Our Pea in the Pod is 7 Months!

Weight/Length: I’m going to guess around 18 pounds- his thighs are thunderous these days. I definitely think that’s where he carries his weight. Not sure how long he is- I’d pull out the measuring tape but he’s too wiggly right now.

Eating: Noah has b-milk ever three to four hours. We feed him solids in between the feedings- usually two to three times a day. His favorite this month is Mum Mum’s. He holds them himself and munches on them. He loves anything that has banana. There hasn’t ever been anything he has refused. So far, we don’t have a picky eater. He gets very upset if he sees me eating yogurt or something with a spoon, and I’m not willing to share. Noah will try to take the spoon from me and feed himself. Homeboy likes it his way.

In the month of May, Noah has eaten Kiwi, Mango, Turkey Dinner, Baby Yogurt, and little pieces of things mom and dad eats. (They are always soft and in small pieces).

Bedtime/ Awake:  He will sleep between 10 to 12 hours. His bed time is anywhere between 7 to 8 p.m., and he usually wakes up around 7 to 7:30 a.m.  On a typical night, Noah babbles himself to sleep.  Noah is Mr. Social- he can talk to a wall-literally.

As for naps, Noah takes three a day. He takes one about 9 or 10 and it lasts from thirty minutes to an hour. He takes another afternoon nap around noon or 1 and this one can go from thirty minutes to two hours. Noah Walker finishes up the naps and takes the last one around 4. This one lasts from thirty minutes to an hour as well.

Diapers: He is in 2’s. Matt and I have thought about introducing the 3’s, but I think we will hold off for now.

Clothes:  Homeboy is in 6 month or 6-9 month. Some of the 6 month clothes still fit length wise, but we have trouble getting it over his head. You know the saying- big head-large brain- we ain’t complaining!

Favorites: Noah loves to play. He loves for me and Matt to be on the floor with him, so he can show us his toys. Noah will lift the toy up to show you what he’s holding, and he wants some kind of acknowledgement. Noah loves to bounce in his bouncer. He can do that for long periods of time (if he is in the mood) which allows for mom and dad to get things done around the apartment. Noah still loves to be outside. He goes stir crazy if we keep him cooped up- we can just tell he needs some sunshine and stimulation.  He loves to sit in his bumbo while Mommy and Daddy eat. Noah still loves to be held.

Dislikes: Noah Walker does not like to have his face washed if it is dirty. He likes to be the center of attention, and he throws a fit if that’s not happening.

Tricks: Noah can sit up and play by himself. He can switch from sitting and get into crawling motion on his belly. I know that is only a matter of time until he is crawling. I’m not pushing it- I will have to do some rearranging of the apartment once that happens. He can push buttons and make toys do what they are supposed to do on purpose. He will ride in a shopping cart, sit in a high chair, and hold his own bottle correctly.

Sidenote: We love this stage of baby life.  Little Dude (Matt’s nickname for Noah) provides so much joy to everybody who is around him. Noah is all smiles, all social, all the time. He has been exposed to two babies- Kaleb Baker and Hudson Friedeck -this month, and he loved them both. He kept reaching for them and making noises. We loved watching the babes interact.

Matt and I feel very honored to be Noah’s parents. The Lord has blessed us abundantly and we both feel very undeserving. Noah Walker, you are loved!

Play Date with Hudson

On Friday, Amber came over and brought her sweet, adorable, little boy Hudson. We had dinner and let the babies play. It was so much fun . I think Noah and Hudson both loved being around someone their size. See the pictures below- double trouble!

Hey  Hudson dude, can I have your paci?

Or your foot?

Welcome to my play mat!

Noah, will you pass the giraffe?
Sure Hudson, no problem. 

                                     

Wanna crawl?

Mom, I promise we aren't into ANY trouble! 

Baker and Clem Babies

 We went from this

To this

To this

and NOW this

  and this

Time flies when you are having fun!

Looks Theory

So my new theory on Noah's looks is that the nugget has my side profile

 And……

Matt’s everything else.

Wouldn't you agree?

Swimming with My Boys

Although I have a dreadful cold, I decided to go swimming with the boys yesterday. It was gorgeous and I was glad to go out and get some sun. Our nugget is quite the little swimmer! I think he wants to be a swimmer like his Uncle Daniel. Hope you enjoy the pictures. 

My First Mother’s Day

Alright, so in my humble opinion, I believe that it was my second mother’s day (last year and this year), BUT this was my first mother’s day to spend with my boys. Last year, I was about 17 weeks pregnant with baby. We didn’t know his gender and I was still waiting for that moment to feel him kick.

I digress…

These were the faces I woke up to that morning!

My Handsome Man

May 13^th, 2012 was one of the most special days of my life. Matt and Noah (mostly Matt all Matt) were so THOUGHTFUL. Matt had been planning this day for some time. First of all, Matt made a surprise appointment for me to get my hair done. I’ve been kind of fed up with all the hair loss, drabness, and lack of life hair that I have been rocking since about January. He made surprise arrangements for me to get it cut, colored, and styled. It was SO fun. I have never done anything to my hair, and this girl was awesome. I even was able to enjoy a mimosa during the appointment and felt like quite the princess. I had two hours of just me time, which I rarely get.

The Milk + Honey Salon

 Afterwards, he surprised me with lunch. We usually don’t eat out except on date nights, so this was super sweet and I was STARVING. I chowed out on a delicious burger from Austin Java while sitting outside. The weather was perfect. It was amazing and Noah was loving people watching. He wanted some of my burger, but I told him red meat was not yet apart of his not. He understood-not. Homeboy was grabbing at my plate all lunch.

The new do!

 After eating, we drove home and Matt surprised me with me new running kicks. Yes, I am starting to get back into running and boy was it time. The tread was low on my other pair- I was starting to feel it in my heels. We then walked to Randall’s to buy me some BLUE BELL- my favorite treat after dinner. Oh yes, and it was ON SALE. I found the last of my favorite flavor- dessert trio. It was perfect.

We made dinner together and talked about our favorite memories. We tried a new dish that involved cinnamon, Romano cheese, noodles, and ground beef. It was very unique, and I think I will make it again. I’m now trying to add variety to our little menu in the Clem house.

My Boys with our groceries

We went to bed fairly early. We were both tuckered out from waking up at 6 a.m. That’s a long story, but Matt was able to go serve the homeless downtown with our small group. He took my place- which was so thoughtful, and I was glad to have the extra time to just relax in bed and read.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. I am so blessed. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for the next mother’s days to come. 

Do You Know-Ah Noah?

Alright, silly title, but homeboy has been keeping us busy lately. There a couple things I want to document/share that I do not want to forget.

First of all, Noah can put his own pacifier in his mouth. It is quite the trick for Noah and victory for the Clem’s. We keep a pacifier attached to him with a little strap. He is now oh so talented at putting it in his mouth when he needs it. It’s the cutest. I love his long face when he is busily working on sucking the pacifier. He will also put it in his mouth the wrong way and get the silliest expression. He looks like a little golden retriever who has fetched his bone. Yes, cute, totally cute.

Noah can flip pages in a book. We have a little plastic book attached to his bouncer, and he can flip through the pages like a pro. He looks like he’s reading it. Maybe we have the next Einstein on our hands. I’m fairly certain that everybody thinks they have a baby genius.

Obviously not a book picture, but CUTE!

Noah now sleeps about 11 hours night. Yes wonderful, but it has really taken a damper on the naps. He thinks that he is well rested after a 20 minute power nap. It’s the worst, and we are working on it. The funny thing is lately, Noah has been sleeping in the funniest positions. I mean look at this? I seriously can’t get enough. 

Finally, we have a dancing machine. Noah rocks out to the beat. It's hilarious. We have it on video. He moves his body back and forth- bobbing his head. I could just eat him up.

Sorry if this is just over the top, mushy gushy. I love my nugget!

Remember when...that time in Vegas...

I'm a big fan of asking people questions and wandering down memory lane. I can guarantee years down the road, Matt and I will be on a date and I will start the "Remember When Game". I think I will start the game off by saying, "Remember when we took Noah to Vegas when he was only six months old?"

Yes, that's right. The WHOLE Clem family took a trip to Vegas this past weekend. Are we crazy:? Yes, maybe a little. Would I do it again? No, but it was worth it-100% worth it.

My Two Handsome Men at the Hotel!

It all started when Matt was offered the amazing opportunity to join in on an MMPI conference in Las Vegas. I'm not even going to try to explain what that means, but it is a standardized test that him and some colleagues have been doing research on involving TBI (traumatic brain injury) patients. At first, Matt was just going to go, but somehow he convinced me that I should tag along too. It took some convincing, but I agreed as long as Noah could come with me.

Noah flew like a champ. I'm not kidding. Homeboy was given many compliments by other passengers that he was the BEST baby they had ever seen on a plane. I was really nervous that he'd have trouble with his ears and be fussy sitting in my lap for over 3 hours, but he did it. He was PERFECT.

We arrived on Wednesday night late and headed to the hotel. We stayed at Harrah's. It was nice. The conference had a special deal, so we were happy with the prices. On Thursday, Matt headed to the conference and from 8-5 (with a 3 naps in between) Noah and I moseyed around all the stores that were on our little block. My favorite was the Venetian and Cesar's Palace. They were so clean. I loved looking around at the expensive shops and enjoying the chocolate samples in some of the stores. Yes, I am the queen of samples.

Our Best Surprise Guest on the Right---AUNT CYNDI!

On Friday, Matt's grandparents (Oma and Opa) came down from California. They surprised us and Matt's Aunt Cyndi tagged along too. Boy were we excited to see them. Noah could not stop staring at Opa. That night, we ventured to my favorite memory of the trip- Heart Attack Cafe.

Two people have actually died after eating their burgers (sidenote). BUT, it was amazing food and a spectacular atmosphere. The waitresses wore nurses outfits, the men wore doctor's suits, and we wore patient gowns with wrist bands. There was NOTHING healthy on the menu. They even offer a 10,000 calorie burger. See below!

Look at that Burger!

Afterwards, we headed to Freemont and watched the light show. Noah was awake for a little bit, but the time change was hard. He took a pretty good snooze even though there was chaos around him.

On Saturday, the clan ate at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria- Mario Batali's famous restaurant. It was amazing- I want some as I type this. Opa ordered this cheese plate that we all were dying over. It was such a fun little lunch. We took our time ordering, eating, and conversing. The service was perfect, and the food was awesome. I felt like I was back in Europe.

I ended up not being adventurous and ordered pepperoni pizza, but a girl has got to eat when she b-feeds. I couldn't risk getting something too crazy and not liking it. If we ever go back to Vegas, I'd love to try more of the famous chef restaurants.

Oma and Noah at the Restaurant

 After this we headed to the M&M store by MGM. There are 4 stories of M&M gear. I was able to sample all the different flavors and boy was I one happy shopper. Our bags of merchandise we bought ended up getting stolen, but that's a sad story so I'm not going to tell it. Word of the wise- watch yo back in Vegas.

Ignore the my hair and Matt's Lakers shirt. 

Overall it was a great trip and we survived Vegas! 

Moments like these made it all worth it...

Opa, can I have a bite?

Oma, will you snuggle me?

Watch me, I'll put this whole bottle in my mouth.

Peace, Love, and VEGAS BABY!