Seven Months

Here are Sam's 7-month froggy pictures (one day late). He was so excited about the frog that it was basically impossible to get a shot of him just sitting nicely next to it. Such a little rascal!

As you can see, Noah joined Sam for his last picture. As soon as Noah climbed up on the chair, he pointed at Sam and said, "He needs a shirt."

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Today is my parents' 37th wedding anniversary. Congratulations, Mom and Dad! Thanks for getting married and making our family. You are the best parents (and grandparents) in the world.

I love you!

I Heart Wellies

Today was a very rainy day. I didn't used to enjoy being out in wet weather, but ever since I purchased my fun wellies last year, I actually look forward to the rain. The last time I wore my wellies an old lady stopped me and said, "Well, those are some craaaaaazy boots!" Anyway, I find I can enjoy rainy weather even more since I bought Noah a pair of wellies - now I can find it adorable and funny when he runs around jumping in every puddle he sees.

So we had fun in the rain today. Well, for the most part. There was the incident at Target when we exited the store during a really heavy downpour. I had Sam strapped to me, I was pushing the cart with one hand, holding the umbrella with the other, and trying desperately to keep my puddle-jumping Noah from running in the middle of the road. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief upon getting him in the car when I noticed that I had accidentally shoplifted some mascara. About the last thing I wanted to do was trace back to the store, but you know, in the name of honesty or something... So back we all went to pay the stinking $4. The karma hander-outers better have been paying attention!

The Ultimate Rejection

Me: Goodnight Noah, I love you!

Noah: Thanks.

Little Four-Eyes

Noah loves to wear glasses. He has some sunglasses that he asks to wear every time we go outside. Well, this morning we were getting ready to go mail some letters when he said he needed his glasses. But he didn't want his normal sunglasses. No, today he wanted to wear Mr. Potatohead's glasses. I thought it was weird of course but didn't see why he couldn't wear them if he wanted to. So I said okay and he wore them for a good hour - while we walked to the leasing office to mail our letters, while we walked to the playground, while Noah played at the park, and while we walked home. Sometimes I wonder where this kid came from.

Well Baby Visit

Have you ever seen a cuter face?


This morning I took Sam to the pediatrician for his 6 month well-baby visit (although he'll be 7 months old next week). Here are his stats:

Height: 26 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz (25th percentile)

Head: 17 inches (25th percentile)

So I'm a little bit worried because up until now he's been in the 50th-75th percentiles and now he's in the 25th-50th all of a sudden. I worry that he's not growing as much as he should be - especially since he seems to have no interest in starting solids at all so he's still 100% breastfed. Is he not getting enough calories? Hmmmm. I keep trying to give him cereal and baby food but he pulls his bottom lip way in and clamps his mouth shut! The pedicatrician told me not to worry about it but I still do. Although my friend Audrey did say the other day that he was the perfect density. So that's something. :) Still, I guess I won't bemoan his 3 night-time feedings anymore. Apparantly he really does need them!

In other well-baby visit news, poor Sam had to have more immunizations today - 4 shots in his little legs. It was so sad - I feel like since Sam is such a mellow and happy baby, it's even more pathetic when he does cry. He rebounded quickly though, the little love. And then Noah got a sticker (where's the justice in that?).

Oakland Zoo

I'm very lucky that some really good friends of ours from Chicago now live in California, just 15 minutes from my parents. They moved out there to open a DELICIOUS sandwich shop in San Francisco - The Toaster Oven (the best sandwiches you'll ever have - so if you live in the Bay Area, get yourself down there pronto!). Anyway, so now when I go there to visit my family I get to see Mitch and Libby too. We saw them a few times while we were there (including one night for dinner, which inspired this post - sorry guys, thanks for dinner and for putting up with us!). One day the boys and I met Libby and her two boys (Sam and Nate) at the Oakland Zoo. We had a great time. Here are several pictures from the day.

The Animals

The Humans

California Pictures

Here are some pictures I took while in Cali. You'll notice they're bascially all of Sam. Don't read any parental favortism into this - I tried my darndest to take pictures of Noah but he was always having too much fun with his cousins to stop for any photo shoots.

My dad and Sam

My mom and Sam

Ryan and Sam

Alexis and Sam

Sam

Leftover Funnies

I meant to post these little stories last week but didn't get around to it. It's hard to keep up with blogging from out of town! So here are a couple of leftover Noah funnies.

One night Noah really wanted to sit in my dad's chair. For some reason, the empty chair right next to my dad was not good enough. So he said he wanted to sit in it and I just said "ok" because I figured he meant the empty chair. But Noah was undeterred and said, very politely, "Can Noah have a turn?" It was so cute I just wanted to eat him up. Of course, my dad immediately relinquished his chair.

One day Noah pointed to the space heater and said "That's hot. We should blow on it."

While we were visiting, my parents got some new garage doors. In the days before they were installed Noah was very interested in the broken garage doors and repeatedly talked about their need for a screwdriver (he thinks anything can be fixed with a screwdriver, batteries, or a trip to Target).

Movie Reviews

I'm back to Texas and back to blogging (finally!). The boys and I had such a great time in California with my family. It's always so sad to leave, but it's made easier by the fact that we miss Ben so much and are so happy to be going home to him. My hubby's a trooper for living without his family for so long when we go out on these trips.

One of the FABULOUS things about visiting my family is the abundance of willing babysitters I have all around me. An extra pair of hands (or two or three) is so helpful with two little boys! Plus, while I was there I was able to do many things with one or two less kids with me. I went to the gym, went shopping, went out to lunch, ran errands, and hung out at my sister's house after putting the boys to bed for the night. It was especially nice to do things during naps. And Noah was in heaven getting to go to the park with Grampie so much.

The best treat of all was going to not one, not two, but THREE movies. Here are a few movie reviews for you:

1) Dreamgirls - I saw this with my mom and we both really liked it. We're both musical lovers though, so if you're not you may not like it as much. But I'm a sucker for singing and dancing and all that so I thought it was great. And a good plotline too. Of course, my mom came straight home and did some research on The Supremes (which the movie was supposedly based on).

2) Night at the Museum - I saw this with my sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and Sam (Noah was napping at home with Grammie and Grampie, but he can't do long movies yet anyway). ADORABLE. It's based on a great children's book of the same name. This movie was seriously so good I would have seen it even without kids with me. Really cute, really funny. Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson were both great.

3) The Queen - Sooooo good. This one was my favorite. The movie itself is really excellent and should win Best Picture, but the experience was so fun too. I saw it with my mom and my sister (thanks, Dad, for watching all the kids!). We brought Chipotle into the theatre with us (no one seemed to care for some reason) and ate lunch while we watched the movie which was so fun. We decided when I live near them someday we're going to do this once a week. Another reason I think I liked the movie so much was that my late grandmother (my mom's mom) looked exactly like Queen Elizabeth. Seriously, she did. It's really weird but they could literally pass for twins. If I had a digital picture of my grandma I would show you to prove it but I don't so you'll just have to take my word for it. So watching this movie was kind of like seeing Grandma act her little heart out on the big screen, which was fun (although she looked even more like Queen Elizabeth than Helen Mirren all made-up did).

Well, I hope you enjoyed my movie reviews. I doubt you'll get another one for several months!

Terrible Twos

I hate them.

I saw a t-shirt once in the Nordstrom's baby department that said "i make dining out miserable." Sadly, it doesn't come in Noah's size.

King of the House

Here are some of the charming things Noah has been saying lately:

Last week I went shopping with my sister during Noah's nap. When he woke up my mom went in to get him up. Having just gotten out of the shower, she had her hair wrapped in a towel. As soon as Noah saw her he said, "You need to dry your hair." Then as soon as she finished drying her hair, Noah turned to her and said, "Good job, Grammie!"

The other day I was carrying Noah down to his room to take a nap and he said, "You've helped a lot today!" Who says being a mother is a thankless job? :)

We were playing with a toy bus and cars and Noah would point to something and ask what color it was and I would tell him. After 5 or 6 items of different colors Noah said, "Yeah. Good job on all your colors." Why, thank you, Little Guy.

These next tales show a side of Noah that is perhaps a little less charming but very funny and still, somehow, irresistable:

Noah seems to be under the impression that he is the king of the house and the boss of everyone. The other day when I was at the pediatrician with Sam, my mom was home with Noah. About 45 minutes before I got home Noah got stuck between the bed and the wall (there is a gap big enough for his little body so he wasn't being squished or hurt, but he couldn't get out without help). My mom, naturally, went over to help him out but for some reason he decided he only wanted me to help him out. My mom tried to explain that I wasn't home right then, but as she went closer to help Noah out he said, "Nooooo!" Then pointed to the door and ordered her to "Go to your room!" (As a side note, I would like to say that no one has ever said that to Noah before). And, being persistent and, dare I say stubborn, as Noah is, he stayed between the bed and the wall until I got home (my mom put some books on the bed and he looked at them contentedly the whole time).

Similarly, the next night I was ordered to "Go back to the front room!" when I had the audacity to enter Noah's room with his antibiotic in hand and my dad was ordered, "Go to your office!" when he dared suggest it was time to read stories and go to bed. Fortunately Grammie and Grampie are very good-natured and actually got a kick out of being sent to their room/office by their 2-year-old grandson.

On the Mend

Well, Noah and Sam are on the mend anyway (but not before Sam was also diagnosed with an ear infection and had a few rough nights and one very sad period of inconsolable crying - poor baby!). I, however, am now starting to come down with the cold. I knew it was only a matter of time. Sigh.

I'm Sore

I hesitate to even write this post because it's so embarassing. But, since I have no shame, I will anyway. Yesterday my dad watched Noah and Sam so I could go to the gym with my mom and attend her Pilates Reformer class. It's pilates done on some special pilates machine. Anyway, I've never done pilates before and, aside from going on walks with my boys, I rarely do any real exercise. For the last couple of years I have been deluding myself into believing that running after two active babies gives me plenty of exercise. Well, that's a load of crap and I can't fool myself any longer. I am SORE! So I go to this class and there were 3 regulars, including my mom (who, by the way, is AWESOME at pilates). Then there was another new girl, so I was excited because I thought at least I won't be the only fumbling idiot. Then I found out that this so-called "new girl" is a freaking yoga instructor at the gym. Needless to say, I was, in fact, the only fumbling idiot there. I made it through the routine okay (for the most part) but it is now abundantly clear that I am out of shape. To add insult to injury, I watched my mom breeze through the whole hour like a very strong pretzel (in case anyone is wondering, she is not sore today). Moral of the story: I need to join a gym.

Six Months Old

I can't believe my baby has been here for 1/2 a year already! I knew we'd be here in California (away from the monthly picture chair and frog) on the 12th so the night before we left I took Sam's 6 month picture (3 days early - close enough). Here they are!

Two Little Sickos

My poor little boys are sick. Noah has it the worst for sure, but now little Sam is starting to get a cough too. I'm hoping that since he's still getting breastmilk immunities he'll be able to keep it mild. I'm watching him like a hawk though so I can take him in the second his breathing starts sounding labored (it's so scary when infants get sick!). Poor Noah though - he has such a nasty cold. You know how some colds are no big deal, but sometimes they can be real doozies and this is one of those times. The first couple of days it was accompanied by a bad case of croup. Noah was having such a hard time breathing, it was so sad. It gets its worst at night so he couldn't sleep unless I was cuddling him in bed so I could prop him upright. The croup is pretty much gone now but his congestion and coughing is really bad. He looks so miserable and there have been a few times where he's coughed so hard he's thrown up. Then I took him to the doctor today (sadly, he has a pediatrician here because he gets sick or injured just about every time we come to visit!) and, of course, the fluid from his cold has drained to his ear and he now has an ear infection too. This poor kid! He's being such a good sport too. Anyway, now that I have 2 prescriptions and 1 over-the-counter medication for him he'll hopefully start feeling much better very soon.

The Waiting Game

Well, I survived the flight. It was as good as could be expected I suppose, but I was very happy when the plane landed. And I could seriously use a professional massage. As soon as we pulled into my parents' driveway and got Noah out of his carseat, he bolted to the door and ran inside to see everyone else (my sister and her girls met us there). He raced in and gave my sister a huge, long hug and said "It's ME!!!" He has been in heaven ever since.

So it's past midnight here right now and I'd love to go to bed, but Sam fell asleep for what I thought would be a quick nap at 4pm and I just know that he'll be waking up any minute now (I've been saying that for the past 7 hours) so I'm waiting for him. It's been months since he's slept 8 hours in a row (and counting...) and I should just be happy about it I suppose, but I fear that when he does finally wake up he'll feel like it's time to start a new day. I keep sneaking into the room to stare at him until I see his chest rise and fall - you'd think that kind of paranoia would go away after the first baby, but it doesn't.

At least I've found a great way to pass the time. Both tonight and last night I've spent a total of 8 hours watching the last 2 DVDs of the 5th season of 24. Wow, was that the most ill-constructed sentence you've ever read? Anyway, I'm very mad at my mom and dad for sucking me into this show. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome and I am completely hooked, but I knew this would happen and that's the entire reason I hadn't started watching it in the first place! Well, that and the fact that I've been completely terrified of Kiefer Sutherland ever since I saw the movie Eye for an Eye back in 1996. I'm finally over it now though and I can't wait for the new season of 24 to start. And, clearly, I'm going to need to rent seasons 1-4 and the first 16 hours of season 5 when I get back to Texas (Ben, I hope you're up for some 24 marathons!).

Wish Me Luck!

Tomorrow Noah, Sam and I are going to California for the rest of January. I'm really excited to see my family (even though being away from Ben that long really sucks). But I'm completely dreading the travel day tomorrow. I already have anxiety over it (literally - I've felt a little sick to my stomach the last couple of days!). It's just that traveling by yourself with two small children is no picnic: lugging suitcases and strollers and carseats and diaper bags and, oh yeah, the children; the treat that security has become (I love how common sense has gone completely out the window); sitting on a plane for close to 5 hours, trying to keep everyone quiet and entertained when they're completely exhausted (Benedryl doesn't work on Noah - trust me, I've tried); trying not to flash everyone when your baby needs to nurse; changing diapers in those teeny bathrooms. And that's all if everything goes well - it doesn't include the added bonuses of mean flight attendents, being thrown up on, being pee'd on (with no change of clothes), meltdowns, etc. - all situations I have been lucky enough to encounter. This should show you just how much I love my family that I'm willing to go through all of this. It should also be clear now why I go for so long at a time!

I don't pretend to be alone in any of this - I know it's all just par for the course when traveling with kids. And even though it's always exhausting, it's not always a complete disaster. For the most part, the flight attendents are nice and helpful and I've always encountered very nice fellow passengers. On my last flight I sat next to a woman who was so nice that she would hold Sam for me when I needed both hands to help Noah, or when I needed to take him to the bathroom. (I don't make a habit of leaving my baby in the care of strangers, but on a full airplane thousands of feet in the air it's not like they can go anywhere so I'm just grateful for the help).

I've also had some entertaining experiences, believe it or not. One flight when Noah was a baby I sat next to this woman who was SO excited to sit by a baby. So that was nice. She was a real piece of work though. If she hadn't loved my child so much she would have really annoyed me. Instead I just thought she was funny. There were many funny things about her, but I'll just share the best one. Almost immediately upon sitting down she started chatting away and then she said, very confidently, "Your husband is a broker, isn't he?" Now, keep in mind this is before the plane even took off so we had been acquainted for all of 6 minutes and in that 6 minutes I hadn't mentioned Ben once (no offense, Honey). I responded, "Um, no, he's not a broker." And, with genuine surprise, she said, "Oh, really? I for sure had him pegged as a broker." At this point I'm dumbfounded because I have absolutely no clue what she's basing any of her assumptions on. Then a minute of so later she pulls out her book. It was . . . The Broker by John Grisham!!! I can't even express how hard it was for me not to burst out laughing. I held it in for the next 5 hours and then my mom and I laughed so hard we cried.

Anyway, so wish me luck tomorrow!

Anything for Hardwood Floors

So Ben and I have narrowed down the area where we want to buy a home to an area that was mostly developed in the 90's. Since these homes are 10-15 years old for the most part, we don't tend to find hardwood floors in them. Some of the current owners have had them installed, but the majority of homes we see don't have them. Well, I saw a home a couple of weeks ago that had beautiful dark, wide-plank wood floors - exactly the kind I like - in all the living areas. We really liked the home and thought about putting an offer in but we weren't completely sure about it and now it's too late cause someone else bought it. Anyway, fast forward to today...

Ben and I were talking about the home and how much we liked their floors and decided they're the kind we'll want to put in the home we end up buying. Well, there are about a billion different types and stains of wood floors so we thought it'd be much easier if we just ask the owners of the home we saw where they got their floors. We felt a little sheepish about it (well, Ben didn't because of course he made me do the asking), but I figured who cares if they think I'm crazy? They don't know me and at least I'll end up with nice floors! So we drove over to their house and when we got there they were outside rollerblading with their boys. I got out and explained my situation and they were so nice that we chatted for a bit and they actually gave me a sample of their floors from an extra box they had in their garage!!! How funny is that? So I'm very excited. I'll just be able to take my sample right on over to Lowe's and say "I want these floors, please!"

Copy Cat

I can tell Noah's been observing and listening to me closely because he now says things like "Oh my gosh!" and "That's crazy!" on a regular basis. But the real sign was last night. He said something funny that made Ben laugh and then Noah said . . .

"I'm going to put it on my blog."

Church Talk

Today I gave a talk in church on honoring the Sabbath. Since I was one of the speakers, I spent the meeting sitting on the stand at the front rather than in the pews. Toward the end of the meeting Noah, who was sitting in the pews with Ben and Sam, stood up and waved at me, then kept saying, "Mama, come down!" and "Sit on bench!" while pointing to the pew. It was very funny.

On an unrelated note, ever since Ben got The Clapper for Christmas, Noah thinks that everything can be controlled by clapping his hands. Yesterday at the mall, he clapped his hands so the elevator doors would open. Then, when he was playing with an empty suitcase (Ben and I were luggage shopping) the bag tipped onto his leg and he tried clapping his hands to get it off. I'm sure it doesn't help that everything he claps about magically gets taken care of (by me or Ben) right when his clapping stops.

Here's a random picture of my funny little guy, just for fun (his darling outfit was sent from Singapore by Grandma and Grandpa):

Christmas Funnies

I thought I'd share a couple of funny moments from our Christmas yesterday. Of course, they both involve Noah. :)

One of Ben's gifts was, I'm incredibly embarassed to say, The Clapper. Yes, you read that right. The Clapper. That contraption you hook up to a light or an appliance so you can turn it off and on just by clapping. He was really excited about it too - he's been wanting it for a long time and I finally obliged. Apparantly I am married to a 75-year-old man trapped in a 31-year-old body. Anyway, just before naptime Noah was playing with his trains when we made the grave mistake of taking some of the tracks to try to set them up better for him. Noah misunderstood our intentions and started getting upset because he thought we were taking them away. Well, The Clapper picked up on Noah's escalating voice and the light turned off. In his fragile state Noah found this very offensive so he exclaimed "Hey! Turn the light back on!" and the light went back on. Then off again. It was so comical!

Last night after all the presents were open and we'd had dinner and were just kind of winding down the day, we turned on the TV and started watching Deal or No Deal. During one of the breaks, a sexy-type commercial (don't remember what it was) came on and I jokingly told Ben to close his eyes. It was said in passing and we didn't think Noah was even paying attention to us, but when the show came back on and the camera shot over to the girls holding the cases, Noah turned toward Ben and said "Hey Babe, close your eyes!"

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We had a great holiday weekend. This was the first year we didn't travel for Christmas and, while we missed our parents and siblings and nieces and nephews, we had fun with our little family. On Christmas Eve we went to church and then went over to another family's home for dinner. After we put the kids to bed Ben and I finished up wrapping presents and getting everything ready for the morning. Christmas was great, of course! We opened presents, ate yummy food, and stayed in our jammies all day. :) Here are a whole bunch of pictures from our day. Enjoy!

My Sweet Boy is Back...

...and so is Nice Mommy. Noah had a much-needed (for both of us) nap and we had some cuddles and a nice chat about not getting so upset when someone takes something from him and how it's never okay to cry and yell the way he did. He was very receptive. :) And now I feel the need to discuss his cuteness.

We're going to CA to visit my family in a few weeks and Noah is very much looking forward to it. Every day he says to me, in his most excited voice, "Going to see Ry-Ry Lor-Lor Abby Baby Ax-lex Melissa Thomas Grampie Grammie!" Just like that, all strung together in one breath. Then he throws his arms up in the air and adds "In a couple weeks!!"

More cuteness: Last night we were looking through Noah's book of pictures and we came to a picture of him on his blessing day with Ben and both of our dads. I pointed to Ben's dad and asked "Who's that?" Noah said "Grampa!" I pointed to my dad and asked "Who's that?" Noah said "Another Grampa!" Then we came to two pictures in a row of Noah and Ben and on the second one Noah said "Another Daddy!"

Never Again

Okay, I gave Thomas the Train one last try today. I thought it would be fine because we had more time to spend there so Noah would be able to play for longer. Well, it was yet another drama-filled experience. When we first got there there were two other little boys playing there. Their mom had them give Noah a few trains so everyone was playing great. Well, a couple of times the boys each took a train from Noah and he got really mad. The mom made them give them back but when it happened again Noah freaked out and the mom took the boys and left. She said it was time for them to go anyway, but I felt really bad. I know it's annoying that the boys took Noah's train but honestly, his reaction was a little much. Ugh. So then he got the trains all to himself for awhile but when other little kids would come to play of course I would make him share the trains. He was okay with it (reluctantly) with the first little boy came, but when boy #2 and then #3 came up Noah really started having a hard time. Then when one little boy took a train that Noah had deemed "his" he lost it. I ended up carrying him out of the store (in one arm while I pushed Sam's stroller with the other) with him crying and yelling and trying to push me away.

So here's the thing. Noah thankfully does not take things from other kids. And he's fine to play with other kids as long as everyone minds their own business. And sharing is hard but he's even okay with that too, up to a point. But when someone takes something from him it's like all hell breaks loose. I'm glad that he at least isn't a push-over, but I could really do without these over-the-top reactions. Plus, then it takes him forever to get over it. After we left Barnes and Noble today every single little thing would set him back off. So he ended up wailing all through Target too. It's so embarassing for me! A lot of people give me understanding looks, but I also got a lot of "can't you control your child" looks too. Please tell me this is all just age-appropriate and I don't need to be worried. In any event, I've decided that Thomas the Train has way too much potential for stress and drama so I am never taking Noah there again. That's for dang sure. And I did get smart after Target and I skipped my last errand altogether.

Ugh. He's calmly eating his lunch now and hopefully he will take a good nap today. If Nice Mommy doesn't get a long break, Mean Mommy's going to take over (okay, I admit it - she's already here).

Christmas Card Catastrophe

Okay, maybe the title of my post is a bit of an over-reaction. I did have a major setback with my Christmas cards though. You were all going to receive lovely hand-made cards from the Simiskey family this year. I planned it all out and ordered the cardstock I needed and everything. Well, two weeks and a few phone-calls later I have finally learned that even the warehouse that the store orders from is out of the color I ordered. So we had to go to Plan B (which was created yesterday). I hope everyone is okay with New Years cards!! A silver lining is that I already know what I'm doing for my cards in 2007 - how many of you can say that? :)

By the way, we are really enjoying the holiday cards we have received so far. Thanks to all you on-the-ball people out there!

Just for fun, here are a few family pictures that didn't make our Christmas card cut:

Overdue

Wow, I think 5 days is the longest I've gone between posts so far! We had a fun weekend - a three-day weekend since Ben took a personal day on Friday. Woohoo! He has a couple to use before the end of the year so this week will be a short week as well. We had a great time hanging out as a family - Noah thought he was in heaven with Daddy around so much. Friday we did some Christmas shopping at the mall in the morning and after naps I ran an errand with Sam while Noah stayed home with Ben. At Noah's emphatic request they went outside to play with the tennis ball in the grass. He loves to throw it around with Ben and chase it when Ben rolls it on the grass (kind of like a dog I suppose, although I don't really like to compare children and pets). When they got tired they layed on the grass and looked for airplanes. Whenever they heard one Noah would get excited and say "it's WAY up there!" Between aircraft sightings, they had all sorts of fun conversations. At one point Ben asked Noah what he wanted to have for dinner that night and Noah pondered for a moment and then said "Hmmmm . . . I don't care." Apparantly he's learning indecisive behavior from his mom and dad. Pretty soon he'll have to join us in our veto game (which is the only way we can make decisions at our house).

Saturday we had another low-key family day. We went to the Sugar Land Town Square (so cute) for a bit, just to walk around and get some lunch (Jamba Juice - Noah's favorite!). Here are a few pictures from the day:

(The boys cuddling while watching some Saturday morning TV)

(Noah not quite sure about this jolly plastic guy)

(Ben helping Noah see that Santa's not so bad)

(Me and my cuddly Sam - Sam Houston in the background, protecting the Alamo)

(Sam resting during tummy time)

That night we went to a Christmas party at our church. It was a lot of fun. Before the reading of the real Christmas story there was a performance of How the Grinch Stole Christmas that Noah loved (me too, they did a great job!). He kept saying "Crazy Grinch!" He got pretty pooped toward the end though (it was past his bedtime). As we were getting ready to leave I started talking to a friend and Noah, fed up with the delay, pointed to Sam in his carseat and said "He's ready to go home!!!" (Sam was perfectly content but apparantly makes a good scapegoat).

Five Months Old!

Sam turned 5 months old yesterday! Here are his 5 month pictures:

He is such a sweet and delightful baby - I feel so lucky to have him. He loves being talked to and getting kisses - makes him laugh right away. He loves grabbing onto anything we put near his hands (a recent favorite is my hair). He's teething now too - I can feel the little buds of his two bottom teeth under his gums. He's being a very good sport about it, although I think it is probably the culprit behind his waking up a little more at night. That and the fact that I think he's getting ready to start some solids. He did get his first taste of rice cereal the other night. He ate most of it, but he was a little unsure of the process at first!

All in all, he's just a love and we're very happy to have him in our family.

Mary's Lullaby

Tonight I went to a Christmas get-together for the women at my church. We had a brief program and then a light dinner and desserts. For the program portion, I sang a song called Mary's Lullaby (Sam was my prop). When I was practicing it at home earlier I asked Noah if he thought it sounded okay and he said "Yeah. I love that song." Sweetheart. Anyway, unfortunately I think the practice went a little better than the performance. I hate when that happens. Sam was a little bit fussy since it was his bedtime. Fussy for Sam isn't too bad, but I did have to switch positions with him a couple of times while I was singing so I don't feel like my voice was completely stable. Then on the second verse I totally started getting all teary and choked up. Holding my own precious baby boy while I was singing that song was just too much! I guess if I ever perform it again I'll use a doll for my prop. Or just not think about the words too much. :)

A la Noah

Here are some recent cute and funny things a la Noah:

(For those who read my blog earlier today, don't be confused. I edited my last post and put the bottom half of it into this new post and added some things).

The other day Noah picked up The Little Mermaid DVD and said, "Excuse me Miss, you need a shirt!"

This morning Noah was pretending to talk to his cousins on the phone and this was his end of the conversation: "Hi Lor-Lor! I miss you. Hi Ry-Ry! Hi Abby! You're so cute! I miss you again. (pause) Hi Melissa! You're so cute. (pause) Hi Abby! I miss you last time."

He now says "Oh, poor guy" if he's upset about something.

"I'm feeling good!"

"He's a good Peanut" (referring to Sam)

"Fanks!" (translation: "Thanks")

"Grrreat idea!!"

"Fixay! I'm a lizard! Fixay! I'm a frog!" (for the record, I have NO idea was "fixay" means in Noah's world)

"I want to say hi to Peanut" (he'll say this when Sam is sleeping and then when he wakes up Noah gets so excited and says "Sam's awake!!")

The sentiment behind this one is cute - I like that Noah loves his daddy so much. But he and I have had this exact conversation at least 16 times today (and every day), starting the moment Noah woke up:

Noah: "Daddy home soon?"
Me: "Yes honey, Daddy will be home after work."

Then when it's nearing time for Ben to actually come home, Noah starts repeating "Daddy aachie!!" (which is what they call jumping on the bed together - I don't really know where it comes from) and I have to say "Yes, Daddy will aachie with you when he gets home."

Thomas the Train Drama

Phew! These last couple of days have been nutty. Nothing out of the ordinary was even going on, but I just feel like I have been going nonstop. I finally just had a chance to eat lunch (it's 3pm). This morning started out smoothly. I wrapped some Christmas presents and went to the post office to mail off 4 packages. The trip was nice and uneventful. So, since it went so quickly and we were near Barnes and Noble I told Noah we could stop by and play with Thomas the Train for a few minutes in the kids section of the bookstore. (By the way, this is why I have crazy days. Heaven forbid I just have a few extra minutes without filling them up with something). Anyway, I discovered that 2 years olds don't so much understand what "we can only stay for 1/2 hour" means. He was doing great until another little girl snatched a train from him a few minutes before we had to go. That set him off and he hadn't recovered yet when I told him we had to leave. Boy, was he mad! So we get out to the car and I'm feeling all flustered because an entire bookstore full of people were listening to my child cry. We start driving away when I discovered I left my cell phone in the store. Back we go to find a parking spot, get the kids out, go back to the train table and back to the car. On the way back I tried to explain to Noah (with as much patience as I could muster!) that it's very nice of Mommy to let him play with Thomas the Train and he needs to just be happy that he got to play and not get so upset when it's time to go and that it's very frustrating when he acts like that. Well, he listened to me and then said in his tear-filled voice, "I'm frustrated too." Then when he was talking to Ben on the phone (calms him down immediately) the first thing he said after "Hi Daddy" was "So frustrating with Thomas the Train!" Funny how, even when I'm having a difficult time with Noah he can be so cute!

Well, Noah's waking up; break-time is over!

Christmas Spectacular

So as I mentioned in my previous post, last night was Ben's company Christmas party. The timing ended up working out really well. We still had to miss dinner, which was a bummer (scarfing McDonald's down in the car on the way to the show just isn't quite the same as sitting down to a steak dinner at a nice Houston restaurant), but oh well. I tried really hard to take my mom's advice to not ruin the evening by getting too stressed wondering whether Sam would wake up or not and I'm really glad that I did (take her advice) because it all worked out great. Stressing out would have been totally pointless. Sam was incredibly cooperative - he went straight to sleep when I put him down right before we left and he delayed his normal 10:30 wake-up by a full hour. So he woke up literally 3 minutes after I got back from driving the babysitter home. Perfect timing!

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular was such a cute show. I highly recommend it. I can't wait to take my boys to it in a few years - I think it would be a really fun Christmas-time tradition. And how much fun would it be to be a Rockette??? Why did I have to quit dance when I was four? (The answer, in case anyone is wondering, is because I was really shy at the time and apparantly the thought of having to dance in front of the parents on Friday practices was too mortifying for me. I had no problem with performances, just practicing in front of people.). Maybe in my next life. ;)

Anyway, the last number of the show was a live Nativity (including real camels and sheep!). I was so pleasantly surprised to see that on the program, especially since so many people and establishments take that out of Christmas these days. It was really refreshing to see something that actually stood up for the true meaning of Christmas and didn't back away from it. I was really curious to see how they would actually perform the scene; the rest of the show is so fun and upbeat. But they transitioned into it really well and made it absolutely beautiful. It even brought a few tears to my eyes.

Cuddle Boy

Tonight Noah was having a hard time falling asleep. We'd hear him play around and chat in his crib for awhile, then he would call out for various things (his keys, his phone, chocolate milk). After both Ben and I went in more than once to tell him it was time for sleepy and he could have ______ tomorrow, I was hesitant to go in yet again when I heard him calling for me. But I opened the door to see what he wanted (this time) and he said, very sleepily, "I want to cuddle." Well, how could I possibly refuse that?? So I went in and picked him up and rocked with him for a few minutes while he wrapped his arms around my neck and layed his head on my shoulder. His final request was to "say hi to daddy," which we granted, and then he finally went to sleep.

Once Boy #1 was sleeping, Boy #2 woke up. I don't know what the deal is but lately Sam, my once-great sleeper, has gotten into a sleeping funk. He no longer takes long naps where I can simply lay him down awake and not hear a peep for a couple of hours. And he's been waking up more at night (he's added 10:30pm to his normal 4am wake-up and now starts his day at 6am). Which makes me really nervous because tomorrow is Ben's company Christmas party. They're going to dinner and then to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes in Houston. I'm already having to miss the dinner portion of it because Sam has decided he will no longer accept a bottle as an alternate method of food consumption. So I have to stay home until I can put Sam to bed since the babysitter won't be able to feed him (breastfeeding is great and all, but formula certainly has its advantages!). The plan is to put Sam down at his normal 7pm bedtime and then leave right away and meet up with the party at the Rockette's show (SO excited!) at 8. But now I'm very concerned because the show is 2 hours so it will really be cutting it close for us to be back home by 10:30. I'm just going to cross my fingers that he doesn't wake up until we get home... Sometimes babies are hard. It's a good thing they're so cute and cuddly.

Header Overhaul

Does everyone like my new blog header?? A huge THANK YOU to my friend Jenn for putting it together for me. (You can see more of her amazing handiwork here). I love it Jenn!

Step one was getting the header. Step two was actually putting it onto my template, which proved quite the feat. I added it as a page element at the bottom of my template page and thought I'd be able to simply drag it to the top. Well, I was very much mistaken. I won't bore you with all the HTML-coding details, but let's just say it involved several posts (17 to be exact) between myself and Deepa from the Google groups blogger help group. So a big thank you to Deepa!

It takes a village, people.

Shoe Fanatic

Noah likes to wear my shoes.

Houdini Hands

Isn't it cute how enthralled babies are with their own hands? I love watching Sam stare at and play with his hands like they are just the coolest things ever. Last night I was putting him in his jammies and when I started putting his arm through the sleeve he got this very serious look on his face and just stared intently at the sleeve into which his hand had just disappeared. The expression on his face was so funny; it was like he was so confused and concerned about where his hand went. Then when he saw it emerge from the end of the sleeve his eyes got all wide and he looked so amazed. What an unbelievable trick! He continued staring at his hand for a moment and then got this huge grin on his face and shoved his hand in his mouth, evidently very happy and relieved to have it back.

I tried to take a picture of Sam staring at his beloved hands, but the camera distracted him. The picture's still cute though, so here it is!

Ah, the Post Office

Why is going to the post office always such an ordeal? This morning I attempted to mail off a package at the post office. Since I don't know this area like the back of my hand yet, I looked online and got directions to the nearest location. Well, apparantly usps.com has some updating to do because, as it turns out, 345 Hwy 6 is actually a construction site. I remembered seeing a sign with an arrow and the words "US Post Office" down a ways on Hwy 6 so I thought all would be fine. Just a little detour. Well, apparantly Sugar Land likes to hide its post offices and then locate them in the most nondescript building possible with no sign on it to give away what type of establishment may be inside. Long story short (kind of), I drove for 1/2 hour before finally finding the darn place. When I got inside the line was long of course and they didn't have the size box I needed. Note to self, do not count on the post office for packing supplies. Needless to say, the trip was entirely in vain and I still have a package to mail.

At least I managed to keep my reaction to extreme irritation. Unlike my reaction to a certain situation a few years ago, which my dad refers to as "The Great Post Office Debacle of 2003." That experience ended in me completely losing it and crying for literally 45 minutes while commuting home on the streets and trains of downtown Chicago. In my defense, I was 2 months pregnant with Noah so I would like to blame the whole thing on out-of-control hormones.

Still, I hate the post office.