Noah's 1st Car

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. I hope to be able to update soon with a flashback, but for now, I thought I'd post a video too large to email, that captures Noah's excitement at getting his "Lightning Queen" car, a gift from Uncle Lou this past Christmas morning. On this January 8, we are having beautiful weather and I am looking forward to giving Noah his wish, which he vocalized loudly in watching this video a moment ago, by taking him out for a drive in his very own car.

Our crazy boy

As Noah is growing bigger and bigger in size, we watch as his personality grows at an even faster pace. Just a quick pic of our crazy little boy and a fun video which really captures what a happy little guy (and a little general) he can be.

Mackie & Me

This morning I woke to find out that my dog, Mac, passed away late last night surrounded by my family in New York. I spent most of today feeling sad and thinking about all he had meant to me. I took the kids to the park this afternoon to get out of the house and clear my head. It was a beautiful day outside and all I could think of was how much Mac would have loved it. How he would have been sitting in the grass with his paws crossed like a gentleman, with his nose tipped up into the wind, the little white patch on his chin, the bump on his head, his sad brown eyes. It is difficult to imagine I will never see him again. That we will never share a day like this again this side of heaven. It's been so long since we have.

My sister and I brought Mac home when he was just a little puppy. We chose him because his head was bigger than his body and because of his sad eyes. We thought it funny that we would have a boy in a house that had for so long been "girls only" including all our pets. He was trouble from the start. Mostly, he was misunderstood. If you didn't really know him- if you had only heard about his antics- you would have never known what a good boy he could be. But he was. He looked out for all of us. It is true what they say. There are some pets who are more loyal than people.

Mac was my buddy through so many seasons of life, mostly the really rough ones. After my back surgery, I remember how he'd crawl up into my bed each night and lay there. He'd keep watch over me all night long unaware that most nights he made it very hard for me to get physically comfortable. Still, it was a comfort to have him by my side. When I decided to move to Virginia, he seemed to feel almost betrayed. He sat for days next to my suitcase as though he knew it meant I was leaving him. This picture always makes me laugh because it fully depicts how my pets took it when I decided to move out on my own. Mac was so angry that he chewed the wood right off of the wall. While I was away, I was told, he slept on the floor in my room day after day, waiting to see if I would come back. I didn't for a very long time. The next time I returned for a short visit, he wanted nothing to do with me. Would barely look at me. Would growl and "side look" me if I so much as said his name. I know it sounds silly but ask anyone in my family and they will tell you the same thing. He never forgave me for leaving him. He held a grudge.

Through it all, Mac always had his "wife" Lucy by his side. From the start they were inseparable. I'll always remember when we decided to split them up - when Mac went away for a while - and the day Lucy watched Mac being taken away. As he walked away, being led by his leash down the stairs, she blinked her eyes and then threw up all over the floor in front of the glass door to our porch. But it was not long before I heard his heavy footsteps like horse hooves galloping through the house. He ran up the stairs and pounced on me in my bed, licking my face. The only one more overjoyed than Mac was Lucy. Regardless of the fact that they lived apart these past few years, they were inseparable until the day he died.

The last time I saw Mac, I had no reason to believe it would be the last time. He held my hand like old times but he still wouldn't really look me in the eye. He let me rub his head and talk to him without growling but it only lasted a few minutes before he walked away and threw himself on the floor with a big huff. I joked with my family that it was progress. I said "Goodbye Mackie," careful not to inflect my voice to the sing-song level that seemed to open old wounds and caused him to growl. I rubbed the bump on the top of his head glad that we were making improvement.

Noah was fascinated with both my dogs from the moment he first saw them. He was so enamored with all of our pets that Michael and I decided to take my 19 year old cat, Trixie, back to Virginia with us for him this past October. It's hard to believe that my cat, who still looks so much like a kitten in her old age, has seen me through graduating middle school, high school, college, law school, getting married, having a baby - all of it.

Trixie, we called "the general." She always kept Mac in line. They had a rivalry between them that never ceased to crack me up. There were times when they would just "stand off" against each other, staring each other down to see who would falter first. It was always Mac. I still remember little Trixie with her claw-less paws slapping Mac's face repeatedly, like a prized fighter holding nothing back. He stood there and took it as though he did not understand that he was 10 times her size and capable of putting her in her place with so little effort. Although he had his wild moments, he was oddly polite. Although I was a little nervous as to how Mac would react to Noah, he was always very gentle with him, despite his misgivings towards me that he'd carried throughout his life.

I always said I would never get another pet again after having lost my first Boston Terrier Baby. I didn't want to have to deal with that kind of pain again. Noah is so fond of dogs and loved Mac, Lucy and Trixie, but the thought of putting him through that kind of loss gave me pause. Still, I know this is a part of life and though I'm sad, tonight I try to be grateful. Grateful that these pets, who were such a large part of my childhood and younger days got to be a part of Noah's. What a great blessing.

RIP Mackie. I love you.

Noah's 2nd Easter

It's hard to believe how much our little boy has grown in the last year. I remember last Easter like it was yesterday. We were living in Leesburg and Noah was 8 months old, the age when he started to get very mobile. Even at 8 months, he was ever the ham. I took a bunch of pictures of him in Vanessa's room, using her bedspread as a backdrop. I was so glad that I was able to get some great pictures of both kids but then never got around to doing anything with them. Looking back on them today, I could hardly believe the difference I see in both Noah and Vanessa. What a difference a year makes!

This year, Noah is 20 months old and Vanessa is one month shy of her 11th birthday. Just yesterday (it seems) she was 5 years old, playing makeup and collecting panda bears, pushing our heads together announcing "you may now kiss the bride." Now, she is a beautiful young lady, soon to be in junior high. As of this weekend, she has also officially surpassed me in height. Big shock there, I'm sure. This year she is old enough to understand the meaning of the Easter season and what we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday in a much more meaningful way than she did before.

This year, to commemorate Good Friday, Michael, Vanessa and I watched The Passion of the Christ while Noah slept. It was a powerful reminder of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and it provided a great opportunity for us to discuss the Bible and help Vanessa's understanding of Jesus to become less abstract.

This morning, I took Noah and Vanessa to have their pictures taken down the street from our apartment and then this afternoon, Michael, Vanessa and I did a Bible Study before he had to take Vanessa back. It was definitely the most meaningful celebration we have ever had as a family, albeit low-key. I hope it will become as much as a tradition for our family as decorating Easter eggs, eating chocolate bunnies or hoarding marshmallow Peeps has been.

The last time we did not have Vanessa on Easter Sunday we also had her for the preceding Friday and Saturday. That was the weekend I found out that Noah was a boy via ultrasound. That day too feels like it was just yesterday. I had decorated the "nursery" of our South Riding townhouse in blue and assembled a blue Easter basket for Vanessa which included the blue bunny Noah is holding in the above photos from last Easter.

Tomorrow morning Michael will be playing for 3 services, starting with the Sunrise Service at McLean Bible Church's Prince William campus. Unfortunately, we will be away from our church family, but I am excited to see the new campus and worship with my husband. This Easter we will not be celebrating with either of our families, as we did last year, either, but I am grateful that we have such wonderful friends who have opened up their home to us.

In spite of everything going on right now in our lives, despite situations and circumstances which make it seemingly impossible to feel peace or joy, I am trying to focus on the weight of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, trying to keep my eyes on Him and not be distracted by the details and worries of life that I often give too much importance to anyway. That's what this season and this holiday we celebrate is really all about.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him should never die, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." (1 Peter 1:3)

(Listen: Christ is Risen From the Dead - Matt Maher)

Welcome Spring

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." ~Charles Dickens

Michael, Noah and I are still at Tom and Sue's enjoying a weekend visit after having been away for quite some time due to everyone being sick. This past winter was not anywhere near as treacherous as the winter before, which was marked with one snow storm after another that buried us on the mountain in Leesburg. Nevertheless, we could not be happier to be welcoming the warm weather and beautiful colors of Spring. It is especially nice that this year, Noah is walking around and able to experience in a much more meaningful way than he did last year.

We just got back after enjoying some of this beautiful spring(ish) weather. I think the above quote captures perfectly the kind of day it is today. Noah had a blast picking dandelions and dragging Sue and I up and down this beautiful Stephen's City neighborhood. We had to practically drag him back to the house in order to wash the yellow stains left from flower-picking off his hands.

I was able to capture a few photos of him on Michael's phone. Though he has grown so much from the last post on here containing pictures, he has remained a constant ham. Glad I could share his sweet smile with you today.

Catching Up

It's hard to believe that the last time I updated this blog was when Noah was 5 months old. Nearly 15 months later, my once floppy baby is a rambunctious toddler with a huge sense of humor, a strong will and an unlimited supply of energy. Although I have surely neglected to keep up with blogging my baby and although many months will unfortunately remain unaccounted for, I am resolved to pick up blogging again.

To provide a very brief update: Noah turns 20 months on the 25th. He is walking (more often running) and talking up a storm. He amazes me everyday with what he's picking up (and often throwing -- pun intended). He is sweet and stubborn as can be, eager to give affection and intent on having everything precisely his way. And though my days are often marked with tantrums, which have a wide range in duration, they are also filled with laughter. I love being a mom.

Apart from being a mom, I also work full-time now in my first post-law school job, in a career I love and one which has a great future, so long as I passed the Bar, which for the next 20 days it to be determined. Life has surely been more hectic than I ever could have imagined and some days as of late have been very hard to bear. Adversity has touched every corner of my family. My mother-in-law, who I love as though she were my own mom, was recently diagnosed with small cell lung carcinoma. While the cancer has been hard on her body, her heart is still as big as ever. As I type, she and Noah are laughing and playing as though cancer had never touched her. I am so grateful for her and miss the days when we all lived under one roof and she was as big a part of raising Noah as Michael and I were. At times like this, living so far away is surely hard. This past Thursday, my 88-year-old Ma fell and broke her hip while doing something as ordinary as frying an egg. Her life, too, has changed overnight and I know the road ahead will be long. I'm incredibly grateful that Noah and I were able to visit her in Florida just last month. At times like this it's so hard to be apart from my family and I am reminded of how important family is. I pray daily for healing for them and for the division and brokenness in all three of my families and trust that God is big and capable enough to answer.

Unfortunately, I am not at home and do not have access to any recent pictures to post. But I'm hopeful that I will find the time to do so soon. I look forward to sharing more of our life with Noah with those of you who have followed our journey as parents. It certainly makes the distance between us seem a lot easier to bridge.

5 Months old (on Monday)

It's been way too long since I've updated the blog. Now that I've ended my ban on social networking, I have been posting so many pictures that I forget sometimes that I have this to maintain! Noah has gotten SO big. He is already 18lbs and in size 4 diapers and he babbles up a storm and jumps for hours in his jumperoo everyday (his favorite activity in the world aside from laughing hysterically with his daddy!). His little personality comes through more and more everyday and though his reflux is still a problem and his sleeping is still not on any kind of schedule, he is doing really great! He has become such a happy little boy and he really is such a joy to have. This is a new development so here's to hoping the happy stage lasts! (Hoping it NEVER ends!) He is starting to teeth so I imagine that it won't be long before he gets grumpy again... So for now, I'm just taking it all in! Time has FLOWN. My little bitty baby is getting to be such a big boy!
Michael and I are both now back to school and trying to juggle our schedules as best as we can. It's been an adjustment for me after being home with him 24/7 for the last 5 months but I'm survivng. I can't tell you how forward I look to getting home to see his little smiling face and those big cheeks waiting for me! One last semester and I will be a law school graduate. I've got my eyes on the prize lol











At Noah's 4 month appointment he weighed in a little under 18lbs and measured 26.5 inches. He's growing so fast! On the doctor's advice we started him on rice cereal which he did not like (though he really loved eating the empty spoon) but it seemed to aggravate his tummy so for now he's exclusively nursing.



Oh... and how can I foget to mention Noah's First Christmas? My family came in from New York and we had the best Christmas Eve dinner ever. Ma's teaching seems to have paid off, though we missed her VERY much. For Christmas, Noah got his very first Elmo. He was not such a happy boy that day lol His reaction was not quite what we'd hoped it would be! (see video).

Fortunately they are now the best of friends! Below are some more great pics from the holidays to date. Hope you enjoy!

Catching up - The best shots!

It's been far too long since I've updated this site and so today, while we are all snowed in (save Michael who somehow trecked through a foot of snow and quite dangerous conditions to go to work, trooper that he is), I will try my best to get as much up here as I can. Below are a batch of some of the best shots we've taken of our rapidly growing little boy who will be four months old on Christmas day and is somehow getting ready to start donning 12 month sized clothes! How much our little one has grown and grown up! He now has great control over his hands. He plays with his toys (his favorite are his glow worm and worm rattle - posts on that to come soon). He gets such a kick playing on his playmat! He has also discovered his feet and went so far the other night to put his foot into his mouth! He has a whole vocabulary of words like "agoo" which he can say with various inflections and ennunciations as well as early versions of "mama" and "dada" which are so precious. He is such a little character!

He still LOVES bathtime and loves it even more now that he has learned to splash which is always fun (until clean up time comes!) :) And he gets such a great big kick out of his jumperoo!

But the most exciting milestone to date is that Noah has found his laugh! I am not as talented at Michael as getting him to go into full-on belly laughs but I do get some good laughs when I sing him Christmas carols (his favorite is my mish-mashed version of Holly Jolly Christmas and Frosty the Snowman during which "thumpidy thump thump" occurrs every other verse lol). He also laughs when I tell him that "mommy is going to eat his feet" before I gobble them up. But when Michael has Noah on his lap, he just gets absolutely hysterical. I was so thrilled to capture this laughing fit on video a week or so ago! Whenever I am sad I play this back for myself and it always makes my day. Enjoy!

Aunt Chrissy & Uncle Anthony's Wedding

During the first week in November, we took our first family road trip up to New York to be in Aunt Christine and Uncle Anthony's wedding. The night before the wedding, Noah stayed in his first Park Avenue hotel in the big city and the day of the wedding he got to wear his very first tux. He looked very handsome! Aunt Christine could not have looked more beautiful. Noah also got to spend lots of time with Aunt Michy who could not get over how big he had gotten since the last time she saw him. While in NY, Noah was surrounded by lots of beautiful women who could not wait to shower him with affection! Sadly, I don't have many pictures (how I don't have a shot of the bride and groom is beyond me) but when I get more I will surely post them!

3 Months Old Today!!!

more photos to come...

Happy Halloween!!!!

Good Grief, it's Noah's First Halloween! He's been a fussy boy today but we managed to get some photos of him in his costume where he is not crying lol. No trick or treating this year sad to say. Better luck next year!

HAPPY HALLOWEENIE!!!!

Love, Noah

2 Months Doctor's Visit

On the date of Noah's two month milestone, the two of us had a lot to celebrate and we did so by watching the Yankees seal the deal to play in their first world series since I moved to Virginia. Noah stayed in my arms the whole time and had lots of big grins to display as I bounced him in celebration each time the Yankees did something good. We have had a lot of fun watching the games together. :)

Yesterday, however, was not so fun. It was the day I've been dreading for weeks: Noah's first round of shots. Michael came with me and thank God he did because it was a truly awful experience for Noah -- and for me.

Amazingly, this was the first time Noah has been to the doctor where he wasn't screaming. Michael did a wonderful job with him and he was extremely calm the entire time. He was weighed, measured, and examined from head to toe and there were no tears. Then the doctor left the room for us to wait for the nurse to come in with the shots. Noah sat on his daddy's lap so peacefully and having no clue what he was in for. It just made me feel so sad.

The nurse came in and had Michael lay Noah down on the table and then asked him to hold down Noah's arms. I could see Noah's little face all happy and unsuspecting and then at rapid speed, the nurse began stabbing his chubby thighs. I wish to God I had not watched and that I could stop replaying it in my mind. With the first shot, Noah's happy face turned bright red and by the second he was crying out. By the third and forth he was absolutely hysterical and screaming louder than I've ever heard him scream before (and believe me, I've heard him scream a lot). As soon as the nurse was done, I ran to him and picked him off the table and just held him as close to me as I could while he wailed and wailed and wailed. The nurse joked that I was as red as he was but it didn't seem very funny at the moment. I was able to calm Noah down enough to get him to nurse for a few seconds but he was pretty inconsolable and eventually cried all the way home in the car. It was heartbreaking. I tried telling myself that it's for his own good but it's so hard to believe that when you see your baby go from being so happy, trusting and content to being so unhappy and in pain. I know it sounds silly (because deep down I do know that it's a necessary evil) but it felt like betrayal. I just thank God it will be another two months before he is subject to that again. :(

Aside from Noah getting his needles, we also got some new stats to report!

Noah is almost 14 pounds and is 2 feet tall! He is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. (At his first visit he was 75th for height and 50th for weight.) He certainly takes after his daddy! And of course, I've had to laugh that at 2 months old, Noah is almost half my height. (ha ha).

Here is a quick glimpse of how our little guy has progressed:

Birth: 7lbs, 6oz
1 Week: under 7lbs
2 Weeks: 7lbs, 12 oz
3 Weeks: 8lbs, 12 oz
4 Weeks: 9lbs, 10 oz
6 Weeks: 11lbs, 8 oz
7 Weeks: 12lbs, 7 oz
9 Weeks: 13lbs, 7 oz

As for Noah's reflux, it continues to be a big problem. He is still very fussy and obviously uncomfortable and there seems to be so very little that we can do to make it better. Once again, the doctor adjusted the dosing on his medications. For the time being, we are keeping him on the Zantac and we are also going to try some natural remedies to see if they will give him any comfort. I look forward to the day when we can stop giving him medicine altogether. I hope that day comes soon...