Our Baby :: Our Blog

Snow Days!

2012-01-18T19:12:00.005-08:00

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!

2012-01-16T20:54:00.003-08:00

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

2012-01-08T20:33:00.002-08:00

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.

Walkin' and Laughin'

2012-01-04T20:22:00.003-08:00

Juder is changing so much these days. It seems by the minute he becomes more of a toddler and less of my little baby.

He just learned how to walk behind a push toy.

This is the F I R S T time he every did it!

Doesn't he look proud?!

But of course, laughing and being cute are just part of his personality no matter what stage he's at.

Merry Merry

2012-01-01T20:36:00.002-08:00

I'll blame holiday craziness for my infrequent posts over the last few weeks!

Christmas with kids is the best. Ellie was really into the traditions this year . . . Elf on the Shelf . . . our advent calendar . . . reindeer food . . . opening 1 gift on Christmas eve . . . menudo . . .

Jude's Christmas hightlight was his Mickey Mouse. He completely recognizes Mickey and loved his pillow pet and stuffies.

Now on to 2012

He's ONE

2011-12-18T19:39:00.002-08:00

Jude had his first birthday today!

We celebrated with dinner at MaMops and BaPops.

No question his favorite gift was a balloon!

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy

5 days shy

2011-12-13T21:44:00.002-08:00

of his F I R S T birthday and he can't get any cuter

From Elves to Grinches

2011-12-11T20:08:00.003-08:00

Here's a glimpse of the Christmas season around our house

I love this tradition. It began in our house 2 years ago but this year Ellie is totally into the Elf on the Shelf. She gets up every morning looking to see where 'Grapes' is. I've really gotten into making his appearance more creative than just sitting on a shelf.

Country Village is one of our favorite places. Huge Christmas tree, Santa photos, pretty lights . . . Ellie never wants to leave.

No matter the season - Jude is always in the mood for a meal. This boy must be going through a growth spurt because he can't get enough food. We've added snacks between every meal but he still wants more more more!

One of my yard sale finds last summer was 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' on vinyl. It has become Ellie's favorite and she's even figured out how to put on the record by herself.

This photo captures it all!

The excitement and wonder are at an all time high. 4 year olds at Christmas are the best!

A Tradition . . . Rain or Shine

2011-12-06T19:32:00.002-08:00

It has become a family tradition to cut down our own Christmas tree on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Along with my parents, we hit up our favorite breakfast spot - The Maltby Cafe - then drive all the way to Arlington to the tree farm. We sing Christmas carols and talk about what we want for Christmas.

This year was especially "fun" because it was poooouuuurrrring rain. Drew loves it when I have use the Northwest gear I own like waterproof boots and jacket.

So all bundled up we cut down our tree - it wasn't much of a surprise that we settled on a tree that was literally 5 feet from the car.

Always the Northwest kid - Ellie loving the rain!

The perfect tree - in the perfect location

Happy kid

These days . . .

2011-12-04T20:30:00.003-08:00

are crazy with Christmas prep! The Christmas tree is up . . . cards are being written . . . presents are hidden under the bed . . . listening to "The Grinch" on vinyl by candlelight every evening.
are exhausting! Going on 10 weeks of sick Nobles. Now I have a sinus infection and Ellie is super stuffed up now. Next will be Jude and we'll make another round of illness
fraught with injury! Jude is crawling and climbing like mad - which means he gets hurt about every other minute. He's either being squeezed by his sis or taking a header down the ONE step we have in our house. Tonight ended with the poor kid getting a fat lip.
full of missing family! Drew's sister Shaneen and baby Stella just left after a lovely visit. Jude loved having a baby to poke at and by the end of the visit Stella barely cried!

Drew's on daddy duty. I work every other weekend which means Drew has his hands full. Saturday mornings start with the Dub Reggae Show on KEXP. Even Jude jams out.

Eleven Months

2011-11-20T19:45:00.003-08:00

Jude is now 11 months old!

He's the chattiest, happiest, smiliest, cutest boy ever!

We are pretty sure he will be a musician, as EVERY time he hears music he starts to rock out to the beat.

And he finally seems to be getting well - no rash or cough at the moment!

He thinks his sister is hilarious. Here is she is explaining the plan for a day . . . a trip to Home Depot to buy . . . letters?

Eating and chatting.

Rough Days

2011-11-14T19:40:00.002-08:00

It has been 7 WEEKS, yes S E V E N WEEEEEEKS of sickness in the Noble House.

It started when Ellie caught a cold on our last day in Disneyland, then Jude got sick and we had to take him to the Children's ER, again, because he couldn't breathe because of his 'reactive airway'. Then Drew got sick with bronchitis, then Ellie got sick and had to miss a week of preschool, then Jude got sick again - super sick - with a double ear infection.

We tried to treat it naturopathically but after 5 days we had to succumb to antibiotics. And last week, on day 7 of his 1 week course of drugs, while we were up in Canada, he developed the most horrible rash and once again couldn't breathe.

Thank goodness I took his Albuterol puffer with me, something I will carry with me at all times from now on.

At the Urgent Care clinic, they said he had an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillan and that it would run its course in about a week.

Poor guy can't catch a break. He was so itchy, irritable and swollen. He doesn't even LOOK like himself in this photo. You think this looks bad - this wasn't even at its worst!

Next stop, appointments with pulmonologists and allergists to make plan for his poor lungs.

I haven't slept for more than 45 minutes at a stretch for 5 days, we are all exhausted and now since I've come down with a bug you can add my name to the ongoing list of unwell Nobles.

Here's to hoping for some relief for the little guy and sleep for the rest of us!

Ellie turns 4

2011-11-08T19:43:00.003-08:00

and Jude gets an ear infection!

Last week was a rough week in the Noble house. Poor Jude had a double ear infection. We tried to avoid anitibiotics, going the naturopathic route. When we finally succumb to the drugs, he had yucky reactions to them!

The one bright spot in the week was Ellie F O U R T H birthday!

It was a great day - spent at preschool and then a family party with all the grandparents present.

Teacher Paula leading the class in Happy Birthday to Ellie

We made candy sushi for her preschool treat! My sister gave me the idea and it was perfect this year cuz Ellie LOVES sushi.

Here is Ellie's 4 year update:

She weighs about 34 pounds
She loves all things princess and Disney
Absolutely, loves preschool
Can write her name, identify all her letters and numbers 1-10
She can count to 20 when she's in the mood
Sometimes she reminds me of Varuca Salt and when she first saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Varuca was her favorite character. Oh goodness!
Her bedtime is 8pm and she gets up about 7am
We got her Shel Silversteins "Where the Sidewalk Ends" for her birthday and she now professes "I love poetry"
Thinks her brother is "The cutest baby who ever lived!"

I can't imagine any kid being more smart, funny and special as our Ellie girl! Can't believe she's F O U R!

Trick or Cough

2011-11-02T19:45:00.002-07:00

I have to say for a person that is still scared of the dark - Halloween is one of my very favorite holidays!

I mean, really - the tradition of going to your neighbors houses and asking for candy is pretty awesome!

As you can see by the photo below - Ellie agrees.

We had our 2nd Annual Asmann/Noble neighborhood trick or treating parade. Lots of kids and champagne in plastic cups! So fun! Lil Stinker and Belle say "Happy Halloween!"

Jude, Sedona, Ellie, Livie, Rowan and Chloe

Unfortunately, this Lil Stinker spiked a temp and started pulling at his ears that evening. Ellie has never had an ear infection but I was suspicious.

Yep, I was right - a DOUBLE ear infection. Poor boy is miserable. Whimpering, high temps, sore ears!

We're taking the naturopathic route and putting garlic drops in his ears (which means he smells like foccacia bread) and giving it 24 hours before antibiotics.

Hoping for a speedy recovery!

p.s. Tomorrow my baby girl turns F O U R!!!!!!

Masquerade!

2011-10-31T10:57:00.003-07:00

We have survived another birthday party!

This year was a 4th Birthday Princess Masquerade.

Her friends dressed up, made masks and even got to play outside on this surprisingly sunny October day.

Aria, Ellie and Alister She's F O U R!

Ellie and Aria admiring the princess cake Our friend Eric is a baker and designed this fabulous cake for Ellie. Complete with Princess Ariel in a masquerade mask. And the best part - it was delicious - chocolate ganache. Everyone said it was the best cake they EVER had. I agree!

Ellie wanted me to pretend I was like Snow White at Disneyland and pose for a picture. I had to talk in a high voice, have "pretty" hands, give all the girls a hug then wave as they walked away. She was very specific.

More birthday celebrations are on the agenda for the week. Including candy sushi for her preschool treat . . .

Carvin' and Crawlin'

2011-10-25T10:53:00.003-07:00

This is the first year that Ellie has really been into pumpkin carving.

She loved getting her hands in the guts and thought it was pretty cool to use a 'real knife' to carve her pumpkin.

Macgruder is a crawling machine! He's getting faster even since this video was taken last week. His one legged crawl is pretty adorable!

Bubbling Bouncing Giggling Baby Boy

2011-10-20T15:13:00.003-07:00

Our baby has entered double digits! Jude is now 10 months old!

Here is his monthly update:

He laughs nearly constantly. He's just the happiest guy we've ever met!
He loves being packed around by his sister. We just recently let Ellie start to carry Jude around - with our arms close, of course. Pictures of this adorable scene soon.
He weighs over 20 pounds!
Teeth count = EIGHT! Yep, 4 on top and 4 on bottom
The nickname that seems to be sticking . . . MacGruder
He pulls to standing. Especially in his crib at night.
Maybe starting to sleep better. We have been doing some sleep training over the weekend and the last few nights he actually has had a few 4 hour stretches of sleep!
Has Reactive Airway Disease. Which is like asthma for babies. We had another trip to the ER a couple weeks ago when he was struggling to breathe while he had a cold. Appartently, this kid didn't get the memo that breastfed babies should have a lower risk for respiratory illness!
And most importantly . . . He's crawling! It's the funniest one-legged crawl I've ever seen but he can't sure get around. If you come to our house anytime soon don't expect to see any cute decor accents within 3 feet of the floor.

Pumpkin Hunting

2011-10-16T20:56:00.002-07:00

One of the highlights of fall is always the pumpkin patch trip. Amazing to think last year Jude was in my belly!

This year we met friends at an urban farm near Seattle and Ellie got to pet lots of animals and even saw chicks hatching.

Jude was happy being packed around and loved the wagon ride with his sis.

Happy Fall!

More Disney Moments

2011-10-14T19:53:00.003-07:00

It's taken us 2 1/2 weeks to recover - all of us had colds and the poor kids were really sick.

It's still fun to look back on some of the best Disney moments . . .

TWIRLING

PRANCING

WAVING

Eleven

2011-10-03T08:30:00.012-07:00

The 2011 Noble/Ocampo family Disney trip was decidedly a success.

True - there were some rough patches when Ellie got scared of Captain Hook but most of the time she had the look of wonder in her eye that I was hoping for.

So here is my photo-journalistic TOP 11 of Disneyland

#1: Thrills! Drew insisted on taking Ellie on the mini-roller coaster in Toon Town. I was trepidacious because she had gotten so scared on Peter Pan but he dreams of having kids that love thrills as much as we do and since she was willing, I held my tongue and hoped for the best. And verdict is . . . she loved it! And even wanted to go on again. I breathed a big sigh of relief and Drew was ecstatic. He's already making plans for more roller coaster rides. #2: Dress-up: Ellie really wanted to wear make-up like the princesses and outside the Princess Fantasy Faire (a new princess meet and greet area) they had the most amazing face painting artists. I tell ya - Disney employs some very talented people! #3: Treats. The buzz is that Disneyland has terrible food - and that may be true if you only eat off the food carts stocked with corn dogs. But we found some yummy treats like Beignet's shaped like Mickey Mouse in New Orleans square and MaMop spoiled Ellie with cotton candy - twice! #4: Surprises! After the Captain Hook incident I was worried Ellie wouldn't like any rides. Who knew she would LOVE a 200 ft tall Ferris wheel or the spinning Tea Cups!

#5: Naps! I think both kids (and Drew) were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in the park even though it wasn't busy by Disney standards. Jude did a great job napping in the sling and, thank goodness, BaPop has the baby touch and could always get him to sleep. But for the first 2 days Ellie didn't nap at all - then I mentioned she should take a sleep in the stroller. Within minutes she was snoozing - it was like the thought hadn't occurred to her. Funny little girl.

#6: Mid-September is . . . Halloween . . .? Yep, the entire park was decorated for Halloween. This was a bummer when it came to the Haunted Mansion because it was all re-done in a Nightmare Before Christmas theme, which definitely seemed out of place in September. But Ellie looked super cute next to the fall decorations in her Belle dress.

#7: The Best Moment. On the last day we happened upon Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother and Susie, the mouse. Ellie was very comfortable around the characters at this point and their interaction was priceless. They twirled, curtsied and gave a princess wave. This was my favorite moment!

#8: Family. To be able to go on this vacation with my parents was awesome. We all got along great and Drew and I even got to head back to the park late one night to go on the big rides and see the fireworks.

#9: The Dichotomy of Disneyland. The debate of when to take kids to Disneyland is always a hot one. If they're too young then they may be scared or not remember the whole experience. If you wait too long they won't truly believe in the magic of it all.

We decided to go this year because Ellie is so enchanted by the princesses right now (and Jude isn't crawling so he is more portable)

I'm so glad we decided to go because she looked at the Princesses just as I imagined. She even asked Cinderella "Did the mice make your dress?"

But in the same way she believed the Cinderella was real - she also believed the Queen of Hearts was real - and she was scary.

So many times I heard myself saying "Of course, that's Sleeping Beauty's castle" and then in the next breathe "No, Cruella Deville is just a person, she won't get you"

So we got the wonderment but also some of the fear. Just like a Disney movie - some scary parts but always a happy ending. #10: The Belle dress. MaMop and BaPop bought Ellie a princess dress in the park, which was a very special treat. I was hoping she would pick Tiana's dress from Princess and the Frog but Ellie chose Belle. She danced around Main Street, loving her puffy dress.

#11: Smiling Faces. I think this is the mark of a good trip: The morning we woke up at home after returning from California, Ellie asked "How many more sleeps till we get to go back to Disneyland?."

Well Ellie, if we go when Jude is 4 then that's just

One Thousand Four Hundred and Sixty

more sleeps.

Disney Dreaming

2011-09-27T15:05:00.001-07:00

Home from Disneyland - exhausted but happy.

Lots of details to come!

1 more sleep

2011-09-20T17:16:00.003-07:00

ONE MORE SLEEP,

O N E M O R E S L E E P till Disneyland!

Can you tell - the Nobles household is very excited

I tried to capture some of that excitement on video but Ellie wasn't exactly in the mood.

Oh well, here are my 2 attempts at documenting her thoughts before our inaugural trip to visit the mouse

Quote to remember: "I'm brave"

Quote to remember: "I'm ok with that too"

Disneyland ... .. . . . here we come!

9 month update

2011-09-19T20:42:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, the Juder turned 9 months old

Here are some of his latest accomplishments

This boy has 7 teeth - yep - SEVEN!
He is so very very close to crawling. He lunges forward and rocks back and forth. If Ellie didn't always get his toys for him - I bet he'd make more of an effort :)
He loves food! Apple sauce, kale, pears, squash, zucchini and even avocado.
His favorite way to drink water is to lap it from a shot glass - don't judge
He's extremely ticklish. Most kids love to be tickled and take cues from their parents' smiling faces - but I think Jude is truly the most ticklish kid ever!
He doesn't sleep! The last 2 weeks he has been up every 2 hours A L L night long!

Has laugh attacks! But he just doesn't laugh . . . he cackles!

p.s. 2 more sleeps 'til Disneyland

First Day

2011-09-18T10:04:00.002-07:00

This week marked another milestone in Ellie's preschool career.

On Monday, she started the Ladybugs Class.

This class meets 3 times a week and is filled with 18 giggling 3 and 4 year olds.

Last year, preschool was just 2 days per week and much shorter. Now, Ellie goes twice a week by herself and stays for almost 3 hours!!

She had a bit of trouble with drop-off at the end of last year so I was a bit nervous but of course she surprised me.

Mommy - Ellie date

Before dropping her off at school I took her out for a donut. (of which, she only eats the icing!) Can't believe we started this preschool before she could even talk and now she's a big almost 4 year old!

So confident walking 'the rose way' into school

Showing Teacher Paula her 'Allison' doll she brought for show-and-tell.

(Yes, she calls this doll 'Allison' - as in - Alice IN wonderland)

So happy to be back at school!

Sister Week Part Two

2011-09-08T20:48:00.002-07:00

We just finished up a week of more sisterly love.

Drew's big sister Shaneen, her husband Anthony and baby Stella Marie started their trip with a nightmare travel experience that lasted 2 days!

But we were so glad they toughed it out and made it to Seattle.

The fam

Noble women doing what Noble women do . . . Breastfeed their babies!

Babies in backpacks

This was the first time we had met Stella (unbelievable since she is 6 months old!). She is such a doll and Jude loved pinching her.

Cousins! Ellie was very tolerant during the photo shoot - just smiling and smiling while waiting for 2 babies to look in the same direction!

Fun spent in the sand with family. Life is good!

Sister Week Part One

2011-08-30T21:33:00.003-07:00

Drew and I have it rough.

NONE of our beloved siblings live within even a 3 state radius!

Shaneen in Georgia

Devin in DC

and Michelle in NYC.

Sometimes we imagine what it would be like to have our siblings close.

And, for 1 week each year we get to live it!

Champagne and play dates!

This week was my sister, Michelle's visit with her baby (now 6 YEAR OLD) Jules.

And THIS is the best thing about family. Even though we only see them once per year there is always an amazing connection between cousins! Posing in downtown Seattle It was truly amazing how sweet these cousins were together. Ellie and Jules seemed to really enjoy each others company and realize how brief these visits are. Jules loving the backyard rope swing My favorite part about summer:

the sister visit!

Saying goodbye is always so tough because I know it will be another YEAR before I get to see them again.

But when that week comes it will be like we've never been apart!

xoxoxoo to my sis and nephew!

6 blue eyes

2011-08-29T20:12:00.001-07:00

Cousins!

Sweet cousins with 3 pairs of brilliant blue eyes!

More sister/nephew visit posts to follow . . .

At 8 months

2011-08-21T20:57:00.002-07:00

Jude is

*Sitting up like a champ! No pillows needed.

*Starting to think about crawling. It's almost as if you can see the thought cross his mind as he rocks forward.

*Loving food! Especially anything he can pick up with his fingers.

*Teething! To add to his 2 bottoms, he got 4 on top this week! Yep, 4 new teeth in 1 week. It's been fun.

*Talking up a storm. His babbling is so cute and it's starting to sound a little recognizable. Mamamama . . . . Dadadadada

*Tolerating his very loving sister amazingly well. Her hugs and love are very intense and he never seems to mind getting a bit squished in the process.

*Loving to stand. Sitting has been mastered and now it's on to standing! Preferably ALL the time!

Big BIG news!

2011-08-12T20:39:00.003-07:00

Last weekend, we took a mini-break to Twisp in Northeast WA.

It's an annual tradition to float down the river with friends but this year it was a family affair. MaMop and BaPop came out to watch the kids while we floated . . . and we all stayed in a 500 sq. ft cabin.

Since we all had a great time, even in such close quarters, we decided to tell Ellie about the next family holiday we have planned . . .

D i s n e y l a n d !

She was definitely excited! Even though it took another 24 hours for the realization to hit her that we really are going to Disneyland in a mere 6 weeks!!!

Listen for the cute line at the end. Ellie is really into being "married" to all her family members lately.

Naps at Bedtime

2011-08-10T21:08:00.002-07:00

Ellie has the habit of dragging out her bedtime for as long as possible (Like any normal negotiating 3 year old would do).

We have started giving her 2 "tokens" which she can use to come out of her room and fulfill one of her many requests

*I need another song

*I need another hug

* I need a hug and a kiss

*I have to tell you something . . . really important

*I just need to get one more toy

* etc etc etc

The token system has been working really well but tonight we looked over the back of the couch and found her asleep on the floor.

Guess she was too sleepy to even make a request! Love how she found Jude's onesie and used it as a pillow

This and That

2011-08-04T20:31:00.002-07:00

Life is plugging along lately - imagine that!

Working lots . . . teaching moms to breastfeed then coming home and breastfeeding.

Kissing Jude . . . my lips hurt sometimes from kissing him so much.

Celebrating . . . 5 years married! Fancy dinner out, even tried Steak Tartare. Delicious!

Even a shopping trip to Trader Joes is fun with this silly kid around . . . Serious about stickers

These days . . . life is really good

Summer 2011

2011-07-23T22:14:00.003-07:00

The Nobles four

Shhhhh

2011-07-22T20:49:00.002-07:00

Do not disturb!

I just love catching these moments when Ellie and Jude play together.

Rain Rain Rain

2011-07-18T20:56:00.013-07:00

First Noble/Asmann Family Camping Trip??

A rainy success!

The plan was to camp near the coast Friday and Saturday night. We had a good plan for staying warm and cozy including an air bed and heated blankets.

But the weather had plans other than the normal chilly July temps at the beach . . . It poured. Even by Drew's standards it was NOT camping weather.

So we called my support staff (i.e. My dad) and he found us a great hotel room right on the beach.

I couldn't have been happier. Beach access, hiking and most importantly a shower!

Chris letting the kids have a campfire experience by lighting the dura-log in the fireplace. You may be nervous at this point seeing a 3 year old and a 5 year old with matches in their hands. But Chris did a great job teaching them about fire safety.

Very proud of themselves!

Hike to Fort Canby.

Drew and Ellie atop a bunker, or a 'bonker' as Ellie called it

3 little girls in rain coats

Teddy Bear picnic in the sand.

Note the amount of sand on her hand! She was covered!

The mommas

The dads

Ellie and Livie loved the waves and soaked up these few minutes of sunshine!

Even Ellie got tired on this hike. She fit in Jude's sling just fine.

Big kid!

After spending the weekend being constantly thankful for little luxuries I think Drew even realized that 'camping' in a hotel is much easier with 2 kiddos.

So much family

2011-07-10T11:33:00.003-07:00

Last week, Ellie, Jude and I went up to Canada to visit family.

I remember loving family vacations in Campbell River. So much family, good food, delicious baking, the beach . . .

1st of July party at Auntie Dena's - the weather the COLD! But luckily no rain. Funny to see Jude in his Patagonia jacket in JULY! Jude and Ellie with Great GREAT Auntie Lois! My cousin Melissa with our kiddos, Jude and 11 month old Mila

Hannah loved holding Juder in the carrier. He was almost as long as she is.

Hannah, Roddie Lee and Ellie playing in the playhouse. This little A-frame playhouse has been cherished by 2 generations of girls in our family.

The weather was nice enough ONE day to head to the beach.

Ellie loved the tide pools and even went in the ocean up to her chest. It was freezing!

Jude and his cousin Nora-Lynn. It is too funny that these two were fussing in tandem because Nora-Lynn's daddy, my cousin Shea, and I used to fight like siblings. Our mum's used to get SO mad at us for arguing constantly.

Looks like these two are plotting ways to drive us crazy.

The grandma's think it's perfect pay-back!

Multi-Talented!

2011-07-07T21:20:00.003-07:00

This boy has changed so much in the last few weeks!

Here is a sampling of his new tricks

He eats!

Tonight he tried a mum-mum crisp (rice wafer) and LOVED it.

He sits!!

Not only does he love his bumbo seat but he sits all by himself without toppling!

He spits!!!

He thinks his tongue is the coolest body part and he loves to spit at his sister!

Direct Quote

2011-06-23T18:40:00.002-07:00

Ellie just said . . .

"Mum,

the bad news is: there is a big rain cloud outside.

But the good news is: we're going to live happily ever after!"

Love that kid.

First Foods and Fathers

2011-06-21T21:23:00.002-07:00

Jude is 6 months old!! He's sitting up on his own (for a few minutes), rolling over, has 2 teeth, loves being in his bouncer and jumping, thinks Ellie is hilarious and has now tried a few table foods.

We spent Father's Day at Grammie and Grampie's house. It's always relaxing to have the family together and walk around the garden or the beach.

Jude joined us at dinner by sitting in Ellie's old high-chair. (However, Ellie was a little annoyed to be relegated to a regular chair) Egg yolk . . . . hmmmmm . . . .

So far he has tried avocado, banana and egg yolk.

He makes the most offended face and then reluctantly swallows.

Ellie was "love at first bite" when it came to table foods so we'll see if Jude turns out be our picky eater.

Ellie showing off her bounty from Grammie's garden.

I love that she pulls carrots right from the soil and crunches them, dirt and all.

Today was the first day of summer and it was beautiful. I'm really hoping for sunny days filled with sprinklers and popsicles!

6 great kids!

2011-06-12T20:59:00.003-07:00

Last week we went to visit family in Olympia. Ellie is so lucky to have cousins that love her so much!

Anne and Jude snuggling.

We have a rule that at Anne's house, anything goes - snacks before dinner, unlimited juice, treats galore. Of course, Ellie is in heaven! She said "I like Auntie Anne's house, it's spoil-y!"

Looking rather sly - eating snacks right before dinner. Such sweet girls!

Roddie Lee prepared a beautiful tea party complete with cinnamon buns, donuts, gum drops, peppermints, marshmallows and Ritz crackers - did I mention it was 1/2 hour before dinner?? Oh well, like I said - no rules at Auntie Anne's house.

Pretty pearly lips

Dress up with Roddie and Quade

Jude loves his cousins too

Cute cousins

Auntie Nana let Ellie roll our her own cinnamon buns and put them in her own dish to bake.

She was pretty proud of her baking abilities! Hanging with Hannah Ellie asked today - when are we going to the spoil-y house again??

Teacher Betsy

2011-06-05T22:03:00.002-07:00

Ellie has been attending Northshore Community Coop Preschool since she was 14 months old. Before NSCCP I used to scoff at the idea of preschool for toddlers but looking for a way out of the house I joined the co-op.

It was one of the best parenting decisions I made!

For the first year and half, Ellie attended with me. The parent education piece of the program taught me so much, from potty training tips to positive discipline.

Then this year she started 1 day of drop off and one "stay day", as Ellie called it. I was so shocked on the first day of school when she dropped off without a fuss!

She has loved school and I guess I do too cuz now I'm the board chair!!

But the best part of our 2.5 years has been Teacher Betsy.

She really has a gift for teaching little ones (can you imagine - 18 2 and 3 year olds?? ahhh)

Next year we will move on to a new teacher and 2 drop off days and 1 stay day a week.

I am so glad Ellie's first teacher was as special as Teacher Betsy!

Very important part of preschool!

Jude was packed around in the carrier this year. Maybe we'll start class with him in 2012.

Now the big question - what to do with our Tuesday and Friday mornings . . .

Looking Back

2011-06-05T21:55:00.003-07:00

It's amazing to see the difference in just 1 year of preschool.

Ellie looks so much like a toddler and now she's a preschooler! Her friend McCormick on the first day of school

And here are the two big kids on the last day!

Sweetness

2011-05-31T21:54:00.003-07:00

Well, I am now officially in my 30's!!!

Drew planned a fabulous weekend including shopping, spa treatments, lots of champagne and a circus/dinner theatre.

So far life is my 30's is great! Life with 2 kids seems to have found a rhythm and being back at work is a perfect balance.

Here are a few photos of my sweet little fam

2 teeth! Oh, don't be fooled. It was only sunny for 5 minutes!

Thanks for the birthday fun, Drewby! Here's to the next 30!

Maarrrryyy Poppins!

2011-05-23T20:50:00.002-07:00

This weekend marked a milestone in Ellie's life. Her first broadway calabre play.

Mary Poppins at the Paramount in Seattle.

We were so excited to take her to such a beautiful theatre and watch her experience a big musical. Mamop and Bapop came too and saw the sparkle in her eyes.

She's was such a good girl . . . watching intently . . . clapping after songs . . . being careful not to kick the seat in front of her . . . whispering very quietly . . . and she only fell asleep for a few minutes.

I hope she loves the theatre as much as her mummy and daddy.

When I was little I watched Mary Poppins every single day, sang the songs incessently and wore this red cape constantly.

It's a jolly holiday with Ellie . . .

Laugh Attack

2011-05-10T20:37:00.002-07:00

It's pretty awesome to see the relationship between Ellie and Jude start to develop.

So far, he thinks she's hilarious.

Look AGAIN mom . . .

2011-05-05T19:55:00.002-07:00

A tooth!

True, he's only 4 months old but the teething saga has begun!

Thankfully he's not too fussy.

Look mom . . .

2011-05-03T21:17:00.005-07:00

I have feet!!!!

Lil Juder found his feet this week. He looks so proud of himself when he grabs them and manages to get a toe in his mouth. Remember, this cute photo? Ellie at 5ish months.

Think they look like siblings??!!!

Easter

2011-04-25T21:35:00.003-07:00

I officially get a bad mother award for my despicable lack of photos from Easter.

We had a lovely brunch and egg hunt with some friends and neighbors (in pouring rain, of course!)

But managed to miss every photo op, including any decent photo of Ellie in her beautiful dress and I don't even have a picture of Ellie and Jude together!

Like I said, very bad mom!

I think I may dress them in their Easter outfits again and pretend. Ellie will probably think that's a grand idea!

Ellie loved coloring eggs. Juder in his cute Easter outfit!

Luckily, these Northwest kids didn't seem to be bothered by the rain!

Summer Dreaming

2011-04-16T21:20:00.002-07:00

I think Ellie is ready for summer.

Every afternoon she asks to have our big blue comforter spread out on the living room floor. She then dons a swimsuit and pretends to swim in her "pool".

And here she is outfitting her little brother for sun.

I agree Ellie! I'm ready for summer too!

These days

2011-04-14T08:57:00.003-07:00

Lots of changes in the Noble house in the last few weeks.

Going back to work has been fabulous ans stressful. I absolutely LOVE my job and the word

B A L A N C E

has never been so sweet!

Our new nanny, Diane, is wonderful and the kids love her. But it's still an adjustment.

Diane has been our friends' nanny for the last 2 years. Olivia will start kindergarten in the fall but until then Diane watches Ellie, Jude, Olivia and even 7 yr old, Chloe, after school! She must be exhausted!

Ellie has loved getting more time to play with her BFF, Livi

Unfortunately, this little guy has decided not to take a bottle. Which makes for a very long day for everyone and a very long night for me, since he nurses all night long to make up for his daily fast!

Juder is now rolling over from his tummy to his back. He looks so surprised with himself when he accomplished such a feat!

A little fuzzy but too cute not to post!

Family of 3 - once again

2011-04-09T20:39:00.005-07:00

Drew and I decided to take Ellie out on a date last weekend.

She got all dressed up and we went to a fancy restaurant.

I think she felt very special to have our undivided attention!

One of her many hobbies lately has been practicing writing her name . . . now that's C O N C E N T R A T I O N ! ! See it!?! The 'E' has about 6 marks instead of 3 and she needs a bit of help with little 'e' but I think she does amazingly well!

Spring into . . .

2011-04-03T21:03:00.007-07:00

MUD!

There has been nothing but rain in Seattle lately. And the aftermath leaves very muddy playgrounds. Luckily, when Ellie was out with Daddy, he let her have a mud bath

WORK!

My first day back at work, with my mum babysitting, went great. I love my job and Jude and Ellie love their mamop!

Tomorrow is my first day back with Diane, our nanny, on duty.

I'll miss you little guy!

The 3's

2011-03-26T20:44:00.003-07:00

Jude is 3 MONTHS old and Ellie, 3 years.

Here is an update of our life in 3's

1) Yard sale season started today! Mum and I hit a few estate sales and I found some great vintage fabric, pillow cases and amber glass tumblers. LOVE this time of year!

2) I head back to work on Monday. I truly love my job but it seems bittersweet when Jude still seems like such a babe.

3) Drew is still loving his new schedule of 5 eights. It's so nice to have hours of daylight to play outside (be it in the rain) after work.

1) Jude is proving to be a better sleeper than his sister - slightly. He starts the night with a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep but then still wakes every 2 hours after that. This minimal amount of sleep should be interesting when I have think on my toes at work!

2) This baby boy is h u g e! He already weighs almost 15 pounds! Babies are supposed to double their birth weight by 6 months but he has done so in under 4! Wow!

3) Tummy time is not his favorite activity! Will this mean he'll be a late crawler like Ellie - I can only hope!

1) Cute cat

2) Cute kid

3) Super cute smile!

1) A new adventure starts in April, when Diane, our new nanny starts watching the kids. She has been our good friends' nanny for over 2 years and she's going to watch Jude and Ellie 2-3 days a week. It seems strange as they have only ever been left with family but we really like her and Ellie can't wait to have a nanny, 'just like Mary Poppins!'

2) Ellie and Jude have a new cousin! Drew's sister Shaneen had a baby girl on March 9th. We can't to meet Miss Stella Marie!

3) Spring yard projects are underway! We have ripped up the broken concrete driveway and walkway and now have a crisp gravel drive. Drew has been working on laying 2'x 2' pavers surrounded by beach rock for our walkway. It looks great and we'll post photos soon.

Tiny Dancer

2011-03-18T14:25:00.002-07:00

Ellie has been taking ballet class for a couple months now and every week she asks - is it ballet day?

Her teacher, Miss Sharon, told me this week that Ellie is very graceful and coordinated but tends to get distracted easily. Yep! I agree!

At parent week, I noticed she spent much more time gazing at herself in the mirror than listening to Miss Sharon!

Can't wait for the spring recital!!

Kids with Colds

2011-03-08T19:58:00.002-08:00

You know you're in the thick of motherhood when the following words are a common part of your vernacular

"Ellie - don't lick your snot!"

Big Girl Bed for the Baby

2011-03-04T20:02:00.002-08:00

Addendum to last post: Let's add Judalicious (thanks Shauna!), Juju bean and Judester

And now for your viewing pleasure . . .

Ellie loves to have Jude hang out in her room and watching her read him a story is ridiculously cute!

J is for . . .

2011-03-03T11:42:00.002-08:00

I wondered what nicknames we might come up with for Jude. Here is a sampling of those that seem to be sticking . . .

Baby Jude (which I'm sure Ellie will torture him with when he's 2 and 13!)
Jude Dude
Jude-y
Juder (my personal favorite! It really glides off the tongue)

Cousin Mania!

2011-02-26T21:48:00.005-08:00

There has been a burst of babies in our family in the last few months . . .

Mila - Cousin Melissa's little girl born last summer

Nicholas - Cousin Kirsten's baby born born in September

Lucie - Cousin Owen and Caitlin's little sweety born in October

Baby Jude in November

Noralynn - Cousin Shea's baby born just a few weeks ago

And Shaneen's baby girl due any day.

5 cousins all within a 6 month span! Bring on the family get-togethers!

Owen and Cait brought Lucie for a visit this weekend. Ellie thought having 2 babys around was even better than 1

These little (second) cousins are too cute. They laid on the playmat and swatted at eachother.

Lucie is just 6 weeks older than Jude but at this age it's a HUGE difference. She can hold her head up and is very chatty.

We're planning a summer vacation together and there's no doubt these 2 will be crawling and stealing eachothers toys by then!

Sick but sweet

2011-02-22T13:55:00.004-08:00

What a week we have had! This cute little boy had to spend a night at Children's Hospital for RSV last Friday. RSV is a nasty virus that is 'just' a cold in big kids and adults but can cause breathing problems in babies.

Poor Jude had a terrible cough and was working so hard to breathe we had to take him to the ER and he was admitted for observation. Watching him get an IV placed in his little hand was torture but, thankfully, the experience didn't seem to scar him and he continued to grin at all the nurses.

Luckily, he made a swift recovery and was discharged the next day.

Here a few gems from our photo shoot last week before he was sick.

Love Day

2011-02-14T13:11:00.005-08:00

Who cares that there is laundry to be folded - This boy is laughing!!!

On our Valentines Day agenda:

Love notes on the bathroom mirror
Helium balloon bouquet for the little girl
Beef bourguignon braising in the oven
Handmade heart shaped placemats
Prosecco!

Jude cooing, Ellie cooking

2011-02-05T15:33:00.005-08:00

There's no doubt we have 2 cute kids!

Jude making gurgle-y baby noises

Ellie making dinner WHILE singing (yes, still singing Christmas songs!)

The funny thing about time is . . .

2011-02-01T14:45:00.004-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about time lately. Probably because the passage of time is so apparent when I can practically see Jude growing by the minute.

My feelings towards time are a dichotomy. Part of me wishes these moments would last forever - I love newborns (their sweet smell, how they will lay on your chest contentedly for hours (HOURS!) and how a quick nip at the breast will usually solve any problem) but on the other hand I crave the days when it's just me and Drew in our king size bed.

I hate to wish away the days away - it seems to be an unspoken rule of motherhood that you are supposed to cherish every moment - but these days are hard! Every ADL (that's nurse speak for activities of daily living, i.e. teeth brushing, dressing, eating, etc, etc, etc) takes my complete involvement. It's exhausting! I get up, get dressed, get Ellie dressed then get Jude dressed. I get Ellie breakfast, nurse Jude then eat my own breakfast. I go pee, help Ellie go pee, then change Jude's diaper. Whew! I'm tired and it's only 7:30am

There's rumor that one day kids learn to do these things on their own. I mean, really! One day Ellie will get herself dressed and maybe even put her pajamas in the laundry basket? One day we won't spend 1/3 of our income on diapers? That sounds like a true utopia to me!

I've heard it explained that as children grow up their crises get are fewer but more serious in nature. Sure, the teenage years are no picnic but at least those crises don't arise 47 times per day (as is our current average).

Jude is certainly our last baby so my focus right now is on trying to find a balance:

Enjoy the last few months of baby-dom while wishing they'd both grow up just enough to learn how to wipe their own ass!

Now THAT'S the truth!

6 weeks!

2011-01-30T12:46:00.005-08:00

Baby Jude is 6 weeks old!

He's 11 1/2 pounds, 22 inches long and is even wearing some 3 month size clothes.

But most importantly, he smiles!

The first one caught on camera!

I have my camera attached to my hip trying to catch those gummy grins!

The good, the bad

2011-01-25T20:34:00.005-08:00

and the HORRIBLE!!

I certainly don't want this blog to become a parade of sappy, sugary posts about how perfect our life is! Life with a toddler and a newborn is tough!

So this post is dedicated to detailing a few of those REAL moments, even the awful ones.

Life with the baby:

The good: He smiled last night! Drew and Ellie were playing peek-a-boo with him and he really and truly smiled! Hopefully, we'll catch it on camera soon. The bad: Mr. Man is not the fabulous sleeper I was hoping for. Since Ellie was the worst sleeper possible I really thought we would get a near comatose kid this time around. Not so. Jude usually wakes every 1-3 hours with the 3 hour stretch only coming once a night if we're lucky. The horrible: Little baby Jude has decided to show us his version of the evening grizzlies. Just about the time we sit down for dinner, Jude starts to fuss and wiggle and cry. This makes for a a very stressful evening with Drew or I standing and bouncing the fussy kid while we shove a bit of food in our mouth.

Our friend Chris, getting his dose of the evening grizzlies.

Life with the toddler:

The good: She loves loves loves dress up! Her dress up box was a Christmas gift and she's made good use of it so far! I love seeing what princess creation she will appear in!

The bad: Bedtime seems to have gone from smooth sailing to very rough waters. She comes out of her room a half million times with requests that range from reasonable to ridiculous. Commando parenting has begun on this front so hopefully progress will be reported soon! The horrible: Ahhh, three-berty. Yep, that's right - puberty hits about a decade early. This girl has an attitude rarely seen outside the teen years. She's currently spending a good portion of her days at the end of the hall in the naughty spot. Hopefully, this will mean she will be a strong and passionate woman, right???

Life with the Nobles: The good: Drew changed his schedule to working 5 days a week instead of 4. That means he's home in the early afternoon instead of the late evening. So far, we love it! Ellie and dad get some playtime before the sun sets and Drew gets to hang out with Jude before the grizzlies set in! The bad: Drew and I have come to discuss the finer details of sleep deprivation. One is no longer just "tired" the more important questions are . . . Are we a bit dazed and dozy or incredibly, ridiculously exhausted? The horrible: Saturday night, we had the not-so brilliant idea to go out for dinner. So we packed up the kids and went to a boring Mexican restaurant. The goal was a hot meal and a change of scenery. Unfortunately, Ellie had to go pee twice right when the food came, leaving the once sizzling fajitas lukewarm when we returned from the bathroom (where she wouldn't actually go pee because she was nervous about the small stalls). Jude woke up about about 2 bites into the meal and Drew had to stand and rock and bounce him. So much for a change of scenery - we see this scene every evening at home!

So that's it. Current life with a 5 week old, a 3 year old and 2 exhausted parents. Some moments are very sweet, some are hilarious and some just plain suck!

1 month

2011-01-19T15:46:00.003-08:00

Our little baby boy is 1 month old!

It's so cliche to say 'time goes so fast' but it really does!

Life has changed so drastically from having a kid to having KIDS! When I look back on this month through a sleep deprived haze - a few good moments stand out . . . The blissful, exhausted, triumphant moments after birth, Ellie patting and shhing her little brother to sleep, Jude's sweet milk breath . . .

But there's been a few bad days too . . . Jude puking more than it seems possible for a newborn to puke and then Ellie slipping in it! An incident forever known as the 'puke-and-slide'!

We are starting to see the first glimpses of smiles crossing his lips. Can't wait to post a photo of him beaming from ear to ear!

Why doula?

2011-01-14T15:36:00.004-08:00

One of the biggest questions I was asked during this pregnancy was . . .

"Why are you having a doula?"

Even natural childbirth supporters often didn't understand the difference between a doula and a midwife.

Drew and I never questioned the fact that we would hire a doula for this birth and I'm so glad we had one of the best!

For Jude's birth we were lucky enough to have Penny Simkin as our doula. She has been a doula and childbirth educator for over 40 years and is internationally renowned and recognized!

Penny arrived at our house at about 2am, just a few hours into labor and she was with me for every contraction. She suggested specific coping techniques for the different stages of labor and engaged Drew and my mum to help with these techniques.

The role of a doula and midwife are so vastly different and yet compliment each other perfectly. Our midwife, while very nurturing, was there to manage the health of both me and Jude. She was often using a Doppler to listen to Jude's heart rate and constantly making observations to monitor my labor's progress. Penny was able to look directly in my eyes and be present with me during the toughest contractions.

It's amazing how every person at my birth filled a specific and supportive role. I can't imagine it without Penny!

Penny and Jude, nearly 4 weeks old.

Growing Boy!

2011-01-11T14:10:00.002-08:00

We are used to petite babies in this family! Ellie was so little but her little brother Jude won't be little for long!

Yesterday, at our midwife appointment he weighed in at 10 pounds!!

Here he is at 2 days old. He has some of the newborn puffiness but he still looked relatively lean for an 8 lb baby.

And here's our 10 pounder.

Getting very chubby!

Double chin and rolls everywhere!

Days

2011-01-08T20:12:00.003-08:00

Our days have been filled with playdates lately.

It's so great to have friends with kids the same age. They understand that when I'm slurring my words at 11am it's because I'm sleep deprived . . . not drunk.

Ellie and Ali are 2 peas in a pod. Both big sisters to newborn baby brothers.

Baby boy's first pair of jeans!

Even when he's pissed cuz I'm taking photos instead of picking him up - he's still the cutest little bean.

3 cheers!

2011-01-06T20:13:00.003-08:00

for grandparents!

Today was Drew's first day back to work so the grandma's came over to help out!

Bath time is still a 2 man job. But luckily baby Jude loves it.

MaMop has spent the night the last 2 nights and taken Jude for a 4-5 hour stretch. Ahhhh, sweet sleep!

Direct Ellie quote: "Being a grandma is hard work! Cuz first you have to be a mommy."

Sweet Baby Jude

2011-01-03T20:33:00.002-08:00

Little baby Jude is really settling into our family.

It's hard to remember life without him. But with this lack of sleep - it's hard to remember much of anything!

Drew is still off work and we are all getting quite used to having him around! It's going to be a serious reality check next week when I'm home alone with 2 KIDS!!

Normally, newborns lose weight after birth and then need to be back to their birth weight by 2 weeks of age.

Well, Jude turned 2 weeks old on New Years Day and he shocked us all by weighing in at 9lbs 1 oz! That's 1 pound OVER birth weight at 2 weeks!!!

Unbelievable!

Ellie seems to truly be loving being a big sis. If he's in his bouncy seat and starts to cry - she'll come running over to him yelling "It's OK baby Jude, I'm coming!"

Then she sings him songs or makes silly faces at him.

Do you think he realizes he's going to be one of her dolls until he gets big enough to throw a real fit??!!

He's such a little snuggler - I'm trying to soak up all the newborn sweetness I can!

Siblings!

2010-12-29T15:43:00.006-08:00

So far, most everyone who has meets baby Jude thinks he looks just like his sister.

Ellie at 10 days old

Jude at 10 days old.

What do you think?

Joy

2010-12-26T15:54:00.004-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

We had a lovely day at my parents house (the first time I've been out of the house since Jude was born!). Drew's parents came over and we opened presents for about 6 hours straight!

Jude was in heaven - being passed from one set of loving arms to another.

Ellie loved her pillow pet - she named Lulu

The Nobles - a family of FOUR!

All season, Ellie has been saying - (and I quote)

"Dear Santa, what do I want for Christmas you ask?

I want a train set and a dolly.

I've been a very good girl.

Love, Ellie" Well, she was ecstatic to wake up Christmas morning to find a Thomas train set puttering around the tree. She's been playing with it all day.

We had fun starting traditions this year. We left reindeer food (oatmeal and sprinkles) on the front lawn and, of course, cookies for Santa.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T13:22:00.003-08:00

A little bit of reality is setting in everyday.

For example, our mellow little guy seems to have found his voice and has lost his patience a few times when the breast isn't in close enough proximity!

And he must be having a growth spurt because he nursed from about midnight to 5 am straight last night.

But of course, he's sleeping very soundly today :)

He's just so sweet, who could be annoyed? Even if I'm measuring my sleep in minutes instead of hours.

Ellie seems to have moved on to playing with the cat since Baby Jude really doesn't interact very much.

Kids! I can't believe I have kidS!

Big Sis loves to hold him all the time and does such a good job holding his head and staying *relatively* still.

We have decided BaPop is the baby whisperer. When he holds Baby Jude he just relaxes and immediately falls asleep. The excitement is building around here as Christmas Eve approaches. I think Ellie is going to finally "get" Christmas when she realizes there are really cool toys inside those wrapped packages!

So Merry Christmas to all and to us a good nights sleep!

Slow motion

2010-12-22T14:28:00.005-08:00

"What day is it?" doesn't even cover it!

DADT was repealed! A war narrowly averted in North Korea!

I know Christmas is right around the corner but I have no idea if it's tomorrow or next week!

I haven't left the house since last Friday and our days consist of nursing, naps and visitors so it's been hard to imagine there is any world outside our living room.

So far, Jude is proving to be a very mellow guy! He literally has ONLY cries during diaper changes! And is already sleeping better than Ellie did!

It's amazing that this time last week we didn't know what he looked like and yet I feel like I've known this face forever!

Sleep, what sleep?

2010-12-20T15:50:00.003-08:00

Too tired to write any funny anecdotes about the first few days with a newborn.

Maybe, next week :)

Welcome . . .

2010-12-19T13:19:00.009-08:00

Jude Owen Noble Jude has finally made his arrival after being 8 days overdue!

He was born at home on December 18th, 2010 at 9:26am.

He weighs 8lbs and is 21 inches long!

Much bigger than Ellie who was a mere 6lb 9oz and 19 inches.

My labor was much longer and tougher than I expected, probably because he was so big!!

But I'm so happy he's here, healthy and that I never have to do that again! ;)

Ellie has amazed me with how tender and sweet she has been to her new baby brother.

Here are a few pics.

Birth story and millions more photos to follow.

Ellie thought is was pretty cool that he was holding on to her finger.

All cozy after his first bath.

Student Midwife, Christine, and Midwife Extraordinaire, Val Having a home birth was the best experience! I was so supported and comfortable. He was born in our living room!!!

We've decided he really looks like Drew! Drew even shaved off his goatee this morning to find he has the same little cleft in his chin.

We're very, very thankful for grandparents right now!

Tis the Season . . .

2010-12-07T19:50:00.002-08:00

FOR WAITING!!!

Still waiting for this baby to be born and going crazy! I'm such a planner and it's so hard not to know when our lives will change so drastically.

I could be in labor tonight . . . or not for 2 more weeks.

Ahhhhhh!!!!!

Luckily, it's also the season of special outings and Ellie had her first trip to the Ballet on Sunday.

BaPop and Ellie went on a date to The Nutcracker at the local performing arts center. We have been listening to the music and she was so excited to get dressed up in her Christmas dress and fancy cape!

I was totally surprised her attention span lasted the entire play - being able to dance in front of her seat and licorice helped!

Thank you to BaPop for planning such a fun outing! What a lucky girl!

Ellie has been loving Christmas music. Here is a special Ellie-style mash-up!

In my future . . .

2010-12-02T09:36:00.004-08:00

Sometimes when I have these Braxton-Hicks contractions and I'm reminded of how painful labor really is I start to wonder "WHAT AM I THINKING?"

Why would I plan a natural birth - at home no less, where there is no option for pain medications.

I remember saying just a few minutes before this photo was taken "I don't want to do this"

And Ellie was born just a few minutes later.

But the truth is - I DO want to do this!

How many times in life do we experience something that will be remembered forever?

And I know I will feel so supported and empowered.

It's pretty amazing to be on the brink of something so powerful.

Bring it on!

Snow and Sniffles!

2010-11-27T09:54:00.003-08:00

What a week it has been!

I found out on Monday's midwife appointment that all these Braxton-Hicks contractions are actually doing something and I'm starting to dialate.

That doesn't mean the baby will be born today but it certainly makes me want to be prepared!

So, in perfect good luck style, it immediately began to snow!

Snow in Seattle is a big pain in the butt. At first it looks pretty and serene but the Northwest is FULL of hills and people are not used to driving in it.

Just a few inches of snow on the ground caused major traffic snarls for Drew's Monday night commute home. It took him 3 HOURS on the bus to make it!

My mind was swirling with worries - If I go into labor, will the midwives be able to make it up the hill or will Drew be delivering the baby??

And then to add more joy to our stressful lives - both Ellie and I have come down with a rotten cold.

Ellie has NEVER had a cold that causes more than just a sniffle but with a newborn due any day, she and I are coughing up a storm. And today MaMop has come down with it too!

Luckily, the snow has melted and Ellie seems to be coughing a bit less.

Now if MaMop can recover quickly we will be back on track to have this baby any moment!

We were able to make it out yesterday for our annual Christmas tree hunt. Ellie was pretty listless but still enjoyed her candy cane!

Drew and Ellie enjoyed the snow for a few minutes and Ellie made 5 snow angels

So let's hope the snow stays away and our home gets healthy!

We've got things to do!!!

Family Visits

2010-11-22T12:09:00.003-08:00

Last week, Ellie and I made a trip up to Canada to visit family.

There are lots of new babies in the family and Ellie had a blast meeting them.

My cousin, Owen, with his new baby girl - Lucie! Sweet baby girl

Great Auntie Colleen with Lucie

Ellie comparing her belly with mine.

Auntie Loreen, mum and me

Happy birthday to Auntie Dena! And since Ellie's birthday was just a few days before, she got ANOTHER birthday cake - made by Uncle Karl!

Baby Mila! She is soooo cute! And smiling up a storm.

The best part about Auntie Nana's house is the sweets!

Auntie Nana even Ellie lick some brown sugar off her hand.

This girl was in heaven!

This is Talent!

2010-11-19T20:10:00.002-08:00

No traditional instruments for this kid!

Here she is playing Nani's accordian.

3 for Tea

2010-11-10T08:31:00.005-08:00

Another post is needed to show off Ellie's birthday tea.

MaMop and BaPop set a pretty table, put out dress up clothes and even made tea sandwiches with M&M's in them!

Ellie thought it was great!

This girl sure has a sweet tooth. And with Halloween just days before her birthday who can blame her!!

She said she wished for "A Boat - not a real one like grampy's, but one I can float in the tub." I appreciate how specific she is with her wishes. Maybe a boat for Christmas :) We all talked in English accents and Ellie thought that was pretty funny. Tea may be good but special Birthday juice in fancy glasses is the best!

Thank you MaMop and BaPop for a divine birthday tea party!

Halloween & Birthday Madness

2010-11-07T10:05:00.003-08:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks!

What I wouldn't give to move my kids' birthdays to the spring!!!

In the span of 6 days we celebrated Halloween, Ellie's 3rd birthday and I put on a fundraising auction for her preschool! (We raised $10,000 in 3 hours)

Whew! I'm exhausted but have lots of good photos to show for my efforts!

A new tradition. Trick-or-Treating with the neighborhood kids.

Ellie still talks about how a 'monster' jumped out at her last year so she was a little trepidacious about the whole thing. But with the bigger kids at the head of the pack she quickly got into the idea of random neighbors giving her candy! We had a Halloween/birthday party complete with costumes, pumpkin crafts and presents, of course. 22 adults and 12 kids under age 7. Wowzers!

This year Ellie was a PUNK ROCKER for Halloween! She loved her crazy skirt but her favorite part was getting to paint her hair hot pink!! We had many more celebrations on her birthDAY but we'll save those for another post.

Fall Smattering

2010-10-28T13:34:00.003-07:00

It's a very busy time of year in the Noble household!

Lots of birthdays, planning Ellie's preschool auction and 3rd trimester pains and excitement!

Here is a sampling of what we've been up to . . .

Alisa and I (and our husbands) have been friends since junior high. This photo was taken just 2 days before baby Sedona Rose was born!

Ellie and her friend "baby Dylan." Even though Dylan is well over a year old, I think Ellie will always refer to him as baby Dylan. She's constantly talking about having a baby brother. But I suspect she thinks he's going to born a toddler because she has been listing all the things she's going to teach him - like how to ride a bike, go pee in the potty and wear big girl panties. Poor baby brother ;) Drew is 30!!! I can't believe I'm married to such an old man!

We had a fabulous birthday celebration weekend starting with a delicious dinner at a Moroccan restaurant in Seattle called Marrakesh. We sat on the floor, ate with our hands and Drew even got to dance with the beautiful belly dancer.

I think this was his favorite birthday moment.

Ellie-isms

2010-10-15T20:46:00.005-07:00

Ellie has always had a great vocabulary. Once she started talking - she talked in full sentences.

And let me tell you - she never stops!

But lately, her speech seems to have advanced to a whole new level.

Now, she really converses . . . she picks up on nuances of speech . . . and totally understands sarcasm.

Here are a few examples . . .

Drew was playing with Ellie on a blanket and said "Daddy, will you roll me up into a burrito?." But when he did, she got claustrophobic and started screaming. When he unwrapped her she looked completely hurt and said "Daddy, I wanted to be a taco!"

Some kids say no, some whine - but Ellie's phrase of defiance:

"It's not possible!"

Tonight at bedtime:

"I'm really tired, Mommy. You better only give me 2 more kisses."

And just for your viewing pleasure, here are a few shots of Drew and Ellie's outing to the pumpkin patch!

The perfect pair - a pumpkin and a worm

Naval Gazing

2010-10-07T13:10:00.003-07:00

Now, at almost 31 weeks, I'm really starting to picture baby boy in our family.

Will he be like Ellie? Will he be a better sleeper? Will Ellie feel jealous? Will I survive having a newborn and a toddler?

In the meantime, it's fun to see how much Ellie loves her baby brother. She talks to my belly all the time and tells him that she'll teach him how to ride a bike and go pee on the potty.

Step One

2010-09-16T18:56:00.004-07:00

This week marked a major milestone in Ellie's school career.

She had her first day of drop-off preschool.

We have belonged to this co-op preschool for 1 1/2 years but I've always stayed at school with her.

I was a little worried about drop-off day since she wouldn't even play in the playground by herself last year.

But we've been talking about drop-off day all summer and much to my surprise it was easy as pie!

Happy girl! She was so proud of herself.

Ellie has talked about her friend McCormick ALL summer. He's such a sweet little guy and they actually stood still for a photo! Doesn't she look grown up??!! When I got her set up at the art table and told her I would see her later she looked up at me and said "bye mum" eeek! I felt a few pangs pf separation but I quickly got over it and ran to the coffee shop to enjoy a cup of tea and 2 hours all by myself!

Is this winter?

2010-09-12T20:56:00.002-07:00

"Is this winter, mommy??"

That's the question Ellie has been asking the last few weeks. Summer definitely faded out with rain and clouds and Ellie seems to have noticed!

Good thing she has such a great collection of rain coats! Drew's sister, Aunty Neen, came for a visit over labor day weekend. Look at that family of blue eyes!!!

Bebe Belly

2010-09-09T15:08:00.003-07:00

26ish weeks with baby boy

26ish weeks with Ellie (we had just moved to Boise) Wow, has life changed a lot in the last 3 years!

This & That

2010-09-06T11:31:00.002-07:00

Since postings have been scant I thought I'd share some of the little nuggets of random info that have made our summer a busy one.

We are in the process of growing out Ellie's hair. It wasn't exactly by choice . . . she refused to get her hair cut. So it's getting longer and her bangs are always in her eyes. Fortunately, she likes having her hair done up in "pup tails." Here are her first braids. Not quite long enough but almost. We signed up for "Tot Soccer" this summer. So every Friday evening Drew and Ellie played soccer with about 20 other kids and 'coach Jeff.' It was pretty hilarious to watch the parents try to keep their 2 - 3 year olds focused on one activity for an entire 30 minutes!

Ellie is really into art lately. Body art that is.

We knew we needed to think about the stroller situation with the baby boy on the way but the thought of a double wide stroller made me cringe. Drew saw this 'Phil & Teds' at the park and loved it. It doesn't take up any more room than a single. But there was a problem . . . they cost between $400-$800!!! Ahhh.

So we had a yard sale and decided to put all the money towards our new stroller purchase. Unfortunately, we only made $175 bucks. BUT as luck would have it we found the exact stroller we wanted on craigslist for . . . $175. Now that's good karma! Even Ellie and Olin like riding in it.

Preschool starts next week! Ellie is so excited to see her friends from last year and Teacher Betsy. We went to a playdate/open house at the school a few days ago and Ellie loved getting back in the groove of school.

This year she has one day of drop-off and one day where I stay with her. I'm sure a blog post will be dedicated to the drama of drop off day.

We are also in the midst of potty training. So far, so good . . . with tattoos being the incentive. So if Ellie looks like a tattooed biker chick you know we're having a good day :)

End of summer visit

2010-09-02T09:31:00.003-07:00

We just wrapped up a wonderful week long visit with my sister Michelle and nephew Jules!

Jules is 5 yrs old and just about to start kindergarten.

I really hate that I only see my sister once a year but I know Ellie will talk about her Auntie Michelle until the next time we see her. Already this morning she has been saying "My Auntie Michelle lives in Brooklyn. That's in New York."

Cousin Jules! Actually most of the trip Ellie just referred to him as "Cousin!!" Even though this photo marked one of only 10 minutes they weren't fighting, it was still great to see them get to know each other. The fam. Now the countdown begins to next summers visit!!

New addition!

2010-08-22T20:34:00.003-07:00

We have a new addition to the Ocampo/Noble family today!

(And no, it's not an extremely premature baby boy)

Welcome, baby Bodhi

My parents, rather unexpectedly, returned from a trip to Victoria, BC with a 9 week old 'Shitty Bitch' (3/4 shitsu and 1/4 bischon)

He's super mellow and very snuggly. Ellie loved him right away, of course, and Bodhi was amazingly tolerant of a rambunctious toddler. His name means 'enlightment' but was really chosen because it's Ellie's favorite nonsense word. Sometimes she just walks around the house singing "Bodhi, Bodhi, Bodhi" (pronouced: Bodey) Welcome to the family little pup.

Summahhhh

2010-08-13T08:42:00.003-07:00

I truly don't remember a summer with this much cold weather and clouds.

Drew is really sick of my complaining but even he has had to admit it sucks!

We've gotten in a few summer moments lately . . . here is a smattering . . .

Our 4th Anniversary was last week and let me tell you, the Nobles know how to celebrate!

Massages at Ummelina Spa in Seattle, dinner at Cafe Zoe in Belltown and watching the sunset from Kerry Park.

Sheer perfection!

Ellie finally discovered the sprinkler this week too. I've tried to get her to run through it so many times . . . of course the fact that it was bed time made trying it out much more enticing! Kai, Joelle, Drewby, DA and baby boy at 20 weeks Our annual river float in Twisp was full of adventure this year! I didn't float since baby boy probably wouldn't like THAT much bouncing so I went up to Sun Mountain Lodge and had a massage (in case you didn't guess - my rx for pregnancy = massages!) The rest of the group went on a 6 hour float and spent the last 2 hours dodging lightning! Exciting? Yes . . . Scary? That too. This weekend Drew is on his annual 'Man-cation' (i.e. hiking and surfing with his buddies) It's supposed to be fabulous weather! Welcome summer, you're only 2 months late!!!

Indulgence

2010-07-26T08:00:00.003-07:00

It's such an indulgence to share ultrasound photos!

I remember, before I had a baby, I used to think they looked like black and white smudges.

Well, they still do but it's our little smudge.

We asked to see the 3-D ultrasound and even though it's a little early to get a good shot we were able to see his little face perfectly.

The thigh of a future soccer player! Cute little profile!

It's a . . .

2010-07-20T20:37:00.003-07:00

19 weeks is a big week in pregnancy. Nearly half way done and an ultrasound to find out if the the baby is a boy or girl.

We decided to draw out the experience and asked the ultrasound tech to write down the sex of the baby and put it in an envelope.

Then we went out to a nice dinner and along with a glass of champagne found out . . .

It's a BOY!!!!

Camera found!

2010-07-16T10:10:00.003-07:00

Yesssssss! Our camera has been found!

It occurred to me this morning that the last time we used it was when Drew took me Canlis for my birthday! We searched Drew's suit pocket and there it was!!!!

So here is a belated post . . .

My favorite birthday gift is always a trip to a fancy restaurant. I love getting dressed up, eating great food (and usually drinking champagne) and enjoying a leisurely dinner without a having to tell a toddler to sit down, be quiet and EAT 50 or so times.

This year Drew brought me to Canlis. One the fanciest restaurants in Seattle.

The experience was amazing!

It was as if we were the only guests - we never recieved a valet ticket and yet our car was waiting for us when we left. Drew told them when he booked that I was pregnant and they remembered and asked how I was feeling. I think we had about 3 waiters just assigned to us!

All dressed up with a little belly. I was only 13 weeks at this point but this dress really shows it off :) Wow! A delicious appetizer of cold cauliflower soup. It was so beautifully presented I had to snap a shot. Drew thought it was a little odd to take photos of the food

My entree - Nettle Tortolloni.

The color of the food was the most amazing part! The sauce was a true emerald green!

The bartender made a speciall effort to make me a delicious non-alcoholic drink.

My stipulations were - pink, not-too-sweet and in a pretty glass. Not nearly as good as champagne but still delicious.

Aside from having a serious head cold on top of my regular state of nausea it was a perfect birthday dinner!

Thanks Drewby!

English 101

2010-07-13T08:09:00.002-07:00

This kid is so verbal I feel like she's already speaking like an adult (and sometimes she sounds a lot like a teenager!!!)

Here is a sampling of her vernacular . . .

#1: Ellie while she's giving Drew a huge hug: "Daddy, you're my Clifford" (in other words I love you as much as Clifford the big red dog!)

#2: "Daddy and I were at the store yesterday and I bought some milk. Actually, to tell the truth, Daddy bought the milk."

#3: "Good morning Mommy. Did you sleep well?"

#4: "Mommy, I just licked your hair cuz it smelled good. But ya know what? It didn't taste so good."

#5: "I don't like dogs. Well, exept for the dogs I know. I like those dogs."

Search for Summer

2010-07-05T14:09:00.002-07:00

The weather this spring in the Northwest has been terrible!

Not only has it been overcast and rainy but it's been downright cold!!!

So with the prospect of sun during our holiday weekend pretty much non-existent, I planned a "Search for Summer" trip.

I looked up every city east of the mountains until I found one with a weather forecast that included lots sun and temps above 75!

Lake Chelan won and within 2 hours of booking our hotel we were on our way.

Yeah, for spontaneity!

Unfortunately, we clouds did not clear as predicted and it was cold, windy and cloudy in Chelan too. Poor Drew, I was not quiet about my frustration!

Note the ominous clouds

Drew and Ellie enjoyed the pool anyway but I shivered in a lounge chair!

Ellie is sure her daddy's girl, she couldn't care less that it was raining.

For being a spontaneous trip, we couldn't have picked a better resort. Our room had a pull out bed for Ellie, lots of kids pool toys and was right on the lake.

Luckily, we woke up to brilliant clear skies on Friday morning. Summer found!!

And the clouds rolled in just as we had our last playtime at the beach.

Ahhhh, Northwest summers.

Big one

2010-06-18T09:37:00.004-07:00

My camera really is lost!

So no photos will accomany this major accouncement!

Baby #2 is on its way!!!

I'm 15 weeks pregnant today! Due December 10th.

So the real reason for the sporatic posting is that I've been SOOOO sick.

Unstoppable nausea for the last 10 weeks makes one lose a bit of creativity.

Luckily, it seems as though all the treatments (mostly, the vitamin B injections) are starting to work. And there are now moments when I don't feel like hurling!!!

We'll find out if it's a girl or boy next month.

Ellie seems to understand whats going on but I think her vision of pregnany will forever be ruined.

Everyday she asks - "Is the baby in your belly making you sick?"

Logic!

2010-06-01T10:33:00.002-07:00

Last night at dinner, Ellie picked up a knife and started licking it.

I freaked and yelled "Ahhh, Ellie, you never lick a knife!!!!"

She looked at me with bewilderment and said "You do if it has butter on it!"

Hey Batter

2010-05-13T20:35:00.003-07:00

So my latest excuse for the scant blog postings is . . . the flu!!

Ellie came down with the flu last week and then passed it on to NINE people including, me, Drew and all the grandparents! Yuk!

We've recovered just in time to enjoy the fabulous spring weather.

Ellie will no doubt be enrolled in every possible sport in a few years! Currently, she loves soccer and baseball. Ba-Pop taught her how to say "Swing batter" while pitching and now she says it with every play.

Since the Mariners are officially the worst team in the MLB this is the best baseball Seattle has to offer!

Enjoy!