Our Little Tax Deduction

After finding out how much we are getting back on our tax return, I could not resist taking this picture and sending to our tax guy.... and I thought ya'll might enjoy it too! Thanks Dave!!

We scored at Target today!!

(Two blogs in one day!!)

I like the Grocery Game, that's a given. And now that he's been doing some of "The List" shopping, so does Ben. But the Grocery Game isn't just about "The List"... the website also has great message boards in which you can find out about deals and "steals". Yesterday when I was looking through the Target forum, I found a post about a indoor/outdoor plastic playhouse on clearance from $129.99 to $32.48. Of course Noah and I headed out to see if we could find one immediately! But the first Target we went to didn't have any. The second one had TWO, but they were priced at $64.98, far above what I (or Ben) wanted to pay. However, thanks to the wonderful other shoppers on GG, I knew that Target marks it's toys down on clearance on Wednesdays! (Do you see yet where this is going??) So again this morning, Noah and I headed out to Target to see if the playhouse had been marked down again and SCORE! It had!! $32.48 for this AWESOME playhouse!

Merry Christmas 2009 to Noah!

However, it was too big to fit into my Jeep (there was a carseat in the way! haha), so we had to go back to pick it up after Ben came home. AND... while we were there, we found an "exercise saucer" (I'm not sure if that's the correct name) that was on clearance too... for much lower than we thought when we picked it up.... it was $9.98!!

**sigh** I love the Grocery Game.

Confession....

Sometimes after Ben leaves for work, Noah ends up in bed with me. (I know - I swore I'd never co-sleep! But it's not all night long, it's just between 6-8am.... so really, it's more like co-napping!) When I woke up, Noah was still snoozing and looking adorable.

Who knew I'd be so in love with another man?

Talking Boy

Noah is starting to try to "talk" - I'm not sure that I really captured his best cooing, but, here's something to watch until I can a better video of it!

At the Last Bunco Night....

.... I was having this little guy! Happy Seven Weeks Today Noah!!

Just chilling in his swing after a long hard day!

I think it's so funny the way Noah gets so bundled up after he is given a bath. Not only do I wrap him up in one baby towel while he's still in the bathroom, I wrap him in a second baby towel and a "hair towel" (I have certain towels that I only use on my hair because they are smaller) once I get him back in the bedroom. He hates baths! Or maybe he just hates being cold when the bath is over because once he is bundled up like this, he's perfectly content!

Our last Bunco night was December 10th, and we all know what happened that day, so most of the ladies from my Spouse's Club Bunco group had yet to see me or Noah since he was born. Let's just say that everyone was excited to get to see him and hold him! Noah was very snuggly with Pam....

Sleeping through Church

We finally made it to church...well, sort of. We made it to the computer! Since Noah has arrived we haven't made it out to Saddleback for a service yet. And really, who could blame us? It's a four hour ordeal, once you include drive time, and that's not including a stop for lunch! I'm quite sure God understands! ;) But this morning, we actually made it to the computer to watch the live service online. We really enjoy being able to watch here at home - it's nice to be able to stay in our PJ's, make some coffee and cinnamon rolls, and sing as loud as we want.... sometimes Ben even dances (I really did marry a "jig-dancing" guy just like my Daddy-Man!). Noah slept through the entire service! He spent part of the time with me in his newest sling and the rest of it snuggling on the couch with Daddy.

Thank goodness for internet services!

Not a Boring Saturday

What is a weekend without a night with the Frey's? I'll tell you in one word - boring!

After an afternoon of running errands and getting the house prepared, a nice relaxing evening of Euchre and Wii (and lots of eating, including more snickerdoodles and fudge) was just what we needed.

Yes, the girls are hearts and yes, we lost the evening. :(

Ben thinks that Noah is on the boy's team.... but we all know that he loves Mommy best! ;)

Snuggling with Angie while the rest of us played Wii Bowling... Angie even let Greg stay longer since Noah was such a snuggle-bug!

Couch-potato Wii Baseball....

My Chunky Monkey

Ben and I LOVE this outfit! So I couldn't resist taking a picture of Noah in it... he's really becoming quite a chunky little monkey and I'm scared that the next time I try to put this on him it won't fit! I'm not sure how much he weighs right now, but it's bound to be getting close to 12 lbs!

We haven't seen our friends, Doug and Heidi, since before Noah was released from the hospital (actually... they came up to see us and Noah on Doug's birthday - Dec 16th! Jessie, he was hoping Noah would be born on his birthday too.) We finally had them over tonight for a little bit of Noah-time, a few cookies (yeah for snickerdoodles!), and a lot of Wii.

Here's Heidi finally getting to hold Noah... when they came up to the hospital, I'll admit it, I was a Noah-hog!! But not tonight! She got all the time she wanted!

Finally....

...I've got a picture of Noah and the doctor who delivered him! Today, while we were at her office for my six-week post-baby check up, I snapped this picture of them. Dr. Bickman holds a special place in my heart - not only is she the doctor who delivered him, but she's also the doctor who made it possible for us to have him. I will be forever grateful to her (and to my little friend called Clomid)!

And, I realized how many of my pictures are of Ben and Noah and how few are of me and him! So, I'm finally adding another picture of the two of us...

Oh, and see how he's just staring at me? Just a little while ago I swear I got his very first real smile during one of these staring contest times!

Last Day and Some Snuggle Time

Ben's Mom and Grandma left today to go back home - we're so glad they were able to come out to visit and meet Noah! Here's a couple of pictures from this morning....

Once we got back home from lunch with Aunt Evelyn, Beth and George and taking Carol and Grandma Lucy to the airport, Ben got in a nap and some snuggle time with Noah. Noah is never more content that when he is sleeping on his Daddy's chest!

Lobsters (coming out your ears!)

Noah's first time to the beach (Cabrillo Beach).... though it was WAY too cold for him! We literally got out of the car, took the picture, and Noah and I went back to the car while Ben and his mom looked around - I'm not about to let this little guy get sick.

One nice thing about living in Southern California is all the fresh seafood (if you like seafood, that is). Ben loves seafood and there is a fresh fish market that is open only on Saturdays very close to our home. Saturday, Ben, his Mom and Grandma all went down to the market and they bought two lobsters. So since tonight was their last night here, Ben and Carol fixed those poor lobsters for dinner (but not before Ben cut off the eyes... he didn't want it looking at him when he ate it).

Instead of boiling those poor things alive, Ben put the lobsters in the freezer to "freeze them to death". Yes! They were alive when they brought them home!

One lobster down, one more to cook!

Six Weeks Today!

Noah is six weeks today!!

Today we had Noah's hip ultrasound appointment and based on the quick glances of the pictures, the tech and the doctor says everything looks good! We'll have to go see his pediatrician to get the actual results, but we're glad to hear that our little (okay BIG) breech baby is doing great.

We spent the rest of the afternoon out and about, and then came back home for dinner and games, and of course to hold and play with Noah.

All the excitement and busyness of the day wore Noah out.... but Daddy still wanted to play.

"Meet the Baby" Weekend: Day 3

"Meet the Baby" Weekend ended with the five of us meeting up with some of the "Norman" gang at Claim Jumper. We love getting together with them and it's always a hoot to hear the funny stories about Grandma Lucy and Carol! ;)

Aunt Evelyn and Grandma Lucy holding Noah.

Beth (Evelyn's daughter) getting some quality time with Noah.

Nancy (Beth's daughter) loving on him!

Jim's good side. :) (Haha Jim!)

Ben, our waiter, showing everyone the dessert tray!

Aunt Evelyn's dessert... we all shared it because it was SO huge!

"Meet the Baby" Weekend: Day 2

Tonight, all of the "Baylor Kids" came over to meet Noah and visit with the rest of us - they were especially excited to get to see Carol! They used to hang out quite a bit at her house while they were in college... eating her out of house and home! ;) Now, they do that at our house! Just kidding guys... you know I love to feed ya'll!

Uncle Chuck loves Noah!

Uncle Dennis and Noah getting some quality time in for the evening.

My favorite part of the evening: Cody and Brad fighting over who gets to hold Noah. Brad went so far as to even count down the time that Cody was "allowed" to hold Noah!

"The Baylor Kids"

"Meet the Baby" Weekend: Day 1

Tonight started the "Meet the Baby" super-weekend! We've got a weekend full of visits and today was only the beginning!

Noah and I headed out on a (seemingly!) short trip over to visit with my "Bunco Babes" (my school Bunco group) and in all the hurry to get there and get back home, I totally forgot to take any pictures! But, it goes without saying through pictures, that my dear Bunco friends all fell in love with Noah - I literally had to pry him out of a few hands! :) I swear I'll remember to take pictures next time... I did have my camera!

Ben's Mom and Grandma also arrived today from Colorado and Arizona (respectively) and were so excited to finally get to meet the little guy in person.

Grandma Carol holding Noah for the first time!

Great-Grandma Lucy and Noah.

While Daddy Cleans....

he's fine too!! Yesterday I was amazed that when I ran the vacuum cleaner, Noah didn't wake up. So tonight while Ben was vacuuming the stairs (it hasn't been done since before Thanksgiving!!), Noah wasn't fazed at all! Thank heavens for an easy baby!

While Mommy Cleans....

the baby sleeps.

Silly Baby

Sometimes Noah does things that just make Ben and I laugh. This is an example.....

We were laughing so hard because no matter how hard we tried to get him to lower his head and look at us, he kept lifting his chin and trying to look behind him. What a silly baby!

Five Weeks Old

Eventually I'll get tired of rattling off how many weeks old Noah is, but until then - FIVE WEEKS TODAY!

And yes, yet another video of how mean Ben (okay, we... I mean, I taped it.) is to our poor little guy. Sometimes we have to wake him up to eat during the day (I feed him every few hours during the day, so that I can just feed on demand at night... and it works -- he slept for five 1/2 hours last night!!) and let's just say that Daddy is a little bit more mean about it than I am.

And... this is the result.

Ella (and Josh and Michelle!) Visit

I've long ago realized that once you have kids, it's no longer "you" that everyone wants to see, but your kid(s). That said, I couldn't resist labeling this entry as "Ella Visits"! :) (We still love ya'll very much though, Michelle and Josh!)

Three of our dear friends from small group, Josh, Michelle, and their little girl Ella, came over tonight to visit us and to meet Noah for the first time. I've been teasing them since we've known that he was a boy that we're going to arrange a marriage between Ella and Noah, but after their visit, I'm not sure that Ella is all that interested in him!

And, I wish I would have taken video of Ben getting stomped by Michelle on Wii Boxing! ;)

Christmas Pictures

Yes, it's the middle of January. Yes, Christmas was 18 (??) days ago. And yes, our Christmas tree is STILL up! I mean, what else do you expect to happen when you have a baby during the holiday season? :)

I was pretty upset Christmas Day when we weren't able to take our first Christmas picture with Noah at home under our tree. So, I vowed that we would take Christmas pictures once he got home and since we're hoping to take down all the Christmas decorations tomorrow, today was our last chance to get a couple of "First Christmas" pictures taken. Here's a few of my favorites:

Much Better

Noah is much better today. We felt so bad for him last night (he SCREAMED every time we even attempted to change his diaper) that we gave him a little of the infant Tylenol that the Base Pediatrician had given us for when he gets his shots. He actually slept pretty well too - even though he was up every two hours, he went right back to sleep after he ate! That was a first - usually he'll sleep 3-4 hours and then stay up for an hour after he eats.

Today we just a few errands to get prepared for an evening with the Frey's. My favorite part of the evening was when we sat down to play Euchre and Greg told Angie to hand over Noah - I laughed and then grabbed my camera. I think he needs a little Noah too.

And, just to show how mean we are to Noah... here's a video of Ben trying to "scare" the hiccups out of Noah. Before the video started, Noah seemed startled by the noises Ben was making, but once the video starts, he is unfazed. Maybe he'll survive in this family afterall! :)

One Month Old

Happy One Month Noah!

Noah is exactly one month old today and the poor thing, he had a really rough day (and so did Mommy as a result). We had, what we thought was to be, a routine doctor's appointment this morning. Noah was suppose to be weighed (he's now at 10lbs. 9oz. and 22in), checked over, and then sent to lunch with Daddy at work. But it was everything but that.

He had the first of his series of shots (we thought that they would be started at two months at the Base Clinic), so of course, he cried a little... which just broke my heart. But that's not where the crying stopped. We had already had his circumcision done before we left the hospital, but over the course of the past week, we've realized that, well, it wasn't "complete". (Someday he'll hate me for sharing all this with the world!) My OB who did the original circ gave one set of instructions about it while the Base Pediatrician gave another (which included waiting a year and then seeing a urologist). So today, when I asked the NICU Pediatrician about it, he said it needed to be redone and that today was the last day that he'd redo it - he doesn't like to do them on boys older than one month. What were we to do but go ahead and do it? My poor little baby just cried and cried and I even cried too... going through this twice was just more than the two of us could handle. But, now he's sleeping peacefully next to his Daddy and hopefully tomorrow will be a much better (and less painful) day.

His Tweety-Bird band-aid from his shot...

sorry, Aunt KK, no shots of his winky that he'll be proud of! ;)

Sleeping off the pain with Daddy.

And, for those who are interested in knowing... I'm officially back at my pre-pregnancy weight!! Yippee!! Of course, we are still working on the pre-Clomid weight, but we're only one month out and I can fit into my regular jeans!!