this.is.happening...

Yep... that's right, folks... Noodle #2 is on it's way. I'm 14 1/2 weeks pregnant and expecting the new addition the second week of April -- one day after my 30th birthday to be exact! However, if this one has any of the same ideas as big brother, i.e. "get me outta here ASAP"... it may be more like March!

We're more than thrilled and can't wait to meet the new little one. We've yet to figure out a way of how to tell big brother, but I'm sure that will all come soon enough... or he'll just have to figure it out on his own! (I'm really toying with the idea of just bringing the baby home and telling him then -- probably not the best plan, however.)

some food for thought about #2 so far... (mmm.... food!):

1. I seriously forgot how much being pregnant and me do NOT get along. My husband did remember, however, and it's been his first real "I-told-you-so" moment of our marraige.

2. You have to be very creative when explaining to a 2-year-old what vomitting is. (Noah has found me hunched over the toilet on several occasions with quite a bewildered look on his face.)

3. This baby does NOT appreciate the smell of Chinese food coming through my bedroom window from my downstairs neighbors at 3am... neither does it appreciate most of the smells of NYC streets/subway system.

4. Trying to keep up with a toddler while pregnant is just a whole different ball game. (It makes breaking up middle school fights seem like a breeze!)

5. Figuring out the logistics of adding a second baby to our life in NYC might just be harder than getting through grad school.

I'm sure there will be more to come :)

soccer!

So, we signed Noah up for a little parent-and-me soccer class this fall in Inwood Hill Park. (originally intended to be a Saturday morning dad-and-Noah bonding effort... READ: a break for mom on Saturday mornings... however, Jon has yet to attend a class because of his ridiculous work schedule right now so, I've officially been forced into soccer mom-hood... at what I think is much too young of an age for me!)

This past week was our 2nd class and it's going really well. Noah's having a blast playing all of their really creative games (i.e. trying to get 2-year-olds to follow directions in an organized way). Games such as "make an ice cream cone", "toss the pizza", "feed cookie monster", "sit on the magic carpet", and "kick the bubbles" are some of our fav's. We also have "water breaks" about every 5 minutes and lots of "stretching" time. I'm impressed at how Noah's been able to follow directions (with LOTS of cheerleading from mom) and has only distracted his "teammates" a few times by getting them to chase him off the field!

here are a few pics:

on our way!

for some reason he was totally into posing for these shots -- hilarious!

(must be his new threads... thanks Nana!)

ready, set, go!

(learning how to wait for the whistle -- check out that stance!)

run, hop over the cone, and shoot!

GOAL!

water break.

disappearing through the magic tunnel...

run, sit on the ball, then score!

(they all LOVED this one... still not sure why)

feeding cookie monster!

***Jon always said that if our kids came out with my legs, they'd be soccer players for sure... guess he got his wish! Hopefully, Noah will get some height out of the deal, though!***

first day of "shul"

Today was Noah's first official day of "pre-school prep" and it was very exciting! He's taking a little class 2 days a week at our local YM & YWHA. This was the same place that we attended a parent & me playgroup last winter, so I thought sending him back for this next step program would be a good transition into preschool next year (besides giving us something to do during the long winter that is quickly approaching!)

It's been amazing because he's actually in the same classroom that we were in as last year and a few of the same friends are in his class too. I'm definitely having a harder time with the transition than he is! On the first day, they had split the class in half and just met for half of the time with each group. The parents all stayed and it was nice to get to know everyone and go through a shortened version of their routine. It seemed as though they had the same thing planned on the second day, so I showed up expecting to stay, but the teachers casually asked us all to gradually leave and sit in the hallway so that the kids could start getting used to us leaving with a smaller group. Noah did great -- it was definitely me who was having the issues. And I definitely wasn't the only one! I sat out in the hallway with all of the other parents all huddled together worrying about our kids. Someone even thought to go peek at the security cameras in the lobby to see if we could catch a glimpse of them... so pathetic!

In any case, it's been going great so far! I think my biggest thing is just not being able to hear and see all the stuff that he's learning (especially now that his favorite phrase is, "I don't know!" -- not helpful when I'm trying to ask him what he did in school today!) It was really funny too, because after that second day when I left him, I asked him, "Noah, how was school? and he answered back... "Shul?" in perfect Hebrew. I'm obviously aware that they'll probably be teaching him some things like that because it is a Jewish Community Center... but who knew he'd be bilingual on the second day?!?

Oregon trip

We made it back from our post-summer-vacation to visit Jon's family in Oregon. We had originally planned to go in August, but then Jon's work told him that no one could take vacation in July or August... so, we pushed it back to leave on Labor Day weekend.

We had such a great time! I did some serious packing-prep... buying all kinds of new treats and little toys that would entertain Noah on the 6 hour flight (turned 8 hours). So, about every hour, he would get some kind of treat or toy that would usually keep him entertained for awhile. He was also fascinated with the seat belt buckles and the headphones they gave us on the flight (hey, whatever works!) Unfortunately, the portable DVD player didn't go over as well this time... he was too distracted by everything else to pay attention to it, so that was a bummer for us! Luckily he took a nice nap on both flights so there was some sort of break. But he really loved the plane and couldn't wait to "go to Ow-e-gon to see Nana and Gram-pa-pa!"

It was so nice to relax and and tons of help with Noah. He lovedlovedloved his grandparents and aunts and uncle (and getting to know "kitty kitty!" -- the very skittish family cat). We've visited them before but this is a very impressionable age for him and I really think it all finally sunk in. While we were in Portland, we had a great time hitting their awesome playgrounds, picking tomatoes, visiting grandpa's tree nursery, going to the zoo and the children's museum, wandering around downtown, and Noah especially loved being in the car... he's seriously obsessed! We also went to the coast for 4 days while we were there and had an amazing time. We stayed in a great house right on the beach and the weather totally cooperated with us (which if you know the Oregon coast, that can always be a gamble!) But everyday was gorgeous and there was no rain the whole time we were there. Noah had a great time digging holes in the sand, flying his kite, watching daddy and uncle Mike skimboard, playing in the water inlets and going to the aquarium. He even slept in a "big boy bed" while we were there.... granted, we put a railing on it and lined it with a bumper pad, so he really didn't think he could get out -- but I was amazed at how well he slept in it!

It was just so nice to be around family and also around my husband for more than an hour a day! Jon kept asking me what I wanted to do while we were in Portland, and I would just tell him that I was having fun just going to the playground and hanging out with him and Noah! So, it was a much-needed break from the city and our daily routine and SO nice to be around family. Jon and I were able to break away a lot and have some alone time too, which is always nice!

We had such a great time... thanks again everyone!

here are some pics:

stoked to be riding the tractor at gram-pa-pa's "farm"

Horey family initiation #1 ... picking fresh fruit and veggies

Horey family initiation #2... grinding wheat for homemade waffles!

checking out the polar bears at the zoo

riding the zoo train!

FAVORITE part... petting the goats!

washing the beloved "nana's car!"

playdate with baby O.

(a long-lost city friend!)

cooling off at the fountains

hanging out at the children's museum

(couldn't be torn away from this thing!)

feeding the ducks by the Willamette River

bravely petting starfish at the aquarium

watching the enormous kites on the coast

playing in an inlet of water at the beach

(cuz it was just too darn cold to play in the ocean water!)

yay for family fun!

**elevator update: Noah finally stopped talking about the broken elevator about 2 days after we got to Oregon (he was literally praying for it to be fixed every night!) And then the second we pulled up to our apartment in the cab, he starts whining, "ell-i-gator not workin'!" sure enough... he was right! so it continues...

elevator woes

I know I've posted about this before, but it is such a huge part of our daily life, that I feel like it definitely needs mention...

So, the elevator in our building is being replaced and will be out of order for about 6 weeks. It's extremely old and usually breaks down every few weeks, so this is a very good thing. And it's really not a huge inconvenience now that Noah can walk up and down the stairs on his own and we only live on the 2nd floor (not to mention that there are 3 sets of stairs that lead up to our building anyway!) But for those city moms out there, you know that you treat your stroller like a car and it can get quickly loaded up in a morning of running errands and it's just as heavy to carry up the stairs as when your child is actually sitting in it. Anyway, this is beside the point. Yes it's annoying to me, but we'll be out of town for most of the construction time and I'll be happy to have a brand new shiny elevator when we get back.

The other side of the story is how this is creating some SERIOUS anxiety in my 2-year old. I mean we're talking life-altering stress! All I hear about every day, all day, is how the "ell-i-gat-or is not workin'". So I am constantly reassuring him that the "workers are fixing it". But he demands his comfort friends "bear-sheep-blanket" and stands by the door listening to the drilling, hammering, etc. and tells himself, "it's ok... you don't have to be scawed!" Sad, right? Then it's TOTAL drama trying to get out the door. If I open it, he starts screaming and crying about the elevator even if the workers aren't even there. (I will admit, however, there is a creepy light that shines out the bottom of the elevator door while they're fixing it...) And I try to reassure him that it's ok, we'll just take the stairs. When I finally get him down the stairs (which usually requires me carrying him and the stroller even though he can walk perfectly fine) he tells everyone that he sees coming in the building that the "ell-i-gat-or is not workin'" and that they'll have to "take the stairs."

It's so crazy how their little minds work!

Belmar beach

On Saturday we took advantage of one of Jon's few-and-far-between-weekends-off, rented a car and headed to our favorite little NJ beach. It's just a small beach town on the northern most point of the Jersey shore. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the most exciting part about it for Noah was the fact that there were playgrounds on the beach about every block (also the most exciting part of it for us too!)

Noah loved playing in the sand and was completely entertained playing under the umbrella for a long time (it's a good thing too, because I was being seriously neurotic about keeping him on a regular sunscreen application schedule.) He got kinda freaked out by the waves in the water after one got uncomfortably close to him, so we spent most of the time chillin' on the blanket and taking turns watching him on the playground. We stopped for some ice cream on the way out and called it a day... a really good day.

staying cool in the shade

**overcoming his fear of slides!

practicing his rock climbing skills

**on another note, I think he's finally overcome his fear of slides that he's had for the past 6 months... I'm pretty sure I traumatized him awhile back but that's all for another post!

little helper

Noah has become quite the little helper lately and I must say it's been really nice. Sometimes it's just SO much easier to do things myself than to patiently teach him how to be helpful. But lately I've found that just by giving him "small" little jobs that are still meaningful, he gets a huge thrill out of it and takes a lot of pride in his "work."

here are a few of his weekly chores:

setting the table for breakfast

setting out the chairs for our daily lunch-time "picnic"

helping with the dishes after dinner

unloading the groceries

pushing the laundry cart down the stairs

(just kidding, mom!)

changing the laundry

I'm seriously considering a chore chart... anyone had any success with something like that at this age? Why not train 'em young, right?

next job to assign: scrubbing the toilet!