Trying this again!

With a new baby on the way and Noah getting closer and closer to two years old (where does time go???), we've decided to give this blogging thing another try. My sister-in-law inspired me by blogging for her own records... since Noah STILL doesn't have a completed baby book, I figured this was as good a way as any to record milestones and remember what's going on in our boys' lives right now. So apologies in advance if any of this is boring to everyone else!

First of all, most of you know we are expecting our second baby boy on October 11, which means I am 25 weeks along. (Again... where does time go??) This pregnancy is flying by, and I know that the next three months are going to pass before we know it. I've been blessed with another uneventful pregnancy, minus a few weeks of queasiness in the beginning, and it looks like my belly is going to be inviting twin comments yet again. People are shocked when I tell them that I have three months to go because my stomach is so big already. Looks like another giant Ernst boy! :) This baby is much more of a mover than Noah was in the womb and we felt him from the outside five weeks earlier than we did Noah (19 weeks vs. 24 weeks). Oh! And we've decided on the name Bennett Robert Ernst -- Bennett means "little blessed one," which we love, and Robert is the name of Brian's grandpa, whom we also love. We're planning to paint Bennett's nursery this weekend and order his furniture, and my friend who made Noah's bedding is also making Bennett's. Hopefully we will be all ready for him when he gets here!

Noah is 22 months old and so much fun. I know I've said this at every stage along the way, but this is truly my favorite age so far. He is communicating so much and developing his own little personality, which is just amazing to see. Physically, he is very coordinated at certain things, like throwing and hitting a ball, but he also has a streak of clumsiness and bad luck. He already has scars on both elbows, one through his eyebrow from when he fell out of the pew at church and had to have the cut glued together, and scrapes up and down his legs. He had his first black eye at Eric and Kristen's house from falling in the back yard, then busted his nose on the playground the following week. Of course, that was right before family pictures! Check this out:

Again, for my own records, here's a quick "snapshot" of Noah at 22 months:

• Still a good sleeper; generally sleeps from 8:30 pm to 8 am with a 2-3 hour afternoon nap
• Is obsessed with "choo choos"; loves anything Thomas the Train and gets so excited when we see a real train on the tracks.
• Loves any kind of balls and sports! Went to his first Astros game in May and loved it. He has been throwing a ball overhanded for about 8 months now and is doing well hitting a ball off a tee.
• Can pick out and identify about 20 letters; loves doing his alphabet puzzle and watching Super Why (a reading show) on PBS in the mornings.
• Is putting together phrases and sentences. So much easier to understand what he wants and needs now!
• Says "thank you" and "excuse me" at the appopriate times. (They sound more like "tank oo" and "scoo me," but we understand!)
• Loves to give post-bath pre-pajamas hugs and kisses! We call it "naked hugs" :) Kind of weird, but we always welcome the affection.
• Tries to count, but for some reason he counts "2 - 4 - 6 - 8." Not sure where he learned that? He will also sometimes count, "1 - 2 - 3 - yellow - turtle - 9..." We're still working on it.

That's all for now! Hope all our friends and family are doing well! Love to all.