Happy 2nd birthday to Noah

Happy 2nd Birthday Noah

Can you believe that Noah is 2 years old? This year we had a week long celebration, with lots of cupcakes and a birthday cake. The theme was Elmo, since this is Noah's favorite at the moment. Noah has preference for frosting on the cake but not the cake so much. He sure loves to blow out candles and did get to do it several time, so Kun Ta can get the "action" shot. He also loves to sing Happy Birthday song...

Uncle Jonah visits

Uncle Jonah's Visit

Noah got a special treat for his birthday with Uncle Jonah visiting. This time he calls him, "Unc Jo-Jo" (last time it was just "Ju"). He learns that Unc Jo-Jo is Daddy's "bro". He even got to hang out with the boys at his first football game-Badgers vs. Illini, tailgate cookout and all.
Noah had fun, though sadly the Illini football team did not. Apparently, Noah even ended up cheering for the Badgers to the delights of Uncle Jonah's friends. Joel also got to see Uncle again, too. Uncle said, Joel has the "curse of a second born", with all the rolls on his arms and double chins to prove it.

Henry Vilas Zoo

Brisk Autumn day at the zoo

The morning before Nolan had to go back turned out to be a sunny fall day, so we had to go the zoo. Both Noah and Nolan really enjoyed themselves. The visit to the Wisconsin was complete when they got to see Prairie dogs. This may be a new favorite animal for Noah. The Badger seemed to have been hiding, must be afraid of all the Illini in the group. Before we left, Noah and Joel got to ride the carousel and the train. Baby Joel rode the train, too, but as usual, he spent the majority of the time sleeping. What a good baby!

Eugster Farm with the cousins

Eugster Farm with Cousin Nolan

Eugster Farm is becoming a tradition for Noah's birthday and fall celebration for our family. We have to bring the city boy Nolan and his family to see the real pumpkin patch. We did the hayride, ate Kettle corn, picked up some pumpkins and visited all the farm animals. Noah even get to see all the tractors up close, which was a thrill to him even more than seeing the baby goats up close. Baby Joel endured the pumpkin outfit Mommy put him in and slept through most of the visit. See you next year, Eugster!

MMA Noah vs. Nolan

MMA Noah vs. Nolan

May be all that UFC fights Daddy watches rub off on Noah. Nolan himself seems to have a natural instinct, but Noah joins in quickly. The two were like little bear cubs.
Definitely much cuter than Randy Couture or Matt Hughes.

Nolan's visit- October 08

Nolan's visit October 2008

Nah Kao and Uncle Steve got some free time last minute, so they brought Nolan to visit Noah and to meet Baby Joel for the first time. Noah and Nolan had a wonderful time, now that they can actually play together. Nolan did hear a lot of "mine", though Noah was able to grasp the concept of sharing soon enough. The house was filled with laughter and signs of busy toddlers. Definitely was hard to keep the house tidy. Uncle Steve had a few chest pain moments at dinner time, especially without Daisy to help clean off the floor. One can only imagine the scene when Joel is big enough to join in.

2-month Joel

2-month Joel

Joel is growing very quickly...
At his 2-month check up he already is over 14 lbs. He seems to be a happy baby and showing signs of being very social. He loves to "talk" and quite loudly.
Mommy was worried about not having a baby monitor on...but as it turns out, Joel's cry when he needs something beats the monitor in its volume. Fortunately, his cry is rare...more yelping to get attention when he is being ignored. His smile sure lights up the room.

Fire Station Open house

From Fire Station Open House 2008

Noah has really loves trucks lately. All sort of trucks, really.
The fire truck may be at the top of the scale, of which he calls "woo-woo truck". That's his mommy interpretation of the siren. Noah really enjoys himself at the annual Fire Station Open House nearby. At first he is a little overwhelmed by the size of the trucks, but the visit ended with some difficulty leaving the station. "More woo-woo trucks".

Milwaukee visit

Milwaukee trip oct 08

We went on a short weekend trip to Milwaukee for Sydney and Elliot's birthday party. We decided to stay over and spent Sunday reminiscing the old days. We attempted to get Noah to swim, but he didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he enjoys a bath. The next day, we showed Noah the old neighborhood and even had brunch at Benji's deli! We spent most of the day before the rain hit at the Discovery World. Noah got to see the fish of Great Lakes...the famous ship...and learned a little about Milwaukee. It was a nice visit, but Madison is our home now.

Back at the farm...for the Great Pumpkin!

Back at the pumpkin patch sept 08

September weather has been pretty nice. We took the advantage of the sunshine and went to Eugster again this year. Noah's favorite activity is probably still at the big sandbox. He was not so crazy about touching the animals at the petting farm, but did get very excited seeing them from afar. We did have Noah pick out his pumpkin... he seems to take most interest in "baby pumpkin". May be he is just being a considerate brother to Joel. There will probably be a few more trip back to the farm this fall. May be Noah will bring Nolan when he visits!

Life with the boys

life with the boys fall 08

It's funny how times can seem to just fly by..but yet at times..it seems to stand still. The boys are growing up. Noah is doing better each day as a big brother. He is more tolerant of sharing his parents with Joel. He also really has become a wonderful helper. Joel continues to be mostly a content little baby. He does enjoy the attention he gets from Noah...even when it's a bit more rough than what mom would prefer. This month we also had a dedication service for Joel at our church. It was nice, but it reminds us that we do live too far away from everyone.