Update

Sorry for the delay on getting a new post up. Here's what we've been up to.

Last Saturday we went to Sequatchie Cove Farms. We buy our beef from them, but we've never actually been out for a vist. We have been wanting to go blueberry picking for some time now and it just so happens that blueberries are one of the three crops that they allow people to "u-pick." The farm is located about 40 minutes west of us, so we left on Saturday morning right after Gus ate. We picked from their older bushes (15 years old!!!) and got about as much as we could before V Man dictated our departure. He just wasn't up for napping in either the carrier or the car seat. We would have liked to have gotten more (especially b/c they are only $2 a quart!) but the two quarts we did pick were enough for a batch of muffins, two berry crisps and extras perfect for freezing and keeping on hand. Gus really enjoys them...fresh or frozen. He likes them so much, in fact, that we've been trying to teach him how to come to us by holding out a berry as incentive. Works every time. If he associates his actions with "come here" instead of the blueberries, then our bribes and training will have succeeded.

Blueberry bushes as tall as young trees!

Scott thinks the lighter colored ones kind of taste like tart apples. Our next baking experiment, if Scott has his way, will be to make a crisp with ripe and unripe berries mixed together!

Gus has been long overdue for a haircut. There have been a few people that have mistaken him for a girl. It's most likely his LONG eyelashes, but we've been wondering if his hair might be misleading them as well. We also didn't want to be accused of fostering a chullet (the child manifestation of the mullet), so we decided to give it a go and cut at least the back of Gus's hair and some of the hair that has been hanging over his ears.

It was a little tough for us to keep Gus preoccupied, but overall we were successful and are, at this point, happy with the results.

Gus's two top teeth came in on June 28th, but they've only now been readily visible. He's already beginning to use them. It's so strange to hear him bite into something after all these months with either no teeth or only two bottom teeth.

Gus here, reminding you to eat at least 5 servings of vegetables a day...preferably from an organic garden!

A quick search online revealed that toddlers are generally considered to be between 12 and 36 months. Gus is 11.25 months old. It seems that he's already enjoying a common toddler activity: pulling things out of drawers. While putting away some of his clothes the other day, Gus pulled up to have a look in the drawer. Shortly thereafter, Gus took most everything out.




Although we expected otherwise, V has not pronounced any new words. Cat and light are the only two words in his repetoire, but even those two have gotten harder to understand. He can wave, clap and sign "more" and "shoes," but the latter two are really just variations of the clap used situationally. He's pretty funny. Oh, no standing or walking yet either. He's pretty good at sitting from a pull up position and vice versa though. He is also getting much better at walking with support. Maybe he can get it figured out in time for his birthday!

Family Trip to VA

We met Amy's family in VA last week for a mini-reunion of sorts. There were 10 of us in all. We stayed in a cabin in the middle of NOWHERE! To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, our cell phones didn't work, there was no Internet, the TV satellite was down and all we could hear from our porch were cows (and the occasional 4-wheeler that was herding them around). Our two outings consisted of a trip to "town" where we stopped at Walmart, the grocery store and a lube shop (good thing b/c our car only had 1 quart of oil in it; thanks for keeping us safe, Lord!). The other outing was a jaunt to Hungry Mother State Park, where we hiked around and otherwise enjoyed being outside in 80 degree weather. While we were very isolated, we thoroughly enjoyed being together. We played a lot of games; ate a lot of food; talked; took a couple thousand pictures; and played some Mario something or other on Jim's Wii.

One of the other things we did with the Wii was create a profile for each person who was there. It was pretty funny. You choose everything from height, weight, shape of the face, eyebrows, hair style and color...the choices went on and on. The Noll profiles are over to the right. Looks like we made Amy a little too tall (Ha!), but otherwise I think they look pretty good. Check out the entire group below.

.

Amy's family listed from the top left: Jim (brother); Chris (Dad); Laura (Jim's wife); Patti (Mom); Scott; Amy; Steve (brother); Grace (niece); Gus and Heather (Steve's wife...carrying second niece).

Here are some of the pictures from the park. The rhododendrons (all flowering) were as tall as trees and I have never seen so many ferns in one place in my life. VA should be named the Fern State.

OK. I know most of you are here to see cute pictures. Sorry to bore you. Here:

Gus wasn't so sure about the grass. Gosh, it makes me feel like he doesn't get outside enough!

V Man took a short nap in the front pack during the hike. He held out as long as he could, but finally fell asleep.

Amy continues to do such a great job with Gus. I do what I can when I'm around, but she's obviously the primary care giver b/c of my day job. I'm so glad Gus and I have you, Frau!

Gus's cousin, Grace, was a real sport when we let her sit in a chair that we knew was too small for her. When she stood up, the chair stuck to her. When she finally started to cry, while I was snapping pictures and laughing (along with her dad, Steve), Heather heroically stepped in. Sorry to make fun at your expense, Grace! Sorry if I was a bad influence on you, Steve!

.

There are a few more pictures from the trip here. Check out the one of Gus at the top. Heather took that one. She's really getting good.

.

Thanks for the visit, Deterdings!

Standin' Up

Gus has been pulling up on everything lately. As a result, we've dropped his crib down to the lowest level to prevent him from trying to climb out. This is often what we see when we're leaving his room after putting him down for a nap:

Now that he can stand, we've also taken the opportunity to teach him how to surrender should someone come to the front door with a gun. After he surrenders, we're not quite sure how he'll reach the door knob though.

Jail Time

We've just installed our first baby gate. Although I'm so glad that Gus is developing so well, I'm kind of a minimalist when it comes to baby gear so putting this up was hard for me. This gate will be very visible for the next few years. Oh well...I guess you give up a little to gain so much more (namely, Gus!).

This gate is cool!

Where are you going?

I have to stay in here???

Second Word!!!!

It's been a busy day here. Gus pronounced his second word...within ten hours of the first one! If you haven't heard the first one, scroll down. With both words, he was interacting with the subject so, for me, there's no doubt. Take a listen and tell me if I'm crazy.

I'm glad to have caught his second word on video. Gus was getting tired. I thought he'd have to go to bed before I could get him to say it on film. He came through, though, just in the nick of time. We may have to get one of these cheap, digital video cameras after all. It's been fun to record these last few momentous steps! We're so thankful for our little man...and that would be true even if he never spoke!

FIRST WORD!!!

At least we think so. Take a listen and judge for yourself! I actually caught it on tape the very first time he said it which was a good thing b/c Amy wasn't home at the time! Another little blessing from God! You'll be able to tell by the sound of my voice that I was pretty excited.

Did you notice Kanba (the cat) kicking Gus in the face there at the end?? He's been so great letting Gus poke and prod him, and he usually purrs through the whole thing! By the end of this clip, however, Kanba had had enough of Gus trying to milk him!

Life

I realized today, after heating up my coffee in the microwave for the 4th time, that life at the Noll house has officially transitioned into "completely crazy." A few people teased us when we told them that Gus was crawling, and now I know that it's because they knew that life would suddenly be in fast forward whenever the little man is awake.

Not only have I been trying to drink my single cup of coffee for an hour and a half now, but already this morning, I have fished about 6 pieces of catfood out of Gus' mouth (as well as some sort of round seed he found on the floor), started a load of laundry, made breakfast for both of us, changed two diapers and two outfits and read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Now, he's sleeping and I can sit down:)

The Wavin' Man

Here's the latest video. Be patient, he doesn't really wave on cue. We have one more thing to capture (him standing up) and then we have to give the video camera back. Stay tuned.

The Eatin' Man

Gus fed himself a complete meal for the first time yesterday. He used to make sounds while he ate, but he doesn't do that as much these days. I guess he's getting too mature for that. We caught a few in this video, however. Enjoy!

The Crawlin' Man

Straight into your living room...V Man goes mobile!

Reverse angle.

Mad Skills

These are pictures of Gus with Kanba, one of our two cats. Kanba has done much better adjusting to Gus than Mariko has. It's amazing what Kanba will let Gus get away with...especially when Kanba is hungry (as he was in this situation...not venturing too far from the food bowl)! The scene above is not normal, however, so it was really cool to watch Kanba accept Gus's excitement and rough play.

In addition to cat wrangling, we thought we'd let you know what Gus is into these days.

Interests: phones, remote controls, spoons, cats, dogs, food (especially peas, bananas, carrots and yogurt), buttons, ceiling fans, lights, sucking his thumb, mirrors, splashing and picture books (which he can hold on his own...sometimes).

Words he understands: Mama, Dada, Gus, Kanba, Mariko, cat, dog, eat and up.

Signs we are focusing on: Mama, Dada, cat, dog, eat, up, ball and hi/see ya.

Signs he understands: dog, eat and hi/see ya.

Signs he can, well, sign: hi/see ya (new over the past week! he waves at himself instead of waving outwardly...so cute!!!!!!!)

New accomplishments: signing hi/see ya, crawling, sitting up from a crawling position, crawling from a sitting position, pulling himself up to a standing position (FIRST TIME TODAY; his motivation: he couldn't see the dogs he was eyeing!).

It has been so fun to watch Gus grow and learn. Seeing him crawl and wave have been especially rewarding. We are blessed to have such a healthy, happy and well adjusted boy. Praise be to God for the work He has done!