Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! Doesn't Noah look cute as a teddy bear? He will help us hand out candy tonight, but he'll have to wait until next year to sample some of the candy. Here's some more Halloween pictures.

A Boy and His Dog

Noah loves his dog Emma so much! Emma loves Noah too, and as you can tell from these pictures, she lets Noah pet her but still gets a little stressed out.

When Do You Know It's Time to Buy a Highchair?

Emma is always tempted by Noah's new foods! She was particularly interested in his carrots yesterday. Noah is currently eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas and carrots. He typically eats in the morning and afternoon, and he's eating more and more everyday. Just yesterday, he finished an entire stage one container of sweet potatoes along with rice cereal in the morning, then ate an entire stage one container of carrots in the afternoon. The stage one containers are small, but they have seemed so large in the past when Noah would only eat a quarter of a serving at a time. Yesterday, Laura thought he might only want a half serving of carrots in the afternoon since he had eaten so much in the morning, but Noah screamed and arched his back, then put his head down on his knees and wept uncontrollably - until she fed him the rest of the carrots. His reaction was incredibly dramatic! Here's a few more pictures.

Noah Loves Swinging at the Park

We have discovered a new favorite afternoon activity - swinging at Jetton Park! Noah absolutely loves the swing. He swung for 30 minutes the other day and still wasn't ready to leave! It's been rainy here lately (thankfully!), but hopefully it will clear up soon so we can go back to the park.

Noah has become a great sleeper in the last week. We finally decided we were ready to cut out his 3am feedings - Laura needed some uninterrupted sleep. It was a battle for one night, and then Noah woke up the next two nights but was quick to go back to sleep. So, now Noah is going 11 1/2 hours between feedings at night - from 8:00pm to 7:30am. It's wonderful! At the same time, Noah's naps have really improved. He used to nap for 30 minutes at a time, but now he takes two long (1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour) naps a day, in addition to the occasional third short (30 min) nap. All this means he has a lot of time to grow when he's sleeping! Here's some additional pictures.

Look What Noah Can Do!

Noah has been working very hard on his sitting and crawling skills this week. He can sit unsupported for short amounts of time, but he is still quite tipsy. He is very motivated to start crawling, and he works very hard to get up on his elbows and knees and rock back and forth. That is how we find him in his crib in the morning or after a nap. He is very pleased with himself and his progress! Here's a few more pictures.

Two Teeth!

Noah is proud to show you his two new teeth! They have both cut through his gums, and they look so big in his little mouth!

Noah's Trip to Michigan

We have recently returned from Noah's first trip to Michigan. We all had a great time, and it was a time of many "firsts" for Noah. Laura and Noah stayed with Grammy and Grandad Christiansen for 10 nights while Matt traveled back and forth between Michigan and North Carolina to work during the week but spend the consecutive weekends in Michigan. On the first weekend, we all attended an unveiling ceremony for Matt's grandma - Noah's great-grandma. It's a memorial service held approximately one year after a family memeber has passed away. It was a very special service, and it was so nice for many of Matt's family and friends to meet Noah for the first time. On the second weekend, we went to a University of Michigan football game.

Speaking of "firsts," here's a list of Noah's firsts while on the trip:
*First plane ride - he wanted to socialize with the flight attendants on the way to Michigan, but he slept almost the entire flight home to North Carolina.
* First time with all his grandparents together - Noah had two days with Grandma Marilyn, Grammy and Grandad all loving him at the same time!
* First time away from Daddy :-(
* First tooth!! Noah's first tooth came in when he was 5 months and 2 days old. (His second tooth just came through yesterday at 5 months, 9 days)
* First teething pain
* First rice cereal - started on the same day the first tooth came in. Noah loves rice cereal and eats from a spoon like he's been doing it his whole life
* First time sleeping in a different crib - Noah slept in the crib that Uncle Mark, Uncle David and Laura all slept in as babies
* First time to Zingerman's Deli - a very important moment in the life of a child in Ann Arbor, MI
* First time to the Big House - University of Michigan football stadium - UM vs. EMU - Laura and Matt's alma maters. It was too hot for Noah to stay in the stadium, so we went in as the game was ending for some quick pictures.
* First time sitting up - over the course of the week, Noah learned to sit up for about 10 seconds
As you can see, a lot has been going on! We took a lot of pictures during our trip, and here's just a few of them. Noah loved getting spoiled by his grandparents!