Getting Ready to get our Tree. Last year we were FREEZING but this year we came prepared and then it wasn't very cold.
We didn't have to do too much, he just naturally was gentle and kind and loving to his baby. He told us he named the baby "Joe". It was the cutest thing to see him rock baby Joe and sing him to sleep. I know Noe is a boy and boys don't have dolls but since we haven't been able to have a baby yet, this is the best way for us to get Noe used to handling babies.
This is Noe's new bed. We had our first experience with night time scaredness. We have been praying over Noe's room and teaching him to ask Jesus to come when he is scared. We spent a few nights having to hold his hand while he fell asleep and waking up to a little boy in our bed by morning. So we took Sunday afternoon to put together his new bed. We have been planning to put up bunk beds in his room because of all the visitors we seem to have. We also felt the fun change may make it easier for him to fall back into the routine of him going to sleep in his bed (and staying there). This is Noe laying down for a nap in his new bed. We strung special lights up on the inside to light up the space and we put a canopy over the top too. The one weirdly lit picture is just the presence of God and His angels filling Noe's room (or possibly just a weird flash =) ). Last night though, Noe was waking up because he has the beginnings of a cold, so after 4 times of getting up with him, I just decided to sleep there with him for a while. After a couple hours I decided to go to my own bed and actually sleep, when I rose quickly i forgot that we had bunk beds and I slammed the bridge of my nose on the top rail. While seeing stars I climbed into bed while Gabe consoled me. I must say, despite that and as Noe is taking a Nap with no help, I do love the bunkbeds.
We are the proud owners of an old Kubota tractor. It is a wonderful gift that my dad gave to us and we have been anxiously awaiting it's delivery to our home in Redding. It runs great when the tires are not falling off (which only happened once and was promptly fixed). We have already begun to clear our back yard. We even have people lining up to borrow it.
What a difference a year makes. Last year our little guy mostly sat and played in the sand, this year anticipating long bouts of sitting, 
we bought sand castle buckets, shovels, rakes, boats and more only to find that things had changed. So we abandoned our royal castle and we chased our little prince instead. 
We jumped, we ran, we fell in the sand, we drew circles and letters and pictures. We were all covered in sand 
by the time we left, a little wet and a bit chilly. But I love that the day at the beach was unexpectedly so much better than I had hoped or imagined.
