Project Grow!

Just an update:
I went to the pediatric dietician today and Noah is getting started on some fancy schmancy stuff to help him grow.
3 different prescriptions that I can't spell.
1 is a vitamin drop
1 is liquid that will make him more hungry
1 is a case of formula/carbs to be added to his milk everytime he has a bottle

For now, Noah will get all his calories from his bottles and all the food he eats is bonus.

I learned that when you weigh 17 lbs, you need 800 calories to maintain your weight. I also learned that Noah lost 4 ounces since his last visit.

I asked myself today why I even want my little buddy to gain weight so urgently. He's easy to carry around and captures everyone's attention being so petite and small. But Jared reminded me that he did not love being called "shrimp" and "little fry" when he was in elementary school. I do not want adorable sweet Noah to be picked on in school.
There's lots of reasons why he should gain weight, but that is my motivator.

I'll keep you updated on how the new diet goes.

Mini Man

We went to the doctor this morning for Noah's 15 month check up. We ended up being there for 2 1/2 hours. He had to catch up on some shots and get some blood work done, but mostly we just talked about his weight.
At almost 16 months, he weighs in at 17.4 lbs. He's not really even close to being on the growth chart.
He is 29 inches long. 3rd percentile.
On the bright side, his head is 17th percentile! So at least the man has some good brains!
We met with a pediatric dietican today and are going back next week. I have to do a food diary for 4 days. Hopefully I will get some new tips that I haven't already tried to get him to eat.
"Mini Man" is the nickname the doctor's office gave Noah today.



Here is a picture of Noah, with his friend Bennett. They are only a week apart.


Here's Noah with Bennett and Ian.

I know this picture is a bit sad, but I had to post it so you could see how little he really is.

Small, but Happy!

On a positive note, Noah is exceeding milestones when it comes to motor skills. Must be that big brain! :)

Halloween Fun

Before I get started blogging, I first have to ask if any of you have problems uploading pictures to your blog? It has taken me about 5 tries to get these few pictures uploaded. Pretty much everytime I try to upload pictures, it never works the first time- it says the internet connection doesn't work or something untrue. I am NOT tech savy so any technical advice will be very welcome.

Ok, now on to a preview of our Halloween this year. We had a ton of fun! The first 2 pictures are from a party that Jared and I went to. He was a shepherd and I was his little sheep. The costume came together in about 15 minutes with me pulling a coat that I have inside out and then sewing on some black felt ears. I wore socks on my hands, black pants and black slippers and painted black on my nose. WALA- a cheap sheep! :)
Jared refused to wear the awesome wig I borrowed for him. He only wore it for the 5 seconds that it took to take the second picture. He is such a Halloween scrooge. He does not understand why I LOVE Halloween! Maybe you should leave some good comments for him telling him how GREAT the holiday is!!!

On Halloween day, we got all the nieces and nephews together for trick or treating. Noah made it to about 15 houses before he got tired. We LOVE having family close and can't wait for Caleb and Becca to move here with their little guy, Jack next month!

After trick or treating, we all came back to our house and had chili, chips and bean dip, cinnamon rolls, mulled cider, and homemade pumpkin pie. It was AWESOME!

Noah was (obviously) a turtle this year. He pulled it off great. People couldn't believe such a little turtle boy was walking around. People just love Noah. He's so awesome!

We also went to our ward Halloween Party, which was super fun. It was a chili cookoff with homemade pies. Then, we had trunk or treat and pictures and games and a fun maze. I had some pictures of it, however evil BLOGGER will not cooperate with me on putting them up. This is the only one that came up. Ahhh, Noah!

Hope you guys had a great holiday too. Can't wait for THANKSGIVING!

Birthday!!!

I blogged about Chicago, which came the weekend following my birthday, but I didn't get to blog yet about my actual big day! The day turned out perfect, thanks to some great friends.

Here's what I woke up to:

What a fun birthday surprise! Warm muffins and hearts on your doorstep. Noah and I enjoyed them very much! (Thank You Julie)

Then, Jared took me to lunch at Olive Garden, where we had my favorite soup and salad.

Next, I had a little break until dinner at Las Palmas. Two of my favorite people took me here:

Julie & Andrea

We had a lot of fun. Noah got a little scared during the birthday singing.

Anyone who really knows me knows what a classic birthday shot this of me. Courtney in a sombrero eating Mexican food. Of course!

Later, at my house, Julie went to town decorating everything in my two favorite colors, green and purple. We had some people come over for cake and ice cream and just talked.

Julie made me my favorite cake: funfetti! And it was delicious. She even filled it with buttercream. Fancy smancy!

Wow, that's a lot of smoke!

I LOVE birthdays! Thank You to everyone who called and texted and emailed and mailed cards and gave presents and came over and made me feel so wonderful on October 13th!!!

A Taste of Chicago

Let me start off this post by saying that Jared is the perfect husband for me. His sense of adventure and love of traveling benefit me greatly.

My birthday was on Tuesday the 13th. Jared's birthday present to me was a date in Chicago! I found out on Friday that he had already bought us plane tickets to Chicago for the following day. We planned on having 8 hours in the city to play before flying back to Arkansas. But of course, there had to be a few glitches. Actually, there was really only one: Plane Delayed.

Our flight was supposed to leave at 7:40 am and get us to Chicago by 9:20, which would give us enough time to do everything we wanted (shop, Sears tower, pizza, ballet, and travel time). However, American Airlines did not leave until after 9:30 am, getting us to Chicago around 11:30. BOOOOOOOOO! And the worst of it was their reason for the delay. The crew overslept. That's right, you heard me correct. The ticket ladies kept making announcements to us like, "We are still waiting on the crew to show up. We aren't sure if they've left their hotel yet or not."
Really people?!?!


Here we are, spending two hours in the Northwest Arkansas airport, trying to still be happy even though we should already be playing in Chicago!

These pictures are a little out of order and blogger is not super friendly about letting me move them around. So, I'll tell the story just a little out of order. Here is a shot of me at the Chicago O'Hare airport on our way home after a whirlwind day.

Here is cute Jared!

I love this picture because it reminds me of the crazy frenzy that our shopping experience was. We had planned on spending 2 hours in the morning shopping on Michigan Avenue aka the Magnificent Mile- and let me tell you, it is MAGNIFICENT!!! Well, because we got majorly jipped on our (my) shopping time, Jared gave me TEN minutes to find a pair of boots (which I really wanted). I found Nordstrom (which does not exist in Arkansas) and ran like a crazy person! A salesperson came to me right away. I'm sure he thought, "this girl is going to buy something for sure." It's true, I was determined to find something. And I did! I bought a cute pair of khaki green northface boots that I LOVE. Everytime I wear them I will think of my fun 10 minute shopping spree!

Here is another favorite part from our trip. We saw the Joffrey Ballet perform "Othello." It was world class dancing and world class music. We LOVED it. Unfortunately, we had to leave after the halfway mark thanks to American Airlines and our complete lack of time. :( If we didn't leave then, I wouldn't have got my awesome boots.

Isn't the theatre BEAUTIFUL?!

Here we are at Giordano's. We had to get some Chicago style pizza. Yummy!

Chicago is an amazing city. I even like it better than New York City, which I LOVE. It has a St. Louis feel to me- and the Michigan Ave even reminded me a little bit of Madrid. Ahh, I love traveling!

Here we are, the happy couple!

I can't wait to turn 28!!!

Internet Addict

My timer says I have about 5 minutes left on the computer before my "time is up." I told Jared yesterday that I think I'm addicted to the internet. And I don't like it. I waste so much time doing nothing important online- like looking at real estate when we aren't even planning on moving or looking at what random things people are selling on Craigslist. Or checking my email 10 times a day (or more) or facebook or recipes or blogs or the weather or ebay or etsy ETC.
Anyways, so this morning, Jared put a timer next to the computer that had 25 minutes on it. He told me to start it when I get on the computer and press stop when I get off. I can't believe it, but I only have 2 minutes left of computer time! Where did those 23 minutes go?! And worse yet....if these 25 minutes went by so quick, how long exactly have I been spending on the computer on normal days???

BEEP, BEEP- I'm outta time. Enjoy the pictures and I'll catch y'all tomorrow!

Tiny Tim

I went to a bunch of garage sales this weekend and ended up buying hand me downs for Noah from my neighbor who has a 10 month old who outgrew his clothes. Yep, my 14 month old just got a brand new 3-6 month outfit and 6 month jeans that are TOO BIG FOR HIM STILL.

I would be more concerned, but he's hitting all his milestones (early) and is a healthy little boy. He's just tiny! Don't you just love him? :)