Promotion Board and Spur Ride

Thomas has been very busy with work lately. Last week he went to the Promotion Board, so he was studying late every night. He went to the Board on March 31st and was recommended for promotion to Staff Sergeant. Now he has to work on getting more points by completing civilian and military courses. He's going to try to start school in the Fall.
He also went on a Spur Ride on April 8th and 9th. On Wednesday he did a 4 mile run and went to a a Spur Board where they asked him questions about the Regimental history and he had to recite the Cavalry song and poem. He said that they also had them doing a lot of pushups! Then, on Thursday, he did a 15 mile round trip road march to "The Box" where they completed a list of tasks all day long. He returned at 5:00pm, then Noah and I headed over to the horse stables to watch him get his spurs. It was a nice ceremony and very cool to see all the tradition. He was exhausted, but happy to participate in a very old Army tradition. I am very proud of all the accomplishments he's made throughout his Army career.

The "Shavetails" in formation


Thomas is the last one on the right


Waiting to mount the horse


A nice picture with the mountain in the back


On the horse (this horse ended up kicking and injuring the handler a few minutes after this picture)


Getting his spur


Saluting


The 3 of us (Noah was sound asleep in the backpack carrier for most of the ceremony) =)

Some Random Pictures...

I just wanted to post a few cute pictures.

Thomas and Noah on Thomas' 26th birthday


Noah hanging out on the couch


Talking to me


Me and my little man=)

Aquarium

It's been awhile since I posted because Noah has been keeping me very busy=) He is now 3 months and 1 week and getting bigger and bigger everyday! He's been very interested in his hands and in trying to grab things. He loves when he's talked to and has let out a couple giggles. He's loves being out of the house and looking around at everything! He gets a serious look on his face and we can practically see the wheels turning in his head when something new catches his eye.
Thomas and I wanted to go to the Long Beach Aquarium for quite some time, so we finally had the chance. We were excited to see how Noah would be, and he absolutely loved it! He would follow one fish with his eyes, and then a new one would swim into his view and he would follow that one, and so on. It was really fun. We spent about 4 hours there, just looking around at everything. We all had a lot of fun.

Looking at the fish

Thomas and Noah in front of the whale

Relaxing in his stroller

Me and Noah

Looking at the Sea Bass that was 4 times his size!

Taking it all in!

Tired from all the excitement

Happy Boy!

Well, Noah is turning into a little person already! His smiles are adorable! When he's in a good mood, he has tons of fun playing with Thomas and I. We have discovered that he's easy to please. He loves when I play Snoop Dogg songs and make him dance. He also does the biggest smiles when Thomas makes this weird grunting face=) We can pretty much make up a song about anything and he'll be amused. The other day while Noah was in his swing Thomas starting singing that Hefty trash bag commercial that goes, "Hefty, Hefty, Hefty...Stinky, stinky, stinky," and Noah got really excited and was smiling with his whole body! It was so funny! This morning I was talking to Noah and said, "I love you" and he would say, "ah-goo" and smile at me every time I said it to him. It was the cutest thing!

Noah goes for his 2 month well baby appointment on Tuesday, which means he gets his first round of immunizations:( I'm not looking forward to the shots, but I am excited to see how much he's grown!

A big smile while I was singing our good morning song=)



Dancing to Snoop Dogg

Smiling at Daddy

Playing in the swing

Toothless Smiles

The days just seem to be flying by! Noah is already 6 weeks old! He's developing quite a little personality already. He now gives me and Thomas a big toothless smile when he sees us, but he has to be in a good mood. If not, he just gives us a dirty look=) He's also become very talkative over the past week. He chatters when we talk to him or when he hears music. He just went through a growth spurt and now some of his newborn clothes are too small. He has a long body and long skinny feet=) He likes to look at bright colored toys and he also likes to watch TV. Sometimes when I'm feeding him he turns his head completely to the side so he can see the TV! He still makes a funny noise when he sneezes that he's done since he was 1 day old. It makes me laugh every single time he does it. I keep trying to catch a video of it, but I'm never quick enough. Taking care of Noah is exhausting, but totally worth it when he gives me that silly little grin=)


His Valentine's day picture

First Doctor Appointment

Today was Noah's first doctor's appointment. It was his 2 week well baby check up. The first thing they did was his weight and length. He weighed in at 5 pounds 6 ounces and measured 18 1/2 inches long. In 13 days he gained 1 pound and 2 ounces, which averages to 1.4 ounces weight gained a day! We hope that he stays on this path so that he will catch up quickly. He eats well and is on a good schedule. Thomas and I are handling the nighttime wake up calls pretty good. We make sure to take turns taking care of Noah so at least one of us is functional during the day. We are having a lot of fun being parents and are learning to adjust to our new roles.

Noah, also had his first bath and he seemed to enjoy it. He just laid in the bath quietly and looked at the two of us.





I also had to share this picture of Noah's mohawk. He has the craziest hair, so we are finding ways to embrace it=)

Noah Oliver's Arrival

Well, he's finally here! Noah Oliver was born on Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 10:07p.m. He weighed in at 4 pounds 4.7 ounces and was 17.7 inches long. It was a long journey that started Friday morning when my doctor decided to induce me. The baby had stopped growing due to Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction, so the best thing for the both of us was to just bring him into the world so he could get all the care he needs. Without going into all the details of the labor, I'll say that it was a very long 2 days that ended in the delivery of Noah via C-section. Everything over the past 9 months was completely worth it when I held him for the first time. Despite his low birth weight, he's healthy and was able to come home with us on January 6. He's already putting on weight and his little wrinkles are starting to fill in. Since he's been home from the hospital he's been eating 3 times the amount he was his first days. His pediatrician thinks he'll be caught up by his 6 month check up.

As for Thomas and me, we are doing great! We are having so much fun being parents and absolutely fell in love with Noah from day one. We are learning to work as a team and are doing pretty good at making sure we are each getting some rest. Thomas has had to do a little more of the work because I've been sore from the C-section, but he's doing great. He had a crash course in baby care immediately after Noah was born and has since then grown into a professional diaper changer and bottle feeder=)

Well, Noah is asleep and the first thing I've learned about being a mom, is to sleep when the baby sleeps. So, good night for now!