The Best Laid Plans...

The Plan: Shanna was to arrive around 3:00 pm to watch Noah for our New Mo...I mean date night. I was going to leave the house at 4:00 pm to make it to the theater by 4:15 in order to get a good seat for the 5:00 pm showing. Because of my early arrival, I would secure 2 fabulous seats located at just the right height and perfectly centered in order to experience the best possible viewing of New Moon. After the movie, Matt and I were planning to enjoy sushi at a new restaurant downtown, and then we would head back home to kiss Noah goodnight, and thank the Gourley's for so graciously taking care of him for the evening.

The Reality: Shanna learns that the downtown Macy's is having their tree lighting and window display opening, also on Nov. 20. (Why Macy's would dare plan such an event the same night as the opening of a Twilight film, is beyond me.) Shanna and Daryl, being the die-hard city folk they are can not fathom skipping such an event, and therefore decide to take Noah along with their family to experience said event. Shanna comes over a little before 3:00 and helps me with Noah and some chores while I get ready for the evening. After trying to get the bathrooms cleaned for the weekend company (Matt's parents), I was a little rushed in getting myself ready. I get downstairs, rush out to the jeep to grab Noah's car seat to install in Shanna's car. I jump in the front seat to get the jeep started, and my key won't turn. It's locked. I turn the wheel, play with the emergency break, and all the gadgets around the steering column, but nothing works. (This has happened once before, but after multiple tries, I got it to work.) I try a little longer before momentarily stopping to continue the original task, which was to transport car seats. I get that done, and head back to the jeep to try the key again. Meanwhile, I'm coming in and out of the house where Noah keeps seeing, chasing, and crying after me, and poor Shanna is doing her best (which is actually pretty impressive) to contain the madness. Anyway, I'm back at the jeep and try over and over and over to start the jeep that apparently has something against me. Of all times not to start, it had to be this day! Finally, I call Shanna from the jeep, and she suggests driving me to the theater. Yes, this works! THANK YOU SHANNA! So, I rush back in, we gather the kids, get their coats, shoes and all the paraphernalia that comes with toddlers, pack the car and rush to The Chase. Shanna says she'll slow down so I can jump out and I absolutely agree that this would be the quickest way for me to get in to that theater. OK, so we're there, Shanna pulls into the center lane of Lindell Ave., I jump out and stand in the middle of a four lane road (yes, because I'm an idiot), and rush across two lanes at the first opportunity. I walk at a very brisk pace (I assumed I would look a bit too ridiculous, even for the sake of Edward, to run), and I finally make it to the theater entrance, where I immediately meet my worst fear. A really really really long line, that I knew in my heart was for New Moon. I rush to the back of the line, and hope that I'm over-estimating the number of people in front of me. I think the range is somewhere around 150ish. (And for those of you unfamiliar with the Chase, it's a smaller, intimate theater...so capacity could easily be 200; if that.) The guy in front of me and I start chatting about our bad luck and about how we're about to get fierce with the group of girls in front of us who keep letting their friends in the line. Finally, the line starts to move. I get inside, and realize the only spot where two seats are next to each other is on the bottom row of the main section. I grab a seat, throw my handbag and coat on the one next to me, and although a bit disappointed in the seat location, breathe a sigh of relief. I had made it. I was about to see Edward again. (Oh, yeah...Matt arrived a couple minutes after the movie started!) The film was great, and we make it Jade where we have less than fabulous sushi. After dinner, we meet Shanna at her loft, thank her profusely for watching Noah and introducing him to Red Bird at Macy's, and head home.

Overall, despite the challenges, it was really nice to have some time to ourselves, and of course to see the movie I've been waiting months to see!

I would like to thank Shanna for babysitting, Matt for putting up with my insanity, and Sarah for indulging in the obsession.

Movie review is on the way.

Just Me and Edward...and Matt.

Edward, I'm coming. Meet me at The Chase. Five O'clock.

(FYI: I love my husband; he'll be there too.)

Four

How is it possible that our first nephew, Parker, is already four years old!? Time seems to scurry by so quickly, especially when there is distance between us. His birthday was actually on Sunday, and sadly we didn't make it down to Springfield for his celebration.

I remember waiting with my ear to his mom's delivery door, for his first cry. I remember watching Matt hold him for the first time, and I remember how tiny he seemed. I remember playing with him on our living room floor when he was just an infant. I remember shopping and shopping and shopping for him during his first Christmas. It was so fun to shop for a baby! Sadly, memories are bit further apart since we live several hours away, but Parker, I love you so so much and look forward to every new memory we'll have together. Happy Birthday buddy!

Home Sweet Home

I've been meaning to post pics of our new place, but I've been procrastinating since things aren't how I'd like them quite yet. Tonight though, I'm just deciding to give up on waiting until things are just right, so please ignore the mess and the random items still sitting about!

The house was originally a two family, but was converted to a one family a few years back.

Upon entering, the living room is on the right and the stairs are to the left. The kitchen is behind the living room, the dining room is off of the kitchen, and the sun room is behind the kitchen.

Sun room/den/playroom

We are so happy in this house. We're loving the space, the privacy, the closets, the bathrooms...everything really. We love having guests, and now guests will have their own room, so please come see us!

Kissing Comrads

Reese and Noah like to kiss, and for Shanna and I, this is bitter-sweet. It's pretty cute to watch, but we don't exactly want our one and two year olds making out! Isn't this something we weren't supposed to have to worry about until they were teenagers!? Uuhhhh.

Here's a good one of the kids with their noses pressed against the front doors. I'm not sure what was so interesting out there. It was as if they just discovered the front yard.

A couple of weeks ago, Noah had his first video game experience. We were at Fuddruckers, and as we were leaving, the lights of these machines literally drew him in. It was an unavoidable meeting. He was super engrossed with all the gadgets and the steering wheel, and when it came time to leave, he got loud. He was about as unhappy as he ever gets, and once again that little stink embarrassed his mother! I suppose seeing him so happy for a few minutes was worth it though.

Now We're Both 30

Last weekend, my bestie Sarah came with her family to St. Louis. We've been planning her trip here since March in loo of her 3oth birthday. We celebrated at Vin De Set, and then with a whole day of shopping sans babies at the Galleria. It was lovely! Sarah bought these amazing chairs at Anthropolgie, along with some great clothes.

I don't know why, but when Sarah and I are together, we never seem to get many pictures, and in true form, we only took a couple, and they were of Noah and Lula. When we're old, our kids won't believe that we actually did things together if we don't stop this trend! We've got to take more pics Sarah!

They're coming, They're coming!

Look who's coming in 11 days! It's a bit ridiculous that I get to call these lovely people my family. We can't wait to see them!
(him and her)

Park Love with Grams

My wonderful mama was here for a week and a half to help us with the move, and we spent part of her last day here at the park. As mentioned in an earlier blog, Noah loves being outside, and he particularly loves the park. We still have to stay pretty close to him when on playground equipment that has any height to it or else we would surely find ourselves in an emergency situation, so we each took turns sliding and climbing with Noah.

Noah had an intense temper tantrum when he realized we were headed back to the car. This is a new phase that my mom got to see first hand while she was here. We've started time outs and just ignoring this behavior when it happens. I sure hope he grows out of it fast. This little boy is passionate with a capital P. Have no idea where he gets this from!

Couch Drama

The only faux pas with the movers was that they dropped our antique sofa and broke one of the legs. They did however have it repaired, and almost a week after the move, it was ready to join the other furniture in the house. Before we got the cushions put on, Noah realized he was able to climb on it, and I just thought it was super cute. My little man, dressed for bed on a 1940's couch...yes please. Love it.

On a totally different note, Matt's birthday was on Saturday. He didn't want much of anything, so we just had a very small dinner party, which included an apple cobbler. I thought the apple peelings were so pretty. Sadly, I didn't capture any other photos that night. Don't know what I was thinking!

We Have a Backyard!!!

Although good friend Shanna thinks yards are over-rated, I totally disagree! It gave me complete joy to see Noah playing in our new backyard and sitting in and throwing fall leaves for the first time. He loves the yard and cries quite hard every time we have to come inside. On this particular day, I had purchased a rake, piled up hundreds of leaves and threw Noah right in the middle of them. He wasn't really sure what was happening at first, but he quickly caught on as grams and I picked up piles and let the leaves fall over his head. He giggled and scrunched up his nose, and blinked his eyes as they fell over him.

(i was so mad that my camera cord got in front of the lens on this one. i love his expression!)

(good neighbor noah)

Little Lion

(noah is the smallest kid on the left. i've never seen so many kids eating together at a table (jenn's table to be exact!) it was pretty adorable.)

I'm behind on getting Halloween documented due to the move. This fall in general has been really busy, so I feel behind on a lot of things actually! Anyway, my little man was a lion this year, but sadly we did not make it trick or treating. It was a very chilly evening, we had just moved, and Noah was sick. We did however, make it to a downtown mom's Halloween party earlier in the week. I attempted to get some snapshots of Noah in his costume, but he wasn't in the modeling mood. So here's all I got:(trying to take off the headpiece)

(noah is avoiding the party crowd and opting to look out the window while dialing a friend)

(whiny cry face because mom won't stop taking pictures of him)

(i'm trying to restrain him from taking off the head piece)

Au revoir Downtown Loft

We have officially moved from our beloved loft in downtown St. Louis. I can still remember my excitement when I found the loft, and when I talked Matt into it, and especially when we moved in to it. I was in love. That loft held us through some major life experiences, the most important being the conception and birth of our Noah. It was a good move for us, and we will always look back with warm feelings on our time there. That said, it is time for more space, for doors, for floors that aren't concrete, and for a yard. And as of last Friday, we're here, and we love it.

The move was the most annoying, yet the easiest move we've ever had. Annoying because there were 5 other people moving in/out on the same day, and we were all trying to use the ONE freight elevator and the ONE back dock. Way to go to our loft management for not scheduling the moves. On the up side though, it was the easiest because we hired movers. We had plenty of gracious friends volunteer to help us, but we decided to move on a Friday (because we had been warned that Saturday would be a busy moving day), and of course most people work on Friday. Although Todd, Jesse and Kristin still came over on Saturday to help us wrap up some loose ends. Thank you guys! Anyway, I was incredibly impressed with the efficiency of professional movers and I highly recommend using them to anyone considering moving in the future. Totally worth the money.

Mom has been here helping us through the move. She's been indispensable! She's helped me empty boxes (I think she's unloaded more than I have actually), and put things away, get organized, decorate, and of course she's been wonderful help with Noah. Thank goodness for my mom!

We're still working on getting everything set up, but I will soon post pictures of our new home. New to us, anyway!

(this is a picture of the sidewalk outside our loft last winter. i will miss the gelateria at the end of the block. no more spontaneous chai breaks for me!)

Pumpkin Patch Take 2

I never realized how enjoyable it would be to watch my child have fun, but the older Noah gets and the more he can do, the more hilarious and entertaining it is to watch him have a good time. With a nap under our belts and daddy along this time, we gave the pumpkin patch another try on Sunday, and thankfully, it was quite successful. We had a blast actually. We went with our good friends Erin and Michael and once there, we met new friend Randa and her family. Sadly I did not snap a pic of her hubby, so I'll have to make up for that lapse next time. Her kiddos, Ella and Aidan are adorable though, and of course Erin and Mike's little Yuri and Kye are gorgeous and fun too. It was a beautiful day, and I think we may just have to make this an annual fall tradition, like Erin and Mike have done. (Pictures below are in no particular order.)

Above, Noah is feeding the donkey, and below he is showing his distaste of the activity. He has his mom's ugly cry-face.

Milk Man

Noah is a fan of milk. He'll take it any way he can get it; even straight out of the carton.

He Touched His Head!

(photo credit: marisa)

We've been working on identifying body parts, and for the first time today, I said, "Noah, where's your head?" And he touched his head!!! We were actually having lunch with Matt, so we both got to see this milestone. Mama is so proud!

Noah's First Pumpkin Patch

This morning we skipped our morning nap to meet the downtown mom's group at a local pumpkin patch. The moment we entered the activity area, Noah was in heaven.

First, he checked out the goats. Then, he ran around, drunk on freedom.Next, we found the pirate ship, and Noah was much more interested in the ramp that I was letting him climb up and down than the actual ship. Notice the exuberance on his face.

Finally got him on the ship where he was dawned with a real pirate's hat.Noah and Aidan were living it up...it's a pirate's life for them.Then came the fatal mistake. After allowing Noah so much freedom, I attempted to strap him down to my lap for a pumpkin patch tracker ride. Bad decision. The kid did not want to sit still, so he screamed, and he arched his back, and he really embarrassed his mother. Pretty pumpkins though. He's attempting to wiggle out of my lap here.Reese was loving just hanging with her mom and watching the pumpkins float by.Shanna was able to distract Noah with a piece of straw for a short time. A very short time!After this, I was able to take zero more pictures because I was too busy wrangling with this child, as the lack of the morning nap took it's tole. We had to leave. The party had barely begun, yet there was no way Noah was going to peacefully finish out the morning. He screamed as I tried to quickly get us off the tracker, and then he screamed as I bee-lined for the car, and then the whole 5 minutes it took me to get him in his car seat (5 minutes because he was arching his back, bracing his body, and just generally doing whatever he could to make my life difficult), and finally he screamed for the first 5 or so minutes we were in car before falling to sleep.

Although Noah can do frustrating things often, I actually rarely find myself really fed up with him, but this morning was one of those times. I was doing all I could to keep it together. As I told my mom, I think one of the most frustrating parts was that we were at that patch solely for him. It was all for him, and he ruined it! I breathed, prayed for patience, and just got out of there as fast as I could. It was another one of those "that mom" moments. I'm sure I'll have many more! At least the beginning of the patch trip was enjoyable. And after his nap, he was back to being my lovely little man. Thank goodness for morning naps! We won't be skipping them again any time soon.

Bonding with My Boy

Noah and I have reached a new level of bonding recently.

Last week we were at a book party, and he was surrounded by several other children. In the midst of the chaotic crowd, he would single me out, and come to me wanting to sit in my lap. Even though I take care of this little stinker all day, it made me feel like I was the chosen one! He came to me! And just the other day, we were at Shanna's, and he did the same thing. He has also been coming up to me a lot more at home, not whining about anything, but just wanting to sit with me or be held for a moment. This morning he came to me several times, gave me kisses, and then wanted back down to play.

We've also been playing a version of hide and go seek. I'll run away from him, and then throw myself down behind the bed or the refrigerator, and he'll race after me and find me. I jump out at him, and then he giggles and runs away. Noah also really likes music. He doesn't go crazy with the dancing, but he bends his legs and bounces up and down. It's the cutest.

Shanna told me that there is such an intimate bond between a son and his mother, and I'm really beginning to feel it. I am loving having a little man.

On a totally unrelated note, he ate from this special plate this morning. It was the first time he's eaten an entire meal off of a plate without the plate eventually ending up on the floor. Love this plate! There are no rims for little hands to grab and hurl off the high chair!

Over the Weekend...

We went to the "Taste of St. Louis" event, held just a block over. Matt and Noah intently watched the band on stage.

We went with our friends the Gourley's.


We decided on Noah's first Halloween costume. I found this while garage saling with Jenn Saturday morning. 2$!!! And it is so stinkin' cute. Love it. (See the sticker?)


We also laughed at this crazy dancing lady. She was awesome.

a boy and his mama

another sweet one from marisa.

yesterday i had one of those dreaded store experiences with noah. i was 'that' mom with 'that' screaming child. not only was he screaming (for no apparent reason) he was contorting his body around so that he could reach the items in the basket and then he would throw them on the floor with force and intention. so what do i do? i pacify him with some earth's best cookies. food generally works to calm the crazy kid. i pull out the lidded cup of cookies that i always keep on hand and start handing them to him. being the independent little thing he is, he wants to get them out of the cup himself, so while i'm holding the cup, i let him reach into the container to get his own cookie. in the meantime, i'm hurriedly looking through fabric and not paying as much attention to the amount and rate at which he is eating his snack. next thing i know, he is spitting out a mouthful of soggy, half eaten cookies, and clumps of them fall onto his shirt, and then onto the floor. i stop what i'm doing, dig for wet-wipes and napkins and clean him and the floor up as best as possible. first of course i put the lid back on the cookies and set them down. after the clean up, he begins his "get me out of here" screaming and arching of the back routine, and so i hand him the lidded cup of cookies. another lame attempt at pacifying him. he grabs it, and hurls it towards the floor. cookies, along with the bottom-of-the-box crumbs go flying. apparently, i did not secure the lid on well enough. i was so frustrated. i just didn't say anything to noah (what would that have done?). instead, i once again pull out the wipes and napkins, clean up as best as possible and head for the cut counter. a better mom probably would have just left the full buggy of goods, grabbed the child and left. but i have one and a half weeks left to my next festival, and Hancock Fabric is 25 minutes away from where we live. excuses, excuses, i know. i had to get the fabric! at the cut counter, several sweet people entertained noah while we waited, and he stayed relatively calm...sort of. he wanted to climb on the counter, eat a package of elastic and cry a bit, but at least there was no wailing and screaming. i was dying to get back to the jeep, make him a bottle and head home. i put him in his car seat and start digging for the goods to make his bottle, but i couldn't find the actual bottle. the formula i had, the bottle i didn't. i quickly remembered that the bottle was on the counter at home. great. i dump the formula in his sippy cup that was full of water, hand it to him, and hope for the best. i was finally on my way home. he fell asleep on the drive, and exhausted, i fell asleep too as soon as we got home. what a day!

little man in a scarf

my lovely friend marisa wanted to "practice" her photography skills on our family, and we are soooo grateful she did. she sent me this teaser last night, and it blows my socks off. i'm in love! i can't thank you enough marisa!