That trip down memory lane...

I know it's sort of cliche, but how can you help it? Tomorrow my baby turns three. It is unbelievable to me. For some reason this birthday feels like a much much bigger deal. He has such an awareness that he didn't have before. He knows this is his birthday. He is excited. He goes through every day saying, No Mommy, I do it. He gets dressed and undressed, uses the bathroom all by himself, he can eat with utensils and drink from a normal cup. He speaks in complete and complex sentences. He read Humpty Dumpty to me tonight.

I am so amazed at the little boy he has become. He is so incredibly loving and gives huge and strong hugs to EVERYBODY! Sometimes we go through the grocery store and he just hugs me the whole way through telling me how much he loves me. He is obsessed with animals. Trucks, trains, art.... all of that is fine and dandy, but animals move him. He seeks them out and loves each and every one. We go on morning walks to say hi to the robins and the squirrels. He remembers the exact bushes along our path that the bunnies came out of.

He has the greatest imagination ever. His teacher at school told me that since the first day he came there he believes there is an imaginary mouse outside their classroom window. He has convinced the whole class it lives there and they all look for it every morning. Even the days he isn't there, other kids now look for Noah's mouse.

I could go on and on about how amazing he is, but I guess you gather that from our every day stories and posts. So, here is my little man, from birth to age THREE!!!!!

April 26, 2006

10:21 pm

a few days old...

first Christmas

first birthday

first time at the beach -- 14 months

2nd Christmas -- 19 months

2nd birthday -- Barnyard Bash

Valentine's Day 2009 -- 34 months old...

Mini Vacation

We were very blessed to receive an offer to go away after Easter. Massanetta Springs Retreat Center offers clergy and their families a free say the week after Easter every year as a way of saying thank you. We decided to take them up on their offer this year and get away for a few days after the stress of the holidays. Our plan was to finally spend some quality time outdoors with Noah on the hiking trails, at the lake canoeing, and maybe sleeping outside. But, much to our shagrin, the weather did not like our ideas!!!

We piled into the car monday morning and headed south in the yucky, drizzily rain. Almost 4 hours later we arrived in Harrisonburg, VA and quickly found our camp. It was really nice and were staying in a lodge type building that was recently redone and had an almost hotel feel about it. The weather was good enough to walk around and we watched swans on the lake and walked some of the pathways. As the night went on it got colder and rainier and we decided to find an indoor activity. We decided to head to the movies and see Monsters vs. Aliens with Noah. He did pretty well and got scared by some of the monsters, but when it was over he cried "I want to see it again!"

Tuesday morning we woke up and attended an awesome breakfast at the camp with the other clergy in attendance. The weather wasn't great but it wasn't super awful. We decided to get in the car and do some sight seeing. We drove about an hour south and found our way to a Safari Park. It was the perfect activity for the weather. We were still in the car for most of it, it involved animals which Noah is always up for, and it was a very well maintained facility with animals in great condition and under good care.




There were sooo many llamas and they all wanted to be fed but we managed to get past them and see amazing animals up close -- antelope, deer, steer, emus, ostriches, camels, bison, zebras, moose, and many many more. The zebras were my favorite.






When we finished with the drive through part there was a walk through section as well. It was also in excellent condition and had really great animals. Noah loved the monkeys (of course) and just generally loved everything. He is growing so quickly and is able to walk by himself and listens relatively well in public. It is amazing to think how grown up he is!


We left the safari park and headed south again. As we were driving we saw a sign for Foamhenge. This was right up my alley. I LOVE silly little finds like this! We drove in and found an exact replica of stonehenge made of large foam blocks!!! SO FUN!!!








After leaving this modern miracle we stopped by the Natural Bridge which is an actual landmark. This huge natural stone edifice evolved naturally from the stone and water coming off of the mountain. It is a functioning bridge with a highway on top! It is said that George Washington found the bridge in the colonial days and immediately bought the land because he was so amazed by the sight.


All of the sights were a little much for Noah and so we headed back to the camp to hang out for the night, play games and eat pizza in the room.


Wednesdsay we woke up to the worst weather of the week with lots of cold and rain and so we decided to head out after we finally woke up around 9. We stopped for breakfast and back to PA we headed!!!!!!


Though it wasn't our dream vacation, it was certainly nice to be away from the chores and responsibilities of the every day.