Three Weeks Old

Hello everybody! Noah Thomas checking in on my three week birthday! Just thought you'd like to know how things are going.

Today Mom and I played a new game. She stood me up on her lap, and I pushed off with my legs, so we bounced. I got to jump really high!

I also got a bath today, which I HATED. I was so mad I turned purple. I don't know why Mom picked my birthday to give me a bath. Maybe she thought I was a little stinky, since I hadn't had a bath in about a week.

By the way, Mom is a trickster. She tries to make me kiss her by kissing my cheek. I always think that means it's time to eat, so I turn towards her with my mouth wide open, and BAM! She gets me to kiss her. Sneaky.

Dad, on the other hand, is pretty cool. We like playing together. Except he figured out that I am ticklish on my tummy and the bottoms of my feet, which is not so fun for me. It just makes me squirm a lot.

I have to say, I am pretty strong, if I do say so myself. I can hold my head up for a really long time, and I can even do a push-up to lift my shoulders up, too. I'm a big boy.

Here are some new pictures of me:

Dad and me during tummy time

Taking a nap

Hanging out

And check out my newest video!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

So Noah has been nursing non-stop today. Literally. For HOURS. The poor kid couldn't decide if he was more hungry or tired, and apparently he opted to eat rather than sleep. Every time I thought maybe he was drowsy enough to detach himself from eating and go to sleep, he informed me of how very wrong I was. I finally got him to get quiet enough to sit alone in his chair (where he sleeps), and as soon as those little eyelids shut I made a bee line for the bathroom to try to take a shower (at 3:25pm--yes, I said he was eating ALL DAY). When I got out, he was still sleeping! Hallelujah! And a minute later I realized I was singing--silently, in my head, of course--the Doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.

Seriously, today a nap is a blessing. Straight from God.

While talking to my friend, Sara, to get some mom advice on what to do, I mentioned that some days I feel like we've got everything worked out, and some days I just don't know what to do. She said she thought that was totally normal and that it sounded exactly like her experience, even now with a toddler. So in case you're wondering, this is what motherhood is like, at least in my limited experience so far: some days are hard, and some days are great. But I still think that little dude is drop-dead cute, no matter what kind of day I'm having. And we definitely have more good days than hard days.

Incidentally, if you have called me in the last month and left a message and I haven't called you back, I am so sorry! Please just assume it's because my life has been crazy (which it has), and that I really would like to chat. I realized yesterday that I had not returned a call to a friend a couple of weeks ago who really needed me to call, and I realized how very remiss I have been with everyone. So if you called and I never called you back, call again. :) And my life is still crazy on some days (like today), so if you do leave a voicemail, I will make it a priority to call you back, but give me a day or two, just in case. :)

Not Being Pregnant

Reasons it's nice not to be pregnant anymore:

1. I can reach my feet and put my own socks on.
2. I no longer have cankles.
3. I can walk up stairs without the tops of my legs touching the bottom of my very large belly.
4. My back doesn't hurt.
5. I can hug my husband without my belly getting in the way.
6. I no longer have an American Gladiator appetite.
7. I get to be home with little Noah.
   

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Today is Nathan's birthday! In honor of completing his 26th year, I'll tell you 26 things about him:

1. He is one of the goofiest people I know. He likes to make up songs and silly puns.
2. He is one of the smartest people I know.
   
3. He is a kid at heart. One of his favorite Christmas presents was a sled.
4. He loves blueberry pancakes (which I made for breakfast this birthday morn).
5. He did not want to name Noah after him. A Nathan Jr. was out of the question. He didn't even want to give Noah his middle name.
6. He is one of the humblest people I know.
   
7. He usually really enjoys zombie movies. Go figure. (Lauren does not, so he stayed up till 2:30 to watch one the other night.)
8. He usually really dislikes running errands. He especially hates it when we're out doing something and I mention dipping into an extra store to get such-and-such (in other words, doing an extra errand).
   
9. He is good at figuring out all the cables and stuff that go with the computer and TV. This is a good thing, because I would be watching static without him.
10. He strongly prefers Macs over PC's and has pretty much converted me. Our Mac is pretty dang nice.
11. He told me once when we were dating that his favorite weather was 95 degrees and sunny, and that this was a great day to play baseball. I'm pretty sure I thought to myself that this was not the guy for me if he loved 95-degree weather.
12. He hated living in Harvard Square. He just didn't like having no outdoorsy space around. He is not much of a city-dweller.
    
13. People like him. I don't know anyone who doesn't like Nathan. He's an easy person to get along with.
14. One of his old office mates calls him "Scooter," or "Scoots," for short. Don't ask me why. I guess this is more a statement about Chris than about Nathan.
    
15. As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, he was blonde and chubby when he was a toddler but turned darker and lankier a few years later. Because of this, I maintain that rather than being switched at birth, he was switched at five. His parents deny this. :)
16. His nickname as a kid was "Nate-o Potato."
17. He is a bit of a homebody. He usually prefers to stay home and watch a movie rather than go out.
    
18. He is really helpful. He usually helps with the housework, especially the dishes, although clutter and other things that need doing usually don't register on the "I should take care of that" meter. (The exception to this is when people are coming over, in which case he turns into this super cleaning machine. I wish we had people over every day.)
    
19. He is really picky about his hair. The boy can spend some time in front of the bathroom mirror.
20. He is an Eagle Scout and a member of the Order of the Arrow.
    
21. He loves animals and can spot a wild animal quicker than anyone I know.
    
22. He can be pretty competitive, especially when it comes to board games. For example, he has a hard time liking Puerto Rico because he has never won.
23. He can do the absolute best velociraptor impression you've ever seen. I mean, it really is amazing. He looks and sounds JUST like the raptors from Jurassic Park. The thing is that he'll hardly ever do it for you. If you've seen it, you're one of the lucky few.
    
24. He was awesome throughout the labor and delivery process. He was a really great, encouraging coach, and I think he thought the whole process was pretty exciting.
    
25. He is a great dad. He can swaddle and change diapers and make up songs like a champ.
    
26. Pretty much every day, he looks at Noah and says, "I like him a lot."

Oh-EE-oh-NUH-muh-nuh

So today Nathan and I drove through McDonald's, and Nathan asked the guy at the drive through what kind of McFlurries they have.

The response:
"Oh-EE-oh-NUH-muh-nuh."
"What?"
"Oh-EE-oh-NUH-muh-nuh."
"Oh. I'd like the M&M."

Apparently he was saying "Oreo and M&M." Somehow--I'm not sure how--Nathan's brain deciphered "nuh-muh-nuh" to mean "M&M."

That made us laugh half of the way home. Next time we're going to Chick-fil-A. ;)

Nicknames

Noah's nicknames (so far):

• all the normal ones: Baby, Sweet Pea, etc.
• Little Dude
• Noah Balboa (since he punched my mom from within the womb)
• Stinky Stinkerton (you can guess why)
• Buddy or Bud
  

Two Weeks

Yesterday was Noah's two week birthday. I took a couple of pictures of him after he had finished eating and was curled up in the Boppy pillow. He's grown a lot over the last couple of weeks, and I think he just keeps getting cuter.

Isn't he sweet? ;)