Worth Noting

I don't usually post happy birthday wishes on the blog since I know I am bound to forget someone, but it is worth noting that my nephew Blake turned 13 this week. 1-3.

When Blake was born, I was an oh-so young, 17 years old and a senior in high school. My life was filled with tennis. I had just been named a maid for Mardi Gras, and parties and dresses and dates were definitely on the brain. And, then one night as I was having dinner out with my Mardi Gras court, I get a call from my dad... Am I remembering that correctly? Did I have a portable cell phone in 1995 or was it one of those mobile phones attached to a bag in my car? I think it was more like, I got home from having dinner with my Mardi Gras court, when my dad told me, let's go to the hospital, the baby is coming. Blake was number one. The first new addition to our family.

Blake, you are such a sweet boy, and I like to think you get your flair for drama from me. I know you definitely don't get it from your Mom. I am so glad I got to be there for your big day, just like I was there for your big day 13 years ago. I hope you have some really awesome teenage years. I love you! Sarah Sue-Sue

Noah Meets Cole

I finally had the opportunity to meet the newest addition to my brother's family. Cole is a black lab that has stolen the heart of my nieces, especially Brooke.

And, as for my sister-in-law, I really never thought I'd see this kind of love for a four-legged friend from her. It's amazing the things you do for your children.

Noah became a fan at first sight, and Cole was such a sweet dog that maybe I entertained the thought of what it would be like for Noah to have dog for a teeny, tiny, oh so brief moment.

But then Noah sat on the ground, and Cole took the opportunity to finally play with someone his own size, and got right in Noah's face.

And, although he was just going in for a little loving, my "I'm am not a dog fan" mommy instincts kicked in, and I decided that maybe a puppy is not in our future.

Christmas Cuties

We had a pretty low key Christmas this year. Dean had the week off. It was one of the few times this year that we will be able to relax and play at home together. So, we decided to stay in Florida. It was a really good Christmas, but we did miss the chaos and craziness of our big family Christmas in Louisiana. Living away, you just learn that there is always some sort of trade off.

We spent the day at our friends Chuck and Jodie's apartment, where there was plenty of food, a little Wii playing, a few naps, and some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It was baby Caroline's first Christmas, and I managed to get Noah to sit still for at least one picture.

OK. So, I did manage to get two pictures of them together, but I wouldn't exactly say Noah is sitting still in this picture. He had just run over to her narrowly missing her head with his sippy cup, and his leg is already cocked back ready to run.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Santa must have been paying attention this year because Noah LOVED all the gifts left under the tree.

Here is all Noah's loot from Santa. Elmo Live, which Noah is having a blast with. His favorite is when Elmo tells a story. The Yookidoo Discovery Playhouse, which Noah is a little too tall for, but it hasn't stopped him for going in and out and around. The Little People A to Z Zoo, which Momma is already struggling to find all 26 animals at the end of each day. How long until we lose one? A sit-n-spin. A few trains, and some new books. Thanks Santa! These are some really GREAT toys.

Noah getting his first glimpse of what Santa left for him.

Elmo Live! I love this toy!

Excuse me, Momma. I am kind of busy playing right now.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a great day. We took a quick dive into the hustle and bustle of the mall near our house, but mostly we stayed at home and hung out. In the afternoon, we exchanged gifts.

Did somebody say new toys?

One of the last presents I wrapped and put under the tree was a Tiger and Pooh book. I was running low on wrapping paper, so the sides of the book were showing. When Noah got to his stack of presents, he immediately opened the book and ignored all the other gifts.

Daddy must have read the book about five times before Noah was ready to move on to opening his other gifts.

The hit of the day was a travel Aqua Doodle. I really think that the Aqua Doodle pen is in the running to be a close second to the rake as a must have in hand toy.

Twas the Week Before Christmas

Holiday Playdate. My mom's group had a holiday playdate this week. It was at a park that Noah and I go to pretty often. He loves running around the playground equipment, but on this day, he noticed the big kids playing in the dirt. And long after the bigger kids had moved on to snacks, presents, and other things, the dirt is where Noah stayed. Bathtime required lots of scrubbing on this night.

Santa Pictures. Two trips to two different malls, two twenty-minute waits in line, and two twenty dollar charges equals two unhappy pictures of Noah on Momma's lap instead of Santa's.

Santa's Enchanted Forest. Determined to find the Christmas spirit somewhere in Miami, we loaded up the car to head over to Santa's Enchanted Forest. En route, we decided to make a pit stop for a yummy holiday treat.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate for Momma and Daddy, and...

A not-so-hot chocolate for Noah.

Santa's Enchanted Forest was a total bust. We pulled into the parking lot, and it was packed. Dean and I both said it looked like someone had thrown up Christmas lights on the Vandy fair, and at 30 bucks a person, we decided to pass.

Superman Pajamas. Grammy bought Noah a pair of Superman PJ's the last time we were in town. I saved them for Christmas because really nothing says Christmas like the "man of steel." I love this picture. I took it just before Noah went to bed. As soon as he gets his "sip" at night, he immediately lifts up his shirt and grabs his belly button. Precious.

Merry Christmas From Us!

Jungle Gym

I couldn't resist posting a video montage of Noah at the park today. It is time for you to fully appreciate the whirlwind of movement and activity that is Mister No. Heads up for 0:36. Enjoy!

Jenny Mini and Santa

My very good friend Jenny was in town for a visit this week. She has been very busy crisscrossing the country on residency interviews, and I am so happy that Miami was one of her stops. We did a little shopping and spent a lot of time hanging out at the apartment catching up. She is newly engaged to the cutest guy and getting married in 2010, and she asked me to be a bridesmaid. Yay!

She was so sweet with Noah, and Noah thought she was hilarious.

We loved having you visit, Jenny Mini, and we miss you already!

On one of our shopping trips, we thought we'd reintroduce Noah to Santa. He did so well last year, but this year... Noah did not like Santa. He refused to sit on his lap. So, here is Noah's Santa picture for this Christmas. Maybe we will try again, when he is rested and fed and happy.

Learning to Share

My friend Kasey called today for a favor. She had a few errands near my house, and she wanted to know if she could drop her little man Luke over for a little while. She did stipulate that I could only grant her the favor, if I would let her watch Noah in return. I agreed, and she dropped Luke off around noon.

Here is Luke. He is 9 months old and an excellent crawler who dreams of being a walker one day soon. Noah was napping when Luke arrived, but woke up about 15 minutes after he was here. Noah has never shown any type of jealousy around other kids or babies, but today he was being a little territorial with his stuff.

"Um... Momma? Isn't that the new toy you let me unwrap from under the tree this morning?"

"I guess it's ok if he plays with it."

"Maybe we can play with it together."

"Luke? What are you doing?"

"Excuse me, Luke. Let me show you how it's done."

Meteorology 101

I told my sister, Monique, that in her spare time, she should start a blog. And, since she has very little spare time, she has no blog. But, I know that if she did have a blog, she would have posted this story, and since she does not, I feel it only fitting to include it here. You can thank me later for your meteorology lesson of the day.

Louisiana has been getting some crazy weather. Cold. Rainy. Snowy. The area meteorologists have been having a field day. Over the weekend, her boys were playing outside and saw a really crazy cloud. Zachary came running inside and said, "Mom, the mother ship is here go get Blake."

So, my sister went inside and sent a message to Margaret Orr, a local meteorologist, asking what they were looking at. In about two minutes, she got a response... It's a punch hole cloud. An airplane flew through a high cloud...it looked to be an alto stratocumulus cloud. You've most likely seen contrails before. This is moisture released by the plane as it flies. In very cold air, the moisture condenses. In this case it's ice crystals. The moisture from the cloud condenses on the ice crystals. They grow bigger, and begin to fall. That creates the hole. You see high clouds...cirrus clouds above the hole. The light hits that and creates the rainbow effect.

Here is a shot where you can see the rainbow.

So, there you have it. Pretty cool, huh?!?

Dishwasher Safe

I've always heard of toddlers who were attached to a lovey. Something soft and cuddly. Makes them feel safe and cozy while asleep in their bedMy niece Brooke carried around her "lambie" and "peeyow" for awhile. My nephew Seth still likes to sleep with his well-worn blanket made by Grammy. I think it is cute, and I was hoping that Noah would find something he could form an attachment to. Something to love and snuggle. And, well, he has. It's not the Elmo plush toy that I have consistently put in his bed every night since he was six months old. It's not the soft and worn baby afghan knitted by Mrs. Hilda that also goes in his crib each and every night. Oh no, not for Mister No. He has formed an attachment to an... orange rake. In the past two weeks, this attachment has grown, and I think Noah has found his favorite thing. I am serious. He loves it.

Here it is. And, as you can tell, Noah is very serious about it.

Here it is making a cameo in our Christmas picture. Unfortunately, it is not conducive to hand clapping.

Today the orange rake came with us to Chuck E. Cheese.

I spy an orange rake. It made it on our trip to Disney.

Time for bed. Where's my rake?

So, although it is not soft and cuddly and definitely not what I would have chosen for a lovey, it totally works for Noah. On the plus side, it is dishwasher safe, it comes in handy at the park for digging in the dirt, and it is pretty funny!

All By Myself

Tonight Noah ate with a spoon all by himself. He didn't want to, and he resisted a lot at the beginning, but I I think once he got going, he actually liked it. I put a small bowl of yogurt in front of him and stuck a spoon in it. For a little while, he just stared at it. He knew what to do because we've been practicing, but this time I decided I wasn't helping. So, I started unloading the dishwasher. From the corner of my eye, I could see him sticking a finger in it, and then his hand. I saw him smear it all over the bottom of his highchair tray. This is where I would normally step in, but I decided that in the interest of learning a new skill, I was going to ignore the mess. I did walk over, and tell him to grab his spoon and take a bite. Instead of reaching out for his spoon, he opened his mouth for me to feed him a bite. Hmmm... tricky. I decided not to, and instead, I just put his hand on the spoon, and guided it into his mouth. After a couple of bites with my help, I let him be. He definitely has his own method to spoon feeding, but I think he is getting the hang of it.

Our Halls are Decked

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our apartment. The stockings are hung, and our tree is decorated and lit. Looks like I finally found something to fit in that crazy corner of our living room. So far, Noah has only broken 6 ornaments, two of which I was able to hot glue back together. I think I have made quite enough trips to Target since Thanksgiving, and I may very well boycott it until the season is done. All the presents are bought and just waiting to be wrapped. I think I will get to this tonight. I still have our Christmas cards to design, address and mail. We have Dean's work Christmas party this weekend, and I am planning to take Noah for his Santa picture in the next couple of days. Christmas music has been playing from my IPod all day, and I am very much looking forward to the holiday.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios was always my favorite part of our trips to Disney, and this visit was no exception. It was far less crowded than the Magic Kingdom, which made for a much more enjoyable day.

Noah is finally getting the hang of the 3-D glasses. He kept them on during the entire Muppet's 3-D performance. It was so cute and funny to see him reach out and try to touch all the 3-D objects coming towards him.

Noah was in a great mood at the park. We went on the Studio Backlot Tour and the Great Movie Ride. We caught a quick glimpse of the High School Musical Show, and we strolled past Handy Manny and the Little Einsteins.

Playhouse Disney Live was the hit of the day. All Noah's favorites were there. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Tigger and Pooh. Noah even got involved and danced a little. We had great front row seats right in front of the stairs, which was pretty enticing for Noah. Daddy had his work cut out for him trying to keep Noah on the ground and off the stage. At one part during the show, one of the actors asked the audience to shout "surprise!" at the count of three. It really scared Noah when everyone shouted, and he started crying. I think he was just so into the show, that he didn't expect the yelling.

We spent a good bit of time at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. Noah and Daddy climbed all the way to the top of the webbing. I was standing at the bottom waving and yelling. According to Dean, Noah was having a great time until he saw me way at the bottom.

After seeing me down at the bottom, he was ready to come down, and he couldn't do it fast enough.

We ended our day at Disney with snacks from one of the shops on Sunset Boulevard. Noah had a Nemo iced sugar cookie, and he ate the entire thing. He fell sound asleep in the car on the ride back to the house and didn't get up until morning. I think it was a sugar coma.