4 Month Doctor Visit

This morning was Noah's 4 month doctor check-up. Everything went great and Noah really seems to enjoy the doctor visits. He laughed, babbled (a lot), and enjoyed looking at all the pictures on the wall. Of course, he wailed for a minute or two when he got his shots, but then calmed back down and was fine. We got the "go-ahead" to start introducing small amounts of rice cereal twice per day, so that hopefully by 6 months old, he'll have the whole eating from a spoon thing down pat.

The past few weeks have been a lot of fun to watch, as Noah is now constantly rolling over from tummy to back and back to tummy with ease. He seems to now prefer being on his tummy so he can lift up with his arms and look at us. Of course, we applaud him and he enjoys being the constant center of attention and grins ear to ear after doing one of his rolls. Twice this week he's been on his belly when we get him out of bed. It's funny to see him on his belly, because he'll try so hard to move forward. He'll lift his legs up in the air (almost like he's skydiving) and rock back and forth but can't go anywhere. He's good at turning around in circles though.

We've also been moving his bedtime up earlier and he's sleeping about 9 1/2 hours a night now, which is nice. We were a little worried how he'd take to the earlier bedtimes, but he's really done well and still wakes up at about the same time. He's actually starting to wake up LATER in the morning now that his bedtime is earlier, even sleeping 10 hours twice this week.

We're so thankful that God has blessed us with a happy, healthy, and growing baby. Every day with him is a tremendous blessing! Here are his 4 month stats. He is well on pace to get some playing time on the defensive line for the VOLS this season!

Weight - 18 lbs. exactly (95th percentile)
Length - 25 1/2 inches (72nd percentile)

Here are some pictures and video from today's doctor visit that I took with my phone:

Ready to see the doctor

Playing on the table...as you can see, he ripped the paper sheet on the table to shreds!

4 Month Highlight Video

Noah turns 4 months old tomorrow. Here are some highlights from a busy month of May!

How's This For "It's a Small World?"

There is a boy in Noah's class named Will. Will's mom is an OBGYN where Noah was born...the same doctor who happened to be on call the day Noah was circumcised! Ha!
That's right, Will's mom circumcised Noah! Tyra thought she recognized her yesterday when they were dropping off Noah/Will, and she finally realized who she was later in the day. Pretty funny!

First Day at School

Noah's first day at day care was yesterday and it went great. Noah made his classroom (i.e. nursery) debut at about 8:15 am and although he was sound asleep, the other 4 babies in the room immediately recognized Noah as the new class clown, ladies man, chic magnet, chatty cathy, and the new "it" guy at Pride & Joy. Ok, so it didn't happen just like that, but you get the idea.

Ready for his first day at P&J Academy


We both went to P & J to drop Noah off for his first day. Tyra will take him most mornings, but of course, on day #1 both of us wanted to be there. I know one thing for sure, day care centers are Grand Central Station at 8:00 am during the week. Noah fell asleep on the way (as he did again this morning, on day #2), so he was happy-go-lucky as we took him into the nursery. We left him in his car seat, so he would keep napping, spoke briefly to his teachers, gave him big kisses goodbye and were out the door.

I remember looking back through the double glass doors of his room as we made our exit. There he was...sleeping peacefully as we left. I don't think I'll ever forget this day, and I know Tyra won't either. My mom told Tyra last week that this would be the first of many "letting go" moments in his life, and now I can see that makes sense. There was our little boy, who except for staying with grandmothers Gigi and JenMommy, has never been away from us. Would his teachers know what he likes? Know what makes him laugh out loud? Know his favorite toys, songs and books? Know how we put him to sleep for naps? All of these questions were weighing on our minds this past week. It's been a struggle, especially for Tyra, but as yesterday came to show, we can only trust that God will keep Noah safe and happy each and every day while we're not with him. I can't imagine the "letting go" moments will EVER get any easier as Noah grows up, but it's such a blessing to know that our healthy, happy, and growing 16 week old little boy will always be in God's hands, and that is all the comfort we need.

Tyra did awesome as we left the building and headed to the parking lot, only shedding a quick tear. Since she works so close to P&J, she went to nurse Noah in the afternoon on her lunch break, so that was a treat for her and Noah. We called twice during the day, and both times his teacher said that he was happily playing in the room. They said "he just smiles so much," and that was a great thing to hear.
I picked him up a little after 5:00 yesterday afternoon and as soon as he saw me, he grinned ear to ear. That was an awesome feeling!! I was so proud of our little man...he did it! He had a great day! And as I loaded him in the car to head for home, he dozed off, worn out from his busy day.

Last night, it was funny, I wished so much that Noah could talk and tell us everything that he did that day. Tyra had a good first day back in the office too and was busy, which helped the transition I guess. So, now, we'll get back in the groove of this new routine and be thankful that the three of us get to go through it together!

Awesome Memorial Day Weekend

We had such a fun weekend just hanging out. Of course, 3-day weekends are always awesome. Noah went on his first picnic at the UT Gardens on Saturday, and he loved looking at all the flowers and being outside. The weather was perfect too.







Exersaucer & Tummy Time
Noah has enjoyed playing in his exerscaucer and playing on his belly lately. Sometimes, he'll only do it for a few minutes at a time though. Whether on his back or tummy during play time, he cracks us up with how quickly he will use his arms and feet to turn himself around, like the second hand on a clock. Last week, he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time and we caught it on video, so that was neat.

Noah's Orientation Day

Today was Noah's orientation day at P & J Children's Academy. Tyra starts back to work one week from today, so Noah's first day at school will be next Tuesday. P & J is in a great location for us, less than 1 mile from Tyra's office and I drive right past it every morning on the way to work. This transition will be tough on us, but we know that Noah will be in great hands and will get to meet lots of new friends and teachers who will love him. Noah loves being around new people, so we're confident that he will do great! Today, he met his teachers and new friends for a little while in the nursery room. There are two kids in the class that were born 2 days before Noah (on Feb. 5), and Noah was so much bigger than both of them. All of the kids, who ranged in ages from 3-9 months, were very cute and playful.

For the past 3 1/2 months, Noah has been with Tyra almost all day, every day, and it will be hard to change up their routine, but it will make their time together before/after work and our time together as a family even more precious. We just know that even though it will be tough in the short term, it's what is best for Noah and all of us for the future. Please be praying for Noah, us, and his teachers and friends at P&J over the next few weeks. It's just another "first" for Noah and us, and we know that with God's love and guidance, this will be a smooth transition for Noah. Thanks to everyone for loving our little boy!!!!

Seabrook Island

The day after Mother's Day, we loaded up and headed out again for our annual anniversary trip to Seabrook Island, SC. Noah did really great for the most part both coming and going to Seabrook. We stopped a few times along the way for him to eat/play/fuss, then we were back on our way. It took us about 1 hour longer than it normally would, but not too shabby.
Tyra and I love Seabrook Island and always look forward to visiting every year. We were especially excited for Noah to be going with us this year for his first trip to the beach, his first time swimming (briefly) in a pool, and just to see how he'd do on his first vacation.
Seabrook is aboout 20 miles south of Charleston, and some of the best food in the world can be eaten here. Needless to say, we ate it all! (Diets can wait for this week, right?!)
Noah had a fun time at the beach, and it was so neat to see him looking at the water and feeling the ocean breeze. While we were there, he was a constant talker, and his high-pitched jibber-jabbers, sounded a lot like the seagulls that were outside. His outgoing personality was on full display as he hammed it up while we'd converse with him and laugh. It was a lot of fun.
Gabi had a fun time on the Seabrook sands again, and she always wanted to join us on our stroller rides or excursions around the island. I'm posting a few pictures below of our trip, but most of the pictures (along with some others we've taken this month) can be seen here: Noah's May 2008 Pictures

Just hanging out while Mom shops


Mommy and Noah at the beach


Noah fell asleep on me like this as we were walking back from the beach to the condo


Noah and Gabi enjoying the sand


Dad and Noah in the pool


Loving the Seabrook Life


Mom and Noah cuddling in the pool


One Cool Dude


Nap time by the pool


Family picture from our back porch

Noah's First Trip to Hendersonville

We're back from our trip to the beach, so I can finally update the blog. Noah experienced a lot of "firsts" over the past 10 days. He did great on his first car ride (about 3 hours) to Hendersonville and slept the entire way.

After settling in and unpacking our car-load of (mostly baby) things, we went to visit Eric's grandmother for her to meet Noah for the first time.

Noah and Grandmommie


We then stopped by to see Tyra's mom (visiting from Florida) and grandmother too. So, Noah got a lot of great-grandmother love that day!

Noah and Nanny


On that Saturday (May 10), Noah went with Mommy and Daddy to get our new car!! We got a 2008 "white diamond pearl" Honda Accord from our great friends at Trickett Honda. Cousin Thomas will be inheriting our old '92 Accord when he returns to UT for his sophomore year in August, so at least my baby (the old Accord) will still be in the family! Yay for new cars!!


We had a few minutes to stop by to see Eric's Uncle Greg and Aunt Susan at their house. Noah greeted Susan with a big smile and a lot of spit up, which was funny to everyone, even Susan!
Noah met his Uncle Lakon and Aunt Holly, along with cousins Aidan and Dylan too on Saturday. They had a little accident and their house was full of smoke that day, so we met them at Sonic in Hendersonville...at least we were able to take advantage of the Sonic slushie "happy hour!"

Holly, Lakon, and Noah


After our Sonic excursion, Noah went to his first wedding. Here is a picture of Noah being held by the groom (Ryan McDuffie), with Dad and best buddies Adam and Lewis. Congrats to the newlyweds Ryan and Lindsay McDuffie!!


The next day was Mother's Day and it was extra special, as Noah got to spend it with Mommy and both grandmothers Gigi and JenMommy in Hendersonville. These past three months have given me an EXTRA appreciation for Tyra, my mom, and ALL mothers for the indescribable love they have for their sons and daughters. They aren't thanked enough! Hip, Hip, Hooray for Moms!

After church in Hendersonville...First Presbyterian Church, where we got married


JenMommy, Mommy, and Noah celebrating Mother's Day


Looking handsome in his Mother's Day outfit

Road Trips

Noah will be a traveling boy for the next week. Today, we'll be going to Hendersonville for the first time since he was born. We'll celebrate Mother's Day with Tyra, Gigi, and JenMommy in Hendersonville too. Then, next week, we're headed to Seabrook Island, SC for our (4 year) anniversary trip and Noah's first trip to the beach! Packing for road trips is drastically different now, as we'll be packing everything and the kitchen sink when it comes to Noah's "necessities."

Noah's 3 Month Highlight Video

Here are some video highlights of Noah's 3rd month. He will turn 3 months old tomorrow. Over the past month, his personality has really come out even more. He loves to laugh, smile, eat his fists, jibber-jabber, be swayed (standing up) to sleep while being hummed to, and loves meal time! He doesn't go back to the doctor until next month for his 4-month appointment, but we estimate he weighs around 16.5 - 17 pounds. He had a fun month full of new "firsts," so we hope you enjoy the video. (technical note---the video sound is a little low, so you may need to turn the speakers up on your computer)

Noah's 3-Month Video

Noah's Baptism Day

Noah was baptized this morning at church. It was a great service and Noah did wonderful getting baptized. He was wide awake and in a great mood. Such a great mood, in fact, that he peed on me while I was holding him after he was baptized (while some other children were getting baptized), and it leaked through his diaper and on his onesie, baptism outfit, my hands, my shirt and my suit. Always a show stealer, our son! We were joined by lots of family and friends and we thank ALL of you for loving our son and showing him God's love! After church, we all went to eat a yummy brunch at Mulligan's. Thanks to everyone who travled from out of town and in town to share Noah's special day. Our prayer on this (and every) day is that through all of life's ups and downs, Noah will always know and feel God's love, comfort, and embrace in his heart. Here are a few snapshots from the day:

How cool is this?

This is a new product they have at Williams-Sonoma called the Beaba (pronounced Bee-ah-buh)Babycook. It originated in Europe and is new the U.S., but wow, what a great idea. It won't be much longer until Noah starts eating real foods, so we better start convincing him now that pureed baby peas are DELICIOUS! Mmmmmmmmm!

My New Trick

Noah has figured out how to use his legs to scoot around. He routinely scoots backwards off of his aquarium playmat. We'll move him back to the mat and he'll scoot right back to where he was within a few minutes.

Also, the past 2 mornings we've gone to get him in his crib and he's been all over the place. Thursday morning, his head was at the complete opposite end of the bed from where we put him the night before. He is enjoying his newfound freedom of travel.

He's also transitioned from the normal coos and caas of baby lingo to high pitched yelling. It's so funny! He will yell, then wait about 30 seconds and then do it again. It's amazing to see how quickly babies pick up on things, figure them out, then want to keep doing them over and over.

Guys Night With Uncle Drew

Noah and Andrew had a fun guys night in Gibbs Hall on Tuesday. And Andrew even changed Noah's diaper. Way to go Andrew!

Orange & White Game

Last Saturday, Noah made his very first trip to Neyland Stadium for the 2008 Orange and White game. Our office was hosting a group of students in the skyboxes, so we all got to sit in the skyboxes for his first game, which was a treat. Noah did really well at the game and was even able to take a few quick cat-naps between all the meeting and greeting.

Ready for his first trip to Neyland Stadium


Haag Team Picture


What we (will) do best!


Today (Monday), we finally took Noah into the football office to meet Coach Fulmer and the office staff, which was a lot of fun. They all commented on his brick-solid frame and Coach Fulmer told us the scholarship papers are in the mail. They all enjoyed holding him, but we forgot to snap a picture. DOH! Coach was so nice to spend several minutes with us and Noah and I could tell he really enjoyed seeing him.

Special thanks to JenMommy (Eric's Mom) for coming to stay with us for a few days last week. I was working late for a few nights organizing the kickoff event for The Campaign for Tennessee, and Tyra and I were able to go to the event on Thursday. It was the first time both of us had been away from Noah at the same time, and he (and WE!) did well.

Tomorrow night, Noah gets to have a "guys night" with Uncle Drew and Cousin Thomas in Andrew's Gibbs Hall dorm room. Tyra has a Junior League Officers meeting and I have a scholarship dinner our office is hosting on the same night/time. The thought that both of us had commitments struck me at about 4 a.m. this morning and I worried about us scrambling to find a babysitter at the last minute, but thankfully Drew and Tom to the rescue! My event is right across the street from Andrew's dorm, so at least I'll be close by if I get any "come change his diaper NOW" phone calls!

Little Golfer

These are some pictures of Noah and Daddy after our trip to Augusta, GA to watch The Master's golf tournament. We had a great time watching the best golfers in the world play on the most beautiful golf course in the world!.....OK, so we didn't really go to Augusta, but we watched it on TV and had fun dressing Noah up in his Master's outfit.

Some video snippets

I took these on my cell phone last night, so the quality isn't great. He was jibber-jabbering away last night and I had to capture it. On a side note, last night (4/9) was the first time Noah slept 8 hours straight through the night. He woke up once or twice and made a few peeps, but was able to soothe himself back to sleep pretty quickly without us going to pick him up. He's been a really good sleept so far, but last night was great with him sleeping 8 hours straight! It was the first time Tyra was able to stay in bed all night since he was born, so that was a treat too. Anyway, here are the videos:

Jibber-Jabbering




This one is funny....he's been working hard the past few days to lift himself up on his legs while we're holding him on the couch. He'll be up against our stomachs while we're sitting down, then take his hands, grab our shirts, and pull himself up. His legs are really strong for a 9-week old, I think, so I put him down on the floor to see what he did...and sure enough....I know we're a long ways off from walking, but this was funny! He was looking up at me with the biggest smile while he was doing it too! Just awesome!

E-I-E-I-O!

Here's Noah in his Moo Moo outfit. Thanks Uncle Charles and Aunt Amy!



Noah's starting to figure out how to grab and hold his toys.


Dozing off while watching the Lady Vols win another national championship!

Happy 2 Month Birthday!!

Hope you enjoy these highlights from Noah's 2nd month:

Two Month Old Stats

Noah turned 2 months old today. He did great at his doctor's visit while getting 3 shots and 1 liquid vaccination. He's sporting two stylish bandaids on his thighs, one "Barney" bandaid and one "Backyardigans" bandaid. Here are his 2 month old stats: Weight: 14 lbs, 13 oz (97th percentile for his age) Height: 23.6 inches (77th percentile for his age) He's been doing better sleeping through the night...about 6 1/2 hours at a time, but seems to enjoy waking up at 4:45 am to grunt, squirm, and try to wake us up...but he eventually goes back to sleep. We have his 2 month old video ready to go, and I hope to post it soon!