Zoo Time

Yesterday we went to the zoo and I remembered the camera this time. So I expected Noelle to be really interested in all the animals but she was only a little interested. She would look at what we were pointing at and then move on to the next thing or just want to run around. It was the three of us, my mom and my three sisters that went. We laughed cause it seemed like there needed to be six adults to handle Noelle. Really we all just wanted to see how Noelle would react to things. We brought the stroller but she would not go in it at all, that was a little frustrating. It was pretty hot but we had lots of fun. Noelle was exhausted and starving by the end of the trip.

I love this drinking fountain. I remember it from when I was a kid. Noelle loved it and wanted to play in the water.

Creepy spider monkey

Very thirsty girl

At first Noelle didn't know what to think about the carousel. Then after it started she liked it and stayed calm. I had fun with her too :).

Pretty close to the giraffes.

Noelle was getting pretty tired and stayed like this for a while

The gorillas were inside and we were looking at the male and he was looking right at us. Then he hit the glass wall pretty hard and totally made us all jump.

I can't believe we got Noelle to do this.

my handsome husband and below is his hand

Noelle probably liked this the most at the zoo. She loved touching the ball and playing in the water. She also was pretty hot and was putting water on her face :)

"Thank you for the elephant grandma!"

Michael acting like a kid

having fun

I haven't been taking many pictures lately but we've been doing a ton of fun things. Me and Noelle usually go on a walk every morning. This is exercise for me and it's fun for Noelle. Along the trail that we walk on there is this little stop to feed the ducks. So every time we go on our walk we have to feed the ducks (or "du" as Noelle calls them). These ducks are very spoiled. They get so many people coming to feed them everyday. We even met these two sweet older ladies who feed the ducks also. When we see them on the trail now they say to Noelle "There's our girl." It's so cute. The ducks also like to fight with one another over the bread. And sometimes when I give Noelle the bread she eats it. I just laugh and we have fun. The halfway mark on our walk is a playground and we stop there so Noelle can run around and play. She loves it.

Yesterday me and Noelle went swimming in our apartment complex pool. Noelle LOVES putting on her swimsuit. We went at about 10:30am and no one was there. It was already really hot so I was surprised that it was just us. We had lots of fun and Noelle doesn't seem to be as scared of the water. We're teaching her how to kick and try and blow bubbles. But she usually just ends up swallowing a little water.

Yesterday me and Michael went to the Bees baseball game in Salt Lake City for a little work party. They fed us dinner before hand and then we went and sat down. We had tickets right next to first base! I have forgotten how much I love to watch baseball. The atmosphere and just being there makes me feel more American :). I love it. Later today we're going to the zoo and I'm excited to see how Noelle reacts. The last time we took her she had barely turned 1. Now she is 21 months, so it should be great!

Noelle getting in the stroller all by herself wanting to go on a walk, even though we had just gotten back. She does a really good glare.

Camping and silliness

Last week we attempted going camping and that was a big adventure. This is a week long camp with my dad's side of the family and is quite the experience. Last year I tookNoelle by myself (cause Michael had to work) and she had her helmet on. It was fun, a little stressful and we only stayed two nights. This year we were so excited for it and Michael took the whole week off of work. We also found out like two days before, that we had to take a nebulizer up with us to help with Noelle's breathing. She had a viral infection of some sort and it really made it hard for her to breathe. The nebulizer helped a lot though. I really was confident at the beginning of the week that she would sleep well. Sunday night was horrible. She would just start crying and wouldn't stop for awhile until I put her on my chest to sleep. So there she stayed the whole night, me and Michael trading off. The next night she slept the whole time and we were very grateful. The next two nights were just like the first. Wednesday night was the worst. Let's just say that there were more people than just Michael and I who didn't get very much sleep. It almost seemed like she was scared and just couldn't calm down. So we decided that we needed to go home. Noelle's breathing was great but because she didn't get very much sleep and cried a lot she seemed to be getting a cold and a hoarse throat and just didn't seem herself. After making the decision to leave camp early we felt a lot less stressed. We came home Thursday night and Noelle slept like an angel and has since then. In fact she's also taken two naps a day that have lasted for two hours or more. She's been in a wonderful mood and so have we. A well rested toddler = a very happy and non-defiant toddler-and very happy parents. We're so glad that we went camping and don't regret any of it. We're going to try again in the years to come and hope Noelle will enjoy it, cause we do! Here are some things we did at camp:

- walked around the lake
- went swimming in the lake, it was so cold but Noelle liked it once she got used to it.
- had the best hot chocolate ever!
- Noelle played in the river
- Noelle played with her second cousins and in the sand
- me and Michael played cards and other games
- had delicious food
- got a ton of sun
- enjoyed everyone's help and company!

Noelle seems to be just growing so much every day. She seems to be growing taller and has got quite the little personality.

-It's so cute how she says "no" and she knows what it means but I think she thinks it means "yes" also. At least when she says it. We'll ask her if she wants to get down from her highchair and she'll say "no" but we know she means yes. It's silly really. It gets me confused sometimes :).
-When she does say yes she often says it backwards, like "sey."
-We've worked on please and thank you so much and she finally said "peas" last week. And she says "than" for thank you.
-She's talking like crazy and seems to have her own language
-She's learned to scoot on a bike (this happened at camp)
-She'll run towards us with arms wide open to give us a hug and we just love it
-She loves dogs and one day we'll get one of our own
-She has a better appetite
-She's loving the water and loves to splash
-She loves to tickle and gets such a kick out of it
-She says "pot" for potty although I don't know if she quite understands what it means. We're going to try potty training soon, maybe. And I have no idea what to look for or where to begin.

She brings so much joy into our home and makes us laugh constantly. We're so grateful for this little girl in our lives!!!

Don't you just love the water shoes and glasses?

We didn't get very many pictures at camp for some reason but here are a few:
Noelle fell asleep on the way to Payson lake. She was soooo tired!

Looks like she is posing for the camera :)

A little unsure about the lake, it was pretty cold

Getting used to the lake and having fun

with my sun glasses, she loves putting these on

She wanted to give everyone hugs there. She is hugging my cousin Jaycee. Noelle loved following her around and Jaycee was so cute with her.

She also wanted to give kisses to everyone.
Here she is giving kisses to her second cousin Taven.

on the way to a cave. It was a little scary for Noelle (and Michael having to hold her while crossing a river) and not worth the effort but oh well.

Cute picture of Noelle and Taylor

Falling asleep the second time to the lake. We took her out of the car and she didn't move for quite a while and we laid her down on this water mattress

Taven being curious about Noelle sleeping, it was so cute

Noelle helping me sweep the floor, she's so helpful ;)

nursery experience so far

The first two weeks we took Noelle to nursery were great. She didn't cry at all and the leaders said that she did good. Well I guess she just was pretty quiet and observed a lot. Noelle loves to observe others and being around a lot of children is new to her. Well every week since then has been pretty bad. When we try to drop her off she digs her fingers and nails into us and starts crying uncontrollably. Tears start coming from the very beginning and if she gets too worked up she starts to shake. It makes me so sad. We try to leave her in there and not more than a minute later one of the leaders brings her to me. I was hoping they would let her cry a little longer than that but I guess if it's really bad they can't, or something. Is that how it works? I haven't been in nursery for a very long time. Maybe I should ask to be put in. Well this last Sunday was a little bit better. We have Relief Society and Sunday School first so we tried to drop her off but that didn't work. Halfway through Relief Society I asked her if she wanted to go to nursery and she nodded. So we went in and she desperately clung to me and cried when we walked through the doors. But after I was with her for a bit and we sang songs she warmed up to everyone. I was able to leave and got in most of Sunday School. Hopefully this is a good sign that things will get better. I know I just have to be patient. I would love some advice from anyone out there!