2 months!

happy two months sweet boy!

you weigh 14lbs and are  24 and 3/4 inches long.
you are cooing and smiling, especially when your big brothers are near.
you have been going to bed between 7 and 8pm  and usually doing a 6 hr sleep stretch (till 1) and then waking up every 2-3 after that. You wake up between 7 and 8am and usually take a few cat naps in the ergo (20-40) min in the morning, a long nap (usually 2-3 hrs) in the afternoon with your brothers and an evening nap in the ergo. I'm sure this will change as you're still settling into your own little rhythm :) but we're happy you have your own little routine going on!
you love to be held and looking out to see everything as you quietly observe; you get quiet as you take it all in.
you nurse every couple hours in the day except for your long afternoon sleep stretch
you fuss for a few minutes before you go to sleep

you are such a sweet boy and we are so in love with you Noah Samuel!

I'm sorry you don't have as many pictures or updates as your brothers did, but we still love you just the same and are soaking up every minute of your preciousness.

it was fun to look back and see lucas' 2 month and caleb's 2 month updates

 life with three thoughts.

some of our crazier moments look like this:  the big boys are torturing each other with sticks or pretend dog bites (don't ask) while mama tries to cook breakfast (I'm always so happy once I get to eat) as noah is trying to go down for his first nap; so sometimes I've got noah in the ergo, one time I had lucas in the ergo on my back and noah in the stroller being rocked back and forth with pacifier inserts by caleb. every day there's almost at least 2 children crying at once either at breakfast, lunch, or nap time go downs. Sometimes I sing through it, sometimes I hide. Sometimes I eat one too many peanut butter banana honey sandwiches. But usually I just keep reminding myself that I'll be having my run later, that hubby will be home in a few short hours to save me. That I'll be able to have a few quiet moments doing my devotionals and bible study with birds chirping at nap time. That it's only 10 minutes (usually) of crazy and that they'll only be little for awhile and someday, I'm going to miss this. I've survived solo dentist trip and solo dr. trip (with shots and dentist agony for the boys) I've survived three crying children in public. Things that once would have had me crumple into a heap mess don't anymore. I'm braver and stronger, and mostly now...all we can do is laugh, because it sure is crazy. Moments to ourselves are rarer these days, but we appreciate them more. At the end of the day when I tuck in my three precious boys one by one I can't help but feel as though my heart might burst with love for them. And that one day I'm going to look back and miss the little boy potty talk at the dinner table (what's up with that?) and the fascination with sticks that they must find, everywhere! and the tormenting that they do to each other (it honestly drives me nuts!), I'll miss the hugs, the laughter, and being the one who gets to wipe those tears away and kiss those little boy checks. I'll miss the one calm part of our day in the evening as we all walk together and breathe in fresh air. So the days are long and the nights are way too short at this point!! But I'll take it all; these precious boys and their daddy fill up my heart and I'm so thankful God gifted them to me.

hello spring!

flowers are in bloom and babies are growing. It feels as though we've left winter and newborn days behind and now the flowers are growing and so is sweet noah.

2 months old tomorrow

Noah, you are cooing and give the sweetest smiles. you get real serious and quiet as you observe your world.  We love you so much Noah Samuel. You bring us so much joy and we love watching you grow each day! Your big brothers are pretty smitten with you.

we are enjoying...

spring sunshine and climbing trees 

 adding plants to our garden...cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelon, etc. (the boys had so much fun choosing their own seed packet to plant and they have been taking good care of their plants, making sure to water them well.

 barefoot water play and warm afternoons on the swing. (washing some kitchen pans)

 sweet spring snuggles with noah

 setting up some sensory bins and invitations to play (finally able to do some more school stuff with the boys, can't believe we are already on letter Z this week!!)

for more fun spring ideas to do with kids, check out one of my favorite homeschool/educational blogs, fantastic fun and learning . I love their Easter sensory bin and spring craft ideas they've shared and am excited to do some of them with the boys.

enjoying a new blog read memories on clover lane and I love this post...  coming home (a series of posts about being a stay at home mom)

enjoying being able to run again and logging in some good miles!

I feel so blessed each day by my sweet little boys and their daddy. They are my everything.

"in everything give thanks"

1thess5:18

Happy Spring.

and finally some pictures that have been on my camera!!

 project with papa

 morning cuddles

 big brother love

 play time

 sleepy cuddles

 he loves to hold him

 cozy on grandpa

 loved being held by grandma

 always a smile for caleb

 gardening

 toes photo bomb and sweet noah

hope your weekend is beautiful!

our hero is home.

and we sure did miss him. he was working hard in England all last week for work and got home tonight, just in time for dinner. The being away from each other part is hard, but the reunion is oh so sweet.

we stayed at nani and popa's for the week...

 noah started giving lots of smiles and coos (which I hope to capture on camera/video soon)

 he was loved on by auntie lor all week (who was recovering from surgery) I'm so glad she happened to be recovering at my parents' house the week we were down! sure was nice to have sister bonding time and auntie time for the boys

 the boys were entertained by auntie and nani and poppa and the ups man and garbage man and gardeners ;) (outside entertainment is the best!)

 we took daily trips to the park down the hill from my parents' house.

 and I finally got in some good runs post baby. I'm up to three miles now and it feels so awesome! ready to start training for a half again :) I came back from a  run to find nani and the boys in the kitchen making dinner. I am so grateful for her, she saved me last week. We left the loving arms of my parents and landed in the care of more loving arms; grandma and grandpa and aunt Katie. I sure am grateful for our families! they are the best.

 visit with grammy great

 sweet lucas napping; we had an allergy scare Friday morning a couple days after almost taking noah to urgent care for a cough. There were lots of prayers and (tears) by mama but I learned that I can do hard things that maybe a year ago I wouldn't have thought I could do.

"For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands..." Psalm 91:11 thankful for His promises and Love for us. I truly felt His love last week and this through all the help of our families and through many grace filled moments to get me through the hard moments while dave was working hard in England.

 and this sweet boy. He gave his mama some nice night time sleep stretches last week...going 4 hrs, 5 hrs, or even some 6 hr stretches! wahoo I didn't know to do with myself come 4 am after getting in a good 6 hrs of sleep. I hope it continues :) he is coo-ing and has a thing for his big brothers. Whenever Caleb comes near he lights up like a Christmas tree.

left to right

noah (7weeks) Caleb (4) Lucas (2) Jesse (3) Emery (6mo) Elleanne ( 2 next month)

After being delayed in England because of parts coming in late the boys and I decided we would make the drive home without Dave (and he would fly to SF airport) and the boys and I would meet up with grandma and grandpa and aunt Katie in slo and then drive the rest of the way home with them. On the way, we stopped by to visit my very best friend in arroyo grande (best friends since 7th grade!) Between the two of us there are six little cutie pies all born within months of each other! It was so fun to get the kids together and have some time to chat  (face to face!)

I must say, It feels wonderful to be surrounded by all my boys again...

...Until next time.

(and I promise I'll have camera pictures and maybe a video to upload soon!)