Halloween at home

This was a big Halloween for Noah.

After our trip to Disney, we had more trick-or-treating at home.

First he helped carve pumpkins at his friend Tyler's house. They had a great time and did a great job.

Then he had a big party at school. His teacher had parents come and decorate the night before , so the room was all decked out to surprise the kids when they got there the next morning. They had a big feast and danced and went on a scavenger hunt and saw a magic show. I am amazed at all she does for her class.

Here he is on the actual night in the costume he really wanted. I don't know what he called himself - it was his own special design. He's the one with the skeleton hands and cobwebs hanging off him.

Excellent Student

I am so greatful to have such a good student for a son. I never have to fight with him about doing his homework and he takes it very seriously and works very hard at it, even though he really does not like it most of the time. He has had quite a rude awakening since starting at his new school this year. It has been a big challenge, which is the opposite of what he had at his previous school. He went from having a very easy 15 minutes of homework a night to having at least an hour of thought provoking work to do each night. He also went from having everything spelled out for him to now having many different subjects to keep up with and keeping a planner. It used to be easy for him to come home and do his homework on the kitchen table and then put it away in his backpack for the next day. Now, he has several books and workbooks to spread out and things that are ongoing for a week at a time - not just daily. So, to get him more organized, we bought him this desk and chair, which he picked out and bought accessories for and organized all by himself. He is very proud of his space and keeps it tidy and clean. With all the turmoil we had in the beginning and the hard changes he has made, he has managed to get straight A's thus far in school.

Noah, we are so very proud of you and all the work you have done and continue to do. You are such a responsible young man and Daddy and I really appreciate it.

Disneyworld again

We got back recently from Disneyworld in Florida. We went with another family (Jeff, Maria and Jeffery) that we hang with in Tucson and had a great time. While there, we attended Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. A special event held after the Magic Kingdom closes where you can dress up and trick-or-treat throughout the park while riding rides. We decided to all dress up like crash test dummies and it was a huge hit. We had people stopping us to take our picture or to ask if they could be in a picture with us. I felt like we were being chased by Disney paparazzi! Noah, of course, was not pleased because he so hates to have his picture taken, but he was a reall trooper and played along as best he could.














Here is something that got us all laughing really hard - maybe it's not that funny now. It was our last day of touring the parks, so maybe we were all just a little sleep deprived. It was at the animal Kingdom at a bird show and it is a bird that eats lizards. It kills them by taking them in its beak and beating them against a rock over and over and over and over again. This seems very un-Disneylike. In this video, it is using a rubber toy.

By the end of the trip, we came to two important realizations. First, we are done with Disneyland and World for awhile now. As much as I love it, having gone to one or the other 5 times since Noah was three, it has become less exciting and special. Noah's not exactly thrilled about Disney either. This was apparent when we were searching for a restroom for him and while doing so I asked him if he would like to see the Little Mermaid show? He replied " I would rather sit in the bathroom for the rest of the day than do that," in a very dry and serious voice. Maybe when the baby is five or so we can plan another trip (without Noah possibly). Second, we can no longer go an a vacation without the Kalitan family. Jeff has a way of getting things done that seemed impossible. For example, dining arrangements that typically need to be made months in advance, to name just one feat he accomplished. And Maria is the school health aid. So, when Noah banged his head quite hard on a statue outside of our hotel room, it was great to have her expertise available to make it better.

Again, my picture taking was really lacking in quantity and quality so there is not much to show here, I'm hoping that when the baby is born, something will trigger in me the ability to make better picture making decisions.

Noah and his Deedle Di

I went to wake Noah up for school today and this is what I found. Diamond was in heaven - she loves to cuddle and sleep with people and she is not allowed in mine and Dave's bed. Noah does not usually want her with him because he says she keeps him awake (he would sleep thru an earthquake). Maybe with the threat of a new baby, he's decided that he better have whatever family members he can get on his side. I hope this continues because it makes me smile and I think it's good for both of them. Noah said he slept all night, by the way.

Still just pretendig

I still feel like I am just pretending to be pregnant. We aren't really going to have a tiny newborn in our house again. I have not felt any movement yet, so I just feel like I am getting fat and pretending it's a baby. I remember so little about when I was pregnant with Noah so I have been doing a lot of reading. Some friends put together a surprise luncheon for me which was wonderful. But, again, it felt sort of surreal. Like it was not for me but someone else and I was there to celebrate with them.

Back row: Lisa, Denise, Blanca, Traden, Barb
Front row: Josie, Monica, Erica, Kimber




I just can't believe that I will be in a delivery room again. It's so strange to have diapers, a stroller and baby clothes lying around the house. I guess the sonogram picture should be proof that it's for real, but again, it could be someone elses. I hope it begins to feel real soon or I'm in for a huge shock in about 5 months!

Big News

We are going to have a baby! Noah took this picture of me - I am about 4 months along. It is due February 28th, 2009. I am getting more and more excited as the time goes, but am feeling this pregnancy much more than Noah's. I'm sure my age has alot to do with that. I feel too old to be doing this again.
Reality has not totally sunk in yet. I kind of feel like we are just pretending to try it out. We had been debating whether to have more children or not for a very long time and I am very glad that the decision has been finally made for us and we can get the question off our brains.
Noah says he wants to remain an only child, but at the same time, is always quite concerned that I am doing the right things for the baby.
It has been such a long time that we are learning it all over again. Many of the rules have changed in 8 years also. I would appreciate any tips anyone might know.

The cutest!

My wonderful, crazy mother did it again. Every year she takes the three cousins in to get a professional picture made. I think this years turned out the cutest! Here is just one. Thank you mom - I love them.