The best New Year's resolution ever!

I just read the most touching and thought-provoking article.  No, its not work-related, no Nobel Prize will be won based off of its notion, but it may very well be the best idea for a New Year's resolution ever.  I intend to try it myself, hopefully with a bit of success, and see if I can't get a new perspective on the sometimes chaotic and annoying parts of my life.  Check it out for yourselves and perhaps give it a try...can't hurt!

Excellent News!

I have finally gotten some excellent news from the job hunt front!  I got an email a couple days ago requesting a phone interview for Assumption College (which if you don't know is in Worcester, MA).  Its a small, private, Catholic College VERY similar to Stonehill, where I did my undergraduate degree.  I had a lovely chat with the chair of the search committee, who seemed quite excited about my teaching and research interests and was really interested in my desire to involve undergrads in active research projects.  I learned a bit about the department and about the undergraduate community there.  It seems like a wonderful place to be.  Perhaps if things continue to go well, Tim and I will have to take a little drive up to Worcester to check the place out!  I am scheduled for a second phone interview next week with the whole 5 person search committee this time and am looking forward to hopefully being able to share more exciting news!

Christmas continues....

Friday morning, since the wee man was not in any shape to go to visit Pepere L.'s side of the family on Christmas day, was spent with Pepere L. and Nana. They came over my parent's place (THANK YOU!!!) to reduce the number of times we would have to pack up the wee man. And since they weren't able to make it through the blizzard to the birthday party, the little dude got double the gifts, birthday and Christmas at the same time...not that he knew the difference! Pepere worked like a mad man to finish this extra special gift on time, and on time it was despite also having to build a barn (yes, as in a whole barn to house horses and chickens), and 4 days of power outages (due to a massive ice storm)!!! How cool is this, and what a very special present for the little man to treasure for years. He is obviously a bit little for it now, but it will be something that we are sure will bring miles and miles of enjoyment. Hopefully, like the skin horse in my favorite story The Velveteen Rabbit, it will be loved so much it will become a real horse someday...it certainly deserves it! :)


I wonder how many hours total were logged to make the horsey (he needs a name soon, huh?)?


Interestingly, even with the gorgeous rocking horse Pepere brought for him, the best gift, or at least the one that was the most fun to play with was mine...big surprise. My bath and pamper basket provided over an hour of fun and entertainment for the little man, and he didn't even have to get wet!


The rest of Friday was relaxing, we spent the day trying to get the wee man back on his regular schedule. It wasn't a complete success, but we did manage to get two naps in (not a great afternoon one, but it was a nap). We figured that since everyone (except Tim of course) was hanging around and had time off, we would go out to dinner. So off we went to Wormwood's, a great seafood place out of the way a bit. Noah was a good boy, he ate a bunch of the Christmas dinner leftovers and sampled some of mine and Memere's dinners...haddock, garlic diced potatoes, squash, and some dinner roll. After dinner, we came home, entertained ourselves with Noah's hair, gave him a bath, and got down to some serious business of Wii Bowling! I managed to get the current top score, a 212!! Let's hope my record stands for a while and I don't disappoint myself next time I play!

Saturday for lunch we stopped over to visit my dad's side of the family, the Lambs. They are getting up there and two of the three are on and off sick and in the hospital, so it was quite nice that everyone was relatively healthy and at home for Christmas and our post-Christmas visit. As usual, we had a ton of food and they spoiled us with treats and a few gifts. Noah got a ride on Alphabet train, which has this super cool chute that spits blocks from the top of the train to underneath the caboose he rides on! Needless to say it was an instant hit!


Thank you to all of the family for making Noah's second Christmas much more exciting than the first (no offense little dude!). He absolutely loves all of the toys and can't wait to spread them all over the living room as soon as he gets up in the morning. Thankfully we have gotten a bit of storage and organization going in there, so once he goes to bed, it stops looking like a daycare and looks mostly like a living room again. Hope everyone else had a very Merry Christmas and our very best wishes for a healthy and Happy New Year!

And as a last present for this 2008 holiday season, I give you Noah, with a "faux hawk" courtesy of Uncle Tim and some really tasty smelling pomade!!! :)

Santa Claus definitely came to town!

also known as the great toy explosion of 2008! :) Seriously, we are so grateful to have been able to spend time with family and start to show Noah that the best parts of Christmas really are the parts that don't involve presents at all (wine & green bean casserole...need I say more!). Although, since we did enjoy those parts, there was also time for Noah to get into the "Santa brought me presents!!!" part too!

Noah and I drove up to Maine alone on Wednesday morning. He napped nicely in the car the whole way up. We went over to Memere's work to bring her some lunch and hang out, and of course show off his cute face! He was a big hit with everyone and he seemed to get along with everyone but Roger...the one person who was desperate to hang out with him! Oh well, better luck next time! The rest of Wednesday was pretty quiet, Daddy joined us in Maine after a long day of work just in time to put the wee man down for bed. After Noah went to bed, I finally found the time to make my almond flavored Christmas tree cookies (which are an absolute must for me!). They are so, so tasty and I got them in just in the nick of time!

Noah graced us with a 5am wake up on Christmas morning, but thankfully he took a bottle and went right back to sleep until 8am!!! How awesome was that! Come to find out that was the most extra sleep Noah was going to get that day as naps were unsurprisingly next to impossible to come by. We opened gifts and then attempted to get the wee dude down for a nap. Sadly, just as he was drifting off, Mia (the pee pants cat who can't be left alone at the house without peeing on the rug) jumped in the crib and woke him up. He never went back down (we did fix the situation after by putting up a tri-fold screen between the bed and the crib so she couldn't bust in again), so we opened a few more gifts, both birthday and Christmas from great Aunt Pris and then tried to have some Christmas lunch. Noah pitched a holy fit and was promptly and successfully put down for a nap...sadly it only lasted an hour. Since he was such a mess, we decided to fore go visiting Tim's dad's side of the family and rescheduled that visit for the next morning. We hung out, played with toys and relaxed for a few hours and then headed out for a visit to Memere L.'s place with her side of the family. He tested out the food there, some traditional French-Canadian Pork Pie, some bread and marinara sauce, and some cheese, oh and he broke in the brand new high chair she got just for wee person visitors. Overall, we had a chaotic, but fun day, punctuated by fits of screaming and throwing food, but also laughter and smiles. Isn't that just typical of a up-and-coming toddler though!?!?!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Opening his picnic table all by himself!


Checking out the available buttons on his very own sports car. Thank you Mommy & Daddy!!!!


Some fruits (vegetables also followed) for some "health-conscious" pretend play! :)


Sitting like a big boy in my very own car!


Okay, Pepere, I am dressed for the day, now take me for a ride!!

Happy 1st Birthday Little Man

To my little man on his first birthday - 

I can't believe you are already a whole year old!  Where did the time go and what happened to my tiny little baby?  I realize that it really is amazing what can happen in the span of a year, but it takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to raising children.  In the span of a year, you have gone from a completely dependent tiny little bundle to an (mostly) independently mobile little boy who had opinions (and voices them regularly and loudly), who knows who his favorite people are (Mommy & Daddy of course), and whose ability to learn new things astounds me each and every day.  I can't help but be amazed and proud of something you do over the course of a day.  To think how worried I was to bring you home from the hospital, worried I would break you, or not feed you enough, or not change your diapers often enough.  Those first few days and weeks were bumpy, I hated to see you cry, and I wanted only to do the very best I could by you.  Often when I held you and fed you during those first few weeks, I would daydream about the person you would grow up to be, I would wonder if you would grow up to be the type of boy and later man I would be proud to call by son.  While many of those questions will remain unanswered for years still, I know that the little person you are today is someone I am so happy to have had a part in raising. 

The moment you arrived was one that I will never forget; two people were born that day, a sweet little boy and his mother.  I can remember feeling such excitement that you were finally here, and wouldn't you know, you granted my only Christmas wish, to have you home for Christmas day.  For the record, you just barely made it little man, we arrived home at noon on Christmas day, you almost missed your cue.  But, coming down to the wire or not, you truly are, and always will be, the greatest Christmas present I will ever receive!

And even though there are moments when I am sad that you aren't my tiny little baby any more, I wouldn't trade a moment of time to have that little one back.  While it's true that you don't need me in the same way that you used to, I see everyday that you still need me, just in a different way.  You stop what you are doing to rush over to me when I get home from work, you shower me with sloppy baby kisses for no reason at all, you take a break from playing to crawl over to me and give me a cuddle.  What you don't realize is that I need those smiles, and laughter, and kisses and cuddles just as much as you do.  That love is what makes all of the stress of working and keeping up the house, and doing all of the less fun things in life so worth it.  And its all the more special that there are only the two of us in our little mutual adoration society.

Somehow I feel like I can't do justice the joy you have brought to my life over the last 12 months.  We have come so far together, you have gone from a tiny bundled up newborn to a crawler, and now a cruiser who is dangerously close to walking.  What is more amazing though, I think, are the changes that have occurred in me.  I have gained a new perspective on life, a new set of priorities, and new goals for myself.  You made me a mother, and I am a better person because of it.  I find patience where it didn't used to be, I find pride in the small victories, and I have gotten a second chance to see the world again for the first time.  I love to show you new things, to teach you, and to watch you learn.  Nothing makes me more happy than to see the look of pride and accomplishment on your face as you figure out something for the first time.  Thank you for making the last year so much fun, for being such a wonderful addition to our family.  And so even though I will miss the quickly waning baby days, I will always love the little man you are today.

Happy birthday little man, I can't wit to see what the next year will bring.

I love you always,

Mommy

A Letter to My Son on His First Birthday

Dear Noah -

I am finding it hard to believe that a year ago today your mommy and I were sitting in the hospital waiting to meet you for the first time.
The range of emotions that we went through that night is hard to explain to anyone who has not been through it themselves. Fear for your mommy, concern for you, and the jitters of the unknown just to name a few. She may never tell you, but I was very proud of your mommy that night. She showed an intestinal fortitude that I never knew that she had when she brought you into this world. All I could do was watch in amazement and awe. I was scared of the great unknown, such as what to say to you, and how to act around you. You see, daddy had never even really been close to a person as small as you much before he met you. You made it very easy for me though, and for that I am eternally grateful. There is not a day that goes by that I don't feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants, and that I don't have a clue what I should be doing next, however, whenever I am around you it just seems to come naturally. Instinct takes over, and we seem to figure it out together. There are some trying times that we have been through over the past year that I will probably never forget, but there have been so many more wonderful times that make it all worth while. Current parents will back me up when I say that I will never forget the first time that you fell and there was blood involved. It probably scared me a hundred times worse then it scared you, but I can't even begin to describe the hurt that went through me. Conversely, watching you figure out how to crawl, and seeing you sit down all by yourself to me is a wonder greater then anything else. To see you watch and learn, and try out different things until you get it just right to me is nothing short of shear amazement. You are such a smart baby, and you bring joy to my life every moment of every day. I hope that you never lose your innocence, and I hope that you always strive to figure it out, whatever it may be. To see you now, and to see the things that you can do, I still find it hard to believe that a year ago you were a tiny little bundle that I could hold in one hand (not that I did mind you!!). Nothing gives me more joy than to see that ear to ear grin, or to hear you go off into peels of nothing more then pure, innocent laughter. I only hope that your first year was as fun as mine was, and that I can continue to keep that innocence in you. I feel like I have been truly blessed, and without a doubt you are unquestionable one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.

I love you very much Noah,

Your Daddy.

Noah's 1st Birthday Party....

almost didn't happen. Yes, that's correct. There was careful planning, decorations, food, presents from Mommy & Daddy, and yet it still happened only because of some seriously brave souls. As is typical of the northeast at this time of year, you just can never make serious plans. Unfortunately, Tim only had 1 day off this weekend, so when it was time to send out the invitations, we rolled the dice and picked Sunday, hoping that it wouldn't snow. Too bad for us, the snow started around 7am...um, really??? We just couldn't have planned it for a worse travel day, by the time the party was set to start at 11:30, it was close to a blizzard out. Yes, there were some people we would have loved to have celebrate with us that just couldn't make it, but we also had some family come despite the weather, so all was not totally lost. Memere B. came on the train on Saturday to help us with the cleaning and party prep. Pepere B. drove down with the 4-wheel drive on Sunday morning. Uncle Tim drove across the city to hang out and Memere L., Tom, and Beth drove down from Maine too! It was smaller than originally planned, but we still had fun! We decorated the dining room in, what else, a monkey theme with yellow and turquoise...very hip! Balloons and streamers, and some tasty lunch food made it your basic party.

For his special day, Noah's Daddy and I got him his very own chair, complete with his name embroidered on it! He seems quite in love with it already!!

We had some lunch and then Noah busted into his gifts. And when I say he busted, he seriously did. He helped himself and tore off some of the wrapping paper himself! For never having seen a wrapped present in person, he sure seemed to know just what to do with them! He got lots of wonderful gifts, a rock and bounce pony and the 2007 mint set from Memere L. & Tom, a corn popper from Aunt Beth, some puzzles from Uncle Tim, a cool push train, an outfit, and a snack cup from Great Aunt Sim, and an outfit, book, bath toys, the "Elf on the Shelf", and the Laugh and Learn House from Memere & Pepere B!! He made out like a bandit, and we are left trying to figure out where to put all of his new birthday loot....wait until Christmas comes!

Of course, since you only have a birthday once a year, the little dude got to have some cake along with all of the rest of us. I made him his own small cake to do with as he pleased and he seemed to get into the process quite a bit. He didn't make as big of a mess as I was anticipating, but he certainly seemed to be having fun! :)

When utensils just won't do, you can aways try face first!!

"What? That's not how you all are going to eat your cake? Hey, you only turn 1 once, so I might as well enjoy myself!"

Seriously, that's enough snow

Okay, that's enough snow thank you! We can stop anytime now...sooner would be better than later if you don't mind. It is now Saturday evening and it has been snowing for about 31 hours now...yes, that is nonstop snowing. True that some of the snow fall has been heavier than others, but for real, flakes have been falling from the sky for almost a day and a half straight!

Here is a picture up our street from late this afternoon...check out the size of the snowbanks already!!!


Our bushes into the backyard are getting quite a workout holding all that extra weight!


And a random fun picture of the wee dude with his new prize...the snack trap. Theoretically, you are supposed to be able to put in snacks (a la Cheerios) into the cup part and snap on the rubber lid and the slits that circle the lid are supposed to keep all of the snacks from dumping on the floor when it is inevitably shaken to death. That is a good plan, except, within 15 minutes of getting it for the first time, Noah figured out that if he pressed in on one of the flaps, a bunch of Os would fall out...he found this quite entertaining and the result was a trail of Os all over the kitchen. Perhaps this is something we will put away and pull back out at a later date when he can follow simple instructions! :)

You know we live in New England when....

Well, you know we live in New England for a number of reasons (heinous daily commutes, a college or university every 2.5 miles up the road, absurd housing costs, etc.), but the reason I am posting about this is one thing that many southerners just don't have to deal with.

So, a bit of background info. Today we are expecting 12 inches of snow in our area, yes, that is a foot! And it is supposed to fall from about 1pm until 10pm...over an inch an hour, which depending on the wind gusts can be classified as blizzard conditions! Then a reprieve on Saturday and another big storm later in the day on Sunday. If you are keeping track, Noah's first birthday party is scheduled for Sunday at 1pm. Do you see a problem??? Given that most of the family coming are all driving from Maine, we have now rescheduled said birthday party earlier in the day (11:30am) to hopefully accommodate the rather untimely arrival of winter weather. The only problem with this is that Noah will probably now be asleep for the start of his own darn party. We'll have lunch while he finishes his morning nap and then the guest of honor will hopefully make his appearance for cake and presents. I am a bit on the bitter side (and yes, have already thrown a bit of a hissy fit about this), but I guess that is what I should expect living in the northeast and trying to make plans for anything around this time of year. With any luck the snow/sleet/freezing rain mess that is predicted will hold off until after people head home on Sunday and we can enjoy a few peaceful hours celebrating our ability to keep this small person happy and healthy for a whole year now!

A constellation of badness, and it continues...

So, this weekend could quite possibly be classified as by far one of the most unfortunate experiences I have had in extended memory. Tim and I were set up to go out to a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant downtown and then finally use my Blue Man Group gift certificates that I got for Christmas last year. This was all planned for Saturday night and Memere and Pepere B. were heading down to our place that afternoon to look after the wee man. The badness started when Memere and Pepere B. lost power in the ice storm on Friday morning. Then Pepere B. got sick and decided not to come down for fear of spreading germs to our house. Then I woke up Saturday morning and promptly threw up. Over the course of the late morning and early afternoon I started with a fever, the chills, and oh the throwing up.... By 6:30pm or so when I should have been getting myself ready to head out, I attempted to get up and couldn't decide whether to go lay back down or go throw up. Needless to say, there was NO way I was making it downtown to see Blue Man Group...so I gave my ticket to my brother who was over doing his weekly laundry and hanging around to keep my mom company for the evening. In the meantime, Tim realized last minute that he had a final to take Sunday morning (instead of the Tuesday he thought it would be), so he decided it would be best to stay home and study for the final instead of use his ticket, so it got passed to my mom. So, let's recap...my brother and my mom are now heading to see the Blue Man Group, with the tickets I received for Christmas last year! Those tickets being about the only present I got that was just for me last year...given the fact that I was massively pregnant and just wanted a wee man of my very own. So, off they went, and they thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I laid on the couch and hovered over my trashcan and cried for the loss of my date night. I spent the rest of the evening and overnight period heading to or trying to decide to head to toss my cookies. Fun stuff here people!

Carrying on with the badness...still no power in Maine for Memere and Pepere. Memere decided to stay with us where it was warm and help the sickies take care of the house. Sunday morning off Tim went to take his test. As the day wore on, Tim got sicker and I started to finally be able to keep some food down. It was ugly. Thankfully Memere helped out with the laundry and keeping the wee man loved and entertained while Tim and I were preoccupied being ill. All three of the adults took a nice nap while the wee man slept during his afternoon nap...it was wonderful and I should definitely do that more often! :) (Minus the sick part of course).

Monday rolls around and there is still no power in Maine, I am finally starting to feel like a human again and Tim is coming around the corner from the worst of it. The wee man then throws up his bedtime bottle and spikes a fever...seriously???? Thankfully by Tuesday morning the little dude seemed to be over the worst of it, no fever and off he went to Nana Lou's to spread back the germs that I think he picked up from there last week. By the time I got into work, I was feeling a cold coming on, which if you are keeping track would be the 4th illness I have contracted since Thanksgiving! I need a new immune system apparently...and fewer nighttime wakeups from the small one might help too!

Thankfully the Christmas shopping and wrapping is done, all but 1 of the Christmas presents were sent to Maine with Memere (who headed back Monday afternoon and finally got power back at 5:30 Monday night...only about 84 hours after they lost it!!!). The birthday party supplies are purchased and ready, so let's bring on the festivities and hopefully some improved health for all....and to all a good night!

Its the most wonderful time of the year

Because these guys are on TV and I can do a jig and sing along every time I see them! Hehe! I spent a couple of hours wrapping Christmas presents last night watching this movie, sadly, I am still not done wrapping, 10 gifts to go, not that I am counting. Oh and bows need to be added, but not until they are ready to go...a brown striped someone will eat them if they get put on and then left under the tree. Free cat to a good home! :)

Okay, I've seen it all

I have now experienced the full range of bad driving and can officially say that I am SO ready to no longer have to drive in Boston, preferably not Massachusetts either, but that may be a stretch. Are you ready? Wait for it....I was cut off while driving to work this morning by a HEARSE!!!!! Um, really? I can only assume, and pray for the departed that there was not occupant in the back of the vehicle, but seriously, the dude driving the death rig trounced on the gas, cut me off and then sped away, weaving through various lanes of traffic in Cambridge along the river. What the crap?? May the job hunt situation please deliver me some promising news soon so I can put an end to this commuting madness!

My god, he's almost a year!

Okay, first let me just state that it is clearly not possible that exactly 2 weeks from today Noah will be a WHOLE YEAR OLD! It is starting to hit me, but not really sink in. He is still my baby even if he has refused to nurse for like the last 4 months, he is almost walking, he is too busy to cuddle, and he has very well expressed opinions about just about everything! I know, he really is well on his way to being a toddler, and perhaps is already there, but don't talk to me about that stuff. I still look at him some evenings when I am rocking him to sleep and see a tiny newborn that still needs me all the time. I am dealing though, I am about half done getting together the 1st birthday party supplies, we have the cake pan, we have the gift purchased, and the invitations have been sent. We also got his 1 year pictures taken this Sunday. They came out pretty good. The last two times we had professional ones taken, there was at least 1 picture that I absolutely loved and would show off to anyone who would stop long enough to look. This time, there are some cute ones, but he just wasn't feeling it. There are none of the typical Noah room-lighting smiles that I love so very much. I think he was just too busy exploring the studio to sit still and smile long enough to get that perfect one. Oh well, there is always next time, and at least we had a free 8x10 and 20% off the entire purchase coupon too!

In other monumental news, I have 1 Christmas gift left to purchase! All of the rest are done!!! They have also all been boxed and organized, so one night after Noah goes down, I can get them all wrapped too. Perhaps I can even send some of them to Maine when Memere & Pepere B. come down this weekend to babysit the wee man Saturday night! How awesome would that be...purchased, wrapped, and out of the house by mid-December! The Christmas cards have also been sent, and probably received too! So if you haven't received one then 1) either I don't know you and you aren't getting one, 2) I don't have your address, 3) you've never sent me a card and aren't an immediate family who qualifies for an exemption of that rule.

Tomorrow evening is our first holiday party, a family & friends party at my boss's house, to which Noah has been graciously requested to attend! Hopefully he is on his best and most social behavior! Saturday night, Tim and I have a very exciting date night planned...dinner at a favorite Italian place downtown and then tickets to the Blue Man Group. I got gift certificates to see the show last Christmas from my parents, and we are finally getting our act together to make it out for the evening! It should be really fun, and I am really looking forward to an evening out just the two of us. I am sure Noah and Memere and Pepere B. will have an awesome time together playing, and hopefully I will return ready to tackle the ensuing 1st birthday party/Christmas chaos.

In the meantime, I am still trying to clean up the unpleasant cat smell on the living room rug, we are on round 2 of Nature's Miracle and have dumped almost an entire gallon of the stuff on the spot now. I must admit, the first round we were probably a bit too conservative, but this second time, we whipped out the watering can and thoroughly drenched the area. If the smell is not gone this time, I WILL be calling to get my money back! The water- dumping situation has been handled, however. We had put the plug-in kitty water fountain thing a while back in place of an easier to clean regular water bubbler thingy, which apparently offended someone of the brown striped variety. Since I replaced the plug in one, there have been no spills, no splashes, and most importantly, no unnecessary cleaning of the kitchen floor. Let's just hope we can get the living room rug under control and we'll be well on our way back to some semblance of sanity in the house!

T-minus 14 days until Noah's 1st birthday & 16 days until Christmas!

P.S. Shockingly, we have no new pictures on our camera from this week (I know, we're slackers), but if you want to see the professional Noah 1 year pictures, just send me an email and I'll send you the link.

Thanksgiving Recap

This year I am thankful for many things...

• family members that are so supportive and always willing to lend a hand and provide some much needed backup
• a healthy family
• a happy baby who, while certainly very independent and persistent, seems to be growing and developing beautifully
• a non-pregnant mostly back to my old self body!!!!
• wine...red, white, I'm not picky
• the impending end of the need for a breastpump
• our jobs and paychecks, which in this economy mean a whole lot more than most years
• turkey, sweet potatoes, crescent rolls, stuffing, green bean casserole, and most importantly pumpkin pie!
• the appearance of Noah's second top front tooth
• a husband who puts up with me even when I am over-stressed and not much fun

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year...it was so much fun to have Noah around this year, he provided a ton of entertainment, and really seemed to enjoy all of the extra attention from his extended family members. Given that Tim works in grocery, he had to work later than normal on Wednesday night, so we didn't get on the road until 7pm, and that was after I had spent the whole day packing and cleaning up. We got to Memere & Pepere B.'s around 8:15...amazingly there was NO traffic! Of course we are now past the wee man's bed time, Memere and Pepere walked through the door from dinner about 15 minutes later, and so it took me an hour + of rocking and shushing and tush patting to get him to sleep. Then...the stinker woke up at 2:30. After the two of us took turns rocking him back to sleep only to have him bounce up wide awake the minute his head hit the mattress, I had had it. Tim gave him a talking to, laid him back down and he was relatively quiet. Now keep in mind the spare crib stays in the same room we sleep in, so we are literally about 3 feet away from the crib. I rolled over and prayed to the gods of infant sleep and was sadly disappointed when I suddenly started hearing the volume on the white noise machine going up and down and up and down. The wee man was actually reaching through the crib rails and playing with the volume control knob on the stupid thing!!! I lost it, all cool and patience went out the window and I went postal...seriously postal. I yelled "HEY" at him, placed him in the crib, down on his belly, which is how he sleeps anyway. There was some crying and fussing and then silence...Sweet silence. He fell back asleep until 5:30am and was up for the day...NOT COOL. In the end Tim and I ended up taking turns catching up on sleep. Needless to say after all of that excitement, he napped extremely well, and actually did really well in the sleep department for the most part the whole time we were there. The one hiccup was Saturday's naps...I am not sure if he just wasn't hearing of it, or he wasn't tired, but it took 3 people over an hour to get him down for the first one, and me half and hour to get him down for the second on.

In between all of the sleeping, there was some amazing Thanksgiving fixings (see above for the menu). Noah seemed to enjoy pretty much everything you put in his mouth, he ate up Stove Top Stuffing, a whole crescent roll, green bean casserole, some sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and some of Memere L.'s pumpkin pie! He was such a good boy through the whole meal, being patient for his bites, laughing at various things and people, squinting up his face trying to smile for the camera. The only thing we aren't sure if he liked a ton was the turkey itself, he doesn't have the molars yet, so chewing that sort of food would be challenging.

Here he is trying to decide if he likes cranberry sauce. In the end it was a hit just like everything else!

Thoroughly enjoying himself and his first Thanksgiving dinner!

The rest of the day was fairly relaxing, just another nap and visiting Memere L., Tom, Uncle Christopher, and Uncle Chris' friend Marian. We had a great time there, Noah had a ton of fun playing with people and his new package of building blocks.

He and Uncle Chris had a great time playing.

And obviously the blocks, or more aptly the bag the block came in, were a huge hit.

The remainder of the weekend was fairly quiet. Pepere L. and Nana visited for a couple of hours, we went to breakfast Saturday morning, we visited the Lambs (my dad's cousins) and that was about it. We came home Sunday afternoon to find out that one of the furry beasts had peed on our NEW living room area run. In addition, brain child, Miss Mia decided to dump out the entire contents of the water bubbler, so after cleaning up the kitchen floor on Wednesday prior to leaving and then again today (when she pulled the same stunt over again), she is obviously at the top of my hit list.

For now though, it is time to try and enjoy the Christmas holiday season and get back into a normal routine for a few weeks. Wish me luck in getting all of the gifts, cards, and birthday party plans done before the big days arrive. T-minus 20 days until Noah's birthday and 22 days until Christmas!

I will end this post with the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. Look whose getting into the wine...or perhaps it was just the corks! :)

Noah meets Santa Claus

So while out Christmas shopping on Monday and out on a much anticipated (and needed) day out with Memere B., we decided to take Noah to see Santa Claus at the mall. The lines were short as it was a week day and we figured we'd give it a try. What's the worse that could happen, he would freak out and we would move on. Well, my friends that is exactly what happened, my smart little man freaked out! I could see him thinking in his head..."Hey, wait a minute, who is this scary huge man with a strange outfit and a white beard...I don't know him....He's not my Daddy, or my Pepere, or any one I care to hang out with....in fact, I don't like it here on his lap, somebody get me outta here NOW....WAHHHHHHHHH." It was a little sad that he didn't like Santa and that he has already gotten old enough and smart enough to know friend from foe, but it was also cute because he is my little man, and darn it, if he doesn't like Santa, that is just fine with me...no perfect photo keepsake is worth making the kid cry over.

So I present to you the only picture of Noah and Santa you are going to get this year....this was taken literally nanoseconds before the fear registered and the wee man started screaming. Of course the lady wanted me to purchase the picture of him screaming too, but I chose the high road...years from now when he gets married and we give his new bride pictures from his childhood, I can feel good knowing there won't be any screaming Noah and Santa pictures for ammunition!