::beep beep beep beep beeeeeeep::

This just in: We have a walker.
Hold on to your hats, drinks, snacks, daughters,
and anything else in a 2ft tall grabbing radius.

Alright, kid. You've proven your point.
You're big, growing, turning into a kid before out very eyes.
Now quit it. Let my heart catch up with the fleeting moments.

Goodbyes

I don't like goodbyes. Frankly, they stink.
But if this was the routine I got every time I had to participate, well, I might leave more often:

Sorry for the fuzziness,
a moving target is a tough specimen.

Let me narrate, from top left to bottom right:

1. This is the chasing face - him chasing you, you chasing him, him chasing his shadow. This one in particular was Chris chasing him to tell him bye-bye this morning - though we see it morning, noon, and night. And I love it. I mean, who wouldn't?
   
2. Blowing kisses - despite the grimace - it's a kiss. Complete with the tiny smacking noise.
   
3. (and 4) Bye-Bye! See his little mouth, he's saying it, too! So funny.

Most times when Chris leaves Noah will stand at the screen door once he's realized he's gone and say "dah-dee buh-bye" over and over again. Makes my heart fill with pride and googly-goop. You know the stuff.

Come see us - you might just get this song and dance. And if you don't, well, you'll just have to come back.

Twelve: Round Two

Alright. It's kind of fun having a "toddler", I'll admit - even if he doesn't toddle (that's a real word - no red squiggly line) real well and is starting to practice for the Troublesome/Terrific/Terrible/Transformative Atti-Twos. I love him to pieces - sometimes so much my heart aches. I love to watch him play and discover, figure things out, test his limits (he is quite fond of this one), and wonder what is going on in that little brain of his. His imagination already runs wild, I can see it in his eyes. Most days are filled with laughs and games and looks of mutual adoration, often started off with a good morning smooch from the little guy - but I will confess we are entering the phase where the discipline part is kicking into gear, and I am not sure yet how good we are going to be at this part. More to come on that at a later date...

I love being a mama, especially to this little guy:

Noah's Birthday Invite that never got printed or sent...whatever.

...and even if he does call me "Beb", here are a few (or twelve) reasons why, in no particular order:

1. He loves Florida State football - not so much the arena in which it is played, just the team itself. He loves them so much that he had an anal volcano ALL over his seat, shorts, hands, and Grammy Nan just as we were pulling into our parking spot for the game. Perfect. I recently heard that the "adventure only begins when everything else has gone to s#*t" - wise, wise sensei.

Exhausted much? It's hard work being a Nole.
Sidenote: He's worn this jersey every game day except Oklahoma.
We aren't superstitious.

2. Clap on - (clap-clap). Clap off - (clap-clap). Noah has the clap down to a patty cake. I even fed him pancakes the other morning and when I was telling him what it was he started clapping. And the part where you "throw it in the pan" he starts to duck for cover from tickling fingers.

3. Wagging. Taking a walk with a wagon - wagging. This kid loves all things wagon - riding, snacking, pushing, throwing - if he can do it in/to a wagon, count him in.

Wagging is whoa-some for the wandering wagger.

Look closely - it was chicken pox season.

He is riding in his Quarantine Wagon.

4. White boy can dance - well, as rhythmically as his genes allow. The best is that once he starts flailing his arms to the beat he expects everyone else to do the same. And we do. The other day Chris said, "Why does he think that just moving his arms is dancing?" - to which I responded by showing him, in close proximity to his face, the flailing about that we've been inherently teaching for the past 12 months when anything resembling a tune is played. And to that all he could say was, "Oh...".

Go Pack - only when in the presence of Uncle D...

5. Noah plays peek-a-boo now - where he is the "peeker". He will play with most anyone anytime he has something to hide behind - sometimes even himself in the mirror (obviously my favorite to watch). Fair warning: if the object is mobile, watch your face. You've been warned.

Peek--a-boo!

6. We have had enough parties to get us through until he's three. Yep, three celebrations of Noah's first year of life: Fairhope, Clyde, and Ten Mile. Each one full of love, laughs, friends, family, food, and fun. The Fairhope party is where we gave him his very own chocolate cake - I have been told since the day he was born that his first cake MUST be chocolate so it shows up in the pictures. And show up it did:

'Scuse me, sir. It is not your birthday.
Please step away from the cake.

I think he liked it.

Finger-lickin' good.Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere.
Clean up, clean up, get the chocolate out of your hair.
(Pay no mind to the green gob-lin doing the spraying.)"diss?"Party numero dos at the Giusti casa. He's not very excited about it.Noah and GiuGiu - she knows how to get down.Mason's face says it all - ha! Love it.

We are thankful for everyone who helped us welcome Noah Matthew into the world a year ago and for everyone who has grown to love him since. We are beyond blessed with the family-by-blood and the family-by-love that surround us.

7. Noah took his second trip to Boone, NC to hang out with Aunt KD & Uncle Dan - and he let us come along, too. Sleeping in the closet went better than before, the little doggies were slightly more tolerant of the other four-legged creature in their midst, wedding things were accomplished, autumn weather was enjoyed, Florida State football was watched, and Green Bay shirts were worn.

Football & snacks with daddy -
sounds like a good Saturday afternoon combo to me.

I love the mountains...I love the rolling hills...I love the Noah and all his simple thrills...

8. Noah has always been a great sleeper - I mean, phenomenal. During his twelfth month he decided that not only is he going to be a great sleeper, but he think he likes being a night owl as well. Down between eight and nine (usually), wakes between eight and nine. Yes, please. Sign me up. AND he still takes a beast of a nap or two during the day - two plus hours per nap. So for those of you (Aunt Meg) who said that "all babies wake between 6:30am and 7am because they are babies and that is what they do and I should just go on and forget about not being a morning person" - you are welcome to sleep in at my house any day. Knock on a big ole piece of wood...

Sleepy McGeeface

9. For the first time in his life Noah got to have all four grandparents all to himself for a whole weekend! We went down to Pensacola/Tallahassee/Fairhope over Labor Day weekend to go to a football game, John Mayer concert, and to celebrate Noah's first year with all of our FL/AL family. While 'beb' and daddy were with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Paul, Noah was hamming it up with his four grand parental units. Scary thought, I know. The amount of sugary love in that room must have been stifling.

A whole lot of this was happening...

while chaos ensued.We look pretty wild, eh?Prom Pose
Watch out - that's how babies happen.
(On prom night? What exactly does that mean?
This post must be running way too long.
Almost over, I promise.)

10. Sippy cups are old news, we have moved on to the straw in this house. Blessing and a curse: 1) He wants to get his grubby little hands on everything with a straw - my drink, your drink, the people at the next table's drink. 2) He has "forgotten" how to tip his sippy cup and drink on his own. Convenient. 3) Meltdown will occur when straw-drinker does not immediately surrender said-drink to the boy. Public spectacle = Slightly embarrassing.

11. I mentioned this before, though I feel it is worth listing here as well. We are ween-ers here in the Fab Ford Fam. No more boob for the little one. He decided it was for babies and very easily and naturally moo-ved on. Amen? Amen.

Any suggestions of how to get him to drink this instead-
without putting chocolate in it?

12. And last, but certainly not least, as this one is probably the biggest milestone of all - for all parties involved: Noah spent his first night away from us and his bed. BIG step - more for us than him. It was very strange not having him with us and felt like we were being irresponsible at times - like we had left him somewhere on accident. Mama Bo and Papa Bo took him with them over to the Giusti house for a few days so that Chris and I could get the house together for Noah's party and spend a little bit of time just the two of us. We went to the climbing gym, to a movie, dinner, and just relaxed. It was wonderful to have the together time, but it felt even better to have Noah home.

That's a whole lot of little boy lovin' right there.

Wow. Big month for our not-so-little guy. It's hard to believe it's been a year (plus) since he changed our lives and hearts forever. Our love for him is worldly and imperfect, yet mighty and unconditional. I would easily give my life for his, my tears for his pain, my joy for his sadness. If knowing that I could protect him from hard lessons and uphill battles would provide for him the best possible outcome, I would - but I know better than to think I know what's best. We love him more than there are stars in the sky, but only his Maker knows that count...

The next update is just around the corner... but here are a few blogs to be looking for: 180 South, 3 Cords, Etsy (gulp)...

Day One

We are in the middle of house "rejuvenation" here at the Ford Casa but I wanted to take a minute and relieve a couple of folks who are pining away for a glimpse at Noah's birthday celebration. We had friends, family, food (I'll post more about that later), gifts, cold weather, laughs, tears, warmth, and thanksgiving for our little guy on Sunday here at our home. I am very grateful for the folks who came to celebrate Noah and for the many more who love our kid who couldn't be here.

Anyway, here are a few photos, courtesy of Marc Penrod of Lenns Focus and his son Lucas (you MUST check him out at his blog - his passion for capturing beauty in it's simplicity and natural setting is very evident - thanks, fellas!):

Look familiar?His shirt says "ONE" on it - his mama made it for him.

More party photos to come.

For now, enjoy these and this random thought I had while driving home from Nashville yesterday:

I wonder if truck drivers spend the same amount of time and money sprucing up the cabs of their trucks like executives and administrators with their own offices? Does the size of the window or view matter as much? Do they have desktop do-dads that they paid way too much for? Is there steering wheel and chair ergonomical?

Something to ponder.

Narcissus

Meet Narcissus, the poor boy who was so in love with himself that he dismissed any other who showed him affection, namely a nymph named Echo. Echo prayed out to the gods and finally the god Nemesis heard her cry. One day Narcissus was frolicking in the forest when he came across a pool of water and discovered this beautiful creature starting back at him and he immediately fell in love - this is where he would live out his days, hopelessly pining over a love he could never truly know.


How's that for digging out the four years of Latin and Greek/Roman mythology I took in high school? Who said I would never use that stuff...

Sidenote: All I can think about at this moment is sitting behind Paul Silivos, me pestering and inking him, him rolling his eyes at whatever romance was stealing my heart away at that moment. Oh, Paul Gus, come back into my life - I miss you, friend.

Anyway - enough blasting from the past.

Meet our Narcissus:


If that's not hilariously adorable then call me John Brown.

(John Brown?)

I didn't think so...

I mean, who wouldn't kiss that baby?

Eleven

The procrastination of creating this post is not coincidental. I assure you that.

This time last year I was counting the days, hours, minutes until Noah would grace us with his sweet, sweet presence. I could never have imagined the way my life would take on a whole new form, one almost entirely unfamiliar to the one I'd always known. More about that next month (gulp).

In Ford fashion, it's been a crazy busy month for us, capped off with a trip to Florida over Labor Day weekend. And in Noah fashion, he continues to amaze me, knock the Chacos right off my feet. It's phenomenal the things he picks up on and learns within minutes of seeing it for the first time. Blows my mind.

And in no particular order:
1. If he wasn't a flirt before, Noah has now added the wink to his repertoire. Cute as heck and will charm the pants off of anyone - if he isn't too bashful to show you. It's the double wink followed by a flutter of the eyelashes... guys, you better hold tight to your ladies.

2. His vocabulary is growing leaps and bounds - he will repeat, or at least try, anything you say to him. Among his easiest to decipher: hello - ayeee, fish - ish, daddy - da-dih, mama - behh (which we think is him calling me "babe" or "Elizabeth" because that's what Chris usually refers to me as), here - hee-ah, this - diss, duck - dah, Grits - giss... and many, many more that I am sure we just can't figure out yet.

3. The tooth count is up to eight - and they are pretty adorable. They sure do make him look big though, which is the part I am not so sure about.

4. Uncle Caleb came to visit and meet Noah for the very first time. Noah was none too impressed that it took Uncle K-Luv ten months to finally make it to Tennessee, but I think they made up for lost time rather speedily. We are hoping and crossing our fingers that we will get to see a lot more of him in the near-ish future.

"Whoa, I've never been this high before."

Noah, Uncle K-Luv, and Mama before C headed home, I mean to Ridgecrest.Ay-eeeeee!

5. I for sure thought that by this point he would be running circles around the house, mostly because he crawled so soon, but I think he figures he can get there just fine on all-fours, why mess up a good thing? He has started to let go of my leg, the couch, a bench, or whatever he is holding onto at that moment and balances for a few seconds before he realizes he's not touching anything and plops onto his fanny.

Nothing better than morning cartoons with these guys.

6. At the ripe old age of 11 months, Noah has started his first LDR (Long Distance Relationship) with one of his very first and favorites, Ms. Allison. We took her out to lunch at the Tellico Grains Bakery (if you haven't been, you must - I don't care if you live in another state, region, or country, this place is goooood.) for a last shebang before she headed west. We miss her already, but I think this is one LDR that will survive. I mean, this is the stuff love is made of, right?

7. Tantrums - have I talked about those yet? He has them. They are entertaining. He snatches his arm away when I try to make him sit back down in the tub - he waves his arms furiously in the air like the "all done" sign language if he doesn't like what you are doing or giving him - he has a fake cry which sounds similar to that sound they make on Dumb and Dumber, you know, the most annoying sound in the world. These are few and far between but his not-so-little personality is starting to show more and more. And show that he got a lot of it from his daddy...

8. The mullet is official. Yes, my precious son rocks the Euro-Mullet. His Aunt Dita would be so proud...

Look closely, it's there...

Now I can only hope as he gets older he can claim
the sexiness of the mullet like David Beckham...
with the money and humor of Terry Bradshaw?

9. Hello, my name is Noah and I like to greet you like this:

I have no idea how this started or where it came from, but apparently his pops and his Uncle Matt (of the Matt/Heather married combo) did this very same thing when they were little. I have always known Chris saw the world a little differently. This explains a lot.

10. My independent, do-it-myself, won't cry when I fall on my hiney-child has found a new love for snuggling. I will stop whatever I am doing whenever I am doing it to take full advantage of scooping him up, breathing him in, and lingering while time stands still and all is right in the world. He even let me rock him to sleep a couple of nights - he hasn't done this since he was probably 6 months old. We pray and hope and love that our babies sleep on their own and through the night, but let me say, rocking him in my arms those nights will stay in my heart for a long time.

...and last but certainly not least...

11. We are weaners! Yes, that's right, Noah has successfully weaned himself as of the beginning of September. Breastfeeding mamas, don't ask me how we did it, what we did, or if I have any tips because all I can tell you is this: let the baby take the lead. I know that many, many people much smarter than me preach wholeheartedly against "demand-feeding" during the beginning, but let me throw out there that once you have a rhythm going and it's good for mama and baby, I really believe that it will all happen naturally - at least that's the case for us. All along Noah has "dropped" feedings around the suggested ages without any coercion, and the whole experience has been fabulous. Do I miss it? No, not yet... I am just glad to have the girls back.

Let's take a look back real quick, to what I was doing a year ago today:

Holy guacomole, I looked like a rolly polly...

...and he still had a month to cook. I am woman, hear me roar.

So let the labor, I mean growing, pains begin... countdown to twelve months. I don't even want to talk about it.
Think I was late this month?
I may just have to resign from this blogging gig, it's giving me wrinkles.

Be still my heart, be still.

Kick the Can

In the spirit of our Earthloving reduce-reuse-recycle mantra, Chris has found a way to wildly entertain Noah with an empty puff canister.
For hours.
Days.
And it's hilarious to spectate:



I assure you, no babies were harmed in the filming of this video.

Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

...but you sure can learn a new trick for the dog.

As promised, Noah's new trick that highly benefits our four-legged eating machine:


Come have a meal with us. I bet Noah will throw his beans to you, too.

Ten

For sake of not having an emotional breakdown over the fact that my little baby has hit the double digits in months, I am going to skip the cutesy antics and conversation I typically have with the next month and get right to the list.

But, Eleven, I'm watching you.

1. Noah's parents aren't the only ones with the watersports bug, he got his start this month on the boat as well. Dennis and Stephanie took the Ford Family out on our own tour of WBL and I think Noah enjoyed it as much as the rest of us... Once more and he might be as good of a skier as his paternal grandpa.

Noah lulled in the arms of Mrs. Stephanie.
Can't tell who is enjoying it more.

As soon as we docked he woke right up.

2. Our home has been like a daggum revolving door this summer with folks coming to and fro, in and out, just stopping in or passing through. We've had parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends - lifelong and new, and a partridge in a pear tree. And I love it. It gives me an excuse for my house being dirty.
Abigail was able to come and spend almost two whole weeks being "Mama Helper" while her brother and sister were at camp in North Cackalacky. We played, swam, skied, ate ice cream, crafted, watched movies, and loved on Noah. You would never guess the amount of help an almost-six-year-old could be, but I could definitely handle a little helper more often.

Pretty girl at the marina for dinner.

She made her hair flower.

Also among those visitors were the Chanceys, Chris' mom's side of the family, who had never been here before. Their visit was too short, but we managed to pack a lot in. Oh, and I am pretty sure Noah was likely the draw that brought them across the mountains. I mean, who can resist him?

Aunt Meg, Chris, Jamie, Shelley, and Uncle Roy on the two-cent camp tour. Jamie helping Noah enjoy his newly crafted JD tractor,

an early birthday present from the Chancey family.

Can you believe he's to the point where he can be receiving "early birthday" presents?

3. Grits has learned that it's to her benefit to have a baby in the house, now that he knows how to feed her. You see, instead of leaving it on his tray or in hiw bowl, Noah thinks it's a good idea to pitch his food on the floor when he's done. The instant gratification to watch the pup gobble it up makes it even better. Once our computer is released from the Geek Squad, I will share a video of this lovely pasttime. Until then, this will have to do.

These two are quickly becoming partners-in-crime.

4. Camp was, is, and always will be part of the interwoven fabric of my being, Chris' too. (We became one when we married, so do we just have one fabric now, or are we looking a little more like stonewash denim?) So naturally, being born into our family, brought home to a camp house, Noah's fabric is already tie-dyed with splashes of camp...which is why it's incredibly special for us that he has gotten to meet a whole slew of Crestridge folks, and his first Crestridge baby friend.

Ashley/Templeton came to see us the first weekend of July,

thus winning the prize for meeting our little guy first.

We jet-setted to Boone for a few days, meeting Krystal and her family for the first time.

Capping off the month with a Bridal Shower, Noah was pleased to meet Kristi & Carver...

Picture to come.

As well as Debbye and Nancy who joined us for the shower in Black Mountain.

5. Noah and I spent what seems like half of July in the mountains, either in Balsam or Boone. He's explored mountains, streams, wildflowers, abandoned houses, blackberry bushes, wild ponies, rock climbers, mountain peaks, and more...all from the comfort of my back. He likes to hike, looking around to take it all in. Of course, I would probably love it even more if I got to ride on someone's back. Any takers?

Hiking around with my mom and dad on their first visit to YASNY.Hiking up to see the original homestead on the mountain.

6. Teeth numbers five, six, and seven are poking there way on through. I am fairly certain these little boogers have been the most painful for him, even still, he takes it like a champ. These little white specks are constant reminders that he will never stop growing, never stop changing - no matter how hard I try to convince myself otherwise. I find myself wishing he could just keep the four little charming chompers he has now... we do live in East Tennessee, that's a lot by some standards.

Beware of biting baby...I recommend visually counting the teeth.

7. All along our sweet guy has been extremely laid-back and very low-maintenance, rarely putting up a fuss for much of anything. And now he's discovered all the new things his voice can do - and boy, does he use them. He has learned/taught himself/concocted this high-pitched-nails-down-a-chalkboard-make-your-hair-stand-up-glass-shattering scream that physically makes my body hurt when he does it. This cry is reserved for when he is not getting his way, say at naptime when he thinks naps are for babies (I've got news for you, kid) or at mealtime when brocolli just ain't cutting it. It makes me want to leave the room - and if he is adequately supervised (some days Grits counts) I may just walk away.

Don't let those big blue eyes fool you.

8. Alas, our child is no longer a vegetarian. Unless he chooses to go Veg some other time in his life, he can always say he was until he was ten months old. And the first meat of choice? An all-natural beef frank - yep, a hot dog. He devoured it piece by piece and probably would have gone back for more. His face is all shiny and his little fingers are slick with all-natural grease (ha) when he finishes. I wonder if my strange hankering for hot dogs when I was six months pregnant could have been Noah letting me in on his preferences while in the womb? I wouldn't have touched a hot dog for nothing before then...

Noah says, "Thanks, Aunt KD, for my first (of many) scrumptious hot dogs."

9. Noah has learned the wave. Not the sportsfan phenomenon of people standing and sitting in repetition as the "wave" moves across the stadium, though that would be impressive. He's telling people "bah-buh" while awkardly waving his limp hand in the air. He doesn't really have the timing down yet, so he will likely kick visitors out of our house or try to depart early from places, but it's so darn cute you can hardly stand it. He uses "bah-buh" for greetings and salutations accompanied with a wave so far... though he does say "ayeee" which is definitely his hello.

Hola. Aloha. Bonjour. Hiya. Hello there. Hey y'all.

10. And last but absolutely not least, our little one has found his M's and has been working on his "ma-mas" all month. Melts my heart, yes it does. Does he call me mama? Well, no - anything can be "ma-ma" at this point, but it's started, and that's all that matters.

Loving on his mama before we floated down the river.

So yes, time flies when you are having fun and even sometimes when you aren't (see number seven). We are looking forward to lots of fun things in months eleven and twelve, but it's okay if they take time getting here.

Sidenote/Apology:
There are LOTS of pictures and videos that go along with this update, but our computer has been captured by the Geek Squad, so they will have to wait. I thought I ought to finish the post itself before I got fired. From life.

Upcoming on the blog: More of my thoughts and opinions on life, love, saving the planet, changes, and things I find consuming my time these days. Stay tuned.