Notice anything that doesn't belong?

Remind you of a certain post from here?

Noah cracks me up all day long doing the little quirky things he does. Poor guy gets told over and over his chubby foot doesn't belong near his food. Now all I have to do is point my finger at it and he slowly puts it down (of course only to bring it right back up again when he thinks I'm not paying attention). Sometimes it is so hard not to crack a smile or laugh. I'm working at putting my poker face on though.

And just to show you we can have our not-so-good moments too...

Elmo

This morning I flipped on the TV to find Elmo on PBS. Noah was immediately intrigued and stood like this for the entire show. Who doesn't love Elmo? And please ignore the pile of laundry in the photo. At least it's clean and folded!

Cuddly goodness

Two posts in one day! I can't believe it either. Thursday nights are becoming my sewing nights since I have some free time (I know! What is that???) and the babe is usually in bed by 7p.m. Nothing says Fall like pulling out the flannel and corduroy (even if it is 90 degrees outside). I decided to gather some up last night to applique some of that Fall goodness for my little monkey.

I do have to confess that I accidentally sewed the front of the shirt to part of the back that had gotten pulled up while going around the applique. Thankfully I caught what I did right away. I'm learning!

And this is the result of what happened when I tried to snap a photo of him in his new cuddly shirt. Always on the move!

Thought I'd give your Fabulous Find Friday a little spirit of Halloween.

1. Wouldn't these be cute embroidered on a trick-or-treat bag?

2. Isn't this a great idea if you won't be home to hand out candy but still want to treat the neighborhood kids? Lollipops in a pumpkin. So easy peasy. Leave it to Martha to do her thing.

3. What an easy and fast way to create a tablescape for your Halloween party. With black and white candy you can't go wrong.

4. And I thought this was another great one from Martha. Those itty bitty spiders look so real and make me shudder.

Blessed Be Your Name

Today I was so blessed by getting to worship at church and Noah actually staying in the nursery the entire time! I can't tell you how long it has felt that I've gotten to go and actually be "present" at church.

Several years ago, shortly after my husband and I had gotten married, we received notice that my husband's employer was going to do a massive lay-off, and unless we took a transfer we would be among those people. We both remember attending church that weekend and the significance of a simple song by Matt Redman that still brings tears to my eyes when I hear it. I love the reminder of its' message. Today at church that song seemed so fitting for me and all of life's happenings in the world today. I hope these lyrics below might bless you today as much as they did me. Blessed be HIS name.

Blessed Be Your Name
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your Name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your Name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the Name of the Lord
Blessed be Your Name
Blessed be the Name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious Name

Blessed be Your Name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your Name

Blessed be Your Name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
But my heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your Name

I'd love to hear what your favorite worship song is. Send me a comment!

Up to something...

Don't worry...I've already told him not to run while chewing on the drum stick.

Sewin' weekend

Well, my hubby went backpacking today and is gone overnight so I decided to stay up late and break out the sewing machine to make a baby gift for a friend. I have tons of girly fabrics, from Sandi Henderson's Ginger Blossom line, that have been waiting to get used and a new baby girl seemed like the perfect excuse.

I looked in the stores for the cloth diapers I use for Noah but all of the ones I found were really rough...so I decided to go a different route and use some terry cloth I already had. Not sure what I think but it turned out okay. I do think next time around I'll embroider a little something to spice it up even more. I'm also hoping to applique a little onesie to go along with the burp cloth.

With the weather starting to cool down I've decided to bring out the knitting. I grabbed some cheap yarn I had around the house to re-teach myself since it's been awhile. I'm hoping to get the yarn I mentioned earlier and make a yummy blanket to snuggle under this winter.

Bouncing fun

We headed to Bounce Jungle with some friends this past Thursday for some fun!



I took Noah down the slide a few times before the rush of big kids came.



In addition to the bouncers, they also had an infant/toddler section for crawlers and new walkers. Noah loved it for about 10 minutes and then was off to bigger and better things.

1. I ordered my copy...do you have yours?

2. Did you happen to see Martha's Hot Dog show? I am very interested in trying this recipe for chef Marc Murphy's Ditch Dog (with mac 'n cheese). Get the recipe here.

3. Big buzz words in the kid world lately is anything that says non-toxic. I really like the soy crayons found at Stubby Pencil Studio. They have tons of great items for kids (and who am I kidding...adults too)! Go stock up on your art supplies!

4. Looking for a 2009 calendar? Go and visit Orange Beautiful and check out their other paper crafts as well.

Team Samuel

When I was pregnant with Noah, I had a friend I worked with who was also pregnant with her little boy, Samuel. Erica and I had a great time sharing stories about our pregnancies and making sure whatever weird thing we were experiencing at the time was "normal."

Samuel is now a beautiful, growing boy full of energy and love and is almost a year old! I share about Erica and Samuel because while Samuel is all of the things I described him to be, he is also a little boy who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Below is a little bit of Samuel's story. If you feel led to sponsor Erica and her family in the GREAT STRIDES event mentioned there is a link in this post. They also appreciate all prayers lifted up on their behalf. If you have any questions please feel free to leave me a comment.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Samuel was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis just 2 weeks after he was born. Thanks to newborn screening in Arizona, we were able to get a head start on his treatment.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That's why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner - rather than later.

This year, I'm walking in the GREAT STRIDES walk at the Phoenix/Tempe - Kiwanis Park walk on April 25, 2009. Please help me meet my fund-raising goal of $1,500 by sponsoring me. Your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.

Making a donation is easy and secure! Just visit my Great Strides home page and find the "Click to Donate" button to make a donation that will be credited to my team. Any amount you can donate is greatly appreciated!

To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.
With love,
Erica Kelley

Our little monkey

Noah has officially learned he likes to climb the stairs. He's so fast at it. He actually enjoys climbing anything. What a monkey. I have to say I'm a little depressed about the fact that we'll be having the dreaded baby gates on our stairs for a good while now. They're so annoying.

And we're off...

Last weekend I attended the Savvy Mommies sale and was so excited to spot this walker for Noah. He LOVES it! In fact, the second he saw it he stood up and practically ran with it. I couldn't get it on video but it was hilarious. He uses the walker to drop him off at pit stops he wants to go to...like if he sees a toy on the other end of the room or he wants to see mommy in the kitchen he'll grab the walker and off he goes. I also managed to pick up a few other items at the sale...somehow I ended up with three different types of drums. I have no idea how that happened...and I'm sure I'll be regretting it soon!

MOO MOO Palooza

Today Noah and I headed out with some friends to MOO MOO Palooza 2008 at a nearby farm. Unfortunately he's still a little too young to get out and enjoy the petting zoo and pony rides, but who doesn't enjoy looking at some cows? And smelling them too!

Check out Noah on his stroller date with an older woman. He's already learning how to save money too since we got in for free! Maybe next time they'll share Cheerios.


He looks a little lonely there in front of the cows.

Noah's date cried when she saw the walking/talking cow but not our little guy...he just looked the other way like it wasn't even there.

You'll notice in most of the photos Noah has at least one of his feet up. This is how he usually travels. He's so cool and casual.

Nine month photos

Well, I was a little less than thrilled with the lady who took Noah's photos but we did manage to get one or two that were okay.

Outside fun

The weather was FAB-U-LOUS this weekend! We even managed to get into the 80's one day. You know you live in Arizona when you jump for joy that it is overcast outside. I won't even tell you what we do when it begins to sprinkle! To take advantage of the nice weather we headed to our nearby park to get some swinging in. And of course walks around the neighborhood are a must when the weather is great.

Noah makes the greatest expressions.



And what....I do exist! My hubby actually grabbed the camera and took some photos of Noah and his mommy.



Monkeying around. We have such a strong boy my mom joked about calling him Bam Bam. I laughed and then seriously considered it!


And of course we had to play telephone. It totally threw Noah off hearing mommy's voice but not being nearby.

And unfortunately our weekend was topped off with Noah getting his first cold...and then of course sharing it with me. I have to say I think we've done pretty well for it taking him 9.5 months to get his first sickness.

1. I'm anxiously awaiting to place an order for this yarn...so I can cast on for the winter and make a yummy blanket.

2. Aren't these shoes adorable? Simple and sweet.

3. These velvet pumpkins are perfect for a fall tablescape, made by Phoenix artist Lynne Bonnell. They can be found here.

4. I discovered this domestic blog the other week and it's fabulous. I enjoy how effortless Derrick Johnson makes decorating become. His posts are filled with just about every type of topic you can imagine and he even includes how-to videos to give you that extra boost of confidence to do it yourself.

Train-ing wheels

Today I take Noah for his nine month photos...well, nine and a half month photos I guess since I'm a little late. And as I sit here typing this, my little one, who is supposed to be taking a nap so he will be refreshed for his photo shoot, is knocking on the wall by his crib. It's actually quite funny when we hear his little knocks tapping like Morse code.

Trains of all sizes have entered our home and I must say, I'm totally encouraging it.

I'll have to get a photo of our amazing new (to us) train table, and giant Thomas the Train storage box, that I scored on Craigslist. Noah doesn't quite get how they work just yet but they sure are good to chew on!

We had such a great day together yesterday. It was just one of those days where everything lines up, you feel productive, we danced around to silly songs, read about Henny Penny and how the sky is falling down and baked some peanut butter cookies. And isn't this just the sweetest photo? It's this sweetness that makes me jump to have another one....gulp! Of course the reality comes quickly back as I chase Noah around saying, "No touch," repeatedly.

Oh how I wish I could bottle it all up to release when I want to go down memory lane.