Bumbo

I just think this blurry picture is cute - and it was his first time in his bumbo seat.  We did not use these with the girls because their little legs were so fat that they got stuck.  He does pretty well in it.

Its hard having two older sisters

Poor kid.  Always uses the pink hand me downs.  At least he has his own gender appropriate clothes



And Hannah is already dressing him up.  I knew it would happen.  At least its a blue bow.

Noah 1 month

Its so hard to believe how fast children grow.  The first month with Noah flew.  Heres my baby at a month (plus a week or two because I couldnt remember to take the picture when he was awake!)

  

Noah's Newborn Photoshoot

Thanks to Heather Ponder (ponderhill photography) we got some great pictures of Noah and the girls when he was 2 weeks old.

For your viewing pleasure

Disneyworld May 2012

Knowing we would have 6 kids in the house once Noah was born, I convinced Matt to take me, the girls, and Noah to Disney world to recharge.  When we booked the trip I thought I was going back to work in June, so we made it for the last week in May.  And lucky for the trip Noah came a whole 2 weeks early.  So we drove to Orlando.  I think it took about 15 hours to get there between stops to feed him or change him, or get snacks for the girls.

We surprised the girls with this trip.  They did not know where we were going until we got there.  We didnt tell them until we were going under the "big Mickey sign".  But our hopes of a huge reaction was totally deflated.  They didnt believe we were there and thought we then had to drive another 8 hours to get there.  I guess next time if we surprise them it will be revealed when the castle is in sight.

Still it was a fabulous trip.  Noah was the easiest child.  I just wore him the whole time in a baby carrier and fed him whenever we ate.   We were a bit of a spectacle taking a 5 week old to Disney, but I think he was easier than he will be in the next 5 years of trips.


We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge which was really nice.  The girls got to watch giraffes and zebras out the window to the room.  We thought we would be taking it easy this trip, but that did not really happen.  Since Noah was fine going along for the ride, we visited every park, kept late hours, and had a blast.  We did all sleep in though!

Our view from our window


It did rain a lot.  It cooled things down which was great but many days I had a poncho over Noah in the baby carrier.  He didnt seem to mind much.  Many times it helped with the lines too.  And most nights the rain was gone.  Overall it worked out fine.

The highlight of this trip was a visit with the princesses.  We have done this numerous times.  We went through the fast pass and were the last ones in the group.  The standby line was almost an hour.  The girls went through each princess and when there was no one else in the room but us, Aurora asked to talk to Leah again.  Leah looped back around.  At which point Aurora, Ariel, and Cinderella were talking to the girls together.  Leah kept talking about the trip in October that we were going to take for their birthday and they would have a birthday party with them all.  The princesses took a good 15 minutes with Hannah and Leah, dancing with them and planning a party.  It was a wonderful moment and the girls were in heaven.  I have no idea why they took so much time with our girls but it made them feel very special.

Hannah told Ariel her hair was crazy.  Ariel told Hannah that her hair was also in need of a dinglehopper, and turned to the camera man and asked him to get one for herself asap.  I cracked up.


Practicing some ballet


Group Hug.  Leah is in there somewhere.


The girls personal Heaven.  Can you tell we went to the Polynesian resort for dinner?  Leah loved her lei.


This was a wonderful trip and a much needed time of rest for us. It was our first time as a family of five and I am so glad we did this trip.

Dance Recital May 2012

The moment the girls had been waiting for finally arrived!  And on rehearsal night I got very worried.  Hannah freaked about getting on stage.  She was the only one crying.  Luckily she was in between Leah and her foster sister and so she begrudgingly went out to practice.  Then she loved it.

When we got there for the actual recital they were all antsy to get on stage and perform, and they did a great job.


Hannah, Leah and Papa after the performance




one day we will all look at the same camera

with Mimi and Dandy

Hannah had to keep posing.  We was getting the hang of the modeling thing.

Visiting Oak Mountain State Park

I had to get out of the house.  The girls had to get out of the house.  They were so patient with Noah and it was time for an outing.  So to the petting zoo and the little beach we went.  And had a great time.  Hannah named every goat and sheep and whatever else she could find at the zoo.  And when we ventured to the beach area I was shocked at how much they loved this water (last time they would not get in).  Overall a great day!


this was "blackie"


They think they are cute


Yo





The girls found some friends, as usual