My Toothless Wonder

No, not Noah! I'm not really sure how she eats anymore. Bagels, apples, corn on the cob--It's all a bit of a challenge these days.

Boy or Girl?

Um, well, yeah. Just don't ask.

A Pillar of Light

Carthage, IL

Noah Laughs, (Etc.)

Abbie is still the queen when it comes to making Noah laugh. Nobody else can get him belly laughing like she can. 

After Abbie did this with Noah for a day or two, he started doing it, too. Now he grabs at stuff and yells, "My! My! My!" Uh, thanks, Abbie?

I'm often shocked at how much Noah seems to pick up on a daily basis. One day, he learned four new words! For my own memories, here's a list of Noah's words/skills at 13 months old:

Mama

Dada

A (Abbie)

Nay-Nay (Nate-Nate)

All done

Down

Truck

Car

Cracker

My (Mine)

On

Off

Bum (Thank you, Nate, for teaching him that one)

Go

Cat

Quack (Duck)

Roar (Lion)

Moo (Cow)

Woof (Dog)

Wee-ooo (Fire truck siren)

Helicopter sound that I don't know how to write

Shhhhh-ing me while I shush him when we're in his rocking chair together.

He does all of the actions for the Itsy Bitsy Spider and Patty Cake; they are his favorite games to play and always cheer him up when he's sad in the car. He can sort of use a spoon, though, it doesn't always go in his mouth with the food still on it. He loves forks and is getting better at spearing food with the fork, then putting it in his mouth. When I ask him where his belly is, he pats it. He pats my back when he's giving me a hug, and pats my arm when I'm patting his butt while he's nursing. He loves his toothbrush. When I ask him if he wants to brush his teeth, he smiles huge and points to the bathroom. He loves to do on and off/ open and closed. If there's a top for a cup, bowl, container of any sort, Noah will ask to take the top off and then put it back on. Over and over and over again. He still loves trucks the most and yells anytime he sees one out the window. Sometimes he hears a truck and runs to the window to look for it. He also loves airplanes and has learned to look up in the sky when he hears one (even when we're inside). He loves to be outside more than anything and yells, "Go!" at the door several times a day. Now that he can walk, he likes to walk up and down the block (he walks all the way to the corner), up to people's doors, and follow Nate and Abbie on their rollerblades. He loves animals and wants to greet any dog, cat, squirrel he sees. More than anything, though, Noah likes to be naked. A lot. He comes to me multiple times during the day, pulling on his clothes and saying, "Off." Sometimes when he's particularly grumpy from teething (or Chicken Pox!), I just take of his clothes and suddenly everything seems to be okay.

Noah Prays

What a reverent baby! Noah reminds us to pray before every meal, and even before snacks. As soon as I put him in his highchair, he folds his arms and puts his head down. When I ask him if he wants to say a prayer, he smiles this big old grin. So thanks to Noah, we are all much better about thanking our Heavenly Father for our food. 

Noah Walks

This video is from about a month ago; Noah actually started walking just after his first birthday. Now he walks everywhere. In fact, when I see him crawling, it looks pretty strange. He's gotten very quick on his feet, doesn't need to keep his arms out anymore, can carry all manner of heavy items (pots, pans, pillows), and has even started trying to run (mostly from us when he has something he's not supposed to have). But for the sake of documentation, here's a video of Noah when he was first learning to walk:

New Orleans

My little sister Liz is attending graduate school in New Orleans. It had been over a year since I'd seen her (she hadn't met Noah yet!), so I decided to take a trip down to NOLA to visit her. Also, I recently finished reading Anne Rice's series, "The Mayfair Witches," which takes place in New Orleans and had me wanting to see the city, as I haven't been there since I was very young. So on last the day of June, Noah and I flew from Madison to New Orleans, with a quick layover in Chicago. Noah did great on the flights, not sleeping for more than twenty minutes, but happily playing in my lap. Once we got to   New Orleans, Liz picked us up from the airport and thus began our trip! I'll let the photos tell the story:

Lunch the first day at Dat Dog. AMAZING.

The Dat Dog menu. Look at all of the toppings you can put on your hot dog!

Liz and Noah (enjoying the fries)

Walking along the Mississippi. It was SO hot, even in the evening, that we didn't walk too far.

Noah's practicing his New Orleans voodoo.

Anne Rice's old house in The Garden District. The Mayfair family lives in this house in her Mayfair Witches series.

Garden District

Garden District

There are beads in the trees year-round along the Mardi Gras parade routes.

Garden District Cemetery. The tombs were hundreds of years old here. This one houses the remains of a family that died during the Yellow Fever outbreak during the early 1800s.

Jefferson Fire Company No.22

Katrina did a lot of damage to the cemeteries.

Some of the graves are just barely above ground.

The tombs were all shapes and sizes.

The bricks in the French Quarter look like legos!

Breakfast at Cafe du Monde

Beignets and hot chocolate. INCREDIBLE.

Jackson Square

Jackson Square

Back to Dat Dog for chili dogs another day. (Yes, it was that good.)

Destrehan Plantation

Spanish Moss hanging from the trees at the plantation

Destrehan Plantation was the site of one of the largest slave revolts in history.

The kitchen building

The plantation home--I cannot even fathom how these people lived without air conditioning in the summer. It was SO hot down there and we were just taking a tour!

I had a fabulous time in New Orleans. It was wonderful to be able to see Liz and meet her boyfriend Danny, and get to know a new city. I ate a lot of wonderful food, watched a lot of good Netflix with Liz (after Noah went to bed every night), and saw a lot of really cool sites. It was sobering to see the damage that's still left from Katrina, especially the spray paint on houses showing when they were searched and who/what was found. But it was also inspiring to see how much of the city was rebuilt and how strong the people are who survived. New Orleans is definitely full of character, beauty and charm. Thanks for having me, Liz!

Noah's 1st Birthday

One year ago, my baby looked like this:

Now he's a whole year older and looking much more like a toddler than an infant:

My last night of being less than one!

We thought we'd start the morning with a fun little photo shoot to document Noah's birthday. (He was sick. It was almost naptime. I had a migraine.) I'll let Noah tell you how it went:

Ok, this might be fun. Nate and Abbie are goofing around to make me laugh.

On second thought, I'm sick and I don't really want to do this now.

At least my hair looks cool.

Abbie's hilarious.

I'm so done. Pick me up!

They really think giving me Snuggle Monkey is going to make me smile?

After morning nap, Alan's mom brought over a balloon and a card for Noah. He loved playing with the balloon.

His poor little snotty nose.

Alan made our day by bringing home a huge bunch of balloons (with a Mickey Mouse balloon--Noah's favorite because of his little stuffed Mickey toy we got him in Disney World last year when I was pregnant), a Coke for my migraine and flowers for me at lunch time. Hurray for Daddy!

I cooked Noah's favorite pasta for dinner--Rotini with a garlic cream sauce and lots of veggies.

"Steve Holt!"

This pasta is so good you might just decide to smear it all over your entire body. Noah did.

After dinner, we opened presents. Noah can tell you about this, too:

I know what you're thinking--Yes, I can read.

Best. Present. Ever. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Cool! My own keys. FYI, I'm still gonna want to eat yours, Mom.

Time for cake.

He thoroughly enjoyed his cake and ice cream, but it was bedtime and he was sick, so he definitely let us know when he was done.

We ended the night with Noah's favorite thing in the world... Bath time.

I think that Noah had a great day. Despite being sick and crabby, he enjoyed dinner and cake, loved his new blocks, and had a great time on the long walk we took to the park. Happy birthday, Noah Baby!

In the couple of weeks since Noah turned one, he has mastered the skill of walking and cut his first tooth (today)! He can now walk across an entire room alone, climb into the dishwasher, climb up our entire staircase from the basement, quack like a duck, moo like a cow, roar like a lion and say lots of words. Noah says truck, car, Mama, Dadda, go (he stands at the window or door and yells to go outside ALL DAY), more, cat, and no (na-na-na-na). Hmmm, that's all I can think of now. He does the signs for the Itsy Bitsy Spider, claps (especially for himself after he walks--I guess he learned that from us), is learning to use a spoon (sort of), plays Patty Cake, and just generally makes us all smile. I can't believe how much he's changed in the last year and I can't wait to see what the next year brings. We're so, so happy that he's ours.