Oh-Bla-Di

Rolling!

Just ten days shy of six months, little dude finally got the rolling job done.  (Since this is an event of great importance, I’m breaking my blog rule and posting video without still photos.)  As is typical with this kid, when he flipped over, he totally looked at me like, “Hey.  I did it.  What’s the big deal?  You happy, Mommy?”  Chillest.baby.ever.

Way to go, Noah!!

It’s a couple of weeks late, but here’s a snapshot of Noah at 5 months.

:: Noah is such a happy baby.  With the exception of his very sick days, he’s nearly always just content to be around, hanging out.  Every time he meets someone new, he offers a big smile and I can’t tell you how many times people have remarked on how sweet & chill he is.

:: Doozers LOVES his toes.  We should just put away all the other toys and teethers because all this guy really needs in life are his tootsies.   Thank goodness he was blessed with 10 perfect ones to chew on.

:: Speaking of teethers, does this guy need to chew!  With all the slobber and constant finger, his or anyone else’s, chewing, you’d think we’d have seen some chompers by now.  But, still no teeth to show for all the mess.  This nursing mama is a teensy bit grateful for that.

:: Right at the beginning of January, we took down the swing and brought out the exersaucer.  It took him about an hour of practice to be standing up like a pro and twirling all the way around to chew on all the different toys.

:: On the day after he turned five months, Noah went on his first airplane ride.  Like a seasoned flier, he slept through every single leg of our trip to Chicago and back.  Bless babies that don’t mind flying…makes this military life with far-flung families so much easier.

It didn’t hurt that he got to bring his favorite toys along.  And, also?

Wouldn’t you kill to be able to bend like that when crammed into an airplane seat?

:: With all the fun stuff five months has brought, it’s also been pretty challenging.  Since the beginning of January, Noah has had croup twice, RSV, two ear infections (one a double), and just hasn’t been able to fully shake any of it.  We’ve been to the doc more often between the four- and six-month checkups than I care to remember.  All the sickies have made sleep issues huge and the poor guy is worn out.

:: When a baby is croupy, it’s easy to worry that they’re not breathing when they’re sleeping on their own.  So, Doozers has gotten spoiled on sleeping best in someone’s arms.  Or, in this case, up against Daddy’s chest while waiting for Ava’s dance class to be done.

:: Noah continues to be a fairly big kid.  Even with all the illness he’s still gaining weight (we’ve gotten to check a lot with all the doc visits!) and loves his solids.  So far, he’s had oatmeal, sweet potato, avocado and, just last night, bananas.  

:: We’re still waiting on the big day when Noah will roll over (I’m convinced it’s the key to sound sleeping at home and at school), but are excited that he’s getting close to sitting on his own.  He’s also a pretty coordinated guy with the fine motor stuff.  He’s just this close to being able to replace a spit-out binky and, ho-boy, that’s gonna be a game-changer with sleep.  (Seeing a trend here?  This mama’s tired.)

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Mostly, we’re just pleased as punch with Noah’s sweet and loving personality.  He gives AWESOME hugs and will just love on you as long as you’ll let him.  He’s definitely a cuddler.  We’re hoping he gets all better really soon because we hate that he feels icky.  Until that day, though, we’re just gonna soak up the snuggles and try to love him back to health.

Love you, little dude.

A couple of weeks ago, we took advantage of the beautiful weather we were having here in the Vegas valley to take the kiddos on a hike at Red Rock Canyon.  We’ve done quite a bit of hiking at Mt. Charleston to escape the summer heat, but Red Rock is too hot in the summer.  Turns out, that makes it perfect for “winter” in Las Vegas.

So, we loaded up the van with gear, kiddos & the dog and hit the road.  Red Rock is about 45 minutes away from our house, so it’s enough time to enjoy a cup of coffee on the way.  We packed a picnic lunch so that we could stay into nap time if things were going well.

This was Noah’s first outdoor adventure and he had a great time in the backpack.  He loved looking around at everything and didn’t even fall asleep on our trek.  Ava chatted up everyone we met on the trail and loved to lead the way – unless she was too busy stepping on each and every larger-than-her-foot sized rock in the path.

We hiked a trail that was plotted as a kids’ discovery trail so there were neat caves and fairly simple terrain to keep Whoozers feeling both proficient and entertained.  We did take a detour mid-trail to follow another path that led to some waterfalls, though.  They were running under a sheet of ice, and we thought they were worth the extra time and walking.

We ate our picnic lunch on a deck overlooking a stream near the end of the trail.  Is there much that’s better than a peanut butter & jelly sandwich after a nice long walk?

We’ve decided it’s pretty fun to have weekends to ourselves again.  Now that I’m not doing homework, pregnant or taking care of a newborn, we can finally get out and about to enjoy our weekend time a little more.  Maybe those other things were only excuses, but now we’ve got nothing to hold us back!  I’d imagine Red Rock will be seeing a lot more of the Caspers before the temperatures start to climb again!

I think if Noah had words, that’s what he would say.  Our little dude is obsessed with his toes lately.  Every day, when I pick him up from school, his socks or sleeper feet are just soaked because he’s been sucking on them all day.  Sure does make diaper changes interesting…easy to wipe, not so easy to diaper.

Ava didn’t get to her toes until she was about six months old, so this is a bit early, I think.  I’m chalking it up to all the time he’s spent in disposable diapers since it’s much easier to bend at the waist in those.  Ava had to be pretty strong to haul her toes to her nose, so rolled over instead.  I suppose Noah figures, with entertainment like one’s toes, why would one ever learn to roll over?  Can’t reach your toes on your tummy!

I don’t have time for all the posts I owe and have ready, but I do have time to add just this one video of Doozers performing his favorite trick these days.  Raspberries!