2010

I seriously can't believe tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Where did the time go? Weren't we just carving pumpkins? I never understood when my mom would say things like that, but wow do I now understand.
So, resolutions. Ahh, of course I am wanting to get in shape and lose weight. Duh. I went back and read my resolutions for 2009, and seems like I didn't follow through. I wanted to love those more who love me...meaning to stop trying/reaching out to those who don't. This is my resolution for 2010 (along with a pile of other things).
For me this is a real challenge. I obviously have a very hard time at this. I feel like I am forever reaching out to people who just don't reach back. Why do I keep on doing this? Why do I put myself out for rejection time after time? I need to find this secret. I hope I find it somewhere in 2010.
I definitely need to stop taking things for granted. I have to thing to myself and say "Will this matter in a year?"...and more than likely the current situation won't. Don't sweat the small stuff-I need to learn this as well. Oh yeah and while I'm talking about it, I hope I can learn to not wear my heart on my sleeve.
2008 and 2009 were very big years in our lives...oh yeah include 2007 in that too. I'm not sure what 2010 will bring but hopefully it just makes our love grow stronger and our lives get richer (yes...super corny I know but hey, it's a resolution!).

Ahh...the holidays!

I look forward to the holidays all.freakin.year! Seriously, I get off 2 weeks during the holidays and by the summer I'm already looking forward to the time off. Is it because I like the escape from work? I guess to a point...but it's more that I like spending time with Noah. I love not having to rush when we wake up in the mornings to work. I love that we can chill in our jammies and eat cheerios and watch Handy Manny.
Now don't get me wrong, I am VERY thankful for my job. VERY thankful I may add. It's just that those few and very short weeks are very much appreciated. Being a full time working mom hasn't been easy, and at times it's made me get very sad. I feel like I miss out on things with Noah. However, since my mom watches Noah I know he is having a great time with her and spending time with "Gigi" is never a dull moment .
Clint has also been home. We have gotten a LOT of things done around the house and it's just been nice chilling at home. During this time we have totally beaten the new Super Mario Bros. game on the Wii. Teehee!
Ahhh...back to the grind on Monday!

Christmas 2009

Click here to view these pictures larger

This Christmas was our 1st Christmas in our house. Ahh, what a great feeling that was! Which by the way, I still need to get an ornament that says that. You can tell that I'm totally on the ball.

I know last year was Noah's 1st Christmas, but this year I really felt like a mom. We were the ones (well err...Clint was) putting together the gifts. I was wrapping the gifts and making the bows on gifts. It takes a lot of work to be Santa! Clint spent many hours putting together that kitchen for Noah to break the oven door within 24 hours.

Seeing "Santa" deliver all the gifts under the tree was very surreal to me. I felt like things came 360 or something. I'm now the Mama. I'm the one, well WE are the ones who make the memories for Noah.

Noah loved his kitchen and the dinosaur Kota. He got so much that I'm actually hiding some gifts unopened for our upcoming Disney car ride and for times during the year when he is bored with old toys. I think Santa would think that is ok.

One of those days

Yesterday, Noah went to "school" which to him is always exciting. He doesn't nap since it's 4 hours so he usually gets his usual nap in the afternoon. Well, he didn't yesterday. My mom said he wouldn't even shut his eyes. Joy!
So, once we got home I started to make dinner. I kept on hearing a SLAM and then Noah giggling. I can see Noah's bedroom if I stand in the den/kitchen in a certain position and I saw his door was shut.
I went in and told him we can't shut the door, well he didn't care and kept on shutting it. When I would open it he would just be chillin' in his chair or doing a puzzle so it wasn't like he was up to no good. Anyway, we continued that throught me making dinner.
Once dinner was made I went to put him in his high chair and ofcourse he had a dirty diaper. Nothing is more appetising then changing a dirty diaper before dinner. Yum.
So, we finally ate dinner and I look over at Noah and his eyes are closed and he is nodding off. However, he is still munching slowly on a peice of bread. It was rather hilarious. So, I decided to put him to bed. It was only 7 which is early for him. When I went to get him out of the chair he threw his plate across the room and spaghetti and meatballs went all over the floor. Thankfully I have a chihuahua to eat it all up!
I dressed him for bed and we had our nightly "No, no, NO" screaming and crying. Since it was so early, I caved. I put him down and he ran into the den. He kept on trying to come and snuggle on me and I told him he needed to go "night, night".
He then went to the rug, put his head on a pillow and fell fast asleep. What a miracle! Putting Noah to bed lately has been a fight.
I couldn't believe he was asleep by 7:15! Clint had a final at 8 so I had free time! Oh, how did I spend this free time? Cleaning, mopping and folding clothes? Nah...I played the wii and then dyed my hair.
So, yeah I had to deal with a crazy Noah but I got a few chill hours out of it. Score!

Me?

Noah just discovered that when you say "you" in conversation/question that it means HIM (yeah I can't explain that well...deal with it!). Anyway, I'll ask him "Noah, do you want to eat?" he reponds in a very cute questioning tone with "Me?!?". It's adorable! For some reason this made him seem so big to me. Now, I just ask questions to hear the "Me?" response!

Unbreakable

So, we have our Christmas tree up. At first Noah kept on going by the tree and was pulling on ornaments. The only way I can get him to not touch it is yell "HOT!" and it works. Phew! Thank goodness b/c if he broke some of my ornaments I may have a break down.

Anywho, last year when we went to Disney I bought one of those table top trees. You know, the small ones? I unpacked it this year and so far it's just hanging out being pulled around the house by Noah. On Monday I picked up a pack of the unbreakable/shatterproof ornaments at KMart. I was thinking I could put the tree up on the bar or something, just a little bit of decor.

Somehow Noah found the box of ornaments (they were on the dining room table)and all of a sudden I just hear things hit the ground. I came running expecting the worst like somehow my china breaking on the floor or something...but no, it was the ornaments!

Needless to say the ornaments ARE shatterproof! About 6 of them hit the ground....and they are ALL intact! Thanks KMart!

Potty Training?

Yes, I realize I'm one of those annoying mothers who think it's exciting when their kid says "POOP!". Believe me non mothers, when you have a bay-bay you will understand how big of a deal this is...but until this just think I'm crazy and roll your eyes. Teehee.

Tonight Noah kept on saying "Poop? Mama...POOP!" and he kept on hitting his behind. So, I would then check and see if he needed a diaper change and he didn't. Hmm. I began to think, is he telling me he needs to go to the potty? I really haven't even THOUGHT about potty training yet b/c boys do it much later than girls from what I've heard and seen (my nephew was over 3 before he was fully potty trained). Plus, I'm in no hurry. I really think this is something that will come when he is ready, not when I am ready.

Anyways, he kept on saying "POOP MAMA", so I scooped him up and headed to his bathroom and placed him on the potty. Once he got there he just looked at me and giggled and said again "Poop!". Well...we just sat...and sat...while Noah just kept on giggling.

Nothing became of this, but maybe it's a sign he will be ready sooner than I thought. Things that make you go Hmmmmm.

Black Friday Shopping

At the outlet mall in Gulfport they have a "midnight maddness" sale starting at 12AM on Black Friday. My family went last year and I was anxious to hit up this sale. I'm always up for a bargain so I was very excited.
My sister Robin and I drove together to the outlets. The line on the interstate was as far as I could see! Thankfully since we were coming in the opposite direction we didn't have a long wait.
We were really fooled thinking "wow, this isn't that bad", then we realized we parked in Egypt. Seriously, it was in the Home Depot parking lot that was next to a swampy wet mess..THEN the parking lot for the outlets. Anyway, we began our journey.
First take note that it was pretty darn chilly. I'm not one to pull out the hoodie at 72 degrees, so for me to say it was cold meant it was actually COLD!
We started at Carters. They had a 50% off everything sale, then an additional 10%! Score! They had Melissa and Doug puzzles, so I snagged some of those up for the Noah-ster. The line took us atleast 40 minutes. Sheesh.
We then went from store to store and really didn't find anything great. Since Robin lives so close she noticed some of the sales were the same as the weekend before! What lies from the retailers! Grrr! We walked around for about an hour, saw our family and then called it a day. I really liked this pair of pj's for Noah from Gymboree for 5.99...but was it worth the 35+ minute wait? Nah. Not really.
It was definetly an experience, but I'm not sure I'll do it again. Only time will tell.

1st haircut

So, I have been putting off Noah's haircut for some time now. I love the curls, I really do. However, fighting Noah to brush his hair wasn't fun. After his bath I had to spray tons of detangler on it and then try to comb it. Needless to say Noah didn't like that. So, with all of that it was time.

We took Noah to a children's salon. He got to sit in a taxi for his haircut. The first snip the lady took, my heart sank! I was thinking...do I really want to do this? But, by that time it was too late. All the curls went away and a big boy emerged! I swear he looks like he is 5 now.

He is still SO cute but in a way I miss his flowy surfer boy hair! It's just hair, it will grow back. I looked at his bday pics and even our Florida picture s(from August) and his hair wasn't CRAZY long like it was before the haircut. He just need to "clean it up" a bit. I'd love for him to have those little boy bowl haircuts, but he doesn't have the thick hair for it.

Cheerios

Noah loves cheerios. He may love cheerios more than myself. I sometimes give him cheerios in the car in his snack trap in the mornings. I'm constantly looking at him making sure he is ok. Well, on Friday my mom and I were in the Starbucks line. I look back and Noah is sticking a cheerio UP his nose! I jumped over the seat and had to pull it out his nose. All the while my mom screaming "don't push it up...don't push it up!". Luckily, I got the cheerio out of his nose. Phew. However, new rule: NO MORE CHEERIOS IN THE CAR!

It's the most wonderful time...of the year!

AHH! Holidays are here! I'm so excited. I'm one of the rare people that actually LIKE seeing decorations in stores around Halloween. I know, I'm sick. I just love the holidays. Call me crazy.

This week I went to Pier 1 and it looked as if I walked into Santas toy shop. Err...without the toys though. I could spend my whole paycheck in that store. I love everything, the decor, the sounds of Christmas music, I could go oh and on.

I just wish an elf would come into my house and transform it into the beautiful displays they have in there. Where is this elf I ask! I have been playing the Christmas music non stop on Demand while we are at home. I think Clint may get sick of it before Thanksgiving. Oops.

My Funny Honey

Last Saturday we celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday. At dinner, Noah kept on wanting to wear his Aunt Mo's glasses. Cute, right? Well, it's more funny than cute. The glasses are hot pink with black stripes! He kept on putting them on and I thought it was hilarious. Here are some pictures of it.

A random act of kindness

After work Clint went to the store to get some things we needed for dinner. Once he got home I was watching TV with Noah. Out the corner of my eye, I see Noah carrying some flowers and walking towards me. It was so sweet! It was completely random and I totally didn't expect it. It made my day! I don't get flowers a lot (seriously, maybe 1x a year!), so needless to say I was very happy. It was funny b/c Noah thought it was so much fun to carry the flowers around. Noah became angry when they were put in the vase and he couldn't carry them anymore, haha!

So, thanks Clint for making my day!

I'll take some pork juice

So, on Saturday we were out and about doing some errands. We decided to open up our new Entertainment Book and check out a new place for lunch. We went to Churros Cafe, and it was delish.

We both ordered the traditional cuban sandwich. I thought it was really good, but Clint is like..."it needs like a dip or something". I was kinda puzzled and thought in my head oh please...do NOT ask the waitress for something. Well, the waitress came and asked how it was and he responded "it's good, but do you have some dip or something? Maybe like some pork juice?". I wanted to DIE! DIE! Did he just seriously ask for PORK JUICE? Seriously? She of course started laughing and said she would see what she could do. So, she comes back out with a small bowl of...pork juice, YES pork juice. I was so embarrassed.

I mean, I guess I know some sandwiches come with a "dip". Hello, I am a french dip fan. However to ASK for pork juice? I think I almost died.

It is fall...it is fall

the leaves are falling everywhere...that means it's FALL! (sorry, Yo Gabba Gabba gets stuck in my head 24/7).

Ahh it's October. It's cooled off a bit and there are a lot of "boo's" out there. In the beginning of October Noah hated ALL THINGS HALLOWEEN. Seriously, Clint scarred him for life at Lowes (see a few posts back).

A few weekends ago we went to Red Bluff Farms in Folsom, LA with Clint's mom and sister. It was fun, they had animals and a few pumpkins. We took a hayride it was cute. After that we headed to the farmers market to pick out pumpkins. And it was so nice b/c it wasn't 90+ degrees. I mean seriously, what fun is it to pick out pumpkins in that sort of heat? Ick.

Last weekend we headed to "Park A Boo" at Lafeniere park. My sister was in town with her rug rats, so we all went down and had a good time. They had Barney, SpongeBob and some crazy looking creatures walking about. Noah's favorite thing was the music where he could bust out his moves and shake his money maker (ok, I kid, I kid, his tush!). The kiddos seemed to have a good time and they looked adorable of course.

This weekend is Noah's 1st real Halloween (last year he was sick...boo!). I'm excited. Our front yard has 2 blow ups..or BOO'S as Noah says. Plus, some fun pumpkin lights. It's like Clark Griswald himself put up some decorations. I wonder what Clark...err, I mean Clint has in store for Christmas. Stay tuned!!!

Welcome to my room

Noah loves his room, I mean reallllly loves it. When people come over he brings him to the room and points to everything. To his pictures he says "Bebe!!!" and to the animals Angela painted he just starts sherieking and pointing. It's really cute.

Last night my parents came over and ofcourse, Noah brought them to his room. So, my parents kept on saying things like "Oh Noah, your room is so nice"...blah blah blah. Well, my mom goes to leave his room and Noah runs infront of her and shuts the door. He was holding them hostage in his room! How cute is that? I swear, his cuteness is too much to bear some days.

I'm A Believer

So, last night I come home from seeing Jade's baby (who by the way is super cute) and found Noah sitting on the couch. He was clapping and moving his little body. Clint said that he had to rewind the last 15 minutes of Shrek a few times. He said that Noah's loves when all the characters dance and sing to "I'm A Believer". It was so cute. Noah definetly loves to dance, sing and clap his little hands. Here is the video, it is super cute.

YAY for new appliances!

We haven't had a dishwasher in over 2 years. So, in 2 years I have dreaded to do the dishes. For some reason, I don't feel dishes are clean unless they have gone through the dishwasher. You see the dilemma I've had for the past 2 years then.
Anywho, we now have a dishwasher! YAY! My life has totally changed, it's fab.
On another note, our washer and dryer is now inside! At our old place the laundry room was outside. I hated it! If it rained it was a pain to do laundry. What a headache. Well...now, it's perfect! YAY!

You only have one?

Ok, ok this may come off a bit mean but I'm sick of everyone asking me when I'm going to have another baby. Do I want another baby? Yes! I very much so want to have more children. Am I pregnant? No, not yet.
Everyone thinks they know the "right" time for someone to have another baby. I'm even talking about complete strangers. Two people, yes TWO asked me when I was having another one in the line at Lowes to get paint! An old man goes "you shouldn't wait, do it now, believe me". Well, thanks old man but I really don't appreciate your comments on the spacing of my children. Then a mother goes "OH, my kids are 24 months apart and it has worked out great. You should really get pregnant soon so they will be close, if not they won't be close when they grow up!". Seriously? My sisters are 7 and 14 years older than me and I think we get along just fine. Would I have liked a play mate closer to my age? Yes, I would have. However, that doesn't mean we would be more or less close compared to my sisters.
Plus, what if I wanted only 1 child? OR, what if I couldn't have anymore children? You never know someones problem and for a complete stranger to give unwanted advice is very odd.
Sorry for the vent, but I'm sick of people asking me about this. Well, not asking me. I'm sick of people telling me what to do regarding this.
Vent over.

The way you make me feel!

Noah loooves music. He dances in his room and claps his little hands. His favorite toy is his boom box. He loves to pick it up and walk around with it, you would think it's 1984! Anywho, this morning in the car I was listening to my awesome MJ cd Tiffany made for me and the song "The Way You Make Me Feel" came on. I glanced back and Noah's whole body was stiff/straight except for his neck that he moved side to side to the music. His face was totally emotionless but he was jamming to the music, then all of a sudden he started clapping. I looked back and started laughing and he got embarassed. I told him to keep on dancing and he smiled and started clapping again. It was so cute.

I'm just trying to help!

Last night Noah decided to take all of Uneaux's food and put it piece by piece into the water bowl. He must have done this pretty fast because as soon as I finished loading the dishwasher I found this. So, as I was cleaning up the water bowl (fishing out the old dog food and throwing it in the trash), Noah then comes up and pushes me out of the way and dumps the other bowl of Uneaux's food into the trash can! I guess he thought he was helping but as soon as I realized what he was doing I screamed "NOAH!" and then he dropped the whole bowl of food on the ground. Great...so not only was I cleaning the bowl mess he caused, Clint then had to sweep the floor. I know he thought he was helping but it caused a great mess. He really didn't understand why we were upset and correcting him. Oh well, he is too cute to stay mad at for long!

Sick Noah...AGAIN!

Remember my last blog post saying we were going back to recheck his ears? Last Friday when we went they were perfect ears! However, Monday came and we had quite a scare. My mom called me on my way home from work saying Noah felt warm. I got there took his temp and it was 102.5, which was high but not very alarming. I knew he had 2 teeth coming in so didn't think much about it. Later that night he was burning up, so I took his temperature and it was 103.1. Being a worry wart since he never had fever that high I called the on call pediatrician. They told us to go to the ER. I so wasn't expecting that, so I got ready and we left. Before we did we checked his temp again and it was 103.6, so off we went to EJ. We checked in and everything was going fast and smooth until we got into the actual room and we waited...and waited. Thankfully Noah was sleeping, which was great because I'm not sure how he would have survived waiting that long in a stroller. Diagnosis: DOUBLE ear infection again! Seriously, he was well for 48 hours. It's been so hard with him being sick and moving, but we are doing it. He doesn't have fever anymore but still taking meds...stay tuned. Hoepfully we are over this!

Sick Noah

Last week I was home with Noah. It was such a long week for us. I really felt bad for him. He had a terrible cough and a double ear infection. He was put on a breathing machine 3x a day. He hated it! The silver lining was that Labor Day was Monday so I missed 4 days instead of 5 from work. He had fever for over a week, it was a miserable time. I haven't spent that much time IN my house since I was on bed rest and you know how miserable I was then.
We actually go back today to recheck his ears. Hopefully they are all clear and we are done with this!

Squeaky Shoes

Noah loves his squeaky shoes. Check it out!

It's Official

We are now homeowners! I'm so excited and nervous. The whole process was miserable, seriously I'd rather be in labor/delivery AND with the bed rest than to do this again. I hope we are in this house for a long...long time. We have met a few of the neighbors and most of them have kiddos the same age as Noah. I'm so excited about that.
We are starting this weekend on the paint, then floors will be next weekend.

I think he likes it

This week Clint and I had to go to orientation for Noah's "school". It was so cute, I felt like a real parent. It was adorable to see his little name on the bulletin boards and to see his schedule. It made me more excited than sad, which is good.
A few days after orientation they then invite the parents with their kids to come to meet the teachers and their classmates. Once we got there Noah just ran off and totally dissed us. I don't think he even looked for us once, he was over it kinda like "Oh Mom, I got this!". It was neat to see him interact with other children. There were a few fights that broke out over dolls and trucks, but over all it was great. A little girl even followed him around and put her arm around him. I think he may have a girlfriend!
When we told Noah it was time to leave, he had a crazy tantrum. He started screaming and he threw himself on the floor and started kicking. Everyone thought this was funny ofcourse, except for Clint and I. I'm glad he liked it though and didn't want to leave. I hope he feels the same way next week.

18 Months

I took Noah in for his 18 month appointment last week. Talk about a miserable experience. It seems that no matter what time of day I have my appointment, I wait forever. I hate it! Sometimes Noah is an angel and other times he isn't. After waiting at least 30+ minutes in the waiting room we finally got to another room where we could begin another wait! Noah is now 29lbs and I *think* 33 inches (I didn't write the inches down).
Noah did fine with the doctor. He was playing with her and acting totally cute. However, as soon as she left he became out of control! We were waiting on his shots and it took forever. So picture Noah stripped down to his diaper and screaming non stop. "Mama, bye bye...MAMA bye BYE!", I was losing it. After waiting 20 minutes for the shots (which I NEVER wait that long), I then decided to open up our door so everyone can hear the screams. Then...like magic the shots arrived! Hooray! Noah didn't do well with the shots, he did his typical heart breaking cry. It makes me so sad. Wahhh.

Fun at Lowes

So last weekend we were at Lowes picking out paint. After we picked out some colors we browsed by the holiday section. They had a ton of Halloween decor out and since I'm obsessed with holidays we decided to check it out. We saw this life size skeleton but it didn't seem to be on...or so we thought. So we walked by and nothing happened, so we just stood there for a second and checked out some of the items. All of a sudden the skeleton turned his head and let out a big "muhahahahaha" and looked straight at us with his red devil eyes. Noah SCREAMED so loud and started to shake in terror! Clint said before he even shrieked I went and scooped Noah up since I could tell it was about to happen. I think we scarred him for life! Now looking back though it was kinda funny.

Little Laughter

It's fun to brush your teeth!

Noah loves to brush his teeth. Check him out in these videos.

A funny video

Family fun time!

Ahhh, tomorrow we leave! I'm so upset! I can't believe our vacation is practically over. However, we had a great last day.
Clint, Noah and I slept in today. It was awesome! Noah is such an early riser that it's a real treat when we sleep past 7:30. After we woke up and had lunch we headed to the outlets and the commons to get somethings we eyed and wanted.
My dad and uncle Mike went to Seaside this morning. I wanted to take a ride out there but just didn't find the time! Seaside is so cute and I loved staying there years ago. Well, maybe next time.
After the outlets we all went to the beach. We took some pictures. We didn't get around to take pictures when Robin and the crew were there so it's not all the kiddos. I got some great shots of my dad and Noah.
Once we finished with the pictures we played at the beach. Noah and Abigail made some sand castles...or should I say Abigail tried to make them. I say try because whenever she built something Noah would just come and sit on it or kick it down! Such a bully.
Abigail, Clint and I went out in the water and boogie boarded. It was fun. The waves were very strong. We all stayed at the beach until it got dark. It was fun. When we all got back to the house Abigail, Noah, Clint and I swam for a while. While we swam Moe and my mom went and got dinner.
After dinner we had a girls night! Abigail had been wanting to go to the Melting Pot, so we finally did on the last night. Girls only! It was Abigail, Monique and myself. It was really fun. We got cheese, chocolate and chocktails! Mmmm. Abigail didn't like the cheese we got...which was weird b/c it's just like queso. Yum! However, she did like the chocolate she picked out (smores).
I can't believe we leave tomorrow. It's been such a relaxing week. Seriously, I didn't think of work very much and didn't even check my work email (which is huge for me since I check it at home a few times a night!!!). I can't wait to come back to the beach, it was a great vacation!

Gulfarium

Today we went to the gulfarium. It was awesome! While we were driving there we passed by the Ramada. Tiffany and I (along with our mothers) went there every summer on the last day of school. It brought back a lot of memories. I looked forward to that trip every year. It was s a blast.
Anyway, back to the gulfarium. They had many shows to see. We saw the sea lion show, the dolphin show and the multi species show. I think Noah likes the sea lion show the best. We were up front and he could see them very well. I liked ALL of the shows. They were really awesome. Another favorite was the penguins. They were little penguins and they were really cute. It made me think of Billy Madsion...teehee.
After lunch, we headed to Harbor Walk. It's an outdoor shopping area by the water. It was nice. We had lunch at Poppy's crab trap or something and it was very lousy. Seriously, DO NOT GO THERE! Clint didn't even finish his food, which is so unlike him!
We then came home and changed to head to the beach. Ahh, the beach. I could live at the beach this vacation. We went in the late afternoon again and it was cool and breezy. Noah loves running around in the water and playing in the sand. However, he tries to steal other kids sand toys. I'm not kidding. Noah could be a theif!
Once we got done at the beach we took a dip in the pool. Ahh, refreshing! Tonight Abigail, Monique and my dad went on a fireworks cruise. I can't wait to hear how it went! I wanted to go but the thought of being on a boat for 2 hours with Noah makes me a nervous wreck.
Tomorrow is our last FULL day at the beach, I don't want to leave!

Rainy Day

Today it rained...actually poured when we were at the outlets. It worked out well since we were shopping and not swimming or at the beach. The outlets had some good sales! Noah got some really cute stuff.
After we got back from the outlets Clint made jambalaya. Yum! Shay and Uncle Mike came up to visit too. After we fed Noah dinner and gave him a bath, Clint and I went to the movies!!! I was so excited. We haven't been to the movies since fall of 2007! I was psyched! We saw Funny People and it was hilarious!
Tomorrow we are going to the Gulfarium!

Camo and bows?

Today we went and had lunch at Pompano Joe's. It was really nice since it's located on the beach. We looked out at the water while we had lunch. The breeze was very nice! They had some "reggae rolls" which was their version of southwest egg rolls. They were good but not as good as Angela's!
After we had lunch we cruised a little bit. Clint wanted to go to Bass Pro Shop. Ugh. I wasn't excited about this. However, I sucked it up and went. Let me tell you...NEVER again will I go there. Seriously, I hated it! They had camo onsies with a white ruffle and bow. EWW bows and camouflage? BARF! I was a good sport and sucked it up once! I won't go again unless Noah begs me to go.
We headed to the beach again this afternoon. It was amazing! I swear around 5 is the best time to go. The crowds are minimal and the sun is slowly going down. This works out great for Noah since he hates the sun (it hurts his light eyes). He played with his shovel and burried my feet in the sand. We took him out in the water and he had a blast. He kept on running around in the water, it was adorable.
I even took the boogie board out there and caught some waves! It was a lot of fun! I love going late in the day because the sun isn't burning my albino skin. Once we left the beach we decided to take a dip in the pool. Again, Noah was great! I think we need to save outdoor activities till the late afternoon. He is a totally different baby then! MUCH more enjoyable!
Tomorrow we are hitting up the outlets! Yahoo!

Shopping and Sunsets

Ater we woke up this morning, we took a dip in the pool. Ahhh! All the kiddos (well most Abigail was still sleeping) were out swimming. Noah maybe last 10 minutes before he started to whine non stop. I'm not sure if he hates the pool, the heat, or it's just because he is sick but the whining doesn't seem to stop today.
Anyway, Clint and I got out with Noah while the rest of the gang swam. I forgot to mention in the past days that the Wii is a BIG hit! Guitar Hero seems to be the favorite around here. Robin is a guitar player, but isn't that good! However, Monique and Scott are pretty darn good at it! Monique is also good at Mario Kart. Dad tried to play it but wasn't very good but he loved playing!
Whew, got off track there. The kids played together for awhile and Robin's family began to pack since they had to get back home. I wish they could have stayed longer!
After they left we went off to Destin Commons. Noah is such a people watcher he is sometimes better being OUT then being at home. He loves checking everyone out. Destin Commons is really cute. It's like an outdoor strip mall. We mostly window shopped. I think I was the only one to buy something. I got a new Life Is Good hat. It was quite embarassing checking out. My debit card came up declined! What?!? I know I had money in there...ack! Thankfully I had some cash on me but as soon as we got out of the store I called Capital One. They said their debit system down across the board. Not a good thing when you want to go shopping...oh well.
Once we got back we decided to hit up the beach. And I mean we by Abigai, Brian, my dad, Monique and I. Clint and my mom stayed back with Noah since he was sleeping when I brought him back from the commons.
The beach was beautiful! We were there I guess around 6. Not a lot of people were there and it wasn't hot. It was the perfect time. Abigail and I ran into the waves and just hung out. It was fun. I hate the heat, so this is the BEST time for me!
Once we got dinner was ready, Clint was grilling steaks. Everything was yummy! Noah went to bed early. Abigail and I then made some rice krispie treats. Then we played Mario Kart and went to bed a bit earlier than usual. Excited for the rest of the week!

Already burnt!

Sunday Noah was up bright and early, even though he was up late partying with his cousins. It amazes me that if he goes to bed at 9 or 12:30 he is still up early! As soon as he woke up, he ran out of his room to see his friends. However, they were all still sleeping.
Since Noah was up so early, we decided to hit the beach. I never remember the beach here in Destin being so nice! The water was so pretty. The beach is a short walk from the house. Once we got to the beach we set up our spot. Clint went in the water to try to catch some waves. They had a few guys on surf boards. The water had a LOT of big waves, it felt great. Noah and I at first just sat on the sand. He played with the sand and his little bucket. We then went to the edge of the water and sat there while we let the water hit our legs. He really liked it...even so much that he tried to eat a bit of sand. Eww!
Once we got back we decided to take a dip in the pool. When we got back, the other crew was just making it to the beach. Everyone had a great day at the beach and swimming in the pool.
We went out to dinner, well we TRIED to go out to dinner. Every place was super packed! Since we have a party of 13 it's not the easiest task to do. We ended up going to the Bonefish Grill. I have went once before and thought it was OK but OMG it was so yummy! The bang bang shrimp were incredible! We sat outside and enjoyed some of the breeze and fresh air. It was a nice dinner.
After dinner, we went cruising. We drove up and down the strip and saw all the touristy things. Big Kahunas water park looked SO much bigger than I remember it. The last time I went was the summer of 2002 and it looks a LOT bigger now. Clint went to one of the many tourist shops that ALL looked the same to get a boogie board. Noah was already asleep once we hit the car so we all couldn't go look so we had to take turns of our tacky tourist shopping.
Noah has had a fever every time I take his temperature. Poor guy. He has an ear infection and is on antibiotics. He doesn't seem to mind though, he is still having a blast! However, I am already burnt! It's ONLY day 2! Oy!

They call me Mellow Yellow....

AHH we finally made it to 'da beach! The traffic was TERRIBLE on the way here. Seriously, I felt like we drove forever!
We stopped and had lunch at Cracker Barrel in Pascagoula. Noah had his typical biscuit screaming fiasco. He looooves carbs! When I went to get him out of his high chair he kept on reaching for the plate of biscuits and I kept on pushing it further away from him. Well...last minute as I picked him up he managed to pull the whole plate towards him and get about 3-4 biscuits on the ground. Ahh...sometimes going out to eat is a real pain!
After leaving Cracker Barrel Noah screamed the WHOLE way to Florida. I'm not joking....the whole freakin' way! I saw a Starbucks symbol from the interstate and immediately got off. I seriously needed a cafeeine pick me up for the traffic and the non stop screaming. The tunnel in Mobile was so bottle necked. I swear we sat there for about 30 minutes which is annoying in itself BUT top it off with the screaming.
Anyway, after a long whining drive to Florida we finally arrived. Where our beach house is located it's right off the bridge from the interstate so all we did was just get to the house. "Mellow Yellow" is really cute! The house is yellow obviously, and it has a cute porch. The pool isn't huge but definetly suits us and the beach is only a short walk away.
After dinner the kids played the Wii till 12:30. I can't believe Noah stayed up that long with them. He was having a blast!
Ta ta for now, I'll check back in tomorrow.

The Rush

I always feel like I am constantly rushing non stop. Seriously. In the morning it's rushing to get ready, to go to Starbucks, to drop Noah off...to get to work. You get the drill. I feel like I'm always late or in a rush NON stop.

Being a working mom has been taking it's toll on me lately. However, I'm not saying stay at home mom's have it easy. Stay at home mom's have a job just as much as I do, but they have their super cute kiddos around.

I had a break down on the way home from work the other day. I started crying and realized that part of me feels bad and thinks that I'm missing out on SO much of Noah "being little", which makes me super sad. I'll never get this time back and he isn't as little as he was yesterday and that day is already gone. The only great thing about it is that my mom or "GiGi" watches him during the day. I know it's a hard job for her, but she really loves taking care of Noah and I know he loves her too. Even if I was a stay at home mom, I'm sure a few days out of the week we would be over by Gigi's house. So him being with my mom is definitely the sliver lining. For now, it's a great set up.

Maybe, the grass is always greener?

My Little Helper

Lately Noah has been obsessed with the swiffer and broom. My mom has a maid who comes one day a week and I think he just watches her non stop and wants to join in the fun. Well, one day he found the broom and swiffer and went to town! It's hilarious. He really thinks he is cleaning. This kept him occupied for almost an hour. It was really cute.

Kisses from the back seat

While in the Starbucks line this morning with Noah he said his little voice "Mama!". Ok, yes, I know when he says "Mama" it's not very clear but I'll take what I can get! Anyway, so I then look in the mirror and see him blow me two kisses. How sweet! It really melted my heart. I love my little chicken.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

I decided to DVR an episode of "Yo Gabba Gabba" since it seems to be a popular show. The show starts off with a normal song and some crazy alien looking monsters. Seems fine so far...then all of a sudden Biz Markie comes out to do "Biz's beat of the day". This was hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing! I then went and searched and taped ALL the upcoming episodes. Well turns out he isn't an every day occurrence, just every now and then. Well, I needed to show others how funny it was so I turned to You Tube. I then found a Halloween episode...and I laughed so hard I cried. I have a really silly sense of humor, so maybe you will laugh too. If not, I'm sure you will just laugh at how dumb it is.

Life Before Noah

It's hard to think of life before Noah. What did I do with ALL that free time? It's so hard to imagine or even remember what I did before him. It was only a year and a half ago (not even). My life must have been so boring!

Do you remember the time?

In honor of Michael Jackson, I have a funny little story to tell.

Tiffany LOVED Michael Jackson growing up. Like seriously loved him. Not sure if many saw these, but Michael Jackson had some candy bars back in the day. Tiffany and I had these chocolate bars (I'm assuming Tiffany had them, and gave me one). We both can't remember the exact story BUT we remember eating the chocolate candy bars and that one melted on a car seat. We got yelled at and were in serious trouble. However, we can't remember what car it was in! It was either our mothers or my sister Monique's. Hmmpf. What a funny little story! When I spoke to Tiffany after hearing about MJ's death she said "I'm sure you don't remeber this...but" and I finished her sentence about the chocolate story. Hehe, funny.

15 Month Appointment

Last Friday I took Noah to his 15 month appointment. Thankfully we didn't have to wait a good hour in the waiting room like my friend had to do earlier in the week. I was dreading the thought of waiting in a room the size of a hamester with Noah running around like a crazy beast, glad things worked out. Whew.
As usual, the first thing we do is get Noah weighed. He weighed 29lbs! No wonder why I feel like my arms are BREAKING when I carry him. He was off the charts for weight. The pediatrician told me to stop giving him as many bottles, so he is down to 3 bottles a day. He gets one in the morning, one midday at my mom's, and then one right before bed. I'm also trying to cut out his puff habit! I am only saving them for dire situations to keep him entertained (like last night out to eat at dinner).
For height he was 32.5 inches. I'm not sure where this falls on the chart, but it seemed pretty normal. Lets get serious, based on his parents height he won't be very tall!
Noah even did some of his tricks for the pediatrician, incluiding showing her where his nose was. He got 2 shots and was less than pleased for one of them. He did just fine for the chicken pox vaccine, but for the MMR he SCREAMED. I felt so bad! It's crazy to think that our kids won't get the chicken pox anymore. Ahh the joys of medicine, right?
Our next check up is at 18 months, stay tuned!
And for your viewing pleasure, some new pics of Noah.

But 29 is SO old!

Last week Clint and I were watching "So You Think You Can Dance". Most of the contestants are late teens or early twenties. There is one lady who is 29. Granted, she looks a bit older than 29 in my opinion. Anyway, when the lady was saying that she was older than the other contestants, Clint blurts out and goes "Well YEAH you are 29, 29 is old!". That got me very sad! It's funny when you grow up and certain numbers are old to you. Like for me, I always thought 26 was OLD! And hello...I blew those candles out last year.

Realization

I know this is a silly post, so here goes. When I was about 6 months pregnant (give or take) Ann and I were at Cabrini for a mass (I'm assuming the Alum tea or something). She then realizes that I'm pregnant...for some reason it just sunk in! She even shed a little tear, we were both cracking up. I always remember that story, it's really sweet. Well fast forward to the present and I'm still in shock that I'm a "mom". Weird, I know. I knew I always wanted to be a mom...and I do remember the pregnancy and HELLO bed rest, but it still amazes me that I'm a MOM! When I think of mom's, I think of terribly ugly holidays sweater vests and minivans. So far I haven't gotten myself into one of those fab vests, and no minivan for me...yet!

Where's your nose?

My mom has been a great teacher to Noah lately (and I think my neice Abigail has helped her). Noah can now point to his nose, eyes, ears, mouth, and head when he is asked. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's really cute!

In other news, Noah's favorite game to play is Peek-A-Boo. He could play it morning, noon and night. He thinks it's hilarious. He will just sit in his highchair (or wherever) and cover his little faces with his hands and then when he opens them he cracks up. He thinks it's the best game ever.

Corks and Canvas

I've been to Corks and Canvas 3x now. It's one of my favorite things to do! If anyone wants to go...I'll go with you! The first time I pained a house with Angela. I think it was my worst of the 3, it's hard for mine to look good next to Angela's! The second time I went with a group incluiding my sister, mom, aunts and family friends. We did another house, which I think turned out GREAT! However, my last one was my favorite. I did a streetcar. I went with Ann and her coworker, it was fun. It was Ann's first time, but she did fab!

Starting in the fall Noah will be going to Kid's Day Out program for 1 day a week for a few hours. A week or so ago Clint and I had to go and register him. We were very excited he is going here since we were on the waiting list. The place was so cute! I got to spy on the classrooms and see all the little kiddos playing together. It was really sweet. It makes me tear up already! How in the heck will I survive Noah's 1st day of kindergarten? I know this will be great for him, he LOVES little kids so I know he will fit right in.

Noah is such a little lover. This past Friday we saw Clint's cousins cousin (got that?) and his son who is a week or so younger than Noah. Noah walked right up to him and tried to hug him! How sweet is that? They played a bit, but Noah was more interested in me making the crawfish dance or eating crackers. Can't blame him right?

Oy! What a headache!

We have still been looking at houses. 2 weeks ago we put in an offer on a house. It was a great house, very spacious, great location and needed a good amount of work but all in all it was really awesome. They countered our offer so we walked away and figured "eh". Well the listing agent suggested we make another offer, so we did...and they countered again which wasn't much less than the 1st time! Ugh...what a headache. I'm thinking it's a sign to just leave it be. However, there isn't much out there that we haven't seen. Hopefully the right house will come along soon! Noah is totally outgrowing our place now. My goal is to be in a house by Christmas, cross your fingers!

The Spaghetti Monster

The first few times Noah had spaghetti he could take it or leave it. He barely finished it. Well we had some rotini pasta with meatballs and ofcourse marina and he loved it! Maybe he just didn't like angel hair pasta? Go figure.
Anyway, whenever he eats spaghetti it's a complete mess. I'm talking about having to clean his whole high chair and ofcourse him from head to toe after. It's rather gross, but he seems to love it!
Whenever Noah thinks he is very funny he starts talking in his "monster" voice. It's a pretty scary voice for a toddler to have, but he thinks it's hilarious. This is why we named him the spaghetti monster!

Mother's Day

Let me start off by saying how lucky I am to be a mom. I love being a mother. I can't imagine why some people choose not to have children, Noah makes my life better each day!
Mother's Day started out great. As soon as Noah woke up, Clint took him to go get me some breakfast. They of course went to Starbucks to get me coffee, then to La Madeline to get me the fruit tart that I love so much. What a nice surprise! While they were gone I was able to take a nice bubble bath. It was very weird to be in the house completely alone...I don't think that has happend since before Noah was born.
After breakfast Noah wobbled over handing me his card and his presents. I received the new Tori Spelling book "Mommyhood". I loved her last book, so I'm so excited to start this one! Noah also gave me a gift certificate to get a mani/pedi!
We went with my family to Zea's for lunch. It was really nice. Noah enjoyed the food of course! Whenever we go out to eat he expect to be fed non stop if he is in his high chair. He loved the sweet potatoes.
After lunch we then went to my Aunt's house to visit with my grandmother, my aunts/uncles and cousins. Noah went swimming for the 1st time this summer. At first he was totally weirded out by it and hated it. He warmed up to it though and then had a blast!
All in all it was a great Mother's Day! If you are a mom, I hope your day was fabulous!

Noah when he was learning how to walk

Noah feeding himself.

Roseola

A week or so ago Noah had a bad fever that we just couldn't break. So, I took him to the Dr (it was a Monday) and she said it's probably nothing and it was no big deal. However, we did get a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia since Deuce was just diagnosed with it. Everything came back fine. Well, the fever was still high (over 103)on Wednesday. The Dr. thinks it's roseola and to look out for some bumps...well within a few hours he got some! Poor thing, it was little bumps pretty much all over his body but his face. They didn't itch though! I was getting so nervous b/c of the fever, but after those bumps appeared the fever was gone! It was a tough few days because he was so whiney...but in a way I LOVED it because he let me cuddle with him a few times a day! I can't cuddle with Noah at all anymore, so that was the silver lining to him being sick.

Totally Random

I know this is random but I just saw some pictures on facebook from a high school friend who just had a baby with a picture of food saying "Finally I can eat!" and boy can I remember that after having Noah. I swear EJ had the BEST french toast in the WORLD on 2/26/08! It was soooo good...or was it just because I didn't eat in over 24 hours?

He's Going to EAT ME!

A few nights ago Clint, Noah and I went out to dinner with my mom. At the restaurant there was this adorable little boy. As soon as we opened the door he screamed "I have a friend to play with!". He quickly came over to our table and began to talk to us and play with Noah. He was 3 and totally cute! Noah really took a liking to him and kept on trying to hug him. I've been trying to teach Noah to kiss me or blow kisses, but I didn't think he was catching on. Whenever he does kiss...it's very opened mouth and just a general lean in your direction. Well he tried this on that cute little 3 year old and he screamed to me "He is trying to EAT me!". It was too funny!

Hoppy Easter!

Easter was held at my parents house. We had a crawfish boil and other real yummy treats. I made a carrot cake...from scratch! How domestic of me! It was very very good! It wasn't very hard to make either, I was very excited about it! Noah received some really cute stuff ranging from PJ's to hats and ofcourse...candy! It was great to see all the kiddos together. Noah and Deuce were so cute! Noah would hug Deuce, it was really sweet. We had an egg hunt and a pinata. The pinata was quite an experience, it took forever to crack open! The kids all made out like bandits! Abigail loved the bathing suit I got her. I hope everyone had a great Easter!

Raise The Flag!

Panchos has reopened in Metairie and we have driven by it many times since we live so close to it. The lines are crazy long. Clint has been dying to go, so we decided to go over Easter. Saturday morning we woke up (which was around 7) and decided since we were up so early we may as well brave the Panchos line. Panchos opens at 10:30, so we arrove around 10AM...already to a line! We stood in line and within a matter of minutes it was about 30 people deep. Kinda weird to be waiting in line for lunch at 10AM..but beats standing in it for hours (which friends of ours have). It did not dissapoint! It's still as greasy and yummy as ever! However, I wasn't able to eat my flautas with cheese with my favorite Panchos friend, Tiffany. Next time she is in town, we are going!

On The Hunt

Clint and I have begun to look at houses. We found a realtor through a friend and checked a few out today. I was hopeful that some of these houses would be contenders...boy was I wrong! Some were just down right terrible! There was one that we saw that honestly the ceiling tiles were HANGING on top of our heads! I mean...seriously? The first one we saw was very cute, but would need a lot of work. Some just didn't work at all, like for example one had no tub in either of the bathrooms! That won't work with kiddos. We did find one that we really like though! We will keep on looking and researching till we find the right one...we know it's out there!

It Won't Be Like This...for long

The song "It Won't Be Like This For Long" by Darius Rucker comes on ALL the time on the radio while I'm at work. The first time I heard it, it really got to me. It's hard to imagine Noah not being a baby. Everyone says that the time just flies by, and so far it has. But thinking of him being 16, honestly freaks me out! Maybe it's because I'm the baby of my family? Who knows. Either way, check out the video. The lyrics are really sweet...if you are having an emotional day you may want to grab some tissue!

Easter Photo Shoot

Since I spent more than I wanted on Noah's 1st birthday pictures, I decided to try to save money by taking his pictures for Easter on my own. Since it's a spring picture and it's so pretty outside, I decided to give it a try. I took Noah to City Park and tried to captures some good pictures. He barely would look at the camera, but I got some cute ones still. Check them out! Isn't his outfit too cute? My sister got it for him.

Oh how I love pack and plays!

Since Noah is walking and pretty much getting into anything and everything lately, I really cheerish our pack and play. It's one baby item I can say I used from day one till now (thanks to "Pops" for buying it for us). As an infant (say under 3 months) it was great to put him in the bassinet part as he naps. Now it's been great to keep him entrapped! I put him in there every morning while I'm getting ready and not really in the afternoons/night since we play. I know I said this about the jumperoo, but how will I live without this? It will only be a matter of time that he can climb out and I dread that day for many reasons. Ofcourse the obvious that he can't be in one safe spot but the fact that he won't be a baby anymore. However, I could use the extra room in the den to put more of Noah's oodles of toys.

Spring Time

I'm so happy it's now spring. I love how it stays light later, it finally gives Noah and I some time to spend together outside after I get home from work. He loves his swing! He giggles and smiles most of the time he is in it, it's so sweet. Since the weather has changed to being warm, I packed up a lot of his clothes that I figured wouldn't fit him in the fall and moved some to the back of his closet. It's so sad packing up clothes, a few weeks back I held the preemie onesies he used to wear all the time and almost started sobbing. He was once so little, and now he is so big!

And yes, I do mean so big. At his appointment on Monday to recheck his ears he is now weighing 26lbs 7oz (which is about the 75th percentile). He is just so heavy to hold, my arm honestly feels the burn when I'm holding him for longer than a few minutes.

He is walking really well. However, Clint said he walks like a drunk elf! He will get better with time. I have been told by Tiffany that I need to take more videos, so stay tuned for that.

Hot!

I go to Starbucks just about every morning to get my mom a coffee before dropping off Noah, and of course to get myself a treat as well. I'm so afraid I'm going to spill hot coffee on Noah (or really anything hot for that matter) so I say "Hot, Hot!!" a lot. Well this morning he kept on saying "hooooooot...hooooooot" in a tone no louder than a whisper. It was too cute!

I'll take the chicken...but not that chicken

I know you have seen those little microwaveable meals for kids, Gerber makes oodles of them. I've bought a few b/c their "mac and cheese" is much better than just plain mac and cheese because they throw in veggies and some chicken. Noah has no problem eating those sort of meals, BUT he spits out the chicken. It's hilarious b/c if we make chicken (like roasted or grilled) he eats the heck out of it. I picture him saying "Oh, I'm too good for that fake chicken". Too funny.

Houston...we have a WALKER!

I'm happy to announce that Noah is now walking! Yep, you read right...walking! He has been doing a few steps here and there, but now he can walk across a room without falling! Hooray! He is still very wobbly, but still walking nonetheless! He walks from the den to his bedroom. It's crazy and so cute at the same time. Hopefully running will be far behind!
I'm just so excited he will be walking at Easter, too cute!
Enjoy the video...I know it's long but I wasn't able to edit it for some reason, so get some popcorn and enjoy!

Everybody Footloose!

Last night was Jennifer White's much anticipated wedding. I think everyone who went could say it was a blast from start to end. My sister, Robin, sang at the ceremony and ofcourse it was beautiful. It was great to see a lot of old friends. We got down all night and my feet are sore from it! Jennifer looked so pretty. Ann and I waited all night to hear "Footloose" and it finally came on.

Teething...when does it stop?

I swear, I feel like Noah is forever teething. I knew he had one coming in (bottom right) but the fussiness we were dealing with was the ear infection, or so I thought. Over the weekend I noticed another tooth. It's on the top, like one of the fangs! Ha! So funny! It's super sharp. It will be funny to see the 4 he has on top, and the 4 on bottom...along with the fang. Too funny!

Ear Infection #2

Noah had a low fever on Friday along with a terrible icky runny nose. Since his fever wasn't too high, I didn't think much of it. Well on Saturday he barely ate, which is not like him at all! I pulled out all the stops to see if he would eat. We were at Chilis (which by the way was terrible, I now remember why I haven't been in over 2 years)and I ordered him some potato soup. He loves potato soup, but he wouldn't even take a bite. He also wouldn't eat my chicken tenders, so unlike him. His fever on Sunday was 102ish and he still wouldn't eat and was just cranky.
So Monday morning I took him and and found out he has another ear infectin. Oy! His ear was so icky and crusty because the ear wax melted from the temperature rise. Noah is now on an antibiotic and is eating a bit better. Here is hope to the last ear infection of the season. The doctor said hopefully we won't have another one till fall!

1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Noah's birthday this past Saturday at the Audubon Zoo. A few months back at the event we had at Cabrini for the scholarship for Vanessa, I won a birthday package for a carousel party. I can't go on enough of how great the party was.

It was supposed to rain Saturday BUT it didn't, we definitely lucked out! The room was so incredibly cute. The decorations on the wall, to the "thrown" chair for the birthday boy, to the soap holder, everything was in theme. It was such a great room.

The kids were able to ride the carousel (and I think just about all adults took a ride on it at least once too!). At first Noah was a bit unsure of the carousel and didn't like it, neither did Deuce. However, the next few times I really think he got the hang of it!

We had cake, of course, and Noah became a complete mess! I really wasn't planning on him destroying the cake as he did, but oh well. All in good fun right? It's a fact that Noah loves cake and love may actual be an understatement. He can definitely put down some cake. He tore it up! Thankfully I had an extra change of clothes AND the icing came out of the white bib and his birthday outfit...phew!

I'm so lucky to have such generous family and friends. Noah received some awesome gifts! You all rock!

I'm A Bridesmaid!

Yahoo! My good friend Ashlee just got engaged and asked me to stand in her wedding. I'm so excited and incredibly honored to play such a big part in her special day! We have been friends since high school and have always stayed in touch even when she was away at college in Pennsylvania. No date is set yet, but they are thinking Spring 2011. I have only been in my sisters weddings and I was 13 and 17, so this is going to be totally different. I can't wait!

The Big 1 Year Dr. Appointment!

Noah went for his 1 year checkup on Monday. He is in the 90th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height and for his head. Yahoo! She said he is looking great.

Noah can now eat just about anything except peanut butter! There are so many things that he has to try now (with of course the 3 day period)! I think this weekend I'll do eggs, then strawberries! He can even have fish! So much to try. Very exciting indeed.

This weekend we may try to stop the bottles. We need to be off of them between 1 & 2, so may as well try! He does great with a sippy cup, so I think he will do fine.

The doctor stressed for us to work on Noah saying more words. By 15 months she wants him to be saying 10 words...right now he only does 2! Eek! We need to step it up a notch!

It's so sad to know that only 2 more appointments then we only go once a year, where did the time go? Where is my little baby?

1st Year Pictures

Last week I took Noah to Sears to get his picture taken. When we arrived, he was very cranky. Not sure why, I was thinking maybe he was afraid of the balloon? He wasn't his normal self. We always see the same lady at Sears and she even commented that he wasn't as photogenic as usual. OH well, so we went along and took a few pictures in his "birthday outfit" and some Valentine pictures. They came out really really cute, despite him being a sour puss!

Well, I also brought along a small cake and balloons for his "smash cake" pictures. It's hilarious, they came out great! I was suckered into buying the whole cd because there was NO way I could choose just a few pictures. At first he just started out touching it, not realizing he can put it ALL in his mouth and actually eat it! Well let me tell you, he was a grand mess! Icing got everywhere! His face of course...on his ear...hair...legs...toes! I think it's safe to say that Noah looooves cake! He was so messy and gross we had to clean him in the SINK!

I'll take that piece of cake...

Sunday was my nephew Deuce's 1st birthday party. I can't believe he is already 1 and that Noah is closely approaching the big 1 himself. So picture this, we are all around the table signing Deuce "Happy Birthday". My sister lets Deuce touch a bit of the cake and she then started slicing up the cake. She places a plate in front of Deuce for him to dig in...and what happens? OH my piggy son decides to take that piece of cake and eat it himself!!! It was too funny! Clint got a great picture of it! Maybe at Noah's party Deuce will steal a piece of his cake! However, I think Deuce made up for it a bit when he stole Noah's sippy cup! It was all really cute!

Where did my good eater go?

Since Noah began eating, he has always been an excellent eater. I think one time he didn't like the stage 3 foods (pretty sure it was chicken noodle) but he liked it the next time. I just think it was the change in texture. Well now whenever I give him anything new, he loves it the first 5-10 bites then he spits it all out! For example, on Saturday I made this Gerber graduates side that was cheddar mashed potatoes and broccoli (which stunk SO bad when I heated it up, but Clint said it was pretty yummy). The first few bites, he loved it! Then all of a sudden, he started sticking his tongue out and like gagging. However, he would still accept the spoon of food when I gave it to him. It's so odd. I hope this isn't the beginning of boycotting food! He was such an easy baby because he liked everything...hope those days aren't long gone!

Sick baby boy

I was off of work on Monday so I went out to lunch with Shannon and Brooke with Noah in tow. Noah was having a blast as usual and giggling with the girls. At PJ's I felt his head and thought he was warm. However, he was laughing and having fun so I just thought "Well, I guess he is hot". He fell asleep in the car and I then went to put him in his crib once we got home. He took a pretty long nap, but I thought nothing of it.

Once he woke up, I could just feel the heat coming off of him. I took his temperature and he was around 102. I began to just watch him but got nervous and called the on call Dr. They just said to give him Tylenol and if it got higher to take him to the ER and if he still had fever in the morning them to take him to the Dr. He just wasn't himself. He wanted to just sleep or be held.
When we woke up, he didn't have a fever. Within 30 minutes he felt super warm again and his fever was back up. I then called and made an appointment to take him to the doctor. Once we got there he was weighed and he is now 23lbs 4oz. Big boy!

Once we met with the doctor she said he had a virus and a double ear infection. Poor guy! We have an antibiotic for him and are instructed to give him Tylenol. It's been a rough 2 days with him. One second I think he is fine...then the next he has a fever and has the "glass eye" look. I hope we get over this soon, I don't like seeing him sick. We have to go back in 2 weeks for his ears. Stay tuned!

10 Months

I can't believe Noah is now 10 months! It seems like he is more of a "big boy"...if a 10 month old can even be called that...these past few weeks. He is very good with his cruising, I think he will walk soon. Once he begins walking he won't be a little baby anymore! Where did this past year go?

One of Noah's new favorite things is this CD Clint's aunt gave us. It's a Disney CD and the first song is "I'll be coming 'round the mountain". It has Mickey and Goofy signing and every time I put it on Noah looks around to see if they are here! He gets confused that it's just a song and not the characters here like in Disney World. It's cute. He starts bouncing up and down and his eyes get really wide! It's the cutest thing! Thankfully, I'm not sick of the song...yet. In time I suppose!

Photographs

As most people know, I always have my camera on me. I'm forever making scrapbooks and uploading pictures for everyone to share. I think I am like this because my mom barely ever took photos. Honestly, when we made my Sweet 16 book I only had baby pictures...then I was like 5. My friends teased that I was really adopted or something equally lame (love ya girls!).

So anyway, I was at Shannon's grandmothers funeral yesterday and they had bulletin boards with pictures on it and I really liked seeing her memories through pictures. Of course there were typical weddings/births/graduations. It was great to see them all. A little old lady was also looking at them and just reminiscing on the old times.

Not sure my point to this blog, but just a reminder to save your pictures. They are the best way to remember things!

Cruising...

Side note: I do know that I have to do some blogs about our fab Disney World vacation during Christmas. I hope to do that this weekend.

Noah is all about the "cruising" (you know, the holding on to furniture while walking deal). It's really cute but very nerve racking! We have no carpet in our place just hard wood and BIG HARD tiles. So...whenever he falls my heart beats super fast. Well he is becoming such a pro and is quite daring. Lately, I have tried to trick him by holding out in front of him a cookie or his favorite toy..or using Uneaux as a prop. It's like he knows what I want him to do and he just looks at me and looks away and giggles! It's cute, like he is saying "Oh Mom, you are too silly!"

I've read on some sites that this means full on walking is very near in our future. I'm not too sure if we are ready for that yet! He is such a good crawler, he is super fast! However, walking would have been great in Disney World. I can't tell you how hard it was to hold my moose of a son in line for long spans!

Teething.....

Noah currently has 4 teeth. Two on the top, and two on the bottom. Teething has never been fun but lately...it's really been hell! During our trip in Disney World he SCREAMED one night...all night. I'm not talking about waking up once or twice and crying for 10 minutes, I mean he cried for straight hours. Side note: The Polynesian must have incredible wall's because my parents next door didn't hear a thing! Well anyway, the next day I saw a little tooth coming through on the bottom. I was relieved to know that it was just a tooth.
So that lasted one night and his sleep was off here and there but we just figured hey, we are traveling, it's normal. Well the past few nights since we have been home Noah hasn't slept one night ALL the way through. He is now 10 months....Clint and I are exhausted by this! Last night he went to bed a bit earlier than usual (around 9...he is a night owl I tell you). Anyway, he let out a whimper around 10:30 but went back to sleep. We gave him some Tylenol before bed to help with his pain. Well geez...come 4AM and hell broke loose!! Clint got up and gave him a small bottle thinking this would hold him over till 6 when we get up...but nope! He screamed and screamed!!! Clint took care of him for the most part (thanks for that!...he had a meeting with an advisor at 8:30 at UNO so he wasn't rushing off to work). Well, once I got up and out the shower Clint went to get us breakfast and poor Noah cried the WHOLE time. I mean for 15 minutes straight! Nothing that I would do would soothe him. It was very sad. The screaming continued until I put him in the car and then he zonked out! He sometimes falls asleep in the car but then quickly wakes up when the car stops but he was out like a light! Phew!

Resolutions

Of course I have the typical resolutions like eat better, exercise more, yada yada yada. But this year, I am having a different one. I am going to love those more who love me. I feel like most of the end of 2008 I was reaching out to others who weren't reaching back. I'm sick of throwing myself out there. So from now on, I'm going to try more on those who are already in my life. I'm going to be a better daughter, sister, aunt, friend, wife and above all mother. I can't wait to see what 2009 brings us...but 2008 was a great year and will be hard to beat!!

Back Tracking...Christmas

This blog should have been written weeks ago...so pretend this is a time warp....

We celebrated Christmas with Clint's mom and brother and sister the weekend before we left for Disney World. It was a really great time. Clint made his yummy jambalaya and Clint's mom brought over some really yummy corn and crab soup (one of my fav's).

Noah's "gammie" (I hope I got the spelling right!) gave him tons and tons of toys! His favorite toy (actually his favorite toy of ALL he got during Christmas) is the Fisher Price Ride A Long Lion. He loves it! He hasn't gotten the whole concept to stand behind it and push it but he loves to pull up on it and ride it. It's really cute.

We gave Clint's mom a calendar fully loaded with pictures of Noah and our family from the past year. It was really cool and it was fun to make. I actually just got a code for a free calendar when I bought my new camera...I'm thinking about making one for myself!

When Clint's mom was leaving she gave Clint a piece of paper with a clue on it. We were kinda confused but followed the clues. It was really fun! The clues were like "Noah sleeps here"..."Uneaux's treats"...."Tastes good on toast". It was cute! It lead us to the tree with a stocking with a gift in it. It was very thoughtful and a lot of fun. I don't know how they put all the clues in the house while we were here, it was pretty awesome.