egg hunt

if my dad took as much time to prepare for easter as he does for christmas, we would totally end up like this:

noah's 1st easter

our little man got to enjoy his first major holiday this past sunday -- easter! now, we all know what a party animal our little king is, but he took this holiday especially seriously -- utilizing this particular day as a "time for personal growth" (i.e. a growth spurt!). that's right, our sweet little boy decided that he wanted to eat every 2 hours and spend most of his time within arms reach of his mother. despite his slight fussiness and constant eating, we had a wonderful time celebrating easter with my mom's family. as always, there was fabulous food, wonderful company, and a large-scale egg hunt for the little ones, which noah didn't really get to participate in and didn't seem too excited about... next year, though, i'm sure he'll be more than ready!

fortunately, after his 2 hour intervals noah settled in for the night and ended up sleeping for nearly 6 hours before waking up to eat! yay!

celebrating holidays as a parent is already a very different experience, but i can't wait until noah is a little older and able to enjoy holidays as much as we do. speaking of parents, a big thanks to my mom's family for loving on our slightly cranky little man during the day and an even bigger thanks to my mom who let us crash at her house after the festivities and helped me with noah all night! thank you, thank you!

happy easter, everyone! i hope your day was truly blessed and full of joy as God intended!

more easter pics:

noah's 1st easter

2 months

it's true, our little king is 8 weeks old and he is changing so much i feel i can hardly keep up sometimes!

noah continues to have more awake-time during the day and now spends much more of his time studying his surroundings and actually engaging with them. he is thoroughly enjoying his new bouncy chair and still enjoys spending time on his activity mat. he also has started enjoying books more and will now calm down and quietly listen while we read page after page of dr. seuss, shel silverstein or other classics -- the only exception is when he's hungry, and at that point the only thing that will calm him is a meal, of course. noah has also been gracing us with more and more of his little baby smiles, which are always a treat. this past week he also began to react to music, and now when he is fussy (usually in the evenings just before bedtime) we know that if we turn on the ipod and dance to some brad paisley, bruno mars, lady gaga or whatever else is playing he will calm right down. he doesn't seem to have a preference for anything just yet, so i'll have to keep you posted as his musical taste develops ;)

his other big news? he's gotten pretty good at rolling from his tummy to his back, especially when he's angry for some (i.e. any) reason. his neck muscles and arms have gotten much stronger, so now when he's upset and on his tummy he can push himself up and eventually ends up pushing off with his left hand and rolling over his right arm onto his back -- which just makes him more angry. sorry, noah! hopefully we'll get to the point soon where he doesn't have to be fussy to roll over! only once have i seen him roll himself over and not be upset about the whole process.

speaking of fussy, we did have a *very* fussy noah on our hands for a couple of days due to a not-so-good (in hindsight) decision on our part. as i mentioned in the previous post, noah's reflux seemed to be doing better on the zantac which made us very happy. but, being the greedy wanting-only-what's-best-for-our-child parents we are (and hoping that there would be less spit-up and more sleeping involved -- for all three of us) we made the decision to try noah on prevacid instead of zantac to see if it worked even better for him. the answer turned out to be a big fat NO. after two days on the prevacid noah was back to screaming his head off after feeds, regurgitating most of what he ate and not being able to sleep unless he was being held. it was a horrifying flash-back to his 3rd/4th week of life when he wasn't on any medication at all. matt and i took turns sleeping with him lying on our chests because he couldn't sleep any other way. when i realized our mistake we immediately switched him back to zantac (thank goodness we had a few more doses left and a refill was only a phone call away!) and things have been rosy ever since. the moral of the story? don't get greedy! if nothing else, the 24 hours we endured before we switched him back to zantac were an effective, yet cruel, reminder of how much better things are with the zantac, and that his occasional fussiness and spitting up were not nearly as bad as we had previously been thinking. i think it was God's way of showing us we should be thankful for the happy little boy we have and the wonders of modern medicine. amen!

since my last post i've also worked (read: endured) two weeks back at work. okay, so it wasn't that bad. the transition went about as smoothly as i could have wished and with my mom's assistance during daily "transitions" we've figured out a way to work opposite schedules and keep noah out of daycare -- yay! despite a rough couple of nights, matt and noah seemed to do pretty well without me here all night. i also survived being back in the ER, which i did miss, and was able to find time to pump (thanks to some very supportive coworkers!) so we can avoid having to put noah on formula. i think the roughest part for everyone was the fact that my first week back consisted of me working a horrible stretch of 4 out of 5 days: friday, saturday, monday and tuesday. needless to say, by wednesday i was *beat* and was having a really difficult time keeping up with noah's schedule. it was practically impossible for me to keep him awake and happy while i was ready to fall asleep standing up. fortunately, my new schedule does not require back-to-back-to-back shifts like that and i think it will be much easier for everyone. and, for those who are curious, i am still holding two jobs but i have not had the chance to work another shift at acute kids just yet. i'm not too worried about picking those up though, since they are shorter shifts and the pace is usually slower than the ER. and before you ask, i'm not sure how long i plan to keep both jobs but for right now i'm not planning on quitting either one. i guess i'll keep them both as long as noah will let me ;)

2 months

april birthdays

this month sarah and ray both turn the big 3-2! since their birthdays are only 11 days apart, and they are married, we always celebrate their birthdays with a joint party and this year was no different. we enjoyed tasty food from the grill, fruits, veggies, chips and dips and some extra tasty desserts. thanks for the fun, guys! here's to another happy, healthy, blessed 32+ years for each of you that you will experience together!

happy birthday, sarah and ray!

the birthday kids with my hubby, filling their plates

food time...

the kids outside with...empty beer bottles? looks like they've been partying without us!

mom with the dessert buffet...she was talking to maddie at the time :)

noah gets to spend some time with his cousins

the family in the kitchen, ready for "happy birthday"

blow out those candles!

car shows

the stingray concept car

for the last several years (we think it's been about 5 and counting), my dad and i have gone to the dallas auto show every spring. it has become sort-of a father-daughter tradition for us, a "standing date" in our calendars. and since we started going, we've been every year despite crazy schedules. last year we made it even though i was living in ohio. this year we went the day after dad had been out of the country for two weeks. luckily, he got back just in time for us to go on the last day so we could enjoy all the beauty, ingenuity, and fun that is the dallas auto show. our usual trip lasts several hours, anywhere from 3 - 5, depending on how much time we are willing to spend comparing models (to other models and to the previous year) and how long we are willing to look on fondly at the cars that are outside our price range (read: aston martin, maserati, bugatti, etc) before we ultimately agree that, while nice, we could never justify spending that much money on a vehicle.

we enjoy trash-talking some brands and certain cars, and exploring every switch, button and gizmo added to others. there are always a few surprises and this year it was the hyundai equus -- the nicest car we were allowed to sit in and, quite possibly, one of the nicest cars at the show. it has a reclining, massaging, heated and cooled *back* seat, and some models come with a mini fridge, too. absolutely crazy. we also got to see the famed bugatti veyron, which boasts a 16 - cylinder engine, 1001 horsepower and has a top speed around 250 mph. it's price tag is somewhere around $2.5 million. we did *not* get to sit in that car...

other cars of note: the stretched out sienna van (it was no longer "mini") known as the SWS, that's "swagger wagon supreme." don't believe me? see it here. and we also took note of the nissan murano cross cabriolet.

and after crawling in and out of dozens of cars and scrutinizing every price, detail and design flaw on numerous models, it was all over again for another year. and now the only question is...does noah get to go with us next year? :)

dallas auto show 2011

6 weeks

hard to believe our little man is already 6 weeks old! we've been very busy around here the last two weeks continuing to learn more and more about our sweet baby noah and watching him learn about his always-new environment.

during his 5th week of life, we finally broke down and took noah to see the pediatrician for his ever-worsening reflux symptoms. despite the use of the OTC medicine, noah was continuing to have frequent tummy aches, crying spells, difficulty sleeping and *lots* of spit up. while the medicine was still helping occasionally, it was becoming quite clear that we probably needed to bring out the bigger guns. on march 25th we took him to see the PA at his pediatrician's office who agreed with my diagnosis and started him on zantac -- a Rx to help with the acid reflux. we started the medication that night and have continued giving it to him twice a day. my, what a difference it makes! while his symptoms aren't gone, he spits up much less (in volume, not frequency), cries less and seems to be much more comfortable most of the time. we've also had an easier time getting him to fall asleep since his tummy doesn't wake him up anymore -- unless it's just hungry!

in other news, noah also moved from his bassinet into his crib for both naps and bedtime. after multiple attempts to get him to fall asleep in the bassinet, we eventually gave up and put him down in the crib. after just a few minutes of fussing (seriously, like 2 minutes), he eventually nodded off without assistance and slept peacefully without problems. so, crib sleeping it is! we've also continued using his bedtime routine these past few weeks and i think he's beginning to associate it with sleepy time. after his evening feeding (whether that ends up being at 6, 7 or 8 pm) he gets burped, bathed, and then a book read to him before it's lights out and bedtime. he does pretty well at going to bed now but has an easier time falling asleep in the afternoon than he does in the evening and early morning. i'm not too worried, because i know that his little circadian rhythm will continue to become more regular as the weeks go on.

we love dr. seuss...

in other news, our little man has officially outgrown his newborn clothes! while i haven't gotten an exact weight on him recently, this means that he should weigh more than 8 lbs! this makes me especially happy since it means that despite all his spitting up, he is clearly getting some nutrition. we've also had to move up to size 1 diapers this week. noah was a trooper and let us use up all the newborn diapers first, but they were starting to get a little snug!

then:

now:

these last two weeks noah has also started spending more time awake and taking in his surroundings. he will now play on his activity mat for long stretches of time and enjoys interacting with people more and more. sometimes i can't wait until he is older and more interactive, but i know that he will only be this little once and that i should enjoy every minute. he has already grown and changed so much in just 6 weeks!

a short video of our little man playing:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

right after noah was born, everyone kept telling us that the first 6 weeks are the hardest. i will have to wait another couple weeks and months to truly be able to tell if that's the case, but it certainly seems like things are getting a little easier around here. of course, noah turning 6 weeks is bittersweet for me because it means that we've started to settle into a nice little routine at the same time that i have to return to work (next week). while i am looking forward to seeing my friends and using my nursing skills again, it will be hard to leave behind my sweet little boy for 13 or 14 hours at a time. full-time employee and full-time mommy (and wife) can be tricky, but i know lots of women who do it and do it successfully. here's hoping i'm one of them!

6 weeks

1 month

today was noah's due date, but instead he's turning one month old! i can't believe that i could have still been pregnant at this point, that i could have been pregnant for another two weeks, and that we wouldn't have met our amazing son yet. instead, we've been able to enjoy our february baby for the last four weeks, learn a few things about ourselves and parenting, and start to understand who this new little king is and what kind of personality he has.

1 month

this last week was full of firsts for the little mr. king. on friday, mommy went for her first trip away from home *without* noah. i had the opportunity to spend some time with my good friend JaTon while matt was off work. this allowed daddy and noah some quality father-son time together (although noah slept for most of it), and allowed me a chance to see what it was like to have to leave behind my sweet little baby. i was only away for a couple of hours -- we went to jamba juice (yum!) and then to babies r' us to pick out an activity mat -- so being away wasn't as hard for me as i expected it to be. it was actually a lot of fun, until we were headed back and matt called to say that noah was awake and *very* hungry. oops... since noah has been exclusively breast fed matt didn't have any way to feed him, and i wasn't expecting him to be awake so soon and ready to eat (we're obviously still working on having some sort of schedule). needless to say, i came home to a very hungry baby and a pretty upset and helpless husband. fortunately, they both forgave me... eventually ;)

on saturday, noah got to join me for an inservice at AKUC. even though i'm technically on maternity leave, i had already signed up for the inservice and it was a one-time offering. and since the nurse manager in charge of the inservice said i could bring noah, there really wasn't any reason not to go. it also meant i had the chance to show off my baby boy to my coworkers without having to bring him to a clinic or hospital (we were at the admin office for the inservice). i was hoping that since the inservice was from 9a - 11a noah would sleep through the whole thing as this would have been the case any other day. but, always one to make his own plans, noah decided that morning that he wanted to eat at 5:30am instead of 7am, which meant he was ready to eat again at 9:30 instead of 11. eventually i will stop trying to plan things for this boy...he clearly knows what he wants and when he wants it!

on sunday noah had his first photo shoot with our awesome photographer and friend leah luquette. she took our christmas pictures and our maternity pictures and had promised she would take some newborn pictures when noah arrived. this obviously happened sooner than we originally planned, but ended up working out well anyway because she was in town from oklahoma this week for spring break. noah was a pretty good trooper through the whole thing and was *completely* worn out by the time we were done. the photos are still being edited, but i got a sneak peek at one of them and i can't wait to see the rest!

on sunday night, noah also got his first bottle and daddy had his first chance to feed him! based on the advice of my lactation consultant, i had started pumping in order to prepare for returning to full-time work in a couple weeks. i was a little worried initially that we would have issues with noah taking a bottle, but all my fears were put to rest when he took the bottle without any problems and ate like a little champ! matt seemed to enjoy the experience, too :) and since then noah has had no problems switching between breast feeding and bottle feeding, which should make for a much smoother transition when i go back to work. yay!

monday, tuesday and wednesday didn't bring any true firsts but did bring a realization for us. after several instances of issues for noah -- lots of spit-up, excessive hiccups, only wanting to be in an upright position (held, carried, propped against our legs or the boppy), and generally screaming bloody murder and arching his back any time we attempt to lay him down (even if he's completely relaxed or nearly asleep) -- i think we've determined that noah most likely has acid reflux. it was something i had been concerned about for a while because of his spit-up episodes and near-chronic hiccups (two big signs of acid reflux), but i had pretty much convinced myself that any of his fussiness or other problems were the result of something that i, or we, weren't doing right because that's what new moms do. but on monday night we repeatedly attempted to put him to bed without success. despite being fed, having a clean diaper and having been burped, noah would cry, cry, cry when we attempted to lay him in his bassinet or crib (because we tried both) and would immediately stop when we picked him up and put him on our shoulders. after several attempts at bedtime, i looked at my poor screaming child and finally followed my mommy intuition. i sent matt to CVS to pick up an over-the-counter medicine while i held noah who would fall asleep if he was upright but begin to cry as soon as he wasn't -- even if he was being held. when matt returned we gave noah the medicine and the results were nearly instant. he relaxed and fell asleep and we were able to lay him down without problems. since then we've instituted a round-the clock medication regimen that has made life *much* easier for noah and, consequently, for us. unfortunately, the medication we are using is a lovely black color which tends to get all over onsies, burp cloths, the boppy and even mommy and daddy. this means lots more laundry for me to do, but i guess that's the sacrifice i will make for a happier baby! and even though we are fairly certain we've pegged down this problem, i eliminated dairy from my diet for the last several days to see if that is a contributing factor since it tends to be a large culprit in upsetting baby tummies, also.

and lastly, while i never expect noah to be on a perfect schedule we are attempting to establish some sort of rhythm around here. it seems that most days he will go 4 hours between eating with the tendency to be to eat around the 7, 11 and 3 hours of the day (7a/11a/3p/7p/11p/3a). he sleeps the best between 7am and 11am, and after that will happily spend time on his activity mat. this week we also started a bedtime routine that involves a bath and reading a book after the 7pm feeding.

all-in-all, noah is a wonderful baby and i think we are starting to get the hang of life with a newborn. of course, today noah is technically no longer a newborn, which just proves that things change quick around here and that just when i think we've "gotten it" there will be another curve ball. this is life as a parent ....and i'm loving it!