A Case of the Terrible 1s?

Well it seems as of late, Noah is definitely showing he has a will of his own. He refuses to eat food that he doesn't put in his own mouth (and even then still refuses some food). He dislikes being buckled into his carseat, so he arches his back and cries when we put him in there. One of the most difficult things is that he hates to get dressed (and diaper changed). It's hard to dress a wiggly kid who is crawling/running away. Add that in to we are trying to reduce pacifier use strictly to the crib & we have one fussy/whiny kid lately. It seems that each day brings little battles along with it. I wonder if this is just a phase, but then I hear stories of 2-year olds and realize it will probably get worse before it gets better.

I am reminded as a parent of God's unconditional love for his children; our struggles against what is best for us are so silly, yet we fight anyway. What HE wants for us is for our best interest, whether or not that is the path we'd prefer at the moment.

Playing at the Park

As the weather has been getting a little warmer each week, we have been taking advantage of the opportunities to be outside more. Last week we had a picnic at the park for my birthday, and Noah enjoyed the playground. :)

I love this picture! Noah is heading down a tube slide.



We enjoyed the sunshine, but it was still a bit breezy out.

Climbing up a pole is harder than it looks when the steps are half of your height.

Bouncing on the little bouncer thing with daddy.

The swings!!

A Crib for Noah

Last week we finally bought Noah a crib off of Craigslist. My goal was to have a crib for him by the time he turned one. We wanted something simple in great condition and a light brown / oak color (to match our other nursery furniture). We finally found a nice Childcraft crib for a good price, so we went and checked it out and purchased it. Then after researching nursery bedding, we decided we didn't need a full set. We're very happy with just a crib sheet and a crib skirt. :)


Noah is still getting used to his crib, but he has slept in it already a few times. When he's awake, he likes to stand up and jump in it (yes, seriously!).


Bye-bye Pack and Play!

Happy Birthday to Noah!

Noah's birthday is today, March 10. He celebrated turning 1 year old on Saturday with some family and a few friends. His Grandma Betty gave him a cute shirt for his birthday "Happy 1st Birthday to Me!" Noah loved playing with his birthday balloons too!



He really didn't nap so well on Saturday, so this GLARE is more from suspicion of wondering why everyone is staring at him and singing to him and tiredness!


But the cake tastes good!

So good, must lick the high chair!

After demolishing the cake....and just before being thrown in the bathtub. :)

Opening lots of presents! Noah got many nice gifts from friends and family--clothing, toys, shoes, bibs, even mint U.S. quarters (from Uncle James & Aunt Lauren).

We are happy to have such a happy 1 year old.

First ear infection

Well just a quick update to say we took Noah to the doctor today and he has an ear infection. This is his first time to be sick, other than just a cold or cough. Poor little guy, no wonder he has been so fussy the last couple of days! He is on antibiotics and seems to be feeling better already. =) I am finishing up the same antibiotics from a sinus infection last week. Needless to say, we did not go to the gym today; thankfully one of my co-workers was able to fill in for me.

While we were in the doctor's office, he was very interested in the doctor's stethoscope and other medical tools. He cooperated very well, as usual. His weight is 24 lbs, 4 oz. We pushed the well-baby check up and shots (12 month check) back two more weeks since it will also be a follow-up for Noah's ear infection.

Video: Noah is ONE!

Although his birthday is still a few more days away (March 10), Noah has learned to show that he is one year old! It is so cute to see him hold up his finger to show it!

People Hanging out with Me! (Written by Noah)

This is me with Uncle James before Mommy and Daddy put me to bed. He stopped by to visit me and play with me! Sometimes when Uncle James holds me and plays with me, I get confused because he looks kinda like my daddy!



Mommy and Daddy took me to meet a new friend. She is a little smaller than me, so she couldn't catch me if I ran away. She was wearing pink. I don't have anything pink. Her name is Adde. She is cute, and she even let me play with her toys at her grandma's house!

Here is my Grandpa Liechty. He wants to take me fishing and tubing, but Mommy and Daddy say I am still too little. I guess we will just have to crawl around and play on the floor together until I get bigger! Grandpa Liechty even gave me a remote control to play with!!!! I am hugging it, because I love remotes!

That's all for now. Mommy says she needs to put up a video of me walking all over the house.

Fun Times at the Childrens Museum

Well we had our first Children's museum trip with Noah. My older sister and her three boys, along with two of my younger siblings decided we would brave the crowds on the "free day"....

(Just a tip in case you're wondering....don't go on the free day!!) This is what the Free Day crowd looked like:

Caleb and Elijah with President Lincoln on Presidents Day.

Noah is chilling in the stroller while we make our way through the crowds.

The big water clock tower, about to change to 1:00 p.m. when the entire water clock empties. Apparently it takes a full 8 minutes to empty, but it was very interesting to watch.

While everyone else went to watch the special presentation about Batman's Batmobile, we played dress up with the costumes! Here are two of my nephews playing in the superhero exhibit. They couldn't stop moving long enough for me to get a good photo.

Noah and Benjamin in the taxi in the superhero exhibit. I'm not sure Benjamin is focused on the road. :)

The Silver Surfer in the superhero exhibit.

A definite highlight of the trip was seeing the Lego Castles exhibit. The level of detail in these animals / castles is truly amazing. They are made from real Legos.

Caleb is checking out the huge Lego knight.

Next time we will definitely go in to the Playscape, so Noah can play in the water. This time we were just a little too tired from braving the crowds, so we skipped out early.

11 months and counting

We are in the final month's countdown to Noah's first birthday. It is hard to believe what all has transpired in the past year for our family and how different life was just one year ago. Not only did we not have a baby yet, but we were living overseas in a very small apartment as well as in completely different careers, teaching school. What a year it has been for us and for Noah. Our little Nicaraguan citizen flew on his first airplane at only 3 months old (and did great!), moving to a new country and a new home.

As parents, Jason and I have grown in many ways! We are still newbies at this whole parenting thing, but we have learned a few things along the way. A friend in Nicaragua, Marilyn, told me soon after Noah was born, "you'll have to figure out what works for you and your family, and just do it." And it is true. Many well-meaning people give advice or make suggestions about baby-raising, just trying to be helpful. But ultimately we've figured out several things that work well for our family.

A few tidbits of things we've figured out about Noah and our family so far:

• Pacifiers work wonders to put Noah to bed & in the car


• Breastfeeding is great, but bottles are not evil. In fact, formula feeding works well for us.


• Naps do not always have to be 2+ hours long, despite what everyone says (though it is sure nice when they are!)


• Noah went to bed at 10-11 pm for many many months, so his long stretch of sleep was during our sleep too.


• We travel after 8 pm so Noah sleeps through car trips.


• Cloth diapers work great for us during the day, but we prefer disposables at night and for nurseries.

A few random things

A few random things about me:

1. My favorite thing to learn about is frugality. I love couponing, deals and freebies.
2. CVS is my favorite store, for the above reason.
3. I love cloth diapering.
4. No green thumb here. I love to "try" gardening but I always kill plants in the end. I don't know why...
5. I love selling stuff on eBay.
6. Jason and I share one car. Until we can pay in CASH for a second vehicle, we are sticking to our guns to share a car.
7. Only two weird, fun obsessions - Gum and Socks. I can easily chew a pack of gum in one sitting.
8. I do not like houses with blue paint. Doesn't matter if its outside or inside.
9. Peanut butter is my favorite food. The big recall doesn't scare me.
10. I only follow 1-2 shows semi-consistently... LOST and The Office. Both always captivate me, but for very different reasons.
11. Garages are wonderful things. No scraping ice and snow off of the windshield.
12. I don't make new year's resolutions.
13. I never had my own cell phone until a year ago.
14. After Jason lost his expensive white gold wedding ring 2 years ago, I bought him another one on eBay. For $25.
15. The worst part of housework is folding laundry and putting it away.
16. I went on maternity leave 1 year ago this week. Teaching feels like years ago.
17. Treadmills are way better than ellipticals.
18. I miss friends in Nicaragua.
19. One day we hope to own a home, preferably something small and easy to clean...but with a big yard.
20. Jason likes long hair; I like short. We compromise and I chop it off every now and then.