Chasing Monty

People often ask how Noah interacts with the cats, and vice versa. So far, the cats are very patient with him. Here is Monty taking it all in stride, with Noah 5 days short of completing 8 months old:

Trip to the pool

Noah's achievement in the last several weeks has been pulling himself up to stand. He started right around 7 months. I set him down in the bedroom while putting away some clothes, and less than a minute later, I looked over to see him standing up, holding onto the bedrail (which is at floor level)! I was completely surprised.

Here he is at the pool at 7 months 3 weeks, so excited at his new vertical position!

Bathtime is fun!

Noah loves his baths! Here he is at 7 and a half months, laughing at mommy...

Still not sure if I like sweet potatos...

Here is a fun video of Noah eating outside at 7 mos 3 wks...



His favorite foods are pears for breakfast and oatmeal mixed with mommy's milk for lunch.

The real deal

Noah's destination, now that he can really crawl (video from 7 months 5 days):

Crawling!!

Noah has been a bit advanced in terms of his physical development. He was born practically holding his head up and he was sitting up by himself (for 20 seconds) at 4 months. At six and a half months, Noah has perfected the tummy crawl. He started out pulling himself just a little distance, but now he can make it from the living room to the dining room in seconds. Time to baby proof (um, we haven't started)!! Here he is going after my drink on July 2:

Latest developments

Noah traveled to Austin, TX in May and to Westerly, RI in June! He did so well on both trips! The flight to Austin was pretty smooth, and he enjoyed meeting his grandfather,


flirting with his friend, Winter,


and learning about beer:



In Westerly, he met his great grandfather,


explored an antique car,


and saw his second cousins Liam and Shane for the first time:


He also started solids for the first time around 5 1/2 months. Sweet potatoes were not a big hit, but he loves oatmeal and bananas.

One of Noah's favorite outings is to the park. Here is a video of him swinging (at 6 months old):

Falling in love

It is really incredible how much a tiny little creature can make its way into your heart, and then continue to grow and grow, taking your heart with it all along. The love is so great it encompasses your whole body, making you heartsick and yearning to constantly connect with that beautiful little body and soul. His smile is a window to sheer dependence and unconditional love, and there is nothing sweeter than his little body sleeping on mine.

I think back to those early days with such tenderness! His little movements were so slow and tiny, though his strength was always evident. We celebrate every little milestone of development and wonder at his amazing feats. All the sleepless nights in the world are so worth it!

Laughter

Okay, nothing in the world beats the laughter of this little one. It makes our hearts bubble over!!

Funny

So I read this in a babycenter update about Noah's development:

You didn't know becoming a parent meant...

• Stacking today's unread newspaper on top of yesterday's unread newspaper.
• Eating dinner like you're trying to break a Guinness world record for the most pasta swallowed in the shortest amount of time. Standing up.
• Letting your partner choose between poop and laundry as a conversation topic.
• Figuring out how to pee without putting the baby down.
• Spending three hours getting the baby to sleep and then waking him up two minutes later to make sure he's still breathing.

Nano started getting the Wall Street Journal to keep on top of financial news, and I think we must have had at least 37 newspapers stacked up waiting for him to read... he actually wanted to read them in order, but I think he's finally up to date...

We definitely started eating dinner as if we were breaking world records for fast eating...

And I can tell you that peeing is not the only thing we got done in the bathroom without putting the baby down...