A LONG STORY

Farewell For Now...

2009-12-07T22:58:00.001-08:00

After reconnecting the Baliey's, and having some GREAT times with Nikki, Martin, Nick and Ty, it was really hard to say good bye to our friends. I suppose it was bitter sweet...they are moving on to bigger and better things and made the best choice for their family. Though we will miss you all oh-so-much!

Tom and Jo, sure knew how to send them off right though. They hosted a BBQ to say farewell to the Bailey's allowed our kids to rip and tear threw their house, and torment their cute little dogs! It was really nice to see some old friends, meet some new kiddos and sip on
Jo's wicked spiced cider!

We will miss you 4 terribly and hope for playdates when you come back to town to visit. We wish you the best of luck with your new adventure and expect plenty of pictures and updates!!!

the dynamic duo

Noah just loved the doggies, that were smaller than he was! Poor puppies didnt stand a chance!

Another Visitor!

2009-12-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

Auntie Cerissa came into town just a week after our visit with Georgia. It had been a REALLY long time since we had actually spent some quality time together. We got to keep her all to ourselves for a little while, and though it has been years since our last real visit, it was just like old times! We drank a little too much, stayed up a lotta too late, and chit chatted like teenage girls! It was just what we needed! We even got a night out on the the town with some old friends! It was all about, "Team Having Fun!"Though the visit was perfect, it just wasnt long enough...it never is!! We love you and miss you and need more Cerissa time!!

Butterflies, Beaches & Bars

2009-11-20T00:47:00.000-08:00

This month got off to a great start with visits from good friends that we haven't seen in a long time. On the 3rd, Georgia flew into town to stay with Justine for a few days and we all got together for a walk amongst the butterflies down at Natural Bridges State Park. Like last year's visits in both January and November, we managed to go at the wrong time and see very few butterflies. Aparently, when it is too cold, the butterflies all huddle up in the tree branches for warmth, and every visit I have ever made to the reserve is on a coldish day. But I am determined to see those stinkers in the masses one day!

Despite the lack of butterflies, we had lots of fun. For a little while, we were the only ones around and we ran all over, laid on our backs, and resorted to goofy giggling! Then a couple of stoned kids wandered down and Noah kept staring at them with a look that said, "who invited you two?!" It was pretty funny! Shortly after the stoners showed up, the place was invaded. First by a class trip, that was full of well behaved kids and parents. The second group though, I think it was a brownie troup, the kids were wild and most of the parents were totally oblivious and inattentive. That group was our cue to exit, but even that proved to be a challenge trying to get through the crowd of monsters was ridiculous! We had some good laughs at their expense and made our way to the beach!

None of his pants fit his skinny booty...so he is just a saggin' baby!

when he wasn't trying to see monarchs,
he was busy pushin his truck!

can you see 'um....they are camouflaged in the trees about 30 feet up!

the lone butterfly brave enough to come down from the trees!

Noah was kinda-sotra into the sand, but was makin the stink face and showing signs of the not so distant past when he was afraid of the sand. He was however, delighted by the birds and the waves, so I scooped him up and took him down to the water. Though walking is just a bit too boring, so we flew!!! He loves when we fly him around like an airplane, and the giggles that come from him make it hard to resist. Georgia snatched up the camera and got some super cute pics of us "flying" (and a funny one where it looks like I'm using Noah as a guitar!). Thanks G!!!!

When we got back to the blanket, Noah and I were burying my feet in the sand, and he started to dig his little shoes into the sand. Naturally, I took off his shoes and socks thinking we could bury his feet, but OH WAS I WRONG! The kid totally flipped out! So, in true Mommy fashion, I grabbed the camera and snapped pictures of him before rescuing him from the big bad sand! By the time I got the sand off his toes and his feet tucked safely back in his shoes, Noah was done, done, and done! We got a group shot and made our way back to the car...Noah was asleep before we made it down the street!

see...I did save his little toes! (after a photo opp!)

dont you just love the stink face he makes all the time

After naps, and a snack, Justine and Georgia came by the house with our designated driver and we made our way down to Santa Cruz for a girls night out! We started at the Happy Hour at the Palomar Taco Bar.....the yummiest tacos ever, and the best prices! $2.00 tacos and and $11.00 pitcher of the strongest margaritas around! After stealing a table, and consuming the cheap deliciousness, we made our way over to my old stomping ground for a pub quiz...99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall!

It seemed pretty quite when we got there, but we were greeted by one of my old co-workers and ordered some pints while trying to decide on our Team Name. With no help from the boys, who were making suggestions via text messages, we decided on Sugartits, influenced by the margaritas I'm sure! Though we answered all the questions, our 16 out of 30 didn't win us anything! But we were pleasantly surprised that some of our "shot in the dark" answers were correct and bummed that we second guessed ourselves with some of our wrong answers! All in all we had a blast and weren't ready to call it a night when the pub quiz was over.

So, we hopped on over to the 515 for some of the most delicious cocktails ever! Cozy by the fire in the comfy chairs, we got a little silly, had some good girly chats and then called in the D.D. Despite having to wait for us while we finished of our last drink, Matty waited a bit longer while we attempted the infamous self portraits on the sidewalk before piling into the car and giggling all the way home! Thanks Matty, your the best!

It was so so so fun to hang with the girls! Justine, thanks for sharing G with us! and G, you do know that frequent trips back to the mountains are now mandatory?!!

thanks to Matty our fabulous DD!

and thanks to Jason for hanging with Noah so I can be with the girls....and for letting us wake him up and take pictures of him! lol!!

The Cat in the Hat Halloween!

2009-11-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

I know we already shared our super ridiculous Halloween Costumes with the Parade Blog, but really what kind of mom and blogger would I be with out a Halloween post!?

We all met up at Chesna and Damien's and got ready over there. After the madness that happens with 3 hungry kids, 5 scrambling adults and a very distracting new tv, we made our way to Downtown Felton to take the monsters trick-or-treating. Though Noah and Soren are too little for the whole candy thing, they enjoyed running around with all the other kids! Sierra on the other hand, was making out like a bandit!!

We had another failed attempt at a group shot with the kids....though Sierra knows the deal and tried her best to wrangle those squirmy little babies. Soren ended up running off with her candy bucket! :) We ran into some of Sierra's friends just around the corner and somehow managed to separated from her and Uncle Nathan. Wait, somehow...who am I kidding, Soren was running off in every directions as fast as possible, Noah was taking his sweet time and easily distracted by anything and everything. Its no wonder Sierra took off for some serious trick-or-treating! Between, looking for lost shoes, wrangling Soren from a storefront or alley and comforting Noah over a scary outfit, we made our way down to Don Q's for some dinner

Noah and Soren were starving and restless and but sure entertaining! The funniest thing though...there was a waitress running around in a cute little bumble bee costume and Noah was obsessed with her. Every time he saw her he would point and say "beee! beeee! beeee!" When she ducked into the kitchen he would patiently watch and wait for her. Eventually he got her attention and lured her over to our table. He was sooo happy to see her up close! "BEE!" he shouted!! She was covered in glitter, wings, antennae, stripes the whole deal....but it was all a wash when she bent over to talk to him. The only thing that came out of his mouth for the entire 3 or 4 minutes she was oogling over Noah was, "booby...booby...booby!" OH MY GOD! I was laughing so hard, though I kept saying, "yes, Bumble Bee! That's right, Bumble Bee!" only to have Noah continue looking at her chest and saying, "Booby! Booby!!' HaHaHaHa! Such a man!

(ok, this really isnt a shot of him staring at the bumble bee's boobies, but it sure looks like it!) fit!)

After dinner, we raced over to Matt and Justine's for a quick hello with the Snow family and then over to Jenn and Bruce's for the annual Halloween Bash. Denise and Jenn and crew throw the best party, every year, HANDS DOWN! The food, the decorations, the costumes, the people, all of it....the best! By the time we got there though, Noah was pretty tired and clingy and in about an hour was in full blown tears. So, in true mommy on the go fashion, I stuck him in the ergo carrier and kept on while he passed out!

Still, we were all home and in pj's by 11:30 and staring at the HUGE bucket of candy that we forgot to set out on the porch for the kids....damn that bucket of candy! Though I can't help but wonder if the "accidental" part of not leaving the candy out is really "accidental." This is the 3rd year in a row! :)

and my favorite series of the night....

Jasper making a plan and successfully executing the whole thing...until the end when Dad intercepted and took the loot!

Old Friends, New Friends and GIRLFRIENDS!

2009-11-04T00:45:00.001-08:00

Though Facebook is a black hole that can swallow you hole if your not careful, it has allowed me to reconnect and stay connected with so many friends and family that I would otherwise not be in contact with, and I LOVE IT! I wont bore you with all the people who have come back into my life via Facebook, but this particular connection is blog worthy!

Over 10 years ago, through a friend of a friend, I ended up meeting an amazing woman named EnJoli! She has a smile that is infectious and pure love and happiness radiate from her heart! We only hung out a dozen or so times, she lived in Hollywood at the time, and it was a far stretch from my, then, Tahoe home. Most every time we got together though, we saw some amazing music and danced our asses off!! Anyway, with the changing tides, EnJoli and I drifted in our own separate directions and though she never drifted too far from my mind, we lost touch.

About a month ago, the tides shifted again and brought us back together via the wild and crazy internet. After catching up through a few emails, EnJoli said she had a friend with a 1 year old daughter who had recently moved to the area, and suggested we connect. Always glad to meet new mommy friends, I quickly agreed, and again, through Facebook, I made a new connection!

Within a week, Noah and I made our way down to meet Crystal, Adam and their beautiful daughter Myrahvai! Noah and Myrahvai INSTANTLY connected! Myrahvai couldn't keep her eyes or her hands off of Noah! It was soooooo cute, and though Noah wasn't as enthusiastically climbing all over her, he was so patient while Myrahvai pulled at his hands and feet, latched on to his neck and tugged at his shirt. The way the two of them looked at eachother was priceless"Noah has a girlfriend" (said in my obnoxcious sing-songy voice)!

Noah's face in the last pic just cracks me up! He is such a sweet little man!

After we came out of the awe, from watching the connection between the little ones, Crystal and I got to chat. It was so easy and natural, not awkward or forced. It was like we were meant to meet and share this part of our lives! To top it off, when Adam came home from work, Noah took to him right away and managed to lure him into a game of catch before he could even get out of his work clothes!

Within the next week, Miss EnJoli came into town, and we made our way back over to visit 3 times in one week!!! Each time, Myrahvai would light up at the sight of Noah and though she is not yet crawling or walking, that girl manages to scoot her way around, grab right on to little Noah, and give him all her hugs and kisses!!! I swear, Noah may be her motivation to walk and once she gets mobile Noah is gonna be in trouble! :)

It was so so so so nice to see an old friend, make new friends and like it or not, I think Noah has his first girlfriend!!!! Thank You EnJoli for coming back into my life and expanding our ocean of friendship!!!

Things & Cats & Cops & Ducks...OH MY!!

2009-11-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Sunday, after the pumpkin party, and after the derby, we crammed in yet another fun filled afternoon! Denise and Siamak hosted a pre-Halloween party for all the little ones, with snacks and cider and juice boxes and even organized a parade in Capitola. Ok, they didn't go that far, but we have decided that Denise is the ultimate party planner!

It was so so so so cute to see all our little ones dressed up and running around. We hung at the house for a while and "tried" to get some pictures...the group shot was a bit of a wash, but I still think it came out super cute! After diapers and melt downs, we strapped all the kiddos into the strollers and headed down to Capitola Village for the annual kids parade. I thought we were just going to be observers, but we all got in line with the rest of all the cutest kids and marched our way through the village.

When we first got to the starting point for the parade, there were balloons everywhere. For anyone who knows Noah, this was absolute heaven. The kids loves balloons more than anything! Sadly, all the balloons had already been handed out, so poor little Noah just got to watch them float around from a distance. Then, someone let their balloon go (by accident, I'm sure), and Noah just lost it! "BAAAABOOOOO! BAAAAABOOOOO!" he screamed as he pointed at the balloon floating away into the blue, blue sky. You know he was thinking, "that could have been my balloon!" Poor kid. It was such torture. Really!! For the next 10 minutes+, his eyes were fixed on the sky, his little finger was pointing at the lost balloon until he couldn't hold his arm up any longer, and all the while, he kept shouting, "BAAAAABOOOOOO!" After 10 minutes I was trying to distract him and point out other balloons, sure that the one he saw was long gone. But, when I finally looked up where he was pointing, that balloon was still there!!! It was about the size of an aunt, but Noah had his little heart set on that balloon and watched it until we were walking in town & the buildings blocked his view! Soooo sad!

As we walked through town, Noah was easily distracted by all the people, including his Uncle Nate (or "Nee" as Noah calls him!) and Cousin Sierra on the sidelines!!! Officer Soren got a photo op with one of his fellow officers, and we even saw a little dog in costume! The parade ended down by the water, where they were handing out trick-or-treat bags full of goodies, there was a middle school band playing all kinds of music, and there were kids melting down left and right! Noah did ok for a little bit...he enjoyed some cookies, and danced a little bit and then we saw a lady
HANDING OUT BALLOONS!

Noah went running towards her, laughing and clapping and as he got closer he started slowing down. I realized that despite the 100's of balloons this woman was holding, she was dressed like a full-on green faced, warty nosed, pointy hat witch. Noah froze in his tracks, shook a little, tried to turn around, but was so scared he just hit the ground. He buried his little face in his hands and just started screaming! The poor kid just wants a balloon and it just wasn't his day! I scooped him up got a few balloons from the lady shouting, "Oh no no! I'm a good witch! I'm a good witch!" and took off the other direction. After that ordeal, Noah was spent, he wouldn't let go of me, despite the balloon we finally managed to get, and so, we packed um all up and headed back!

Noah fought his sleepiness the whole way back to the house. Instead of giving in, he lay in the stroller motionless and just watched everything go by. Soren had a few more photo-ops at the Capitola Police Station and even a Paddy Wagon parked on a side street! It was a fun afternoon and a good way to get us all excited for Halloween the next weekend!!

my handsome little kitty kat in the hat!!

Santa Cruz (Derby) Girls Night Out!

2009-10-28T00:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon, I met up with Chesna & Sarah and we made our way down to Santa Cruz to stand in a super long line, for 45 minutes, and ended up with second row seats at the Santa Cruz Derby Girls Double Header!! We got some brewskies and some snacks and watched all the freaky people wander around! I'm not name calling, seriously, there were some freaky people, it was "Zombie Night" so lots of peeps were dressed up! Though, we were short one lady for a while, Denise met us at the Civic, just in time for the start of the first bout!!!

Now, I dont know how many of you have been to, heard of or know anything about a roller derby, but this was my first derby, and I must say, I will be going again! After the first bout, I think I pretty much had the basics figured out, but as to the nitty gritty details, I'm still at a loss. In short, there are a bunch of girls on roller skates zipping around a track, blocking, passing, stratigizing and all the while knocking each other down by booty bumpin' and throwing shoulders! It's pretty entertaining!

About 10-15 minutes after the first bout was over, the lights went out, and the all too familiar sound of Michael Jackson's Thriller came over the sound system! At the far end of the track the lights began to come back on and reveal The Derby Girls in zombie attire! They performed the entire Thriller dance, and did quite well, though my crappy video skills probably dont do it justice! A quick side note...while we were inside at the Derby, there was a World Record attempt at the Largest Thriller Dance, just a few blocks down the street...thought of your post Jennifer over at "Now That You Mention It!" We were sad to miss it the world record attempt, so the Derby Thriller Dance was a perfect fill in!!

(sorry for the shotty footage...I was using my lil' old' camera and trying to watch at the same time!)

Anyway, despite the fast pace, big crashes and high scores of the second game, we were all starving and took off at half time. After an adventure to the gas station, we made our way to Woodstock Pizza. Soooo yummmy! We had some delicious grub, good company and wrapped up our Girls Night Out around 10ish!!

It was so fun to be out of the house, out with the girls, and not have arms full of bags and diapers and books and babies! Mama needed a night out!! I got to eat when when my food was delivered, pee all alone, actually have a conversation from start to finish with no diversions, and not once did a little hand try to make it's way down my shirt! hahahah! Though I was only away a whole 6.5 hours, Noah ended up being the topic of conversation more than once or twice and I sent at least 2 texts to check in and see how he was doing! :) ahhhh mommy-hood, we never can truly turn it off!

(and some derby footage if you wanna indulge!)

Pumpkin Partaaaay!

2009-10-27T22:48:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, we had a gang of people over for a pre-Halloween party and to carve some of the pumpkins we got out at the farm! I made spiced apple cider, and a salad, and got some take and bake pizza's and we had a good ol' time.

Lisa, Nate and Jasper were the first to show, and the 2 boys wasted no time breaking into the toys and snacks! Tarah, Chad and Baby London came next....sooooo good to see you 3 again! Grammy stopped by for a little bit and Auntie Chesna, Uncle Damien, and Cousin Soren came just in time for dinner!!! So sad that Auntie Justine and Uncle Matty couldn't make it...boooo to being sick, and boooo to long nights at the office!

Anyway, Noah and Jasper broke in our little picnic table...sooo cute to see them sitting at the "kids table" eating pizza like big boys! (well kind of sitting, Jasper wanted to eat and run, literally!). Then, it was back to the living room! Man-o-Man, 3 toddlers can DESTROY an entire room in 8 seconds flat! Geeeeze! They pulled out every single toy, and every single book and trekked it all over the house!! In between breaking up power struggles between the 3 boys, Lisa, Chesna and I were all goo-goo-gaga over Baby London! He is so cute! He is rolling over and holding his head up now and was happy as a clam to play with Noah's old baby toys, that is until Noah saw and tried to take them all back. As if he actually played with them anymore! It was so cute to see a little babe again, how quickly we forget just how little they once were. Watch out Tarah, London will be rippin' and tearin' through your house before you know it!

Noah got SUPER jealous when I was holding London. He hit me, then had to sit in my lap and while London just thought Noah was so fun, Noah was giving him the evil eye in between pouty cry fests! So funny!

Soooo, the real reason for the party...PUMPKINS! After pizza, the boys (the Dad's not the toddlers) all got their drinks poured and their pumpkins ready and got to the carving business. Somehow, all the Dads ended up carving pumpkins and all the Moms ended up wrangling babies. Wait! Somehow?! Who am I kidding, I was silly to think that all of us would actually get to sit down like the old days and actually carve pumpkins! But it all worked out, and we all had fun! The pumpkins turned out great! Chad was the only one who went old school and actually free-hand carved his pumpkin! Turned out great! The other boys used templates and fancy carving tools and got all tricky. Nathan & Chad were a pros at this, but this was only Jason's 3rd pumpkin ever carved and it was Damien's first pumpkin carving ever!

By 9 Noah was a wreck (and refused to go to sleep until 11:30 pm despite his insane sleepiness...ugggggg!!!), all the pumpkins were carved and all of us old parents were spent and ready to call it quits! LOL! Noah was still going going going though....he played with the glow sticks for at least an hour! Thanks for coming over everyone, we had lots of fun and cant wait to see you all again!!!

(noah shaking the glow sticks in the hallway...he did this for about 30 minutes or so...in the dark, making noise at 11 PM)

Caramel Queens

2009-10-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sooo, last week, amongst my sudden urge to be crafty and into the holiday, I decided to make caramel apples. BUT, what fun is it to create, and enjoy sugar concoctions all by yourself?! AND, who better to invite, than your sugar loving bestie, Justine!!!???

Anyway, we made caramel (if your really lucky, one day we may share our recipe!!!) Then Noah had a melt down, so, though I invited Justine over to "help me," she ended up doing most of the stirring while I held a sobbing little lump of tears! Anyway, we covered the apples in caramel (seriously, we piled on just about as much as the apple would hold), then we licked the pan and the spoon until we were nearly sick, then we stuck them in the fridge and parted ways to eat dinner and let the caramel cool.

Around 9PM, Justine and Matty returned to have dessert! It was the most messy, delicious, sticky, sweet, gooey, yummy, all over the place dessert we had eaten in a long time. The boys gave up about half way through the apple, Noah ran for cover and wanted nothing to do with the mess (well, he wanted to step in it), and Justine and I not only completely finished our apples, but we made sure to lick the caramel off the wax paper that was stuck to the bottom of our apples! I think I even ate some wax paper! hahaha!

Needless to say, next time we are gonna cut up the apples and devour them with out having caramel stuck to our faces, apple juice running down our arms and chins and with out swallowing even the tiniest bit of wax paper!

The Air I Breathe

2009-10-20T01:33:00.001-07:00

He is the air I breathe,
the light in my soul,
and he holds my heart in the palm of his tiny little hands!

After our day in the pumpkin patch, Noah was having some water while I put him in the car. I was just looking at him and realizing how fast he is growing up. In that moment (and a zillion others) Noah, and all that he is just brought joy to my heart and put a smile on my face. In response to my smile, Noah just started cracking up and being super silly! (probably because he knew I was gonna cry or something sappy!) Anyway, I grabbed my camera and this is what I got!

I LOVE YOU BABY NOAH!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who Wants A Pumpkin!!

2009-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Noah and I piled into the car with a picnic lunch (that Noah refused to eat) and headed North on Hwy 1 to Rodoni Farms! We met up with a bunch of friends (Justine & Matt, Lisa, Nathan, Jasper & Mikey, Amy, Luke & Levi, Andrea & Laura) to go on a pumpkin hunt! Daddy was at home workin on the yard with some help, so he couldn't join us :( We sure missed him!

It was a bit windy, and the sun was off and on, but there was no rain and the grass was dry after our last super storm! So, we plopped down on top of the hill and enjoyed our lunch while taking in the beautiful views of the coast!

In no time, we were off! Noah took Uncle Matty to dig through some pumpkins and then took Jasper's car for a spin! Eventually we were able to grab a wagon to collect our pumpkins, but Noah had to take it for a ride first!! In between hunting for pumpkins, we took out time for some photo shoots, some goofin' off, and some laughs with good friends!

Needless to say, Noah was wiped out by the time we left!!! We planed to drive just 10 minutes down the road to continue our visit with our friends in the warmth of Andrea's casa, but little man was passed out cold half way to the house! So, we made our way back into the mountains and home before the rain started! Enjoy the pics and stay tuned to see what kinda mischief we get into next!

HaHaHa! Jasper tasting the wrong end of the strawberry!

I couldn't have done it with out the help of Auntie Justine & Uncle Matt!
Thanks Guys! :)

The Newest Parents in Town...and the cutest newborn baby boy ever! Amy, Luke &
that's little Levi in the sling...12 days old!!!!

yes, we are dorks!

Justine the Purdy Pumpkin

Andrea the Witchy Witch

Krystal the Ghostly Ghost!

and lastly, the cutest little boys you could find in the pumpkins!

Noah thought all the pumpkins were drums!

Jasper-ROOO!

this is his, "seriously mom" face!

I LOOOVE MY LITTLE PUMPKIN HEAD!!

A Hike Amongst The Redwoods!

2009-10-13T00:49:00.001-07:00

Amongst all the medical chaos that is going on in our lives right now, we took a moment out to go for a hike in our back yard...Big Basin Redwoods State Park. With the crisp fall weather settling into the Valley, it was a perfect morning for a hike and we had a lot of fun.

Jason picked out our trail, a hike to Sempervirens Falls. We thought it was gonna be a 4 hour hike round trip, but it turned out to be a 2 hour hike round trip! It was a good thing though, Noah was falling apart just as we reached "the falls." We stopped for a snack and water just 30 minutes in because Noah was getting restless, and just 20 minutes after we got back on the trail, I was carrying a sleepy baby in my arms! I don't think we would have survived a 4 hour hike!

Right when we were considering heading back to the car, we saw the sign for "the falls." Your probably wondering why I keep putting quotes around "the falls." Well, when you start off on a hike with the expectation of some magnificent waterfall, and end up on a small platform overlooking a pond with a trickle of water dripping into it, "the falls" are what you get! Ha Ha! Not that it wasn't beautiful or a nice place to land, but I was expecting a frickin' waterfall!!

We took some pictures and had a good laugh and headed back to the car. Just 10 minutes into our hike back Noah passed out in the backpack, which didnt look too comfortable, but he didn't seem to mind. That is until I tried to "help!" I tried to adjust his little head, which resulted in him waking up in tears and totally pissed! Way to go Mom!!

sleepin in the pack....

tell me this looks like a comfortable way to sleep!?

umm, NO!

We took Noah out of the pack and let him run around. There was so much to see and touch and taste (eeeewww) and step on! It took 10 minutes to walk 8 feet! But hey, it's about the journey not the destination, right?!!! On the way back we stopped at the huge redwoods that you could walk in and Noah had fun picking up acorns, smackin the trees and trying to walk on the rough/uneven ground.

(Noah was trying to feed Jason an acorn & thought it was soooo funny!)

When we made it back to the car, we wondered over to the picnic area, (aka - tables plopped on a porch in front of the gift shop), had some lunch and let Noah run around. He chased birds, waved at every single person that walked by, and no trip would be complete with out a good crash and burn! But nothing that a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Cone couldn't fix!

this poor bird became known as, "baaaaaaaabooooooooo" and was chased and yelled at by Noah for a good 5 minutes! Sorry Nature, don't hate us!

We ended our trip with a walk through the funky old museum and a quick car ride home! It's such a treat to have such a beautiful space just in our back yard!

Something To Hold You Over

2009-09-16T01:39:00.001-07:00

I have gotten WAAAAAY behind in my updates and it makes me sad! I have taken about a bajillion and two pictures of our summer antics and have not found the time to share them. I am working on catching up....will probably be just photos, but hey, those are the best part right?!?!

Noah is growing leaps and bounds, and continues to make me smile...he has developed quite the personality (along with a STRONG will of his own) that warms my heart and makes every sleepless night and power struggle a small bump in our daily adventures!

I suppose the biggest achievement since my last update is that Noah is a talking fool! He repeats nearly everything we say, though it is often just the syllables and as close to the right letters as possible. Most everything in Noah's world starts with either a "B" or an "M". Quite literally, (ball, bird, bath, bed, book...)so it is no surprise that he defaults to the "B" sound when babbling or trying to mimic me! My new favorite sound is when Noah babbles, he goes off to play and just talks! Making all kinds of sounds, but his go-to is some form of "ga-boo, ga-ba, ga-be!" Everytime I get the camera out though, he stops, and usually rushes the camera with the intend to kissing or touching the lens!! Anyway, here is the most recent clip with some of Noah's new "tricks." Sadly, with my attempts to get Noah to say "Mommy," I am now officially, "MaaMooo!" HA HA HA HA!

Tahoe...Where Noah doesn't Sleep

2009-08-18T00:24:00.001-07:00

Noah and I made our way to Tahoe for a week long visit back in July. We got off to a great start...Noah slept almost the entire way to Tahoe and when he woke up, he was happy and a-ok with me passing back snacks and juice. I didn't pull over once and we made it to Tahoe in 3 hours 15 minutes! We rolled into Obachan's work and had some good fun exploring all the plants at the beautiful nursery!

Our first night however was not so great. I put Noah down for bed around 10 and he went down no problem. He woke up about an hour later and went back to sleep, but around 11 he woke up and WOULD NOT GO BACK TO SLEEP. He was tired, but wouldn't stop moving. He would tap his hands, then kick his feet, then roll over, sit up, lie down, scratch his fingers on the sheets, and start all over again! This went on until 3 o'clock in the morning! I wanted to cry and throw him out the window, but instead I stuck him in the car and drove around in circles. Every stop sign resulted in crying and every acceleration resulted in sleep. After about 30 minutes he was out and we both got some sleep. Sadly, he was up again at 6:30 am and with no hope of going back to sleep. SO LAME.

Despite the sleep deprivation, Noah was happy and played hard all day the next day. We went to the farmers market with Obachan, Auntie Sarah & Lily and had a super yummy lunch at Freshies! The biggest to do of the day came when Noah said Grandpa! Well, it was more of a "ga-pa," but he said it over and over and over and over while playing with his Grandpa Chris. Super cute! Our sleep the next night was pretty typical...4 or 5 wakings, but he went right back to sleep!

Playing Piano with Aunt Rose & Bria

hahaha! he's a happy little peinist! hahaha!

Playing with Babach!

at the local library with Auntie Rose!

Wednesday was Auntie Sarah's birthday! WE had plans to go to the beach with friends but those plans got rained out :( It all worked out though...Auntie Angel, Tristen and Ian all came over and we had a blast playing in the back yard, enjoyed a yummy BBQ and of course, CAKE!

awww, Auntie Rose &
her niece & nephew!
they both love you so so much!

mmm mmm WATERMELON!

The next day we made a trip down to visit Papa, Hanama and the dogs! Of course we had another visit with the Ellis' and even had Angel & Tristen join us for dinner! We had all kinds of fun, and while we were there, Noah said "Hana" for the first time! Sooooo cute!

how did they get soooo big?!

After I gave Tristen some raspberries (and he laughed hysterically!) Noah wanted in on the fun! First he pointed out his belly button and then gave
Tristen bunches of raspberries! soooo cute!

Friday morning, we packed it all back into the car and had another quick and painless drive home! Thank goodness!! We met daddy at his new office in San Ramon and ran all over the place! Noah was happy to see daddy and happy to be out of the car! We ended the night with dinner at Auntie Justine & Uncle Matty's and headed home to get ready for a concert the next day!

Mr. Mischief

2009-08-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

Noah has been CRACKING ME UP lately...he definitely has a sense of humor, but his incessant curiosity, matched with his new ability to run around and get into everything! All of his antics leave me with lots of laughs and make for some fun pictures! Here are a few of my recent favorites!

Smile today!

Noah quietly snuck away one morning, and swiped Dad's wallet!

I caught him strolling down the hallway with a hand full of twenties and he took off running when he saw me...he fell and didn't make it very far!

he quickly gave up on the cash and tried oh so so hard to empty the rest of the wallet
(i was laughing the whole time and letting him "play")

but Dad showed up and decided that his wallet
shouldn't be torn apart :(
needless to say, Noah didn't make away with any cash
(nor did he hook me up with any)

next....

MY LITTLE TOUGH GUY!

ok, I actually put his arms like that...he demanded to play with some ice cubes and then freaked out because his hands were soooo cold! After blowing on them and teaching him to rub them together, we resorted to the ol' arm pit trick...he thought the whole event was pretty fun
and humored me with the "arm pit pose!"

next....

Every morning, Noah goes with either Jason or I to to feed the cats. He has learned how to call the cats, the CUTEST thing ever, he even puts out his little hand and pinches his fingers together as he makes a clicking sound with his tongue.
I loooove it!!!

(this was the first time he did it back in July,
he has since perfected his "clicking")

Anyway, the other day, after returnign from the cat feeding event, Noah managed to bust out of our cage (aka - our gated off living room). I found him at the front door, on his tippy toes, pulling at the handle and calling the cats!
As soon as he saw me there with the camera he took his hand of the handle and tapped at the door, as if to say, "I was just, uhhh, checking out the door mom, ummmm, it's all good!" and then walked off in the opposite direction. Little stinker! Thankfully the deadbolt was locked!
(I think I'm in trouble!)

second to last...

last weekend I built a fort for Noah out of couch cousions, pillows and blankets. He wasn't too sure about it at first and just hung out on the front pillow.

Daddy joined in on the fun and in no time, Noah was romping around in the fort!
However, when I got in the fort, Noah wouldn't come in. Insead, he found the little cracks on the outside and peeked in on me with his usual, "BAA" (aka-"BOO")

and last but NOT LEAST........

sand box + newly walking toddler + watermelon face =

Noah Met The Greats

2009-08-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Great Grandparents that is! Back in June, the weekend after his birthday, we took off on our first air plane adventure! We started in the shuttle from long term parking to the SFO airport. Noah was loving not being strapped into a car seat and looking out the window. Of course he flirted and made friends with everyone on the bus and continued his flirts once we made it in the airport. Check in and security were a breeze, and we made it in with time to eat dinner. Noah chowed down on a California Roll, and absolutely loved it. He tires to shove the whole thing in his mouth! After dinner Noah and Daddy had fun racing around the airport in the high chair!

Noah and his Sushi!

Noah & Daddy's Highchair Adventures

We got on the flight and Noah was an angel (despite the few incidents of him trying to poke the sleeping neighbor in the ear) and slept as soon as we were in the air. After landing in Vegas, getting the rental car and late night snack, we made our way down to Laughlin. It was 1 am when we got there and 90 something degrees. LAME!

After a short nights sleep we met up with Sarah & Lily for breakfast. Noah was sooooo happy to see his cousin! We packed it all up and went over the bridge to Bull Head City, AZ and met up with my Dad, Hana and Noah's Great Grandma JoAnne and Great Grandpa Vic! I don't think I have ever seen a smile as big as the one Grandma had with 2 of her Great Grandchildren ripping and tearing through her apartment. In the midts of keeping our children from breaking things, ripping out Grandma's oxygen hose and toppling over the fan, we ALL pulled out our cameras and had a 30 minute paparazi photo shoot! I think we were a bit overwhelming, so we left them to rest, put the kids down for naps, and took turns hanging out downstairs at the bar....its free if you gamble...dangerous!
Papa, Hana, Lily & Noah

Lily, Sarah, Grandma JoAnne, Grandpa Vic, Me & Noah

The Whole Gang!
(Sarah & Lily, Grandma & Grandpa, Me & Noah,
Hana, Papa & Jason)

Anyway, the highlight of the trip came when we returned to the assisted living home for dinner. We just so happened to be in town when the facility was hosting a "Family Spaghetti Night!" Grandma JoAnne has not left her room for dinner in the 3 years since she moved into the facility. We begged and pleaded, scratch that, DEMANDED, that she come down and join us for dinner and would you know it, she was down stairs, dressed in her finest gown with her make-up done and calling us before we even got there.

In true Erwin fashion, we showed up a little bit late, and a little bit sauced, and were hootin and hollerin, as we walked through the door. Poor Grandma was hiding behind her hands, shushing us, and praying we didnt get kicked out! We had so much fun and were so so so happy to see Grandma out of her room! Though the evening was short, and we missed the Karaoke, I think Grandma enjyed her time out of her room!

Though 6 pm was late for them, it wasnt for us! We all jammed back to the hotel and went in the pool! Noah and Lily were LOOOOVING it, though the water was a bit to cold for our skinny little kids and we had to continually pull their blue shivvering bodies out of the water kicking and screaming. Luckly (and unluckly) it was still 90 some-odd degrees outside so the warmed up super quick and were back in the water splashing away!

We ended the night with a crappy fast food dinner, wine & entertainment from Noah and Lily! We stayed up too late but had great fun and great laughs!

Noah & Lily Dancing

Then, came the real entertainment. We laughed so hard, and are still laughing about the "Sha-Ka-Ka" Episode!

While we were in Laughlin, Noah was still just learning to walk. Here he is 5 days into this whole walking business!

Our trip ended Sunday morning with another buffet breakfast with the fam, and with the 113 degree weather, we were happy to pack into the air conditioned car for our drive back to Vegas. Even though we were a bit tired and pissy, we again made it through the Las Vegas Airport with ease and speed (despite the a** hole who asked me if I was pregnant...seriously? WTF is wrong with people?!) Noah fell asleep before take off and slept all the way back to SF! We stopped in San Jose for a dinner with Uncle Matty and Auntie Justine and made it home all in one piece!

Swim Lessons!

2009-08-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Our first swim lesson happened to fall on the morning of Noah's birthday and birthday party! We got there a little late and rushed into the pool...not a good idea. Noah didn't know what to think about the people, the singing, the water, or any of it. He cried and TOTALLY FREAKED OUT for about 20 minutes of the 30 minute lesson, but by the end was all happy in the water. Jasper on the other hand was loving it. At one point it even seemed like he tried to comfort Noah by holding his hand. Japer's Grandparents came for the first lesson and took lots of pictures....thank you, and thanks for sharing them Elaine!!

we were trying to do the Hokey-Pokey with the group, but Noah was not
having any of it!

he's HAPPY!

practicing the back float while we sing "twinkle twinkle"

Noah is now quite the little fish! Noah doesn't mind the water on his face as much, does great "sandwich hands" and "airplane arms" and loves Teacher Liz. We completed the first 4 week class session (less one class, but we mad up for it with our own trip to the pool!) and are just about finished with our second 4 week session! Noah got his first certificate!!! soooo cute!
We are going to take a break from the lessons, but due to Noah's love of swimming, we plan on spending plenty of time in the water!

4th of July

2009-07-20T00:23:00.000-07:00

After a few weeks of non-stop partying, we planned on a mellow 4th of July celebration. Last year, I don't even think I knew the 4th of July happened, Noah was barely 2 weeks old and we were still settling in, so any celebration was more than we had last year. We had a few invites from friends, but wanted to stay out of the crowds and weren't sure Noah would like the fireworks, so we planed a BBQ at home with the family.

However, we did the opposite! Noah and I started the morning down in Boulder Creek with Lisa, Nathan & Jasper for the annual 4th of July Parade. We got a good spot down at the end with out too many people and used the police cars as a platform for Noah to stand on. Tee Hee Hee! Noah & Jasper looooved the parade. They were laughing and waving and moving their little heads a million miles and hour to see it all! We ran into Tarah, Chad and baby London half way through and we scavenged for candy the kids had missed! Super fun!

Daddy stayed home for battle number 2 with the massive amounts of poison oak in our yard. Lets just say, he never fares well. Poison oak - 2, Jason - 0!! When we came home from the parade, I turned the corner and died laughing...this is what I saw in my front yard! LOL!

Jason was covered from head to toe, in 90 degree weather, with a frickin hedge trimmer marching around! Soooo funny. He said he got some weird looks from the neighbors too. Once I showed him the pics, he totally understood! Sadly, Jason still managed to get poison oak on his face and his arm, despite his best efforts to avoid it! Poor guy.

Later that night, Papa Ron, Uncle Nathan, Cousin Sierra, Uncle Damien, Auntie Chesna and Cousin Soren all came over. We ran around out on the deck, and battled with the babies as they continually went to my one tree on the deck and proceeded to throw the soil all over! Of course right!?! After dinner, we decided that we would brave the crowds and the noise and head down to Scotts Valley for a cup of coffee and the fireworks show.

We picked the lesser of two long lines, got some coffee at Pete's and made our way as close to the firework show as possible. Though Damien would have kept going all way to launch location, we stopped in the post office parking lot and settled in. Soren was doing laps around the lot and Noah was trying to figure out what was goin on. Then the first firework shot into the air nearly directly over our heads. Noah was paralyzed for the first 3 booms, and then flipped around and tried to crawl over my shoulders...or out of his skin. The kid was freaked out! Soren wasn't too happy either, so we snatched up our chairs and headed away from the noise.

look how scared little Noah was...the fireworks had just started! hahaha! poor baby!

We made our way into a neighboring parking lot, though the booms from the fireworks were still vibrating in our chest and echoing in the various alleyes between buildings. Noah and Soren seemed to settle down though and we got to watch the end of the show. By the time we met back up with Nathan and Sierra the boys were smiling, laughing and playing with thier super cool flags from Auntie Chesna. Then some _______(enter name here) set off about 20-30 screaming bottle rockets 20 feet from us...Noah was trying to climb out of his skin all over again!

We had a fun 4th with our family and Noah was sleeping before we pulled out of the parking lot! The true measure of a good night!

The One Year Celebration

2009-07-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

Our celebrations for Noah's first birthday seemed to start a week or so ahead of the actual day. Isn't that how every birthday is though?! Of course I ran around like crazy to get all the supplies, but we started the week off with a BBQ at our house with a bunch of friends, thanks to an impromptu visit from Mary! Good times, good food and Noah gobbled down a whole bunch of blueberries which started off his new found love of fruit!

Tuesday and Wednesday were full of cleaning and running around for last minute supplies and Thursday The Ellis 3 came into town! We met up downtown, did some window shopping and met up with Lauren and Gregg for dinner and Blue Moon at the good ol' 99 Bottles! We stayed up too late visiting, and got a slow start on Friday. We collected a bunch of bouncy balls for the party, (since Noah's 2 favorite things in the world are bouncy balls and balloons, it became our theme!), picked up food and threw another BBQ! Lauren, Gregg, and Auntie Jessica all came over and once again we had, good eats, good friends, and good times!

bath time!!

We also had a surprise visit from Cerissa and her Mama! (it was so good to see you and we still miss you!)

Saturday kicked off bright and early for Noah and Jasper's first swim lesson! (more on that later, you wont wanna miss it!) Anyway, we rushed home, got Noah down for a nap, and Auntie Angelina had gotten all of our party stuff ready to go! (She really is an Angel!) Around 1:30ish we packed up and met up with Obachan, Grandpa Chris and Auntie Rose over at Grandpa Ron's house while Noah napped at the house with Daddy! We all immediately got to decorating and ran out of helium before we blew up all the balloons! Oh well!

Our first guests arrived just as we put the finishing touches on the decor, and it was party party party time! 29 adults and 12 kids made it to the party! THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING! Though we were still missing some of our cherrished friends and family, we missed you! We had a ball pit full of little balls, bouncy balls all over the yard, Uncle Nathan brought a bean bag game that was a hit. It was so fun to see all the kiddos playing, and laughing and having fun. And guess what, we BBQed (3rd BBQ of the week....woo hoo for summer time!!)

On top of all the happenings, I actually baked, and I baked good! I usually burn 3 out of 4 batches of cookies, cant remember ever baking a cake, though I have made one good batch of brownies! But this time, I made cup cakes, and I didn't burn a single one! Though I did make waaaaaaaaay too many! With the help of my Mom and Rose, we frosted ALL of them a beautiful blue and they were super tasty (we ate them for a week) ha ha ha! I also made Noah is verry own special cake. It took some creativity and some crafty crafty skills, but I managed to make a perfect ball for Noah demolish. He was a bit afraid of the gooey frosting, but once I cut it open, he was all about the cake!!!

Anyway, I spent most of the party trying to hide from Noah. Sounds weird I know, but if he saw me he would whine and fuss and just want me to hold him. There were 29 other people around who wanted to see him! Once he was playing and having fun with who ever had him, he forgot all about

me and had so so so so so much fun!

We got all kinds of great toys, clothes and books and Noah just loves his little cars! We stayed up way to late again, but we were having so much fun!! The next morning was Father's Day and we were up early again to celebrate...but that is another blog for another time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY NOAH!!!

my number one balloons quickly became the joke of the party....yeah, I get it!

(cake photos courtesy of Lisa....thanks girl!)

he is still loving the cars he got, especially when daddy pushes him super fast all over the house.

one whole year as a happy little family!

NOAH JAMES IS ONE YEAR OLD!

2009-07-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

I thought that it one was so far away, yet it has not only come, but it has passed. One whole year since Noah was born! One whole year since Jason and I became parents! One whole year? I am still trying to figure out just how it went by so so so so so so so fast.

Noah has and continues to amaze me every day. Be it a smile, a new sign, a silly game he makes up, changing the channel on the t.v., or ripping and tearing through the house, the kid makes my heart happy with all that he does (with a few exceptions of course!). I never could have imagined all that parenthood brings...the joys as well as the challenges. I have said it a million times, but I'll say it again...being a parent is the toughest job in the world, with the worst hours and the worst pay, but the best rewards...the rewards are THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. A happy, "ma-ma" sputtered, a slimy kiss, the look of pride after he accomplishes a new feat, and uncontrollable giggle, or just simply that look between a mother and her baby, these rewards make the hard stuff not so hard, and can make a sleepless night forgotten (at least for a moment!). One year into this parenting game and we have all not only survived but we have thrived and grown leaps and bounds!

Noah, mommy and daddy love you so so so so so so so much. We are so happy you chose us for parents and can not imagine our world with out you in it. You amaze us each and every day and I only hope that we do the same for you. Our pride is immeasurable and our love is endless and we look forward to all that your future holds! xoxoxo

Ok, now for some updates...I suppose I will start with Noah's one year well baby check up. Ummm, he is still a little guy, and with no complaints from me (my bad back appreciates it!). Noah weighed in at a whopping 17 lbs. 2 oz, a mere 9 oz gain from his 16 lbs. 9 oz at his9 month check-up. He was below the 5 percentile then, and now he is not even on the chart! The ped said there is a little concern, but that Noah is hitting all the milestones and looks just fine. I am not worried at all. Noah measured 29.5 inches long (about 50th percentile) and his head is still a big one, 46.3 cm (above the 95th percentile!). Most of the visit Noah was totally freaked out (unless no one else was in the room), he was showing stranger anxiety 100% and was really pissed during the exam. Our ped, whom I have still have mixed feelings about, spent the majority of the visit dumping useless, and obvious information, most of which was too late in terms of "what to expect" (i.e. climbing things, opening cupboards, child proofing, you should buy him a helmet, blah blah blah), and we ended the visit with just one shot that Noah took like a champ. We have decided to forego some of the vaccinations for a myriad of reasons including the fact that Merck has discontinued their individual doses of the MMR, but other than that, we have kept pretty well to our modified schedule that we adopted from "The Vaccine Book. Making The Right Decisions For Your Child" by Dr. Sears, (a great resource on the vaccine debate...read it!) and though I am still a little uneasy with the whole thing, we haven't had any obvious reactions despite the momentary cry in the doctor's office.

Now for the fun stuff, the beginning of the month was marked by Noah pushing his "walker" around the living room on his knees or up on his feet if we helped by slowing down the toy. The next day, the kid was getting up behind the walker all by himself and cruising around the living room like a mad man! He prefers though, to kneel down on the front side of the walker and push it backwards, smacking his knees one at a time as he makes his way across the room, making as much noise as possible! He has been cruisin' around all the furniture and attempting to climb nearly everything, and honing his ability to walk while holding onto only one hand! Then it happened!

Just 3 days after Noah's first birthday, Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009, Noah James took his first unassisted steps! I was sitting on the couch and he was standing up against the foot stool a few feet away. I said, "come here bud," expecting him to drop to his knees and scurry over to me like he
always does. Instead, my little man turned towards me with a big smile on his face and with his little arms stretched high over his head, he slowly took 4 or 5 steps right to me! I was so surprised and so so proud! Noah seemed a bit shocked by my reaction, he acted like what he did was totally normal. But my excitement and pride was infectious and Noah was grinning from ear to ear in no time. We spent the next 10 minutes or so trying to walk again, and he did a few more times, but it became a big game and he was too excited to focus. Noah showed off for daddy when he got home with a very controlled 7 steps or so. He continues to practice everyday, though up until yesterday it was only when Jason or I encouraged it.

Yesterday, July 8th, when Noah didn't know I was watching, I saw him walk all the way across the living room with out a crash! He left the support of the couch, across the rug and onto the wood floor, then up onto his foam play mat and directly to the t.v., where he proceeded to turn the volume up to 78 before crawling away in a big hurry! Today, Noah has actually been choosing to walk anytime he pulls himself up to standing. Some attempts are strong and sturdy, others resemble a drunken sailor. But weather it's 4 steps or 20, my little baby is well on his way to being a walking toddler! Ahhhh....keep me in your happy thoughts! ;)

Along with being a walkin' fool, Noah is also a signing fool! I love it. It is so fun to encourage him and so great when he communicates what he wants and what he sees. Noah is currently using 10 signs consistently:

all done/all finished
more
eat
cat
bird
fish
dog
please
bath
ball

He also has a few others that he does sporadically (baby, milk), and a few that I can't seem to figure out. Though he is only signing a dozen or so signs, he understands sooooo much. I talk to him all day and about everything we are doing, and though he likes to ignore me sometimes, I can pretty much tell Noah where we are going or what to do and he will lead the way or go get the desired item. I know every parent will say so about their own kiddos, but little Noah is a smarty smarty pants!

Noah also loves music, loves to dance and despite my awful singing voice, he loves it when I sing. He has always loved "If Your Happy and You Know It," and always loves to clap along, but he has recently started responding to the second verse of "stomp your feet!" "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," seems to be his recent favorite. As soon as I start singing, he starts putting his little fingers together and twisting his hands to mimic my itsy-bitsy spider. He also does the hand motions for the "down came the rain" verse. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" also illicit some hand motions, but we are currently working on "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes!" Noah can get the "Head" part, but just really enjoys watching Jason and I make fools out of ourselves!

video

The last song choice was promted by Noah's ability to point to his own body parts when asked. His favorite to point out is his belly, probably because Jason and I usually respond by tickling it! However, he also knows where his head, ears, toes and tounge are. The best part of it is the pride on his face after he points and then starts clapping!

Noah's sense of humor has exploded this last month. He is quite a silly little boy! He loves to play peek-a-boo (usually when we are changing his diaper). He covers his little eyes and waits for what seems like forever, and when he forcefully pulls his hands off his eyes he shouts, "BA!" and starts over agian. Though, I continually try to get him to say "Boo," Noah preffers the "BA" route! He also ducks down behind furniture or toys and pops up with a huge grin waiting for us to say, "Boo!"

Noah also loves to be tickled and get raspberries on his belly! He will let you know when he is ready by throwing himself down on the floor, rolling onto his back, sticking his feet in the air, giggles incessantly all while looking at you. It's irresistible! You cant help but crawl over to him and tickle and giggle and give raspberries and roll around with him. But, even more funny is when Noah is the one giving raspberries!

That's right! Noah gives the best raspberries in town. But so far, he only gives them to me. Though the other day, we were able to get him to give one to Jason. I think he is afraid of all the hair! Ha Ha! Anyway, any chance he gets, Noah will smash his little face onto my belly, blow like crazy, and make the loudest farting sounds ever. When he is out of breath, Noah pops up with a big slobbery smile, laughs, gets more air and starts all over again. He did it for like 5 minutes straight the other night. Seriously, the funniest thing ever!

video

The not so funny gift that has come with Noah's first year, is the revealing of his 100% boy-ness. Yep, aggression! These days Noah is all about using force. He wants to throw, hit, kick, stomp on and otherwise beat up whatever gets in his path, including my face. We have had some not so great moments after he full out socked me in the face. It is so so so hard to scold him when that little lip sticks out. This aggression paired with his curiosity though has led to some big messes.

There has been quite a few, but the best/worst one was when he managed to sneak over to our water crock and smack the spigot repeatedly, which resulted in a flood of water in the kitchen! He knew good and well that he was not supposed to play with it...when he heard me coming, the little guy dropped to his knees and took of crawling in the opposite direction faster than I have ever seen him crawl. While I was cleaning up, Noah returned to the scene and proceeded to dump out more water. I swiped his hand and in a stern voice told him "no" and in return Noah smacked me in the face. It was so lame, and he thought it was so funny! AHHHHH, toddlerhood!! In general though Noah's agression is taken out on his toys and the water in the bath tub. I watch, from a distance, with an amazement that he has so much energy and wonder when I will need ear plugs and curious as to just how long this will last.

Lastly, and said with hesitation, Noah is starting to sleep longer and longer periods. We actually had a night with a 6 hour stretch! Though, on average we are getting 4 hour stretches, which means only waking up twice at night AND he is typically sleeping until 9 am! I credit the sleeping in to the fabulous black out curtains we put in our room!!! So, knock on wood, and keep your fingers crossed for us. I am actually starting to believe that a full 8 hours of sleep might, MIGHT, be in my future!

I will post his birthday celebrations sometime this weekendish!

making messes is one of Noah's favorite things to do...be it the dvd's or his lunch, the kid knows how to get it done!

ummm, NOAH EATS FRUIT, actually he devours it!
and looooves blueberries!

he has also been taking his pants off....and throwing them over the gate!

the neighbor girls come by to visit Noah and he looooves it!
He always shows off for them!

and this is something he taught himself all on his own and luckily he has since forgotten just how funny it was!

Noah is 11 Months Old!

2009-07-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

This month has been an exciting one! Noah has grown leaps and bounds and is looking/acting more and more like a toddler than a baby! Exciting and so up and down. It has also been a bit trying with yet another tooth, his first illness and continued sleep issues! But lets start with the fun stuff!

I suppose the most exciting of all the excitement is that Noah has started signing! He signs "all finished" after his meals...and usually the entire time we are changing a diaper! He holds both hands up in the air and waves his hands around. Our clapping and woo-hooing usually promotes a big ol' grin and clapping! He is starting to sign "more" but looks more like a clap most of the time. It is coupled with pointing at whatever it is he wants more of so we usually distinguish between "more" and a clap! He also has started waving, and does it with such enthusiasm it puts a smile on everyone's face. Often times, he starts waving as soon as his eyes pop open from a nap, sooo funny to see him all delirious and waving like a mad man!

Along with the signs, Noah responds to, "How big is Noah?" by reaching both hands straight up in the air above his head as high as he can reach...and of course finishes with incessant clapping...monkey see, monkey do!! Our other favorite trick is his response to, "If..." as in the first word to the song, "If your happy and you know it, clap your hands!" All we have to say is, "If" in a sing song voice and the kid starts clapping like crazy. I love it, and probably do it way too often, but hey...I'm the Mom and that's what I do!!

Noah has also been giving out kisses! More so to himself than anyone else, but when you do get a kiss, bet your a*# it is open mouth and wet as ever! Baby kisses are the best. We have a book, Mirror Me! A Mirror Board Book by Baby Einstein that was handed down from Lily and Sarah. When Lil was little, Sarah would read her the book and with each mirror, Sarah would tell Lily, "Kiss the Baby" and Lily would proceed to stick out her tongue and kiss her reflection. Well, I have been reading the book to Noah since he was born and initiated the same suggestions to Noah. Sure enough, Noah will kiss that baby each and every time...and any other mirror or any other baby on command! Love It!!

Though, smoochin other babies and swiping sippy cups got us our first illness. I must say though, at 11 months, with no illness, I think we did pretty good. The Friday after Noah turned 11 months, he was super fussy all morning. When I gave up on feeding him breakfast and got him out of his high chair the kid was burning up. I fought with him to get an under arm temp and came up with 101. something. I managed to get him down for a nap and called the doctor who didn't seem too concerned. After 20 minutes he woke up screaming and registered underarm around 102, so we packed it up and went to the doc. Noah had no other symptoms and the doctor suggested the possibility of Roseola, but there was no way to diagnose it until the virus had run its course...aka the fever breaks in 3-4 days and a rash shows up. So I was sent home with a Tylenol schedule and told to watch for any more symptoms.

Well, ove the next 4 days Jason and I saw no other symptoms and battled with INSANE fevers, crying, lethargy, clingyness and general stress. Even with Tylenol and Motrin alternated every 3 hours, Noah's fever reached 105.5. To say it was INSANE is an understatement. The poor guy didn't want to eat, play, sleep, or do anything other than lay on me. There were brief moments of humaness when his fever got down to 101-102, but they were short lived and followed by clingy crying madness. By Monday afternoon his temp dropped below 100 and never came back, but we were greeted the next morning by an INSANE rash all over his face and head. It spread to his trunk and thighs over the next day or 2 and disappeared. Luckily it didn't seem to bother him, but man was it ugly. Looked like the measles and if I wasn't expecting it, I would have freaked out! So, we got Roseola and I must say I am grateful that the fever wasn't paired with vomiting or ear infections...the fever was all I could handle!

Just before he got sick, Noah started cutting his first bottom tooth...yeah, on top of the fever, he had a swollen gum and was gnawing away like crazy on his hands. And the drool was ever flowing! It took about 2.5 weeks to cut through and is still pretty low, but it is out, and MAN IS IT SHARP!

Noah has developed quite an obsession with balloons this month as well. We went to a few birthday parties and the ENTIRE time, Noah pointed at the balloons and said, "ahhh bbbbb." (think pressing your lips together and making the b sound). We brought a mylar balloon home from Lisa's party (Happy Birthday Lisa...again!) and Noah drug it around the house for 2 weeks. No matter what he was doing or playing with, he had that balloon tightly in his grasp. 2 weeks later, we went to Soren's birthday party and it started all over again...only this time we ended up with 3 or 4 balloons in the end, and you could barely see the t.v. through our living room! They are all since gone, but our weekly trip to the grocery store Noah goes bonkers again, and the super cool folks at Ben Lomond Market always tie a new balloon to his wrist at the check out stand! Lucky Baby!

As far as sleep goes, we aren't so lucky. We have had a few good nights...a 4 or 5 hours stretch and only 2 wakings, but they are few and far between. On average, Noah will sleep 2-3 hours before waking up and needing to be rocked back to sleep. On average, it takes 20 minutes to get him back to sleep....so that is 1-2 hour and 40 minutes of sleep for mom. LAME! And of course there are the times where he only sleeps 20 minutes and takes and hour and half to get back to sleep. By 4 am I am usually beat and just bring him into bed with us and we toss and turn together till he decides to wake up for the day. Needless to say, I'm f'n tired and desperate for a change. I have a few books I'm filtering through and hope to do some, NO CRY sleep training soon. Wish me luck!

Lastly, Noah is eating like a little piggy! He wants what we eat...and for the most part we give it to him! Makes for some entertaining meals and some funny pictures! Though, we cant seem to figure out where he puts it all. The little guy is not gaining much weight these days, despite his ability to sit and eat for nearly an hour at each meal! Yes, and hour, feeding our little monkey is a time consuming event....and a messy one at that!

We had lots of fun adventures this month...Children's Discovery Museum, Beach Days, Mothers Day, and a few from last month to share too, but Im gonna save them for their own blogs....

Tactile OVERLOAD!

2009-07-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

*how sad is it that this post was actually dated on March 28th, 2009...written and no photos! It seems that we have been a busy bunch of people! Between the move, Noah's escalating need for attention, and our busy social schedule I have let my blogs all live inside my head!

So while this one is long winded, and the next two Noah updates will be too, I will be posting some photo intensive updates to recap our lost months!!*

Back in March, Noah and I made a trip to the beach with Lisa and Jasper Pants. We took a few trips from the car to the sand to lug our massive amounts of stuff, fed the babies and got comfy on out blankets. A little while into our adventure, Noah crawled over to the beach chair at the edge of out blanket and pulled himself up. Suddenly, he was crying all crazy and I ran over thinking he pinched his finger or something, and he was standing in the sand with one foot straight up in the air. I assumed the sand was too hot, so I snatched him up and dusted off his feet. We decided to head down to the water and as I headed down the beach I turned around to encourage Noah to follow. He crawled towards me and as soon as his hand hit the sand, he reeled backwards freaking out and wouldn't leave the blanket. Then I realized, THE KID IS TERRIFIED OF SAND! We went down to the compact sand and it was the same story, tears, lifting up his feet, shaking his hands and an outright refusal to have anything to do with the beach and its sand! (Back in January, he loved the sand, so this was a shock) Though it was sad, it was frickin' hilarious to watch the little guy freak out!

why mommy?!
why?!

distracted by the hat for a minute!

Super tired...and time to go!

The next day we went to the park and met up with Lisa and Jasper again, as well as Auntie Chesna and Soren. We found a cool place in the shade, had some snacks and low and behold, Noah revealed yet another fear...GRASS! It was the same story as the beach, Noah was stuck on the blanket and terrified that I was out in the big bad grass. Being the mean mommy that I am, I plucked Noah off his safe zone and plopped him down in the nasty grass and laughed at his antics. We also discovered that day that Noah was becoming quite the climber. Seriously, he stepped up on the wheel of Soren's stroller and pulled up on it! Balancing on one foot! The kid was crazy!

and UP he climbs

the first freak-out

mean mommy thought it was funny!

A few weeks after Noah's grass meltdown, we went to San Francisco for Jason's big "go live" day at work...and Auntie Justine helped ease Noah's grass fears at the Palace of Fine Arts. Our fun in the grass was followed by a yummy dinner, a sleepless night in an itsy bitsy hotel room and Noah's new found love of bath tubs and toilet paper!

he REALLY wanted in the tub!

and he did empty the ENTIRE toilet paper roll....
and loved every minute of it!

So, over the last few months we have been easing Noah into the textures of the Great Outdoors! He is getting better, more so in the sand department, but needs time to warm up each time he encounters it! He can attack bugs with no hesitation, but sand and grass are just a bit too much...go figure!

Noah is 10 Months Old!

2009-05-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

*i actually wrote this blog April 24th, but wasn't able to edit and add photos until today :) slowly but surely your updates are coming, PROMISE*

Well, 10 months into the adventures in parenting, I am finding less and less time to do the things I used to do...sleep, shower, eat, blog, shop, lie in the sun, read, watch American Idol! Though I miss sleeping, and my long hot showers, my time now is spent exploring even the simplest things (ie. carpet fuzz or a leaf blowing in the wind) and loving my little man! It is amazing how busy you are with a baby, but just how much you slow down and notice things you would ordinarily overlook.

Speaking of noticing things, if you were to pin Noah down, pry his little mouth open and push his tongue back, you would see his first (SHARP) little tooth! I noticed a little tooth bud while we were up in Tahoe for Lily's birthday (April 4th). The next few weeks were full of snot, coughing, whining, fussing, drooling, clingyness & poor sleeping habits (not that Noah ever had good sleeping habits!). On Noah's 10 month birthday the sharp little sucker cut through his gums and now his little tongue is constantly playing with it! This whole time I have been watching the bottom gums and imagining that there were little white spots, and all the while, Noah got his uppers first! I can see a tooth bud on the upper left starting to make its way down...I don't know how we are going to survive another 19 teeth!

Coming hand in hand with his first tooth was his first diaper rash! Poor little guy...a pain in the mouth and a pain in the ass! Noah didn't mess around either. The first sign of the rash was wasn't a little pink bottom, but what looked like road rash, with blood and all. I totally flipped out. Once I realized that it was a diaper rash and not an intestinal problem, I busted out the diaper cream and in just 2 diaper changes the bleeding was ended and the rash was on it's way out. Thank goodness for Burt's Bees, Baby Bee Diaper Ointment and an added bonus, Noah smelled like lavender for 5 days! I think the lavender is actually aroma therapy for mom!

Noah is continually making headway on the road to walking. This last month he has mastered getting down from standing with out the usual crash and burn and head bonk. Not to say he doesn't ever fall down but it is a less frequent occurrence. He has however figured out how to climb up on things which does usually end in a fall if I'm not quick enough. Little monkey!

One of Noah's new favorite pass times has required me to learn the act of "ignoring loud noises." It is pretty cute and totally entertaining, but after 10 minutes or so, tuning out is necessary. Yes, Noah has learned how to use his vocal cords, for fun. Every night after dinner, and occasionally throughout the day Noah will crawl around the living room screaming. Not because he fell, and not because he is angry/sad/tired, but just for fun. He usually tosses one of his balls, chases it, picks it up and shakes it and then tosses it again, all accompanied by a wide mouthed screaming and yelling.

He has also discovered his love of dancing. Be it a toy, the radio, a music video or my lovely singing, Noah will dance dance dance! It is the typical baby dance, consisting of him standing up and bouncing up and down with the biggest grin possible. He also does it on his knees or on all fours (which sometimes looks a little inappropriate! HA!) I must say though, he does have some rhythm!

One of the cutest "new" tricks, Noah points at EVERYTHING! I am usually able to figure out what he is pointing at, but sometimes it is lost to me. During meals, Noah often points out the window behind me, be it a bug on the window, or some really interesting thing out there that my mommy eyes can't see. The pointing is usually accompanied by an "ahh" or "ohh" or "bbbb" and he has this look of amazement on his face. I love it. He does however point with not only his pointer finger out, but also his thumb. If he is pointing up at all, it looks like he is holding up an "L" and for those of you who remember the "LOSER" symbol tossed around 10 years ago, you would get a kick out of my son calling everyone a loser!!!

Noah has gotten amazingly coordinated and understanding cause and effect really well. Since he was born, we have had this toy that has always fascinated him. Its a cylinder with a wide base and has a bunch of little balls inside it. When you push down the button on the top it makes something spin around inside and all the balls pop and jump. The faster and harder you push the faster and harder it goes. I spent 3 days trying to get Noah to push it down and he watched intently but failed in attempt. He couldn't push it fast enough or with enough force to get it going. Then, a few days later, Jason mentioned that Noah had been playing with the toy and making it spin all by himself! He sits next to it and goes bonkers, whacking it as hard and as fast as possible and usually ends up knocking it down. It seems a bit benign as I write this, but it is quite an accomplishment and fun to see that what I am teaching him is actually being learned and put into action.

Lastly, the food front. Noah is opening up to new things and LOVING them. He has returned to avocado and though he is still refusing fruit...no strawberries or mango or apricots. But, he is loving the freeze dried apples, wont touch fresh ones though! He is enjoying tofu, both eating it and squeezing it in his little fists. He usually eats 2 pieces for every piece that he squishes, mashes, smears and throws on the floor. It is not nearly as messy as rice though. Somehow he manages to get rice EVERYWHERE! In his hair, in his ears, down his shirt, down my shirt, and ALL OVER THE FLOOR. He sure does love to eat it, but dang, it is a mess! His all time favorite though...chicken. Yes, chicken! I swear he would eat an entire bird if I gave it to him. It's so funny. Before he even has the first piece in his mouth he is reaching for the next piece and shovels the chicken into his mouth faster than we can get it on his tray, and he resorts to tears if we are too slow.

Meal time has become a bit of a battle, not because he wont eat, but because he wants to eat what we are eating. He will be eating his green beans or carrots and cereal just fine, but as soon as our food hits the table, Noah refuse the spoon and points incessantly at our plates...to the point of tears and slamming his fists on the highchair. It's quite difficult when we are eating sushi or crappy food (i.e. potato chips) and he is quickly catching onto to our trickery. Putting cheerios and pureed green beans on my plate is not cutting it anymore. So, now we have a little bird on our hands and are having to redefine how we eat! Meat, carbs and select veggies...I guess I can't complain!

my boys @ Home Depot...we frequent the store often now that we are homeowners!

ummm RED HEAD?!
if you look real close, there is even a curl :)

Soren pushes Noah...

Noah pushes Soren...

they love each other and are so so cute together!

Noah looooves to help with laundry, but usually has it all backwards...when I am putting laundry in a machine, he is taking it out, when I fold the laundry, he unfolds the laundry! It now takes at least 20 minutes longer to actually do a load of laundry, but he is busy and happy, so whateve!

DONE - and - DONE

He climbed up here all by himself and was so so so proud of himself. Noah was jumping in the bouncy seat when I came around the corner...super cute, but it was the end of the bouncy seat!!

BUGS!!!

it starts early apparently...Noah found a cricket in the house and it took everything we had to try and keep him from a) eating it b) killing it. He just wanted to smack the s*%t out of it. Sadly, he did get in one quick swipe and broke the little guys leg before we could save him. We also had an episode at breakfast the other day...a mosquito eater was buzzing around the dining room and Noah was pointing a shouting "AHHH" repeatedly. I took him out of the highchair to see it, had to hold his hands down so he didnt kill it, and after 20 minutes had to get the bug out of the house in order for Noah to actually focus on anything...boys and bugs starts early!

and lastly, my favorite photo of the month!

Fun With Nate & Michael!

2009-04-19T23:13:00.001-07:00

Noah and I got the opportunity to babysit Nate for an afternoon back in march and it was soooo much fun! We hadn't seen them in so long and it blew me away how big our kiddos are! This was the first time Noah actually played with another baby.

Sure, he has been with other babies, but they engaged in side by side play, not really with each other! It was pretty funny watching them. As soon as Noah would find a toy to play with, Nate would crawl over, check it out, and then swipe the toy. Noah would watch him for a minute and then go find something else, and it would start all over again. After about the 5th swipe, Noah started taking the toy back. Pretty funny to watch a power struggle between two babies, who can't stand up, walk or talk. At the end of the day, I was actually having to intervene and break them up. Cute!

Nate watches Noah play...............then takes the box!

Noah takes the box back.........and Nate takes the block! :)

Nate takes toy from Noah..............Noah takes toy back!

eventually they compromise...with the help of mommy!

After the swiping play, we had some snacks and headed out to the Capitola Cliffs for a walk in the sunshine! When we got back Noah and Nate were at it all over again! We had a blast and geared up for a visit with Michael and Kat!

Noah "sharing" with Sydney...she was good and not "begging" but Noah was so generous, she couldn't resist!

though Noah rode in the Ergo on my back, he
REALLY wanted to climb in the stroller with Nate!

this last series cracks me up....

playing nicely, until Noah tried to take the toy...

...so Nate hit him!

Nate got mad that I scolded him, and didn't notice that

Noah was moving in to get revenge!

Noah tried to push him to the ground (or hold onto Nate because he couldn't stand up! Either way I had to step in again!)

About a week later, we had Kat and Michael for a visit...and she survived Bear Creek Road, despite all her fears!!! :) The boys are VERY mobile and VERY curious as to what each other are up to. This lead to the two of them chasing each other around the house and Kat & I following close behind. Justine stopped in for a quick visit and hit it off with Michael immediately and Kat was happy to have someone to follow back over the big scary mountain road!

Michael wanted to taste Noah....and left the drool marks to prove it!

House Warming Party!

2009-04-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

The week after my family left, I spent most of my time digging out pictures, and knick-knacks, decorating and scrambling to get the house ready for our party! I did take some time to go over to San Jose and visit with some friends though!

Needless to say, our party was a success! Nearly everyone showed up and came with big smiles and lots of food! We BBQ'ed and had a pot-luck and ate like Kings & Queens. There was an insane amount of kids at the party too! It was soooooo fun! They were everywhere. At one point I found Sierra in Noah's crib, Lolys changing a baby on the changing table, saw Evan and Nick run down the hallway at the speed of light and Noah was being passed around the house with out me for about and hour! There was 34 people in my house and not once did it seem crowded and uncomfortable!
We finally have some space!

Noah & Jesus were INSTANT friends...he literally hung out with him for at least 45 minutes!

Mary & Scott (take 1 & 2)

Noah playing with his Papa!

Auntie Justine! - Lisa, Soren & Jasper!

umm umm BBQ!! - Uncle Nathan & Uncle Matty

Noah & The Paez Fam & some kiddos in the living room

Noah and the Bailey's...Niki, Martin & Baby Tyler
and cutie patooti Nick is below...

Zed...my long lost cousin!

"CHEESE!"
Denise, Tarah & Baby London!

Adorable Soren Henry...and Jason too!

a Nathan Long Original! I love it!

Denise got us a fun new oil lamp...Jason was waiting very impatiently to light it....and then.....well...

THIS...

hahaha...DORK!

tired, a little saused, and happy to have such great friends and family!

Thank You! Thank You, to all of you who came and warmed our home and and wished us a happy birthday!