Vacation Bible School 2009
Whew, what a summer! Seems like we’ve hardly had a chance to catch our breath lately. Not that we’re complaining. 
Last week was Vacation Bible School week at our church, Holland Heights CRC. Amy played piano, Noah attended (his first year!) and Brian shot and edited a short video of all the fun. Here it is for your viewing enjoyment:
And here’s a “bonus” story for you all:
The other night Amy and I attended a wedding, and a few nights before the event Amy informed Noah that a baby sitter was coming, because “Mommy and Daddy are going to a Wedding.” Noah’s response was a bit interesting:
“No, no, Mommy, no want you to go to wedding.”
At first Amy was thinking Noah didn’t want us to leave him.
“It’s OK Noah, we’ll be coming back soon.”
Bu he was still distraught. After a few more attempts to console him Noah finally hinted at why he didn’t want Amy attending:
“I love you, Mommy. No want you to get married.”
We had a pretty good laugh, and we’re sure to remind Noah of this when he’s 15 or 16….
Noah and the Monkey
Some things are better left unexplained:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_NfcIA6LL4&rel=0]
Flip Video
I have a working theory I want to run by you: Someday, archeologists won’t have to go digging through old cities or landfills to determine how we lived; they’ll just dig through youtube instead. Although, sometimes I can’t tell the difference between youtube or a landfill. But that’s a theory for a different post. (Although, in all seriously, last month’s Wired Magazine included an article about video usage in a digital age. Worth the read if you get a chance.)
But you don’t care about magazines and digital ages, do you! Let’s be honest: you’re here to see Noah playing with trucks. Well, always said give the masses what they want, so here you go, faithful readers:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhmmhTReeUM]
How this never got nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. Brad Pitt in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ or Noah playing with trucks… Seriously, is there any competition? (No offense to Mr. Pitt: Fight Club rocks.)
Ahem. Anyways, moving along: We shot this movie with our new Flip video camera, which we got for our trip to Ethiopia. I’m pretty impressed: It fits in your pocket, takes 60 minutes of video, and includes software to edit your movie together. It even came with the music I added to the clip.
So, I’m guessing you’ll be seeing more Oscar bait cute videos on the Tol House blog in the near future. Time to stock up on popcorn…
Monkeys and Doorbells
A blessed Easter/Resurrection Sunday weekend to you all! Here’s some recent videos of Nojo. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Egxv5_mG4SA]
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=lwM95WxBNn4]
Dino-Mite!
Well, we’re just a little behind on updating the blog, so forgive us for posting Halloween pictures in December! Noah made a pretty cute triceratops dinosaur - although he looked at me kinda funny when I tried to teach him how to roar. . .
We had a fun time visiting Noah’s cousins and joining their neighborhood for a “parade of costumes.” Then it was off to church for some “Trunk or Treating.” Noah still hasn’t eaten any of the candy, but it continues to make a fun toy when he pulls all the little pieces out of our cupboard and sets them on the kitchen table.
Here’s a look at the whole Leep cousin gang in their costumes. Pretty photogenic bunch, don’t ya think?
On a related note, does anyone know where they sell carseats with a hole for a dinosaur tail?
Fun at the Park
While Daddy’s been busy at the Gospelcom Conference, Noah and Mommy got to spend some extra time together on Wednesday night. We grabbed the camera and headed to Noah’s favorite “park”, which is actually the playground at Holland Christian’s Maplewood Elementary school (also Brian’s old stomping grounds as a boy.)
We’ve spent lots of time playing here during the summer, but I hadn’t captured any of these moments on film. So finally, here’s some video of Noah doing what Noah does best: having fun at the park!
Noah loves this car, and it’s usually one of the first things he runs to when we get to the playground. He’s also starting to say some words, as you’ll see in this video. His most prominent words to date are “Bye,” “Duck,” and “Bath.”
And one more fun video shows how Noah loves to go down the slide:
Fun with Toys
Howdy dear friends and family! Hope you’re all well.
I just installed a new video editing program (iMovie 08) and thought I’d give it a spin on some clips of Noah I had hanging around. Below is the world premiere of Fun with Toys, starting our very own Nojo:
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=89gePGw390E]
By the way, iMovie rocks. It took me 10 minutes to put this together. And that includes learning how to use the program.
Of Strawberry Shakes
Ah, the joys of Summer: Sunshine, playing in the park, eating fresh fruit, catching the drips from your ice cream cone. Is there anything better?
What about being air-conditioned comfort, enjoying a strawberry shake from good ‘ol McDonalds? Yeah, I thought so, too.
Nojo thinks that a pretty good plan, as well. He recently hijacked my shake, and much enjoyment followed:
[youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=PUoaIWLWM5E]
For the curious among you: The video was made with Apple’s excellent iMovie program, and the music was sampled from their Garage Band tool.
Piano Man
Watch out, Billy Joel, you have some company:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV6s2jqpt0A]
I wasn’t able to record the more traditional first half of the “concert” in which Noah used his hands. But I was able to catch his new, foot-powered avent garde piece. I think he’s on to something myself.
Walkin’
Our vacation is winding down, but Noah’s walking skills are ramping up. Every day he’s gaining a bit more confidence, and we finally caught some of his traveling heroics on video. So cue up some good walking music and check out these clips:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osyEktbVzV0]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTGKf09O6og]
He’s actually made it a bit farther than these clips demonstrate, but we haven’t been quick enough with the camera.