Noelle Anaya...almost 15 months old!

I can look back and say that motherhood is the best job ever! My baby girl is turning into a little big girl right before my eyes! Noelle is now eating table food, drinking whole milk (only with strawberry syrup), and WALKING! She loves fruits and veggies, potatoes, chicken, and water too! She's a good, happy baby. She's expanded her vocabulary a little. "Baby", "puppy", "hi", "mama", "dada", "hot", "bad" (don't ask), "gone" and babbling in sentences. She also knows what a lot of words are, even if she can't say them. Words just can't really express all of the joy I have with my little girl.

For her first birthday, we had a big cookout at our aunt's house. There were lots of family and friends to celebrate Noelle's first year with us. She got an entire new wardrobe for her birthday. LOL! It was a great and exhausting day.



Noelle also went to her first Caribbean Carnival at the end of June. She did so well considering the large crowd. She watched the parade, ate rice and peas, and danced to Soca. She's such a fun baby!



This year for the fourth of July, we went to Chesapeake Beach with the family...We actually went for the third of July, but who's counting? We spent a good part of the day looking for parking...no joke. After everyone was together, we sat down for dinner on the pier...the food was OK, but I've had better. In any event, as always, it was just good to be with the fam! After dinner, we watched fireworks. Again, Noelle did so well. She ate crackers and watched the fireworks intently. She even took a self portrait. LOL! It was a good day.




I've been home for two weeks after having traveled for work most of the summer. She did so well at home with daddy...or should I say daddy did so well with her? LOL!

So now we're getting ready for fall. It came so fast! I can't wait to see how much more she learns.

Almost One!

I cannot believe my little Patootie is almost a year old! I don't know where the time has gone! She's such a little big girl. That's what I call her...my little big girl. Noelle has decided that she will stand and walk when she's good and ready, and not a moment sooner. She has also decided that her mouth is just fine without teeth. LOL! She will stand for split seconds and the moment she realizes no one is supporting her, she sits down...kinda like riding a bike, eh? LOL!

She has a blossoming vocabulary...she will say Mama, Dada, ba-ba (aka...butt-butt, thanks to daddy), e ga? (it's gone = when she drops something), oh and of course her favorite "Hi!". LOL!

She's eating pretty much anything we eat, but will only eat it off our plates, so eating's quite a challenge.

Her eczema flaired up in the last heat wave and she has a horrible heat rash on her neck...she scratches it so much and even broke the skin on the back of her neck. Ouch! I feel so bad for her. I try to keep it moisturized, and last Friday, I even gave her a mineral oil treatment...I rubbed her down from head to toe in mineral oil, and let her marinate (LOL!) for about 20 minutes. While she was marinating, I sat her in her walker so I could wash dishes and get her bath water ready. Well, Miss Noelle was not liking that, and decided to shout her protest to the heavens. LOL!



I think she was having a very bad day on Friday, because this is what happened when I wouldn't let her play with the powder.




I tell you...I love my boo-boo! She's so wonderful! I just hate that she's almost one already, but I know the best is yet to come!

New Entry Three Months in the Making

I know, I know! LOL! I cannot believe I let three months go by without updating my blog! I missed her first Christmas! I'm so ashamed. :-( Life just got so hectic.

Noelle is doing SO well!!!! I love my little big girl to bits! She is so smart and busy. She said her first word on January 10, 2009...it was "Hi!" She says "hi" all the time now, and to anyone who looks her way. It's the first thing she tells me in the morning...if she doesn't cry first. LOL! I cannot believe we're only 10 weeks away from her birthday. I remember so much about my pregnancy so fondly and am getting so sad that she's almost a year old. It just went entirely too fast! She's had her first very bad cold, her first fever spike, and been to her first pool party. LOL! I'll have to do another post just to update on pictures.

Noelle loves to be on the floor and exploring everything. She is cruising around anywhere she can get to. We moved a week ago, and now that she's on the floor more and there's so much more room, she follows me wherever I go. She has a very good appetite and loves to eat her Gerber Puffs and her veggies. She actually prefers veggies over fruit. When she eats, you hear "numm, numm"...LOL! Yes, she makes that sound as she eats. She is just an absolute joy to watch grow and I am so blessed to have her.

Once we get settled, I'll post pictures of Noelle exploring her new territory. In the meantime, here are some recent photos of my little boo-boo over the past few months.

Shortly after Christmas when she started cruising


In February eating melon at Golden Corral


Nine Months Old