Growin' like a weed!

Well, we had another doctor's appointment--Noah had a rash on his face that didn't seem to be getting better, had a little diarrhea, and what seemed to be a low-grade fever (taken under the armpit...I was a little squeamish about taking his temp rectally, as I've never done it, and he's a squirmy little thing!)...well, he weighed 9 lbs, 11 oz. and was fine, according to the doc. They took his temp (and I watched, and made mental notes, so that when I need to stick a thermometer up Noah's bum, I'll be better prepared), which was fine; said that occasional diarrhea is normal, and that he's got a combination of heat rash & baby acne. Which is also normal. It seems to be getting better--we keep wiping him down with damp washclothes to help the acne, and we're pretty much keeping him in just a diaper to keep him cool. I just hate that his pretty face is all bumpy!!!

A couple days later, we had Noah's regular 1-month check-up, and he weighed 9 lbs, 13 oz! So we're not quite to the 10 lb mark yet, but we're getting close!!! He's already outgrown some of his little socks...and to be honest, I can't think of that too much or I start to get all weepy!

We're getting more boxes put away, and Noah's room is starting to look more like a nursery, and less like a storage room. I did get Kristina's Noah's Ark cross-stitch hung; it's a little off-level, due to the hanging method I used (Hold it up & get the screws in the wall. Fast.), but it looks really nice--it'll be above where the crib will go.

We're starting to think about the "man shed"--there's a lot of stuff in there, and I really dread having to go through it all. We may use the dollhouse to store items that we don't want to unpack, but we want to keep (like the mouse ears we got at Disney...not something that you wear every day, but we want to keep them), and then when the man shed is a little more cleared out, transfer the dollhouse storage to the man shed. We still would like to transform the man shed into usable guest quarters, but I think that's down the road a bit.

Patrick and I celebrated our 8 year Anniversary on the 4th, and spent it with Mom & Dad, eating some of the best BBQ, courtesy of Dad & his Green Egg. When I think about it, it doesn't seem like we've crammed all we've done in 8 years: moved from Knoxville to West Tennessee then to South Carolina; bought 2 homes; gone from 3 cats down to 1; had a baby... We've been BUSY! I have to say, though, that it's been the best 8 years (11 if you count the 3 years we were together before we got married) of my life--and it just keeps getting better!

Noah still has moments when he just doesn't want to sleep. I think he's taken after his daddy on this respect--Patrick is very much the night owl, and I think Noah is, too. We've started playing a CD we received that puts lullabies over a heartbeat, and that does seem to help. We've ordered a few more CDs like that via Amazon.com, and hopefully they'll arrive soon...we just need to be consistent about where Noah sleeps, and realize that, like us, when he falls asleep in one spot (say, his magic vibra-chair, swing, or in my arms), and then wakes up in a completely different place (his bassinet) and in the dark, he gets a little scared. So--we try to put him in his bassinet when he's just about asleep, and that way it seems to help if he wakes up a little--and he's able to go back to sleep. Until 2am, when he's hungry. Then falls asleep in the middle of the feeding. Only to wake up again when I try to put him back to bed.

We just try to keep in mind that he's new at all of this, too, and we're just going with the flow. The other day we went for a walk & put Noah in his little carrier pouch-Bjorn thingy and he seemed to really like that; in fact, he fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through our walk. We're going to try to do that as often as we can, but days when it's really hot out, we just don't feel comfortable taking him outside.

Patrick's penance at Faurecia is about to end; I think he's manning the station until the end of July, and then he's going to be at Drive...which is about 30 minutes away, I think; but I'm not exactly sure where exactly it is. I do know that it is in South Carolina, though. And today I get to go to the dentist; my crown is really bothering me, and I'm terrified that they'll tell me it's cracked, chipped, damaged and that I need a new one plus a root canal.... The last time I had dental work done--or attempted--they gave me a couple shots of Novacaine, and I was so nervous & keyed up that the Novacaine never took. And since that time, I've been worried that I'll need more serious dental work done, and now I think I've put myself in a position where I'm afraid of an outcome that may not be as bad as I think--but I'll make it bad because of my past experience. At least I'm not pregnant, so I can drink if I need to. (Just kidding!!!!)

Here's one of the latest photos I've taken of Patrick & our boy...enjoy!!! I promise to get more pics of Noah & post them!