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. ;)

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.

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.

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...