It's the little things

I've been trying to practice the art of appreciation these days.

A few close-calls, tragedies and health scares have reminded me how very fragile life is.

A person would easily give anything for the mudane if it all changed.

I try to remind myself how very lucky I am

A great husband!

Drew does such a good job getting the kids outside even when it's cold and rainy.

If it were up to me - we'd all be inside until it was 80 degrees and sunny out!

Great kids!

Ellie is learning to play by herself more and more everyday! If you know Ellie then you know she usually requires contant input . . . usually coming in the form of 'play me with mommy' repeated about 20 times per hour.

But lately I've actually caught her playing by herself for a few moments at a time.

Here she found her princess book recorded by Diane and her 'lil sis' (Belle doll) and was reading to her.

Of course, she planted herself in the middle of the kitchen but at least she was doing her own thing for a few minutes!

She is becoming such a big kid!

Great friends!

Little Wyatt is 6 months to the day younger than Jude.

Juder seems so much older than Wyatt right now - Jude walks, Wyatt crawls - Jude talks, Wyatt coos.

But when they're a little older they will be exactly the same age and best buds!

Great playdates!

Sometimes when these two play - my friend Joelle and I actually get a few minutes to talk and sip our tea before we need to intervene on a Cowboy Alice or Knight emergency!

and more Great Kids!

Jude is so affectionate lately! He loves giving kisses and just this week started giving big hugs. It's not hard to remember to be thankful when this little guy is planting a wet kiss on your face.

This little piggy . . .

went to urgent care!

Poor little Ellie had a rough day yesterday. The kitchen stool fell on her toe.

She normally is a pretty tough kid but we could tell it hurt so so bad.

Unlike a lot of moms, I tend to err on the side of "nah it's fine" instead of freaking out.

But after waiting a few hours we realized the pain wasn't getting any better and the pressure beneath her toenail would probably need to be relieved.

Off to urgent care we went.

Ellie was pretty nervous but luckily my brother reminded me of a important family tradition.

The Brave Stick!

When Devin was little he cracked his head open on the coffee table corner. While waiting for stitches in the ER, dad pulled out an ordinary ball point pen and deemed it the brave stick.

Ellie's eyes widened when I took the brave stick out of my purse. She never put it down the entire time we were there.

Thank goodness my dad has such a great imagination and my brother has such a good memory!!

This poor kid had to endure the doctor using a cautery tool to puncture a hole in her toenail.

I am amazed that she is so strong and was a total trooper!

Three cheers for the brave stick!

We've got a walker!!!

It's amazing to me how both our kids seem to just decide to do something then do it.

Ellie never spoke a word until 21 months - then spoke in sentences. She resisted potty training then decided to forgo diapers and hasn't had a single accident

Mr. Juder seems to be on the same path as his sis.

Just this week little Stella (our niece) started walking. It seemed Jude, with his efficient but hilarious crawl, was months from walking.

Then just tonight he just decided to walk across the room - and he did!

Wow! He's a walker!!

Last Night . . .

THIS kid slept from 7pm until 5am uninteruppted

and THIS kid slept without a pull-up and kept her sheets dry!

Wow! Big night in the Noble house!!

Snow Days!

Snowmageddon has hit! Truly - these 4-6 inches have been termed SNOWmageddon by the local news. Just has to make you laugh - only in Seattle.

The good news is that Drew's commute has been fine and we got some sledding in too!

Yes - those are zip-lock bags on Jude's hands and feet. He may look silly but he was very warm in his Patagonia underlayer, LL Bean fleece suit and Nike waterproof jacket and pants (all from yard sales of course).

Sledding with the Asmanns. Drew catching some air on the jump he and Chris built. Other than a bruise to the nose when Chris ran in to Chloe - this makes 2 sledding trips with only minor injury's - BIG success! Sheer joy in Chloe's face! Ellie was SO happy to be playing in the snow!

Drew insisted even Jude went down on the sled! I think I caught a glimpse of a smile.

Yep - there it is

What was most amazing about this snowy outing was the fact that Jude made almost NO facial expressions. He was straight faced from the moment he was suited up until the moment we walked back into the warm house. And for a Noble child not to have constant expression reading on the face is a momentous occasion - for sure! We were all trying to figure him out - we he awe stuck by the snow? Was he cold? Was he annoyed he had zip-locks on his hands?

It was pretty hilarious.

Our pretty snow covered farm

Attack of the Pucci

3 girls and a little baby

Snow brings out the child in all of us! I take that back - these two are always acting like this! :)

Ellie was so sweet to her little bro - making sure he stayed securely on the sled while Drew pulled them through the neighborhood and even feeding him snow

Today, I taught her the very important life lesson of "Never eat the yellow snow" so hopefully his was the clean white stuff!!!

Calm Before the Storm!

The Northwest has been hit with a few inches of snow. Of course, this means these 3-6 inches have been dubbed "Snowmageddon" by the local news. But the really big news is there is an additional 3-FOURTEEN inches fore casted for the next few days.

Here is a few snapshots of the calm before the storm . . .

One of my favorite things about our neighborhood is the expansive view of the Olympic Mountians to the West. The other night was the MOST beautiful sunset I have ever seen!

Ellie and Jude on a blanket sled

MacGruder has been a bit of picky eater lately. He hasn't seemed to want anything we offer him. UNTIL . . . we put the bowl and spoon in front of him and let him feed himself. All of a sudden he loves to eat and mostly - make a mess!!!

New Do's in a New Year

Macgruders hair was getting a bit shaggy.

So today was hair cut time!

He wasn't exactly excited about sitting in the airplane seat or wearing a 'cape' but we were able to distract for about 3 minutes. Luckily, the hairdresser moved at lightening speed.

Look at me mum!

Being at the hair salon with her little brother, Ellie begged to get her hair cut too.

I love her long hair but brushing and washing such a mane is a constant struggle so when she asked to have short hair, I gave in.

And she's so cute. All afternoon she's been checking herself out in the mirror.