He's Not Fat, He's Proportional!!

Our little dude weighed in at a whopping 26 POUNDS!  That puts him in the 70th percentile for weight, and at 32.5 inches long he is in the 90th percentile for height!  Not exactly long and lean, but definitely long :)  He definitely doesn't get his height from his momma!  Aside from his weight, we got the good news that his hemoglobin is up - WAY up...At 13.4 it is well within normal limits (normal is 11-14).  Gone are the days of disgusting iron supplements!

We have quite the daredevil on our hands these days.  He knows no fear, and will climb on or jump off of just about anything.  He always manages to get a new bump or bruise right after another one has healed.  He keeps me on my toes, but I wouldn't trade his fun-loving and crazy personality for anything.  He has a gift for making a stranger smile, and I'm so proud to have such a little entertainer!

Life is good as we get ready for Christmas! Ben is currently in his pediatric rotation for school, and he is really enjoying working with the little ones (duh - anyone who knows him would tell you that he is meant to work with children)!  So at least when he is away from his family he is enjoying the work he is doing.  I have recently taken on more responsibilities at work as the "interim" manager of my unit and am there Monday through Friday (I know, I know, welcome to the normal working world).  While it is nice to see him every night when I get home from work, I'm really missing my 4 full days at home with him that I am accustomed to having.  So far, he is not adjusting too well to the change.  He loves his babysitter and his friends there, but by the time he gets home he is completely exhausted and becomes a nightmare to handle.  He just requires a lot more sleep than some kids and when he is on a daycare-type schedule he misses out a little on nap time.  I know he will get used to it, so it becomes a question of whether or not his mommy can adjust to the changes?!

 As far as talking goes, I wouldn't put him ahead of the curve, but he is right where his pediatrician says he should be.  In addition to his standard words (momma, dog, etc), his current favorite words are bite, all done, uh oh, and of course BOOM!  He also has been trying to whistle.  I don't know where he learned it, but he thinks it's pretty fantastic.

I never get tired of that goofy grin :)

Did I mention we bought a real Christmas tree this year? Well, we did! This one is OURS!

Ben had to unload the tree.

He appreciated me taking pictures instead of helping him.

So pretty! Maybe a little bigger than we anticipated...It looked much smaller next to its brothers and sisters...

Noah likes the tree so much that we had to move all of the ornaments up high (at least, the ones that were left after his attack against all shiny things).

His new game: Does Noah fit in small places?

Yay! He fits!

He loves to sit on Daddy's lap and help him study.  He is studying pediatrics, soooo...

We had Lauren Weghorst take some photos for his 15 month and maybe a Christmas card!

Check out the red scrape on his forehead.  He managed that one 90 minutes before the photo shoot.  He never cried, so I'm not sure how he did it, but I'm guessing it had something to do with jumping off of our one step...

Our best shot of Noah with Mamaw Great...we had our photo shoot at the Stratford in West Clay, where Mamaw lives.  Noah was much more excited to run around the entire building than sitting still for pictures. In this one, he is trying to snap his fingers (mimicking his mom and dad who were trying to make him smile)!

15 Months!

Today is officially 15 months, but we don't have our pediatrician appointment until next week.  I'll update stats and pictures then, so for now I hope you enjoy this video of our crazy kid's new favorite game!  Oh, and please disregard his momma's irritating voice :)

FALL!!

The kid loves the fall weather.  I'm not sure he's truly my son - most people know I'm a summer person.  I could skip all of the other seasons and live in 80 degree weather all year long.  Not Noah.  This is his personal paradise!

We loved the fall leaves!

We live on a dead end street, so Noah loves to run here :)

Super helpful!

This was filmed after Ben made Noah come inside.  He was super happy about it...Oh, and the broom was a replacement for the rake in an unsuccessful attempt to make him happy.

He loved his first bubble bath! (As if I needed to do anything to make him like the bath more....)

Surprise, surprise - we had a fun time at the Children's Museum with friends!

I'm either brave or crazy, but I did let him play in the sand for a little bit and he loved it! I told Ben this means we really need a beach vacation :)

Fun times at Nana & Papaw Schmith's house! Elle and Noah are climbing in the tub of blocks.

Our attempt at a group shot of the Schmith grandkids.  Gotta love that Kate's belly made it in the shot!

We celebrated Papaw Schmith's 57th birthday with some delicious homemade cupcakes!  Noah thought Aunt Renee was a pretty good cook!

Ty made this very special card for Papaw :)

Halloween!! And other October happenings...

Our little monster was a neighborhood hit! At least at the 3 houses where we took him trick-or-treating!

He thought we should have dressed him as "Bam Bam"

Not a big fan of the head piece!

Off we go! "But Mom, I can't see!!"

"I'll just leave my hat here, OK?"

Mom and Dad had to guide him to the door.  His preference is to play in the street.

"Trick or Treat?!!"  Pretzels were his first treat - YUM!

Nana and Papaw Schmith came over to watch him trick or treat for the first time and take some pictures!

He definitely enjoyed Halloween! He loves anything outside, so it was a treat to walk around to the neighbor's homes.  He also really enjoyed watching all the kids come to the door in their costumes.  All in all, definitely a success!

We had some other fun times these last few weeks, too! Ben had a few weeks off school and I took a little time off work so we could spend some quality time together as a family.  We mostly relaxed at home and enjoyed as much of the fall weather as we could!

Papaw Schmith came over for some snuggles :)

There's that favorite outfit again! This is the start of a temper tantrum...And those don't get old at all...

Stealing his cousin's drink! He's quite the little bully and thief!  But he does it so innocently.

Reese, Ben, and Elle are playing after a fun dinner! Renee and Ty went to Boston for the weekend, so we fed Tim and the girls one night!

Silly Mamaw closed her eyes!

Reese! 

"Naked" became everyone's favorite outfit! They clearly had a blast together :)

Aunt Jamie got to give some lovin' to the twins! (Reese - left, Elle- right)

Hemoglobin UPdate!!

The little man is a trooper - we had a very brief appointment at the pediatrician's office this morning just to have his 2nd round of the flu shot and recheck his hemoglobin.  The poor guy was a blubbering mess with needles coming at him from all angles! All in all we had good news, though, because his hemoglobin was 10 (you may recall that it was only 8.5 at his 12 month appointment and normal is 11-14)!  The doctor was very pleased with the results, so for now we will stick with the iron supplements and recheck it again at his 15 month appointment.  Hopefully no more meds after that!

After the appointment he was back to his happy self, so I loaded him up, we picked up Nana Schmith, and headed to Cincinnati for a little retail therapy at IKEA!  I was terrified that he would be a disaster today, but I couldn't have been more pleased with how the day turned out.  He slept almost the entire trip there, and he was a perfect angel while his Nana and I shopped!  He was entertaining to the other shoppers as well - he blew kisses to a few women without even being prompted (future heartbreaker) and he was delighted to help me push my cart (future perfect husband)!

He reminds me constantly how blessed I am to have him.  He makes Ben and I laugh a million times a day, and when I sometimes wonder if he will EVER snuggle with me, he somehow knows and will run up laughing and give me a big hug - right before resuming his laps of destruction around the house!

His current loves are belly buttons and the dog, Cooper.  He will lift up your shirt regardless of how many onlookers get a glimpse just for a quick peek.  Beware, if you ask him where his belly button is he will point to his right nipple.  Close enough?  Hmmm...He has been saying "dog" for quite some time, but recently he has become obsessed, running around the house after Cooper, pointing and yelling "DOG!"  Cooper is not a fan, so hopefully Noah will lose interest in him soon enough :)

October pics thus far...

We made another trip to the Children's Museum with friends! It will definitely be a favorite spot during miserable Indiana winters!

We had to take a time out from playing to have a snack due to a major meltdown...

Krista with her two munchkins, Oliver and Vivian, after checking out the inside of the train.

Is he not stinking adorable?! I kind of thought he looked like a little train conductor in his cute overalls :)

Noah and Harrison at the train tables.  Noah has a lot to learn about how trains are "supposed" to be played!

Our first trip to the pumpkin patch at Spencer Farms!  We didn't get too many pictures because it was soooo windy outside.  

He loved the dog.  Almost as much as he loved those pumpkins that he sat down with and tried to steal from another man!  I had to get a picture of our little pumpkin thief!

Another favorite game: Climbing under the chairs - especially if daddy is there studying.

This toy spins cars around the center of it, and he tries so hard to make is spin with him sitting in the middle...keep trying buddy! Please disregard the fact that he is not wearing any pants and has only one sock on.  This is how we roll.