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.