Our Noah

Noah Kinnaird Chatham
Mommy, Daddy, and Noah
Noah Kinnaird has been a wonderful addition to our family. Here are a few details about his birth and personality. He was born by C-section on Tuesday, August 24th, at 8:01am weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces and is 21in long. Daddy was present holding Mommy's hand as we heard my OB provide updates: he has a full head of hair, he's a big boy, and then Noah gave the next update in the form of a loud cry. It was a beautiful sound and Mommy and Daddy teared up a little. Dr. David asked what his name was and after we said Noah, the whole staff broke into a round of "Happy Birthday to you." It was very sweet. The staff was wonderful, especially Nurse Dorothy who took care of Mommy and Dr. David who did an excellent job delivering Noah.
Dr. David and NoahMommy, Noah, and Nurse Dorothy
Grandma, Grandpa, Grandottie, Jerry Pop, Granddaddy, Aunt Celeste, and Joshua were in the waiting room ready to great him. Aunt Elaine was also in town, but had broken out with shingles the night before so she was at the hotel. We hope she feels better soon. Everyone was excited to see Noah get his first bath while Daddy was in the nursery. We had people tag out to stay with Joshua in the waiting room so Joshua would get to meet his baby brother when Mommy was present.Watch over me Daddy
When Joshua did get to meet his baby brother he seemed genuinely pleased. Mommy's memory is a little fuzzy so I'll rely on Daddy's thoughts for this update. I do remember his way of saying "No-WAH" when we told him baby brother's name. On a side note, we didn't actually finalize Noah's name until we were driving to the hospital that morning. In fact I had 2 caps made up, one saying "Noah" and the other saying "Jacob" so we would be safe going either way. Joshua has been very gentle and sweet with his brother. Mostly Joshua has enjoyed being the center of attention as he has been showered with love since everyone came to town.Joshua and NoahThe Chatham Family
Noah is surprisingly strong. He can pick up his head up and turn it to the side. He seems very good natured and is content to be held and look around. While he has a dark head of hair, his eyelashes and eyebrows are very fair so I suspect when his baby hair falls out, lighter hair may take its place. He has very long fingers and toes. He has bright eyes that look so big when they are open. He has his mommy's nose and small ears.Bright Eyed Baby Boy
We came home from the hospital on Thursday, August 26th around noon. All of our family was waiting to greet us at home with a big meal. We ate lunch, took a bunch of pictures, then mommy took a nap. Thanks to our family for sharing in this special occasion. We appreciate your love and support.I am not happy!Home, sweet, Home!

Welcome Noah Kinnaird

Mommy, Daddy, and Joshua are proud to introduce
Noah Kinnaird Chatham born August 24, 2010 at 8:01am weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and 21in long. Noah has a lusty cry and a full head of hair. Noah and Mommy are doing great. And big brother Joshua is excited. We love you, Noah!

Tomorrow is the big day...

The hospital bag is packed, the phone lists are made, the email lists are made, the family is in town, and now mommy and daddy nervously await the arrival of Baby Brother. Family came in town Sunday night so we could hang out on Monday. Joshua is being covered up with love and attention from all his grandparents as well as his Aunt Celeste. On a sad note, Aunt Elaine also came down Sunday night but broke out in shingles so she can't visit with our family. We hope she feels better soon.

Today was a great day. Grandpa, Aunt Celeste, Grandottie, Jerry Pop, Joshua, and Mommy had lunch at Mellow Mushroom. Then Mommy and Aunt Celeste went to Mommy's last doctor's appt and heard the baby's heartbeat. Mommy also got some medicine for a cold she has. Meanwhile Joshua went swimming with Grandpa while Grandma, Granddaddy, Grandottie, and Jerry Pop looked on. Daddy was home when Celeste and I got home because he is sick, but is starting medicine so hopefully he'll feel better soon. We finished the last minute preparations and enjoyed a family dinner. Next it is off to bed as Mommy and Daddy have to be at the hospital at 5:30 tomorrow. The C-section should start at 7:30 and we will get to meet our son shortly after 8am. We are anxious about the surgery and excited to meet our new addition and introduce him to his big brother. We know all will go well but will be glad when it is all behind us. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes. I'll post pictures of our family of four soon!

Mommy and Daddy at work

Here is Mommy standing in front of a pumping station that is undergoing start-up and commissioning. (Nice vest!)
Here is Daddy standing near the 888 crane.
I usually fill the blog with posts and pictures about my sweet baby boy, but today with one week to go until Lil Bit's birth I thought I'd show mommy and daddy at work and tell him what we do all day. We both work for the power company on an environmental construction project. Daddy is a controls specialist and works on the administrative side of the project with contracts, budgets, etc. Mommy is a construction discipline lead and supervises work in the field on the mechanical components. It has been a long hot summer. I am fortunate to have a great group of guys working for me to check on work in the field when I am in meetings or there was triple digit heat index. I have been involved as much as I can, but I know it makes people (including myself) nervous when a very pregnant lady is walking around a job site. Safety is very important at work, so mommy is always careful and has not tripped and fallen down or overheated.

One time when I was driving Joshua to day care he asked "Where's Daddy?" At the time we were on Hwy 90 crossing the bay so I pointed across the water to the power plant and said "Daddy's at work. He works at the power plant." Joshua misunderstood and said "Daddy's in the water?" I never have been able to get him to understand this so whenever we cross the bridge and Daddy's not in the car, Joshua will say "Daddy's in the water." I'm not sure what Joshua thinks I do all day. He usually doesn't respond when I ask him, though one time he said I watch Barney. Rest assured young man, I do not watch Barney unless I'm watching it with you. Maybe one day when Joshua and his brother are bigger we will take them to work and show them a construction site. If they aren't impressed with the project, they'll at least be impressed with the large equipment (cranes, backhoes, forklifts, etc.).

Birthday Party at Play School

That's my boy, looking at the camera during the blessing.Yea Blue Icing!
Here are a few pics from Joshua's classroom party at day care. It was actually a joint party with the ones and the twos since he just changed classrooms. I was glad his one year old teacher, Miss Terri was there because Joshua just loves her. Oh and I let Joshua pick out his clothes for his birthday and he wanted to wear his "Alabama Roll Tide" T-shirt.
Yummy cupcakes!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Opening Birthday PresentsJoshua's big birthday treat at McGuire's
Happy Birthday Joshua! I can't believe my baby boy is 2! You are a wonderful little boy and you amaze your father and me every day. We feel truly blessed to get to raise you. There are so many interesting qualities that make you who you are. I'm going to list a few because I could write about what a great guy you are for days. Here goes:
>You love to sing! And when you sing, you have one volume - Very Loud! Here are some songs that you enjoy singing and know all the words to: Barney I love you song; Baa, Baa, Black sheep; ABCs (the whole song in the correct order without skipping letters); Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; My Bonnie lies over the ocean (you say 'Be Back' instead of 'Bring back.'); Rock-a-Bye Baby; Baby Bumble Bee; My Little buttercup (from the Three Amigos). Sometimes you start with one song (ABCs) and then loop all the songs you know back to back.
>When we ask you what your name is, you point to yourself and say "Joshua Chatham." Then when we ask you how old you are, you enthusiastically say "I two!" while holding up 4 fingers.
>You LOVE Barney. We talk a lot about Barney first thing in the morning, on the way to play school, on the way home after work, during dinner, bedtime, etc. You also talk about Barney's friends Baby Bop and BJ. You sing the "I Love You" song all the time. You ask "Can we see Barney on TV?" Daddy and Mommy aren't nearly as thrilled as you are but its cute that you really like it.
>You like to talk on the phone. I often call Grandma on the way home from work and pass the phone to you so you can talk to her. Mostly you talk about how much you like Barney and Teddy Bears (I often give you teddygrahams on the way home as a snack).>As you've probably picked up from the previous bullets, you love to talk. I can't even count all the words you know. You also repeat everything you hear. Mommy and Daddy are *learning* to spell out loud - not an easy feat for a couple engineers.
>You love the Alabama Crimson Tide. Anytime you see a logo you say "Alabama Roll Tide!" which is usually followed by "Football! Helmet!" You have a book you've memorized that has all kinds of UA info which you like to talk about. Anytime you hear a crowd cheering you start clapping and say "Yea Alabama! Roll Tide!", regardless of what they are cheering for. Mommy and Daddy could not be prouder. Of course living in Florida has taken its toll on you. The girls in day care have taught you to say "chomp, chomp" anytime you see a gator. Fortunately we don't own any Florida apparel so it doesn't come up much at home.
>You are surprisingly athletic. You can jump, clearing both feet off the ground. You can throw balls, roll balls, and kick balls. You have thrown a football with a spiral a few times. You can stand on your tippy toes and reach everything in the house - ok maybe an exaggeration, but you can get in your sight.
>Stats from your 2 year checkup: You are 35in tall (50th %) and weigh 25.5lbs (almost 25th %). You are ahead on all your milestones. You let the doctor hold you which surprised him. You spent most of the checkup "reading" books on the exam table. You announced "I read book." and proceeded to read several books.
>You are definitely a lefty and have been for some time. How'd that happen?
>You are not a great eater, but your favorite foods are steak, crab claws, and pizza.
>Most of all, we love you very much! Happy Birthday button!Yummy!

I thought it was funny...

In preparation of my baby boy's birthday tomorrow, I was remembering the events of 2 years ago. The last thing Matt and I did before I went into labor was run some errands and have lunch at Zaxby's. So today I called him and asked him what he wanted for lunch. He said it didn't matter so I should pick. "In that case I think we should go to Zaxby's for old times sake." There was a short pause and he replied "I'm not ready for that. In fact I'm putting a moratorium on all visits to Zaxby's for the next 2 weeks!" Ha!

On another note we recently gave Joshua a baby doll, or "educational toy," to practice holding a baby and being gentle with one. Joshua surprised us with being very sweet to "Baby." He holds him with both arms, gives him sweet kisses, puts him in the cradle when he's tired of holding him, he even propped baby up in his superman chair with a book so 'Baby can read book.' Now most of these activities are too much for a newborn, but we were pleased that Joshua never threw Baby or jumped on him.All worn out after dinner.

Joshua's Beach Birthday Party

Here are a few pictures from Joshua's birthday party with Mommy's family at the beach. He had a great time opening the presents. While he did blow out his candles, he really wasn't into eating his cupcake though he did feed mommy some and it was yummy. Special thanks to Aunt Stoppie for making them!Also thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the fun Barney plates and decorations!