Wordless Wednesday & does anyone read this anymore?

Pumpkin patch pictures.

Finally the pumpkin patch pictures.

Heading for the fun.The toddler hay maze. Momma's lil punkin.

Saying hi to the bunnies. The Corn cave.

Chickens.

Noah thinks its great when the cow is licking him.

Driving the tractor.

Not ready for school yet.

The hay tunnel. Noah would have played in here all day.

The first hayride on our way out to the pumpkin patch.

I've got my pumpkin i'm ready to go.

6 months-Half a year.

Wow is all I can say today. Noah Tamirat has been with us for 6months..half of a year. Its that magical time in the adoption world where they say everything should have fallen in place. I think for us things didn't just turn on like a switch overnight but they have been slowly progressing and right now I think we work well as a family. Noah knows the rules and takes great delight in breaking them and then smiling at you. Yeah we need to work on finding a method of discipline that will work for him. He's just to darn cute and he knows it.
Today also marks the day that our boy has been with us for as long as he was with his birth mom. She is never far from our minds and always in our hearts. I often wonder as I watch Noah Tamirat play or discover something new what would his birthmom think if she could see him now? Would she be happy and proud of the job we are doing raising him? I look at his precious face and see his birth mom reflected back at me its awesome that he will be able to grow up knowing who he looks like. How painful would it be for me if I had to let Noah go tomorrow? There are no words to describe how broken she must have been yet she had the strength to do what she must for her son. We know he was loved and wanted long before his birth not only by us but by his birth mom. What greater show of love then to give him a name that means "miracle"? He is definitely that to his daddy and both of his mommies. Saying goodnight and blowing kisses to a picture of his birth mom is part of his nightly routine and we will continue to tell him as he grows how much he was loved during his time with her.

Family Traditions.

When I was younger thanksgiving and Christmas looked very different then they do now. In my married life our holidays are split between families and I have never cooked a holiday meal because we aren't home. I feel we don't really have any traditions because the way our families do things at the holidays are a little different then each other. I truly want Noah to have things he can look back on in his life and say "I did this every year with mommy & daddy". Things other then a drive to new york or Florida to visit extended family. Well yesterday I think our first family tradition was born. A visit to the pumpkin patch. I have heard other families talk about doing this and how fun it was so we decided we should take Noah to get his first pumpkin. Sean looked online and found a great place about a half hour away so after nap time yesterday we set out to the pumpkin patch. It was windy and starting to rain a little as we left so we grabbed the umbrella and bundled up good. By the time we got there all we had to deal with was the wind and it was even starting to warm up a bit.
They had some great things for kids of all ages and Noah loved being able to just run around and be free. I do take him outside to play but our yard just isn't that big so yesterday was awesome for him. And for a kid that hates hats he didn't even fuss about having his hood up all day. He played in the hay bale maze, the hay tunnel, the corn cave, the big slide and the hay jump pit. We fed goats, OK just one goat because he was rather aggressive and tried to eat us ha ha. We saw pigs, bunnies, a turkey, chickens, ducks, sheep, alpacas and baby cows. The turkey and Noah were trying to talk to each other but I'm not sure if they came to an understanding or not. Noah almost got licked in the head by the calf and thought it was great when the cow licked his hand. For some reason the cow wanted to pull my hand into his mouth. If you know our boy you know how much he likes to bang things so we were amazed at how well he did with the animals and he didn't even try to bang on the cages. By the time we got on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch Noah was getting worn out. He quickly found a pumpkin he could lift ( and roll and bounce) . Yes there was a little pumpkin abuse but only to the one that came home with us. He tried to bring a bigger one home but after grunting and groaning decided he couldn't lift it so there for he couldn't have it. Back to the barn to pay for the pumpkin and we were homeward bound. I think Noah was asleep before we got out of the parking lot. Grass stains on the knees and lots of dirt on the boy. It was an awesome day.

How does this happen?

Before we left for Ethiopia we made a trip to BJ's and bought lots of baby and children's Motrin and Tylenol. Most of it went to Hannah's hope for donations but we did keep two bottles of Motrin and 1 of Tylenol for our use. While in Ethiopia that bottle of infant Motrin became a good friend. Noah had a cold and was also teething. Back home at some point bottle #1 got used up so knowing how good a friend it was you would think it immediately gets replaced. Not the case half way thru bottle #2 it was in my mind to get more on the next trip to bj's because you can get a pack of two and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Well you never seem to remember what ya need when your actually at the store right? So here we are 5 months and 6 teeth later and little man is screaming so momma comes running Daddy is nursing the last of the Motrin out of the bottle..ARE YOU KIDDING..what kind of parents are we that we ran out of our friend? So there we stand with the bottle tipped to the child's lips so he can get out the last remaining drops to sooth the pain and then off daddy goes to the drugstore and pays $10 for 1 bottle while mommy stays home to rock screaming child who by the way wanted mommy until the minute daddy walked out the door..Then guess who he wanted. Next time we go to BJ's guess what will be on the top of the list sweet friend Motrin we will never run out of you again I swear.

Some cheese to go with that Whine??

Ok so now that nighttimes are awesome i'm wondering what happened to the days when I used to know that Noah was awake from a nap because I heard him playing and talking in his crib. I would walk in the room and when he noticed me he would reach up for me with a smile and a giggle. Now everyday I know he's awake by the screams and cries coming from his room. Needless to say i'm not happy about this little turn of events.
For the second day in a row he is increasingly whiny(perhaps a delayed reaction to his shots?) and has refused to eat lunch..no big deal He had breakfast we'll try again at dinner I won't be a parent that forces my child to eat. But please please please stop the whineing..he's now in the living room in his playpen while mommy has a time out in the bedroom..
Oh how i miss that sweet smiley face after bedtime.