Family Traditions.

When I was younger thanksgiving and Christmas looked very different then they do now. In my married life our holidays are split between families and I have never cooked a holiday meal because we aren't home. I feel we don't really have any traditions because the way our families do things at the holidays are a little different then each other. I truly want Noah to have things he can look back on in his life and say "I did this every year with mommy & daddy". Things other then a drive to new york or Florida to visit extended family. Well yesterday I think our first family tradition was born. A visit to the pumpkin patch. I have heard other families talk about doing this and how fun it was so we decided we should take Noah to get his first pumpkin. Sean looked online and found a great place about a half hour away so after nap time yesterday we set out to the pumpkin patch. It was windy and starting to rain a little as we left so we grabbed the umbrella and bundled up good. By the time we got there all we had to deal with was the wind and it was even starting to warm up a bit.
They had some great things for kids of all ages and Noah loved being able to just run around and be free. I do take him outside to play but our yard just isn't that big so yesterday was awesome for him. And for a kid that hates hats he didn't even fuss about having his hood up all day. He played in the hay bale maze, the hay tunnel, the corn cave, the big slide and the hay jump pit. We fed goats, OK just one goat because he was rather aggressive and tried to eat us ha ha. We saw pigs, bunnies, a turkey, chickens, ducks, sheep, alpacas and baby cows. The turkey and Noah were trying to talk to each other but I'm not sure if they came to an understanding or not. Noah almost got licked in the head by the calf and thought it was great when the cow licked his hand. For some reason the cow wanted to pull my hand into his mouth. If you know our boy you know how much he likes to bang things so we were amazed at how well he did with the animals and he didn't even try to bang on the cages. By the time we got on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch Noah was getting worn out. He quickly found a pumpkin he could lift ( and roll and bounce) . Yes there was a little pumpkin abuse but only to the one that came home with us. He tried to bring a bigger one home but after grunting and groaning decided he couldn't lift it so there for he couldn't have it. Back to the barn to pay for the pumpkin and we were homeward bound. I think Noah was asleep before we got out of the parking lot. Grass stains on the knees and lots of dirt on the boy. It was an awesome day.

How does this happen?

Before we left for Ethiopia we made a trip to BJ's and bought lots of baby and children's Motrin and Tylenol. Most of it went to Hannah's hope for donations but we did keep two bottles of Motrin and 1 of Tylenol for our use. While in Ethiopia that bottle of infant Motrin became a good friend. Noah had a cold and was also teething. Back home at some point bottle #1 got used up so knowing how good a friend it was you would think it immediately gets replaced. Not the case half way thru bottle #2 it was in my mind to get more on the next trip to bj's because you can get a pack of two and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Well you never seem to remember what ya need when your actually at the store right? So here we are 5 months and 6 teeth later and little man is screaming so momma comes running Daddy is nursing the last of the Motrin out of the bottle..ARE YOU KIDDING..what kind of parents are we that we ran out of our friend? So there we stand with the bottle tipped to the child's lips so he can get out the last remaining drops to sooth the pain and then off daddy goes to the drugstore and pays $10 for 1 bottle while mommy stays home to rock screaming child who by the way wanted mommy until the minute daddy walked out the door..Then guess who he wanted. Next time we go to BJ's guess what will be on the top of the list sweet friend Motrin we will never run out of you again I swear.

Some cheese to go with that Whine??

Ok so now that nighttimes are awesome i'm wondering what happened to the days when I used to know that Noah was awake from a nap because I heard him playing and talking in his crib. I would walk in the room and when he noticed me he would reach up for me with a smile and a giggle. Now everyday I know he's awake by the screams and cries coming from his room. Needless to say i'm not happy about this little turn of events.
For the second day in a row he is increasingly whiny(perhaps a delayed reaction to his shots?) and has refused to eat lunch..no big deal He had breakfast we'll try again at dinner I won't be a parent that forces my child to eat. But please please please stop the whineing..he's now in the living room in his playpen while mommy has a time out in the bedroom..
Oh how i miss that sweet smiley face after bedtime.

15 months old ,5 months home

Noah is 15 months old today. He has been home 5 months as of Thursday. So many changes for us and him and in such a short time but we are all doing amazingly well. Noah is now sleeping 10-10 1/2 hours a night and is down to 1 nap a day anywhere from 1-2 hours long. We have said goodbye to bottles and baby food. We are also in the process of getting tooth #12 ...fun times. Our boy is teaching us just as much as we are teaching him and everyday is just a new adventure as we journey from infant to toddlerhood. He brings more joy to our home and family then we ever thought possible.

*still no camara but hopefully soon we will be able to get one and have more new pictures of our handsome little man*

Sleep is a beautiful thing and say goodbye to babas.

Since I don't have a camara right now there won't be any new pictures to post but I wanted to let everyone know whats new in our world. SLEEP. Yes thats right I said sleep. We are all getting more of it in the past week and its making us all happier people . How are we getting more sleep ? We have introduced noah to the sleep sense program. Instead of us rocking him to sleep at night with a bottle and then putting him in his crib he now goes in his crib and falls asleep in there with us in the room. We have been doing this program for 6 nights now gradually moving our chair further from his crib and he's doing awesome. Last night he slept for 10 hours straight which trust me is a beautiful thing.
He is also got tooth #10 half way in and we think #11 might not be far behind..yeah fun times. And huge news that would make his ped very happy we said goodbye to the babas. When we started the sleep program we realized that the only time he got a bottle was at nap or bed time and if he couldnt fall asleep with one then we might as well just say goodbye to them forever so for a week now we haven't had one and I think he's ok with that now. Its on to straight sippy cups and straw cups and time to pack up the bottles and send them to some babies in need. Perhaps they will find their way to Ethiopia to hannah's hope.

Wordless Wednesday.

September already?

So I look at the calender and its already Sept 1st, where did this summer go? The 4 months since we have been home from Ethiopia have flown by and I certainly didn't sleep them away. My baby is no more, Noah Tamirat is very much a toddler,a little boy, when and how did that happen? I touched on this briefly in my last post but when our company was here a couple weeks ago we took everyone out for Ethiopian food on Saturday. It was Sean's parents and grampy, my parents and niece and nephew and then Sean and I with Noah. Other then Sean, Noah and I none of them had any experience with Ethiopian food other then seeing pictures and here us talk about it. Most of them aren't very adventurous eaters and a couple are borderline picky eaters. I"m happy to say that everyone enjoyed their dinner and I'm so proud of my niece and nephew for going out of their comfort zone and giving it a try. Here are a few pictures.Mimi, Papap,Grandpa, Derek,Brandi, Mommom, Noah and Grampy.Grandpa, Grandma, Derek , Brandi, Mommom, Noah and GrampyNoah enjoying some lamb perhaps?

Enjoying Injera.

Noah ate everything he was given including spicy stuff and seemed to enjoy it all. I'm sure we will be going for Ethiopian food more often and hopefully we will be able to meet up with the local adoption group that gets togeather here every other month.