Teeth, teeth, and more teeth!

They just keep popping in! Just a few weeks ago Noah was still at 2. 2 more on the top came in, a week or two ago. Tuesday he still had just the 4, Wednesday he had 5 and today he woke up with 6! He is handling it fairly well, and I think he should be feeling better for awhile, as I don't think anymore will be coming in anytime soon. I do have to admit...I sort of miss that big 2 tooth smile. He just looks to much like a big boy with all these teeth coming in!

Noah's second Christmas

We had a great holiday. We made some last minute plans to go over to my parents Christmas Eve for chili, and opened a few gifts. Noah got the hang of opening presents quick, and helped everyone open their presents. Christmas morning we went back over to my parents and got to see my grandparents and Uncle Bill who was visiting from Florida. We had a great time visiting with everyone. After an early dinner we headed over to Brandon's parents for round 2. We had a fun day, but have decided this was the last year we would run all over for Christmas. Next year we are just going to relax at home and meander our way over to see family when we feel like it. We figure with 2 boys, it will be time to start doing Christmas at home. We always feel so rushed and hurried to get to different houses on time that we don't get to relax and enjoy the day.

Saturday we were headed up to Cedar Rapids to have brunch with my Grandparents when we decided to turn back and head home. It was snowy and the roads were less than ideal and with Noah in the back seat, we thought it would be better to play it safe. We were pretty bummed to miss out on Grandma's cooking though!

And it just keeps getting bigger...

Just 8 weeks to go!

We had our 32 week doctor appointment this morning and everything looks great. Eli's heart rate was perfect, and my blood pressure was better than it typically is when I'm not pregnant, and I am up 15lbs so far so the doc told me to wild Christmas dinner! I did find out that they have placed restrictions on visitors, so my Noah won't be able to meet Eli until we are released. I can see him in the Cafeteria (yay) but that's it. Also, Ethan and Lisa (my brother and little sister-in-law, both 13) will not be allowed to visit either. I can also only have 2 visitors at a time, and they prefer that we not have any visitors during labor either. I am a little bummed about Noah not being able to visit, but I am okay with the restrictions. When we had Noah we had so many visitors coming constantly that it was hard to get any rest so I think this time may be a bit easier in regards to that. But since I stay home with Noah and hate leaving him for more than a quick trip to the grocery store, it will be hard...but maybe good for the both of us.

Noah's funny face

Noah is a bit of a clown, and is always trying to find new ways to make Mommy and Daddy laugh at him.

Sledding

Just a few pictures from our sledding fun today!

First time in the snow!

We got a light snow last night so after finally finding him some boots and snow pants we went out tonight to play a little. Noah LOVES being outside so he had fun. After we played we went back to the store to get a little sled for after the big snow storm coming. So we are planning on going for a walk in the snow tomorrow so Noah can ride while we pull him through the snow!

I am also excited because this is the first winter in a LONG time that I have had a really nice coat. I have been wearing a cheaper coat the past few years that was freezing! But while in New York in Feb Brandon took me to a sporting goods store to get a nice one. It is so warm and has all sorts of neat features on it to help keep you nice and cozy. It was designed for skiing so it does the job of keeping me warm! I actually enjoy going out in the cold again!!!

Why I HATE Walmart

We are supposed to get a huge winter storm Tuesday/Wednesday. The news said 6-10 inches so I wanted to get Noah some snow pants and boots so we could go out and play. We went to walmart so we could also stock up on groceries so I don't have to venture out at all. Anyway, I went back to infant toddlers to look and they didn't have anything, then went to shoes and the gal (irritated I had interrupted what seemed to be a chat with her boyfriend) quickly directed me out to lawn and garden for the stuff (makes no sense to me but whatever) so we walked from one end of the store to the other to get his things. Once we got there I couldn't find anything in his size so I asked another gal, who after finishing her text message asked her manager. She told me that they only had sizes starting at 2T out there and I needed to go back to infants. So, slightly irritated I walked all the way to the opposite side of the store yet again. I looked around again, and still couldn't find anything, so I go back to shoes to look for the boots again. I ask one more time about boots and the lady told me they only got infant girl boots this year, no boys. Why...I don't know, but I guess they think only little girls like to play outside in the snow. After that, I go one more time to try to find snow pants, and this time I stop a manager to ask hoping maybe he knows where I can find them. He directs me to the camping section...again on the opposite side of the store. So we head over there, and while they do have pants, they are just coveralls for hunting, which do not come in infant sizes (what 12 month old goes shotgun hunting??? Come on people). So, thouroughly annoyed I grab the few groceries I need and leave.

After that we just headed to Target...found everything we needed in 2 minutes.

Eli's latest ultrasound pictures.

28 weeks

I can't believe another 4 weeks has flown by. 28 weeks already!

Adventures in Toddlerhood

I have had bouts of insomnia since getting pregnant again so today I am running on 3 hours of sleep which means Noah is getting away with more than usual. This morning I was getting ready while Noah was playing in the living room. I hear some banging in the kitchen and then Noah walks by the bathroom carrying the dog dishes banging them together. So as tired as I was I just decided there were worse things he could be into and that I would let him make his "music" until I finished getting dressed and ready. Noah continued to bang through the house and after about 2 minutes it dawns on me...if Noah has the dog bowls...where is all the food and water that was in them? Needless to say...I had giant mess to clean up...all through the house.

Teeth

Noah is getting his top 2 front teeth. They are just starting to break through so it looks like I will have a crab apple for a few days. At least I know why he has been waking up at night now. He woke up once a night when he was cutting the bottom two as well. I hope they cut through quick...but until they do I have one clingy crabby boy on my hands.

Noah's party

Noah had a great first birthday party. I think about 30-35 guests showed up to help celebrate Noah's big day!

Random thoughts and updates

It seems like so much has been going on lately so I thought I would just make a general post for it all!

First of all, I am exhausted. Noah has been waking up the past week at night and it has been taking awhile to get him back down. I am not willing to let him try and cry it out, and he has been sleeping through the night for awhile so I am assuming it is just something that will work itself out. I don't mind getting up with him and cuddling, but it is starting to wear on me...mostly because after being up for an hour it is too hard to fall back asleep. I have tried bringing him to bed with us, but that is just not going to work. He perks right up when he is in our room and thinks its time to wake Daddy up to play, and it just makes it even harder for him to get back to sleep (not to mention I then have a grumpy husband also awake...which I will admit I secretly and selfishly enjoy when Brandon also has to wake up also). He does seem to be going through a growth spurt (he has been eating like crazy) so I am hoping that as the spurt starts to level off he will start sleeping well again. In the meantime, I am in zombie mode, and thankfully Brandon is being very understanding of my exhaustion and not griping at me about slacking off around the house this week.

In other news we are trying to find some land for us to build a house on. We want to move out of this condo, which is quickly filling up, in 2 years. Since we are going to do most of the work ourselves (well by "we" I mean Brandon and his family) it will probably take longer than most housing projects take. We have looked at a few plots of land but Brandon is so darn picky about what he wants (at least 5-10 acres, neighbors that are not too close but not too far, partially wooded, within 20 minutes of his shop) we haven't found anything. We looked at 10 acres that I loved, and he liked okay, but after going to see it a few times he decided it was too far to drive everyday. We still have some time to find what we want...but I have a feeling that once Eli comes we may decide that 2 years is too long to wait!

Lastly...I splurged and bought a video baby monitor. I love it! I can see everything going on in that little crib. I never realized what a busy body Noah was. Last night after we laid him down we watched him try to fall asleep. As soon as I left his room he stood up and started running back and forth in his crib, then he held onto the railing and started jumping. After a few minutes he turned on his sound machine and laid down, and after rolling around for a few minutes he fell asleep. All this time I though he just fell right to sleep at night. :)

Noah's 12 month check up

I cannot believe that he is already a year old! He had a great birthday. His Grandma Cindy came over for a few hours during the day and brought Noah a birthday present and his favorite food...french fries, so Mommy sucked it up and let him have some. Daddy came home from work early and we opened gifts and played, then had dinner and got to dig into a birthday cupcake. Then we had a nice long bath, and went to see Grandma and Grandpa Jorgensen. He went to bed a happy, tired boy.

Today we had his 12 month check up. He was 29 inches and weighed 21.5lbs which means he lost a little weight, but that is normal for babies after going off formula/or breast milk as they transition to all table foods. That put him in the 20th percentile for weight and 50th for height. They rechecked his lead levels which were elevated at his 9 month appt. Today they were in the normal range so we are very happy about that! He also got his second doses for both the seasonal flu and H1N1 strain. I didn't get him the regular scheduled vaccines today because they usually make him feverish and cranky for 3 or 4 days following and we have a party planned for Saturday and 6 shots just seemed like a lot for one little boy! So we will be going back next Wednesday for all the rest of his shots. He did great today. It was naptime and he was tired so the shots put him over the edge a little but with a sippy cup of juice and his stuffed animal "Crusty" he fell asleep as soon as we got into the car.

Cousins

Family pictures

Life is better with a dog

Noah loves his pal Louie! Where one is...the other isn't too far behind.

24 weeks.

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant with number 2! Here is the new belly shot!

Breathing a little easier

Noah and I have now both been vaccinated against H1N1. The virus has been hitting pretty hard in our area so I was a little nervous about Noah getting sick, but now we can breath a little easier here. Now if Brandon could just get his before Eli comes...

A sad farewell.

Noah has out grown his morning nap. After not napping really at all until he was about 6 month old...I was really enjoying the 2 2hour naps a day. I was using the first nap to get all the housework done, and then enjoying the afternoon nap with some "mommy time" (which usually was just me sitting on the couch for 2 hours). But the past week he has been doing just one mid day nap. Oh well...it was nice while it lasted.

First Haircut

Noah got his very first haircut this week. He was such a good boy and didn't fuss or squirm a bit. We took him to Brandon's barber and he did a great job. He is just so handsome!