Noelle Unleashed

Noelle officially became a "handful" this month. It happened somewhere after her 15 month birthday and came crashing home to me yesterday.

Dwayne and I juggle his school and my work around taking care of Noelle. So that means I have to get ready for work while watching Noelle - by myself. It used to be that I could just put the gate up at the top of our stairs and let her mosey between the bedroom, the nursery and the bathroom while I got ready. Things would get strewn about and messy, but nothing I couldn't handle. Yesterday though, everything changed.

While I was trying to get my work clothes out, I found Noelle splashing her hand in the toilet and then sticking it in her mouth. Then I caught her rummaging through the trash. I was mortified. Okay, fine. No more bathroom I decided and closed the door.

From there she trotted into the bedroom and headed straight for the desk. I turned around just in time to find her shaking a container of thumb tacks onto the carpet. I nearly leapt out of my skin. How is it possible that there are these sorts of hazards in my bedroom?! I pulled her out of our bedroom and closed the door.

I decided the safest thing was just to put her in the nursery with the gate up at the door. She was madder than a hornet at being confined, but I knew if I was going to attempt a shower, that was the only way to keep her safe. By the time I stepped out of the shower, she had stopped screaming and sounded like she was playing happily.

I walked around the corner to see what she was doing. I found the nursery floor blanketed in wet wipes. She was chewing on one. Books had been pulled off the bookshelf. She held a bottle of lotion in one hand and was shaking it up and down. Before my eyes, she flipped the bottle open, shoved it in her mouth and started chugging lotion. I jumped over the gate and snatched it away from her.

There's a book that Noelle likes for me to read called, "I'll Love You Forever." In this book there's a page that reads, "The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and he flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, 'This kid is driving me crazy!'"

I wouldn't say Noelle "drives me crazy." I'd just say she "wears me out!"

Christmas 2008

Like Father, Like Daughter

People have said from the start that Noelle looks like Dwayne. My father and sister have said more than once that Noelle's mannerisms remind them of Dwayne, but I couldn't quite see it until these pictures.

Noelle's First Birthday

The camera ran out of space, but at least got the singing and her first reaction to the cupcake! :-)

Talking

Noelle is getting four teeth all at once, and all up top. It's been a rough week! But she is cute as ever.

Today I could have sworn that Noelle formed a full sentence. The story starts when her friend, Caleb Catalan, lent her his activity table. I brought it home, and set it up in the dining room. Noelle could hardly stay away from it. She loved it. She was hooting and babbling and drooling all over it.

At one point she blurted out, "Aiy Yike Dat!"

I grinned and asked her, "You like that?" Not thinking for a second that she knew what she had said.

She looked at me, nodded and said, "Yah."

I nearly fell over! Who is this genius 11 month old in my home?

Laugh/Cry

Things that make Noelle laugh uncontrollably:

1) When I shake my head so that my hair flops around.
2) When I flap a towel or blanket in front of her face.
3) When I kill flies.

Things that make Noelle cry uncontrollably:

1) When I run the blender.
2) When I run the vacuum.

Babies are inexplicable.

Noelle at Yosemite

We went to Yosemite this week with a group of friends. My favorite part was spending so much time with Noelle. At the campsite, I had nothing else to do other than enjoy the scenery, my husband, my friends, and my daughter. Yes, she was in my arms constantly, which was a bit tiresome at first, but soon I realized that there was nothing else for me to do but enjoy her. So like two buddies we went everywhere together.



I found myself seeing more and more of my daughter. She is a bright, engaging little girl, tirelessly interested in the people around her, as well as her natural surroundings. She chirped and jabbered and roared at the other little kids, visibly trying to talk to them as if she were their age. And she was desperate to be out of my arms investigating the dirt or splashing in the water. There was never a moment when Noelle just sat and spaced out, like I like to do from time to time. She was always on, alert, and alive. I can only imagine what sort of little girl she's going to grow into. I look forward to getting to know her with each passing year.