This Just Happened

The boys come running (and waddling) out of Connor's room tonight with Connor screaming and Noah laughing.

Connor: Mama, my nose!
Noah: mamamama
Mama: What happened?!
C: I hit my nose.
M: On what??
C: Noah's face.

His nose was kinda discolored but there's a bag of peas on there currently so I'm hoping it looks better when we're done with that. He's telling me that it doesn't hurt anymore, but that's likely so he can lose the bag of peas.
Noah is still laughing.

Photos, photos, photos!

We took the boys to a Suns game this weekend. It was Noah's first Suns game and only Connor's 2nd or 3rd. Connor is so weird about basketball - he loves watching it but associates it with really, really loud noises. His cousin Jalen plays basketball and Connor HATES the screaming buzzer noise. We continue to try and rationalize with him that the noise is way worse at Jalen's game since it's in the tiny gym but he just wasn't buying what we were selling. Anytime we talk about going to a basketball game he puts his hands over his ears and talks about it being too loud. We surprised him with the Suns game so we didn't have to deal with it this time. We didn't tell him we were going until we put his new Suns shirt on and he handled it ok :)

Super excited waiting for the light rail. We take the light rail lots when we go to things downtown (unless they are at the ball park obv). It's just so nice to park somewhere and take the rail into Phoenix. No parking fuss, saves on gas, etc. Plus, Connor loves riding the train. This was Noah's first light rail experience, though I rode it a few times when I was pregnant with him.

clearly, he was thrilled about the first ride too

Noah did love watching the game though


this is a typical picture. Connor annoyed by all the picture taking and Noah trying to escape
this would have been a really great pic had the weirdo guy on the right not yelled Cheeseburger at the last minute, distracting bear. Thanks random guy, enjoy your beer.

Awesome parenting tip #345: Make your own baby gate so you can enjoy watching the game

it's been sicko central in the Barnes household, so there are lots of otter pops, or popsis as we call them, going on. Here's Connor teasing Bear with his. Bro love, gotta love it.

so cute. sadly, right after this pic was taken Connor let go of Noah and he fell over.

photographic evidence of why germs spread like wildfire in our house

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win some free Purex with Zout - you can enter up to three times and the contest ends this Friday!

Letters from Santa

The boys letters from Santa arrived last week and it was quite the event. Thanks to Tashi, Santa always knows exactly where to send our letters :)

I don't know if Connor remembers getting a letter from Santa over the past few years but he is totally into Santa this year so it was kinda a big deal. By kinda I mean seriously a huge deal!!

The letters arrived in these super cute envelopes - postmarked from Alaska (?) and I was impressed with how pretty Santa's return address labels were - props to you St. Nick.

Aw, this was amazing. This night was the first instance of big bro being annoyed by little bros shenanigans. We've decided that Noah's favorite toy is whatever Connor is currently holding. Noah just did not want to leave Connor alone while Connor was so absorbed with his Santa letter. OMG. hilarious.

BOTH faces in this one just kill me. hahahaha. Connor was DONE.

The letters came with a certificate for being on the Nice List, a personalized letter from Santa himself and a cute photo of Santa that said Mrs. Claus took it of him in his workshop. Really cute stuff. Since our house doesn't have a fireplace, there was a little key in Connor's letter with instructions to leave it at the front door so that Santa could come in to deliver gifts.

Noah did this while Connor was in his Santa trance

more of this...

Noah checking out his Nice List certificate

super excited about something

Six Month Side-by-Side

The boys just had more pics taken at school a couple weeks ago and I'll post them next. For now, I needed to post this side-by-side comparrison of both of them at 6 months old. Seriously.

Pumpkin Man

We had a crazy busy weekend so there are lots and lots of pics to post and I'll work on it throughout the week. For now, because I love comparrison photos, here is a quickie of the boys at the pumpkin patch. Mother Nature's Farm has a cutout and it's fun to see the similarities/differences with the boys.

Noah is 4 months old!

My baby boy turned 4 months old this week. He's so adorable I can't even believe it. :) It's truly amazing how much they change, and just how quickly. Friends who only see him every couple of weeks comment on how much he's grown and how different he acts from each time they see him.

We won't have his measurements until his 4 month appointment next week so I'll be sure to update with those when we get them. I'm guessing he's around 16lbs though. No idea on height. We don't call him Noah Bear for no reason though :)

He was sick for about a week with a respiratory virus, but thankfully it's not RSV season yet so he bounced back fairly fast. We still do a breathing treatment every now and then if he's a bit raspy and wheezy just in case. He hate it so bad.

I can't remember if I've talked about Noah's schedule, but since I'm using the blog as a sort of babybook I'll do it now. We're big on scheduling our kids super early. No on-demand feeding for us...unless they are sick, really sick. Noah's first feeding is at 7am and he eats every 4 hours. We do his last feeding an hour early at 10pm and he's in bed by 10:30. He doesn't have eat overnight and we've been on this schedule since he was 8 weeks old I think. I know lots of moms and dads stick with the overnight feedings for a long time, but this is how we roll. He's eating 7oz during each of his 5 feedings...plus being nursed on two or three of those - quite the piggy!

Right now, Noah loves standing, attacking/gnawing on his plush football or his puppy Cinnamon, watching Connor be silly and me. Yup, he loves me. Dad's ok too :) He's doing really well on his tummy with pushing up on his arms and while he can't sit up by himself yet he's really strong and only does the bobble head thing ever so often. He's so incredibly happy and such a smiley baby. His smile is totally infectious too so don't even try to pretend it's not.

When Connor was a baby, I hated these Bumbo chair things. I still think they are like a little baby jail, but with two my thoughts are superceded with the need to sit Noah somewhere safe and contained. Not that he's mobile, but he spins around and doesn't love being left in a chair while I move laundry, check email, pee or anything else. I swear if I'm rushing around trying to get things done he wants me, but if I'm just lounging he's fine. Kids, I swear :) Anyway, so we got Noah a bumbo off craigslist and he seems to like it. I think he'll outgrow it before he gets to be the age where he can sit there and eat little snacks but we'll use it while we can.

the deepest thinking is done in the bumbo chair

this picture cracks me up. Connor gets rewarded with 30 minutes of wii time if he has a good day at school. It benefits Noah too because he loves watching Connor do just about anything.

because I always like to include a creepy close up

Noah kept tickling Connor when I tried taking their picture. It was like the early version of 'not touching you'. Hilar.

Fall 2010 School Pics

I know two boys who are competing for cutest brothers ever...and I think they are really bringin' it.

so i wasn't going to order the brother one, but jeff insisted. i like how it looks like noah is trying to escape from all of connor's love. awesome.

Shots and Stats

We took Noah to his two month appointment today. If you mention the two month appointment to parents of young kiddos you get a sympathetic "oh, good luck", and they mean it earnestly. That is because this appointment comes along with 4 shots. Four! Horrible.

We gave him the obligatory tylenol a bit before his appointment to try and avoid the fever that one of the vaccinations often brings on. Unfortunately, Jeffrey accidentally gave him the Children's Tylenol and not the Infant Tylenol so he panicked while we waited for the doctor to come in and assure him that he hadn't just OD'd Noah on pain killers. Strike one. :) Obviously everything was fine...did I mention that Jeff is home with both boys alone this week? Not a simple task getting them both out of the house...especially when there is a set time you need to be somewhere.

So, I knew Noah was gaining weight well and I was not wrong. TWELVE POUNDS, EIGHT AND A HALF OUNCES! That places him in the 75th percentile for weight and his 23.5 inch length puts him in the 75th for height as well. He's big and strong. Our wonderful doctor assured us that even though he's eating double what most kids this age eat, he's not overweight and he's doing great. Good news. She was pleased with his growth, appetite, sleeping and even agreed with our parenting technique of letting him scream and self soothe instead of tending to every whimper. I know some parents don't roll like that but...well, we do. A rested parent is a good parent :) We did the same with Connor and he's pretty damn stellar.

We were worried that one side of his head was looking a bit flat and although we know they always favor one side...it's pretty flat over there. It's all good though, with a prescription of lots more tummy time for Noah Bear. The rest of the appointment went well and Noah tolerated the poking and prodding of temperature taking, boy part checking out and other annoying stuff. Then it was time for the shots. While we waited for the nurse to get them all ready Connor comforted his brother :) Love.


They do an oral vaccination first and then the four injections in the theighs. He did his horribly creepy silent scream and then it erupted into full scale call CPS immediately screams. He stopped as soon as he started though and calmed down after being loved on for a bit.

We weighed Connor on the way out and he came in at 29.5 pounds at 39 months old. just kidding I hate that.

Flashback Friday

We kept some of Connor's clothes for Noah to wear that we really liked or that were still in great shape. One of the things we kept were these super cute Cubs onesies - one in blue and one in red - that I got Jeffrey for his first Father's Day. Jeff showed up to Noah's appointment today with Noah dressed in the blue onesie. I had to do a comparrison here for obvious reasons. See below :)

Connor rockin the Cubbies shirt at ELEVEN months...

...and Noah wearing it at TWO months. sigh :)

Connor-Noah Comparrison Pics - more

Here are a couple more comparrison pics of the boys. I love looking at these!

Connor-Noah Comparrison Pics

So, most people who have been around for both of the boys lives are shocked by how much they look alike. I think it really sunk in when we saw Noah's newborn pic-that horrible one that they take at the hospital. they have that same jet black hair--and lots of it. Shocking, since Connor's hair now is so blonde. they both also have that crotchety old man expression on their face when they are annoyed :) Love that.

I want to put some comparrison pics together, but have only managed to do one so far so here it is...it's a pic of each of the boys heading home from the hospital in their carseat. Same carseat :)

So, what do you think?

i promise to do more of these...right now my picture focus is on getting caught up posting pics here and on FB...and wrapping up Noah's birth announcements!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

How is it that I have an easier time blogging consistently when I'm working full time and then coming home and being wife and mommy? seriously...I don't think I've even touched the computer in the past two weeks...fortunately, I access email and FB from my phone or I'd really be a lost soul. :)

Super long post, written over several sittings:

The first two weeks with Noah have really been great - overall. I say overall because no matter how wonderfully behaved a newborn is, there is the exhaustion factor. I gots it. There is really no accounting for waking up every 2-3 hours overnight to feed a newborn and then pray that there's no spitting up. Honestly, those 30 minutes or so after they eat are so frightening. There is just nothing like watching a poor little baby spew milk from their mouth and nose at 3am. Nothing. Clean them, clean yourself, new clothes, new bedding, etc. Oh, and then if they are really new like Noah you can't just suds them up because they have a angry looking circumcision to be incredibly careful around and a cord stump to work around until that blessed day when both are healed and a distant memory. Ahhh.

But he sleeps all the time and that's great because it really allows me to get some much needed rest. The difficulty here...Connor. He just doesn't really get it that I get to be home with him all day long, but I'm jumping into bed every chance I get. I'm about 80% healed from the surgery at this point but there's nothing quite like catching 30-45 minutes of sleep here and there. Noah is still more of less eating every three hours, but will sometimes stretch it to 4, 5 or even 6 once or twice if he's enjoying a really great nap. I live for those long stretches. :)

If you cringe at nursing stuff (talking to you Patricia), turn away here. I'm not talking about anything gross, but I know it's just not everyone's thing. We're doing a combo as far as feeding Noah goes. He's a great nurser but really only off one side which is beyond complicated. He's really easy in that he'll take a bottle gladly as well...whether there's pumped breastmilk in there or formula. Gotta love that since Jeff gets to do feeding times as well. I'm glad I can nurse Noah since it didn't work out with Connor. Now, I'm not someone who was disappointed when Connor didn't breastfeed--I just don't understand that thinking. To me, if it happened, it happened. Since I had to have surgery a couple weeks after Connor was born it was just way too difficult since I was in the hospital and my newborn was home with family. Also, Connor like Noah was a ravenous eater and would not patiently wait the couple seconds for the milk to letdown so he'd flip out like a crazy when the goods didn't come instantly. I pumped for about 4-5 months with Connor so that he had plenty of breastmilk supplemented with formula, but it just got way too difficult when starting a new job. Like most things in parenting, there's always a huge debate over who fares the best...kids who breastfeed or kids who don't. Seriously? Who cares? Formula is so wonderful now that it certainly surpasses what I'm kicking out :) I'm 99% sure that the hot pockets I eat daily aren't able to compete with all the goodness in formula! Anyway, Noah is nursed a couple times a day, bottlefed breastmilk a couple times a day and gets formula during the overnight feedings just in case the hype is true and it will keep his belly full for longer stretches :) We're not convinced that it does, but we are willing to give it a shot.

So far, Noah has been to the pediatrician twice. The first appointment was just a few days after we came home from the hospital so he was a week old. Because I'm nursing and because he wasn't up to his birth weight yet, we went back after another week. The second appointment was just to do a weight check pretty much. He was weighing 7lbs 14.5oz at that second appointment so he's gaining weight well and almost there. His cord came off at his appointment so I'm thrilled to be done with that--now he can take real baths and we don't have to fold the damn diaper over to avoid the cord. So far the belly button is cute :)

I had my two week postpartum appointment last week and all is well. Because I had a section, I had this appointment so they could check my incision and make sure everything was as it should be. I'll go back in four more weeks and be checked out to have all restrictions lifted. I am still having some pain and bleeding at the incision but it's absolutely nothing compared to what it was so I'm happy for that.

He's so alert when he's awake now and it's so fun to watch him follow me around with his eyes. He can lift his head when he feels like it but is still all flimsy and bobble-headed most of the time. He's strong. Really strong. Sometimes I have difficulty during diaper changes because his legs are honestly so freakin strong and he just won't let you do what you need to do. Oh, he hates having his diaper changed. Hates it. Screams and screams. But he's a sweet baby. Loves cuddling and being held. He will cuddle anyone and everyone and I think his favorite spot is laying on the chest. Awww, babies. He likes laying on his side and has even flipped himself over a couple times which means we're really going to have to keep an eye on him!

Lots and lots of info there...sorry for the information dump but there it is. :) Here are pics from the past couple of weeks.

We took Connor to Build a Bear and let him make Noah an animal all by himself. He made him a hockey playing tiger.

i'm not sure how well you can see this, but boys are dangerous with their pee :) only when they are really little, but still. if you look behind Noah in this pic, there is an obvious sprinkle trail up onto the bed. you can also see a pile of sheets and a mattress pad to the left...those were fresh out of the washer/dryer from when he'd done it earlier that day. we'll never learn apparently!

warning: maternity leave doesn't always shower

love

Not really a real bath since his cord was still in tact so it was just a sponge bath. He didn't love it.

lol. like the censorship? This is Noah's first REAL bath.

Connor got a Toy Story 3 book from Tashi and wanted to read it to Noah. I love how amazing he is with his little brother.

Connor has been rewarded with lots and lots of wii over the last two weeks. High Score in bowling...190. Seriously. 190.