Noah's Baby Blog

funny stuff

2009-12-22T19:25:00.003-05:00

Noah thought it was really funny that he kept hitting me with the ball...I think you will too...

noah walking

2009-12-13T18:06:00.002-05:00

Quick little video. I know his clothes are not flattering, but who cares...

Yet another...

2009-11-09T13:31:00.002-05:00

Big boy steps

2009-11-05T00:04:00.003-05:00

Paul posted a video yesterday of Noah taking a step but in just 24 hours he has made even more progress and is so proud of himself.

almost a step, but not really

2009-11-03T17:21:00.004-05:00

noah is getting closer to walking...he will move one leg forward, and then fall....it is right at the beginning so you must look closely...then he tosses his bear around a bit...

one more cute video

2009-09-29T19:39:00.002-04:00

just watch it....you will like it...

short little eating video

2009-09-29T14:03:00.003-04:00

no talking here...he had just woken up, but he still is a pretty big boy now!!!

2009-09-28T14:06:00.001-04:00

Noah feeding himself! Its a two handed job sometimes

He is growing up!

2009-09-28T13:38:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

sorry for the crummy picture but it was taken from my phone. The camera didn't make it home from a trip to Charleston. This picture shows some of Noah's favorite toys right now. It seems now that he is more interested in items that are not "kids" toys, so poker chips, several different kinds of Tupperware and big cooking utensils are a hit! This morning he spent at least twenty minutes putting the poker chips from one Tupperware to the next, giving them an occasional stir with a spatula. And then, of course, he would sometimes our all the chips out and start from scratch. I guess he is trying to perfect the recipe "Poker soup." But once he gets tired he will enjoy to company of a stuffed lamb Grandma A. gave him for his birthday. Basically he tackles the lamb to the ground by burying his face in it while kicking his legs against the floor. It is super cute.

He is also getting to be a really good cruiser and is a pro and standing to his feet. Today he was standing against the dishwasher inspecting the buttons and then let go and balanced for a few seconds!!! He must have thoughts he was pretty hot stuff because he tried it again but immediately fell on his tush and gave me a pig pouty lip face. I'm sure its not the last we will see of that "trick."

But, for bigger and better news, Noah has started feeding himself. Many of you know that he has been somewhat of a picky and lazy eater. He has preferred to be fed by a spoon or solid food placed in his mouth by someone else, rather than put the food in his own mouth. It has made meal times time consuming and sometimes frustrating. Something kicked in last week and he is feeding himself and eating a little more variety of foods!! What a big boy Hopefully he will keep it up. One bonus to him not feeding himself was that he was also, not interested in eating anything off the floor. But, with this new found independents, four day old cheerios smashed into the carpet looks just to yummy.

Noah is 1!!!

2009-09-09T10:45:00.007-04:00

Not the best post for his first Birthday, but it will have to suffice for now. We gave Noah some cupkake at our Small Group meeting and everyone sang happy birthday, but the video would not upload, which is lame. oh well.
Oh, and I know these pictures are brutally out of focus, and that stinks, because Ilove them so much. They were taken with a phone, and I put them in anyway, because they are great....and blurry...

How do they sleep like this???

just a simple new post

2009-08-17T09:38:00.006-04:00

A quick little post here of some videos....Noah's first birthday is approaching fast. 9.9.09. Crazy. He is getting much better at eating, but he is still picky, and would prefer to not do the work. He still seems to love veggies, though, so that is good. Anyway, here are a few videos of recent activity.

This is Noah wanting to get the camera, but ends up playing a tilt head game with mom...

Here Noah is simply laughing...really hard. He thought aunt Joy was really, really funny....

Lastly, Noah really enjoys covering his face, and waiting for us to ask "where's Noah", to which he (normally) uncovers his face to reveal where he had been all this time. I actually find it funnier when he uses his little hands...he will cover his eyes, and thinks we can't see him because, well, he can't see us....here, he uses a blanket, with some coaxing....

Noah standing and his oh-so-unique-drag-leg-crawl..

2009-08-02T20:09:00.009-04:00

Hello...pauly here. So, a lot has happened in this house since the last post. most of it has to do with how fast Noah is growing up...I was gone all last week, and when I got home, Noah was standing up using the couch...he is getting super mobile, and quite funny as well...Here are a few videos and pics. Noah is almost 11 months old now, and getting more and more bold by the minute...enjoy!

Love, love, love this picture of mom and son. I think you will too...

He still enjoys baths....that is good I suppose...

Ok, so next will be three videos...The first was a few weeks back, and it makes me laugh so hard, especially after he bumps his head, then sort of collapses. It ends with him looking at his turtle.

The next video is Noah showing how he "crawls". He has moved from his belly-military crawl to a more advanced, and much faster mode of transportation.

This video, well, just watch it. Noah stands up, and he really thinks he is funny.

And this is just Noah being Noah....playing with a ball, murmuring constantly...

"Hi"

2009-07-16T12:48:00.002-04:00

Its official. Noah has said his first word. For a while he has been mimicking sounds and such but the last couple days he has been saying "Hi" at perfectly appropriate moments. Not only does he say "Hi" but he will wave at you with his hand while saying it. He has done it three or four times in the last couple days. I walked out of my room this morning and saw Noah for the first time that day and I was met with a "Hi" and a wave. So sweet.

Baby Bump and Tooth brush.

2009-07-10T22:13:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone, it’s Joy, Noah’s Aunt. I thought I would post a few pictures for everyone. This picture is obviously revealing baby #2. Beth is 17 weeks (I think), so I thought it was about time we posted a "baby bump" picture.

The other day Paul noticed that Noah's breath was stinky :( so we all decided it was high time that Noah start brushing his teeth. He just cut a couple more teeth and now has a whopping 6 TEETH! What a big boy! Here are a few shots capturing Noah's first tooth brush. I think he really liked the strawberry banana tooth paste

Noah from our beach trip...a ton of pics

2009-07-06T09:13:00.011-04:00

"You mean you are actually going to post on my blog? I cannot believe it." I think that is what this picture is saying!

So, the Stanfield family, which has gotten quite large over the years with weddings, babies, and such, took a beach trip in June. Lots of pics were taken, and I am going to post some of them...or a lot of them. There is also a new blog post below this one with a few more pics and some funny videos, so check that out as well. word.

This might be my favorite picture. Nothing like seeing your son caught in a perfect moment with his Grandpa.

The next few are great pics with Uncle Matt and Aunt Amy....

Noah actually loves water...he cannot get enough of the pool. the ocean was at first a bit scary, but once he realized it was water, he warmed up to it. but he seemed to enjoy sitting with mom while she sped through the Twilight series.

A few more of Noah and his mom and dad...I wonder if he knows he will be a big brother come December? Probably not. I don't think I believe it yet. I gotta get on that...

Aunt Lorean loves her nephews...She is teaching noah and james how to read...and share.

And this last part is all Noah....it is still his blog, so he can do what he wants....There are several close-ups in here that Uncle Dave took while in the back seat with Noah...he just kept snapping...enjoy.

Ok then. Hope you enjoyed those. I am sure we will post something else in another 3 months or so. That seems to be the going rate. This economy, you know....

Been too long, but look how he has grown!!!

2009-07-04T19:02:00.004-04:00

chillin' with some toys...
I mean business!!!!
I was just kidding in that last one. I am ready to be nice again!

This one just makes me laugh. He was not hurt. he actually smiled just after, but the noise makes it sound like he would have been hurt. Tough guy.

This video makes me smile. Noah just recently started dragging himself around on his stomach. Not really crawling, but, well you will see. He had been doing this for probably a good 45 minutes. It was almost 10 PM, way past his bedtime. He was pooped, and he shows it in this video. He gave up....

Shopping with Dad and Joy

2009-05-20T22:40:00.002-04:00

Noah loves his mommy!!

2009-05-17T21:50:00.004-04:00

Noah cruising on the walker. He's getting so BIG! I love this video of Noah running to his mommy!

A May post of some cute pics of Noah.

2009-05-17T21:25:00.004-04:00

Belated Easter post

2009-05-17T20:54:00.006-04:00

So, Joy and Dev came to visit on Easter weekend; and we had a blast! So, did the little ones when lo & behold early easter morning two easter baskets appeared CHOCK FULL of goodies (and edible yellow-hued grass). Plus, check out the ears!

Noah didn't get to have any of the chocolates . . .
But Devric did!
So, bathtime ensued.... Devric seemed to be very engaged in the process of filling and emptying the little container, which he positioned appropriately for this picture.

Noah pretty much just played in the water.

Both ended up cleaner... and cuter, don't you think?

Just another fun little nap video

2009-04-03T14:14:00.004-04:00

I love this pic...Noah looks like a little dude here, chillin' with Matt and Dave, about to watch the Heels game against Oklahoma...

This is Noahers, needing to go to sleep, but fighting it a bit...I just love his face when he spots me "spying" on him...

Ok, time for more videos of Noah, all growns up and growns up and growns up...

2009-03-13T20:15:00.011-04:00

Hey guys….well, once again quite a bit of time has passed since our last post on the blog-de-noah. So I am going to keep it simple. And let’s be honest, reading the blog is not why you guys come here…it is to check out Noahers and see how he is progressing.

That being the case, this post will be like the last one. Just some videos and pictures of Noah laughing, talking, and just being Noah…you might notice he is definitely getting bigger and older (I know you know this….that is what aging does…what I mean is every day it seems he grows another inch. Scary how fast it all happens)

So here we go…

The first two videos are Joy making Noah laugh really, really hard.

Noah might be a Liverpool fan. He is at least a Fernando Torres fan, just like his daddy...

And this next section I will just call "Walker". It is all of Noahers in his little walker. He tends to really, really like this item.

and these are some videos of Noah in his walker. They are pretty much the same, but I still like both of them. He gets so stinkin' excited!

In this one, it is yet more of Noah in his walker...he is fascinated with the lights of the dishwasher, until he sees the light of the camera....I turned the camera sideways at the end trying to get his length, and having never done that before, I did not realize that it turns the recorded video sideways...watch for tasty morsels at the very end...yummy!

Noah thinks jumping is funny, and pics from the weekend with grandma and grandpa!

2009-02-17T18:45:00.008-05:00

Who knew that Noah would think someone jumping up and down would be so funny. I could be wearing a scary mask and he would still laugh as long as I was jumping.
Beth just got home from work, and he lightened up when she walked in (as he always does when he sees mom), so he was in a good mood. I jumped one time and he started giggling. So we set up and camera and he continued his mood. I love his laughs, and they are coming more and more frequently. Check out this video

I love this picture. He looks so old to me here. we had some great weather, warm enough for shorts, so Joy put him in these. Taken with a phone, but you get the idea...

Ok, so these next two are just mommy and Noahers, and the three of us hanging out. Noah makes us smile. No doubt...

I am not sure I need to put a description on these pictures at all, so I won't. Just look at them. Look at them, will ya?

And now for some pics with the Grandparents!

And lastly, sleepy time.
Noah is growing way too fast, but the dude is pretty rad.

Noah is not a fan of sweet food

2009-02-10T15:16:00.003-05:00

He likes rice cereal...he loves peas...so, certainly he likes apples and such, right?

Sleepy talks and happy laughs.

2009-01-27T21:09:00.006-05:00

This post is all videos....
the first might bore you, but not me....
it is about a minute of noah literally "saying" the same thing over and over and over...and i love it.
The boy was so tired, but he was just looking up at mom and trying so hard to tell her something....
The video is very dark, hard to see, but he is just too cute...make it through that one and the reward will be several videos of noahers finally laughing on camera....they may be repetitive, but I could listen to him laugh all day.

So that being said, here is the long "boring" one...

and here are the fantastic laughing ones, the first ever caught on film...

A bevy of pics and videos...

2009-01-21T11:42:00.010-05:00

Wassup everyone...pauly here...I just felt like posting a few more pictures and videos of recent Noah activity. The kid is a lot louder now and talks non-stop...not really talks, as in I have no idea what he is saying...more like making loud noises...we try to get them on video, but as soon as he sees the camera, he tends to stop and stare.
Regardless, enjoy browsing these for a few minutes...you might notice a progession in the whole rice cereal saga, from horrible-looking faces to actually opening his mouth...I am not sure he "likes" it yet, but he seems to be taking to the rice a bit better. I do not enjoy how it alters his diapers, but that is for another day....and yes, I know I should get used to it as it does not get any better from here...
ok then, picture time!

This face...do I need to say anything else?

sound asleep, and perfectly stretched out...gotta love the legs...

He already knows who his team is....chillin'

Hmm, what is this...rice cereal, they say? I will try it out, I suppose...

***he takes a bite and then***

OH MY DEAR LORD IN HEAVEN, WHAT IS THIS STUFF?!? THIS IS HORRID!

But progress was made, and Noahers started opening his mouth...a start. A good start...video below...

Simply because they are cute...

OOOOOOOOOOOH!!! I know that guy!!!

And why not just one more short video for a smile...

much more to follow...Noah is getting so big, and becoming a little man much too quickly...

A week of firsts.

2009-01-15T20:41:00.004-05:00

Well, Noah continues to surprise us this week with "new things." We tried to give him some infant rice cereal today(note the bad picture taken from my phone that had cereal smudged on the lens). He did NOT like it and made a grotesque face every time we tried to give him a spoonful. In this picture he is saying "please help me. Tell them to stop putting this yucky stuff in my mouth." We are going to have to gradually get him used to the cereal. Hopefully this isn't early stages of a picky eater.

Noah always tries to grab his bottle while he is being fed but the last couple days he has been able to hold the bottle himself!!(picture soon to come) He gets lazy after a few minutes and often drops the bottle, but it is a start in getting strong little arm muscles and coordination. He still has twitchy, jerky movements but still...he is starting to hold his bottle(sometimes).

Noah surprised us this afternoon during tummy time. I had just put him down on a mat and Beth and I were watching him when all of a sudden.....he rolled onto his back!! It was so awesome. We kept putting him on his tummy and he rolled over five more times and then a few times in the evening to show daddy. We are so proud of him! We will capture it on camera when we get a chance. Sorry we don't have more visuals with these updates but he is hard to keep up with these days (and the camera battery died and has not yet been recharged).

2009-01-14T19:23:00.001-05:00

Today Noah had his 4 month doctor's visit. He does really well at his visits(until the shots of course). Dr. Smoke got a kick in the mouth from Noah's flailing legs. I guess Noah was getting back at him for the last visit's shots. Noah is in the 50% for his age again. He weighs 14lbs. exactly and is 24 1/2 in. long. I can't remember what his noggin size was so I will have to announce that later. His development is right on target as well. Dr Smoke said "he is doing everything a 4 months old should be doing," and he was surprised that Noah's teeth are already coming in. We are very happy for the good report!

2009-01-13T22:37:00.000-05:00

I just want to put this picture up because it is one of my favorites!

A day of firsts...

2009-01-13T21:06:00.007-05:00

Today was certainly a day of firsts. We have heard Noah make some small noises that sound like giggles every once in a while, but today while playing with daddy he let our five or six big giggles!! Real, unmistakable laughs. We tried to put him on speaker phone so that Beth could hear, but of course, Noah was distracted by the phone and didn't give us any more giggles. Fortunately, while writing this and while we were all sitting around watching American Idol, Noah let mommy here a few of his boy boy giggles. So cute!! It makes all of us laugh with him. If you have ever seen that clip on youtube of the little boy laughing at the ripping paper, it sounded like that (click here for reference...if you have never seen that, watch it, especially if you need to smile...I guarantee it will make you smile)

The other big first is that Noah CUT HIS FIRST TOOTH!! We were all a little shocked. He has been drooling a lot and gumming everything he can get his hands on but we though the actual tooth was down the road a bit. This evening he was sound asleep in my arms and I was feeling his gums and realized there was a "sharp" thing in there and at closer look realized his little baby tooth had come through!! We were surprised he is cutting teeth this early.

Gotta love the adidas outfit. oh yes!

Christmas 2008 part 2

2008-12-26T13:18:00.010-05:00

Hello everyone. Pauly here. Christmas came a bit early this year as Beth's family came into town before Christmas so that we could all be together. We had a great time, and here are some more pics, dominated by Noah, of course (this is his blog after all), from our time together.

I love this picture. this is Noah opening his first present ever. Pretty cool!

Noah's favorite present, however, was, you guessed it....diapers

Here is Noah with his cousin Devric. Noah was hanging out in Dev's old bumbo chair. I cannot imagine this is too comfy, but he likes it.

Noah loved aunt Joanna, and his new lamb...

...and a few random more...hard to beat the hot tub on a cold, (it was in the 60s last week, so cold is relative) winter night with family and a nice Pennsylvania brew...

mom and future caniac, noah...

Christmas 2008 part 1

2008-12-26T11:29:00.011-05:00

Dev and Papa, the latter watching Get Smart

First Christmas for both Dev & Noah

Be gentle.....

New Things.

2008-12-12T18:18:00.010-05:00

Noah is getting bigger which means we are finding even more cute things for him to wear.
Cousin Devric passed on some cute things, including this pair of shoes. They are a bit big but fit well enough and make him look like a big boy.

It was chilly one afternoon, but I felt like going on a walk anyway. So, I bundled Noah in this infant coat that seemed to swallow him. It must have be en really cozy because he slept solid for over two hours. Even when I unzipped the coat to let in some air he didn't wake up

Noah likes to talk a lot. We all stand around and laugh at the funny new noises he makes. This video is one example.

Noah's New Bed

2008-12-12T17:50:00.007-05:00

Around thanksgiving Noah's two aunt Joys set up his crib and rearranged his room a bit and here is the final outcome.

He is still teeny-tiny in his big crib but he enjoys the new toys to stare at.

Picture time!!

2008-11-30T21:24:00.003-05:00

This is the first time that Grandma and Grandpa have had both there grandchildren at the same time. They did a lot of baby-sitting while everyone else braved black Friday shopping.

Devric and Noah had on identical outfits worthy of a few pictures.

Devric was not exactly in a picture taking mood and Noah had no choice but to sit there but they both look so cute!!

Baby's First Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T21:02:00.004-05:00

Noah celebrated thanksgiving with his mommy, daddy, grandma and grandpa Ahlman, aunt Amy, uncle Mark, Aunt Joy, Cousin Devric, and me(the other aunt Joy). We had so much fun!

Here are just a few pictures of the holiday fun!

Noah had fun playing with his cousin Devric.

Beth Paul and I went to pick out a beautiful Christmas tree Thanksgiving evening and decorated it with the the John denver and the Muppet's Christmas songs playing. That is the other aunt Joy's childhood Christmas CD. We had fun

Cute Random Pictures

2008-11-23T22:25:00.004-05:00

Cuddle time

Paul playing his iphone to Noah. That's right. You heard me. This iphone has some sort of Accordion application...its a versatile machine.

Noah and aunt Lorean before Noah got a bath.

I took this picture to show his really cute, fuzzy pajamas and....

caught a sneeze on camera.

Tummy Time!

2008-11-23T22:06:00.002-05:00

We have started some tummy time with Noah. We may try it again at another location because mostly he crossed his eyes and stared at two big eyes on his play mat. He also continually sucked on his fist. He seemed to enjoy tummy time though.

Burps!

2008-11-23T21:55:00.003-05:00

An earlier Post showed Noah "drunk" and happy after eating but don't be fooled...this baby does NOT like to be BURPED!! He utters a panicky cry whenever his food is taken away and so he can burp. He tends to spit up a lot so burping often is a necessity. Hopefully he will realize soon that we will let him get full every feeding and that his food is not going away for good.

Here he is calm immediately after a big burp. He probably is thinking, "hey, that worked, I feel better." But the calm is short lived because he soon realizes he is still hungry.

Random pictures of the day.

2008-11-19T19:07:00.004-05:00

Here are just a few pictures from the weekdays.

I like taking pictures of Noah and I (as you can see).

Going for a walk.

Noah really likes to talk to and smile at his friend the mirror.

These next three are of Noah just after he has eaten and he is reeeaaallly relaxed and acts a little "drunk."

Photo Shoot

2008-11-17T17:02:00.008-05:00

One evening Noah sat quite content in a giant chair in the living room Staring at the ceiling fan(which he does often). He looked so cute, we did a photo shoot.

Mina often sleeps in this chair so she didn't seem too thrilled that another creature was wiggling in it.

Later that evening Noah took a nap in his favorite chair of the day.

Between the Smiles

2008-11-17T16:44:00.005-05:00

We have been capturing the cute, smiley, giggly, faces Noah makes but he is still a baby and he still cries...sometimes a lot. I thought it would be funny to capture the stages of his cry. One of these pictures is a repeat because the pouty face is the first to come out when Noah is trying to say "I'm not happy!" Sorry some of them are blurry. I am still Figuring out the camera.

2 Months Doctor Visit

2008-11-13T17:13:00.004-05:00

Paul took Noah to his two month doctor visit today. Noah did great and didn't cry (until he got his shots of course). He even smiled at the doctor at one point. Noah weighs 11 lbs. exactly and is 22 1/2 inches long. His head size, weight and length were all in the 50th percentile. So he is nice and healthy. Not too chubby not too thin just cute! Paul is trying to comfort him after his traumatic vaccine shots. Poor little guy.

Random Pictures

2008-11-11T21:22:00.006-05:00

Cuddle time

Stare time

Nap time

Bath time

Bed time

The emotions in Noah's day

2008-11-11T21:09:00.002-05:00

Hello readers! I am not Beth or Paul. I'm Joy, Beth's younger sister and Noah's nanny. Noah and I will be spending a lot of time together so I will post pictures from time to time. Noah has the typical pouty-face down! But he is a big time smiler as I'm sure you have seen from earlier posts. He is getting cuter by the minute!!

A few more pics

2008-11-05T12:34:00.003-05:00

The Cutest Pumpkin of 2008. . .

2008-11-01T18:39:00.005-04:00

Soo..... Thanks to Joy (Dunaway) Ahlman and her shopping abilities, Joy (Catherine) Ahlman came home with this cute little number. (THANK YOU JOY!) I just love that it says "snack o'lantern" on the shirt. So we got Noah all dressed for a family outing to Omega Sports to get tennis shoes, and Noah really seemed to enjoy himself. I just can't believe how adorable he is! I mean really! We are still trying to figure out his schedule and minimize the fussing, but overall, he seems to be doing better. He seems to be more and more engaged and connecting with us everyday.

My favorite picture is the first one. He looks so contemplative.

Beth

A little update and video of smiles...

2008-10-19T14:01:00.008-04:00

Hello readers. It has been a while since a post, so here I am on a Sunday afternoon watching the Panthers game and decided to add a quick one.
Noah is super cool and he is growing. He weighs 9 lbs. now, possibly a bit more and he is perfectly healthy! That is a blessing indeed. He also smiles. A lot. And I love that. It is hard not to take pictures of every smile he shows us. Even harder is catching it on video. I am attaching a quick video of just that.
I will try to do a better job of keeping this updated. Beth decided to open a facebook page, so the chances of her ever logging into this blog are slim to none, so it is up to me. But hey, it is fun to chronicle Noah, his smiles, his family, and basically his young life in general...
And speaking of family, we have seen a lot lately, which has been fantastic. Matt and Amy were here last week with Nyah (almost 4 years old), and then this week Bethany and Eric were here with their 2 kids, Elijah (2 years old) and James (4 months old).
So, stay tuned for some pictures and videos of the last few weeks as baby cousins met each other for the first time.

How to tell when Noah is hungry...and aunt Joy

2008-10-07T21:42:00.005-04:00

It does not take a genius to know when Noah is hungry. It is typically every 3 hours, give or take, or when he starts crying to the point where he almost forgets to breathe.
However, sometimes it is fun to pretend that we don't know, and that is when he shows us by trying to latch onto anything. It makes for some funny times, especially when he goes at Joy's face, like this video...it won't capture all of it, but you can get the idea. He bobs back and forth and usually smashes his nose a few times.
so, if you are ever holding him, and he starts doing this, just let Beth know.

In addition, it is time to give some props to aunt Joy. Joy, Beth's youngest sister moved in with us shortly before Noah was born. She has been an amazing help cleaning, making us laugh, asking us to watch The Office, which gets everyone in a great mood, and being super helpful with Noah. When Beth returns to work, she will continue to be here and take care of Noah while we are gone throughout the day...So far it has been better than advertised, and we love having her here, and miss her when she is gone. We are so thankful that we don't have to put Noah in childcare...we visited some scary places. Anyway, she is like a 2nd mom, and she has been fantastic, so yeah, thanks, Joy.

Almost a Month

2008-10-06T15:41:00.002-04:00

Baby Noah is almost a month old now, and we have a first to document. Today, for the first time, Noah spent his "wakey time" in his bouncer and actually played! He was reaching out with both hands, touching the toys, and studying himself in the mirror. He was quite engaged for about 15 minutes until, of course, sleep overcame him.

Beth

Favorite time of day....

2008-09-26T11:26:00.005-04:00

I had to return to work this past Wednesday after receiving 2 weeks off for Noah being born. Going back to work was super hard, and I realized that one of the things I miss most is how Noah wakes up in the morning. I put him on the table to change his diaper and he just kind of lays there, almost like he knows food is only a few minutes away, and is perfectly content with that. So this morning I decided to video my favorite time of the day....

Catch up - cousins, belly buttons, and more...

2008-09-21T21:40:00.010-04:00

It has been a few days since our last post, so I thought I would jot a little bit down on a Sunday night before going to bed.
This weekend Beth's brother Mark, his wife Joy, and their 8 month old Devric (babyahlman.blogspot.com) came for a short visit. We had a good time, although we sat around a lot because a certain someone in our house could not turn off the Ryder Cup. Ok, it was me. Incidentally, if any of you reading this saw the Ryder Cup, you will know that is was some of the best golf seen this year (along with the US Open showdown between Tiger and Rocco). The level of play was as high as I have seen and the atmosphere seemed to be electric. The US finally got the cup back from the Europeans, and after this one, I cannot wait for the next one 2 years from now. It was a fantastic event and the US team rocked it.

Back to babies. So, Devric met his little cousin Noah for the first time this weekend. I think he liked him...I cannot believe how much Dev has grown. As always, it was great having Mark, Joy, and Dev here, and hopefully soon we can hit up Charleston to visit them.

Ahm, let's see, Noah's belly button-umbilical scab thingy fell off today. Not newsworthy, but I posted it anyway.
Not a lot has happened really. I think we are all a bit tired of being in the house, but Noah continues to bless us and he gets cooler and cooler and prettier everyday. I love that little guy. He definitely loves his mom. I think he knows she is the one who gets him food every few hours. Anyway, I love my wife and my son. And I love how he looks when she holds him, like he knows he is in the safest place in the entire universe.
It is going to be very hard to leave them and return to work on Wednesday.

Well, that should do it for now. Not a lot of substance, but good to post a few new things I suppose.
Hurricanes training camp has started. That means hockey season is upon us. Noah is certainly going to love the Canes!
Today is my dad's birthday. That means 6 years ago on this day I asked Beth to marry me (it also means he is a year older). She agreed to my question, and now look at us. We have a little Noah, and he is fantastic.

Smiles...

2008-09-17T16:43:00.001-04:00

Noah definitely smiles. I may have mentioned before that I have been told babies this young don't really know how to smile. Maybe they don't "know" how to smile, and don't know what they are smiling at, or that it is even called a "smile", but they definitely smile, and Noah definitely is flashing more and more smiles, and I have been wanting to catch one, and I finally did just a few minutes ago. There is a delay from when the camera actually takes the picture, so I missed the perfect moment, but this is close enough for me.
I will call it Noah's first smile actually caught in a photo, and I had to post it.
peace
pauly

My guys

2008-09-16T13:14:00.003-04:00

This is my first post since Noah came. Paul has done a wonderful job of keeping you all informed during Noah's first week, and thankfully so. As many of you mothers know, the first week is full of highs and lows, which are pretty overwhelming and all-consuming. It's precious, quiet moments like the one pictured here that remind me there will be rest. . . . I snuck up on Paul and Noah during a late afternoon nap and felt the moment was too precious not to share.
So, these are my guys. My love for the both of them abounds. I really cannot express in words how proud I am of my husband. His love and support for baby Noah and his tired mama have been incredible. We are so blessed.

Beth

Mione dealing with Noah...

2008-09-15T16:33:00.000-04:00

Real quick, many of you have asked how Mione (our fat cat who sits like a human) is doing with Noah around. Mione is usually pretty shy and hides under the bed when new people are present, and even when the people are not so "new", she still gets skittish and hides. And when kids come, especially when they cry, she is nowhere to be found.

That being the case, we thought she would be invisible for the first little while, but it has been the opposite. She just sits on the bed, even when Noah is screaming. She got used to him really fast, and she is acting rather normal, as you can see by the picture.
Mione is chillin' just as she always does.

First doctor appointment

2008-09-15T16:14:00.000-04:00

Today was our first little routine checkup for noah. It is a simple little visit where they weigh him, take his temp, check out his hips, heartbeat, breathing, etc. Noah is tiny, but the dude is super strong. He was trying to do a pushup when she looked at his back. I was so proud of how good he was.

This was the first time we have taken him out of the house since we got home on Thursday. He got in his car seat and did not say a thing. This is not that crazy as he does not know how to talk. What I meant was he did not even cry or wimper one bit. Our timing was a bit off though as he was hungry when we got there, but could not really feed him. but he was a trooper and, although he did cry, he calmed rather quickly. A funny moment that was almost not so funny was he had to use the bathroom, and, well, being an infant, does not really know how to hold it, so he just went and it was nasty as it wanted to be. if he had held off just a few minutes, the pediatrician would have been in for a not so pleasant surprise.
Anyway, he is looking great. Heart sounded good, breathing, good color, just a healthy little dude and we are so thankful for that, no question.

Everyone is out of the house now (Beth's mom was here all last week until yesterday and she was a huge help, and really made a sacrifice at night as she watched Noah as he started to act normal and cry a lot. Joanna, beth's sister, and her man josh were here also, as were my parents, all to meet Noah) so it is just Joy, Beth, Noah, Mione, and I. not a lot of sleep going on, but that is normal I hear. Noah is soooo good though. He is fantastic.

Crazy how fast his face changes...he now has a true double chin working just after a few days!

word. more later. peace

pauly

oh, sometimes Noah looks like a bald, old man. See attached bald pic

while I sleep...

2008-09-13T09:38:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when Noah sleeps...or actually, all the time, he makes the funniest faces and movements and jerks. This is just a short example...

We are home

2008-09-11T22:21:00.000-04:00

After about 48 hours from start to finish at the hospital, we arrived home today, on 9.11, and brought Noah into his new home. It still has not hit me, nor has it hit Beth. She is amazing, and Noah is beyond rad. It is just crazy. As my best friend so eloquently noted earlier today, "I still can't quite comprehend that you guys went into a hospital, and came out with an entire new person." Neither can I, Fulche, but that is exactly what happened.
Beth's mom Marti is here in town and she took some videos of our arrival, which I will post here, and then, with 2 posts, this blog has officially begun...

What a day...Noah Christian Stanfield is born

2008-09-11T21:23:00.000-04:00

We wanted to keep a blog to record some of the neat moments that are sure to come with the birth of our first child, so here it is! To start things off, I am going to post a recap 9.9.08, the day Noah Christian was born. Incidentally, go look up Genesis 9:9. read verse 8 first and see who God is talking to in verse 9. Kind of cool, and something my sister-in-law Joy pointed out to me today.
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What a day…actually it was more than a day, but it matters not. It was special, crazy, unlike anything else I have ever been throughclearly. At the end of it all Beth and I had a very cute, quiet,alert son, Noah Christian and we are quite excited, and tired, to saythe least. The thing I am proud of most besides Noah being here isBeth, how amazing she was, specifically the pushing aspect of thewhole deal. I will get into that later. She was super rad though.

So, Beth's mom drove up to Charlotte from Georgia Monday evening. Shegot here at about 10:15 or so. It was perfect timing as Beth,unknowingly, was already having contractions. She had been havingthose contractions stupidly known as Braxton Hicks contractions. Ihate calling them that, but I suppose some dude named Braxtonsomewhere really needs the credit, so we gave it to him about 874times over the last several months every time Beth's body "practiced"for the main event, which occurred yesterday. So, it was probablymidnight or so Tuesday morning, and we were asleep not knowing thatthings were in place that would change our life forever, and begin anew chapter of our lives. We had a scheduled inducement for Friday,9.12.08, but did not want to go that route unless we had to.

I noted a second ago that we were asleep, but that is inaccurate.Beth was wide awake, and woke me up. I asked her if she was ok andshe said "I might be having real contractions." My heart skipped forthe first time through this whole process. Whoa! This is it. I askedher if she was sure and she was not as she had never had them before,but she was assuming it was the case as these were different, and wererapidly starting to cause an uncomfortable feeling, otherwise known as pain.

We started timing them, like they taught us at that class…that veryweird class. Only I kept missing the stop button, or timed themincorrectly…but it matters not. We knew something was happening thathad not happened before. This was why I did not want to induce if we could help it. I wanted to experience the excitement leading up, asopposed to being told "be here at 7:34 AM on Friday morning tocheck-in. At 8:08 we will begin the process. By 11:43 you will beapproximately…" you get the idea. Clearly, we did not make it toFriday!

So, the contractions were coming, and continued until about 5 AM.Beth had not slept at all. Then out of nowhere, they stopped. Juststopped. It was very upsetting to Beth as she really did not want tobe pregnant anymore, and we both wanted to meet the little dude. Itseemed progress was being made, and then, BAM, it was over just likethat.However, a few hours later, the contractions returned. We decided tohead to the hospital knowing they could tell us to go back homedepending on how far along Beth was. I was nervous, yet excited… thiswas it!

We got to the hospital and a nurse examined Beth and we both could notbelieve our ears when she said that Beth was barely 2 cm dilated.That seemed impossible based on the contractions and what was goingon, but what do we know. We prayed the first of many prayers thatday, all of which were answered in amazing fashion. We did not wantto go back home, and prayed based on that desire, and the nursereturned some time later to say "we are going to admit you and seewhat happens". Thanks.

That was good news. We got into the room and started making a fewcalls, better known as the all-too-convenient-and-lazy text message(do you prefer t9 or a full QWERTY…nevermind), letting family andfriends know what was going on. The contractions continued to come,and Beth was getting more and more uncomfortable. There was not a lotI could do, which stunk, but I guess that is part of this whole deal.They checked her a few hours later, and progress had been made! Shehad gone from 2 cm to almost 3. Beth could not believe it, almost abit of a blow to the gut. Come on, how could all of thesecontractions only gotten her to a 3. Not even a 3 yet.

Time passed on much the same with all of us waiting on progress whichwas not coming and each taking a turn on an extremely addictive cardgame based on blackjack. Beth was very uncomfortable, in pain, andher soon to be new best friend showed up with the authority to provideher with an epidural. That junk is magic. It was insane. She wentfrom being in so much pain that she could not stand it, to having tobe told that she was having a contraction. We had a chart on acomputer screen to look at that monitored Noah's heart and Beth'scontractions. Every now and then she would say "hmm, that might havebeen a contraction…" and we would look at the screen, and it wasliterally off the chart. Er, ahm, yes Beth you just had acontraction. In fact, if that thing did not put you all the way to10, then nothing will. The epidural truly was like magic and it keptall pain away and was simply amazing. After a bit more time passed,the nurse checked Beth again, and she was a whopping 4 cm. This wasmoving way too slowly. It was 5 PM and she had only moved 2 cm.sure, she was progressing some, but not at a rate that was pleasing to anyone. Then the drama started.

During the day the nurse repeatedly tried different positions andmethods to get Noah's heart rate increased. Beth had so many wiresand cables hooked to her body it was hard for me to look at her. Shewas amazing. Watching your wife go through labor and have your childgives a new appreciation for her that cannot be described. Anyway,lets get Noah's heart rate up. It would be good for a spell, but thendrop back down. After checking for Beth who was only at 4 cm(actually a bit less), they decided to give her Pitocin, which helpsspeed up the whole labor process. At some point something happenedand Noah did not like it. His heart rate dropped so fast, and so low,and admittedly I was freaked. It did not help that the nurseimmediately cut off the Pitocin feed while simultaneously paging Dr.Ward to get in there now! I could see the worry on Beth's face and Iknow it was on mine. It was freaky, no question about it. His heartrate increased back up, but the reading on the screen that moves fromright to left was moving slower than a pizza through a pizza oven.All I could see was my little guy's heart rate dropping so low itcould have stopped, and I could not look at any other part of thegraph. Thankfully it finally moved off the screen to make room forthe next set of graphs. But it shook me. It definitely did. What made it worse was that the nurse said we would give the Pitocin onemore go, and if his heart dropped again, a C-section was inevitable.Beth understood, but this did not help her mood. She was worriedabout Noah's heart, and I was as well. We started praying for God to intervene big time. And He did, in an amazing way. (WHOA….NOAH JUST,ER….wow, he just made an extraordinary noise that came from his rearend. I have a feeling those will continue for some time)

Throughout the day we had prayed that this would happen today, thatprogress would be made. We knew this baby was in God's hands andtrusted Him for sure. But that did not mean this was not a worrisomemoment. His heart maintained for the rest of the night, but was stillsomewhat low, but not too low to worry about. Still, there was talkof a C-section, and Beth was ready for it, knew that our son wouldstill be here and was prepared to do it if she had to. The nurse saidwe would keep monitoring and hopefully Noah's heart would cooperateand perhaps it could be avoided. She would tell us later that she wasnot optimistic about that avoidance. But God was and He decided toshow up. It all started when the nurse decided to really hear whatBeth was describing was going on and discovered something that changedthe landscape of the evening, and brought my first tears of the day!Beth was lying on her side and had just pressed the button of herepidural feed that gave her more because she thought it was wearingoff. The nurse was not in there at the time. Beth said that it didnot really hurt, but she was just feeling a lot of pressure andthought that pain would soon return, so she nipped that with a singlepress of a button. It looked like she was on Jeopardy. That is howthe button looked exactly. It is designed so that you can only pressit one time every 10 minutes to keep from giving yourself too much ofthe magic. Ten minutes passed and the pressure was worse. Why isthis not working? The nurse had returned and Beth asked her why shewas still feeling pressure. The conversation went something likethis:
Beth: How long does it take for the medicine to kick in once I press the button
Nurse: 10 minutes or so and you should be good
Beth: Well, I Pressed it 10 minutes ago and I still feel massive pressure
Nurse: do you feel pain?
Beth: no, just pressure, but I figured I would get more of the magic in there before the pain came
Nurse: well, pressure is ok. If you don't feel pain, then it isworking. Now, when you say pressure, what do you mean. Where do youfeel it?
Beth went on to describe the pressure as being low, almost like shehad to take a…go to the bathroom, if you know what I mean. Here inthe hospital they call it a "bowel movement".
The nurse then said, "Well, we last checked you 2 hours ago, so lets just have a look and see if there is any progress. We could have a little change, maybe some progress if you are feeling more pressure low."
So, the nurse, rolled Beth over as she could not move her lower halfthanks to the "magic". She put on her gloves, I was just kind ofsitting in a chair, very sleepy, a bit frustrated, and feeling forBeth. Then the nurse started talking….rapidly, and loudly."ok, lets see what we have going on here. WHOA. WE HAVE A HEAD. His head is right here!"
Beth: what? What do you mean?
Nurse: you are at Ten, we are going to have a baby. (ok, typing this story right now made the same reaction as it did yesterday.) At these words, I cried my first tears of the day.

The nurse got on the horn. We need Dr. Ward in here for a birth, andI need this room prepared for birth!It happened so fast. A huge weight was lifted…it was amazing. In 2 hours she had gone from 4 cm (barely) to "WHOA, WE ARE HAVING ABABY…GET IN HERE!!!"The room had gone from mentally preparing for a C-section, to lets doooo dissssss!!!And it was overwhelming. And It was fantastic. I could not stop thanking the Lord. I looked at Beth and she was ready. It was on herface. She was calm, excited, thankful, and full of a new energy. It was amazing to see, and if you have ever been through this, you knowwhat I am talking about.

Nurses started filing in, each doing their job, including one there simply to cheerlead, and she was awesome. The Dr. came in and he wasexcited as he too thought we were heading down a different path. Andbefore I knew it, I was on one side of Beth holding her right foot,pulling it up and they were telling her what to do. Then thecontraction came. Breathe in, push for a SLOW count to 10. let outthe breath. Quick, quick, breathe in and push…count to 10…breatheout. Quick, breathe in, push…count to 10, breathe out….great job.

The nurses and doctor could see Noah's head barely from the beginning. I was by Beth's head admiring her. The next contraction came and shedid it again.Here is what was so rad about all this stuff. Watching Beth push was something I have never seen of her before. It melted me in an amazing way. She was so determined, focused and she kicked it. Pushing forlong 10 counts, then breathing back in, pushing, exhaling, breathingin for 3 times a contraction…that is not easy. The look on her face,she wanted to meet Noah, she was ready, and she pushed with all her might. No doubt, besides meeting Noah, this is my best memory fromthe day. How she pushed. It was stuff of champions.Then it happened. 29 minutes after her first push, Noah's head literally shot out, and with one more push he was out, purple,wrinkly, crying, and simply beautiful. It was unreal. It is still unreal. The first thing we saw was what most of you have said… "hehas Paul's lips…" here's to hoping he gets Beth's hair!

I cannot explain how amazing it was to watch Beth push like she did. Iam so so so proud of her. I will leave it at that. Indescribable tosee her, and to see Noah pop out.The hospital does not allow people to be outside of the hospital door in the hall so I was pleasantly surprised when I finally made itoutside of the room. I knew good friends Owen and Dawn were therealong with my bro Dave and his wife, Lorean in the lobby awaiting somenews. Turns out they had made it at the perfect time to the hospitaldoor, and no one was there to kick them away. They heard thecheering, and then heard the first cries of Noah. That is pretty cool! They came in and got to see Noah, saw him take his first, ahm,bowel movement, and then pee across the room nearly hitting the nurseand Lorean. It was impressive.As I write this, Noah is asleep in Marti's (Beth's mom, Noah'sgrandmother) arms, Beth is finally getting some sleep, and I am typing this story. Our room is on the 8th floor directly looking at uptownCharlotte, and it is raining in the distance, but not here. With the Innocence Mission playing in the background, Karen Peris' unmistakable and magical voice and lyrics, it makes for about as perfect a scene as one can want. What transpired on September 9, 2008 was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Noah is perfect, and I am pretty amped about the whole thing.