Chuck-E-Cheese

Thursday evening we brought Noah to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate his birthday. There was a special toddler area, but Noah wanted to venture into the "big boy" territory. I mistakenly allowed Clay to help him up the slide. We didn't realize that the slide wasn't the typical Mickey D's slide. It wrapped around the entire playground. After several minutes we didn't see Noah anymore. He was crawling around somewhere in the plastic tubing, not finding the slide. I found a nice girl, paid her 2 tokens, and pleaded with her to find Noah admist the sea of boys and girls. She helped Noah down the steps and he was with us again. We spent the rest of the night riding on the more toddler-friendly rides and decided to banish the "big boy" slide for a later time.

riding the horses
the toddler slide
noah's way of playing ski ball
drive it noah!
we rode "bop" with most of the tokens. noah insisted on hugging and kissing barney after each ride.

birthday presents

Here's a few shots of Noah enjoying his birthday toys. He really got into opening his gifts this year which was so fun for Clay and I!

the classic bubble mower
we were so happy to find a little tykes climb and crawl on craig's list...
... as you can see, noah loves to slide! This book is really special to Noah. We checked it out from the library right around the time Jude was born. Noah learned to say, "Hurry! Hurry!" when he wanted it read. I think every family member that visited us during that time had a chance (or two, or three) to read this beloved book. It was a sad day when we had to bring the book back to its home at the library. Noah asked about it for weeks. Clay and I decided to get it for him for his birthday, but we weren't sure if he would remember it. As soon as he ripped the wrapping paper off, he exclaimed, "Hurry! Hurry!"

Noah turns 2!

On Thursday, Noah turned 2 years old! WOW! We started the day with breakfast donuts. A tradition that was started in the Iles family when Clay was growing up. We have taken the tradition as our own and do it for each of our birthdays. Noah seemed to really enjoy them along with his chocolate milk, complete with crazy straw!

this balloon was tied to noah's chair

(however, the balloon had a short life when it was released and hit the ceiling fan by a very sad little boy :)

the breakfast table ready for noah
birthday donuts
blowing out the candles
yummy chocolate milk

Slip-n-Slide

I bought a slip-n-slide for Noah last week at Target. We hit a great sale, so it was marked down to $6.98! I was really pumped about the great deal I got until we went back 2 days later to get one for a birthday party and they were further marked down to only $4.98!! Oh well, I still consider it quite a steal :)

Clay and I had the best time watching Noah slip and slide. We almost wanted to jump in and join the fun! I wonder what our neighbors would have thought about 2 grown people yelling and splashing on a kiddie slip-n-slide?!

yea for the sprinklers!
whoa, water in the face

i know this ones blurry, but you get the idea. noah has no fear in him!

Jude is 1 month!

On Friday, Jude turned 1 month! WOW!

At 1 month, Jude is...

* wearing size 2 diapers!

*wearing 0-3 month clothes

*eating about every 3-4 hours

*sleeping better at night, usually only awaking to eat (unless his tummy hurts :(

*starting to smile back when we smile at him

*a very pleasant baby

a GREAT visit

Last week we had a very special visit from two wonderful great-grandmothers. Clay's dad graciously agreed to drive Nana and MeMe to Fort Worth so that they could meet their newest great-grandson! They were such nice guests- bringing a delicious meal of chicken spaghetti and lots of presents for the boys. Clay and I love that our grandmas have become such good friends over the years. It's also fun to see our boys enjoy their Nana and MeMe just the way we did as kids- and still do!

nana and meme
meme and jude getting aquainted
4 generations of Iles'- MeMe, Papa, Clay, and Jude (Noah refused to take a picture with them :)
3 generations of Mitchells- Nana, me, and Jude
PaPa and Noah enjoying a yummy breakfast in the Seminary cafeteria

Narcoleptic Noah

Noah, Noah, Noah.... This kid gets stranger by the day. This week we found him sleeping in his closet- yes, closet. Why, you ask? We have no idea! Below this darling picture is Clay's account of how he found our sleeping son in such a tight space.

from Clay...

This past Monday Robin asked me if I knew where her camera was, and I remembered that Noah had been carrying it around saying, “Cheese!” I had taken it from him in his room, so I went in to get it. Noah had been “asleep” for about and hour and a half, so I was shocked when I went in there and did not see him in his bed. I thought that maybe Robin had put him in his baby bed, but to my horror he was not in there either. I frantically ran back to his bed to see if somehow I had missed him there, and even began taking the blanket off of his bed, as if he was under there. It was at that moment that I noticed his closet door shut, and I knew that I had left it open so that Noah could have some light. Upon opening the door, I saw Noah lying asleep. Apparently he had gotten out of bed and went to play in the closet and fallen asleep.

Since then we have found him several more times asleep in his closet. We're still not sure why. I tried asking him, but just got gibberish. Surely that hard carpet isn't more comfy then his big boy bed? Well, we will just see what happens tonight in the "Land of Narcoleptic Noah."