First Anniversary

In November of 2008, I met some women who would end up being very important to me, Will, and also, tangentially, Dave. In January, I met the next wave who would complete my moms' group...and what I like to think of as my own personal mental health team.

I have called these fellow mothers in tears; as recently as Wednesday (during playgroup), I have dissolved into random spurts of uncontrollable laughter with them; together, we have learned the art of picking up the thread of a conversation again and again after countless interruptions from our babies.

Ceci, Inger, Mo, Nikki, Susan (as seen in the top two photos): Thank you for being girls after my own heart. Thank you for giving Will five mind-blowingly awesome friends. Thank you for keeping me entertained and supporting me through Will's first year and my second pregnancy.

Husbands (as seen in the bottom photo, obviously) of Ceci, Inger, Mo, Nikki, Susan: Thank you for marrying such cool ladies and spawning such fabulous kids. Seriously, guys. You done good.


NB: When Ceci's hubby commented that "the babies look so much happier with the dads!" she reminded him that she had been making clown faces and silly noises to amuse them during the father-baby photo, whereas when it was the dads' turn to make fools out of themselves...not so much.

What's Old is New Again

Today I hit the seven-month mark in this pregnancy and spontaneously started to tally up the things that were the same and the things that are different this time around.

Honestly, the differences are easier to pick out:

• I actually had the textbook first trimester this time; nausea and extreme fatigue were the biggest clues!
• My second trimester was a lovely in-between period, and my third trimester is (so far) a reality check. I exhale noisily when I stand up. I avoid retrieving things off the floor because such movement requires absurdly wide squats. I am exhausted at four o'clock every day, no matter how I've spent the previous nine hours, no matter what I do. You get the picture.
• No line. No line! Last time, my linea nigra ran down my abdomen from early on. This time...thirty-one weeks and no line. What would account for this?
  
• No nursery. Will's old crib is in place, but the baby's mattress is still sheathed in plastic, his new room is completely stuffed with Will's overflow, his changing table is collecting dust in his big brother's room...maybe we are just being realistic about those first few months when he will almost certainly be sharing our room.
• I...just...don't...look the same. For purposes of comparison, below is a picture of me from roughly the seven-month point with Will (in fact, I'm about 29 weeks pregnant with Will here, versus 31 weeks with baby 2 in the photo at the top of this post):
• 

I just look more streamlined this time around. I don't feel more streamlined, and it's not like I've gained less weight this time. I don't know what accounts for this either.

The obvious pregnancy markers of big belly, nervous excitement, and dry skin are the three "sames" I can count.

Otherwise? I lose track of how many weeks I am, we have yet to install our carseat base, and when people ask "How are you feeling?" I think they are referring to the cold that is going around instead of (duh) the fact that I am in the process of growing a human.

(Yes, I think I'm dumber this time around, too.)

The final Big Difference: I have gotten to the point where I need to snuggle Will on my left or right side while reading him books--the lap is nonexistent, and this time around, that changes everything! Our book-reading in the glider, our bedtime routine, our tickle fights and the old ride-on-mommy's-back routine have all been altered to fit my current physical capabilities.

(Hey, at least my eyelids have started to disappear again. Now, THAT'S a pregnancy symptom I would have chosen NOT to repeat. Oh well.)

First Birthday with the Jersey Crew

You might consider this post a "retrospective"...we celebrated Will's first birthday in New Jersey a full two days before his actual b-day, so if you're doing the math, that means this blog entry is a month and a half in the making.

BUT!

We had no good pictures of Will's party--too busy helping him open presents and enjoying our family, I guess--but Grandmom and Grandpop luckily sent some our way. Here is the Noon clan celebrating at the end of September.





The cake was a true masterpiece, the party was full of fun and love, and the whole weekend...well, we're just glad we get to go back and see everyone in a week!

Halloween 2009, Part II

Boys will be...wolves. And monkeys.
(Do you like Will's glo-stick necklace?)

Last Halloween as a family of three:

Luckily, Joe jumped into that family portrait so that at least one kid would be looking at the camera and smiling.

Playing with Baby Brother

Will likes to pull my shirt up to see my belly--and especially my belly button (which has recently become an outie). I like to think this bodes well for his future relationship with his little brother, ex utero. Right?

Halloween 2009

Halloween night began and ended in thermal pajamas covered with cars. "VROOM!" shouts Will every time he sees them in his closet.




When Dave or I stay in the bathroom too long--longer than ten seconds, say--Will gets antsy and starts jiggling the doorknob and banging on the door. Here he is trying to cajole Dave out into the hallway in order to START CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN ALREADY!

When we arrived at Auntie Rache and Uncle Ben's, Mr. Monkey was mostly interested in the gravestones in the front yard.

There were also some very cool Jack o' Lanterns on the front stoop, causing a delighted Will to point out the pumpkins ("Puh-kuh, puh-kuh, puh-kuh!") every time they caught his eye.

He looks a bit like a disgruntled bear in the above photo--a bear with extremely meaty cheeks. Yum.




Deranged cousin Bella was in charge of passing out candy. Somehow, at eight years old, she knows every kid in the neighborhood, including the teenagers.


An attempt at a group picture--Joe had already changed out of his wolf suit. My sister made both kids' costumes by hand. And did I mention she just found out that she passed the Massachusetts Bar? Yeah, she's a bit of an overachiever.

And here are the boys partying it up in their PJ's after the tricks and treats were done. William kept repeating "Joe! Joe!" whenever we said his cousin's name.

Hope everyone else had a great Halloween, too...and a smooth transition to Daylight Savings Time!

31 Years Ago Today

This guy was born. And although my own earthly debut was still two years away, somewhere in the pre-born universe, I'm sure I must have been smiling.

Maybe I should thank Dave for marrying me, but I sort of have a suspicion he did it as much for himself as for me. So instead, I'll thank his parents for raising Dave to be my favorite (grown-up) guy in the world.

And I WILL thank Dave for passing on his good-natured genes to this little boy:

And hopefully this one, too: