Way overdue post! Sorry!!

I can't believe it's been since July that I last posted! Holy cow! Time just seems to fly by these days. Let's see since July...the biggest is my new niece, Emma Louise Kaiser, was born! That was such an exciting day and Noah calls every baby he sees now Emma, haha! The photo of her below is recent, she is 2 months old.

I think that's about when Noah started getting sick then we had about 2 months of just straight sick, a cold, then an ear infection then an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, then another ear infection! Needless to say we decided to get little guy tubes for his ears, something very new to me. I've learned a lot about the inner workings of the ears. I guess as parents, when our kids go to college why can't we just automatically get a phd?

His tube surgery went well and really fast, he wasn't away from us but about 15 minutes total, crazy! The hardest part, though, was when he went from us to the surgery room, he started crying and it broke my heart! But it was all well worth it, now our happy, healthy (SLEEPING) boy is back! He isn't in pain anymore and we're glad to be done with all that sickness!

Grandma Leap, mommy and Noah went on an adventure to the Corn Maze in Garner and had a good time with Noah's first hayride, walking through the corn maze, and playing with all the great events they had.

He also got his first haircut! Yay! We went to this great place for kids and the lady was very quick and he didn't even realize what was going on until she got the trimmer out, but it was just a second then he was playing around. I swear just that little bit of cut really made him look like such a big boy. =(

So that took up quite a bit of our time then we got to Halloween (the day after his surgery) and we had a great time! It was really hot though and Noah's costume was Elmo so he really couldn't wear it all that much since he got so hot, but we had fun with it. We went to a little neighborhood fair in our nearby shopping center and Noah got to see a big firetruck, go fishing, and get some candy! Then we went out that evening to have dinner and Grandma & Pap Pap's on their cul-de-sac and that is where Noah found his soul mate, Snow White. =) They ran around together and she even gave him a hug (the cutest thing I've ever seen). Then we went trick-or-treating around Aunt B's neighborhood and by the 2nd/3rd house, Noah got the hang of it. He was so nice too, he'd only take one piece at each house. Mommy was like, come on buddy you got grab a bunch, but we'll teach him that next year! =)

Let's see, that pretty much brings us current. We're headed up to PA this weekend for Haley's first birthday and eager to see how traveling will be since it's been a while since we've gone anywhere with Noah. Instead of putting a whole bunch of photos below I'm just putting the link to our Google album so you can peruse them yourselves. Here are a few teasers though:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mizleap

I

Yeehaw!

Noah went to the rodeo for the first time and had a ball! He couldn't stay late enough to watch the bull riding and barrel racing, but he had a great time seeing the ponies, sitting with a cat and driving the golf cart!

It's bath time!

Well every time we give Noah a bath, we think "Hey, we don't have any bath photos, we really need to get some!" Well we FINALLY got the camera before coming upstairs and got some really cute shots. Of course, we had to give him the stereotypical hairdo!

Way too long!

Well, just thinking that it's been way too long since my last post! I promise to get better at this stuff! Let's see, Noah's doing great and running around like a mad man! For a while his favorite word was hot, everything was hot and then we'd say "no, it's cold" and then he'd pretend shiver! So cute, how can you get frustrated with that? Well, after days and days, you can, believe me!!!

He's also getting huge! At his 18 month checkup he was in the 80% for height and 90% for head size and then 30% for weight! Tall and big headed. His shoes are proof of that, we went to get his next pair of shoes and had him sized again, a 6.5 wide! When they brought the shoes out, I thought I was going to cry, they looked too big for him

to be wearing. My little man is growing up too fast!

Let's see, since March he had a great 2nd Easter and was

very much into the grass!

He's also loving going outside and I mist him with the hose and we play in the pool!

We also had our first trip to the Marbles Kids Museum

and as you can see he had a great time working with tools and learning sock hockey!

He also enjoyed his first "real" 4th of July playing at the pool, eating tons of watermelon and cherries and then collapsing in the car for the ride home! That's a very generic sum of the past few months and we're looking forward to his ever-increasing vocabulary and hopefully some small sentences coming soon! He loves to say Thank You and it sounds so preciuos!!

Cheeeeese!

Ghost town...

Noah is loving hiding recently, it was peek-a-boo, and now has turned into just going under a blanket and standing there waiting for his "Where's Noah?". If you go under a blanket, he is right there rushing to get right under there with you, in our little fort! He's so funny, you'll look away and all the sudden he's standing there next to you with a blanket or anything over his head!

With some of the warm weather we've had we've enjoyed a few times at the park and even a picnic! Noah LOVES being outside and cries when we go in. He really likes the swing, but not too long!

We've noticed Noah's back molars are starting to come through, it's all swollen back there =( So far, it hasn't been noticeable that they are bothering him, but we're waiting till they get closer to breaking through. His teeth count is now a big 8! 4 up top, 4 down below!

Go Canes!

We hope everyone is doing well during these extremely difficult times and we hope you find the blessings we have found in just having our loved ones around us and knowing that is enough for us to be happy, because that is most important for us all to remember now.

Life happens!

I know, I know, it's been a long while since my last update! Noah has been sooo busy! He had is 1st Birthday and had a good time, even though he wouldn't eat his cupcake! He also took his first lonesome steps right before Christmas, just a step or two, nothing very far. But then about 2 1/2 weeks ago, you got it, he's a walking fool! He's even started running a little bit. He reminds me of a cowboy when he walks, wobble, wobble!

Christmas was really fun. We went up to Pennsylvania and spent the holidays at Bob's sister's (Danielle) house and then we got to see our newest niece, Haley, while visiting with Bob's other sister, Betsy! She was so super tiny and so adorable. She truly doesn't know how small she is!

Noah had his first cold and first stomach virus during and after Christmas, so suffice it to say, it was a little rough, but we all got through it and it was a Christmas to remember and smile at!

After the holidays, I found out that my job was going to be cut in half to part time, so we scrambled like crazy to find another job for me and figure something out, and quickly! Well, God is with us always, and I always know he has his reasons for everything. I waited patiently and by golly, someone called with a prospect for me and it worked out perfectly, not ideal, but in this day and age, very fortunate. I now have 2 part time jobs, one in the morning (my original real estate job) and one in the afternoon. Both are fortunately pretty flexible so taking care of Noah is a little more complicated, but is definitely getting manageable as I adjust to this new, busier life!

I found God's reason behind these struggles and its to appreciate the time I have with my family and it has made our marriage a lot stronger with us working as a team to get through the next couple of months as our country struggles alongside us.

In conclusion, I hope that you and your loved ones are not feeling the pain of the economy as badly as a lot of people are and if you are, remember God is with you always to support and help you through. That is getting me through as well as the love and support of my family and friends!

We love you all!