Super Bowl Sunday

American Football. I'm just not a fan. I know that is kind of strange considering that I'm doing a Super Bowl post, but growing up we always kind of "celebrated" Super Bowl Sunday. It was more of a social thing though...the extended family all got together at my grandparents' house. We fried shrimp, talked, ran around in the back yard, and enjoyed the game...or the commercials. Anyway, this year my mom made the most delicious chili (as you can see from what there was left when I went to get another helping). It was flavorful, but sweet. Yum!

And, as you can see...Lincoln enjoyed himself!
Here are a few more of the snacks that we indulged in. The jalapeno jelly won for most surprisingly-delicious in my book. Now, I do have to mention that I believe I've given football a fair chance. I've tried to like it, I really have. It just bores me. I know that a lot of the boredom comes from lack of knowledge about the game, but I've decided that I'm ok with that. And I didn't feel too ashamed that when we showed up to watch the game that I had no idea who was playing either. It's not that I hate watching all sports. I love watching basketball, tennis, and soccer (real football...lol). I'm just not a football fan. That being said, I will admit that even I really enjoyed watching the end of the game! I can only imagine what a nail-biter it must have been for those of you that are really into the sport, or fans of the teams that made it to the Super Bowl!

We also got quite a kick out of the "Monsters vs. Aliens" commercial that was aired in 3D during halftime! Thanks for having the glasses for us, Mom! Noah is still asking when we get to go to the movies to see it. Here is a picture of Mark, Noah, Josh & Emily (Josh's girlfriend) watching the commercial.

And, for those of you that enjoy watching obscenely expensive (and sometimes funny) commercials - here's a link to one website's ranking of the top 10 commercials from this year's Super Bowl: http://www.superbowl-ads.com/2009_poll_winners.html
My favorite is the Coca-Cola one because Noah loved it so much...he did a little dance, kept yelling out the names of all the bugs, and thought it was hilarious that a butterfly landed on the guy's nose. Noah also got a kick out of the Bridgestone commercial, because there's a Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story (it is a pretty funny commercial though). Anyone else out there have a favorite?

Random January-ness

It seems that I'm always more than half way through the month before wrapping up the previous month. Oh well. Here goes the random-ness...I'll start with a picture of Mark (yes, that's him under there). Our recliner is his very favorite place to fall asleep, and he is known to do so quite quickly. One night while we were watching a show I asked him a question. When he didn't respond I looked over to see that he'd pulled his blanket (that I'm quite proud to have made him for Christmas a few years ago) up over his head - lights on and all - and was snoring away. This isn't a unique occurrence, so I decided that it should be documented. He didn't even wake up when I snapped this picture.

Next: My family came over to watch a Jazz game together one night. While my brother Matt was hanging out on the couch with Noah he put his headphones on him. Noah had never experienced headphones before and was quite amused. At first he held his body really still, and his eyes just looked back and forth while he tried to process things. Then he got the hang of what was going on and relaxed and really enjoyed himself. He loves music, so that was a special treat for him. And, while I watched him I had one of those flash into the future moments where I thought I could picture a glimpse of what he may look like as a teenager someday.

I love this little guy so much.

Now, I had to include this picture for a few reasons. First, because I think it's cute (and look at those lashes of his!), but also because it shows this bib. Mark's mom made the comment once that it was like a trough, how we fill it up with his food and he eats right out of it. That cracked us up and the title stuck. It is a bit "trough-like", but he likes it. And for some reason he's less likely to throw food out of it onto the floor than if the food is directly on his tray. So, we love the trough too.

The last four pictures are all from a birthday party. Our good friends the Donnellys have a son that just turned 2. Here we are enjoying his fireman birthday party!

Claire giving Drew, the birthday boy, his birthday cake! Yum! And notice Noah trying to get in on the action while peeking over the top of the cake :)

Drew opening presents with his dad. (This is the firetruck that we gave to him)

And, lastly, I had to throw in one photo of my two cuties just playing. Isn't it always fun to play with someone else's new toys?

"Ish...ish!"

A few weeks ago we visited our local aquarium with my friend Alison and her adorable son Jack. Our husbands are in residency together & we knew each other from school in Iowa too - where we also both happened to go through infertility treatments, and then both began the adoption process. Anyway! We had a great afternoon. The aquarium isn't huge, but it's the perfect size for us...there are sharks, jellyfish, a giant octopus, etc. There's even a shallow pool where you can handle the rays. And, the best part for me is that it's small enough that I can still see one kid as I'm chasing after the other one! Lincoln and Noah loved the freedom to run from exhibit to exhibit on their own...and Lincoln would point a chubby finger to the glass and say "Ish...ish!" and grin with pride when I would repeat back to him, "yes, Lincoln...fish!"

There is a "coral community" that has small exhibits in the rock down low near the ground, so the littlest kids can get up close & watch the fish swim around. There are also areas that the kids can crawl through little tunnels. The boys all love it. Here's a quick shot (the only one that wasn't blurry) that I got of Jack & Lincoln.

And Lincoln crawling through one of the tunnels.

Apparently I didn't manage to get even one picture of Noah. I guess that's what happens when I let both boys out of the stroller. Noah is a little bit harder to keep up with than Lincoln, and moved a little faster from exhibit to exhibit. He did have a great time though, and particularly liked watching the sharks. Lincoln was pretty fascinated with everything...and everything was an "ish". Here's one last picture of him peering into a fish tank.
Thanks, Alison! We had a great time...and just think, the next time that we go we'll have Carter there with us too!

15 months old today!

Our baby is 15 months old today. I know that I stopped doing the monthly-milestone posts after Lincoln turned a year old, but I wanted to at least do some sort of update every 3 months during his second year...then I'll move on to the good ol' annual spotlight post after that. Our sweet little cuddle bug has turned into so much more of a spunky ball of energy. There are so many ways that I feel like he's growing up so fast, but he still has yet to completely give up his night-time bottle or an occasional binky. I'll admit that sometimes I wonder if it's more of a crutch for him, or for me (wanting to hold on to his baby-ness).

He's our "little monkey" as we like to call him. Not only does he make a funny squeely noise that sounds like a monkey, but he climbs all over everything!...chairs, desks, whatever he can. We're a bit worried that he'll start bailing out of his crib sometime soon too! I love the innocent expression Lincoln has in this picture...right after he climbed up onto this desk of course.

I don't have a height & weight update...but he does have 11 teeth now (and unfortunately he doesn't comprehend yet how much they hurt when he bites somebody). He loves cars, books, animals (and their coordinating "sounds"), and he is starting to use sign language (and a few words) a lot more lately. His favorite new request is asking for "up" (which he pronounces backwards as "pu!"). He'll repeat it over & over until you pick him up and then he'll promptly want to be put down, only to repeat the process of course.

As for food, he's still a great eater and will eat most food that we offer to him. He continues to want a banana ("nana") every morning with breakfast, and he's absolutely crazy about berries (especially blueberries & blackberries). Like lots of kids, he enjoys getting his hands thoroughly filthy and then he rubs them all through his blond hair (which is getting quite thick and full of curls in the back...I looove it). I've decided that it's all a ploy for a guaranteed bath though...he loves baths! Lincoln also has a wide variety of sweet expressions that melt my heart & crack me up - from big cheesers, to little scowls, to the smirky-est smirks...we just love everything about you, Lincoln!

Beating the Winter Blues

One day last month I was feeling particularly stir crazy and decided (since Mark had his weekly meeting after work) that I'd take the boys by myself up to my parents house to do something fun! My mom & brother Josh joined us and we went to Chuck E. Cheese's! My dad was even able to stop by and say a quick hello. I printed off some great coupons after signing up on their website for the Chuck E-Club. (Couldn't they come up with a better name?) We had a great time together and it was nice to be able to do something fun & spontaneous - so thanks, Mom & Josh!

I wasn't good about getting lots of cute pictures, but we did have a great time. I did snap a couple photos though, and got a few good video clips to share. In fact, here's a clip of Noah (rather seriously) playing a game where he popped balls up into a dog's mouth...Lincoln watched intently for a minute anyway.

Here is a picture of Lincoln on one of the little rides. He's pretty excited about any kind of car, so being able to "drive" was pretty fun for him.

Pretty intense, don't you think?

So, before this night, I don't think that I'd been to Chuck E. Cheese since I was really young. I do remember that as a kid my favorite thing to do was always skee-ball. So, I couldn't help but video Noah's first attempt at the nostalgic game. I have to crack up at my mom trying to teach him how to roll the ball (while trying not to get hit).


I will say that I think Noah gave rolling the ball an honest try, but he just managed to have more success with throwing the darn thing! You gotta love the bounce-in toss for 2,000 points...

So this was a fun little interactive ride the boys were able to do together. Noah got a kick out of it and wanted to do all three levels. They watch a tv screen that shows a cartoon guy do different things (like flying) and the seat moves to create a more realistic effect.

The first time the boys rode it was really funny, they were both mesmerized by the whole thing, and it's fun that there's a little TV screen on top of the game that shows the rider's face(s) so we were able to watch them easily with out having to peer around their seat. Check out their faces in this clip:


By the last time they rode this ride Lincoln was starting to get a little bit bored with it, but I just had to take a quick video clip of their little cheeks jiggling when their chair vibrated. It looked even more funny in person, strangers were walking by and chuckling.


We had a great time, and I have a feeling that before warm weather returns that we just may need to make another trip to Chuck E. Cheese! Anyone else wanna come?

Little Buzz

Yes, I am aware that these photos are a bit blurry. No, they won't win any contest awards. However...I'm pretty sure that I will not do any better than this with a point & shoot camera and this speedy little guy! Lincoln has picked up quite readily on Noah's Buzz Lightyear obsession. He used to just sit and watch Noah "fly" around the room while watching Toy Story. Then Lincoln began looking back and forth - from the TV to Noah. Now he's caught on to the concept of acting out those flying scenes. He even enjoys wearing the Buzz wings.

To infinity and beyond...

Wheeeee.....

Sharing EVERYTHING...

Yes, we've been working on the concept of sharing in our household. However, I would have gladly made an exception with this. We are just finishing up the last of a nasty cold that the family shared with each other. All four of us got it. I've had it the longest, but Noah definitely got hit the hardest. Poor kid. For a couple days he didn't want to do anything but lay on the couch (any of you that know him are aware that never happens...even watching TV is an active event). On Saturday my mom saved the day by bringing by a smoothie and "soft Luigi" (from the movie Cars) for Noah. So, now that we're getting back to normal (whatever that is) I'm ready to jump back on the blogging bandwagon. Before I do though...here are a couple of pictures of Noah when he was sick. No, he wasn't crying at all in this picture - his eyes were weepy & he had a runny nose (and cough & sore throat). In his arms he's clutching his chocolate milk - the only thing he was interested in eating or drinking.

Even though we knew it was just a cold, it's still sad to see your child all whimpery & sick. That being said, I have to admit that I did allow myself to enjoy him wanting to cuddle with me and be so mellow together. I wouldn't want him to stay that way forever (it's just not him), but I figured that since it was temporary I might as well enjoy (and photograph) the sweet things about it - like this...
The recliner is his daddy's favorite place in the house to fall asleep too.