Growing Up So Fast!

We are two months away from ending our first year with Noah. I cannot believe it! The time has gone by so quickly. As I start planning birthday party themes, first haircuts, and first trips away overnight (for me!!), I can’t help but get a little emotional. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that we had our first night in the hospital together the three of us. I stayed up, holding and looking at Noah all night with Frank asking me every hour or so, “do you want to go to sleep now?” I’ve never been one to sleep through something exciting – and this was the greatest miracle I had ever witnessed!

I can't believe that this little guy is going to be 10 months this Saturday! Here are some pictures of the progression:

Birth Day (10/20/2010, 8:02PM, 8 lbs 8 oz, 20 3/4 inches)

1 Week

2 Weeks

3 Weeks (The week Aunt Kathy came to visit)

1 Month (13 lbs 8oz, 22 3/4 inches)

6 Weeks (Thanksgiving with Nana Shepherd)

2 Months (14 lbs 8 oz, 24 1/2 inches, Christmas in NJ at Grammy & Grandpa Simpson’s)

3 Months

4 Months (17lbs 3oz, 26 1/2 inches)

5 Months (Started sleeping through the night at the end of this month)

6 Months (19lbs 5oz, 27 1/2 inches; started rice cereal and oatmeal)

7 Months (Sitting on his own)

8 Months

9 Months (20lbs 10oz, 29 1/2 inches; pushes himself up to sitting and “army” crawls, first tooth pushed through on the bottom right)

Happy Birthday Nana Jan!

Noah loved seeing his Nana for her birthday and to celebrate a (belated) Christmas. Nana got him the book "The Sweet Smell of Christmas" which we all enjoy scratching and sniffing. That book brought back some memories! He even got some special time with Nana so his mommy could (finally!) get her hair done (not seen in this picture...) Mommy was really grateful to Nana for this!! We had a great time celebrating and catching up. Noah also showed off for Nana how well he's doing in his Bumbo seat!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Noah Meets Aunt Carole & Uncle Robb

We were so fortunate to be able to see Aunt Carole and Uncle Robb on their way back up to Michigan from Florida. They brought him the cutest little plaid shirt and blue pants outfit, and a cow that hangs from his play gym which quickly became his new favorite toy! Oh, and of course, Uncle Robb had to try out the play gym to see what Noah found so interesting! (Frank was quick to catch this on camera!!)


Thanks for stopping in Uncle Robb and Aunt Carole! We loved seeing you!

Christmas 2010 Road Trip!

Before Noah arrived, everyone kept telling us "it's best to travel with a newborn because they sleep all the time..." However, our little newborn has enjoyed proving this statement wrong! It made our road trip to New Jersey for Christmas pretty interesting - and stressful! But it was so worth it to be with the family including Grammy and Gramps, my sister Kathy, brother-in-law Greg, and little cousin Matthew, my grandmother (Noah's G.G., for Great Grandma) and Uncle Dan.

We tried to get a few pictures with the cousins. Most of the ones we got were Matthew staring at Noah as if to say "why did you put me next to him!?" It was hilarious! Here is a good one of the two of them. (Matthew discovered Noah's puppy dog Robeez shoes!)


Noah loved talking with Uncle Dan! He really lit up when Uncle Dan played with him, and couldn't stop chatting!

He also met his GG for the first time!

And met his Uncle Greg...

Christmas can really wear a guy out!

Talking with Gramps!

Merry Christmas 2010! We hope your Christmas was as joy-filled as ours.

Love, The Shepherds - Frank, Beth, & Noah

Firsts

Time is already moving so quickly since Noah arrived. There have been many "firsts" that I have wanted to take in and savor, so as not to miss the little moments that only happen once. I'll never forget the day we brought Noah home from the hospital. It had so many firsts! The first time in his car seat. The first time in the car. It seemed as if every car was too close to us! Or driving too fast!! I sat in the back seat while Frank drove so carefully and watched every movement he made. The first time home. Frank and I walked him around the house, showed him where everything was, and welcomed him home. The first night home. I don't think Frank and I will ever forget it! He cried and screamed all night long, and it seemed as if he had an insatiable hunger and just wanted to eat constantly! That was the most difficult first.

The funniest first was the first time Frank changed Noah's diaper. Noah did NOT let him off easy! I remember it was a FULL diaper, and it turned into a huge mess because he kept going AS Frank was changing him... way to break Daddy in Noah!

My favorite first so far is probably the first time Noah truly smiled. Noah has been a sensitive baby. We have had a lot of tummy problems, and especially sleeping problems. Some days he will only take as little as an hour nap. He's had stretches of being up for 7 hours straight. One day I worked really hard to watch for when his window of tiredness was to get him to sleep, and we finally had some great naps. That night Noah had good 3 hour back to back stretches of sleep. The next morning, Noah woke up for the first time without crying. When I walked into his nursery and leaned over the crib to say "good morning" to him, I was greeted with three big smiles. When you have a baby who seems to be upset or in pain often, that is a first you'll never forget.

Here are some other great firsts:

His first visit to Winston:
Noah's first time meeting Nanny:
His first Halloween and his first Thanksgiving:
His first "real" bath:

Play Time!

It amazes me how alert this little guy is when he is awake! I read somewhere that when a baby goes past their due date, they often skip the "honeymoon" period of constant sleep. That seems to be somewhat true for Noah. He definitely spends more time awake than I expected.

At the same time, his activeness is not all that surprising. This kiddo was so active during my pregnancy! It was not difficult to catch a foot or an elbow moving around on the surface of my belly. And there were even a few nights that his acrobatics kept me awake.

Here's a video of some play time with him. He loves his play yard that he got from Uncle Greg, Aunt Kathy, and cousin Matthew! Greg, I know he isn't technically smiling and laughing... I know, I know, it's gas - but I sure enjoy watching him and listening to his sweet voice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esBoSvH7NYo

...and Noah

We never have quite gotten the hang of blogging, but maybe now that our new little man is here we'll be better about keeping everyone updated. I certainly have noticed myself being a lot more reflective since his arrival. For now, though, here are the stats:

Noah Charles Shepherd arrived on Wednesday, October 20th at 8:02pm (that's 20:02 military time - Frank loves the symmetry), weighing 8 lbs 8 ounces and measuring 20 3/4 inches long. He definitely has his daddy's eyes, and his nose and mouth look a bit like my baby pictures. He was born with quite a bit of medium brown hair that has thinned and lightened a little in the last two weeks.

We are enjoying every second with him and are so grateful to God that we have been given the gift of raising this precious boy. What an amazing and humbling responsibility. Our prayer is that Noah would grow up knowing God's incredible love for him.