Year and a Half...

Noah's old... not old as in he might've been the one who built the ark, but still - time flies. He still hasn't had his first haircut. And he still is baby-like in some ways. So, in an effort to cling to our baby as a baby, we decided to have another photo shoot. We've been told that once a baby has his/her first haircut, they seem much older, so why not document the last of his shagginess before we soon take the inevitable plunge of eliminating his mullet? And he sure knows how to strike a pose, so enjoy this little modeling session!

Happy Easter!

This wasn't Noah's first Easter, it's true... But it might as well have been, because last Easter, he wasn't really old enough to partake in any of the delights. He didn't know about the Easter Bunny. He couldn't walk to do an Easter Egg Hunt. He definitely couldn't eat Peeps - oh, wait, I was talking about positive things about Easter. Sorry. Well, he couldn't eat the chocolates. He slept right through church, so he didn't get to hear about the Resurrection. Really, it's almost like this year was his first Easter.

So, we went to church. He didn't sleep through it, but he did play in the childcare area the whole time, so I can't really say he got a lot out of that spiritually. But, then we got to go visit family. That's part of what any holiday is all about, right?

Actually, Noah is reading over my shoulder, and he just corrected me. He said that eating is what most holidays are all about, and the family is just around to make food and help him cut up his meat. Although, truth be told, if there's one thing Noah does well, it's cut things... Like father, like son.

Look at that dexterity! He doesn't even have to have things resting on a plate to cut them! He cuts his food in mid-air!

Noah realizes that when he was younger he may have had a little weight issue. He's working on that. Not so chunky, slowly slimming down. His mother reminds him occasionally that obesity at the age of 2 corresponds to adulthood obesity, and he certainly doesn't want that. So he's diligent about his exercises. He loves going out after a good meal and burning a few calories...

Or making someone else burn a few calories, as the case may be...

Fortunately for Noah, he had the luxury of a fancy play structure... and the luxury of a fun cousin to enjoy it with.

But there's more to enjoying a beautiful spring day than just crawling through a plastic tunnel. (I know, you're thinking to yourself, "Don't be ridiculous! Of course there isn't any more to a beautiful spring day than a plastic tunnel! What a silly thing to say!" Really, though. It's true! And I have photographic evidence below.

And really, once you see the picture, I think you'll realize what I'm talking about. And you, too, will understand and agree.

Bubbles! When is the last time you just ran around chasing bubbles? Try it. It's great. It's really a great thing to do with friends... and you'll get so excited that you just won't be able to help hugging them in celebration!

Don't be deceived into thinking that bubbles are just for little babies, though. it's a common misconception. Again, photographic proof below that it's just not true. Look again at the picture above of enjoying the bubbles, and then look below.

That's right... Noah's no baby. He's our little man. Look at him strike a pose! Babies don't put their hands in their pockets. Only big kids do that!

And of course, in addition to family and food and exercise, a good party should always include a doggie. Those of you who are devoted fans of this blog know what sound a doggie makes, thanks to Noah, so the next picture should seem even more life-like.

You're probably getting bored, thinking, "This post is the same as every post about family get-togethers... what about the Easter part?" What do you wanna see?

A basket?

An Easter Egg hunt?

Friendly competition for candy?

Not-so-friendly competition for candy?

You get to see it all here. This was a bonafide Easter party.

Paparazzi were everywhere, recording every second of action.

And when the Hunt was over, it was time to enjoy the spoils. Well, at least one piece of the spoils, since that's all Mom and Dad would allow...

Good thing there's family around to help unwrap those darned things...

And Noah went trick-or-treating to one house last Halloween, so he knows that Mom or Dad need to sample things before he eats them... you know, to make sure they're safe.

Once Noah was satisfied that no one was trying to poison him, though, he didn't hesitate.

Domesticating the Children

Sometimes the people who design toys are idiots. Really, who needs a toy pager in the doctor kit that sounds exactly like Mommy's and Daddy's real pagers? Or who needs the toy that is nothing other than a button that, when pressed, emits a loud belching noise? (Though, my confession to the world is that we gave the latter toy to Noah to distract him in the car multiple times when younger because he could operate it, and it made him laugh.)

But sometimes, they get it just right... Take the featured toy at the last Egle get-together...



Look at how intrigued they are! They're fascinated. They've seen their parents using such things, but haven't had the chance to investigate themselves.

They probably won't be able to wait until they're big enough to push the ones that actually suck and clean (note to Fisher Price, if you're reading: that's an amazing opportunity for improvement on the pictured toy).

Just like a slinky, a vacuum is fun for a girl or a boy. That's right... Noah's gonna vacuum like it's going out of style as soon as he's old enough to be trusted not to electrocute himself.

Another cool toy? Oven mitts. How awesome are those?

Not only do they prevent burns, but they also give you super-human strength...

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!

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According to Mary Frances Egle, everyone should turn 90 because it's fun. And she's a credible source. Just ask Betty White...

(That says "Love you Fran. You Go Girl!")

So, to celebrate such an epiphany, we had a big party. Noah likes to party, so he was pretty happy.

He had fun playing with his cousin. Who would've seen that one coming? They're so funny together. First, Ellia gave Noah a ride...

Then Noah offered to let Ellia ride. But Noah's really smart, you see, so he still made someone else do the hard work of pushing, while making it seem like he's a nice guy who's sacrificing a lot for his cousin.

And by the end of the night, everyone was still super excited... or at least awake, which is saying a lot considering how long of a day it was...

But, it's never too late to boogie down...

New Tricks

Sorry in advance if you're on a slow connection. This post has several videos so takes a few more minutes than usual... It's worth it for the movie star featured below, though!

Noah is becoming more verbal these days. It's really fun... he likes to imitate us. He likes to imitate animals. He likes to make up new creative sounds that only he has heard before in his head. Don't worry, he assures me he doesn't hear voices. But here are some examples of what he does hear:






















He has also developed some very useful life skills. We didn't want him to just turn into another brilliant genius who earns bazillions of dollars but can't take care of himself and survives on Ramen noodles, so he's learning some domestic skills, as well.



And finally, after working so hard, he can't be contained. He just has to cut loose. He's been a good dancer for awhile, but he's been working on adding a few moves to his repertoir:

Happy Opening Day!

"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Pizza Night

Executive Chef Noah does sometimes humble himself from the lofty standards of creating soufleés and quiches and all sorts of gourmet items to prepare some simple crowd-pleasers, like pizza. As a matter of fact, he probably enjoys eating the end-product as much as anyone else in the household, which is saying a lot, considering who his father is.



He waited patiently while his sous-chefs prepared all the ingredients, until it was time for the assembly to take place. He kept a very close eye on his line chefs to make sure they were doing a good job and using only the finest ingredients.

And as any good chef will do, Executive Chef Noah personally verified the quality of the ingredients being used. It would be downright shameful to serve something that wasn't of highest quality, and Noah was not about to take that risk.

Noah found that the ingredients met with his satisfaction... well, that's an understatement. Noah quite thoroughly enjoyed the ingredients.

In fact, the ingredients appealed to Chef Noah so much that he found it hard to concentrate on the task at hand. When it came time to topping the pizzas, Noah couldn't even close his mouth... He was drooling, just thinking about the next delicious bite.

Fortunately, Noah had trustworthy sous-chefs who were able to restrain and re-direct his passions and keep him from compromising the high standards to which his customers have become accustomed.

Any good chef will tell you about the importance of presentation, and eventually, the finished product looked so amazing that Noah almost forgot about the final, crucial, step of pizza preparation: baking. Once again, thanks to Mommy - I mean, the sous-chef, for keeping the Executive Chef on task...