Noah News: Week 36

I took 2 pictures all week. 2 (and they are both mediocre at best). Blogger AND Mommy fail. Anyway...

Food Blues - I am no longer pregnant, nor nursing a baby. My body has also finally received the memo that we don't need milk any longer! So, now that my body is 100% mine again (aside from the 8 month old who thinks I am his personal jungle gym and grabbing toy) I am having to make some big adjustments. While being able to have a glass of wine at 5 and not having to worry about alcohol in my milk is amazing, it is also going to go straight to my hips. This new found freedom is sprouting some interesting limitations...calories. I am no longer a calorie burning machine and the days of not thinking much about what I eat or drink are o.v.e.r. My first order of business was to ban animal crackers from our house. Luckily, with the lack of need for extra calories, I am also not ravenous every second of the day. That said, I am trying to learn how to eat like a normal person once again and it is proving to be challenging from time to time. I am also trying to kick up my workouts to even things out. I guess the moral is that I have rejoined every American woman in the battle with body image and weight and need to remember where I fit in in this long forgotten society!

P.S. - I had Velveeta Shells & Cheese for lunch today. I am clearly doing great on my commitment to being fit & healthy. :-(   (BUT, Noah thought they were amazing, too. A kid after my own heart.)

Peanut in the swing again! He loves this thing (and watermelon).

Baby Steps - No true forward motion just yet, but we are starting to see an interest develop in Noah that makes us think he might be considering some independent steps. He has started stepping around things (not so much side steps, but a few little shuffles here and there) and has tried the occasional forward step which is really more just an off balanced one legged stand/fall. All in all, baby steps toward baby steps. (Is anyone else thinking about What About Bob?)

Birthday girl, Hanna, with Noah.

It was a light news week around here. Noah and I enjoyed plenty of outside play time, visits with baby friends, and our standard weekly routine. We spent the weekend with a trip to Santa Cruz for a dinner, lunch with friends, and celebrating Hanna's 9th Birthday. Pretty much a standard week in suburbia for this family of three. We need to soak up all the time we can because next week's Noah News will be coming to you from ST. LOUIS!!!!  WOOOHOOO. Please pray for me on a 4.5 hour flight, solo, with a son who refuses to be still!

Noah News: Week 35

A couple of things I failed to mention last week (a week 34 addendum, if you will):

1 - We officially have teeth! Well, tooth and a nubbin primed to break through. It has been a tough week of teething with a cold & ear ache to boot but hopefully we are nearing the end!

2 - I have been packing up a lot of outgrown clothes the past couple of weeks and have been dumbfounded about the fact that he is already out of his six month clothes. Then I realized that Noah is 8 months this week and is closer to the 9 month mark than 6. Time to unpack the next box of hand-me-downs!!

Free Style Standing - Noah has taken his love of standing to a new level this week. He no longer needs something to pull up on, he can just stand up right in the middle of the floor. He is also obsessed with doing everything in a standing position (eating, bathing, holding things that weigh as much as he does, playing, etc...). So far, no steps, but I imagine we aren't too far away from him trying to make some forward motion.

You know, helping my vacuum by holding the cord. Probably not my most shining parenting moment.

You know, helping my vacuum by holding the cord. Probably not my most shining parenting moment.

Chomp Chomp - I had a thought for a half a second about doing Baby Led Weaning but then opted for the more traditional (read: easy) route of purees and standard baby foods. That said, I do try to give Noah the opportunity to try whatever I am having when it is safe and convenient. It gives Scott panic attacks but so far we have only had to give a few back slaps to avoid any serious choking incidents. This week we added fries and risotto to our list of "real" foods the little man has eaten.

Fun with purees.

First french fry. For the record, it was a pretty "organic" french fry...no salt, and pretty un-greasy.

First french fry. For the record, it was a pretty "organic" french fry...no salt, and pretty un-greasy.

Nap War #725 - Holy sleep disaster. Noah gave us a run for our money this week in the sleep department (there is always something going on with sleep and kids, I swear). At one point I came in to wake a sleeping Scott and let him know he had to step in or CPS might come and take my poodle away. Of course, I am exaggerating, but I was at the end of my rope with a little boy who was beyond exhausted and refusing to sleep. Luckily, I think we have sorted out most of our issues by making the transition from 3 naps to 2, daily. The naps are longer with more awake time in between. So far, everyone is happier and the fighting has ceased!

I pretty much waited until he was falling asleep playing to try and put him down for naps to avoid the inevitable fight.

I pretty much waited until he was falling asleep playing to try and put him down for naps to avoid the inevitable fight.

Hitchin' a Ride - Arnold Pomeranian is a bit of a hilarious character. We live in Northern California. I am pretty sure the temperature hasn't broken 85 all summer however AP apparently thinks that we are in the midwest with his antics. On a recent walk he decided he had had enough and was pretty much going to lay down in the middle of the sidewalk. I devised a better plan...

Yep, AP cruised along on the front of the Bob. Kicking baby feet are apparently a better option than walking.

Yep, AP cruised along on the front of the Bob. Kicking baby feet are apparently a better option than walking.

Baby Your a Firework - (I award me zero points for headline originality) We stayed a bit closer to home for the 4th this year and made an overnight visit to the Strand Fam's for some Independence Day fun. It was just as the 4th should be...full of friends, kids, wine, pool, BBQ, outside lounging and fireworks. Oh, and did I mentioned Noah slept without a PEEP from 7pm to 6:30am. This was through throngs of kids screaming and playing, fireworks and (gasp) a not pitch black room to fall asleep in (I know, I know, my kid needs to learn that life isn't full of black out shades). 

Baby Noah...entertainment for all.

This is what a half sick, completely tired baby at the pool looks like. He slept for 45 minutes in the Ergo shortly following this shot.

I am going to make them all reenact this photo in 15 years.

Tanner was a very sweet cousin and let Noah play with his fire truck. Clearly, this made Noah a very happy baby.

That's My Dinosaur! - I have been pretty lackadaisical about "training" Noah to wave, clap, etc... I feel like we do these things and in time he will follow along. Most of our learning is play based, and so far he is right on track. This week was really exciting because he caught on to our touchy feely books. He grabbed one, opened it, and started "petting" the pages. Of course, I ran out to the bookstore and got 3 more because I was so excited that he "gets it"! It is really cute to watch and equally hilarious to watch him try and feel books that don't have any fun textures ;-). 

Well, the book he loves is in  the picture but the one of him actually "reading" it is not nearly as cute as this little face (and hand, "hi, blog readers".

Couch Surfing - Guess what? This past weekend we only had 1 obligation. For the whole weekend. Yes, I have noted the date for posterity. Our one obligation was the Crusick boys birthday party which was a great excuse to sit outside and visit with friends...so, not so much an obligation as a nice visit to the park! The rest of the weekend was spent rotating on and off the couch and spending as much time in my robe as humanly possible. Of course, there was a trip to Urgent Care for me and my never ending milk supply...but even I am tired of hearing about this so we are going to leave it at that. We'll go ahead and call it a great relaxing weekend. 

Ugh, he is too cute for me to handle.

Noah News: Week 34

HI!

Milk Light - Well, I am not back with a milk free update, but I am officially seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a looooooong week. It has taken a lot of will power to not pump and if I see another peppermint I might puke. I spent the latter half of the week wearing very loose fitting clothing to hide the lopsidedness (which I was convinced was going to be a permanent condition and was contemplating my surgical options) and have pretty much exhausted my pea ice packs BUT I think we are close to officially packing away the pump and being done with this milk factory fun for good. 

Scott thought he was funny on Friday night. Apparently I have been a bit obsessed with this whole weaning process.

I found some liquid sage which has been much more pleasant than trying to choke down sage tea. I have no idea which of my thousand remedies has been successful but some combination is working!

Strong Ticker - We paid our obligatory follow up to the cardiologist this week and heard nothing but good news about our little man's ticker. His EKG was perfect and while the doctor still heard his murmur she said she has zero concerns and to go forth and play! Should he still have a murmur at 2 we could possibly end up going back but even then she said she would likely do nothing other than advise us on sports that would be more safe for the little guy (i.e.-track, not wrestling).

A happy little heart patient.

Summer Babies - Noah joined up with this friends Max and Atticus at the park this week for a little watermelon eating contest. It is so fun to see him with other babies! It has also been great to see these three grow together from little blobs into toy stealing little monsters.

Noah, Atticus and Max enjoying their summer treat.

Holy Guacamole - FOR REAL this time. Scott and I made a stop at Chipotle for lunch this weekend and decided to give Noah some guac to try. Verdict: love. It might have been the "spoon" we used to serve it but he just kept gobbling it up.

The aforementioned "spoon"!

Washing it down with a little water.

Mother's Instinct - I'm sure it is 100% coincidence, but of course the week after Noah weaned he got sick. By Friday I had this gut feeling that his ear was bothering him and decided we needed to go to the doctor before the weekend. While the scheduler was not thrilled that I wanted to bring in my fever-free, teething baby to have his ears checked, she obliged and off we went. And, guess what? He had a red little ear with some fluid going on. Yep, I was right. That said, it was very minor and we are trying to let it run its course without antibiotics, but we have them, just in case. :-)

Sick face :-(

Let's be honest though, he still looks like this most of the time! Silly scrunchy nose.

Fancy Pants - Saturday night Scott and I put on our fancy duds and headed out to a wedding. This was our first wedding to attend since ours and it was really fun to recall all the favorite parts of our own day as well as have a nice night out together. 

It's fun to get all dressed up once in awhile.

Donning the Orange & Black - This weekend it was time to dress up our little Cardinals fan in some black and orange for his second baseball game. Ok, ok, he can pick who he wants to root for when he is old enough ;-) and until then I will support the Giants love. He was a great fan, once again, and we all had a really nice day at the ballpark. It is really exciting to do some of the things we did before Noah with him and realize that they are just as fun, if not more, because we are sharing it with our favorite little person! 

Dad rocking the Ergo!

Giants baby.

** I would like it to go on record that I am early in getting this week's post up! Just to make up for my past and future tardiness.