So much can happen in a year and a half...

Noah is 18 months old! It is amazing how fast it is going. It seems to be flying by quicker now than it did even with Evan. Tonight I fed Noah his nighttime bottle, and stayed a little extra long in the rocking chair, holding him and trying to memorize the moment. His little chubby arms, that sweet sleeping face with the long eyelashes. It was hard, though, because I was trying not to breathe on him (I'm still sick... ugh) and he really hates being cuddled. So after a few squirms, I finally laid him in his crib and whispered good night. (Although, who am I kidding? At the rate he's been going, I'll be seing him at 4am...)

Anyway, here is an update on Noah at 18 months: he can say a few words, generally only when he's in the mood... and the most frequent are: up, hi, dada, airplane, "gook" (cookie), "ca" (car), "twee" (tree), "buh" (bird), paci (pacifier), "maw" (more), "Ebah" (Evan), thank you (he's pretty darn close to saying it correctly). He's also 'talking' up a storm lately, but it's anyone's guess what he's saying.

Things he likes to do: playing with his brother more than anything, playing peek-a-boo (he'll hide behind a napkin, usually), playing hide-and-seek (he's good), putting things in and taking them out (usually tupperware-related), having his picture taken, going out for walks, going for a car ride, going out to eat, eating pizza, ice cream or chocolate chip cookies, having visitors over or going to see people, especially other babies, and pulling on mom's hair.

Things he doesn't like to do: putting on a coat or hat, eating most food (unless it is a tried-and-true baby food or the above named items), drinking out of anything but a bottle, going to bed, having his hair washed, or getting kicked out of Evan's room (when Ev is trying to get dressed or do his homework).

He loves the Christmas tree, the sounds of cars and trucks going by, and most of all, he loves airplanes. He is a sweet little boy with a big personality - he can tell you exactly what he wants by pointing and grunting, and when he is happy he has the BIGGEST smile. I love how his whole face lights up! And how he plays with his brother, well, that just amazes me. To be so little and yet... they cuddle, wrestle, giggle, roll, play catch, play with action figures, tear up the play area... everything I hoped but never imagined he'd be doing at just 18 months.

Here is when Noah was just a few hours old:



And here is Noah now:




Oh, and here is WWBW (WorldWideBabyWrestling) at our house... (a bit of a weird pic of me, but you get the idea... Noah has me pinned!)

First Snow

We had our first snow of the season on December 7th (I know, I'm still behind...) and the boys got outside to play a bit. Noah was amazed, he didn't remember snow from last year (he was only 6 months old last December) and Evan had a ball showing it to him. He was so happy to have someone to play with!

People say to me all the time "Oh, too bad Noah isn't older so they can play together", or "Evan must have no interest in Noah since he is so much younger" and I just crack up. They couldn't be further from the truth... these two are inseparable. Every night, I have to nag Evan to get back to his homework 2x, 3x, 4x... because he is playing with Noah. When he comes home from school, they play together for at least an hour... and their giggles can be contagious, like tonight. Noah was laughing hysterically at Evan's antics... and his laugh made everyone else laugh... all I can say is, these boys love each other to pieces. I hope it always, always stays this way.

Cabin Fever

The weather has been pretty miserable - either it is freezing cold (too cold to spend much time outdoors) or it has been mild and pouring rain.

Either way makes for many days stuck indoors. I am so looking forward to spring already... and it is not even officially winter yet. Ugh.

So... here are a few indoor photos we've taken recently... see how happy Noah is in the bath!

And here he is reading a book....



















...and getting into trouble in the new fireplace.



And playing with Evan....


Best of all, though, is when they've been able to finally go outside.... like when we had our first snow!! Will post photos from that next.... :)

Thankful

I am so far behind! I hope to catch up this week... I have so many great photos and videos of the boys to post....

Here is some of the old stuff, to catch up: we had a hectic Thanksgiving 'week', celebrating with family over several days. The boys had fun being with all their grandparents, aunts, cousins, more... and Evan was a HUGE help cooking. He helped make a delicious whipped sweet potato dish, pumpkin soup, turkey stuffing and more... and he raved about all the food. He was so sweet. Noah, on the other hand, refused to eat anything except maybe a few pieces of american cheese and some corn. He's going through a beyond-fussy phase, although has a big appetite, so when he eats, he eats. :) The other night he put away more mac-n-cheese for dinner than his big brother did!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for all our wonderful friends and family. And, of course, I'm thankful for these amazing brothers.

PS> Lately Josh brings Noah into Evan's room in the morning to wake Evan up. He puts Noah on the bed, and he climbs over and gives Evan a big hug. How cute is that?

Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving morning, at the traditional cousin football game. (I have no photos from the rest of the day, since I lost my camera. A huge thanks to cousin Mindy for finding it for me!!! Where would I be without it...LOL.) I'll post more video next...

Following in big brother's footsteps

Noah has had such a bad cold this week. Thank goodness Evan hasn't gotten it! Evan has been such a sweetie with his brother - like usual, but taking extra care with him since he isn't feeling well. He built Noah a Noah-sized fort, which Noah was absolutely thrilled with - as you can see in the video below. We think he thinks he is playing 'like a big boy'. He idolizes his big brother...(PS> yes, if you are wondering what that shadow is, Noah's shirt is completely soaked with drool. Since he can't breathe through his nose, the open mouth leads to.... a change of shirts every hour. Fun.)

Here are the boys with the fort:



And, in more Noah news: he is really trying to walk! Of course he is. I called Early Intervention services to come check him out (since he is 16 1/2 months and wasn't walking... I was starting to get nervous since the doc diagnosed him with hypotonia at his last visit, and even though that is mild and not a big deal, I thought he may need some physical therapy to help him along.) I knew I was jumping the gun a bit, since really they say not walking up until 18 months is within range, but I figured better safe than sorry. Then the day after I called, he took 5 steps, from Evan to me. A few days later, the physical therapist and an education specialist came to evaluate him, and later that same night - he stood up and walked. All by himself.

He must have known.

See the wobbly steps in feetie PJs for yourself below... (and his beautiful big brother, who I sort of cut off at the end. Sorry about that, Ev. :)

Hands off

Noah is using a fork! Well, for the most part, anyway. And he is REALLY proud of himself, as you'll see in this video of him (chowing down on canteloupe with his nanny, Claudia).

Genetics

Noah has loved football since pretty much the day he was born. Even as an infant, he would turn his head to watch it on TV (otherwise to this day he has pretty much no interest in TV... unless the Yankees are on).

Apparently, his admiration for it is only increased with potato chips....

As this video clearly shows, he is truly his daddy's boy!

Big steps forward

It's amazing how quickly kids change. How fast they grow up. In so many different ways... I love watching both boys grow and become such amazing little people. Every day, I think about how lucky I am that I have them. Even when I'm exhausted from being kept up all night (they take turns at that), or I'm doing the millionth load of laundry, or whatever... it is all so worth it to get to be with these two boys. They make me laugh every day and their hugs make me feel like my heart is going to explode. I love being their mom.

Anyway... here's what the boys have been up to!

Big news on both: Noah is walking! Finally. He took his first steps (leaving the coffee table to walk to me) on Sunday, October 5th (15 1/2 months old). Now he is pushing his toy walker-push-toy-things all over the place, walking like... well, you'll see. Josh says it looks like a penguin. It is the cutest thing... he hasn't quite figured out how to bend his knees yet. But he's getting there. He laughs and laughs while he wobbles around.

Also in Noah news - he is saying a lot now. His favorite thing to say these days is "Uh Oh" (usually preceded by him throwing something off of the high chair, etc.). But he also says "ap" for apple (which he points at in his book), "puhdibak" (put it back), "dock" (sock), "igoddit" (I got it), "maw" (more) and of course, 'hi dada'. I think there are one or two others... but he mostly still grunts and points. Tonight I gave him a bath, and he grabbed the washcloth (he loves to play with it). I said, "Noah, clean your feet! Where are your feet?" and he looked at me and then grabbed his feet! I was so surprised... that was something new! We played this game for a little while until he got confused. But he knew his back, his arm and his toes. Wow! So my saying those body parts every night at every bath is finally paying off. :)

In Evan news, he is finally all better. He was sick for almost two weeks, poor kid! He had a bad cold, an ear infection, swollen glands, his 12 year molars are coming in, he had allergies... in the doc's words, he was "a mess". But we still made the trip down to NJ to Jack's Golf Tournament at the end of September. Evan really didn't want to miss it ("I feel fine, Mom!") and it was SO nice of the family to invite us. It was really wonderful. Evan and I got to meet all of Jack's family (the baby boy who had inspired Evan to hold the toy drive for the hospital earlier this year) and they honored Evan at the dinner as a special guest! They asked him to pick out the winning tickets for a few of the raffle drawings - and Evan was so nervous. He kept asking me over and over what he had to do, if he had to say anything, what if it went wrong, etc. I promised him it would be easy. He ended up having a great time, although by the end of the evening he was ready for bed (that cold was getting the best of him - and he was trying really hard not to spread his germs). Back at the hotel we changed into jammies, rented The Hulk on PayPerView and snuggled into bed. It was a great Mom-and-Evan trip, but it would have been perfect if he were feeling better.

Here's Evan at the podium, picking out raffle winners:

Here he is trying not to get his cold germs on baby Jack's adorable sisters (p.s. they're playing with the maracas Evan gave them :) :

Fifth grade and a fifteen month old

Well, I'm not very good at keeping up-to-date with this blog, I guess. This last month has been a blur....

Here are the updates: Evan has started 5th grade (his last year of elementary school!) and so far he really seems to like it. We'll see... he has good days and bad days, but doesn't everyone? And he lost his last baby tooth. He also has reached my height and weighs 100 lbs. Holy cow... I know everyone says 'it goes so fast' but no one warned me that time seems to speed up exponentially once you have kids. It seems to be speeding past me some days.

Anyway, on the Noah front: No, he's still not walking. He just reached 15 months, and he still butt scoots. But he is standing a lot more, and a lot sturdier - even starting to let go with one or both hands now. And when he sits down, he bends his knees now - so he doesn't crash down on his tush like he was at first (I guess that diaper wasn't great padding after all). And he is cruising around the furniture all of a sudden. He is very cautious - which is a good thing.

He's still generally a very happy baby - although he has his days (again, who doesn't?), has reverted back to waking up at 5am (shoot me) and has just started throwing mild temper tantrums when something is taken away from him. He now trys to 'help' around the house (you can see him here 'helping' with the dishwasher - he generally takes off with the basket full of silverware...) He doesn't say much (usually a grunt means 'yes' in response to a "Do you want..." question) but today he said 'car'. Twice. It was the cutest, sweetest little sound I've ever heard.

We also started taking Noah to a little playgroup at the library.

It's great... it's free, it's an hour long (I take him with his Nanny over my lunch break, once a week) and there are about 12 other babies there. He's the youngest. He's completely fascinated by the other kids and goes right up to them (doesn't even give a second glance back at me or his Nanny). So he is loving it. Evan is disappointed, though - he REALLY wants to go with him, but of course it is during school hours so that won't work. Hopefully we'll find something on the weekends that we can all go to together.


Evan is off at the Grandmas' tonight, working on his 'real metal iron man costume that he's not sure if he wants to wear for Halloween or just around the house' (those grandparents have a whole lot of patience...). They are all having fun with it, though, and it sure is creative. I'm hoping he comes home early tomorrow, otherwise Noah will be complaining all morning. He gets really grouchy when Evan is not home, and I swear he knows the difference between a weekend and a school day.

Waiting at the door for Evan to come home from school...

Growing up right before my eyes

So... Noah is really standing! He is getting stronger and sturdier at it every day.

Sure, most 14 month olds are practically running around, but our Noah just loves his butt hop so much, he is taking his sweet time to walk. So the standing alone thing is such a big step forward (no pun intended)!

We also don't really have a house set up with cruise-height furniture, and I think that probably would have helped him. Sorry, Noah. (PS>These photos are a little dark but you get the idea. :)

I am so thrilled to see him starting to stand and walk, but at the same time... my baby.

I only need to look at Evan to know how the time really does fly...

Speaking of Evan.... time for a few photos of him. We went to a wedding recently (my oldest friend - friends since 2nd grade - married my step-brother... how cool is that!). Evan is thrilled since her son is now not just his friend, but his cousin, too.

I didn't get to take too many photos since I was in the wedding party, and Josh had his hands full with the boys... but look how gorgeous Evan looks. (I'm a bit biased, I know...)

Evan watching over his sleeping brother (after he said to me, "You go dance, mom - you should enjoy your friend's wedding.")














Evan and my friend Laura's three boys... so cute, all in their polo shirts...














And a truly tuckered Noah - who partied hard at the wedding... And lastly, my favorite photo of the week - and maybe of all time:

Crazy summer days

I used to think the summer was relaxing, and that the school year was so hectic.

Now, between the long camp hours, work, the nanny, more work, Noah's schedule and trying to fit in some 'let's enjoy this beautiful day before the end of the summer' - I think we're all ready for the fall. And I never, ever thought I would say that!

So far our attempts at 'let's have some summer fun' haven't worked out so well... mosquitos, rain, bugs (Evan hates bugs of all kinds) and some really dumb rules at Great Adventure have been getting in the way of our summer fun.

We spent the day at GA recently, and it was a bit of a disaster. I hadn't been there in years, but I remembered it as a mostly-roller-coaster park with some other fun (and easier) rides, like the log flume and the runaway train. I thought Evan would love it. A beautiful summer day. Lots of things to do, rides for kids, hot dogs and ice cream. What could be bad about that? Well...

The park is now ALL roller coasters. One after the other... and the few rides I thought he would enjoy? Let's see: the log flume had a 2+ hour wait (it was a broiling summer day), we tried the runaway train and not only did Evan hate it, the ride got stuck while we were on it. Not good. Then - the worst part - Evan was turned away from every attraction he REALLY wanted to go on, because (get this): he was too tall. Too tall! I never heard of that before at an amusement park. Too short, sure. I can remember as a kid my dad taught me how to lift my heels inside my sneakers so I could cram another inch in... but poor Evan. I felt soooo badly for him. It was such a tease, to see all these kids (probably his age, too) running around and having a great time, on the giant treehouse, the ball pit with the air shooters (shooting plastic balls at each other) and the water play area. We begged a manager and a few others, but no dice. Needless to say, we won't be going back.

We did have some fun, though, just all being together (despite the 3+ hour car ride each way)...

Evan was much happier when he got this Batman cape as we were leaving the park... whew. At least the day ended well!

Maybe this is why I'm so tired all the time?

I know this blog is about the boys, but I have to tell you how my night went last night - and in a big way, it is all about them:

5:45 pm - Get home from working in the city, exhausted after long commute, but - bliss, no one is home. I can put my feet up.

5:50 pm – Oh well - Josh and Noah walk in - I start prepping Noah's dinner.

6:00 pm - Attempt to feed Noah, who wants nothing I've prepared - in the end he has inhaled about 3 dozen puffs, a jar of his old standby favorite baby food, 12 peas and a huge slice of watermelon. My dinner? The Annie's mac-n-cheese he refused.

6:30 pm - Evan gets home, we all play for a bit.

7:00 pm - Josh offers to watch kids so I can shower (YAY!).

7:05 pm - Finish what felt like the longest, best shower ever. Start running Noah's bath water.

7:15 pm - Attempt to give Noah a bath, while he proceeds to stand up in the tub, turn around to try to grab anything not bolted down and pour cups of water outside the tub onto the floor.

7:30 pm - Wrestling time! Try to get Noah into his PJs and ready for bed.

7:45 pm - Tell Evan for the 10th time to get into the shower.

8:00 pm - Put Noah to bed. Start Evan's laundry.

8:30 pm - Family time: Josh, Evan and I watch an episode of Buffy.

9:30 pm - Evan goes to bed; I decide to get some work done on the computer.

12:30 am - Exhausted, turn off computer, fall into bed.

2:00 am (maybe??) - Wake up to Evan looming over me, his belly hurts (although I suspect that v. scary Buffy episode may have something to do with it) - I go to his room to put him back to bed.

5:00 am - Wake up (where am I? Oh, right - Evan's room) to Noah screaming.

5:10 am - Waiting to see if Noah will stop crying on his own.

5:15 am - Go see what is wrong with Noah. Oh, he dropped his paci outside the crib. Give it back to him. Wait, that's not making him any happier.

5:30 am - Make Noah a bottle.

5:45 am - Put Noah back into his crib, a much happier baby.

5:50 am - Remember that Evan's laundry is sitting in the washing machine, and he'll have nothing to wear tomorrow. Run downstairs and switch it over to the dryer.

6:00 am - Crawl into bed just in time for the alarm to go off.

6:30 am - Nanny calls in sick for the day.

Here are a few more recent photos...

Sitting, scooting and standing

So... Noah seems to have decided to skip conventional crawling.

His brother Evan wasn't a huge fan of crawling either, so I shouldn't be surprised. Sure, Noah tried it a few months ago - but he could only go backwards, which really ticked him off. He would reach out for a toy, and - whoops- slide backwards, even further away from it. Then he would pound the floor with his fist and shake his head, like NO! How can this be so hard? It was really very funny, although of course, you had to feel badly for him, poor little frustrated guy.

So - he discovered the art of the butt hop. Yup, he hops around on his little tush. He has gotten really fast, and let me tell you, he has thighs of steel. Every once in awhile I'm carrying him on my hip, and he squeezes his legs together and... yeow. (Next thing you know, the butt hop will be all the rage as the latest fitness class at Equinox...)

Here is some video of the butt hop, so you can see for yourself how funny it is:



We took that video at Josh's aunt Judy's house (just outside of D.C.) last week where we spent the 4th of July. We had such a great time, getting to see lots of family and even meeting new sweet cousin baby Ila who was visiting from Hawaii with her mom and dad. I have some great video of her and the rest of the family that I hope to upload soon, too.

In more Noah news: he made the next great leap last night! Noah pulled himself up to stand in his pack n' play. I actually saw him try to stand earlier in the afternoon, but he pulled up on a basket of toys, which promptly toppled over on top of him (so that first real attempt was pretty much a crash and burn). However, in the pack n' play, he had soft cushioning all around which seemed to make him much more confident. He pulled up once, and we all applauded - so he did it again and again until we ran and (finally) got the video camera. By that time he was pretty hysterical, and not in a good way. Oh well.

Things have been a bit hectic in our house lately, between the standing and butt hopping and visiting D.C. and all. We took lots and lots of great pictures on the trip, but this one beats all:

I'm going to have to figure out how to make this photo the header for this blog - since it sort of says it all, don't you think? (PS> If you say "hug" to Noah now, he will often respond by giving a hug. But only to certain people. And obviously his most-favorite-brother-in-the-whole-wide-world is one of those people.)

I promise to post more about Evan in the next entry, so these entries are not all about Noah... but Evan's been making the rounds at his grandparents', his dad's, and his friend's - so he hasn't been home very much. I miss him. He starts day camp on Monday, so on to a new adventure...

But lastly, here is a little video of the brothers playing together (well, more like Noah putting Evan in a headlock, but you get the idea...).

Finally getting around to it...

I've been reading some wonderful blogs for awhile now... and I've thought, what a great way to record all the new things your little ones are doing. It's so much more realistic for me to type in a paragraph here and there (and upload some photos, which I do all the time anyway) than to actually ever finish the mountain of half-started scrapbooks I have growing in the closet.

Now that Evan, my oldest, is 10 - and I am still only half-way through year 2 in his scrapbooks and photo albums - I'm realizing that there is pretty much no chance I will ever catch up, let alone be able to complete his and his baby brother's albums before they reach college.

Plus, considering how poor my memory is - this is a great way to record all the little things they do and say, while I can still remember them!

So here is my first entry:

Noah is now just over a year old. He is scooting around on his butt (I will post a short video next, I promise - since it is just about the funniest thing I've ever seen) but refuses to crawl. He did just start doing this half-stand/half-squat thing, with one leg stretched out and the other bent under him, which looks like he may stand soon. The doctor says I should get concerned by the end of the summer if he is not pulling himself up or cruising yet. But so far, I've seen Noah - like his big brother - do things on his own schedule. He's not cruising yet because he gets around just fine on his butt. As soon as he really needs to, or feels comfortable doing so, I'm sure he will.


He has gotten over his fear of pull-back cars, still hates wearing hats, and is suddenly not a big fan of going shopping. Unless I carry him, and he reaches out and helps me push the cart or stroller. He also demands that he feed himself (only with me) and loves watermelon, eggs, canteloupe, puffs, blueberries and ice cream. Not in that order. So you see, I have a toddler who doesn't yet toddle.

Evan is 10 1/2. He is spending a few days at his dad's, hopefully riding his bike and going to the park a lot. So far he's told me that he and his dad watched "The Matrix 3" and he loved it.


He is working on a new comic book and trying very hard to come up with characters and superheroes who haven't been done before. It's more of a challenge than you might think. He is always thinking about his creations - drawing them, making them out of clay, constructing metal costumes out of recycled items. I'm so glad he is going to an art program at his day camp this summer (which starts in a few weeks).

He is such a sweet kid... always kissing and hugging his brother (sometimes too much... can you believe that is probably my worst complaint?) and watching out for him like a hawk. If Noah even hints at toppling over, Evan is there in a flash.

Well, I think that is enough for a first post. I'll try to figure out how to post video next...