10 Months!

What is this thing? Get it off me!

Ok fine, I'll pose for a picture.

Where has the time gone? We're into double digits here. Unbelievable. I'm gonna blink and he'll be all grown up.

At 10 months, Noah is a busy boy! He's constantly moving. He crawls, pulls up on everything in sight, cruises from one piece of furniture to the next, sits down from standing with ease, and even crawls up stairs! He can stand on his own for a second or two at a time, then loses his balance and plops back down to the floor. He can walk behind a little push toy, but it's not very coordinated. Noah loves to play with toys, and examines things meticulously. He loves poking at small parts while he babbles "doo doo doo." Things that rattle are fun to shake, and he might even understand what the word shake means, because he'll start waving something wildly when I say it. Noah will wave if we wave at him first, but I don't think he's connecting meaning to it yet. The other night he waved at me each time I said hi, but I don't think he actually meant it as a return greeting to me.

Noah continues to be a fussy eater. Some days he clams up his little mouth and simply refuses to eat. If he can't hold his own spoon, I usually get a total fit from him. He enjoys eating finger foods like puffs, cheese, and yogurt puffs, even though he often makes a yucky face when he's eating them. He still drinks 4-5 6oz bottles of formula a day. We're working on a sippy cup, but so far he either a) doesn't get it, or b) doesn't like it. His naps are still amazing. He takes a morning and afternoon nap, each about 1-2 hours, and sometimes even longer. At night he usually sleeps from about 8:30-6:00, but he can wake up anytime between 4:00-7:00am. We might need to adjust this all when we start real daycare next week. (We found a stay-at-home mom to watch him, so no more luxurious mornings of sleeping in til 5:30. I'll have to be up by 5:00 from now on to get out the door earlier. Yuck.)

Babbling has expanded just in the last week. Up until recently, he liked saying "buh," duh," "tuh,", and "puh" sounds, almost exclusively. He has finally incorporated "mah" and "nah" into the mix. I'm not one of those silly moms who gets hung up on making my baby say "mama" before "dada," but I have to admit it's nice to finally hear some "ma ma mas!"

Grandma Cheri

Speaking of "mama," my mom was in town over the weekend. Her visits always feel too short! I was so excited to drink her famous margaritas, but my tolerance is so pathetic that I think I only took a few sips before I called it quits. I just can't drink like I used to, but I don't really miss it either. Anyway, Noah keeps us so busy that it seems hard to actually sit around and visit. And since our parents have to cram in grandbaby time in short spurts, the focus is all on him when they're here. Not that I can blame them. I mean c'mon, look at this smile!!!

P.S. My prediction last month about a first tooth has been proven incorrect. No teeth yet, and we're in no hurry!

Like Grandfather, Like Grandson

My Dad was in town last week for a brief visit. He showed up to our house wearing a shirt very similar to one that Noah has. I couldn't resist, so I dressed Noah to match his Grandpa. I love this picture!

Daycare, Revisited

Sigh. So my amazing friend Noelle, who has been watching Noah since August in my own home, has decided to move on to bigger (and higher paying) things. She found out her start date is March 1st. Eeeek! That gives us 2 weeks to find a new arrangement. I know we can do it, it's just a question of if we can find something we actually really like. I set up an interview with a SAHM who would watch just Noah in her home, and she sounds super nice over the phone, so I have a good feeling about her. The crappy part is that we would pay $75 more a week, which over the next three months would be a $1000 increase over what we're paying now. However, I still can't stomach the thought of commercial daycare, and I have a feeling none of the good ones would have spots available that quickly. My Noah is worth whatever penny pinching it takes.

In other news, we're still thinking a lot about moving back to Minnesota, but some other interesting opportunities may be unfolding. Brian has been working with someone on an innovative grading, assessment, and progress monitoring website in his spare time. It's pretty mind-blowing stuff. He has landed a meeting with the Chief Academic Officer of his school district, and she has invited the Director of Curriculum and Instruction, the Director of Assessment and Intervention, and the Director of School Improvement to the meeting as well. We have fingers crossed that this could be my ticket to my own life as a stay-at-home mommy. The realist in me is mostly preparing for a ticket back to Minnesota though. Only time will tell I guess!

Icky Sicky

Luckily, the icky sicky is not Noah or I. It's my friend who watches Noah. As a result, I had to stay home with Noah today and yesterday (oh, life is so rough!). Let me tell you, I read some blogs from women who proclaim that they couldn't make it as a stay-at-home mom. Apparently you must love your jobs WAY more than I do, because I would give mine up in the blink of an eye to stay home with Noah every day. Yes it's just as much work, but I enjoy it so much more. If I could afford to work part-time, that might be ideal. I would probably feel a little guilty all the time if I wasn't contributing any income.

So what have we been up to the last couple of days? Well, yesterday we woke up early and played, ate, and napped the day away. Here's Noah walking with his fancy Playskool contraption.

Today we slept in til 9:30 (after an unusual 4:40am wake up feed), then became obsessed with a forgotten blue rattle. He would not put it down. Not even to crawl, climb, or eat.

I've also been reading him "My Little Word Book." There's a few pages with all kinds of animals on them (farm animals, pets, and wild animals). I point to each one and make the sounds that each particular animal makes (or my best guess... what does a giraffe sound like???). Noah thinks it's hysterical when I roar like a bear, trumpet like an elephant, and hiss like a snake. Um yeah, WAY better than going to work!

Welcome Little Ones!

Congratulations to...

Cindy and Josh!

Sadie Kay was born 2/1/11!

Kirk and Charity!

Selah (say-lah) was born 2/3/11!

Heather and Jeremy!

Samuel Reece was born today, 2/5/11!

Three new babies in just 5 days. Welcome to the world, little ones! We're so glad you're all here safe and sound!

The End

Breastfeeding and pumping is done. January 31st was the last day I pumped and I had 1.5 oz to show for it. There is just no point in continuing. For as long as I obsessed and fought with myself over keeping at it, I find myself feeling mostly relieved to be done. Holy shit, it is hard work to pump nearly exclusively! So instead of feeling the guilt I was worried I would feel, I just feel proud. A little over 9 months is pretty damn amazing with a full-time job, if I do say so myself. And no, I don't miss washing pump parts 3-4 times a day, either. So in celebration of my hard work and commitment to Noah, I drank a margarita tonight!!! And it was delicious! Woohoo! My alcohol tolerance is probably even less than it was as a teenager, considering I haven't indulged in much more than a sip since July 2009. Oh yes, that is dedication!

Baby It's Cold Outside (Bonus Day!)

The temperature right now in Denver is somewhere around -11. If we still lived in Minnesota, it would be a wear-your-long-johns-and-suck-it-up day. But for Denver, this is unusually cold, and with overnight lows around -20 and windchills far colder, school was canceled city-wide. Which means we get the day off! And bonus days with Noah are the bestest!

Our furnace can't keep up today, so Brian braved the elements and bought some firewood. Noah was captivated by the flames. Lots of schools are closing again tomorrow, so I've got fingers crossed for one more day of this.

In other news, a good friend of ours went into labor today after her water broke this morning. We're looking forward to meeting their daughter, and hope that it's another smooth delivery!