Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Thanksgiving and a Christmas Parade


I'm amazed at how much work goes into one meal. I love cooking Thanksgiving, but any way you slice it, it is a lot of cooking. We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving with my mom. We tried a new sweet potato recipe that Stephen enjoyed. Sadly for Stephen, I try a new recipe every year in an attempt to reach sweet potato perfection. The problem is that I really don't like sweet potatoes, but both my guys love them. Noah has also discovered cranberry sauce. My big secret....I like the kind out of the can. I open it and think of that dog cartoon, where he watches the dog food slide out of the can and wiggle (still can shaped) in his bowl with a look of complete dejection. I, on the other hand, love cranberry sauce that way. Noah is my first convert. :)

We also started the tradition of going to Bull Run Park to see the Festival of Lights. Noah tradition has become sleeping through the Festival of Lights. This was his second sleep in a row. Maybe next year.

On Saturday, we went to the annual Leesburg holiday parade. It was fun to watch and see the bands perform. Secretly in our heart of hearts, Stephen and I would love for Noah to join the band. It was very cold and by the end, Noah had had enough of the cold and made it known to all that this cold thing stunk. Next year, Mommy and Daddy are driving closer to the parade route, so we don't have to walk in the cold. Overall, we had a good time and Noah got a cool Frosty the Snowman Light to wave around.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Picture with Santa

This year we decided to try the picture with Santa. Last year, Noah didn't really get the Christmas thing, but this year he is much more interested. However, sitting on Santa's lap was pushing it according to him. So to get our photo, Daddy lent a hand or rather a lap. I thought the picture was quite cute. My boys are very photogenic. Sadly Mommy is not so much and I wasn't dressed for picture taking. We even got a haircut before hand and Noah enjoyed his first lollypop. He has a new favorite now. I was impressed; Noah will sit at the hairdressers all by himself. Way to go kiddo!!


Monday, November 24, 2008

Busy Bees...

I am endlessly amazed at how busy this time of year gets. I thought staying home would provide a little more time, but not really. I love the baking and decorated that comes with Christmas. I am looking forward to showing Noah about Santa. In order to get prepared I built a series of cubbies for Noah's toys and then broke out the label maker - one of the world's greatest invention. It really doesn't do much for Noah, but it does wonders for me and now Daddy has a fighting shot at getting the toys in the right spots.

Noah has become quite the accessorizer. Check out Daddy's headphones and one of the medicine spoons that come in first aid kits.



By naptime, he had moved on to new headwear. It is important to keep your head warm when you sleep incase your room has a freak blizzard.


The one shot I have trouble getting is of Noah in Stephen's cowboy hat. This is the closest I get. When I try to get it from the front, he takes off the hat. I'll get it one of these days.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Long Time

It feels like a long time, since I have had a chance to write. I love this time of year, but no matter what is going on there is always a lot to do. I have been working on various Christmas presents and hoping the receivers like them. I have planned the menus and am getting ready to work on baking the cookies. I found the greatest cookie pan that I think will help make sugar cookies and gingerbread a little faster. I love decorating these cookies, but I hate rolling them out.

We recently had Henry come to spend the day with us while his daycare was closed. The boys were very fun together and Noah enjoyed playing with Henry as long as he didn't sit on Mommy's lap. He is a little possessive over his mommy. Henry and I still snuggled anyway. The boys especially enjoyed playing with Noah's water table.


Henry thought this was fun until he discovered the frog under the table and went to investigate.



Noah has been really cooperative while taking pictures. I've been experimenting with pictures and light. These are some I really like.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween

Although this wasn't Noah's first Halloween, he was definitely more into it this year. Since this is the only year, I will get to dress him up in the costume of my choosing (next year he will have an opinion) I went with the Bee costume.

It is hard to get him still these days and most of my pictures are of him running in one direction or another. We did manage to get him in the stoller and down to the parade grounds. He can be bribed with apples, so that is our handy trick.

The parade this year was a little disappointing, since it is usually a lot longer with more of the high school bands (Being a former band geek, I like that part). It turns out the because Halloween was on a Friday most of the bands had football commitments. Noah overall enjoyed the parade and by the time we got home he was ready to crash. He has just figured out what the candy deal is.

We met up with Noah's friend, Henry. (I love this picture. It looks like Henry is getting a tiger hug.) Both boys seemed to enjoy getting out of the strollers and checking out their surroundings to paying attention to the parade. So we had a tiger and bumblebee.

Now to see if Noah remembers what Halloween is all about next year. He has definitely learned that good stuff comes from the plastic pumpkin.

Monday, October 27, 2008

18 month checkup



Well we had our 18 month checkup. I am ever amazed at what he is supposed to have accomplished by now - walking fast/running, at least a 10 word vocabulary, eating with a spoon, and the list goes on and on. I must say I am pleased that Noah has reached these milestones, but Wow what a lot to learn.

Noah is working hard on expressing himself and getting you to understand his wants. Friday, Noah handed me the car keys (which he got out of my purse), and said "Mommy, go, Mommy," then preceded to walk to the door. I decided to see if he really knew what he wanted, so I picked him up and put him in the car and said, "Okay, Noah where do you want to go?" His response, "cookie." In Noah language, that means the grocery store because Mommy gets you a cookie when we do our weekly shopping. So I headed to the grocery store and we picked up milk and a cookie. It was exactly what he wanted and he was as good as gold. These are the moments I wouldn't trade for the world.

Noah is now a whopping 24 lbs 14 oz. and comes in at 32 inches. His head is still in the 50th percentile, but basically the rest of him is lingering around the 25th. I was surprised that we have now reached the point that we don't go back for a well visit until he is 2. It is so far in the future that I can't even schedule it yet. He isn't a baby anymore. ;)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Happy Anniversary

(sung to William Tell) Happy Anniversary, happy anniversary, happy anniversary,haaaappppy aniversary! Stephen and I celebrated our sixth anniversary today. We had a great day. Noah spent the day with Ammy and we went to Tysons and to Morton's in Reston. It was an amazing meal and Stephen and I enjoyed the alone mommy and daddy time. I don't think we have ever eaten a dinner so slowly. :) You can tell we have been married awhile. Presents have become more practical. Stephen got a Franklin Planner and I got a Japanese skillet. Not flashy, but exactly what we wanted.

Noah has taken to using his fudgescicle as a crayon. At Ammy's house he "painted" her shower and here he got to the stove.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Rally

On Wednesday, Stephen and I bundled up Noah and took him to the Obama Rally at Ida Lee Park. There is something about a presidential candidate being 3 blocks from your house that makes you want to go and see them. So we were there with the other 30,000-50,000 (depending on which news publication you subscribed to) people listening to Barrack Obama. Honestly, it was a good speech and he is a brilliant speaker, but what shocked me was all the people. Noah reached out and grabbed a guy who I am pretty sure was a Redskin and the guy laughed and patted Noah on the head. Noah also grabbed a women's sweater and made her his new friend. Then there was Tina, who we later discovered had met Stephen at one of his open houses and her best friend was the speech therapist in my classroom. I also ran into one of my former students. I felt terrible for getting his name wrong. He is in high school now and it was amazing to see how much he looks like a young man, not a kiddo. For so many people, it felt rather cozy. Luckily there was only minor rudeness from the McCain protesters, but you have to expect some of that from both sides at these things. It was definitely a cool moment. We snapped a ton of photos, but we couldn't get a good one of Obama he was just too far away.

On Sunday, it is our sixth wedding anniversary, so Noah and I slipped out to Tyson's Corner mall to check out some different gift options. We found several presents for Daddy for Christmas and I picked up one for Sunday. Noah and I had a blast. The mall is very fun. I discovered they have a Hannah Andersson store. We got some PJs on sale and enjoyed looking at all the clothes. If I were I rich man....all our clothes would come from there. They are fantastic. We also found that they put a CakeLove in the mall, so Noah and I had a cupcake. They are amazing. I want to get his new cookbook. I am going to add it to my Christmas list. Noah and I had fun and managed to make it to the car before the "I need a nap" fussies hit.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A Star is born...

We're a small star, but still a very cool moment. Noah is in all the local papers as part of the ad campaign for INOVA Hospital. I must admit it is very cool and we have saved a ton of papers for scrapbooking. Next we are filming a commercial for the local movie theaters. Luckily they don't want Mommy to talk which works for me. I like the background job. :)

After a week of Noah having a cold and on the neb again, I decided that Mommy needed a day out. So Daddy went to work and Noah went to spend the day with Grammy. I enjoyed shopping and the movie City of Ember that I have been excited to see. I have read the book to my students for the past three years and we really enjoyed it. Turns out that they just released the 4th book, so I picked it up after the movie and am enjoying it immensely. Noah enjoyed a Popsicle at Grammy's house.
It was a very cool day and I enjoyed the time alone while Noah enjoyed the love and attention.
Noah has also become quite the computer efficienado. The next Bill Gates...


Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Fall is here....

When I was teaching I always new that Fall had arrived because the children suddenly went slightly insane. I always attributed this to the cooler temperatures and the fact that recess was slightly longer because it was just to beautiful to go indoors. I have now discovered that Noah also shares the insanity. Over the past week we have had some big accomplishments and some wacky behaviors.

Noah and I shared our first true conversation. It went something like this....
Noah: Mommy apple
Mommy: Are you hungry? Would you like some blueberries?
Noah: Please
Mommy: Okay let's go to the kitchen.
And off we went. He got his blueberries and was as happy as could be.

We went to our first kiddie concert. I was supposed to meet my SAHM group for the first time, but had no idea that this is what I would find.
I never did find my group, but Noah and I had fun all the same. We will try to find another activity to go to. Besides after about 20 minutes, Noah decided he was done and left for Sears.
Noah has also found various and a sundry Stephen accouterments. This will teach him to start putting his things away or at least very high.

Noah loves Daddy sunglasses. Almost as much as he loves Sam, his super cat sidekick.




Now you would think this is enough horseplay for one little boy, but no. He didn't want the dog to feel left out, so after creating a minor flood in my kitchen, Noah pretended to be the dog and lick it up.

And finally we have gotten him to settle down in his room and sleep. The toddler bed has made all the difference. It took about a week for him to become completely comfortable, but what we could not manage after the hospital visits with the crib, we have made it with the bed. He likes to have the freedom to get up when he is ready. Now I find he will get up and start playing in his room. And he just looks so cute. :)

Monday, September 15, 2008

Mr. Mischief

My son is 17 months and fearless. First it was the deck and realizing that you could move a chair to the edge and look over the side. Second, it was the sink, all you need to do is climb up on the toilet seat and fall into the sink basin. Now it is the bed. This used to be a safe refuge. He could get down easily and is very aware of the edges until I cleaned the fan. Several days ago, I had to clean the fan which requires me to stand on the bed since I am short. So now I present my monkey grooming on the bed....
Noah has also decided that the world is so much better since he discovered Vaseline. I'm not sure what he thinks it is, but first he tried to put it in his hair and now it is on his lips. We just have to get him to understand that a handful on your face is a bit much.



It was everywhere. It was a great motivator for cleaning the bathroom though.

Today, the INOVA Fairfax Hospital people came to take Noah's picture. It was very fun and the people were very nice. Noah thought it was fun. He got to play and a whole bunch of people paid attention to him (that is his favorite thing). Two of them were young women and he was in heaven. He even flashed them his killer grin. We are going to be doing a video for the hospital as part of a testimony to be played on INOVA Fairfax TV. I had no idea how many people it took to do an ad campaign. Luckily they wanted an intimate setting so we used our postage stamp backyard. Personally, I am amazed they made it all in the house at the same time.



Daddy was in charge of getting Noah to look in certain directions and to hand him toys. There are a bunch of pictures of him with his bathing suit sun hat. Apparently it worked well in the photos and Noah loved wearing it. Mommy's job was to sing various Wiggles tunes to keep the smiles going. Luckily my blog doesn't have sound and the only one who loves my voice is Noah.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Trifecta

1st in the winner's circle we have walking.

Noah started walking in earnest on Thursday, but I was afraid this was another of his "look mommy I really can do it" and then never do it again. Luckily it is Sunday and he is still walking up a storm. This is the end of his walking across the room. By the time I got the camera out he was already to Stephen. We are also not sure what is up with the hat, but it has been a staple over the last several days. He can't wear it enough.

2nd in the winner circle is "the big boy bed." I went to Babies R' Us and got Noah a toddler bed. I wanted something close to the floor so he could get out when he wanted, since he has figured out how to crawl out of the crib. So Stephen and I put it together on Saturday (we got rained out of RennFest).
I don't know why, but I love to put together furniture, so this was a very fun project for me.

3rd in the winner's circle is that I have finally finished the first page of Noah's Sub. There are 8 pages total and page one has taken me 3 years, so at this point I believe I will be in my 60's by the time I finish.

But this still deserved a Steve Carrell happy dance, so I did one. :)

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

New Ways to Play

This has been quite the weekend for us. We had a great time at Ashburn Park with Henry, Jenni, Debbie, and Mirella. It was a very fun playground with lots of things to climb. Noah is a big fan of climbing and enjoyed the playground immencially. He also managed to pick up several 9 year old girlfriends while he was there. I am interested to see how he reacts the first time someone doesn't want to play with him. It was great to see everyone and play with Henry. I miss when Noah was that little. Noah decided at one point to climb into Henry's stroller, now he crawls in and out of his own. It works well in that it gives him a few minutes to play with the straps before he gets out. As always I am nervous he will fall, but so far has managed it like a champ. Sadly, I left my camera at home, so I don't have any cool pics of our playdate.


Today, we went back to the park with Daddy and had a nice lunch, then it was time to run errands and do some work at home. I broke out my clarinet in what seems like an eternity and Noah and I played. He couldn't figure out why it didn't work like the tin whistle. He kept blowing and blowing, but didn't get a sound. He also thought that sucking on the reeds would be fun, so he took one out of the box to test it out. After a while he gave up and moved on.



Noah has also learned to swim in the bathtub. I guess he figures if you can't be in the pool the bathtub will do. Usually, when I want him to get out of the tub, I just let the water out. Today I discovered that he knows how to turn the water on "cheeky monkey." So I will have to develop a new plan or I will never get him out of the tub.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Toys

I am not sure why we buy Noah toys. When really all you need is a large box and a lint remover. He crawled into the box and managed to get back out, but found the box to be endlessly fascinating. We play throughout our entire day and I find very little of it is with toys. We do a lot of exploring and Mommy is there is make sure we don't fall and get hurt.

The funny thing is that at this time I was working on ripping out a closet to install the new components I had put together and he wasn't nearly as interested in what I was doing. Today it was the cat's litter box. I barricaded it with a rolled up rug and a baby gate. Noah managed to get through both and start sifting his hand in the litter before I could get to him. So now we are working on "no you can't play in the kitty litter." Never a dull moment.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

I'm old!

It is official I am old. I know what you are thinking "37 is not that old." Oh yeah, well guess who had to go for a mammogram. That would be me. Not really a terrible experience although I feel sorry for any small chested woman because my girls are huge and manage to squeeze with little problem. Still doesn't rank as an experience I am looking forward to in the future.

I have discovered that the Wiggles are the world's best workout. Noah has recently discovered that there is a TV in our house. We were playing downstairs and he found all the buttons on it, so I tuned in to an age appropriate show and we watched the Wiggles. He loves them. He had seen the Doodlebops before and really enjoys them as well. So I decided that if the show came on Noah and I should dance. There songs are only a few minutes long, but what a workout. You move constantly the whole time. Noah thinks dancing around is fun and has started to dance at any music he hears around. It is super cute.

Currently, Noah and I are digging out the living room from all the school stuff. Really I am digging out and he is taking out the stuff I just put away. He thinks this is quite fun. Tomorrow I am going to clean while he is asleep. Much easier.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Sad ending and new beginnings......

Well, yesterday was the big day. I went to school and packed up my belongings. Let me tell you that 14 years of teaching is a lot of stuff.

This only scratches the surface of what has to be sorted and organized before it can be stored. It was sad to leave everyone. I really loved my job and am excited to eventually go back. Noah and I will be having fun over the next couple of years. We have even signed up for our first mommy and me swimming lessons.


I am constantly amazed at how things change with Noah. We have trying forever to get him to walk. We play games with walking. Daddy and I will stand on either side of him and we will walk across a room together, but no cigar. He climbs onto the toilet and then into the sink, but will not walk until.....

Today for whatever reason, Noah decided to walk. He walked about 10 steps across the kitchen by himself. I loved it. Daddy and I made a huge deal of this and danced around singing, "Noah was walking..." Noah thought this was hysterical.

He also decided to ride on Daddy's shoulders. We have watched older kids walk around on their dad's shoulders and we were waiting until he could handle supporting himself, well today he thought this was grand.

It was a great day. Two big firsts for Noah and I redesigned a closet in my house, while Noah took a nap. Again, I am endlessly amazed at what you can accomplish while they are asleep.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

New Tricks

I had a friend who told me she really didn't like the infancy stage, but loved toddlers because they do tricks. I was thinking, but my infant did tricks--smiling, laughing, rolling over. Those were good, but these latest ones keep you on your toes. Here is an example...

Yesterday, I am making the bed and Noah is playing the bathroom, like he usually does. I go in expecting to find all my make-up strewn across the floor and Noah with a brush in hand cleaning the bathtub. This would be the norm most morning, but noooo.... I find him in the sink. He has learned to put the toilet seat top down, climb on it and climb into the sink. So my son is happily brushing his teeth and looking at himself in the mirror. He can do this in under a minute, so you can't turn your eyes away for a second.

Trick two is mimicry. Noah has taken to mimicking everything we do. So each night, we go downstairs and play in the bathtub and wash his hair. Noah decided that if Mommy rubs his hair with wet stuff in the bathtub then this must work at dinner too.

This would be shampoo via ranch dressing. Yummy ;)

One of the things we are currently enjoying is the Adams' Family Band. The three of us play a bunch of instruments to make our own "music." Noah thinks this is great. I do have to say that the instruments he got for his birthday from Mirella are one of his favorite presents.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Time for a Trim


Several days ago while I was giving Noah his bath, I noticed that when his hair was wet it went down his back almost to his shoulder blades. Needless to say it was time to bid the baby curls goodbye and get a haircut. At first I was going to go to my hair salon to get it done, but decided that it needed to be done sooner and Noah can only handle so much of a drive. Today, Daddy and I took the kiddo to Cartoon Cuts. They saved his curls for us and put them with a card that says the date and location of his first haircut. Our little boy is growing up.

Now, I am hoping people will quit asking me about my daughter. :)

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Back from Vacation

For this year's vacation, we rented a house on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and spent a week relaxing. Okay, everyone else spent a week relaxing. I got the task of cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the babe. So really same day, new location, but it was a lovely location. When you stepped out into the back yard you were looking at one of the estuaries to the bay. Gorgeous.

I did get some reading done and decided to work on my scrapbooking. I stayed up one night and got 3 pages done. That was as far as I got. I also tried some new recipes while I was there and made everyone the guinea pig. We found a seafood market and got some crabs and scallops. Super yummy! Stephen went fishing in the bay and caught a flounder, so I got to clean and fillet my first fresh fish. Not my favorite experience, but it tasted fantastic.

Noah had a wonderful time. He has become my official water baby. We took him to the beach for the first time. I expected him to last about half and hour, but two hours later I was dragging him from the beach. He would have played until he collapsed. The great part was that we were on the bay so the water was at our knees for a long way out. Noah didn't have to worry about not touching the bottom and he loved jumping the very tiny "waves." He became so comfortable with the beach that at one point I thought he was going to head out on his own until Stephen reigned him in. My son is fearless. I am hoping extreme sports are not in his future.



So now we are home and I can focus on finishing the last bits of cleaning my house. We just got a new water toy. It is a squirting beach ball. Can't wait to check that out!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Times They Are A Changing....

To say June was a turbulent month would be an understatement. In order to save time I will give you the quickie version. Stephen had a moment about how unhappy he was staying home and taking care of Noah; said things he shouldn't have said; I left him; we went to marriage counseling; we are back together; I have quit my job and am searching for one with benefits that I can do out of our house because I am staying home with Noah; and we have finally reached a reconciliation. The most interesting part about it is that we are probably happier than we have been in a long time. Noah is too. Although he smiles so much it is hard to tell if he is ever unhappy.

Here is a pictorial overview of the past month:

Grammy decided that we were old enough for a bagel breakfast sandwich and Noah decided that he should eat all of it. Most of it came tumbling out after he realized that he couldn't chew it.

Noah has become very fond of the dog bowl and enjoys "sink and float" experiments. Here he is testing dog food...last week it was my cell phone. He also likes to be like the dog and dip his face into the dog bowl.

And here we have his two great loves...water and girls. He is a nut for both. We went to my friend, Carla's house and played in her pool. It was the first time he has been in water without being able to touch his feet to the bottom. When we took him out of the float and put him on the stairs he decided to just walk and sank like a stone. Scared me to death...he thought it was funny.



I will be posted more regularly now. I should have done it sooner, but my writing also came out a little melodramatic and who wants to read that. Oh, yes before I forget we are up to 10 teeth now. He is pretty much munching down anything he can get in his mouth.

We are off to the beach for the next week. This will be Noah's first time and can't wait to introduce him to sand.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Diagnosis Abound...

We met with the Pediatric Pulmonary Specialist today. She is a lovely woman and treated Noah in the hospital; she was also the one that said we could handle his needs at home and allowed us to be discharged from the hospital. Apparently, he does not have asthma per say, but he does have a respiratory disease that I can't remember the name of. In essence, we will treat him as if he has asthma and this should prevent further hospital stays. So for the next month, Noah is on Pulmacort twice a day which is a steriod and then he will switch to one a day for the next year. Because of his age he can't handle an inhaler yet, so we will have to see and we may find he grows out of it. Currently, it is brought on by seasonal allergies. So the goal is to be able to take him off the steroid for a couple of months next summer. We shall see.

Because life is not enough if you can't have two crisis, we now have problems with our dog. About four days ago, Willie could not bend his back legs. We tried walking him around the block and he couldn't make it, same with playing with the ball. So of course, we rushed him to the vet. They tell us that he has gained 10 pounds in the past month and he has to have a bland diet, due to a three day diarrhea explosion all over the house. Thank god for carpet cleaners. So needless to say we were panicked. After blood tests and x-rays, it has been determined that Willie has hypothyroid issues. So he is now on a daily medication as well and soon should be feeling better. Our biggest hurdle is keeping Noah from feeding him. Noah likes that Willie gives him licks when he is fed.

The bright spot is that everyone will be okay with some handy drugs and a lot of TLC. My munchkin has regained his speech and is back to climbing like a champ. Still doesn't walk, but honestly he doesn't seem very interested in it. Very much the way Stephen and I were according to our mothers.

Speaking of mother, Chips came for a visit after Noah got back from the hospital. It was great. She cooked meals for us which tasted fantastic and the house is clean with the laundry done. I will never keep this up until summer, so I am enjoying it as long as I can.

Monday, May 19, 2008

New Appreciation

We arrived home Saturday and it took until today to get myself together enough to recall the events of the past week and a half. I feel like I have entered a surreal nightmare and am only just coming back to reality. Here are the events of the past week and a half.....

Thursday, May 8 - Noah's nose had been running for a day or so and the mucous was getting thick, so we quite milk products and decided to take him to the doctor, since he was breathing a little harder than usual and was uncommonly fussy. When I left for work at 5:45am, he was sleeping soundly and I thought maybe it was a rough night, but told Stephen to take him to the pediatrician anyway just to check it out. I get a call from school at 9:30am that Noah is no longer able to breath on his own and has been taken to Landsdowne. I immediately leave school and everything a mess to go to the hospital. After I am there for about 15 minutes, they determine that they cannot handle his situation and the drugs they are giving him aren't working. Noah is placed in sedation and transfered by helicopter to INOVA Fairfax Hospital for Children.

Friday, May 9 - After a long night of working on his breathing and the right combination of drugs and testing, it is determined that Noah has had an acute asthma attack combined with a strep infection in his lungs, so they are continuing the breathing tube and placing him on helium to see if they can get air into the lower parts of his lungs. They basically are sealed shut and the doctor is trying to avoid another numathorax issue which would require a chest tube as well. He is also put on an opiate drug so that he remains sedated and without pain.

Saturday, May 10 - clearly we are not going to the zoo and life at the hospital is still wait and see. I have taken to massive hours of playing Sims, since it does not require a lot of my thoughts.

Sunday, May 11 - Happy Birthday to me, but still no significant improvement in Noah. At this point he has not been awake since Thursday morning. He is also diagnosed with a heart murmur. The pediatric cardiologist is not too concerned. We will see him again when Noah is three.

Monday, May 12 - That evening we are able to take out the breathing tube, since he has loosened up enough to breath on his own. Did I also mention that they had to adjust the respirator because he kept fighting it? Oh goodness!

Tuesday, May 13 - Happy Birthday, Sue. :) Noah is in a significant amount of discomfort, so we are continuing with the sedatives, but they are being reduced slowly. He has the shakes and is suffering from a certain amount of withdrawal, so they are contemplating placing him on a morphine which is a lower opiate than he is currently on. He is also on round the clock albuteral.

Wednesday, May 14 - Still sleeping quite a bit, but his able to stay awake for two hour stints. He is almost ready to change to albuteral every hour. By the late evening he has been placed on oxygen continuously, but albuteral every hour.

Thursday, May 15 - We are changing to albuteral every two hours and they are placing him on a nasal canula. At about 5:00 pm, our Noah returned. We played pull mommy's glasses off and get out bingy back. He has trouble getting his fingers to his mouth and he can not support his own weight on his legs, but he is smiling and laughing. Late that night he is moved to intermediate care.

Friday, May 16 - He continues to improve and has his first meal - French toast. He loves it. He is able to sit up and we are working on fine motor skills. They have reduced his oxygen to the point that they decide to place him on room air and see if he can maintain his sats. We are moved to the "floor."

Saturday, May 17 - The pulmonary specialist says his lungs are clear and we can take him home with specific maintenance instructions which include two different oral medications and nebulizer treatments every 4 hours. We go home and collapse.

Sunday, May 18 - Stephen's mom arrives from Houston an Noah naps for the first time in 4 days.

And then there is today. I went back to school. My kids were thrilled. Noah saw the pediatrician today and he is doing well. I found out he turned purple. They are unsure about any long term neurological damage done, so we get to wait and see and work on prevention for the future. After all the stress, coming down from it has been a trick. I am exhausted and unable to sleep. But my baby is home and breathing like a champ. He has fallen behind in crawling and pulling himself up until his leg muscles gain some strength, but he is getting there. Today, I just held him and cried. The doctor's were wonderful, but I could have lived my whole life and never met them.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I miss me....

For the past year, I have enjoyed the wonderful new role of my life...Mommy, but I miss parts of me. It is funny I was looking at a friend's pics on flickr and saw her oldest is graduating from high school. I remember when he was 9 months old. I kept thinking about how much fun we had together and suddenly I'm missing old stuff.

I downloaded the lastest Depeche Mode and Duran Duran. I miss these bands and music right now I like, but it doesn't let me escape like these guys. I was a little sad to see Timbaland on Duran Duran. I think he and Justin Timberlake have become a bit overexposed, but I digress. I had a rough couple of days and whenever I got the chance I would drown in Cure - Disintegration is the best album ever.

I miss my crafts--cross stitching and scrapbooking. So far Noah is still in the NICU and connected to many tubes. There just isn't time with work and Noah to do it all. I want to learn to knit better and finish learning sign language.

I miss literature and book discussions. Although adorable Big Bulldozer is not some great allegory.

I guess you could consider this my birthday whine, but I think of it more as a moment of misty-eyed walk down memory lane and the dreams I had when I was young.

(Now is the perfect time for a song...)

But all that comes to mind is 5 Little Ducks :)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Coolest Unit Ever

Although most of my blogging is about Noah, I have to share the coolest science unit ever. The kids and I have become science detectives at Mrs. Faraday's Fudge Factory. Turns out her factory isn't working properly and we are there to gather clues, conduct electrical experiments and solve the mystery. The best part so far comes tomorrow, when the kids and I test insulators and conductors with electricity and fudge. Can you think of a better way to spend the day? The other great part is that Maureen is going to make the fudge. She is a fantastic baker and makes the best goodies. She promised to keep making me yummies even when I am in third grade.

Stephen and I went on our first date in 2008. When we went to see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." We loved it. In the movie theater we were at, you could order dinner, so we picked up our dinner at the cafe and took it with us--a very fun time. Unfortunately, when we returned from our 3 hour fun feast, we found out that Noah spent a half an hour at my mother's door crying mommy and daddy and pushing his hands against the door. So it will probably be a while before I will be ready for a date again. I know this is his age, and I can't wait until Grandma's is the coolest place ever.