Noah and the Apple

There's a whole lotta cuteness going on.

Lately...

We've been up to so much lately...

{Picture taken by our friend Nick Fancher}
You can click on the picture to see it larger.
We went apple picking last weekend. It was in the 70's and absolutely gorgeous. Noah couldn't have had a better time. Can you tell?

Gatsby ate a corn cob off of the table when our backs were turned a few weeks ago. He had to have it surgically removed which was the pits all around. All I have to say about it is thank God things cost less in Ohio than they do in California!

I caught a nasty stomach flu this week and was out of commission for a few days. As soon as I was just about done with being sick, it was Rudy's turn. We're both just now on the mend and crossing our fingers that Noah doesn't get it!

Noah turned one on September 23rd! More pictures and a video to come.

My lovely friend (and old next door neighbor), Jess, had a baby boy and named him Charlie! This is us at her baby shower. It was at a wine bistro and was a very fun and much needed mama's night off. I also wore bright fuchsia lipstick which is a big deal for me (dork, I know).

Now that Noah is walking full time, I try to take him and Gatsby for walks around the block pretty often if not every day. It was a bit drizzly two weeks ago, but we went anyway. I think he's just about too cute in his raincoat. Also, how cute is our front yard and street?! I feel so blessed to call this house our HOME!

Lastly, here is a view from our attic master bedroom at 7:30am. It is our very own back yard. Need I say more?

I'm watching two little boys who live down the street rake leaves in their yard. It's adorable. I LOVE fall.

Talkin' little man.

Here's one more cute video for good measure. I love how much he talks and plays while we are eating together, it makes my days so bright.

Three Very Cute Videos

We've been very busy over here at the Perkins household, but I wanted to share with you some videos of our hectic, but very beautiful life:

Noah took his first steps! The first few seconds are all you really need to see. These were his actual very first steps, caught on film, to the amazement of Rudy and I. He has since taken a few more, but is still cautious and usually chooses to crawl.

Our homegroup (through our church) had a cookout last Monday, and this is Noah in fine form flirting with our friend Cole.


This one is from our Clintonville neighborhood block party (*can you say "best place to live ever?" because I can*) where Noah rode a tricycle for the first time. Ok, held onto one while I pushed, but still, the little guy is only 11 months old!

Noah is 11 months old.

Yesterday Noah turned eleven months old. I cannot believe that in one short month he will be one! Where has the time gone? He is just the sweetest and busiest boy imaginable, and I feel so lucky to get to spend my days with him.

Here's what we did yesterday:

We went to the Columbus Museum of Art downtown. Admission is free for the rest of August, plus they are very kid friendly and even have a great playroom set up for small children. Needless to say we'll be going back very soon.

The museum was having an exhibition where they give viewers yards and yards of plastic fabric to take home and make something out of, then the viewer uploads photos of the finished work to flickr. Naturally I took home a roll! The fabric is in the bottom right of the photo above. I thought I would recover our seat cushions with it, and Noah helped me do a test run! I love how proud he looks holding his very own screwdriver.

In the evening I baked a spinach lasagna I had put together the day before. As shown by the pictures, Noah had just about as much fun eating it as possible. I'm pretty sure that more ended up in his lap than his belly.

Happy eleven months little Noah Benjamin. We love you!

Lately.

I just got home from a wonderful 12 day vacation in California with Noah.

I'm playing catch-up now, and it's a bit overwhelming. I'm so blessed to be able to run a company from home, but at the same time it's a lot of work for someone with an 8 month old and home to keep up and food to make.

I'm day dreaming of the walk on the beach I took the first day I was in Carlsbad. Just my son and I searching for colors in the rocks and sea creatures in the tides.

Stuffed logs.

Now that we've decided to stay in our townhouse*, I'm really wanting to get it to where I like it. This also means making it a baby-friendly place for Noah to grow for the next couple of years. Our decorative fireplace has candles in it now. Noah is crawling like a monster. These two things don't go together. I think these stuffed birch logs would be very cute in the fireplace. Baby-safe, and easy on the eyes. Win-win.

Except they're out of stock, so there's that.


*My husband is working on his PhD, and just passed a big test which allows him to go on with the program. Which means we'll be staying in Columbus for at least 3 more years. I'm really not happy with our neighbor situation right now.While I like the people we share walls with, there are 5 yapping dogs there at any given time, and they smoke in their bedroom and basement which leaks into our place. Not to mention that they stay up till past 3am most nights. They are completely not compatible with our lifestyle.
After weeks of killing myself to find a nice single family house for us to live in for the rest of Rudy's time, I finally gave up. We just can't afford it. I know this may sound weird, but I got the sense that God was telling me, just be still. Stop worrying!
A week ago we found out that our neighbors move out June 1st! While it would still be nice to not share walls on both sides, this is what we can afford. It's the right price in the right location, and the right size. Patience isn't my strong suit. I'm tired of only being able to afford apartments. But it's not forever. It may feel like we're poor, poor, poor, but we can afford a really nice place. We can afford great food. We've got each other, a healthy baby, and love to spare. So I'm deciding to quit complaining and making our house a place I love to be. I'll keep you updated for the ride.

Wednesday, April 20th

Happy birthday to my beautiful mom. You have taught me so much and are such a source of joy in my life.

On that note, isn't it amazing how you realize HOW MUCH you are loved when you become a parent yourself? I mean it is astronomical!

Talking on the phone with my mum today, I asked about what foods she started us off on. I've been letting Noah gnaw on cold carrots lately to ease some teething pain and expose him to new tastes. She said that we all loved steamed broccoli, so I tried it out tonight and took a video. I'll get that up as soon as I have a chance.

And by when I have a chance, I means possibly never. At least that's how it feels right now.

Noah and Rudy

I LOVE these guys.
Is it just me, or is Noah all of a sudden a little man?!

Noah and the skate park.

This post could also be called, "Columbus skips spring and dives right into summer". It was hot and humid yesterday, so we packed up the family and went to the skate park. Here's the story in photos:

We...

...basked in the sun.

...hung out with Gatsby.

...watched dad skateboard.

...went for a walk around the park.

...sat around with no pants on (Okay, only Noah did this one).

...and after a little snack...

...fell asleep on the way home.

Spring? Is that you?

Last weekend it was nice out so we went to the skate park. Noah is working on his building blocks of crawling, and can push himself up quite well now.

We also reached a milestone last week! Noah now sits up in his very own highchair. This has proved to be useful for Rudy and I when it comes to eating meals. We can pull him close to the table and he's content to watch us and play with a toy or two.

A sunny day ... finally.

This week has been so cold, gray and rainy. That plus not getting very regular sleep really put me in a funk for the past few days. One of the practices I am trying to focus on for Lent is embracing winter while looking forward to spring. Death and rebirth is what this is about right? Living in Columbus has really made me see how the world comes alive again in the spring. What a beautiful illustration God has given us to live and feel.

Though I didn't do a great job of recognizing it this week, I must say that it is nice at times to stay inside with my perfect snuggly baby. Some of the sweetest times have been just laying on the couch reading while he sleeps on my chest.

I mentioned that I gave up facebook for Lent. But I also gave up reading my daily blogs. I spend just as much time, if not more, scrolling through them as facebook. I'm happy to say that this commitment hasn't been very hard for me, and I find myself doing much more useful things in my spare time. This week I've read the bible, crocheted a baby cap and started a new book, The Reason for God.

Happy sunny Saturday to all of you.

The Big 25.

{Noah having fun with wrapping paper}

The Friday before last, I turned 25. I know, a quarter of a century! I decided to throw myself a little get together at our place and invited all of the wonderful friends we've made since moving to Columbus. I must say it is pretty amazing to me that we just showed up here a year and a half ago, and already we've got enough people we love to fill a house. The Lord is good. That's all I can say about that.

I made a bunch of carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, covered our work tables with kraft paper and put out some crayons. The kids at the party loved it...

I bought myself a birthday shirt and found the red pencil skirt while thrifting. It fits like a glove.

{Evey, Auggie and Noah looking cute}

{Olive, Aaron and Noah}

My little Noah bird.

Gratuitous pictures of our little almost 5 month old. He's such a little charmer and smiles at all the girls he meets.

After a bad night, there's always a good breakfast.

{Granola that I made from Jenny's recipe}

So I've mentioned that Noah doesn't sleep well. Last night was no exception. I've found though, that if I can at least take a shower and have a hearty breakfast that I do a bit better through the day.

Today was a rough one though. It was one of those days where dropping something left me cursing under my breath, and Noah's cries while I changed his diaper brought me to tears. I made a special trip out to an art store to get a print my mom bought me for Christmas framed, only to find out that they don't do framing. And the sight of our cluttered dining/work room made my stomach turn.

So when Noah finally went down for a nap at three, I crashed right along with him. Rudy got home around 4:30, right as Noah was stirring. Knowing that I'd had a bad day so far, he offered to take Noah and Gatsby on a walk and suggested that I do something nice for myself. So I'm drinking tea and blogging. I feel so much better. There is nothing like a thoughtful husband. Nothing at all.

Adventures in baking.

The other day I was perusing my friend Jenny's food blog, and came across a recipe that I decided to try: Iced Pumpkin Cookies. When it came time to scoop the batter, I used my new (old) ice cream scooper that I got from an antiques market while in California. It scooped out the perfect scone sized dollops, so iced scones is what I'm calling them! I had a bunch of leftover coconut from some granola that I made, (more on that later), so I sprinkled some on top of the icing for flavor and looks.

They are so good! Rudy took some to his Number Theory study group and came back with rave reviews. I've been loving baking lately. Maybe I'll start up a side business with all the spare time I've got. Ha!

Snowy day treats.

Just made this my desktop background. Great reminders. Found here


I just heard this song on Black*Eiffel and I love it. It goes well with this snow, and makes the cold seem a bit more romantic and less oppressive.

Ice Storm 2011.

Two nights ago our world turned into a giant ice skating rink. The side walks and roads all have almost an inch of ice covering them. Bushes, trees and sign posts are all frozen over in a display like I've never seen before.

I borrowed these photos from my friend Becky's blog, found here. I took a couple of the ice, but she captured it so beautifully.

Last night we foolishly drove out of town to some friend's house for dinner. We slid around a bit on the ice, but made it safely. We thought we might have to stay the night there because of the ice, but because Gatsby was stuck at home alone, we decided to travel back, very very slowly. Luckily by the time we left all of the roads had been salted heavily and we made it home more easily than we had even hoped.

We didn't know, however, if we would have power when we got home. Just before we left our friend's, their power had gone out. All of the ice on the lines do not make for a good thing. When we got home, our lights were still on and our house was nice and warm. It stayed on for the rest of the night and is still working. I'm thanking God for that, and sending out the message to all our friends in Columbus that we've got a warm place for them to come should they need it.

In other news, Noah slept the best he's ever slept last night. He was down from 11:30pm-5:15am then again from 5:30am-9:50am. Holy cow, I feel like a new woman and am jetting around the house being more productive than I have been in weeks.

Start of my 25th birthday wishlist.

I'm starting a list of things I want for my birthday in a month. This is not a plea for gifts, it's just a catalog of some lovely things I happen to long for. And serves as a list for Rudy in case he needs any ideas (hint, hint).

This pretty mug can be found here from BlueQ.

Related note: One of my goals for the year is to use less/no disposable cups. Thanks to my lovely sister, I have a klean kanteen for my water and tea. I would like to keep that one coffee and milk free, so a designated coffee mug would be great!

Because I'm a mom now.

Let's talk about diaper bags, shall we? I never thought I wanted or needed one. For the last four months, my large purse has been taken over by all things baby. It's getting increasingly hard to find my wallet in "the abyss" as Rudy calls it. So I cracked. I bought one. But I had to do my thorough research first...

Or just find the cutest sack that would pass as a diaper bag and call it a day, which is what really happened.

I bought this one:

It is cute, zips closed, has lots of space and wipes clean with a damp cloth. Bonus, it's made from recycled plastic so I'm saving the earth also. Yay me.
I got it online at House8810.
It was also the cheapest ($15) of the options. Yay me again!

I could have gone for something sensible with loads of pockets like the Skip*Hop above, but not only is it the most expensive ($58), it's just not so fun.

I did think about getting one of Skip*Hop's Zoo Packs to use as a diaper bag. The idea was that Noah could use it as his little back pack once he got older, but I decided against it. While they are cute, I just don't know if I wanted something that cutesy.

Do you have, or are you planning on having a diaper bag for your babies? Did you go for conventional or fun?