Noah's first trip to the zoo!

Noah took his first trip to the St. Louis Zoo today! It was a beautiful day -- sunny and 65 degrees and I had to get out of the house. I get tired of walking circles on the streets around the house so decided to trek over to the Zoo and walk there instead...and we are fortunate enough in St. Louis to have a zoo that is free!

While I enjoyed the animals and the wonderful weather,
Noah decided it was the perfect opportunity for a nap...
he was awake when I put him in the car seat but then was down for the count!

Noah sleeping next to a big cat...

Noah sleeping next to the chimpanzees...

Noah sleeping next to the elephants...

Noah sleeping next to the grizzly bear...

Thoughts to chew on...

I stumbled across a blog known as "The Rabbit Room" managed by one of my favorite musicians, Andrew Peterson. The original Rabbit Room existed in an pub in England and was used by the Inklings (CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams, etc.) as a gathering spot to discuss their writings. The online version of the room serves as conversation spot for artists and thinkers who "get the feeling that there's more truth and beauty around us in the world than this world can contain." Check it out here: RABBIT ROOM

Intrigued and challenged by the following quote in one of Andrew Peterson's recent post, I thought it was worth sharing:

"We may want something harmless, but if it’s out of place, if it comes before the right thing, what’s benign becomes malignant. We want the wrong thing. So boil it all down. Chop off the fat. Get rid of the pet monkey you’re feeding, because you can’t afford to take care of it anyway. Wrench your heart away from all the things you think you need for your supposed financial security, your social status; set fire to your expectations, your rights, and even your dreams. When all that is gone, it will be clear that the only thing you ever really had was this wild and holy Spirit that whirls about inside you, urging you to follow where its wind blows. If you can put aside your worry long enough to feel that wind and to walk with it at your back, it will lead you to a good land. It will remind you that righteousness is more than pious obedience, but is letting a strong, humble mercy mark your path, even when–especially when–you don’t know where it’s taking you."

The secrets of sleep...

Ahhh... sleep. It has always been a valued commodity to us but it has become even more precious since Noah has been born. We know its worth, but are in the process of trying to convince Noah to view it in the same way that we do.

There are varying philosophies on how to teach babies to sleep through the night... the most infamous of which is probably BabyWise. I have perused this book and others, but generally I have been letting Noah dictate his schedule. And, lo and behold, Noah decided to sleep through the night all on his own one night last week. Ever since then we have been trying to replicate the experience!

The major hurdle in this endeavor is getting enough food into Noah's little body before putting him to bed so he doesn't wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Some days this is no challenge at all, but lately, especially in the evening, Noah has been getting fiesty with his bottle. He wrestles with the nipple and sometime screams after only a few ounces. The reason for this is a mystery...but hopefully it will be a passing phase.

All I know is that Noah is sleeping peacefully right now...so I should be, too!

Look how strong I am!

A smile to melt your heart...

I love Target

I can't help it. This red and white bullseye makes me exceedingly happy. I could wander around in Target for hours and spend amazing amounts of money. It takes me forever on my Target shopping trips because there is so much I want, I have to have an internal debate about what I should buy in practically every aisle. To add to the temptation, the Target at Hampton and Chippewa has a Starbucks in the entryway... um, heaven on Earth? Okay, not really. But close.

Today the dilemma was towels. The cool, blue, incredibly soft Thomas O'Brien towels were on sale. Do I need new towels in my bathroom? Not necessarily. Would they look spiffy? Absolutely. In the end, after at least 5 minutes of pondering in the middle of the towel section, I resisted. It probably would have taken longer to make the decision except Noah noticed the cart wasn't moving anymore and began to protest.

My willpower failed, however, when I got to the potholder section. I mean, doesn't a girl deserve new potholders every 4 years?

I wish Star Wars was real...

I mean, how handy would the Force be???

I can't tell you how often I find myself on the sofa feeding Noah or with him asleep in my arms and need something that is out of arms reach...the phone, the remote control, my laptop.

If I had the Force, I could move objects at will. Lazy, you say? Maybe. But it would be awesome.

The many faces of Noah

Noah meets the Dankels!

Our small group from church has seen many changes over the past few years... most frequently that change has meant good friends moving away from St. Louis. First, the Leuchters abandoned us for the windy environs of Chicago. Then the Lockes decided to return to their roots in Texas and moved back to Dallas (after developing a healthy appreciation for basements). Finally, the Dankels heard the call of exotic Columbia, MO, and left us as well. Whenever any of these couples returns to St. Louis it is cause for great celebration...well, at least lunch out with the gang.

The Dankels joined us yesterday and met the newest small group babies...our Noah and the Cobb's Micah. We had lot of fun catching up and laughing. More than anything, we were reminded of how much we miss Scott and Gina!

Look how far we've come...

My friend, Dena, is having a baby in January and I was able to attend her baby shower this weekend. Dena and her husband, Scott, were in a Bible study with me and Josh and two other couples before they moved to Chicago...and before any of us had kids! Here we are at the shower -- me with Noah, Dena with baby to be, and Nicole with AJ and another bun in the oven! How far we've come from our "just married" days!

When Daddy's away...

Josh has been out of town for the last few days for a few volleyball matches and I have been suffering from a cold. The combination of those two factors resulted in this chaotic appearance of our bed this morning... fortunately for me, Noah didn't seem to mind as we snuggled in bed this morning!

Foot washing

Josh's parents have two Scottie dogs...Tavish and Brody (pictured in earlier posts). They haven't quite figured out what to do with Noah yet...although Brody came up with a new idea last time we were at there. Noah was in his car seat on the floor and Brody came over, nudged the burp cloth off of Noah's feet with his nose and began licking Noah's toes! I managed to catch it in film -- if you look closely, you can see Brody's pink tongue... Noah didn't seem to mind the foot washing at all!
Josh and I have long thought that Noah has an amazing ability to hold up his head at a very early age... here he is in action with a pretty cute expression on his face:

A Milestone (of sorts)

This is one post that will NOT include a picture... trust me, you will thank me.

Noah had his first public poop explosion yesterday. Josh and I took him watch a SLU volleyball match to see some of Josh's former club girls play. We were chatting with one of the girl's parents when I shifted Noah's position on my lap and suddenly became aware of wetness on my leg and on my hand. I looked down and discovered I was a victim of a poop leak in Noah's diaper! Beautiful shades of yellow and green all over my pants!

We managed to get him cleaned up and then me cleaned up and even stuck around til the end of the match. Fortunately, no one else was sitting near us, so only Josh had to deal with the lingering smell emanating from my pants. Clearly I need to add a change of clothes for me to the diaper bag!

Hangin' with Uncle Nate...

UMSL volleyball matches have become a family affair--last night at the match against University of Indianapolis, both Josh's parents and brother were in attendance (in addition to me and Noah, of course). Nate hasn't had much time to hang with Noah, so I snapped this pic to document the occasion!

Our little man...

Noah and I visited the pediatrician again yesterday for his 6-week check up. It was an eventful visit for all involved as Noah pooped three times while we were there (!), spit up twice, and got five shots! We found out that Noah is now a whopping 10.5 pounds (50th percentile) and 23.75 inches long (55th percentile)! He is developing more and more of a personality every day and gets the cutest expressions on his face...like the one pictured below...
Dr. Baer was impressed with how well Noah sleeps at night but declared him a "wakeful baby" because of his habit of only taking catnaps during the day. Apparently some babies Noah's age sleep 22 hours out of 24!!! Not this child! Here he is during one of those catnaps -- isn't he just the picture of peace??