Noah ~ 4 months

I am almost 2 weeks late, but better late than never!

Noah is an absolute joy. He is getting to the really "fun" baby stage...smiling, cooing, laughing, oh my! He LOVES to be talked to, held, and tickled . At 4 months, he weighs 15 pounds and is 25 inches long! A few weeks ago he rolled from his tummy to his back and he loves to roll from his back to his side.

He has turned into quite the wiggle worm! As you can see from the picture above I was unable to get him to sit still while I took his picture; he kept wanting to flail his arms and legs! Oh, and the drool is pretty much a mainstay these days...I'm wondering if he is going to be teething soon?

He rarely spits up, which is absolutely foreign to me seeing that Caleb spit up ALL THE TIME and was on medication for it until he was a year old. Drool is much more pleasant and not nearly as disgusting when it lands in your mouth like it did in Kevin's shortly after taking this picture. :)

He is such a happy baby!!! He is so easy-going and content. He was sleeping 11 hours consecutively until our trip to California and the time change has messed him up (more on our trip later). He's been getting up around 4:00 for the last few mornings, but then nurses and goes back to sleep until around 8:00. His naps are erratic at best. He goes down easily, but will not sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time.

I feel so very blessed to see this sweet face everyday and get to love on 2 amazing boys (3 if you count Kevin, of course)!! :)

funniest. kid. ever.

Sesame Street Live

Yes, we are those people. You know, the people you promise yourself you will never be prior to becoming parents...spending a crazy amount of money so that your 2-year old can see his favorite furry red monster (I have since learned NEVER to say never--especially when it comes to parenting). To justify--it was his birthday present from us, the only other thing we got him was a puzzle.

Now that I have swallowed my pride, I'll admit we had a great time. My family took Noah to his first 4-star restaurant while we reminisced how it felt to be a family of three again for a hours. We met Kevin's entire family there and enjoyed seeing all of the Sesame Street gang dancing and singing for an hour and a half. Afterwards, we headed to Caleb's favorite restaurant--Freddy's--to enjoy "burga, fies, and dip," as Caleb says.

Here's "Bumba", Emma, and Aunt Crystal...the rest of the gang is just down the row. Man, I wish I would have gotten a picture of everyone!

It's amazing how nice it is to spend with your children individually. We both could give Caleb our undivided attention and smile at eachother when for the 15th time Caleb exclaimed, "I want to give Elmo a hug." In a few weeks, we will be going to Palm Springs, California for Kevin's conference. After much deliberation, we have decided that Caleb will stay with my parents for 3 nights and Noah and I will fly out to be with Kevin 2 days after the conference begins. I just couldn't leave Caleb for the whole week but couldn't really imagine taking care of both of them myself in a fancy-shmancy hotel room (which the company pays for) while Kevin is at his meetings. We are looking forward to getting to spend some one-on-one time with Noah. After last night, we have decided we need to give our kids some individual time with both of us more often.

I have found that being a mother of more than one child brings with it a whole new load of guilt--guilt about not being able to give your second child as much attention as your first, taking away time from your first to take care of your second, guilt about the house being a mess so that you can spend time with the baby while the older one naps, etc. And then I remember the love that I have for all 4 of my siblings. What a blessing it is to share the love of brothers and sisters! I know Caleb and Noah will grow up being best buddies and we will enjoy watching their relationship grow!

singing caleb

I love to sing to my babies, despite the fact that I have a horrendous voice. I sing them personalized songs, which I learned from my mom. One of our favorites is this one sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques"...it has magical powers to calm a screaming child.

"Caleb Brian, Caleb Brian,
I love you, I love you.
How I love my Caleb, How I love my Caleb,
Yes I do, Yes I do."

Pretty simple, huh? Well, Caleb has taken to this song and loves to sing it to Noah (Alan). Lately, though, he has been doing something with the song that we think is absolutely adorable. After we have gone through both Caleb's and Noah's names in the song, he just started adding our names. So now he sings, "Mommy Alan" and "Daddy Alan" because that is what we sing to Noah. :)

Check out the video...you'll have to watch a very choppy version of "Jesus Loves Me" before you get to this song.

moving

It's just about official...we will be closing on our new house on April 9th. We are moving just 2 miles away. If you have any suggestions for showing/packing/moving with a 2-year old and a newborn, we can use all the advice we can get! :)

Oh, and if you know anyone looking for a house in our area, we are trying to sell ours! In case you didn't know: there is an $8,000 tax credit for new home owners and a $6500 credit for existing homeowners that have owned their home for 5 years or more and move (we have been in this house for 5.5 years so we qualify--yeah!).

3 months

Don't you just want to eat up those chubby little cheeks?

This is how Noah looks 90% of the time. He has found his hand and LOVES to suck on it. He is also holding his head up much better and actually tolerates tummy time. He LOVES to be held and sleeps best during the day in my arms (a bad habit...I know, but some days I feel like this is the only one-on-one time he gets with me).

His personality is emerging a little more everyday and he is so very precious. I think he has got to be the most easy-going baby ever. He smiles with his whole face (much like Caleb) and LOVES to watch his big brother. He is very mellow--I think he is going to be one that isn't in a hurry and will do things in his own time.

In honor of his 3 month birthday, he slept 10 consecutive hours last week! It was a one-night thing, though and we are back to 7-8 hours of continual sleep (which is still wonderful). He has started to coo and squeal when he is really excited...it is so cute! Most of the time all it takes to elicit a smile or squeal is just a little interaction. Those poor second children don't get near the attention the first one did!

Little Noah is such a blessing in our lives and it seems like he has been with us forever. Both boys are crazy about each other and I can't wait to see their friendship grow in the months and years to come!

First Prayer

Caleb said his first prayer completely by himself tonight when I was tucking him into bed. He will normally repeat afer us and then add his own people he wants to pray for. This time, he did completely on his own. It was absolutely precious and a moment I never want to forget. Here is how it went...

"Dear God, keep safe. Be wif Bumba, Peepaw, Tistal (Crystal), Brent, Evan, Emma, Brad. Thank you for Lola, Papa, 'Tis (Chris), Tettie (Kellie). Thank you, God. A- Tu (I love you). Amen."

Granted, he definitely forgot several family members--but he's got the right idea. I had to blog about this before I forgot this moment.

*Sorry to force you to indulge in yet another sappy story. I've been really bad about writing things down lately, so this is my way to remember.*

And here's a picture of Caleb sitting on our bed, doing what he loves the most--watching Veggie Tales. I honestly think he just might be obsessed.

Oh, and did I mention that Caleb got a haircut? Daddy decided to cut his hair on Saturday and let's just say he doesn't get to do that job again...unless that is, that uneven bangs are suddenly in style. :)