Waffle fries and Croup

We had a weekend of firsts at the McMichael household.

First time playing with a laundry basket full of toys.

First bottle in a Chick-fil-a.

First waffle fry!

And the first time to have croup…

NOT fun! Ever since Noah started preschool he has had a runny nose and a little cough. I started using the bulb syringe/saline drops/humidifier on him and that seemed to help some but this past weekend he just took a turn for the worse. When he coughs, he seriously sounds like he is about to cough up a lung! Poor baby!

So this morning I took him to the doctor. He coughed almost on cue for the doctor and croup it is! THEN the doctor totally freaked me out and said that he should be ok but if he starts gasping for air then I should let him breathe the cold air from the freezer and if that didn’t work to take him to the emergency room! AH!

Hopefully that won’t happen! Gee whiz! But the doctor said that he was ok to go to school and he seemed to be feeling ok so I took him.

AND I noticed this weekend that TWO more teeth are popping through. His top two vampire teeth! I have been looking and looking for a cute Halloween costume all month. Maybe I should just let him be a vampire, since we will already have the teeth!!

And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the love of my life! I love you with all my heart. You are a fabulous husband and Daddy! We LOOOOOVE you!

Wow! I’m behind!

Have I ever gone this long without blogging? I think not! We are just so busy right now! Work is busy, home is busy, NOAH is busy!

We are going to have to drop his crib down this weekend. He normally wakes up around 6am and plays until I come get him and lately he looks like he’s about to pull up to a sitting position. I’m scared he’s going to try to escape!

I am also thinking about getting him the little blue seat thing for the bathtub so he can sit up in the big boy tub! He is outgrowing his baby tub in a hurry! I can’t believe he’s about to be seven months old!

We have so much coming up, too! A birthday party tomorrow, Daddy’s birthday next week, and THEN……Alabama FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!! We already have a little jersey for Noah! He can’t wait to watch the Tide Roll!

And since I last posted, Noah got promoted to the Older Babies classroom at church. I seriously almost cried!

Noah has always had a fascination with the tv, but lately he LOVES watching Nick Jr.! Any show! Except Yo Gabba Gabba because it realllllly grates my nerves! Can I get an amen?!?

So there you go. A little bit of a catch-up for you!

My gut-wrenching Wednesday night

Wednesday’s are always busy, long days for us. We work all day, rush to church at 5pm to eat supper and socialize, take Noah back to the nursery, attend the church service, then stay late for choir practice. I love my church and am there any time the doors are open, but Wednesdays always take a lot out of me.

So last night Brad, Noah and I were eating dinner at church with some friends. We have a very close Bible Study class. I love each and every person in it and would do anything for them and I’m sure they would do the same for me. They are our closest friends.

During dinner, about 5:20pm, we got a phone call from a member of our class telling us that our friend, (who is 38 weeks pregnant) was being admitted to the hospital.

My first thought was-Yay! Baby time! Until about 2.5 seconds later when we realized something was wrong. She was scheduled to have a C-section next week and she had just been to the doctor for her last check-up….and they couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat.

As soon as I heard that, I was up and out the door on my way to the hospital. I was so nervous all the way to the hospital. Could this really be happening??

It wasn’t long after we got to the hospital that the doctor came in and told us that the surgery was over and that the baby had passed away. No cord around the neck, placenta was still attached, there was no reason for it. No one knows what happened. She was 38 weeks pregnant with a full-term baby expecting to deliver next week!

I’m just devastated for them. I don’t know what to do or say or not do and say. Ironically (except there are no coincidences when it comes to God), I just finished reading Angie Smith’s book I Will Carry You. She had a baby that died two hours after it was born. So I feel like I know a teeny bit about what they are going through, but I still can’t even begin to imagine.

So I say all that to say this: We would all really covet your prayers right now. Please pray for our sweet friends and their families. This was all so unexpected. Pray for our class. We are all relatively young and don’t have that much experience with death, especially that of a newborn baby. This has really shaken all of us up. Most of us have babies of our own too, so it hits very close to home with us all.

And now that I have officially dampened your mood, let me cheer you up a bit…

I have officially decided that it’s impossible to feel bad while looking at that face!

Noah’s first day at school

Noah’s first day went so well! He was happy when I dropped him off and when I picked him up after work, he was passed out!

Melt my heart! He was so excited to see me and Daddy (Brad wanted to come with me to pick Noah up on his first day) when we woke him up! I could tell in his eyes that he had a fun day!

This morning when I dropped him off, the preschool director said, “HEY NOAH!!” and he smiled the biggest smile! I’m so glad he is having so much fun at school and I pray that he continues having lots of fun!

Happy Half Birthday Noah!

My sweet little baby is already 6 months old (as of yesterday)! I’m so sad!

Where have the last six months gone? Well here is what Noah has been up to lately:

• He weighs 19 lb 13 oz!
• Is in size 3 diapers
• Eats #2 baby foods…1 jar for breakfast, 2 jars for lunch and 2 jars for dinner…and a few 7 oz bottles throughout the day (yes, that’s why he weighs in the 90th percentile!)

• SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT! Can I get an amen? He normally goes to bed around 6:30pm and wakes up between 6:00-6:30am.

• LOVES blowing raspberries, especially with a mouth full of food, but we are working on that!
• Loves to jump in his jumper or with you holding his arms
• Gives kisses! Sometimes even without you asking him for one!

• Has TWO teeth that are VERY sharp! He almost bit my finger through the skin the other day! Ouch!
• Still has eczema, but it has gotten a little better now that we are using the 2% hydro-cortizone cream

• Rolls all over the place! If he sees a toy across the room that he wants, he rolls and scoots until he gets it!

• He may look like his Daddy, but he definitely has his Mommy’s attitude! If he wants something, he wants it NOW!
• Finally found interest in a paci, but not to suck on, just to play with!

• Tries to give Bella kisses all the time. Mommy says no and hurts both of their feelings.

• He can stand up by himself while holding onto the couch for a few seconds.
• He can sit up for several minutes all by himself!

• He is a baby of few words, but many facial expressions.
• Loves chewing on his toes!
• Still in the little bathtub and loving it
• Wears 6-9 month clothing

• Cradle cap is 95% gone! One Friday night, at the advice of my mother-in-law, I put baby oil in his hair, scrubbed it and let it stay in over night. The next morning, I washed his hair and Ta-Da!
• LOVES music (where does he get that?) and always falls asleep during my praise team practices or when we play our choir song “Jerusalem” in the car.

• Loves playing the ‘burrito’ game…

I love that child more than I ever thought possible. Even when he’s letting his attitude show, he will look at you and give you the biggest two toothie grin and melt your heart! Our lives would be so boring without him and we thank God every day for entrusting Noah to us!

He started school today….I thought I would be ok. On the drive to school this morning, I had to give myself a little pep talk and after that I was better. I walked in and three of his friends were sitting on a mat in a circle. One of his teachers sat him down in the circle and he just looked so big. :( I miss him! But at least I can return to normalcy at work.

Here are a few pictures we took this morning before we left for school:

I contemplated going down there and checking on him at lunch but everybody told me not to. So I called instead and he was doing fine. I’ve promised myself (and his teacher!) that I wouldn’t call anymore today. Now I’m just staring at the clock waiting for 5pm so I can go get him! And I thought I would get some work done! Ha!

6 month check up

Noah and I just got back from his doctor’s appointment. He scored an A+ from his doctor!

He weighs 19 lb 13 oz (90%), is 27 inches long (75%) and has a head circumference of 18 inches (75%). (I know the next picture is blurry, but that’s what happens when the monkey won’t sit still!)

Noah was a perfect angel for the nurse and doctor. He flirted with every woman in sight, as usual. And tore the white table paper to shreds.

He only cried for like a minute when he got his three shots and as soon as I picked him up, he was fine!

In other news….I FINALLY got my car back late yesterday afternoon! [Insert the Hallelujah Chorus!] I am SO glad to have it back!

Coming up…Noah’s 6 month birthday and starting school posts!

Car vent

So originally I was told that I would have my car back by last Friday. Apparently, while they were putting the parts back together, everything wasn’t aligning as it should so they told me that I would have to wait until Monday.

Fine, no big deal. I would rather them take their time and fix it right.

Monday comes….they got the parts put on but they are painting it so it will be ready on Tuesday.

Tuesday comes….the painter notices a spot that he missed. I will surely have my car back on Thursday.

Thursday comes…the painter notices another spot. He will touch it up and I WILL have my car back by Friday.

Friday comes….(notice the pattern?)…I drive by the body shop (as I do every day) and my pretty Expedition is happily sitting up front all clean and waiting on me! I call them to see when I could pick it up. Wellll……they just noticed a part missing off the bumper. They are going to order the part and ‘hopefully’ I’ll get my car back on Monday.

Seriously? Will someone PLEASE find that STUPID skanky girl that thought it was a good idea to make a U-turn going down the highway so that I can SLAP the STUPID out of her?!?!?!? The wreck happened a month ago today and I STILL am without my BRAND NEW CAR.

I AM SO PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!