June 20, 2006 - Wow, I can't believe I've waited this long to update.  I must say, the Noah seems to be less defiant these days than in the entry I read below.  He still has his moments of saying no, but for the most part he is still very cooperative.  He does tend to hit, bite and even KICK when he doesn't get his way sometimes though.  We're trying to put a stop to that.  Perhaps it's because I have adopted a zero tolerance policy when it comes to him being defiant with me, and lately when he gets in those moods I take him right upstairs and put him to bed sometimes.  I don't think he's happy about not having the usual bedtime routine on those nights because he still enjoys being rocked before bedtime, and quite frankly I enjoy that quiet time with my baby boy too.  He's pretty good at navigating the stairs these days, though we still don't leave them ungated most of the time.  He has only 2 weeks remaining in home daycare and then after his second birthday he'll start at the daycare center.  I hope it goes smoothly.  He seems to like it there.  Noah is a very expressive and talkative child still, and he loves to sing and talk a lot.  He sings the ABC song pretty well as well as lots of other songs that he's learned either from me or from his sister.  He still plays well with her but also likes to try to play with his older brother too.  It's amazing to me that if something happens, Noah never hesitates to tell me about it.  I have to say my favorite phrase right now from him is "Right dare".  If I ask him where something is located, "Right dare" is his answer and it's so cute.  He can say "Nicowess" pretty well and doesn't hesitate to tell me when "Nicowess" has taken something from him or said something mean to him.  He speaks in sentences most of the time now and he still loves to eat for the most part.  He's just growing up way too fast for my liking but he'll always be the baby to me.

April 27, 2006 - Who has replaced my sweet little boy with a defiant little devil of a child?  I want the other Noah back now!  In the last few days Noah has gone from my yes-boy-angel to Mr. No.  It seems anything you ask of him is proceeded by "No".  Noah, let's put on your jacket.  "No jacket!".  Noah, eat your breakfast "No breakfast!" and then this morning he started to fight me for the first time in getting dressed.  "No t-shirt" was followed by him trying to pull it off while I continued to try to dress him.  AAAAH!  He used to walk so nicely into daycare when we dropped off Noelle each morning, and now when I put him down (after he insists "my walk!") he will just stand there.  Oh, how I dislike the age of trying to find their independence.  Noelle didn't go through it so much, but Nicolas did and Noah looks to be following in his big brother's footsteps.  Oh yeah, the next few months are going to be such fun...not.  He's even been doing it with eating, though usually I just ignore his food protests and then he ends up eating the food anyway.  Some of these other things are much more difficult to ignore.  He still talks a lot, and loves to sing too, and still loves to hear books, so all that is good so far.  This morning Noelle was eating breakfast and laughing at something and Noah just kept saying "Noelle funny Mommy".  He is putting together more and more sentences every day and is just growing up so fast.  In just two months he'll be two.  How did that happen already?

March 15, 2006 - Another month and not much new to report.  Noah is just still a very talkative and interactive child who still loves to climb up into a lap to have a book read to him, usually a Thomas the Tank Engine book.  He is still throwing his little mini-tantrums of laying on the ground when he doesn't get his way, and I am looking forward to that ending, but otherwise for the most part he's pretty easy going and easily distracted when he's mad or upset about something.  His latest favorite words are "HELP" and "WHY".  He's always asking for help when he needs something, and he is forever asking "why" even though I'm not sure he really understands the meaning of that word.  He certainly uses it properly, such as "You don't need your jacket today Noah"..."WHY?".  It's just funny to hear it from somebody so small.  He still has a pretty good appetite for the most part, though he is showing some signs of being picky when he wants something to eat other than what is being served to him.  He still enjoys playing with trains or cars at home as well as Noelle's baby dolls, so he's a very well-rounded child in that area. 

February 15, 2006 - Noah had his 18-month visit yesterday, even though he is over 19 months old now.  It went well, but I don't remember any of his stats.  I guess I'll have to measure him at home.  I know he was about 24 pounds and 10 ounces on the scales and he did not need any shots thank goodness.  She asked about his development of course, and I told her he was just fine, and his vocabulary especially is just incredible.  He repeats anything and everything he hears and he does comprehend most of it as well, so he's not just saying words.  He knows words like "bunt (button)", car, truck, bus, stinky, bird, kitty, doggy, pillow and of course asks questions like "where daddy?"  and says things like "need tissue", "milk pease", "cold", "hot don't touch".  She asked me how many words he knows, and I said at least fifty, but honestly I don't think I can count them because it really is a pretty good amount, at least double that.  He's still my sweet baby for the most part, and still loves to give hugs and cuddle at night before bedtime.  Just a few weeks ago he finally started to comprehend and say the word "yes" so when you ask him something, he answers yes or no and understands what it means now.  He is started to try to demonstrate a bit of independence and does throw mini-tantrums every now and then, which are funny to watch.  He will actually slow sit down on the ground, then get into a lying down position, and then sometimes scoot backwards while on his tummy or lay and kick once or twice.  It's pretty funny to watch actually.  He knows what he wants and what he doesn't want and he lets it be known as much as possible.  

December 6, 2005 - Noah is now 17 months old as of yesterday.  He continues to show an interest in learning new things and new words.  I can't even name all of the words that he knows because his vocabulary is pretty huge.  Over the weekend he seemed to not only figure out the word POTTY but the meaning of it as well.  While at his grandparents house, Noelle asked to use the potty and Noah followed with "Mmm..potty" and I figured he was just repeating the word.  Later he was standing in the room and sai "Mmm...Potty" and I looked over to find him standing there with his pants SOAKED.  His diaper had fallen down around his ankles and he HAD gone potty just as he said.  So, I changed him again thinking nothing of it but since then he's pointed to his diaper and said "potty" at least two other times and he has needed a diaper change.  I can't believe he understands that already.  I broke out the potty seat just in case, but I can't imagine he's really ready for it yet.  He certainly does like to talk and repeat things and he still eats just about anything without complaint.  Even when he does complain, it's usually pretty short lived and he's usually over it pretty quickly.  His newest thing is to have me rock him in the rocking chair in his room every night before bedtime.  I have to admit, I enjoy doing it as well and don't mind having that extra time with him each night.  He still cuddles and puts his head on my shoulder as well and I'm not looking forward to the day when he no longer wants to do that.

November 26, 2005 - I finally posted Noah's stats from his 15-month visit, even though he's now almost 17 months old.  Noah amazes us more each day with his talking abilities and his comprehension of things.  The boy is a walking parrot for sure and seems to be learning a LOT of new things.  Just last week he learned how to crawl UNDER the baby gate mounted at the top of our staircase, but that skill was thanks to his older brother and sister who do it all of the time.  So now we have to watch him more carefully when he's upstairs with us.  In fact, I got out of the bathroom the other night and found him on the floor outside the door, on his stomach.  Apparently he figured he could back down and under the crack of the door just like he does under the baby gate!  He just LOVES to listen to books as well.  He is forever following me around the house, book in hand, and wanting me to sit down and read to him.  We read many long and involved books, mostly about Thomas the Tank Engine, and we read them so much that Noelle has them almost memorized and when we can't read to him she will try to read them to him herself.  Noah's vocabulary is pretty big and some of his favorites are "Mo (No...said for Yes as well as No), Bass (bath), Guck (stuck), Juice, Keecat (Kitty cat), Ussat (what's that), Bye-Bye, Shoes, Goggy (doggy), MINE, Cheese, Dadoo (thank you)".  He tries to repeat anything.  He is great at climbing and sliding on his own now.  His skills at using utensils continue to improve.  He loves to laugh and run away from us, but he also still loves to cuddle and put his head on your shoulder.

October 24, 2005 - I realized it's been a while since my last update so I thought I'd post a few things here about Noah.  He's still doing great.  He gets more talkative and more adventurous every single day.  There isn't anything he isn't afraid to try to climb, which makes it fun at home when I find him sitting in the middle of a desk or table whenever he is out of my sight.  He is working on a TON of new teeth right now, but other than the excessive drooling he really hasn't seemed to be bothered by them.  He has at least one of the molars in I think, but you can clearly see several teeth on each side erupting or getting ready to erupt.  He still loves to repeat things and it still amazes us to hear him say things that sound very much like words to us, but I'm sure would seem like gibberish to anybody else.  He even tries to sing, and the newest thing is when Noelle sings Ring Around the Rosie with him, and he says "ALL FALL DOWN" and loves to play her with her.  He still gets a temper and cries and he wants something and doesn't get it, but it's not too terrible yet.  He is still a Mama's boy by all means, and that's fine with me for now since I know that all too soon he'll want nothing to do with me.

September 19, 2005 - Noah is just getting over a nasty virus that kept him down and out for a good 4 days last week.  He had a fever that got to 103 at some point, and for the first two days he just wanted to be held and slept on top of somebody else during the day.  The next two days he was very irritable, even though the fever was gone, and then he broke out in a rash.  The doctor confirmed it was just a virus that had to run it's course and nothing else.  He was a very unhappy baby though.  His appetite is now coming back and he's back to his happy self again, laughing and playing and NOT crying every time he falls down.  It's so great to have him back.  His favorite word these days seems to be "Mommy" or "MaMa" and he says that all of the time now.  I personally can't get tired of hearing it.  He still does a lot of pointing and saying "Whasat?" and he loves to clap for just about anything.  If music ends or he hears a song he likes, he claps.  If something on tv looks like it's coming to an end, he claps.  He also claps and laughs to encourage his siblings to continue to do things that we don't find too funny, like making disturbing noises, but Noah just LOVES it.  I haven't had a chance to check on the teeth front but Noah doesn't seem to be drooling nearly as bad as he was before, so maybe those teeth are finally giving him a little break.  Just about everyone thinks I need to cut his hair, but I just can't do that to those blonde and curly locks quite yet!

September 6, 2005 - Noah still has yet to show any more teeth even though is a walking faucet.  What is clear to me is that he is really picking up on a lot of new words.  He quite often repeats words and phrases back to us and says things that we think sound just like words, like shoes, light, what's that and he points to objects all of the time now as he seems to ask questions.  He babbles a lot of sounds that sound more like words to us as well.  It's just amazing to hear him sometimes.  He has a little more of a temper also when he doesn't get his way, and he SCREAMS when something is taken from him.  He still has a huge appetite and eats just about anything given to him.  His favorite thing to do is to try to climb things, but at least he seems to know to get down feet first off the couch and bed now, which is good.  He loves to chase and be chased by anyone. 

August 15, 2005 - Noah is drooling like crazy lately but I still have yet to see anything other than 8 teeth even though I'm sure he's working on more.  His new thing is to point to things and make a sound to indicate something about the object.  He loves to try to chase his brother around the house now too.  He says something that sounds like "mommy", though we still hear "daddy" more clearly and more often.

July 25, 2005 - It's official that Noah is now a walking, talking and bottle-less toddler.  He has an appetite like you wouldn't believe but it seems like both Nicolas and Noelle ate pretty well until they hit the age of two or so.  Noah now has a cute way of waving hello and goodbye, and he says both "hi" and "bye", though bye isn't as clear.  He also says "cheese", "uh-oh" and "daddy" quite clearly.  He tries to repeat other sounds, words and actions that he hears as well.  He just LOVES being able to chase his bigger brother around the house now.  He is still a very happy boy and has the best curly hair and giggles.

July 18, 2005 - Well this weekend I packed up most of the bottles so it would appear that we have officially entered the toddler stages.  Noah is walking around about 90% of the time now, but still cute to watch him try to balance himself.  He eats so well that there is no need to keep around anything special for him and he drinks out of sippy cups and straws without a problem.  I'm not sure how he grew up so fast but that's okay as he will always be the baby of the house and he still loves to cuddle with me and give me the biggest hugs.  I really can't complain.

July 13, 2005 - In the last week or so, Noah's really been more irritable lately.  I think he's working on teeth, but can't verify that since he won't let me.  However, he woke up one night this week and was up from about 2am to 4am and refused to let me put him down.  I finally gave him some tylenol and he fell asleep about 20 minutes later.  He's been really clingy and starts crying the minute I put him down sometimes.  Plus, he really demonstrates that he has a temper with the really angry sounding baby noises he makes.  I swear that he is using some kind of baby profanity at times the way he'll get mad and just start spouting off in incoherent but very LOUD language and sounds!  He hasn't even been speaking or trying to walk either.  That is, until last night.  Last night I found him alone in our living room practicing getting up and walking, and he was taking some very long walks across the room on his own and appeared to have some good balance.  Today at home, while my mom was watching him, she said he's starting walking for sure now.  She was giving me the play by play as he walked all over the house, and even when he fell he didn't crawl but got right back on his feet.  She said he was so proud of himself and working so hard that he was breaking out in a sweat!  It looks like the days of crawling are coming to a very abrupt end for him, and that also means most likely very few dinners out for a while as he'll surely not be happy to sit for long periods of time when he could be walking!

July 7, 2005 - Noah is now a big one year old.  Over the weekend, he accomplished many new feats in preparation for his big day.  He started clapping his hands, he started saying "UH-OH" when he dropped things, and he started taking steps on his own.  He's not doing it a lot, but he is getting very good at starting from the floor and putting himself on his feet and then walking.  Many times he's just basically falling forward, but he has managed to take up to probably 10 steps or so at one time.  You can view a video here.  It's video number 20 on that list.  He's just starting to really become more like a little person every day, and he is SO determined to get this walking thing down now.  I think he's ready to start running with his older siblings and playing with them.  Last week Noelle started playing with him as well, she had him sitting on the floor in front of her as she talked to him, read to him, and even pretended to feed him.  It was very cute.  He had his one-year checkup yesterday and received two shots which he wasn't happy about at all.  He weighed in at 21 pounds but his height was the same as the last visit at 29.5 inches.  The doctor wanted to see him demonstrate that he can walk with help, but he refused to do that.  She tried to get him to clap, and he wouldn't do that either.  Instead, he chose to grab both of my hands and make ME clap for her, which was good enough for her. 

June 27, 2005 - In just over a week, Noah will be one year old.  It seems like only yesterday I was holding him in my arms for the first time.  He's just such a sweet little boy and always very happy.  This past weekend he was actually attempting to stand on his own for a bit, and thinking about taking steps though I was supporting him as he tried that.  He was getting such a kick out of it, giggling and bouncing up and down from the excitement of it all, which made it harder for him to actually balance.  His favorite toys to play with are balls, and he loves it if you sit and play catch with him as he tries to also throw the balls back to you.  I have converted him to whole milk now and he's drinking that instead of formula for the most part.  He has tried all kinds of real foods and at this point I really don't feed him anything else.  He loves things like mushrooms and deli meats, and some veggies as well.  He's not doing any talking yet, but loves to say "DA" and try to imitate sounds that he hears from us.  Mostly, he just loves to smile and laugh though, and he is the best cuddle baby, giving me the BIGGEST hugs all of the time.  I love to play on the floor with him and he just comes up and rests his head on me.  It's just too cute.

June 13, 2005 - Noah continues to cruise around the house, pulling up on things, like toys and furniture, and doors and walls.  He loves to push around toys that allow him to be on his two feet.  He still hasn't attempted any steps on his own though.  Other than that, there's nothing too exciting to tell.  He's eating well and loves all kinds of foods, I'll transition him over to milk in the next month or so, and I'll also try to get him off bottles as well very soon, though I admit I'm finding that more difficult for my own selfish reasons.  He's fine with using sippy cups, but I love being able to hold him and give him his bottles.

May 31, 2005 - Noah now has his 4th bottom tooth, making 8 total for him now.  It's been a long time coming.  He's still not walking on his own yet, though he seems to be getting better balance on his feet and cruises along walls and doors and furniture constantly.  He can push a walker around pretty well also, but he just hasn't quite reached the point where he's ready to take a few steps on his own.  His favorite trick is to have people use him to make sounds with his own mouth.  Basically, if you put your hand over his mouth and keep tapping it there, he will hum to make noises.  If you stop, he'll use the back of his own hand to continue to make the sounds.  Everyone seems to enjoy making him make these sounds as well.  It's entertaining for everyone including Noah.  He's still taking bottles of formula though he can use both a sippy cup and a straw to drink just about anything.  I just haven't made the switch over to milk quite yet.  He eats most table foods and will try just about anything. 

May 16, 2005 - Noah still enjoys being on his feet and he seems like he is trying to stand on his own but doesn't last very long when he does that.  He loves to use our legs to pull himself up whenever he can, and I'm sure it won't be long before he figures out how to stand on his own and takes some steps.  He's definitely eating more table food than baby food now, and he is also drinking regular milk sometimes instead of formula.  He is very good at using the sippy cup so I don't think I'll have a problem weaning him from bottles in the next month or two.  He has yet to get that eighth tooth, though a bump on his bottom gum and the constant drooling tells me it may not be too long now.  His favorite games are to chase the kids whenever they have a blanket behind them and he catches it and then holds onto it or lays on it.  He also loves to follow us whenever we go into the bathroom and then he waits outside the door, gets on all fours, puts his head to the ground and sticks his butt in the air trying to look under the door.  I need to get a photo of that soon, as it's so funny to watch. 

April 19, 2005 - Noah is now on his feet all of the time!  He is pulling up on anything and everything and doing a little bit of cruising along the furniture as well.  He gets a bit frustrated when he can't get back down though.  I think he's just fallen so much already that he's afraid if he drops he'll get hurt.  I find him standing in his crib in the morning when he wakes up, and always pulling up on the couches and the toys.  I don't think it will take him long to try to walk now.  He seems like he's already thinking about it.  Other than that, I'm also feeding him less baby food and more table food these days and I've already decided I am probably not buying any more baby food jars and we'll just go right to table foods after we finish our current stock.  He certainly loves to eat.  He still has only 7 teeth but it seems like he's working on more though I haven't had a chance to check, I can only tell by how much he chomps down on me all of the time.

April 11, 2005 - Noah had his 9-month checkup on April 6th and he's still doing great.  He was 29 1/2 inches and 19 pounds 9 ounces, putting him in the 90% for his length and 25% for his weight.  He did great for the 2 shots also, and only whimpered a bit at the first one and didn't cry for the second one.  It probably helped that his big brother was there also reassuring him.  At home, he's still working on getting on his feet.  He can get on them a little bit but can't quite stay up for very long.  Other than that, he still doesn't have any new teeth and remains at the same seven teeth but he's drooling and chewing on everything so perhaps we'll see more soon.

March 30, 2005 - Noah continues to work on his mobility.  He has been putting himself into a sitting position on his own for about a week now and does it quite easily. He holds his own bottle most of the time, at least if he's laying down.  He still hasn't quite figured out how to tip it up when he's upright.  I have let him try more and more table food these days and he does well with it.  He's actually attempted crawling on hands and knees a few times on his own, but usually after a few successful moves forward he realizes his army crawl is faster and goes to that.  He is trying to pull up on things, and though he hasn't gotten onto his feet yet, he can pull up on things and get on his knees pretty easily.  He still hasn't gotten his 4th bottom tooth in yet, but has the 4 across the top now.

March 14, 2005 - Just a minor update on Noah's teeth count.  I noticed this weekend that one more bottom tooth has broken through, making 3 bottom and 4 top teeth for him.  His teeth seem to take forever to come all the way in though, so even though it's through the skin it may be a while before he becomes very noticeable in his smile. 

March 8, 2005 - Noah is now 8 months old.  It's so hard to believe.  He's sitting up very well on his own, but still doesn't get into the position by himself.  He still uses the army crawl method to get everywhere, and every now and then gets up on his hands and knees.  He loves to entertain himself in his crib in the morning with his crib toys.  He's sleeping through the night most of the time now and he stopped nursing a few days ago for good.  He does have a 6th tooth (4th top tooth) coming in slowly.  About a week ago he started eating cheerios and loves them.  I have also given him a little bit of bread or pizza crust to munch on and he does well with that too.  It's nice to be able to sit him in his highchair with cheerios to eat while I fix his meal or eat my own meal though.  He still loves to smile and laugh, especially at his brother and sister. 

February 15, 2005 - Noah now has 5 teeth total...2 on the bottom, and 3 on the top.  I'm sure a 4th top one will appear soon, but so far no signs of it at all.  He's still a happy baby overall and at home he just can't help but watch his older brother, who loves to entertain him.  It's so cute to see the two of them together, Nicolas running around and Noah trying to keep his eyes on him and laughing.  He's still sitting up really well, but hasn't quite gotten into that position on his own.  His sleeping patterns vary, but I still haven't had a full week where he hasn't been up at least once a night, which I'm sure is due to the teeth explosion.  He's not happy unless he is allowed to nurse for a bit, as that seems to be the only thing to calm him down.  More often than not I put him in bed with me where he falls asleep happily.  He is still doing his army crawl, but he's so fast and now he's just all over the place.  He follows me all over the house and I usually find him under my feet.  I tried giving him a cheerio about a week ago but he wasn't too fond of it and mostly gagged on it, though he swallowed it eventually.  I think we'll wait before trying that again. 

January 31, 2005 - I wish these babies just didn't grow up so fast.  Noah is fast approaching 7 months old and continues to be a happy baby.  He got his first top tooth, the center left one, around January 24th and ever since a few days before that he's had trouble sleeping again.  We keep him happy with motrin and tylenol just but I try not to keep him too drugged up.  He's still using the army crawl to get around and he does it very well.  He's so fast when he wants to get to something.  He also loves to lay on the ground on his side, propped up on one arm, and just look around in a little pose.  It's so cute.  He's really good at sitting up once put into the sitting position, but he doesn't get into the position on his own yet.  He still babbles and giggles and just LOVES to watch his siblings, especially Nicolas.  If Nicolas is in the room, Noah is always smiling at him and trying to catch his attention.  I think sometime next month I will try a few table foods to see how he does with them, but for now he's still happily eating baby fruit and veggies and cereal, taking formula, and nursing. 

January 11, 2005 - I can't believe it's been over a month since I updated.  Noah just continues to grow and grow and do more and more and I still can't believe that he's already 6 months old!  He loves baby food and really has started drinking less and less of his bottle if he knows he can get food instead.  Last night I even gave him a few noodles from some chicken noodle soup, and while he did okay with them he didn't seem to thrilled.  We still haven't seen any signs of any other teeth, but I am sure we'll see some top teeth soon as his pediatrician noted last week that the top four seem to be on their way.  Noah has perfected the army crawl and by pulling himself across the room with his arms and elbows, and rolling, he can get to anything.  These days if he's put on the floor it doesn't take him long to find something to go after and he's never in the same place for very long.  I've seen him up on his hands and knees rocking but that hasn't gotten him anywhere yet.  He's still an incredibly happy and smiling baby, which is just wonderful.  He loves to watch and interact with other people, especially kids, and his brother and sister love to entertain him and make him smile and laugh.  He had his pediatrician's appointment on January 6th where he got 3 shots.  His height was still measured at 26.75 inches, and although I'm sure he's grown, I didn't insist that they measure him again this time.  His weight was 17 pounds 15 ounces, so he just barely missed the 18 pound mark.  These measurements were both in the 50-75% for his age.  He did great overall with the visit, cried for the shots, but settled down quickly as I nursed him in the office there.  He's gotten into the habit in the last few days of waking up in the middle of the night at least once, around midnight or 1am, and I'm not sure why but I just end up changing him and nursing him for a few minutes and he's fine.  He's getting a little better at sitting up, but still slumps over a lot.  He is babbling a little more now, and has the "BA BA" sound now in his vocabulary.  He enjoyed his first Christmas, especially trying to eat the wrapping paper. He also has learned how to spit or blow raspberries!

December 8, 2004 - Noah had his first taste of jarred baby food this weekend and so far is enjoying it.  He tried carrots on Saturday and loved them.  He tried applesauce last night and enjoyed that too.  It seems he can't seem to get enough of the baby food so I guess I need to make sure he's getting it a little more often now so we're now doing baby food 3 times a day.  He is still taking in plenty of formula and is also nursing twice a day so I'd say he's not lacking in the food department at all.  Noah just LOVES to laugh and just this weekend he was laughing hysterically whenever Micki, our cat, would approach him.  He'd grab a fistful of Micki's fur and just laugh and Micki took it very well thankfully.  He still really enjoys being on the floor where he can roll around but he laughs the most whenever you lift him up over your head with your arms.  I still can't believe that he is already 5 months old.  We still don't have any signs of new teeth so far, but his two bottom teeth are completely in and look so cute.

November 29, 2004 - Noah can roll over whenever he wants these days and when he's on his tummy he just loves to get up on his arms and look around.  This weekend he pulled his knees under himself a few times.  He just CAN'T crawl yet!  He just loves to laugh and I still could spend hours just making him laugh.  On his first Thanksgiving, I gave him some mashed potatoes which he seemed okay with but I'm not sure he enjoyed them as they really didn't have much flavor.  He had oatmeal cereal this weekend and seemed to enjoy that.  He's still nursing twice a day, and sometimes more on the weekends and when I'm at home with him.  He still has nights where he wakes up in the middle of the night so a good night's sleep is still not a sure thing for him or for me.  He still just has the two little teeth but continues to chew on everything and drool so who knows if other teeth are on the way.  His hair at the top of his head is really filling in a lot and he's got a little bit of a curl forming in the front and top part of it which is quite cute.

November 15, 2004 - Well I did finally see Noah roll from his back to his tummy this weekend.  I had him on the floor playing with toys while I was cleaning up the kitchen and he flipped over onto his tummy and started playing with his toys.  Nicolas wanted to flip him back over.  Speaking of Nicolas, I found him in the crib with Noah just this past weekend.  I guess he heard Noah and since he was awake he decided to go into Noah's room and entertain him.  He climbed into Noahs crib and was sitting in the corner and had turned on Noah's mobile for him to watch.  I knew there was a reason Noah was quiet all of the sudden and that I was hearing the music for his mobile!  Noah has his second tooth as of this past weekend and on Sunday, November 14th, he had his first taste of rice cereal.  I mixed it with water and when I first started feeding it to him he wasn't sure what to think.  When he realized that he like it, he was shaking and talking for more and was getting upset when I wasn't spooning it in fast enough!

November 8, 2004 - Noah is now 4 months old.  Where does the time go?  He is just growing so big and so fast.  He had a pediatrician's appointment on Friday November 5th and his stats were 15lbs 9oz and 26.75 inches long.  That put him in the 95% or so for length and I think 50-75% for weight.  He is still nursing morning and night during the week, and more frequently on the weekends when I am home and available to him.  He takes formula during the day and at all other times and is doing just fine with that also.  He cut his first tooth on Saturday November 6th!  I still can't believe it.  He's been a big drooling baby for a while now, and now he just wants to chew on everything.  He grasps objects now with his hands and tries to get them to his mouth.  He loves to smile, especially at his family, and he is very ticklish and loves to laugh.  I still can't get him on any kind of regular napping schedule, but for the most part he does sleep through the night.  Every now and then he will wake up once, sometimes just a few hours earlier in the morning, and I usually just change him and feed him for a while and put him back to bed.  He still sleeps on his tummy but I have found him flipped onto his back a few times.  I have yet to see him roll from back to tummy but he does try and seems to be able to lift his legs and roll to the side when he is on his back.  This weekend he also tried to eat his own feet!  He got 4 shots again at his pediatrician's appointment, so I'm waiting another week to start him on cereal just to make sure he doesn't have any reactions to the shots or teething.  I expect we'll see the other bottom tooth soon to join the bottom right (his right) center one.  He is still just the sweetest baby and I look at him every day and realize how lucky I am to have him.  He started home daycare on November 1, 2004, and so far he's doing well there, though still not napping for her either for the most part.  I look forward to watching his personality and his skills develop a little more with each day, but I wish the days weren't going by so fast!

September 16, 2004 - Noah is still doing wonderful.  I am finally getting about one good nap out of him during the day, usually around lunchtime, which is working out well or at least it has for the last few days.  He doesn't seem to be eating as often for the most part, but still likes to eat a few times in the morning and in the evening.  He goes to bed usually around 8:30pm or so most evenings, but has been up as late as 10pm some nights.  I have actually gotten a few 7 to 8 hour stretches of sleep out of him.  The first one was last week, a day or two after his pediatrician's appointment, and the other one was earlier this week.  Last night he went to bed around 8:30pm, was up around 5am, and then had a hard time going back to sleep so I was up with him again around 5:30am and let him nurse in bed with me where he fell back asleep not too long after that.  I am finding that he really does prefer to sleep on his tummy and seems to sleep better that way, so as long as he's on a firm surface like his bed or even the pack-n-play, I usually put him to sleep on his tummy where he does great.  He usually ends up spinning around a lot and is never in the same position where I put him, but he is happy.  He had his 2 month checkup on 9/7/04 when he was 9 weeks old and was 13 pounds 6 ounces and 23.75 inches long.  That put him in the 75-90% for weight and 75% for length.  I truly expected him to be at least 14 pounds.  He had 4 shots which he hated, and was still suffering from the after effects of them that night and the next day, but overall he did well.  He goes back on November 5th.  Other than that, he's really enjoying smiling and trying to talk to everyone a little more these days and the kids still adore him.  My only complaint is how much he tends to spit up, sometimes after every feeding, but I know that will get better in time.

Septebmer 2, 2004 - Noah is just growing up so fast.  He will see the pediatrician again next week for his 2-month checkup.  He is still doing great and starting to interact a little more with everyone on a daily basis.  He loves to smile and try to talk to us and especially gives big grins to his brother and sister whenever they talk to him.  He started sleeping about 6 to 6.5 hours in a stretch at night as of last week (August 25th or so) but last night he was up about every 4 hours again, so I imagine he's on a little growth spurt.  He enjoys tummy time and when he's placed on his arms he rolls over onto his back easily and tries to lift up his legs and move, even though he doesn't get anywhere.  He still sleeps on his stomach at night sometimes, just because he seems more comfortable that way.  He seems to enjoy being on the go with me and does well in the car, in the stroller and the front carrier.  He's has a few bottles of pumped milk and does well with those.  I'll probably introduce formula to him by the end of this month and will start partially weaning him sometime next month. 

August 12, 2004 -  Noah is now just over 5 weeks old.  He continues to eat about every 3 hours, and has had some rare nightime sleeping times of as much as about 5.5 hours.  For the most part, I can count on putting him down for the night around 8:30pm or 9pm and I'll be up at least once that night, sometimes twice.  Usually it's only about 20 minutes or so that I am up to change him and feed him, but sometimes he's been up for as much as an hour or TWO, which is a bit tough to handle.  I have found that sometimes he actually likes to be put back to sleep on his stomach after a feeding.  I have done this a few times, despite the fact that it's a big no-no according to the "experts", but he does very well and I'm not too concerned knowing he's on a firm mattress, has great head control, is already trying to roll over on his own, and he has nothing in his mattress that can suffocate him, like crib bumpers.  He has his 1 month pediatric checkup on August 9th, when he was 5 weeks old, and was 11 pounds 5 ounces and 22 inches long, putting him in the 95th percentile for weight and 75th for length.  He had one shot which he wasn't happy about, and he didn't like being mostly naked for the exam, but he did okay.  He still loves to smile at us and I love to try to get those baby smiles out of him.  He even enjoys smiling at his brother and sister when they are talking to him.  I love the little baby coos that he makes at times as well.  He really enjoys taking in his surroundings and is overall a very happy little boy!

July 29, 2004 -  Noah is 3 weeks old now and I still can't believe it.  He's doing just great and not much has changed.  He's still eating about every 3 or 4 hours, usually doing the 4 hour stretch in the early evening.  He goes to bed pretty early, like close to 8pm, and then is up between 4 and 5 hours after that for his first feeding most of the time.  After that, he's up about every 3 hours and then in the morning he's up for good around 7am or 8am and he eats more often between that time and around 11am, when he usually goes down for another 3 hour stretch or so.  It's not a bad schedule for the most part.  He really only cries when he needs a new diaper, which is quite often, and then when he is ready to eat again, which is usually right after the diaper.  He likes it when you talk to them and he does smile quite often during that time.  He has already picked up his very first cold, which is really just a stuffy nose for the most part.  He's handled it pretty well and it really doesn't seem to be affecting him too much so far.  He's been on quite a few outings in his first few weeks, to a few malls and stores, and he's done very well on all of those trips.

July 21, 2004 - Noah is just over 2 weeks old today.  So far, things are going pretty good for him.  He left the hospital with us on July 7, 2004, at just over 48 hours old after having been circumcised and having his first immunizations and passing his hearing test.  He weighed 7lbs 8oz on that day.  He is pretty much nursing non-stop and his pattern for the most part is to eat every 2 to 3 hours, usually nursing for about 20 minutes on average, then falling asleep.  As soon as he has a wet or dirty diaper, he wakes up and cries to be changed.  He screams the whole time he is getting a new diaper for the most part, and once a dry diaper is in place he's ready to eat again.  He has sprayed me during diaper changes on more than one occasion, at least during the first week.  Now he tends to wait until I put a dry diaper on him and then immediately wet that one as well.  That's happened quite a bit.  He's had a few baths at home and he's done pretty well with those for the most part.  He only cries when I take him out and lay him in a towel but calms down as soon as he is wrapped up and warm.  I think he's already gone through a few growth spurts as I've had some nights where he was up every 1.5 to 2 hours to eat.  So, it didn't surprise me when we went to his first pediatrician's appointment at one week old on July 12th and he weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 21.5 inches long.  He already is sporting a double chin and he seems very long in both his arms and his legs.  Last night he actually slept from about 8:30pm until 1:45am, which was a nice stretch for him and for me.  Then he was up again at 5am and just before 7am to eat again.  He has smiled quite a bit so far and is most alert usually in the morning between 7am and 11am, eating about every hour and staying awake mostly between feedings, maybe napping a little bit here and there.  He sleeps well in both our pack-n-play crib setup downstairs during the day and in his own crib at night.  He is completely adored by his brother and sister, who kiss and touch him constantly.  Nicolas always wants to hold him or kiss him and Noelle likes to touch him, kiss him, and sometimes try to pull off his ears.  So far, Noah sleeps through all of this and all of the loud sounds in our house during the day, which is good.  He really doesn't cry other than when he's hungry or needs a new diaper and he really enjoys looking around and checking out the sights around him.