Water Baby?

Devoted fans of Noah may remember his first bath experience:


Not the most pleasant of circumstances for the newborn. Also memorable was his first "real" bath (after the umbilical cord fell off). The pictures we posted were innocent enough, but I assure you it wasn't received entirely pleasantly:

Since that time, Noah has outgrown the sink. He has outgrown his little mini bathtub, and now he gets baths in the big boy tub. He LOVES them. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. He walks up to the tub as the water is running and tries to stick his hands in. He drops toys into the bath water. Once we put him in, he spashes and crawls and stands and falls to his butt and generally has a delightful time. He resists when we end his bath.

The truly hardcore fans of Baby Noah will also know that three previous attempts at getting him to swim (surgery lake party, kiddie pool with cousin Ellia, lake up north for Fourth of July) all ended in a practically hysterical baby.

Noah stubbornly seems to have his mind made up that he's a water baby... but only in the safe confines of the bathroom. So, when we went on vacation to Lake Michigan, we didn't have high hopes... but maybe the period that he took to adjust to bathtime would be predictive of the time he needed to adjust to lake time, and now he would have fun? Time would only tell...

Noah and Mommy unpack at the cottage

Noah demonstrating he's still a food baby, if not a water baby.

Preparing for the first trip to the beach

We didn't take long before putting Noah to the test. On the first day we were there, we unpacked our stuff, and then took the three minute stroll to the water. Are you on the edge of your seat? Can you imagine what will happen next? Maybe I should turn this post into a "Choose Your Own Adventure" sort of story, where you can choose the drastic plot turn...

Pretty lady... pretty beach...

Noah contemplates which "adventure" he would chose in the plot

Are you ready to choose your adventure?

• 
  
  Continue reading the next paragraph if you want Noah to love the water


• 
  
  Continue reading someone else's blog if you want a baby who hates water

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I'm about to make my grand water entrance.

Drumroll, please...

Tada! No screams...

(I know this picture doesn't demonstrate that, but trust me...

and there will be more pics, later.)

He loved the water. Whatever switch needed flipping was very much flipped. No fear. No anger. Just delight. Now, the only time he'd cry is when we made him get out of the water. He didn't mind walking around in the water. He didn't mind getting his pants wet. He loved every second of it.

Washing off the sand...

We enjoyed our opportunity to relax. We enjoyed time away from work and from our daily lives. Libby and Noah even got to enjoy a breakfast in bed.

Actually, Noah had already eaten breakfast...

This was Libby's turn to eat. Or does that grin mean Noah has other ideas?

Mmmm... peach!

Noah enjoying finally getting a chair his size...

On a walk on the Pier

Fortunately, we had great weather the whole time. Except, of course, the day we went to the Pier - a little rain and a lot of wind made for an interesting walk.

Noah managed to find a cozy shelter for the walk, though.

For the sake of actually getting this post online, I will forego the rest of the description and just let the cute baby in the pictures tell his own story...

The next steps in childraising...

At the ripe old age of 9 months and 29 days, Noah has entered a new chapter of his life. He has graduated from cruising to walking. (For anyone who was equally clueless as I was before Noah came along, "cruising" means walking with support... for example, holding onto the couch or a push toy or something.)

Yesterday, the actual date of interest, he was holding onto Libby's Nalgene bottle - correction, that's Noah's Nalgene (or at least he thinks so). Libby and I were sitting on different couches in our living room, and Noah was between us. As is his usual game, he wanted to go back and forth between us. This time, though, he had his hands full. So, who needs to hold on for support? Apparently not Noah. He took a good four steps completely unassisted (carrying a full Nalgene bottle, nonetheless) before deciding he was close enough to me that he could faithfully fall in my general direction and I would catch him.

Was it a fluke? Nope. Esra happily reported that he took three steps while she was watching him today. And I put him to the test (as well as my new iPad, as I hadn't used it to record a video before), and the results are below. See for yourself.

I apologize it's so close-up. He wouldn't let me get far away before he came after me :) And don't worry... I caught him at the end.

Happy Independence Day!

Only a month behind in my posts... That's not too bad, huh? Anyway, for the fourth of July, the whole Egle clan took a trip to the great Up North. Noah and cousin Ellia were the main attractions, but we all had a good time. Noah's great aunt and uncle have a cabin on a lake, which they graciously let us use for a long holiday weekend.

The babies kept everyone entertained. Noah tried to tackle Ellia... in fact, he even tried to sneak in a little smooching session. He does have a way with the ladies.

They definitely wore themselves out with their antics. Noah began cruising for the first time with a fancy little push toy that was at the cabin... Ellia wasn't very impressed, as she had been doing that for awhile, but she certainly entertained herself by crawling super fast away from that pesky younger boy who was chasing her.

We played at the lake the cabin was on... and we made a day of going to the Cherry Festival in Traverse City.

Ellia proved once again that she is a water baby through-and-through. Noah once again proved that he is not. Ellia frollicked in the lake. Noah avoided it with all his might.

We did manage to get him out on the row boat, though. He didn't really mind it. He wasn't thrilled about the life jacket, but he got used to it. And once he experienced the soothing lull of the gently rocking waves... well, let's just say he didn't stay awake for the whole trip.

Even once we got to shore, Noah continued to enjoy the tranquility of life at sea...

Meanwhile, the adults enjoyed some more active forms of water sports. The biggest hit, by far, (at least as far as I'm concerned,) was the water bike. What is a water bike? Well, I'm glad you asked. It's a bicycle that you ride in the water.

Kevin was particularly good at it. In case you're having difficulty deciphering what you're looking at in the above picture, it's a bicycle welded onto a raft. The chain, instead of being linked to a tire, is linked to the paddles at the back. The handlebars, instead of being connected to a front wheel, are connected to a rudder at the front of the waterbike.

Kevin was good, but look who was REALLY good:

And while we excelled at some things that were a little unconventional (like waterbikes), some more conventional activities, like Chinese lanterns, were a little beyond our paygrade. Two doctors, an engineer, a nurse, a computer programmer, and a childcare expert were complete at utter failures at getting the lantern to take off... on two tries! Oh well. It was making memories, right?

And stay tuned for another post soon! (It's always a more significant event that motivates me to actually catch up on posts... so, something to look forward to!)

Portland, here we come!

Once a year, the surgery program sends me to a conference. This year, it was in Portland, so after weeks and weeks of begging, Noah's grandparents in Oregon finally agreed that maybe they would tolerate watching him for a short period of time. Well, maybe that's not exactly how it played out, but the end result was Daddy and baby on a plane to Oregon.

Noah did very well on the way out there. He's a handful, and he's definitely more active than when Libby took him out west in December. It was such a good arm work-out, juggling him back and forth and struggling to keep him from grabbing the person seated next to us, that my arms were sore for two days afterwards!

Our welcoming crew included Uncle Roger from California!

We made it, luggage and all. My suitcase weighed 50lbs. Without exaggeration, about 25lbs of that was frozen breast milk and ice. It all made it intact... PHEW! Without it, it would've been a bit stressful.

First thing's first. After a long morning and afternoon of planes and airports, a little nap was in order, followed by some exercise! Grandma Asai had been looking for an excuse to go play on the swings at the local park for quite some time, and Noah was eager to oblige.

At first, I think Grandma had more fun than baby...

And then even Uncle Roger started playing, leaving no one to push Noah!

But finally we realized the error of our ways, paid the baby the

attention he deserves, and he was a happy camper, once again!

The trip was a great chance for Noah and his grandparents to get to know one another. At first, he was a bit hesitant, and he may even have cried once or twice. But over the long weekend, both grandparents got chances to play with him, feed him, hold him, walk with him, and yes... even have some EARLY morning baby duty...

I don't wanna sleep in the crib, Grandma! Your lap is more comfortable!

It was Portland's annual Rose Festival when we went. It was interesting to see all the people downtown and to see the excitement and activity in the city while I was going to the conference. Noah didn't really get to see too much, but it was probably for the best. You know, in Portland, people can be pretty "progressive." And apparently part of the way they define that on the west coast is by riding around on bicycles in a large group... naked.

I felt really bad as I walked past this scene, because there was this Asian man, walking with his 10-year-old son, in disbelief at the sight before us. He obviously had no clue what to do... point and laugh? Cover his son's eyes? Use it as an opportunity to teach his child about the birds and the bees? The son solved the dilemma for the man, though, when he excitedly asked, "Dad, can I pose in a picture with them?" So, he stood on the sidewalk as his father took a picture with a bunch of naked people in the background.

The other sad part of the experience was the very obese woman with the group, wearing nothing but a little tutu. She was struggling to keep up, and just after she rode past me, decided it was too much, and she got off to walk her bike, thus ending any hope that she might ever catch up and rejoin the group. Shortly, the other riders were out of sight and rather than being a member of a big group doing something weird, she suddenly transformed into one weird, large, naked lady walking her bike down the street.

But I digress... back to our star!

Noah loved spending time with the Asais. He got to visit with lots of his Portland Posse. Of course they showered him with attention and gifts, and as we all know, Noah loves an audience, so he ate up every second of it.

One of the highlights for Noah, though, was probably his interactions with Rosie, the family dog. This was the first time he had any sort of regular interactions with a canine friend. "Friend" is a relatively loose term, though. Noah took exceptional interest in the dog. Rosie was happy that (for now) she's still faster than Noah.

Noah showed off all his new skills to his grandparents. He clapped for them. He babbled. He crawled all over. He stood. He walked (with help, of course). He showed off his six teeth for Grandpa Dentist. He ate lots of solid foods. He smiled. He giggled. He was an all-around excellent entertainer.

That was all very hard work. It's hard to please everyone all the time. In fact, there's a cliché that says you can't do it, but Noah did the impossible. It came with a price, though. And by the end, a quick trip to the farmer's market before heading to the airport... well, let's just say Noah probably doesn't remember much of it...

Did that last post say he's crawling?!?!

Yes, it did. But really, what's more important? Crawling or a Tiger's game. Good to know we're on the same page.

May 27, Noah finally figured it out... only, at first, he didn't know he figured it out. He finally started making forward progress, aside from just lunging for things. He'd been doing that for awhile, sprawling out on the floor for any object which met his fancy (which 98% of the time was one of our cell phones). But Friday, he lunged... and lunged... and lunged... and lunged... and then, he was on the other side of the room! Poor Noah, though, apparently didn't remember where he started because he didn't quite realize he could make such advances.

For the next day, he continued to crawl, one lunge at a time, as long as we kept his goal (i.e. cell phone) JUST out of his reach. If we tried putting it on the floor on the other side of the room, he'd just cry, thinking he couldn't make it all the way. But if we led him, like with a carrot-on-a-string, he'd go as far as we'd let him.

That didn't last long. The video below is from May 30. He's basically mobile now. If he sees something he wants, he goes for it. He pulls himself to standing without thinking twice about it. He switches from crawling to sitting and back again like a pro (unless he's on a slippery floor... then he just ends up crawling backward instead of sitting again).




He's started taking steps, too, with our support. We don't often even have to coax him by making him lean really far one way until he picks up a foot. We just hold his hands, and if he's not where he wants to be, he'll slowly start stepping in that direction.

Time to install the baby gates.