Goodbye Bottles; Hello Sippy Cups!

So, it was a relatively uneventful week at the Reichert household. Noah has become increasingly "clingy" to mommy these days. It's hard to get him to do much with daddy; although, he does love to play! It's wearing me out and I know it's frustrating for Mike. I know this is a phase and one day he won't want me to pick him up or give him love and he'll follow daddy everywhere. I guess I should be grateful for the little things in the moment!

Here are a few pictures of them together.

Milk time!

Trying to make Noah laugh

Its working...

Attack daddy now!

Hugs and bites for daddy!

Speaking of "bites" we have to watch it. With Noah's teething, he always wants to bite us. He's gotten us in the leg, the shoulder, the face even - it hurts and I think we've even startled him by crying out. I hope we don't have to deal with this for years to come!

It was a slightly tough road but we think we have weaned Noah off the bottle. He has finally accepted the fact that he's stuck with sippy cups so if he's thirsty, he'll take a drink! The hardest was his night time milk, but he's finally come around. Our little man is growing up! Noah is also getting very good at his waving. He seems to understand whenever we tell him goodbye so he'll usually wave. Sometimes he'll even blow kisses (this is thanks to his teacher at school!). Its so great to see him picking things up, esp. since he still doesn't have the confidence to walk on his own and we're not getting any words out of him. I know it's only a matter of time. One of these days there will be no stopping him! He loves to put "things" in "things." for example, his balls go inside their contraption. His blocks go inside the container. The fish in the tub go inside the net or in the boat. It's cute. He's getting the concept of "in" even though not always in the right spot. Even though I'm the mom, I still think we have a genius on our hands!

We have another busy week ahead and already looking towards the weekend. Should be a cold week (actually what the weather is SUPPOSED to be in January!) so I'm sure we'll just go from home to work and home again. Gearing up for Noah's birthday. We're excited!

I'll end with a few more pictures from today.

How can you not love this little angel face - "pick me up!"

I love sitting on mommy and daddy's bed!

I can help fold the laundry!

Stop looking at me

Have a wonderful week!

Love to all,

Corri, Mike and Noah

Only Three Weeks to go!

Noah seems to be just about back to normal from his sickness. Unfortunately, I got the worst of it Sunday and Monday. I finally started feeling better on Wednesday. Good news since it was an extremely crazy week at work. Mike and I were both pretty exhausted and Noah would wake up overnight on a pretty regular basis. We'd get up with him and just as we'd get him to sleep and lay him back down, he'd just start crying hysterically. Mike or I would end up staying with him the rest of the night. That meant we really didn't get much sleep. I spoke to Noah's teacher about it and she explained that he was "playing us". What?! My little angel? He wouldn't know what that meant, right?!

WRONG! She told us we needed to let him cry it out and he'd eventually realize that we're not coming in to "rescue" him. And that is why she is the professional - she hit the nail on the head! Wednesday night we gave it a shot - he woke up around 3:30am - we let him cry and he fell back asleep at 4. Success! The next night, same thing, but he woke around 2:30am. This time he fell asleep in 20 minutes. It's gotten much better and Mike and I are finally getting some sleep! I guess this is just another one of those first parent things, we're discovering how smart our child really is!

Here are a few pictures we took over the weekend. We were just hanging out - playing.

We love pulling toys out of our box!

Noah's getting very attached to his pacifier!

He loves his "tool" box! He's learning to put the blocks in the holes.

Here's Noah throwing one of his typical tantrums. We have a couple a day now.

Mike and I made a big purchase this weekend; we bought a new TV console for the living room. Very exciting!! We owe Matt (again) a debt of gratitude for helping us lug the thing home. Yes, this was the highlight of our weekend. :-) Noah really enjoys our outings as it gives him a chance to people watch. We love it because we know he gets cranky at home all the time.

Sunday I saw a movie with Dana- Bride Wars - very cute!

Now I'm just preparing for Noah's first birthday! I can't believe it's only three weeks away! I'm sure I'll say the same thing next week. And even after he turns 1 I'll be shocked that he's growing so fast! He's getting ready to transition to another room at daycare in just a few short months. I'm told he'll be drinking from a cup, using silverware and even brushing his teeth!

Mike and I are both lucky to have tomorrow off so we'll enjoy another day together (even though Mike has to work in the morning). That means it's also a short week at work! Yay!

Until next week,

Corri, Mike and Noah

Sick Baby

This week was a hectic and tiring one. On Wednesday we found out that Noah has Bronchitis. Both Wednesday and Thursday he did not sleep at all (translation: Mom and Dad didn't sleep at all). Those were some exhausting days. Mike stayed home with Noah Wednesday. We tried taking him to school on Thursday. He lasted until about 2pm when the daycare called and informed me Noah had a 102 degree temperature. I had to immediately take him home and he was not allowed back to school until Monday. That was ok by me as I was exhausted and happy to stay home on Friday. This put a slight kink in our weekend plans however, as Mike and I were supposed to go to Houston for a wedding. We cancelled our hotel just in case we wouldn't be able to go and put Dana on "stand-by."

By Friday, Noah seemed to be improving - he was happy and played quite a bit (this is when I started feeling no-so-hot). Of course, he didn't much care for the blue "snot sucker" and he hates being given medicine. Before we even put anything in his mouth, he's already trying to spit it out while squirming all over the place.

We decided Friday night that we would still make the journey to Houston, just leave in time to make it to the wedding and head home first thing Sunday. Dana spent all day Saturday and overnight with him and entertained him with the help of my cousin Jamie. Dana said he did really well (except for nighttime) so we had nothing to worry about. Uncle Matt came over Sunday to entertain him until we could get home. We are so fortunate to have wonderful relatives so close by that we can call on for favors. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Noah is such a cutie and I know will con his aunts and uncles into anything he wants one of these days!

Saturday I pretty much lost my voice and put myself on DayQuil/NyQuil. I'm still not feeling myself but am hoping that with a little extra sleep and general willpower, I'll be back to my old self soon. Hopefully we won't continue to pass the sickness on to one another! The wedding was for a co-worker of mine from both my TracyLocke days and now at Pizza Hut. It was a beautiful wedding and of course, I left my camera at the hotel Saturday evening so I have no pictures of the event. I'm glad we were able to go and share in the beautiful day with our friend!

Sunday was a short day since we spent several hours in the car. I continued working on Noah's birthday stuff and played with him most of the day. This should be another busy week but hopefully uneventful and better health for us all!

Sorry, no pictures this week due to the sickness (trust me, you wouldn't want to see a cranky, runny-nosed baby!)
Love,
Corri, Mike and Noah

Reflections of 2008

As I look back upon this year, all I can say is...WOW!

Mike and I have been so blessed - we are fortunate to have one another plus, a healthy, (usually) happy, beautiful son! We haven't gone without difficult times (yes, I still remember the colic and reflux) but those times have been overshadowed by so many other fun moments - the first smile, the first babble, first wave, first crawl, first steps, etc. Every day is an adventure with Noah and there is still so much to look forward to! It's hard to believe Noah is turning one in a few weeks as not too long ago he was this tiny little person whom we were so afraid we'd break! (No fears of that now - he may end up breaking one of us!)

We are not only thankful for Noah, but for one another as we have grown stronger together. Our families have been so good to us; supported us with our first born, spoiled Noah beyond belief and have just given unconditional love. For that we are so grateful! I can't imagine a better year ahead but I know that's just what it will be! I hope you have found as much joy and happiness as we have in 2008 and look ahead to an amazing 2009!

As for this past week, Noah got his first professional haircut. At first, he was pretty cool with things. He looked around and there was a lot to take in. He got to sit in a firetruck (even ring the bell!) There were cartoons on and another patron Noah was interested in.



He didn't start freaking out until the shaver got close to his ear. He had a bit of a panic attack but after it was over, his tears dried up and he got to talking and chatting with us. I've recorded the hair cut in two sections and have posted on google video. Here are the links and I hope you can view! Part 1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1863036459423365933&hl=en Part 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3288766488426707551&hl=en

After it was over, we received a certificate and some hair to commemorate the event!

Mike and I aren't sure, but we could SWEAR that Noah said his first word! Over the course of 2 days, Mike and I have been trying to teach Noah the word: EAT. We think he said it 4 times while eating lunch and dinner! Of course, I doubt he knows what it means if he did say it but we're telling ourselves he did. Noah has also been practicing his walking. We're trying only one hand these days, although sometimes he gets really mad if you don't give him two. That's when he throws himself on the ground and pouts. Actually, now that I mention it, he throws himself on the ground and pouts quite a bit!

Here's another random video I thought you might enjoy!

Here's Noah sporting his new do (mohawk style) and a new sweater from Grandma and Grandpa Reichert! Just goofing off this week!

Noah got plenty of mommy/daddy time as I worked one day (Tuesday) and Noah spent some time at daycare. The rest of the week he was home with us. You can tell it's time for him to get back to school as we're just exhausted trying to entertain him!

Noah has really been enjoying his books and now he has a special place in his room to read them!

Noah's getting the hang of his horse and likes to ride for brief periods of time. Mike and I felt productive this past weekend as we got the Christmas stuff packed up and also put away several of Noah's things that he's too big for (namely his swing and his bouncer, plus his "old" clothing). We now have space in the living room and his closet. YAY!

Of course, had we known that all it would take to entertain Noah, was a box, we would have forgone all the toys and made it simple!

Mike and I have some ambitious home projects to do this year. We are looking forward to upgrading several things in the house and finish expanding our patio outside. Time to get things in high gear and get aggressive! We'll see how we actually fair at this time next year. :-)

Before all of that, there is a little matter of Noah's birthday that I must begin preparing for. It's only 5 weeks away! I can't believe my little boy is almost a year already! Time as flown by and I only imagine it gets faster every year. My hope is that Mike and I will truly cherish every minute.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year!

Blessings to all,

Corri, Mike and Noah