Little Stinker

Feeding time has been a chore lately! For the time being, we feed Noah in his Bumbo chair. It worked for a while, but now Noah has figured out how to move around in it. He likes to look at everything but his food while eating. So today I was feeding him like every other day and Noah popped out of his Bumbo onto the table. It's a good thing I was right there. Did he cry? No. He laughed...hard! So, I put him back in his chair and resume feeding him and he keeps trying to pop himself out of it...smiling the whole time he's doing it. So I squeeze his hands an say, "Noah stop." Did he stop? No. He laughed....hard! Little stinker! We don't want to say "No" to him because we're afraid it will confuse him with his name. But every time I gave him a firm "Noah stop" or "Noah don't" he laughed. And then I laughed. He's just so cute when he laughs. I'm in trouble if he laughs every time he supposed to be obeying his Mom!

Guess it's time for a high chair

Go Nuggs!

At the risk of getting flack from my fellow Spurs fans, I'm posting this picture. It's just too cute not to! I still love the Spurs, but they slacked this year, so I have to cheer for my #3 team (The Rockets are still my #2)! After all, I highly doubt Noah will grow up to be a Spurs fan. I'm pretty sure his Dad will put the kibosh on that! And for the time being, "Go Nuggets!" They've worked hard...and I DESPISE the Lakers! So kudos to them for making the Lakers work!

6 Months

I can't believe that 6 months has come so quickly! Noah, you have gotten so big and so fun this past month. At your check-up, you weighed in at 18.6 lbs (75th percentile), were 27.5 inches tall (90th percentile) and your head was still giant at 45.5 cm (90th percentile). You're a big boy!! This past month, you really started to like eating anything and everything. Though you may make a bitter face sometimes, you still eat the entire jar. You eat both fruits and vegetables and still eat 4 oz. of formula at every meal. Little Pig! Your sleep has been kind of off this past month. Maybe it has something to do with the double ear infection the doctor discovered at your 6 month appointment. We had no idea that you were hurting! Other than not sleeping well, you showed no signs of having those ear infections. Maybe you'll be tough like your Momma and will be able to stand all sorts of pain! :)
You're pretty active these days. You love to roll all across the room. Sometimes I look away for a split second and when I look back, you're clear across the other side of the room. You're starting to scoot a little bit, but haven't quite figured out how to get very far. Sitting up has been a challenge. That big noggin' of yours is keeping you from sitting for very long. But, we're still working on it! Hopefully by 7 months you'll be sitting without any problems. You love your bouncy seat with all the toys. You can finally sit in it without flopping all over the place. I finally heard a big belly laugh from you (5/2/09)! It was just you and I and you thought I was hilarious for some reason. I was so sad that Daddy wasn't around to hear it. But, it was a special moment between the two of us. You still don't know what to think when Daddy tickles you. Sometimes you let out a little squeal. But mostly you just tighten your muscles and brace for the tickling. You love to grab our faces. And, you LOVE to eat my face. You only do it to me so I'm the lucky one that gets slobbered on. I don't mind it one bit though!

Daddy gave you your first haircut (5/6/09). That little mohawk of yours was getting out of control! Sadly, I don't have any pictures because I had to hold you while he trimmed your hair. You still have somewhat of a mohawk, but your blonde hair is growing in all over. Pretty soon, the mohawk will be gone! Speaking of blonde hair, how did that happen? You are so blonde! More blonde than your Mom ever was. Your Dad and I always look at you and wonder who you look like. We get mixed responses from everyone. A lot of people say you look like your sister Sara. You do have her coloring...very fair, very blonde, and big blue eyes. Daddy and I never had any idea that you would've turned out that way. It's a nice surprise and you sure are cute!
You're still very laid back and everyone says how chill you are. You make it very easy to take you anywhere. You're a very quiet boy except when you're hungry. And when you're hungry, you sure let us know! It's amazing how loud you can get. For someone who is so quiet most of the time, you sure do have some lungs on you. You hate being hungry and sometimes when you're screaming and the bottle is in your mouth, it takes you a minute or so to realize it's there. It's a pretty funny thing, but it makes me crazy sometimes! We have to feed you right on the dot or you let us know that it's past time. So I have to make sure I have food around at all times!Noah, you're a joy to have around. We all love you very much! You have changed my life in more ways that I can count. You're such a blessing to me and our family! Don't go growing up to fast....these past 6 months have gone by way to fast!

I love you, son!

Love,
Momma

1st Mother's Day

My 1st Mother's Day was wonderful. Though it was a gloomy day, I loved spending every minute with my boy. David, the girls and Noah gave me gifts that are supposed to help me relax. They gave me things like candles, a mini massager, a gift certificate to an awesome spa for a massage and headphones. The girls spent the day with their Mom so David, Noah and I went to church together. At church, all the Mom's got roses and we all had to say something that we remembered about our own Mother's. I said that I remembered my Mom always doing her quiet time and reading her Bible. That is something that has stood out in my mind for years and has had a big impact on me. I hope that someday my own kids will see that with me. I'm not quite there yet....but I'll keep working on it. After church, we went and had an awesome brunch at the Greenbriar Inn in Boulder with some friends. Then we went home and Noah let me have a 2 hour nap! What a great gift! It was such a nice and relaxing day.

It is still surreal that I'm a Mom. I wouldn't change it for anything though. I love that little boy of mine. David, thanks for giving me the greatest gift! Mom, thanks for being a great example! Noah, thanks for making me your Momma! I love you all!

Operation 60th Birthday Surprise

My Dad turned 60 this year, so my Mom wanted to do something special for him. So she flew the Colorado crew (Colemans & Peech Family) to Texas and the Tharps met us in Houston. This was all a surprise, so my Dad had no idea that we were coming in. My Grandma and my Uncle Dave also came in from Chicago for the surprise. Before this though, everytime I talked to my Dad, he would ask, "So, are you coming in for my birthday?" And I would say, "No Dad. We're broke. We can't fly right now." Now my Dad is a pretty sneaky guy so I don't know if he was just trying to find out if anyone was doing anything for is birthday or if he really was just asking if we could swing flying in for the big day. Anyway, he was fishing and I was giving up the secret. So we all headed down there the day after his birthday. We met the Tharps at a nearby restaurnt and then followed each other to my parents house. We pulled up in the driveway and my Dad met all of us in his robe. And the tears began to flow. Needless to say, we pulled off the surprise and my Dad was thrilled to see all of his family!

The weekend was great. We spent most of our time by the pool. My Dad's company had a big barbeque cookoff and so we spent Friday night there at the Galveston County Fair. It was a blast! I think Kerri, Dana and I took advantage of having the Grandma's take care of all the kids. It was great to be able to hang out with my sisters and dance all night. The kids had a great time too riding all the carnival rides. The next day, we took one big family portrait. This was the first time that all of us had been together in a while, so we took advantage of that moment. Everyone except us left the next day. Our crew went to NASA the next day and took a tour. I hadn't been there since my elementary field trip so it was cool to see it as an adult. I definitely appreciated it much more this time around.

Once again, it was a fabulous weekend at the Drenth compound. And once again, I came back to Colorado missing Texas. I was in a funk for a couple of days, but now I'm getting back into the swing of things here. There's just nothing like spending time with your family in the place that you love!

Anyway, Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you were truly surprised and had a great time! We sure do miss you!

Cole helps Gramps blow out his candles

Sisters....awwwwwww

Katelyn, Hadley and Cole playin' in the hot tub

Noah hangin' out with Momma

Sara and David take the jet ski out for a spin

Anna doing what she does best.....lookin' cute

Great Grandma and Noah. I love his goofy grin in this picture!

Uncle Dave with his Great Nephew and Nieces

Grammy and Noah

He Is Risen...2009

Though we were celebrating the resurrection of Christ, it was a pretty gloomy Easter Day. However, that didn't spoil the meaning of the day and the time we spent with family and friends. It was only a party of 3 for us that day. Noah was decked out in his button down shirt and khakis. He even wore shoes for the first time. I think he looked like a little man...so cute! I did my best to stay warm in my summer dress and sandals, but I pretty much shook all day from the cold. And of course David looked handsome in his button down and khakis. Why is it that so much of Easter is focused on what we wear? I guess it's part of the fun of spring?! Anyway, we went to church where our pastor shared the gospel. Every year we have a balloon release to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. Each balloon has a verse on it so that whoever finds it may learn about Jesus. After church, we headed to Boulder and had brunch at an old dinner hall in Chataqua Park. It was delicious. And it was nice to be able to spend time with David's brother Jon, friend Dave Van Handel and the Max family. After lunch we headed home and took naps. It was the perfect day for a nap....gray and rainy. Though Noah doesn't have a clue what this day is about yet, I was sure to tell him about why we celebrate Easter. And maybe next year, when he's a little older, the Easter Bunny just might visit him.

My handsome boys

Releasing our balloon to the heavens

Celebrating in Boulder

Noah snuggly with Uncle Johnny in his jammies

Remember this guy??

Yes, that is Chuck E. Cheese! On the eve of Easter, we packed up the kids and chowed down on some pizza and played games with the Olson's (Katie & Trey) and the Thompson's (Katie's sister Jessie, her husband Kyle & twins Will & Sydney). I remembered this place to be quite different. I was probably Sara and Anna's age the last time I was there. In my mind, I remember Chuck E. Cheese being dark and dingy. Come to think about it, the place might have been a little sketchy. My how time changes things! This was not the case this time around. It was bright and noisy and packed with little kids running around without shoes on (GROSS)! Katie's niece was terrified of the mechanical mouse. And after thinking about it, we adults all thought that, "Yes, Chuck E. could be quite scary to a 3 year old." So, she just kept her back to the gigantic mouse and we tried to distract her from looking at him all night. All the kids had a blast. I had a little fun myself. I sure do love that skee ball game! But, I can honestly say that I wouldn't mind if I never saw that place again. It was complete chaos!

This picture of Anna cracks me up because she was having a blast on this thing. She was pedaling so fast as the bike went up and down.
Sara was trying to entertain Noah on the big screen. Doesn't he look thrilled?