Well, havn't we been busy the last few weeks! Rob's back from Europe (flew home on my birthday), Noah now has two teeth AND he can crawl! :) He is so much happier to play now because finally, after all these months of wishing he could, he can now move around under his own steam.. must be an amazing feeling for someone thats been stuck on their bottom for months on end!

He is growing up so much now.. only 6 weeks until his first birthday (a point which im still struggling to believe!). I went shopping after work yesterday for some summer clothes for Noah and as hes going into size 1's now, we can now shop in the 'Big boy' section, not just the babies section.. suddenly its all board shorts and PJ's with satin boxers instead of little jumpsuits and booties.. in some ways it feels like a lifetime ago that Noah could fit into those tiny outfits but in another way, i feel as if i just blinked and suddenly a year has passed... and whats even scarier is that if i dare to blink again, i know when i open my eyes again he'll be 2.. or off to preschool, or school.. or getting his drivers license :s ...i'd best go get some more baby cuddles from my little man while hes still too small to protest too much :P

A Blustery Day & Half Way!

With the gail force winds we have copped in the last few days I'm glad to say that luckily no one has blown away! The Highlands is quite a mess with tress and powerlines down all over the place. We were left without power for 2 days which also means no water as we rely on an electric pressure pump.. NOT FUN!

Rob's been in Europe for two and a half weeks and we have reached the half way point today! Noah and I are missing him lots and i cant wait until he gets home.

Its been SO cold here that Noah and I have been stuck inside for days. we went out so he could have some time on the swing yesterday and only lasted about 2 minutes because it was so freezing! he burst into tears when i took him inside because he wasnt finished swinging yet, poor bubba! Cabin fever was definately setting in big time! We went grocery shopping today and spent the arvo with Rebecca and Noah. It was 4.30pm by the time we got home and Noah was well and truely ready for bed.. so much so that we didnt even bother with his bath, just dressed him in his pj's, he had his bottle and straight to bed.. not a peep since :p

Well.. we are officially a single parent household - for the next month and a bit at least! Robin left for Europe this afternoon and I have to say, I miss him already. Though I'm used to him being away alot, and he's had a lot of shows lately too, but I think it's more knowing that he'll be gone so long this time thats making it hard already. During his previous overseas tours I always found the evenings the hardest because it was always time we usually spent together and I expect this time will be much the same (though with a teething baby, I'm not imagining the nightly wake up calls will be much fun on my own either!). I'm sure Noah will keep me busy throughout the days and fingers crossed the time goes quickly. Just 35 days to go! Until then it's just me and Noah.. and Billy of course, but he's hardly much of a conversationalist!

8 Months and Counting

Noah is now 8 months old and this past week has all of a sudden decided that day time sleeps are the bomb! .. to say that mummy is very excited about this lasted development would be a grave understatement! After 5 months of fighting him every nap time before he would finally give in and drift off, he now refuses to be rocked at all, I just pop him in the cot, tuck him in with his dummy and his blue 'puppy' blanket, and walk out and he doesnt make a peep until its time to get up.. usually 45min-1.5hrs.. suddenly I have time to get things done, it's great :) He has also decided to go back to having his 6/7am breakfast bottle and then going back to sleep for a couple of hours.. which means I can too :) This morning he didn't wake again until 10am, and it was perfect timing too since I was run off my feet at work yesterday and I really needed that sleep in!

Rob bought home a cold from the Melbourne show with The Amenta the weekend before last (though he insisted it was only 'a dry throat from the air con in the hotel'.. hmm first time I've ever heard of a dry throat being contageous BOB??) I ended up catching it and so did Noah.. Somehow Noah managed to escape with only a runny nose for a day or two but I was struck down with it for a week. Im pretty impressed with Noah's immune system actually.. hes been around quite a few sick people/children lately and never seems to catch what they've got.. if only I wasn't so run down I might be able to fight them off better too.

The weather here has been rediculously cold over the last week.. the only saving grace is that its been sunny and so doesnt make me feel so miserable because I can't be out very long in it with Noah. We can only go out for him to have a swing for a few minutes before he gets too cold so we've both been suffering a little cabin fever I think. I rugged him up like a little eskimo the other day and we went for a walk just to get out of the house for a bit.. Usually he gets figety and fusses after about 10 mins in the pram but I think he was so pleased at a change of scenery he happily sat in there for nearly an hour, the whole way around the 'big' block.

Noah has become a pro at getting onto his tummy from a seated position.. problem is once he's there he can't get anywhere else. He just lays like a beached whale on his tummy slapping the floor with one of his hands and crying to be helped up. It's definately cute..but also tiring for both of us! I've tried so hard to help him learn to crawl but he just can't get those limbs to move in the right way.. my poor little man, he's so frustrated. He'd do anything to be on the move but he just cant yet. And so all day we go through the cycle of - sit him on his bottom, he flops onto his tummy, then cant move anywhere and starts crying, I help him try to crawl, he doesnt get it, so i sit him back on his bottom and then the cycle repeats over and over and over. He loves walking and will call out to be helped onto his feet and he'll then cruise around holding onto your hands, taking these giant over exaggerated monster steps. He's begining to try to cruise along the furniture (with support) but the balance just isnt quite there yet, he's learning fast though and just in the last few days I can notice a big difference in his ability to judge distance and decide whether to risk the stretch from toy box to coffee table or not.. usually he goes for it anyway, but I'm pretty sure it's because he knows I'll catch him before he falls. I've taken to letting him fall (but cushioning the fall so it doesnt hurt) and it's helped his balance a lot.. But because he can't do any of these things solo yet, it means most of my day is spent keeping him happy and/or mobile so he can do the things his brain wants to do, but his body wont let him.. and as a result the washing is piling up around me and if it wasnt for his lovely naps I wouldnt get anything done!



Only a week and a half until Rob flys out to Europe for 5 weeks.. Still dreading it but I'm sure I can find ways to keep busy. I'm planning to go visit mum and laura a few times for a couple of days as she's has holidays over that period. I'll take Noah up to visit dad and Mick too, I dont think they have seen him since Easter. How is it that time just dissapears out from under you? before you know it, months have passed and you're sure it can't possibly have been so long, but it has. I remember the day Noah was born like it was yesterday, but in reality theres only a few months until his first birthday and I know that in no time at all that too will have come and gone. As exciting as it is to witness all these moments and milestones, it's also a little sad that they will only happen once and then in the blink of an eye they will be just memories in the past. Time seems to drag on forever when you are a kid, but it seems like you hit a certain age and all of a sudden someone hits the fast-forward button on your life and you spend the rest of it trying to keep up whilst cherrishing every moment and trying to lock it in your memory before it passes out of sight. I suppose thats why I'm writing these down, in the hope that reading these little notes will trigger the little things I wont remember years from now. But mostly it's for Noah, so he can read about his brand new life before he starts to remember it for himself.

First Frost of the Season

Well, evidently no one told winter it wasn't expected until June. Last night it got down to just 1 lonely degree here in the Southern Highlands and we had the first frost so far this season. Yesterday the maximum temp was 4°C but with windchill it was more like -1.7°C ... After spending last winter fairly pregnant (and thus with almost double the volume of blood in my body to keep me toasty warm) I am finding this cold snap even harder to take and my toes are already threatening frost bite!


Noah is also having a difficult time in the cold weather. I have taken to layering his clothes to the point of rediculousness. The poor little guy can hardly move but at least I know hes warm :p. I used to tease mum over my baby photos because she used to dress me in more layers than an eskimo, but now I see there was probably good reason (though we did live in a much milder climate when I was small than I do now).

Saturday Noah and I were invited to a Learning Ladder party with Bec and Noah. They had some great stuff and though I didnt intend to buy anything, I couldnt resist and ended up ordering some really cute books for Noah, I cant wait till they arrive... I also bought him a huge bucket of ball pit balls off ebay :) The portacot will do for now as a perfect pit for them but I havn't decided who's getting more enjoyment out of all these toys yet, me or Noah! :)

This Sunday we celebrated our first Mothers Day with Noah. Mum and Laura came to visit and Mum bought Noah some beanies made by the old lady down her street. They are so cute on him! one is a brown one with a pom-pom, Noah looks like a truffle in it, especially with the matching vest on too. We had a lovely afternoon together and Noah enjoyed hanging out with his Nanna and Aunty Laura so much that he was utterly exhausted come bed time.

Tuesday Noah had his 6-8 month clinic appointment. Hes 8.6kg and 78cm long.. still bang on the 50th percentile.. so even though he isnt keen on expanding his repetoire of soilds, he's still doing perfectly well growth wise. I often give him some chopped up chunks of fruit or a rice biscuit rusk to have a chew on, but he just looks as me as if to say "yes? and what am I suppose to do with this?" he will then bang it on the table and then get bored with it and drop it on the floor.. He wont even eat chunky purees.. if he encounters a lump he will suck off the smooth stuff and promptly spit out the cleaned lump.. So I guess Baby Lead Weaning will have to hold off a few more months and we'll go with the traditional method of making everything into mush.


All in all, the nurse was very impressed with Noahs gross and fine motor skills. He apparently has amazing muscle tone and core body strength, especially for a baby who refuses to spend anytime whatsoever on his tummy. He is just on 7 months and has been supporting his full body weight since about 4 months and this week has begun to pull himself up to stand all by himself. It was good to hear her say such things as I sometimes feel as though he's behind because he's not showing any interest in crawling, hardly ever bothers rolling (unless its to get off his tummy) and is happy to play with whatever toy IS in reach, rather than go for those that aren't.. but as the nurse said, that probably just shows more of an easy-going personality rather than a developmental concern. It's so hard not to compare your baby to everyone elses, mostly because you are constantly handed charts and graphs and told where your baby 'should' be on them and even though it can be perfectly normal for them not to reach such goals until months later, there is still that unwritten concern when your baby is on the later end of the scale for something. But regardless of all the charts and doctors opinions in the world, I am so proud of my carefree, chilled out baby boy and I am so much enjoying watching him grow and change. I cant wait to see the little person that is slowly emerging bit by bit each day and whatever path he chooses in life, as long as he is happy I will be so proud of him.

Noah's First Easter

Noah had his first visit from the Easter Bunny this past weekend... and while mummy and daddy got our first parental Easter chocolate over-load, Noah was wrapped in the other parts of his Easter bunny goodies... Peter rabbit books, dinner sets and bunnies... but more so the packaging they all came in! :p

Last Monday Noah and I went to visit our friends Bec and Noah again. We havnt made it to mothers group much lately so it was great to see them again. 'The Noah's' had a great time showing off their sitting (and hitting) skills to each other and Bec and I were amazed to find we'd both bought the boys EXACTLY the same items for Easter :p ... but I suppose out of all the names in the world we did name our children the same one, so theres a good chance we have the same tastes in other areas of life also!

Rob didnt have any gigs this weekend for the first time in over a month. So its been great to have him around for more than 2 days in a row! He's off to Newcastle and Sydney this weekend, after that we get a couple of weeks break before the dreaded European tour kicks off.

I've been getting stuck back into the house painting this week. When Noah was a newborn I was able to get half the outside of the house done while he slept.. but all that changed when the colic and relfux set in, and once they subsided he wasnt a sleepy newborn anymore. Instead he was an alert, ready to be entertained baby.. and as a result we've had a two-toned house ever since :p. So since Rob has been leaving for work quite early in the morning and getting home in the early arvo, I have had time this week to keep chipping away at the green walls.. and replace it with (a slightly brighter than anticipated) purpley-grey! .. The doors and trim are also not the tone I was after.. I wanted a deep, burnt purple/brown  but what I ended up with was more of a Cadbury chocolate factory purple.. oh well, bright is good for the soul isnt it? hehe.. it is now!

I must remember to book Noah in for his 6 month vaccinations this week. He's a week away from being 7 months, but his teeth (or more accurately, lack of) have been giving him such trouble I didnt want to add anymore to his plate so he's now a little behind schedule. He's slept so well today, almost 3 hours all up already and its not even 3pm yet. I think he must be going through a growth spurt. It would expain why he all of a sudden inhales his solids twice everyday now.. and will easily down 1/2 cup of them and still have room for 210ml bottle of milk directly afterwards!



Speaking of which, I should get back to painting before he's awake again!

 

Happy 1/2 Birthday Baby Boy!

This week Noah hit 6 months old!!! I'm at a complete loss to figure out where the last 6 months have gone.. it honestly feels like only a few weeks ago that we bought him home, all tiny and new.

Rob left on Thursday for the first leg of the Australian tour with The Amenta. They were playing Melbourne, two shows in Hobart, and another in Frankston (Vic) on the way home. So nearly 5 days away - which meant nearly 5 days for me being a single parent.. Good practice for June when Rob leaves for 5 WEEKS on the European tour.. A daunting prospect, and something I prefer not to think about right now!

Brydie came to hang out with us Friday night/Saturday. Was great to catch up as we dont get to see much of each other these days. Noah's a big fan of Aunty Brydz and was on his best behaviour during her visit.
..That was, until Sunday night when everything turned upside down :( A teething baby + only 1 mummy = a very long and screamy night for both of us! I think we totalled about 2 hours sleep all night, and somehow come morning Noah was bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on the day (or at least the 2 hours until nap time).. whereas me... well, I was far less presentable :P

Noah is working on crawling at the moment. But he can't seem to get both the front and back ends up at the same time.. and most of the time ends up face planting the floor because his head is so much heavier than the rest of him - poor little guy! i might have to add some counter weight to his nappy to give him half a chance :P
I give him an A for effort though! The will is there, and I'm sure before long he will find a way! I'd better start baby proofing the house now.

The weather is getting cold now, today is raining and misty. Noah is all rugged up on the swing on the veranda while Rob plays him some guitar. I'm glad he's home again, even if its only for a few days before the next leg of the tour :)