Noah Patrick: The 5th Month!

 This was a busy month for our big boy! He mastered the art of rolling and managed to get pretty much any where he wanted to go by barrel rolling! He also started loving meal time - there was no pureed food I could give him that he would refuse! Every day is something new, and there is never a dull moment! He still loves going to visit his cousins at Aunt Renee's and playing with other babies - and his momma loves the free entertainment!

Rolled right into the TV stand - this was a constant occurrence!

 

Happy to be 5 months old today!



We had a playdate with the Hursh twins and the Ludwig boys!  Oliver and Noah became fast friends...kind of...And the mom's got to hang out and drink McD's diet cokes while the kids ran wild! (Or crawled...or rolled...)

 

Noah thought this was great fun!

Oliver...Not so much!

While the toys may not have been age appropriate (or color appropriate) for Harrison, he found plenty of fun things to keep himself entertained!



Brooks was searching for food I think... ;)

Vivian joined in all the fun too - and she showed off her "sitting up skills" for us!

He has always loved bath time!



Check out those rolls :) :)



The rattle was his favorite toy - and play time in the high chair gave me a few minutes to do some dishes or laundry without him getting into anything mischevious!



This is a series of 3...I just love his many faces he makes while yelling!  Don't be fooled - he isn't angry! In fact, he couldn't be happier in these pictures!!



I Confess: I'm a TERRIBLE blogger!

So after months of computer problems, I no longer have any excuses for not posting any new updates (other than an extremely busy 8 month old, work, a husband in med school, a house to maintain... but other people with much busier lives are able to squeeze in a post here and there, so I figure it's about time for me to make it happen)!   I have been stressing about how in the world I can fit the last 4 months into one post, and I have decided it is probably impossible!  I don't expect most people to read through the next few posts, but as I have said before this is all for my own memories and my family, so while I am willing to skimp on most details, I think I will still be writing a lot and posting a lot of pictures.  We'll see how this goes!

Noah Patrick - The 4th Month
The day after my very last post, he started rolling over back to belly and hasn't stopped moving since!  He seems to do everything a little bit ahead of the game and I've known for some time that I would have my hands full with him!  The biggest changes in our day to day routine during his 4th month was that he started eating rice cereal and figured out how to nap! No more 45 minute intruder! Hooray!  Ben and I also decided to turn off the monitor at night so that we could sleep better without hearing every breath he took or every time he readjusted in bed.  I'll get rid of the monitor sooner with the next baby - I think that this step saved our sanity and therefore our marriage!

I started out just giving him rice cereal once a day for a couple of weeks, then I started him on veggies (of course, only introducing one new food every 3 days - who comes up with this stuff??)  He didn't enjoy it much at first, but he quickly learned to love it - especially once we introduced fruit after a couple of weeks!

He really started enjoying playing with his toys this month.  Until now, he would look at toys but couldn't do much with them, but once he learned to grab things and make noises with the toys he started having much more fun!  He also started discovering his voice this month!  Ben and I just loved hearing his sounds and I'm sure the neighbors would have us committed if they could have heard the noises we would make just to get a laugh out of our son! Funny how you are suddenly so willing to make a complete fool of yourself just to hear that sweet little laugh! :)

He has always had a very serious face - and he will win any staring contest, hands down, without blinking!

Nice face :) Actually I love this picture not just for the priceless expression, but also for the spiky hair!

HI MOM!

Happy 1st Birthday, Reese and Elle!!

One year ago today our beautiful nieces, Reese and Elle, officially joined our family!  Every child is a miracle, but Reese and Elle have a very special story and we are so incredibly blessed to be celebrating their first birthday as happy and healthy little girls!  Because of a team of amazingly talented doctors, lots and lots of prayers from people all over the world, and God's good grace, the girls are here today against all odds.  My sister, Renee, put together this beautiful video in honor of the girls' first birthday, and it gives me chills every time I watch it.  Reese and Elle, we love you so very much and we thank God every day for the miracles that you are!

Video for Reese & Elle - Miracle Babies

 

We had the opportunity to celebrate their birthday yesterday evening with good family and friends.  Renee and Tim know how to throw a good party :) :)



Loving their stuffed owls from Uncle Jim and Aunt Kelli - owners of the "Owl's Nest!"



Birthday Girls! They love their jumpers :) Nana and Papaw Schmith got them one, and Noah is lending the other to them!





One big happy family!



Cupcakes?! Hmm...What is this, Mom?



Now they're getting into the birthday spirit!




Noah had fun, too :)




All the grandkids love spending time with Mamaw Great!

 

Ben and I with our beautiful nieces! We love you, girls :)

 

Elle is picking on Noah



Now it's Reese's turn to poke him in the eye! Miss Lydia joined in the baby fun :)

 

We are so blessed!



 

He's Off the Charts!!

Literally - Noah is off the charts in height and in the 97th percentile for weight! At his 4 month appointment last week he weighed in at 18 lbs and was a very long 27.5 inches! He recently graduated to 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers! I haven't updated the blog in quite a while - and boy does time fly!  Our newborn baby has become such an active and entertaining part of our lives!  He began rolling from his belly to his back at 3 months, and he has rolled from his back to belly a couple of times (but I think it's really just a fluke)!  He is always smiling and laughing, and now that he is finally letting us all sleep through the night, Mom and Dad are smiling right back at him ;) 

At 8 weeks old, he stopped eating at night, but he usually needed a "pacifier fix" at least once or twice at night.  Just before Christmas he got his first cold, and it seemed like he totally regressed and was up ALL THE TIME at night!  Now that he is feeling better, Ben and I made the decision to turn off the monitor at night and let him fuss! I wouldn't say we are letting him "cry it out," but instead we are only going in his room at night when he actually gets worked up enough that we can hear him (and his room is right next to ours - no worries)!  It has been WONDERFUL!! I wish I would have taken my sister's advice and turned the darn thing off a long time ago! The amazing part is, he is an even happier baby now that he is self-soothing more, and he is taking much better naps during the day as well! Crazy how things start to fall into place :) :)

I headed back to work just before Thanksgiving, and it was definitely bittersweet.  I love my job and the people I work with, but it was very hard to leave Noah for 14 hours!!  I had a nice transition period, though, because my manager allowed me to work a Saturday, Sunday, Monday schedule for almost 2 months so that my parents and my sister could watch him while I worked.  His pulmonologist had suggested that it would be best for him not to be in daycare until he was at least 4 months old, so this was a perfect solution for both of us! Last week, Noah spent his first two days with his babysitter, Beth!  Momma is still struggling with the transition, but Noah is taking it just fine!  I could not have asked for a more loving environment for him to be in when he can't be with me, so I am incredibly thankful that my family led us to Beth!  Noah's cousins, Bryce (2 yrs) and Lydia (8 months), go to the same babysitter - which Bryce is very excited about, however Lydia is a little disappointed that a younger baby has joined the household and she has been "dethroned!"  But I know that Beth has enough love to pass around to all of her little ones!!

Here are a few pictures from the last few months:



First meeting with Santa! I swear the overalls fit him when we left home that morning...Must be the way he's sitting ;)




Super Chunky



I think I'll read a book while I'm just sitting here...



Partying with some cute chicks :) Katelyn, Emmy, and Abby are all a little older than Noah, but he seems to like older women :)



Uncle Dave was home for the holidays!!




Getting some love from Grandpa and Grandma Havens




Colts game with good friends!




Aunt Erica is so fun!! Are Erica and Paul practicing with the babies?!?! Hmmm...




Noah is checking out his favorite soldier! We love Donk :) :)




We took our nephews to a Pacer game, so Noah had to sport some Pacer gear while he stayed with Aunt Jacki!



NYE! We went to a wedding while Noah stayed home with Aunt Mary babysitting!



Such a cute chunky butt!



I swear he is such a happy baby - but if you whip out that camera the smiles will disappear and he becomes very serious!




Trying out rice cereal...



Not really digging it...

That's so gross, Mommy. Why would you do this to me?!

I'll just spit it out then...

Go Colts!!

Lovin' some QT with Nana :)

LOVES the exersaucer!

There's my happy boy!

Woah! I think I'm all done exersaucing (as daddy would say)!



Not a great picture, but playing with his feet and pulling off his socks is his favorite game!

 We found out on New Year's day last year that we were pregnant, and we have been so incredibly blessed! We cannot wait to see what is in store for us in 2011!! Happy New Year everyone!