and... we're off...

So much has transpired in the past few days... wait... weeks... I mean months since we last updated you about the comings and goings of our life via this blog.

A few holidays passed, a lock-in, a new year, some birthdays, nursing school began and we had some "new" stuff, whether it occurred or it was obtained. Let me briefly recap.

Since the end of 2009, I wrapped up the annual youth New Year's Eve Lock-in, went comatose for a day - panicking Shelli for a brief moment when I failed to resurface in a timely manner - recovered and returned to the daily grind. Shelli's birthday came and we celebrated the wonderful quarter-century turn of the clock as Shelli went from college student to well... college student, but more mature and sophisticated.

As I alluded to, Shelli is full-swing into Nursing school and life is a blurry mess of studying, tests, baby firsts and baby lasts, work, and a pinch of sleep in there somewhere. She is performing incredibly having scored well-above the class average on all her tests and, despite the exhausting downside, she is loving it.

I am going through a ton of learning and transition at work as we continue to grow at Capital and the organizations changes I can feel my role and job portfolio shifting. I am not sure exactly where it will end up in the immediate future, I am however very certain that in the long-term I will become more of a Creative Director than a designer/youth leader. As much as it saddens me to think of my role with the youth decreasing, I know it will by far be the best in the end. Other than that I have enjoyed a short-term increased role in teaching and running youth on Wednesday nights, while the group continues to grow and amaze me in their personal spiritual growth.

Little man is growing like a tree. Compared to the clothes we first brought him home from the hospital in, he seems to be a redwood. A very fast redwood. We at one point were convinced Noah would be walking before crawling and then one day he decided that there was too much to discover to wait for that. Noah loves to walk around all over the place while you hold his hand (though he is a little wary of releasing his kung fu grip from your finger), but don't you even think of sitting down and taking a breather, he has no tolerance for such laziness and will be screaming you back to your feet like an angry football coach before the big game. If for some crazy reason you decide you just can go any further, he will resort to speed-crawling his way across the floor. Don't even think about taking a bathroom break unless you tie him down because he'll be in the next state.

In addition to the quick transition to crawling and hand-held walking, he is almost fully onto solid foods (eating only the occasional formula bottle now) which he loves to eat while sitting high in the high chair that Papa Gary custom made for him.

Noah loves to play and is fascinated by balloons, which he affectionately calls "booon" or "Bwah" which sounds almost like a grunt. he still shouts "dadadada" and has added high pitched screaming and grunting to the mix, though at all times he is really referring to Mama, whose arms he would always prefer to be in. He still loves to cuddle and is sleeping wonderfully through the night in his own room in his crib.

He likes to roll around in his walker and loves, loves Gerber Graduate Puffs and any food made of or with fruit. Although, as expected vegetables don't carry the same appeal. He's learned to clap and has no reservation applauding his accomplishments. Along with his likes and dislikes he has become the most curious and adventurous little fella I have ever seen and I can't forget to mention one of his favorite games he has discovered. We'll call it Keep Away. This involves Noah holding out some object, usually a puff, until you reach for it and, at the last second, pulling it swiftly back into his body far away from any of your pursuing fingers. He will then return his hand to the out-stretched position, as if trying to tempt and entice you to have another try, all the while repeating the original process to the tune of his happy little laugh.

Well, january has passed and we're half-way through February. We spent some time in California with Shelli's family in January, but I will let her update you on that journey soon. In addition, there are a few more things to tell you about, but rather than catch up on everything in one blog, we'll just try to blog again sooner, rather than later.