An Afternoon in the Leaves

There is a distinct possibility that I am completely obsessed with this boy:

 But I do love these two, as well. A lot. So much, in fact, that I was willing to rake a huge pile of leaves on to the sidewalk for them to ride their bikes through.

 But let's be honest... Who doesn't love baby chub?

 And baby bubbles?

Fall Goodness

Apple Spice Bread with Streusel. Yum.

My Favorite Time of the Year

I've been playing around with shooting at different times of the day. I've figured out the aperture well enough, but still struggle with the lighting/shutter speed. I love the colors this time of year, though, so thought it would be a good time to shoot some of the world's beauty. I only wish I could capture it better.

A Few Things I Forgot

-Noah loves the Long-Legged Sailor song. He smiles and grunts and laughs.
-Noah has been laughing for a few weeks now. He laughs when you tickle him, especially under his clavicles, but also when I laugh and he feels it.
-Noah goes to town on his fists. I'm surprised we haven't lost one down his throat by now.
-Noah loves it when I bounce on our big exercise ball with him. It calms him down almost immediately.
-"How big is Noah?" makes him smile every time. He looks a little surprised when I throw his arms out wide, but then grins from ear to ear.
-Tummy time isn't always his favorite, but he'll spend at least 5 minutes on his belly before he gets upset. Lately he hasn't really been working on picking up his head because he finds a fist to suck on--He is quite content with his head to the side and his hand in his mouth.
-Noah is much quieter now. Where he used to grunt all day and night, asleep and awake, he is now only noisy when he needs something, is happy and talking, or when he's filling his diaper.
-Noah loves to talk. The sound we hear the most right now is "ah-goo." There are also lots of ooos and aaahs. I love his cooing.
-We're currently dressing Noah in 3-6 month clothing, although it is getting a little tight, especially with a full diaper. I think we'll probably get another month out of it, though. I accidentally bought size 2 diapers instead of size 1, but they seem to fit just fine. I had noticed that the 1s were a little tight, so I guess we're moving up a size.
-Noah loves to be outside, AS LONG AS THERE IS NO WIND. This kid hates the wind. It makes soccer practice a little bit difficult. But in the evenings, when we're waiting for Alan to come home, and Noah is fussy-fussy, we sometimes walk outside. I just swaddle him up, then walk back and forth in front of the house while the kids ride their bikes. He calms down pretty quickly for that. Until we go back inside, at least...

I feel like time is passing so quickly. I can't believe that Noah is already three months old. I want to slow down the clock, savor every minute. I know that before long, my baby boy will be sitting and crawling and walking and talking. I just don't want to forget a thing.

4 weeks--Where did all this hair go?

Noah at 3 Months

This little boy brings us so much joy--I don't even know where to start. At three months, Noah is heaven to be around. His first couple of months on this planet were probably a bit stressful for him. He had a couple of very fussy months here. But now Noah has adjusted to life in our family and is starting to take after his big brother. Noah has turned into this little laid back baby. He still lets us know when he needs something (in a big way), but is very content to just sit in his bouncy seat or on the couch, watching the world around him. He loves to watch his hands; I see him in the mirror in his car seat, just staring at his moving hands. He loves to watch me fold laundry, too.

Our daily schedule is beginning to turn into a routine. Noah sleeps until about 6-6:30AM, then nurses for about a half an hour. Because he is sleeping through the night now, he tends to eat until he pukes. I'm not really sure what to do about this; he doesn't seem to know when to stop, but is happy to continue nursing forever and ever. After nursing, we get Nate and Abbie breakfast. Noah goes to his bouncy seat in the dining room and sits with the kids while they eat, then watches me make lunches. Nate and Abbie get dressed, then I do their hair and help them brush their teeth. I usually vacuum the dining room (where the dog sleeps) then, too. Noah could care less about the vacuum. He sometimes startles when it turns on, but then doesn't even seem to notice it after that. Once Nate and Abbie are ready for school, I get Noah dressed for the day. Waiting allows him to puke on his pajamas and avoids me having to change his clothes twice before 8AM.

Noah usually falls asleep in the car on the way to take the kids to school. We walk them to the playground and wait for Abbie to go into her classroom. Then we wave at her through the window by her cubby room and head home. Sometimes Noah stays asleep long enough for me to exercise, but usually he wakes up once we get home around 8:45. I nurse him again, swaddle him up (he won't sleep for longer than 10 minutes unless he's swaddled), bounce him to sleep, then lay him down for his morning nap. This morning nap tends to be the only good nap we get. The rest are just cat naps. While Noah naps, I spend about 30 minutes on the elliptical (usually going about 4-4.25 miles), then shower and get ready for the day. I do a load of laundry--Yes, a load every single day. (I'm blown away by how much laundry I do...) Then I get the house cleaned up.

Noah usually wakes up around lunch time, so then I nurse him again. We usually play for a while after this, then he watches me fold and put away the laundry that I started earlier in the morning. He's up for about 2 hours before he likes to go back to sleep. At 3 we leave to get Nate and Abbie from school. Noah likes to nurse around 4 or 5, usually right when I'd like to start fixing dinner. But Nate and Abbie love to play with him, so they can usually keep him occupied. The only time of day that Noah isn't happy-go-lucky is the evening. This typically starts right around dinner time, then lasts until he goes to bed. That happens somewhere between 8 and 10, although last night he was up until 11. So dinner-prep time is my least favorite time of day. Alan doesn't ever get home in time to help with dinner, and sometimes doesn't even make it home to eat with us, so it's just a hard time of day. After dinner, we all hang out as a family until about 7:30 when the kids go to bed. Alan has been doing bedtime since Noah likes to nurse for a while right around then. That is, selfishly, my favorite time of day. I get to sit on the couch with Noah, watch TV, and do nothing else. It's nice. Then we sleep and start the whole thing over the next day.

I'll be sad when this boy can roll and I can no longer leave him to sleep in random places around the house.

Loving his bouncy seat--It's his favorite place to observe his surroundings.

Still rocking the double chin. (And the bald head...)

Mickey is Noah's favorite animal. He smiles at Mickey almost as much as he does at Nate.

I get stopped just about everywhere I go by people telling me how gorgeous Noah is. I can't get through Target without a comment on his amazing eyes. I agree, of course.

Smiling at Nate.

Noah sometimes spends a half an hour in this chair in his room, staring at the airplanes on his ceiling. Maybe he'll be a pilot?

I am still completely smitten by this boy. I'm just in love. Even when I'm having a bad day, Noah fills my heart with happiness. He definitely knows his mommy now and smiles at me whenever he sees me. His favorite place in the house is his changing table (this boy loves a clean diaper) and smiles continuously whenever he's there. Noah is sweet and loving and happy. He's a great sleeper, a pretty good nurser (although I would classify him as somewhat violent), and a very content little boy. Noah has turned my world upside down, making every trial and tribulation I suffered to get him here absolutely worthwhile. Even though he's only been here for three months, I can't imagine my life without him.

Chasing the Geese

Barry the Bear

Abbie's class has a teddy bear named Barry. This bear goes home with a different child each weekend. Then at the end of the weekend, the kids write a story about their time with Barry and include pictures, making up a book about Barry.

Abbie got to bring Barry home this past weekend. She was so excited because she was the first student to get Barry. Here's Abbie's weekend with Barry in pictures:

33

We celebrated Alan's 33rd birthday on September 19th. I cooked a pasta dish with asparagus and a balsamic butter sauce, plus baked sweet potatoes. We had brownies for dessert. Nate bought Alan a model kit of a WWII aircraft carrier. Abbie built him a lego set of the two of them singing on a stage together. I gave Alan Season 7 of The Office on DVD. It was a good day.