9 months IN, 9 months OUT, 9 months ON

Noah is now 9 months old. My friend Rachel inspired me with her 9 months in, 9 months out blogpost about her son. Ironically, Rachel just happens to be 9 months pregnant; awaiting the arrival of their third child any day now. So, as I did for Ella, I'll do for Noah. But FYI, the cycle is NOT on repeat! :)

9 months IN: I love being pregnant and carrying Noah was no exception. Surprised, yes, but not even that much shock could take away from the miracle of life within me. I loved reassurance of hearing the heartbeat and feeling the baby move. I loved the day I learned we would be parents of a son. I loved belly hugs from Ella! I missed Dr. Seeker but was thankful for socialized health care!

A few weeks before Noah's arrival


The day before Noah was born


9 months OUT: I was thankful for a natural birth in spite of the odds. (previous c-section, induction at 37 wks 5 days, cholestesis...) It seems Noah didn't stay "baby" for very long at all. He was on all fours right at 5 months, army crawling at 5.5, crawling at 7 and pulling up around 8 months. Now at 9 months he's walking around the coffee table and along the sofa. He adores his sister and loves his Mama. He self soothes by sucking on two fingers and has probably eaten more playdoh and paper in the past month than real food. He is a dream to put to bed at night but has a thing for waking at 3am. We're working on that.

Welcoming Noah Kai




Noah at 9 months


9 months ON: I loved carrying Noah on the inside AND the outside. I'm so thankful for the Sleepy Baby Wrap that spared my sanity while dealing with colic in the early weeks. It was one of the only places he was happy. At 9 months, Noah still loves to be wrapped and carried. And, I have to say, I quite enjoy it myself. I love the closeness, snuggles and the bond. And I love the "extra" pair of hands it gives me. They come in handy.

The early days of baby wearing






"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well" - Psalm 139:13-14

Lessons Learned

Tonight in a desperate attempt to keep my cool while feeding Noah and trying to contain and entertain a cake-hungover-ready-for-bed two year old at the same time, I started singing songs. We sing lots of songs in our house; the kids love it. The purpose was three-fold. I'd (hopefully) keep from crying, Noah might smile and allow me to sneak food through his lips, and Ella might "play" by singing the words I left out.

We do this all the time with books, but rarely with songs. Ella amazed me tonight. I sang songs she hasn't heard in some time. Songs full of big words and words she doesn't have much context for. But sure enough, when I paused, she filled in the blanks with just the right words. Words like "Canaan" and "spying" and "giants" ("12 young men went spying in Canaan). Next I started singing, "the fruit of the Spirit's not a _____" and without skipping a beat, Ella piped up "banana" then "eat it". It's a fun song that goes "the fruit of the Spirit's not a banana....so if you've got a banana you might as well eat it, cause it's not a fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit is...." And then without any prompting I heard Ella say "Joy" "Peace" and "Good"(ness).

I learned a few good lessons tonight that I hope I don't forget. For one thing nothing falls on deaf ears. Nothing. I often just think along the lines of things I shouldn't talk about in front of my kids, or words I shouldn't say. While that's important, the flip side of that is the things I should talk about to and allow my kids to hear! I have so many opportunities to love them, teach them and share with them things that I believe will bless them and help them bless others as they go through this life. And it's NEVER too early. They're never too young to learn, and never too young to teach their mama an important lesson or two.

The many faces of Noah Kai

Swimming Lessons

Today was Ella's first swimming lesson. Prior to signing her up, I was back and forth in my mind about the value in paying for a meager 30 minute class. Seemed kind of like too little bang for too big a buck. I learned today though, that there's a lot of wisdom in *just* a 30 minute toddler swim class. Time is relative, especially when you're walking around in waist deep water with a screaming toddler clawing you in an effort to reach dry ground. I felt like I got a LOT of bang for my buck. If nothing else, I possibly lost some hearing during those 30 minutes. Thanks to a water-safe Elmo doll who demonstarted "Humpty Dumpty's from the pool's edge, we did manage a break in the tears, a wee little giggle, AND a request for "more". Thank you, Elmo! Props to our sweet girl, though, as she's just days away from turning two and this was only her second time in the water. All things considered, I'll call it a success and predict she'll be loving it by the end of the term.

Ready to take on the pool (yes, we are still working on camera smiles) :)



Class begins

Imagination

Ella's imagination is soaring . . .

- a half eaten cracker is a giraffe
- a block creation is declared a tractor
- tiny balls of play-dough are eyes and noses
- animals in books eat her fingers
- an arch of toys from the swing is draped over shoulders and called a coat
- shoes are placed on hands to become mittens

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein

Visiting the Jennings family

At the end of June we took our annual trip to Canberra. We hope that we can continue with the tradition of visiting each other twice in a year, plus spending the week at Challenge Camp. So far so good. It's so much fun to see Lily and Ella (just five days apart in age) enjoying each other's company. Even though 'almost-two' is such a difficult age for sharing, the girls did so well.





Catching the three of them for a good picture is pretty tricky.



Noah got a little extra loving that weekend, too. Since our June visit, Lily's baby brother, Eli, has arrived, so things will be a little more even for our Spring play date.

Its great to watch the kids play together, but also great to enjoy some quiet conversations while the kids slept. Though not before our little escape artist fled the Kindercot and headed UP the stairs.




Here's a couple of pics from our time together last year. Love these girls!




And . . . I always think Ella has "lots" of hair until I see Lily! Check out just how bald my sweet Ella was when we visited in June 2009.



We really treasure our growing friendship with the Jennings family. And thanks to the Mitchell family for having us stay with them during our Canberra stay.