new year news

Hello all!
Tis the eve of a new year and I am underwhelmed. I don't know if I should be excitedly anticipating the new year, but I don't really think of tomorrow as anything more than tomorrow. My dear friends Rachel is hanging out with us until Sunday, so I'd like to do something super fun. However, as of 3:17, we have no definite plans. It doesn't make it any easier to plan for a fun night when you have an almost eight month-old baby whose bedtime is at 7.
Speaking of said baby, he had a HORRIBLE night's sleep the night before last. It was made worse by the presence of another sweet baby that we were trying very hard not to wake up. Noah has another cold. He couldn't breathe through his nose laying down, and we didn't want to let him cry it out, since that would just be mean and it would have woken up Lydia Marie. Stephan and I slept about for about four or five hours. I anticipate a similar night last night, but we were blessed and exuberantly surprised when he slept soundly, without waking, all night long. Thank you, glorious God.
 Well, What I do look forward to this new year is the possibilities! This time next year, Noah will be 19 months old. As if he hasn't changed enough since his introduction into this world in May, I can't imagine how much more so he will have changed by then. I dont' want to imagine. I'm going to enjoy every day I have with him this next year. I love my husband. Yay, God!
   Cheers to a new year!   

Pictures, pictures, and more Christmas pictures

my friends, this post will be a very picture-heavy post, as a picture is worth a thousand words. So, I shall let you get to the picture-viewing and only interrupt to add a caption or two. And as it was Christmas, I shall attempt to caption entirely in poem.
          Noah's First Christmas

Good Christmas morning! What a day this will be!

I had to unwrap stuff to see what the folks got me.

Ohmygoshapiano! I love it!

Daddy always says that it's not yours until you lick it.

now I play it with uncanny skill

Aren't i skilled?

Whew, that was a lot of Christmas. are we done now?

daddy got mommy a digital picture frame

mommy got daddy a sweater. how lame!

Then onto Papa's, where Noah met Bear

His mountain of presents gave Noah great cheer!

Daddy's stocking was huge, as it usually is.

Then on to Oupa and Ouma's to see cousins of his.

Oh, so much Christmas, I think I should nap. What better place to nap than a loving aunt's lap!

Buzzzz!

That right there, that's the Christmas spirit. Apparently, it buzzes

Sorry for the delay, my friends, but as you all are probably very aware of, it is Christmas, and people get busy and hurried this time 'o year. So, in the twisted, misplaced world's idea of the spirit of Christmas, I shall cram as much joy and festivity in  as brief a post as possible.

I have completed all Christmas shopping. (With two days to spare, I sure do hope you are amazed!) Unlike last year, our Christmas tree is surrounded with a healthy variety of presents of all shapes and sizes. And yet, we have actually spent, I'm guesstimating, less than $200 on presents. (yay Lowe's credit!) Today, Melissa is coming over to wrap presents con migo. We had awesome sister time shopping at Wally-world.

Noah has made me more than happy. Cranky Mr. whiney-pants went down for a nap, kicking and screaming, at 10. I said to myself, "Self, if that baby stays asleep for an hour, I'd be content. And hour and a half, I'd be happy. More than that, I'd be so stinkin' happy!!" It has been an hour and some change, so Mommy happy. I usually don't worry too much about his sleeping habits, but as of late, Noah has been super weird about sleeping.

Noah, the orange-nosed baby (baby) had a very orange-y nose!

Stephan if in the garage making a biltong box for his father. In South Africa, those boxes were used to make jerky. I can't help but reckon this to a sweet, simple time when the parents' favorite gifts were the ones their children made by hand. (i.e., noodle necklaces, turkey-hand prints, and other arts and crafts.) I really think that this biltong box will be Sias' favorite, simply because his son made it for him.
Now, to get back to life. I shall try to update as soon after Christmas as possible. I'll probably have sooo many pictures of Noah enjoying his first Christmas!

           And now, because it is too cute, another picture of Noah, similar to above, but so very different in demeanor:

ehh, wise guy, eh?

I feel like such a sinner

Lazy Sundays aren't always good, I guess.
Stephan, my wonderful, hard-working husband, has been working on a kitchen job since last Monday. He came home at 9-ish last night, worn out and beaten down. As a gesture of support, I stayed home from church with him this morning. (hence an update at 10:40 on a Sunday morning.) Now I feel all lazy and stuff.

The good news is, I have my hubby back! Well, temporarily, at least. The Cowboys are playing today, so, for about two hours, I'll lose him to his favorite team. Stinkin' Cowboys.

Noah's still snotty, but I can tell that he's slowly improving. Slowly, but surely, I'm getting my slime-free baby back.
Well, that's about all I have to inform you off, kind followers. Except for the fact that Christmas is this Saturday! Woo, Stephan and I need to go Christmas shopping.

watch this!

watch this. If you don't laugh, you have no funny bone in your body. Or you don't like cats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3iFhLdWjqc

Have a nice weekend, friends!

If they make a movie about my life, I want Peter Jackson to direct it

I had a bagel for breakfast. I don't necessarily enjoy bagels, but the other options were waffles or oatmeal, and I wasn't in the mood. (which is weird, 'cause I love waffles

Noah's feeling a bit better, I think. His nose is still drippy and he is still a bit fussier than usual, but it's less horrible than it was. One thing I'm thoroughly enjoying about his bout with disease is his new found need to be snuggled. My son is a bit of an independent baby, so when out of no where he starts trying his hardest to crawl into my lap anytime I'm on the floor with him, or raising his arms for me to pick him up anytime he sees me, my heart swelled with affection and I was more than happy to comply.
Stephan's been away far longer than I like. I am so blessed and glad that God has given me a man that loves me and our baby and wants to do everything in his power to take care of us. I'm sooooooooooooooooo-OOH glad that I am not a single parent, 'cause the thought of what it would have been like facing these past 7 months on my own is depressing. I'm ready to cuddle, though, so come home now, Liefie.

Speaking of cuddling, the bed calls for me. I plan on enjoying a power nap this morning. So deuces, peeps!

Baby mine, don't you cry

Last night was a toughie. Poor, poor Noah's nose is pretending to be an athlete, 'cause it is running like crazy. It came out of nowhere last night and he woke up coughing and snorting because he couldn't breathe in his sleep. We were staying the night with my parents, since daddy is away on work, so I didn't have my handy stash of nose-suckers available to me. Between 9 and 10:30, Noah woke up as previously described three or four times. Each time, I hurried into his room to pick him up and walk him around, because that was the only method I had of helping the mucus to drain. Around 10:30, I remembered what a nurse had told me when I was panicking about Noah's last cold. She had suggested alternating between standing in the bathroom with the shower running hot water and standing in front of the freezer to let Noah breathe the cold air. That seemed to work a bit. By this time, however, my heart was hurting for my poor little snuffle-face, and I couldn't just lay him back in his crib to relive the horrible experience of not being able to breathe again. So I tucked him into bed with me, making sure he was propped up enough to let the snot drain instead of pool in the back of his throat. I let him sleep like that with me for about an hour, but soon I was very tired. I finally did rest him in his crib, this time putting his little crib-pillow to use for the first time,  and Noah slept as well as I could imagine a baby can with a heinous cold.
     God does all things for a reason. While I can only guess at what His purposes are for all the occasions, trials, highs and lows in life, I can rest assured knowing that not one of them takes place without God knowing and approving of them first. He is so soundly in control. I'm glad that I can rest my hope in Him. Without Him, I'd be a wreck. With Him, I can live happily with a peace that baffles worldly wisdom. I pray that peace for all of you, friends and family. Especially at Christmas and especially for those of you who really need it right now.
         Well, time for me and Noah to wrestle. Later, gators!  

nine-whine-whine

noah's teething. again.
I have absolutely no room to complain, because at his worst, teething Noah is a whiner. I have a friend whose teething baby had a raging fever and diarrhea. Consequently, I feel blessed.

Tis the season to be jolly! and to look at Noah wearing  a santa hat!

we staged a mini photo-shoot at my mom and dad's. Stupid me forgot the camera, so these pictures were taken on my cell phone and texted to Stephan who e~mailed them back to me at which time I posted them here.   Now Noah's a present under the tree:

 such a sweet baby boy.

Tonight, Stephan is reading from the scriptures in front of the entire church in Afrikaans. I'm already proud of him! but that time is nearing quickly and I've gots to feed Noah and then get us both ready. More updates soon, I promise! 


 

Oh Shannendoh, I long to see you

Sometimes, while I sing cheerily in the shower, I kind of wish that I still sang in a choir. It's a neat feeling, being one of a large group of talented people. It makes you feel extra special if you can hold your own amongst really good singers. And, I can proudly say that I have sung first soprano in the Hallelujah Chorus in a beautiful church cathedral.
I have been slacking, my friends. I regularly walk on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with Sheryl and Miss Lucy, but for the past two weeks, mostly due to the rush and hurry of the holiday season, we have failed to do so. I feel fatter already.
Today Noah gets to go play with his baby friends! I enjoy playdates.
I really really have to shower. You know when you can smell yourself? (ick) It does not help that I bathed myself in sunless tanner yesterday in hopes of looking less transparently white.
To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Tuesday update

I rode a horsey!

Look at me! I'm a stinking cowgirl! true, Sias never let go of the halter. And yes, there was no saddle. Or reigns. And I didn't "ride" anywhere without Sias walking ahead of me and my mount, but still! I rode a horse! Her name is velvet. She's a sweetie.
That's about all I signed on to post about, except for this picture of me and my snuggly, loving baby:

And if i could be transformed into anything in this world, it would be a dancer.Watch this and you will understand why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s67Yc_ozOgA  

oh, Charlie cat...

Funny commercials make me laugh.
I have been praying regularly for my son's salvation. It is one of the supplication that I bombard the throne with daily. Not only do I pray for Noah to come to love Jesus as Jesus loves him, but also for my future babies, and the babies of my dear friends. Nothing is more important, and nothing should be more pressing on my mind and in my heart.

It's late-ish, and I need to sleep heartily tonight, for I might just go for my power walk in the morning. Even though the forecast promises below-freezing temperatures tonight. yipee
Praise God for thick, fluffy blankies!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 Oh my gosh, guys, which one is store bought and which one did I make? I bet you can hardly tell, except for the extra tassels and finery, which one is professionally made and which one sprang from the crafty hands and trusty sewing machine of yours truly.
Last night, Stephan pulled out the Christmas decorations from the attic and I decorated the house with cheer and boughs of holly. (falalalalaaaaa, lalalala) It's pretty easy to do, since we have a meager supply of Christmas decorations in comparison to, say, my mother. But decorate we did, with Josh Groban crooning softly in the background. Noah went to bed at 7:20-ish, (it was a special night) then we put up the tree and Stephan and I decorated it together. I'm slightly embarrassed by the number of ornaments we have that have our faces in/on them. Our tree is kinda' a shrine to our relationship dating back to 2006. After all decorating was done, I whipped out the sewing machine and the new fabrics I had just purchased and set to work in creating a stocking I would be proud to hand on my mantel. An hour later, I had made this:

Isn't she lovely?? Yes, yes, it's still super basic and nothing fancy at all, but look at how clean and well-made looking it is!

Yep, she's a 'beaute.

Again, forgive my pride, Lord, but I have never thought that I would be the kind that would want to do something like this, much less be able to pull it off. Today, I get to make stocking dos and tres while Noah naps. I'm very much looking forward to it! Speaking of which, he's getting tired of the jump-up, so I've gots to go.
more pictures to come, friends!

----------------------later that same day (duh-duh-duh-duuuuuh!)-----------------------------------

I present to you, the finished product! My three stockings!

 

 

And then, a picture of Noah admiring his first Christmas tree.

Forget "mother knows best", Stephan's a stinkin' GENIUS!

I can't recall if I mentioned this before, but a few Thursdays ago, as I gamed the evening away with the ladies of my Bunco group, Stephan set to work flipping the layout of our house completely. He had been speaking of wanting to do so for a while, thinking that the house would function and look much better if the living room was where the fireplace is and the dining room was next to the big window in our front room. I had been reluctant to let it happen. I hate moving stuff around because it kinda makes me anxious. Well, friends, since the big switch, I have fallen in love with our house all over again. It's amazing what a change as simple as moving your furniture around can do! On cold, blustery nights, the living room used to be impressively colder than the rest of the house due to the large, old windows. Now, it is the warmest part of the house thanks to the roaring fireplace. God is so good! Is it possible to thank Him enough? I really don't think so.
To document, I took a few pictures of the cozy layout that I shall now share with you.

Used to be the living room, now the office space/reading area/ play area

The snuggly, cozy living room!

A view of the whole front room.

In closing, I wish to also show you pictures from this past Wednesday, when we got to watch miss Madilyn Jane for an hour or so. 

  Noah was all like, "hey boo, let me hold yo' hand". And Madi was all, "I don't really care either way."

Then, Noah was all like, "GAAGAHAGADAA", and again, Madi was unimpressed. That there is a hard baby to impress.

A few of my favorite things

I have a two songs from The Sound of Music stuck in my head. yay!
Noah is now a prolific roller. I am happy to announce that as soon as I lay him down on his back he either kicks up his feet to munch on his toes, or he flops onto his belly. It can be hazardous, as sometimes, when he has just eaten, he spits up a little when he rolls onto his tum-tum.
Today I went to Walmart. One of the necessities I had to get was dog food. (our hounds go through bags of dog food so very fast). I decided to grab the largest bag of pedigree available, which just happened to be on display in the main isle. As I parked my cart and made room for the 20+ pound bag of kibbles in my cart, I glanced around and wondered to myself, "I wonder if anyone will offer to help a lady with a baby haul a huge, heavy bag of food into her cart."
Nobody did.
Chivalry is dead!
Now, I'm going to put the pile of to-small baby clothes in Noah's closet into my new storage tub I just bought.
Merry Christmas!