Noah News: Week 29

From the newsdesk:

From Red Birds to Cardinal Red - This weekend Noah traded in his St. Louis Cardinals gear for some Stanford Cardinal red. With Stanford a stone's throw away we decided to take advantage and go watch an afternoon baseball game. It was such a great weekend activity and wonderful place to bring kids...I see many more of these in our future!

Fun at the ballpark.

Together, again - Well, my break up with The Bar Method was short lived. I tried to be strong and not let it woo me back, but, alas, my summer bikini bod (aka, post baby bod) needs some consistent exercise. The Dish is great, but a little unpredictable on when Noah and I can make it so I need to get back on the work out wagon, pronto.  Cheers to consistency!

No one wants to see my lack of muscle definition so instead you get Noah during meal time. Broccoli is the only item I have given Noah that hasn't gone directly in his mouth (it actually never made it)...he did try his ear though!

Get up, Stand up - Our little Noodle loves to stand. I give all the credit to his exersaucer but this kid is obsessed with being vertical. He is getting really good at holding on to furniture and standing for short periods of time. He is even starting to pull himself up from time to time. Good thing we lowered the crib mattress!

His facial expressions kill me! You can also see the pointy/pokey/hard trunk that will be replaced (read below).

Safety First - As I mentioned above, we went ahead and did some babyproofing as soon as Noah starting scooting around. Nothing major just yet, but we did cover all electrical outlets and lower his crib mattress. We also bought a new coffee table/ottoman for our family room since he has already bumped his head a few times on the current one (which is a trunk...not baby friendly).

Noah took his first swing ride (seriously, I need a parenting lesson) and LOVED it. Tanner was an excellent helper pushing.

Babysitting Bonanza - Ok, prepare to judge me. After a particularly bad day a few weeks ago (no naps, cranky baby, etc...) that ended with me in a trance sitting on the kitchen floor moaning about how I can't move, much less cook dinner, Scott and I decided that a little relief for me one day a week might be a good thing for everyone:

• Me: I am pretty much addicted to my son. Yes, this is a good problem to have, BUT the fact that I have not left him alone with anyone else for more than three hours (yes, this includes Scott) is not healthy. I need some "me" time and I need to practice some separation from Noah for both our sakes.
• Noah: Up until last week, Noah had only ever been babysat by family and only a handful of times. We really want him to be comfortable being left, put down for naps/bed, and hanging out with people other than us. We feel that having a babysitter or two will be a good start to Noah learning to be without me and/or Scott and hopefully we won't fight separation anxiety too badly as he gets older.
• Scott: Scott is the most supportive husband on the planet. He has been coming home whenever I have an appt (I think I am on #4 now for my stupid tooth), need to hit the gym, or just need a break. Of course, this takes away from his work day and his time. So, having a babysitter will allow me to schedule appointments without taking Scott away from work. PLUS, hopefully he won't have a zombie wife sitting in a kitchen corner any more ;-).

So there you have it, my justification for having a babysitter 3 hours once a week. Oh, and my mom lives in Missouri so I can't just have her pop over from time to time (not that I'm bitter-ha). We also plan to use the sitter for date nights, so, another bonus point for babysitting! ANYWAY, to quickly wrap up, she came, Noah loved her, everything went great (as soon as I stopped babbling like a loon and actually left the house), and we can't wait to have her back next week.

We did a little babysitting ourselves this week. Can you spot the extra furry mound?! It was one full bed!

The city by the Bay - The Golden Gate Bridge celebrated its 75th anniversary this weekend. While we opted out of the crowds and mayhem of the marina, we did journey to the city for a little lunch. I was craving some good sushi and decided I needed to go with an old favorite to make sure my lunch delivered. We also took a little detour through our old neighborhood and reminisced about all the fun times we had there and what we miss (coffee shop, nail salon, Thai food, Chinese food, market all within two blocks of home), and don't miss (fog, cold, parking, wind, lack of space), about living in the city.

No spoons so he settled for chopsticks.