Picture with Santa

We thought for sure, Now that Noah is 18 1/2 months old, that he would cry in Santa's lap..Nope! Not him! Noah sat there and looked at Santa and listened to him talk, wasn't even nervous or uncomfortable we could tell because he didn't suck his thumb. He was happy that Santa gave him a coloring book and walked away smiling, like " Wow, that was a very interesting person to meet." haha!

Sourkraut, sausage, beer; it's all part of our heritage.

We got to hang out with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Liz at Wurstfest in New Braunfels. Liz did the Wurstride, then we all went to the fest and ate German food and drank beer (what else are you supposed to do at those?!) Noah had a good time hanging with the family.

lil' pumpkin

playing with Dad and walking!

Now that Noah has begun walking, during his first week he has tumbled 3 times each resulting in a visible owie! Tues-purple bruise on left cheek. Fri-scratch on left cheek. Sat-big red bump on top of left forehead. Oh Noah....

first steps

Noah took his official first steps October 14, 2008. Good job Noah! We are proud of you.

check out these chompers!

successful lunch!

I make "power toast" for Noah. It's cubes of wheat bread coated with a "sauce" usually consisting of a blended meat, vegetable, and fruit. He loves the spongy bite sized flavorful pieces. I find it's a great way to get him to eat a balanced meal when each one of those items individually, he will not eat.

you can do it Noah!

kitty cat

15 3/4 months - Yesterday we were walking around the side of the house looking for a kitty cat that usually appears from our neighbors house. While Noah was walking, he was doing the sign for "cat" the whole time. It was another amazing moment for him and of course Mom to see how aware he is with a growing understanding of the world around him and a way to communicate. He such a smarty pants.

video clips

evening at the lake

We went to the Iguana Grill to see a free family show featuring the band, "Greezy Wheels." It is a mexican food restaurant with a great view of Lake Travis and a grassy play area for the kids. Noah had a fun and shared his graham crackers with 2 of the other boys at break time. We could tell he wanted to take off running in the game of tag with the others; it won't be long!

weekends

On the weekends we like to do activities outside whether it be taking Noah on a run in the stroller or going to the park. He's ready to go in his workout clothes! Right now he is nodding his head to "yes" and shaking it for "no," and loves waving "hi" and "bye." He likes different flavors of foods, drinking water out of a cup (us helping of course), dancing to music, and talking up a storm, trying to say words we say. Nickname this week: cheerios monster. Favorite sign right now: milk.

how Noah spends the week days

We are so pleased with Noah's daycare, Stepping Stone School. He is building a network of friends and having so many experiences and a good schedule of learning, playing, mealtimes, cleaning up toy area, washing hands, signing, and nap times. He is smiling and happy when we bring him in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon. I've kept all of his art-work and class pictures and reports from the teachers on activities he participates in with fine motor-development, language, etc. The sharing of germs has been the hardest part for me, as is is hard to have a sick little one, but nothing can replace the growth he has had with a group of others in a positive setting.

standing airplane

Noah signed "airplane" for the first time today! He also stood by himself for 4 seconds!

time for pajamas

Today was funny, I was singing a song to Noah on the ukulele, which was horribly out of tune, both me and it actually, and he gave me the funniest look that said, " wooh, Mom, that's pretty bad." It's the exact look I would give if I heard it too! haha! It's really neat how Noah "wants" to sleep now. He asks, without saying words basically to lay down in his crib, when he's tired. I think us and his school have built a good routine with that. At night he knows when I say, "It's time for pajamas," he A) will giggle and crawl off fast if he wants to play some more or B) will point to his pajamas and crawl to them and put them on his head. Today, for the 1st time, he signed for milk and pointed to the fridge. We don't have to rock or sing him to sleep nearly as much or nearly as long now, he just knows when it's time, and he's tired. I hope this continues.

baby signs

As of ~11 months to now, at 14 1/2 months old, Noah can sign: more, finished, fan, light, train, milk, and waves bye-bye. He says dada, uh-oh, and ugh ugh ugh (like when he's not supposed to get into something), and babbles tons of other syllables. He knows many items are around the house and outside, and points to them when we say them. He loves to play instruments lying around the house like the rock band drum set, his toy drums, Matt's bass guitar, and my keyboard, and is musical light up baby piano. We even got the ukulele down off the shelf for him so he could hold it better, more his size. He loves to cruise and walk with us holding both his hands for support. He's not walking on his own yet. Noah also loves pointing to his poo-pac (belly button), and yesterday for the first time pointed to his head and my nose, when I said the words. His teachers say he's such a smart boy, observing and taking it all in. He's always been a laid back baby with big eyes and his right thumb in his mouth. Not too quite though, some of his high pitched playful screeches, I can't even hit.

growing in the summer

We have really enjoyed this summer with Noah. We go swimming a couple times a week; you kind of have to when you live in a city that has seen over 30 strait days of over 100 degree temperatures. He loves to go splishy splashy in the pool and gets everyone's attention. They say, "awe look at the baby" and "be careful of the baby." He loves to watch the other kids in the baby pool area and many of them are nice enough to share their toys with him. He floats in his floaty or walks on the pool or on the side of the wall. His hat stays on 85% of the time. When he realizes it's on his head, he pulls it off if he is not being distracted or entertained. We have to be careful of his bald head not getting sun burned. He does not go underwater yet. Next to the pool is a nice big shaded park where he loves to play on the playground, go down the slide with Mom, and swing in the baby swing. He has finally grown out of eating the rocks, although he sticks some in his mouth every now and then to get a reaction out of us. We have pulled him along on the bike a few times now. If we ride longer than 30 minutes, he gets cranky. All and all he's been so cute and fun to hang out with. We have enjoyed taking him out and about with us to new places.

A Tribute to Noah

I have created this blog for our son, Noah. I have always wanted to keep a journal about his growing up and concluded this was more fun and easy than plain pen and paper. I hope everyone enjoys the memories recorded here.