New Post!

Finally, a new post!  As I mentioned in my last post, Directors Choice got a new account- so we have been working non-stop to organize the Association.  Noah has been very understanding.  He has not held it against us that we have missed Baby Boot Camp and Mother Goose class for two full weeks!

No worries though, his time has been spent with his Gramps and his Cousin John, who have both spoiled him to his heart's content.

Two weekends ago, we visited Jared, Lisa, and Blake in Lake Placid (Florida).  Sarah (Scott and Lisa's cousin) and her husband Chris were there as well.  They were celebrating there closing on their new blueberry farm that weekend and they took us to the farm and showed us the operation.  It was very cool.  Noah especially enjoyed it as he did not have to ride in is carseat while on the farm.  For the record, we were the only vehicles there.  Also for the record, Noah prefers to ride sans carseat...  Aunt Lisa made pancakes, Uncle Jared grilled, and we all swam in the lake- it was the perfect summer weekend.

Blake came to visit on Monday and Noah spent the day with him and Aunt Lisa while I worked.  Noah was sure to relay what a great time he had.

This past weekend was spent at Gams's house saran-wrapping and packing Aunt Stephie's furniture and other household stuff.  Tonight we will be towing it on a trailer behind our 4-Runner to Maryland.  Scott has told Gams and I we will not have driving privileges- we both said we would be happy to drive as long as we do not have to go in reverse or make right-hand turns.  He has a surprisingly sunny disposition considering what is in store for him.

 

Though it was a busy weekend, we did have time for a get together with our Mariposa buddies.  Amanda made us a scrumptious dinner and Noah got to play with Harper and Annabelle (his future girlfriend!)

Now we are off to Maryland.  Noah is spending the duration of our trip with Gramps and Mema- who we cannot thank enough!  I fear he will be crawling and perhaps have teeth and a diploma by the time we return!

Narcissistic Noah

Seriously- Noah had been talking to himself (and sitting up!) in the mirror for quite sometime while I searched for the camera and then began filming.  He is infatuated with himself- at only 6 months!  It took me years to become mesmerized by my own reflection- of course now I stare and talk to myself as well... yet another example of how ahead of the game he is...

Noah spent several hours yesterday with my cousin (his second? cousin) John.  Apparently he had a blast, because he took a 2 1/2 hour nap after John left and then slept through the night!  Thank you, John- you rock.  In the meantime, I was with Pam, Noah's Mema, working to get  a second account for Directors Choice (our property management company).  As usual, Pam blew them away, because she is awesome like that, and now we are a whole lot busier!

We would also like to send a special belated happy four month birthday to Noah's buddy, Harper!

And here is another video of Noah, hanging with his "peeps."  Well, we are off for our big weekend with Uncle Jared, Aunt Lisa, and cousin Blake.

Fridge Follies

I knew there was something I forgot to mention in my last post...

On Friday I contacted my fellow neighborhood desparate housewives and several other caring relatives proclaiming that my fridge was on fire. Upon our return from Boot Camp, Noah and I heard what sounded like a wire shorting out coming from inside the freezer. I looked and noticed a glowing orange behind the back freezer wall. As I am naively overly confident in my mechanical abilities, I pulled the fridge out from the wall and tried to dissasemble the back. I found nothing, but the freezer was still glowing so I called Scooter and told him we would be shopping for a new fridge this weekend- this simultaneously filled him with dread and excitement... "We can't afford a new fridge! Oooh, LG has a really cool new fridge out with a whole bunch of space and a drawer freezer!"

As dreams of a new refrigerater danced in my head I called my bff :) next door, Amanda and asked to inspect her fridge... nothing glowing there. I rushed back to my house, wondering if the new LG would fit and called Scott back. He then instructed me to pull everything from the freezer and dissasemble the panel from inside. I removed the screws but could not get the panel off- just then the sound (wire shorting out) stopped and the glowing behind the panel went black... the freezer was still running though. Noah beckoned- so the mess would have to wait for Scott to get home.

That evening, everything was still working when Scott came home from work. We had no time for further dissasembly as we were leaving for dinner with our next door buddies- an evening with a lovely dinner and what is now only referred to as "the incident." The weekend came and went and the fridge, still working, was on the back burner.

Finally, last night as I was giving Noah his bath, I demanded that Scott dissasemble the freezer. I was positive that the wire in the back of the freezer had shorted out in a puddle of dissolved ice and our fridge was doomed for sure. In the back of my mind I pictured the fridge blowing up while Scott was at work and Noah and I were at home. I was channeling the scene from Steel Magnolias where the huband comes home to find his kid crying and Julia Roberts is unconscious one the steps with the phone in her hands. I told Scott as much as he was pulling the back freezer panel off.

Did anyone know freezers can defrost themselves? Behind that big metal panel in the back of the freezer sit a bunch of coils that look like the inside of a toaster oven... apparently they glow orange when they get hot like a toaster oven too... And when there is a bunch of ice clumped on them to be defrosted, it sounds a little like a wire burning out when it is being melted off.

So our fridge is fine, catastrophe averted. There will be no famous movie scenes played out and our new LG will have to wait.

The dishwasher, on the other hand, was making a funny noise last night... I really like those nice drawer dishwashers... Where did I put that measuring tape?

Poop Tuesday

I have eluded to Poop Tuesday several times in recent posts and have been asked for further explanation. For those of you who would like to know, our garbage is picked up on Wednesdays... therefore, my Tuesdays are filled with cleaning the cat litter box, scrubbing the toilets, and emptying Noah's diaper pail in order to avoid a very stinky garage. Needless to say, by the end of the day on Tuesday, I am all pooped out... (ha ha- that was a Katie Penn joke!)

On a sad note, a treasured member of our family and reminder of my days at Landmark has passed on- Frances (my blue beta fish) was given a burial "at sea" Friday night. Per Katie's advice, we let Noah know he was going to find Nemo- we wanted to spare his feelings.

I will do my best to make sure the next post is a "clean" one- it seams as if recent posts, much like my Tuesdays, have been centered around less than desireable events...

"Yack-A-Doodle Dandy" or My Diaper Runneth Over

I extend my deepest apologies ahead of time to those of you with weak stomachs for the content of this post... read at your own risk...

This picture was taken Wednesday night- Noah was popping out from under the recliner and making his Dad laugh.  Noah was particularly enjoying this little game as he loves to bounce.  A little later that evening, we were playing another game he loves- We raise him up over our heads as he smiles and say "Big Boy!"  His smiles are adorable.  

As many of you already know, our son has always been prone to spit-up... in large amounts- numerous time throughout each day.  In fact, when Noah's great grandmother (Nana Joan) came to visit him at only a month old he christened her with, I am certain, a bottle full of spit-up.. soaking the entire front of her shirt.  She now brings a change of clothes when she comes to visit.  

As I was saying, I was gleefully holding him up over my head calling him a big boy when he promptly, without warning, spewed... all over my face... and in my mouth.  Scott let me know he would not be kissing me goodnight as I jumped in the shower for the second time that night.

Life goes on and last night we were invited to dinner with our friends Ben, Amanda, and Harper- otherwise known as the Litigator, the Lactator, and the Bug.  They are the ones to be credited with the discovery of the Poopsmith Song, which coincidentally, would have been appropriately used last night.  The six of us went to La Bamba, where Noah sat in a restaurant high chair for the very first time.  We were so proud!  As we dined on enchiladas, refried beans, and two pitchers of Sangria, Noah happily sat and chewed on his little blue sunglasses. 

I should take a moment to state that Noah had been constipated all day, so I fed him prunes with lunch to alleviate the ailment.  I did not think much of it as I have fed him prunes in the past with no incident.  Prior to leaving for dinner Noah spit up, as usual, but it was brown- no doubt tinged with the color of the prunes.  No worries- we changed him and went on our way.

I turned from my glass of Sangria to check on our little one, who still sat happily, chewing on his little blue sunglasses which were now colored brown...  Had he spit up again?  Did he manage to get into the refried beans?  Oh, no, not our son... Of course it should not be so simple.  I took the sunglasses from his chubby little hands and inspected, I peered down to the platform on which he was seated- a massive pile surrounded him.  Scott and I promptly picked up both ends of the highchair and walked it, with Noah still seated, outside.  As I wiped down his legs, hands, and face, and changed his clothes, Scott scooped and scrubbed the highchair with Clorox wipes from our trusty diaper bag- I don't think that highchair was ever that clean.  Noah, unfazed, smiled and laughed at Amanda who also remained calm throughout the entire debacle.  When all was said and done, and we were peacefully finishing our Sangria and fried ice cream, Amanda reassured me- Not to worry, at least it was organic.

Family, Friends, and Fourth of July fun

Noah has had quite the busy week!  Last Monday night, his cousin Blake and Aunt Lisa stayed at our house.  "No-na," as he is affectionately called by Blake, thoroughly enjoyed his time spent with Blake on Monday and Tuesday.  They are pictured here on our walk to get the mail.  Blake narrated for No-na and me as we cruised around the neighborhood.  Ever the concerned older cousin, Blake made sure No-na was comfortable on our walk- grabbing his favorite toy to bring with us and pointing out his assigned seat in the stroller.  Blake, No-na aspires to be as much of a gentleman at the ripe age of almost two as you are!

Following our sleep-over with Blake and Aunt Lisa, Gams came for a visit and Noah spoke his mind...

Notice how excited he is about everything he says... The books all tell parents to listen for the high note at the end of their baby's sentence- as if they are asking a question.  The parents are then supposed to follow with an answer to continue the "conversation."  I have been listening for that questioning high note for five months now and have come to the conclusion that Noah simply has all the answers!  

Perhaps we are all born knowing everything and slowly forget as time passes on.  No wonder I was such a know-it-all when I was a teenager!  Noah has no questions, only proclamations and declarations- I have decided that he may very well grow up to be a Baptist preacher or the next infomercial guy (look out Billy Mays, Noah is selling Oxi-clean now!)

Wednesday was spent with Blake, Gramps, and Mema- a normal day at the office with all our best workers.  All went well until it was time to leave and I decided to take a little spill down the outside stairs... Noah was sleeping peacefully in Gramps's arms during this spill.  I saved the computer from harm and managed to only bruise my ego and my rear.  No worries- if anyone asks we'll just say it was domestic violence and leave it at that :)

Thursday was a much anticipated and exciting day- Noah's buddies and their moms joined us for lunch.  Harper, handsome as ever, regaled us with tales of his latest No Drama Mommas event and raved about his upcoming trip to Longboat Key- at three months, he is already an accomplished conversationalist.  No surprises there though- he takes after his mom...  Little Annabelle Grace joined us for the first time as well.  Only three weeks old and already breaking hearts!  Noah was dressed in his best organic baby blue onesie (it brings out the blue in his eyes) and had planned to present her with a singing rose which he had already tested and pre-chewed.  Alas, Bella was unimpressed and slept through the whole event.  Don't worry Noah, there will be plenty of time for wooing soon enough!

Friday was another eventful day- we all went to pick up Aunt Steph from the Airport!  Noah decided that his first Fourth of July was the best Fourth of July because he got to spend it with his Aunt Steph!  On Saturday the family joined us for lots of food and fun at Gams's house- we meant to swim, but Noah napped instead...  We will post pics of the Fourth (Fifth) soon- I will have to get them from Gams's camera.

We spent Sunday and Monday with Aunt Steph, shopping and eating.  Steph said her hair was too frizzy and would not allow a picture post of herself...

Today, after taking Aunt Steph to the airport, it was back to the grindstone- Mother Goose Class, Wal-mart, and Poop Tuesday...  Coincidentally, Noah pooped in his carseat today- he must have known what day it is (how thoughtful of him to wait for today).  As I was scooping and scrubbing, I found myself muttering "Where does poop go, Noah?"  But you all know that already, don't you- if there is any question, please feel free to reference our song list... Poop in the potty, Noah... Poop goes in the potty