This is the post where I finally get off my butt and write something!

So it has been over two months since I last posted, and it is probably beginning to seem pointless to even have a blog. I don't even really have a good excuse, since I manage to find the time nearly every day to catch up on other people's posts. The reason I keep giving myself is that I want to sit down and write a really long and meaningful post. But honestly, I don't think there is a whole lot of long and meaningful in me. I think maybe a better goal will be to update frequently with small snapshot entries - the kinds of things that crack me up or make me melt at the time but are probably too insignificant to make their way in to my long term memory. It makes me so sad to think about how much I have already forgotten or will soon forget without ever having documented it. I hope this kind of goal will be more manageable for me, and who knows, maybe taken as a whole, the entire blog will become long and meaningful. Small steps, right? So after today's somewhat long but not necessarily meaningful post, I will begin my honest effort to post at least a couple of times a week.

Noah slept in his own room in his "big boy" crib last night for the first time. It was a lot harder for me than I thought it would be. Up until last night, Noah had still been sleeping in the co-sleeper next to our bed (on my side except during the two colds I have had). He really is getting too big for it at this point, and I had told myself that we would make the switch over Christmas vacation but it never happened. After some gentle prodding from Darren, we decided last night was the night. We have a video monitor installed in his bedroom, so I can watch him from our room. To be honest, I think it actually contributed to my anxiety, because every time I heard him make a peep or rustle, I had to switch on the video feed. This not only temporarily blinded me, it also woke me up enough that I never really fell asleep until a little past one. Not great, especially when you consider I had set my alarm for 2:30 so I could check on him (it made sense to me when I went to bed expecting to fall asleep immediately). Needless to say, Noah did just fine in his big boy crib, sleeping straight through the night, waking up to see Pepere after I had already left for work. I have a feeling many of these milestones will cause considerably more stress for me than it will for them. Ahhhh, the joys of motherhood.

So many fun milestones since I last posted - Noah started blowing raspberries last weekend, and we crack up every time. He is actually getting pretty good at them, and I swear he already has the sarcastic timing to give a good raspberry exactly when it is needed. That's my boy!

He found his voice over New Years and is babbling non-stop - by far my favorite sound in the entire universe. He was diagnosed with a lazy vocal chord when he was in the NICU, so we always wondered what effect that would have on his voice. And I had begun to worry more recently that he still wasn't babbling or even cooing much. Let this be a lesson to me (one of many I am sure!) that he will do things at his own pace, we just need to be patient. I cannot explain how joyful I feel when I wake up last on a weekend morning and hear Noah's squeals from playing with Darren downstairs - one of the best feelings in the world!

Noah rolls from belly to back and back to belly now, although definitely only when he feels like - which is basically never if the physical or occupational therapist is working with him. Oh well, that just means he is too modest to show off, right?

He is doing great with his trunk/torso control, and I don't think it will much longer before he is sitting on his own. He loooooves books, and will pay attention while he and I look at several of them. He loves to reach for the pages and is getting pretty good at turning them. He has even held a book himself a couple of times, although the one time he did it while laying on his back the book slipped out of his hands and before I could catch it, it bopped him on the head. Sorry Noah!

His favorite game is peekaboo right now, and Noah LOVES to be surprised! Darren and Memere seem to be best at it, but he is happy to play with anyone.

I think that is probably the most important thing to mention about Noah. He is just so happy. He is the most content baby that I have ever known. He lights up the moment he sees a face he knows, and even for some he doesn't. We would feel blessed regardless of his temperament, but to have a baby as sweet-tempered as Noah is, just seems like more luck than either Darren or I deserve. I just can't get over how perfect he is.

And to prove it - just check out the above adorable picture of him from the holidays!