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