Noelle - Summer 2007

Noelle is so special to me. She is at a great age and her little personality is really emerging. Here are a few interesting stories.

Noelle, at 7.5 months, is a computer whiz! Really! She grabbed the keyboard from me and in the span of less than 1-minute she (1) deleted an important e-mail, (2) initiated 3 PowerPoint presentations, (3) developed a rough draft of a title slide for one of the presentations, (4) made the cursor disappear, and (5) logged out as a user to complete her session. All this, while simultaneously testing the structural integrity of the keyboard. Amazing!

I went to pick up Noelle from the nursery a few weeks ago following Church service. A mother and daughter were peacefully caring for a few infants. The mother was walking Noelle around. When Noelle saw me, she immediately started crying. I'm thinking about saying, "She loves her Daddy - I don't know why she started crying when she saw me". Instead I say, "Oh Noelle" and I take her in my arms. She immediately starts to stop crying. I realize that she was overcome by emotion when she saw me, because she was in a strange environment with people she did not know and her Daddy came for her. It felt so good to comfort her, she had tears in her eyes and her breathing was still heavy from crying. I really cherished the moment.

Noelle outgrew her creaky bassinet, so we are in transition as far as sleeping arrangements go. So, Noelle is now sleeping at night in between us. Once she rolled to me and gently grabbed my face with both of her hands. She then rolled over to face her mommy for the same embrace. Sometimes she falls asleep gently holding her mommy's face with both her hands. Very sweet.

Misc. Noelle is so curious about the world and she loves to look at things. She is very fond of Athena and Athena likes to lick her feet. She really dislikes having her nose wiped. Connor is so abrupt with Noelle, and we are always concerned about her safety. His antics and actions often make her laugh. The growing bond between them is very evident. She usually greets Connor with a big grin and sometimes a little squeal. Connor is always saying, "I want to see Noelle!". He is quick to run to her side if she is crying. Noelle is starting to experiment more with sounds (na, na, na, na & ma, ma, ma, ma). Recently, I was standing over the kitchen table and she grabbed my shirt. I looked down and she was beaming up at me. Usually, she is looking at the object she is grabbing, so this was a special moment for me. She is gradually learning sign language and she will open and close her hands if she wants to nurse. She sometimes twirls her hands, and sometimes she will do this for me if I initiate the same motion. We smile at each other. Often she smiles at someone and then turns away shyly, sometimes nestling into mommy's shoulder.

Let Them Play!

(click on image for larger image)

Conner and Noelle's playground equipment finally arrived! This is a wonderful gift from C&N's Grandma and Grandpa. I believe our kids and many other children will enjoy this for many years. It makes our backyard so inviting. It is great for Connor because he has so much energy. He plays on it almost every day. Athena really enjoys the kids playing. She joins right in, and she has attempted to climb the ladder on a few occasions - all paws on rungs!

We learned about a tip to make the slides super slippery - baby powder! The kids get going really fast on the tall slide. If you are not quick to get your feet down at the bottom, you end up completing your sliding experience on the ground! The tall slide is fun for kids of all ages and I like to go down it once in a while.

The Sea Monkey Chronicles / Part I - It is Time

Sea Monkeys playfully swimming about their habitats bring joy to millions of people, young and old. Every minute of every day, someone, somewhere, is spending quality time with their Sea Monkeys. From my childhood in the early 70s, I recall the wonder, disappointment, wonder, disappointment, and finally lingering wonder associated with Sea Monkeys.

Sea Monkeys ad seen in many comic books during the 1970s

The experience for a child during the 70s went something like this… Wonder: You can’t believe you are going to have these Sea Monkeys as pets! The little Sea Monkey family looks so cute! Disappointment: You must wait 24 hours for the water conditioner to establish the habitat before you experience your “instant pets”. Wonder: You wonder if you can really see them, but finally you focus in on little creatures darting about - Cool! Disappointment: Although you have probably been told, you eventually learn first hand that the Sea Monkeys depicted on the package look nothing like the Sea Monkeys in your little aquarium. Wonder: Its fun to show your new little world to family and friends. You explain to them that it is silly of them to think that the Sea Monkeys would look like the cartoons on the package. Ultimately, the little aquarium gets a little fishy smelly, probably cloudy, and you wonder if they are still alive. Finally, the little aquarium somehow disappears.

It is time. According to my calculations, based loosely on Chaos Theory, I felt it was time for young Connor to experience the phenomena known as Sea Monkeys. Even as an adult, I was once again duped by slick marketing and cuteness. The classic Sea Monkey caricatures were gone from most of the packaging (relegated to the instruction booklet), but you now have the opportunity to raise your Sea Monkeys in new Mini Worlds! I chose The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys on the Moon! The kit includes a habitat with a moon landscape and adorable little aliens.

(to be continued)