kissy face

Merry Christmas!

Noah did a great job opening gifts. We let him get a headstart last week with one of the packages when he started showing interest.

The practice paid off and by Christmas morning, he was up to the challenge and knew just what to do. He didn't make it through the whole pile by himself, but he did a great job for a first-timer.

Christmas comes early when you're a baby...

Noah has started trying to unwrap his Christmas presents under the tree. We decided to go ahead and let him try. It might take him till next week to get all the paper off!

Besides, who couldn't use a little more fiber in their diet?

SCREEECH!

Noah is fascinated with outlets and anything that might be plugged into them. He's also mesmerized by the digital alarm clock in our bedroom. Oh, and he loves to push buttons. That combination means that our Carbon Monoxide monitor with digital readout is irresistable. The worst part is that it makes a long ear-piercing beep when you press the "test" button, and Noah has quickly figured out how to do that! I thought for sure the noise would scare him away from ever doing it again, but NO.

Should I post an audio clip so you can get the full experience?

Walking By Christmas?

One of my friends in the computer and I have started a bet about which of our six-month olds will be walking first. (I'm not sure it's a bet I want to win!) Her little guy is cruising around the coffee table already. Noah is standing up and letting go with both hands. I think it will be a tight competition.


I've been told -- by a pediatric physical therapist, no less -- that "walking" is SIX steps.

Big Boy

For the last 3 or 4 days, when I go to spray Noah's nose with saline before bedtime, he just sits really still and patiently lets me do it. Same with the blue sucker bulb. It's freaky -- he used to scream and twist and bury his face where we couldn't get to it! It's like he's all grown up and knows it's good for him. So weird. Yesterday I was doing the sucker bulb and he grabbed for the tip, and I thought he'd stick it in his mouth (all little boys eat their boogers, right?), but he gently stuck it back in his nose. How bizarre!!!!!!!!!! Maybe he was aiming for his mouth and he missed!

He's also become a little more destructive. Not intentionally, I'm sure; he's just learning to throw his weight around. Here he sits in the middle of his play gym, after pulling it down around himself and yanking the windchimes off:



One more thing that I just have to share - Noah LOVES it when I sing Christmas carols to him. He grins ear to ear. I guess I do more singing in December than usual! Hope you all are having a merry season too!

what Noah did this morning

It’s a little hard to tell with his pants all scrunched up, but he’s standing on his feet. With one hand for balance. David said he caught Noah doing this yesterday in the crib. So far we haven't seen exacly how he gets into this position.

Tree

We put our (fake) tree up this weekend, and Noah keeps crawling over to it and gently touching the needles, then pulling back because he doesn't like the sensation. Then he does it again. It's pretty funny to watch his little brain process it.

He also enjoyed helping with the lights!

Ouch!

And along with mobility milestones, come plenty of hard knocks. On the head. Poor baby!

a mile(stone) a minute

It feels like every time we turn around, Noah's doing something new. It's terribly exciting, and more than a little bit scary at the same time. Last time I posted about him rocking on all fours...

Sunday he was inching forward, and within minutes, he had it all figured out.

Monday he was cruising around deliberately. We laughed that he'd actually slowed down because he refused to drop back to his belly to get where he wanted to go.

By Tuesday, he was faster on all fours than on his belly. (watch video)

Wednesday PoPo taught him to drop his toys (thanks!!!) and pick them back up again.

Thursday (Thanksgiving), Aunt Elaine noticed that he was sitting up totally on his own with great balance.

Friday, it only took a few minutes to conquer crawling on a slippery wood floor.

Saturday he pulled up to kneeling -- and then right away to standing -- on his favorite stool. (watch video)

What next?!? Reading by Christmas?

Good Boy!

My son plays fetch with himself. I had to laugh when I realized he was tossing his toy just so he had something to crawl toward. I'm not really sure what to make of it...

Rock on.

Little guy has started rocking on all fours, and he's as cute as can be. Here he is, not napping:

Full Circle

At grandma's house this weekend, Noah discovered one of mommy's favorite toys from when she was little, and with it, a whole new level of mobility. It would be interesting to see if the belly-scooting Noah could beat the walker-ing Noah in a race -- they're both getting pretty speedy!



We also have a new theory about why mommy loves giraffes, if she spent as much time staring at the giraffe sticker on it as Noah did!

The Sweet Potato Explosion of 2007.

Noah is the messiest eater!!!!!!!! In addition to the normal can't-quite-keep-it-all-in-my-mouth mess, he loves to "help" with his hands. This means trying to grab the spoon, or more recently, pushing the food from the spoon into his mouth with his fingers. He also likes to suck his fingers/thumb once the food is in his mouth. I've read this helps them swallow, so I let him go at it. Then once his hands are all messy, he likes to finger-paint on the tray of the highchair. Another tip I read says give them their own spoon if they can't keep their hands off yours. That works great except then he's more interested in chewing on his own spoon to let mine in his mouth, AND he gets mad that his spoon doesn't taste as good. I've seen messy baby photos, but none that hint at the whole-body experience that Noah seems to enjoy. Are others just better at disguising it, or is Noah crazy-messy? This is sweet potatoes:

BOO!

* Happy Halloween *

Mobile is not just a town in Alabama

Oh. My. Goodness. I think this qualifies as crawling. (Check out the latest video clip in the sidebar.) It's slow, and so far it's still measurable in bodylengths --Noah's body-- but up until now it's just been "hey, didn't we leave him closer to the middle of the quilt?" and now it's "hey, look at him go!" He uses his elbows to pull and sometimes gets a push in with his knees or toes. I'm torn between being so proud and a little scared! I'm still in denial about babyproofing...

We have to start somewhere!

Well, it's about time! I have no idea yet if I want this blog to be just a place to keep links to photos and videos for sharing, a place to tell cute stories about Noah that will embarrass him well into adolescence, or some totally private space for my personal thoughts. In any case, I'm sure that someday I can figure out how to do all that and more, and I can only start by trying...