Noe News is Good News

I now have a two year old.

From this...

To this...

 

To this.

 

Time sure does go by fast. I was watching her 1st birthday video this morning and couldn't believe how tiny and small and helpless she used to be. It's hard to believe that without much effort on my part she has learned to walk, talk, eat and do all these amazing things all by herself. She's a walking miracle and laugh machine. We love this little girl.

Because of scheduling conflicts, her birthday party isn't for another two weeks. But we couldn't let her special day go by without a little celebration and attention. Joselyn got so many calls from friends and family wishing her a "happy birthday" that she ended up singing "happy birthday" to herself all day. We even taught her how to say "I'm two!" 

We asked Joselyn what she wanted for dinner and she said grapes. So she got grapes. And cous cous. 

We got her a little cake with plastic balloons on it and let her blow out the candles. 

Adam had to help out...

I am so excited about her real birthday party in two weeks! I have been planning for weeks and  invitations have been sent! There are few things that are more fun than planning a great party and I can't wait!

I think my heart could just about burst with love for Joselyn! Happy 2nd Birthday sweet Jos Jos!

My two little monsters

When I saw these costumes at Children's Place I knew I had to get them. They were cute, silly and so appropriate for a brother and sister duo. And I just fell in love with the little monster feet!

Halloween was so fun this year. I loved watching my kids enjoy themselves. I feel like this is the first holiday that Joselyn understands and she got so into it. And now I know why Parents make such a big deal over holidays- seeing your child happy is the best reward ever. I really really enjoy that part.

Here's a video of Joselyn at her first real house trick or treating. The whole time we were out trick or treating she was singing the "trick or treat" song from Yo Gabba Gabba. Yeah. She was totally into it.

It was a little chilly, but the weather couldn't have been more perfect. Did anyone else enjoy the beautiful sunset as much as I did?

Now that Halloween is over, I am dreaming about the other fun holidays ahead- Thanksgiving, Christmas... and everything hereafter. We're going to decorate Gingerbread houses, makie hot chocolate with marshmallows, build snowmen, decorate Christmas trees and so much more! This having kids thing is SO MUCH FUN!

Trunk or Treats

This year we got to go to 2 different Trunk or Treats!! I took Melanie, her friend Willow and Joselyn to the Pioneer Trunk or Treat first (last week) and Joselyn had so much fun. I just loved watching her run from trunk to trunk saying "trick or treat!!" and "thank you!!" as she got more candy. We had watched penty of the Yo Gabba Gabba Halloween episode for her to know all about Halloween and trick or treating, so she knew exactly what to do. She made a very cute little monster.

Some video:

Joselyn wasn't in the same kind of mood for the Tates Creek trunk or treat. Don't know why. It could have been the really cool but kinda scary for little kids costume that Brother Rowe was wearing! She wanted us to hold her the whole time, lol! I even went and shook his hand to show her he wasn't scary, but it didn't work.

Our two little monsters were adorable though and got us lots of candy!

By the end of the night, Landen was pretty tired of being pushed around on the stroller. HE wanted to push the stroller and was very determined to do so.

Pumpkin Carving Party

I hate to say this, but I have never carved a pumpkin all by myself until this year (that I can remember...). Very very sad, I know. So when we were invited to Jaleelah's pumpkin carving party, I was excited! Jaleelah is such a great party planner, so I knew it would be a great party. She had prepared some yummy squash soup, breadsticks, Halloween cupcakes, and other yumminess. She also had a huge bucket of goodies for the kids to pick from. I think Joselyn took all of the play dough and balls that were in there, lol. She also had a little station for the kids to decorate their pumpkins with markers! It was perfect and I carved my first pumpkin!

Here's the only picture (very lame) I took of my pumpkin before it got all moldy and yucky.

2 weddings, 2 birthday parties and a little bit of everything else!

This has been a very bust past few weeks bit they have been filled with so many things that I love- spending time with good friends and family, planning Joselyn's 2nd birthday party and Landen's 1st birthday party, taking lots and lots of pictures for awesome people and helping my brother's fiance plan her wedding AND helping Adam's sister plan HER wedding! All things I love so so very much. The other day Suzanne and I went to a few places to take care of wedding stuff. Although Suzanne has her dress already picked out, we thought it would be fun to try some on her anyway- and it WAS fun. She's so gorgeous!! A lot of these dresses are similar to the style she is getting, although hers will have sleeves. Her wedding is going to be so beautiful and I can't wait!

Fall Fun at Boyds Orchard

Yesterday, on a whim, we decided to take the kids to Boyds Orchard to get a family pumpkin. I just love the age my kids are at right now- watching their excitement about the smallest things just brings such a smile to my face. Not to mention Joselyn's current obsession with pumpkins- she LOVES them. She was beyond thrilled to see a whole bunch of them in one place! And then after the apple cider donuts, feeding the goats and the hayride, Joselyn did NOT want to leave! If Landen could talk he would have probably voted to stay too.

The little goats at the petting zoo part of it were so cute! They would peek their heads through the fence to try and get food. Joselyn was so cute feeding them... although in the end another goat came and stole the cup from Joselyn's hand.

Our little animal lover also thought the donkey and chickens were the cutest things ever! (love how she was stooping down to see the chickens)






The apple cider donuts here were to die for. Moist and so so delicious. Both Joselyn AND Landen loved them.

Although it was pretty chilly with temperatures in the mid 40's, the hayride was really fun. Joselyn thought we were on a train. She thought the corn maze was made of a bunch of trees. I tried to tell her it was corn, but she insisted they were trees. I must admit that those corn stalks looked nothing like the little yellow bits of corn that she is used to seeing.

As we were searching for our perfect pumpkin, Joselyn found a little fuzzy caterpillar. Very fascinating stuff, ya know??



Joselyn suggested this pumpkin...



But Landen wanted this one...

I am so so excited for this fall/holiday season. I have so many fun plans in store- and it's going to be such a treat watching my children enjoy all the activities/festivities. Just yet another reason to enjoy this time of the year!

Joselyn + Mommy's Make-up = ?

This morning as I was scurrying around trying to get ready for the day, I looked over on the couch to find Joselyn in my make-up bag... a little too late. I couldn't get mad- she was just doing what she sees me doing every day. I laughed and ran for my camera.

It's good to know that Joselyn pays attention to the details- she at least knew the mascara goes near the eyes.

 
Love how she strikes a pose. And I love that when she saw herself in the mirror she couldn't stop looking and saying how pretty she was.

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A Beautiful Fall Day part 2

Can I just say how much I am loving the fall season this year? I love spending them outside in our sweaters and coats taking walks and collecting leaves. Today Adam and I took the kids out front to blow bubbles while Adam played his guitar. I of course brought my camera out and Landen enjoyed the scene in his stroller. It was such a beautiful day with perfect lighting that I convinced Adam to drive us down to this beautiful field of grass to take a few pictures. We ran out of good light fast, but we were there just long enough to catch a beautiful sky. Here are the photos from our lovely evening.

Adventures with an electrionic key- that locks Joselyn in the Jeep.

When we bought our Jeep, we received 2 electronic keys. The electronic keys include a removable REAL key that can be used to unlock the vehicles manually but can't start the car. Because the dangling keys sometimes got on my nerves, I got into the habit of just taking the electronic key apart from the real one when driving. Then, I would just stick the key in my pocket and set it on my desk when I got in the house. Having kids has really done a number on my brain, however. A few months into owning the Jeep, I washed my electronic key and ruined it. It still started our Jeep, but would not lock/unlock electronically. So Adam gave me his. And less than a YEAR into owning our Jeep- like, 2 weeks ago, I washed our other one. Very devastating. The good news is that we received a letter saying that there was a recall on the electronic keys and they had to be replaced. This is GREAT news considering those things are expensive to replace! However, we have not yet had the time to replace them. So... unlocking the Jeep has been a pain. I've had to take out the real key from the electronic key and then unlock the vehicle that way. And since I don't like the dangling keys, I've been putting the keys in the center console. It had been working just fine until yesterday...

Adam and I decided to go to the mall so that we could buy the kids' Halloween costumes. I've had my eye on these adorable monster costumes at Children's Place for quite a while. Adam drove and we arrived at the mall, parked and our tedious ritual of getting Joselyn and Landen both out and into the double stroller started. Here is the timeline-

Adam takes electronic key out of ignition- my keys are on the center console
Adam gets out of the car to get Landen out of his car seat, closes his front door behind him
I get out of the passenger front seat, closing the door behind me (it was cold) and open the trunk to get out the double stroller.
Adam has Landen out, closes the door and heads over to the stroller to put Landen in.
I close the trunk door.
Adam's electronic key decides to all of the sudden lock the door by itself.
JOSELYN IS STILL IN THE JEEP. And so is my key to unlock the door.

At this point, Adam and I just look at each other. We kind of argue about how it all happened, how I shouldn't have washed the keys and then wonder why the electronic key started to act out. We tried it again. Locking it was working, but unlocking it wasn't. There Joselyn was, no idea what was going on, sitting in her car seat smiling at me. Adam and I were both trying really hard not to panic. We felt weird calling 911, although I definitely would have if it was the summer. No, if it was summer I probably would have broke the window. Anyway, thank goodness for iphones. I looked up Pop-a-lock and was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had free emergency services for parents who lock their children in their cars accidentally. So immediately called them and they said someone would be there within 15 minutes.

Since it was a little cold outside, I told Adam to go ahead and take Landen inside while I stayed outside with Joselyn. I was trying so hard not to cry. I played peek-a-boo with her and continued to wave at her and she would play right back. Never once did she cry or get upset or scared. She would cover her head with her blanket and play peek-a-boo with me and just smile.

I was pleasantly surprised when my sister-in-law Nora, who had no idea about this ordeal, pulled into the parking spot across from us! I was relieved to see a familiar face and was able to calm my nerves a little by talking to her. After talking for a few minutes, I let her go inside since it was cold. Almost immediately after that I spotted that beautiful orange car with large white "POP-A-LOCK" written on the side. Within a minute he had the door open and Joselyn was in my arms. I was lucky. I couldn't stop thanking that man, and he made me feel less guilty by letting me know it happens at least once a day. I still felt bad though.

We walked into the mall as if nothing had ever happened, met up with Adam and enjoyed a nice morning shopping at the mall. A few lessons were learned though.

1. REPLACE THE BROKEN KEYS.
2. Never detach the electronic key from the other one unless absolutely necessary
3. Just in case- CHECK YOUR POCKETS BEFORE WASHING YOUR JEANS!

A Beautiful Fall Day

A beautiful fall day calls for...

A sweet pea coat and a cute knit hat



Cuddling a cute puppy (Chelsea's new Yorkie Moe) wrapped up in a blanket

 


Picking flowers (Joselyn was convinced the petals would blow away just like a dandelion if she blew on them)

Fun on the swings

Enjoying the cool crisp air and taking your bundled up baby/bunny for a walk in his/her stroller



 

And sitting in a pile of leaves

I just LOVE fall. Don't you?

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P.S. Wanna see more pics of Chelsea's cute little new puppy? Go here and check out some of my recent photography while you're at it, if you want to :)

Some videos from Adam's iphone

I've been wanting to upload these videos for forever- Adam's had them all on his iphone and we just barely uploaded them tonight.

Joselyn on guitar singing "Put the Toys Away" or at least that's what we're calling it. This girl loves anything music. Landen is the same way.

Speaking of Joselyn's love for music, here she is singing one of her favorite Yo Gabba Gabba songs about Robots. I can't even tell you how much I love hearing her sing. (Today she started singing to Miley Cyrus Nobody's Perfect- knocked my socks off)

I love how toddlers minds work. Their  imagination is taking off and they just do the silliest laughable things. In this next clip Joselyn figures out a way to really get the yumminess out of a chicken nugget.

And last but not least- Landen walking. This was toward the end of his walking spree when we finally thought to record it all- he was exhausted and a little tipsy but we did catch him taking a few steps. He was doing much better than this. Now he won't even walk for us. I think we wore out the novelty. He just lifts his legs up now when we try to get him to walk. Ah well. He'll be walking all over the place before we know it!

And I must mention that as we were "making" Landen walk back and forth from me to Adam, Joselyn wanted in on the fun and said "I wanna walk!" And she insisted on walking back and forth between me and Adam a few times.

Landen's first steps!

Just a quick note- Landen took his first steps last night!!

A shopping trip to Target

Not that a shopping trip to Target is anything special because we are there a LOT. But this little shopping trip was extra extra sweet. I sometimes have a lot of trouble with Joselyn when I go out shopping, but I really tried to prepare myself this time. I got her a little bag of fruit snacks and sat her in the back of the cart while Landen sat in the front. As I pushed the cart through the store, I noticed that Joselyn had her arms around Landen. Sometimes she can get a little too rough and Landen starts crying but not this time... she was being so gentle. Patting his cheek, stroking his hair... I just about started to cry walking through Target. It's times like this I am so glad that I carry my camera with me everywhere.

Seth and Holly sitting in a tree...

k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes the love, then comes the MARRIAGE! Oh my goodness! My little brother Seth is engaged to a sweet funny & beautiful gal! So happy for the both of them! I must admit though that I just can't quite believe it. So surreal.

 

We won't talk about what comes next just yet.

Chasing the light

chasing the light from marissa noe on Vimeo.

Happy 4th Birthday Autumn! (3 days early)

Wednesday is my niece Autumn's 4th birthday. She's not my daughter, but I've been there since the beginning... I was at my sister's side as she labored (next to her husband), one of the first to hold her, and I just love her oh so very much. Chelsea called me the other night to see if I would make a little birthday video for her and of COURSE I agreed. I love doing stuff like that. I must admit this video made me tear up... she's come so far! It makes me think about my babies... how one day THEY will be 4 and talking everybody's ears off and almost ready for kindergarten and stuff. They grow so fast. And yes- I think Autumn was the most beautiful newborn I have ever laid eyes on.

Autumn's 4th Birthday Video from marissa noe on Vimeo.

Joselyn's Friends

Joselyn has always been drawn to older kids. She plays much better with kids who are older than her. It could be because her cousins Autumn and Melanie are older than her, or it could just be her personality. But it's always so sweet to see her play with her friends.

Today two of her friends came for a visit and the 3 of them played in the backyard. They picked leaves and berries, played with Gracie's baby doll and did cart wheels.

Oh- and we really don't make it a habit to stay in our Sunday best all day. Sometimes it's just easier if you know what I mean.

Nails

Today we met up with my sister, Autumn, our friend Jaleelah and her daughter to get our nails done. (poor Landen! He was stuck with a bunch of girls doing girly things!) We thought it would be something fun to do on a dreary rainy day. Joselyn sure loves Autumn and Nafeesah. I could wait to see them walking through the mall holding hands and giggling.

Well, when we got to the nail salon, Joselyn was scared as usual. I wasn't going to make her do it, so we watched as Chelsea, Autumn and Nafeesah had theirs done. I decided I wanted mine done too, so I took Joselyn with me and sat her on my lap to get mine done. When we got to the table, Joselyn spread her fingers out like she wanted her nails painted so I asked her and she said she did! "We'll see how this goes..." I thought.

Well, the sweet Asian lady picked out some bright pink nail polish and some clear glitter polish. Joselyn sat on my lap as still as can be and let this lady paint her nails. She didn't flinch. She didn't try to get away. I was seriously amazed. She even sat still with her hands by the fan as her nails dried! Amazing. And they couldn't have been cuter. She was so proud of her nails... and showed them off to everyone the rest of the day! She is SUCH a littly girly girl.

Joselyn is getting a LOT better about letting me take her picture. She was totally posing for me when I took these pictures.

Planning a Birthday Party

These past few days I have been totally obsessed with planning Joselyn's second birthday party. I could totally be a party planner I love it so much. Coming up with a theme was a hard decision... but she's still so young I have many years ahead of me to use all my ideas. For now, I can stick with something cute but simple that she will understand- Bugs in the flower garden. Very gender neutral. Adam keeps on teasing me that it doesn't make sense to have such a summery theme for the fall but I don't care!

Anyway, I am starting to put together her 2 year video. I was hoping that you all would leave a comment with a favorite memory you have of Joselyn so that I can include it either in her video or a little guest memory book I will have at her party. Thanks so much!!

Oh, and since I hate not posting a picture... here is some cute cupcake inspiration for the party!