Slacker part 2

I'm WAY late getting this up! So sorry. And for some reason I can't get the pictures in the order I want. Oh well!

Noah is 1! Holy happiness I can't believe it's been that long! Sometimes it seems like I'm still pregnant. But alas, he's here and happy, healthy and ACTIVE! Man can that boy MOVE! He runs around me all day long laughing and playing. He's taken to screaming lately. It's a manly scream mind you, very guttural and grunt like, but a scream nonetheless. He thinks SO many things are funny. Like ripping paper towels apart (while grunting of course), human bowling, chasing Rhys, the dogs chasing the ball, and various other random things. He is like his mommy, when he gets tired things become HYSTERICAL! He will laugh at something for two or three minutes, getting louder and breathing less in between each time. It's really funny to watch.

He practically runs everywhere now. He says more and more words (read sounds) every day. Nuh-Nuh is no no and that's his favorite at the moment. He's a master at giving kisses, high fives and we're even learning to shake hands. Noah LOVES to read books. He will get up from nap, I'll put him down to play and he proceeds to take every book off the shelf and look through them all. He reads one, puts it down and takes another off the shelf until he's read them all. It makes for a messy afternoon but I don't mind.

He loves to eat peanut butter. In any form, on anything, he can't get enough of it. He loves vegetables and fruits. Doesn't care too much for meat right now. Certain noodles, cheese, crackers, yogurt, and of course anything we're eating he loves. He also loves milk. He would drink it all day if I let him. If I get a cup down from the cupboard he starts yelling and grunting at me until he gets it full of milk. Then he drinks, with it running down his chin, and walks around the house clutching his cup, looking like he's been drinking something much stronger. He's very prone to milk drunkenness. :) He also gets quite a shock and gives me a dirty look if I put water in his cup instead. He still drinks it and enjoys it, but he would rather have milk. Crazy little boy.

We celebrated his birthday with two parties. One with family and the other with friends. I'll add some pictures from both. It was a learning experience. While I'm very happy with the way they both turned out and I loved sharing his day with everyone, I will not be doing a party that size again. What a crazy idea I had!

I'm sure there are things I wanted to say that I'm forgetting but they will have to wait until next time. We miss you and love you all! Can't wait to see the Provenzano side in three weeks!

Slacker!

Cake number 2

Cake number 1


Dr Seuss cake with red fish on the side

Dr. Seuss party theme

New year, new skills, new experiences!

Oh my goodness! Where do I even begin?! I feel like Noah is a completely different baby from the last time I posted. He's learning SO MUCH! He recognizes words, says a couple, attempts to say even more, walks all over the place, crawls faster than you would believe, and still is the sweetest happiest little boy around!

Words he recognizes: He knows what bite and bath are, he knows Tubie, dog, cat, outside, daddy, mommy, we're working on bed, Maggie, and inside.

He tries to say: Cat (CA), outside (IDA), did it (ADAT), moo (which comes out mmmmm), dog (GOG or sometimes just GA), and more (MA).

He says: A-DA (for daddy) and ma-ma (this he only ever says when he wants mommy so I know he knows what it means) A-DA is how he distinguishes ADAT (did it) from Daddy.

He also does the usual baby babble which consists of DA DA DA DA and a bunch of other ones I can't think of right now.

I've started watching Rhys now and it's going pretty well so far. Except for the biting incident they have been getting along great. I still have Lillie Bell as well and she's doing pretty good too.

We're pretty stinkin' excited for Noah's birthday which is right around the corner! I've picked a theme so now it's just getting things together and planning activities. We're having so much fun with it!

Well, I've got two little boys who just woke up so I better go play. Until next month!

Three months in a row!

I'm so happy I'm being consistent! Let's see, what should you know this time?

Noah is walking! He's been taking steps since November 20th but on Dec 1st he started taking 8-10 at a time and staying up afterward. Right now he kind of picks and chooses when to walk since crawling is still faster for him but he can cover pretty good distances on his feet! It's awesome.

Noah doesn't really dig the Christmas tree. He keeps walking over to it, then falling face first into the branches and he ends up with a face full of pine needles. So at least it's keeping him away from it for the most part. I can't complain, but I feel so bad for him.

He loves his stocking. It's a penguin and it has a little bell on it and he goes over to it and rings it every day. It's super cute.

Noah says Dada but not Mama. If you ask where Dada is, he looks for Ryan until he finds him. This is super sad if you ask while Ry isn't home. Noah keeps looking for quite a while with no luck. If you ask where Mama is, he purposely looks everywhere but at me. It's like he thinks it a game. I don't like it very much...

He has realized that chasing is a game and he loves to be chased around the house. He's QUICK too!

Noah will pretty much only eat something if he can do it himself now. This is VERY annoying but what am I supposed to do? When I try just putting a bite in his mouth, I'm not even kidding, he takes it out with his hands and puts it back in himself. He's such an independent little boy. It's a good thing I love him so much. :)

He loves to be naked. He hates getting his diaper changed. He loves bath time and bed time. He loves his Mommy and especially his Daddy. I thought that would make me unhappy but it doesn't. It warms my heart when he reaches for Ry even if I'm holding him.

I'm the luckiest wife and Mommy in the whole world.

P.S. In January I'll be watching another little boy three days a week. He's a month older than Noah and his name is Rhys (pronounced Reece). It should be fun! Hopefully...

Three things you should know about Noah and a few more just for fun

1. While he grabs food with both hands he only puts it in his mouth with his left. If he has food in his right, he transfers it to the left before eating it.
2. He now crawls with his belly off the floor almost exclusively. He surprised us with this new feat on Sunday.
3. He will only sleep in his bed or if he's really desperate, someone's arms. This makes it difficult to travel and plan activities in any given day. We have to get creative sometimes.

When he's really tired, he lays his head on the floor and whimpers a little. If you call him, he sits up and smiles.

He will only sleep with his pacifier and calfie.

He loves to feed himself and gets SO excited when you put cheerios or puffs on his high chair tray.

He can get his toes off the ground while pulling himself up on something, leaving him hanging for a few seconds.

He does NOT like plain baby food chicken. He does ok with chicken, rice and veggies.

He loves to eat what we're eating and gets upset if he can't have it.

The same goes for drinks.

He can now wave "Hi".

We're working on "Bye" but he's a little confused by it.

He guards his kisses like treasure unless they're meant for the wall or a mirror. (Mommy rarely gets them)

He's getting quicker at attacking the dogs. They're getting more wary of him.

He's still the happiest baby you will ever have the joy of knowing. Hands down.
My little glowworm! He put the flashlight in his mouth with it on
Swings!
Mmmm broccoli!
My angel



Crawling!

Round and round we go

I hope this is an indication that I'm getting better about posting...maybe not. Only time will tell. Where to begin...

Noah army crawls all through the house now. He pulls himself up on people and objects at every opportunity. He'd rather be standing than anything else. Noah loves being startled, he thinks it's hilarious! If you unexpectedly make a loud noise in his face, he can't stop laughing. This is also true for fake dropping him. A regular thrill seeker. His hair is getting so long that Ryan and I are arguing about cutting it. He wants to, I tell him not on his life. So far I'm still winning this one...One of these days he's going to surprise me and go from laying flat to sitting up all on his own. He hasn't quite managed it yet but he's SO close. He'll get about three quarters of the way up and then start reaching for something to pull him up the rest of the way.

I had to switch over to formula feeding about a week ago. Noah was getting frustrated with nursing and not getting enough and I was so stressed with knowing he wasn't getting enough and not being able to do anything else about it. I tried everything with no success so we started formula instead. It's made a huge difference for both of us. I couldn't give up nursing completely with flu season just around the corner so we settled for once a day. We're doing awesome now! It was awful for a while there and I felt like a complete failure but I've come to terms with it and I know it's best for Noah.

Noah is now sleeping amazingly well! Naps are a breeze, he takes one at 10am and one between 130 and 2pm. At night we established a routine that makes bedtime SO much easier as well. About 530pm he gets solids and then a bath. After bath, jammies, and "teeth brushing" he gets a bottle and then goes to bed anytime between 6 and 730 depending on how long his afternoon nap was. He sleeps until 8am! He wakes up 1-2 times to eat but then it's right back to sleep for my little champ. That too has made a HUGE difference in our daily life. It took about a week of tough love and consistency but it's been very worth it!

As we were going through the bedtime routine tonight I happened to notice a tooth coming through! I don't know if it'll play peek-a-boo for a while or just come up and stay but it's there now! I never thought teething would be so exciting! So far he hasn't been much crankier than normal but I was prepared for worse. We'll see how it goes from here...

Tube is walking again! He doesn't have all his strength/function back quite yet but we were told he could come off crate rest! I don't know if he's not doing so well because they weren't used for so long or if there is still some paralysis and he'll never regain full use, we'll have to wait and see. It's just so nice to see him up and about again even if it is abnormal movements. Maggie loves having him back but she doesn't understand why she keeps getting yelled at when she tries to wrestle with him. Hopefully she'll learn to be less aggressive with play...

Halloween is just around the corner and I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun to dress Noah up! I still don't know what we're doing or where we're going but he'll be in costume regardless.

Now let's see if I can include some pictures this time...


Always a happy little man





The first time he pulled himself up on something!


I know it's a little out of focus but I love it!


Our little family. With the sun glaring off my white leg...

6 months!? You've got to be kidding!

Nope, he is indeed 6 months old. It feels like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. Man how things change. Here are all of the things Noah is doing now.

Sitting up completely unsupported. Catching himself when he starts to fall sideways while sitting. Rolling from front to back and back to front. Eating solids three times a day and LOVING them. Laughing out loud. Smiling constantly, even at strangers. Singing along with music. Singing to himself without music. Squealing. Licking his lips. Spitting (this comes in the form of attempting to blow bubbles but there is too much drool so he sprays spit everywhere). Passing toys back and forth between his hands and marveling at this skill. Laughing hysterically at the dogs when they bark or play. Smiling specifically for the camera (I think this is just because he likes that it's shiny so he smiles when I pull it out...Oh well). Watching cartoons. Flirting with himself in the mirror. Making mommy and daddy EXTREMELY happy!

Our little man is such a joy and we love watching him grow. He's learning something new everyday it seems. When he watches us doing something that he wants to do, you can see him concentrating so hard on it. He can't wait to figure it out and practice a new skill. He's VERY smart and VERY social. I can no longer put him down and come back to find him in the same spot. He moves himself across the room by scooting rolling and sometimes even pulling himself forward by grabbing onto other stable objects.

We still occasionally struggle with naps and bed time. He would rather be awake and learning than sleeping but we make it work. He still wakes up during the night, more for comfort than needing to eat. Most days I don't mind. I stay up long after he's gone back to sleep rocking him and staring at my beautiful boy.

I have already started thinking about his birthday party because I know this time is flying by and I don't want it to sneak up on me the way the 6 month mark did. I am by no means trying to rush this, I just don't want to be unprepared. We're planning for the 26th of February for those interested in attending.

Noah is such a blessing in our lives and we have no idea what we did before this angel came to us. We're glad to have all of you amazing people to share him with as well. We love you all.

~The Sams