Noah Starts School- Mother's Morning Out

Our church (my work) hosts our county's only Mother's Morning Out Program. Sean and I decided to enroll Noah in the program so he could have a few hours of socialization each week and be close to me at work. We were excited when we got Noah's acceptance letter earlier this summer. Little man is the youngest student at MMO (only by a month though) and mainly sleeps the entire time right now but we are looking forward to seeing him grow and learn new things during this school year. Here are a few pictures of Noah on his first day, August 28th. His teachers are Mrs. Jodi and Mrs. Brenda. As you can see in the first photo he was doing a great job of melting his teacher's heart right away when he arrived. He turned on the Hessenthaler charm for the big day!

Noah's 2 Month Check-up

On August 6th we took Noah for his two month check-up. We were pleased by his weight gain and growth. He weighed 11 pounds 2 ounces and was 24 inches long. He's in the 60-70 percentile for his age! His new growth has prompted us to start pulling out bigger clothes for him to wear. During our visit Noah also got his first round of immunizations. Needless to say he did not like getting shots! He cried and screamed in a tone we had never heard. Mommy and baby were both in tears the entire time! Hopefully his 4 month check-up will go better. Now that he's gotten his immunizations he's ready to start school (well, MMO).

Breaking In The Bumbo

We have been working with Little Man on sitting up in an assisted sitting position for a few weeks now and thought he might have the head support to try the Bumbo. Of course I pulled out the camera for the big occasion! He did a great job of sitting and holding his head up for nearly 20 minutes. He even grabs at items sitting on the tray in front of him now. We've also recently started working with him on pushing keys on a little piano and it's quite funny to watch him flail his arms around and unintentionally hit a key. He smiles in amusement and we clap and laugh! He's darling! :)

Going to Work with Mom

I headed back to work on Monday, August 4, 2008 after two months of maternity leave. We are so fortunate that Noah can come to work with me during the week. I snapped a few photos of my "co-worker" on his first day of work. He and I had a wonderful day together! He slept a little, worked a little (on holding his head up), spit up a little, and laughed a lot! His joyous spirit is just what we needed in our office! His smile is contagious and takes me off task often! We are blessed to be able to have him with us everyday!

Play Date with Eddie

Noah was really excited to have his good friend Eddie come over for a playdate last week. Eddie is a week younger than Noah and lives only a few minutes away. Katie and I decided to put the boys together on the play mat and take a few pictures. They both enjoyed the mat but she and I are convinced that they really didn't know the other was even there. :) Oh well, it still made for some cute pictures and we both had a great time watching them!

Great Times in Gatlinburg -- Noah's 1st Vacation

Grandmommy and Granddaddy Hessenthaler invited us to go with them to Gatlinburg this past week and we had a wonderful time! This was Noah's first vacation and first time out of the state. While we were in Gatlinburg we climbed to the top of Clingman's Dome (the highest point in the Smokies), played mini golf, and did a lot of shopping at all of the outlets. Noah did great on the car ride there and back and enjoyed spending time with his grandparents. Sean hopes that the next time we return to Clingman's Dome, Noah can push daddy up the hill (hopefully not in a wheelchair) :)

Aunt Nita came to visit Noah. We had a wonderful time seeing her and wish she could have stayed longer. Noah fell in love with her instantly and couldn't take his eyes off of her (as you can tell from the photo). HeHe!! Should I be jealous that he has eyes for another woman? :)

We love you Aunt Nita, please come again!

The Trials and Tribulations of Tummy Time

Noah got a Tummy Time mat from our neighbor this week so Sean and I have been using it everyday to help Noah build up his strength. We let him try lifting his head up for about 20 minutes before he becomes totally exhausted. I grabbed the camera today to capture his hard work. Here is Noah's best effort to lift his head on his own. We get so excited about his progress! After tummy time today I flipped him over on his back so he could rest and relax and he was all smiles so I had to snap a few pictures of that as well because he looked so cute!

Splish, Splash, I'm taking a bath!

Here's a picture of Noah during his first bath in a real tub and he handled it very well. Sean and I expected screams and tantrums but instead we had a very content baby the entire time. The bath seemed to calm him and he fell asleep shortly after he got out.

Happy 4th of July or actually 1st of July! :)

Noah and I attend a weekly breastfeeding support group at St. Mary's hospital. It has been a wonderful place for me to get advice and support. Noah enjoys going and making new friends and I have met a lot of new moms. Today's meeting was a celebration of the 4th of July (since our next meeting would be after the holiday). We were all instructed to wear red, white, and blue for a group photo. Here are some pictures of our big outing. The first photo is a circle of friends. Can you find Noah? The next photo is of mom and Noah looking patriotic. The last photo is of friends from the group. Macie is Noah's twin/girlfriend. She was born on the same day as Noah, 2 hours later. She and her mom were in the room right across the hall from us in the hospital and they have become good friends of ours. The lady on the far right is Laura. She's our lactation consultant and she gives us lots of good advice! We love Laura and often visit her more than once a week.