Daddy's Boy

The past few days James has been a total daddy's boy. He's LOVED his daddy from the very beginning but lately he has taken it to the extreme. I cannot, repeat, CANNOT put him down for a nap. We have a "wind down" period where we usually lay on our bed with him, read books, and chill. Except when I do this with him, it becomes more of a wind up session. He screams, shakes, and tries to crawl away from me. And then daddy comes into the room, and he's a completely different boy. He's all quiet and cuddles with daddy until he gets sleepy and we move him to his crib. This is fine except for the fact that daddy isn't always here for nap time... We are trying to figure that one out.
Luckily, he usually tolerates me if I'm the only one around, ha. Sometimes it makes me sad, sometimes I'm thankful for the break, but mostly I just love that he loves his daddy so much. Also, I know I can expect for the tables to turn somewhere down the road and he'll only want me... probably when the other baby gets here.
Enjoy the latest pics!

Father like son...

practicing walking! he's getting good!

this is why he isn't allowed in the kitchen when dishes are being done...

Being a Mom

Sometimes, being a mom is just hard. Don't get me wrong, it is by far the greatest and most fulfilling thing I've ever done! For example, I don't think I have ever felt more satisfied and accomplished then when James finally started eating finger foods. Actually being able to pick the food up between his little thumb and pointer finger, successfully put it in his mouth, chew and swallow WITHOUT gagging and throwing up everything he just ate. That feeling beat any A I'd ever gotten on a paper or test.
I have also never been more excited then when James started crawling, or reached other milestones. Like, I'm talking "going to disneyland/can't wipe a grin off my face for the rest of the day" excited.
That all being said- motherhood sure is not a walk in the park. Nope. It is hard. It is the biggest lesson I have ever had on selflessness. A lesson I think will take more than a lifetime to master.

Not only do I have to meet someone's every need (change diaper, get dressed, feed, put to bed, etc.), but I have to figure out when those needs need to be met. I cannot for the life of me figure out a schedule for James. When is the perfect time for breakfast? Lunch? Snacks? Let's not forget the naps. I'm pretty sure I get at least one thing wrong every. single. day. What I end up with is a baby refusing to eat, hitting the spoon away and screaming at me. As for naps, I can't time those well either. Yesterday I thought I nailed it. Morning nap- check. Almost a whole 1.5 hours. Then we went and ran some errands, came home and had a lovely lunch (he finally decided to try graham crackers!), and it was time for a nap.

James happily eating his graham crackers

I put my happy baby in his crib, where he began to scream. For one whole hour. You may be wondering how the rest of the day went.  Let's not even go there. I'll just say, we were very very happy when Daddy finally came home.
Thankfully, not all days are like that. Every now and then I have a pretty smooth sailing kind of day. Days where he takes his naps, eats his food, plays with his toys, I get to shower, I get dressed, etc. Unfortunately those days are less frequent then I would like. As I type this, I'm wearing a t-shirt, sweats, and haven't showered yet. I'm pretty sure I only do my hair and makeup once a week, and that's on Sunday-for Church.

Now, we are in the process of trying to sleep train James, and James has been sick the past week. Those are not normal circumstances. I'm sure the days will get easier... right?

Here are a few things I am looking forward to:
-James sleeping on a schedule
-James not sounding like he's hacking up a lung
-weather to get warmer so we can go play outside
-when James becomes a big brother in August.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention another "not normal" circumstance. I'm pregnant! And let me tell you, being pregnant while taking care of a baby is pretty draining. But, however exhausted, hungry, hangry (hungry+angry), emotional, etc. I am, I'm extremely grateful for this surprise baby, and for the opportunity to be James's mom. Because lets face it- they're the best kids in the world :)

PS if anyone has any good nap advice they would like to share, please feel free :)

Christmas in Colorado

This year we celebrated Christmas in Colorado! Our Journey started with a 4 hour drive to Philadelphia. We stayed at a park, stay, fly (or something) hotel, and the next day we flew to Colorado! *Side note- James did NOT do well that night. Actually, James only had like 3 good nights the whole 2 weeks we were gone.* James did pretty good on the flight. It was just a looooong time to be stuck in a small confined space with a wiggly baby. So glad thats over.

After our 4.5+ hour long flight, Ben's brother Grant picked us up from the airport and we headed to the mountains! Two hours and many windy roads later, we arrived in Tabernash at the cabin we would be staying at (Grant's in-laws cabin). That night we made Candy Trains, a Van Noy family tradition. I think that Ben and I were so tired from traveling we were decorating half asleep. It really showed on our train too. We tried making a christmas tree that ended up looking like a green monster blob. Horrible. It was designated the "family train." AKA too ugly to hand out to people.

We spent a lot of time visiting, playing in the snow, and getting sick. Yes, pretty much everyone got the flu while we were there. I will spare you the details, and just say that it was miserable. Luckily it hit mostly after Christmas, so we were able to enjoy the holiday.

Waiting to see what Santa brought!

James's 1st Christmas!

Cassy scored with the Nemo

We came back down to Denver on the 27th, and that same night we all went through the temple with Brian (the youngest) for the first time! It was awesome to have the whole family in the temple together! We also took some family pics while the whole fam was together.

love these pics

James found some gold...

These kids are great, aren't they?

 The next day my parents came into town. They picked us up and we drove out to Elizabeth with suitcases on our laps (not very fun). We spent the next few days at my grandparents house, and James got even more gifts! Ben and I even got to go on a date on New Years Eve!

James's first time on a horse! He's on Smartly Smokin'.

James and Great Grandpa Green

Darby's come over

We didn't sleep to well at night...

Our 4 generation pictures