So Much To Do

So we've been behind on our blogging. (Do I sound like a broken record!??!) There's so much to talk about...where do we even begin? (You'll have to excuse the strange spacing. This thing has a mind of its own... I've messed with the spacing for half an hour and it's a lost cause!)

"Tiny" Turtle

On Labor Day, we took Noah to Grant's Farm. Turns out it was MUCH hotter than we thought it was. The heat doesn't seem to phase Noah. He just loves to be outside. I think we might have been there for an hour and half at most. But, Noah did seem to enjoy it. When we were on the tram, there were animals wandering around fairly close. Noah stared (if you can imagine). We took him through the mister thinking he would enjoy it. He wasn't too sure what to think about it. I went through first so I could watch him. His favorite were the "tiny" turtles. He wanted his picture taken with one. (Okay, so it was a really huge turtle!)

Go Tigers!

Noah loves football. A couple of weeks ago, we left him at MiMi's and went to the game. Aiden was also at MiMi's. The boys had a very fun time. (I think MiMi was worn out...) Here are the boys in their Mizzou outfits.

Saturday, Noah got to go to the game. Once again, it was much hotter than we anticipated. He did really well though. We stayed into the 3rd quarter. Then we had to leave because he was just pooped. He fell asleep on Greg's shoulder on the way to the car. Everyone around us went on and on about how cute he was. He even clapped when everyone else did! (To the right is Noah playing with a ice cube. Did I mention it was really hot???)

Hoodie Homies

My friend Lindsay came to visit for a weekend. Greg was at the Lake for his annual golf trip. Lindsay hadn't seen Noah since he was only a few days old. (I'm pretty sure Noah thought we were crazy!)

7 Months...Already!??!?!!?

Believe it! He's 7 months already. It really has flown by... This is the infamous monthly picture in the red chair. Doesn't he look so big in his jeans? He's such a happy little boy. He still has just the 2 teeth. And, if you aren't paying attention, he'll get you!

Here are some random, but super cute pictures of the most adorable baby ever...

Squeaky clean...

Hey, sailor!

So happy...in his toy box...with his turkey.

With his friend Michael

Oh No! Not Again!

Noah had his 6 month check up on Monday. He is 17 pounds, 11 ounces and 27 1/4 inches long. (He's getting so big!) He's in the 60th percentile for weight and still in the 80th percentile for height. And, he takes after his daddy...very smart. He's at 7 months developmentally. He had to get shots...his favorite. Poor little guy got a bruise on his leg. It makes me so sad. The doctor said Noah could start using a training cup with some water in it. He mostly just plays with it. He'll drink it if I hold it for him. He'll figure it out!

Monday was also our anniversary... 7 years. Sort of hard to believe! Monday night, Greg grilled and we watched a very sad movie: P.S. I Love You. It was good, but very sad. Then on Tuesday night, some of our good friends from church came over to watch Noah and Greg and I went out to dinner. It was very fun, but it was a little strange not having Noah with us. We missed him!

So, once again... There was a poopy disaster. (Why is it you talk about poop so much after you have a baby?) Yesterday Noah and I were running errands. When we got home, I brought him in and set his seat in the kitchen. I left him in the seat while I pulled the groceries out the car. I was going to put him in his exersaucer to play while I put everything away. Wouldn't you know it, when I pulled him out of his seat, there was poop all up his back. (There's no place else for it to go when he's sitting.) I was trying so hard to get his clothes off of him without getting poop in his hair. Guess what... I didn't manage. He got poop in his hair. So, bath time! Meanwhile, my ice cream is in the kitchen melting. It's hard to believe something so cute can make such a big mess. (That wasn't even close to the biggest one!!!) It also happened again today, but not nearly as bad. It wasn't in his hair this time. My favorite is when I have to clean him up in the car on the slanted seat. Not only is he wiggling all around, but he also slides towards to back of the seat which he's now too long to lay on.

First Haircut

There was a very poor voter turn-out... (I hope everyone does better in November!) Greg claims it was because all of my friends are too nice to tell me that Noah really needed a haircut.

So, as you may have guessed by the title, we did cut Noah's hair. I sort of did it under protest. But he does look very cute. (As if we had any doubts about that!!)

We took him to a children's salon, The Hairy Elephant. Noah was not overly interested in sitting still. He wanted to play. His stylist (or beauty operator, as my grandma would say) was very used to wiggly little boys.

Here he is before...

Greg held him because we didn't think he would sit still on his own. (He didn't really sit that still for Greg, but it sounded like a good idea.)

He was very interested in what was going on...

"I've had enough!"

And here he is after. So cute!

Fun at Poppy & MiMi's

Greg had meetings in Columbia on Thursday and Friday. Noah and I packed up and went with him to visit Poppy and MiMi.

Noah had lots of fun playing with his cousin, Aiden. It was so cute... They were talking to each other. They've never really interacted much before. A few times they were practically laying on each other and neither knew the other was there. It was pretty funny. Aiden was drinking his bottle and Noah was kicking the bottle. Aiden didn't seem to notice.

(Noah needed a little help to stand at MiMi's glass table. I think they were trying to see how many hand prints they could leave.)

They even went bye-bye together. MiMi said she was going to sit in the back with them so they didn't poke each others eyes, but she really just wanted to sit with the two cutest boys!


Poppy and MiMi let little boys do things their mommies and daddies wouldn't let them do... Like wading.

Here are the boys (including Poppy) enjoying snack time. Poppy was Noah's high chair.

MiMi also taught Noah how to play the piano. He really enjoyed it.

6 Months...Already

I can't believe it, but Noah is now 6 months old! It's a little tricky to get a picture of him these days... He doesn't hold still unless he's sleeping. But, here is his 6 month picture in the red chair.

Noah still isn't into the solid food. I decided the bananas might be too sweet for him. So, I got him some organic rice cereal. He's not overly interested in the "solids." (It's so soupy I can barely keep it on the spoon.) I'm not forcing it, but I figure if I feed it to him every once in while, he'll be practiced up when he's more hungry.

He can almost sit up by himself. He'll sit for quite a while before he tips over, but we have to sit very close to catch him.

He loves to have he two little teeth brushed. He opens his mouth and lets me brush. (I think it must feel good to him.) You can kind of see his teeth in this picture. They're still pretty little.

He's about to need a hair cut. I'm not ready to cut it, but it is getting a little unruly... Most of the time though it's just so cute! I feel like he's still too little for a hair cut. Place you votes: hair cut or let it be.

Bananas!

Noah had his first big boy food on Saturday. Before we fed him anything, we put him in the highchair and let him play with the spoon. (He looks so little in the big highchair.)

We gave him mashed bananas. He's still not quite sure what to do with them. He sort of wallows them around in his mouth for a while and then spits some of them back out and swallows some. He was cracking us up when he was eating them. He makes some great faces when he's eating.

Two Teeth

Noah now has his two bottom teeth now. I'd put a picture up, but they're still so little you can't see them in a picture... (Plus he holds his tounge in just the right way to block the view.) He likes to have his teeth brushed. He opens his mouth and lets me do it. When I get the toothbrush out, he tries to grab it.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Noah had his last swimming lesson. Greg was able to go and take some pictures. Noah does not love going under water, but doesn't cry or fuss either.

About a week ago we had some of our friends over for dinner. They have a little boy, Luke, who is 5. He loves Noah. He wanted to feed Noah. We looked over and Luke wasn't feeding Noah...Noah was feeding himself! I was surprised he was holding his own bottle since he so rarely has a bottle. Such a big boy!

One night last week, Noah was very tired and it wasn't quite bedtime. Usually, in that situation, we would take him for a walk to keep him entertained. But, it was way too hot for a walk. I took Noah's blow-up bathtub outside and let him play in the water. He also has this super fun duck that squirts water out of it's hat and quacks (Aiden sent it to him). He's "playing" with it in this picture. (Don't you just love his little arm on the side???)

Noah had a very special visitor last Sunday...his Great Auntie Karen. This was the first time she'd met Noah.

Today was Noah's last swimming lesson. Once he gets used to the chilly water, he really likes it. Doesn't so much like going under water, but he doesn't cry. He just gives me a look.

Tuesday during swimming lessons, I noticed his first tooth is starting to appear. It's just barely broken through his gum. We got a toothbrush so we're ready when the tooth makes its appearance.

We've had some really big messes as of late... It seems like each time Noah poops, it goes everywhere. It used to just shoot up his back and come out the top. Lately, it's been coming out the front. If I'm really lucky, it comes out the top in front and back. (Amazingly enough, no mess in the exersaucer!)

Speaking of messes...as I'm writing this, someone (Truman) knocked over a vase of flowers in the kitchen. Water everywhere!!! It was a 12 sheeter.

Cornucopia

I have so much to write about I'm not quite sure where to begin...

5 Months

Perhaps with a cute picture. One of my good friends suggested we take a picture of Noah each month in the same place. So, on the 18th of every month we take a picture of Noah in the red chair. Generally speaking, catching a picture of Noah smiling is pretty tricky! It's easy to get him to smile, but as soon as he sees the orange light on the camera, he just stops and looks. On occasion, we catch it. I managed to get it for his 5 month pictures. (He really likes his toes.)

The Ladies Man

Noah likes to flirt with all the ladies... At church he'll smile at the girls and just stares at the boys. Here he is with his friends, Atley and Avery. He's being such a gentleman and keeping his hands to himself.

Big Boy Food

MiMi and Poppy came to visit this past weekend. MiMi's always let little boys do things their mommies wouldn't let them do... The picture speaks for itself.

A Present for Mommy

Noah is such a thoughtful little boy. He was outside with MiMi Saturday and look what he brought me.

The Unfortunate Surprise...

We wanted to take a picture of Noah with MiMi and Poppy before they left. MiMi picked Noah up and everyone got all in position. After I took the picture, MiMi said she had slobbery hand on her face. I saw something glistening on Noah's bare tummy and assumed it was slobber. Then I realized MiMi had poop on her arm. We rushed Noah in to clean him up. It was all over his tummy and in his armpit. We then realized it was all over MiMi and Poppy's shirts. That slobbery hand was actually a poopy hand... MiMi ended up with poop in her mouth! Ick!! We all had a good laugh. (If you look really close at the picture, you can see the poopy on Noah's hand.

Swimming!!

We took Noah to the pool on the 4th. He had so much fun. There was a little fountain type thing that he played in. He kept trying to grab the water. It was very cute.

Greg is in Florida with ZOE (the youth ministry that we are involved with). They are at a youth camp on the beach. So, Noah and I packed up and went to MiMi and Poppy's. We wanted to stay longer, but Noah had swimming lessons this morning. He had fun. He only liked floating on his back for a little bit at a time. There were two other kids in the class a 3 year old and a 10 month old (Noah is the youngest and the cutest of course!). Anyway, Noah behaved better than the 3 year old did.

Tall, Dark & Handsome

Noah had his 4 month check up on Tuesday. (We can't believe he's already 4 months!!) He's 26 inches tall (80th percentile) and 14 pounds 14 ounces (50th percentile). Developmentally, he's at a 5 month level. He's very smart. We saw 3 different families we knew at the doctor's office. The nurse was laughing about it. When we got in the car to come home, the doctor's office called and said Noah was supposed to get shots. So, we had to go back. (He almost got away!) The shots were not his favorite, if you can imagine. He did very good though.

The last two nights, Noah has slept for 11 hours. He is such a big boy!!! It's amazing how much better everything is with a good night's sleep.

Today, Noah discovered his toes. Hours of fun! He's also working on perfecting his fake cough.

I nearly had a heart attack twice today... The first time I was outside and a chipmunk ran out and scared me half to death. The second time, I set something in the laundry basket in the closet and saw two eyes looking at me. It was Jinx, thankfully!

Noah and the Flood

We've been very tardy in our blogging...

Last Wednesday I started the washing machine and then went about my normal routine... Two hours later, I was changing a diaper and heard water start running. I thought someone was using our outside spigot. (I know the wash couldn't still be running!) So, I followed the sound of the water and traced it back to the washing machine. I opened the lid and everything looked normal. So, I closed it and went back to dressing Noah. I then thought I'd just check the machine. I opened the basement door and there was water everywhere! It had only been 5 minutes. I couldn't believe how much water there was! I turned the machine off. It was full to the top with water. I couldn't get it to drain. So, after I'd pushed most of the water toward the drain and had a little time to think about what to do, I decided I'd have to pull all the clothes out of the machine and wring them out. (Not really what I wanted to do.) So, when the repair man came, he determined the fill switch was broken which cased a pee-pee tee-pee to float over the top and clog the drain line...

Noah started rolling from his back to his tummy. Unfortunately, he's forgotten how to go the other way. He hates being on his tummy. So, he usually just cries when he gets over. The first night he kept rolling over in his sleep and waking up. We decided if we put the pad from his changing table in his crib, he couldn't roll over. (It has just a slight contour to it.) But then the problem was he was so sweaty when he'd wake up. So, I finally settled on a sleep positioner. He's sleeping like a baby!


(This picture really has nothing to do with anything, but look how cute his slippers are!!)

For the last 2 months I've been waking Noah up at 11 pm for his last feeding. He'd then sleep until 6 or 7. My mom asked what would happen if I didn't wake him up. Without really thinking about it, I said he'd be up really early or in the middle of the night. Then I decided I didn't really know what would happen. Greg was out of town, so I decided since I didn't have to worry about keeping him up on a "school night," I'd just not wake him up and see what happens... He slept until 7. He's such a big boy!

Noah has also discovered he can be very loud. He's been yelling. It's hilarious! My dad said he know he was loud. He hasn't heard anything yet!

We've been working on our landscaping. It's been a long process! Luckily Noah loves to be outside. We've been sitting him in the shade while we work. He does really good. When he starts to get tired, he's ready to be picked up.
(Noah's sitting on the front step in his Bumbo. If you look really close, you can see him... Our bushes are super small. Next year, they'll be much bigger...we hope!)

Under Cover

Noah had his first tornado warning yesterday... We sat in the basement (which is unfinished) for a while. Once we went back upstairs, it looked like there were more storms and we might have to go back. So, I just decided I'd lay him down for a nap in the basement. I sat down with him for a while, but curiosity got the best of me. I had to check out the forecast on TV. By this time, it was starting the clear up. He could have had his nap in his bed after all... (Here he is sleeping on the concrete floor, still in his wrap.)

Greg was out of town most of the week. (It got a little lonely.) Poppy came to visit Noah on Friday. (MiMi was in Texas.) We had a very fun time. Poppy was teaching Noah how to hide from mommy. Noah's socks are a little too big... They fit him like boots, but they match his shirt.

And, the missing panties were not found. Some dishonest person picked them up. I got a really great deal though, one pair for the price of two.

The Missing Panties

They say having a baby changes everything... They're not kidding. I can't keep track of things now. Several weeks ago, I took Noah to the grocery store with me. Before I ever got out of the produce section, I lost my grocery list. Of course I didn't make it home with everything I needed. Today, I bought some panties at Dillard's. I did not make it home with them. I left that in the bottom of the stroller and I suspect when I folded it up and put it in the car, they fell out and I didn't notice. I called Dillard's and they hadn't been turned in yet. So, I packed Noah up in the car and drove back to the mall the see if they were still there. Nothing... Hopefully, someone will turn them in.

Noah's cold is much better. He's still a little stuffy and has a touch of a cough left. It doesn't seem to bother him. He has been waking up about half an hour to an hour earlier in the morning. I'm hoping he'll get back to his normal routine. (I like my sleep!)

He's doing great though. He holds his head up so good now. (He won't look at the camera, but he can hold his head up.) His head movements are very smooth yet. Still sleeping all night. We're having so much fun with him!

Noah had his first power outage this week. I don't think he know it was out. He slept through it. I of course laid awake for the hour and a half it was off worrying about when it was going to come back on. (What's wrong with me?)

Sniff, sniff...

Noah has his first cold. It's very sad... It started out as a little cough. The cough has gotten worse and he's a little congested. He doesn't act like he feels bad. He's acting no different than usual... Hopefully, he'll be better after a good night's sleep.

On a more positive note, in our last entry, we forgot to mention Noah's first trip to the dentist. (Sort of... MiMi is a Dental Hygienist and we were visiting her at work.) Noah loves to go to the dentist and see his MiMi.

Surprise!

Greg was out of town on a business trip for several days, so Noah and I decided we'd just pack up and go to Columbia to visit MiMi and Poppy. Poppy thought we were coming on Monday and MiMi didn't know we were coming at all. We got there on Sunday evening and surprised them both. (Noah made the sign all by himself.) Noah was so good in the car. He slept the whole way there and home too!



On Tuesday, we went swimming with Auntie Ashley and Aiden. We couldn't find the right size swim diaper, so we just got what we could find. They were a tad too big, but they didn't fall off! His trunks were a little too big too. (I wanted him to be able to wear them all summer.) But, he looked very cute! This was Noah's first time at the pool. He wasn't too sure what to think about it. But, he didn't cry. The pool was heated, but the water was a bit brisk. I think he would have enjoyed it much more if it had been warmer. MiMi even took the day off work on Tuesday so she could go swimming too. Aiden (7 months) loves to swim.

Tuesday afternoon Grandma (Greg's mom), Aunt Suzie and cousins Jake and Rosie came to Columbia to visit Noah. Rosie (9) got to give Noah his bottle. He sucked it right down. She did a really good job.

We had so much fun at MiMi and Poppy's but we were glad to get home and see daddy!

What a Great Day!

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day. It was such a great day!! MiMi and Poppy (my parents) were here. Noah sent me the cutest e-card which I viewed on the new laptop he got me. He's very thoughtful.

That wasn't the best part of the day though... We dedicated Noah at church. We are so blessed to have such a great church family!! Noah was so good during the dedication. He just snuggled daddy. (He even wore my baby shoes.) After church we had friends and family over to celebrate. Greg and Poppy did all the cooking. And Greg cleaned up everything by himself. (He even washed the china we used.)

I've been a little tardy on my blogging lately... Noah hates tummy time. He'd much rather be on his back. So, last Saturday, I put him down on his back and he would have none of it! He just rolled himself right over to his back. I thought it was just an accident. When I flipped him back over onto his tummy, he turned right back over to his back. Over a two day period, he did it six or seven times. Now, he won't do it...

Noah has been sleeping all night for two and a half weeks now. I'm so proud of him! Sometimes he still gets up a 5:30... I keep telling him that's too early for little boys to be up, but he insists he's hungry and can't wait... They say never wake a sleeping baby, but I strongly disagree!! I wake him up during the day when it's time to eat. I really think that makes him sleep better at night. He's such a happy baby!

He's been escaping from his swaddle blanket (which we've nicknamed his burrito) a little more frequently... The one he escapes from just barely goes around him now. He doesn't seem to escape from the bigger ones. He just sleeps so good in them, I can't bring myself to put him down without one.