Summer 2012: Lots of Change Coming

Hi Everyone,

Some of you have been after me to update our blog, especially now that we have welcomed our newest little Brown!

We are excited to announce that Abigail Kathryn Brown was born on Friday, July 27th, 2012 at 8:09am!  She was 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and measured 19 1/4" long.  She had a full head of dark hair and big blue eyes.  Abby is our little peanut!  At birth, she was teeny tiny (an entire pound lighter than her big brother) but she has had no trouble gaining weight.  In fact, between her initial pediatrician appointment and her 2 week appointment, she gained an entire pound!!! (Usually they only gain about 1oz per day.)  She is doing pretty well with sleeping - lots of little cat naps, and usually at least one long nap in the afternoon, and one 4-hour sleep when we go to bed, and a few 2-3 hour stints following that during the night.

Here are some pictures of Abby:  Click here!

In addition to having our new little one, we have officially announced that we are moving back to Missouri!  Back in April, Noah's old boss in St. Charles asked him to come back, as they have a lot of work now.  We immediately wanted to say "YES" and go running home, but we had a few other options to consider.  The saying goes, "when it rains, it pours", and well, it was pouring job offers for Noah!  He had an offer from the Navy, in addition to sort of a promotion at his current job.  In an economy when so many people are without work, it was a blessing to have so many options.  After lots of prayerful consideration, we knew moving back home was the right decision.  God confirmed that by helping us get a great offer on our house here in Maryland after only 3 days on the market, and providing an awesome house in St. Louis all in the same week.  During this time, Noah's mom and my parents and brother and sister-in-law came to visit us and help us around the house.  It was so nice to have help the first 3-4 weeks after having Abby.  To top it off, the moms group provided a whole bunch of delicious homemade meals for us for the first 2 weeks after Abby was born!  We are so humbled and feel so blessed by seeing God's hand so visibly in everything around us.

Our move date will likely be sometime in the first week of October.  Noah's first day of work is October 5th.  Our new address is 79 Hillview Dr. in St. Peters, MO 63376.  Click the address for pictures!

Although we have made some wonderful friends here in Maryland whom we'll miss very much, we're looking forward to being much closer to family and friends being back in the Midwest.  If you're one of those wonderful friends here in Maryland, our door is open for you if you're ever in St. Louis!  We would love to keep in touch.

Here are some more pictures of our family from July and August:  Click here!

We hope all of you are doing well and look forward to seeing our family and dear friends in St. Louis very soon!

Blessings,
Noah, Krista, Judah and little Abby

Blog Update: A Long Time Coming!

Hi Everyone!

I apologize that this update has been a LONG time in coming! I can't remember the last time we updated our blog, so - sorry!

We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's, Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day and you and your families are doing well!!!

We are doing well out here in Southern Maryland, still adjusting to everything.

Our biggest news is that Judah will be a big brother in July! On Noah's birthday (March 2nd) we found out that Judah will have a little sister, which was also very exciting. He likes to wear his "I'm going to be a big brother" shirt often now, and I think he is excited about the concept of having a sister. He has even said that when the baby comes, he is going to share some of his toys with her, and has been helping me work on getting the baby's room organized (along with playing with all the baby toys! haha). What a sweet boy! He has also felt the baby kick several times and thinks that is the coolest thing!

Baby's due date is July 20th, but we will see how things go. The doctor says that according to the 20-week ultrasound, I am 10 days ahead of where they originally thought. But they are not changing my due date. I'm not sure how that works, so we'll just have to wait to see when the baby is ready to join us! All in all, I have been feeling well - just tired, which is to be expected. The baby has been keeping me up at night (she is super active!), so sleep is a very valued commodity! :)

Noah's job continues to go well. He has still been working 50+ hours per week, but he has had several weekends in a row off of work, which has been great!

The weekend before Easter, we had the opportunity to meet Noah's brother Paul in Washington D.C. and see a few sights. We stayed in a great place right on the Potomac River, went into the city to see the National Museum of Natural History, and had lunch at a local brew pub. Paul's fiancee, Maria, joined us on the way home, and we stopped at the Goddard Space Flight Museum. It is a small air and space museum, but it's pretty interactive for kids, which was fun for Judah. Click on the link for some pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3265484870734.2143416.1075628199&type=3&l=203e5f36b7

Paul and Maria will be getting married in May, and we are all preparing for the big day! Noah is the Best Man, Judah is the Ring Bearer, and I will be playing piano for the wedding. We recently tried on Judah's tux. It was a steal... $8 at a consignment sale last Fall! And it fits perfectly!!! What a handsome boy:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3265271385397.2143410.1075628199&type=3&l=f46cfd791e

We hope all of you had a great Easter weekend! We're sorry we missed all of you and the festivities. But we did have some festivities of our own. Thursday we had an Easter egg hunt/pot luck with the moms group, which was a lot of fun. Saturday we had dinner with friends. Sunday we went to church, and then went to one of Noah's co-workers' houses for Easter lunch. She also had an Easter egg hunt for everyone, but everyone ended up having a good time helping Judah find all the eggs. We came home with a nearly full paper grocery bag full of plastic eggs filled with candy!

During a normal week (using the word "normal" very loosely!) we usually visit the library, park and have a playdate. But this week, we went to Nature Time - a program put on for younger kids by the State Park & Rec. At one of the local state parks, they have stables and we got to learn about horses and how to care for them! The kids all got to take a turn brushing and petting a horse, and we made "horse tails" afterwards! A great time was had by all. Here are some pictures!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3265317946561.2143412.1075628199&type=1&l=bf266396a8

I think that's about it for our family updates! We'll keep all of you in the loop about the baby, and I'm sure I'll update the blog before then too. Hope all of you are doing well! Please keep in touch. We miss you and love you!

Noah, Krista, Judah and Baby #2

Happy Thanksgiving!

By now, most or all of you are prepping for a Thanksgiving meal. But just incase you have a moment to check your email, we wanted to wish each and every one of you a happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for you and blessed to call you friends and family.

The summer has flown by and we haven't remembered to post any updates for you!

Noah is still working on the P-8a Poseidon project with Boeing and the Navy here at Pax River. Some things have changed with his work, but all is generally the same. Noah is now on 2nd shift between Thanksgiving week and Christmas, which has been great. I get to sleep in and he gets more time with Judah. Perfect! Haha! It has been nice having him around in the mornings though. We seem to have a lot more family time this way.

I am still involved with the moms group and worship team at church. Staying home with Judah keeps me busy. Throughout the Summertime we've made it to several parks around the area, and found a great playground close to home (right next to the library!). In addition, we're looking forward to the moms group Christmas cookie decorating next week with the kids. That should be a blast!

Judah is always our main focus in these blog posts.... and he is doing great. He is growing and learning a mile a minute. We just had visits from both sets of grandparents recently, and they were blown away by his paragraph sentences! :) Judah is a little smarty pants, and has to figure everything out all the time. He is constantly analyzing things, or using his creative juices to do something new. We are learning that he has a very active imagination! Along with all of that, he is doing well with potty training (despite going through a very independent phase). It will be a while until he's fully trained, but he's been a trooper!

Here are some pictures from the past several months...

Watching the Cardinals win the World Series!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2268128937459.2122848.1075628199&type=1&l=ec60a460ea


Visiting a local farm with the moms group and baking Halloween cookies for the trash guys (who always wave and beep at us!): http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2314055525595.2124358.1075628199&type=1&l=ba2de3d329


Trick-or-Treating: Although Judah didn't really enjoy the whole trick-or-treating experience in the dark (some kids had really scary costumes!), he did enjoy getting dressed up! http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2338166008342.2125135.1075628199&type=1&l=a54307fd76

Miscellaneous fun in November: We caught a huge grasshopper, and visited the EMS building and got to sit in an ambulance. The nice guy there even turned on the flashing lights for us!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2358761243210.2125816.1075628199&type=1&l=32eb390e22


Happy Thanksgiving everyone, from our family to yours! We plan to be in town (WI and IL, and make a stop in STL) during Christmas/New Years. We hope to see you soon!!!

Love,
Noah, Krista and Judah

Judah's Birthday

Hi Everyone,

We want to thank everyone for all of the cards, gifts and birthday wishes for our little man! Judah had FOUR (count 'em!).... 4 wonderful birthday celebrations!!! It seemed like every time we had an opportunity to see family within a month of Judah's birthday, we had another party. Due to moving and all of the travel, we didn't have a themed party, or have any other kiddos over. But it was nice to see both sets of grandparents, and Judah's Uncle Nick, Uncle Paul and Maria! Judah had so much cake, that by the time it got to his actual birthday, we ended up just putting candles in his dinner (a chicken quesadilla), and singing "happy birthday"! haha

Anyway, here are some pictures of the fun we've had over the past several months.

Birthday pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2023296696806.2112802.1075628199&l=f5fe22b668

Moving Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2023257055815.2112798.1075628199&l=df55b7b90d

Misc. Fun:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2037679936378.2113673.1075628199&l=3ebc1726d5

I know it will be a while until we are in the Midwest again, which will be at Christmas time. We are planning to be in New Jersey to visit some of Noah's family there at the end of July. We hope you're all doing well, and love and miss you!

Blessings,
Noah, Krista & Judah


Enjoy!

Our New House

So some of you have **repeatedly** asked for pictures of our new home. Here you go!

Please keep in mind that I have no pictures or decorations up yet, and the master bedroom, basement and office need serious help!!! :)

http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x219/nkbrown81/New%20House%202011/

We had several things that were broken in the move (one of them is the computer desk), so that's what's holding us up. But everything else is coming along nicely and we're getting settled in! Our neighbors seem very nice, and there are a ton of kids on our street.

This morning, I joined a few of my moms group friends and headed to the Amish farm down the road (about 10 minutes away) to pick up some fresh produce! They already had sweet corn, peppers, cantaloupe, zucchini, cucumbers and a bunch of other wonderful things. So much better than the store!!!

The weather hasn't been too bad here the past few weeks. It's been warm and muggy but we've been getting a little rain here and there which has kept the temps and humidity down a bit.

Judah is having a blast living in a house again. He did very well with all the moving chaos and adjustment, and I think he really likes having his new room and big bed (we put the box spring under his mattress, so it's higher).

Noah's job is still going well, and I'm doing fine too -just glad everything is pretty much over and we're settling in!

We hope all of you are doing well too! Love and hugs...

FYI, we will be in Wisconsin on December 23rd, and Springfield after that. So please let us know if you'd like to get together!!!

Blessings,
Noah, Krista and Judah

We're "Home"!!!

Hi Everyone,

We wanted to share some big news with all of our friends and family, and pass along our NEW ADDRESS!!!

Everything is finally coming together with our house situation, both here in Maryland and back in St. Louis. We will be closing on our house here in Maryland on June 10th, and our house back in St. Louis on June 13th (what a nice birthday present!).

We got ALL of the news yesterday, which made for a crazy day - scheduling home inspections, finalizing insurance and lender paperwork, talking to realtors... but a good day, nonetheless.

Before I forget, I know a lot of you will ask for our new address. Please note that there is only one "N" in our street name. It's goofy, I know!

23270 Jenifer Ct.
Leonardtown, MD 20650

We may have the opportunity to move in before our closing date, so we can move all of our things out of our townhouse and St. Louis house - straight into our new house. So we're praying that that will be able to happen. If we can't, we may need to put our things into storage for a short time, which means another move. But thankfully Boeing is taking care of us in that regard!

We are going to try to make one last trip back to the Midwest in a few months (mainly for the purpose of being there for the movers in St. Louis). We can't guarantee we'll make it to see all of you. My guess right now is that we won't be able to make it to Wisconsin this summer, but we should be able to see some friends and family in the Springfield, IL/St. Louis area, who we didn't get to see at Easter. As we get closer to figuring out if and when we are coming, we'll certainly be in touch to give you the details and try to get together with as many of you as we can, in between making the sure the movers get all of our things out of the house.

Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement through this big transition in our lives! We are so thankful for such supportive and caring friends and family, and are truly blessed by each and every one of you.

Aside from the house stuff, we are doing great. The weather this past week was amazing - in the mid-70's and sunny almost every day. But it looks like this week will make up for that - they are predicting rain almost every day this week!

Noah's job is going well, and he is getting more opportunities to fly on the aircraft he's working on, which is very exciting for him. When he flies, he gets to wear a full flight suit and military issue boots, and he looks like one of those Top Gun pilot guys! :) I managed to snap this rare image of him in his gear, and mysteriously have never seen him come home in it since! haha


Judah and I have stayed busy with the Moms Group we're involved in. We have had a bunch of play dates at the park, breakfast at Panera, a trip to an Amish farm, storytime at the local library and a lot of other fun activities. Judah is talking a mile a minute, asking questions left and right, and likes to point out everything going on around him. He knows his alphabet, and is trying to count to 20 (missing a few of the 'teen' numbers, but we're almost there). He loves to draw and color, but he also likes to figure out how everything works (i.e. - vacuum, car keys, what the mail man does, trash truck, dishwasher, laundry, you name it!). Judah continues to love music too... so he's definitely got a little bit of both his mommy and daddy in him! He is such a good boy, and so much fun.

I have been starting to get involved in our church in addition to the moms group. There was an audition for the worship team several weeks back, and I am not a part of that! I'll be playing piano and singing in the band, which is an honor and a joy! It will be so nice to get back to serving in that capacity at church! I have truly missed it.

I think that is about it for us (for now at least!). We hope all of you are doing well, and miss you! Please keep in touch. When we get settled into our house here, we would love some visitors. Please don't be strangers!!!

Love,
Noah, Krista and Judah

Maryland Madness

Hi Everyone! We hope everyone is having a wonderful 2011 so far! It's been a while since we updated our blog, so there is a lot to say. Here goes!

God has been working amazing things in our lives since we got here to Maryland. The trip here went smoothly in November, and we moved into our townhouse, which we have been renting. It's a tad smaller than our house (1/3 the size, to be exact), but we're managing famously. It just means we're all a little closer, which is a good thing with a crazy, wonderful little 21-month-old boy running around! :) We still have a lot of boxes we can't unpack because we don't have room for things, so our bedroom has turned into a temporary storage area.

We have been in waiting to find out what the future holds for us, either here or back in the Midwest. Recently, Noah received a job offer from a competitor, and Boeing actually fought to keep him and gave him a wonderful raise, in addition to the great benefits they offer, so we could stay on the East Coast. So in a nutshell, we're staying in Southern Maryland permanently. It is bittersweet, since we are farther from friends and family, but we are thankful that we finally know where we will be living on a long-term basis.

Noah is liking his job more these days, now that he as actually gotten to fly on the plane he works on! The days he flies on the plane (to gather data), he comes home in his flight suit and boots and looks like one of those spiffy pilots from Top Gun. They even gave him an official name patch and a flag patch for his arm. Pretty cool. I think he'd agree that it was worth it to go through all the crazy swim tests and hypoxia training to be able to fly on the aircraft he works with. It sounds like he enjoys working with his team, and he has a good boss too.

Along with that good news, we received word that a family from Arkansas wants to buy our home in St. Louis! We will (hopefully) be closing the deal on that in the next month or two. Please pray that the family buying our home will be able to sell their home quickly so they can buy ours! Right now the contract on our home is contingent upon the sale of their home.

In addition, we have been doing some serious, heavy-duty house shopping out here in Maryland, and God has blessed us with a great deal on an amazing house out here! So we are writing an offer on it today. The only catch is that it is a HAP home (which means it is basically owned by the DOD, and they have to approve or reject our offer, which could take up to 3 weeks to hear). So please also be praying that they will accept our offer! It is an amazing place, in a wonderful neighborhood, great schools, closer to everything. We feel so blessed to have found the place, and are just praying the deal will go through. Please stand with us in praying and believing it will happen!

Judah is doing great. I think I mentioned a while ago that we were starting formal potty training. Well, in the midst of all of this chaos and house hunting, it just wasn't working. If we didn't have all the craziness, Judah would probably be doing awesome with potty training. I don't think Judah was ready to do the potty thing in so many public places with so much noise and people and action going on around him. So he's back in diapers again, but we're still putting him on the potty when we're home (and whenever he tells us when he has to go when we're out and about) so we don't lose all that we've worked for so far.

Other than that, Judah is having a blast being outside more lately. The other day we went to the park and all he wanted to do was swing for 45 minutes! He loved being out in the sunshine and feeling the breeze on his face and wearing his new shades. Judah is talking a mile a minute, and it just blows me away how much he knows, learns and remembers. He is such a sharp little guy... you tell him something once and he will come back days later and repeat it to you when you least expect it! One of his favorite things to help with lately is opening the front door when we get home. He will want to find the key on the ring, put it in the lock, turn it and open the door (and ring the doorbell 15 times!). He also knows what all of the keys on my key ring are for, including the mail box key (we have lock boxes, not an actual mail box). Getting the mail is a daily ritual for him, and if we don't get it by 4pm, he will remind us! haha Here are some recent pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100039&id=1075628199&l=a9c9c1d4b3

Noah's parents recently visited us, and we took a trip up to New Jersey with them to visit Noah's Uncle Randy and Aunt Sue! Noah's brother Nick, and his cousin Tresa and her family joined us for the weekend too, so it was like a big family reunion! It was a packed house, but we had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. Here are some pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2099914&id=1075628199&l=6017fdcc84

Speaking of seeing family, Noah's brother Nick (who is normally stationed in Hawaii in the Army) has taken a temporary 6-month position up in Bethesda, MD, which is just outside of Washington D.C. - only about an hour and a half from us! So we have gotten the opportunity to see him a few times since he's been here, and hopefully will get to see him some more before he leaves for Hawaii again in July. Here are some pics from our last visit: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100047&id=1075628199&l=fbae58a780

We'll keep you updated about what happens with the house situation. We are looking forward to a trip to Wisconsin for Easter and seeing lots of family! We will be arriving in Milwaukee on April 22, and I will be staying until May 1st with Judah. Noah needs to get back to Maryland for work, so he will be leaving on the 26th. But we look forward to a great visit and catching up in person with as many of you as we can!

Lots of love and hugs,
Noah, Krista & Judah

The Holidays 2010

Hi Everyone,

We had a very nice holiday - hope all of you did too!

We flew into Milwaukee on Christmas Day, and that afternoon we were whisked off to a fun get-together on the Schubert side of the family. The rest of the time in town
was a blur... trying to visit with all of the family in Wisconsin in 4 days was crazy! Unfortunately we didn't get to see everyone, as we would've liked. But hopefully we can make up some of the time with them next time we visit!

My brother Eric and his wife Melissa are the proud owners of a brand spankin' new house in Madison! Congrats to my little bro and wonderful sister-in-law! They closed on December 28th and moved in quickly afterwards. Very exciting! :) We were blessed to have the opportunity to get together with Oma Schubert a few times and then left for Illinois to see Noah's family on the 29th. We had a very nice time celebrating Christmas one more time, and got to spend some time with Noah's grandma too! On the 2nd we drove back up with Milwaukee to fly back to Maryland on the 3rd. Whew!!! I have to say, even though we enjoyed our quick visit with family, it's good to be back to a regular schedule again! We had a lot of late nights, and it's tough to keep up with a running, jumping, talking, giggly 18-month-old little boy when you're pooped out! haha

Speaking of Judah, here are some pictures from the holidays...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089277&id=1075628199&l=f136f91852..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2086184&id=1075628199&l=eda0a9846e

We had Judah's 18-month appointment today, and the doc said he looks great, and is way ahead in his development! I had no idea, but I guess a 2-year-old's vocabulary should be around 40-50 words. But Judah says over 175! I thought I was crazy when I got curious and tried writing down all of the words he uses on a regular basis (without me saying them first), and the list just kept getting longer and longer! It makes me feel so blessed that I can be home with him and help him learn so much. We are working on learning numbers and the alphabet now to try to keep him challenged, and he knows all of his colors already. He is a little sponge!!!

We are also starting to potty train him... or rather, get him used to using the potty. I know he is only 18 months old, and that probably sounds nuts, but he has been telling us when he goes, and even tells us when he has to go sometimes. He is still in diapers, but we ask him periodically thoughout the day if he wants to use the potty, and he has been going on the potty at least once a day since we started about a week ago. He is doing great so far, and we are so proud of our little guy! He is just growing up too fast!!!

Other than Judah's explosion of developmental craziness (haha!), we are doing pretty well. We are starting to get to know more people here in Maryland, and have been going to a church out here. The people are very nice. I got together with another stay-at-home mom from church today and her little girl. It was great to get out of the house! I will probably be joining the church's stay-at-home mom group that meets on Thursdays... I'm pretty excited about that. It will be great for Judah (and me too).

Noah's job is going fine, although he isn't doing his real job yet. He is a Flight Test Engineer for the P-8 project at Boeing, and works at Pax River Naval Base here in Maryland. It's a very short drive to work for him, which is great - about 8 minutes from parking lot to parking lot. Noah recently passed his Flight Test Certification (yay!), which included jumping in a pool with full flight gear on, and passing various swimming and drown-proof tests. (When the plane he is working on begins flight tests in the next few months, he may get to ride along. The plane flies over the bay/ocean here, so it's required to be able to pass the test incase something happens and it needs to land in the water - not that that would ever happen.) So congrats to my hubby! Woohoo! He will also have to pass a high-altitude chamber test for his job. From what he understands, he will have to take a class, then be put into a chamber where they will reduce his oxygen percentage, and he will need to identify altitude sickness symptoms. He has been talking to some people who have gone through the test, and it sounds like sometimes people do some pretty silly things when their oxygen level goes down! :)

The area we live in is okay. It isn't bad, just very different than St. Louis, Missouri. Patuxent River, MD is built around the Naval Air Station (base). The population in the area is a majority of people who work or live on the base, and it has exploded within the past 10 years. With the population explosion, more stores and businesses have been built out here, but not nearly the number you would find in an established city. The housing and zoning around here is strange. There can be a business, then an old house that's been here for decades, then a brand spankin' new house, then a trailer or modular home... there aren't very many nice "neighborhoods" or subdivisions in the area. It has been a challenge to look for a house out here because of that. But that is ok. We are still unsure of how things will happen with Noah's job, and how long we will actually be here. Noah's first 6 months will be up in April, and we should know more as we get closer to that time. We will keep you updated.

Again, we hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are starting out the New Year! Blessings to all of you and your families! Please keep in touch. We miss all of our family and friends in the Midwest (and the south, and the Pacific! ;)

Love,
Noah, Krista & Judah

The Big Move

Hi Everyone,

Our blog update is long overdue, so here goes! One of the reasons I haven't updated it is because we have been BUSY! (imagine that...) Another reason is that we have been in the middle of a big transition with Noah's job, so I didn't want to post anything too soon, for fear that things would change again. Seems they have been changing daily lately.

Several months ago, Boeing announced that it lost a big weapons contract. That contract was basically Noah's job for the next 5 years or so. Since they didn't get the contract, Noah has basically run out of work. So for the past several months, Noah has been looking for another job, because there were no guarantees he would still be at his current position once the work ran out. At first, prospects seemed bleak, but within about a week, he received 4 offers - one for Boeing in Seattle, another for St. Louis, and two for PAX River, Maryland. It was a huge blessing! But it also made things a lot more complicated. We were praying for some guidance - something to just pop out at us, screaming "pick me!". After considering all of the options, we chose the Boeing offer in Maryland. As of right now, the plan is for Noah to start his job out there the first week of November, and then he will fly back so we can celebrate Thanksgiving with family in Springfield. We will pack up any stuff that we left behind that we need, and then fly back out together at the end of November. There are so many unknowns with his move, but we know God will provide what we need and His timing is always best.

Other than the craziness with Noah's job and moving, we are doing well. We had a wonderful summer. Judah is pretty much running around the house and babbling constantly, trying to figure out how everything works. He absolutely loves to be outside. We have been watering the grass to make the yard look nicer, and he goes crazy when he sees the sprinkler. Even though it's not exactly hot outside anymore, he sticks his hands in the water and it doesn't seem to bother him one bit! Take a look:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080201&id=1075628199&l=783e2fec37

In September, we went on our first family vacation. Our destination was Granby, Colorado, just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. We went with Noah's parents and Noah's cousin Madaline and her husband Gabe. The scenery was gorgeous, and so was the weather, with the exception of a few days. We enjoyed a bunch of hiking and did horseback riding one day too.

Here are some pictures of the trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078700&id=1075628199&l=2eb44b4c09

Judah loved hiking and riding. We drove a lot, and he actually did pretty well with it all.

Here are some more miscellaneous pictures of Judah too:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080146&id=1075628199&l=71fbc34edf

We will keep all of you updated as much as we can through the move. We hope everyone is doing well. We love and will miss our friends (who have become our family) here in St. Louis, but we will do our very best to keep in touch. You have been such a blessing to us and changed our lives for the better. Thank you to everyone - friends and family - for your support and encouragement and prayers. They mean so much.

Love and blessings,
Noah, Krista & Judah

Happy Birthday To Our Little Man!

Happy birthday Judah!!!

Can't believe it has been one year ago that our little Judah-bean came into the world. It seems like just a few months ago we brought him home, and he was so little and helpless. Now he is tearing up the rug... dancing, crawling, scooting and now almost walking! One thing that hasn't changed, though, is his love for music. From that very first little kick in my belly, he has gone crazy every time he hears a tune... whether we're in the store, at church or playing on the piano at home, that little smile never fades and his little wiggle keeps on wiggling!

Throughout the last year, there have been a lot of changes around our house... the yard has taken a hit (sorry to everyone that has seen our front yard), the house is never clean and we haven't really gotten out a lot. But it has been worth it! We have had so much fun and been so blessed to watch Judah grow, learn and laugh. In addition to loving music, he absolutely loves books! Reading with Daddy before bed has become a ritual, and it just touches my heart to see Noah's arm around Judah as he pays such close attention to the story. His favorite book is "On the Night You Were Born", and his new favorite word is "geese"! Whenever Noah reads the line, "the geese flew home"... Judah perks up, scrunches up his little nose and blurts out "chees!" He is still working on the "g" sound, but close enough, right?

We had a small birthday party for Judah on June 10th and combined it with his dedication so our parents could be there for both events. Our good friend Tony Ingrassia blessed us by officiating the dedication, which was beautiful and memorable. Afterwards, we had lunch and cake for everyone to celebrate Judah's birthday. Judah, being the little gentleman he is, just poked at his cake and looked at us like, "can I please have this?" After telling him it was okay, he poked at it a few more times and looked at us again and whined, like "can you please cut it up for me so I can eat it?" haha! Some kids rip into their cake or plunge their face into it.... Judah asks permission. That's my little man!





This past weekend was the 4th of July, and we decided to get Judah up to go watch fireworks. I'm so glad we did because he loved them!

Here are some pictures of his birthday and the fireworks:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058800&id=1075628199&l=2f1f82af15

...and some other miscellaneous pictures from the past month:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058784&id=1075628199&l=052eb673bf

This weekend we are going to have a stay-at-home-and-relax family weekend, head to Grant's Farm (http://www.grantsfarm.com/). It's owned by Anheuser-Busch, and is kind of a cross between a zoo, a park and a petting zoo. There is a tram that runs through the park so you can see the larger animals (Texas long-horn cows, zebras, camels, llamas, etc.) and there's also a petting zoo where kids can give bottles to the baby goats. After going through the park, the "big kids" can have a few samples of A-B products and take a breather. So it's fun for all!

We will also be doing some yard work (as said previously, our front yard needs some help, which I think the neighbors would sincerely appreciate us doing!) and just spending some quality time together and relaxing. The weather is supposed to be a little nicer - humidity will let up and temps will only be in the mid- to high-80's (instead of the 90's like it's been).

We will be coming up to Wisconsin for my grandma's birthday on July 17-19th. We look forward to seeing a bunch of family, whom we've missed!

Love you all and blessings!

Noah, Krista & Judah

This year is flying by...

Hi Everyone,

Is this year really flying by, or is it just me? I feel like it shouldn't be June already! However, the weather is saying otherwise... it's been hot and humid - typical St. Louis summer weather - for the past several weeks.

We hope all of you are doing well. Everything is going well here with us.

Noah is happy to be done with school and have his Masters in Aerospace Engineering. He has yet to see the actual degree, but he's happy nonetheless!

I am just busy with things at home, namely our little speed demon. He is not walking yet, but he can scoot around like no other! Look away for 2 seconds and he's gone in a flash, leaving you wondering where he went in a cloud of dust. Ok, not really, but pretty close! He points at EVERYTHING and says "dat!!! dat!!!", and also says "mama" and "dada" and "nana". He is always looking for something to grab and has a longer reach than Stretch Armstrong, so you always have to be one step ahead of him, even when you're holding him or he's strapped into his high chair. He is starting to figure out how to put big blocks together, and continues to love music (especially playing the piano). He loves to dance too... he'll point at the kitchen radio and yell "dat!" until you turn it on.

Most of the time, Judah doesn't crawl like he used to - he scoots. Take a look. It's a hoot.

Judah is doing great - eating three square meals, plus at least one snack during the day (if not two), and drinking all 16-24oz of his milk. He is completely weaned now, so he's drinking whole "moo-moo" milk. And for those of you wondering, yes, it was mostly his choice to quit nursing, and mommy is doing well with it. :)

Here are some recent pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Judah 10-11 Months:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055137&id=1075628199&l=2c5dbd1cc0

Judah's First Swim:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055335&id=1075628199&l=9cb9a89bef

Alabama Trip & Misc.:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055426&id=1075628199&l=4121b7609b

We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday soon. We are planning to have a baby dedication, and a small lunch/celebration afterwards with just parents/grandparents and a few close friends who are local. I want to apologize to extended family who did not get invited. I should have sent out invitations to you, even through most of you could not drive all the way down here. That wasn't very nice of me. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. We just wanted to keep the gathering small and can't "house" very many people at our house. I'd feel terrible if people had to stay at a hotel.

We just recently went on a roadtrip over Memorial Day weekend to visit Noah's brother Paul and his girlfriend Maria in Huntsville, Alabama. It was about an 8-hour drive down, which was a little rough at times, but overall not too bad. Judah did pretty well in the car, except he decided to pick that weekend to get 3 new teeth... ugh. Poor guy! We did have a great time with Paul and Maria though. It rained most of the weekend, but we played games and talked and played with Maria's dog and with Judah. On the way back, we decided to break up the drive and stop just outside of Paducah, Kentucky. Judah absolutely went bonkers in the hotel room, and had to check EVERYTHING out, including the air conditioner controls. It was a riot. He was so excited that he wore himself out, and crashed half an hour after we got there. :)

This weekend we have decided to take on a DIY project... tiling our backsplash in the kitchen. It will look nice once it's done. I'm looking forward to having a finished look to our kitchen and that icky wallpaper gone (thanks Mom!).

That's about it from the Brown household though. June and July will be very busy months for us. But anyone who would like to come down for a visit, please let us know! We would love to find some time and block out a weekend for you!!!

Blessings and love to all,

Noah, Krista & Judah

Busy busy BUSY!!!

Hi Everyone,

I feel like I do this everytime I write, but I apologize for the gap in between posts! Things have been keeping us very busy down here in St. Peters, MO (and everywhere else we've been this year!).

I would like to first of all congratulate my wonderful, amazing husband a few days early.... Friday is his official last day of school! He will be graduating from USC (online) with his Master's in Aerospace Engineering! I am so proud of you honey!!! After 5 years of homework and hard work, he is finally done (and pretty excited to celebrate, I might add!).

Other than homework, Noah's job is going well. He has been traveling a lot, as I've mentioned in my last few blog posts. Noah got back from a 2-week trip to the UK right before Easter, and I think that will be his last trip for quite a while - thank goodness! :)

Judah is doing well too. His 9-month check-up was perfect, doc said he looked "awesome". He's growing, eating us out of house and home and trying hard to stand on his own now. He also really enjoys walking (with the help of extra fingers to hold onto). I think his favorite place is outside. He constantly points toward the windows and loves the sunshine when we go the park or for walks (or just go to the store and walk through the parking lot!). Here are a few videos...

Judah had just woke up from a nap, and he must have rested well, because he was extremely hyper! Just had to laugh...



Judah decided to tinker with his car... and stand by himself! This wasn't the first time (and not the longest time) he's ever stood by himself though. Thought it was funny he was going "brrrrmmm, brrrmmm!"



I am doing well too. I joined the local MOMS Club chapter and am enjoying getting to know all of the ladies and their kids. I'm also organizing the first meeting of a stay-at-home moms group through our church, which will be meeting in the next few weeks. It will be a great opportunity to meet some of the other moms from church. Our church is pretty big, and it's been a little bit of a challenge connecting with other stay-at-home moms there. So I'm praying everything will go well with that!

Other than the normal everyday organized chaos, we are planning Judah's dedication/birthday party in mid-June. It will be a small get-together, as most of the family is out of town. I've been trying to perfect a healthier version of birthday cake for Judah that still tastes yummy and I think I'm close! The last one I made tasted good, but turned out more like pumpkin pie filling rather than actual cake. Sheesh!

On Memorial Day weekend we are planning to take a trip to see Noah's brother, Paul, in Huntsville, Alabama. It's a 7 hour drive, so I'm hoping Judah will do ok with that. I KNOW once we get there he will have a great time with his Uncle Paul though! :)

September will be a real treat, as we are heading to Colorado for our first family vacation! We're going to be staying on the southwest edge of Rocky Mountain National Park and renting a house with Noah's parents and his cousin Madaline and her husband Gabe. We plan to do some sight seeing, hiking and lots of relaxing! Very excited about getting away!

Okay, I know you are all waiting patiently to see pictures. Here you go :) FYI to our Wisconsin family way, way up north... we are not sure when we will be in Wisconsin next, so if any of you want to come visit us, our door is always open!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2052004&id=1075628199&l=cad2a194d8

Blessings to all - we love and miss you!

Noah, Krista & Judah

Here, there and everywhere!

Hi Everyone!

My goodness, it's been a long time since we updated this thing. Sorry about that!

We are doing well down here in Missouri. Not too much new these days, besides our little crazy mobile bambino!

Noah is traveling for work (yes, STILL!)... they keep him hopping. And now he is officially a world traveler. He enjoyed his trip to Sweden for a week in February, and is preparing to go to the UK March 19-31. That should be his last trip for a while.

I am enjoying staying at home with little "Judah-bean". Yes, he is still our little jumping bean, although now he is crawling and trying to stand and walk (which he can't quite figure out yet), in addition to jumping. He doesn't let obstacles get in the way either - he just crawls right over them (Noah calls it "four-wheel driving")! Judah is one determined little boy! haha It just amazes me how quickly such a tiny little person can grow and learn and change. Only God could've created that whole process. I look at him every day and am just in love with him and ...amazed. He is such a happy baby so full of excitement and laughter. It's hard work being a parent, but that little smile will just change your bad day into a great one within a few seconds. Another little God-designed miracle.

Here are some pictures from the last month or so:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044655&id=1075628199&l=90de24fa65

And a video... Judah likes to read sideways evidently! haha



On a personal note, I'm still looking for other moms to hang out with during the week. Being cooped up in the house is getting old and I enjoy meeting new people! I am getting involved with MOMS Club, and also put in a suggestion to start a group for stay-at-home moms at our church. Hopefully that takes off! Other than that, we had a fun play date today with my friend Kate and her little cutie Gwen who is 11 months old already. It was a glimpse into the future for what we're going to see Judah doing in the next few months - walking! AHH! Good thing we finally have our baby gate up!

Judah is finally eating his veggies too, which is big news in the house! He likes carrots a lot, and also eats beans, broccoli and squash. Next on the list to try are peas, spinach and sweet potatoes. After he gets used to all of his veggies, we'll start fruit again and some finger foods.

We are definitely looking forward to Spring and some warmer weather soon so we can explore outside, go to the park and the St. Louis Zoo for sure. Judah LOVES animals (he can pick out the dogs and cats in his animal book!) and will love the zoo. I just know it. Can't wait!

We are not sure when we will see all of you, as travel is up in the air right now for Easter but we will try to make it up to Wisconsin in the near future, and Springfield as well. Please keep in touch! We miss all of you!


Love and blessings,
Noah, Krista & Judah

Christmas, New Years & Everything In Between

I know it's already February and the holidays are long gone, but I felt compelled to write about them anyway. We had a whirlwind Christmas and New Year's, and January to boot!

Noah was on travel for work in Tennessee for a few weeks up until Christmas. He came home on December 23rd. I had everything already packed up when he arrived, and we immediately packed up and left for Springfield, IL to spend Christmas with his family. We had a great visit with everyone and were blessed with some wonderful gifts for Judah and ourselves. After about a week with them, we packed up again and headed to Wisconsin to see my family. My cousin Angie got married on New Year's Eve, and I played piano in the ceremony, which was quite the honor. The service was beautiful, and the reception was a blast. We stayed until about 10pm, until Judah pooped out (which was later than expected) and headed back to my parents' house to ring in the New Year. Everything at the church and reception - even the flower arrangements - was filled with silver and teal and glitter. It was amazing! Congrats to Angie and Matt - Mr. and Mrs. Halbach!!! :)

Here are some pictures of our Christmas & New Year's:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041572&id=1075628199&l=a691ce0d1d

After the wedding, we relaxed for a few days and headed home. We were home about 2 days, when we received news that my grandmother (mom's mother) had passed away. We had just been there to visit with her with Judah a few days prior. She had been battling Parkinson's Disease - we are not sure how long, as it was just diagnosed in the final stages. The Lord took her home, so we made the trip up to Wisconsin to attend the funeral. Although our return was for a solemn reason, it was still wonderful to see family again, as we don't usually get to visit often with my family.

Shortly after the funeral, Noah had to leave for Tennessee again and flew out of Milwaukee while I stayed with Judah at my parents' house. He was there about 4 days when he called and said they were sending him back because the wind tunnel wasn't operational. So he flew back and we headed home to St. Louis again. It was nice to sleep in our own bed again after being gone since mid-December!

They got the tunnel up and running again, so Noah drove out to Tennessee on the 12th. In the interim, my mom said the house was too quiet so she flew down for a few days and helped me do some projects around the house and had a great visit with Judah. After she left Judah and I headed up to Springfield, IL to be with his parents. Noah's mom had minor surgery so we went to help her recover and help her around the house. Turns out, it wasn't so much about helping around the house as it was her having fun with Judah! haha We had a nice visit for about a week and just got back on Thursday. Noah came home from Tennessee Friday, after being gone almost 3 weeks.

It was wonderful having everyone home again. We are so incredibly thankful for that after all of the craziness!!! Noah will be home for about a week, and then he will be flying to Sweden for work, gone from the 12-18th. Once he returns, he will be home again for a few weeks, then heading to the UK for another wind tunnel test for a week in March. Hopefully things will calm down after that.

I am thinking about joining a Mom's group (like Mom's Club or MOPS) or a Bible Study from church so I can break up my week of being at home, and Judah and I can meet new people. Being a stay-at-home mom is wonderful, but it can be a little monotonous at times (and a little crazy without another adult around to talk to during the day!). I love being with people, and it would be good to help Judah meet other kiddos too.

Noah is working on his LAST Master's class, which he (and I) can't wait to be done with! It will be so nice for him to have more time to spend with Judah and myself in the evenings. I know he is looking forward to that.

Other than that, Judah is turned 7 months old today. I can't believe he's growing up so fast! He got his first two teeth a few weeks ago (which I can't seem to get a picture of, for the life of me!) and he is trying hard to crawl backwards. He's doing a pretty good job of it and is constantly trying to 'fix' his technique. He is still a sweet little ball of cuddles and laughter and we just love him to pieces. Can't get enough of that smile and his little giggle. Judah is into EVERYTHING now - everything that is within reach he will pull, throw, touch, grab and smack. He especially loves hair, buttons and any dangly strings. His favorite things to interact with are paper (especially newspaper ads) and water. He loves water bottles and bathtime is getting wetter for mommy and daddy since Judah figured out how to splash! lol Judah especially loves to bounce - in his jumper or on anyone's lap, couch, floor... you name it. He is always hopping up and down, whether he's got his feet on something solid or not! It is so much fun and it gives our arms a great workout too! :)

Here are some recent pictures of Judah with my parents in Wisconsin:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042891&id=1075628199&l=a406b3161b

All in all, we feel so blessed. We have a wonderful family and group of friends, our home, church and our sweet little boy. Noah's job is going well and I am having fun staying at home with Judah.

We hope all of you are doing well also, and blessings on all of your heads!

Love,
Noah, Krista and Judah-bean

Thanksgiving '09

Thanksgiving was a great opportunity for us to catch up with family this year. We saw nearly everyone at the big family get-together on Saturday. There was a lot going on, so we didn't get very many pictures, but here is what we did manage to capture...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038413&id=1075628199&l=a967f06488

My brother Eric shot his first turkey this year, which was on the menu. I heard it was very good! I didn't actually get to try any... it was gone by the time I came back from putting Judah to bed!!! But kudos to my little brother for his hard work and good cookin'! I heard many rave reviews.

The menu also included purple, pink and yellow mashed potatoes (no, there was no food coloring involved - that was actually the color of the potatoes!). My dad was going for red, white (yellow) and blue, but the blue potatoes turned out purple. Ahh well, it made our food table colorful nonetheless, and they were very tasty to boot!

Judah did great with all of the people, and loved Eric and Melissa's dog, Mable. Here's a funny video of Judah blowing bubbles at Mable...

After our big family get-together on Saturday, we were all pretty wiped out, as to be expected. Judah was out around 6pm and fell asleep on Grammy right as we were about to start having dinner. He had a very good night's sleep, and was pretty tired last night when we got home too. He's such a trooper with the long car rides. But Judah is getting more active and wants to move around more now, which gets him pretty frustrated when he's strapped into his car seat for more than an hour. But we made it home without too much crabbin' :)

A big thank-you to everyone for everything this past weekend. We enjoyed seeing all of you! We will be in Springfield, IL for Christmas this year, then back up to Wisconsin at the end of December for Angie and Matt's wedding.

We hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and wish you God's blessings on your holiday season!

Love,
Noah, Krista & Judah

Week 1 At Home

Hi Everyone,

This week was my first week staying home with Judah! I was excited to not have to work anymore, but realized that I was "working" just as much staying home with our little guy! I kind of figured it would be like that before we decided to leave my job, but big changes like that are always different than you thought once you get there and actually experience it. I have no complaints though - staying home has been good for all three of us.

I get a lot more done around the house and get to cook while Judah is napping, and Noah gets more time with Judah, as he gets home from work around 4pm. And I think both Judah and I enjoy that we get a bunch of relaxed playtime together too, and don't have to get into that car seat twice a day anymore! :) He was such a trooper, being trucked back and forth from work since he was 6 weeks old, and putting up with me trying to work while he sat there and watched most of the days.

We have been trying hard to work on nap time in the afternoon though. He is being so stubborn about taking an afternoon nap, even though he is extremely tired and crabby, his poor little eyes are all red, and he's yawning like crazy. I have had to let him cry it out several times, but I think he's getting the hang of it, and he definitely feels better once he gets some rest. We are also trying to move back his bedtime, which has been a challenge. He's been going to bed at 6:15/6:30pm every night which is great for Noah and I to have time together, but that also means Judah gets up around 5 or 5:30am! Yikes. We're making progress... hopefully we'll have a better schedule down pat in a few weeks.

On Thursday this past week, we had a play date with my friend Kate and her little girl Gwen who is 7 months old. It had been a while since we last saw each other, and I think the kids had a good time. Gwen definitely was interested in Judah. She thought it was pretty neat that there was another little person like her around! Judah didn't really know what to think about that though! We went for a walk down the street together and played for a while. It was a good get-together. Here are some pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037170&id=1075628199&l=2f60ffd55d

Noah, Judah and I will be in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving this year. We hope to see as much family up there as possible. We're not sure which day we will be arriving yet, but please let us know when you're available so we can schedule a visit!

If I don't post more before then, we wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving and many blessings.

Love to all!
Noah, Krista & Judah

Judah @ 4 Months

Hi Everyone,


It's been a while since I posted anything - sorry about the wait! We have been very busy lately, lots going on.

Yes, Judah is 4 months old already! We just had his 4-month check-up which went very well! Dr. Reichert said he looks "awesome". Judah weighed in at 14 pounds 15 ounces, and measured 26" long, which means he grew 2 inches in the past 2 months. Whew!


Judah is teething now, occasionally running the signature low-grade fever and experiencing a little crabbiness, but overall is his happy self. He loves to smile and laugh, and his newest thing is babbling. He is starting to "talk" a lot more...

Other than the babbling, he is doing well with tummy time, reaching for toys now and overall seems happy playing on his tummy. He only sleeps on his tummy - won't sleep on his back any more for some reason. This morning Noah and I went into the nursery to check on Judah after he woke up, and he was turned completely around and flipped over on his back, and squished up against the bumper on the side of the crib! I have no idea how he got that way and am so tempted to set up a video camera in there to see what he does in there!

As of yesterday, 11/6, I am officially a stay-at-home mom! I am very excited and feel blessed to stay at home with our little guy. He's such a gift, and we couldn't pass up this opportunity. Yesterday was my last day, and it was bitter-sweet. It was strange leaving the office where I'd worked for 3 1/2 years. It felt like I was just going home for the weekend and would be back on Monday. I will very much miss my boss Jennifer, and all of the other girls I worked with, as well as all of our insurance agents. They've all been wonderful to me and we've built some great relationships since I've worked there. I hope to have an opportunity to return to work for Jennifer when our kids are in school. We'll see what's in store when we get that far though. For now we'll just be a mommy to Judah! :)

Noah has been on travel the last 2 weeks. He went to Texas (somewhere in between Dallas and Houston) for work for a wind tunnel test. His boss allowed him to come home for Halloween weekend, which was nice, but then he left for the second week on Monday. Judah had a tough day on Halloween, so we didn't make it out to the neighbors for trick-or-treating, but we dressed up for the day around the house. Anyway, I had a nice surprise last night - Noah came home early! He was supposed to come home this morning, but he got done with work early yesterday and caught a 4pm flight home. Such a great surprise!!! He and Judah were play buddies all day today and we got some great pictures of them together...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036454&id=1075628199&l=5396fec2e5

We will be in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving this year, and Christmas will be in Springfield. Then we're heading back up to Wisconsin for New Year's. My cousin Angie is getting married on New Year's Eve! I am playing piano in her wedding - such an honor! It will be a really fun way to ring in the new year. Noah, Judah and I are really looking forward to seeing all of our family again!

Well, it's almost my bedtime. We hope all of you are doing well, and hope to see you soon! Sending lots of love and best wishes!

Love,
Noah, Krista & little Judah-bean

The Little Bean is Growing!

Wow - 3 months already! Some days it seems like such a short time since Judah arrived, but other days we just can't believe it's already been 3 months. He is growing so fast and learning so many new things.


We are really enjoying being parents. It's an adventure, that's for sure! You never know what to expect... another super poopy diaper, or a new sound? That he's grown out of another outfit, or that he likes it when you whistle "la cucaracha"! haha No, I'm not kidding... we will do anything to see that adorable smile!


We have been so busy lately - taking care of Judah, working and also being out and about. We just recently went to a Cardinals baseball game with a number of people that I work with. We even got to sit in a party box, which include free food and drink. They have indoor and outdoor seating. Last weekend we went to the Packers/Rams game with some friends which was very fun! Unfortunately I didn't have any Packers gear to wear... I will have to put that on my Christmas list! But our friends did bring Judah a cheesehead! Judah didn't go to the game with us though. Noah's parents came down and watched him for us, which was so nice of them.


Work has been going well for both of us. Noah will be going to Texas for a wind tunnel test October 27 - November 6th. But his boss will allow him to come home for the weekend, so Noah will get to be home for Judah's first Halloween! He will either be a pumpkin or a lion this year, depending on which costume fits him :)


My work is busy as usual. My manager hired my replacement this week, but the catch is that I need to help her boss (which is one of our agents) find a replacement for her before she can start. After she starts though, I will be training her for about a week, and then I will be done, and officially a stay-at-home mommy, which I'm very much looking forward to. I will miss all of the wonderful people I work with, but I'm blessed to be able to stay home and watch our sweet little boy grow up (at least for a while).

So... I know now why many of you laughed a little bit when I told you we were going to have Judah suck on his pacifier and not his thumb. Ha! Judah decided to learn how to suck his thumb anyway, and I have to admit it turned out to be ok so far. Since he's teething, the thumb and fingers work much better than a pacifier, especially in the middle of the night! Yes, he is addicted to his little thumb. I'm surprised it's still on his hand!

Judah has grown a lot since many of you saw him. He is rolling onto his side from his back already, and he laughed for the first time last week! We actually caught it on video... I couldn't upload it here, but if you go to my Facebook page you can see it there.



He also plays with his hands a lot, reaches out for toys now and is hanging onto toys and pulling them towards his mouth. Judah has been pretty good about sleeping - his bedtime is now 7pm instead of 8pm. He was getting very overstimulated and overtired, and it was getting very difficult to put him to bed, so we tried putting him to bed earlier and it worked wonderfully. He is still waking up once a night, which is fine. We are hoping he'll start sleeping through the night soon :) He gave us a little taste of that by sleeping 11 hours straight Sunday night! We kept checking on him to see if he was still alive in there, and yep... he just must have been really tired or something!


Here are some pictures...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033028&id=1075628199&l=8ee27815ce


We hope everyone is doing well, and hope to see you soon! We will be in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving this year, and Springfield for Christmas... then Wisconsin again for Angie's wedding at New Year's.


Love,

Noah, Krista & Judah

Labor Day Weekend

Hi Everyone!

We had a busy weekend full of travel for Labor Day this year. We left town on Friday night and stopped overnight in Springfield, IL to see Noah's family and break up the drive. We left around 9:00am the next morning and made the rest of the drive up to Wisconsin - without stopping, which was great! Judah slept 3 of the 4 hours, and was awake and in a great mood for the last hour of the drive.

During the weekend, we got to see both Great Grandmas, lots of aunts, uncles and cousins and visit with both sets of parents. It was a fun weekend, but just too short. On Monday morning, we headed back and stopped in Springfield again for a few hours to break up our drive. Noah's brother Paul was in town, so we visited with him and Noah's parents, had an early dinner, and then drove back home. Judah did great in the car again, and we made both legs of the trip without any stops! :)

We enjoyed seeing everyone, and had a great time! We hope you had a great Labor Day weekend too!

Here are some more pictures. Judah turned 2 months old last week Monday.... already!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031040&id=1075628199&l=7586ff8489

This morning Judah had his 2-month appointment at the pediatrician's office. He did really well with the shots and measurements and exam. Judah is 24 inches long now, and 12 pounds, 12 ounces! He is growing so fast, and it's amazing to see him change and learn and do new things. He is such a blessing to us and we love him so much!

After his appointment, he was a little fussy during the day. We took him to our good friend Cari (aka, "Aunt Cari") who watched him while I went to a meeting for work this afternoon. It was a little tough to leave him for the afternoon, but it turned out great. Thanks Cari! :) Tonight was tough... Judah was pretty cranky from his shots and we had a hard time putting him to sleep, but he's finally asleep and the house is peaceful now.

And now... I can go to bed too! Goodnight everyone!!!

Our Little Judah-Bean

OK, I just realized this blog is becoming Judah's blog instead of Noah & Krista's blog! That's okay though. We enjoy showing him off... ehem... I mean, bragging about him... er... sharing our memories with everyone! haha!


Nevertheless, the 3 of us are doing well. I went back to work last week, which was quite a challenge, and a change from being at home every day. The challenge was getting any work done in between diaper changes, feedings and Judah wanting someone to hold him! We are doing much better this week. Judah is getting used to sleeping in his little bouncy seat and entertaining himself with toys and being okay with me looking down at him from my chair and talking to him instead of holding him. We have a pretty good routine down...

6:00am - mommy wakes up, gets ready for work

6:30am - wake up, eat & diaper change

7:30am - mommy breakfast/Judah playtime

8:30am - pack up and leave for work

9:00am - get to work, eat & diaper change; usually a little nap or play time after this

11:00am - eat, diaper change

12:00pm - mommy's lunch time, Judah nap

12:30 - 2:30pm - mommy's work time

3:oopm - eat, diaper change; then nap or play time

4:30pm - eat, diaper change; pack up

5:00pm - leave work; Judah cries all the way home

5:30pm - Daddy takes over; eat, diaper change

7:00pm - mommy & daddy eat dinner

7:30pm - eat, diaper change

8:00pm - Judah's bedtime!



A lot of people have been asking us if he is sleeping. He's been really good about sleeping for the past month or so. Judah likes to be swaddled when we put him to bed, and he will sleep from about 8pm until 1:30am, then eat/diaper change, and back to bed until about 4/4:30am. Eat/diaper change, then back to sleep for another 2 hours or so. Last night he didn't even get up at 4am and slept another 5 hours until 6am! We're hoping this is a new trend! :)


A little over a week ago, we weighed Judah and he was up to 11 pounds already. I am not sure where he is right now, but I know his car seat is getting pretty heavy!!! Good thing I'm starting to lift weights again! haha


Noah started his Master's classes again this week (which he was sooo excited about). He is only taking one class this semester, fortunately. His brother Paul is actually taking it with him, so they can compare notes and help each other with homework. That will be nice and hopefully make things easier for both of them. Noah only has this class and one more to go until he's finished with his Master's Degree!!!


Other than Noah's class and Judah just being his adorable little self, we really don't have much else going on here in St. Peters, Missouri. The weather has been wonderful this summer and we are trying to take advantage of any opportunities we can to see family and get outside. Last weekend we went to the wineries with Eric and Melissa (my brother & his wife) and Madaline & Gabe (Noah's cousin & her hubby) which turned out to be a very fun time. Judah was great and slept a lot that afternoon while we tasted some wine and had lunch out on a nice covered patio at one of the wineries. Judah started to get a little fussy at the last place we stopped at, but that just got him some nice attention from people passing by... "oooh what an adorable little baby! he is sooo cute! aww!!!" haha! He liked that!


We have been introducing him to a lot of new people lately. August 14-16 we took Judah up to Wisconsin to meet his Oma's (grandmas) and aunts and uncles, and cousins! We were really blessed that a bunch of people could come over to see him on such short notice. We'll be up there again over Labor Day weekend - hope to see more of you then!


I also took Judah over to our State Office to see some of the people I work with. They were all excited to meet him. He got passed from one person to the next and was happy as a clam. He even gave Jennifer's boss's assistant a big smile! (Jennifer is my boss.) I think he enjoyed the hour of oogling and baby talking, but not as much as the big people!


Judah is growing so fast, and learning so many new things. He is starting to make more sounds and be more vocal, smile at new people, and is discovering his hands and feet! He is starting to smile big when you kiss his feet or give them little raspberries. I don't think he quite gets it when you do that to his tummy yet though. He just looks at you like, "what in the world are you doing to me?" He loves looking at the ceiling fans, and studying faces. I don't think Judah really likes baths yet, but it helps when we turn on some music and sing to him while we clean him up. His newest thing is trying to suck his thumb. We thought this was really cute at first, but realized that it would be much easier to wean him from his pacifier instead of his thumb!!! So we're trying to discourage the cute little thumb sucking.

I've posted some new pictures for everyone. Enjoy, and we will try to keep up the blog for "y'all"!!!

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Love,
Noah, Krista & little Judah-bean