10 states in 10 months

In case you didn't know, Noel is quite the traveler. In his 10 months of life, he has been to 10 states. Although it was not his first time, this weekend we went on an excursion to Illinois to see my friend Jill Dicken.

We had a really good time hanging out, and Noel thought Jill was funny (take that, Joel Craig! :) ). David was super dad and watched Noel so Jill and I could spend some time together and go to the movies. We are loving watching Noel grow and change. His new things are playing peek-a-boo and being chased around the house. It's quite the show.

Noel's First Tractor Ride and Tee's First Shave

It was a big week last week for the Wittenbachs. Noel got to ride on a tractor for the first time (actually, I had never been on a tractor before either, but that wasn't quite as exciting for everyone else). He loved it so much he cried when we were done. Also, Noel went to the beach for the first time, but we forgot to take any pictures.






The other first was for our Miss Tee Off. She got a special present from Grandma (David's mom): a summer cut! She is now shaven, even her ears. We think she kind of looks like a goat, but it's cute! Be sure to read about our trip to the fair below!

Good Times

You know you're at the Howard County Fair when. . .
*Shirts are an optional item of apparel
*The hottest thing there is the cheese
*Ladies are wearing jean shorts so short the pockets are hanging out the bottom
*People put on their "good clothes" to come to the fair
*The Carnies look better than some of the parents putting their kids on the tilt-a-whirl

Yes, folks, it's that time of year. Tonight David, Noel, and I ventured out to the Howard County Fair. As you can tell by the pictures, we were all entertained in different ways, but we all had a good time.

Always changing

Well, Noel is officially mobile! He started crawling a few weeks ago, and it took him about 10 days to get tired of that, so now he is pulling up on anything he can. Every time we turn around he is standing up, holding onto something. It keeps us busy, but he is so entertaining. He loves to make people laugh. When we are out, he will make noise until strangers look at him, then he'll tilt his head and smile at them. Quite the charmer. Anyway, here are some recent pictures.

Two down, ten to go

We got to see our niece, Lauren, graduate this past week. She is our 2nd niece/nephew to graduate. Now we have 10 more left! We had a great time with everyone. I'm going to add this link to the shutterfly album, if you're interested. I think it will work, but I'm new to Shutterfly, so please forgive the mistakes.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/pictures;jsessionid=8F7EDCF0294A6584F82B7BEC5439A5E3?a=67b0de21b32e0cb365c4&sid=0AYtWzFi0ZNmLjA

Also, here are a few pictures from our stop in Gatlinburg on the way down. Noel got to go on his first hike. We went to Clingman's Dome and Grotto Falls. Beautiful weather and wonderful time!

7 months!

Noel is now 7 months old! He is doing really well. We laugh about him every day because he is getting such a personality. This is a picture of Noel with Brian and Ashley Craw, our friends who moved to Lexington, KY a few months ago. We took Noel on his first trip to the Bluegrass state.

We're so glad it's getting warmer now, because Noel LOVES being outside! We go on walks, and he watches us work on the yard, not to mention watching Tee run everywhere. I can't wait to see him in the pool!

Easter 2007

Here are some pictures from our Easter celebration in Findlay with the Wittenbach clan. Of course there was the annual egg hunt, although the mayhem was a little subdued because of the cold weather. It was really nice to see everyone and be with family.

Almost 6 months old!

These are some newer pictures of Noel. The biggest change right now is that he is eating baby food. He is loving it! We're not sure what he loves more, though, eating carrots, or chewing on the socks that he pulls off his feet. He has also discovered Tee-dog, and loves getting kisses (aka licks) from her.

If I were going to rob a store. . .

I promise you, I did not make this up. On yesterday's front page of the Kokomo Tribune was an article titled, "Dollar theater robbery foiled". The article goes on to describe the incident. I'd like to share some of my favorite tidbits:
*"A robbery attempt at a local theater was thwarted Monday evening after two employees and a customer tackled the alleged perpetrator and held him down until police arrived." First of all, if you're going to rob a store, why in the WORLD would you pick the dollar theater? Does he realize that people pay A DOLLAR to watch a movie? And this is a Monday night. Even if the place is busy he might walk out with 50 bucks.
*“I walked into the kitchen area and there was this guy standing there,” Van-Haecke recalled. “I asked what he was doing and said he cleaning for us. [love the grammar]I said ‘you’re trying to rob me.’”Van-Haecke said the man then threw some articles he had in his hand in the trash can and tried to flee. Nothing like apprehending a criminal by saying, "You're trying to rob me."
*“He was struggling a lot,” Van-Haecke said. “He definitely didn’t want to be there when the cops showed up.” No, really? I thought most thieves were excited to see the cops.
*Murphy was not armed with a weapon and no injuries were reported. After all that, he didn't even have a weapon.

I love the newspaper.

Snow Fun!

Well, we finally got some snow this winter, so we took some pictures. The drift on top of the doghouse was bigger than Noel! Anyway, it was beautiful, and we will be sad to see it melt away. maybe next year Noel can really get to play in it.

4 months old!

Just wanted to add some new pictures of Noel. He's doing so well. He's still just a little peanut--12 pounds, but what he lacks in weight he makes up for in his cheeks. He has some of the best expressions. He likes to read books with his dad, as you can see above. Although you can't tell from these pictures, he smiles a lot and is laughing more and more.

Happy New Year!

New pictures of Noel. He had a great Christmas--got to see everyone from both sides of the family and got plenty of lovin. His new thing is making noise. He babbles all day--it's hilarious.

9 weeks down...

I had to post this picture--Noel in his first pair of jeans and tie-dye. He looks like a little man instead of a baby! And Sunday he's taking his first plane ride (outside of the womb) to Atlanta to meet Aunt Kendra and his cousins Lauren, Josh, and Emma, where I'm sure he'll be squeezed and loved on just a little :)

In a battle, the turkey wins

These are some pictures from our Thanksgiving with the Wittenbach's. Please note that the turkey weighed about 28 pounds and Noel weighed 10! Yowza! We had a really good time with everyone, and Noel got lots of lovin' and squeezin'. No matter how hard we guard the camera, somehow Abby always steals it and gets in some pictures--all of which include her. A good time was had by all, and we look forward to the Christmas season. Do you think Noel's too young to ski???

Turkey Day Approaches

Over the weekend we got to see some of our dearest friends, the Luzadders and the Baileys. Here is a picture of Michelle and Atticus, who just turned one, and is adorable, and of the Bailey family with Phil Miller on a carriage ride, courtesy of Moses. It was so nice to see them and be encouraged by them. It's easy to take your friends for granted.

We have much to be thankful for:
*great friends--near and far
*great family
*Noel is starting to smile--makes those middle of the night feedings a little more bearable
*Less of those "middle of the night" feedings
*Bouncy chairs with vibrating contraptions
*The Diaper Champ
*That God has gotten us through Noel's first 7 weeks
*Our neighbor decided to mow his lawn after a 2 month hiatus
*fountain sodas
*online shopping
*that football season is over for the Spartans
*fleece sheets for winter

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

6 weeks under my belt!

Tomorrow Noel will be 6 weeks old. He just started smiling a couple of days ago, and he is starting to be much more aware of his surroundings. It's an adventure every day to figure out who this little man is, but we're enjoying it. All except the lack of sleep. But we know it has to get better some time (sooner than later would be nice).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We say you're never too young to start raking in the goods!

Big Firsts for Noel

This is Noel's first trip to church. As you can tell, he is ready to go. I'm not sure how much he got out of the message, since he slept the entire time.
He also had his name in lights for the first time. We're not sure if they spelled our last name wrong, or if some of the lights are just burned out. Get used to it, Noel. Noel also had his first doctor's visit, which went great. Old boy is up to 7 lb. 8 oz. which is still small, but getting bigger every day!!

Welcome Home, Noel

We came home from the hospital on Friday afternoon. Everything is going great so far. Just wanted to share a few pictures of his first weekend at home. We are so in love with him, and can't keep our eyes off him.

And then there were three.....

Yesterday was a joyous day! Beth and I officially welcomed Noel Edwin into our family. Noel arrived at 9:49pm Wednesday night. He was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 inches long. We think he's the cutest little guy ever, but we may be biased. Beth and Noel are doing very well.

Oops, She Did It Again!

I'm so bummed. This whole pregnancy I thought Britney and I would be having our babies on the same day. She would be there for moral support, and I would be there to fend off the Paparazzi. Then she went and had her baby last week!! And stole our baby's name. Now we have to start all over!

12 days--each one seems a little longer than the one before.

It's All Relative

I think this quote says it all. It reminds me of living in Bloomington, Illinois, when on Friday nights they had karaoke at Wal-Mart. No joke, right in the middle of the men's clothing section there would be a table, speakers, the whole deal. But the best part was that you could hear it from every part of the store. I bet there was some dressing up for Karaoke Night at Wal-Mart.

A little over three weeks left until our little munchkin shows up. We will definitely get a picture of him the first time we dress him up and take him to Wal-Mart!

Unbelievable

I don't normally post this often, but when you see something this priceless, it must be shared. We just can't have enough concerned parents.

Just Add Baby!

Wanted to post some pictures of the baby's room. We have had so many people give us thing, it's overwhelming. Now we just need the baby to make the room complete!

"Can you tell me which way to the gym?"

By special request, here is one of my favorite pictures of David from our trip to Italy. Actually, it's one of my faves from all time. You should have seen the other aprons . . .

61 Days and Counting. . .

Little Wittenbach (name as yet to be confirmed) is expected to arrive in around 61 days (October 2 officially). We are very excited on the homefront. He's making lots of commotion, and is gaining weight every day. We're picturing he'll look something like one of these. We'll keep you posted on any updates

Fashion Statements

Today's highlight of Italy is about fashion. Somehow Italy has led us to believe that they are the epitome of fashion. However, I beg to differ. Case in point:

#1--Check out these lady's sunglasses. Not only are they bigger than my HEAD, but she never took them off during her entire meal.

#2--If you look closely behind big glasses lady, you will notice a pair of rhinestone-studded jeans. Now notice that those are being worn by a MAN!!! Any lady's fashion goes for men as well in Italy, including sparkles, capri pants, and very tight shirts.

#3--Sadly, my last point does not have a picture, but I so wish you could see that the mullet is alive and well in Italy. I bet we saw 20 or 30 people with mullets during our vacation. If that is any telling of where fashion is going, please get me off this train!!!

Ciao!

Italian Ramblings

Well, we just got back from 11 days in Italy. It was really the trip of a lifetime. We won't bore you with the 200 important and beautiful pictures we took. Instead, we'll try to give you some of the more humorous highlights of the trip.



Today's Highlight: Italian Television
To put it bluntly, TV stinks in Italy. Even the shows in Italian look like bad home movies. But the kicker is that they have dubbed old American tv shows and broadcast them. I'm not talking old like Friends, I'm talking Bonanza, Murder She Wrote, Different Strokes, and our personal favorite: WWF circa 1985. Yes that's right. One morning we turned the tv on and there was Hulk Hogan, Rick Flair, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, and Macho Man Randy Savage--all dubbed in Italian. So if you're missing your fix of Hulkamania, I have just the place for you.

More to come. . .

No Paparazzi, Please

There he is!

The Verdict is In. . .

Well, we went to the doctor on Monday and had our ultrasound. Everything went really well. The baby has 2 arms, 2 legs, and a great heartbeat. Then the technician showed us something else that the baby has that definitely told us that we don't need to go out and buy any hairbows or dresses. Yes, that's right, we are having a BOY! We are so excited!!! David had a hunch all along, and he is usually right about these things, and he was again. It seems so much more real now that we have seen his little face. One of the pictures we got looks like he is waving to us--it's great! I will try and work on scanning it in. We have much to be thankful for.