stephanie on the move: Noah News: Weeks 48 & 49

Happy Flight! GO CARDS!

We are back in California! Since being back I have opted for cleaning every nook and cranny (including the junk drawer and the dreaded filing cabinet) in place of blogging. This is a major disservice to you, my reader (singular, I'm a realist), but it is a major help to my house I can assure you. However, it still looks like a bomb went off (I blame the toddler(?!?!?!)) and we have a mouse in our attic. So, in between setting a zillion mouse traps and picking up blocks for the millionth time, I am here with a quick update.

Our time in St. Louis finished up perfectly...well, aside from the fact that it was spent without Scott. Fall officially descended and it was PERFECT. I gladly laced up my walking shoes and set out around the old neighborhood for a daily stroll. The one thing that struck me on these walks...SPACE. I didn't realize just how much I missed the bits and pieces of land that don't have a house stuck on them. Case in point:

Don't you just want to take off running across it?!

Sure, there are power lines in this particular example, but in California that would be no big deal...they would just run across your backyard. So, yeah...I soaked up the crisp air, friendly neighbors and space for the last few days in the midwest. Oh, and something about that air made me want to don my PCH cheerleading uniform and hit up a football game. Nostalgia, I tell ya.

The ride home was pretty amusing. Unfortunately Noah and I didn't luck out with any extra seats so we got to wrestle for 4.5 hours in flight. We had a brief break in Denver but that was more of a shenanigan than a break. I wish I would have kept a list of everything I did to keep Noah entertained...it would have included things like:

Play with seatbelt
Play with headphone
Throw keys into aisle
Throw keys into aisle again
Eat puffs off the nasty airplane floor
Pull eveythign out of seat back pocket
Eat headphones
Play dentist (this was a good one...about 5 minutes of Noah sticking his airplane-ridden hands in my mouth)
Walk the aisle
Change diaper.

You get the idea. We switched activities approximately every 1.25 minutes so it was A LOT.

Next time we might spring for some extra legroom :-).

Wait, back up...before we took off from St. Louis I got to do a Parents as Teachers (PAT) visit with Katie's mom, Debbie. Seriously, California, GET ON THIS! This program is pretty much amazing and I am so disappointed we don't have it. Debbie came and showed us some great toys we can make at home (that are age appropriate for developmental learning) and I learned SO MUCH about what is going on at his age. One thing we honed in on was separation anxiety. While Noah is pretty good and hasn't given any full blown fits, he is starting to become more clingy and gets sad when his people leave. I could go on forever about this, but suffice it to say, I was so happy to have the opportunity for this visit.

Debbie said driving was extremely advanced for his age!

Now, for some Noah Updates...Let's make these a top 10 5 list, shall we?

5 - Just do it. Noah got his first pair of Nikes and they are amazing. We tried Stride Rite...I will not be back. We are sticking with the "cool" kicks for life!

Seriously, when did a toddler arrive at my house?!

4 - Mooooooo. We have entered the world of "real" milk. And by real, I mean from a cow, not a human. Noah isn't quite sure about it just yet but hopefully by his birthday he will be a convert.

No pictures of him and his milk yet. He does enjoy holding this phone up to his ear though!

3 - SIP. After a few failed attempts, Noah can now use a straw. He pretty much thinks it is the greatest thing ever and we have found it is a nice tool to keep him in the high chair a bit longer.

Obsessed.

2 - Chop chop - Noah's first haircut. The picture speaks for itself.

:-(

1 - Peanut Butter Jelly Time! - Yep, call CPS, I gave my child peanut butter before his first birthday. And guess what? He loves it. I am so happy to have a good "on-the-go" lunch option.

He'll probably be packing sandwiches for all his homies in his car!

And, just a few more for the road:

Allie and I tried to get a picture of all 3 kids. It didn't turn out as planned. I also wish I had a full picture of the witch they are sitting in front of. Allison is pretty much amazing and this witch project was genius!

We tried to go to the pumpkin patch as a family. Noah was not thrilled by this activity this time around :-(. Luckily, we still have a bit of time before Halloween so maybe we can try again.

Yeah, the cornstalk in the foreground is awkward.

His face here pretty much sums up how he felt about the day.

The 2.5 seconds he spent with his feet on the ground at the patch. This little guy just wanted to be held!

I am pretty glad I am not still carrying him in my belly though!

If we are friends on Facebook, you know that there is some serious battling going on back here in Menlo Park. While Scott and I stay tried and true to our respective teams...we let Noah alternate games to keep the peace!