Jamaican Me Crazy!

This is certainly an overdue post. My family went to Jamaica for a little pre-Christmas vacation. (Thanks Mom and Dad!!). Although I had significant reservations about the flight, how Noah would do on the flight, how he would do when we were there, how we were ever going to pack for five days in paradise (since it takes a village to raise a baby when we are at home...how much more do we need to pack to go out of the country??), and then the worries of home kick in - are the dogs going to be okay, will the house be okay??

Deep Breath...

The trip was outstanding. From beginning to end, the trip was outstanding. Yes, it took all of us to entertain Noah. However, he was a breeze on the flights, and even easier once we got there.

I will spare you from reading all the boring details of the actual trip. Instead, I will show you how adorable the little Bug was in Jamaica.

Learning to Crawl.

Before I blog about Jamaica, I had to share this video. Noah is learning to crawl - and has done so over the break. It has been so neat to watch him go through the steps of learning to crawl.

He started vacation just being able to lift his upper body with his hands. From there, he could get up on all fours but not doing anything. THEN, he could rock back and forth and fall flat on his face...kerplunk. Over the last day, literally, he has been able to army crawl. My goodness, it is cute. This video is the best crawling I have seen yet; it was tonight. At the end of the video, I move the computer backwards, away from him. Naturally, he gets mad at me for making him work harder than he already has....rightfully so, I would have been mad too, had someone done the same to me.

Without further ado, may I present to you, my little (army) crawling Bug!

Jamaica, Here we come!

Cullen, Noah and I leave for Austin tonight. This makes me happy. What makes me happier, is this time tomorrow.... I will have my toes in the Ocean! Jamaica, HERE WE COME!

My Funny and Amazing Baby....

Noah has a jungle gym.

When he was an infant, I would lay next to him and hit the monkey to light up. When he was a few months old, he could hit it with his hands or feet and the monkey would light up. Now, he is sitting up, and knows that if he shakes the WHOLE mat, the monkey will light up... and if it doesn't he will shake his mat harder. It fascinates him and amazes me that he is so smart, and can figure things out!

Picture Heavy Posting

Recently I have recorded some great pictures -or moments- in Noah's life. I decided instead of writing a super long post, like yesterday's dimple story, I would show you how fun our life is via pictures.
Noah has found a friend in the mirror. What I love, is that Noah is equally excited every time he sees his friend in the mirror. Each time, he throws his hands up, cheering in excitement. He likes to kiss and play "slap-hands" with the baby in the mirror. He would play for hours if we let him.
He has also been spending more quality time with his Papa. Papa thinks it is VERY fun to feed Noah ANYTHING. Noah is especially fond of ice cream from Papa. No matter how much Noah's momma disagrees with it, Noah and Papa blow off Momma and have fun - you know, man time!
And, then there are the moments that are so special to me. Kisses on the cheek while he holds my face. this is his usual way of hugging and kissing. It melts my heart every time he does it. I don't know that I will ever get tired of baby kisses.
We are also learning to crawl. He an scootch backwards - and he can get anywhere! BUT, scooting forward is a whole new ball game. Doesn't the look on his face scream, "Hey, I think I got the hang of this."
Reading with Mommy. We are reading one of my most favorite books, I Love You Forever.
Noah met his new cousin, Aubrey over Thanksgiving. Lovingly, he smacked her, right in her beautiful, perfect little face almost immediately after meeting her. (typical boy!) This is a close up of Baby Aubrey. Isn't she sweet!
Over Thanksgiving, Noah had a HORRIBLE ear infection. As a part of his ear infection, he would not let me go anywhere without him touching me....well, Momma needed to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. So, what did I do?? Put him in the sink and let him play.

Since thanksgiving, he also can sit all by himself. WHAT A BIG BOY! This is now his preferred way of being. Sitting up.
More mommy time. This is something I will forever cherish. No matter how old he gets.
More time with his friend in the mirror. More kisses.
This baby was none-to-happy that I made him wear Christmas outfits! However... maybe it was just THIS outfit. Because, look at the next picture....
He is happy as can be here.
BTW: Noah and the puppies are finally friends. Brodie and Millie have finally given in. They have accepted that he is here to stay.
One last one. We needed to make the bed... where else can you put the baby while you are making a bed?? Yep, on top of all the comforters and too many pillows, inside the pack n' play!
Life is pretty good right now for The Mills' family. But, when you have a baby this cute, it is hard to not be happy all the time!

Dimples.... Not the Kind God Makes.

Ah, Dimples. You know, those cute things on your face – just in the perfect spot to put your finger to and sing. (Think Annie, the musical). If you are so lucky to have them, Thank God. God made these dimples…well, God and your parents.

If you are Cullen Mills, or a direct descendent from Cullen Mills, you get your dimples otherwise. Nope… I am not talking about the dimples on your bottom (which are only cute if you are in diapers). I am talking about man-made dimples.

Cullen has told me a story about how he got the dimples on his face. I know what you are thinking… “Uh… wasn’t he born with them??” Go with me here. He has a beautiful smile. When he smiles, genuinely smiles, he has two perfectly symmetric dimples; one on each side of his sweet little face. Cullen told me when he was little, he and his brother were chasing each other around the house. Cullen being mischievous, antagonized Courtney – to which his response was to slam a door right into Cullen’s face, leaving a permanent dent (ala the dimple). Now, logic would tell you that it is NOT possible to create a permanent dent, (exactly symmetrical with the other side’s dimple (that was created by God)) in your face without some serious damage done. Cullen would argue otherwise.

Let me clarify…he will argue to the death about this dimple. He will tell you that it IS a dent. I swear. (Do you hear the HUGE sigh and eye roll from me??) Let’s fast forward 20+ years.

Yesterday morning, Noah was playing perfectly in our room, as he does every morning while we get ready. I am in the bathroom rolling my hair. Cullen is playing with Noah (because that is so much more fun than actually getting ready), when out of the blue I hear a huge THUMP, and a pretty loud yell…. Then Noah yelled. Noah, who has recently learned to sit steady on his own, fell over – right onto the ear of his hard, plastic tiger.

Guess what??!?!? IT PUT A MINI-DENT IN THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD???!?!!!!!! I swooped in, calmly, to play Mommy. Cullen went to iron his pants while I tended to Noah. It immediately turned red, and became raised - around a dent, created from the tiger’s ear - but it didn’t seem to bother him; he only fussed for a second.

I tried to contain myself. I couldn’t. I knew it was coming. I felt it rise up. I knew this wasn’t going to be good. I knew a cheeky comment was coming……………”Oh My God, Cullen. Noah has his first dimple!!!”

Cullen was none to pleased with my sassiness. He said a few expletives and took Noah to school. When I went to pick up the Stinker after school yesterday, I’ll be darned if he still had a dent in the side of his head.

Moral of the story: Maybe there really are two kids of dimples. God-made dimples and man-made dimples. Who knew? (Well, three kinds – if you count the ones on your tush, too.)