PUMPKIN PATCH & Corn Maze!

WE LOVE YOU, LITTLE MUNCHKIN! :)

 Noah James! You went to your first Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch! It was SUCH a blast! First of all, let's thank Afton Tyler (Aftots) For the amazing photography! She brought her awesome camera and captured the 3 of us with love. The lovely Kate, Skye, Todd, and Afton all drove down from Seattle and met up with us for a day of fun with the corn maze, pumpkins, and hot cider in Snohomish! I decided to dress you up as a scarecrow but I must say, you looked a lot like a little farmer. Aha. You were ADORABLE in your cute little straw hat, overalls, plaid shirt, and bare feet! (Don't worry... I later put socks on you and bundled you up right before it started raining.) I got your back, baby. Haha. Anyway, you showed off your cute little bottom teeth for the camera and grinned your biggest grin for this lady that got you to laugh during the little photo shoot! She was soo into it. You were so distracted at first then she got your attention and it was all smiles from there! A little photo angel was with us. ;) You later spun around on your Daddy's shoulders and ran your hands along the corn leaves. You couldn't stop reaching for them. It was precious. You LOVE being in his arms. Again, you loooved being in a new place with new things to touch and see and learn about. You're a curious cat... the CUTEST curious cat I have EVER. SEEN. We ALL love you boo boo!

Big Blue, Rockin the Red...

Ok Mr. Handsome. Soooo now we are pretty much up to date on the blogging. You are 8 and a half months old today. I took these pics about two weeks ago. You CRAWL like crazy now. The first time you did this was on Sept. 23rd, 2011. (Almost 8 months old) You then stopped for a few days, and after that, there was no stopping you! All you had to do was see a shiny quarter on the floor across the room and BOOM that was it. Haha. I have never seen drive in a child's eyes, like I see in yours. When you want something... you get something. Your eyes widen and with a look of deep intent as you achieve your success. You are smart. I'm not just saying that because you're my favorite thing in the whole world. When I get close and talk to you, you watch my mouth with complete focus and try to move it fast like me. Then you realize you're not talking, and you just say "Mama ma ma ma... Daaaaa... Da da." and try to blow me a kiss. Not only are we getting to know you better every day, you are getting to know us as well. You looove to be goofy with us. I put one of your toys up to my eye and looked through it and laughed and you watched me and giggled. I did it a few times then I put it down and you got all excited and grabbed it and put it up to my eye and CRACKED UP. Ahaha it was hilarious. We have many bonding moments like that and I couldn't trade them for the world.

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You got your first front tooth last week! Getting it was definitely not a treat though, my love. :( You got a fever of 101.5 two nights in a row and you could barely sleep. :( My 12-hour sleeper wasn't digging the broken sleep, and neither was his sleep-lovin mama. :/ BUT it's tough, but we're tougher, as your Great-Grandpa (Poppy) would have said! We powered through it and your fevers turned into a cold. Yellow snot has been the theme of the week and we are thanking God for cough medicine. You're a tough little one. You're newest thing is saying "Mamaa" all day LONG. It is precious and absolutely impossible to ignore, even though you need me every 5 minutes sometimes. Ha. I love you Bubuhh! You're getting into my scrapbooking stuff so I gotta goo! LOVE YOU! :) 

* Family Time on the Town *

Family Snap-shot! :)

YOUR FIRST BITE of baby food EVER. Age six months. Not sure how ya felt about carrots. :)

 First time seeing the Space Needle and Crab Pot!

We took you out to the Seattle Aquarium for the first time and it was lovely! I'll be honest, it was a little boring since you were just kinda staring. Haha but it was worth seeing you take it all in and it was fun to get out as a family. You love to be on the go. You love taking in new things, and sometimes you get bored if we sit at home too long. You are incredible, Noah.

Daddy & Mommy go to MAUI!

                                                    

At the Airport, FINALLY COMING HOME TO SEE OUR BABYY!! :) :) 

 

After months of smart saving, my husband surprised me with a trip to Maui for our 1 year anniversary! I didn't realize how much I really needed a vacation until we got there. We took a leap of Faith and left our boy with the Grandparents. It was scary at first but I knew it was right for us to be back to the islands on our own. We enjoyed our time together, beyond words.The island of Maui re-kindled my love for my husband and the islands. On our honeymoon, the big island didn't really do it for me. It was gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but I did not connect with it like I did with Maui. Maui reminds me of Kaua'i. Ocean accessible, and very green. The main highway wound along the ocean's edge so you could enjoy it from the car. It was amazing. You could drive inland and enjoy the God sent Valley's. Drive the road to Hana and take in the multiple hikes and waterfalls. Drive to Honolua Bay and snorkel with lovely sea turtles just inches from your finger-tips. Enjoy the luxurious vibe of the ritzy hotels along the coast, with smooth sandy beaches and fine restaurants. Take a boat out to Molokini and snorkel with 150 ft. visibility. (This WAS a tourist trap though, and we ended up seeing a bunch of other snorkelers, hardly any fish, BUT very beautiful coral 30 ft. below us. It was like a big swimming pool with coral at the bottom.) We stayed at the Papakea Resort in Kaanapali, just north of Lahaina. It was an amazing resort with bbq's along the pool and the ocean 30 yards from the pool's edge. Soo lovely. After one week of phone calls, pictures and video's between Noah and us, it was finally time to get back home to Seattle to see our little one!! I enjoyed the break, but missed being a mama. It's great to be home, but Larry and I can't WAIT to take Noah on the next adventure! So blessed. Cheers to God, love, family and the tropics!!

Grounded...

I had a strong urge to write this. It's different than most posts, and more like a home journal entry, but here it is. I'm glad the inspiration was there... 

Grounded...

“You’re grounded.” “I need to get grounded.” There are many ways to use the word… but why is it that when I’m not grounded, I feel more like “I’m grounded?” It’s misery! When I’m flighty and inconsistant and I rely on myself, and not on God, I am absolutely weak. I feel it. I look it. I reek of weakness. I bask in it. I am not trying to be dramatic, just crudely honest. I need that right now. I need the truth in my life… no matter how crude… in everything I do, really. I need blunt, warm truth. Truth in the Lord. I need prayer. I need Jesus to cling to because when I stop relying on Him, for WHATEVER humanly reason, my weakness accentuates and I am bluntly reminded of the stone cold truth. He is real. He is light. He is beyond anything I could ever be... and this is beautiful. He is humility. He is my Savior. He is Love. He is discipline. Trust. He is strength… faith. Faith in the Lord makes me a better woman. Makes me love. Makes me trust. Makes me more humble. So, when I try to take on all of life’s trials and tribulations on my own terms in my own way, and fail miserably, I am brought to my knees in the name of Jesus. I am blessed beyond words to know God. I am blessed beyond words with my family and loved ones… with all of the luxeries in my life. I pray to know, daily, the difference between essentials and extra’s. With these words I have been inspired to write, I will end this with thanks and prayer. J Happy blogging!    

Carhartt Cuteness. . .

HEY! You match Grampa! :) Ahaah. You're "Auntie" Reanne and her Mama, Mary, gave you these ADORABLE little Carhartt's and one day Grampa showed up at our house wearing a bigger version of them! I cracked up and had to have a little photo shoot. :) It was precious!! Noah, you are SO smiley these days! You were 5 months old in these pics. Such a lovely little chunk! Grampa, of course, can't wait to let you stand on HIS hands some day. :) He started with sittin! These days you are so full of love, yet not too cuddly. You have never really liked being held facing in... you MUST face out so that you can see the world around you. You're quite smart. I can tell already. I see wisdom in those deep blue eyes. You're already very independent and hardly blink an eye if I leave the room. I don't quite know how I feel about it yet. Haha. Regardless... you have stolen my heart, little one.

4 Month Old BEAUTY BOY.

B E A C H * B U M !!

Hello Angel. . . :) These are just a few random pics of you as a beautiful 4 month old. You are the sweetest little boy I have EVER seen. You touch hearts already. You long to move... to venture... to see EVERYTHING. We take you into a room and you have to look at every. Single. Thing. Before anything else happens. Haha. It's cute. You giggle and you looove your daddy. You are constantly in awe of all the silly, loving, and strong things he does. We, in turn, are in awe of you, N.J.C. :) Mwah!

TOY TIME!! :)

Noah love, we didn't have internet for a while, but now we do, so it's time to play "catch-up" with some pics and stories that come with it! :) This was the first toy you ever played on and enjoyed! We went to Granny's work and she opened your eyes to a world of toys which you had never experienced! Daddy taught you how to hold on, and that you did, as we pushed you around the gym!! :) Your face lit up, the faster you went. You're a little thrill seeker, honey. Goodness. This was a month, or two ago. You're now 6 and a half months old and have changed SO much since then! We looove you! Kisses! <3

Picture Perfect!

FUN, UNFORGETTABLE TIMES. . .

Well Mr. Baby Cowan... you are pullin out all the stops these days! Haha I put you down in your seat the other day and I turned around and looked back over to you and you were doing this...

Ahahahaha sooo funnyyyy!! I could NOT stop laughing! I cracked up for about 5 minutes straight and you seriously held the pose the whole time. You finally cracked a cocky side smile with a look on your face saying, "Yeahh whaaat." :) It was incredible and I look forward to showing your future girlfriend this fantastically hilarious photo... in a long LONG time. :)

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT. . .

Lately you have been learning how to reach for things and grab hold of them. I thought a toothbrush may be easy to grab so I put it in front of you on your stand up toy. You immediately grabbed it and put it up to your mouth just in time for me to snap a pic.

Your timing on things is seriously impecible. You are talking more and you

r newest sound you make is "Aa--aht." or "Aah-k. Eye-yuh." You speak VERY loudly. Haha I

wonder where you get it. I was just on the phone with Gramma Tutu today and I could barely hear myself talk because you were babbling so loudly. You were yelling at the guitar. You also say "Hi." & Yeaaah." You said "Mama and Mom," NUMEROUS times, despite what anyone says. You only say it when you're crying for a bottle. You know I'll be the first to bring it to you. :) You are soo amazingly precious and I just can't get over it! We are connected, Noah James. You have my laugh already.

You definitely do get over-stimulated though, honey. You don't like to be around other loud kids too much. It overwhelms you after a while and a couple times you cried so hard that even a bottle couldn't fix it. :( It broke my heart. All I could do was hold you and rock you until you fell asleep. Loud noise in general overwhelms you at times. I had rehearsal one night and I had to take you and the drums hit one time and you cried that very second. My ears used to be VERY sensitive as a kid, so I think you got that from me. Sorry Bubba. OH I also said "bub

ba" the other night and you repeated it RIGHT back to me! You said it inwardly though, it was really funny. You like breathed in and said it. Haha. Cracked me up. Well your Papa Bear and I love you dearly and tomorrow is your Daddy's first Father's Day! We are very very excited about this! K I gotta go grocery shopping.

LOVE YOU NOAH JAMES COWAN! <3

Toes in the Sand. . . Sand in the Toes. . .

First dip!! ^

On our FIRST hot day of the season that the husband was home, we felt it quite necessary to hit the beach! We went out to Grampa & Gramma Tutu's house, ate good food, soaked up the rays, dipped Noah's toes in the bay for the FIRST time and counted our blessings. We also finally got to visit with Gram and uncle Leifa for the first time in a while! God's love was shining down on our family and alllll of my blessings in life hit me at once. What a life I live! ~ I realized when we were out there how much I am in love with the ocean. The Puget Sound is my own little sanctuary. It was crazy to walk the beach that I grew up on, as I held my very own little one in my arms. Seems like moments ago I was just a little one running along the rocks and lifting up every single one in sight, trying to find crabs. I would try to balance on driftwood in the shallow chilly water, but I ALWAYS fell in. It was inevitable. I pretended I was the little mermaid... I swore I was for a while. Haha. I pretended I was an Olympic swimmer... a dolphin. I was a water child. I would stay in that ice cold h2O until I went numb and beyond. These are some of my childhood memories I will always treasure. Can't wait to share these times with my baby boy and the babies to come!! :)