One Year Ago...

We have been blessed by Noah's presence in our home for a year now. He has been a darling and a delight these past 12 months. I wouldn't blame anyone for making a calendar out of these... January

February
March
April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

DecemberMy baby is one!
Happy Birthday, son-o-mine.

End-of-Year Observations

I always like to reflect at this time of the year. It helps me get ready for a new year and appreciate what I've experienced in the last 52 weeks or so. I won't go into everything we've experienced in that time--that's what the blog archives are for. But here's eight things I'm grateful for at the end of 2008.

Getting to see Noelle in the airport 4 hours away. So totally worth it!! She did try to ditch us (blame it on the ants in her pants or the horrific weather/traffic we dealt with), but we caught up with her...thank heavens for collect calls and cell phones!

Isaac needed to "talk to Grandma" on the payphone.

Noah meets Aunt Noelle for the first time!

At-home, paid orientation. We are SO excited to have real jobs! There's nothing like hanging out in the living room, the boys playing with their new toys and BOTH of us getting paid to watch home health refresher videos. Woohoo!

Isaac is the shrewdest bargainer on the island. If you say "one more time on the slide," then he will demand "three more times." If you then offer "two more times," he will insist on three. There is much that could be said about his sneakiness in getting his way (with words)...let's just say we're onto him. Most of the time.
Noah's little hands. I love all the things Noah does with his hands now. His favorite thing lately is "peek-a-boo"-- anyone who sits behind us in church knows that. When he reaches out to me at random times to open and close his hands in a "hi," it just melts my heart. And the dancing and clapping does, too. Pretty much my heart is a mess these days. He can do a few signs now as well as give you five and attempt to steal his brother's food. He also thinks he can type on the computer, wash his hands in the toilet, and rearrange your face with those hands....

Holiday smells. This has a lot to do with Jared's frequent making of goodies as well as the oils and wallflowers we frequently receive from our supplier, Traci. Now, not everybody has such a luxury in their living quarters. Take our neighbors down the hall...every holiday they have the ghastliest odor seeping into the hall (filet of turd, anyone?). It's just sad. And they wonder why the leftovers last for days afterward....

We LIVE the book "Mom Says I Can." I love it. We are so lucky to have Isaac and his imagination.

Our awesome ward. We thought we'd have a quiet Christmas since we have no family nearby. Instead, what ended up happening was something that could never happen if we were anywhere close to family: we partied with our new friends! Christmas Eve here and Christmas Night there-- no rules! Just hanging out, getting to know each other, watching our kids learn from their kids. It was surprisingly fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, we really made out like bandits this year for Christmas. We're still feeling bad that we couldn't give more...but MAN, our family members must've felt sorry for us because we were spoiled this year! In fact, most of the pictures on this post are from one particular gift we received...I know, we totally didn't deserve (or expect) that. Thanks, guys! Now we get to see things like:

Isaac's "pluuuuah" regarding mouse dropping under the sink

and documentation of his helping with the dishes

(as well as my silky pj bottoms). Hurrah!

Have a good and safe New Year's!

Perspective

Have you ever pondered how, as a child, time would go by incredibly slowly and Christmas was almost always unpardonably distant...and then you grew up. Now, when December hits, you're wondering where the year went.

Lately, I've been reflecting on the power of perspective. I think of my sister, Noelle, who is just days away from coming home from her mission in Armenia. She probably feels like it has flown by, and yet, on those difficult days when the hoodlums throw trash at them and it's a holiday where she would normally be with family (and nephews, of course), and she comes home to no heat in the middle of winter with icicles hanging from the ceiling due to a pipe burst...you get the idea...I'm sure she was thinking, "another YEAR of this?!"

It's kind of like when you have a long, hard semester, your first semester of grad school. And it's not just hard because you're expected to learn and apply a lot of information that will affect people's lives, but it's also a matter of pleasing picky professors who sometimes contradict each other (or themselves). Finals are a-coming, but you know you have a lot more baloney ahead of you before graduation. When that time comes, though, you'll look back at all the hoops you jumped through and maybe say, "That's okay, it was worth it." Maybe?

Or have you ever considered that what you always thought was the "daily grind" may actually be a brief phase of your life at which you look back and treasure as a time when you had it all?

Perhaps it's temporarily living in a less-than-desireable place? Every time your arm-and-leg rent is due you think of all the annoyances: the inconvience of the layout, the neighbor's smoke creeping in under your door and through the vents and pipes, the outdated design, the cheap appliances, the expensive-yet-ineffective heating. But you know it's important not to grumble too much and that two years will pass quickly (if you let them).

There are countless ways my perspective continues to change my attitude (for good or ill) and I could go on and on, but I don't want to lose you (this isn't a journal entry). So, here's what is on my mind: Noah has been showing signs of readiness to walk for a few weeks now. He walks with his walker and forces me to walk him around during Sunday school and such. With Isaac, I was like, "Do it! You're almost there! When will he walk already?" With Noah, I'm like, "Oh, that's cute, but let's not." I know progression is part of the plan, that development is divine, but it's just hard for me to let go of that baby phase. Then, last night, Noah took his first steps without holding on! Now I'm excited again, but still in no hurry.

Back when I had a camera...

This is a miscellaneous post, but I thought I'd show off some random stuff. Mostly because I'm in blog-withdrawal. Our new pediatrician is a nice old dude. Isaac takes advantage of this by milking every single "prize" he can get. Pencils, suckers and stickers (he's sporting three on his AC/DC shirt) are what he politely demands for in exchange for he and Noah receiving flu shots.

Noah LOVES baths. He just splashes and splashes. Little splashes are cute. Isaac doesn't know how to do little splashes yet....

Isaac decided to eat his PB&J at his "kitchen"

Noah is... TROGDOR!...in a swing.

Some of our best new friends here. Only the girls would pose. Josh and Isaac are far too preoccupied with their incredible imaginations. Unfortunately, Isaac will be the only Sunbeam next year.
Isaac is obsessed with his friend, Ryley, lately. When we all went around the table on Thanksgiving to say what we were thankful for, Isaac said without hesitation, "I'm thankful for Ryley." She was sitting next to him; all the parents "awww"ed.

Noah just had his first haircut. I'm not sure why it looks like there's horns on his head(?). I recall that he cried through the entire ordeal.

Isaac using the boppy to "nurse."

No, I do NOT put mascara on my baby boy. That's boy. Eat your hearts out, ladies: it's a Laney BOY thing!

Do you not want to eat this cutie pie? I do.

When Ryan & Carrie came, they wanted to go to Arlington on Veteran's Day. This was an excellent idea. It was a beautiful day, the holiday made it very appropriate...and Isaac's shoe caught on my camera strap right after this picture was taken (crash, no more pictures).

Not Again?!

Dear Faithful Readers,
Sorry, guys. No more pictures for a while. I broke the camera! This time we won't be able to afford a professional camera-fixing guy until...I don't know when...so that's that. And Noah has just started to wave "hi" at people and look like he's seriously considering walking! We broke it right before we were able to document the visits of Ryan & Carrie (who cleaned our apartment while they were here!) and my good friend, Anne (who is so getting into Johns Hopkins!). I know it's a sad sad day for all of you, as well. Please try to hold your heads up and enjoy life despite this tragedy.
Love,
Me

Pirate Party

Isaac is three! We had a fun little party on Monday to celebrate.It was a piratey, plank-walking, balloon-popping, treasure-finding, cake-eating mess of madness! Lots of fun.

Isaac clapping after he blew out the candles (with some unsolicited help) (:

Jared's Commission

Well, this is it, folks. We're officially in the Air Force now.

As you can plainly see, the ceremony was very formal and very exciting.

Ha Ha Halloween!

Our Zoo