Meeting Baby Harry

 During our recent trip to Louisiana, Noah and Baby Harrison had their first meeting. Noah was really not that interested in Harry. Maybe he was feeling intimidated by of all this cuteness.

Undeterred, my friend Care and I tried to get a picture. Noah was very hands on in the attempt. It started with a really tight hug.

And, then things escalated into a sort of a body slam. 

And, then he was gone.  Leaving Harry to wonder... "what the hell just happened?"

Yee Haw

The rodeo was in town these past few weeks, so I decided coordinate a little family outing this Saturday.  I bought tickets to the Brad Paisley concert.  Well, it turns out that this weekend was Daddy's call weekend, and it was also the last weekend of the rodeo.  Translation:  Momma and Noah heading solo to the rodeo and it being the most crowded day.  Noah and I forged ahead after taking an hour to park, and Daddy made plans to meet us later.

 First things first.  After walking through the carnival where Noah sat quietly in his stroller praying that Momma wouldn't make him go on any rides, I bought him a cowboy hat.  He chose white over black.  I hope you are always one of the good guys, sweet boy. 

 Because of crowd size, I decided to forgo the livestock show and head straight to the stadium and reserved seating.  Who am I kidding?  Petting zoos and Momma do not mix.  I love this picture of Noah outside the stadium.  I also love how you can see the Astrodome in the reflection.

 Yee Haw!

 Loaded down with the biggest bucket of popcorn ever, we sat down to watch the rodeo.  Noah really liked the cowgirls doing the barrel racing.  Unfortunately, Noah only made it through about a third of the popcorn before he spilled it all over the guy in the plaid shirt.  Sorry dude.  Just be happy it wasn't liquid. 

 Guess who made it!  Yay for Daddy!

 Noah's first concert.  Brad Paisley.

Noah liked it well enough, but probably would have liked it better if he knew the music.  He started getting a little tired, but was such a good boy.  After every song ended, he would say, "you did it!"  Translation:  Now is this over?  It's time to go home. 

5 Things Friday 03.18.10 - What We Did on Spring Break

1. Two words. Potty. Training. Let's just say that if the volume of underwear purchased and ready for day one was an indicator of potty training success potential, this would have been cake. Well, day two was better than day one, day three was worse than day two, and day five has been by far the best day. Somewhere between days two and four there were some tears from Momma (not Noah). I am so ready for this to be done and for me to earn my mommy merit badge. Potty training is tough stuff. But, he sure does look cute in his big boy undies.



2. With potty training on our agenda for the week, I cancelled all therapies and extra-curricular activities. It's amazing all the things you can get done when you stay home all day. Five minutes here and ten minutes there can equal an organized junk drawer, a straightened shoe shelf, and a clean laundry room. My mom would be so proud.

3. As a potty training incentive, I ordered all the pieces to Noah's favorite Dr. Seuss book, "I Wish I Had Duck Feet." Duck feet. Deer horns. A long, long tail. A whale spout, and a long nose. He deserved his prize after having such a great morning today. It was a huge hit. Props to the nice Etsy seller who made the super cute duck feet and shipped them in record time. Check out her shop here.



4. This month in preparation for a school field trip to the zoo, his class has been talking about animals. During his shower tonight, Noah was playing with his animals and singing Old MacDonald. He grabbed his giraffe and sang, "And on this farm he had a giraffe. E-I-E-I-O. With a tall, tall here and a tall, tall there." So cute.

5. Despite the stress of potty training, I have loved spending the week at home with my little man. Today, he grabbed my camera off the counter and wanted me to take a picture. That doesn't happen often and although he didn't quit moving, I sure caught his happy cuteness. I love this sweet boy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hello Gorgeous!

The weather this Saturday was gorgeous.  So, Noah and I spent several hours enjoying our backyard.  It was warm enough to break out the garden hose and baby pool.  Luckily, one of Noah's baby pools was still blown up from last summer, so with little effort, we got prepared for some fun. 

There was lots of hose playing and water drinking involved, but I'm happy to report that no Mommas were splashed in the process. 

Noah loved my great idea to slide into the pool from his slide.

"One more time..."  he would say every time he landed on his knees in a splash of water. 

One more time turned into many more times.

And it was a GREAT Saturday afternoon!

Less Than 100 Days

My handy dandy iPhone app popped up today to remind me that I am starting a new week of pregnancy. Week number 26. 98 days left. It's funny how being pregnant the second time around doesn't consume my every thought as much as the first time. Between following Noah's schedule, volunteering at his school and occasional play dates with friends, I sometimes rush through the day without much thought to this burgeoning belly. It's only at night after Noah is finally asleep and Dean and I are lying in bed that baby girl has my full attention. And, she definitely takes advantage of Momma's quiet with big kicks and back flips.

I'm always asking mom's of multiple kids, what's harder... Going from 0-1 child or 1-2? It's probably a 50/50 split in responses. Maybe I'm naive, but 0-1 completely rocked my world, and I have to believe that I am a little more prepared this time around. Time will tell.

I feel the same way about Noah and the transition. He'll adapt. Does he have any idea what's going on? I think how could he... how does any child, neurotypical or not, have any idea about moving another baby in the house. So, does he have any idea what's going on?

He knows the answer to the question, what's in Momma's belly?  A baby sister.

He definitely notices my belly.  Although, it is pretty difficult to miss.  He pokes at it. He squeezes it. I'm constantly having to tell him to "be soft to Momma's belly."

Amazingly enough, I actually thinks he gets that there really is a baby coming into our life. The other day I showed him our little friend, Harrison's birth announcement. He looked at the picture then he looked at me, and said, "Momma, I missed you. I want to cuddle."  Then he leaned over and gave me a huge hug. 

And, just this weekend as we were outside painting, he asked me to write our names while he spelled them. Noah. Momma (Mom), Daddy (Dad), and out of the blue... "write Baby Emma." He's already added her to our family list.  Melt my heart!

Five Things Friday 03.04.11 - IPhone Photos

I took this picture one morning while getting ready for school.  He is sitting in our bedroom on his green chair in front of a breakfast of blueberry muffins and an orange.  I'm pretty sure he's watching Busytown Mysteries.  It's his new favorite. 

I love this shot from Disney.  This was the morning Daddy forgot his cell phone in the car, so Noah and I went into the park without him.  Our first stop was to buy his Mickey ears, and then, we hopped on It's a Small World with zero wait time. 

Noah's friends Sara and Ryan celebrated their fourth birthdays with a circus theme party.  How cute are these cutouts?!?! 

I took this one morning on a recent trip to my parent's house.  I told Noah he needed shoes to go in the backyard.  Lucky for him, he found PaPa's shrimp boots right by the back door.

I took this one during art at Mom's Day at Noah's school.  I finally understand how he comes home with paint in his hair and ears. 

Here Comes Trouble

Today, you should have taken a nap, but you didn't.  You were so tired this afternoon, and, when you are tired, you don't get cranky.  Oh no... you are still the happy little guy you normally are except things just speed up a bit. 

You get very, very, very, very active.  Your legs move faster.  Your hands move faster.  Your mouth moves faster.  So, we spent part of the afternoon running off some energy in the backyard.  Maybe "running off" is not really the most accurate choice of words.  There is no gradual winding down for you. 

It's full speed ahead until I turn lights out, and say "goodnight."  So, the backyard was a way to stop you from getting those active little hands into everything inside the house and leaving every little thing strewn on the floor in your wake.  Your Momma is getting quite a bit of a belly these days and bending down to pick up your mess is a bit challenging.

And then at 6:35 PM, you were asleep.  After eating an orange and two peanut butter jelly sandwiches.  And, after your bath in Momma's tub (aka the oval one) where you used your wash towel to soak the entire bathroom floor. 

See you in the morning, sweet baby boy.  I hope you get some good sleep.  I think tomorrow, we are going to get a haircut.