YUM!
Noa and I had the best time last Thursday picking strawberries with Andrea, Sophie, and Kate Weaver. It was such fun to be out in the beautiful weather and we LOVED eating a few (or a lot of) strawberries as we picked.
Don’t those berries look gorgeous?
Here’s the three girls in the back of the van when we were finished. It was like a dream for Noa to have friends in the back seat with her.
I just couldn’t resist showing another picture of our big girl at her seat for breakfast. It hasn’t always been easy doing this solid food thing and there has definitely been opportunity for Noa to show her willful side but all in all, I love watching yet another step of her development. We have started onto Cheerios, which are more of an activity than a meal. She loves trying to pick them up and then get them into her mouth. It’s a never-ending challenge that I think could keep her occupied for hours if I kept giving them to her…
Soooooooo, this was my first Mother’s day… well kinda. I was a mother last year at this time and my darling husband was kind enough to celebrate it then, but it was a little (well, a lot) different mothering an in-utero child versus an infant-almost-toddler. Anyway, it was a wonderful day this year and I was (and am still) just so grateful that God has allowed me to be a mother. What an incredible joy and privilege that I do not deserve! Also, being a mother now, I think I have much more appreciation for my own mother and mother-in-law than I ever did before; even though I don’t expect to fully understand or appreciate them until I’ve gone through all the stages of motherhood that they have… so maybe not til much much later in my life. So anyway, here’s a shout out to the amazing mothers in my life: These two beautiful women who have influenced my life in more ways than I know or could count, and to many other women who have been so loving and gracious to pour into my life throughout the years: grandmothers, teachers, disciplers, and friends! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
And this wouldn’t be an adequate post without some photos of the crown of my own motherhood! The greatest gift on Sunday was the joy of being with Noa; getting slobbery kisses, snuggles, and smiles from this amazing and beautiful testimony of God’s great love for me. Thank you, Jesus, for my precious daughter!
It was back up to PA for us this last weekend and it was GREAT! Noa FINALLY got to meet her great-grandparents (Eric’s grandparents) for the first time. Grandma and Grandpa Kuehn stopped by on Friday night on their way to Connecticut and it was so sweet to finally see them and watch them enjoy their first great-grandchild. Noa loved playing pattycake with Grandma and making funny faces at Grandpa. We also got to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. What a blessing!
Other fun things about the weekend included playing horseshoes together, stealing a lunch date with just Eric and I while Grammy and Grandpa watched Noa (THANK YOU!!), spending time with Laura and her boyfriend Clayte, and Karyn and her boyfriend Steve (two guys who we have loved getting to know and really enjoyed hanging out with), Celebrating Mother’s Day with Nana and Charlie joining us for lunch, and hanging out with some friends of Eric’s from highschool.
Noa, on the other hand, had highlights as well. Of course, she loved being with Sierra, the energetic and very sweet boxer/4th Noll child. She also, always, loved playing with Grandpa’s beard and reading her Bible with him. Two doting Aunts for the whole weekend is always a good combination, and singing both Daddy and Grandpa to sleep is pretty fun too. She was a very busy little girl and was, as always, such a joy to those who visited with her and gave and received many a smile.
And how could I not share this sweet picture of our big girl?!?!?
We had a wonderful chance to enjoy this great spring weather with the Masts and Weavers one evening last week. Both of these families have had a child in Eric’s class and the Lord has blessed us so much by letting great friendship come along with that Teacher-student/family relationship. I feel privileged to have spent A LOT of time with the Weaver girls last year when I watched them and I have gotten to know the Masts better and better this year too (Hannah, the youngest, came over with Sophie last week as well).
We loved the chance to be with these sweet families and play hard. It even sprinkled some spring showers but we didn’t let that stop us from having loads of fun! I’m so thankful for the warm weather and good friends with whom we can enjoy it!
Noa and I had the privilege of taking care or her Aunt Martha after she had her wisdom teeth removed last thursday. She was a really easy patient and Noa got a kick out of her chipmunk cheeks with the icebags over-top.
Chloe also came over to play that day and did all she could to help Martha smile in the midst of her discomfort.
Continue reading about Aunt Martha gets her wisdom teeth out… Ouch!
