Adventures of a Dog and Her Boy

New blog...

2011-01-24T13:33:00.000-05:00

We have officially moved to a new blog that is a little more fitting to our current lives. Hopefully I'll be better about updates. :-) It will be "invite only" so just let me know if you want to view it, and I'll put your name on the list. The new blog is Never thought we'd say... Enjoy the glimpse into our crazy lives!

Okay, I know, I know...

2010-02-20T15:55:00.006-05:00

So obviously I have completely neglected the blog. I had a friend (thanks Courtney) mention that my ticker said I was 43 weeks pregnant, so I decided it may be time to update a little. We have been toying with the ideas of either starting a new blog with a more appropriate title or stopping the blog thing all together since I just can't seem to do it all.
It has been crazy around here, and when I say crazy, you're just going to have to believe me. Cold and flu season hit our family very hard.
We did welcome our newest addition to the Bailey house about 1 month ago. Anna is such a sweetheart, and we are so grateful for her. Although Noah is a little frustrated with the crying, he is a fantastic big brother and a huge help to me. So, I'll leave you with a few pictures, since that is really all anyone looks for... :-)

Our new family of 4. I think this is around 4 hours after Anna entered the world. Noah came to the hospital with Nana as soon as we were settled in our room. Noah had his "big brother" scrubs and his "big brother" camera. He was ready for the occasion.

Noah and Anna on Valentine's Day. What a fantastic big brother. He is so gentle when he holds her. He even likes to give her a bottle every once in a while.

Anna's 1 month picture. Isn't she just beautiful? (We're a little partial.)

Noah has an announcement!

2009-07-22T07:37:00.003-04:00

He is going to be a big brother!!! The newest little Bailey is due in January. I know that a lot of you have been waiting for this post and/or wondering why I haven't been blogging in months...well now you know. We are so excited about our new addition! Hopefully some of the yucky 1st trimester stuff will end soon, and I will get better about posting about Noah's fun adventures. I know that I have a lot of catching up to do. :-) So here is the baby's blog debut. This picture is from my Dr's visit this past Monday.

Third of the March Posts...Smoke monsters

2009-05-11T09:16:00.002-04:00

Noah got pretty sick in March. He was coughing, wheezing, and his asthma was acting up a bit...so he had to use his breathing machine 3 times a day for a while. Well, it has been a while since we've had to pull out the torture machine. I had to basically wrestle with Noah for 10 minutes to do 1 treatment...fyi wrestling isn't so good for coughing and wheezing. When Chris got home I told him that I just didn't know how I was going to make Noah do the machine 3 times a day. Well, of course, leave it to Daddy to make a "torture machine" fun. That's how Chris and Noah invented the Smoke Monster. While on the nebulizer, they will sit on the couch and be very calm until someone (me) walks into the room. Then Chris counts to 3 and they ROAR at the person. Smoke comes out of the mask...of course a little medicine is lost, but a lot more gets in than with my wrestling technique. It's really funny to have a masked 2 year old roaring at you.

Second of the March Posts...big trucks and beautiful grass

2009-05-08T19:48:00.010-04:00

We also sodded our front yard in the month of March. Most of the yard was dead and our front and back yards were different types of grass, and the list goes on, but anyway...

Noah thought it was the best time of his life. We had a Bobcat at our house for 2 days, a dump truck for a morning, and a yard full of dirt for a whole day. There is nothing cooler for a 2 year old boy. I actually picked Noah up early from school so that he wouldn't miss the dump truck. :-) He sat on the front porch for hours. I brought him his lunch out there because he didn't want to miss a thing. Needless to say, there were no naps those 2 days. Here are some pictures from the big event, and thanks to the large amounts of rain that we have been getting, it still looks great!

Before and After...actually the grass is even greener now!

First of the March Posts...time with friends

2009-05-08T19:36:00.007-04:00

We spend a lot of our time playing with friends...always a good time.

Noah and Sajan enjoying the ducks and geese at the nearby park .

Noah, Sajan and Libby at the Aquarium.

Seema is showing Sajan and Noah the cool fish.
If you can't tell, we are pretty much regulars at the Georgia Aquarium. It is such a priviledge to have it nearby.

February fun...

2009-04-27T13:17:00.009-04:00

Well, since we have had so much going on and I haven't been blogging as I should. (the story of my life...) I thought that I would do Feb. and March as 1 post each with a brief glimpse of the events from those months. I will try to give a little more attention to the events over the last couple of weeks. I hope that you don't mind...

The 2nd half of February was kind of a blur. Abby was sick for most of February, which was pretty draining on all of us, physically and emotionally. (not to mention financially ;-) ) We did have fun in February as well... We went over to South Carolina to celebrate Ninen and Grandaddy's 60th anniversary and 80th birthdays. (That was Valentine's Day/ President's Day weekend.) It was a great time...here is a little slide show of the fun we had at the celebration.

Also, Noah turned 2 1/2 in February. He had his "Special Day" at school! Chris and I brought cupcakes to the class and stayed to hangout for a bit. They do a "Special Day Dance" with streamers...so cute. Apparently Noah really gets into it. He's such a funny little man.

Noah cheesing for the camera

This is the beginning of the "Special Day Dance." Everybody has streamers and runs in a circle. Noah thinks it's the best thing ever.

Noah's new aquatic friend...

2009-04-17T14:53:00.005-04:00

I just thought that this picture was too cute not to post. We go to the Georgia Aquarium quite a bit; I think Noah is beginning to make friends.

I'll work on getting the other pictures from the last month posted.

Abby is finally back to her crazy self again.

2009-03-12T21:49:00.007-04:00

We have been through a pretty crazy couple of weeks. The Abby portion of our craziness has been pretty trying on all of us. She was actually so sick that the vet didn't tell me how to get her back to normal life because he said that he didn't think that she was going to make it that long. Not very comforting words, but at lease he didn't tell me until after the fact when I was ready to reintroduce her normal dog food. All that to say, now Abby (as well as Noah) has a really special relationship with her vet, all the vet techs, and the receptionists. (we've been there many times over the past 2 weeks.) Noah has managed to make a receptionist tear up numerous times because of his love of his dog. Poor Abby has overcome hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (sp?), an allergic reaction to her anti nausea meds, and a couple of other nasty infections. Abby has finally re-entered her normal life. As of this morning, she is completely back on her dog food, and she only has 4 more antibiotic pills...woo hoo! ...such a little fighter.

This is Noah giving Abby one of his many pep talks.

If it's not one thing...

2009-02-23T21:16:00.008-05:00

Our last 3 days have been jam packed.

1st the happy news...

I'm so proud of Noah and the way he has adjusted to his "big boy" bed. It has been a very difficult couple of days for all of us. Friday night, Noah got about 9 hours of sleep from 10pm-7am. (Chris and I were patting ourselves on the back. :-)) Saturday night, Noah only got 6-7 hours of sleep. (Noah and I ended up having a non-slumber party from 1am to 5am...not as fun as it sounds) After Saturday night, we decided that maybe the big boy bed just wasn't for us and thought we would try the brilliant idea of turning around the crib so that the lower side of the crib faced the wall. (We really did think it was a great idea!) Well, apparently Noah didn't get the memo that the tall side was now unclimbable because it took him less than 1 minute to get out. Oh well. The big boy bed was back. Chris and I were ready to hold our ground on Sunday night. Noah did fantastic. It only took 10 minutes to get him to bed (He did wake up from 4am to 6am, but that wasn't his fault...more on that in the next paragraph), and tonight I didn't even have to go and put him back into his bed. I have no idea how much sleep we will get tonight, but I'm hopeful. Here is a picture from last weekend of our big boy. I'll post pictures of his new bed later. Right now I need to get some sleep.

Now for the other...

Abby is very sick and will be staying at the vet's office tonight. She started getting sick Sat evening and still hasn't stopped getting sick. The worst of it was probably Sunday night. (around 4am...see previous paragraph) I spent the morning with Abby at our vet's office, and they couldn't figure out what is wrong. After blood work, X-rays, an IV, and an anti nausea injection Noah and I went to pick our sweet dog up. Only an hour after we got home she continued to be just as sick if not worse than before. The vet will be doing a Barium swallow test tomorrow morning. (unless she is suddenly better) The scene when we dropped Abby off this evening was just as bad as last week. Noah actually made the receptionist tear up because he kept saying "Abby don't go" Then I started tearing up because he was so broken hearted. I offered Ice Cream, and he said, "No, I want Abby." It was horrible! We are hoping that Abby is okay. Noah even said a prayer for her before he went to bed. (without me prompting him) He truly loves that dog!

Advice welcome...even if i hardly know you.

2009-02-20T08:44:00.009-05:00

So, Noah learned a new trick yesterday. It was absolutely precious the first time, the second time it was pretty funny, the third time it was a little annoying, around the 20th time it was just down right rude.

Drumroll please...Noah climbed out of his crib. I know most 2 year olds have been doing this for some time, but we were very thankful that ours didn't see the need. His first escape was around 3:30 yesterday afternoon after his nap. I went upstairs to get him, and there he was with his blankey over his shoulder and a big grin on his face trying to close his bedroom door behind him. He looked at me with a huge grin and said, "I did it, momma! I got bankey and open door!" (yeah, that's not all you did little man.) Now he thinks it is a fantastic game. Another problem is that he can't get back into the crib, so my first attempts of telling him to get back into bed from the hall were met with "help, momma, help!" That was after I had already returned him to his bed countless times. (and I do mean countless) Once he got to sleep around 11 o'clock (way past my bedtime and his), he did stay there; so I am thankful for that.

Any ideas of how to get a 2 year old to stay in bed??? Does this mean the crib is a thing of the past?

Day 10...Valentine's Party

2009-02-13T15:45:00.005-05:00

Noah went to Kendall and Rhett's house today for a little Valentine's celebration. He had lots of fun. Thank you, Melissa, for having us all over.

Here are pictures of Noah and his new friend Carter with Kendall checking things out and Noah and Grace getting ready to eat lunch. Good friends, good food, good fun! Sorry I didn't get better pictures of everybody.

Day 9...It was the worst of times; it was the best of times...

2009-02-12T17:52:00.007-05:00

I know I said minimal words, but here is what happened today...

So, today was an emotional roller coaster for Noah. We dropped Abby off at the vet on our way to mother's morning out this morning. She needed her teeth cleaned and her yearly shots...no big deal right??? Well, apparently it was a HUGE deal to Noah. Honestly I thought that he would think it was really cool to have Abby in the car with us (which he did) and to take Abby to the doctor's (which he did) and that there were other doggies in the waiting room (which he did). That's about where the coolness stopped...
The very sweet vet tech took Abby back while I was signing her in because other dogs were arriving, and let's just say Abby doesn't make the best 1st impression with other dogs. Noah stood there staring at the door that Abby went into in what looked like panicked disbelief. Then he started crying uncontrollably and screaming, "Don't hurt Abby" and "Don't take Abby away" It was horrible. He really thought that they were taking his best friend from him. The receptionist then took Noah to the back to see that Abby was fine. He believed them that she was fine, but I think he still didn't trust that they were going to give her back. It actually took me 10-15 minutes to calm him down from the whole thing. I even handed him over to his teacher crying. Luckily they were celebrating Valentine's today and Noah is really into Valentine's Day, so the second he saw the bags for his cards he calmed down.

We finally picked Abby up from the vet around 5:00, and I have never seen a happier little boy or a happier dog. Noah actually danced circles around Abby while the vet tech was desperately trying to hold onto the leash. Too funny!

Here is a picture of Abby's homecoming. (You would think that she had been gone for a week.)

The doctor told us that Abby would be very thirsty when she got home. I think that Noah really took this to heart because he kept pointing to the water saying, "Drink, Abby, Drink." He's going to be a great Veterinarian one day. :-)

And the moral of this story, "Don't mess with a dog and her boy."

Day 8...Spring is just around the corner

2009-02-11T14:51:00.009-05:00

Just some evidence that winter isn't here to stay! Can you believe that I have flowers in my front flower beds in February?!? Only in Georgia...

Day 7...Jumping with friends

2009-02-10T10:01:00.004-05:00

We went to the "jumpy place" (as Noah calls it) with some friends. Noah always has a great time there. It has been a true life saver during some of these colder days.

When we first started going, Noah needed help climbing and wouldn't go down the big slide alone, but now he wants to do everything all by himself.

Noah still likes to go down the slide with friends if possible. Here are Treece, Libby and Noah going down the BIG slide with no help from the grown ups.

Day 6...Sunday morning comics

2009-02-09T12:40:00.008-05:00

This is how we spend our early Sunday mornings. You should hear his commentaries. I love my little buddy!

Day 5...Noah and the Ladies

2009-02-08T12:29:00.005-05:00

Sorry about the delay...We haven't had internet since Friday afternoon. ...so happy to be back online... These pictures should more than make up for it. :-)

Last Wednesday, Emma and Grace (and their mommas) came over to hang out. It was a really nice visit. The kids played, and the moms got to chat a bit over lunch. Apparently Noah has a real way with the ladies...such a little Romeo. :-) As long as a girl can play cars, she is in. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. Check out the look on Emma's face as Noah puts the moves on Grace. I think I'm in for it with this one...

Day 4...Jammin' with Dad

2009-02-05T16:40:00.005-05:00

This is actually a pretty common occurrence in my house, but I still smile everytime I see it.

My 2 favorite guys jammin' together.

Day 3...Noah's obsession

2009-02-04T16:19:00.008-05:00

We found Stephen's and my old marble run while in Baltimore. Noah LOVED it! I was going to say that it bordered on obsession, but that would be an understatement. He dropped the marbles into the shoot over and over and over again. It occupied him for more than 30 minutes at a time...amazing for a 2 year old.

Day 2...the Baltimore update/ Christmas #2 continues...

2009-02-03T12:58:00.009-05:00

After making Christmas cookies with Momma and Grammie, Noah couldn't wait to make cookies again with Nana.

Noah had to take a quick snack break before making the cookies. That boy REALLY loves oranges.

Ready to go...Apron...check. Stool...check. Big Smile...check.

The cookies are finally ready to eat. Nana and Noah display their beautiful cookies. (I'm loving Noah's new "cheese" face.)

Noah and Nana serving their special treats to Papa. Did I mention that we are so happy to have Dad home?!

Day 1...here we go.

2009-02-02T14:32:00.007-05:00

A friend of mine decided that she would try to post everyday this month...mainly pictures. I thought this was a great idea especially since I've been so bad about blogging lately. I know that I already missed the 1st of the month, but better late than never. Maybe this is a good way for me to get back into the habit of posting. I will also try to keep the writing to a minimum, at least in the future. :-)

The first couple of days will be spent getting caught up...

We went to Baltimore to see my parents (Noah's Nana and Papa) after Christmas. It was so great to have my dad home. He finally got to come home from the hospital on Christmas Eve, so we got there a few days after he came home. Here are a few pictures from our "Christmas #2."

Noah and Nana hard at work handing out presents.

Noah's guitar...more on that later.

What a fun Christmas #2

more to come on the Baltimore trip...

Christmas Day

2009-01-29T14:54:00.010-05:00

Christmas Day was a great day! I can only remember 1 other time that I woke up Christmas morning in my own house. It was different, but really nice.

It all started around 7 am. Noah had no idea what was going to happen on Christmas morning, which is why we all got to sleep 'til 7. We kept ALL of the presents hidden until Christmas morning because I didn't want to keep telling Noah to get away from the presents. When Noah came down stairs he went straight to the tree. It actually took him a while to understand exactly what was going on. (I think he was still a little bit sleepy...just look at the pictures.) He immediately went to a stuffed Lightning McQueen and started "driving" in around the room. It took him 3 hours to unwrap all his presents because he had to study each thing and then clean up all the wrapping paper and put the toy back in its original packaging. It was a pretty long process, but I can't complain because my living room was trash free when Noah finished opening.

Here is Noah "driving" his plush Lightning McQueen. He was a little frustrated that the wheels didn't turn. :-)

Noah loved his new mittens...so warm... He also thinks that his new dump truck is GREAT! It currently has about 5 wooden cars that it regularly carts around and dumps in places for me to step on.

Noah also got his own CD player and microphones. Look out world; I think he may be the next American Idol.

Perfect end to a perfect day. Noah and Grammie discuss the day's events in the comfort of the rocking chairs on the porch.

Christmas Eve...

2009-01-27T15:08:00.007-05:00

So I thought that the best way to get caught up would be to do it day by day. We had a really busy, but great, Christmas season. I know that Noah had so much fun! I'll start with Christmas Eve...

Whew what a day! Noah's Grammie (Chris' mom) finally made it from Maine the day before. We are always so happy to have her here. Our day consisted of playing soccer outside, making and decorating Christmas cookies, and going to the Christmas Eve service at church. Noah loves to sing Happy Birthday to anybody. At church they had a birthday party for Jesus, and it has taken me a month to get Noah to insert anyone else's name in the song. ...so sweet...

It was a beautiful day, and Chris and Noah had to get in a quick soccer game.

Here are all the pictures of the Christmas cookie adventure. Noah loved everything about making, decorating, and eating Christmas cookies. He especially liked rolling out the cookie dough. I couldn't pick just a few pictures, so I made a little slide show. Enjoy!

Coming Soon

2009-01-26T15:21:00.003-05:00

There will be new pictures coming soon! As you may have noticed, I haven't even posted the Christmas pics yet. Also, just fyi, the new colors are not here to stay...I was just playing around. Just bear with me until I find the right color combo and new header. :-)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-10T13:24:00.006-05:00

We put up the tree on Thanksgiving weekend as we always do. It was actually an event this year; Noah really got into it. He was such a big "helper." Noah was very particular where all the ornaments went, and we only had one casualty. I think that Chris was secretly hoping for more "oopps's" because he thinks we have too many ornaments. Overall we had a great time. Noah had hot chocolate for the first time and called it his "special drink." He is doing really well with the tree and knows that we only do the "one finger touch." The only problem with the one finger touch is that it is very different this year; it is more like an "aggressive one finger swing." Oh well, we tried, but what can you do? He's two.

Noah very carefully hanging ornaments

Noah and Chris under the tree putting on the tree skirt.

Trip to Cookeville

2008-12-10T13:11:00.006-05:00

Noah and I went to Tennessee about a month ago to see some of my family. We had so much fun hanging out with my cousins. Noah absolutely LOVES his 2nd cousins, Carson and Wesley. They were so sweet to him, Noah felt like he was one of the guys. He would do anything for them. 2 nights ago I asked Noah who he wanted to thank God for and he said Cawson and Weswee. (that was almost a month later...)

How sweet is this? Carson, Wesley and Noah watching TV together.

If I had told Noah to wear a helmet, he would have said "No way!" Wesley says, "Noah you always wear a helmet when you ride." and Noah says, "Okay" By the way, it worked the same way with diaper changes, getting dressed and brushing teeth. (Did I mention that I almost took Carson and Wesley home with me?)

Halloween pictures...just a little late...ha ha

2008-12-05T08:36:00.009-05:00

Here are some late pictures of Noah's halloween. He was Bob the Builder. He was a little skeptical of the whole trick-or-treating thing at first, but after the 1st kid came by, he changed his tune. Noah and I ventured out. I figured that we would stop by 4-5 houses and then head home. Well...about 20 houses later Noah was still going strong. He would walk up to the door and knock (which was his favorite part), then he said, "treat" (no tricks from him), then he would say "thank you, you're welcome." I had to coax him home with the hope of eating 1 thing out of his bag.

Noah's hard at work...getting things done. Can we fix it? Yes we can!

Trip to Hilton Head

2008-11-21T09:54:00.006-05:00

Here is a little slide show of pictures from our trip to Hilton Head the week of Oct. 19th. We had lots of fun taking walks on the beach. We also got to spend some time with Noah's great grandparents...such a treat. (I still can't believe that I didn't get any pictures of Noah and his Ninen...definitely next time.) We even got to take Noah kayaking at Palm Key. Noah was so good. He "helped" row, and was fascinated when we showed him snails on the reeds and shrimp jumping in the water. After working up an appetite rowing, we had a fantastic family style dinner. Noah's Ninen and Great Grandaddy came down to meet us for dinner. I can't even explain how relaxing it is to go to Palm Key. Everyone was so laid back and gracious; it made it so much easier to have a 2 year old that just wanted to run around outside...everyone just smiled and said don't worry about it. (insert *sigh*)

Enjoy the slide show. I think it will be the last slide show for a while...at least until Christmas.

A brief break from the updates...

2008-11-16T16:35:00.008-05:00

I thought that these pictures were just too cute to wait to post. It was pretty chilly outside today, but we all needed to get out of the house. So we bundled up and headed out for a walk. Noah discovered the joys of pockets! It was pretty cute looking at him walking like such a big boy with his hands in his pockets.

Check out the "cheese" for the camera.

Such a sweetheart!

State Fair

2008-11-13T20:20:00.011-05:00

Actual date: September 26th

When I was younger I loved going to the state fair. When my family lived in Jackson, I would go every year at least once and usually 2 or 3 times. As an adult, it isn't quite as much fun to eat food that will surely make you sick and ride rides that could fall apart at any moment, but Noah hasn't yet developed that cynicism. :-) So, when our friends, the Hollands, told us that they were going, and it was free admission and rides until 11am, Noah and I were there. (Chris was out of town that day.) Noah wasn't sure about the rides, but he couldn't resist the big red truck. He still talks about Emma being brave and riding "Nemo." After riding the carousel and the trucks, we headed down to the petting zoo. Now that was more Noah's style. He LOVED the petting zoo. They had a zebra, a camel, goats, a wallaby, an emu, a turkey, a snake, and a tortoise. He can still tell you all about each one and it has been about a month.

Pictures of Noah and Emma riding the "big red truck"

Doesn't Emma look cool in her shades?

I love this picture of Noah and the goats. He is bending down to talk to the goat. I guess you could call him a bit of a "close talker." :-)

Grandpa's visit

2008-11-13T16:14:00.006-05:00

I've decided that I'm going to try to catch everybody up on our lives in the next week or so. That way I can begin again with current events soon.

A few days after Noah's birthday, his Grandpa came to visit for the weekend. He loved hanging out with his Grandpa. Noah got a big Home Depot tool bench for his birthday present...pretty cool. Here are a couple of sweet pictures from the visit.

Noah enjoying a good book with his Grandpa

Here is Noah's cool new tool bench. He loves to go around and drill things and sand down anything than may need it. (that includes knees, tummies, elbows, etc.)

Updates...better late than never...

2008-11-11T16:30:00.014-05:00

Well, our family has been a little preoccupied over the last couple of months. If you are family or have talked to me over this past couple of months, you would probably laugh and call that the understatement of the year. So please forgive me if blogging hasn't been the first thing on my mind. I admit that I should have updated much sooner than now, but...

Around Noah's birthday (actually the day before Noah's birthday) our lives got turned upside down. My father (Noah's Papa) had a fall and hit his head. We all sat around that night and thought nothing of it. The next morning he woke up with a headache but thought that maybe it was because he hadn't had his morning coffee. So, Mom and Dad went ahead and flew home as planned. Once they got home Dad became physically sick from the headache. He was taken to the ER and they found that due to him being on blood thinners because of a heart surgery about 3 years ago he had a subdural hematoma. They quickly "thickened" up his blood with multiple plasma transfusions and he had brain surgery to releave the pressure. A few days later he was put back on blood thinners again and his brain began to bleed again. He was transferred to Johns Hopkins and a team of the best neurosurgeons performed a radical surgery and removed 1/4 th of his skull to allow his brain to swell due to the trama. Dad has spent around 60 days in the neuro ICU and 3 medically induced comas, multiple blood clots, a brain shift, and many other complications (that I won't even mention) later, he is in rehab at Mt. Sinai in Baltimore. Praise God!!! He still has a long way to go, but it is a miracle that he is alive, and for that we are grateful. He is scheduled to have his bone flap replaced on Dec. 11th and then if all goes well, he will finally be home for Christmas. What a wonderful Christmas present that will be! Now you have heard the VERY short story.

Since I last posted, Noah turned 2 years old. What a big boy! He also started going to a Mother's Morning Out program on Tues. and Thurs. mornings. I think he really likes it. He has been coming home singing new songs and talking about all sorts of new things. Luckily, it has all been positive so far. Here is a slide show of Noah's 2nd birthday party. We had the party at Gymboree and had a blast! Many of Noah's friends and family were able to come and celebrate with us. I hope you enjoy the pictures...

Too cool pool

2008-08-01T15:23:00.005-04:00

Noah and I went swimming with our sweet friends Melissa and her daughter Kendall. It was SO much fun. Just look at the pictures...how could it not have been fun? The entire pool was only 1.5 feet deep and full of fountains, just perfect for Noah. He was such a big boy walking around all by himself. It was a pretty relaxing day for me too because I didn't have to hold him the entire time. There were lots of tears when we had to leave, but other than that it was a perfect pool day. Thank you so much, Melissa, for letting us come with you guys. Any time you don't want to go swimming by yourself, just let us know. :-)

Our trip to the Aquarium and Centennial Park

2008-08-01T15:11:00.007-04:00

Last week Noah and I went with some friends to the Atlanta Aquarium and then we ate lunch and ran around in the fountain at Centennial Park. It was a long day, but we had lots of fun. Noah loved the fish and kept yelling "Whoa!" at everything. He is very easily impressed.

Noah loved looking at the sea otters. I know that you can't really see what is behind the glass, but Noah thought he was so big climbing up and seeing over the bar.

Noah wasn't so sure about the fountain at first, but once he figured out that he could get to the middle without getting too wet, he liked it.

Sajan, Libby, and Noah all sitting in the back seat together after a long, fun day of playing. We all rode together to make it easier. It was so funny to look in the back seat and see the three friends just chatting with each other and "sharing" snacks.

Our week in Baltimore...

2008-07-25T15:42:00.016-04:00

Noah and I returned from our big adventure to Baltimore last Friday. Noah was an angel during the flights; I was so impressed! I was especially impressed because 2 days before we left he learned the word "NO." Noah has this crazy idea that when he says the word it should carry the same effect as when I say it to him. Yea...um...not so much. We're working through his new way of expressing himself. Silly me, I thought the "___ two's" (not using the word that goes in the blank) was when he threw a few minor tantrums...I guess I was wrong. Enough about our new life. I know that you just want to see the pictures from the trip. I'm sorry that I don't have any from the actual plane...I was a little preoccupied.

Noah's ready to go. He has his monkey "backpack" and his headphones.

Noah spent a lot of time outside. He loved the sandbox, the water mat and the pool. It was pretty hard to get him to go inside. (Remember his new form of expression...)

Noah also loved playing inside. We thought that it was pretty funny that even though he had tons of toys to choose from, he picked TP stacking to pass the time.

We went to the Science Museum on the harbor one day. It was great! It had a really neat children's area that Noah thoroughly enjoyed. As you see in the first picture they have a pretend submarine that you can push the buttons and things light up...pretty cool. In the 2nd picture Uncle Stephen is showing Noah the dinosaurs. In the 3rd picture...we thought we should get a picture of all of us before we forgot.

Everyday Noah got to take a walk through the neighborhood. He loved to see the big fish in the "lakes." Nana and "Ampa"/Papa are much nicer than I am and let him get out of the stroller to feel the water and look for rocks. :-)

Noah loved helping Papa fix the lawnmower.

The last 2 months in pictures...

2008-07-05T12:54:00.006-04:00

It has definitely been a while since I have posted anything. The slide show should get you pretty much caught up. Noah has developed quite a personality lately. He definitely knows what he wants, but he is getting to be lots of fun. He likes to say "Big Boy" or "Big Dude" a lot; usually these phrases come when he is about to do something that only big boys should do...pretty funny. As you can tell by the pictures, he loves going to the park and herding the ducks. We have been hanging out at the neighborhood pool whenever Noah is well. Also, Noah is still enjoying Gymboree classes. In other words we have been keeping pretty busy. Enjoy the slide show! Hopefully future postings will be less than 2 months apart.

New Posts coming soon!!!

2008-07-02T14:10:00.003-04:00

Okay, I know I've been the worst blogger ever! Well, maybe not ever, but pretty close. There has been a lot going on so I'm trying to get all the new pictures organized so that I can share with you guys. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will get my act together and update you on the last 2 months. Check back soon for new pictures of my precious little man. You're not going to believe how much he has grown. :-)

Reading with Dad

2008-04-24T16:05:00.002-04:00

Noah really likes to "read" books and have books read to him. Lately some of his favorites are the "Critter" books by Mercer Mayer. They are great!

Noah and Chris reading Cowboy Critter.
Noah especially likes the part when Cowboy Critter eats hotdogs and baked beans.
(for some reason the phrase "baked beans" is hilarious)

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere...

2008-04-23T08:21:00.006-04:00

Our lives have been pretty busy lately. I'm so sorry about being so lazy with posts.

Noah got a bubble machine for Easter, and it is pretty amazing. It blows 4000 bubbles/minute...crazy! We have had some requests for pictures of this amazing bubble machine, so here they are

As you can tell, Noah loves bubbles. We have so much fun running through the bubbles and trying to stomp all of them.

Easter Slide Show

2008-04-01T10:44:00.006-04:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the Easter pictures. These are the pictures of both the neighborhood egg hunt and the "chaotic egg scramble" at the church. There are lots of pictures that I have been wanting to post, but I've been trying to keep things in order. So...I will be posting more frequently for a little bit to get you all caught up on the life of Noah.

This is my 1st attempt at a slide show using Adobe...be patient with me.

Busted...

2008-03-14T15:44:00.004-04:00

Noah has always had a fascination with Abby's food and water bowls. For some reason Abby doesn't really care too much even if there is food in the food bowl. For the past couple of months Noah has been leaving the bowls alone, so we have been leaving them on the floor instead of always putting them out of reach. All that to say, this is what Chris and I found a few nights ago...hmmmm.

So now we are working on another way of keeping Noah away from the bowls. He has recently discovered how to walk backwards. So, if I see him heading towards the food and water bowls. I say, "Stop, back it up!" and then make a sound like a backing up truck, "Beep, beep, beep." It is pretty funny, and he giggles while shuffling backwards away from the forbidden bowls. The only problem with this technique is that we did that over and over for about 15 minutes yesterday. Oh well...at least his socks were still dry.

Florida Trip

2008-03-05T14:38:00.017-05:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to Florida weekend before last. He had such a good time, and it was go great to see everyone! Thank you so much, Gram, for opening your home to all of us. We hope to see you again soon.

Noah is showing off his RedSox cap.
It was so warm in Florida that day that we all were wearing shorts and T-Shirts.

I'm not quite sure what was going on, but here is Noah sitting in a tiny rocking chair hugging the bear that originally occupied the chair.
We thought it was so sweet.

Here is Noah splashing in the puddles with Chris.
It rained really hard on Saturday morning, but never fear, Chris and Noah both knew exactly what to do after a big rain storm. They both had a great time! Who needs the ocean?!

Noah and his Great Gram.
I think they are having a good discussion...probably about either the Patriots or the RedSox...just a hunch...

Noah with his Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie

Noah and his Grammie watching Cars together.

4 generations together!

18 months old

2008-02-26T15:27:00.013-05:00

After enjoying Shea's reports on what her little man is doing, I thought that it would be good for me to journal what was going on in Noah's life yesterday, more so that I can look back and see that we have made progress.

***Warning!!! Get ready for a painfully detailed story of Noah's day.***

Written Feb. 26th...A day in the life of Noah:
Well, today Noah turned 18 months old. He had a big day today! It all started with a bang, literally. Noah woke up to a huge thunderstorm. Then he ate his usual oatmeal with fruit and 1/2 of a waffle and gulped down about 3/4 a glass of milk. We then watched Sesame Street off and on and went down for a little nap to get rested up for the big day. When Noah woke up (a little cranky) we got ready and went to his Gymboree class. Since we were a little early, we decided to get a haircut before class. He was beginning to look a little shaggy. He had a great time at the haircut place because they have a train track (see list of Noah's favorite things). He didn't want to leave until he realized that we were headed next door to Gymboree. He did really well in class and has decided that he LOVES the slides (both climbing up and sliding down), the bubbles, the balls, and the parachute time. When we got home I gave him his lunch which would have been a big hit last week, but today he refused almost everything on his plate. Yesterday he loved rice, today he loves to throw rice. Last week he loved green beans, today he loves to feed the dog his green beans. Last week he loved chicken sticks, today he loves to use chicken sticks as hair gel. Etc. ...and this is the life of my toddler. By the time I figure out what food he likes he will change his mind again. Due to the "hair gel" that he discovered at lunch, Noah got an afternoon bath followed by a good nap. Upon waking from his nap, he played trains for about 30 minutes. He loves to build train tracks and see how long he can make his train. When he was finished playing trains we headed downstairs for a snack. Of course he had to navigate the stairs by himself. Following a yummy snack of yogurt and animal crackers, we played race cars until I got tired of playing. You see, although he loves the race track, he will not shake the cars by himself, so I get to play race cars with Noah. :-) Noah is very good at cheering the cars on though. It's actually really fun for the 1st 20 minutes. While I worked on dinner and straightened up a bit, Noah worked some puzzles and watched Cars (the movie). He kept running into the kitchen yelling, "Hi." I guess he wanted to make sure that I remembered he was there...pretty cute stuff. When Chris got home, Noah yelled "Hi" with a big grin on his face. I know it made Chris' day; they are best buds. We all ate dinner together and Noah ate pretty much the same things that we did. He is feeding himself with a fork now. He really seems to enjoy that. He still has some trouble with the spoon. It always seems to be upside down. We're working on that! I think that Abby wishes Noah would try the spoon more often because that means more food for her. After dinner, Chris and Noah had some father/son bonding time playing trains, and then it was time for bed. What a long fun day Noah had.

Noah's favorite things: Cars, trains, balls, bubbles, puzzles, Abby, any book or stackable thing. Did I mention cars, trains and balls? He has a slight obsession:-) He also likes to put objects inside of things. (i.e. crayons in the box, band aids in the box, etc.)

Noah's favorite Shows: Cars, Finding Nemo, Veggie Tales, Curious George, and Sesame Street

Noah's Expanding Vocabulary (these are the ones that anyone could understand. There are lots that only I and maybe the trained ear of another toddler mom can understand): car, ball, bubble, pop, Abby, Momma, Daddy, Bye, Go, Hey there, Hi, All Done, Uh Oh, any animal sound. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that came to mind.

A few funny things Noah does:

When asked what Old MacDonald says...Noah responds "EIEIO" with this funny hand motion that looks very similar to the sign language for "all done" or he says "Baaaa" and starts laughing. He is starting to understand that it is sometimes funny if you say something unexpected. :-)
He chases Abby around the house wagging his finger in her face and saying, "peak, peak, peak." The reason for this is that "speak" is one of Abby's tricks, and Noah thinks it is hilarious. :-)
Anytime he likes the food he is eating, Noah says with great emotion and shaking his head..."Mmm, mmm, Mmm, mmm, mmm." (emphasis on the 1st and 3rd Mmm)
Jumping. Enough said...if you haven't seen a toddler try to jump, I highly recommend it. It is really funny. Especially if they are doing it to the beat of a song. :-)

Noah stomping in the puddles at his

Great Gram's house this past weekend.

The helping hand strikes again...

2008-02-20T17:03:00.006-05:00

Well, Noah has really started to have a slight obsession with trains and cars. At Christmas, Noah got part of his Uncle Stephen's BRIO train set. (on loan of course) We (meaning Chris or I) usually put together a simple track so that he can push the train cars around the track and up and down the hill. He has been getting very frustrated when he tries to put the track together by himself, so of course, being the sucker that I am, I have been coming to the rescue. Well, today I was busy folding clothes while Noah was playing in his room. I heard him get a little frustrated, but instead of coming to the rescue, I told him to keep working on it and be patient. (like a 1.5 year old understands what it means to be patient...) Well, the fussing stopped, and I went into his bedroom about 10 minutes later. This is what I found. Let me just tell you...my tracks don't come even close to being as good as this one! I was so impressed. Let me just say, I will not be suckered into building a track because it is "too hard" again.

Such a funny little guy

2008-02-06T18:40:00.000-05:00

So the past couple of weeks Noah has been pretty funny. He has developed some new skills, some good some not so good. I thought that everyone might appreciate a good laugh. Normally, I would spread these out over multiple posts, but all of this has been happening in the last 2 weeks.

I'm sure there are child labor laws, but I promise he likes cleaning...really...
This is my favorite new skill of Noah's.

So, we try so hard to toddler-proof our house with gates,
but somehow he always finds a way around our best efforts.

Noah likes to spend time in his toy cabinet.
Sometimes he even closes the doors so that I can't see him.
I think he is going to be fantastic at hide-and-seek!

Noah is "marching" around the house with his new tupperware hat.
He kept it on for quite a while.
I think he was showing off for Emma. She was over to play that day.

Yes, that is my child dancing on top of the coffee table.
That's about all I can say about that...

Noah's future room

2008-02-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

Yep, Noah is changing rooms. It's pretty sad that I haven't decorated his room since we moved. We decided it is time. So...mom and I have been painting. Here are a few pictures to show what it looks like so far; I think it's turning out pretty good.

Noah's play time with Emma

2008-02-01T10:56:00.001-05:00

Noah's week just kept getting more and more fun. We got back from South Carolina on Sunday late afternoon. On Tuesday, Emma came over to play. They had a great time as usual.

Emma liked Noah's new tunnel.

Noah is cheering Emma on.
What an encouraging friend!

Noah's busy week Part 1

2008-02-01T10:27:00.000-05:00

Noah's busy week started last Friday when my mom (Nana) came to visit. Then Nana, Noah and I got in the car and headed to South Carolina to surprise my grandmother on her birthday. I think we really surprised her. We met her at the door with party hats, balloons, and a cake. It was so much fun!

Here is Ninen blowing out her candles.
(with Noah's and my help of course)

We went to the Old Oyster Factory for Ninen's Birthday dinner.
(4 generations at 1 table...wow!)

Noah developed some new eating skills. I think he has been watching Abby a little too much. Boy did he love that rice! I guess it was just a little to frustrating to only get 1 grain at a time with his fingers.

Snuggle Time with Great Grandmother...

2008-01-23T16:43:00.000-05:00

After spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in Greeneville, we went to Cookeville, TN to visit with my father's (Grandpa's) side of the family. It is alway so good to see everyone. I always leave saying, "we should come more often."

Noah was such a sweetheart with his "Great Grandmother". She loves children, and Noah was no exception. Grandmother seemed so happy to have him around.

Noah having some quality snuggle time
with his Great Grandmother.

Christmas Morning Pictures...

2008-01-22T18:25:00.000-05:00

Christmas 1 month late...

2008-01-21T10:27:00.000-05:00

So, I know I've been the worst blogger ever. I'm going to try to get all the pictures from Christmas posted by the end of the day.

This year for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning we headed up to Greeneville, TN to spend some time with my mom's (Nana's) side of the family. Last year they began a new tradition of going to the General Morgan Inn, which is a beautiful historic hotel on Main Street. It was really nice. We all had rooms in the hotel, and my Grandparents got a suite, which was the main gathering place. Noah had a great time. As you can see in the pictures he was definitely not neglected.

...more pictures to come...

Snuggle Time

2007-12-18T20:39:00.001-05:00

Noah really loves his Abby. Even though she acts a little aloof, I think deep down Abby loves him too. The other day Chris heard the dog cage door banging (usually not a strange thing to hear in our house because Noah is fascinated with all doors), so he went to see what Noah was up to. This is what he found...

Visiting Santa

2007-12-13T17:54:00.000-05:00

Noah loved Santa when we went to the mall last week. Everyone kept telling me that he would probably cry, but it would make for a funny picture and a good story later...not Noah... We had to wait in line for quite a while, but once we got close enough for Noah to realize what was going on, he kept making a beeline for Santa. I had to make him wait his turn. It was very similar to his reaction to the ocean for the first time. What a funny kid?!

"Now I'm Big,"

2007-12-05T16:56:00.000-05:00

at least that's what Noah has been acting like for the past 2 days. Last night Noah decided that he is officially a walker. Chris and I were so proud!

Then today Noah had his 1st haircut. We went to "Pigtails and Crewcuts." It's a very cute place. They have a train set for Noah to play with, and Noah got to sit in a yellow taxi with a steering wheel while getting his haircut. He was such a good boy.

To finish up his "big boy" day, Noah, Grammie and I went to O'Charlie's for lunch. Noah was such a good boy. He actually colored the kid's menu. I'm still not sure how he knew what to do with the crayons, but I think it is because of the overnight change from baby to big boy. He also ate half a roll and enjoyed some of my chicken tenders. He even was dancing to the music at the bar. :-) (to clarify, they sat us in the bar area) It was pretty funny.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

2007-11-29T19:37:00.000-05:00

As the family "coordinator of fun," I decided that we should go to the Marietta Square tree lighting. I also talked some friends of ours to join us.
Santa made a grand entrance as we were walking up to the square. That was probably the most impressive part. He and his Mrs. were on an old fire truck. Sorry that there are no pictures of Santa. The line to see him was crazy! I'm not sure if this outing will become a holiday tradition or not. hmmmm....

Noah and Emma were completely in the Christmas Spirit. So cute!!!

Here are the 3 of us in front of the lit tree.
(Sorry the lighting is a little off.)

Caution...Noah's behind the wheel

2007-11-25T19:48:00.000-05:00

The previous owners of our house left us this cute car. Their 2 girls have outgrown it, and they thought that Noah would enjoy it. They were definitely right! I thought it would take him a few minutes to warm up to the new wheels, but no, he knew exactly what to do. He was using the steering wheel and the horn. By the way he used the horn, you would think I'm a very aggressive driver...I don't think I've ever used my horn. Where does he learn this stuff? He does have a little trouble going forward, but he solved that problem. Noah would push the car backwards up the driveway, and then he would just lift up his feet and ride down the hill. I panicked the first few times he did it, but he seemed to have it under control.

Dedication Sunday

2007-11-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

Noah got dedicated on November 11th, 2007 at North Metro Church. It was a really nice service. They showed each child's picture and a Bible verse on the big screen. Chris and I were joking around when we first came up with Noah's verse, but the more we thought about it we really couldn't ask for more from our child. His verse was Genesis 6:22, "Noah did everything just as God commanded him." I don't think that everyone appreciated our humor. Noah's Nana and Grandpa were able to be here for the dedication.

Noah doesn't look very happy because
he wasn't feeling too good that day.

On the open road...

2007-11-23T21:09:00.000-05:00

or sidewalk I guess. We finally graduated from pushing the wagon around the house to the great outdoors. Noah loved it! He would just chuckle every time we hit a bump. Also, he figured out the drink holder very quickly and continuously would take a sip then put the cup back in the holder. If you notice in the pictures, the monkey had to go on the trip with us. (seatbelt and all - safety first)

Sport Utility Wagon...getting ready for the 1st ride

2007-11-23T20:57:00.000-05:00

I know it has been a while since my last posting...sorry

Noah received a wagon from his Nana and Grandpa last Christmas, but with all the moving it never made it out of the box. Well, we finally put it together when they were here 2 weeks ago. If I had known how happy it would make Noah, we would have been pulling (and pushing in Noah's case) that wagon around everywhere. (maybe not in the old neighborhood because I think those hill would have killed me)

Noah and Nana demonstrating that the wagon has plenty of foot room.
Noah also loves the drink holder feature. :-)

He was so proud to push the wagon (with Grandpa's help)
around the house with his monkey in it!
I don't know how many laps they did.

Warning to our backyard chipmunks and squirrels from Abby...

2007-11-05T15:54:00.000-05:00

"Beware of the large predatory bird hanging out around the house." Yep that's right, we have a hawk who lives very near by. It perches on the deck all the time. I tried to tell it to get out of my way because I have to go do my business, and it actually had the nerve to stare me down. I was so scared that I ran back inside and yelled at it from the safety of my house. I've never seen what those birds can do, but I can imagine...I'm more of a lover (actually a yeller) not a fighter.

Sincerely,
Abby

Just monkeyin' around

2007-11-01T10:48:00.001-04:00

Okay, I know I'm a bit partial, but... I think Noah was the cutest monkey I've ever seen. Emma came over so that we could take pictures and see the costumes. She was Scooby Doo.

Emma was very good about sharing leaves with Noah.

"Ta-da"

Noah's obsession with water continues...

2007-10-30T14:16:00.001-04:00

now we just added sand. We went to Hilton Head last week. It was Noah's first time to see the ocean, and to say that he liked it would be the understatement of the year. I'm putting all of the pictures from Noah's 1st trip to the ocean in the slide show because it would take me another day or so to go through them and get it down to 2 or 3 pictures to post.

For music just click the speaker symbol.

The day Chris almost renounced his "Northern-ness"

2007-10-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

For my Birthday, Chris took me to Savannah for a night. It was great! Noah stayed with his Nana and Grandpa in the condo at Hilton Head. I love that little boy, but it was definitely nice to have the time away. We stayed in the Marriott on the River, which was great. Wednesday afternoon Chris and I walked by the shops on the water and that night Chris treated me to a nice dinner on the river. On Thursday we went to Lady and Son's Restaurant for lunch. It was FANTASTIC! Chris and I got the all-you-can-eat buffet, and OH MY GOODNESS. Each thing that we tried, Chris said "it couldn't be as good as ____" but of course it was even better. Yummmmm! We both ate until we could eat no more. I even had 2 servings of collard greens. (and until last Thursday, I hated collard greens...)

About the new shoes...

2007-10-11T11:00:00.001-04:00

Since we had some comments about the shoes, I thought I would give a status report. Noah still loves his new shoes. He has pretty chubby feet, and these shoes are the first pair that he doesn't scream when I put them on him. They actually fit him and with the velcro can be easily adjusted. We have tries a few of the slip on soft leather shoes that I think are cute, but they are so hard to get on Noah's little chubby feet, that I've pretty much quit trying for a while. I've heard that baby's feet flatten a little once they start walking, but we'll see. He is very close to walking, and with the weather turning a little cooler barefoot isn't really an option anymore, and he doesn't like to wear socks because he slips around. Can you tell Noah and I both love the shoes? The only problem is that they only go up to the 24 month size as far as I can tell. Maybe a few of the styles have a larger size, but I'm not sure. Luckily, Noah's feet are pretty small, so we should be good for a bit longer.

I put a link to the website where we got them in the "New Shoes" post.

Picking out the perfect pumpkin

2007-10-05T15:15:00.000-04:00

Noah and I went to Yahoo Farms today with a few friends. The weather wasn't great, but the kids didn't seem to care. It was a cute little farm with some animals that we could look at and great pumpkins. The prices of their pumpkins were fantastic. (even their HUGE ones) Here are some pictures of our adventure.

Here are some pictures of Noah and the girls (Allison and Emma) They loved the turkeys and the chickens. The owner said that we needed to be very careful around the turkeys...something about "they like to peck at fingers."

Noah was trying to find the perfect pumpkin. I'll post a picture of him with his prized pumpkin after we decorate it. Sorry about the lighting; we were in the barn looking at those pumpkins because it was drizzling a little outside.

New Shoes

2007-10-03T16:04:00.001-04:00

Noah just got a pair of new shoes. Too cute! He actually kept them on most of the day. Here is the website where we ordered them from. Once he starts walking, I'll let you know how wonderful they are. For now, they're just plain cute!

New facinations

2007-09-26T10:31:00.000-04:00

Lately Noah has been very busy. He is fascinated by doors, whether it be cabinets or big doors. We've put locks on most of the cabinets in the kitchen, but I decided not to take away all his fun just yet. Noah loves Tupperware! He thinks it is great how it slides across the floor and how it stacks. Chris even found him "surfing" across the kitchen floor on one of the larger lids. Who knew there were so many uses for plastic storage containers. I now have to wash out the containers before I use them, but that is a small price to pay considering I can work around the kitchen without having to worry about what Noah is doing.

Bacteria Free!

2007-09-19T15:39:00.000-04:00

Woo Hoo! The strep throat is finally gone! Noah went to see Dr. Luk this morning and received a great report. After 2 rounds of antibiotics, his throat finally looks better. There was a down side to Noah finally being well; he had to get a shot. He was a real trooper and barely cried. What a brave little guy! He even played "Peek-a-boo" with the nurse. Too cute.
...next stop whole milk...

A note from Abby

2007-09-18T09:26:00.000-04:00

I have a bone to pick with the dogs in my neighborhood, more specifically the escape artists that live in the yard behind mine. It just isn't neighborly for you to keep showing up in my yard and my friends' yards. In my opinion it is proper dog behavior for you to yell at me from your side of the fence. I promise I can hear you; there is no need to get any closer to give me messages. Also, every time you show up, I don't get to go outside...It's just not fair.

All of this ranting has made me tired. I'm going to take a nap.

-Abby

Such a big boy

2007-09-17T13:55:00.000-04:00

Noah loves to look outside. We have been looking outside a lot lately since the 3 escape artist dogs moved in behind us. We'll save that story for another day. I just thought that this picture was too cute! He looks like such a boy in the picture.

It was a little chilly when we left the house this morning, so I put Noah in long sleeves. It didn't occur to me that he hasn't really been in long sleeve in about 4 months. I guess in "baby time" that is forever because he spent about 5 minutes just staring at his sleeve. Every once in a while he would reach up with his other hand and touch it. ...pretty funny...

Little bit sick...

2007-09-17T13:43:00.000-04:00

but no shots yet! So Noah has been dodging the shots for 3 weeks now. I think that he is conspiring with Dr. Luk. I'm completely kidding. The poor guy has had strep throat for 3 weeks; actually, he may have had it longer. I'm not really sure. I'm hoping that after our 2nd round of antibiotics that finish up tomorrow Noah will be rid of this nasty bug. We go back to see Dr. Luk on Wednesday to get rechecked and (I've never said hopefully but...) hopefully get his 1 year shots. This will be our 3rd try to get shots. I'll keep you posted.

This picture is of Noah after the Dr.'s visit last week. He doesn't really act sick until the Dr. tells him he is in fact sick...then his whole world falls apart. Unfortunately Noah also was getting a new tooth that day as well. If you look close you can see that he has the pacifier off to the side a bit to make sure that it is directly over the sore gum.
(Aunt Julie & Uncle Jim, your Birthday present made it on the blog. :-) )

Watch out Abby, there's a new dog in town

2007-09-10T13:49:00.000-04:00

Actually, there are 2 new dogs in Noah's life. We went to Brian and Kellye's house for dinner this past Saturday night. It was fantastic! (I would expect nothing less) They have 2 Boston Terriers named Parker and Sadie Jane. Noah thought they were the funniest thing he had ever seen. Most kids would be scared of barking, licking dogs, not our boy. He was laughing so hard he could barely keep his balance. Noah LOVES him some Parker. :-) (actually after looking closer at the picture that may be Sadie...hmmm.) Of course if didn't hurt that he was hanging out with one of his favorite people too.

New coffee table

2007-09-10T13:44:00.000-04:00

We finally got our new coffee table. It is great! Noah likes it because it has 2 baskets under it that we use to store his toys. I like it because now Noah's things have a good hiding spot.

New view from the back seat

2007-08-31T16:27:00.000-04:00

Noah was pretty excited to be able to see out the front window instead of the rear one he has been looking out of for the past year. I think the look on his face says it all. ...priceless...

All we can say is
"Congratulations, Noah!"

The After Party

2007-08-31T16:14:00.000-04:00

So then there was the after party...
Everybody was playing with Noah's new toys!

Noah and Nana playing

Grammie and Nana playing with Noah's new Magnetic alphabet
I think they figured something out. :-)

Noah loves his new magnets.
I think he has the "B" sound down.

It's Party Time...

2007-08-29T18:18:00.000-04:00

Noah had a great Birthday Party this past Saturday. We had a relaxed cookout with friends to celebrate. Noah got to go in his little pool and he got to eat cake for the 1st time...not a big hit. You can go to Kellye and Brian's blog to see a picture of the big cake. It was pretty cute. Also, Noah racked up with presents. I told everyone not to worry about a gift, but not 1 person listened to me. I guess I wasn't forceful enough. Now our house looks like a regular toy store. Noah, of course, was thrilled that nobody listened! I will admit that the new toys make our day much more fun. Thank you to everybody. Here are a few pictures from the festivities.

Noah, Emma, and Allison hanging out in the pools

It's time for cake! Noah wasn't very sure about the cake.

Here is Noah opening his 1st present.
It was pretty much impossible to get him to move on after opening the 1st one.

Here is a picture of the party aftermath.
It's a good thing we didn't have any furniture.

Early Presents

2007-08-27T16:07:00.001-04:00

Noah got to open another one of his presents early. His first early present was the Soft Sprinkles Tide Pool from his Grammie, which was featured in a previous post. The 2nd early present was this "Baby Grand" piano. He loves it. I actually think it's pretty cool too. It is from his Nana and Granpa.

Between his piano and his drum, Noah has become quite the musician.

Quality time...

2007-08-27T15:55:00.000-04:00

Noah spent some quality time with Nana and Gran pa this past weekend. They came down from Baltimore on Thursday night to spend some extra time with Noah (and maybe Chris and I too) before the big Birthday weekend began.

Check out the adoring look on Noah's face in the 1st picture.

Nana's always up for playtime.

Can we say strong willed?

2007-08-23T14:22:00.000-04:00

So...something has happened to my child in the last week. Noah now knows exactly what he wants and will make sure that you know if he is not getting it. Earlier this week, I was hoping that it was teething, but I really don't think so anymore. Short story... We went to the mall today with our new friends Kendall and her momma, Melissa. (By the way, it really was great fun.) Back to the story... I had to buy a new contour rug for the bathroom in the basement. I thought that Noah was being a good helper by carrying it for me. Well, (dramatic pause) when I had to take it away to let the person scan it, life for Noah was OVER. He produced tears and everything. I thought that I would be a strong mom and not give it back until he calmed down. If you can't tell, I'm new to this whole tantrum thing... So he got over his little yelling time (only minor embarrassment happened) and I gave it back. Noah is now attached to a toilet rug!!! We then walked through the mall with my little boy holding onto a toilet rug like it was his best friend. Melissa thought it was hilarious. I'm just glad that he fell asleep in the car on the way home so I didn't have to explain why he couldn't sleep with it.

We're calling for reinforcements!
Hurry up and get here Nana & Grandpa and Grammie!

New friend...

2007-08-22T12:14:00.001-04:00

Yep, we have a new friend in our house, unofficially named "Neigh Neigh." Neigh Neigh entered our lives last night as a birthday present from Noah's Grandpa Bailey. So far he likes to sit on Neigh Neigh and watch Veggie Tales. He hasn't quite figured out how to bounce by himself, but he'll figure that out soon enough. Right now he's content just sitting on Neigh Neigh and playing with the mane and ears.

Water babies...

2007-08-17T21:08:00.000-04:00

Ok, so Noah is officially obsessed with water! He has started getting into Abby's water bowl...yuck!

Today Noah had a play date with his "girlfriend" Emma. (of course her momma, Kelly, came too) They had a blast in his Tide Pool that his Grammie gave him for his upcoming birthday. I thought that it would be good to post the pictures from today's water adventure.

Don't you love the way that Noah is always focused on the water and the task at hand while Emma is posing for the camera?

Noah loves water!!!

Just loungin' around

2007-08-17T08:52:00.001-04:00

Noah likes to lean back on things now. He thinks he's being pretty cool. I think it's pretty funny, especially when he starts dancing while leaning on things. (he's dancing in the 3rd picture.) It just brings a smile to my face.

What a help!

2007-08-17T08:34:00.000-04:00

We moved into our new house this past weekend. It is so great to have everything under one roof! We had lots of help. Chris' dad Doug flew in from Massachusetts to help out. I think he left exhausted. :-) He and Chris got SO much done. Also, Brian and Shawn came to help move the big stuff. I don't know what we would have done without all of them. Kellye came and brought breakfast...yummmm. She even helped me organize my kitchen and walked around with Noah. What great friends we have!

Noah was helping the guys rebuild his crib. What a big helper?!

Noah and Grandad having fun in the "down time"

The 3 of us in front of our new house

Noah's 1st trip to the zoo

2007-08-05T20:21:00.001-04:00

Noah and I finally went to the zoo last Friday with our friend Kellye and cousins Brian and Sarah. Once Noah figured out that there was more to it than trees, he was good to go. Noah was such a trooper; I was sure that he was going to be very cranky because he kind of skipped his morning nap, but he was fantastic! I think his favorite thing was the pandas because they were so close that he could really see them. I think we may become regulars at the zoo!

Here we are looking at the mama panda and her cub. Noah was fascinated. You can tell he was pretty excited about the whole thing.

Here's my little guy in the big bird's nest. As you can tell, he was all smiles. Brian and Sarah decided to join him. We couldn't let Noah have all the fun.

Our little monkey...
He was actually standing up by himself
(with me spotting of course)

At the end of the day, Noah was just plain tuckered out.

Well that is kind of the end of this post except that I have to post some pictures of the stars of our zoo trip...the favorite animals, who were nice enough to pose for some pictures.

My little boy is growing up...

2007-08-04T12:57:00.001-04:00

So, all of a sudden it has hit me that I'm about to have a toddler not a baby. Obviously this is how it should be, but just lately Noah has been doing lots more "big boy" things. I didn't think that he would ever even think of walking. I was sure that it would happen sometime before he went to college, but not anytime soon. He is now pulling up on things and walking using only my fingers for support. Also, he has started going after Chris' and my drinks at the dinner table. Not only can he now use a straw (as long as it's not too long), but he can also drink out of a grown-up glass (with some assistance). What a big boy! Now I just need to get him to give up the pacifier and the bottle...hmmm.

Fanball

2007-08-03T21:27:00.001-04:00

Well, Noah and Chris' favorite game is fanball. I know, I know...but boys will be boys. Chris even taught my cousins Brian and Sarah how to play. I'm sure I'll hear about it from their parents when they get home. They have been here for the last week hanging out and being huge helpers. I'll be posting more pictures from their visit very soon.

Noah's new "jungle gym"

2007-08-03T20:13:00.001-04:00

Now that Noah can crawl, he has discovered that it is more fun to crawl through things. We built him some tunnels out of a few of the extra boxes...we have lots of those...and voila...free tunnels!

The small Cracker Barrel toy, Peppy, is still one of the all time favorite toys...Go figure.

Lady's Man??? maybe once Noah learns to share...

2007-07-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

Thanks to our friend Kelly (and Emma of course), Chris and I actually got the majority of the 1st floor painted last week while she watched Noah. Noah always enjoys playing at Emma's house. Here are some pictures from their play date. I think they had more fun taking toys from each other than anything else.

As you can tell, it's all fun and games until someone else is playing with the toy you want.

Who knew???

2007-07-23T07:52:00.000-04:00

Well, Noah has had a rough week. He is now getting 2 of his top teeth, and they just don't seem to want to break through. As a 1st time mom, I had no idea of all the things that can happen when babies are cutting teeth. It's crazy!!! So, without telling you about all of the horrible things that happen with teeth coming in, I though that I would let you know about our new favorite product that can cure whatever ails you. Also, if you have any barnyard animals around, it can cure any skin issues they may have as well. Drum roll please.....Bag Balm. It's GREAT! Our other new "cure-all" is baking soda. I had no idea of all of its uses...good stuff. Noah has been taking a bath with baking soda in it. All that he cares about is that he gets a bath. He definitely couldn't care less about the contents of his bathtub.

Quite the little Music Man

2007-07-13T14:00:00.001-04:00

I took these pictures of Chris and Noah practicing some new tunes. ...for all of you Chris and Noah fans, I'm sure there will be a CD coming out just as soon as Noah can figure out how to sing...

Noah on his new drum and Chris on the guitar.

Can't you just hear him?
"No, no Dad, I like this chord better."

I think Noah's coming up with a new part to Heart and Soul.

On the move...

2007-07-13T13:45:00.001-04:00

Noah's life has been a little busy lately. We finally have our new house. The demo started week before last. Noah learned to "crawl" this past week, and now nothing can stop him except for the pack-n-play that he gets put in at the new house since there is so much stuff for him to get into. He is actually doing the "commando crawl," but boy is he fast! I also just discovered today that he is getting a new tooth on top. (That would explain why he hasn't been his usual charming self this morning.) Here are some of the latest and greatest pictures of our little man.

Laying on the couch like a big boy.
(blanket, pillow, and friends...what more could you want?)

Standing watching Veggie Tales.
Can you tell he is a little annoyed with me for interrupting?

Bathtime fun

2007-07-02T07:12:00.000-04:00

These pictures are from the 26th...Noah's 10 month B-day. Noah absolutely loves bath time! If you saw (or heard) bath time before he was 7 months old, you would understand why a happy boy in the tub is picture worthy.

If you were wondering, yes that is Chris fully clothed in the tub with Noah.
Abby wanted in on the fun too.

Only a week late...

2007-06-23T17:41:00.000-04:00

Well, with everyone in the house sick, Father's Day was not the big day that it should have been. Chris, please forgive us.

We love you!

If you want music for the slide show, click on the speaker.

Noah the scientist...

2007-06-21T14:44:00.000-04:00

Well Noah did his first science experiment today. I wanted to start early. :-) We balanced the egg on end on the counter top to celebrate the 1st day of summer (Solstice Equinox). Noah didn't think the egg was nearly as cool as his reflection in the counter top. Oh well, maybe he will appreciate it more in the years to come. I think it frustrated him that I wouldn't let him knock the egg over. He ended up whistling at it and it fell over. I guess he was practicing early for his 1st birthday candles.

More "swimming"

2007-06-18T15:45:00.000-04:00

Weekend before last Chris, Noah and I decided that it was time to get out of the house. The swimming pool seemed to be a great destination. Noah's new favorite thing seemed to be the beginnings of the back stroke.

Just chillin' in the pool. Looks pretty relaxing, don't you think?

Noah was pretty happy that his Dadada got to come to the pool too.

A dog and her boy...

2007-06-18T15:31:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I know that I haven't posted lately. Noah somehow got strep throat and a cold...poor guy. My days obviously have not been spent taking pictures of everything that Noah has been doing. I thought that this might be a good chance to throw in a couple of pictures of Abby and Noah from a month ago. They are just too cute not to include on the blog...especially when the blog is titled "Adventures of a Dog and Her Boy."

Down, Abby. Stay, Abby. Good dog!

We call this one "playing dead," but actually they are both practicing rolling over.

just plain cute!

Can you see the fear in Abby's eyes?

Water Baby

2007-06-06T13:21:00.002-04:00

Noah went "swimming" at the neighborhood pool today. He absolutely loved it. I sat him on the side of the pool so that he could watch what was going on. (There were some bigger kids jumping and splashing.) Everytime I would sit him on the edge, he would watch the kids for about a minute and then reach out and "jump" to me. I think he just wanted to be like the big kids. He definitely isn't afraid of much...

These are Noah's first moments in the pool. He was a little unsure with all the splashing going on, but after a few minutes, he was ready to go.

Have you ever seen a happier baby. Don't you just love the hat?!

I think the pool is going to be one of our regular outings!

Me and my Grammie

2007-06-04T17:28:00.000-04:00

Grammie came to visit last week. She and Noah had a great time. They played blocks, balls and watched Noah's little wind up toy puppy, Peppy. Abby enjoyed a little extra attention as well.

Grammie and Noah playing blocks. They did a lot of this!
We think that Noah may have a future in demolition.

Grammie just rescued Noah from a close call involving a diaper box race car. Sorry there are no pictures of the diaper box race car. I will remember to take a picture next time Chris decides to zoom Noah around the house in a diaper box.

Future Olympian???

2007-05-29T09:36:00.000-04:00

Future Olympian...well, not really...first Noah has to learn to crawl I guess.
Yesterday we all went to Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. The weather was perfect, and it wasn't too crowded.

Noah wasn't too crazy about the fountain. It was a little too much for him. He seemed to like the calmer fountains much better.

Noah in front of the new Coca Cola museum. Doesn't he look handsome in his RedSox cap? (We're starting young.)

There were lots of oversized balls, inflatable goals, and Frisbees to play with in the park. Noah seemed to like the soccer ball best. He and Chris had fun running around the park. I think Noah liked the view better from Chris' shoulders. (They are yelling at the camera in this picture...Aaarh!)

The three of us at Centennial Park.

Whew, what a weekend!

2007-05-27T13:37:00.000-04:00

Noah has had a very exciting weekend so far. He is currently playing with his Grammie so that I can post the latest pictures from his visit with his (Great) Aunt Laura, (Great) Uncle Wes, Brian, Sarah, and Angel (the dog) Noah had so much fun that he hated to go to bed last night. I think we last heard him chatting at 10:00. Then he woke up periodically through the night to make sure he wasn't missing any of the fun. (I assured him that he wasn't missing anything.) Also, Abby did very well with everybody (including Angel). If you know Abby, you understand why this is worth announcing.