?

The "no" phase is alive and well!

This is just a 30 second clip of the entire 5 minute version of this game we played yesterday in the car as Mommy drove. We got into the theme of "Cinco de Mayo" (video was taken on 5/5/09) too, asking him if he wanted to sing the taco song, burrito song, salsa song, etc....then, the game was over when he said "Yeah" twice to "Do you want to sing the Corona song." Oops!!!

Just One Of The Guys

Noah went to the park the other day to play with his good buddy Houston. They had a great time, and Noah had fun playing with all the bigger boys. It's getting more difficult to bring Noah inside now that the weather is warmer. He loves being outside so much, and he doesn't approve of us bringing back inside most of the time. "Strong willed" and "opinionated?" Guilty as charged!!

2009 Orange & White Football Game

Last Saturday, we took Noah to the UT Orange & White spring football game. We had a great time, and Noah enjoyed watching the big crowd of people. I (Eric) was working a UT event in the skyboxes, so we were all able to hang out and watch the game in a personal box, which was awesome, especially for a loud, curious, and energetic 14 1/2 month old.

While I'm not ready to proclaim the 2009 VOLS as the best team in the SEC by any means, it was good to watch football again. Here are a few photos, and I will be adding some more later:

2nd Haircut, 1st Sucker (Lollipop)

Tyra took Noah this afternoon to get his 2nd haircut. This dude's hair grows as fast as lightning, so it was well past time for him to get his ear's lowered again. Not only is he looking dapper and sharp, but he got to have his first ever sucker/lollipop and was cracking up the barbershop by saying a loud "mmmmmmmmmmmmm" with every lick.

Happy Easter!

HE is risen! HE is risen, indeed.
We are so thankful for another beautiful Easter Sunday and for the many blessings that God has given us. We hope everyone has a very Happy Easter and take time to reflect on Jesus's life, death, and resurection. Jesus gave His all, all to Him, we owe!

Noah's Easter outfit today was the same one that I wore on my 2nd Easter. We both have February birthdays, but as you can tell, Noah is a lot taller than I was and he "fills out" the cute bunny outfit a little bit more than I did!

Eric - Easter 1982 - 14 months old


Noah - Easter 2009 - 14 months old

We got up and went to the early service at church, which was wonderful. Then came home and ate a great lunch that Tyra made....ham, mac 'n cheese, pineapple cheese casserole, green beans, rolls, and an unreal homemade carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing. "Mmmmmmm," said Noah several times at lunch! Andrew and cousin Thomas joined us at church and lunch, then stayed around to watch some of the Master's golf tournament.

Noah had a great time picking up Easter eggs and smushing them in his hands. Here are a few more pictures from the entire Easter weekend:

Helping our church's mission group do an Easter Egg Hunt for local Guatamalan families

Dying Easter Eggs

Lunch with GrandDon at Cracker Barrell in Crossville

Easter goodies!

Having fun in the Cow tunnel

Hunting for Eggs

Where did the eggs go? Found 'em all!
Just 'a swingin' with Uncle Drew! Weeeeeeeee
Calves of steel!??
family picture

What is a son?

Today is Noah's 14-month birthday. "What is a son?" is poem by Susan Polis Shutz that I read several months ago. I really liked it and included it in Noah's scrapbook, so I thought I share it on this special day. Enjoy!

What is a Son?

A son is
a kite flying through
the trees
a tadpole turning into
a frog
a dandelion in the wind

A son is
a mischievous smile
laughing eyes
a scrape on the knee

A son is a wonder
an excitement
a burst of energy
an animation
a spirited breeze

A son is
everything wonderful

A son is
love.

Homemade Roller Coaster

Spring In Knoxville

The weather has been great lately, so Noah has really enjoyed going outside a lot more. Last weekend our good friends the Leas came to visit with their 9-month old son Emery. Noah had a blast playing with him and teaching him some fun tricks like singing into a (toy) microphone and how to pass a ball.

Noah is learning new things and words all the time, and it's fun to watch. This week he was fascinated to watch Eric pressure wash the back deck. His hair is getting longer (even after a haircut last month) and blonder, and we think he's going through a growth spurt - getting taller - sleeping more too! He's still sometimes a cat-napper, but he's been averaging at about 12 hours of sleep every night, which has been nice.

Here are some pictures from last weekend of Noah and Emery:

Word of the Week

The word of the week (and probably Noah's food of choice right now) is defintley "Banana." (sorry the video is so dark)

Noah's Chores

Noah's 1st Basketball Game

We took Noah to his first TN basketball game yesterday. Although we lost to Alabama on a last second buzzer beater (67-70), Noah loved the game, and was very well behaved. We sat in our upper deck seats in the 1st half before moving down to the 1/2 empty student section behind the basketball goal in the 2nd half. We visited Uncle Drew and his friends in their seats before we moved to the lower section. Noah loved the big scoreboard and seemed to be following the players running to each end of the court. He was very wide-eyed during the starting lineup introductions, when the lights went off and fireworks shot in the air.

We were a little unsure of how he would do at the game, since his "clock" would be off due to daylight savings time. But even though he missed his morning nap altogether, he wasn't cranky or fussy at all, which was great!

Late in the 2nd half, he dozed off and missed the end of the game. He perked up immediately after the game though, and got his 1st picture made with Smokey on the court.

Fun day, even though we lost! He was exhausted last night and fell alseep about an hour earlier than normal, which due to the time change, was actually his "normal" bed time.

"That's a BIG tv!"

He looked like this for the first 30 minutes in the arena.

Nap time!

First Picture w/ Smokey

Blanky Boy

Noah has become semi-clingy to one of his (many) baby blankets over the past few weeks. Today, while playing in his room, he must have really wanted his blanky bad. Problem was, it was on the back side of his crib and he couldn't reach it by simply sticking his arm through the slats. So, he somehow managed to shimmy between the back side of the crib and the wall to reach his destination. Noah and Blanky were reunited at last!

The funniest part was right after Tyra text messaged me this picture, she sent me another text message to say that "Apparently he went back there to poop too!"

Ha ha! Getting his "privacy" during that time has become a recent trend too, but that's a completely different blog post.

To Add to the Baby Book...

First ear infection - Feb. 15, 2009!

Bummer!!

1 Year Video and Fun Facts

Or click here to view in larger screen ~ Noah's 1 year Video

Random Tidbits about Noah on his 1st Birthday:

Bed time ~ 7:45 p.m.

Wake-up time ~ Between 6:15 and 6:45 a.m.

Favorite Foods ~ Anything and everything, but especially Cheerios, spaghetti, fruit, cheese quesadillas, turkey/chicken sticks, and now, birthday cake!

Weight ~ 25 lbs (79th percentile) (as of 2/10)

Length ~ 29 1/2 inches (40th percentile) (as of 2/10)

Mode of Travel ~ Walking everywhere, unless he falls. Then he crawls to nearest stable object, stands up, and walks some more.

Getting mischievous ~ Bathroom toilet, toilet paper, Gabi's water bowl, stairs, pulling on the living room curtains, fireplace.

Current Obsessions ~ Elmo, Vaccums (toy or real), His basketball or any kind of ball, Light Fixtures, "Scaring" people, Daddy's guitar, giving kisses, watching the garage door go down.

Noah's Words of Wisdom ~ "Vacuum," "Light," "Da-Da," "Ma-Ma," "Paci (which comes out like "dada"), "Ahhhh-Choooo," "Uh-Oh," "Good Girl" (for Gabi) and he even told me "NO" the other day when I asked him to stop doing something. Oh boy!

TV Shows ~ Sesame Street/Elmo's World is all he pays attention to for more than 3 minutes

New Tricks ~ Drinking whole milk, no more bottles, Trying to pet Gabi without pulling her hair, goes to get Gabi's toy frog when we ask him to, learning new dance moves.

You Gotta Fight, For Your Right....To PAAAAAARTY!

Our Birthday Boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!!

Today is obviously a very special day and we're looking forward to celebrating Noah's 1st birthday at his party later this afternoon. He'll pig out on some cake, be the center of attention, and ham it up in front of family and friends.

It seems so crazy to imagine how fast this year has flown. But in a way it seems like so much has changed, that it's gone by slow too. Tyra and I have learned so much about life, each other, how to truly love someone more than you could imagine, and at times it takes your breath away to think what a special gift being a parent is.

God has blessed us with a little boy that has taught us how to "live, laugh, and love" more than ever before. Of course, babies aren't very independent, but sometimes I think we need him just as much as he needs us. I don't know what I would do without seeing his face light up every day when I come home from work, hear him crack up when we tickle him, or laugh about his current infatuation with Elmo, lights and vacuum cleaners. I mean, he's been a part of "us" for 1 year, but what did we ever do without him? I think that's one of the neatest things about being a parent. Yeah, there are diaper changes (GROSS ones!), sleepless nights, less free time, and sometimes it's so busy you feel like you can't get anything done without someone tugging on your leg wanting to play. But, being a Dad this past year has taught me more about life and about God's love for us than I ever expected.

Here's to a great year, and many, many more to come!
Happy birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday Dear Noah!
Happy Birthday to you!

(I hope to post his 1-year video sometime Monday or Tuesday, and I'll include some more 1-year fun facts)

First Haircut and Snow Pictures

Today was Noah's first haircut...and he exceeded our expectations. He LOVED it and was such a good boy sitting in the chair while Junior, my barber since my freshman year at UT, cut his hair. He enjoyed sitting in the seat because it has a steering wheel and loved talking to the rocking horse next to him. We saved some of his hair in an envelope and they gave us a certificate to put in his baby book. It was really fun to watch him, and his hair looked so sharp, all trimmed and styled!

Also, Here are some fun pictures from earlier this week of our little spaghetti eating snow man!