It was a long day. Noah went to the doctor again this morning. He has another double ear infection. 🙁

So, he’s been battling that today, in addition to getting fitted for a new helmet. Poor guy!

Tonight, he fell asleep while eating…

Noah said goodbye to his old helmet today, as we gave it to Cranial Technologies.  Cranial Tech scanned Noah’s head for his new helmet which should arrive on or before February 22nd.  Their scanner is quite a bit different than Hanger’s scanner.  The Cranial Tech scanner uses 25+ cameras around and above him to composite a 3D image of his head.  It looked like the holodeck from the starship Enterprise!

Instead of his cute “Amish” bonnet that he wore before, he wore a nylon sock over his head.  That didn’t go over really well, but he was a good sport about it.  After several tries with several toys, we finally got a good image.  So, now we wait.

Our new physical therapist, Amy, was very helpful in our decision to go forward with the second helmet.  She re-measured him for us and gave us a lot of good feedback for our decision.  In the end, we decided it was worth the time and effort (and money) for a second helmet.  Noah says he agrees.

It is amazing how much our lives have changed in a matter of a single week.  As I am typing this, I am fighting my son to keep his curious little fingers off my computer.  He is now climbing up my leg.

Just last week, I could place Noah in the middle of the room, walk away with the security of knowing that when I returned, he would be where I left him.  Gone are those days and gone is any sense of security.  We have gone from crawling, pulling up and standing, and climbing up stairs and there is no turning back.  The baby gates are up, the plugs covers are in and our running shoes are on.  Just when we thought that we had everything under control (how silly of us to ever think we had ANYTHING under control) Noah decided to show us his latest trick.

I cringe at the thought of the day when I walk in and see him climbing on the outside of these stairs.  It’s only a matter of time…  Gotta run…Noah is on the loose and there is no stopping him!

It’s still really cold here, but at least we woke up to power AND water this morning!  The kitchen is finally clean, all the dishes are washed and put away, the laundry needs to be folded, but that’s nothing new, and the floors are fairly clean.  It’s amazing how much you can get done when you are forced to stay home!  This ice is really crampin’ my style!!!

Noah and I are loving having Neil home this week.  He is still working, but it is such a blessing to just have him here.  I’m trying to show him what he is missing by doing lots of baking!  I hope it’s working and that we aren’t gaining all this weight for nothin’!  Off to put the biscuits in the oven and make the sausage gravy.

Today, it is cold.  We awoke to having no electricity and no water.  The electricity is back on, but I guess the pipes are frozen.  🙁  So, we’re trying to stay inside and stay warm!

Poor little Noah is battling a cold once more, and his little nose is rosy (and runny).  He’s bundled up good and warm, and he is having a grand time with both of us home today.

It snowed/iced again last night.  So, what does that mean???  Another opportunity for a Hallmark Moment…

I think that I may have to give up on ever achieving that magical moment.  The realization that this may be a “made for tv” moment that I will never see is slowly sinking in!  Noah was in a better mood this time, a little…well at least he didn’t cry this time!  I think that it helped that I had him dressed in 6 layers, a nice warm hat, mittens/socks, and a snowsuit that was made for the michelin man helped keep his bottom from getting wet or cold.  He HATES to have a wet cold bottom…who wouldn’t??? 🙂  We did get some better pictures this time and he even crawled around in the snow.  I couldn’t find his mittens, so we had to make do with socks.  (Hallmark would never use socks for mittens!)  Of course, as soon as we got back inside, I found them!   I think that the only one that truly LOVED being out there was the dog!  Oh well, I have some pictures and  I can live with that.  Hallmark, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be!

Once back inside, I made some cinnamon rolls and Noah had his first scrambled egg.  He loved it, but he has yet to try anything that he hasn’t loved.  The boy is crazy for food.  Maybe I should have taken his breakfast out in the snow for him to eat. 🙂

Noah had his 9 month appointment with the pediatrician today.  His latest stats:

20.8 lbs

29 inches long

75% percentile on height

50% percentile on weight

462mm head circumference

That last figure made us decide it is time to remove his current helmet permanently.  He’s outgrown it at this point.  We’re still debating a new helmet for Noah, as we’ve had two doctors/therapists tell us it may not make sense to continue with treatment; for the cost, we may not see that much improvement.

Noah has an appointment on Tuesday with a new helmet provider, so we’ll hopefully have confirmation one way or the other by then.  Prayers would be appreciated for wisdom.  Last night, during his bath, was the first time in a long time that his head has looked very symmetrical to me; so, that was encouraging.

The electrical outlet child-proof plugs are in, and the stair gates are going up…

Noah woke up this morning singing.  I went upstairs to see him, and he was climbing in his crib.  Then, he decided to stand up in his crib!  Earlier this week, he taught himself to pick up Cheerios and eat them.  And, by the end of the evening today, he was crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on anything he could find (the fireplace hearth, end table, coffee table, us).

Our world has changed this week, and nothing is safe anymore…

Today, we had customers in the building, and I had to dress up and be prepared in case I was called on to present to them.  I went to lunch with Amanda and Noah, and excited about having Noah with us, I wanted to get him out of the car seat and carry him inside to lunch.  Unbeknownst to me, Noah had decided he would poop all down the inside of his outfit.

…and onto my dress shirt.

…and onto his car seat.

…and all over everything.

Luckily, I didn’t have to present today.  But, I did wear my poop badge of honor all day.  Thanks, son.  🙂