Outside Playing!

Today is absolutely beautiful outside!!  We finally got Noah outside to ride his tricycle and ride in his wagon.  We took a day trip to Portland yesterday to meet with a realtor and get some other parts of the home-buying process underway... there are certainly a lot to choose from!

Noah's 2nd Birthday Party!

Believe it or not Noah turned 2 last week.  We had a wonderful birthday party and were delighted that so many family were able to join us to celebrate!  Noah is big into Curious George right now, so needless to say he was very excited for all of the Curious George balloons and decorations:)  He even got a Curious George shirt, which he insisted on wearing. 

Match Day & Noah's 2nd Birthday!

As I am sure you have all heard by now, we are moving back to Maine!  Gabe was "matched" at his first choice for residency which was at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine.  The match day itself was a very exciting event in Gabe's medical school career.  It was wonderful to be surrounded by others experiencing the same stress and anticipation that we were and then to hear and see everyone's excited reactions:)  We are very excited to begin this next chapter in our lives closer to family (at least for the next 3 years:)). These pictures are from Noah's actual birthday (also match day).  We let him open his presents from us throughout the day... this is him in his pajamas with his new rain boots.  I couldn't get him to stand and pose, so this is what we got:)  He is patiently waiting for me to get done taking his picture and make him breakfast (thus the plate).  We had a great day together as a family between the match, opening presents, having special meals, and we took Noah to the new aquatic center to celebrate.  In the new aquatic center they have a special kids section- 1 pool has about a foot of water, then a playground with slide plopped right in the middle, the other pool is a current pool so you can "swim" with the kiddos... we had a blast!

Babies & Bubbles

Since Noah will be a big brother soon we thought we should buy him a baby to try to introduce the concept... This is what he did within a few seconds of me giving him the baby... hmmmm... it was amazing to watch him feed and burp the baby.  He will now occasionally pick up the baby and feed it, but other than that he is fairly uninterested.  His favorite book currently (when it is not "missing") is Arthur's New Baby... we shall see!  The bottom 2 pics are from a few days ago when it was actually bright and sunny enough to play outside... Noah has been asking for the bubbles on top of the fridge for weeks now... he was so excited:) 

Life Update:)

I don't have any new pics to post, but thought I would post an update for everyone.  We are one week away from Match Day and anxiously awaiting where we will be living for the next 3 years.  It has been a stressful process choosing our list of potential places we would like to be and now we leave it up to the computer to match us with a program... stay tuned... Also one week away is Noah's 2nd birthday!  It is unbelievable to us that he is already 2.  He still isn't saying much, but every week he makes more progress and appears to be making a bit more of an effort these days.  He has been very funny today b/c he has been talking non-stop... I have no idea what he is saying to me, but he has very elaborate hand gestures and facial expressions to go along with his stories.  His favorite thing by far right now is reading.  Not only will he sit and listen to book after book, but we often find him sitting by himself looking at his books and "reading" them following the words with his finger.  The newest member of the family is growing well too... We had our 25 week check up today and everything looks great. They have even assured me that at least at this point the baby is head down which is a nice change... keep your fingers crossed:)