Baby Noah ~ First Weeks

Doug and I were so happy when we were finally able to bring Noah home from the hospital. I don't remember us being at all nervous to bring him home...we were just so excited to start our new life with Noah! Noah definitely kept us on our toes during his first weeks with us. Since he was such a big baby, he was hungry all of the time...and I mean all of the time. The first month pretty much consisted of making sure that his belly was full at all times! Noah also introduced us to the joys of sleep deprevation! Doug and I are very sound sleepers, so it was a treat for us to wake up every 1 to 2 hours in the middle of the night to feed Noah. It took us a very long time to teach him the difference between night and day...he usually slept all day and was up all night. We were thrilled when he finally slept a four hour stretch at night...what a difference a little extra sleep makes! So, I guess Noah was a typical newborn in terms of keeping his first time parents on their toes. It was so much fun to learn the ropes of parenting with Noah and I am so thankful that he was somewhat patient with Doug and I as we embarked on this new role. I remember Doug saying once we got home from the hospital if Noah came with a manual. Wouldn't that be nice! It was challenging at times, but it was also so much fun. I remember the first bath that we gave Noah and we were so worried that we were doing something wrong because he screamed the entire time! It took us almost 20 minutes to calm him down afterwards, but we just looked at each other and knew that we could get through this, and we did. Noah has never been one to keep his emotions to himself, and we learned this very early on! He seriously has the loudest scream I have every heard! No joke! I never knew that something so small could have such a strong set of lungs! It is just one of the many things that makes Noah, Noah! Doug and I learned so much that first month and we would sit together every night and just stare at Noah in total amazement! He was ours, and words could not express the love that we had for this little gift {and it is the same today!}! Our life would not be complete with out this little miracle!!!

Doug with Noah on our first night home {I love this picture!}

Noah's first bath...he wasn't very happy.

Leah's Voice

Leah started to discover her voice this week. She has such cute little voice and I love listening to her! Here is a video that I took of her this week...

Baby Noah ~ Noah's Birthday!

I thought that it would be fun to have a weekly post that would highlight Noah when he was a little guy {thank you Ashley for the idea!}. Since I started this blog when Noah was just over a year old, I have a lot to share about Noah when he was just tiny! So...each week I will post some dang cute pics of Noah and tell you a little about him as a baby.

I think that I will start off by telling you about the day that he was born {I'll try to keep it short...ya right!}...

Noah was due on April 6, 2006, but, of course, he decided to let us wait a bit longer for his arrival. On the early morning of April 12, 2006, I started to have pretty regular contractions. These lasted from about 1:00 - 5:00 am and they got closer and closer as the time went on. Doug and I finally decided to go to the hospital, and right as we were leaving the house my water broke, and that was when the pain really began. The hospital was 30 minutes away, and I can easily say that that car ride was the worst of my life! My contractions were so bad, and I was in so much pain that I began to think that we weren't going to make it in time...but we did, thank goodness. By the time we got there I was dilated to a 7 and I wanted my epidural right then, but I had to wait 30 minutes because the only anesthesiologist in the hospital was doing a c-section {what luck!!}. Things were great once I got my epidural and it only took one hour until I was completely dilated and ready to deliver our baby boy. After almost 2 hours of pushing, our little bundle of joy was here! Noah Douglas Smith was born at 10:30 am on April 12, 2006 and he came in weighing {drum roll please}...10 pounds and he was 21 1/2 inches long!! Doug and I, as well as the doctor and nurses, were in absolute shock that he weighed that much {my doctor thought that he was going to be about 8 pounds...boy, was he wrong!}! When Noah was born he wasn't breathing well on his own, so he was taken to the NICU immediately. For the first day of his life he had a big plastic bubble over his head to help him breath. It was really hard for Doug and I when we were in the hospital because Noah had to stay in the NICU the entire time that we were there. Words can't describe how hard that was for me! The nurses did bring him in our room two times while we were there, but that was it. I pretty much spent my entire time sitting in the rocking chair next to his bed in the NICU. We were so excited when we were finally able to take Noah home and start new life together as a family of three! This little boy has been one of the greatest blessings and I am so thankful that he is ours! I love him to pieces!!!

One of the first pictures of Noah.

Noah in the NICU with his oxygen mask.
Happy Mommy and Happy Baby!
Doug holding Noah while the nurses fix Noah's bed in the NICU...you can kind of see how big he was in this picture!

Noah is ready to go home!

Leah ~ Three Months

My little angel is three months old today! She is getting bigger, stronger, and smarter each and every day! Here are some highlights from the past month:

~ SHE SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!! I put her down at 9:00 pm and she sleeps until about 7:00 or 8:00 am! I am so thankful for every good night sleep that I get! I am beyond thankful that she is a good sleeper!
~ She loves to spend time on her belly! I am glad that she enjoys this because it allows her to gain strength to hold her head up.
~ She is still an extremely mellow baby and she loves to just sit in someones arms and watch the world around her.
~ She is getting a little more moody these days {not neccessarily a highlight, but something to document}. She tends to cry whenever she is alone in a room...she is definitely a people person! She does not like being alone!!!
~ She has discovered her voice! She loves to sing to herself...it is rather adorable!
~ She loves to blow bubbles!!! It is so dang funny to watch her sit in her chair and blow bubbles for minutes at a time! Noah gets a kick out of it!
~ Her favorite toy is her hands. She could seriously stare at them for hours and be entertained! Too funny!!

Here are some pictures of Leah from this past month. There is also a video of Leah blowing some bubbles and talking at the end. Enjoy :)!!!

Fun Day

We had such a fun, and busy, day today! We started the day off by going to the annual Strawberry Day Parade. Noah absolutely loved it! It was great to have him sit still and just watch the parade {it is pretty rare for him to sit still for a long period of time!!}.

Leah chillin' during the parade.

Madison, Alex, Maren, Elizabeth, Erin {Don't I have the cutest nieces and nephew! I just love them so much!!!}

Me and my Noah. I love him to pieces!!!

Afterwards, Doug and Noah went to a BBQ at Doug's parent's house while I went to a baby shower with Leah. When I came back from the shower, I came back to what was the beginning of a major water fight! It started of pretty casual by the kids putting ice down our back, but then it turned ugly. Doug put ice down my back, so I returned the favor, then all of the kids got really involved...then all of a sudden Doug became the target, but he asked for it! Here is a video of the water fight in action...

THEN, we went to a Bubble Birthday Party for our good friend Milo, who just turned 2. They had an area of their yard that had a pool full of bubbles and tons of bubble blowers! Noah was in heaven {he loves bubbles!}!!! The entire time that we were there, he was over playing in the bubbles...I pretty much didn't care at that point if he jumped in the pool of bubbles {it had been a very long day!!!}. Here are some pics of Noah playing with the bubbles, along with a video showing him trying to work the bubble machine. He is very mechanical!!!

I had such a fun day today, but it is nice to finally be home. I sure hope that Noah sleeps well tonight...I know that I will!!!

Alli's Baby Shower

We had a Baby Shower for Doug's sister, Alli, yesterday. Great company, great food...what more could you ask for?!?! Alli received a lot of wonderful gifts for her baby boy {who is due in less then one month...yay!!!} and we are so thankful to everyone who came to support Alli! I had such a wonderful time.

Steffanie, Ingrid, Candace, Aunt Kathy, Brynn, Suzi, Jennifer, Amy

Julia, Erica, Madison, Karin, Kristen

Aunt Ruth, Cindy, Aunt Jean, Hannah, Erin

Alli had a lot of helpers when she was opening her gifts!

Alli's mother-in-law, Marlene, made this beautiful quilt!

Leah's Blessing

We blessed Leah yesterday, and it was such a wonderful day. I told Doug that this will be the most memorable Father's Day for him! Doug gave Leah a wonderful blessing and we are so grateful for all of our family that came to share this wonderful occasion with us. After Leah was blessed, we had a luncheon, which was wonderful. Thank you to all of you that helped me with the food...I appreciate it! Here are some pictures from our wonderful day...

Leah in her oh so pretty dress...I love, love, love her blessing dress. It's so elegant and looks so pretty on her!

Noah was beyond tired by the end of the day...so much so that he fell asleep on Doug's lap. That does not happen very often!!!
The day wouldn't be complete without a family picture!
Here's Noah on his blessing day {June 4, 2006}. He has changed so much in just two years! He is so dang cute!!!

Happy Father's Day

Daddy ~ I love, love, love you! I could not have asked for a better dad! You are such a loving man and I am so incredibly grateful for you and for all that you have done for me throughout my life! I love you Daddy!!!


{Wasn't my Dad stylin' back in the day...I love the hair!!!}

Doug ~ YOU are the best father to Noah and Leah. You are so loving, compassionate, fun, understanding...the perfect Dad! I love you so much and I am so grateful for all that you do for our family! Noah adores you and you are his hero! He is definitely a "Daddy's Boy" and I love the bond that you two share! It is so precious! Your little princess loves you so much and I know that Leah is grateful for all of the times that you snuggle with her and make her laugh. She adores you, too! I love you babe, and I hope that you had a fabulous Father's Day!!!

Crash and Burn

I was sitting inside at Doug's parent's house when I suddenly hear Noah's very distinctive cry from the kitchen. I run into the kitchen to find Noah's face covered in dirt {it was in his mouth, nose, eyes...everywhere!}. I went to clean him up with out even thinking about how he had gotten hurt. Afterwards, I asked Doug and I was informed that he had crashed head first and skid down the grass while he was playing. Ouch! Here is a picture of the aftermath. This is honestly the first time that we have had a major injury to the face...poor baby. I hope that it heals quickly...it's pretty painful to look at.

Less Then 2 Months...

So, my love for the Twilight books has tripled this week!! On Sunday night the first completed scene from the upcoming movie was released, so now I am beyond excited for it to actually come out. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of who they cast for Bella and Edward, mostly because they weren't my idea of who Bella and Edward should be, but they are growing on me, especially after seeing that scene. Here it is:

THEN, I got the special edition of Eclipse on Monday, which included the first chapter of Breaking Dawn, the final book in the series! I was so excited to read the first chapter, but now I wish that I hadn't because I just want to keep reading, and I can't! The first chapter is fabulous and it just makes you so curious to how the book is actually going to be!! It comes out on August 2, so I have less then 2 months before I can read it. I guess I will just have to read the books one more time in preparation for the final book...what else is there to do when you are up in the middle of the night with a baby??!?! Although, Leah practically sleeps through the night, so I might not be able to finish them! That's OK though...I value my sleep :).

Hogle Zoo

We went to Hogle Zoo today with my cousins and their kids and we had a fabulous time! I was actually quite surprised by Noah's reaction to the animals though. He absolutely LOVES to read his animal books and he pretty much knows all of them, so I thought that he would thoroughly enjoy seeing them in real life. WRONG!!! He was pretty scared when we started to see the animals and he wanted me to hold him the entire time. If I put him down, he would start screaming and beg me to pick him up, which, of course, I did. He finally started to warm up to the animals, but he was still very cautious and wouldn't let me out of his sight. Despite this new found fear, which brought on many screaming fits, we had a great time and I look forward to going back. Noah's favorite part of the day was, of course, the train ride. He is such a boy! Yes, Leah was great the entire time! I love that she is so patient so that I am able to focus on the demanding little two year old!

Dr. Appointment & Mini Photo Shoot

I took Leah to the doctor today for her 2 month appointment and everything went wonderfully! Noah was very nervous the entire time that we were there {he isn't a huge fan of going to the doctor}. He was by Leah's side while the doctor examined her and he got really nervous when she started to make some sounds...not crying, just wimpers. He is a very protective brother and he gets really concerned whenever anyone other then mom or dad hold Leah. Leah was an angel and was very cooperative, thank goodness! Here are her 2 month stats:

Height ~ 24.5" {95th percentile}

Weight ~ 10 lbs 15 oz {50th percentile}

Head Circum. ~ 39.5 cm {50th percentile}

I had a mini photo shoot with the Noah and Leah today. I love, love, love taking pictures of these cute kids! I love to document almost everything that they do! Here are some cute shots...

Noah loves to hold Leah. He is such a good big bro!

Blue Eyed Girl {you can get a glimpse of her developing blue eyes in this pic}

Brown Eyed Boy

Noah giving Leah a hug

Leah ~ Two Months

Today is Leah's Two Month Birthday! Where, oh where, has the time gone? It is amazing to me how much Leah has grown during the past 2 months. I take her to the doctor on Friday, so I will let you know her stats then. Like her brother, she has grown a ton in length during the past few weeks. These kids are definitely going to be tall when they grow up! Here are some fun facts about Leah from this past month:

~ She LOVES to sleep! As a gift to me today, she slept from 11:30 pm to 8:30 am! Yes, my little angel slept 9 hours straight!
~ She showers us with smiles whenever she is awake! She especially loves to smile at Noah, and Noah giggles every time! So cute!
~ She seems to be the happiest when Noah is around. Maybe Noah's whining, crying, laughing, and talking soothes her. His whining annoys the heck out of me...I am glad that someone enjoys it!
~ She is extremely alert and she loves to observe everything around her.
~ She can now lift her head really well without any support.
~ She has discovered her hands and she loves to sit in her chair and stare at hands and move them around. It's so funny watching her when she does this. She is still in the process of getting good control of her hands because sometimes she slaps herself in the face, which usually leads to crying. She's learning :).

Well, those are some of the highlights from this past month. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure :).