February 15th - 7 Months

Lil'Miss Smiley turned 7 months. She, too, brings such joy to my heart. She loves to sit & play with toys - and squeal with delight!

Look at me!

Norah has eyelashes to die for.

Oh, Norah, you don't miss a beat - we love you!

February 11th

I turned 32 this year - and my family was here to celebrate with me. Noah had fun helping me blow out my 2 candles. Jeff made me a 2-layer spice cake with homemade cream cheese frosting, Mmmmmmmmm.Papa & Norah, hanging out.Uncle AJ was nice & let me play with his hat... Noah, of course, thought the tissue paper was the best part of the gifts...He thought tissue paper would make a good blanket & tucked Ra-ra in for "sweet dreams!"

My boy

Noah turned 2 1/2 in January. This boy has so many layers to him. I love his love for books, quiet time, and blankets - just to name a few. He never ceases to amaze me, make me smile, and make my heart swell. Although he wasn't too interested in watching Norah roll over (see below), little did he know I was watching him, too. Noah James, you are one fine lil'man.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

The week of January 25th, we knew Norah would be rolling over. She pretty much had been, but was getting her shoulder stuck...
Notice how she reaches for the toy FURTHEST from her.Why is this shoulder in my way?Ah ha. Got it.And got the bug, too!She's so persistent & proud of herself! Good job, Norah 'Rie!

January 24th - Joslyn Christmas, Finally

On Saturday, the 24th - we FINALLY got to see Jeff's parents & celebrate Christmas with them. Noah was feeling ok that day - so off we went - it was so nice to get out of dodge. Noah got a shopping cart from Jeff's parents for Christmas. He LOVES it!It is so fun to watch Noah intricately open his presents. OooooooooooooA PIANO! Noah was in heaven. Noah's musical ability is amazing, for being 2 1/2... sing us a song, you're the piano man....Norah hung out, in the doll stroller, silly girl.This next picture cracks me up. I'll need to do a post on Duck, Noah's best bud. But, Duck does everything with Noah. Since Noah is the oldest child - he's not really into the sharing thing. So, being around all his cousins, he didn't really like the fact that he had to share the toys - especially Lightening, the horse. As you can see, Dylan is waiting patiently - while Noah decided that DUCK needed a turn on the horse. The things Noah thinks of!Cousin Luke enjoyed holding Norah & is so good with her...Noah likes Papa to scratch his back... Thank you Mom & Dad J. for "holding" Christmas for us - we had such a nice weekend!

Family Photo Shoot

We had pictures taken today for our new church directory, but first decided to try to get a few shots at home...Look who's 199-days old today! (Yes, I count everything)I pray that these 2 will always be best buds...No more pictures, Mom!

Amoxicillin Nightmare

Back on December 26th when we found out Noah had RSV - he was on a nebulizer as well as prednosoline and amoxicillin. On day #10 Noah experienced a rash & we discovered he was allergic to amoxicillin (see pictures below). On Wednesday, January 21st I received a horrible phone call. I was out doing site-visits for work & was in Rushford - my cell had no signal. I reached the main road & my phone was beeping with missed calls. It was my mom - who never calls me when I'm at work. I called back & she told me that Noah wouldn't/couldn't move his arms & legs - and "collapsed." She called my dad & also contacted Jeff. I flew home (first time I've ever gotten the Jeep up to 85mph!) and Noah at that time had fallen asleep on the living room floor - which is very odd for him - since he's a boy who walks himself upstairs & basically puts himself to bed. When he woke up - Jeff & I were talking to him. He wouldn't get up. He finally did get up, because he said he wanted to brush his teeth - and took inch-steps, dragging his legs like an old man who just had surgery. Jeff tried handing Noah his toothbrush & Noah couldn't move his arm to get it. Again, we rushed off to our Pediatrician's office. Dr. Kassas spent nearly an hour & a half with us, trying to figure out what was going on with Noah. What a NIGHTMARE it was - as it could be either - yet ANOTHER reaction to the amoxicillin OR muscle degeneration. Lots of tears were shed, as we were on day #26 of Noah not being healthy. We were sent to the hospital for X-rays to make sure nothing was broken. Nothing. That night, we were told to give Noah Motrin around the clock as well as to have him sleep with us. Noah has never slept with us before - so he was having "fun" talking our ears off. At 12:30am as we gave him another dose of Motrin, we decided to lay him in his own bed, for no one was getting any sleep. We continued to check on him throughout the night. Morning came & Noah was doing well - Praise the Lord. Back to Dr. Kassas's office at 9am - he was pleased that Noah was doing SO much better. Dr. Kassas had called his neurologist-friend down in Pittsburgh who had told him that with such a severe reaction as Noah's that THIS could be another result - and also that the x-rays showed joint inflammation. Noah could experience this for up to anther 2 weeks. And so it began - Thursday he was fine - Friday the 23rd his left-leg was dragging a bit. Saturday, he was fine & we decided to make a trip up to Jeff's parents in Derby to FINALLY celebrate Christmas with them. Sunday, Noah was fine - but extremely tired. Monday - he was fine and Tuesday his leg/hip was bothering him. As of Wednesday - the 28th - Noah was doing great & had taken NO medicine. As I write this (Saturday, Jan 31st) Noah is going on day #4 of NO meds! Praise the Lord. We are so thankful for everyone's prayers. This has been such a nightmare for us. I've really learned what it means to pray without ceasing. I now know how much HURT a parent can feel for their child... how much love a parent has for their child. As you can see, Noah still gets a bit of his traveling rash - here it's showing up on his forehead, along with his nice bruise from being unstable & crashing into the rocking chair.
To be thankful for "small" things such as your health, the ability to freely move your arms & legs, to want to eat - are all such blessings. Ah, Mr. Magoo- we love you so much & are so thankful you are doing better!
Here's to February...

Baby It's Cold Outside

Saturday, the 17th, we woke up and our digital thermometer read -18 and only 60 degrees inside, before we turned up the heat for the day. It's so cold - I don't quite remember it being this cold before.And we keep getting snow, snow, and more snow...Jeff (finally, as he would say) got a snow blower this year & is thrilled! I have to admit, he's diligent about keeping the driveway cleaned up now :) As the kids are feeling better and temperatures in the negatives - we are praying for February to come soon and bring us something good!

Back in the Saddle Again

I had to laugh the other day - Noah still was laying low, but when I went to see what he was up to - he had his cowboy hat on while watching Curious George. Silly kid!

Sherwood Christmas

Every Christmas night, the Sherwood's (my mom's side of the family) has a big celebration. I made Butterscotch Tumbleweeds for my dish to pass:4-generation picture: Norah & Me, Grandma Sherwood, and my mom: Cousins Marie, Naomi, and Owen (where was 'Nessa?!)

We play a game of White Elephant (so much fun, but Laura - you better be there next time!) My sister-in-law Sherry "froze" the gift I brought: X-Sharp Cabot Cheddar & Multi-Grain Club House Crackers... my dad was eyeing it - because Sherry "stole" it from him!

Noah being silly with Jeff!

Cousin Eli -

Cousin Alisha & Norah. I love this picture - it looks like Norah is rolling her eyes & thinking "Yeh, really - can you believe it?!"

Aunt Joan & Don -

And my most wonderful grandparents -

Nothing makes me smile more than to hear Grandpa laugh & to see his crooked-smile. I have the BEST grandparents ever!