i didn't even realize there were winter olympics this year until noah came home with olympic torch artwork from school. these teachers are pretty clever.
we got sent home with a pink heart paper and were told to do a kid/parent collaboration valentine. so, noah painted with his colorwonder paint set and then i cut it out in a heart and trimmed it with lace from my theatre costumes i have been working on recently. a nice noah/mom collab for an old fashioned valentine feel!
love, laurie
some recent preschool snapshots of noah playing with mr. potato head, making a firetruck craft, making a police man hat, playing in the sand table, listening nicely during circle time, and playing hair salon learning how to use rollers.
love, laurie
noah has been into play-doh recently and has been having fun using the tool-themed set that a friend bought him for christmas. i like the little tool-shaped molds it has!
love, laurie
do you know the muffin man? well, i do and his name is noah.
this guy loves chocolate chip muffins and they are a special treat once in a while when a friend makes them for him. i found an easy recipe for mini chocolate chip muffins and asked noah if he wanted to help me make some. of course he did. he was pleased with himself and the results!
the muffin got a thumbs up, so it was a success.
love, laurie
luckily i brought some costume work home with me over the weekend because being stuck inside during the blizzard was a good time to work on costumes for both cabaret and rapunzel. i was especially pleased with the way the trim and appliqué turned out on rapunzel's dress. here's a sneak peek photo.
there's still tons more work to do on costumes!
love, laurie
it has been way too cold lately. it was cute when i pulled the laundry load of towels out of the dryer and dumped them on the bed because leko curled right up to one of the warm towels. poor guy!
love, laurie
the spring main-stage musical is "cabaret" this year at our university and we're well underway working on it. so i'm deep in the trenches with costumes. i ordered a wig for the actress who is playing sally and when it arrived noah was excited to try it on! he could be the understudy!
he's a theatre kid for sure. he hangs out at mom's theatre and dad's theatre, he helps us with tech work, he helps me with costumes, he is constantly singing, and he likes his private ballet classes with mama.
love, laurie
i have mentioned so many times before that ryan seems to have a knack for finding four-leaf clovers. (he has found dozens and i have still never found a single one.)
i have saved so many of the ones that ryan has found over the years by pressing them between pieces of wax paper. they have been piling up in my jewelry box waiting to be displayed in some fashion, but i could never think of what to do with them until now.
i got the idea to search for a picture frame holder that would allow a photo to float between two pieces of glass and i was happy to find one. i put several of the clovers in there and i think it's a neat little thing to display.
this isn't all of the ones that ryan has found, but it's a nice way to display them and remember them instead of having them all in a jewelry box.
there's even one five-leaf clover in there too!
noah's not the only one who loves the new tent from grandma and grandpa . . . leko thinks it's a pretty nice hang out spot too!
love, laurie
a few recent snapshot from preschool of noah playing with a magnet puzzle, chillin' on his nap mat with grandma's christmas penguin, learning about ice skating by making a toy "skate" on frozen water in a tin, drawing time, doing great at the obstacle course, building tall towers with magnetic blocks, and getting really good at tracing shapes!
love, laurie
some recent silly noah shenanigans include him sorting through my hair supplies and saying, "mom, you know what? i want a doughnut bun." okay, kid, one doughnut bun coming up just like mama!
love, laurie
some recent snapshots of noah at school and his artwork. his favorite part of the school day is definitely the art time!
love, laurie
my birthday was on tuesday, and we took the day off work to celebrate. while noah was in school, ryan and i spent the morning using lots of birthday rewards / freebies at some nearby stores. we had lunch a mansour's market because we haven't been there in over 3 years, and then ryan booked me a deep tissue massage. the massage was much needed because i haven't had one in over a decade and my body is sore!
after we picked up noah from school we went to my parents' house to celebrate with our family. my mom made the most delicious dinner and dessert, then mr. noah helped open presents for me. a few photos . . .
love, laurie
love, laurie
noah has been obsessed with this black stool ever since we bought it at ikea in the summer. it lives in our dining room for him to eat a the table, but lately it has been moved all over the living room as his "tractor ride." this kid is a nut.
love, laurie
we celebrated the new year with our family with lots of meals and lots of running after noah.
we kicked off the festivities on new year's eve in the afternoon at a neighbor's house for a kid-friendly "noon year's eve" party. we all had a good time. after that, we went to ryan's parents' house for dinner on new year's eve. then we got together for more eating on new year's day for dinner at my parents' house.
happy new year!
love, laurie
today's my birthday. i'm not sad to see 40 go. i'm kicking it to the curb and screaming "don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
i had high hopes for 40 and was very much looking forward to it, but it disappointed in every way possible, and was by far the hardest year of my life. i'm determined to make a change and 41 has to be better.
so, hello, 41. welcome.
love, laurie
yesterday marked 14 years since we adopted leko!!! our hearts always burst on january 4th since it marks the day we brought our little fur baby home and we love him so much! of course, he's going to be spoiled all week with extra kisses and tuna!
love, laurie
