A Choo Choo Christmas!

Noah is fascinated by trains.  For Christmas (early) he got a train table and a GeoTrax train from Grandma Linda and Poppa Joe.  We could have just given him the table, and he would have been satisfied, I think.  When we showed him the train, you would have thought it was the greatest thing ever.  Now, the only way we can get him away from the train (for meals, bedtime, etc) is to tell him the train is sleeping, so we have to shut the door!

   (This is his excitement just at seeing the table!)

 

Big hug for Mommy!

(We’ll be sure Grandma Linda and Poppa Joe get one when we see them!)

 

The train is remote control

 

Timbertown

 

Noah is trying to figure it out – very focused

 

I’m not sure which one has more fun playing with the train!

 

Thanks so much Grandma Linda and Poppa Joe!!  Merry Christmas!

‘Twas the night before Christmas

Noah got a thoughtful present from his cousin, Alex.  She recorded herself reading “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” to Noah.  As we turn the pages, the story continues.  We put a picture of Alex in the front of the book, and Noah looks to ‘read’ it every night before bed.  It’s nice that he can hear her voice even though we don’t live close by.

 

  Wow, this book reads to me!!

 

‘Twas the night before Christmas…

Night Night, Pacey!

Noah likes to play bedtime at all hours of the day.  He puts his lovey to bed, telling him ‘night night’ and covering him with the blanket.  Last week, he did this with Pacey.  Needless to say, Pacey was not amused!

  Night night!

 

Where’s Pacey?

 

There he is!

 

Pacey: “I’m going somewhere I can actually get some sleep!”

Thank you Zoe Rose!

Last week I received an email from another “Triplet Mom” who also lost one of her angels, Zoe Rose, a couple years ago.  She has been a great emotional support to us through the last few months, and the support continues:

My friend, and fellow micro-preemie mom, held a "toyraiser" through the month of November for the Zoe Rose Memorial Foundation.  She donated a portion of her proceeds in the form of toys to the foundation.  We have then chosen a family who has been affected by the trauma of the extremely premature birth of their baby or babies.  Our hope is to help make life just a shred brighter during very difficult times, no matter what the challenges may be.

Even though Noah was not a micro-preemie himself, his life has been and will be impacted by the very early birth of his brothers.  We also know that this holiday season will be challenging for you and Greg.  As such, the Zoe Rose Memorial Foundation is pleased to present Noah with the toy prize pack in hopes that it will help your family have a spot of brightness.

Saturday morning, they brought the toys to Noah.  He loves them!  Thank you so much Kellie and Keira for continuing to show us love and encouragement!

  This “Castle” is really fun because the balls roll down – Noah likes to make them race!

 

Noah likes to build towers with these pegs.

Quirky!

Noah’s elf, Quirky, has been very busy this Christmas season.  You’ve seen him pop up in various places from the mini-van at Noah’s school to Noah’s St. Nick stocking in Chattanooga.  Before we left for our trip to Ohio, Quirky took over one of the guest rooms and turned it into “Santa’s Workshop”…can’t wait to see what they made for Noah!

 

Christmas Party!

Wednesday was Noah’s Christmas Party at school.  Greg and I were both able to go and meet Noah’s new friends.  We had a ball!

 

Mommy, Daddy and Noah in Noah’s classroom

 

Noah was not happy about “performing” for the camera

 

The color and shape of the month

 

Ms. Janna is singing the blessing before the pizza is served.  Noah is helping with the hand gestures

 

Is Noah going to be a preacher?

 

You can tell Noah doesn’t get juice very often – he drained that Capri Sun!

 

Noah’s class enjoying pizza (6 girls and 2 boys)

 

Noah working on his craft for the day

 

In addition to having pizza, the kids had a gift exchange (Noah got a very cool Matchbox car!) and watched the Christmas Program performed by the older kids at the school.  The teachers and room mom did a great job of organizing the party.  Noah really seems to be having fun at school.  See you again in January!  Merry Christmas!

Special Gigi Time

While I was away for a girl’s weekend this weekend, Greg and Aunt Jeanine planned a special Saturday for Noah.  They went to Gymboree, the carousel at the mall and had lunch at McDonald’s.  They followed it up with opening Noah’s Christmas present from Aunt Gigi when they got back the house.  It’s no wonder he took a 4 hour nap that afternoon!

 

  Aunt Gigi – I can jump REALLY high on this trampoline…

 

…and then stop for a little tickle!

 

Oh, he’s got her trained

 

Big boy on the carousel!

 

I get a cheeseburger AND a toy?

 

Noah opening his present from Aunt Gigi

 

Block City!!  Cool!

 

Thanks, Aunt Gigi!!  I had a great day!  Come back soon!  Love, Noah

Chattanooga Vacation, Part 4 – The Choo Choo!

Tuesday morning we went to see the Chattanooga Choo Choo on the way back to Atlanta. Noah was thrilled to see a giant Choo Choo!  We didn’t actually ride a train, but boy, was it fun to look at!

  Who doesn’t like a ride on the luggage cart?

(Noah picked out his Thomas shirt for his visit to the Choo Choo)

 

It’s instinct – this boy knows the way to the Choo Choo!

 

    Daddy and Noah on the Choo Choo

 

Mommy and Noah at the Terminal

 

  Bye Bye, Chattanooga!  Thanks for a great time!

Chattanooga Vacation, Part 3 – Creative Discovery Museum

On Monday, we went to the Children’s Museum, called the Creative Discovery Museum.  Again, we did half of the museum in the morning, and we did the second half after a good nap.  You, too, might consider traveling with a toddler!

  Noah’s favorite part was playing in the water

 

Splash!

 

Daddy went down the big, windy slide with Noah.

 

Playing in the tree house

 

We spent a lot of time on an archeological dig, uncovering dinosaur bones

 

Pulleys are simple machines, but they’re a whole lot more simple when Daddy helps pull!

 

Noah is being silly on stage!

 

Smock on – back to the water!

 

 

This was a great museum, and we would highly recommend it to anyone in Chattanooga with kids!

Chattanooga Vacation, Part 2 – Tennessee Aquarium

On Sunday morning, we went to the Tennessee Aquarium.  The aquarium is 2 buildings, so we did the Ocean Journey in the morning, and after a good nap, we went back to the River Journey in the afternoon.

 

River Journey

 

Ocean Journey

 

Walking around the Aquarium park

 

There are some crazy sidewalks around here!

(Water runs under this when it’s not freezing outside)

 

Noah was surprised to see the fish moving!

 

Hey, Daddy!  You can feed these fish!

 

Daddy feeding the stingray a piece of shrimp.

(It took a few tries before Greg held his hand in place for the stingray to take the shrimp from him.  Notice there is no picture of me doing it!)

 

The butterfly habitat was a little creepy with so many butterflies flying around, but they were pretty when they were resting on leaves.

 

Noah got a kick out of watching the penguins swim!

 

This shark cage was actually dented by a real shark!

 

Noah watching the divers (they were wearing Santa hats!)

 

Why do they call it a school?

 

The ramp was Noah’s favorite part! He could have done this for hours!

 

By the way, the week after Thanksgiving is the best week to travel! We had the Aquarium all to ourselves!