beatin' the heat

It has been H-O-T here lately! Not that I'm really complaining...I have been more than ready to break out the shorts and sandals. For Noah that is:) We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and got Noah his first little baby pool. He did so well at the indoor pool during our short beach weekend in March, so we knew he would love this one too!

All ready to test it out!

Lookin' spiffy in my sun hat:)

Daddy braved the chilly water with Noah..

..but Daddy was just a *little* too big for it. LOL:)

Since Noah is figuring out how to move around on his own, he's been flipping himself into all sorts of positions trying to learn how to crawl, stand, walk, etc. So, there was no way he could have played in the pool by himself just yet. So poor Daddy had to stuff himself in there as best he could:)

Noah is not the least bit scared of the water...he had a blast!

He specially had fun with the fish squirters we got. Of course, he just wanted to chew on them:) That first tooth is about half way in now, but I know we have MANY more months of chewing ahead.

And despite our best efforts, he took a quick dip in face first. Oops!! This look says it all..

Hehe:)

Also, sorry if I've been distracted from here lately...I have my finals starting on Friday, so I'm a little swamped at the moment! But after next Tuesday, I'll be done all summer! Then, only two more years and I'll have my BSN. Even though having Noah has set me back a year in terms of college, it has totally been worth it! He is the greatest blessing Jimmy and I could have ever hoped for...even if he did come just 11 months after our wedding, which is FAR earlier than any of us ever planned:)

Until next time,

Lauren

go green:)

**Just a note..this post isn't really about Noah, but about our family in general!**

I've been taking my required Environmental Science course this semester (I'm about halfway through nursing school, in case you didn't know)...not something I was particularly looking forward to, but I've actually learned a lot, and have enjoyed it for the most part? Why? Well...for lack for a better term, we've been learning about "going green." I realize that this term is very much overused these days as it has become a real hot topic, so I guess I'm using it loosely. 

One thing that really opened my eyes to why living a greener, more environmentally responsible life is important was a podcast I recently listened to on Christian Environmentalism. You can listen to it as well here. For me, living green is not only about preserving the environment for Noah and other future generations and giving him and my family the most healthy choices I can, but is also about God's call of good stewardship in caring for His creation. 

While I am in NO way 100% there, I do enjoy learning more about easy things I can do to make a big impact. The big thing here, I think, is to take it slow and in small steps...trying to totally *go green* overnight is too tough (for me at least!). 

So, in light of this, and the fact that Wednesday is Earth Day, I thought I would share a few of the things we've been doing in our family to *go green* as well as share some of my goals for the near future. 

WHAT WE DO NOW

• All of Noah's bath/skin products are environmentally friendly. We exclusively use California Baby products on him, and we all love them! 
  
• All of Noah's baby food is organic. We use the Earth's Best brand, and there is honestly not one kind that Noah won't eat!
• I am slowly converting Noah to cloth diapers and wipes. This met A LOT of resistance from Jimmy at first, but he's gotten over it. After trying a couple of different kinds, I've decided that the bumGenius 3.0 All-in-one diaper is best for us. There are a ton of other benefits for Noah in using cloth in addition to being easier on the environment, so that's a bonus too:) 
• About 1/2 of our light bulbs are CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs.
• We turn out lights when we leave rooms.
• I wash all of our clothing on cold, except for Noah's cloth diapers and bibs (which get stained if I don't).
• We *try* to recycle as much as possible (this can be a challenge as we don't have a trash/recycling service, so we have to sort it all out at the dump ourselves).
• I try to use *green* cleaning products (currently I use the Clorox Green Works line, but I'm not completely satisfied).
• We *try* to buy the best food (organic, whole grain, no *empty* snacks, etc) for Jimmy and myself as possible...okay, I try, Jimmy just likes what he likes.

OUR GREEN GOALS

• Completely switch Noah to all cloth diapers and wipes at home, and use an environmentally responsible disposable choice (like Seventh Generation) when out/on vacation.
• Try making some of our own baby food.
• Switch mine and Jimmy's personal care products (shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, etc).
• Cut down out showers to 5 minutes...which will be tough for Jimmy, who has a really bad habit of falling asleep in the shower in the mornings!!
• Switch all of our bulbs to CFLs.
• Visit our local farmers market regularly.
• Cut out soda(or at least reduce to 1 per week? ok...realistically 1 per day).
• Buy a water filter or filtering pitcher for drinking water and use a resuable bottle instead of buying bottled water at the store.
• Actually USE my reusable bags...and not only at the grocery store.
• Overhaul our food choices...even though we *try* there are many more areas that we can switch to organic or another better choice (if organic isn't available).
• Find better environmentally friendly cleaning products (since I'm not totally sold on the Green Works stuff), or make my own!
• Find better environmentally friendly laundry detergent.
• Figure out some way to make recycling for us easier (a new bin system?).
• Turn our computers off completely at night.
• Unplug chargers and appliances when they're not in use.
• Opt out of paper bills, pre-approved credit cards, and other junk mail.
• Use rags instead of paper towels.
• Recycle old boxes, paper, toilet paper tubes, etc for future craft projects with Noah.
• And if I'm really brave, try the Diva Cup and cloth liners (I hope I'm not offending anyone with this one!!)

**I would also LOVE to start a garden, but since I have a black thumb in the flower gardening department, I don't know how practical this one is...so it will be an extra, REALLY lofty goal:)

There are a TON of resources out there on how to live green. In fact, a blog I really like, simplemom, has a great post today on 40 Ways to Go Greener At Home (Besides Recycling). And of course there are other blogs and websites solely devoted to *greening* up your life. Just don't get overwhelmed with all the information out there, because there is A LOT of it (some are better than others!!).

Just get out there and do a little research. You'll be surprised at how simple it is to live greener, and how many benefits there are (like saving you money for one!!) But like I said, don't try to overhaul your entire life overnight...that is WAY to hard! Still, and not to get on a soapbox or anything, there are small changes that anyone and everyone can, and should make.

So that's my post in honor of Earth Day! Stayed tuned for your regularly scheduled Noah posts:) Until next time..

Lauren

playful days..

We've been doing LOTS of playing around here lately:) Our weather has beautiful and warm...so we've been spending time out on the porch.

Playing with Daddy's hat..

Playing peekaboo with the pillows..

...and with their fringe.

We've also been playing with Petey. Noah LOVES Petey....and Petey loves Noah for the most part. He not so into the grabbing that Noah does, but he is really great with him..

We've been reading out new books from our Easter basket about Jesus...

...and Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

We've also been rotating toys...this penguin bowling set was a Christmas gift from us. Noah was never really into it...he didn't quite understand the concept.

And to be honest, he still doesn't quite get it! He just takes the little ball and knocks the penguins down by hand. But he does get a strike every time!! :)

Each of the penguins are made differently. He loves feeling the crinkly parts...

Yep..Noah has been a pretty happy, fun little guy this week..

...minus the first tooth coming in!! Watch out Mommy and Daddy...my little nibbles are going to get a LOT more painful very soon:)

Until next time,

Lauren

i heart faces - easter

I have always wanted to participate in the I ♥ Faces contests. I love this site...and while I'm by no means very talented at photography, I just like taking pictures of my Noah for the memories:) 

Even though he was too little for any candy, he was just as satisfied to chew on the eggs themselves:)

cherish the *little moments*

Lauren

easter fun!

Happy Easter Monday everyone! I hope that your Easter weekend has been full of fun, family, and blessings all around:) We have certainly not gotten done all that I had hoped, but that's okay. Life with a seven-month-old is full of surprises sometimes, and I'm learning to not sweat it when things don't go exactly as I'd planned.

After a wet and yucky Good Friday, we opted out of the church Easter egg hunt/party. I decided it wasn't worth it to drag Noah out in all the mud when he can't really participate yet anyway. Oh well...there's always next year! At least then he'll be able to run around and really hunt for the eggs on his own.

Then, we MISSED sunrise service at church on Sunday morning!! Ahh!! I was so disappointed! Darn alarm clock...it didn't go off at all! So at about 6:00 when Noah woke up to have a bottle and I realized what time it was, I had a fit. Jimmy talked me down, though....we would have never gotten him and me showered and ready, Noah fed and dressed, and out the door for the 15ish minute ride over there when the service started at 7:00. So...we celebrated own our own at home. Not the same as church, but what else can you do in that situation? I do kind of wish now that we would have tried...my brother told us that there were several families dragging in at 7:30! But again...I guess we'll have to wait until next year!

We did actually spend the rest of our day with my extended family (father's side). My aunt and uncle have a lake house in my mom's development, so it was only a short drive down there for a big lunch with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Again, I think next year will be even better....two of my other cousins had babies right around the time that Jimmy and I got married, so they are a year and several months older than Noah. Next year, Noah will be able to join in on all the egg hunting and fishing fun!

After lunch and whatnot with the extended family, we headed back for the evening with my mom and dad, and my brother and nieces. It was fairly warm, so we had a fun evening playing on the back porch!

Noah and his Easter basket..

We got him sports themed eggs...and after the jellybeans were taken out, he had a blast. Chewing on them of course:)

You know, we won't remember in 20 years that our alarm clock didn't work that morning, or anything else that didn't go exactly right. We'll remember this sweet smile...

 So even with the mishaps, we had a wonderful and special *first* Easter with Noah:) I hope that all of you had a fun time making new Easter memories this weekend as well! Until next time,

cherish the *little moments*

Lauren

playtime!

Noah has gotten quite choosy lately! He is really learning how to express his emotions to us, and promptly let's us know when he likes/dislikes something. He is also definitely developing favorites...favorite people, favorite foods, and favorite playtime activities! Here are a few of his favorite toys and activities at the moment...

Noah has loved to "read" from the very beginning. That was something I particularly wanted him to develop..a love for books. I think I'm on the right path! He is perfectly content to look at them, turn the pages, and of course, chew on them! This particular book is called Squishy Turtle and Friends. It is by priddy books. I am really a fan of their things, and Noah seems to be also!

This toy was a Christmas gift. It is the LeapFrog Spin & Sing Alphabet Zoo. He LOVES this toy! He picked up how to spin it months ago, but he still really enjoys this one. He especially likes the animal names & sounds setting!

Noah has only had this toy for a few weeks, but it is quickly becoming a favorite as well! It is the Fisher Price Brilliant Basics Baby's First Blocks. He really likes feeling the different shapes of the blocks..with his hands AND his mouth! LOL:) He hasn't reached the sorting stage yet, but that will come soon enough.

Noah also has a Fisher Price Learning Puppy that he really loves as well. I just didn't catch a picture of that one. That toy has LOTS of different activities, but Noah especially likes the different songs it sings - "If You're Happy & You Know It" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" are his favorites:)

BUT.....this is BY FAR Noah's very favorite toy of all! It is his Evenflo ExcerSaucer. He would play in this for hours if I let him! I love it because he doesn't need me to help him play in it, so I'm able to eat, do laundry, or whatever with both hands free. He loves it because there are a TON of different things to see, do, mash, pull, chew, spin...it really does it all! We're already on our second set of batteries!

It has also been great for Noah's physical development because he gets lots of stand-up practice. He is able to spin himself around too, so I think he will be an early walker...he already is pulling up on things!

Another neat thing about the ExerSaucer is that most of the toys are interchangeable, meaning that if one breaks or there is one that he doesn't really care for, we just switch it out for a new one. They call them "switcheroos." The little "crinkle bee" is newest switcheroo that's been added. 

Overall, Noah is such an active guy. He just plays and plays and plays! Yep...whenever it's playtime, you'll find one happy little Noah here:)

cherish the *little moments*

Lauren

big boy changes

Noah has made two "big boy" transitions this week. 

After Noah's 6 month well-baby visit this week, and a weigh-in of 23 pounds 7.5 ounces, it was definitely time to move out of the infant carrier and into a convertible carseat! We ultimately chose the Costo Alpha Omega brand. It wasn't the one I originally picked out, but it was on sale when we went to Babies R Us. We actually liked it better...the fabric will be easier for cleanups and it is a 3-in-1 convertible seat that will transition to both a forward-facing seat and a booster up to 80 pounds. In addition to the sale, we also had a 15% coupon. So we actually only paid a little more than half of the original price! 

We took it yesterday to have it correctly installed at the Health First Center affiliated with our hospital. While we were there, my mother bought a much simpler carseat just for her car. The Health First Center has a wonderful program available that provides carseats for low income families. My mom, who works as a fundraising coordinator for the hospital, contributes a lot of funds to this program, so she was able to purchase a seat for Noah for her own car since the convertible models (especially our new one) are much more complicated and harder to transfer than infant carriers. 

Of course, Noah seems to prefer the simpler, cheaper version in Granny's car to the one with all the bells and whistles in my car!

My only qualm with my mom's seat is that it has no head supports. Jimmy and I bought these neck wings, though, and they worked pretty well during our errand run this afternoon.

It won't be too long before that seat will be facing forward! 

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The other "big boy" transition Noah made this week was via Granny. He has officially graduated into hard-soled shoes.

My mom got him these new Nike sneakers yesterday.

They're big, but that's okay. The way Noah has been growing, its a rarity to have something too big on him! He has already learned how to slide one off with the other foot, though. And so the shoe battles begin!

Noah has been showing lots of interest in pulling up and standing in the last couple of weeks. But he was having a tough time in the soft soles getting his balance. Plus, his toes were starting to gouge the ends of all of his soft-soled shoes. He is doing much better in these already!

He hasn't shown much interest in crawling, and I have a feeling he's going to be like his daddy and just skip crawling all together. He already loves to have us hold his hands up and half-walk, half-drag him around the room. I know it won't be long before out little man is toddling around on his own!

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Tomorrow afternoon my good friend Brittney is having her baby shower. Of course, Noah will be in tow for all the fun...I would never be forgiven if he wasn't brought along! I'm excited that more of my friends are beginning their families as well. Noah needs some playmates! Brittney is due to have Conor in May. I have a feeling that Noah and he will be good buddies soon enough:)

Next time, I hope to share some pictures of all the fun tomorrow as well as some of Noah's favorite playtime activities. We are having lovely weather here in the foothills of NC, and hope that things are looking like spring wherever you may be too! Until next time...

Cherish the *little moments*

Lauren

welcome!

hello old friends, new friends, and soon-to-be friends! i just wanted to type something up quick for a first post. if you would like to learn more about noah's first six months of life, see my other blog, simple blessings, which will now focus on crafting, decorating, etc. this new blog creation will only focus on my sweet noah and all the happenings with him. the good ones. the bad ones. and all the ones in between! in the meantime, i'm glad you've stopped by! i hope you will visit again soon, and often :)

and remember...cherish those little moments

Lauren