Another Milestone...

My apologies for not being more on the ball with updates. As a matter of fact, a friend today was just talking about how she hadn't seen the blog in awhile and was excited to see all the new posts that she missed. I immediately felt guilty because there would be few or none that she missed. So, here's an update. A new post for all to enjoy.

Life will never be the same for Noah. Or for us, for that matter. Noah hit another milestone. He's seven-and-a-half months. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most babies should reach this milestone by a year. I guess that's just evidence of how advanced Baby Noah is. Although, that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, right? His cousin has been crawling for awhile, trying to show Noah up, but you know what? He's not having any of that. He decided to tick another accomplishment off of his checklist and get even.

That's right... Noah went to his first Tiger's game.

The photo makes it hard to tell who's more excited... but it's Noah. Trust me.

As part of the extended Jonathan Egle Day celebrations, Kevin took us out to a ball game, and if we didn't win it'd be a shame. For it's One, Two... Sorry. I got sidetracked there.

Good seats... left field. Home run territory. Noah doesn't have a mitt yet to catch home run balls, but don't worry - he can catch bare-handed.

Can you see us? Well, "us" meaning everyone but Noah and me...

Noah was thrilled to wear his hat.

But adjusting it makes him look cute, doesn't it? I bet he probably knows that...

Before the game, starting pitcher Brad Penny asked Noah to pose for a picture with him. Noah always likes to please his fans, so of course he obliged. Don't worry, Brad, once Noah learns to sign his name, he'll send you an autographed copy.

Of course, most of the game Noah and I spent out of our seats. It was 82 degrees at first pitch and got up to something like 86... not exactly baby friendly weather. Despite about 8 coats of sunscreen (I wish I were joking), Noah was not so pleased with the sun. So, we spent probably about half the game in the shade. We took a nice leisurely lap around the stadium, checked out the air-conditioned gift shop, and then planted ourselves in Al Kaline's shadow. Well, his statue's shadow. That afforded us a nice view of the game. Correction, that afforded me a nice view of the game and a nice place for Noah to get a nap.

View from Kaline's statue

We visited Ty Cobb's statue, too!

When we did make it to our seats, Noah kept cool. He didn't get into the game as much as I was expecting, but I guess since he lives and breathes Tigers baseball every day, it was probably overwhelming for him to be there in person. So, he pulled down his hat and cozied up with a nice bottle or two. Don't worry - I signed up to be a designated driver, so he didn't share his drinks.

Sometimes he was happy in our seats...

He legitimately liked it when the Tigers did well. He got a big kick out of the people clapping and cheering - because he was so pleased to be in the company of so many other Tigers supporters, of course.

Before the game, an usher came up to us and told us whenever a kid see's his first game, the Tigers win. And after the game, we got this picture...

Noah's first Tiger's game... what a milestone! By the way, he's crawling, too.

Noah's Favorite Food

After 6 months of anticipation, the day finally arrived... Noah's first taste of 'real' food. Of course, you and I know that bland, rice cereal for babies isn't really food, but you have to start somewhere...

Cutest Baby Contest 2011... We Have a Winner!

Enough with the words, right? We need more of our star. So, here is... NOAH - The Six Month Portfolio!

Bringing People Together

Quite a while back, Grandma and Grandpa Asai called.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Them: "Hi, we were thinking of visiting. We were thinking maybe the weekend of March 12."

Us: "Well, that's so far in advance we don't have our schedules yet. We don't have vacation, and we don't know if we'll be on-call."

Them: "That's ok. Will Noah be there? That's all that really matters."

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Well, that's not verbatim, but that was basically the summary of the conversation. So, they booked their tickets, and as it turned out, we were around for most of it. I had call on the day that they left, but otherwise, we got to spend some time with them as they played with Noah.

Noah and Grandpa having some quality time on the couch

Grandma Asai shows Noah how cool rattles are

So they came. Of course, Noah was excited to see them. He was especially excited that Grandpa Asai brought him a toothbrush and that he could finally have someone who knows what they're talking about examine them.

And Noah, being the uniter that he is, rallied up the troops and invited everyone over for dinner at our place.

Cousin Ellia was chilling out, maxin', relaxin' all coolin' on the couch

Noah likes Grandpa Egle's hand hold

It was fun to get together and see people. Dinner was great. Some of it may have ended up on Kevin's head, thanks to his daughter.

And of course, after dinner, Ellia got all crazy like she tends to do, and she started table dancing... Fortunately for us, Kevin was able to restrain himself and didn't join her.

All the Girls Say He's Pretty Fly for a White Guy

New Kicks Our kid's got fashion. There's no denying it. And to prove it, here are some shots of his kicks...

They make him dance everywhere... even on the kitchen sink

That's right. Converse All-Stars. I don't know if I've ever been cool enough to have a pair of those. But Noah rocks them. Granted, it takes his parents a good 15 minutes to get them on him, but they look sweet. He can just chill at home with the cool footwear, knowing that if he needed to run anywhere, he's got the traction to do so.

Surgeon in Training

Noah really likes his daddy. In fact, Noah wants to cut people, just like his daddy does. So, he was quite excited to model his new shirt from Aunt Laura which shows how eager he is to cut things with Daddy.

What are These Funny Things? Feet! Noah has found those wonderful little appendages... perfect for grabbing... sometimes for trying to eat.... often good sources of tickling. Before, he would just lie complacently, waiting to get his diaper changed. Then one day he found his hands and they never left his mouth. And now, he's found his feet so that he grabs tight and never lets go.

Overalls

Every little boy needs at least one pair of overalls. And if anyone can make overalls look good, it's Noah: