Noah's new favorite thing

Noah has gotten quite attached to an old oversized storage bin that Grammy gave us. The first night he laid eyes on it, he jumped right in and he and the bin have been inseparable ever since then. He drags it around the house, pretending it is a boat and using it as a sort of steamroller to push Jake out of his path. And at night and during naps, he sleeps in it. I thought he was kind of crazy, until yesterday I sat in it for a minute and was surprised at how cozy his little bed was. It's been almost a week, and we are still waiting for the novelty to wear off. We are thinking of getting rid of the big queen sized bed taking up space in that room and replacing it permanently with the storage bin. Maybe we'll get a smaller one for Jake and then we can have matching furniture.

The new bed is very convenient, I found out this morning. We had an early start to our day (4:00 to be exact, thank you Jake), so I was exhausted/desperate by the time 8:00 rolled around. I put Jake down for a nap and I pulled the bin into my bedroom, along with our little tv. Then I turned on Happy Feet, and Noah jumped in his bed and was happy as can be. I laid down in my own bed, hoping to get a couple minutes of sleep. I dozed off for about 5 minutes until the bedroom door opened and Noah called to me: "I'm going to get a snack mom". I said "ok, bring it back in here and eat it in front of the tv" (childhood obesity, here we come). And then I fell asleep immediately and the next thing I know, Noah said: "mommy I'm all done," and he was standing next to his bed, holding 2 empty bags, of Golfish and Pretzels. I should mention that they were not snack sized bags and they were at least half full (nice optimism wouldn't you say). I don't know how many of them he actually ate, because of this:

I shook out his sleeping bags into the bin and then dumped all the food in the trash.
It turns out storage bins are very easy to clean. And did I mention that if you wanted one of your own, you could walk out of target with a brand new bed for under $10? So for cost, convenience, comfort, style, and all around fun, I recommend the storage bin beds to anyone.

the happy customer

Jake's turn for the Spotlight

To commemmorate his 9 month milestone, here's a tribute to Jake. I can't believe he is 3/4 of a year, already! That went fast! And he's moving fast too! I am surprised his knees aren't calloused and rugburned from racing across the carpet. Usually Jake breaks out the speed crawl when I am across the room and he needs to be in my arms. He is going through a mama's boy stage.

Lately when Jake wakes up during the night, if I'm not there to greet him, he is inconsolable. During the day, he loves being held, and if not then I better at least be sitting on the floor next to him. As draining it can be, it is nice being loved! He isn't a big talker, but every so often he does some "mamamammamama" babbles, so I'm happy.
When Jake gets excited, he waves and claps his hands. If there is good music on, he adds some body bouncing and head nodding, and it's quite the dance routine.

Sometimes Noah will make one of his toys play music and then they will both dance, and then when the music stops, Noah will start it again. It's cute. Noah has also started saying: "I want to play with Jake and be nice to him!" Jake does light up when Noah is around, as long as he isn't being pummeled in some way.

Jake has started standing up to big brother. When Noah tries to take away a toy Jake is playing with, instead of giving it up without a fight, he has started "grrrrrr"ing and engaging his little death grip, which is very funny to watch. If you tend to root for the underdog, you would be proud.
Jake has a mouthful of teeth, which I could add, makes nursing a litle scary every time. He had 2 teeth at 3 months, and then nothing new, until this month, he's adding four additional little choppers to his set.

Speaking of his mouth, it is a magnet for everything. Well except for spoonfuls of babyfood. He now has a clear preference for table scraps and big people food. Which means meal times take a little more thought and preparation. His favorite is bread pieces, nice and soggy with a spread of veggie babyfood puree.
He's a keeper.

Noah quotes

Noah is such good entertainment. He gets funnier all the time, and more creative in expressing himself. I am always just waiting to hear what will be the next thing to come out of his little mouth! Here are a few recent Noah quotes.

In the car yesterday he was singing, with nonsense words. When he stopped, I requested another song. He sang: "Jacobah is my friend! Jacobah is so funny! Jacobah is so funny! Jacobah is so funnyyyyyyy."

"Read me a book, mom." When I didn't respond: "Kate Campbell, read me a book!"

This morning he announced when he woke up: "Mom I dreamed about Noah and Mickey Mouse!"

He saw a fancy cutting board at my mom's house, and said proudly: "Look! an Octagon!" I counted, and sure enough, the cutting board had 8 sides. Thanks, Sesame Street. Other things he picked up from the Street:
"What is a quest? It's a search for something!"
"I know what sound the T makes: Tttt tttt tttt"

He has very good manners. Sometimes that sort of backfires, when I ask him to do something, like go to bed or pick up his toys, he says very sweetly: "No, thank you." and fully expects me to submit to his sweetness.

He is becoming more attached to friends and family. When I told him we were going over to some friends' house, he exclaimed: "Oh!!! I LOVE payton and mavanee!!" and when I told him Annie was coming over, his face lit up and he raised his hands in the air and: "Yayyyyy!!" and then clapped his hands. He wanted to make phone calls to Grandma and Chief in Kentucky, and when he left messages on their machines, he kept repeating: "Come to my house? Come play with me?"

While i was putting jake to bed, I overheard Noah in the other room with Kyle say: "I love to watch basketball with you, Daddy."

When he pounds it/gives knuckles, he says: "Texas Forever!" (Friday Night Lights)

One morning I was having a hard time and I said: "Noah I can't talk to you right now. I am a little upset." He got quiet and then a minute later, he approached me and said: "I make you feel better, Mommy. Play with my firetruck and you feel better."

And of course it's my favorite when my little 2 year old says: "Mom I love you sooooo much!!"

daddy dinners

Kyle came up with a little proposal to make my life easier and happier: a Monday night kitchen take over. The plan is that while he slaves away at the stove, I will sit around and relax. We gave it a try on Monday, and our first daddy dinner night was a success. He looked through cookbooks and found a meal that looked good, and then he went to town. The final product was impressive. After Noah took his first bite, he exclaimed: "I LIKE it!" It really was restaurant good. And he even did the dishes. What a man.

There's always something

Seems like with parenting, if it isn't one thing, it's another. I mean that in the most positive way possible. I love a good challenge. Lucky me, being a mom gives me plenty of them. One week ago the task at hand was weaning Noah from his pacifier addiction. We had been only giving it to him at nap time and bed time, so the transition was less of a cold turkey thing. And during our Kentucky vacation, we made sure to prepare the poor little addict with repeated reminders: "When we go back home, you are going to say goodbye to your chupon, because you are a big boy and chupones are just for babies like Jake." I was so worried. The first time I put him down for a nap, he said so desperately: "I NEED my chupon!" I told him he was a big boy and he didn't need it anymore. The look on his face was heartbreaking when started begging: "Pleeease, mommy? Please!" I tried to be strong and said: "No. You'll be okay, you can sleep without it." He started crying and said: "How about the green one?" That made me want to laugh and cry. Then when I said no, he tried again: "then how about the the blue one?" Poor kid going through the Kubler Ross stages of grief. Anyway, I was firm even though I wanted to be a pushover at that moment so badly. I left the room, and he was still crying. But after just a couple of minutes, the crying stopped, and I felt relieved and gave myself a good pat on the back. Success is so sweet. And then when I went into his bedroom to wake him up, I found him knocked out on his bed, sleeping so peacefully, with a big blue pacifier stuck in his mouth. That sneaky little thing. Apparently he still had a secret stash under his pillow. And that stash came in handy at his most desperate of times. But since that incident, he has been clean for a week and has shown great resilience and fortitude in overcoming his life's addiction.

(Noah in his huge big boy bed. It is an awesome thing seeing your little baby sleep in a queen sized bed.)

Next challenge: Conquering Bedtime Fears (in the words of Noah: "I'm scared of all the scary things, Mom! I want to sleep in Kyle's room!"). It's filling our nights with serious drama. And so, feel free to leave some insights on how to handle childhood bedtime fears/reluctance to sleep alone in a perfectly safe and night-lighted bedroom. The sooner we conquer this one, the sooner we can move on to other exciting challenges. Thanks.

Halloween, revisted

Forget New Years and Christmas, I'm still stuck back in October. Today I finally made the boys get back in their Halloween costumes so I could take a few pictures.


Things went smoothly until the horse got attitude and the jockey got thrown.

but jockey jake didn't give up

he conquered that wild stallion

nice job Jake

what we've been up to

Thought I better take a minute to document what we are doing before I get too caught up in everything else. We pulled out the Christmas decorations to get us in the Christmas spirit.

We have done a little bit of traveling, and have enjoyed all the time spent with family. We had a happy Thanksgiving with the complete Campbell family, and my 3 BYU-going siblings joined the festivities too. Auntie "Yars" and a studious looking Noah.

Jake has been dabbling deeper into the world of solid food. During family meal times, if he isn't participating he gets all riled up and entitled. He loves peas and sweet potatoes the most. I just can't believe my baby is old enough to eat solids. He seems so little. The high chair practically swallows him whole.

Noah is growing up too, and is getting a little attitude-y in the process...but it is surprisingly cute and hasn't gotten old yet. He likes to bargain to get his way. When I ask him to do something, when he used to say so sweetly: "okay mommy" now he answers: "just a second Mom!" or "one more minute!" So our little 2 year old is finding ways to assert his independence.

The brothersThey are just starting to have fun together. Every so often, in between the pushing, blankets over the face, body slams, and timeouts, the boys have a little moment of peaceful playtime and I get a taste of that happiness of a mom watching her kids play together like friends.

(How cute is Jake's face, looking at his big brother!)

I love that Jake is big enough to sit in the wagon. Thanks Grandma--it is getting a lot of use. A week ago, we took the wagon out for a walk to the elementary school where a helicopter was visiting. Noah loved it and still talks about it. He says: "the helicopter went up in the sky with the airplane. it blowed noah and mommy and jakey bean's hair and noah said 'wowwww.""

Jake got another haircut courtesy of Kyle.

Check out those side rolls. There was five, I think. It's even more significant considering how he came into this world as such a skinny little thing. It must be all those extra calories he is consuming after 8 p.m.!

And last but not least...