Good Bye Useless Body Organ

Why do we have an appendix anyway? At around 10:00 Wednesday night I suddenly had very sharp pains in my upper abdomen. John was out of town and both babies were in bed. I took some medicine and laid down, but it would not go away. I called my mom who lives just down the road and asked her to keep her phone by her bed in case I needed help with Noah during the night. I text messaged my good friend Kelly to ask if I was indeed dying, but she had no service due to the ice storms. I paced the house all night. At around 2 a.m. I pretty much knew I had appendicitis. The pain had moved to the right side of my abdomen and I had a low temp. I was trying to make it until 5 a.m. to wake up my mom. I started thinking, okay if I am going to go to the hospital, they are going to make me wear a gown, and I really need to shave my legs. So at 2:30 I took a bath and shaved my legs, then I took a shower to wash my hair. Smart, I know. I brushed my teeth, got dressed and I knew I wasn't going to make it until 5. I fixed Noah a bottle and started packing him a bag. I called John and told him what was going on. He told me to call him after I saw the Dr. to tell him if he needed to come home. I not so nicely told him not to wait for me to call him, just to get on the first flight out, dear. I called my mom and told her I was going to drop off the kids and go to the ER. She told me that she wouldn't let me go by myself, so I needed to call my sister. So, my mom came to stay with the kids, and Jennifer took me to the ER. We were going to drive to Little Rock to go to St. Vincent's there, but after she took a turn at about 80 mph, I almost hurled and told her, nope, let's just go to St. Vincent's North. There was no one in the waiting room. It was eerily quiet. Still, I had to wait for a triage nurse. Then we got back to the room, and we waited a good hour before the doctor came in. I have no idea what he was doing because there didn't seem to be any other patients. They made me drink two huge glasses of disgusting contrast, which I could not hold down. They took me to have a ct scan, and pretty quickly came back and said that I had appendicitis and they would be taking me to surgery soon. At least 8 more people came and told me the same thing. John was trying to fly back home, and my mom was still with the babies. I have no idea what time it was, but I did make it up to pre-op, and met the Dr and rather quickly they were giving me the loopy drugs and I was out. Not before my sister took some lovely pictures of me. She put them on facebook. I will get her back. Just as soon as I find her 7th grade picture. Look for it here.

Anyway, I got to come home not too long after the surgery. I am pretty sore, but ok otherwise. I can't lift anything over 15 pounds for 2 weeks. Noah is 17 pounds. John is going to have some great bonding time with the baby boy. It will be good for both of them.

RSV + Double Ear Infections = 1 very fussy, clingy, sad baby boy

My baby boy cannot catch a break. He was fine on Monday, but Monday night he got really sick really fast. We got in to see the doctor and he was diagnosed with the big bad RSV. And had double ear infections for the 3rd time in about 6 weeks. When he is sick, you can see it in his eyes...

Wednesday was a terrible day. He was just so sad and sick. He spent a good portion of the day in the Peanut Shell (sling.)

I really could not put him down all day. He was so sad.

Hope provided some much needed comic relief!

This next picture was taken right after she mooned me. I didn't know she mooned me until after I snapped it. I obviously can't post it on here, but she was so proud of herself for catching me off guard. Such a stinker!

Maccaroni and "Say Cheese!"

I was trying to document Noah joining the "I love Maccaroni" fan club that exists in our household. I am not a member of the club. Hope and John could eat it everyday. For all three meals. John likes his with beans. Or ketchup. But that's a whole other post in itself. Despite what it looks like here, Noah loved the maccaroni. He was making the funniest faces though.

Wondering where he got that look from? Look no further...


They most certainly did not learn that from their mother. No way. And when Hope realized I was taking pictures of only her, she turned on the cheese. Just like that.

Where do they get the cheese from? Mr. Cheesey himself.

And here is John trying to lay the smack down. Seriously? Ha. I laugh at your finger in my face.

And here we are reading the "Noah" book that Aunt April sent us. Thank you, April! You always find the neatest things for us!

Still trying

I'm still trying to get a good picture of both kids. I still don't have one. I like how you can really see Noah's eyelashes in this one though.
Hope had enough of the picture taking, but Noah is still too little to run away from my camera...

Clara's 5th Birthday

Clara had a "Dress Like Your Barbie" Birthday Party on Saturday. It was really fun and cute. They even had a fashion show and walked the red carpet.

Mr. President

I kept both babies home from school so that we could watch history together. Hope knows who Barack Obama is. When you ask her she says "He is our new president and he is a good man." She does still call him "Barack-O" which I love. I sat her in my lap and told her that I wanted her to remember this day. The day that Obama promised her and her brother a brighter future. I am so proud of our new president and all the hope that he brings to our world, our country, our children.

Yep, Noah drank to Kool-Aid too, my friends. Want some?
Noah, I know you won't remember this day, but you were there the day history was made. Good, amazing, history.

Noah at 8 months, week 4

I get updates from Baby Center for weekly developments for both Noah and Hope (hers are monthly.) But, rarely do I read them. They just get deleted with all the other clutter in my mailbox. But, since I have been a little concerned about Noah's development, I decided to read. This is what it says:

Almost walking
Your baby's getting closer and closer to full-fledged walking. She can probably crawl up stairs and cruise, moving around upright while holding onto furniture. A baby this age may even take a couple of steps. (A few actually do walk now — and some don't walk until well into their second year. There's a wide range of ages at which children meet this milestone.)Your baby's also learning how to bend her knees and how to sit after standing, which is harder to master than you might think! She might get "stuck" standing up in her crib. If this happens, gently show her how she can get back down.There are ways to help your baby with her walking efforts. Stand or kneel in front of her, and help her walk toward you by holding both of her hands. Eventually just hold your hands out to her in encouragement. Some babies enjoy pushing a toddle truck, which provides both support and mobility. Look for one with a wide, stable base.Babyproofing your home is a necessity now. One good place to start is to put latches on the doors of off-limits cabinets — babies inevitably make a beeline for such things. (You could also move all cleaning supplies or potential poison hazards to higher cabinets.) Also, your baby's crib mattress should be at the lowest mattress setting.

Ok, now, I am concerned. Are you kidding me? Is he that far behind? Noah is completely non mobile. He doesn't roll around, scoot, crawl or anything, much less is he almost walking. Noah has not been an early achiever in the milestone department, and I have been in no hurry for him to be mobile. I have tried really not to compare him with Hope, who was crazy early on most milestones. I have tried not to compare him with other babies in his class, but that is getting much harder. Noah is the oldest in his class, and is the least mobile. These little 6 month old squirts are all over the place. The baby gate is officially up in his room at school. Mrs. Kim puts them all on the floor, and they all move to every corner of the room, except for Noah who is sitting right in the same spot she sat him down. He can roll over both directions, I have seen him, but I can't remember the last time I saw him roll from his tummy to his back. He has never rolled as a means of transportation.

He is doing other things on track. He babbles dada, bababa and now even mamama. He plays peekaboo by hiding behind a toy or person. He eats finger food like a champ. He plays and plays and plays with toys. His favorite is a little bucket that we fill up with little toys, and he just empties them out one by one, studying each one along the way.

So, I go back and forth from being concerned, to saying he is just content and will move when he is bored. I'm interested to see how his 9 month check up goes. I think right now, I am most concerned with the not rolling part more than I am with not crawling or scooting (or pulling up, standing, cruising.) Any other slow movers out there?

Good Bye Noahawk

"You think I don't KNOW my hair looks bad?"

I may be little but I KNOW what your snickers mean.

You call my hair a baby comb over,

make fun of the little pieces of hair that sticks out over my ears.

(My doctor calls those "my pigtails." Great, thanks Dr. Laura.)

My parents call it the Noahawk.

You call it crazy hair, I've been called worse.

Like "what a pretty girl."

I get it.

But, I can't talk to my mom just yet, so what's a boy to do?

I did talk my sister into trimming my hair once, but she got in trouble and she says she won't help me anymore.

So, today, the 'rents take me to a cool place.

I sit in a taxi cab.

I see scissors!

I am beside myself.

I am a new man.

And my mommy hasn't cried (yet.)

Oh, and my sister got a new do, too.

Her hair has gotten crazy curly lately.

The nice lady gave her some layers so now, it's even curlier.

Will I EVER have a good picture of both of my children?

I am beginning to wonder.

Blogger Challenge

A challenge from April:

Go to your May photos (May folder if you are that organized...I of course am not...)

Pick the 21st photo and post it.

Then tell a little about the photo.

May 1st is the day that Noah Red came home from the hospital, so I have about 1 zillion pictures from that day...

After we dressed him in his outfit, I wanted to take pictures of every inch of him. There were much better ones than this, but this was #21, so here you go. Noah's hand with his hospital bracelet on.

Ok, friends, your turn. Go dig through your pictures and see what the 21st picture you took in May was.

Happy Birthday, Crime Solving Clara

First, a little background. We live in a town near "The Old Mill." It is in the opening of "Gone w/ The Wind." A month ago or so, someone set the roof of the Old Mill on fire. It was on the news, and has been the talk of the town. Who did it, is of course, the Big Question.


Ok, so tonight we were eating at G'Walls, one of our favorites. Clara looks up and says, "I know who set the Old Mill on fire." Um, ok, we all look at her. She points to a picture of the Old Mill that is on the wall and says, "Those two people standing on the bridge!" Has anyone questioned that sweet elderly couple?

Do you love Hope's new do? Ms. Kendra fixed Hope's hair at school today. A year ago, I would not have let her out of the house with three pigtails. See how far I've come? I didn't make her take them out until she got in the bath tonight.

We were at G'Walls to celebrate this sweet girl's 5th Birthday. She is one of my favorite people, that's for sure. She is just good stuff. Don't you love the pink eye shadow she chose for this special occasion?