6 months

Half a year.
It's been half a year since we met our little man.
It's been half a year since I fell in love with his little wails.
It's been half a year since my son first held onto my finger.
It's been half a year since our family was completed(for now)

I'm done messing around with categorizing everything in these monthly updates, I'm just going to roll with it.

I'll start by saying we checked up on his kidney's this last month, and they are doing great. They aren't quite where they need to be, but almost!  He's also grown a ton! We found out he's 17 1/2 lbs and 27 1/4 inches long, he's doubled his birth weight and then some! This is partially because we started him on purees, and he loves them! He has taken a real liking bananas, pears with raspberries and prunes. On the other hand he hates veggies. He refuses sweet potatoes and mixed veggies, and is relatively okay with squash.

He's also figured out how to sit, and squirm across the floor. He's managed to get himself into a sitting position once by himself and the rest of the time we do it for him, he's trying hard though!  The sitting lasts a pretty long time, he's got great balance so far!

He had his first Thanksgiving, which he promptly slept through.
He had his first cold, which absolutely sucked. The stuffed up runny nose was a disaster.
He had his first full carrot, celery and bell pepper, which he loved chewing on.
He got to see his Auntie June! He loves Auntie June! He also met Auntie Abra:)
He met Santa! For a kid who has stranger danger issues, he loved Santa.
He shakes his head no. Not my favorite thing he does, but it's pretty darn cute.

There's not a whole lot more to say, as big of a milestone as 6 months is, he hit all the 6 month milestones last month.

Crockpot Potato Soup

The most delicious thing ever. Okay, maybe not ever, but it's pretty freakin' tasty. And relatively easy. Minimal chopping and the only outside cooking is if you want bacon. And let's be real, we want the bacon. I don't have any of my own pictures for you so I have a couple I borrowed from other people. Plus, their pictures make it look more appetizing.

Ingredients
3 14 oz cans of chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup (reduced fat works fine)
half an onion, roughly chopped
30 oz bag of frozen hash browns
1 block of cream cheese (regular, nonfat doesn't melt well and won't incorporate)
2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like your soup)
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients
Bacon
Shredded chicken
Green Onions
Sour cream dollop


So like I said, super simple.


Add broth and cream of chicken to the crock pot, whisk together so you don't end up with chunks of the cream of chicken. Add chopped onion and bag of hash browns.
Let it cook for 3-5 hours on high or 5-7 hours on low. It's going to look a little liquidy and runny but the cream cheese thickens it upThe last half hour add the cheddar and cream cheeses, I find the cream cheese melts better if you cut it into small cubes and stir it in.

Add whatever additional ingredients you want and serve! It's delicious on a cold with a side of French bread!

Solids

So I'll try and keep this short and sweet, he's officially eating real people food. And by real people food I mean sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, blueberries, and apples. All in mushy gushy form. He has his days when he absolutely digs it, then we have our moments where everything that goes in comes right back out. He recognizes the baby food jar and gets super excited, and also knows if the Bumbo is on the table it's nomming time.  He has done a few entertaining things when he is all done or doesn't want to eat; he's pulled off his bib and tried handing it to us and he will vigorously shake his head no. I don't think he realized what either of those things mean, but the thought of him knowing makes me smile. When he's ready for another bite he opens wide but then starts smiling making his mouth super thin and difficult to maneuver the awkward rubber spoon through his gums (which are still completely toothless). Through all the spoon grabbing attempts and arm waving we've managed to keep mealtime relatively clean thus far and I'm hoping to keep it this way, although I'm not holding my breath. We're so excited for Thanksgiving, I've decided he's going to have a little turkey, a little sweet potato and a little green bean, out of his happy little jars, so he can experience the amazingness that is Thanksgiving dinner!

5 Months

                                       Monster, Monster! He's 5 months!!
                                                  He's getting so big!

Favorites
So Noah's love for his excersaucer has grown immensely. Soo much love for the excersaucer. He's finally learned how to make it sing, and which button makes it sing. He also super digs his Clifford stuffed animal. I'm not sure if it's because it's bigger than him and he can manipulate it, or because it's big and red and easy to grab by the ears. He also loves to stand on everyone and everything.  He held himself up for a little bit, holding onto Auntie's bed frame.  Another love of his? Animals. He loves to look at the dogs and the chickens. I swear he could stare at them all day if we let him. I can't wait for him to discover the fish and the turtles.
Daddy's beard. He's going to be crushed when Jesse's six weeks are up and he goes back to work and has to shave. He loves grabbing it and holding onto his daddy. He checks everyone for a beard and nobody has come close to what Daddy has:)

Not so Favorites
Going to bed/the bedroom. He knows once he's in the bedroom it's time to wind down for the night and he just is not a fan.  Completely freaks out when we try to settle down and only mellows out with a bottle and rocking(but only if he's ready).  If this is any indication of what future bedtimes are going to be like, we're screwed, lol. 
Toys connected to the excersaucer that don't bend. He hates when he can't get one of the toys in his mouth, he doesn't understand that plastic doesn't really bend. I'm waiting for him to pull so hard it snaps in half one of these days!

 Trips We've Taken
Pumpkin patch! We took a lovely trip to Uesugi Farms, he loved seeing all the pumpkins!
We've tried a few more football games and it just didn't happen. Every time Jesse got excited and cheered, Noah freaked out and thought he was angry. Me and The Babes watch by ourselves from the fence when we go.
There was also a mini trip to the farm park, that was cut short due to heat and car troubles. We got to see geese, peacocks, piggies, goats, sheep and chickens(because we don't see enough of those at home). Oh, and a shit ton of squirrels. I'm talking 30+ squirrels, jumping from bush to bush, and dashing up and down trees.

Milestones
WE HAVE A SITTER! And no not a babysitter, a sitting baby:) He can sit gorilla style forever and is starting to be able to sit hands free for about 15-20 seconds.
He's also turned into a feet grabber. He first found them in the car seat and hasn't left them alone since!

I know I probably have tons more to share and just can't think of it right now, but Halloween is coming so there should be plenty of fun pictures to share!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch!

We went to our first pumpkin patch as a family! We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast to get our million dollar piece (it'll happen!) and then hit the road to Uesugi Farms!

It was super foggy and overcast when we left, but of course upon arriving to Morgan Hill it was almost 85 degrees and icky! Mister Man was all smiles and chatting up a storm the way there and was out like a light when we got there. I know they say never wake a sleeping baby, but I had to! Plus, look at this face. This was the face made when he saw a pumpkin. Priceless.


He was not overly thrilled with the heat but he was a complete angel! We walked around and looked at all the attractions and decided we were going to go on one hayride and Jesse was going to do the pumpkin blaster. It was kind of a no win situation going to this specific farm, on the weekends you get all the parents and families going, and on weekdays there are school buses full of children.

So. Many. Pre-Schoolers.

We held off on our hay ride until all two hundred bajillion kids had done it and made our way over to the pumpkin portion of the pumpkin patch. We found out all sorts of fun facts about pumpkins. Did you know the largest pumpkin pie ever made was 5 feet in diameter and baked for 6 hours? So much pie! And pumpkins can only grow in the same soil every three years? The things you learn at the pumpkin patch! Anyway, we wandered about the pumpkins and looked at a few hundred before I found one, it had personality! It was long, skinny and curvy in the middle. It was going to be a perfect carving pumpkin. But then I gave it up. Why? For a better pumpkin I can carve out and put my naked child in for cute pictures he will probably hate. Oh yes. These will be shown to all his girlfriends. All of them.

Jesse on the other hand is one of the pickiest pumpkin pickers. Ever. His pumpkin has to be a good carving pumpkin, has to have a stem, has to have the perfect cartoon pumpkin shape, can't be too yellow or have green. We're talking the worlds most perfect pumpkin. This is the face of a flustrated man looking for his pumpkin. He was not a happy camper,  he looked at almost every single pumpkin there. In the end he did find his perfect pumpkin:)

We got Noah a baby sized pumpkin. Or 4. One of them is carvable and the other 3 are those itty bitty ones the grocery store decorates with. He was digging it. If he was a little bigger, and it wasn't pure dirt and hay, I would have plopped him on the ground and let him stand on pumpkins. I also wanted to prop him up in our wheel barrow and take pictures, but it was too warm to risk sitting him in the metal tub and potentially burn his chubby little legs.

After all these fun shenanigans someone realized he was a hungry little monster. Jesse loaded the pumpkins into the car and I took feeding duty. After a full tummy and a mommy covered in spit up, we went off to the hayride. We found some shade and hay bales to sit on while we waited for our ride, to come take us on our enchanted tour ride.


So I'm just going to post pictures from our tour and let you imagine you're on it instead of giving you all the deets. That would be a crazy long post in itself!

 But first I'm going to show pictures of my over excited husband shooting pumpkins out of something that looked like it should have been on the top of a freakin tank!

 He shot the pumpkins towards a few bulls-eye targets, some jack-o-lantern targets, and a rusted old pick up truck. The thud of the pumpkin hitting the truck was absolutely amazing. It got giggles out of the baby even though he was more or less asleep.

 

Now for the

ENCHANTED HAY RIDE!

Holiday Bucket List

1. Make a gingerbread house

2. Make gingerbread men

3. Make peppermint bark

4. Go see Christmas lights

5. Go for a carriage ride

6. Make Christmas cookies

7. Get Noah's picture taken with Santa

8. Make ornaments

9. Cut down our first family Christmas tree

10. Put out cookies for Santa

11. Make family stockings

12. Watch Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol and The Year Without a Santa Claus with popcorn and hot chocolate

13. Send out Christmas cards

14. Read Noah Christmas Tales

15. Make an advent calendar

4 months

The Monster is 4 whole months old! A thrid of a year! Wowsers.

Favorites

So this kid has done quite a bit of growing this month! He loves to stand up. All the time. As proud as I am to have a standing up baby, my arms get exhausted from helping him stand. Solution to this standing problem? The excersaucer. Such a genius invention! He's a big fan of standing up in his new toy and figured out last night that he can in fact play with the toys. Up until now we would make them make noise, but he can do it on his own now. Another thing that goes with the standing? Walking. Not real walking, but he will climb up you if you let him and he will walk a little across the floor holding onto our fingers.

I will say we are guilty of letting him watch TV. He loves to talk to Mickey Mouse and thinks the hotdog song is hilarious. He held his head up for an entire episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse until the end when he got excited for the song, flailed, and smacked his head into the floor. Not a pleasant reaction from that one. He also has a spiral rattle he loves. It started with him just looking at it and holding it, but now he grabs it, eats it and talks to it.

Not So Favorites
He's developed a new habit when we try to do something he doesn't want to do. He arches his back so we can't continue. Whether it's putting him in the bouncy chair, car seat, changing table or in his crib, he arches his back and fights us. It was cute the first time, but now he gives us a "haha" grin when he does it and it's just a pain in the ass.

Sleeping
So while he is still sleeping through the night, his catnaps have turned into legitimate hour+ naps. One afternoon it was a 3 hour nap. Amazing!

Places We've Been

We didn't go too many places this month since I went back to work and have been exhausted by the time the weekend comes. We did go to the farmers market one Sunday. He was a good little guy and had no freak outs, smiled at everyone and even got to see Kristine and Anna! He fell asleep about halfway through, and we went to the recycled bookstore where he unknowingly made a friend.
We also went to Auntie Banana's going away party where he played in the bounce house with Uncle Eric for a little while.

He also went to his first football game at Westmont. He was pretty good the whole time, but got cranky towards the end when he got tired. He was a hit with a lot of Jesse's friends parents and old teachers. Although he wasn't too sure what to think of the cheerleaders loud music, he liked watching their bright red pom poms.

Doctor Visits
We had quite a few of these this last month! We found out he has yet another ear infection so they put him on amoxicillan and ear drops. We find out about a week later that he has some type of issue with it and he was throwing up his entire bottle. We took him back in and the doctor said it was now an ear infection AND a ruptured ear drum. What happened was the infection built up so much pressure the ear drum couldn't handle it anymore and went pop. He's still on his ear drops and is going back to the doctor next week for a follow up.

Milestones
So I know he found his voice already, but he just discovered how much it can change and what he can do with his voice. The giggles and screams are just too cute, until they reach insane pitches and I have to cover my ears.
If we kiss his cheeks, he opens his mouth, turns his head and gives us his version of kisses back<3
We have a roller! It's only belly to back right now, but he's definitely rolling :)

3 Months

It's been a quarter of a year with out little man!!

Favorites
What does Noah like you may ask? We think he likes the color green. Whenever we go somewhere and there's green his eyes zoom in on it. Our doctors office has a huge underwater mural and he loves the seaweed. Never mind the pink, yellow and blue fish, he wants that green seaweed! 
He's also a big fan of the Bumbo. He sits in it while we eat dinner. We plop him in the center of the table like a centerpiece and he sits and talks to us while we eat. Great conversation piece;)

His Whales

He also has taken a shine to his whale washcloth and an extremely thin burp-cloth that used to be mine. We call it his burpee. His burpee seems to keep him happy and he'll cover his face and act all kinds of silly with it. His whales are his favorite washcloth in and out of the bathtub, when it's time to take him out he takes it with. 


Not So Favorites
He's developed a habit of SCREAMING when he needs a diaper change. It could be right after he pees, or half an hour, but when he decides it needs to be done he lets us know.
He's starting to have stranger danger issues. It's not too bad yet, but he gets nervous and eventually freaks out.

When he gets sleepy he doesn't want to be held or stay in his bouncy chair, he wants to lay down. And be alone. He does not want any human contact whatsoever. I'm hoping this lasts throughout the toddler years and he will stay out of our bed!










Eating and Sleeping
He's been doing a lot of both. He catnaps during the day and eats every 3 hours. Not a whole lot has changed in this department.



Places We've Been
We went to the fair, which was quite fun. He seemed to enjoy most of it and was super chatty the rest of the day. He even experienced sunscreen for the first time. He was surprisingly okay with sunscreen although he isn't a huge fan of lotion. Odd.
He also made it to SFO and back peacefully. Not only did he make it to the airport and back, he lasted through an In n Out pit stop. He did not like the paper hats however.

Doctor Visits
He didn't have a well baby check up, but we did have to go to the doctor for some pooping problems and his first ear infection. This ear infection is killing us. It's been 3 weeks since he had it, but his ear still seems to be bothering him a bit.

Milestones
He found his voice. We love talking to him and having him talk back. He feels empowered to talk on his changing table and we'll leave him on it after we change him for 20 minutes because he just sits there and talks to himself.
On top of finding his voice he also found his hands. If he doesn't have a binky in his mouth, his hands are there. He also finds it necessary to guide one hand into his mouth with the other.
He also is responding to things we show him. He recognizes his bottle every now and then, he recognizes his burpee and he got really excited when Kira showed him her Brobee(more green!)
His morning smiles. I ask him for morning smiles right when he wakes up and we get big old grins:D

He's growing like a weed and I cannot wait to start off the holidays with him!