CLEAN!

Bathtime is a favorite time in our house.  Anna Ruth especially loves it as she is now able to sit up in her tub.  Joshua loves to have his hair sculpted with shampoo and look at his reflection.  I just love having clean kids.

Milestone Update:
1/8/14: Anna Ruth had her first ear infection
1/24/14: Anna Ruth had her first double ear infection
1/28/14: Anna Ruth's top front tooth on the right has come through (with 2-3 more close behind)

Joshua is 5-years old!

Oh my goodness.  A 5-year old lives in our house!

Joshua has been looking forward to turning 5 for the last 6 months.

We attempted a "Cousins in Costume" party last weekend but the cousins had been infected by a stomach bug that the Nolens were not interested in getting.

 

Joshua's sweet cousins still dressed up to celebrate his birthday even though they had to stay home.

The celebration took place despite the change in plans.  We took Joshua to the Children's Museum in Jackson and then had cake and ice cream.  As a special treat, Coach took Joshua to the movie Saturday afternoon.  What a day!

 



Cool new book from Aunt B

 

Awesome knight with a bow and arrow from the cousins.

birthday boy with his cake

A light side and dark side cake (think Star Wars)

A throwback to pictures taken when Joshua was too little to sit up. See this post.

The chair picture next to Forest the dog.  Wow, Joshua is growing up!

Words/phrases that could be used to describe Joshua:

energetic

talkative

inquisitive

curious

smart

funny

loves to make people laugh

passionate

compassionate

loving

snuggler

frequently dilly dallys

thinker

problem solver

whistler

movie watcher

concerned (sometimes to the point of anxious)

learner

people person

coo coo crazy

tough

loving, doting big brother

 

We are grateful for Joshua's maturation over the last year.  He is able to practice self-control, more often then not.  He loves school and being around his friends.  He loves to be active but also still snuggles up with us before bed to read and pray.  What a sweet boy the Lord has grown him into!



Anna Ruth: 8-months old

Sweet baby girl is growing up so fast!

Anna Ruth loves to dance.  If she hears a tune or a drum beat she will sway and rock and get lost in the song.

Anna Ruth has also started clapping.
We took a break from sleeping through the night BUT in the last week have gotten back to star-sleeper status.
This month also marked her first ear infection.  She stopped eating...so we knew there was a problem.  She feels much better and is back to chugging her bottles and attempting to eat baby food.  She acts like she hates everything we put in her mouth, for the first 5 bites.  But then (usually) eats it all up with no problem.

Anna Ruth is a delightful little girl.  She is always in a pleasant mood and smiles and loves us every time we come into the room.

Christmas Picture Roundup

Christmas was a hit at our house!

We were able to celebrate in Jackson with the cousins and then again at home on Christmas Day.

Below are photo highlights of the holiday.

 

Joshua's new Jedi cloak.

An excited little boy on Christmas morning

To say Anna Ruth loved her new kitchen is an extreme understatement.  There have been days she spent hours (literally) playing with it.

I love this picture...Anna Ruth's thought bubble says, "Mom, do you see Dad tearing that paper?"

Happy siblings

Joshua loves his new knights from Gran and Buddy!

Aunt Glo helped Anna Ruth open her new purse from Aunt Joy and Gumby.

MSU basketball goals were a hit with these 2 guys.

Joshua was super excited about his new lego set, but Dave was super duper excited about Joshua's new lego set.

rocking her new rabbit jacket from Great Gay and Gully

Aunt B is simplifying her life and gave us her ipad!
We are looking forward to how she simplifies next year :)

Blog-cation

Nolen News is on vacation through the holidays and plans to return to the normal Wednesday posts on 1/8/14. 
Happy New Year!