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.