Everybody's Out

All our family is accounted for, and everybody is out. Now, we just sit and wait while the meteorologists enjoy their "Super Bowl" of weather and strike the fear of God in everyone. Praying for our hometown and for Gustav to turn around and GO AWAY!

Our Mostly Zoo-tiful Day

Today Dean and I took Noah to the zoo. It was a really hot day. And, it was a really big zoo. We only made it about a quarter through. But, we got to see a lot, and we all had a really good time. Here are some pictures from our mostly zoo-tiful day.

Here is a family shot taken by the zoo photographer. I especially love how she waited for Noah to look before taking the picture.

Noah & Momma enjoying Nelly the elephant. We showed up right when the zookeeper was feeding her a snack. Did you know that elephants have 4 molars the size of bricks?

Next we checked out the Diego show from the sidelines.

We walked right by the petting zoo... and kept on walking. Noah may be ready to pet the animals, but Momma and Daddy so were not.

We stopped a bit to watch the camel rides. Again, no participation on our part. We just watched.

Watching seemed just fine for Noah. He found the camel quite interesting.

Then, Noah took a couple spins on the carousel. It was hard to say whether Noah liked it or hated it. He didn't fuss, and he went once with Momma and once with Daddy. It was getting close to nap time, so it is possible that this face could be construed as one of enjoyment.

Continuing on our journey, we stopped at the amphitheater to watch the wildlife show. It wasn't very crowded, and we got a front row seat.

Momma began to rethink the front row when the zookeeper brought out the leopard, aka a predator that requires visitors to remain seated. Scary!

Noah got a chance to cool down at one of the zoo's splash pads.

The water definitely perked him up, and he had so much fun splashing.

I am going to pinpoint that this is were our downfall began. So, I mentioned our day was mostly zoo-tiful. The mostly part came in when we headed to our car pooped out from all the sun and all the heat. Noah was still in wet clothes, so I grabbed the diaper bag to change him on the front seat. Dean grabbed the stroller to put in the back of the car. I strapped Noah in his seat and off we went. It wasn't until getting out of the car back at the apartment that I realized... no diaper bag. I actually left it on the ground in the parking lot. We headed back in the direction of the zoo. I spent the 20 minute drive thinking about all the trouble losing a diaper bag WITH MY WALLET IN IT would be. We pulled into the parking lot, which had pretty much cleared since it was nearing closing time. No bag to be found. Dean dropped me off at the gate, and I headed to the "lost and found." No bag. I was so frustrated. How stupid of me! As I am walking out the gate to meet up with Dean, I see a guy walking with the zookeeper, holding my bag!! Woo Hoo! I call out, "hey, that's my bag!" He walks over and hands it to me. I am thanking him and saying how nice he is to turn in the bag and how frustrated I was to leave it. He is walking ahead of me and heading towards his car. That is when I checked for my wallet... there. Checked for my cash... gone. I actually had a few ones and a $100 bill inside. Don't ask me why? I never carry cash. Sigh. I choose to believe that he found it in the parking lot with the cash already gone. If not, well, that's between him and God. All in all, I guess it turned out pretty well. I got all my credit cards (which I cancelled anyway to be safe), and most importantly, I got my driver's licenses back. That will teach me to be more careful. See what I mean... mostly zoo-tiful.

Turn Your Volume Down

Fay was on its way and I was in desperate need of a vacation. Grammy stepped up, and I got a much needed, and according to Daddy, a well deserved break. Thanks Mom! You really helped me so much, and I know Noah loved hanging out with his Grammy.

However, the flight back home yesterday was almost enough to shred all the peace I was feeling after my hiatus. Almost. Getting through security and to the gate was pretty uneventful. Our flight was about 15 minutes delayed due to weather, so we had some time to kill. With a flight time of 3:15 PM, it should have been a perfect nap time for Noah. I've been there down that in recent months, and I was not seeing a nap in our future, but a Momma can hope, can't she. Noah hasn't slept on a plane since he was about 6 months old. Too many distractions. So, I was hoping for the best, and I let him walk up and down the terminal to expend some energy.

Energy was expended, but unfortunately, he still had some to spare.

We boarded the plan, and I asked the flight attendant if the flight was full. She said it was almost full, but that there were a couple seats available. I was hoping to have at least a middle seat empty on our row. I found an empty row and put Noah down. He started to get really excited. Holding onto the back of the seat, jumping, and his new favorite thing... screaming. Happy screaming, but really loud, ear piercing happy screaming. I am hustling to put our bags under the seat, get out his bottle and a few snacks, pull out the DVD player, and start a movie. As passengers continued to board, the joyful shrieking continued too. The couple sitting in the row ahead of us decided to find another seat towards the back of the plane. I was finally able to calm his excitement with milk and Elmo. The joyful display did result in us having a row all to ourselves for the entire flight. He did pretty well during the flight, only about 3-4 major outbursts, but goodness, the flight seemed to last forever. And, just like I knew he would, this is what happened as soon as we pulled out of the airport parking garage.

Sigh.

Seafood 101 by PaPa Harold

If you are subscribe to my blog feed, this post so two years ago, but I came across these pictures today.  Eventually I'll get around to creating my blog book, and there are a few older posts that I still need to publish to fill in the blanks... this is one of them. 

PaPa is ready to give Noah his first lesson in Louisiana seafood.

Crabs.  Mmmmm...

Grab it from the back and watch out for the claws.

Keep a close eye on them so none get away.

Boiling time.

This Is Serious

This is some SERIOUS bed head!

Take a closer look. See what I mean. SERIOUS!

Brought To You By the Number Six

Today was a rainy day. As a matter of fact, most days lately have had some sort of rain shower. Supposedly, it is the "rainy season." So, we stayed indoors most of the day and just relaxed. There is just something about a rainy day that makes you want to stay in your pjs, curl up under a blanket, and watch some Sesame Street. In Noah's case, a bottle of milk is the icing on the cake.

By the afternoon, the skies had cleared, so I loaded up Noah in his little car. We walked a bit around the complex, and we did a little shopping at a couple stores in nearby.

No purchases made, we headed back to the apartment. We live on the sixth floor of our building. Everytime we get in the elevator, we go through the same drill. I say, "Open. Six please. 1,2,3,4,5,6. Up, up, up."

I'm just doing my part to make sure that learns his numbers. Math is definitely not my thing and once we get past counting, well, I'm afraid he's on his own. So, anyway, like I said, just doing my part. So, today we get in the elevator, and as I start to press the floor button, Noah says, plain as day, "six." Way to go Noah. What a great number to learn!

Talking to Myself

Future All Star

Check out our future all-star. Don't worry Pa Pa. We aren't starting him too early. Just getting a feel for the bat in our hand!

Water Park

Noah and I spent the morning at a local water park. It was Noah's first trip to an actual water park, and Momma's first trip to a water park having to actually be in charge of a toddler. For those who don't know, being in charge of a toddler at a water park requires wading through ankle deep water in a bathing suit, and sometimes standing in various squirters, spouts, and sprinklers that are all aimed at adult eye level. Climbing up and down drenched staircases only to get to the top where there are more squirters, spouts, and sprinklers all aimed at adult eye level where your only options are to carry said toddler back down the drenched stairs or to take one of the two baby slides to the bottom that according to the lifeguards do not go fast and are indeed the slides for the younger crowd. We did take each slide once, and I do believe that Noah, just like Momma, found the slides to be slightly scary.

This is the only picture I was able to snap of the morning. Cameras and water don't mix. We are taking a snack break. I snuck in goldfish crackers and grapes. I was almost busted by the security guard checking bags at the door, but I was able to successfully smuggle them in. Noah's attention is held by the lazy river. It was one of the few lazy rivers that I've been on that actually lived up to its name. We rode it four times. Much more Momma's speed. Noah had a blast today, and I definitely think we will be going back. Although, on our way home, Noah asked if we could bring Daddy next time. Umm... that would be a big YES!

Ba Ba Ba Blue

I woke up this morning, and I realized two things 1. there was no crying coming through the monitor, and 2. the sun was peeping through our bedroom blinds. Since we've moved here, Noah has been waking up between 5:30 AM and 6:00 AM every morning, and it leans more towards the 5:30 AM end. So, my first thought this morning was I had forgotten to turn the monitor on, and we just slept through Noah waking up. Nope. Monitor on. Dean went poke his head in Noah's room, and he was sound asleep. I checked the clock. 7:30 AM. Ahhh... we slept in. Noah didn't wake up until 8:30 AM. I was up an entire hour before him.

In that hour, I made coffee by myself using two hands since a small child wasn't perched on my hip. I ate a bowl of cereal and didn't have to share my banana with a small child who is always begging for a bite. And, then I just sort of waited around for him to wake up because really, what is a morning without Noah. I thought back over our weekend trying to figure out what caused the unusual late morning.

Friday night: Noah got to stay up late and play with Uncle Chuck and Jo Jo. Momma and Daddy had a long overdue night out alone. We went out for sushi and dessert. Daddy tried something new and ordered the restaurants specialty dessert, Coconut Soup. Interesting and surprisingly delicious. It was so nice to get dressed up, wear actual shoes (not flip-flops) and act like a grown-up. Thank you Chuck and Jodie for sitting for Noah, so Dean and I could go out. We had such a great time!

Saturday: Noah had his Daddy to himself all day on Saturday. And, I am really thinking that Daddy is the source of Noah's exhaustion. Leave it to Daddy to wear Noah out both mentally and physically.

So, I have been taking an informal poll of other mom's in my mom's group. "So, how many words does your little guy say?" I haven't been liking the answers. Yes, I know. Why do I torture myself? Noah doesn't say any words. Lots of babbling, but I can't really make out any words. Also, I have really been trying to teach Noah a few things. You know, earn my keep. I've been working on nose for like a week, and all I get is a look like, "seriously, Momma?" I really think it is more personality than intellect, but after I talked to Daddy about it, he decided that he was up for the challenge.

Daddy started out simple with the color blue. And, you will not believe it, but out of the stacking cups, Noah can pick out the blue one. And, it even seems that he is trying really hard to say "blue." Daddy also worked with Noah on saying ball, and bringing the ball to Momma. He did it, and he loved it. Daddy had a whole bag of tricks up his sleeve, and during bathtub on Saturday night, I thought I heard a "pop," a "bubble," a "blue," and of course, I heard lots of "dadada." Yes, I know Noah, Daddy rocks!

Saturday afternoon, we checked out a local park that had a great toddler play area and a huge grassy field with lots of room for running. The play area was even covered. We will defiintely be going back. Noah had a blast running everywhere and was so worn out last night. Note to self. Lots of playing plus learning new things equals tons of sleep. I need to remember that next time I want to sleep late.

I think I've talked quite enough, so I will let some pictures do the rest of the talking. Enjoy!

This new park is great. Lots of Noah friendly play things.

Chase with Daddy in a big grassy lot.

Chase with Daddy in the parking garage. Don't worry. Building E is totally empty.

The infamous blue cup. Does Noah need a haircut or what?

Exhausted.