New camera- fun pics!

This post is just a hodge podge of things that happened at various times in April. I am really far behind in my blog posts but want to make sure that I post some of my favorite pictures!









Giving Noah his bink


Yawn!


Esme got a new kitchen!




The view of NYC from our roof


Sleepy angel



Daddy and his babies


Noah smiling in his sleep

The Bronx Zoo (April 10, 2011)

Ok, I know what all you non-New Yorkers are thinking! The Bronx?!? Yikes! But actually, the Bronx Zoo is fabulous and is a nice retreat from the hustle and bustle of the NYC metro area! We liked it so much we bought a family membership at the end our visit, despite our looming overseas move!







The lions were roaring and playing- it was amazing!

The Philadelphia Zoo (April 9, 2011)

We decided to take a family trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. This zoo was the first zoo in the US and was good fun. It is about an hour and a half drive to Philly from where we live but the kids were well behaved and we made the journey in good time.

Esme loves animals and spent the day pointing and shrieking with delight! The most exciting part of her day, however, was her very first pony ride!





She also enjoyed feeding the sheep and the goats



Stephen and I saw giraffes on our safari honeymoon but did not witness them running. I think this may be one of the most majestic things I have ever seen.


Noah slept the entire time and Esme was definitely worn out at the end of the day!

Around 1 month....

I know my timelines haven't been great but I keep running across videos and pictures that I don't want to forget about. Around 14.5 months, Esme began to throw fits when she was eating. It took me about two weeks (yes, I was a bit slow!) to figure out that she wanted to feed herself. I gave her a spoon and PRESTO! No More wiping all of her food onto the floor! All she wanted was to eat like a big girl and I wasn't letting her. Here is a video I shot right after my AHA! moment.



Esme LOVES to dance. American Idol is a guilty pleasure of mine... apparently it is for Esme as well! Here is is dancing to one of the contestants singing an Elvis song. She knows a good thing when she sees/hears it because Scotty McCreery went on to win the competition!


Just a few pics that I love from when Noah was about a month.





Big Sister and Little Brother


Daddy and Noah

A few of Noah's firsts...

I know this blog might be a bit out of order, but I wanted to be sure to write about a few of Noah's "firsts."

His first real bath was on March 19th, two days after his umbilical stub fell off. He didn't seem to mind it too much until we had to flip him over to wash his back. Grandma Julie was a big help!

First bath


A few baths later..


Everywhere we go, we get told what a beautiful newborn Noah is. We agree!


Noah's first smile was on April 12th, just after his one month birthday. I didn't catch the very first smile, but I caught the after smirk!


He is all arms and legs!

No more Bottle!

Esme was a champ and gave up her bottle at 15.5 months! The first day was a breeze but the second day was a bit of a battle! After we made it past day two, it was smooth sailing! What a big girl!

I am breastfeeding Noah but because he is tongue tied, I often have to pump milk and give it to him in a bottle. I thought that Esme would see Noah's bottle and want one but she was very good about the whole thing. You hear stories of toddlers regressing when a new baby arrives but we haven't had any issues with Esme. If she finds a bink somewhere in the house, she brings it right to him. The same thing if she sees a bottle sitting somewhere that he has already finished. I think it definitely helps that we used different bottles for Noah.

We are very proud of our cheeky, big girl!




This one is for Grandpa Gordy....he will be so proud!

Odds and Ends

This is just a blog full of pictures from Noah's first few weeks of life.

Noah and his big sister


Esme is always gentle with Noah but sometimes gets a bit jealous when he uses things that used to be hers, like the play mat or the swing. She will use them any chance she gets!


Daddy with his sleeping babies


Handsome boy


Sleepy babies



Noah is such a relaxed baby. We were all eating dinner and when I looked down at his swing to check on him, I saw that Esme had thrown a chip with guacamole on his face! The little love didn't make a peep but it sure made us laugh!



Noah and Esme

Tiffany and Paul come to town!

One of Esme's godmothers, Tiffany, and her boyfriend Paul came to Jersey to meet handsome Mr. Noah. We feel blessed to have such wonderful friends that are willing to travel so far to spend time with us.

They brought lovely presents for Noah and even brought Ezzy some big sister presents. Esme had fun opening her spoils and chose which of the two pillow/blanket sheep she wanted. We thought it was funny that she gave Noah the black sheep!

Here she is digging through Tiffany's suit case looking for treasures.


The first thing she found was a pretty pink dress.



In this picture, she is carefully considering which sheep should be hers.


Baby Noah with Tiffany and Paul. This picture was taken inside Crumb Cupcakes. Tiffany is baker and a huge fan of baked goods. When she is in town, we spend a lot of time at Crumb Cupcakes and Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken!


Tiffany with Noah




We did a lot of hanging out in the apartment when they were in town because it was still pretty cold outside. We did manage to make a trip to the park.


Paul is a natural with kids and will be a great father someday! He really enjoyed catching Ez when she whizzed down the slide. She has no fear!


The boys managed to sneak away for a while and did some indoor go kart racing down the road. They had a really good time and even had a few drinks together afterwards.

We all went out to dinner at a local Hibachi grill and had a really nice time. Esme really enjoys watching the cook chop and flip things around. She especially loves the fire!

We had a really great time when they were here and we were sad to see them go.

Noah's First week at Home (Mar 12-19)

First of all, it has to be mentioned that Miss Esme Jean is a fabulous sister. She is very attentive, brings him his bink when he cries and she loves to give him kisses. She has taken to being a big sister extremely quickly and is a mini mommy. It is amazing how children instinctively understand that babies need to be handled with care!

Noah had a touch of jaundice and looked a lot darker complected than he actually is. For the first few weeks, we thought he had a bit of a tan! You can see the darker coloring is his first at home sponge bath pictures.




Noah sure has a head full of hair! Like his skin, his hair appeared darker than it is now. After a few weeks we have realized that he may have even lighter hair than Esme.



Noah's first real outing was to Popcorn Park Zoo. It was a lovely, sunny day and we decided to drive the hour and a half to the zoo in effort to enjoy it. Grandma Julie was still in town at this point and really enjoyed it.

Daddy, Grandma and Ezzy with the rescued bears.



Ez loved feeding the ducks!


One of my favorite pics of Daddy and Esme



On the way home from Popcorn Park, we decided to take a detour via Seaside Heights (aka the Jersey Shore). We took a lovely walk along the boardwalk and even won some cute little stuffed animals for Esme.

Daddy and Esme on the boardwalk


Daddy and Esme on the carousel- she loves carousels!



The infamous Jersey Shore house..ok, we admit it! We are fans :(


Important milestone:

On St. Patrick's Day (March 17th), Noah lost his belly button stub. The fact that it happened on a "holiday" is special because Esme also lost hers on a holiday (Christmas Eve)!