They don't say "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" for nothin'!

There's no doubt about it. We are excited for Christmas!

We've been trying to do fun, Christmasy things. A few nights ago, Jared and I did our fun stocking tradition. We go to Wal-Mart, have 30 minutes and (this year) 21 dollars to buy each other stocking stuffers. The fun of it is in bumping into each other at the store with our gifts hidden in our carts. We have such a blast with this! Last night, we went to a Christmas fireside. Tonight, we had friends over to decorate sugar cookies. I especially liked Jared's cookie rendition of Tiny Tim, from a Christmas Carol...aka a gingerbread gone bad. I have pictures, but they aren't quite uploaded to the computer yet. So, I decided to post pictures of...who else?! I don't seem to take any other pictures anymore...but I can guarantee that I do not look this cute in a picture! Coming up on the holiday fun agenda: Polar Express in 3-D w/ hot apple cider, delivering plates of cookies that we made, having Jared's whole family come in from Utah, a couple more christmas parties, and then the best day ever- CHRISTMAS! Hope y'all are enjoying this December as much as we are!!!

Yogurt Parfaits by request

I've had some people ask me what I was making in the kitchen with Noah. It's one of my favorite things to make because it is soooo simple, but it looks and tastes fabulous.

YOGURT PARFAITS

Layer:

vanilla yogurt

grapenuts

raspberries (I thaw out frozen raspberries- and they are delicious!)

bananas (here, I just use them on top, but if you want them throughout, slice them thin)

Of course, you can change up the parfait with whatever you want: blueberries, cornflakes, different flavors of yogurt, cinnamon, etc...you get the idea!

ENJOY!

My Little Buddy

I never want Noah to grow up! I've decided that I love the stage he is in. If it were possible to freeze time, I think I would.

Here are the top 5 reasons that I love Noah at 4 1/2 months:


#5. He still likes to cuddle.

#4. He helps me in the kitchen!

#3. He doesn't mind being my little fashion accessory. :)

#2. He doesn't judge me when I look like this:

and the #1 reason: He's my best little friend!

I love you, Noah!

ZZZ talk

Come to find out, Jared really wasn't feeling very well in the middle of the night when I woke up to feed Noah. He woke up this morning, sick as a dog. However, here are some of the conversations that we had around 1:30 am. I wrote them down because I thought they were so funny!

Jared: "I think I'm getting a sore throat."
Court: "No, it's just the middle of the night."
Jared: "Then, let's fix the middle of the night."

J: "Love me like you love me."

C: "Did you do your homework?"
J: "A piece of it."

C: "How old are you?"
J: "I don't know. I don't know."

C: "How long have we been married for."
J: "Oh dear. I don't know."

Noah's big week

Noah's accomplished quite a lot this last week. Last Sunday, he got back from his 8th state...so far, he's been to: Utah, Idaho, Washington, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, & Mississippi. Not too bad for a 4 month old!



On Monday, he ate his first meal...delicious rice cereal. I really do think it's delicious, and don't mind eating what he doesn't want. Now that he knows that there is more to life than milk, he wants it all.









On Tuesday, Noah rolled over 4 times in a row from his stomach to his back. Mommy cheered so loud and he just giggled.



Today, he played the baby Jesus in the ward's primary activity. The kids loved him. One girl REALLY thought that he was the baby Jesus. She could not believe it and would not leave his side. It was great. Speaking of Jesus, Noah still smiles and reacts the same way everytime that we show him His picture. We try to show him everyday.

Thankful

I've been wanting to make this post for a while, but just haven't had the time to sit down and do it. In light of the Thanksgiving season (that I guess is technically now over), I am thankful for all the friends and people I know that brighten my life. I'm thankful for all of you that update your blog so I can stay updated on all the little (and big) moments that I miss by not being close.

To express my thanks, I'm listing the #1 favorite thing I love about each person on my blog list.

Cristi: I love how I can tell you anything and everything. You always listen and validate me.

Niki Wells: I love how concerned you are for me, even after all these years of not living close.

Liliya: I love your spirit and fun energy.

Misti: I love that you have always & will always be there for me---from 9th grade until forever.

Natasha: I love the support you give me, especially with our babies practically being twins- and that we were able to experience our first pregnancy together.

Carrie Drake: I love how positive and involved you are.

Sarah: I love that we keep in touch after only knowing each other a short time. I love reading your blog and seeing all the fun things you do.

Janessa: I love how you would do anything for anyone. You are beautiful inside and out.

Cadence: I love what a good writer you are. I see big things for you.

Mekell: I love your personality...noone can ever be sad being around you.

Jill: I love the good advice that you always give me.

Megan Johnson: I love your fashion sense and decorating ideas. I also love how generous you are.

Amanda: I love that you befriended me as soon as I moved here.

Alicia: I love the pictures that you take.

Jessica: I love our deep talks.

Kylee: I love seeing all the fun adventures that life takes you on. You have so much energy and always seem so alive.

Megan Linford: I love your personality and kindness.

Nikki P.: I love how genuine you are. People love to be around you.

Rachel: I love your honesty and your dedication to causes you really believe in.

Ryan & Becky: I love you both as a couple & especially love your sense of humor.

Kelly & Spencer: I love your examples of service and love.

Ashley: I love talking to you every Sunday- and anywhere else I run into you. You are so energetic and fun.

Jamie: I love what a good friend you are to everyone. You set the perfect example of what friendship really is.

Christine: I love how motivated and successful you are.

Mary: I love your attitude and positive goals, and seeing you do what it takes to achieve them.

Caleb & Becca: I love that you compliment each other so well.

Miquelin: I love listening to you talk...you always make me laugh.

Whitney: I love that I still feel so close to you even though we are so far away from each other.

Carlie: I love the passion you put into teaching and everything else you decide is worthwhile.

Susan: I love your views on parenthood, and your positive attitude about being a mother.

Rick: I love that you say what you think and aren't afraid of other people.

Hillary: I love the example you set on loving your spouse.

Leslie: I love your laugh, your excitement, and your presence.

April: I love that I can rely on you for anything. You are one great friend.

Sheena: I love how much fun we have whenever we are together. That hasn't changed since we were in high school.

Jody: I love how active and fun you are.

Mandy: I love your bubbly personality.

Brittany: I love your family; they are so wonderful.

Carrie Staten: I love how creative you are.

Melissa: I love the close connection that we have, even when we are so far away. When we get together, it's always like we were never apart.

Nick & Megan: I love the way you raise your kids and run your home. You set such a good example for us.

Gina: I love that you are following your dreams and not letting anything get in the way. You are a powerful woman.

Amy: I love your personality so much.

Brooke: I love that you throw parties for any event that can be celebrated. People are so drawn to you.

Shelly: I love your creativity, positive energy, and friendship.

Jen: I love how similar our life is right now and love being able to talk to you about everything.

Andrea: I love your sense of humor.

Jaclyn: I love your faith.

There are so many more people that I want to give compliments to, but today, I just stuck with people whose blogs I read. Thank you all again for the positive influence you have on me! :)

We just got back from Memphis, which is where we went for Thanksgiving with Jared's relatives. We enjoyed good BBQ, the STAX museum (Jared's dad was in the band- the Bar-Kays!), seeing Memphis, eating too much, shopping, and being together! I am happy to be back today though and back to a schedule...especially for Noah.
How was your Thanksgiving?

Holiday Endorphins

Something about Christmas just really makes our house feel like a home. I love it!
It was so fun decorating for the holidays with Jared. Funniest moment of the night: when the tree fell on Jared! He's been giving me a hard time because I ran for the camera instead of trying to help get the tree off of him. :)



Noah LOVES the Christmas tree...of course. Lucky for us, he's not mobile this Christmas, so I am fine to put him on a blanket underneath the tree...which usually buys me about 30 minutes of time in the morning. lol!



Also, we got a huge, awesome mirror from Jared's parents, which they helped us hang up tonight. I LOVE IT!!! Everytime I see it, it puts me in a good mood.



I just love this time of year. We take off tomorrow for Memphis for Thanksgiving with Jared's relatives. Hope everyone travels safely and has a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING!!! And by the way, for any Biggest Loser fans...did any of that healthy Thanksgiving dinner on tonight's episode look good compared to the real thing? "instead of a delicious apple pie crust, we are going to make a crumble and add extra fruit." BLAHHH!!! Anyways, HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

You be the doctor!

Noah is in the mood today where he only wants me to hold him. He doesn't want to eat, doesn't need a new diaper, shouldn't be tired (but hopefully is), doesn't want to play. He just wants to make sure I accomplish nothing today besides holding him. Could he be sick? He has congestion. I feel like I have a cold or something...maybe he feels achy and bad like me??? How can I tell w/o going to the doctor?

On a postive note... we're decorating for Christmas tonight. I can't wait!!!

You've got to be kidding me!

Note: This story is being used with permission from my husband.

Today, Jared and I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. I went off down the trashbag aisle, while Jared and Noah waited for me. When I came back to them, Jared was laughing/faking a sad face.

"What's wrong, Jared?"

"A man just walked by & said to me, 'SOMEBODY LOOKS LIKE A HAPPY GRANDPA!'"

Straight from Heaven

A few days ago, I received the following picture of Jesus:



Just for fun, I held it in front of Noah's face. The reaction that he gave was unlike anything I had ever seen. All of the sudden, his entire body lit up. He smiled so big and started making his cute baby sounds. His eyes were completely fixated on the picture.

Jared was with me and decided to do an experiment. We took away the picture of Jesus and put a picture of Jared and I in front of him. He just sort of looked at it and then looked away...no big grin or anything special. Then, we put the picture of Jesus in front of him- and BAM- the same reaction as before. In fact, each time that we show him the picture, he gets excited and glued to the picture.

From this experience, I learned that Noah really does know his savior, Jesus Christ. He was just with Him. Babies really do come straight from heaven. I hope I can help Noah remember his friend, Jesus, for his whole life.

Thank you Mom's!!!

I am LOVING y'alls advice in response to my last post. Please keep it coming because I know I am going to refer to the comments during this upcoming week when I'm ready to poke my eyes out!
Additional comment: I'm taking to Jared to work now, so I have a car during the day...maybe that will inspire more ideas?
Thanks again!!!

Did everyone have a good weekend?

Desperate Housewife

I need help. Seriously. So, this is a shout out to all you mom's who stay home with your kids.

I am so bored.

First of all, I just moved here two months ago and have approximately two friends. Two busy friends, I might add. So, Noah and I aren't exactly going to any playgroups.

Secondly, I have the house cleaned and organized by 10:00 am. This leaves me with about 7 hours until Jared comes home from work. So I...
-play with Noah
-read books
-blog stalk
-watch Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Penny, Judge David, & Judge Jeanine (I know, super lame, you said it. We don't have cable).
-write in my journal
-play with Noah more
-study different topics
-go for a walk
-go for another walk
-workout videos
(by the way, did I mention we only have one car and Jared takes it to work)
-take a nap
-make homemade meals
-talk to myself
-talk to Noah
-repeat

That pretty much wraps it up.

Now, if I were a person like my mother, I would be fine with doing all these things and would probably love my life. She's the person that went to college for child development and doesn't mind being by herself for hours on end. Anyone that knows me knows that THIS IS NOT ME AT ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I could def. use some suggestions. Keep in mind that we have:
1. no money
2. no vehicle to use during the day
3. no friends

I can't wait to hear any advice you might have. I don't have much to work with here.

Our Happy Halloween

I'm really trying hard to think what we did last year for Halloween. I DO remember a ward party. It was a jack o lantern contest and dinner. Jared and I carved our pumpkins to look like missionaries...so creative, we thought. Unfortunately, no one in our ward really wanted to be our friend (married student ward in Utah...bad experience). We walked around to different tables to compliment people on their jack-o-lanterns (make new friends). But instead, people just stopped talking, we endured a few seconds of awkward silence, made an uncomfortable giggle or two, and left, only to hear the people start talking again!



Oh, now I remember! Jared got diagnosed with mono! I left work in my vampire costume to take him to the doctor. That night, we made it to Kelly and Spencer's house for delicious homemade bagels and soup.





Now...on to this Halloween! What a difference it is having a child!
First of all, Noah got us free candy and even pizza. We went downtown to the "Goblin Parade." All the local businesses handed out candy to all the little trick-or-treaters. However, I have a teensy weensy bone to pick with most of them. WHY DUM DUM SUCKERS?!?!?! They are the absolute most gross candy that was ever invented. The sucker is so small, you can't even enjoy it because it is so awkward in your mouth. They also taste terrible (minus the rootbeer ones, which I still hate, but my husband for some reason, loves). They have the most funky flavors, like scooby doo mystery (oh boy) and cotton candy (sugary grossness).
Anyways, after the parade, we went to the mall for more walking around. We stopped getting candy from anyone for two reasons. #1. We had a year supply of dum-dums. and #2. We got tired of hearing people say, "Is he really going to eat that?"
That night, we went to the Jensen's for chili, cornbread, desserts, games, and friends.
DOES ANYONE LIKE HOLIDAYS AS MUCH AS ME?!?!?

3 months!

Well, I wasted an hour this morning trying to upload a video that I made of Noah's gooing and gaaing. However, it never posted both times that I tried. I know that technology is not my best friend, but I didn't think that it hated me either!

Anyways, Noah is 3 months old, as of yesterday. It's hard to believe that 3 months ago, I was in the hospital, high on morphine, and meeting the little man for the first time. I'm so happy that I get to be his mommy!

We weighed Noah at the post office (self serve scale!) last week and he weighed 9 lbs 12 oz. (We could mail the boy for $4!) So, he's not super big, but he's super awesome!

Well, I need to now remember how to make tortilla espanola, since the 16 and 17 year olds from our ward are coming over tonight for a Spain mission/culture night. Should be fun.

Thanks in advance for your comments on how cute Noah is. :)