Houdini

This is one of our MANY nicknames for our little man........ why, you ask?

Well you see....... we swaddle him up nice and tight for all naps and at bedtime every night.........

..........yet somehow he manages to get his little feet out.........

..........and one or both hands..........

Our dilemma: we'd like to be able to NOT have to swaddle him to get him to go to sleep anymore, but that's the ONLY way we can get him to calm down at night (and for naps) and go to sleep (and stay asleep), as well as to keep him from getting his hands in his face and waking himself up constantly (AND pulling binky out of his mouth on accident). Are we going to have to swaddle him until he's in high school, or will he eventually outgrow this? Better yet, is there a trick to get your child to keep his hands out of his face while sleeping and calm down enough to go to sleep on his own to begin with? Anyone who's had this issue and has had success getting swaddle-free, we'd love to hear from you! Jen tried going swaddle-free (yet again!) during nap time today and it did NOT work out so well (yet again!)......

Three Months Old!

Our baby is 3 months old today. Where DOES the time go?

This past weekend we made the trek down to Albuquerque to have Noah meet his "New Mexico Family." It was fun to share his first Easter with them! Once again, he did fabulously in the car on the trip down there (his second road trip), and was an absolute angel the whole trip. He enjoyed being passed around and getting lots of love and attention. A few more months and they'll be welcoming a baby of their own into their family, so this was the most perfect way to give them a taste of what life will be like for them pretty soon here. ;)

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Noah meets the Easter Bunny at the mall!

Here comes Peter Cottontail.....

Noah & his first Easter Basket



Easter Sunday!

(Erynn also posted some pictures and blogged about our weekend if you are interested..... visit her website here, or click on "Erynn O'Brien" under our "Friends and Family" link.

A Week of "Firsts"

This past week has been both good AND bad......

The Good:
* We took some "real" family pictures. Our first "real" ones, and they turned out great! (see below)
* We took Noah to his first wedding reception. He had a great time being passed around by our friends and getting snuggled and loved on. Everyone said he was "so adorable!" How could they not think that? ;)
* Not so much "good" as it was "fun," but Jen started back to work this week. Of course her first day back had to be when Noah first started getting sick. Needless to say, it sure made for a loooooooooooooong day at work for her.
* Noah laughed out loud for the first time this week. A few times actually. Can't wait for him to do it ALL the time! =)

The Bad:
* Noah had his first stomach bug this week. Have NO idea where he could have possibly gotten it, but it's definitely scary and heartbreaking to watch your baby throw up and be sick.
* Noah also had his first cold virus this week too. He sounded SO pitiful when he would cry because he was so hoarse. :(
* Not so much "bad" as it is "sad," but Noah outgrew his "N" (newborn) diapers and advanced up to his first pair of "1's." He even has outgrown a few more outfits. He's growing up WAY too fast....

Noah-licious

We're SO glad we got a new camera this past Christmas. We probably use it several times every day. Can you guess what we take most of our pictures of? ;)

LOVES his bath time with Daddy!

Out for a walk..... he generally sleeps. ;)
Mommy's boys (bath buddies).

Gorgeous boy.
The next E-Trade baby. Milk-a-what? =)
Silly Mommy having fun with a shower cap. =)
Napping on a Saturday afternoon.
Daddy and Noah.
Priceless. =)
He LOVES his Aunt Becca! =)
All bundled up and ready to run errands!

Two Months Old!

It seems like just yesterday we blogged about Noah being one month old. Now he's TWO months old! Seriously? We've been parents for two months now?

Noah's just growing up SO fast and getting bigger and bigger right before our eyes! He is holding his head up for longer periods of time, standing up for longer periods of time, "talking" more and more, smiling all the time, trying SO hard to roll over, and gaining weight like crazy. He's even outgrown some of his newborn clothes already.

His nightly routine is still working amazingly well for both him AND us. The days and nights have been MUCH more pleasant. ;) Now we are working on a nap routine since he fights sleep during the day like you wouldn't believe! Yesterday it worked like a charm. Today Jen and Noah had plans during "nap time," so they'll try again tomorrow. ;)

Here's some recent pictures. =)

Baby Shower #2!

(By Jen)

Yes, it seems a little late to be having another baby shower, but that's how they do it at my work. They like to take out the new Mommy after she's had her baby and meet the new little bundle - passing him around for everyone to get a turn to "oooohhh" and "ahhhhh" over him! =) It was a fun little turnout. Only a few people couldn't make it because of sickness and childcare issues, and I definitely came home with a TON of good stuff for Noah.

The gang - minus one who came late

The loot - SO FUN!!! =)

First Road Trip!

Well..... Noah is well-travelled now. He's been to Arkansas and back!

Jen and her parents set out for Arkansas (braving the 16+ hour trip) on the 12th to go visit Noah's Great-Gran and Great-Papa so they could meet him while he was still little and spend some good quality time with him. Even his cousins Aimee, Jenni, and Toshya made a special trip into town to come meet him (and bring him lots of presents - so spoiled!) He did absolutely fantastic in the car both there and back, and was the most perfect little angel boy the whole time we were there. During that week he started to become more smiley and chatty, and even outgrew a couple of outfits too! He's getting bigger and growing up right before our eyes and is even cuter than the day before (as if we thought that was even possible!). He does, however, have a fussy time every night around the same time, so during this trip, his Mimi (Jen's Mom) helped Jen get him into a nightly routine that seems to be working out great for him (and us)!

This Valentine's Day we were apart, but that didn't stop us from finding ways to celebrate. We both had surprises up our sleeves that the other didn't know about! Sunday, Greg had flowers delivered to Jen's Grandparents house and a card in the mail a couple of days after that. Jen sent Greg on a mini scavenger hunt to find his card and present on Sunday after church. Noah even got a Valentine's present this year from his Great-Papa. A stuffed dog that he absolutely LOVED! He smiled and even talked to it quite a bit! =)

Nothing else new to report at this time. Just some more pictures. =) Enjoy!