Teething and trips

On behalf of Noah, I hate teething. My poor little guy has three (THREE!) teeth coming in at the same time, two of those bastards being the dreaded molars, but I do have to say he's handling it pretty well...the teething that is. I didn't even notice the impending arrival of the third tooth until I looked in his mouth when he was screaming this evening from bashing his lip open on a chair. And, lo, there was that telltale hole in the gum. So now he has three teeth coming in, a split and swollen lip, and a goose egg on his forehead from the Great Head Banging on the Bathtub Incident of August Oh-Nine...he's doing just great this evening, thanks for asking.

As luck would have it, Noah and I are off to Michigan tomorrow for an overnight visit with a friend. We need to escape this death trap I call a house (kidding, Grandmas, it's TOTALLY , 100% baby proofed and SAFE, for real). Packing a toddler for TWO days, and ONE night might as well be considered moving in what with all the crap we have to take. My list is two pages long and that's just HIS belongings. I'll be lucky if I remember to pack underwear for myself. I can't wait to tell you all the EXCITING things we will have done on this too short trip...things like drinking wine, and maybe some more drinking wine, perhaps a trip to the beach, followed by more wine. That's what visiting friends is all about, right? Right. See you Thursday.

(For my Michigan peeps, we'll be in New Buffalo...is that close to you?)

One of those days

A no make-up, no pants (for Noah, NOT me), goofy, rainy kind of day.

Hope your weekend is full of goofy too.

Thirteen Months

Dear Noah,

I'm a little late with your monthly letter because I am so tired from keeping up with you. You're a busy little boy which makes for a sleepy mommy. So don't be mad but I'm just going to post a few pictures of you from this past month and then I am going to take a nap. I love you little man, to the moon and back.

Love,

Mama

P.S. You're a word rockstar these days...yesterday you said DONE! As in All Done Mommy Take Me Out Of This High Chair Contraption IMMEDIATELY Otherwise I Am Going To Scream And The Neighbors Will Have To Call DCFS On You.

P.P.S. You are so damn cute when you point to your belly and I have to come blow raspberries on it...best. thing. ever.

P.P.P.S. Apparently you have red hair these days? Whose child are you exactly?

At the park

He's getting closer to walking...for now he's content to push his stroller, or the dining room chair, or the bar stool in the kitchen or me. Everyday I will him to walk, to just DO IT already, but then I see this and I want to hold on to his baby-ness for a little while longer. To know that he still needs me to get around, he still relies on me to be his legs, he's still my baby.

If it's this hard to watch him grow now, I am going to be a raging mess when he leaves for college.

Darwinism

Scene from the zoo this morning:

Me: Look, Noah! That's a gorilla! He's coming over to say hi!

Noah (looking at me quizzically, then pointing to the gorilla): Dada?

Me: Ummmm, no. But sort of. That's a long story and I'm pretty sure you won't understand it. But he kind of does look like Daddy, doesn't he?

Noah: DADADADADADADADADADA!

End scene.

Weekend snippets

A few quick things because it's Saturday and Noah and Tim are napping (or SUPPOSEDLY napping...I believe ONE of them is napping and the other is chewing on his crib):

1. We all had the flu this past week.

1a. I was sick Wednesday and Thursday and THANK GOD my mother (or as Noah says:"UhMAAA!") came to baby me, I mean, take care of Noah. The flu sucks.

1b. And it sucks even more when Thursday the baby AND the husband get sick. And now I am not just recovering from the flu, I am also tending to TWO babies. The flu REALLY sucks.

1c. But it's ok now. "We" are recovered. Or at least Noah and I are. Tim is milking it for all it's worth and taking lots of naps because he's "so, so sick...dying, really". Uh huh.

2. You know how when you really, really want a little snack and you have the taste for something specific, like say a chocolate chip cookie, or maybe some snap peas and dip, but then you look in your refrigerator and pantry and the best you can come up with is stale Triscuits and processed cheese products? Totally sucks...and now I sit here eating stale Triscuits and fake cheese. Sigh.

3. Noah's recent accomplishments: holding his fork and spoon and getting the food in his mouth (but not picking it up yet), saying "more" and ACTUALLY wanting more of something, napping somewhat consistently once a day, molar #1 popping through, oh, and refusing to walk.

4. I haven't been taking many pictures lately and I AM SO SORRY. So here is one of Noah and his new BFF, the vacuum cleaner. Except what makes his relationship with the vacuum so tenuous is that we have two vacuums, which look totally different (aka one is AWESOME (pictured) and the other is NOT), and he is mightily confused by the fact that I call them both "vacuum" when he points and says "Da?" I fear that he may be forever disappointed in life when one thing is never like the other.

5. The Air and Water Show is happening RIGHT NOW OVER MY HEAD and if those damn planes wake my (now sleeping!) baby I will march myself down to the lake front and take it up with the management. Whoever thought this was a good idea? Loud planes zooming at breakneck speeds mere hundreds of feet from my rooftop? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Strange behavior

Someone switched my baby with a new version this weekend. MY baby doesn't like to snuggle. MY baby would rather pull my hair than snuggle with me. MY baby is too busy for cuddling. So clearly this baby I had this past weekend wasn't MY baby. THIS baby spent an HOUR snuggling on the couch with me. THIS baby watched an entire episode of Sesame Street while curled up in my arms, finger inserted in mouth and blankie in right hand. THIS baby turned to me and KISSED me on the cheek and then snuggled back in. WHO IS THIS CHILD AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MINE?

I believe the Smith Family Snuggle Gene is making it's way out in Noah. You see, my side of the family is what I would call Cuddle Averse. We aren't big huggers or kissers. That's not to say we don't express our affection for one another, it's just not in the most physical of ways. When I met Tim, he turned me into a Hugger. Tim's got the Snuggle Gene going in full force and it's pretty difficult to stay Cuddle Averse in the face of a Hugger. And now Noah has fallen prey. He wasn't a snuggly infant. He much preferred to be lolling about on his own rather than curled up on my chest. So this change in demeanor was a bit unexpected but totally fantastic. Is it strange that I have been looking forward to these moments, sitting curled up on the couch with my baby (excuse me, toddler), our feet tucked into a blanket, and watching whatever happens to be the latest and greatest on Noggin? I'm loving it now because I know these days don't last forever.

Do tell

I'm curious. About YOU. I see that there are a number of people reading this blog and yet, so few comments. So, I want to know more about you. Please leave a comment telling me who you are, where you are visiting from, and any other little tidbits. And no, you do not have to create a Blogger account...leave it under "Anonymous" but put your info in the comment box. And then press "Submit". Easy peasy. And I'll be so happy if you leave a comment...I may just have to make a cake to celebrate.

A little about me, also known as My Version Of Free Association, or You Really Don't Want To Know What Goes On In My Brain But Too Bad:

1. I'm 27, soon to be 28, and that means almost 30 and OMG.
2. I'm married to Tim, husband-extraordinaire and part-time pain in my ass.
3. I'm the mother of a one year old who you all know and adore on a regular basis.
4. I really, really, really want to be an editor. Like when I grow up. But don't bash my poor grammar skills on this blog. Rarely do I edit before I publish.
5. I used to think of myself as organized and possibly, maybe, definitely a little OCD.
6. I now realize that was only when I had more free time, aka before baby.
7. I see no shame in hiring cleaning help even if you stay at home.
8. I beg my husband daily to let me re-hire my cleaning woman. I love her. I miss her.
9. I have failed at numerous friendships and am working on it.

10. I sometimes wonder if it's always me since I am the common denominator.

11. But I work hard at the friendships I have and enjoy the time spent with friends immensly.

12. I am a huge proponent of summer nights spent hanging out on the deck after the baby goes to sleep, especially with a good bottle of wine and an even better neighbor.

13. I'm a huge proponent of wine. They made that stuff for moms, I just know it. Or at least we keep the majority of mass-producing vineyards in business.

14. Somedays I feel like "just another mom".

15. Other days I cannot believe "I am a mom".

16. Being a parent is the hardest thing I have ever done. And yet the most rewarding.

17. But some days I really want to go back to work and hand my kid off to someone else to deal with.

18. The grass is always greener, no?

19. I keep meaning to update my "books requested" list at the library.

20. I just reminded myself to do that.

And with that, I leave it to you, friends. Tell me a little more about yourself. Please?