NOAH JAMES IS ONE YEAR OLD!

I thought that it one was so far away, yet it has not only come, but it has passed. One whole year since Noah was born! One whole year since Jason and I became parents! One whole year? I am still trying to figure out just how it went by so so so so so so so fast.

Noah has and continues to amaze me every day. Be it a smile, a new sign, a silly game he makes up, changing the channel on the t.v., or ripping and tearing through the house, the kid makes my heart happy with all that he does (with a few exceptions of course!). I never could have imagined all that parenthood brings...the joys as well as the challenges. I have said it a million times, but I'll say it again...being a parent is the toughest job in the world, with the worst hours and the worst pay, but the best rewards...the rewards are THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. A happy, "ma-ma" sputtered, a slimy kiss, the look of pride after he accomplishes a new feat, and uncontrollable giggle, or just simply that look between a mother and her baby, these rewards make the hard stuff not so hard, and can make a sleepless night forgotten (at least for a moment!). One year into this parenting game and we have all not only survived but we have thrived and grown leaps and bounds!

Noah, mommy and daddy love you so so so so so so so much. We are so happy you chose us for parents and can not imagine our world with out you in it. You amaze us each and every day and I only hope that we do the same for you. Our pride is immeasurable and our love is endless and we look forward to all that your future holds! xoxoxo

Ok, now for some updates...I suppose I will start with Noah's one year well baby check up. Ummm, he is still a little guy, and with no complaints from me (my bad back appreciates it!). Noah weighed in at a whopping 17 lbs. 2 oz, a mere 9 oz gain from his 16 lbs. 9 oz at his9 month check-up. He was below the 5 percentile then, and now he is not even on the chart! The ped said there is a little concern, but that Noah is hitting all the milestones and looks just fine. I am not worried at all. Noah measured 29.5 inches long (about 50th percentile) and his head is still a big one, 46.3 cm (above the 95th percentile!). Most of the visit Noah was totally freaked out (unless no one else was in the room), he was showing stranger anxiety 100% and was really pissed during the exam. Our ped, whom I have still have mixed feelings about, spent the majority of the visit dumping useless, and obvious information, most of which was too late in terms of "what to expect" (i.e. climbing things, opening cupboards, child proofing, you should buy him a helmet, blah blah blah), and we ended the visit with just one shot that Noah took like a champ. We have decided to forego some of the vaccinations for a myriad of reasons including the fact that Merck has discontinued their individual doses of the MMR, but other than that, we have kept pretty well to our modified schedule that we adopted from "The Vaccine Book. Making The Right Decisions For Your Child" by Dr. Sears, (a great resource on the vaccine debate...read it!) and though I am still a little uneasy with the whole thing, we haven't had any obvious reactions despite the momentary cry in the doctor's office.

Now for the fun stuff, the beginning of the month was marked by Noah pushing his "walker" around the living room on his knees or up on his feet if we helped by slowing down the toy. The next day, the kid was getting up behind the walker all by himself and cruising around the living room like a mad man! He prefers though, to kneel down on the front side of the walker and push it backwards, smacking his knees one at a time as he makes his way across the room, making as much noise as possible! He has been cruisin' around all the furniture and attempting to climb nearly everything, and honing his ability to walk while holding onto only one hand! Then it happened!

Just 3 days after Noah's first birthday, Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009, Noah James took his first unassisted steps! I was sitting on the couch and he was standing up against the foot stool a few feet away. I said, "come here bud," expecting him to drop to his knees and scurry over to me like he
always does. Instead, my little man turned towards me with a big smile on his face and with his little arms stretched high over his head, he slowly took 4 or 5 steps right to me! I was so surprised and so so proud! Noah seemed a bit shocked by my reaction, he acted like what he did was totally normal. But my excitement and pride was infectious and Noah was grinning from ear to ear in no time. We spent the next 10 minutes or so trying to walk again, and he did a few more times, but it became a big game and he was too excited to focus. Noah showed off for daddy when he got home with a very controlled 7 steps or so. He continues to practice everyday, though up until yesterday it was only when Jason or I encouraged it.

Yesterday, July 8th, when Noah didn't know I was watching, I saw him walk all the way across the living room with out a crash! He left the support of the couch, across the rug and onto the wood floor, then up onto his foam play mat and directly to the t.v., where he proceeded to turn the volume up to 78 before crawling away in a big hurry! Today, Noah has actually been choosing to walk anytime he pulls himself up to standing. Some attempts are strong and sturdy, others resemble a drunken sailor. But weather it's 4 steps or 20, my little baby is well on his way to being a walking toddler! Ahhhh....keep me in your happy thoughts! ;)

Along with being a walkin' fool, Noah is also a signing fool! I love it. It is so fun to encourage him and so great when he communicates what he wants and what he sees. Noah is currently using 10 signs consistently:

• all done/all finished
• more
• eat
• cat
• bird
• fish
• dog
• please
• bath
• ball

He also has a few others that he does sporadically (baby, milk), and a few that I can't seem to figure out. Though he is only signing a dozen or so signs, he understands sooooo much. I talk to him all day and about everything we are doing, and though he likes to ignore me sometimes, I can pretty much tell Noah where we are going or what to do and he will lead the way or go get the desired item. I know every parent will say so about their own kiddos, but little Noah is a smarty smarty pants!

Noah also loves music, loves to dance and despite my awful singing voice, he loves it when I sing. He has always loved "If Your Happy and You Know It," and always loves to clap along, but he has recently started responding to the second verse of "stomp your feet!" "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," seems to be his recent favorite. As soon as I start singing, he starts putting his little fingers together and twisting his hands to mimic my itsy-bitsy spider. He also does the hand motions for the "down came the rain" verse. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" also illicit some hand motions, but we are currently working on "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes!" Noah can get the "Head" part, but just really enjoys watching Jason and I make fools out of ourselves!

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The last song choice was promted by Noah's ability to point to his own body parts when asked. His favorite to point out is his belly, probably because Jason and I usually respond by tickling it! However, he also knows where his head, ears, toes and tounge are. The best part of it is the pride on his face after he points and then starts clapping!

Noah's sense of humor has exploded this last month. He is quite a silly little boy! He loves to play peek-a-boo (usually when we are changing his diaper). He covers his little eyes and waits for what seems like forever, and when he forcefully pulls his hands off his eyes he shouts, "BA!" and starts over agian. Though, I continually try to get him to say "Boo," Noah preffers the "BA" route! He also ducks down behind furniture or toys and pops up with a huge grin waiting for us to say, "Boo!"

Noah also loves to be tickled and get raspberries on his belly! He will let you know when he is ready by throwing himself down on the floor, rolling onto his back, sticking his feet in the air, giggles incessantly all while looking at you. It's irresistible! You cant help but crawl over to him and tickle and giggle and give raspberries and roll around with him. But, even more funny is when Noah is the one giving raspberries!

That's right! Noah gives the best raspberries in town. But so far, he only gives them to me. Though the other day, we were able to get him to give one to Jason. I think he is afraid of all the hair! Ha Ha! Anyway, any chance he gets, Noah will smash his little face onto my belly, blow like crazy, and make the loudest farting sounds ever. When he is out of breath, Noah pops up with a big slobbery smile, laughs, gets more air and starts all over again. He did it for like 5 minutes straight the other night. Seriously, the funniest thing ever!

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The not so funny gift that has come with Noah's first year, is the revealing of his 100% boy-ness. Yep, aggression! These days Noah is all about using force. He wants to throw, hit, kick, stomp on and otherwise beat up whatever gets in his path, including my face. We have had some not so great moments after he full out socked me in the face. It is so so so hard to scold him when that little lip sticks out. This aggression paired with his curiosity though has led to some big messes.

There has been quite a few, but the best/worst one was when he managed to sneak over to our water crock and smack the spigot repeatedly, which resulted in a flood of water in the kitchen! He knew good and well that he was not supposed to play with it...when he heard me coming, the little guy dropped to his knees and took of crawling in the opposite direction faster than I have ever seen him crawl. While I was cleaning up, Noah returned to the scene and proceeded to dump out more water. I swiped his hand and in a stern voice told him "no" and in return Noah smacked me in the face. It was so lame, and he thought it was so funny! AHHHHH, toddlerhood!! In general though Noah's agression is taken out on his toys and the water in the bath tub. I watch, from a distance, with an amazement that he has so much energy and wonder when I will need ear plugs and curious as to just how long this will last.

Lastly, and said with hesitation, Noah is starting to sleep longer and longer periods. We actually had a night with a 6 hour stretch! Though, on average we are getting 4 hour stretches, which means only waking up twice at night AND he is typically sleeping until 9 am! I credit the sleeping in to the fabulous black out curtains we put in our room!!! So, knock on wood, and keep your fingers crossed for us. I am actually starting to believe that a full 8 hours of sleep might, MIGHT, be in my future!

I will post his birthday celebrations sometime this weekendish!













making messes is one of Noah's favorite things to do...be it the dvd's or his lunch, the kid knows how to get it done!














ummm, NOAH EATS FRUIT, actually he devours it!
and looooves blueberries!

he has also been taking his pants off....and throwing them over the gate!

the neighbor girls come by to visit Noah and he looooves it!
He always shows off for them!

and this is something he taught himself all on his own and luckily he has since forgotten just how funny it was!