Noah's first food/ Brotherly love

Last week (March 13th) we decided to let Noah try his first food. We decided to start with peas and later try more appetizing food.  You can tell from his face what he thought about them. I am happy to report that the carrots and sweet potatoes we tried later were a hit.

Then on March 18th as I was leaving Noah at play school he waved goodbye to me!! To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I walked out of the room and the his teacher brought him to the door and he waved again, ever so sweetly. It made my whole day. I'll take a moment to brag on my good mannered Joshua.  Everyday when I leave, after I get my kiss he tells me "You have a good day, Mommy." I'm so glad both boys (and their parents) are happy and comfortable at the day care center.

Brother story:
Recently I was driving somewhere in the car with the boys. Joshua was playing with his Buzz Lightyear doll when I heard him say "Look Noah, this is Buzz." I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw him holding Buzz by the feet so Buzz stretched all the way across the car for Noah to touch.  I got all excited and thought I was witnessing some genuine brotherly sharing.  And then Joshua said "That's *my* Buzz." And then he took Buzz away and continued playing with him.  Noah didn't really seem to care, but I imagine such antics won't be appreciated in a year or so.

My Sweet Boys

Here are some pics of the boys that I took recently.  I must confess I had to bribe Joshua with Skittles to get him to pose next to his brother, but it was totally worth it.  My boys are beautiful!

Here are a few short stories about Joshua:
Recently I went out to lunch with Joshua and Noah. I changed Joshua's diaper, then washed his hands and warned him not to touch anything while I changed Noah. I looked over my shoulder and saw him plant both his hand on the bathroom stall door. I fussed at him saying "Joshua! What did I say?" To which he replied "I sorry. I wipe them off" and proceeded to wipe them on the bathroom floor. Ewww!

I love how Joshua phrases things. Our neighborhood faces a golf course. J likes to comment on whether people are out on the course. He either says "Everybody's playing golf" or "Everybody's not playing golf." Such absolutes!

Finally, Joshua has a new favorite thing to say. It's "Why?" He's used this word for awhile but only recently has he decided to use it 30,000 times a day. Most of the time he's asking "why" about his own questions and statements. "Mommy, I want juice. Why?" I know it's harmless, but the onslaught of "Why?" passed cute at least 10,001 why's ago. I'm hoping that along the way he's at least learning something. Oh and for the record, his second favorite expression is "I do it all by myself."

Fun at the Park

Noah Talking

6 months old/ First Tooth

Noah Kinnaird is 6 months old.  He is a delightful baby boy!  The comment I get the most regarding him at play school, church, or family is 'He's such a happy boy!'  And it's true, he is happy.  He smiles all the time. He hardly ever cries aside from the normal issues such as hunger or dirty diaper.  I took him for his well-baby check up so let me start with his stats:

Height - 28in, ~90th percentile
Weight - 18lbs 8oz, ~60th percentile

Look at my tooth!

It was an interesting trip to the dr's office only because I drove there straight from Birmingham so all of us had some cabin fever. Noah smiled and talked to the nurse and doctor. He showed off some skills including sitting up by himself (the doctor was impressed that Noah sat solidly. He has the strength, but is still developing balance and should be sitting up by himself within the month). He has another new, new trick which he did not show off for the doctor which is the ability to push up on all fours with his head up and rock. Apparently he's trying to become an early crawler. I'm sooo not ready for him to be mobile. He really needs to slow down! Noah got one oral vaccine and three shots which he handled well. Best news of all, his ears, as well as Joshua's looked good. Yea!

While waiting in the exam room Joshua enjoyed reading the children's books. His favorite part was counting the seven dwarfs. He would count slow and there would be 7 of them, then he would count fast and there would be 10 of them. He's very interested in singing/ reading/ counting normal, then fast, then slow. Most of the time during the exam he spent walking around me and sometimes through my legs singing "Round and Round the Garden..." Then he started singing louder and playing the chair like a drum. As silly as he was being I know he was paying attention because towards the end of the checkup Noah was fussing so the dr handed him back to me and he stopped crying and the dr said "There are you happy now. Are you a happy boy?" And J stood beside me and declared "No, I'm a happy boy!"

So here are six fun facts about Noah:
*You got your first tooth on Sunday, Feb 27th. It was the lower right tooth and the one next to it looks like it'll be coming in soon as well. I knew you were teething, but overall it wasn't too bad.

*As I mentioned above you are trying to be an early crawler.  What's up with that? You will pull yourself up on all fours and rock.  You also have the ability to ooch and roll wherever you want to go.
*Ever since you learned to roll over, you have preferred/ insisted on sleeping on your tummy.
*You are a talker. You talk all the time. You'll talk about half the car ride to play school before falling asleep. Joshua likes to say "Noah's talking." You will also say "mama" from time to time.
*You are a right handed thumb sucker. It gets you to sleep.
*Your favorite toy is a purple Eddie the Elephant that we keep in your carseat. You crinkle the ears, chew on the feet.  It is so sweet. Joshua even refers to it as Noah's toy.

My impersonation of the Gerber Baby

One last piece of information, as you'll notice from pictures, you don't have much hair. You wear size 3 diapers and 9 month clothes. You are a big boy! Oh and Joshua plays very sweetly with you. He hands Noah toys, food (which we are teaching him not to do), gives him sweet, wet kisses, and tells him "Noah, don't cry!"  I think they'll be good friends.

It could be worse...

There is a side story associated with Joshua getting sick before the rotten ears, before I left for Bham that I wanted to share. After an incredibly long wait at the doctor’s office (we were there 1 ½ hrs), I was starving. Joshua said he wanted pizza for lunch so I decided to be adventurous and try a place *across the bridge* (Yes, it’s not that far away, but anything across the bridge just feels like a huge ordeal because you have to cross a body of water). After feeding Noah in the car we went in to this small place and I ordered the lunch special, pizza and salad, and some breadsticks. Of course by this point Joshua changed his mind and wanted chocolate ice-cream so I promised him some as soon as we left because the restaurant didn’t have ice-cream. Shortly after the salad and breadsticks arrived, J had what can best be described as volcanic diarrhea. He was sitting down and it literally shot up his back to his shoulder blades. It looked and smelled horrible and got on J, me, the seat… and J started crying. I gathered the boys and headed to the restroom only stopping to ask the waitress to box the pizza and bring a check. She said “I’m sorry. It’s a dine-in special.” Not wanting to explain how diarrhea went everywhere I said “My son just threw up. We have to go now. Can’t you please box it up?” She went to ask the manager and I went to the restroom. Unfortunately it was a tiny old fashioned bathroom with a pedestal sink and no change table. I stripped J down, changed his diaper, cleaned him as best I could, and wrapped him in Noah’s blanket, which of course upset Noah. I paid for lunch, grabbed the Styrofoam box holding the pizza, and staggered out the door balancing Noah in his carseat, Joshua, the diaper bag, the pizza, and a drink. I made it to the car, when my load shifted, I dropped the box, and the pizza fell on the ground. Oh well. I got in the car and headed toward Target to fill the prescriptions. I hated taking Joshua out in public, but I really wanted to start him on his medicine and I was afraid if we went home another disaster would strike so I loaded him in the double stroller wearing a diaper and a jacket. I bought him his prescriptions and chocolate ice cream. Then we headed home. I unloaded the boys, gave Joshua a bath, and then fixed him a bowl of ice-cream. To which he said “That not ice-cream. I want ice-cream.” There was no way to reason with him and I still don’t know what he thinks ice-cream is. It was an exhausting day.
 
So getting back to my title you are probably wondering ‘How could this be worse?’ After I got home, I called my dear friend Audrey to get some sympathy as she too was home with sick babies (Titus – 3 and Alice – 1). She patiently listened to my story and then said “You want to hear about my morning? Titus ate some breakfast then had to take some medicine which he threw up on the floor. I used a wash cloth to wipe his face and placed it over the vomit on the floor to I could clean it up after T was clean. After re-dressing T, I went looking for Alice. Guess where she was? In the kitchen, sucking on the wash cloth (she’s teething).” And that is called perspective. Yes, it could be worse.

200th Blog Post

I can't believe I've made it to 200 posts.  What fun it has been watching my family grow!  I've enjoyed going back to look at the pictures, laugh at the stories, and sigh with contentment at how wonderful life is.

I play the Wii game!

A couple days after Grandottie and Jerry Pop left I took the boys back to the dr's office.  This time I had two little boys with 4 rotten ears. I also found out the boys are now 8 1/2 lbs apart.  Joshua was excited because the nurse gave him 3 Toy Story stickers.  He was wearing a Toy Story shirt and when the dr came in he said "Look at my shirt." Then they had a nice conversation about Buzz and Woody and how both characters are both their favorites.  As for Noah, it turns out it is possible to have another ear infection when he just finished his antibiotic 2 days ago for a previous ear infection.  He was not a happy camper!  In time, both my little pumpkins were feeling better.

Silly Monkey! (Thanks Maw-Maw!)

A couple days later I went to Birmingham for a celebration lunch.  A project I worked on was nominated and received the Generation One Team award.  As a bonus, I was able to take the boys to Birmingham for the weekend since the luncheon was on a Friday. They traveled well and we had a great time visiting Grandma, Grandpa, Maw-Maw, and their aunts.  They were spoiled with love and covered with hugs and kisses.  Apparently we had so much fun I forgot to take any pictures.  I'll try to remember next time.  Also Noah turned 6 months old which will get its own posting in a few days.

We ended up staying a few extra days for a sad occasion.  Our dear friends Erin and David lost their beautiful baby, Elizabeth Anne.  Our hearts are broken for them and we continue to pray for them and big sister Sarah Katherine.  We love you!

The rest of February

February has been a busy month for us.  Joshua went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate his best friend Xavi's birthday. It was fun to watch him light up and run around.  I should note that Joshua now likes to end his bedtime prayers "and God bless Xavi. Amen!" Joshua did end up getting sick (he was questionable in my last blog entry) and going to the dr's office a few days after Noah went for similar symptoms.  He also wound up getting an X-ray and was prescribed steroids and breathing treatments, but unlike Noah, they made Joshua wired. He was cranky, emotional, teary - a pitiful sight to see. Fortunately he bounced back pretty quickly.

I pet the rabbit!

Bump, Bump with JerryPop

A couple days later Grandottie and Jerry Pop came for a visit.  It was great to spend time with them.  We went to the Gulf Breeze Zoo on Saturday and hung out at Pensacola Beach on Sunday.  The Zoo was interesting in that it didn't have many signs so it was hard to know what you were looking at most of the time.  Joshua liked petting a baby rabbit and seemed really impressed by the giraffes which would lean over the fence and eat out of people's hands.  There was a really strange whooping gorilla that was loud and scared Noah.  We had to move him away from that area.

For the first time ever Joshua didn't seem scared by the ocean.  He played in the sand near it and watched the waves crashing without much fuss.  Noah was awake briefly then took a nice nap.  Noah was under an umbrella, wearing a hat, and covered by a blanket except for a small area on his face so he could get fresh air, yet he wound up with a vertical stripe on his face. He wasn't sunburned, you could just tell he got some sun in an unusual pattern.  Joshua did get too much sun on his face (as did his mommy) and I felt terrible about it so I'm packing the sunscreen into the diaper bag for all future excursions.  But really, a sunburn in February???

Valentine's Day

So a lot has happened in February and I'm trying to play catch-up.  I think the reality is that I'll never *really* catch-up but I will keep trying.  So here are a few things my Joshua has been up to.  We took him for a haircut over a week ago and it looks ok.  The bangs are shorter than I like and I can't shake the feeling he looks like young Spock in the most recent Star Trek movie.  Matt and I did try to teach him the Vulcan greeting "Live long and prosper" though it didn't make much of an impression on him.  Joshua correctly picked the Packers to win the Super Bowl.  We don't follow professional football so we didn't care who won.  It was pretty cool that he started saying "Go Packers!" when we asked him who would win the SuperBowl, Packers or Steelers.  He is officially 2 1/2 so here are my guy's stats:
Height: 34 1/2in 11th percentile
Weight: 27 lbs 17th percentile

Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger

One last note about Joshua, his favorite phrase these days is "I do it by myself." Now this can be cute, annoying, time consuming, and impressive given the setting.  I'm sure family will be quick to remind me he comes by it honest, or you reap what you sow, or ha ha ha - you've earned this, so I won't complain.  I'm just trying not to show frustration and add an extra 30 min to whatever activity I'm planning.

This has been a rough week for the Chathams. Daddy, Noah, and Mommy were all sick and went to the doctor at various times.  And Joshua has been questionable, but at present seems ok.  Noah had his first ear infection, a sinus infection, and wheezing.  He's miserable, but the breathing treatments seem to make him feel better or at least wear him out so he'll sleep. One funny surprise was that the nebulizer is shaped like a panda.  The nurse told me "I'll bet you didn't realize you'd be going home with a pet today."

The church had a Valentine's Dinner and silent auction to raise money for the Ecuador Mission Team.  We had a great time at the event which also included baby sitting and we went home with 3 of the items we bid on: a spa certificate, a sonic toothbrush, and a rotate & balance tires certificate.  It was fun to get dressed up and spend time together. Yea for Date Nights!

Pre Hair cut but awfully cute!

Lastly after church we went out to lunch.  On the way Joshua said "Mommy, you an octagon." And he said it with such confidence.  Now I'm not really sure what he means - do I look like an octagon? is my head as big as a stop sign?  But I do know one thing, his favorite shape is an octagon so maybe that was his special way of saying I'm his favorite.

Joshua blessing

Knock, knock...

A couple Joshua stories:

Joshua knows one “joke” which he likes to repeat over and over.  It goes like this:

J: Knock Knock (and he knocks on as imaginary door)

Me: Who’s there?

J: Joshua

Me: Joshua who?

J: Joshua Chatham ha,ha,ha,ha…

Oh and he will say “Knock, Knock…” over and over getting louder until you acknowledge him so the joke can continue.

Joshua still likes talking about Buddy Elf from the Christmas movie Elf.  This morning he kept saying he wanted waffles with syrup for breakfast.  Well there is no way I’m letting him eat syrup in the car so I just told him he could have waffles with syrup and bacon.  As we were driving down the road he started asking for syrup saying “There not syrup on my waffle.  I want waffle *with* syrup.”  So I talked up eating his waffle with pretend syrup and went so far as to hand it back to him and he poured it on his waffle.  I told him to take a big bite which he did and then said “I not taste it. I not like pretend syrup.”  He eventually ate his waffle and bacon sans the syrup.

One last story, recently Joshua was watching Toy Story 2 and got really upset when the other toys started chasing Buzz.  We turned the movie off and daddy consoled Joshua but he keeps bringing it up.  As J was getting ready for bed last night he told me “I not like Toy Story 2.  They chase Buzz.  It makes me cry.  I not like that.”  Matt and I are hoping he forgets about it and we’ll watch it together later.  We’re not talking about it in front of him but he is.

One last important note.  We recently took Noah for some professional pictures.  The link is on the right side of the page.  Check out my handsome boy as well as some pics of some brotherly love.