Noah got some really fun additions to his Thomas train set from Grandpa Phil, Christy and Regan for his birthday.  He is having a lot of fun playing with it!

  I set up the train to surprise Noah while he and Daddy were out at the park.

 

“Hey, my train set grew!”

 

Choo Choo!

Although our plans were delayed because of the weather, we were finally able to go to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate Noah’s birthday.  Aunt Connie did a great job planning, and of course, spoiled Noah rotten! 

 

The Great Wolf Lodge, Concord, NC

 

We went with Aunt Gigi and Aunt Connie:

Aunt Gigi shows Noah the bear is nothing to be afraid of…

 

“Oh,is this how you do it?”

 

Wandering through the lobby.

 

  Aunt Connie had the room decorated when we got there!

 

Noah thought the Thomas cake looked just like one of his trains.  He stuck his finger right in!

 

“Hey, I heard there’s a pool around here!  I just need to find my swim trunks!”

  Easing his way into the water (the water was warm, and they keep the indoor temp at 84).

(Also, for you moms out there, they provide the swim vests for free!)

 

Water, water everywhere!  Noah even went down the big orange twisty slide by himself!  He cried because his shoe fell off on the way down, but he was very brave!

 

Taking a little break

 

 

Noah is telling a story about how the water splashed on his head

 

That bucket holds a LOT of water!

 

A bell rings before the bucket dumps (about every 5 minutes) – Noah liked to watch for it!

 

Cousin Alex fixed Noah’s hair for dinner

 

 

Cousins Alex and Joey and Uncle Jimmy joined us for Noah’s birthday dinner

 

Hanging out with Aunt Connie

 “I even wore my Moose PJs to the Lodge!”

 

In the morning, Noah was mesmerized by the Great Clock Tower show (the characters come to life and sing)

 

 

Noah’s favorite was the Moose, of course!

 

Trying to escape…

 

  Noah wasn’t so sure what to think of the chipmunk that visited us during breakfast.

 

He loved being splashed!

 

He was doing very important work – pulling inner tubes around the wave pool

 

 

I’m about finished, Aunt Gigi!

 

 

Heading back to my room.

 

Another neat thing about Great Wolf, is they have a Magic Quest scavenger hunt game.  You pay for a wand, and there are treasures and clues hidden throughout the resort.  You can also control things around the hotel (lights in the restaurant, figures in the lobby, etc.) by waving your magic wand.  Now I sound like I’m writing a tourism blog, but I would HIGHLY recommend Great Wolf.  The service was great, and everything was clean and well run.  There are lifeguards everywhere, and the resort is very kid-friendly!

For more pictures from our trip: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14886059@N07/sets/72157623346469260/with/4328454559/

Noah brought cupcakes to his class at school so we could celebrate with his little friends. A couple of his friends from playgroup are also in his class, so it was fun to see them interact together.  I also was able to attend Noah’s music class with them.

  Enjoying a cupcake with Hailey

 

Kelly walked around holding her cupcake…it was like the idea of the cupcake was more exciting.

 

Noah having fun in music class

 

Enjoying some birthday tickles from Ms. Rachel

 

Here is a video of his class singing the blessing before they enjoyed their cupcakes:

Last week we went to have Noah’s Birthday Pictures taken.  As is customary for a two year old, he did NOT sit still very well for the photographer.  I still think she did a pretty good job, considering the cooperation of her subject!

 

 

 

Noah’s 2nd birthday was so much fun!  It’s so hard to believe that Noah’s two already.  Where has the time gone?  We had to rearrange our plans a little bit due to weather in Charlotte (we were going to go to the indoor water park up there, but we rescheduled for later in the week after the snow/ice is gone).  So in a moment of insanity, we decided to pack as much activity as we could into one day.  Noah had a great day, but boy, was he exhausted!

  We opened one present the day before his birthday.

Noah got a train whistle and conductor gear. Mommy shows him how it works.

 

Let’s just say he’s not interested.

 

  The Birthday Breakfast Table

 

The Birthday Boy’s Bedroom

 

 

Noah brought cupcakes to his Sunday School class

 

Good Morning!  I’m TWO!

 

What a way to wake up – playing trains with Daddy!

 

Thanks for my breakfast, Mommy!  I love peanut butter!

 

Hey, I got a weeooo-weeooo (translation: any emergency vehicle is a weeooo-weeooo)

 

After church we went to Monkey Joe’s to play.

Mommy even braved the slide this time!

 

Noah cracked up when he walked through these things and they knocked him down

 

Daddy and Noah doing the obstacle course – that’s hard work!

 

We had lunch at Five Guys

Noah ate a hot dog, but his favorite part was licking the ketchup!

 

After a long nap, we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s to play and have dinner

 

Noah’s friend, Kelly, joined us for the fun!

 

Thanks for the birthday bear, Aunt Gigi!  I’m glad you could come celebrate with us!

 

Mommy and Noah having pizza – YUM!

(Noah ate 4 slices – I guess he worked up an appetite!)

 

Aunt Gigi and Daddy at Chuck E. Cheese

 

For more pictures from Noah’s Birthday – check out: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14886059@N07/sets/72157623326468948

Noah loves to watch Super Why on PBS, so for his birthday his friends Hailey and Hannah got him a Super Why doll that talks and sings.  He loves this thing and carries it around everywhere!  This morning while eating breakfast, Noah danced along with Super Why.  Thanks, friends!!

 

 

On the program, Wyatt (Super Why) has a brother named Jack…maybe I’ve been watching too much TV that it influenced us in naming our boys!

With Noah’s birthday being on Sunday, we started his birthday festivities today with formal pictures at the mall (stay tuned for those!).  Then this afternoon, Noah and I went up to Reunion Hall to have some Birthday Cake Ice Cream and play on the playground.  I don’t remember the last time he had ice cream, so I can see why he was so surprised when he realized it was COLD!  It didn’t take Noah long to warm up to it, though

 

Wow, that’s COLD!

 

(Notice Thomas had to come with us to get ice cream!)

 

 

Noah liked to dip the cone in the ice cream and lick it off

 

He figured out that the cone was yummy, too!

 

I can’t wait to see what he thinks of his birthday cake on Sunday!

Don’t tell those child labor law people, but I’m loving that I can put Noah to work around the house now that he understands what needs to be done.  He “helps” with so many things, dusting, dishes, laundry…even cooking dinner!

 

    

Noah helps with laundry by putting his trains on top of the hamper and rolling it around.

(He got a balloon at Nordstrom earlier in the day, so he carried it around on top of the hamper)

 

Noah helps cook lunch by pulling a chair in front of the oven to watch the pizza bake

(He’s telling me it’s hot – don’t touch!)

 

Crushing the crackers for the meatloaf really was a big help

 

I just had to watch him with that hammer!

Noah got a set of instruments from Grandma Nancy and Grandpops for Christmas.  He LOVES music and is working on starting a rock band.  Yes, I am doing you a favor by not putting a video of the music these guys made – let’s just say we’ll continue to hold practice

  Noah loves the trumpet – Pacey hides. 

 

You can tell he’s concentrating when the tongue comes out!

 

Who ever knew Daddy was so musical?

 

Wow, I can make a lot of noise with this!

 

Thanks so much for my new instruments, Milwaukee G-Parents!  I’ll work on playing a special song for you

Last weekend, we went to Monkey Joe’s with some friends to get the kids out of the house and let them burn some energy.  Noah had so much fun bouncing around and going on the slides with Daddy.

  Noah had fun in the play area specifically for toddlers

 

Living on the wild side…going down slides head first!

 

And then Noah realized there were bigger slides!

 

Daddy was scared…he needed me to hold him!

 

It’s quite a hike to the top of the slide

 

Everyone loves a good action shot!