Toothless

After a few weeks of wiggling, it finally happened (at 3:30 in the morning, of course).





We’ll get to bust out our tooth pillows from Aunt Holly tonight!

Ain’t nobody got time for that

Sweet Brown thought she had it bad with the bronchitis. She should have spent this past week at my house. The phrase of the weekend was “Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!”

 

I don’t want to focus on the negative, but I just had to write this all down so that I can come back and reflect next time I THINK I’m having a rough day. As I write this I am doing a little happy dance because things appear to be back to normal.

 

Without further ado, the details of the past week in all it’s glory:

 

Tuesday PM: Supposed to be Brian’s last night home before working an OT shift on Wed & then going out of town on Thursday for three days… instead he gets called out right as we finish dinner. At the time I thought, “oh, bummer… one more night without Bri around.” Hindsight tells me that this was a bad omen, foreshadowing the chaos that was about to ensue. If I could go back in time, I would have clung to his ankles singing KWS’s “Please Don’t Go” at the top of my lungs.
 

Wednesday AM: I got up early, showered, & finished my bible study (Translation: I was ON THE BALL… never a good sign. Pride always comes before the fall). We took Ben to school, came home to have breakfast, and were about to leave for Bible Study when I smelled the most awful smell. I took Noah upstairs to change his diaper and when I laid him down, squishy watery poop went EVERYWHERE. We are talking knee caps to shoulder blades. I picked up the entire changing pad, with the child on it, and headed straight for the bathroom. Bible study was out of the question. This was Poo-plosion #1.
 

We spent the rest of the day at home. We watched movies and cleaned the house and endured Poo-plosion #2 (which was just as disgusting and dramatic as the first one.)

 

Next came Thursday. Thursday is when stuff got real.

 

Thursday AM: Woke up and got Ben ready & packed up. Dressed Grace. Walked into Noah’s room to grab him so we could run Ben over to school. The smell hit me as I touched the door handle. Poo-plosion #3 – in the crib. Bedding, baby, Fievel the Mouse, Rambo… nothing had escaped the Bog of Eternal Stench that was oozing out of Noah’s pajamas. (In a crisis, people always say “take a deep breath” but breathing may have killed me, so that wasn’t an option.) I quickly repeated the bath/disinfecting routine that I had perfected yesterday. I left the crib & it’s components for dead because we were already late getting Ben to school. I yelled to Ben & Grace to get in the van as I came racing down the stairs with Noah. I thought to myself, “Now would be as good a time as any to come crashing down the stairs while holding a toddler”, so that’s exactly what I did. Poor Noah was completely freaked out and sobbing, but I just bounced up and put him in his car seat so that we could get Ben to school.

 

When we got home, I tried to stand Noah up and he refused to put any weight on his right foot. This is when the sweepstakes people rushed in with my Mother of the Year Award. “Oh, sweet boy, does your tummy hurt? You know what will help? Mommy will smash your foot, rendering it useless. You’re welcome.”

 

At this point I called in sick to work, took Grace to pre-school, then brought Noah home. I gave him some Motrin and put him in his (now clean & aired out) bed and he slept for FOUR HOURS. Brian came home at lunch to pack for his hunting trip. I filled him in on Noah’s foot and the persistent diarrhea. He looked into my eyes, his face filled with love and concern, and told me he would see us on Saturday.

 

Thursday PM: Noah still won’t put any weight on his foot – it is terribly swollen. Ben has gymnastics. I dropped him off at the front door and then the little kids & I found a parking spot. We rolled down the windows and turned off the van. Fast-forward 1 hour and I tried to start the van to drive around to pick Ben up. Van is dead. Flag down grandma parked next to me to ask her if she will give me a jump. (Thank the Lord that I paid attention last time the truck died so that I would know HOW to jump start a vehicle.) Head home, feed & bathe kids, collapse on couch.

 

Friday AM: Van is dead again. Call neighbor to bring Ben to school. Ask friend to come by later to jump start van again. Take little kids to Wal-mart to replace battery. Kill time for an hour (ever mindful of the status of Noah’s diaper) only to find out that the battery is fine and the cold must have “zapped it.” Noah poops as we leave. Change diaper and clothes in the back of the van before heading home.

 

Friday afternoon: Noah’s doctor appointment. This took place over the course of 3.5 hours, most of which involved me sitting alone in a 6x9 foot room with a chatty & hyper active Grace and a crippled, cranky, poopy Noah. During this time I changed so many diapers that I ran out. At one point I had to bathe Noah in the exam room sink. When we left, he was wearing a newborn diaper that I procured from the baby weigh station. It looked like a string bikini. There were X-rays and consults and talk of casts and pins and pediatric orthopedists. We finally got out of there at almost 6pm after fitting the little guy with a gauze-wrapped splint.

 

Friday evening: Young Life girls brought over pizza & helped with the kids. Against my better judgement, we stayed up until 2 am watching movies & laughing.

 

Saturday AM: Stumble into kitchen like a zombie. Make yummy pancakes for kids & YL girls. Poo-plosion #435. Remove Noah’s splint for disinfecting bath. Say bye to girls. Stare at clock, waiting for Brian to come home.

 

Saturday PM: Brian comes home. Spend rest of the day bubble bathing/napping/pretending I don’t know my kids.

 

Sunday: Brian goes to work. Ben wets the bed. Wash ben’s sheets. Noah has a coughing fit and throws up on himself. Clean up Noah. Grace complains of a tummy ache then throws up on herself and the couch. Bathe Grace. Disassemble & wash couch cushion. Everyone naps. Grace wakes up, walks downstairs and pees on herself. Clean floor and bathe Grace again. Stare at clock, waiting for Brian to come home. Celebrate at the end of the day because we didn’t have a single poo-plosion. Pray that both kids throwing up was just a fluke.

 

Monday AM: Everyone is feeling great, with the exception of Noah’s foot. We went to Grace’s dance class and then had a picnic lunch and fed the ducks in Boerne.

 

Monday PM: Took Noah to a pediatric orthopedist.

Diagnosis = first metatarsal is crushed.

Treatment = wearing a cast for 4 weeks.

 

Noah says...

AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!

 

Needless to say I am thankful that this week is over! Now if somebody would just get me a COLD POP! :)

Noah at 21 Months

Another 3 months has passed and my little Noah is quickly approaching that 2nd birthday! He is turning into a little man right before our eyes!

 

Speaking of eyes, this child has the most beautiful big brown eyes I’ve ever seen. His lashes go on for days and days. I can just stare at them all day long. Don’t get me started on his little dimples.

 

 

Noah has been very playful, both with us and other kiddos his age. He loves to run around the columns in the front room and chase and be chased by his brother & sister. He continues to climb into and onto anything and everything. He still hasn’t figured out how to get out of his crib yet, thank goodness!

 

His language is exploding. He will repeat pretty much anything you say, and he’s using more and more words in context. Just recently he’s added “cuppy” & “bear” along with lots of food words (“cheese” & “berry” are two of his favorites). Whenever he sees Ben he shouts “BEN!” but I haven’t heard him say “Grace” on his own. This does not surprise me.

 

 

Noah has started snuggling up on the couch with Ben & Grace for cartoon time. His favorite is Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. He still loves balls & cars & his Rambo, but he is also becoming interested in playing with stuffed animals. He will gather up little friends into our play grocery cart (along with Rambo & his cuppy) and drive them around the house.

 

Noah got a new Elmo doll for Christmas, which he was really excited about until he got his finger stuck in Elmo’s mouth somehow. After that, he didn’t want anything to do with Elmo. Anytime he saw him he would say “Elmo – BITE”. They’ve since made up and Elmo spends quite a few nights in Noah’s crib, but he still calls him “Elmo Bite”. I guess it’s easier to forgive than forget.

 

My other favorite Noah story happened the other day when I was trying to change his diaper. Our little discussion went something like this:

 

Me: Noah, are you poopy?

N: Poooo-py

Me: Woo-wee you’re stinky.

N: Wooo-weee

Me: Ok, let’s go change your diaper.

N: (taking off full speed away from me) RUN! RUN!

 

Luckily he wasn’t too hard to catch since he ran straight into his closet. I had the smelly little guy cornered and we had a nice little laugh and tickle session before diaper time. He’s so sneaky!

 

 

I love Noah’s numerous expressions and mannerisms. I love how he struts and bounces around (my favorites are when he walks bent over when he’s trying to get away with something and when he walks like Godzilla when he has a full diaper).

 

He also has a really funny way of getting down the stairs.

 

 

 

Noah loves taking long afternoon naps and he is a bear if he gets woken up before he’s ready. His hair is finally growing in thicker. It curls up around his ears and in the back. We should probably cut it, but we’re trying to see if we can wait until he’s 2! We’re probably going to have to nickname him Shaggy before then.

 

 

I can’t believe that my next update will be on your 2nd birthday, little bug! I love playing with you, snuggling with you on the couch, and chasing you around before changing your diaper ~ you are one special little guy!

 

Happy 21 Months, Noah!

Bass Pro Santa

We had so much fun at Bass Pro last year, that we decided to hit it up again this year for their annual Christmas festivities. The Sullivans called us up to say that they were going to be headed that way and asked us to join them. Of course we said “YES!”

 

Our friends were just getting done with their Christmas pictures when we arrived. Brian & Noah got us a place in the Santa photo line, and Melissa, Seth & I took the rest of the kiddos over to the craft area. They each made a little snowman on a stick.

 



 

They were so proud of their final products! Also, how grown up does Luke look here?! He’s a big kid!

 

 

After craft time it was our turn with Santa. We didn’t have any tears this year. YAY!

 

 

Still, I think if Noah could talk, he would have said that for Christmas he wanted to be a bit farther away from Santa.

 

 

After our pictures we did a few rounds on the carousel, raced around the remote control car track, checked out the big fish tank, and took a ride up and down the glass elevators. The activities were all so much fun, and being with friends made it even better!

O Christmas Tree

We picked up our tree the first chance we got when we got back into town after Thanksgiving. I dug through all of the ornaments and gave each kiddo their own box with the ornaments they’ve received so far. It was fun to talk about why each ornament was picked out for them each year!

Then they went to town putting their own ornaments on the tree. Noah needed a little help from Daddy, but his went pretty fast since he only has 3 so far!

 

 

Noah getting some help from Daddy.

 

 

Finding the perfect spot.

 

 

Topping it off with our sweet angel!

 

 

All done!

 

 

And showing off their new Christmas jammies.

 

 

Noah is starting to trust Grace a little more these days!

 

 

Sometime he lets her touch him. :)

 

 

I already have the three best presents under my tree!

 



 

We had a few ornament casualties this year thanks to a certain 20 month old. Hopefully it’s nothing a little super glue can’t fix. He spent a day or two pacing around the tree saying “toy! toy! toy!” but I think we’ve finally convinced him to keep his hands to himself!

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Cousin Time!

After Michael’s party, we rounded up the cousins for some quick group photos. It went about as well as you’d expect for trying to get 5 kids to be somewhat still and all look in the same general direction!

 

My expectations were fairly low (all 5 cousins in the same frame)… I was pleasantly surprised!

 

 

This one is my fave!

 

 

Noah wanted a pic of just him and Michael.

 

 

What’s that you got there, little buddy?

 

 

Sharing is caring, Michael.

 

 

You can try it for a second, but I need it back!

 

Sweetie came in at the tail end to try to get a group shot with all of her grandbabies, but a few of our key players were DONE by then. Better luck next time, Sweetie!

 

Michael’s 1st Birthday

Michael’s birthday party coincided with the Thanksgiving holiday, so we were able to be a part of it! Holly went all out with a Froggy/Swamp Prince Theme. The party was at a great park near their house. The weather was perfect – cool and sunny. There was yummy food and fun games, and lots of friends and family came out to party with Prince Michael!

 

Sweet boy was a little sleepy at first – but he quickly warmed up to the festivities!

 

 

Holly carried the theme to the food. She made a bait bucket filled with “dirt” and worms.

 

 

There was also “Gator Corn” & “Gator Tails”.

 

 

Holly made froggy cupcakes! I think they were awesome ~ they made me giggle each time I looked at the crazy little eyes. Holly’s dad was giving her a hard time & saying they looked like frogs that had been run over, but what does he know? :)

 

 

If you don’t smile when you look at these cupcakes, then there’s something wrong with you! Hee hee.

 

 

After we munched on the yummy food, it was time for games. First, the kids had a froggy race.

On your mark, get set…

 

 

HOP!!!

 

 

Gracie was catching some serious air… Noah was having a tough time moving past the starting line.

 

 

The kids also played “Pin the Tail on the Alligator”.

 

 

After games, it was time to sing to the birthday boy and give him his turtle smash cake that his mommy made just for him!

 

 

Holly’s friend made a cute banner for Michael’s high chair.

 

 

We had to pretend to light the candle ‘cause it was a little too windy.

 

 

We all sang and then it was time for the Prince to go to town.

 

 

Hold on - Pre-icing Family Photo Op!

 

 

Michael made sure the smash cake lived up to its potential!

 

 

Paw Paw helped Noah to get in on some green icing action, too.

 

 

Once his belly was full, little man opened his presents (with some help from his Mom & brother & Gracie.)

 

 

I offered to make Michael’s onesie for the party and Holly requested a camo bow tie.

 

 

We had a little photo shoot after the party. Michael was hopped up on sugar and hamming it up!

 

 

We had the best time celebrating this little guy!

He is the CUTEST!

 

Happy Birthday, Michael!

 

Love, Aunt Gabi, Uncle Brian, Ben, Grace & Noah