noah benjamin thompson: August 2013

Just getting back from a week at the beach with 3 kids under the age of 2 has decidedly made me feel both old and in need of another vacation. It was my favorite week so far since Noah was born because we got to spend so much time together, but it was definitely a different sort of vacation that we used to have. So long are the days of lounging on the beach, reading a book and having a cocktail. Now just getting to the ocean requires a 15 minute bathing suit/sunscreen application (the Patagonia sun-lite hoodie is amazing, as is the Honest Company sunscreen) and lugging an umbrella, chairs, blanket and bag full of toys, snacks, diapers and towels to only be there for an hour and a half before packing up for nap time. We did try a nap on the beach, but it was short lived, so next year when we're only on one nap a day, we will definitely have more beach time.

Noah, Mads and Henry were amazingly well behaved and did a great job adjusting to the new house and pack n plays, but alas, they didn't get the memo that you are supposed to sleep in on vacation, so the house was entirely awake by 6 am every morning and raring to go. Thankfully there were minimal tears and no trips to the ER, so I think we can all consider it a success and are already planning our return trip. Noah was at the perfect age for the trip because he can sit up and play but isn't crawling (yet), so when we stuck him on his beach blanket he didn't go anywhere. He was rather indifferent to the ocean but liked jumping up over the waves and eating sand.

Despite the 2 tropical storms, we managed to have a decent number of beach days, and the husbands got to golf and fish. Noah and I also went for a number of walks and a few outings. The entire crew spent time at Pier Park where the kiddos got to ride a carousel and train and play in bouncy castles. Noah and Mads also saw some animals at the 'marine park' in Panama City Beach (it was a far cry from any aquarium I've ever seen).

In addition to our beach trip, Noah got to celebrate his friend Carson's 2nd birthday, have lunch with Rory, meet Allie and move up in Play 2 Grow with Alex. He has also expanded his palate by trying ice cream (thanks Dad) and starting school food, which included a lunch of chicken and rice the other day that he loved according to Ms. Jojo. I wasn't necessarily ready for him to have chicken but apparently he was ready. He continues to love feeding himself, so puffs, mum mums and cheerios are other favorites. He's also sort of learning to hold his own bottle, but he'd understandable prefer for us to do it.

I've been working on getting Noah to say "mama" but alas he is still mostly on "ba, da and ya", so "dada" has come out of his mouth a few times to Ben's delight. We'll get there soon though, and I am pretty sure his first word will either be "bottle" or "bubby" (or something similar since those are his favorite things).

Highlights of the last few weeks:

- Turning 8 months

- Playing at the beach with Mads and Henry

- Getting a 2nd tooth

- Eating real food (namely ice cream)

- Learning to say "dada"

- Moving up a class in Play 2 Grow

Chef Noah

Play 2 Grow spaghetti day

Noah and his future wife

Not so sure about forward facing (just for one trip)

Capt'n bubbles

Life got busy once again - I've been meaning to update for weeks but haven't (obviously). We've been staying very busy and the summer is flying by. Noah has unfortunately been sick (again) but nothing serious. He got his first ear infection, and thanks to some Amoxicillin last week, he is almost back to normal. He also had his first bout of diaper rash along with his first tooth. He just has one on the bottom so far, and aside from the diaper rash, which his doctor told us isn't necessarily related (moms universally disagree), the process went relatively smoothly. He was drooling more and gnawing on everything in sight, but he didn't seem too fussy. I hope the rest come in as smoothly.

Sadly his one lone tooth hasn't helped him expand his pallet too much, but he has started eating mum mums and puffs. He absolutely loves mum mums (crackers that dissolve in your mouth) because he likes to feed himself. The independence thing is adorable, but it makes it hard to keep him clean during meals when he is forever grabbing the spoon from me. He can do a mum mum, but hasn't quite grasped how to pick up a puff, put it in his mouth and eating it. He can get them to his mouth but then forgets to let go with his hand so they end up on his lap. The good news is that Bubby has gotten a few extra treats recently due to many dropped puffs. In addition to wanting to feed himself, Noah wants everything I have (my coffee, water bottle, phone, food, etc). It is rather difficult now to eat in front of him, so I basically am stuck eating what I can share (yogurt and oatmeal) when he is around.

In July, Noah got to celebrate his first July 4th and his daddy's birthday. It has been so rainy this last month, which put a damper on our 4th of July plans, but we did still have a cookout with our neighbors, so Noah got to play with Mads and Henry. Noah also had his first play date with his two friends from Play 2 Grow, Alex and Audra. One of the reasons we started P2G is because I wanted him to meet other kids his age, so I am glad we've started to get together outside of class too. On his daddy's birthday (also the day his daddy had oral surgery), Noah made it special by creating a combo happy birthday/get well soon card with his own two hands (literally!).

Noah also got to experience the beach for the first time. I met Heather and Jenni in Hilton Head last weekend (Jenni's been in Hong Kong for two years, so it was great to introduce her to Noah and catch up in person). Heather's son, Ford, came as well, and it was so fun to see what I have to look forward to. Noah loved the beach for the brief hour and a half we managed to be there (thank you nap schedules). I will say that my beach going days are vastly different now. They involve a lot more stuff (umbrella, stroller, blanket, full sized towel, baby towel, bottles, baby food, baby sunscreen, hats, etc) and are a lot less relaxing. The good news is that not too much sand was consumed (although a lot got in his diaper) and he wasn't afraid of the water. The trip also involved Noah's longest car ride yet and I did it solo. Thankfully it was rather uneventfull, but he definitely was ready to get out about 30 minutes before we got to our destination. Hopefully our trip to Florida in a few weeks goes as smoothly.

The beach was so exhausting

Over the last month, Noah also got to see my parents and Ben's dad, and my parents had the pleasure of a full day of Noah watching while I went to Mary Grace's Bachelorette in Chapel Hill. I only typed up two pages of notes and checked in less than 5 times (or maybe 5 total). I also snuck away to see him once for 30 min. I am happy to report that it was a success, so if nothing else my parents have proved that they did in fact at one point raise two children and probably retained some of that knowledge.