Summer Fake Out

So, as I'm looking at the cold, rainy day outside right now I am feeling a bit like someone is snickering at me. Just a few days ago it was in the 90's as if summer had arrived, but it was just a fake out. Oh, how I love sunny, warm weather. And this last winter the wait for it felt extra long. At least I have pictures from the last week to get me by. Here are several to share with you...

Soccer!
Yes - Mark & I love soccer, but Noah's enthusiasm for it lately sprouted from us stumbling across a clip of a "soccer monster" episode from the Backyardigans on YouTube. I was searching for something fascinating for Noah to watch on my laptop to encourage him (aka distract him) to eat his dinner (yes, I used to say I that I'd never bribe my kids either...) and I found that clip of Pablo the soccer monster. Noah loved it and all of the sudden dinner was tasty & soccer was really cool too! No objections here, so we joined a little soccer club for 2-5 year olds that partners in medicine (for families of medical residents) sponsors. Here are the kids (Noah with the green ball) listening to the "rules"...which were basically just don't use your hands.

This is me explaining the soccer drill the kids are doing & trying to convince Noah that he'd really rather play soccer than go down the slide on the nearby playground.

Some of the other kids...

Yeah! His first gooooooaaaal! :)

I let Noah choose a Gatorade from the cooler at "halftime", so I couldn't tell him no when he pulled out a red one. Even though I already knew that it'd end up just like......this.

Warm evenings!
The other day Mark's parents came by with Diane, Ron, Sara & Tyler (visiting from Arizona) and we were able to visit outside in our backyard. The temperature was perfect, even after 8 pm. Here's a quick shot of Lincoln with Sara & "Grandma Luigi". She was newly dubbed so by Noah after she bestowed the gift of a new little race car, Luigi, (from Disney's Cars movie) on him.

Water!
An outdoor shopping mall in Salt Lake City boasts one of those great fountains that spurt water from the ground, sometimes to music. I put Noah in his swimsuit, brought a change of clothes, and headed off with the boys and my mom to see what Noah would think of things...

I was actually surprised at how not reserved he was. He did not shy away from the water at all! And, when music would play he would stomp his foot and wiggle his body to the beat :)
He would let the water hit him in the face and just run down his nose and chin.
When a blast would surprise him, he'd throw his hands up and just freeze in place while it finished spraying him - as opposed to pulling back or running away. It was quite entertaining.
I reveled in watching Noah explore something new and exerting independence. I was glad he was wearing all red (so I could watch him easily) as he'd run through groups of kids all around the fountain by himself.
He did not want to stop to pose for a picture.
Periodically he'd come back to grandma and me just to giggle or say "silly water!" and then he was off again.
Green grass, baseball caps, and chubby white legs (well, at least that last one is cute if you're a baby!)...bring on summer!!!

6 month photos

Here's the link to the 6 month photos that we had done of Lincoln. Feel free to take a peek. He's such a beautiful little blue eyed ball of chub & we love him so much. We'd love to hear what your favorites are if you'd like to email us! www.joannataylorphotography.com/Lincoln

Turning one half...

Our little Lincoln turned 6 months old yesterday (Tuesday)! He's such a sweet, happy, squeezable little guy & we love him to pieces. As you can see - he now has two teeth to adorn his adorable smile...which he is very liberal at sharing with everyone. He also has started rolling over and (drumroll please)...sleeping through the night now and then!

Another first happened yesterday as we gave Linc solid food for the first time. He gulped the rice cereal down as if to say "yes, I'm ready for this stuff...what took you so long?!" This photo is of his very first bite of food - I think his expression shows his pleased anticipation.A few more photos of the big occasion...

Lincoln had his 6 month check-up today. I took this picture while we were still at the doctor's office - right after he got his shots, but you'd never know it! Resilient little dude.

Here are his stats from today - weight: 20 lbs, 11 oz (91st percentile); length: 28.5 inches (94th percentile); head: 47.5 cm (100th percentile).

I couldn't help but include a couple more pictures. He loves his feet and hands lately. Such a cutie.

Sweet li'l package

Our good friends Levi & Amanda (from Iowa) are staying with us for a couple weeks. They came to Utah to adopt their sweet little (and I mean tiny) baby girl, Tysa. She is absolutely beautiful. She's a 5 1/2 pound package of gorgeous skin, soft black hair, and adorable dimples. We surprised them with the gift of a photo session with our favorite photographer, and I just have to share the link to the photos for you to look at. Even if you don't know them, feel free to take a look at this beautiful baby! www.joannataylorphotography.com/Tysa Congratulations, Levi & Amanda!!!

P.S. A tip on how to navigate the photos...the arrow below the thumbnails just moves you from page to page of pictures. To look at each of them (there are 50 pictures total), put your cursor over the right side of the big picture and an arrow will appear to click on (or you can use the arrows on your keyboard).

Food & a Haircut

We were at Baskin Robbins 31 cent/scoop night when I realized that this was Noah's first ice cream cone! Yes, he's had ice cream before, but never on a cone. So! It needed documentation. Besides, not much is cuter than a two year old with ice cream on his adorable little face.

This photo cracks me up. Our playgroup met at this restaurant last week. Noah is sitting in the train next to his friend Michael eating his corndog. The funny part is the way that Noah is devouring his food. He still opens his mouth much wider than is necessary for the food to fit, so it looks like he's almost angry at it or something. He was enjoying himself though...especially the "sauce" which is his new favorite culinary delight.

How could I resist taking a picture of Noah's haircut last week? He was so cute sitting in the little airplane watching Backyardigans. He used to be scared of getting his haircut. Thanks to Cookie Cutters that's a thing of the past :)

This is Noah just before getting out of his carseat at home. He clutched his sucker and balloon the whole ride home. Any wonder that he likes haircuts now?

All That Jazz

Friday was a big day! We got to go meet our friends' new baby girl - Tysa...who is adorable by the way (I'll post pics of her soon). And, I got to go on a date with my little brother! OK, so mabye at 6 feet tall I can't call him "little" anymore, but he's still 12 1/2 years younger than me :) He took me to a Jazz playoff game & we had such a great time! Thanks, Josh!

And look who we ran into...both of my grandpas, my dad & my brother Matt were also at the game (but weren't sitting with us).

There's such an energy at playoff games. You spend more time on your feet than in your seat. The crowd is louder (even at the loudest arena in the NBA!), and there's just an electric excitement that is so contagious. I doubt that we'll have a very easy time pulling off a score like this (113-91, see photo) against the Lakers, but nonetheless - go, Jazz!