Where did the month go?

I guess it must be a slow news month around here, or maybe I'm just too tired to post much of the time. We've got to get these boys to sleep all night! One night last week, I actually got seven hours of uninterrupted sleep before Noel woke up. That's the longest stretch in months.

We had a nice Thanksgiving. My parents, sister and brother-in-law joined us here for the holiday, our first time hosting it. We had a great time eating and hanging out. There was some game on Saturday night, but my mom and I got caught up on What Not to Wear instead.

The boys are doing well. Dominick alternates between giving me an ulcer and charming me. He still loves preschool. Drop-offs started this week. It's awesome! Instead of having to park, unbuckle two kids and walk around the building to Dom's classroom, we just drive up to the south door, and a teacher comes out, opens the car door, unbuckles Dominick, and takes him inside. Dom's also having lots of fun playing with "Wisabelle," but we learned last week that she is moving. Fortunately, she'll still go to the school just down the street, so she'll be around. Her dad promises to keep in touch.

Noel can really walk now, though he still crawls quite a bit. You can see how proud he is. His receptive language is expanding every day. He'll clap, flop on a pillow or give a kiss (a slobbery, open-mouthed one) if you ask him to. Today Dominick was holding a bag clip and said, "Noel, look at this clip!" and Noel started clapping. The other big development for Noel is that he seems to be giving up his morning nap. Also, he's become extremely clingy and gets very upset if I leave the room. All of this is happening right on schedule.

As for me, I must have been replaced with a pod person from outer space because I've started exercising on a regular basis. My muscles were probably on the verge of atrophy, but now I've been going to the Y about three times a week, mostly for Pilates. I even went on Thanksgiving morning with Mike to a spinning class. The Child Watch program makes all the difference. Two hours of free babysitting for two kids--I'd be a fool not to go. The boys like it, and I can do something for myself, so it's a win-win situation.

Working mom

Yes, I briefly reentered the work force this weekend. My former boss called me for help on a paint analysis project, so I spent four hours in the lab on Saturday and six on Sunday. Funny how everything looks nearly the same as it did when I quit four years ago. That man needs to hire a professional organizer! Still, it was nice to have some quiet time, just me and the microscope, and earn some extra money. The role reversal was interesting, too. I got to be the one coming home to two boys who were excited to see me. Noel in particular must have missed me because he crawled over to me, and when I picked him up, he immediately went horizontal. :)

I managed to squeeze in lunch with some friends on Saturday at a chicky tea room, i.e. the kind of place that serves quiche and has doilies on the tables. I believe the only male on the premises was my friend's five-month-old. And here's a shocker: I ordered a veggie BLT. On Sunday, I still went to Pilates. A month into my Y membership, and I haven't given up yet! In fact, I really enjoy it. The other day after Pilates, with the boys happily playing in the nursery, I thought I'd try an elliptical machine. I couldn't figure out how to turn the thing on! How pathetic is that?

Noel is feeling much better this week, so he should be in good shape for Thanksgiving. Now the rest of us need to stay healthy. That's probably too much to ask.

One-year checkup

Usually these things are called "well baby" visits, but today Noel was sick, so I was glad we had the appointment scheduled. Turns out he has croup. Poor thing. His illness gave him a reprieve from immunizations, which will just have to be postponed until next week. Dominick had no such excuse and took his flu shot with much drama, but when the nurse offered him a sticker, he stopped crying and followed her down the hall.

Apart from being sick, Noel is doing well. His numbers have held steady, which is really good considering how active he's become. He weighs 19 pounds, 7 ounces (10th percentile) and measures 29 1/8 inches tall (25th percentile). His head is a whopping 90th percentile. Both boys have big heads, stuffed full of gray matter, I presume. And large blue eyes. :)

Three steps

Noel took a few steps tonight, first between me and Mike and then from the ottoman to me. He's been practicing his walking skills lately by cruising and pushing his little hippo toy. We've also been encouraging him to come to us. When he took off from the ottoman, nobody was prompting him. He just decided to go on his own, making the effort all the more impressive. Watch out, world--Noel is coming!

Happy Birthday, Noel!

At 8:08 this morning, Noel turned one year old. I suppose that makes him a toddler, but I much prefer to think of him as a baby. He'll always be my baby, anyway, as will Dominick, my original baby.

Noel had a nice birthday, though he was a little fussy because of his new teeth that just won't break through. We went to playgroup this morning, where Noel had his first real taste of sugar. (Thanks, Jill, for baking cupcakes for him!) It was only a small treat, as we're saving the big messy moment for the weekend. He also opened a few presents tonight.

Upcoming appointment

But not anytime soon! We've been planning to take Noel to see a dermatologist about his birthmark, so this afternoon I called to make an appointment. I was surprised to find that this particular doctor's first opening for new patients is April 11. I took it, hoping that maybe someone will cancel in the meantime. We're going to find out exactly what kind of birthmark Noel has and how it can be treated, not for our sake but for his. Not long ago, we had our first comment from a stranger, who basically got in Noel's face and shouted "Whoa! What's that?" when we came to his checkout line at Lowe's. Incidentally, a friend of ours had done about the same thing a few months earlier. We do NOT want this kind of thing to happen when Noel is big enough to understand, so that is why we will explore treatment options. We think he's perfect as he is.

Halloween

The keys on the computer are sticking because somebody spilled milk on the keyboard last night. Care to hazard a guess who that was? We're lucky the computer works at all.

We had a good Halloween. My boys dressed up as the tortoise (Dom) and the hare (Noel). They were very cute, but I just realized that I don't have any good pictures of them together. (I've got to post one, though, so there it is. Noel was so tired because he skipped his afternoon nap.) Our playgroup had a party on Tuesday, but Dom refused to wear his turtle shell, so I ended up not taking any pictures there. His preschool had a costume parade and party on Halloween proper. Dom held up the parade looking for me in the crowd of parents. I'd learned my lesson from the Color Days parade and was hiding. Eventually he saw me and left the parade as he had before. And of course, Halloween night we went trick-or-treating. Dom kept saying "trick or treat" before anybody answered their doors, so we drilled the routine into him. Then at one house, the owner was sitting right in front of the door, but Dominick stood next to him and knocked on the door, waiting for somebody to open it. The man thought that was pretty funny, as did we.

I should start a list of the weird things Dom has taken to bed with him. He used to hold a toy car or plane, but then there was the fabric swatch a couple of weeks ago. Earlier this week it was a large flashlight battery, which I later heard crashing to the floor (he didn't wake up). Last night, he slept with a USB cord. Don't worry--it was still coiled up and fastened with a twist tie, so there was no risk of strangulation. Strange kid.