First Family Vacation, Haircut Take Two & Tantrums

Enjoying our packed lunch at the outdoor seating of a McDonald's!

(Mommy bought a Diet Coke so we were legit customers)

The three of us packed up the car, dropped off the dog, and headed down to Cincinnati, OH on Saturday morning, September 4th...and we had a blast!!! We actually drove straight to the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky first and only ended up spending about an hour there. Labor Day weekend had attracted some big crowds and you weren't allowed to have strollers in the aquarium until after 4pm, so we had to take turns wrestling the fully-energized Noahman. But, nevertheless, we saw some pretty amazing things there, take a look...

These froggies were a life saver since we couldn't have the stroller, finally, something Noah was allowed to climb on!

Check out the cool pictures below - he definitely was not supposed to be standing in the little observation bubble, but there were some pretty neat sea creatures swimming around him!

This is a shark petting area, that's the shark right below Noah, his little arms were too short to reach, but he splashed in the water and almost got us all in bigger trouble!

We had a great setup in our room, it was a suite, so Noah slept in the pack 'n play in the "living room", we were able to create a barrier with the closet and bathroom door from noise/light, and then the bedroom was in the back. This was especially good news for me, who is a night-owl, and wanted to be able to watch tv after 8pm. He slept like an angel both nights at the hotel and we were right next to lots of restaurants where we could order in and just enjoy being together!

On Sunday we headed to the Cincinnati Zoo, what a beautiful day it was for walking around outside. Again, the crowds were definitely apparent, but once everyone got through the gates and spread out, it really wasn't that bad. We packed our lunches and after playing all morning and enjoying a yummy lunch, Noah fell fast asleep in the stroller so Mommy & Daddy could walk around for awhile longer and enjoy the atmosphere! It was so fun to just be on our own time schedule and not have any obligations. Although I will take a sidebar here to mention that, although vacation was in full swing, so was training for the half marathon. We were actually able to figure out a 2-mile route around our hotel-area for me to run and I did manage to complete 9.5 miles after returning from the zoo that day!

Mommy got sunscreen in Noah's eyes...or wait, it really was more like, Mommy tried to put sunscreen on Noah, he wanted to help rub in onto his arms, and then he decided to rub his eyes, it was fairly tragic for about 30 minutes. This picture is after turning him upsidedown so we could rinse his eyes out with a water bottle.

Check out our fearless navigator...Binky and all!

PIGS!!! Or, at least, in Noah's World they were...

Hi Elephant, Hi Zebra, Hi Giraffe, Hi Tiger! Not sure which animal we were observing, but he waved at them all and said "HI!"

Watching the lions sleep...Zzzz...

Out little Monkey, isn't his angel face just precious?

The Zoo is exhausting...he fell asleep right as we got to the barn animals and petting area, which was kind of disappointing, but it was still a great visit to the Zoo!


We ordered in again that evening and went for a swim in the pool, then Noah took a splashy in the tub while Tony ventured across the parking lot to Graeter's to get us some yummy ice cream, and then it was lights out for Noah and ice cream for us!

Running down the hallway, ready to jump in the pool!

Patiently waiting for the elevator to take us to the pool...

Yep, he's in a flower floaty, we borrowed his little cousin's floaty, he was happy in it for a little bit, but he really just wanted to splash!

So, he did!!!

So much fun swimming with Daddy!

Catch me...1...2...3...jump!

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Noah also discovered a new talent while at the hotel...

Oh, my!

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He also enjoyed his Sunday morning cartoons in the luxury of our King-size bed!

On Monday, we hit the road toward Eaton, OH to visit my sister, Dave, and Baby Abbers Cadabbers! We had so much fun just chillin' at their place, enjoying the kiddos, and helping out with meals and Abby cuddle time! Our visits with them are always way to short, but Wednesday morning came quickly, and it was time to head home. Tony and I had completed a couple other training runs while at my sister's house and decided it was time to invest in new running shoes.

So precious!

Out little lefty...coloring away! He LOVES coloring!!

We came straight up to Second Sole from Eaton, OH on Wednesday and were fitted for shoes...our official last spoiling of the trip!

Noah & I picked up the crazy Puggle the next day, and we are all back under one roof again. We were all definitely ready to get back home and sleep in our own beds, but vacation was a blast and we feel so blessed to have been able to enjoy that time together just the three of us, it's good to touch base and be reminded of the things that matter most in life.

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Haircut take TWO!!! Look at how adorable his little boy cut is...his hair has really filled in, although it is still curly and unruly, especially around that double cowlick of his!!!

I couldn't keep his hand out of his mouth...apparently teething is serious business!

It looks so cute in the front and on the sides, the back is a little mangled from the ride home, but I love it!

Check out that crazy red hair, those big, beautiful blue eyes and adorable, pinchable cheekers! Priceless!!!

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Tantrum Time!!!

Just imagine these pictures as a film strip...and yes, I took pictures of my child's entire tantrum...you have to capture these moments!

Enough said...

Why not?!?!

If you can fit in it, why not sit in it?!

Silly Noahman!!!

PS -- He was watching cartoons if you are wondering what the far-off-glazed-over look in his eye is all about -- he's focused!

Summertime through the Eyes of a Toddler...

Yeah, it's pretty much the same as the rest of the year to a toddler, except you get to play outside more and wear cute shorts outfits that show off what is left of your little baby fat rolls!


It's not that Noah hasn't done anything worth blogging about lately, it's just that it's hard to sit still and write it all down when he is constantly on the move, meaning you have to be constantly on the move!


So here is what Noah has to say about what he has been up to over the past couple of months...


- I say "All done", "Hi, Momma", "READY!", "OKAY!", "More", "I see you", "Oh, no!", "A-Pa" (which really means Pa-Pa minus the 'P' aka: Grandpa), "Outside", "Elmo", "Barney", "Me juice", I count objects around the house, I recognize a handful of letters, I am getting the hang of fitting puzzle pieces into their right place, I love to look at books, and I also make all of my animal noises still along with recognizing them by name, and doing the motions to lots and lots of children's songs.


- I sleep lots and eat more!!! I'm venturing out in my food choices and have taken to BBQ chicken, grapes, raisins, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe -- (catching a theme here, lots of fruit these days!), and even cucumber! Mommy hasn't let me try peanut butter yet but I'm wearing her down slowly...


- I don't cry as much anymore when my Mommy drops me off at the church nursery, but Mommy still has a hard time leaving me in there, even for just 1 hour. It must be because I'm so cute and snuggly!


- I have stinky feet, love to play in the dirt, drool everywhere because I am trying to cut my two year molars, and Mommy has given up on cutting my hair...after two cuts she has decided to let it grow since it is so unruly and now it is just red curls EVERYWHERE!!! Check these out...

- I now have a piano in my house and love to play it everytime I walk by...I can even play and sing at the same time...and Daddy also gave me a harmonica to play and I strum his guitar strings when it is out and slam on the drum Uncle Andy leaves at our house.


- I just went to the HOF parade a couple of weekends ago where I was terrified of the big huge balloons that came down the street, especially when they spun...maybe next year!


- I just graduated from my first swimming class, Mommy calls me her little Guppy because I LOVE being in the water. We sing songs, splash, blow bubbles, jump off the side, paddle our arms and kick our legs, and do underwater swims...that's my favorite part!


- I can sing along with the Elmo's World theme song, I celebrate everytime Super Why saves the day, and I know how to sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (much clearer than before, which was more like "Yie-Yo" instead of "E-I-E-I-O") with my Daddy, although all the animals in the song Moo no matter what animal it is, and I also song "If all the Raindrops were Lemon Drop & Gumdrops" with my Mommy, but I only know the "Ah Ah Ah Ah" part with my mouth open wide!

Well, I think that's all for now, I'm coming up on 21 months already, so I'm getting close to being 2 years old and maybe by then Mommy will stop typing for me and let me start speaking for myself on this blog!!! So for now, this is Guppyman via Mommy...signing off! Until next time...

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What a little angel baby he is...love this babyface!!!

Roughhousing Before Night-Night

18 Months

Noahman is 1 1/2 already, does time ever slow down?! He just had his 18 month check-up, during which we learned that he is deathly afraid of the scale for some unknown reason and is able to break a tongue depressor with his clinched teeth, Dr. Motz sure did earn his money that 10 minutes! Noah is measuring in the 50th percentile for his head circumference and his weight, he's back at 25 lbs 2 oz. and is still in the 10th precentile for his height, he grew 1 inch in three months...hey, forward progress is forward progress.

He successfully dropped his nighttime bottle, as you probably recall, the 15-month attempt to drop the bottle was traumatic for both Noah and his Mommy. And I am actually really stoked to get them all washed and out of my cupboards/dishwasher, it was time. He also dropped his morning nap with not too much of a fuss, there were a few hairy days while he was adjusting, but overall, I don't think we ruined our good sleeper and it lets Mommy spend much more time with her Littleman in the mornings before work now!

Noah knows even more animal sounds than we can keep track of, including snake and rooster, he does the Hokey Pokey (so he can officially attend weddings this summer!) and he has taken to feeding himself with a spoon really well. He knows how to have a phone conversation, it goes something like..."Hi, How u? HA, HA HA, HA HA HA, Oh, ok, k, bu-bye!" He then hangs up the phone and starts all over again...He loves to draw, it appears he is going to be left-handed, he prefers it when drawing and feeding himself with a spoon. He also loves to dance, watch Elmo's World, if very loosely translated, he counts to 5 with help, and he has learned how to blow on things to cool them off, says "Weeeeee" while he is swinging or when he wants to swing, and he apparently knows what a Kleenex is for...Mommy just learned he knows that, seriously where do kids learn these things? I never taught him that! He also loves to give hugs and kisses and is quite the little snugglebug when his busy agenda allows for it.

He recently discovered that our cordless phone could go for a swim in the toilet, luckily, Daddy was able to revive it. He also tries to shampoo and brush his hair all by himself. And he LOVES brushing his teeth...sometimes he accidentally uses Daddy's tooth brush instead, gross!

He LOVES outside and throws royal tantrums when he has to come in, to the point that sometimes I just deposit him back out onto the back deck so I don't have to listen to him any longer.

We are on the verge of introducing time-out, Noah's big personality comes with some big opinions which lead to even bigger tantrums and we are learning that we want to be consistent parents, not over-use the time-out option, and we are in the process of learning how to balance all of that while keeping in mind that we have many, many years of parenting ahead of us.

Noah is undoubtedly the brightest part of our lives and we love out little Noahman more than we ever thought possible!!!

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This is Noah being like Daddy...relaxed, enjoying life, not a care in the World...

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And this is Noah being like Mommy...separating, categorizing, organizing...okay, okay, so he was just dumping out the canister of rubber bands and pens, but he seriously does organize and I am proud of that!

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Cousins playing together!!! Aren't they adorable?!?!

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And this is a video of Noah doing a fairly decent job feeding himself a bowl of applesauce...notice which hand he is using...

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MEMORIAL DAY FUN IN THE POOL!

It was Noah's first time swimming and he had a blast!!!

He LOVED splashing around with his cousins, even thought the current littlest cousin wasn't at Grandma's house yet, she was stinkin' cute in her swimsuit too!!!

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MEMORIAL DAY FUN IN THE POOL!!!