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.

Party like it's 1994

So last night I got to do one of my favorite things as a teacher. I helped chaperone the Noblesville High School prom! It was so fun to see my little 8th graders from 5 years ago all grown up and on their way to graduating. But the highlight was the fashion entertainment. This picture is just a little glimpse into what we were treated with. I know it's a little fuzzy; it was taken on my cell phone, but I thought a feathered hat like this needs to be shared with as many people as possible. And for the record: no, he was not one of my former students! That's my friend/co-worker Alison that I was using as a decoy so I could get the picture. If we had real guts we would have asked to wear the hat and take a picture. Party on!

Family Fun--Ohio Style

We spent Easter weekend with the Dean family (David's sister and brother-in-law). These are pictures of the Dean children at the annual family Easter Egg hunt: Abby (16), Becca (10), Jacob (13), and Aaron (18). You've never seen anything quite like this event. It is cut-throat: running, yelling, tripping, stealing--basically sabotage of eggs at any cost, and all for candy. We loved every minute of it. I think every holiday should have something like this.