A Day to Remember......

I want to start out first, by saying "A Day to Remember" is not the day our sweet baby Noelle went to Heaven ---- "A Day to Remember" is the day we brought our baby girl into this world, September 21, 2009. We remember it, as if it were just yesterday. Seven long months later, she is with Him. He is taking care of her, watching over her, and letting her watch Baby Einstein anytime she wants :)

I say it was seven long months, instead of seven short months because of all the experiences we went through in that short amount of time. We learned more about life, responsibility and compassion for others in those seven months, than we had learned in the past seven years. It's amazing how something so small can have such a huge impact on two people (and of course other friends and family). Our lives revolved around Miss Noelle --- she was THE center of attention in our life, and will continue to be forever, even though she's not physically with us. We talk to her everyday, tell her "GOOOOOOD MORNING SWEETIE, we love you!" And we talk to her during the day, "Hi honey, hope you're playing w/ all the other babies up there." We talk to her at night, "Nigh Night punkin, we love you."

I can hear Patty every morning Noelle and I walked in the door at Empty Nest Daycare ..... "Goooood Morning button ---- how are youuuuu?!?!" Or "Hey - there's baby Noelle --- ah you're getting sooooo BIG!!!" And she was right :) Noelle was an excellent eater ..... she was NOT picky to say the least :)

Ever since I got the call that Friday morning, April 23, I have sooo wanted to ask myself WHY ME?? WHY US?? I DON'T GET IT??? But really .... we wouldn't wish this tragedy on anybody. Not even our worse enemy. If it wasn't us .... it'd be somebody else --- and if we can take the pain away from another family, we'll do so. Even though Ryan and I both may have a small family, one thing we do know is they all have HUGE hearts. We also couldn't ask for better friends. The overwhelming support from both is what has got us this far ---- and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

To our Precious Piece of Heaven, our daughter, and our Angel ---- we love you so very much.

Mommy & Daddy

ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN'......... She's 6 Months!!!

★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
BIG MILESTONE ...... Noelle rolled over at Patty's ....... 5 times!!!! She rolled over from belly to back. I think she was fighting sleep, and wasn't a happy camper - so she built up enough UMPH to roll herself over!! YEA to rolling over..... BOO to being fussy. I guess that is what little angels do, right?!? hehehe!!!
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
We went to Grandma & Grandpa Kirkpatrick's this past weekend for grandpa's 70th birthday! Noelle is a lucky gal. Her cousins are so much help, and have so much fun with her, as do the rest of the family!!! She met a few new faces too! Great Uncle Ralph, Great Aunt Marie, Great Aunt Ruth and 2nd Cousin Carolyn.
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
Noelle goes for her 3rd round of shots next week. Daddy took her last time, but we're both going this time. I have a bunch of questions for Dr. Marx regarding Noelle being six months. Wow are there are a bunch of things that can change when you hit the six month mark! She can start eating baby food, possibly skipping a bottle in the middle of the night etc...... Very exciting time for Miss Noelle - she's a BIG GIRL!!!!
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
She hit yet another milestone last week ..... Her first tooth is coming in! She's been a bit more fussy at night, as we're sure her gums are pretty sore. Poor wittle baby :( We give her infant Tylenol and/or Orajel to sooth the pain. It helps most of the time.... but we feel at times.... the pain really gets to her and neither work. (This too shall pass).
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
Boy is she a "grabber"! Anything you have within reach of her.... she wants it in her hand, then in her mouth! We're a bit more careful these days ... another learning curve for mommy & daddy! She loves to grab hair, earrings, necklaces, hair, books, glasses, hair :) Are ya pickin up what I'm putting down?!? HAHA!!!
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
She starting blabbing "ba ba" and "da da" a few weeks ago.... BUT we haven't heard it since?!? Kinda weird. She said both blabs, everyday, for about a week... and has since decided to stop. Not sure why? Personally, I think she stopped because she didn't feel "da da" was the right thing to say first.... I'm SURE she'd rather say "Ma Ma".... I mean it IS more soothing to the ears, right?!? I think she works on "ma ma" when we're not around. So basically one day, VERY SOON I might add, she's gonna blab out "MA MA!!", and everyone is going to be elated with JOY!!!! (Well, everyone except daddy). HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! Sorry honey ..... just warnin ya :)
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
(Psssst.....Patty..... remember, you're suppose to be working on that. Remember: MA-MA. That's right.... MAAAA.....MAAAA.)
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
One thing that came to my mind this past week. You know how a lot of new mom's and dad's are asked "So what is the biggest change in your life since having a baby?" Ryan's response: (and I asked him)..... "Our lives completely revolve around Miss Noelle". My response "I never dreamed I'd be doing this much laundry in my LIFE!!!". Thank goodness I LOVE doing laundry.... NOT. Hey... just sayin.
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
Congrats to my cousin Michael Lamont and his wife Cori .... they are expecting a baby boy this July!!!! 1st grandchild for MY Aunt Judith & Uncle Jim :)
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
Noelle's baby girl cousin Walsh will make her arrival into the world hopefully today, March 25th!!! Well, Amanda is supposed to get induced - so we're all assuming she'll be here today. We will get to see the cutie pie Easter weekend. CAN'T WAAAIT!!!!
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★
Thought for the day - By Meredith Kirkpatrick:
Two BEAUTIFUL things that FEEL like they've taken so long to get here ...... but will most likely enter the world today ...... Baby girl Walsh ..... AND OUR TULIPS!!!!! .......
FINALLY!!!!!! :)
★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★ ♥★ ♥ ★ ♥ ★

Knock... Knock.... Spring? Are you there?

BRING ON SPRING!!!! I don't know about you, but I'm sick of winter!!! I'm sooo ready to be BACK OUTSIDE!!!!! (Sorry, had to get that outta my system).

Noelle is already five months! It's true, time sure does fly by when you're havin fun!!! Noelle rolled over for daddy last week! I wasn't home to see it, I was still at work (sad face) .... but he said she did it twice!!! He was so excited to tell me ... and hopefully show me what she did, but she wouldn't do it again. One of these days she will!!

She loves her stuffed animals. Eventually, after staring at them long enough, she gets bored with that so they make their way into her mouth. But it's so cute how she concentrates more on objects these days. One of her favorite things to do is lay on her back on the baby Einstein gym, and play with the dangling objects, and put them in her mouth if she can! One makes a bell sound ... and that's her favorite. It's funny, because when she has her paci in, she can't put them in her mouth, and she's not a big fan of that!!! Sooo, the paci comes out.... then she's a happy camper :)

Her socks never... and I mean never.... stay on these days. She loves to tug on them, pull them off, and put them in her mouth. I heard about these shoes called Robeez that are great for infants, as they help keep the socks on! SOUNDS LIKE A MIRACLE TO ME!!! The soles of the shoes are soft and flexible, and the ankle part of the shoe is elastic, so they're snug around her ankles, to keep her socks on. Thanks to Patty, who takes care of Noelle during the week, she's loaned us a pair of socks that currently STAY ON, until we get the pair of Robeez in the mail (hopefully any day now!) I tried duck taping the socks to her legs, but she didn't like that too well. Wonder why? HAHAHA!!! JUST KIDDING!!!! (I hope you all know I wouldn't do that to my child :)

She's not a fan of laying on mommy & daddy anymore, that is, being cradled like a baby. We've tried cradling her when we think she's getting sleepy, and she just wants to sit up! We think she's trying to say to us, "Mommy.... Daddy.... I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a big girl!" NOOOOO!!!!! THIS CAN'T BE!!!! :) She LOVES to sit up and look around, play w/ pink piggy, listen to us read books to her, and watch baby Einstein videos. OH, and go on walks. We can't WAIT until Spring gets here ..... as I'm sure a lot of you are patiently waiting as well :) We're ready to get back outside and enjoy the sunshine!!!

Ryan will post pictures on Noelle's website, from the month of February, in a couple weeks. I'll send out another email after he does so! Hope you all had a great ValentiMe's Day ..... I mean, Valentine's Day :P HEHE!

Our first BIG snow .... with Noelle!!!

We got a bunch of snow overnight!!! 7" at our house to be exact. (The news said we were only supposed to get 1-3".... Ha!... WRONG!) It's soo pretty though. We thought long and hard about taking Noelle outside to make her FIRST snow angel... but then decided she may be a bit young to do that? :) Hmmmmm.

Noelle is now 4 months! She has outgrown the three month size and is in six month. She could wear three months, but she's too long for it. Six month length fits her perfectly, but is pretty big around the neck arms and belly area :) At her last doctor appointment, we found out she's in the 97th percentile for length and 70th percentile for weight. Sooo, she's long and skinny!!!! ha! ha!

She uses her hands a lot more these days..... and EVERYTHING goes in her mouth!!! She grabs her stuffed animals, goes in mouth, grabs her bib around her neck, goes in mouth, grabs mommy's hair, goes in mou ..... well ..... I usually stop her before it enters her mouth :) She gets a good daily leg work out too. When she's in her swing, on the changing table, or on her back staring at the baby Einstein gym..... those legs kick, swing, move, just pedal away!!!!! It's basically like she's riding a bike as fast as she possibly can .... in mid air!!!! It's so funny.

She has FINALLY decided that daddy and I ARE as funny as we thought they were from day one :) She smiles (and makes giggle noises) a lot. She loves it when daddy makes fart noises on her neck and belly. And she loves it when I make all sorts of funny faces and funny sounds two inches from her face. She's learning to use her voice more and more each day. She's not as quiet these days as she was, oh say a month ago. She LOVES to let you know she's in the room!

She still hasn't kicked the congestion :( It gets better... then it gets worse... then it gets better.... you get my drift.) Luckily, it's still pretty broken up, so we're thankful for that. It's just when she wakes herself up from coughing so much (and so hard) we feel awful for her!! We've given her infant Tylenol a couple times before she goes to bed to help her sleep a little better. It has really helped.

Noelle got baptized on Sunday, January 17th at the First United Methodist Church in Fairfield. Ryan and I both were so happy our family from close and afar were able to make it. The service was really nice and Noelle behaved wonderfully! (whew!) Ryan will post pictures from the service on her website.

Ryan plans to put up pictures from the month of January on her website tomorrow - Sunday 1.31 - so check it out!!!

www.noellemariekirkpatrick.com

The start of a NEW DECADE!!!

Looking back on 2009 .... it was a great year for both Ryan and myself. Our daughter being born on September 21st was the single best day of our lives thus far. She has brought so much joy to our lives, in ways we truly can't describe. One thing we know that's certain .... life isn't about us anymore... it's all about her.... and it's a life changing adjustment that we're happy to experience, day in and day out.

I remember in the first few weeks of her life, I would freak out when she'd cry. (Ryan was more calm than I was :) I couldn't stand seeing her in "pain." Now three months later, I've realized SHE'S FINE, she's just being a baby, and that's what babies do!!! Well that's as long as she has a full belly and isn't overly tired :) When you're a first time mom and dad, you have NO IDEA what to expect and always think the worst... it's a feeling that WILL subside over time.

We also remember always wondering... will she EVER sleep longer than 2-3 hours at a time ... really??? Well, that answer is YES :) Ha! Ha! We just swore it would never happen! We thought she would only sleep 3 hours the rest of her life!!! Well not really .... but it sure seems like that after a while!!! She has always been a good sleeper and I think we took that for granted for a while. She now sleeps anywhere from 3-6 hours (at night) and it's nice :)

One saying we always like to keep in mind... "This too shall pass". Now there are some things we wish that didn't apply to, but I guess we can't have EVERYTHING our way ;)

We love to to see her smile!!! She's starting to make a little giggle when she laughs. Not all the time, but occasionally she will. Oddly enough, the laugh can turn to a cry in a matter of seconds... funny how easy that can happen :)

She's keeping her head up really well these days. It's still a bit wobbly, but much sturdier than even a few weeks ago. We put her in the bumbo seat the other night for the first time, and she did really well. Although, she gets tired in it really easy using her neck muscles to hold her head up, so we didn't keep her in it very long.

The congestion I mentioned in the previous blog is still going on. She's really been a trooper, in that she hasn't been over fussy. Luckily, it's still been pretty easy to put her to sleep, but the poor girl wakes herself up from coughing so hard. I took her to her pediatrician last week, and there's really nothing we can do about it. Dr. Marx was happy we have a humidifier in her room and said to keep that on to keep the congestion broken up. We're soo ready for her to get over this and be healthy again!!

Noelle had a great 1st Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa Lands. She met her cousins Colin and Landon for the first time, and Uncle Sean. Landon wasn't quite sure WHO she was and WHAT she was doing there, but he did great with her! Colin on the other hand knew who she was and would ask "Where's Baby Noelle?" It was so cute. She got a bunch of cute girly clothes, head bows, noise making toys, books and a little pull buggy thing mommy & daddy can push her in this summer when it's nice outside. Can't wait for that!

Being a mommy & daddy is the best thing we could ever be called.... and let me tell you... we've been called a lot of things!!!! Ha! Ha! No really, to this day, it's still sinking in that we are parents!! It's very surreal. She has brought so much joy and it can only get better.... or can it?

Check out the new pics daddy posted from the month of December!!

www.noellemariekirkpatrick.com