Louisville slugger...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to watch Josh's volleyball team play (both UMSL and club). Now that Noah has joined us, I was faced with a decision -- do I only go to home matches or do I pack him up and continue to travel with the team from time to time?? Come on... is there really a choice?

I did resist the temptation of going to Kansas City to watch the UMSL team when Noah was 2 weeks old -- although I did seriously think about it. But this past weekend, Noah went on his first road trip to Louisville, KY, so his volleyball crazy Mama could watch the UMSL team play. Our son proved to be a road warrior and made it through the weekend with flying colors...although he did give a security guard at Kentucky State a scare with a VERY poopy diaper.

Here are a few pics documenting our adventure...

Here is Noah checking out the king-size bed in the hotel room

The Kentucky State gym was cold so Grammy and Mom
had to get creative in finding ways to keep Noah warm!

While the team was getting ready to play Bellamine,
we went to the Louisville Slugger factory.

Here's me and Noah in front of the giant Louisville Slugger bat.

Noah is a hit with the girls on the team...
they passed him around at the restaurant before we headed back to St. Louis.

Crazy fungus amongus!

I just had to post this picture of a crazy mushroom growing in our backyard! There was a smaller one nearby it that I poked at with a stick... seriously nasty.

It is the little things...

that make me happy.

I just discovered that if I add a post to my blog using Mozilla instead of Safari I can do WAY more... like add links, change the color of my text, use different fonts... WHO KNEW?!?

Play Date!

Noah had his first play date on Monday. My friend Charity (she and her husband are in our small group) had a baby girl, Sophia, shortly before Noah was born. Charity brought Sophia over on Monday and the four of us hung out. Here is a pic of Sophia and Noah just chillin' together in the living room:

Lazy Sunday

Josh had three away matches last week and didn't get a whole lot of sleep...until he and Noah took a nap together on the sofa. Does it get any cuter?

Observations of a new mom...5

1. Lunch sometimes isn't until 2:30pm.
2. Getting out of the house no longer takes 15 min... now I budget 1+hours!
3. Which is better? A newborn size diaper that is a little too small or a size 1 that is a little too big? I went with the tighter route... ended up with poop all over me this morning... yuck!

Observations of a new mom...4

When all else fails, try the dryer...

Tummy time!

Noah is not a big fan of tummy time, but I managed to snap this picture during one of his happier moments...isn't he cute??

How life has changed...

A little more than a year ago, we were simply 4 couples getting together for Bible study. Now, we are 4 couples and 4 babies! Pictured here are the boys and their dads... Josh and Noah, Aaron and Micah, Cory and AJ... not pictured are Jeremy and Sophia, the lone girl in the group--she will have 3 psuedo-brothers to protect her from the get go!

We are very blessed to have these friends as we begin this journey into parenthood!

Should babies cry?

Or should they always look this peaceful?



This is the question I wrestle with at home with Noah... I think he ranks somewhere between the baby who never fusses and the baby that cries all day and all night...

And the curse of every new mom is the intense desire to know WHY the baby is crying-and I am rapidly discovering that the "why" answers are hard to come by. Noah loves to eat but gets fussy after he eats--why doesn't he drift off into a peaceful slumber after filling his belly? Sometimes Noah will fall asleep and then wake up 10 minutes later with a look of consternation on his tiny face--why? Noah seems to sleep really well (sometimes for 3 hour chunks)--why doesn't he like the actual process of falling asleep and always seems to fuss as part of the process?

And why can't I get that crazy eye gunk to go away???

Ah... the trials and tribulations of a new mom... and to think, last year at this time, all of my "why" questions revolved around 7th graders -- why didn't you do your homework? why do you insist on talking during class? why did you poke her? why can't you remember your locker combination? Equally hard questions to find the answers to...

Family photo shoot...

I was fortunate enough to be approached by a friend, Jodie Allen, who has a budding photography and design business, who offered to do photo shoot of our new family. The results were great! Here is a sample of some of the pics... let me know if you would like her contact information (there is a link to her website on the list to the right)...

The tiniest UMSL VB fan...

Last night was the beginning of Josh's conference season at UMSL. Noah and I couldn't miss it so we got all decked out in UMSL colors and headed up to the match.



Both my parents and Josh's parents attended the match as well... here is Grandpa Reckase holding Noah with Grandma and Grammy nearby.

Observations of a new mom...3

I am not sure why God didn't use his octopus design for mothers... as it is, I am having to become very (very) adept at doing things with only one hand.

Heavyweight

It's official... Noah is a heavyweight. We stopped by the pediatrician's office today to check Noah's weight -- he was a whopping 8 pounds! That is a whole pound heavier than he was at this point last week and one pound and 8 ounces heavier than he was at birth! Whoo-hoo!!

Hanging with family and friends...

Couple of fun pictures to share!

The first is Noah with his Pappy meeting the dogs for the first time...Tavish and Brody were very curious about what was making such strange noises! I am sure they will be fast friends!



The second picture is Noah with his buddy AJ (Nicole and Cory's son) - AJ just turned 1 last weekend and will hopefully show Noah the ropes on how to be a great kid!

How tall will Noah be?

Noah was 21 inches long when he was born... somewhat average as far as lengths go. However, our little guy has such long legs as well as huge hands and feet, we can't help but wonder how tall he will be! We talk about his "chicken legs" but only a picture really does them justice...

Noah's first bath!

With a fully healed belly button, Noah was cleared by the pediatrician to have his first bath! We waited until Josh was home from his tournament in Kansas City so that he could participate in the festivities! Here are some pics of the big event... special thanks to Aunt Beth and Uncle Nick for the cozy towel we wrapped Noah in after he was squeaky clean!

Observations of a new mom...2

Car seats are magical. They can make even the most inconsolable baby drop off into dreamland.