The Chanukkah Update

The last week has been nuts so this post is going to be short with a lot of pictures. Here are the highlights:

* Noah gave up the pacifier cold turkey and he now uses it at bedtime. As a result he is babbling even more than he was before. It's like he has his own little language. A language that no one else understands.

* Prior to quitting the pacifier, Dan and I purchased for Noah a Baby Elmo doll (yes, ANOTHER one) that has a pacifier attached to his hand. Music plays when you put the pacifier in the dolls mouth. Noah thought it would be more fun to put the pacifier in his mouth instead. With Baby Elmo still attached.

* I made potato latkes today ALL BY MYSELF and I referenced the Jewish cookbook that my sister gave me a few weeks ago. Noah and Dan loved them. The frying in hot oil scared me but they turned out really well.

* Noah's had a rockin' Chanukkah so far. He got the Elmo Knows Your Name talking Elmo from Grandma Linda, a a Hot Wheels-esque tricycle from grandma and grandpa in Phoenix, a truck, the Baby Noah DVD, some puzzles, and a few other things here and there. Bottom line, the kid is cleaning up.

* Noah was LOVING the cookies he had my parents' house. There was double-fisting and drooling involved.

How is this for irony?

Noah had his 15 month check-up yesterday and as expected he is doing great. 26.5 pounds (75th percentile) and 33 inches (95th percentile) and healthy as can be. He's also cutting five teeth right now. The pediatrician asked us a series of developmental questions including how many words does Noah know. I told her that he babbles constantly but the only words we can make out are "mama," "daddy," and "taggie." In a nutshell, at this age Noah should have at least four words and while he does not use a pacifier at daycare (except for naps) he does use it all the time at home. It was then suggested that our heavy pacifier use may be the reason why he does not have more discernible words in his vocabulary.

Let's think about this for a second. . . and people who know me well will appreciate this. How is it that MY SON is a bit behind the curve in the talking area? Does anyone else find this strange? It's not like we don't talk to Noah constantly. He watched so many ER reruns in the first five months of his life that I thought his first words would be, "get a chest x-ray and a chem. 7." He listens to liberal talk radio and NPR in the car. Despite this, he only has three words when he needs four. And apparently knowing that a turkey goes "gobble-gobble" doesn't count. So we are taking drastic steps. No more pacifier EXCEPT at bedtime. Today was the first day of life without the pacifier. We went cold turkey and Noah seemed to hand in there. Barley, but he did it. I give him a week before he figures out how to open the drawer where we keep the pacifiers.

Its 8:15pm - Do You Know Where Your Toddler Is?

I know where mine is. . . he is bouncing off the walls!

At 4pm I was asked to pick Noah up from daycare because he had a fever of 101.5. His cheeks were all rosy and he was definitely warm. So we went home. Noah had a power nap, some mac n' cheese, a dose of tylenol and bath. And then he caught his second wind.

First he ran around a house chasing his pink tennis ball. A tennis ball that his grandpa is too insecure to play with which explains why we have so many at our house. Then he played with his popcorn-popper push toy. And then Noah started climbing on the coffee table. At this point it was time for bed and mommy had had enough. So I put Noah to bed. About 45 minutes later I started hearing noises from Noah's room and lo and behold guess who was sitting up in his crib playing? So I took Noah into our room and we played on the bed with Elie. When he had enough of that Noah thought it would be fun for ME to chase HIM around the house. Mind you, this is a kid who four hours earlier had a fever and needed to be picked up from school. By 8:15 pm I once again decided enough was a enough and put Noah to bed for good. This time he even went to sleep!

I am not even convinced that Noah is 'sick.' He has no other symptoms and we also know that when he is teething Noah will run a low-grade fever. And right now he is teething. But you know, the more I think about it, the more I think that Noah's mid-afternoon fever was a big ploy. It was a carefully orchestrated and deliberately executed plan with two goals: to get Dan and/or I to pick him up early from daycare and while using the sympathy of his teachers to get his pacifier back for good. Two weeks ago Noah took a header on the playground and what happened? Mommy picked him up early and they gave him his pacifier (FYI, pacifiers are contraband except during naptime). I think he willed himself to have a fever on purpose. Noah is very smart and I would not put something like this past him. I think Noah also knows that the JCC has a strict sick child policy and despite this evening antics Dan and I would have to take time off from work tomorrow to stay home with him since you have to be fever free for 24-hours before you can come back to school. And he got his beloved pacifier back. Mission accomplished.

Noah's Shiner

As promised, here are some pictures of Noah's black eye. Just so you know, these pictures were taken after he woke up from his nap and the swelling always seems worse when he wakes up. It also looks A LOT worse than it is. From what we can tell, he is not experiencing any pain or discomfort. Noah was noshing on what I like to call poor man's stir fry: teriyaki Ramen noodles with veggies. Pretty tasty if you ask me. Noah LOVES Ramen noodles and I have to admit that Dan and I have rediscovered our love of Ramen too. Although Noah could probably do without the veggies.

Thank GOD it's Over.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey got married a few weeks before Dan and I did. I am pleased to report that our marriage has now lasted longer than theirs. YEAH!!!!! We watched the Newlyweds show on MTV because we were newlyweds too. Except we did not have the fancy house, the creepy father in-law (Pa Simpson), or the bank account. I also knew that Chicken of Sea is tuna and that buffalo wings are not from real buffalos.

He's a Bruiser!

So, I was in my office late this afternoon when Noah's teacher from the infant came to see me. She said that I shouldn't panic but that Noah fell and hurt himself and could I come down to comfort him? It was almost 5pm and while I was not ready to leave work yet, I knew that I could not comfort him and them leave again. Apparently the kids were playing outside and he climbed to the top of the Little Tykes climber, lost his footing, and somehow bumped the side of his face near his eye on the fence. His teachers applied ice and his eye is all swollen and black blue. He was so upset when I came to get him . . .his teachers even gave him back his pacifier and that didn't work (at school he is only allowed to have it at naptime). I thought about taking him to the ER but after talking it over with some people I work with I didn't think it was necessary. Besides, a doctor will just tell me to apply ice and then I'll get a bill for $200. Noah is going to have a nice shiner and I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow. I'm just glad he is okay. . but he looks like such a bruiser!

In other preschool news, Noah's teachers had the kids finger-paint a mural today. By coincidence, I was near his classroom and I peaked in the window. All I saw was about eight one-year olds finger-painting in their diapers. It was hysterical!!!

I have been a bad blogger.

I have not done a good job of keeping this blog updated over the last few weeks. And it's not as if anything interesting hasn't happened.

I was called for jury duty on November 7th. Not only was I selected for a jury (misdemeanor DUI/DWI), but I volunteered to serve as the jury forewoman. Because if I was going to have to miss two days of work to fulfill my civic duty I was going to take advantage of the experience. I am now fully versed in the DUI/DWI laws in the State of Arizona and exempt for jury service for two years. We found the defendant guilty on both charges and I celebrated the conclusion of my jury service by having a BIG martini at a JCC event that night.

And there was a little incident that occurred this past weekend. The weather was nice so we took Noah to the zoo. He was digging the experience so we wandered over to the petting zoo area. It was my idea to let Noah walk around and pet the goats and sheep but I didn't take a moment to consider that possibility that he could trip and fall right into a puddle of goat and sheep shit. I was, however, forced to consider this as Dan and I were plucking Noah out of said puddle, (it is at this point in the story that Dan would like for me to point out that he said letting Noah walk around the petting zoo would be a bad idea). Like any good mom, I washed his pants out in the sink in the barn and pushed him in his stroller for the rest of the afternoon wearing nothing but a t-shirt, diaper, pacifier, and sneakers from Stride Rite that light up. Noah looked like the poster child for "White-Trash-Baby" magazine. Some of you may be wondering WHY I did not have a change of clothes in the diaper bag. The reason I don't is because the last time Noah had an accident that required a change of clothes was about six months ago. Call me lazy. Call CPS for all I care.

Since I don't feel like downloading the pictures on my camera right now I am going to post a "flashback" picture taken of Noah this time last year. Back when we was eight weeks old. He looks so much older in this picture!

What a Night.

We love our daschund Elie. But we have always had our doubts as to whether or not Eli loved Noah.

Until tonight.

My parents came over for dessert and afterwards we were sitting on the couch chatting. Noah was showing off for everyone by climbing all over the couch and Dan. Then we saw it. . . .Elie climbed on the couch, mounting Noah from behind, and started thrusting his little dachshund hips. Noah had no idea what was going on and while it was disgusting to watch, we all found it oddly funny.

This evening Dan and I also reaffirmed why we will not be taking part in the "elimination communication" rage that is sweeping yuppie moms and playgroups across the country. In a nutshell, elimination communication is all about reading a baby's elimination signs, whether that be 'a strained facial expression or the telltale grunting and bearing down that precede a soiled diaper.' As www.diaperfreebaby.org advises, elimination communication is not potty training, it is about communicating with your baby. And it is (supposedly) a great way to enhance the intimacy between baby and child because as a parent you have to be in constant tune with your child's needs. As if breastfeeding wasn't enough.

ANYWAY, we were getting Noah ready for his bath and I thought it would be cute to let him walk around the house naked. He even sat at his table and played with his toys. Apparently Dan and I have poor communication skills with our son because we did not notice him articulate and/or gesticulate his need to eliminate. So he did eliminated on the chair. When he was finished, he happily stood up and climbed into the tub. I guess this takes me out of the running for Elimination Communication Mother of the Year.

For your viewing enjoyment, here is Noah communicating his elimination needs.

How Cute is Mr. Noah?!?!?!

Noah is SOOOO cute that he has bee added to the Ivillage Baby Photo Gallery! A bunch of ladies on my parenting message boards submitted pictures of their kids, and I was NOT about to be outdone. Because we all know just how cute and wonderful Noah is. Not that I am proud of him or anything.

The picture was taken over the summer and it is one of our favorites. Enjoy!

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/babyphotos/0,,8dm556mf-16,00.html

Noah's Halloween

Hi.

Since mommy and daddy are so tired from this evening's activities, I am dictating this blog entry. While I am very smart and talented, the one thing I have not yet mastered is typing. Although I LOVE banging on the keyboard when mommy is not looking.

So mommy picked me up at daycare this afternoon so we could meet daddy at the mall for dinner and Malloweeen. For this event, kids like me get dressed up for Halloween and go trick or treating at all of the stores. Well, when mommy picked me up at school I was in the midst of a MAJOR tantrum. Once I realized that there was candy where we were going I stopped crying and let mommy put on my costume. I was a scary tiger and the mouthpeice on my costume roars when you push it. Grandma bought it for me at Last Chance after Halloween last year. Way cool. And when we were walking out of the JCC everyone said how cute I was. Even better.

We got to the mall and had dinner (hamburger with apples for me, chinese food for mommy and daddy) and then we went trick or treating to all of the stores. It was fun being pushed in my stroller and getting candy and I also liked looking at all of the other kids in their costumes. My favorite was a little boy who was the same age as me dressed as Mel Gibson from the movie Braveheart. I think mommy and daddy had a good time too. . .especially since Dairy Queen was passing out Dilley Bars. I would have played on the playground but I was tired and it was crowded. Like mommy, I don't do crowds.

After the mall we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. I went to the front door and rang the bell (well daddy did) and Grandpa came to the door. He didn't recognize me! It took him a few seconds to realize that it was me and not some other kid from the neighborhood. Grandpa took a bunch of pictures of me in my costume and Grandma gave me special Halloween cookie. Because I didn't have enough sugar today. I had my cookie, went trick or treating to a few of the neighbors, and came home.

It was a fun day but I am pooped. I am also surprised with the amount of candy people were willing to give a 13 month old. If you think about it, my candy haul is really quite impressive. Mommy said that she is going to put most of the Halloween candy in the diaper bag to bribe good behavior out of me in public.

Time for bed!

Noah

My New Toy

Since Noah learned how to climb before he learned how to crawl, for his birthday Noah's Grandma Linda bought him a Little Tykes climber for the backyard. Needless to say, it has been a huge hit.

Here is Noah attempting to work his way "up" the slide and later checking out the view from the top.

Let's go to the mall!

The goal of today was to keep Noah busy and active until 1pm because then he would sleep for the rest of the afternoon. I have today and tomorrow off from work for Sukkot and I want to keep him more or less on the same schedule that he has at school.

At 8:45am we went to the park, played on the swings, and fed the ducks. Actually, I fed the ducks while Noah ate the bread. But he did seem amused by the ducks and their quacking.

At 9:30am we went to Grandma's house. Noah played with Grandpa's liquor bottles. Don't panic, he did not drink anything.

At 10:30am Noah started whining and crying because he was tired. So we left.

At 10:45am we went to Borders.

At 11:15am went to the mall playground where Noah played (and pooped). While we were there we ran into two of Noah’s preschool teachers who were there with their kids. They invited us to join them for lunch so Noah had a chicken mcnugget happy meal with apples and milk and played with his friend Cameron who had pizza.

We left the mall at 1pm. On our way out I stopped to buy myself a cookie and Noah got one to. He then CRASHED within two minutes of being in the car. It was so cute that I took pictures. And no, your eyes are not deceiving you. Noah is wearing long-sleeves and jeans because it was somewhat cool and damp. Given that we live in Phoenix, I had forgotten what cool weather feels like.

What else? This past weekend I went to Nashville to visit some friends. I stayed with my friend Eve who is in a PhD program at Vanderbilt. While in the Volunteer State we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame (interesting!) and we went to the Vanderbilt Bookstore where I bought Noah this cool t-shirt. He looks very collegiate to me.

Dan and I went to the family service at Temple tonight for Yom Kippur and in the program there was a special thanks for a valet service. Is it just me or is there something sacrilege about having valet on the holiest day of the year? I did not actually see the valet with my own eyes but I know that parking is an issue. I almost laughed aloud when I read that little gem.

As if that were not weird enough, my left eye has been bothering me for the last few days so I went the to eye doctor to have it checked out. Apparently I have a mild case of arthritis IN MY EYE?!?!?! Who has ever heard of such a thing? I asked the doctor directly if his diagnosis was a fancy way of saying that there was schmutz in my eye. He said no.

Not much else if going on. Noah made me a shofar in preschool this week and it is so cute that I am trying to figure out if I can bronze it. What I really need is a big chest to store all of his projects. Noah also had a dinner date last week with his friends Josh and Drew. We went out with the boys and their parents and then listened to some live music. The kids had a great time and we had a good time with the other parents.

Rosh Hashana . . . Noah Style!

Tonight is the first night of the Jewish High Holiday Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year). We do not currently belong to a Synagogue but we have taken Noah to Tot Shabbat a few times at the synagogue that I grew up at it. It was 30 minutes, intimate, and a lot of other toddlers there so Noah did fine. He could crawl around, make noise, and he blends right in.

Synagogue membership is outrageously expensive ($1000-$1,700) and tickets to High Holy Day Services are just as bad. For non-members you can expect to spend $300-500 for a family. We can't afford to go, but because I work for a Jewish agency and because I have an awesome boss we were able to get tickets at the Synagogue I grew up at, which right now is the largest in Phoenix. . . back when I was growing up it was one of the smallest.

ANYWAY. . .I gave Noah a bath, dressed him in his new overalls and off we went to the family service. Dan and I figured we could bribe good behavior out of him with graham crackers, juice, his pacifier, and some melon. In theory, this was a good plan. There were tons of kids but Noah was the youngest. And while he seemed interested in the music, he had ZERO desire to sit on anyone's lap or a chair. All he wanted to do was walk to the front of the sanctuary and that was not going to happen. Even at a family service the Rabbi would have been pissed. We lasted 20 minutes. Let's just say this was not an appropriate venue for Noah to entertain the masses with with his babbling. We were planning on taking him to the morning service tomorrow but there is no way that it happening now.

Noah had his one year check-up this past Friday. He weighed in at 23 lbs., 12 oz. and he is 31.5 inches tall. This puts him in the 50-75th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. Not bad at all. As the doctor tried to examine him Noah toddled around the exam room in nothing but his tighty-whitey Huggie's. He also got his flu shot and his Chicken Pox vaccine and when he opened his mouth to scream I saw that his two front teeth had broken through. The bottom teeth took SO LONG to come in that I was not expecting his these for another few months.

Noah took his first steps a few weeks ago, which was nice be cause Dan's mom was here to see it. For the last week or so he has been practicing but we had a breakthrough this weekend. Friday night we went to Desert Ridge and we let Noah push his stroller. It must have given him confidence because he is now walking all over the place.

Enjoy the new pictures!

Highlights from the Birthday Party

Noah had his firts birthday party this weekend and he had a blast. It was an Elmo themed party and there were about 30 people there including a few of his friends from daycare. Everyone ate, played, and just had a good time. Noah even had an Elmo shirt that matched the plates we used for cake. I don't know if that's cute or a sign of how neurotic I am. The highlight of the afternoon for EVERYONE was watching Noah destroy his "smash" cake. A smash cake is a cake that we bought specifically for Noah to destroy and eat for the party. Face it, who wants to eat a cake that small child has rolled around in. Ours we got for free from a local grocery store and Noah had such a good time. He was covered in frosting so to clean him off we turned the hose on him. Sounds terrible, but I didn't want to get in the shower with him and we were afraid that if we washed him off in the pool that the frosting would clog the filters. In any event, Noah had a good time with his friends and family and that is what matters most.

Noah First birthday!

Today is Noah's first birthday! I cannot believe how fast year has passed and in honor of the occasion I wanted to share Noah's birth story. For most it will be boring but for me it represents the best day of my life (my wedding day is a close second).

I had a very normal and blissfully uneventful pregnancy. I am also living proof that you can be dilated and effaced for weeks without labor being imminent. At my 36 week appointment my doctor told me that I was 1-2 cm and 50% effaced. I walked around like this until Wednesday, September 8th, which was my 39.5 week visit. My doctor told me that I was 3-4 cm and 90% effaced and he stripped my membranes to see if that would speed things along. At the time, he thought that I would have Noah within the next few days but just in case he told me to make an appointment for the following week. His EXACT words were “I don’t think you’ll need the appointment but you better make it. If you don’t, you’ll probably need it.” I made the appointment, Dan’s mom flew out and we waited. Nothing happened. I went back to the OB on September 15th, hot and tired of being pregnant, and we decided to schedule an induction for Monday, September 20th.

I was 100% convinced that Noah was not going to come on his own. Dan and I had tried every trick in the book to induce labor (sex, spicy food, raspberries, pineapple, walking) and nothing worked. I woke up on Saturday, September 18th and noticed that I was having strange stomach pains. I went the entire pregnancy without having any Braxton-Hicks contractions so I wasn’t sure if this was labor or not. The contractions were noticeable, but not painful, and at the time they did not seem very consistent so I went about my day. That afternoon Dan and I went to the movies with our moms and my sister and during the movie the contractions were getting a bit stronger but were still somewhat irregular (Silver City, terrible flick BTW). We got home at 4:30 p.m. and I went into the bedroom to lie down. Dan was supposed to work that night and to be safe I decided to time the contractions. The contractions were irregular (4 minutes apart, 7 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.) but they were getting more and more painful and lasting for about a minute each. I called Dan into the room at 6’ish and told him that we needed to call the doctor because I thought it was time to have the baby. By the time we got organized and got to the hospital it was about 6:45 p.m. and the contractions were coming one after the other and they were VERY painful. At 7:30 p.m. the nurse examined me, said I was 5-6 cm, and started the paperwork to get me in a room. I said I wanted an epidural. The worst part of labor for me was waiting for the epidural. I was having 2-3 minute long contractions, still one right after the other, which made me vomit a couple of times (sorry, TMI). I kept making the nurse promise me that the anesthesiologist was physically in the building and on his way to my room. By 9pm I had received my epidural and I felt better almost immediately. I was SOO relaxed and for me it was worth every penny ($1,666.00 to be exact). I was complete by 9:30 p.m. and the nurse told me I did not have to push if I didn’t have the urge. So I didn’t. I got the urge to push at 10:30 p.m. so we got started. Those of you who know me know that when I get nervous I get chatty so the I was have a ball getting to know my nurse in between pushes. At the same time, my sister kept poking her head in the curtain to see what was going on. She was getting anxious in the waiting room so we finally invited her to come and watch the show.

After about an hour of pushing and talking I decided to get serious about delivering Noah. I put my mind to it and Noah bounced into the world on Sunday, September 19 at 12:29 a.m. And today, he is a my happy, healthy one-year old!

In case you did not realize it, the first picture was Noah's newborn picture in the hospital and this picture was taken tonight at Chuck E. Cheese.

First Year Pictures

We had a coupon at Picture People so we decided to take Noah to have his picture taken while wearing his "first day in the ones room outfit." Here they are!

In & Out Burger and Walking With Help

My dad's birthday was this past weekend so we celebrated on Saturday afternoon with lunch from In & Out burger. Since it was a special occasion, we bought Noah his very first hamburger. He will eat virtually anything we put in front of him and we knew he would discard anything on the burger that he didn't want. Watching him eat this burger was a riot and the pictures speak for themselves. Noah also likes to "save" bit and pieces of his meals and he does this by putting food he want to save on the
window shutters next to the table. As you can see, Noah was particularly fond of the bun.

We've also noticed that Noah is getting much more confidant with standing unassisted and he can stand without holding on to anything for about 15-20 seconds. The fact that he is doing this is a sign that he is close to walking. This weekend my dad was helping Noah "practice" his walking and while holding his hand Noah walked across the room. He then did it again with me. So now we try to practice walking with Noah every day. It is amazing how big and strong he is getting.

As if there was EVER any doubt. . .

Noah is totally rocking the one's room. It is as if he has been there for months. When I drop him off in the morning he doesn't notice when I leave because he has already made his way over to his friends and is gleefully playing with SOMETHING. This morning we arrived as some of the kids were finishing breakfast and within 15 seconds of arriving Noah had high-tailed it to the table and was noshing on someone else's bagel and schmear. He is also napping better than he has in weeks. . . partly because in this room the expectation is that all of the kids nap at the same time. The lights are dimmed, distractions are eliminated, and the environment is more conducive to napping. I also think (and the teachers agree) that some of Noah's more colorful behavior in the last few weeks was because he was not being stimulated enough in the infant room.

Preschool Update

For the five of you who regularly read my blog, I know that you are on the edge of your seat waiting with bated breath to find out how Noah's first day in the One's room went. Needless to say, it went very well. So well that Noah did not notice when Dan and I left the room. . . .he was too busy playing drums with another little boy. When I picked Noah up I was informed that he woke up the rest of his class from their naps. I guess he wanted to play and was pissed that everyone was still sleeping. Apparently this is an easy problem for Noah to solve.

And everyone commented on how much they loved his lunchbox because it fit his personality (it's tan with a green dinosaur/frog on it). Noah is nothing if not cool. . .with a new outfit, new shoes, and a kick-ass lunchbox.

Breakfast, a Bath, and a Poop

Noah woke up this morning around 8am. We changed his diaper and sat him in his high chair for breakfast, where he dined on formula, a banana, 1/2 of a raspberry breakfast bar and a toaster struedel. Noah is having his picture taken this afternoon and because he didn't have a bath last night and since he was filthy from breakfast, we decided to give him a bath this morning.


The bath started off okay. . . .we washed Noah's hair and body and then I settled in to let him play for a bit. Noah was stood up in the tub (which he normally does) and he made the same noise that he makes when he has to poop. I looked down and didn't see anything. Dan came into the bathroom and I turned my head to ask him a question. When I turned around to look at Noah my stomach turned.

The tub was FULL of poop. And Noah was standing in it. . . .happy as a pig(let) in shit. Literally.

Much to Dan's disappointment, my reaction was to run out of the bathroom screaming "EEEEEEWWWWW!!!!" Once I recovered from my disgust, I went back into the bathroom, picked up Noah and put him in the shower (which he hated). Thus leaving Dan to clean-up the poopy mess in the tub.

What a morning. I am happy to report that Noah has been cleaned off and is now napping in the crib and the tub is clean. Dan's says this happened because we changed his morning schedule. I think it happened because the kid needed to poop.

Shop Til You Drop!

We had a pretty big shopping day as our quest to find Noah a pair of shoes that FIT and STAY on his feet continued. First we hit Nordstrom at Scottsdale Fashion Square to return the Stride Rite sandals that we purchased last week. We loaded Noah up on Pretzel Bitz (no butter or salt) and let him loose on the indoor playground. He had a blast and took off crawling and climbing the moment we got him out of the stroller. He likes to climb up the same slide over and over again. In fact, I think some of the other parents were surprised (even impressed) by his athletic prowess. We eventually wandered over to
Dillard's where they were having massive sale. Mommy purchased a $70 pair of Steve Madden shoes for $14.75. Highlight of my day.

After Fashion Square we went to Paradise Valley Mall to visit the Stride Rite store. Noah had his feet measured, tried on a pair of sneakers, and mom and dad decided that to pay $40 for a pair of shoes for a kid who can't quite walk is ridiculous. So we let Noah loose at the PV Mall indoor playground and decided to pay the Stride Rite outlet a visit. The trip to PV Mall was not a complete waste. I paid the ladies of Picture People a visit and the manager confirmed that the pictures we had taken a few weeks ago were
terrible. Long story short, they offered to rescued them for free on Monday.

After a quick stop at McDonald's for a Chicken McNugget happy meal with apple slices and juice we loaded back into the car and went to the Outlets at Anthem. . .where we purchased Noah a pair of sneakers and some socks. I also convinced the guy at the store to accept my Stride Rite coupon (which I don't think was valid at the Outlet).

Noah was fabulous all day long but this last picture sums up how he felt at the end of the day. Needless to say, we did A LOT of schelping. Notice the very stylish sneakers that are on Noah's Feet. $19.99 and definitely worth the $3.19/gallon we paid for gas. After what we went through to get these shoes he will be wearing them until he is 40.

Movin' On Up

Well, we found out on Thursday that after the Labor Day Weekend Noah will be leaving the infant room and moving into the One's room. The good news is that his friend Josh is also moving up with him. The bad news is that his friend Drew is staying behind for at least another week or two. In the end, it boiled down to numbers. There are a bunch of babies in the infant room right now and a new one is starting on Tuesday. Even though neither Josh or Noah is one and walking (almost one and on the verge of walking), they are bored with the infant room and not getting the attention they need. Moving them right now is the right thing to do and while Dan and I are sad to leave Noah's teacher Jamie, his new teachers are fantastic. In light of this development, we will be taking Noah later today to get a new pair of shoes. . . his left foot is significantly smaller than his right and we can't seem to find a pair that will stay on his feet. We may also spring for a new outfit for his first day in the new room. It's going to be an interesting transition for Noah. . . .in his new classroom the kids eat and nap at the same time. And pacifiers are only used during naptime. In the infant room, his pacifier was kept in the crib but Noah figured out that he could crawl to the crib and pluck it out whenever he wanted.

In other news, we went to dinner last night with Josh and his parents up at Desert Ridge. Both boys had mac n' cheese (bleech) with a meatball and then we took them to hear a band that was playing in the promenade. There were a couple of other families from daycare there in addition to Jamie and her daughter Cassidy. Cassidy LOVES Noah and he had a blast listening to the music and playing with the other kids. After a while he got fussy so we put him in the stroller and did some window shopping. It was a fun night but we were all exhausted in the end.

There are Jewish blinkies on the internet!

A friend from one of my boards found these.



Who knew? I guess I am not as savvy on web as I previously thought. . . and big thanks to Linny1974!

Why No Jewish blinkies or tickers?

For those of you unfamiliar with online message boards, there are such things as blinkies and tickers. If you are a regular visitor of message boards, you undoubtedly have seen blinkies and tickers, which most people include with their online signature.

A blinky is a cute little graphic that has a funny saying or tells people something about yourself (sometimes more than people REALLY need to know) and/or something you like. Here are some examples:


A ticker keeps track of things. An anniversary, birthdays, pregnancy, even the number of days and weeks you have breastfed. Popular on the pregnancy/parenting message boards are tickers that chronicle conception efforts. Here is a typical ticker:


You can search the internet and there are THOUSANDS of unique blinkies and tickers but I have NEVER seen a Jewish blinkie. Through various message boards I have visited, I have seen literally hundreds of Jesus/Christian blinkies but never a Jewish blinkie. If someone can take the time to create a blinkie that says why can't someone else create a cute little blinkie with a Star of David that says Shalom? Or L'Shana Tova?

I feel discriminated. And I challenge someone to find a Jewish blinkie for me since I am tired of looking.