Videos!

Here are some recent videos of the kiddos to enjoy!! They are growing up too fast - gotta catch it all on video once in awhile!! :)

Noah rolling over (Oct 2009 - 5 months)

Bella and the fake spider (october 2009)

singing and dancing to Laurie Berkner!

A giggly Noah on Halloween 2009

BRRRRRRRRR!! (and we have a tooth!!!)

What happened to fall?!?! We had to turn the heat on last night for the first time! Ack! I think our high today was only 47 degrees and tonight will be in the mid 30's! Pretty chilly for Georgia standards & it definately felt and looked like a typical winter days here! G&G Geismar flew in on Thursday evening from a HOT 93 degrees in Boca to the chilly weather so they are enjoying the cool down.

We got up bright and early and on the road by 8:30 this morning to head up to Chattanooga, TN to visit Rock City. We discovered this tourist attraction last November when we went away for our anniversary weekend and have been wanting to take Gramma and Grandpa up there to enjoy the beautiful scenary. It was pretty cold so we all bundled up. I freaked out on Thursday when I saw the weather forcast & I hadnt' purchased Bella's winter coat yet but I dug out Bella's jacket from last year and low and behold, it still fit!!! She's such a peanut, lol! The leaves hadn't quite changed yet so it was still pretty green but it was still so nice with the mountains and scenary. Poor Bella's hands were freezing too and I didn't have mittens for her so she got upset but we bought her a lollipop and that seemed to take her mind off her frozen hands, lol. Noah was a gem as always.

After we finished up at Rock City, we headed to downtown Chattanooga for some BBQ lunch at Sticky Fingers before heading back to GA. Somehow, Gramma Debbie and I were able to coerce the men into taking a detour to the apple orchard in the North Georgia Mountains on our way home to pick apples & purchase some cider, apple cider donuts and some fried apple pies! YUMMY! Well worth the drive, it was beautiful scenary and both kids slept the whole time!

We got home just in time to catch the last quarter of the Gator game (great, close game with the Gators winning!!) and we got Thai takeout and then I whipped up some homemade apple crisp for dessert with our freshly picked Rome apples!!! We are super stuffed & I'm ready for bed!!

On the drive home from apple picking in Ellijay, I felt in Noah's mouth and felt his first cut tooth!!!! Definately explains the drippy runny nose/congestion since Monday & the constant waking up and nursing all week. Poor little guy was in pain and I feel so stupid for not realizing it sooner :( I can't even tell you how exhausted I am. I was so hoping his sleep would get better since transitioning to the crib but this week was rough! I'm hoping it'll get better now that the tooth has cut! Noah also had a dr. visit on Thursday for 2 shots and he now weighs 16 lb, 15 oz!!! He's still growing great & looks so much older to me than (almost) 5 months. Crazy how time flies and it's so sad

I'll add some more pics soon but for now this update will have to do! I'm tired and hopefully heading to bed to catch a couple zzzz's before Noah wakes up!!

Yes, we are still alive...

LOL! We're still here, just have been extremely busy/tired/wiped and have not updated in forever. I dont even know where to begin with updates! I think we've either been out of town or had people visiting us practically every weekend since Noah arrived! Yes, that's 4 1/2 months of pure craziness!!!

Noah is still awesome! My happy little flirt :) He is still growing and growing and growing! At his 4 month checkup, he weighed 16 lb, 7 oz (if I remember correctly - 85th%) and was 25 inches (50th%) long. He weighed the same that Bella did at 9 months!! I'm too lazy to try to find his checkup stats so I'm going off of memory right now! He's still a nonstop nurser - about every 2 hrs, if not sooner. We have FINALLY transitioned to his crib - he's been in there for a week now. I tried right after he was 3 months but it was not working out too well so we waited and tried when we were out of town to Vegas and he seems to be doing much better. He has learned to flip from his back to tummy now so that is how he sleeps most nights. He is still up 2-3X a night adn mommy is exhausted but he is just up to nurse and goes right back to sleep so I can't complain too much ;) He will still end up in my bed some nights around 6 or 7 and finish up the last hour or two snuggling with me!! He is very alert and is all over the floor these days. I turn around for 2 minutes and he's rolled all across the room! He gets on his tummy and even tries to scooch himself forward and do the caterpillar crawl, LOL. Good thing for freshly washed carpets! He loves putting anything/everything into that mouth of his. No incoming teeth quite yet though. His favorite toys are a little cow blankie his Gramma Geismar got for him & those little plastic colored links. He loves to eat them and I don't leave the house without them.

Bella is great as well! She is just continuing to learn new words/phrases on a daily basis. She knows all of her aunts and uncles & grandparents when she sees their pics, it's very cute! She is quite smitten with her baby brother finally but refuses to call him Noah. He is "baby," or "da-de" in Bella-ease, haha! Such a great little helper and boy, can she make him laugh!!! Her new obsession is buckling. You name it and she will be obsessed with buckling - Noah's swing, chair, stroller, carseats, etc....I can never go to put Noah in the swing and it be unbuckled. She definately has a bit of her Daddy's OCD in her. No chairs can be left pushed out and no doors can be left opened up. Everything must always be put in the correct place or spot. We've adopted a pet spider, who is nestled in a little web on the outside of one of our windows in the living room. We've named her Sunny and many times a day, I must hold Bella up to the window so she can say Hi to Sunny and sing "itsy bitsy spider" to her, LOL! Speaking of singing, she enjoys it so much. She will hear a song once and remember it, it's crazy! I always wonder what she will be when she grows up and if you ask me right now, my bet is on a singer/musician or a gymnast.

That's a brief update on us - I have tons of pictures to share but not enough time to do that tonight! I turn the big 3-0 tomorrow. Not much going on here though bc Andy and I celebrated last weekend in Vegas and had a great weekend alone! We missed the kids a ton and I couldnt talk about them without tearing up but the 2 nights away was wonderful, I'm not gonna lie ;) Gramma and Grandpa Geismar will be flying to town next Thursday for a long weekend visit! We are hoping the weather is nice so we can raid an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch! I'm hoping the weather cools down a bit so we are not sweltering while enjoying the fall activities!!! Try to get on again soon for another update on us!! :)

Noah is 3 months old!!!

Wow, time is just flying by - do I say that enough?? I can't believe Noah is 3 months old already!!! He is just such a great baby - happy 24/7 & easy as can be!!! Such a nice change from his dramatic & strong-willed big sis ;)

Let's see, things he is doing at 3 months:

*Rolling from tummy to back. He is trying to roll from back to tummy but not quite there yet!

*Quickly growing out of his 3-6 month clothes and into his 9 month outfits. He weighs 14 lb, 6 oz according to the Wii Fit, lol! :) We still have him in size 2 Pamper diapers but the next box waiting to be opened are size 2-3's!

*Sleep still varies at night - we get an average of 5-8 hours at a time though, depending on the night. He is still in the bassinet in our room, I just cannot part with this yet, lol. I like having him close. I have finally puchased the video monitor and breathable bumpers for his crib though so I'm sure the transition will come soon.

*Still exlusively getting mommy's milk :) He is a champ and I'm very happy with the way things are going with nursing this time around!! He usually eats every 2 hours still but we have gotton some 3 hour stints in btwn feedings more often so that's been nice :)

*Lots of drool and bubble blowing lately. No signs of any teeth quite yet.

*Lots & lots of smiles and giggles

*Loves tubbie time, just like his big sis!!

Here are some 3 months shots:

3 month video!

Bella at 2 years old!

I know I'm so overdue on some posts but I'm gonna do a quick update and I'll update all the in-between dates when I get some free time (haha!)

I can't believe our little "baby" is already two!! When I think about the past 2 years with her in our lives, so many wonderful memories flood my memory that it makes me a little weepy! From bringing home our little peanut and not knowing what to do with such a small baby, to those first smiles and laughs, first steps, first words, first hugs & kisses - it all has just been such a wonderful experience that I never knew existed. I can't even imagine what our future holds but I know that it will be full of tremendous love, fun & excitement (Ok - and some trials along the way as well, hehe). I never knew I could have so much unconditional love for our family as I do. It's truly an amazing feeling!

Some "things" Bella is doing at the age of 2:

Bella 2 year Stats: 23 lbs (10th %) and 33 1/2 inches long (40th-50th%)

*she is a chatterbox - sometimes we don't understand a word she is saying but most of the time we do get the gist of what she is telling us. If you asked me how many words she has, I honestly couldnt tell you. A lot. I think her vocabulary is quite impressive for her age but then again, I'm her mommy and I'm gonna think that, lol! Some new phrases she loves to say "No, I wanna do it" "Mama/Daddy, I wanna show youuuu", "I need a 'nackkkkkkk, I wanna eeeeaaaattttt." Over the past 2 weeks she has definately mastered "pease and tank to" (please and thank you). She can sing along to almost any kid song - seriously. It's like we sing it once and she knows it forever. There have been many nights before bed where we sit, rock and sing songs. It's awesome! She can count to 15 (tries to count higher but they all start sounding the same) and receits her ABC's to the best of her ability.

*in the past month or two she has definately gained a HUGE interest in reading books - she no longer just flips through the pages but she wants us to actually read to her and will bring us book after book, after book, after book. We love to read to her and I'm really happy she's finally taken to reading!

*Eating & Foods: she is still a great eater & will usually try anything atleast once. Her new favorite item is probably chicken on the grill ("chix") and she will dip anything and everything. Loves any sort of dipping sauce - just like her mommy :) She really isnt big into carbs. Not huge into pasta, potatoes, crackers, goldfish, cereals, bread, etc. It's weird. Most kids live on this stuff but she would rather live off of fruit, chicken, cheese and "trees" (aka broccoli). I will say she does love her brown rice - esp if I stick some shredded cheddar on top. She will devour that and make a mess in the meantime. Another favorite food is minestrone soup & definately shrimp. She can devour a ton of shrimp! We also no longer use the highchair - she sits at the table like a big girl with us :) Pretty soon Noah will be using the high chair and she actually sits & eats better at a normal chair. Always trying to be older than she is....Sometimes I think she is a 2 yr old trapped in a 5 yr old's body. It must be that 1st child syndrome!

*She is still the same old Bella - wants it done her way and wants it done yesterday - definately is frustrating at times and she just hasn't gotton the "you have to wait and be patient" concept yet. But we are working on it and will continue to work on it, she will get it one of these days.

I'm sure I have more to add & I'll edit that in later on but it's late and I need to pump and get to bed!!! Enjoy the few pics & the video from her 2nd birthday!! The pics may seem to have a weird color bc I had to scan them onto the cpu so they look a little funky.





Video: 8.10.09

Visit from Erica (July 31-Aug 3)

We have a lovely visit from my best friend, Erica for the weekend. Bella had a blast with Erica and we were on the go all weekend. She flew in late on Friday night and Saturday we went to the Marietta Square for lunch and then back to the house for Bella's nap. After Bella's nap, we had 2 big birthday parties to attend and then were home for the evening. On Sunday we hung around, made a yummy breakfast and Erica watched the kids while Andy and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Pure Taqueira in Alpharetta. It was so nice of Erica to let us sneak away for a couple hours! We grilled out shrimp and I made a yummy corn and edamame salad for dinner on Sunday night along with some delicious brownies and we all curled up and watched Big Brother before heading to bed. On Monday, Erica and I headed downtown to Centennial Olympic Park with the kids to let Bella run around and play. Overall it was a fun and busy weekend! It was great to have Erica in town - we can't wait for her next visit!! :)

Noah's 2 month stats!

Noah had his 2 month checkup yesterday and our observations have been confirmed - he's a tank!! LOL! He weighs 13 lb, 10 oz and is 22 1/2 inches long - total opposite of his big sis who's always been such a peanut. He is 90th% for weight and btwn 40-50th% for height. I suppose he's getting enought breastmilk, huh? Ha! That and I have a nice supply of almost 300 oz in the freezer - he's not going hungry anytime soon!

His appt was great - he was smiling at the nurse when he got his measurements and smiling at the dr. when she was checking out his ears. Such a happy little guy and such a joy to be around!!! I don't remember Bella ever smiling this much! Could it possibly be true that 2nd babies are more content and laid back?!?!?!?!?! Time will tell, hehe!

Some other random tidbits:
*He sleeps anywhere from 4 - 6.5 hours at a time at night
*Not a swaddled baby like his big sis was - hasnt been swaddled since 3 weeks probably & sleeps just fine without it.
*Still sleeping in the bassinet next to the bed but is quickly becoming too big for that so we might be making a move to his crib soon, much to my dismay :(
*Nurses about every 2 hours (give or take a half hour either way) during the daytime
*can roll from tummy to back - he has been doing this since he was 2 days old. Not all the time but he has done it a lot
*Loves to get his body massaged after bathtime
*Loves bathtime
*He really only cries when he is hungry or overtired - two things that can be easily fixed.
*is not attached to the paci like Bella was - he won't take one to sleep and rarely even uses one during the day!

Anyway - wouldn't be a complete blog entry without some more pics of our fabulous kids who we love so much!! Enjoy!

Tubbie Time with Petey the Penguin - giving him hugs

...and kisses

I took Bella for her 2 yr pics on Monday - this was one of her outfits! So cute!

cutie pie!

big sis holding Noah for I think the 3rd time, haha

White Water, Noah is 2 months & Random Pics

We had quite a busy and fun week this past week - on Tuesday I took Bella to White Water, a water park just down the road for the first time. Kelly was nice enough to come by and watch Noah for me so I could have a nice morning alone with Bella! Next year we will have to buy season passes to the water park, it was a lot of fun! We went down a kiddie slide together a bunch of times (Bella kept saying 'gain, 'gain) and she also LOVED the lazy river! I heard lots of "Weeee's!!" It was quite cute! They also had a mini-lazy river for the kids area that they "walk" through and she liked that a lot as well! On Tues we met our neighbors at an indoor play area and Bella was miss independent - going off and just playing on her own without me. Thursday was a jammie day and Friday we had an ice cream social playgroup at a friends house!!

This weekend was fairly uneventful and low key - we are just gearing up for a busy couple months ahead of us! On Sat, i got Bella's bday gifts and finally got some rocking chairs for the porch so Andy and I spent all of naptime in the 90 degree heat putting them together. My face was beet-red after finishing that project and who says a little glue in my hair hurts, lol. Once the kids woke up from their 3 hours naps and we cleaned up, we loaded up the car and raided Trader Joes for some food. Today was laundry, more grocery shopping and cooking a yummy dinner!! I prepared this awesome corn and edamame salad earlier ad I'm just salivating thinking about it - I cant wait til we dig into it at dinner!!

We have a busy week ahead of us - tomorrow I take Bella for her 2 year pics and then Tues is Noah's 2 month checkup (8 days late). Wed and Thurs I'll be taking care of Cooper & Kate at the house - should be interesting with 4 kids all day, hehe. Then Friday we meet friends at the Soft Play area of the mall and then Erica flies in for a long weekend on Friday night! Can't wait to see her!! So if I don't get on to update this week, you'll know why!!!

Bella and Cooper with their fav comfort items!

practing on her potty

enjoying the beautiful weather outside last weekend!

1st time holding a golf club!

daddy will have her on the course in no time!

stacking her blocks - loves to do this!!

Noah's 2 month shot!!

he loves bath time!!!

at White Water - 7.21.09

Going down the slide with Mommy!! So fun!

holding onto Max's snake in the kiddie lazy river!

Bella - almost 2 yrs, Noah - 2 months, LOL!

1st time with painted toes!!! Princess Bella!!!

checking out her new "pint" sized rocker!

onto the big "adult" rocker!

Video

Here is Bella's voice yesterday on the baby monitor - she was supposed to be napping but she had other plans and I decided to grab it on video- this little "Emma" stint went on for a good 15 mins as well, she had me laughing!! Seriously - such a crazy girl...is she really my daughter??? She keeps things interesting!

Update & Pics (FINALLY!!!)

Finally, I'm gonna try to squeeze in an update on us and a BUNCH of pics. I can't even remember the last time I posted pics! Noah is now 8 weeks old and Bella will be 2 in a few weeks!! Time is just flying and we have been having so much fun! There just has not been much leftover time in the days and I can never seem to get into bed before midnight these days. It's just crazy and despite the lack of sleep, things have been fabulous. We've had lots of visitors since Noah's birth - Gramma Codman, Gramma and Grandpa Geismar, Uncle Gerry, Auntie Amy and Jake adn then Gramma and Grandpa Codman again. We also have a really BUSY next 2 1/2 months. Just about every weekend is booked with people coming in town or we are going away. We have my best friend Erica coming in 2 weeks, then Gramma and Grandpa Geismar for Bella's bday week. Then, uncle mike and lily, along with the Fuchs family and our old neighbors, Kami and her son, Ryan (all here kind of same time and overlapping!!) Then we are taking Bella to see The Wiggle in Nashville for the last weekend in August! September will be busy with a wedding over Labor Day weekend, TJ & Rhyan come for an Falcons/Dolphins game and then we head to Hiltonhead Island for a 5 night vacation!!! The day after HHI, Andy and I are sneaking away to Vegas for 2 nights while Gramma Codman comes up to spoil her grandbabies!!!! I am really looking forward to all the fun!!

Noah is doing wonderful and being a mommy of 2 is just awesome!!! Before Noah, I was worried that there was just no possible way to have enough love to spread around our little family but it's just amazing how much more love I have and how easy it hs been. I spend many days thanking God for blessing my life with a great husband, 2 amazing & healthy children and tons of love and support from all our family and friends!! Life is good!!

Noah is still nursing like a champ and is weighing in at 13 lbs already!!! Bella didn't weigh 13 lbs til she was 5 months - he's not even 2 months yet, lol!!! He nurses every 1.5-2 hrs during the day and we normally get a 5-6 hr stretch of sleep at night. The past 2 nights has been a different story but I'm hoping that isn't gonna be the case again tonight, lol. Mama is tired!!! I also have a nice freezer stash of breastmilk - almost 300 oz stored away for emergencies & help with feedings from Daddy - I'm very happy the way breastfeeding is going this time around!! With Bella, she just never seemed to get enough so I found myself supplementing with formula by the 2nd month probably and this time, I think i'm just more at ease with it and not stressed so that has helped tremendously!!

Bella is doing great and has adjusted wonderfully! I can't believe she will be turning 2 in a few weeks!! Man has time just flown!!! She is such a character these days and talking so much and putting words into sentences and telling us her likes and dislikes! Its amazing the changes and she has definately found her independence recently - no longer clinging to mommy 24/7 when we go somewhere new. She will go off and play while I look on with Noah!! She imitates most everything that Andy and I do now so we have a little copy cat following our every move. She wants to be a grownup already and do everything on her own. She has taken an interest in potty training lately so we finally broke down and bought a little potty for her. I'm personally not ready to start potty training but for now, I'm just following her lead. She rips off her diapers all the time and I will have her sit and atleast *try* each time she takes her diaper off. So far, no pee pee in the potty but she has peed twice on the carpet, lol! At night we have to put her in a onesie now and duct tape the diaper to her bc there have been many nights over the past 7 weeks where I have gone in to find a naked little girl sound asleep, LOL! She certainly keeps us on our toes!! She will sit and look at books and point out things on each page "Duck" "Tain" (train) "Baw" (ball) "sun" "fower" (flower) and so on! She's also at that age where she will repeat something over and over and over and over until we acknowledge what she is telling us. Many times, I find myself saying "Yes Bell, that's a train. Yes Bell, that's a truck" in order to get her to stop repeating "train" over and over. She is very into singing songs now as well - anything from the Wiggles (especially their Shimmy Shake song!), ABC's, Patty Cake, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Caillou, Elmo's World. You name it, this girl will sing it! We have a 3 day music camp next week at church and I'm sure she will just love it! We took a break from her normal music class for the summer bc of Noah's arrival but I can't wait til it starts back up again in August - we've missed it a ton!!

Now that I've semi caught up, I'm really gonna try my hardest to keep the blog updated - I just wish I could have ONE hour of uninteruppted peace a day to do what I want, LOL! It's tricky trying to schedule things and keep everything organized now but we find a way to figure it all out!! I have a couple cute videos to upload - hopefully later today or tomorrow!!

OK - here are the TONS of pics over the past 6 weeks or so They start the 1st week of June and continue until now so watch Noah's growth!!! Enjoy!!

Noah and Bella wore Gramp's out! haha!

Gramma's in love!!

Big kisses to Bella!

and kisses to sweet Noah

Gramma admiring her new grandson!

checking out all the ducks and geese!

fun morning at the park!

pizza!! MMMMM!

the "don't mess with me" face, LOL!

my new favorite pic of her!

kisses to her best friend, Emma!

1 month pic!! Around 11 lbs!

bathing beauty in the pool! So cute!

my two men! Love them!

Uncle Gerry bought presents for his neice! She loved, loved, loved Gerry!

Gerry consoling her after getting sunscreen in her eyes!!

pool fun with Uncle Gerry!

chunka chunka!

Laying with her baby brother!

not a happy camper with the hat on, hehe!

grilling out for the 4th with friends!! Cute pic!

1st decent fam pic! Happy 4th!!

eating ice cream with Aidan and Will!

the start of the fireworks - not a big hit, lol!

1st on camera smile - 7.4.09

Touchdown Patriots!! (Bc we all know the Browns can't score a TD! HA!)

giving me her serious cookie face :)

kisses to baby brother!

sitting on her big girl potty!

one of my favorite pics!!

chilling with Grandpa Charlie

helping mommy with the pump, hehe!

"get me outta this swing!!!"

such a strong little guy!

such a cute pic!!

tough life, huh?!? HA!

love when they pass out like this!!

Running with her new hairstyle - braids!!

our big 8 weeker!!!

he really is a smiley little guy!!

chasing me thru the house, trying to get ahold of the camera, hehe!

kisses to Daddy!!!

showing her brother how to "dance" So cute!