Grandma & Grandpa Reichert Visit (with Aunt Meggie too!)

Noah had a blast with his relatives this past weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Reichert, along with Aunt Megan and her boyfriend Craig came for a visit. We spent Friday night over at Uncle Matt's and grilled out. Saturday, everyone came to our house before running around. Noah always gets spoiled by his grandparents. Gifts included a remote car (which we all may have had more fun with), a book and some pj's. All of which were very much appreciated and will definitely get used!


Noah also seemed to have just as much fun with the bag. There was a "boo" (balloon) on it that he was quite interested in.



The morning we spent walked around Firewheel mall, which was nice since the weather was so good. We enjoyed some TexMex for lunch at Cristina's. We went back to the house after lunch so Noah could nap and the girls all snuck off for a wonderful pedicure while the guys watched some football.

Here is Noah enjoying a snack with Grandpa. I love the picture below - they have similar expressions on their faces!

By mid afternoon, we broke out the Yahtzee where the women dominated. Megan won the first game and I won the second. Noah loved cheering us on and he got a kick out of the noises that grandpa would make when he rolled the dice.

(Grandma bought Noah this duck bath sponge - seen here, and he can't get enough of it! He carries it around with him day and night!!)

Noah finally started getting the hang of the car, although he's still not quite sure what to make of it. All in due time!

Grandma also found time to play with Noah in his tent. He was showing how he likes to hang out in there with his balloon. Of course, that takes up so much space, there's not much room for anything/one else!

That evening after dinner, we celebrated Craig's birthday with a cookie cake. Do you think Noah liked it?

You bet he did! I'm not sure how much Grandma actually got! We ended up with a green-mouthed child. I'm thinking he's going to take after his mother and her sweet tooth.

Saturday night, Mike and I took Megan and Craig to a soccer game at Pizza Hut Park. It ended up being pretty exciting. FC Dallas scored in the first 5 minutes and in the last 5 minutes, plus a goal in between. They shut out the competition that night. It was fun to do something different! Meanwhile, Noah played with his grandparents and Uncle Matt and Emily.

Sunday came all too quickly and it was time for the family to depart. We couldn't go without getting a few pictures of Noah and Aunt Megan.

He was full of smiles and hugs/kisses to go around. We are so fortunate to have such a loving little boy!
The Reicherts all made it home safe and sound Sunday night and we look forward to their visit again in November.

Meanwhile, Sunday, Noah had a great time "horsing" around with dad after his soccer game. Daddy's been much more fun since mommy doesn't play much anymore. The weather has been nice too so the boys have been going to the park to play as well. Hopefully I will get to join them one of these days.

Just a quick update on my back - I went to the pain management office today. They are going to do an epidural tomorrow to inject some medication into my back which will hopefully help with the inflammation around the nerve in my spine. If all goes well, I should be feeling better by Monday. If not, we will go back to the drawing board and try something new. I will just be happy getting back to doing the things I love and I know Noah will be happy when I can too!

This next weekend we have a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Blick so I'll be glad for Noah to have another fun diversion. We're also looking forward to some nice weather. Welcome FALL!!

Love to all,
Corri, Mike and Noah

My Little Chatterbox

Ok, before I rehash the weekend's events, major shout-out to my friend, Dette, for reminding me I hadn't posted this week AND I forgot about last week!

With a person on my team on vacation this week, it's been rather hectic at work. On top of that...I found out today that I have a severe herniated disc. Fortunately for me, I won't have to have surgery. I will be going to a "pain management specialist" this week to get a steroid shot to help with the pain. The doctor has me on several meds for the next few weeks and strict orders to be very careful with my back. If I follow these instructions I will be well on the mend.

So, two weeks ago, we went to visit our friends' Pam and Tim in Austin. We met their precious baby boy, Jack, and also got to enjoy their brand new house! Noah was a little frightened of their boxer, Roxy, but I couldn't blame him. If a dog could look me in the eye, I'd be pretty intimidated too! Of course, Roxy is a sweetheart and by the end of the weekend, Noah could tolerate her. They also have a cat that Noah insisted was a dog. He was much more willing to associate with her, I think since she resembled the small dogs he's used to. And best of all, she'd let Noah pet her!

It was a rather wet weekend, but that didn't stop us from getting out to a Taste of Austin. Despite the weather, we had a great (and wet) time trying lots of good food. With the weather the way it was, we opted to spend the evening in, but that was ok with us! We watched lots of football and played with the kiddos. Noah did pretty well with baby Jack (and he loved playing with his toys). He didn't pay him much mind until I was holding him. It will be interesting when we decide to give Noah a brother or sister. I'm not quite sure how he's going to respond...In case you are wondering, no, no little brothers or sisters on the way at the moment!

Isn't he a cutie?

(and Jack's adorable too!) :-)

This is what we did for entertainment Saturday night.

After getting home Sunday, we cleaned up the house and readied ourselves for another busy week! Monday is when I had my MRI and was referred to a specialist (which I saw today).

As for the week, we survived it. Tuesday was my first night for my Women's Supper Club. It's with a bunch of ladies I work with and we had such a good time. We each take a month to host and then provide the group with the theme and what they need to bring. It's so nice to have a break from the week and to unwind with friends. I'm hosting in December. Gosh, I wonder what theme I'll pick?!

Oh, so there's story about the picture below. And before you ask, no, Noah did not go to school with this outfit. He got something on his red shirt, so he was changed into something clean.

You probably notice the gi-normous balloon that Noah is holding? That is a product of Daddy's guilt. Apparently, last Wednesday when I was out with friends, Noah was not the best behaved. I had gotten him a balloon, Sunday, since he was such a good boy over the weekend. Since he was being particularly difficult this night, daddy got mad and popped his balloon right in front of him. Now, I agree that if Noah was bad, then we would get rid of the balloon (I probably wouldn't have done it in front of him however).

We would usually put his balloon in the closet once he went to bed and would get it out the next day. Well, even after the balloon was popped, every morning for the next several days, Noah would point to the closet and ask for his balloon. I told Mike not to worry about it (because frankly, Noah is a beast with a balloon - he eats with it, bathes with it and would sleep with it if we let him) but Mike felt so bad, he kept insisted he needed to get him a new one.

I come home Wednesday night from a business dinner and discover that Mike had gotten Noah this balloon.

If you're wondering, yes, the balloon is still alive and yes, it's driving us nuts! I'm sure it will still be going strong (b/c helium takes FOREVER to deflate) this weekend and possibly next. Unless of course, Noah makes daddy mad and he pops it again. :-)

Friday night I had my ladies poker night and I took 2nd! Yay! I didn't think I'd place at all and things just started going in my favor. Another fun night out! I so appreciate my wonderful husband. He's been so helpful (esp. with my back trouble) and taking on munchkin so I could enjoy myself with friends over these past few weeks. I'm very lucky and I owe him one!

Over the weekend, we didn't do too much. We went suit shopping for Mike as he needs one for a wedding he's in a few weeks from now. That got us out of the house at least.

Noah is doing so much better at entertaining himself. Don't get me wrong, his first choice is attention from mommy and daddy but since we can't do that all the time, we're happy he can play on his own.

We were in the kitchen and I was preparing dinner when I got this on film:

For some reason, we can't get Noah to complete words, but at least he's got the first part of them down! All in due time I suppose.

Oh, so one big step we are taking is weaning Noah off the pacifier. He was supposed to only get it at bed time and we started giving it to him over the weekends at nap time. That was a mistake as he started wanting it earlier and longer. So, we figured it was about time to let it go before it got worse.

At first, it was extremely difficult because any time we'd change him or get him ready for bed, he'd whine and search for it until we gave it to him, or throw a tantrum even. Somehow, over the weekend, we got him ready for bed and rocking before we realized he didn't have it. He didn't seem to fuss over it and so now it's been several days. Go us! It looks like he's replaced the pacifier with a blanket (he likes to suck on it a little bit) but that's ok. I imagine that will stop in due time. As long as we can keep it going, we will be in good shape!

Ok, sorry for the "book" this time. I will do my best not to go so long without writing!

We are very much looking forward to this weekend, when Grandpa and Grandma Reichert come for a visit and are bringing Aunt Megan and her boyfriend. The weather should be pretty nice (below 90 at least!).

Love to all,

Corri, Mike and Noah

Labor Day Weekend: Full of Labor

I thought Labor Day weekend was meant for relaxing from all the other days we Labor. Not so! Grandma Blick came to town to help Dana with more things around the house. Since Mike was headed to a Bachelor party for the weekend, Noah and I bunked at Dana's with mom. Upon arrival at Dana's, Grandma surprised Noah with some goodies, one of which is a pop-up tent. Noah had a really good time in this thing and I imagine one day he will insist upon sleeping in it overnight. He played in there with grandma a few times!

Friday and Saturday were spent painting Dana's kitchen. My aunt June, Uncle Leroy and cousin Jess all came over to help. With all of the activity Friday night, he did not want to go to bed. Plus, being in a new environment he did not sleep well (which meant that mommy didn't sleep well). At 4:30am, I turned him over to grandma who was already up and I was able to get a little more sleep. Later that morning I went to a friend's house who was celebrating her 35th birthday with a BBQ. Noah hung out with grandma and auntie who continued working on the kitchen. When I got back, the group was just finishing up the 2nd coat in the kitchen. We had to wait around for Dana's new couch to be delivered (which showed up by 5p).
In the meantime, Noah helped grandma clean the brushes. I'm not sure which got more water, the brushes, or Noah.

That evening we met up with my aunt, uncle and cousins for dinner at a local pizza joint, Grimaldi's in Allen. It was at the most adorable outdoor mall and the pizza was very good! Despite the hour (I think we got our pizza at 8:30) Noah was in relatively good spirits.

Sunday morning, after church, Noah and I headed back to our house. We had things to do and couldn't wait to see daddy. We made it home around the same time so after Noah's lunch, when daddy wanted a break, Noah insisted on hanging out with him...and eating part of his lunch! The string in the picture is from a balloon I bought him at the store. Noah was such a good boy all weekend, I decided he deserved a treat. I couldn't pry it out of his hands until bedtime and then had to hide it in the closet!

Sunday night was BBQ night over at my cousin Jamie's. Noah got to play with Jamie's niece, Zoe. I wished I had a picture of the two of them. She wanted Noah's balloon and he wanted her red ball. Noah was a little overwhelmed with all of the pooches there (I think there were 5 in total?!) He seemed to have a pretty good time.

Grandma was tickling and entertaining him - she's always good about that!

Here is one of the few sour moments of the evening. Noah was not getting his way and he was pissed. I'm thinking of having this picture framed. I'll want to show it to him...over and over...one day I'm sure!

He loves to climb stairs so he got halfway and my cousin's, Jamie and Jess were having some fun with him. He couldn't get enough of it!

Monday came and went very quickly. We had a wonderful time with family and was so happy to have such a long break. I had to say goodbye to my summer Fridays *sniff* but the winter Fridays will come soon enough!

Hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Love to all,
Corri, Mike and Noah

Me and My Boy

This weekend was definitely more low-key than the last one! Mike left Friday night for his Fantasy Football weekend so Noah and I hung out with Aunt Dana (or Nayna as Noah likes to call her). Dana was kind enough to watch Noah Friday night so I could go get my butt kicked in poker. It was still a good time though!
I know that Noah had a great time with Aunt Dana too - I could barely get a kiss goodbye from him he was so happy to have her there!
This is a very ornery face!!

Noah just LOVES to talk on the phone. His only other favorite thing is watching TV. Here, he combines the two together.

Here's he's being ornery trying to grab Aunt Dana's phone. Its hard to resist this beautiful smile though!

Can we say Heart breaker?!?!

Saturday Dana and I took Noah out to run errands. We had a lovely morning and enjoyed lunch out. Noah was zonked by then so we took him home to nap where we tried as well. By the time we got home, Noah did not want to lay down so we fought it for over an hour. He was not having any of it. FINE. So, we hung out until church time where Noah is still a handful. I can't blame him really; there are so many people and things to look at, why would a 1 1/2 year old sit still and be quiet?

Dana left us for her girl's night out so it was just me and Noah for the evening. He's such a little love bug, we had no trouble entertaining ourselves.

Sunday morning we went to check out the new Target in Wylie - it's amazing! I love that it's less than 10 minutes from our house and its the biggest Target they have built to-date (I think that's what they said, anyway!) Mike made it home by 11 when he had to get ready for his soccer game (which they won - YAY!). After Noah's nap, we went out to support Daddy. Noah was bashful to all the guys who tried to visit with him but he sure loved running outside and would have loved being on the field. I had to chase him a couple of times to get him away from the sidelines and the flags. He also loved all the soccer balls out there and kicked a few around.

While Noah doesn't usually like having things on his head, he's definitely gotten used to wearing his hat. He loves to put it on and run around the house with it.

It's a good thing b/c it was very Sunny on Sunday. He wore it for most of the afternoon, but I think he's head got hot, then he refused to have it on any further.

That was it for our big weekend! Mike had a nice time with his buddies and now it's almost time for another fun weekend! We're so glad to have longer time off - Mike has a Bachelor party to go to Friday and Grandma Blick is visiting.

Noah got pretty excited when I mentioned it last night before bed. He's got lots to look forward to!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day holiday - we're only supposed to get into the upper 80s. I'm really looking forward to it!!

Love to all,

Corri, Mike and Noah