Week Thirty-Five

I've reached that stage of pregnancy when people passing by no longer make direct eye contact. They're too busy staring at my ginormous, protruding belly.

I can practically read their minds:
How does she not just tip right over? I've no idea.
Goodness, I hope she's due soon. Not soon enough.
Shouldn't she be at home with her feet up and a plate of Oreos in front of her? Yes.

Quarantined!

We are making our first contribution to multidrug resistant organisms today. Noah woke up with one gooey, pink eye and after a trip to the urgent care this evening, has been prescribed his first antibiotic.

Pink eye! In my kid! No way!

This is the kid who never gets sick. At sixteen months, we could still count on one hand the number of times we've had to pull out the thermometer or the baby Tylenol. He's had two or three runny noses and has yet to experience his first GI illness. Thank goodness.

Next thing you know he'll have an ear infection. What will we do with ourselves?

Ordinary

Nothing special - just a little video of our Sunday evening because we know how Grandma Rose & Grandpa Jack like the videos.

Noah went from a mountain of Puffs Plus down to zero overnight. He's still pretty cranky, but at least he's not cranky with green slime in his hair anymore.

I love it when he eats at the table with us - he's so grown up. He does need some work with the tee ball - maybe soccer will be his thing. Or piano.

DINNER AND BASEBALL
Uploaded by houseofhanson

Also, one awesome split-second action shot by Kevin. Makes us look athletic.

Week Thirty-Four

Is this one of my last opportunities to catnap for the next year?

Isabella

Finally, we got to meet baby Isabella last night. She's tiny and gorgeous and perfect in every way. Of course.

Ryan and Luisa, we are deliriously happy for you. Isabella, you have the most amazing mom & dad a kid could hope for. Your best girlfriend will be coming soon.

Here is a link to some more pictures.

Found Things

Dad and Noah had loads of fun in Chicago while I was stuck in the lecture hall. Noah especially scored some great finds around every corner.

A found superball:

A found pigeon:

A found kid (we do not know this kid - he certainly liked the camera, though):

Another found kid (again, we do not know this kid and this is not our stroller):

Yet another found kid (this one we do know - this is Inaaya - isn't she beautiful? She looks just like her mama):

A found skill - how to open the hotel room door and escape (surprisingly quietly and sneakily):

A found virus? (the one thing he got to bring home with him... my poor snotty baby):

And the rest of the pictures from Millenium Park, a playground in Evanston near our old pad, and some other random places around town.

Sick Day

Noah and I won't be going out to play today. He's feeling feverish and snotty and cranky. He'd much rather spend all day in bed, snoring loudly because he can't breathe through his nose. It's really pretty sad.

Instead of spending the day at the park, we're going to lounge around in our jammies and watch the Sound of Music. Noah will eat soup and toast and bananas. And he'll drink water like there's no tomorrow.

Chicago, Chicago...

It's a kid friendly town!Well, I am getting ready to leave Chicago and will be droppin Noah off in Milwaukee for a couple days with his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I was able to get some great pictures of him playing in Millenium Park and Evanston over the past couple of days. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the cord to transfer pictures to the laptop. They will have to wait till I get home.

Some baby news:
Ryan and Luisa O'Gara are currently in the hospital awaiting the arrival of a little baby girl. I should have some baby pictures of her when I get home to post on the blog.
Until later...-Kevin

Angelina is Jealous

Who pulls off the kid-on-arm look best?


I know. I'm so lucky.

(I did not hunt Brad Pitt down to get the top picture - it's from People.com. I did hunt Kevin down to get the bottom picture)

Week Thirty-Three

It's official. The number on the scale at the doctor's office this week was identical to the very last number I saw at my very last appointment before Noah came.


I'm trying not to let this get me down. Or let it stop me from eating cheeseburgers. And ice cream. And pasta. Mid-morning snacks will not be cut out. Dessert is important.


This is thirty-three weeks last time, and this time. I kind of like this angle - I think it nicely de-emphasizes those less-desirable places where pregnancy weight has accumulates.

Noah and Grandma M.

Grandma Marge and Noah



Groovy.

Week Thirty-Two

Good thing I've no idea what this measurement was prepregnancy.

No Free Lunch

Lured by the promise of a FREE toddler bed as advertised on Craig's List, Noah and I packed up for a long drive to Montrose, Minnesota today. You don't know where Montrose is - no one knows, unless you happen to live there. Aaron, who does live there, apparently wasn't home today at the time we arranged to meet. He wasn't available by phone either.

Grrr...

Here is a short list of things I would have preferred to have done today, rather than spend nearly four hours on the road:

1. Let Noah take a long and restful nap in his own crib rather than a short and frequently interrupted one in the carseat.

2. Develop a new public awareness campaign: the CPC - Center for Prevention of Cankles - an unfortunate consequence of spending hours and hours in the car when it's summertime and you're very pregnant.

3. Play with the super-fun new bowling toy from Jessie.

4. Go to Old Navy Baby and shop for toddler fall clothes, like this cute vest and pair of joggers:

5. Run.

6. Spin.

7. Dance.

8. Reduce my carbon footprint for the day by staying home and leaving my car parked in the garage.

9. Put on swim suits and let Noah flood the yard with the hose for the hundredth time (it never gets old).

10. Eat popsicles.

History Video: One Year Ago

Noah about one year ago today:

Week Thirty-One

Muskrat Love

Thanks to the Beckers for showing us a great time in lovely Stratford, Wisconsin. We're all going to retire when our kids get their big breaks as models for Lilly's Soft Serve Ice Cream and Diet Pepsi.

More pictures from Cy & Noah's day of fun on Muskrat Circle (thanks especially to Cy for sharing his drum - Noah was a little obsessed)

All The Fun Parks Are In Uptown

We've exhausted the River Falls and Hudson area parks, so Noah and I drove for what seemed like hours through rush hour this afternoon to get to Lake Calhoun. Not only did it seem like hours, it actually was. Mainly because my shortcut was not at all short. But the beach was worth it. The water was warm and shallow enough for babies to wade in. The playground was super fun and had the perfect toys for Noah's age.

I'm pretty sure the grass was greener too.

This one is from Noah and Kevin's trip to Kenwood Park near Lake of the Isles - another one with way cooler equipment than our boring old parks around here. A slide is a slide and a swing is a swing, but choo-choo trains can be hard to come by.