The Russell Family

River Fun!

2011-08-02T21:21:00.001-07:00

We took a trip to the river which is only about 30 minutes from house. Noah had such a fun time especially riding his bike in the water. Grace enjoyed hanging out outside as always. And at the end of the day we went and bought mommy a new bike!

Noah is THREE!

2011-07-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

On Noah's actual birthday, July 6, we celebrated at our friends The Taroli's with dinner and a strawberry cake. The weekend before we had a party at our house with the friends and family with a bounce house, cup cakes and unfortunately also the HEAT! It was one the hotter days reaching over 100 degrees but fun was still had by all!

6 months old!

2011-07-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Grace had pictures taken at 6 months and here are a few of my favorites! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving and Christmas Trees

2011-01-08T22:39:00.000-08:00

We spent this Thanksgiving in Livermore with Matt's family, traveling went well considering we had a 2 week old. My parents also joined us in Livermore for the first time this year, there was lots of great food and fun had by all!

The second week in December we went and picked out our Christmas tree. Noah enjoyed seeing all the trees but about 10 minutes into our trip in started pouring rain so the kids and I went and sat in the car. We ended up with a small tree for our small apartment.

Sorry it has been so long

2011-01-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

I am trying to update our blog, I've done a couple of Grace and hopefully soon I can get to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

2 weeks old

2011-01-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

Grace had a photo session done at 2 weeks old and the pics turned out awesome! Here are a few of our favorites!

Grace Kathryn

2011-01-08T14:59:00.001-08:00

Grace Kathryn was born on November 5 via scheduled c-section. She weighed in at 8 lbs 4oz and was 19 3/4 inches. She came out absolutely perfect and we are enjoying every day with her!

Last day with Grace in my belly

Welcome to the world!

Recovering

Proud Daddy

The happy family!

Pumpkin patch time again!

2010-10-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

We went to Bishop Pumpkin Patch to pick out pumpkins and we had a blast. Our friends Tony and Genevieve came with us, it is this huge 80 acre farm with lots to do! We did a train ride, petting zoo, pony rides, and ate delicious food! Oh and of course picked out some pumpkins!

Our new home!

2010-08-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well we officially moved the Roseville on August 14th. We are living in a two bedroom apartment for at least 6 months so this will get interesting once the baby comes. The plan is to have Noah in his own room and the baby will stay in our room until she can get on more of a schedule. The move went good, we had lots of friends and family to help. I'm getting used the town but of course already found the Target and the mall. I am enjoying getting to spend more time with Noah especially before his sister arrives!

We still do not have a name picked for this little girl. It is just such a hard thing to do and we are having a harder time picking a girl name than we did picking a boys. It may something that gets revealed after she is born.

I was taken off work all together by my new doctor. She didn't want me driving that far especially with the placenta previa (my placenta is covering my cervix, which puts at more risk for bleeding). I was looking forward to working with all my friends a few more times but I know that being off is for the best. I am expecting to have a c-section because of the placenta previa but my doc still seems to think things can change, personally I just want to be able to plan for one or the other and this not knowing is killing me! But if I do end up with a c-section she said it will probably happen 2 weeks early which means we could have a baby here before halloween! I nervous but excited to be able to meet this new person.

We had Noah's 2 year pics taken at JC Penny, I'm so happy at how well they turned out. Noah was such a good sport and did whatever the photographer asked, except the smiling part that took quite a bit of work.

Well I will try not to let as much time go by between posts but life is pretty busy right now and will soon be even busier in the near future!

Our front door

29 weeks along!

Baby, fishing, running and outside oh my!

2010-05-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has been going on since I have written last. First thing, which most of you know already, we are expecting again! Noah will be a big brother at the beginning of November so we have lots of planning to do by then, the holiday's should be very busy this year! I have been feeling good so far, a little nausea here and there but that is it.

Noah is talking more and more everyday, he is putting together 2 words or more now. Sometimes it is not always the easiest to understand but he gets his point across. He is very expressive with his emotions and you know when he is upset that is for sure and he is not afraid to scream in the middle of Target which is always fun for Matt and I but hey what are you going to do :)

Noah took his first fishing trip with Matt and Grandpa out on the boat. He enjoyed himself and seeing the fish up close!

Matt ran a half marathon last weekend in Sacramento. This was his first time and longest run he has ever done. He finished in 1 hour and 53 minutes which beat his goal of 2 hours so we were very proud of him. I just wish I could have participated he just took up running just in time for me not be able to do it anymore. After this pregnancy I hope to finish my own half marathon!

Spring is here and the weather has been wonderful so we have been spending a lot of time outside. We are getting as much time in before it's over 100 degrees here!

Kicking the soccer ball in the backyard

Playing with bubbles

Matt after finishing his half marathon!

Noah playing while waiting for daddy to finish!

Noah and daddy fishing

Life is an adventure!

2010-02-22T08:42:00.001-08:00

So at the beginning of January we moved into my parents house while we figure out where our next move is going to be. It has been an adventure but everything has been running smoothly with all of us under one roof!

Noah is now 19 months old, where has the time gone! He loves all the time he is getting to spend with his Grandma and Grandpa, Grandpa is his favorite person and Noah could spend all day with him in his office while he is working. My mom has been taking him to a sign language class every Thursday for about 6 months now and it is amazing how fast he picks up on the signs! He also started a toddler music class every Saturday which he also enjoys. It is amazing to see how much he will copy things you do, whether its arm movements to certain songs or putting his ball behind his back and he wants you to ask "where is the ball" and then will show you the ball with this huge smile on his face, I'm sure he got that one from Grandpa! He is just turing into such a little person!

Mommy time, Noah saying "cheeeese!" He knows that word so well because he loves eating it!

Grandpa is the funniest guy ever!

Loves to draw! He is giving a very evil grin here.

Noah helping Grandpa work in the office!

Noah's visit with Santa!

2009-12-22T20:26:00.000-08:00

Well I don't have very many pictures to post lately since we have seemed to have lost our camera! And our video camera that takes pictures is in the shop until after Christmas! Boo! So the only picture I have to post is this one. Well I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It's about time I wrote something new

2009-11-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a while so I have posted anything new. Noah is just getting bigger by the day and doing so many fun new things. He has mastered walking and is now running everywhere. He is saying so many words and seems like he adds a new one everyday to his vocabulary probably his most favorite and my least favorite being "no". I think he is just in such a cute stage right now with his personality shining through and just watching him do or say the most unexpected things, I just crack up laughing.

Halloween was very interesting this year, we had a cute dragon costume all planned for him to wear but then Noah had a major melt down and ended up going trick or treating in his regular clothes. While he was at every house then had another melt down when he couldn't go up and down the stairs or play with every pumpkin or "ball" as he called them. It was an adventurous night to say the least.

We took a trip to Portland Oregon the last week in October to check out the area for a possible relocation. We enjoyed it there very much, it did rain like we expected but I think it is something that we could handle. This will be a major move, especially since we will be leaving a lot of family and friends that help us out so much, but I think this good be a good opportunity to get out of Fresno and try something different while our family is still young. We don't have a move date yet but Matt is currently looking for a job right now and we have plans to put the house on the market soon so until those two things can be accomplished we will still be in Fresno area.

We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays and the end of the year will be here before we know it!

Us in Oregon at Multnomah Falls

In Yosemite

At the bottom of Yosemite Falls, Noah is in the picture he is just behind Daddy's head :)

Looking for a pumpkin!

The family at the pumpkin patch

Bathroom Project

2009-08-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

Starting at the beginning of July and lasting four weeks Matt worked on updating our bathroom. This is the only full bath in the house so as far as showering while the project went on we were using the one we have outside attached to the garage. It wasn't that bad, it felt a little like camping but I'm glad to be able to shower in the house again. I love the way the bathroom turned out and for this being Matt's first time remodeling or doing any major tile work I think it turned out great! Now we have moved onto the kitchen so there will be lots of BBQing to come now that we no longer have an oven or stove!

BEFORE: I will not miss that hideous wallpaper

Taken down to bones

The big mess that was made outside the bathroom window

AFTER: We now have two sinks (Yay!) The walls are an olive green color, on my computer they are looking more like a blue

Our new shower that used to only be a tub and on the other side of the wall where the stall shower was is now where the toilet is

Our new toilet area!

Noah Walking

2009-08-10T21:05:00.003-07:00

Noah took his first steps today!! He went from taking 2 steps to walking across the room in a matter off 10 minutes at our friends Chad and Melissa's! We have been waiting for this moment and we were all very excited for him.

One Year Pictures

2009-08-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

We had Noah's pictures taken for his first birthday. He wasn't too sure about being placed on a stage and having everyone make faces and gestures trying to get him to smile, but once the props came out, like the beach toys and suitcases, he began laughing and smiling.

Noah eating birthday cake!

2009-07-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

I finally uploaded this video from Noah's birthday party. He was crying at the beginning because we had put his party hat on and he hated it so even after we took it off he was still very upset. The cake I made I been in the fridge so the frosting didn't melt but it made it look like a block of cake that wouldn't move :) Also his hair is a crazy mess from all the sunscreen we put on his head while he was swimming. Well enjoy the video!

First Haircut!

2009-07-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Noah had his first haircut on July 22! His hair was getting quite long in the back and although I loved the curls I felt it needed to be cleaned up. He did great and didn't cry once and now he looks like such a big boy!

Before

During

After

This is a good side view showing his cut and all his curls are gone :(

Noah is ONE!

2009-07-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Noah is officially one year old today! I cannot believe how fast this came! No walking quite yet but he has tried to balance a couple time standing by himself so I'm sure we will have a walker in our near future. We celebrated Noah's birthday on July 4th with a party at my mom and dad's house. There was swimming, BBQ and fireworks and about 30 people showed up including great aunts and uncles from as far as Paso Robles and Pasadena. I made Noah his own mini cake that he inspected quite a bit before tearing into and eating most of it. He stayed awake for a few sparklers before dark but then went off to bed before the big fireworks.

As far as some of the things he doing right now is he is saying words like dada, mama, papa, baba and is just starting to actually repeat them if you say them otherwise it is pretty random. He enjoys the toys that you put things into like his new pig that you put coins in or anything with cause and effect like his basketball hoop that makes noise that a number at the top that changes when the ball goes through the hoop or his favorite just pressing the button with his hand. He loves his walker and running around outside, when his cousin Connor was here over the weekend he would follow him everywhere. Oh and since it has been so hot here we have been in the pool quite a bit so Noah is getting used to that and enjoying that also.

Well Noah's first plane ride is coming up at the end of July. My aunt Pam, Noah and I are going to Washington State to go visit my cousin Megan and their newest addition Clover and my other cousin Elizabeth and the whole Boers clan. I'm looking forward to the trip but nervous about the flight, but fortunately I will have Pam with me and the flight is only 2 hours. Well I must finish up some other things while Noah is napping!

Pool Time!

2009-06-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

So I can't believe that Noah is almost one year old! I have already started planning his birthday party which is going to be on July 4. It is going to at my parents house and we will be swimming, BBQing and doing fireworks which should be fun.

Unfortunately some bad news is that Matt got laid off at his job so he has been home being Mr. Mom which has been nice, I'm sure he would rather be working though. We are not sure what our plan is yet except that he is looking for a new job, right now I'm working as much as I can and stay sane but we are financially stable for the moment.

Here are some pics of Noah in our pool for the first time, he has been in Grandma and Granpa's though, he loves the water. And he isn't taking any steps of his own but will push his toy all over the living room with us steering or running around in his walker outside which he has gotten very good at maneuvering.

10 months old already, where did the time go!

2009-05-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and almost gone considering we are already having 90 degree weather! We have been spending a lot of time outside either on the swing, in the walker or taking Noah on a walk in the stroller. Noah is still crawling like crazy and walking around the furniture. He hasn't quite attempted to balance by himself yet but I'm sure he will do it when I least expect it. He has now decided he doesn't want to be fed by a spoon anymore and wants to feed himself so I have had to get creative with his meals. I can't believe how fast time has gone by! My little man is already 10 months old and in only 2 short months he will be ONE! It seems like just yesterday he was this tiny little thing sleeping in my arms. Here are a few pictures from the last couple months!

Hanging out by the pool with Roxy, he refuses to wear his hat anymore

Hanging out with Grandma S. on the new party barge at Millerton Lake

Hiking with dad in the new backpack

More whip cream Grandpa!

Easter 2009

2009-05-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well we spent Easter with Matt's parents and his sister's family this year. The morning started by searching for Easter baskets with Noah and his cousins and then we all headed outside to look for eggs. All the kids had a lot of fun and we can't wait until next year!

There is no stopping me now!

2009-04-01T19:54:00.001-07:00

Noah is even more on the move now that he is completely crawling since he has found that this easier and faster then the scooting method he used in the past. He is pulling himself up on anything he can get his hands on and walking slowly around the furniture. He has now even mastered how to get down without falling or hitting his head. We also have a couple steps that go from our great room to the formal living room and he loves going up those, he hasn't quite gotten the hang of going up and down those yet. Noah has also started to mama but only when he is upset and it's more like "maaamaaamaamamaaama," no dada yet.

My cousin Talia took some pictures of Noah at the park, here are a couple that turned out good.

2009-03-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

Noah is 8 months old today here some pictures I took today outside, it was a very nice day! Enjoy!

A bit blurry but you can see those cute bottom teeth

Poor Noah

2009-03-05T16:57:00.001-08:00

So since Friday Noah has had this fever, his gums looked red and I think I see a tooth coming in so I just attribute the fever to that. Well the fever continued through the weekend, Tuesday I had to miss a class to stay home with him so I decided just to take him to the ER where I work to have his ears looked at thinking maybe that is what was causing the problem all along. The doctor said his ears looked fine so I thought ok then he should just get better with time. But the next day he started having yellow drainage from his left ear which then I knew it was probably he ears all along. I had already made an appointment earlier in the week for him to see his doctor today and she confirmed my thoughts and it looks like it's a double ear infection. Now he is on antibiotics and will hopefully be sleeping and feeling better again in a few days. Poor guys had to put up with this too long though, I will know better next time.

Noah on the move

2009-03-01T21:32:00.001-08:00

Well as you can tell by how often I post life has been pretty busy. Noah is definitely getting around, more scooting than crawling, although he recently has been getting in the crawling position and using his knees to move for just a short period. He has now discovered finger foods and loves those Gerber Puffs, he is getting very good at picking things up with his fingers and moving things around his mouth to break it up so he doesn't choke. This also means that every little thing he sees on the floor will end up in his mouth if I don't keep a close eye. He also has one of those nets that we put a variety of fruits and biter biscuits in, which will keep him busy for a good 15 minutes or so. Noah has also figured out how to pull himself up on things especially in his crib, it will no time before he is using furniture to walk around.

This weekend Noah was cutting his top tooth and he was miserable. He was waking up every 2 or three hours at night and wanted to be held constantly. He has a low grade fever and his nose is running. Even some of the things he always enjoys like the bath and his swing outside he wanted nothing to do with. Today I can see the white of the tooth so hopefully he will soon be back to his old happy self again, or until the next tooth decides to show itself!

I haven't taken too many photos this past month and we will hopefully be getting some much needed professional pics done in the next couple weeks. I meant to do them at 6 months and then time got away so we will have 8 month ones instead!

Riding his horse like a big boy

Took his first header off the couch and scraped his nose on the rug,

it looks a lot worse than it was

Reading a book with dad

Noah Moments

2009-01-27T05:37:00.000-08:00

So here is short video of Noah, sorry it is so small and it is a lot more blurry than the original video. Enjoy!

6 months old!

2009-01-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

Wow I cannot believe Noah is 6 months old already and a whopping 17 lbs! He has such a wonderful personality, smiles and laughs all the time. He is sitting up on his own now when you put him there. When he is on his belly he is scooting himself around, I'm sure he will be crawling shortly! He is still not completely sleeping through the night and I think I have just given up on the idea that it is going to happen any time soon. He mostly just gets up once for a bottle and then goes right back to sleep. Now that both bottom teeth are in he is still drooling like crazy so I think he is working on those couple top teeth now. We are looking forward to seeing Great Grandma Sandhurst and Great Aunt Sheila when they come visit from Minnesota in February!

Changes

2008-12-30T14:27:00.001-08:00

So the month of December has been a busy month. Noah was sick for the first time. He had a cold, the runny nose, slight cough and his voice sounded funny. His night time was difficult because he couldn't breath through his nose so he was waking up frequently which wasn't very fun for us. We walked down Christmas Tree lane, a street where all the houses decorate with lights, we had friends and family accompany us. Noah also had two bottom teeth come in which has made things interesting. Since the teething has started he has not been sleeping through the night anymore. Also Noah has been sitting up for short periods of time, it shouldn't be much longer before he is doing it all by himself!

Noah is still doing great at daycare, Norma and Bert enjoy having him there. I have just accepted a second job at a surgery center in Fresno. I will be working per diem only, which means one day a week or one day every 2 weeks. So I'm looking forward to starting that.

He was sick but still giving me smiles
Runny nose
Christmas Tree Lane
All bundled up
Sitting up by myself at bath time!

Noah's first Christmas!

2008-12-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Well Noah had his first Christmas. He didn't really know what was going on and enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper the most, next year should be much more eventful. He got some toys, but not too many so that was nice. We also took him to go see Santa and that didn't phase him too much and I don't even think he really looked at who he was sitting with, I'm just glad he didn't cry. We had my side of family over to our house on Christmas Eve and did our annual white elephant gift exchange with is always interesting and Christmas Day we drove to Matt's parents house, which is 2 1/2 hours away, where we spent the day with his parents and his sister's family. Unfortunately I had to work the next day so we had to make it a short trip.

The new backpack for Noah

Noah's second time rolling over, he was not happy until he did it

2008-12-05T15:57:00.003-08:00

Rolling over!

2008-12-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well Noah has had his first Thanksgiving, I don't have any pics from that day I will have to get those from my mom, I know what bad parents. We had a great day though, we spent the first part of the afternoon at my Aunt LeeAnne's and then the later afternoon with Matt's side of the family at our house. The day after Thanksgiving Matt hung a swing in our backyard and Noah has really been enjoying that.

So Noah is now rolling over from his back to his stomach, the only problem is once he gets on his stomach he has forgotten how to get onto his back again which makes him very mad. He has also started squealing and screaming when he is playing and we have gotten a few good belly laughs out of him. He is eating solids a couple times a day now and has tried a variety of fruits and vegetables.

He loves his swing and if you look at his feet he does this a lot with them

Soon I will be able sit up on my own

Such a long boy

Noah talking and cooing

2008-11-06T09:37:00.001-08:00

4 months old

2008-11-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

Wow! Noah is 4 months old today! Some new things are we have introduced solid food for the first time a couple of days ago. He didn't necessarily enjoy the first bite of rice cereal, he actually made some not so good faces, but seems as though he is enjoying it more and more each time. He has also been holding his head up better when he is on his stomach. He will even sometimes roll over from his stomach to his back, which surprises him every time. It won't be long before he is rolling from his back to his stomach, he gets his upper body almost over but his bottom half has yet to follow. Noah has also just started these mini sit ups, when he is in his car seat or bouncer chair he puts his head forward and his legs come up, it is kind of a funny site. Noah's great grandma Sandhurst also came for a visit in October. She got to visit with Noah quite a few times and even watched him one day while I was at work, he was very good and I think grandma had fun too.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

I've officially returned back to work and Noah had his first day of daycare. He is doing well so far and Norma has had only good things to say, I was really worried about how he would do so I feel much better about the situation now.

Noah had his first trip to the pumpkin patch and got all dressed up for Halloween. Matt took him to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Erin, Uncle Sean and cousins Keegan and Connor. On Halloween the Waklee family were all dressed up as characters from Lord of the Rings so Matt thought him and Noah needed to fit in. Matt was dressed up as Treebeard and Noah was Pippin it was a pretty funny site, surprisingly Noah didn't mind wearing his wig.

More of Noah

2008-10-13T22:10:00.001-07:00

3 months old

2008-10-13T20:28:00.001-07:00

Noah is now 3 months old and I can't believe how time is flying by and how big our little guy is! One of newest things Noah has started to do is put his thumb in his mouth, sometimes sucking it but mostly chewing on it. It will be interesting to see how long this will last considering I sucked my thumb until I was eight! Noah also enjoys sitting and standing, with assistance of course, so he can see everything that is going on.

Standing like a big boy

Sucking the thumb

Playing with his toys

Dad balancing me on his hand

Bumbo seat time!

2008-09-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Noah is almost 3 months old and is getting more and more fun everyday. We had our first full night of sleep about a week ago and have had several more since so that has been very refreshing! Noah has been enjoying his bumbo seat but his head gets a little tired after a few minutes. October 22 is my official go back to work day which is sad to think about and is approaching fast but it will be nice to see everyone at work again. We have a daycare provider set up but he will only be there 2 sometimes 3 days a week.

Posing for mommy

He has very expressive feet

I love my bumbo seat

Look I'm holding my toy

Big blue eyes

2 months old!

2008-09-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Noah turned 2 months old yesterday! Wow how the time is going fast! He is starting to be awake longer during the day and interacting with us more. He is still getting up every 3 hours at night but most of the time goes right back to sleep and every once in a while we get lucky with 4 or 5 hours of sleep in a row! We are getting lots of smiles, have even heard a laugh or two and his arms and legs never seem to stop moving. Man how this little guy keeps us so busy but I'm just enjoying the time with Noah until I have to go back to work at the end of October.

Big smiles

His hair on top of his head fell out and is starting to grow back

What is left of his hair on the back of his head

Big smile for daddy

We must be so funny!

Out on the lake

2008-08-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

So we took Noah to Millerton Lake last night with our friends Chad and Melissa. We took the boat out after Chad and Matt got off work and had dinner on the lake. Noah enjoyed being outdoors and even feel asleep on the boat for a little while.

Funny video (must have sound on)

2008-08-19T21:48:00.001-07:00

2008-08-19T21:30:00.001-07:00

Noah is 6 weeks old!

2008-08-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well we survived having an infant for 6 weeks now. We sort of have a schedule started, that is if you call eating every 3 hours and napping in between a schedule. Lately he seems to be having some colic around 8 pm pretty consistently, which isn't any fun. Some of the milestones we have seen so far is Noah is now focusing on and tracking our faces and if your are lucky you may get a smile when he is in a good mood which has been very rewarding. Matt and I are looking forward to more changes to come!