Catch Up Of Our Fall (the condensed version)

I must apologize for the sorry state of our family's blog these days.

If you check it regularly, you probably feel something like this...

However, there HAS been a lot going on at the Noll household. So, here are a few of Fall 2011's highlights.

We celebrated Gus' 4th (wow) birthday August 17th. One of Gus' strengths (in addition to his precious smile and verbal prowess) is the power of keen observation.  As a result, he was pretty specific about his cake requirements: layered jello in red, white & blue, which he had at a church picnic over a month before.  I'm proud to say, we pulled it off! 

  checking out his new gear clock from Granny & Grandpa Deterding

birthday ride on the Ducks

In September, Scott and I got away for a much anticipated 10th anniversary trip to Vermont, without kids!  That's probably a whole post in itself, so I'll just leave you with this pic from Shelburne Farms.

Gus has been attending preschool one day a week this fall.  He seems to have a blast, but each week when he gets home he cannot remember a single thing they did all morning :) 

This was astronaut day.  Kip insisted on having a helmet too, of course.

We celebrated Kip's 2nd birthday on October 28th.  She was adorable all day, as usual!

opening gifts

 being a goofball

post donut nap in the car

checking out her new rocker

hanging with her boys

Then came Halloween.  Gus was Thomas the Train and Kip was.....well, we never could decide if she was a mouse or a monkey.  I guess that's what you get when you buy secondhand Halloween costumes. They both thoroughly enjoyed the dressing up and the candy eating.  Gus was so enamored of his costume that we actually took a trip to Target with it on!  And Kip surprised us all by rationing out her candy the longest.

Boo.

 

For Thanksgiving, we took a roundabout trip to see just about everyone we could!  First, we went to Kansas City to visit with Papa Gus and Grandma Judy.  We spent a lot of time at the indoor pool and playing with Marshall, the dog. 

Our water babies!

Then on to St. Louis to see Nonnie, DD, Nonnie Lewis and Jennie, Mat and Elizabeth.  We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, lots of relaxing, a trip to the zoo and some after-Thanksgiving shopping.

We also had the chance to head up to Springfield, IL for a day to visit with my parents and grandmother.  It was such a blessing to get to see just about everyone in our immediate family in one trip!

So, now we're ready for Christmas!  Look for that post coming your way around, oh, I don't know.....June? 

We love you all!

Missing You Grandpa

Little Miss Fix-it

Ah, the joys of learning to use tools!

Kip is a joy to be with these days!  While she can be shy at first with new people, at home she is self-assured and self-sufficient.  She insists on doing most things by herself and is bound and determined to do everything Gus and the grown ups are doing.  My favorite anecdote from her recent adventures is the time (a few days after she saw me putting on chapstick) that I walked in and found her smearing a gluestick all over her lips:)

It is also so much fun to listen to her talk.  She repeats everything, learns new words everyday and can usually communicate what she wants and needs.  Here are a few of her new phrases and words.

up please: uppies
here they are: here y ar (said with cutest inflection!)
drink: gink
paci: pappy
cheese: cheeeeee!
cat: ca-ca
dog: dog dog
gus: guh!!!!!!! (although lately she has been adding the "s" occasionally)
all done: au dun
again: 'gin
open: opee
Go Cards!: Go cars! (with arms in the air)
I love you: I nuh new

A Day At The Farm

A few weekends ago, we made our annual trek out to Sequatchie Cove Farm for some blueberry picking.  The picking was great, the kids had a great time and we made it back with over a gallon of blueberries.  The cheese from the creamery, however, only lasted the first 10 minutes of the ride home.