Christmas with the Reicherts (part 2)

After getting home Monday evening, Mike and I raced to get laundry done and re-pack for our Trip to Huntsville. Tuesday morning came very quickly as our 9am flight was nearing. This was Noah's first time on a plane. Can't you just see the excitement in his face?









He did really well on the flight until the last 30 minutes. Then he got very fussy and squirmy. He wouldn't sleep, which was the reason he was crabby. So, we became "those parents" and I'm sure the people in front of us were cursing the moment we sat down behind them. We were fortunate that the people behind us and next to Mike were playing peek-a-poo with him so that kept him entertained for a bit. Overall, the flight was very smooth, on time and uneventful!


As soon as we got to the house, Noah was already entertained with toys that Denise had picked up for him. He likes the horse!


Here is Noah rocking in his Grandpa Reichert's old chair (Al no longer uses it for obvious reasons!) It was nice to see him in it and it may have even brought back memories for Great-Grandma Reichert.


Noah got a kick out of Al and Denise's dog, Heidi. She liked him for all of 5 minutes (licking his face and sniffing him), until Noah decided it was fun to chase her which she did not fine fun at all. Tables were turned on this pup!


I think it's safe to say that Heidi was glad Noah was gone and could have the house back to herself!

We planned to take Noah to church with us on Christmas Eve, but he was so cranky, we just dressed him for pictures then left him with the family! It was actually a good thing we did because just as we got to church, it began to downpour! We had to make a run for it and got soaked in the process. We would not have been able to take Noah out in that if he were with us.

Christmas morning was crazy! Lots of presents for everyone, especially Noah! I think he got a little overwhelmed with it all but he hung in there like a champ!





I wonder who got Noah this shirt?!


Here is grandma playing with one of Al's...I mean, Noah's new toys! Grandpa picked it out and may have had more fun playing with it than Noah! Although, now that we're at home, he as really gotten a kick out of it.



Noah loves giving kisses and here he is sharing them with Aunt Megan. He kind of likes to bite the cheek after he slobbers on it so you have to watch the little munchkin! He's teething big-time now - just this past week we've found 2 more teeth coming in on the bottom! Everyone keep fingers and toes to yourself if you want to hang on to them!




Friday morning all of the family gathered to take professional family pictures. They all turned out really well (and why wouldn't they as we such a photogenic family!). Noah did a great job and I think just genuinely enjoys having his picture taken. (Thank goodness because mommy and daddy always have a camera in his face!) I'll be sure to post them once I get a copy. Special thanks to Denise for making it happen!

Here is Noah with his Great-Grandma Reichert.

Great-Grandma took turns walking with Noah. He LOVES to walk but demands he hold both of your hands. We've been tricking him into only one hand but that doesn't last for long.

Here's Noah antagonizing the cat, Chloe. She did not put up with him as well as Heidi did.

The week was so enjoyable and relaxing. Noah loved spending time with his family and was never short of attention. If only it was a short drive home. Alas, we had to get back on a plane (at least it's a short flight, right?!). Our flight was scheduled to leave Saturday around 11:30. Right before we were to leave, we discovered it was delayed an hour. Glad we checked! We got to the airport at 11:30 for our 12:30 flight - walked right in and had no issues checking in, etc. Noah got a final picture with Grandma and Grandpa.

We said our goodbyes and made it to the gate where we discovered our flight was again delayed. This time until 2p. Yikes! Well, this gave us a chance to eat lunch. Fortunately, after we ate, Mike was able to get Noah to sleep. The flight from DFW didn't arrive until 2, but at least it was there. We were on the plane and taxi-ing away by 2:30. That's when the flight attendant reported some kind of smoke coming from the air conditioning unit. That required us to go back to the gate to have it investigated. Noah was awake at this point but still behaving himself. We sat on the plane for about 45 minutes before they told us we'd need to deplane in order to have them do some testing. We left our bags and sat in the terminal for another hour, only to have them tell us at 4:30 that our flight was cancelled. Denise and Al were on their way to pick us back up as soon as they could get another car seat.

In the meantime, Mike got in line to re-book but that took too long so we went back to the main gate (outside of security) only to find that no one was working the front anymore. Good thing I had my iPhone. I tracked down the AA number and got a little panicked as the agent informed me everything was sold out on Sunday, including first class. I had them look into flying out of Nashville and Birmingham. Lucky for us, they found a 7am flight from Birmingham that we could get on!

So, Denise and Al graciously got up at 3:30am on Sunday to drive us 1 1/2 hours to Birmingham. The airport was much busier (as to be expected) but it was relatively easy getting to our gate. We were a little nervous as they did not assign us seats and were told we'd get them at the gate. They of course waited until the last possible minute and we were one of the few left. We were beginning to wonder if we'd get on the plane! Lucky for us, they did call our name and we were in the very last row on the flight. :-) That was OK though because we were sitting together and being by the engine would hopefully drown out Noah's cries if necessary.

Again, Noah was a good child for about 30 minutes. It was nap time and finally this time, he fell asleep so the flight was nice and quiet. Again, another uneventful flight and we made it back at 9am Sunday morning. Home finally!

We so enjoyed our time with the Reicherts and were so glad we could take Noah to meet his Great-Grandmother and share some time at his grandparent's home.

Of course, after all the travels, Mike and I were glad to be home and get Noah back on a regular schedule. Now we have to get ready for his first birthday which is only a few weeks away! Wow how time has flown! More to come in this coming Sunday's blog.

Happy New Year and love to all!

Corri, Mike and Noah

Christmas with the Blicks (part 1)

What a wonderful, blessed Christmas we had with the Blick relatives. Our drive to Wichita on Thursday, Dec. 18th was relatively uneventful. I came up with an idea to keep Noah occupied on the long drive. It seems to have worked! He's watching the Muppets Take Manhattan and as you can see, would prefer not to be bothered.
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Once we arrived in Wichita, we spent a few hours with Grandpa Blick. Noah enjoyed recounting tales of our journey.

The drive lasted THIS LONG!

Friday was spent with Grandma Blick, hanging out at the house and lots of playing. Grandma let Noah open his stocking to have something fun to play with.


Mommy and Daddy always have their phones so now Noah will be included. I wish mine had as many pretty colors!
We all went out to lunch where Noah experienced drinking from a straw for the first time (I held the straw with water in it while he sucked from the bottom). He got the hang of it pretty quickly. Mom tells me that's how I learned to drink from a straw so we'll see!

Friday night it was back to Grandpas for "Christmas. Look at all the fun things Noah received! (Mom and Dad were pretty lucky too!)

Fun summer clothes!

Drum from Mom and Dad


Saturday Noah got to play with his second cousins over at Grandpa's house. Lots of fun with the kids. I think Sebastian was a little frightened of Noah. Even though he's about 6 mos. older, Noah was still about the same size and maybe even a little heavier!

Noah, Josh and Sebastian

Noah, Mike, Sebastian, Josh

Yay Aunt Dana!

Cousins: Noah, Alexis, Sebastian and Elizabeth

Sunday we spent the day with Grandma Blick where she had an open house and invited lots of family and friends. Noah was had a great time but did get a little overwhelmed with all of the guests. It was nice to catch up with lots of my aunts, uncles and cousins. I even had a visit from one of me dear friends whom I've known for 20 years! It was so good to catch up with her!

My new computer from Aunt Dana - now I'm all set!

Happy Family!

What did Grandma get me?


Walking with Great-Uncle Jim

Playing with Grandma and Great-Aunt Judy

Monday morning we left to get back to Dallas - just in time to pack for our trip to Alabama on Tuesday!

As you can see, Noah was never short of attention or gifts through the course of the weekend. I know he enjoyed his time with his grandparents and aunt and extended family members. There's certainly no shortage of love where Noah is concerned! We are so fortunate to have such loving family members to share this special time with!

Love,

Corri, Mike and Noah

PS

Part 2 of our Christmas vacation to be continued...

HO! HO! HO!

Why is it the holidays, which are supposed to be enjoyed, never seem to be any fun? Maybe its just the part leading up to Christmas that is stressful.
This past week at work was the worst ever. I couldn't catch a break and it was an exhausting week all around! Noah had some traumatic moments at daycare...Got a call on Thursday telling me that Noah had scratched a child and it drew blood. It was due to his long nails. Yes, I am a bad mommy for not keeping up. Fortunately, both children were fine but I definitely made it my mission to cut those suckers first thing when we got home. On Friday, I got another phone call telling me that Noah was trying to stand, slipped and bit his lip. He appeared fine but did draw some blood and would probably have a fat lip. Great. We're going to see Santa that evening and he's already "scarred" for the picture!

Speaking of, Mike was able to get us a number for the Santa line first thing Friday morning so as soon as we arrived home, I got Noah ready to head out to the mall. We got there just in time for him to take a break (of course) but we were able to get in the front of the line and Santa came back for story time at 5:30. We were outta there by 6:20 and for the most part, Noah was very well behaved! Daddy had to entertain a bit - take a look at a few pictures below.

After picture time, we enjoyed dinner and conversation with our friends, Dean and Klaire. Noah especially enjoyed hanging with Dean! (Actually, he really loved grabbing his face!)

Saturday was full of last minute errands before leaving town, and "horsing" around with daddy! Not sure how long Mike could keep this up but this is on the tail end. Noah's new favorite game!

Saturday night Matt and Emily came over to babysit so Mike and I could go to a friends' holiday party. It was a great time visiting and getting out just the two of us!

Sunday again was full of last minute errands - we caught Noah in a good mood on our way to Church. He was enjoying a fruit snack!

This should be a relatively short week - Mike leaves tomorrow morning for LA. He is taking the red eye back Wed. night (or Thurs. morning, I should say). Noah and I are on our own for three days before we pack the car and head to Wichita. We are very much looking forward to the vacation time and seeing the family.

I may miss a post next week since we'll be getting ready to head back to Dallas Monday morning. Then it's off to Alabama on Tuesday! If I do miss, know that we're thinking of all of you and wish you the best holiday ever and a fabulous start to 2009!

Love,

Corri, Mike and Noah

Christmas is coming...

What a weekend! Mike left on Friday to play paintball with his buddies. May I add that he never put his gear on and decided to watch football all day instead?! He could have done that at home! I guess there is something to be said for male comraderie. So, Noah and I were on our own for the weekend. We spent Friday night chilling and had a busy Saturday with Christmas shopping. Here is Noah (on his 10 month birthday!) sporting his hat that Grandma and Grandpa Reichert got him. He looks super cute but didn't have much interest in wearing it. He's not a fan of having things on his head. Not sure how this is going to go over this winter when he really needs it!

We were blessed with Aunt Dana's presence Saturday night. We had a fun evening shopping (some more!) and Noah loved being outside and people watching. We wore him out good! He slept until 8:30 on Sunday morning!

We had fun playing and waiting for daddy to come home.

Once Mike was home, we agreed to take Noah out to visit Santa at Northpark mall (Northpark b/c the Santa is so authentic). That is certainly true, but we were not going to see Santa today. What we learned is that we need to come out, get a number first thing in the morning, then come back in the evening. Yes, it takes that long!! We were told that people were waiting since 6am this morning to get in first with Santa. How crazy is that?! So, instead we had fun walking around the mall and enjoying some family time. We'll try again with Santa this next weekend (with much more preparation!)

Once we got home, Noah was still in a good mood so here we are horsing around.

I decorated a tree for Noah's room since we didn't set one up this year in the living room. There didn't seem to be a point since we'll be traveling Dec. 18-27th. He really loves Christmas trees and is very fascinated by them. I tried to capture him staring at it, but of course, as soon as a camera comes out, he's ready to pose!

Happy Holidays!