Thanksgiving

On the eve of my favorite holiday I feel compelled to write a gratitude list.

1. Through a surreal chain of events, on January 3rd of 2008 I "gave birth" to an amazing human being, Noah. It is a miracle that we both survived! I don't know what I did to deserve such a exceptional child. He meets all his developmental milestones, sometimes early, he is healthy, strong, bright and beautiful. Noah has a engaging personality, a sense of humor and an insatiable curiosity. I couldn't be more proud of him!

2. Jay and I have survived as a couple through countless tests, disappointments, frustrations, scares and we still love each other, possibly more now then ever! In my eyes he is my Prince Charming. He is a wonderful father and a kind hearted man. He works hard and helps others. I don't want to embarrass him so I will stop now!

3. I have an amazing and supportive family, I look forward to spending time with them. They have always loved me unconditionally. They are at times bizarre, but relatively sane.

4. I am not living in my car. I can not stress this one enough!

5. My step-son doesn't hate me, I think he might actually like me a little bit. Also, Peter is a great kid.

6. I am actually grateful that I am not working, while I don't like poverty I will never regret staying home with Noah his first year! He still manages to have everything he needs. People in his life are very generous.

7. I got all my paper work in for school, before it was due!

8. I have friends who are way cooler, more successful and more interesting than me and they still want to talk to me!

9. I am making friends in Turlock.

10. Most importantly~ I still haven't had a drink! Thank God.

While my life isn't what I thought it should be at 32 I am, nonetheless, grateful. I have lived a lot of life in this short time. I look forward to what tomorrow may bring.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wild times

Noah and I are having alot of fun in CT. Here you can see him enjoying dinner at Grandpa Peter's house. He has been doing tons of socializing, meeting some of my old friends. It is incredible how some friends you can just see and feel like no time has passed at all. The weather is SOOOOO cold and it isn't even winter yet. I am reminded again of why I moved to California. While CT will always be my home, going to Cali finally feels like going home too!

My brother just had another nephew, last night. So congrats to him!

Well nothing much exciting. Noah requires my attention. more later.

Noah the Stud

Helping Grandpa fix the stove

Being coy

Doing what he does best!

Waiting for the mail!

Noah is well loved!

Noah is having such a blast with all his family in CT. He has done really well adjusting to the time change, he is now on east coast time. It is cold so he has to be bundled up, which makes him even more handsome. He is showing some separation anxiety, which is new, being in a strange place. He has also demonstrated his temper, he pitched a fit when I took the phone from him tonight. It is sad, he gets so excited when he sees the phone and starts chanting DADADA. He misses his daddy. Sometimes it sounds like he is saying actual words lately. Hey Lady, Doggy and Grandpa are some of the ones he imitated in syllable and intonation. Everyone is trying to teach him something! It will be interesting to see what he learns over the coming weeks. Jay and Peter are hoping he holds off on walking, I think that he is too fat to even start yet!

Well we have to stay rested, we have alot of visiting to do. Today he met Cherie for the first time.... I will post pictures later, I am on my dad's laptop and don't have my camera with me.

More later.

xo

What A Wonderful Son

Here Noah is smiling for the camera, boogers and all! He is so sweet. He has had a yucky cold. We went today to follow up with his Doc, he has been wheezing for the last several months, on and off the inhaler, etc. While there she discovered he developed an ear infection in the past week. We would have never known, he is so mellow and happy all the time, even sick. I am of course freaked out about the wheezing thing. She has him on his inhaler qid now instead of prn. He hates it so much... plus his saline drop in his nose. He gets MAD. This has been going on since this summer, plus he does this weird thing when he is sleeping, like he is gasping for breath. I hope his brain isn't oxygen deprived, he doesn't need any setbacks with his ADD gene pool!! Anyway, I am trying not to be alarmist, I am personally a total hypochondriac and I don't want to impose my neurosis on him, BUT. Of course his doctor is somewhat of an alarmist herself. She wanted him to have an ultrasound on his testicles on what was simply a bruise.

So he will get his treatments for a week. I need to start documenting any sleep interruptions and possibly record his "episodes" for the doc to hear. In the meantime she is setting him up with an appointment at Stanford, which I am very pleased about, no hack valley docs. He will be seen by a pulmonary specialist, IF it needs to go that far. Let's hope this is all just chest congestion from his cold!!!

Noah and I will be in CT for Thanksgiving, and sadly daddy's 35th birthday. More later

xo me

Happy Halloween

joey holding noah

peter and noah

~all the boys~

Noah enjoyed his first Halloween, nothing about it bothered him. He is such a trooper.

more later