Leah Jent

Counting Our Blessings

2011-03-22T10:28:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been a while. I know some of you might think we disappeared off the face of the earth, but in fact I just stopped blogging so much about Noah and his Hirschsprung's Disease because since his surgery, things have been, well... normal. Noah is 2-1/2 years old, and he hasn't needed any kind of assistance from us since March 2009. It has been two years since we've had to do any irrigations. We have been so completely blessed with the outcome of his surgery. I read a lot of stories about kids with HD who need irrigations, laxatives, dilations, or who have horrible cases of diaper rash. We have just been blessed beyond all measure, beyond what we deserve. And we are so thankful for it.

Another giant, wonderful, huge blessing in these past two years has been the birth of Noah's baby brother, Lucas. We were so excited, and I'll admit, a little dubious, when he was born without Hirschsprung's. I spent several weeks after his birth being very nervous that it would somehow develop and show up later. But he's nine months old now and still healthy. There are no words to express how happy we are to be a healthy family of four!

We are counting our blessings... and thanking God for each and every one.

Noah (2.5yrs) & Lucas (3mos)

My Blog has MOVED!

2010-01-01T22:26:00.001-05:00

My blog is moving... Please check out the new one, and subscribe for regular updates!

http://leahjentphotography.com/blog

Oh, and in case you're wondering, here's my photography website!

http://leahjentphotography.com

Dear Jessica

2009-12-23T04:37:00.002-05:00

Dear Jessica,

When you are this beautiful, it just makes the rest of us look like slobs.

Love,
Leah

Insomnia

2009-12-16T06:24:00.005-05:00

It's been an awful first trimester. I can't sleep very well, especially on my days off when I want to be sleeping at night. It's hard for my body to go from one schedule to another with only two days to make the switch. Hopefully I am going to transfer off of night shift very soon, because I really miss spending time with my family, having a clean house, and sleeping at night. I keep waking up between 3 and 4am wanting to eat because I eat at work in the middle of the night. I eat nonstop now. Last night I woke up at 4am and finally dragged myself downstairs at 5am to make crab scrambled eggs. Yum! Tonight I woke up at 2:30am and finally got up about 4:30am (after tossing and turning for 2 hours!), and I started working on some editing and ate some green beans and pears. I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep!

Here are a couple of pictures of Noah to go with my complaints...

I love how his eyes match his jacket. Yes, if I had to describe them, I would say his eyes are "Denim-Jacket Blue."

The K Family | Columbus Family Photographer

2009-11-22T17:09:00.003-05:00

I usually don't edit on Sunday, but both my boys were asleep, and I needed a distraction from smelling the delicious turkey in the oven! So here is another quick sneak peek of Sarah's family.

Isaac

Isabella

Lily

Elliott

Jacob

Sarah and Shane

Sarah's Sneak Peek! | Columbus Family Photographer

2009-11-22T09:59:00.002-05:00

I'm currently on Photography Hiatus until the exhaustion and sickness from my first trimester goes away, but I had a long weekend off working at the hospital, so I got together with my sister's family on Friday for a Christmasy session. I really enjoyed working with the seven of them. It was really challenging with so many kids, and it was freezing cold outside, but I had a blast! We met at Franklin Park Conservatory, which has a lot of beautiful places to shoot. Here's a shot of the main building with all of her family sitting on the steps.

I'm not going to post The Christmas Card Photo, because I want it to be a surprise when she sends them out to friends and family, but I will post more from this session soon, and I promise there will be close-ups!

Noah's First Haircut

2009-11-09T10:39:00.003-05:00

Okay, I have trimmed the hair over his ears before, so technically this is his second haircut, but today I used the buzzers, and big chunks of his blond hair fell to the bathroom floor. It made me very sad. I swept up a few locks of hair and put them into a baggie to save, as only a sentimental neurotic mother would do. He was really good during the haircut, too. He just sat on daddy's lap and giggled while I buzzed away on his head.

From the back it looks about the same.

But from the front... I think he looks all grown up now without those scraggly bangs hanging down to his eyebrows. Not to mention his "don't mess with me" face.

Funny Face

2009-10-29T08:03:00.002-04:00

Noah has been making a lot of weird faces at my camera lately. This shot was taken on the balcony of the bed and breakfast where we stayed in Tennessee for Jess and Tex's wedding. This was the perfect lighting and scenery for a portrait, but he didn't give me one single "portrait" expression. No smiles, no moody serious faces. He just bared his clenched teeth in every photo!

Oh, funny face. You get this from daddy, right?

14 Months

2009-10-27T04:14:00.004-04:00

Fall foliage? Check.

Navy vest? Check.

Weird face? Errr, check.

This little boy just keeps getting better and better with each passing day. Today I was upset about something, and he crawled up and laid his head down on my belly and started patting me on the side, the same way I pat his back gently when he bumps his head or has trouble falling asleep. As if to say, "It's okay, Mama." He was so sensitive to my emotions today, and it made me feel better.

Noah gives hugs and kisses, plays peek-a-boo (he covers his cheeks instead of his eyes), and understands simple words and phrases now, such as "upstairs," "bye-bye," and "nap." The other day he ran headlong into the bathroom and jumped into the tub fully clothed simply because I asked if he wanted to take a bath. He hasn't attempted to nurse in about two weeks now, so we're all done. He's growing up! Like a little funny-faced weed.

Noah, we love you, and we are so proud of you.

Love

2009-10-22T01:15:00.003-04:00

I promise I'm working on Tex and Jess' wedding! Here are two more faves from what I worked on today.

Wedding par-tay!

Love this one...

Jess & Tex's Wedding

2009-10-11T21:29:00.005-04:00

Jess and Tex tied the knot yesterday in a ceremony that was completely them. Although it was a very crisp October afternoon, the outdoor ceremony was beautiful and heartwarming. I had so much fun photographing their wedding that I couldn't wait to post a sneak peek. I promise there are lots more photos where these came from!

Congratulations, Jess and Tex! You made my job easy and fun. Enjoy your sneak peek!

Noahisms

2009-10-06T07:24:00.003-04:00

Noah is fourteen months old, and I've skipped quite a few monthly updates. I've been really busy the past few months, but I wanted to quickly type a few things up so I will remember them!

Isn't it funny how we teach our children tricks? Noah's current arsenal of tricks includes:

clap
point
high five
blow kiss
wave bye bye
point out my nose if I ask, "Where's my nose?"
walk and run
get up from the ground without pulling up on furniture
go up and down stairs
climb on furniture and tables
stab food and eat with a fork
fold his hands to pray when we say grace (although he's been very stubborn about this lately because when he's hungry, food is more important than anything else... kinda like his daddy, haha)

Words that he says, and their translations:

"Dah!" - said after ducking his head down and then popping up. It means "Boo!"

"Fffsssh" - said while pointing at his night light that makes ocean creatures circle around on the ceiling. It means "fish," but he says it with no vowel sound.

"Taco/Tago/Tackle" - this one sounds different every time. Said while wiggling his fingers on my belly. Translation: "tickle tickle tickle."

"Huh?/Ho?/Ha?" - said while holding my cell phone or his toy phone up to his shoulder - he hasn't quite mastered holding it to his ear. It means, "Hello?"

"Dada" obviously means Daddy.

"Mamamamama" usually means "I'm sleepy! I want to nurse and take a nap right now!"

Little Miss A: 11 days new

2009-09-28T00:52:00.003-04:00

Miss A was such a good sleeper, and I just adored her dark curls and perfect little mouth.

I love how strong she looks in this one because of her flexed arms. Big yawn!

Even when she woke up, she was so content and very alert for a newborn.

K, it was so nice meeting you and your beautiful little girl.

Baby C: Nine Days New

2009-09-27T23:59:00.002-04:00

Mr. C was the newest of three little cutie pies, and I'm so glad I got to meet him and his adorable family. He was so teeny tiny and sweet. Here is a little sneak peek for the C family.

I love September

2009-09-18T19:39:00.003-04:00

I have always loved September. We just celebrated our second wedding anniversary on September 14th and Nathan's 29th birthday on the 17th. I have two portrait sessions coming up next week that I am very excited about. What a great month!

Noah is growing and learning new things and getting into everything. I love watching him explore his environment. Especially when he stands on tip toes!

Smile!

2009-09-17T01:51:00.005-04:00

Is there anything better than a baby's toothy smile?

Noah learned to blow kisses yesterday. I'll try to catch it on camera soon.

Rub A Dub Dub

2009-09-15T23:58:00.004-04:00

I've wanted to take some bath time pictures before, but I was really afraid Noah would splash and soak my camera! Today I bit the bullet and brought my camera in while he was in the tub. He splashed a lot, but I made sure to avoid the water flying through the air.

Here are a few photos of my water baby. He looooves bath time. His least favorite part? Getting out!

We should've been outside...

2009-09-11T01:18:00.004-04:00

But I was just too lazy. It was a beautiful day - blue sky, puffy white clouds, the perfect temperature - but we didn't go out.

Notice he's still wearing his pajamas and chewing on my camera cap.

Because sometimes that's just the kind of mom I am.

Miss Kaitlyn

2009-09-08T18:28:00.002-04:00

Here is another photo from the farm on Sunday. Kaitlyn is Noah's cousin - she was born three weeks before him. I just love her perfect little mouth!

Isabella

2009-09-07T10:39:00.004-04:00

I can't believe my niece Isabella is five years old. I remember when she first started saying my name. She would say "Uh! Uh!" whenever she saw me. Then she learned my name had two syllables, so she called me "Eye-uh" for a while, until she learned the E sound and started saying "Eee-uh!" Finally she learned the L and how to say Leah. I remember her birth, her first steps, and her first birthday party. I can't believe she started kindergarden this year!

Right after I took these pictures, she laid down on her back on the floor with her hands under her head and asked me if I knew what she was doing. I said, "You're lying down." She said, "Nope, I'm chillaxing."

Sigh. They grow up too fast...

Another Baby to Photograph? Yes, please!

2009-09-06T23:52:00.004-04:00

We went to the farm tonight (Nate's grandpa's farm; everyone just calls it "the farm") and had delicious food. We let Noah play with the other babies in the grass. In Nate's family there were a ton of babies born last year, so Noah had several playmates. Here's one of Nathan's cousin's daughters. She is just GORGEOUS. I love the dark brownish red color of her hair. Seriously, women spend money trying to get this hair color...

She was so cuddly and huggable, not shy at all! She kept coming up to me trying to touch my camera. I just adore her!

Hirschsprung's Disease

2009-09-02T04:38:00.001-04:00

Noah had a follow-up appointment last Friday with the surgeon who did his pullthrough for Hirschsprung's Disease. Dr. L said that Noah looked wonderful; he is eating, growing, and most importantly - in the realm of this disease - pooping on his own. Noah is no longer on any kind of baby food. 99% of the time he eats the same breakfast, lunch and dinner we are eating, although I do cut his up into smaller pieces than ours, of course, and we still don't feed him bananas or rice. We haven't irrigated him since March. Dr. L said that Noah's abdominal X-ray is the real proof of how well he's doing; there is no damage, no blockage, and everything looked great on the film. Dr. L said that he wants to know when we start to potty train, since children with HD can have issues with toilet training, but if everything continues to go this well, Noah won't ever have to have another checkup with him. We were so excited to hear this great news! I can't believe that this time one year ago we were dealing with hospitalizations, biopsies, X-rays, contrast studies, daily irrigations, and surgery. Staring in the face of that kind of whirlwind, I felt like we would never see the other side of it. Thank God for modern medicine and fantastic doctors like Dr. L!

Hirshsprung's Disease obviously had a huge impact on our lives, and it may still rear its ugly head later with Noah or any other children we may have in the future. We will keep praying for all the babies, children and families who are living with this disease.

Noah with his daddy, Nathan. My two HD survivors.

Let's Go Outside - It's Still Summer!

2009-09-01T00:29:00.003-04:00

Noah loves playing in our backyard. If I take my eyes off him for two seconds - to change the settings on my camera, for instance - he will have a stick, leaf or rock in his mouth. If you look closely you'll see a stick or leaf in his hand in several of these pictures.

Noah News

2009-08-31T19:22:00.006-04:00

So after I posted about how great Noah has been with sleeping in his crib, he decided to be a totally different baby this weekend. He would NOT go to sleep in his crib! Maybe I jinxed it by bragging about having the perfect baby. We had such a horrible time with it the last three nights. I guess we're still in an adjustment period. Darn!

Meanwhile, Noah has started to walk! He took a few steps here and there a couple weeks ago, and he walks more and more everyday. He still tends to crawl if he's given the option, but he will walk if we hold out our arms and say, "Walk to me!" I've seen him let go of the furniture and walk on his own a couple of times now, too. Here's a short video I made today:

Where does he get that energy? I need a nap...

The Crib

2009-08-27T23:57:00.003-04:00

This is what greets me every morning when I get home from work. I can't believe how well he has taken to sleeping in his crib. He goes down about 10:30 or 11:00pm every night and doesn't wake up until at least 7:30am, but most days he sleeps in his crib until about 9:00am. [Side note: some of you mommies might think we put him to bed too late, but we both work late schedules - Daddy gets home from work at 9:00pm, so our whole day is pushed back a few hours. Noah eats breakfast around 11am, lunch around 4pm, and dinner around 8pm. So this is just the schedule that works at our house.]

I was worried he would be sleeping in our bed forever, but once we moved to our new house and set up the crib in his new room, he has slept in his own bed all night, every night. We didn't practice the "cry it out" method of transitioning him to his bed. Honestly, I couldn't have done it. I'm just not that mom. But we figured out how to get him to sleep in the crib rather quickly - and tearfully. Noah has adjusted to it really well. It took about two hours of work the first night. The next night it took no time at all. We just rock him to sleep and lay him down. Now he's used to the crib and goes down without any trouble at all. The best part: we are all sleeping better now that there's room to move in our beds!

I really do have the perfect baby.

Love

2009-08-25T08:50:00.004-04:00

How could you not love those big blue eyes and chubby cheeks?

I am having a great time with photography lately, learning a lot of new things and just LOVING it. I can't believe I found something I enjoy this much! I have honestly never been happier in my life than right now. I love my family, my new house, my new favorite hobby... I love life!

Spread some love today!

Golden Hour

2009-08-24T12:55:00.004-04:00

I encourage you to get out and shoot in the hour before the sun goes down, AKA the Golden Hour. The light changes FAST, but it's so pretty! Also bring a lens hood. I didn't bring mine because my camera bag is pretty much stuffed full with just my huge lens and my camera (I need a new bag!), and you can see how hazy the light was - hello, sun spot! This picture would have been a lot easier to edit if I had brought my hood. We didn't have time for many shots with the sun going down and the kids running in circles around us!

A Favorite

2009-08-22T07:39:00.002-04:00

After all this time, this is still my favorite picture of Noah. I know his face is chopped off, but all I see is my 6-month-old baby making little pursed lips at me. His eyelashes are dark and long (grown women should have beautiful eyelashes like that, but instead my baby has them), and there's so much curiosity and wonder in his eyes. I still remember the way he toppled toward the camera because he wasn't good at sitting up on his own yet. I was so lucky to get this shot before he fell and his fingers grabbed my lens.

Sweet, sweet baby... I love every second of you.

Something Different

2009-08-21T01:31:00.003-04:00

Just trying out something a little more moody and dark. Not so cutesy-baby. Every now and then I have to push away from my usual.

I love the results...

Big Boy

2009-08-19T23:55:00.003-04:00

One year old. I can't believe it. This morning I came home from work to find Noah still asleep in his crib. He actually stayed in his new room all night! He is growing up right before our very eyes. At his 1 year checkup, he weighed 26lbs and measured 33 inches tall. The doctor thought his height was written wrong on the chart until he walked in, took one look at Noah and said, "Wow, he is tall!"

Here are a couple pictures of him in our new backyard.

Mid-laugh. I can almost hear his little chuckle when I look at this picture.

What, Mommy? I'm not going to eat it, I promise. Look over there, Mama, there's a doggie...

Ten seconds later he was eating the leaf.

Firsts

2009-08-17T13:43:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures and blogs lately, but this has been a super busy week. We finally got everything out of the old house and moved into our new house. Moving is such a huge job - even two miles across town! This week has been full of changes and big transitions for all of us, especially Noah. Noah has his own room at the new house, and we're starting to move him to the crib more and more. It's tough for him, but it's honestly tough for me, too. He slept in the crib for four hours last night, and I was awake every minute of it. Every. Single. Minute. I have a hunch that most first-time mothers would react the same way to their baby sleeping in a different room for the first time. Of course all sorts of crazy thoughts were running through my mind: what if a fire starts in his room, what if someone breaks in and comes up the stairs and takes him, what if his blanket gets stuck over his face? Crrrrrazy. And by the time I was able to stifle these psycho inner voices and start to drift off to sleep, I heard his throaty cry on the baby monitor. Awesome.

Another big first for Noah this past week was his first word! He has been babbling for months, saying "ma ma ma ma" and "da da da da," but this is the first time I was utterly convinced that he said a word and understood its meaning. Maybe it's technically his third word - after mama and dada - but either way, it's so adorable. We were all relaxed, getting ready to go to sleep, and Noah crawled over and put his pudgy little hand on my stomach, started moving his fingers and said, "Tiggle tiggle tiggle." At first I laughed and said, "Ha! That sounded like tickle tickle." Then he kept doing it, over and over. He can say tickle tickle! How cute is that?! He does it all the time now, to his teddy bears, to me and daddy, to inanimate objects like pillows and doors, and even on his own belly. I'll try to catch it on video so you can see how cute it is!

I'd better get back to unpacking. I'll take some pictures soon, I promise!

Three More

2009-08-10T08:42:00.002-04:00

Here are three more photos from my session with Olivia.

Love the "Oh!" expression in this one when she heard a train honking its horn!

Miss Olivia

2009-08-07T17:55:00.002-04:00

I went to see my friend from work and her daughter for a photo shoot tonight. I think the first image I edited might end up being my favorite. I love how her arms and legs look so graceful, like a little dancer.

She had me chasing her all over the park!

Well, that's just adorable...

P.S. Tonight I learned that 2-year-olds are hard to photograph!

Stealing is Dumb

2009-08-06T01:17:00.005-04:00

I can't decide if I should watermark my photos or not. No one can (easily) steal watermarked photos. Sometimes I think I should - at least the stuff that I consider "good" (in a few years I might laugh at what I consider good now). But on the other hand, I feel pretentious for even thinking that someone would ever want to steal any of my photos. What could they even use them for? I mean, sure, if you steal a photo, put it in your portfolio, and try to pretend it is your work, that's evil, but won't it come back to bite you in the rear end? Once you've used someone else's work, your clients will expect that quality of work. If you are capable of producing that quality of work, there is no reason to steal. If you aren't capable of it, eventually your clients will notice and wonder why you aren't living up to your portfolio. Bottom line, stealing images is stupid, disrespectful, and can eventually end up being a really embarrassing pitfall for you. Just learn how to be a better photographer!

So what do you think? Should I watermark or not?

One Year Old!

2009-08-04T18:07:00.004-04:00

Noah's birthday party was a big hit! We had lots of family and friends there to celebrate his big day. We ate grilled hot dogs, baked beans, watermelon, and sherbet punch. We also had a construction cake and cupcakes with road signs (and two Biohazard signs because I'm a science nerd). Noah received a lot of gifts, including Little People Noah's Ark from mommy and daddy, a suit for church from grandma and grandpa, a walking/riding lion from nana and papa, and clothes, books, and other toys (Fisher Price made a ton of money from our guests!). Noah is excitedly playing with all his new toys as I type this. I can't wait to put him in his new clothes!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Happy First Birthday, Noah!

2009-08-02T23:54:00.002-04:00

Here's a sneak peek from Noah's party on Saturday. I can't believe my little Noah is one year old! Of course I got a little emotional over the weekend [my baby is growing up so fast!], but I am so happy and proud of my son. He didn't have a nap before his party - and his silly mommy scheduled the party right during his usual naptime - but he toughed it out. He was laid back and smiled for the whole celebration. I will post more pictures once I have time to sit down and sort through all ten billion of them. If any of you took pictures at the party, let me know if you'd be willing to part with the unedited files.

Happy Birthday, baby boy. We love you!

Summer Fun

2009-07-28T20:26:00.004-04:00

We are loving the warm afternoons. I love the perfect afternoon temperature and light. Noah just loves to eat grass and get dirty. Here are some highlights from the last week.

Love this one...

Evey after her new haircut. She didn't want me to take her picture, but I stole a couple.

Despite her mad face, I just love this one. Plus she's so frickin' photogenic, even when she's pouting!

I hope you are enjoying your summer half as much as we are!

Five

2009-07-27T18:47:00.002-04:00

We went to the lake yesterday, just to get out of the house. We weren't intending to swim, but when we walked over to the beach, Noah crawled right in. Our little water baby.

Shoes

2009-07-26T16:50:00.003-04:00

Since Noah is almost walking, I got him his first real pair of shoes. And since he's the coolest baby in the world, he asked me for Converse.

Four

2009-07-24T23:55:00.002-04:00

I did some shooting yesterday until my camera battery died. We are enjoying summer afternoons!

Ready or Not

2009-07-21T17:26:00.004-04:00

I have a friend who says she isn't ready to have a baby. I keep telling her no one is ever really ready. If someone had asked me a year ago if I were ready for sleepless nights, worry, fear, frustration, crazy paranoid thoughts, and crying everyday for a month at the dinner table, I would say, "Of course not; that sounds awful." It sounds more like I've had a mental illness than a baby [and for the first few months it seems like a baby and mental illness go hand in hand]. I don't know if it was true post-partum depression, but there were hours and days in the beginning that I felt like I could not go on. I spent nine months "expecting," but I was not expecting that. I had heard stories and read books about the physical pain of labor, but no matter what I read or heard about the hormonal or emotional impact, nothing had prepared me for the mental tilt-a-whirl. For weeks after Noah was born, I'd look at Nate tearfully and choke out, "I just can't do this." And he'd always look at me calmly, knowingly, unflinchingly, and he'd say, "But you are doing it."

And then the tilt-a-whirl does what you'd expect: it tilts the other way. Just as nothing had prepared me for that pain, no explanation or description or poetry about motherhood had ever prepared me for its opposite: joy! There is nothing like feeling his chubby hands grip your shoulders when you pick him up after a long night at work. There is nothing so joyous as seeing recognition in his eyes, watching a slow smile spread across his face because he knows his Mama. Nothing smells so sweet as his hair after a bath, nothing warms you up more than his squirmy baby hugs and slobbery kisses. Nothing is sweeter than your baby.

You aren't ready for a baby. No matter how prepared you are, it comes in and takes you by surprise. The baby takes over your life, shakes it away from what you thought it would be, and transforms it into something else entirely. All your plans fall softly around you, like the first winter snow. Life goes on, more heartbreakingly beautiful than before.

Cute Craftiness

2009-07-20T14:38:00.004-04:00

I found these cute animal frame kits a few months ago, and today I put them together and put a couple of our family photos in them. There's an owl one, too, but the glue on it isn't dry yet. I can't wait to put these in Noah's room when we move into our new house. He's going to have an adorable animal-themed bedroom!

Three

2009-07-18T11:45:00.004-04:00

I wanted to shoot in full sun, but we got back from the Chinese restaurant too late. The sun was almost down when we went out. I'll try again on another sunny day.

Two

2009-07-16T19:11:00.004-04:00

Today I learned that I want a macro lens.

One

2009-07-15T17:41:00.008-04:00

In the interest of shooting more, I've decided to start a kind of 365 project. For those of you who don't know, a 365 project is where someone posts a photo everyday. Now I may not post every day - I may not even shoot everyday - but that's because I'm pretty busy with a one year old, working third shift, packing, moving, and making homemade pies everyday... Okay, that last one was a lie, but let's just say I've got a lot on my plate. But since photography is important to me, I'm going to give this a shot. Here's hoping I learn something!

Family Photos

2009-07-14T13:32:00.004-04:00

Here is a long sneak peek of our family photos. We went out to see the sweet and talented Christine of Krysia Photography, and I think she did a fabulous job! I seriously want to be her. Well, with my own style. She totally rocked these!

I gave Nate a mini makeover for the photoshoot. I went out and bought him shorts and flip flops since we were doing this outside in summer weather. About this picture Nate said, "Everyone is gonna ask who that guy is standing next to Noah since I don't wear shorts."

Christine, if you are reading this, I really LOVE you!

Stubborn Baby!

2009-07-07T16:43:00.007-04:00

One of Noah's favorite things to do is get into everything! He loooooves the computer cords and greatly dislikes to hear me say NO! This new development is trying both our nerves because I have to constantly move him away from things, say no, and swat his hands. He is more upset about the "no" than the smack on his hand. He's starting to show me a very stubborn side, too. He will go back to the same thing a thousand times!

Today he found the baby monitor and played with it for half an hour, which was fine by me!

I gotta go; he's under the computer table again... SIGH!

July 3rd

2009-07-05T21:37:00.006-04:00

We went to Nate's parents' Friday for a birthday party for Nate's dad. I might post more photos later, but right now I have to go lie down with the boys and get Noah to sleep before I have to head to work!

Noah standing up on his own!

A couple of Noah's cousin, Gabriel...

Noah and Daddy

2009-06-30T15:47:00.006-04:00

I need to take more pictures of Noah and his daddy. Here are a few quick snaps I took the other day while they were walking around in the front yard. I would have had more pictures, but this was right before I had some kind of mental breakdown and cried on Nate's shoulder for a while about all the things going wrong in the world. Then I took a shower and got over it. I will say this about the whole experience: my husband is a saint.

Nathan, thank you for always putting up with me. I don't deserve it, but you love me even when I'm crazy!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-24T18:32:00.004-04:00

Sleepless

2009-06-21T06:01:00.006-04:00

I can't sleep. I've been up since 4am because Noah was rolling into me and waking up every half hour. It's 90 degrees in the house, so we were all pretty sweaty, and we all kept rolling around trying to get comfy. I laid there for about an hour trying to stay out of his way. I finally got up and put pillows in my place so he'd stop slamming his arms into my face and waking himself up.

It might just be the sleeplessness talking, but I feel like I'm in a funk. I want to learn to be a better photographer, but I feel like I can't learn anything new. I need to push myself to shoot more often and in different settings, so I can LEARN! Doing the same thing over and over again isn't teaching me much. Though I do get some cute shots of Noah, like these pictures I took yesterday while he was peering curiously out the window. You know, that window you've seen 100 times now?

Potter!

2009-06-19T18:18:00.006-04:00

Maybe it's the way he's holding the grass like it's a wand, or the snake on his shirt (Slytherin?), but this picture makes me think of a baby Harry Potter. A chubby, blond, super cheerful Harry Potter. Too bad Noah doesn't have dark hair, tiny baby glasses, and a lightning bolt on his forehead!

P.S. I just noticed he's making this same face in last blog's photo. He loves sticking his tongue out on the side like that while grinning. Where does he get that?

Friday

2009-06-12T18:57:00.003-04:00

I think Noah and I will stay in our jammies today.

Noah is a Character

2009-06-11T16:13:00.004-04:00

Noah is cracking me up. Here's a short list of things that make me smile:

1. He has a "play area" in the living room that is blocked off so that he can't get out. It's a huge area, about 12 ft by 8 ft. Along with his blocks, balls, books, teething rings, and other toys, we put his old baby bouncy seat in there so that when Kristin comes to watch Noah, she can put Gabriel in it. The bouncy seat is Noah's favorite toy! He loves pushing the button to turn on the vibrations, climbing into the seat and getting stuck, standing up while holding onto it, and just generally everything to do with it. Right now he's sitting side-saddle in it with his legs hanging off and playing with the hanging toys.

2. Everyday he makes a new sound. Lately it's these little noises that sound like questions. I swear he's saying, "Huh? Eh? Hmm?" Last night while we were eating dinner, he made a very distinct, "What?"

3. We have a habit of praying before our meals. Noah has always watched, and we can see the gears turning. This week whenever we say Grace, he will fold his hands up in prayer. It's so sweet!

4. I love it when he pulls himself up to stand, squats, or stands on his tiptoes. It's just adorable.

5. This might seem silly, but I'm so proud of the fact that Noah is bigger than all his cousins and other babies at the same age. He's going to be the biggest at 1 year old. I don't know why I'm proud of that. It's not like he's working hard at it. He's just growing! [It might have something to do with the fact that he started off sick, I had milk supply issues, and we have STILL gotten this far. He's getting to be such a big boy!]

Snapshots

2009-06-10T17:58:00.003-04:00

Snapshots are important. Sometimes it's good to take pictures and not worry about whether it would look good as a three foot canvas hanging above your fireplace. There are moments you want to capture just for the sheer pleasure of remembering the moment. Noah has been pulling himself up to stand for a while now, and I couldn't find one picture of it!

Here are a few snapshots of Noah playing in the living room this afternoon.

Sarah and Jacob

2009-06-06T11:58:00.005-04:00

I may or may not have squealed like a little girl while editing these pictures. I was definitely drooling over this location. Thank you for taking me there, Sarah!

This reminds me of a Tommy ad. So pretty!

All I can say is: Fierce!

Sarah took this one of me and Noah.

I am definitely going there again!

My Sister

2009-06-04T02:33:00.005-04:00

I was only 14 months old when my sister, Sarah, was born. I don’t remember life without her. When we were children, we shared everything. We slept in the same bed, under the same blankets. I remember winter nights when we slept under two blankets, one on top of the other. We would lift the top blanket in a quick flip-of-the-wrist motion and watch the sparks of static fly between them, making tiny blue lightning bolts in the dark. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I would reach out with my foot under the covers, trying to find her. We slept back-to-back, and as long as part of me was touching her - even if it was just my cold toes against hers - I felt safe. Nothing could sneak up on us in the dark. I was watching this side of the bed, and she was watching that side. I had her back, and she had mine.

As we grew up through the difficult teenage years, we fought for our own space, our own individuality. We had separate interests, separate friends, separate lives. We quickly grew apart. For several years, we stumbled around in the dark on our own.

Now that we are growing older – we’re in our late 20’s; when did that happen? – we are closer than ever. No matter how different we are, my sister is one person who really understands me. Through it all, I know she will be there for me. She has my back, and I have hers. We may not share beds or blankets anymore, but no matter how far away she is, I can still feel her there, reaching out for me, sleeping under the same stars.

Sarah, thank you for putting up with my cold toes all those years ago. I love you.

Ten Months

2009-06-01T23:58:00.000-04:00

Ten months already.

They say having a baby changes everything. They say to savor the little moments because babies grow up in the blink of an eye. They say you forget the pain of labor in the richness of life afterward.

They are so right. I had no idea. But I do now.

Noah is our joyful explorer. Anything he finds goes straight to his mouth. How can he figure out what it is without touching it with his tongue?

He babbles all the time, saying mama and dada constantly. Today he started growling back at me whenever I would make a "claw" hand at him and growl. He gives high-5's! He cruises around the furniture, but still hasn't let go to take his first steps. He crawls like a lightning bolt, always getting into things at nana's house. His favorite is the cats' water bowl. He loves to splash! At bath time he makes sure I get just as wet as he does.

I haven't mentioned Hirschsprung's Disease in a long time because it just hasn't been an issue since mid-March when he had a cold and got constipated. We haven't had to clean him out in almost three months. Dr. L (surgeon) told us that as he approached his first birthday it would be less and less of an issue, and that seems to be the case. Feeding him fruits and veggies on a normal schedule seems to have really helped. He's eating three times a day now and snacking a couple times a day. We're still nursing, but he's cut back a little since he eats more real food.

He's growing up, healthy, happy, HUGE. At his 9-month checkup on May 19th, Dr. M (pediatrician) said that he was in the 95th percentile for weight at 24lb 4oz and "off the charts" in height at 31 inches tall. My big boy. Just look at those big hands!

I'm still looking forward to planning his first birthday party, and it's coming up SOON. The blink of an eye. A whole year almost gone.

Slow down, baby, slow down...

Toothy Grin

2009-05-23T22:36:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is my third post today. I can't help it. I'm addicted to baby cuteness.

Noah has six teeth now. If you look closely, you can see five of them here.

That's it. He is now too cute. hehehe

Jacob and Noah

2009-05-23T15:13:00.003-04:00

I was playing around on the computer while Nathan and Noah are napping, and I came across this picture. It just kills me!

Allyson

2009-05-23T12:57:00.004-04:00

During our trip to Arkansas I got to meet my cousin's daughter, Allyson. There are seriously adorable babies in my family!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

Little Rock Zoo

2009-05-19T18:59:00.002-04:00

We went to the zoo last week with our southern friends Scott & Chas and their daughter. It was kind of cold that day, so even though it was "Bear Awareness Week," we didn't see any bears. I think they went back into hibernation. But we saw plenty of other animals.

Ellen posed for us.

Roger wasn't afraid of us.

Charlotte looks like she wants to eat us. "When I get out of here, you are soooo dead..."

Gerry was bored (and I really felt like I was in Africa with St. Vincent's in the background).

Tony paced his yard a lot, but I snapped this picture of him panting at me.

Manchester looked at us like he was at the zoo, and we were in the cages.

Flamingos have angry eyes!

Ssshh, he's ssssssssssssssleeping.

I don't know about these animals...

Zoo babies...

Brooklynn

2009-05-18T15:25:00.004-04:00

While we were in Arkansas, we went to visit with our friends and their daughter, Brooklynn. She'll be turning 1 on June 2nd! Noah and Brooklynn have already seen each other on the webcam, so it was fun to get the babies together in person. Here are some photos I took during our visit. Isn't Brooklynn cute?

I just love the kissy face Brooklynn is making in this one!

I hope you enjoy these pictures, Scott and Chas! Nate and I had a really good time hanging out with ya'll!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-05-08T16:12:00.003-04:00

My mom had a birthday on May 5th. My brother and I decided to make her a Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate cake to celebrate the occasion. The cake is a triple-layer modified German Chocolate cake mix with chocolate chips in the batter and a made-from-scratch chocolate icing. It is so rich that I strongly suggest milk or vanilla ice cream to clear your head. I asked Mitchell to pick up some strawberries to decorate the cake since it can look kinda like a brown blob if you leave it alone. It was his idea to use the strawberry slices to spell Happy B-day, and I think it turned out so cute! Thanks for your help in the kitchen, Mitchell. I could not have done this without you (especially hand-mixing the icing for 10 straight minutes)!

Noah at Sunset

2009-05-04T15:18:00.002-04:00

Noah wasn't too crazy about his first time sitting in the grass. I don't really blame him; my parents have itchy crab grass in their backyard. I was scratching for an hour after we came inside!

This was my first time shooting outside in manual mode. I have a lot to learn, but I adore this light. I'm so glad winter has gone away with its ugly gray light. Give me this golden, ethereal light any day!

Nine Months

2009-05-03T17:10:00.000-04:00

Noah is nine months old. He's been out as long as he was in!! I can't believe it's already been nine months. A sweet old lady at church told me in China they count the months inside the womb as part of a baby's age, which leads to an interesting line of thought... I guess they subconsciously realize that a baby is alive from the moment of conception. Noah has been alive for 18 months. It's hard to believe it's been that long. But on the other hand, I can't remember a time when I wasn't his mom. It's such a huge part of my identity that I can't remember a time before his existence.

Okay, enough waxing philosophical...

Noah's favorite things this month: baby fruits and veggies, apple juice, crawling (new!), clapping (new!), bath time, staying awake all day without a nap (sigh!), daddy, his cousins, looking at pictures of babies on the computer, trying to stand on his own (new!), and rolling over when I'm trying to change his diaper (new and annoying!). We're still nursing and still loving it! He also has six teeth now, so he bites me more often, especially when he's falling asleep. I've gotten less sensitive to it so it's actually not as horrible as it sounds. I thought I'd seriously consider quitting when he got teeth, but I have no intention of weaning yet.

Height- tall (he hasn't been to the doctor yet)
Weight- heavy (our scale's batteries are dead)

Here's a video of the new skill he learned last week: clapping!

I'm already starting to plan Noah's 1st birthday party, at least in the back of my mind. Save the date: Saturday, August 1st, 2009!

Holy Wedding, Batman!

2009-05-02T12:52:00.004-04:00

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs!

The Rule of Thirds

2009-04-30T04:32:00.002-04:00

The other day I was talking to my mom about some pictures I took of my niece. Mom has a cubicle at work where she proudly displays pictures of her grandchildren, so I emailed her the pictures of Evey that I shot during the beautiful weather (see previous post). While mom was showing off my photos to one of her coworkers, he commented that he really loved the quality of the pictures and asked her about the printer and paper. She told him about the printer, and then told him she thought the photos themselves were nice, too, and bragged about my photography hobby. The man politely nodded along and said, "Yes, but none of your grandchildren are in the center!" After she told me this story, mom asked me why I never center my pictures.

I have to laugh when I hear this. My mom does not understand photography. And I'm okay with that! She understands getting a photo of her grandchild to hang up in her office. She finds joy in looking at cute snapshots of Noah or one of her other half-dozen grandchildren. But she knows absolutely nothing about composition. She doesn't understand why I have close-ups of Noah where the top of his head is cut off. She poo-poos intentional motion blur caused by intentionally slow shutter speed. She thinks off-centeredness and motion blur are always accidental and thus proof of a bad picture. She might roll her eyes at an image I love, and she will take a snapshot that I am not too proud of and hang it up in her office. That's just the way it is.

Every photography book and website I've seen, when discussing composition, has mentioned the Rule of Thirds. If you are a photographer, or even an artist in other media, you've probably heard the phrase "rule of thirds" a thousand times. In photography, the Rule of Thirds is a phenomenon where shifting the subject to a certain area of the photo, the "thirds," will add interest. Imagine separating the image into thirds with both horizontal and vertical lines, as shown here:

When your subject falls on those imaginary lines or at any of the intersections, it creates visual interest. So in a portrait, you might have the person's body lined up on one of the "thirds," or you might have their face at the imaginary intersecting lines. In the case of close-ups, this might mean that one of the eyes falls at those imaginary intersections.

Take a look at the examples below. Can you see the visual interest added by putting the subject on the "thirds?" I hope you practice and try out this technique with your own photos. Happy shooting!

P.S. Like any "rule" in art, the Rule of Thirds is not set in stone. Sometimes an image needs a centered subject -- and sometimes an image needs motion blur! So there, mom! :P

Early Summer

2009-04-27T14:33:00.004-04:00

This weekend felt like early summer. It was like the last day of school, a first kiss, and the best birthday present all rolled into one. Me and winter just do not get along. I'm looking forward to a long, warm, humid, sweaty summer. Bring on the flip flops!

Saturday we went over to mom's house and played in the backyard with Evey while the sun was setting. She was so full of energy, running the entire time we were outside. I was only able to get her to sit down for about 5 seconds.

Yesterday we took Noah out with his Uncle Nick, Aunt Kristin and cousin Gabriel. We wanted to find a good place to take some pictures. We found an arboretum a few miles from our house. We didn't find the "Holy Grail" of locations, but I still had a good time, and I always learn from every photo shoot!
____

Noah and his Uncle Nick.

Those handsome Jent boys.

Gabriel and his daddy.

Sweet Jent family.

Gabriel didn't want to open his eyes in the bright sunlight.

And a couple showcasing the trademark Noah cuteness...

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-22T07:57:00.003-04:00

sigh...

Emiliana

2009-04-20T14:00:00.003-04:00

My sister- and brother-in-law Amy and Stephen came up from New Mexico with their daughter Emiliana for Easter. I'm so excited when they come into town, because it's fun to see how much the children have changed in those months since we last saw each other. The last time I saw Emiliana, she was 10 months old, and now she's 17 months. She's such a beautiful, feminine little girl. And pretty soon, she's going to be a big sister! Congratulations, Amy and Stephen!

Emiliana, we already can't wait to see you again!

Mobile Baby

2009-04-20T13:05:00.005-04:00

The past few weeks have been so crazy that I haven't had time to blog. I have been taking a ton of pictures, but I still haven't gotten around to going through them and making them blogworthy.

The most exciting things going on around here is Noah learning to crawl. Here is a video of him two weeks ago, getting up on his hands and knees, but not quite knowing what to do next...

And here he is today, putting two and two together!

I really need to get one of those baby gate corrals!

Neglect

2009-04-10T06:55:00.003-04:00

I know I have been neglecting you. It's been more than a week since I've posted. I can see cobwebs forming in the corner of my blog.

I've been so busy snoring and drooling on my pillow in the mornings. But I am getting more accomplished in the evenings. I cleaned my entire kitchen from top to bottom one day, got a lot of laundry put away, cooked dinner a couple of nights, gave Noah baths in a timely fashion, and actually started to have somewhat of a regular schedule for his naps. I told Nate that I was starting to be the wife I always wanted to be. He snorted and said, "For now." Then I shot lasers out of my eyes, and he melted into a puddle. A hairy puddle.

I'm also really addicted to this photography forum right now. I keep posting pictures for critique there. It's really fun because I'm learning so much. I can't wait to try out all the things I've been learning! And then learn more!

Eight Months

2009-04-02T14:51:00.004-04:00

Noah is eight months old! He weighs 23 lbs and is 29 inches long. He is four months post-surgery, and he hasn't had a bout of constipation in a while. I think it's because he eats fruits and vegetables regularly, twice a day. He eats 2nd foods fruit in the morning with daddy and veggies in the evening with me. He really likes those Gerber combinations with DHA, like the "Pear Strawberry Granola DHA" and the "Pear Blueberry Oat DHA." He also loves carrots, mixed veggies (peas, carrots, spinach), mac and cheese with veggies, and peaches. We're still nursing throughout the day. I've tried to give him a bottle of juice every now and then, but he would rather chew on the rubber nipple than drink from it, so most of the time we just get juice all over the place. He loves to sit by himself and play with his toys, especially small things he can hold in his hands and chew. He's also good about finding and pushing the buttons on his musical toys.

He's very active now! He is ready to crawl - he's just trying to get the logistics of it down pat. When we put him in the floor sitting up, he flops onto his belly, gets up on his hands and knees, scoots backwards, and makes 180 degree turns. But he hasn't quite figured out how to go forward. Any day now, I'm sure. You can see his action and intent in these photos.

Here he is sitting up, which lasts about 10 seconds nowadays.

In this one, he looks like a track athlete getting ready for a sprint.

He's almost down on his belly now, but he has to get that one leg out of the way.

Sometimes after he makes it to his belly, he does this funny thing where he gets up on his hands and toes, and it looks like he's doing a push-up. This picture cracks me up; his face is so intense! He's counting those push-ups, "998... 999... 1000!"

Here is another favorite photo from the day. He is always smiling and laughing and hanging his tongue out. This face is so Noah. I love his joyful expression!

Sweet baby, I love you more than sunshine. And that's saying a lot!

Blessed

2009-04-01T15:29:00.004-04:00

This morning when I came home from work, I walked into the house knowing Nate and Noah would still be asleep. I found the sweetest sight when I opened the bedroom door. Noah was asleep in my spot on the bed, breathing softly next to his daddy (who was incidentally breathing not-so-softly). Noah's tiny, soft hand was wrapped up in Nate's big, masculine hand. They were holding hands in their sleep.

There is a bond between father and son that can't be fully expressed in words (on some dumb blog). I just know that I am blessed to be able to see those tender, private moments between Noah and his daddy. I can feel the real love between them. Nathan loves Noah more than he's ever loved anything. Fatherhood makes him happy. And Noah is so effervescent around his daddy. Animated, giddy, joyful.

It's enough to make your heart burst.

Tennessee

2009-03-30T01:36:00.006-04:00

Today is my birthday. We went to Tennessee for a mini-vacation to celebrate. We left Wednesday and came back Saturday. We stayed near Gatlinburg in a cabin in the mountains. Gatlinburg is a touristy town with lots of cheesy shops, shows and events. We didn't do or go to or see any of them. We had no internet, which was nice. I was glad to have the break from normal life. We stayed in our cabin and relaxed, often napping the afternoon away. Friday we decided to venture out to go to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We took a self-guided driving tour through the mountains, mostly staying in the car since it was raining the entire time. The trip was fantastic. I didn't want to go out every hour of the day doing touristy stuff. I wanted to relax with my husband and my son in the quiet, peaceful mountain air. And it was quiet. At night especially, it was so calm and dark. We slept like babies even though the mattress there was so hard. I had a good time, but I'm glad to be home, with Noah in his crib, and us in our bed that feels like we're sleeping on a cloud.

I'll post pictures later. I'm gonna go sleep on my cloud now.

Busy Day

2009-03-23T21:57:00.002-04:00

Well, we had a busy day today. Sarah and Mitchell came over with their kids, and boy was my house noisy! Seven kids under 6 years old in one room = AAAAAHHHHHHH! Of course I took a couple pictures. Or 287. But I'm only going to post two, because of the super-top-secret-impossible-crazy mission we are trying to pull off. These pictures will self destruct in 10... 9... 8...

The one thing that jumps out at me is how bald my Noah is.

Vocabulary Words II

2009-03-21T00:11:00.005-04:00

My readers are hilarious! Yesterday's post elicited responses from my husband and my sister that I thought were grrrreat. They decided to try to define some of my vocabulary words. Below are some of their funniest definitions, according to me.

Nathan said...
Let's take a crack at defining some of these crazy words, shall we.
concomitant = with comets
hyperbole = grammar thingy
malapropism = bad propane
obsequious = having too many obs
redundant = redundant

Sarah said...
gratuitous = very big tip already included on bill
hyperbole = very energized football
obsequious = some kind of squid
quixotic = fast acting toxin
surreptitious = the process of making syrup

P.S. I love Google's new logo, based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Just in time for Spring!

Vocabulary Words

2009-03-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

I love vocabulary words. When I am in the habit of reading, I find myself using larger words more often. Because I was such a big reader as a child, I learned the meaning of several words from seeing them in print without ever having heard them spoken out loud. Therefore, I didn't quite know how to pronounce them. When I finally did hear them spoken, the discrepancy between what I was hearing and what I had always imagined those words sounded like stuck with me. For instance, every time I hear the word indignant, it reminds me that I used to mistakenly pronounce it IN-duh-jent in my head. Every single time I hear it now, I can't help thinking that, and feeling a little silly! [Side note: When asked, "What are you thinking?" a woman, unlike a man, can never truthfully say, "Nothing." In all honesty, she's probably running through a train of thought that would make her sound insane if she told you exactly what she were thinking!]

Here are some of my favorite vocabulary words. If you don't know what they mean, feel free to visit Wiktionary!

adamant
anachronism
benevolent
concomitant
diaphanous
discrepancy
ethereal
facetious
gratuitous
hyperbole
incredulous
indignant
juxtaposition
malapropism [ironic!]
obsequious
pernicious
quixotic
redundant
reprehensible
repugnant
surreptitious
vicarious

And because I am feeling facetious, here is a gratuitous picture of Noah.

Weekend Update

2009-03-18T18:06:00.005-04:00

Yes, it's weekend update time. I didn't blog this weekend because I was too busy enjoying it to write about it.

I didn't have to work for four days, so of course it raced by, and I miss it. I took Noah up to Columbus on Friday to visit Sarah. Sarah and I took the babies shopping. In the middle of our shopping trip we had a rather interesting nursing session in the front seat of my car while we were sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I don't really care what people think when I am feeding my baby. It is as natural to me as someone sitting in her car giving her baby a bottle. What's the difference? She's feeding a hungry baby, I'm feeding a hungry baby. You can't see anything, so just move along.

Saturday Nate, Noah and I went to Gabriel's baptism. You can see pictures from that event in the previous post. I have some more, but none of them are amazing because of the low-light, no-flash situation I had going on. I had to shoot wide open and at ISO 800, so they are grainy, but it almost lends a "newspaper" or photojournalist feel to them. Meanwhile I'm not too crazy about event photography. I'd much rather shoot babies and children in random situations any day.

Sunday Nate and I completely overslept and missed church. Nate woke up 2 hours after the alarm was supposed to have gone off, but neither of us heard it. We keep it across the room so that we'll have to actually get out of bed to shut it off. When he woke up, he checked to see if it was set right. The alarm was still set to "on," and it had the right time and the right alarm time, but somehow we slept through it. Nate thinks he got up and turned it off in his sleep and then crawled back into bed.

Monday rolled around, and I called Noah's doctor to make an appointment about his circumcision looking weird. Our appointment was Tuesday, and the doctor said the circumcision had started to form adhestions, so he had to break them. Ouch! Poor Noah. The doctor said at least it wasn't so closed up that Noah had to be cut again, which would have been worse. He told me to be sure to put some ointment on it every day to keep it from trying to heal itself shut again.

Noah also started stooling again on his own this weekend. Since Friday he has had a dirty diaper every hour or two. Pooping with a vengeance! Needless to say, he has some killer diaper rash, so we got a prescription for more of that miracle cream they gave us right after his pull-through surgery. His bottom is just not use to poop. So Noah's cold is completely gone, but his diaper area is raw and tender. Poor thing!

We are looking forward to the six days of vacation I'm getting for my birthday. We're going to stay in a cabin in Tennessee for three nights, and I can't wait! We're leaving one week from today! Nate already got me some other awesome presents for my birthday, too. I got a new memory card for my camera, two photography books I had on my Amazon wish list, and a remote shutter release. All that plus a vacation? Best birthday ever!

Gabriel's Baptism

2009-03-15T14:00:00.004-04:00

We were so glad to be able to attend Gabriel's baptism yesterday. I got to stand right up front for the action since I was part of the paparazzi [or should I say mamarazzi?]. Here are a couple of shots I took during the ceremony.

Gabriel being blessed by the priest.

Gabriel receiving the Sacrament of Baptism.

God bless you on your baptism, little Gabriel!

Time

2009-03-13T00:33:00.002-04:00

I was thinking how it is weird that the same increment of time - say, five minutes - can feel so differently from one day to the next. Five minutes passes by so quickly when it is that last five minutes before you have to drive to work, that last five minutes of lying in bed with your son, watching his chest rise and fall quietly as he sleeps. Five minutes can also feel infinitely long, like when your baby has a fever, and you have to hold a thermometer under his arm for five long, squirmy minutes.

A matter of months can feel so different, too. One year you get married and find yourself pregnant six weeks after the honeymoon. Those months stretch on, like your ever-expanding waistline, until you feel like you will explode. Will the baby ever come? Will the pain of labor last forever? And then, in a rush of blood, sweat and tears, he does come. And the next months pass in a blur, until one day you find yourself watching a baby with two teeth laugh at you while he sits up without your help. You blink, and he's pulling himself across the floor on his belly to get to a toy. Blink. What did I miss?

My baby is a blond-haired, blue-eyed wonder. I have to stop blinking...

How old is your baby?

2009-03-11T20:49:00.003-04:00

Noah is 7 months old. Or - in other words - 12,397 pics.

Old enough to think playing in a cardboard box is the Greatest!

Cardboard box = hillbilly playpen

I found these pictures on the point and shoot camera today when I was taking pictures of my kitchen. Noah has a lot of fun with daddy while mommy is asleep!

My Kitchen

2009-03-11T15:13:00.003-04:00

Sarah started a post train about kitchens. Here's mine.

I don't have a lot of good to say about my kitchen. The floor is covered in gray brown carpet (carpet in a kitchen is the stupidest idea ever), the walls are dark wood paneling (gag me), and the counter top is a putrid faded turquoise color with rust spots and random stains on it. If I had looked at just the kitchen, we would not be living here. But the rest of the house drew me in, mostly because it is so huge compared to my old apartment and there is a TON of natural light here, which I love.

This is the barnyard-style door to our backyard. It's one of those doors where you can open half of it at a time. My house has a lot of "character." There's also an old water pump just outside this door.

My knives. We received this as a wedding gift, and they started getting rusty about a week after our honeymmoon. Bleh.

My spice rack, also a wedding gift. I like it a lot.

My favorite appliance... This gift is the reason I got married. LOL I wish I had time to use it more often.

Microwave cart. It's cute. :)

The stove top is built into the counter. Notice the hideous crooked fan on the back wall? See the ugly wood paneling?

The fridge, built for someone much shorter than Nate. We stick baby pictures and art from our nieces on it. Isabella needs to send us a picture for our fridge.

This freezer happily stores frozen fish fillets, broccoli, french fries, three ice cube trays, lots of hot dogs, and about 22 gallons of frozen breastmilk.

Our fridge. It mostly holds staples like milk, eggs and butter, plus condiments and beer. And of course baby items like an opened container of pureed carrots, baby grape juice, and Pedialyte.

Fruits and veggies. It's a must to have oranges, apples and a head of lettuce in our house.

My pantry. I don't know how there can be so much food in here, and yet I can never find anything worth eating for lunch...

And there's my kitchen.

Hirschsprung's Disease

2009-03-10T16:14:00.005-04:00

To the man "Joseph" who left a comment on yesterday's blog...

I have no other way of getting in touch with you because your blogger profile is not public, and you didn't leave an email address or website for me to look you up. To answer your question, Noah had his surgery on December 9, 2008, and I posted several blog updates from the hospital while we were there. You can read those posts at:

http://leahjent.blogspot.com/search/label/surgery

If you have other specific questions, you can send me an email or leave your email address in a comment, and I will be glad to answer anything I can.

About Noah's surgery, I will say this: It was not a magic cure-all to make him a "normal" boy. Any time he gets sick, we have to analyze it from an HD perspective. Any time he throws up, we have to check to see if it's green (bile). We check his stomach for distension every day. We watch his stools to make sure he is passing them, what frequency, what amount, what color, what smell... He is still in danger of developing enterocolitis, as are all children with HD, whether pre- or post-surgery. All that being said, Noah is doing very well. He's now 7 months old, and since his surgery, we are irrigating him "as needed," which so far has ended up being about once or twice a month. Whenever he gets distended, we usually irrigate him for a few days afterward to clear his colon out really well. We reassess the situation on a day-by-day basis and play it by ear. We have learned to become in tune to our son's body and his needs, and we react according to his needs for that particular day.

I hope this answers some of your questions, and if you have any more, please contact me and leave me a way to get back with you!

Thanks and good luck with Joey's appointments and surgery.

Leah Jent

Manic Monday

2009-03-09T14:14:00.003-04:00

Noah seems to be feeling better. I should have felt guilty about lying in bed half asleep nursing him this morning [instead of getting up to get him a bottle of juice], but I didn't feel too guilty. He's keeping the milk down and doesn't even sound congested today. His stomach looks better, too, so I might only irrigate him once or twice today instead of three times. We'll play it by ear. Right now he's wide awake and playing with a bottle of Pedialyte, and I don't think he feels bad at all.

Nate's immune system astounds me. Noah and I could barely breathe, had snot pouring from our faces, and were awake half the night hacking up our lungs with this cold. Nate said he felt like he was getting the cold. He sneezed a couple of times, and then said he thought he was getting better. WHAT!?

Meanwhile, here are some random pictures as promised. I also included Noah's birth announcement that I made the other day.

Nate took these snapshots last summer when we went to the mall. The one on the left is right before we left our apartment, and the one on the right in the mall parking lot. This was the first time I got to park in those spots designated for expectant mothers, and I was so excited!

This picture is hilarious! Kristin, you crack me up. Also is it just me, or does my stomach look fake?

This super grainy/noisy photo is in our old apartment. I wanted to post it so you could see how big my belly is. I also miss that kitchen, despite how tiny it was, because it was so new and shiny and pretty... We really miss our old apartment, even though it was much too tiny!

Nate does silly things like this to make me laugh. My life is full of laughter :)

Here is the final birth announcement I came up with. The two photos were taken when Noah was 1 month old. I really wanted to use the picture of Noah in the basket, because I just think it's cute, but my mom said it would be nicer with a close-up of Noah's face, so I had to make the announcement with two pictures!

Nursing banned!

2009-03-09T01:50:00.005-04:00

Today was kind of crummy. Noah was nursing just fine [and I even got him to eat half a container of prunes with oatmeal], but while I was sleeping, Nate ran in and told me to get up because Noah was throwing up. I went into the living room to find Noah sitting on his play mat in a puddle of milky vomit. Any time Noah throws up, we have to overanalyze the situation because he has Hirschsprung's Disease [what color is it? is he distended? does he have a fever? is he lethargic? is he eating well?]. We have to figure out whether he has an intestinal blockage or just a normal stomach virus. We cleaned him up and irrigated him [he has been distended and not pooping for the past couple days], and then I called his pediatrician and emailed his surgeon. It looks like it is not HD related, so he probably has a random stomach virus. They both said we should put him on clear liquids for a couple of days and make sure he can hold them down so he won't get dehydrated. We are also supposed to irrigate him three times a day for a few days until his stomach looks normal again. If he continues to throw up, we have to take him to the hospital to get IV fluids. We're doing everything in our power to keep him at home! Nate ran out and got some Pedialyte, and we dusted off the bottles that Noah hasn't used in several months.

I hate it when they tell me not to nurse him; it's like they're telling me not to be his mother. Nursing is as natural to us as breathing. I make milk, he gets hungry, we nurse. I know that he needs me to cuddle him and take care of him, especially when he's sick. There's nothing more completely right that nursing a sick baby. But since he has a lot of mucous from his cold and he's throwing up milk, both his doctors suggested clear liquids for a little while. Milk has a tendency to interact with mucous, while clear liquids are easier to swallow. I know exactly what they mean; I hate drinking milk when I am congested - it just sits there feeling all thick in my throat. So Noah is on a juice, water, & Pedialyte diet for a couple of days. I'll be honest, I have been sneaking him the occasional nursing session [it's too hard to give it up cold turkey - that is one of the worst things about all his hospital visits], but we are nursing for half the length of time we usually do, so that his belly won't get too full of milk.

Noah doesn't ever take a bottle, so I was surprised when we showed it to him, and he picked it up and started feeding himself like he just knew what to do. My baby is so grown up...

Now I can't wait til we both get better so we can nurse and get back to the way things are supposed to be!

Too Much Time on My Hands?

2009-03-08T00:59:00.003-05:00

Today has been fan-flippin-tastic! I was off for three days - Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday - and it almost felt like I was off today, too, since I didn't have to go in to work until 11:00pm. Today the weather was warm and sunny, and Nate and I decided to take Noah on a picnic. We got some sandwiches at Jen's Deli and headed out to the lake. After we ate our food, we headed down to the water to the spot where Nate proposed. Noah wasn't feeling well, so we headed home shortly after that. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon in bed, me and Noah napping while Nate sat next to us playing on the laptop. For dinner we all went into the kitchen and made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Nate made orange lemonade (two packets of Kool-Aid, one orange and one lemonade), and it was delicious! I absolutely love days like this.

Throughout the week I have been feeling nostalgic. First it was brought on by the weather. Once it got warm I was running around the house opening all the windows. In the kitchen, the smell of fresh air and fried okra was making me miss the good old days in my granny's kitchen. Then while Noah was napping one day, I decided to fill out some new parts of his baby book, and I realized I never made him a birth announcement. Since there was a page in the baby book for it, I decided to play around and make one (I made two, and I'll post them later). Then I was in the car and a random Keane song made me remember a few years ago when Sarah and I took a road trip to Arkansas, and we sang along with Keane at the top of our lungs while playing air piano on the dashboard. Then this morning I was going through some old photo files on my computer, and I ran across a couple of pictures of me while I was pregnant (I also ran across some videos of the baby rolling under the stretched white skin of my stomach, and even those disturbing images left me nostalgic!). I miss granny's house and fresh okra from her garden. I miss road trips with Sarah and being obnoxious (but hilarious to us) the entire way. I miss being pregnant, feeling the baby rocking back and forth under my heart.

Here are some old pictures, a blast from the past.

Road trip to Arkansas

Sarah and I are kind of lost, somewhere in Kentucky. We missed our turn to stay on 71 South, and we're heading too far east of our destination. The good news is, Sarah has an atlas. We decide to take a random back road over to 71 instead of turning around and going 20 miles back up north to where we missed the exit. As you can see from the absolutely ridiculous, utterly dumb look on both of our faces, this might be a bad plan...

For many miles, all we see is empty land. But Sarah is confident in her map-reading abilities, so we drive on...

We finally find 71 South, so Sarah decides to relax...

When we see him in the trees, we have to stop and investigate...

Oh, it's just a dinosaur park in Kentucky. Of course.

After most of the day driving, we finally escape Kentucky alive...

Soon after we cross the state border, the sun begins to set. Thank God we're in Tennessee.

The only thing you can see after dark in Tennessee is weird billboards. As if regular Hooters weren't tacky enough, they have...

We're finally at the end of our road trip, and we look awful. Hey, after 12 hours in the car I'm sure you look lovely, too :)

I will post the pregnant pictures and Noah's birth announcements another time. I also have this hilarious picture of Nate that I want to share...

Thursday's Train of Thought

2009-03-05T17:38:00.003-05:00

I wasted the warm weather sitting on the computer - I should have gone outside. However, I did help Kristin [my sister by virtue of the fact that my husband and her husband are brothers] set up her new blog, and I'm really excited about it.

Noah is getting older everyday; today he was closer to crawling than he has ever been before. He pushes up on his arms, raising his belly off the ground, but he hasn't figured out how to get up on his knees yet, much less the arms and legs moving in sync.

I don't eat often enough. My coworker Judy just told me about a week ago that she's worried about me because I look like I'm losing too much weight. When she said that, it was the first time I had thought about my weight since my pregnancy. I went home and jumped on the scale and it screamed 117 pounds. That means I am a total of 11 pounds lighter than I was before my pregnancy. At five-foot-seven, I do not need to be under 120 lbs. Before I got pregnant with Noah, I weighed 128 lbs, and I was a really thin woman then! Since Judy said those things to me, I have been trying to be more conscious of the way I eat - the amount, the frequency, the food itself. I've learned in the past week that the problem is that I'd rather sleep than eat. I'm so exhausted working third shift that I don't even feel hungry, or I ignore it. From now on, I'm going to try to be aware and eat three meals a day. Now I need to find out how to gain weight without stuffing my face full of Big Macs. Is there a healthy way to put on the pounds?

I really didn't intend for this post to go that direction, but that's where my train of thought derailed :P

A Biology Lesson

2009-03-05T11:22:00.008-05:00

Noah caught a virus last week, probably from my niece Evey when she went up to him and coughed right in his face. She's in daycare, and she's continually sick. Noah started coughing Friday, and he's gotten worse everyday since then. I took him to the doctor Monday, and she said he has bronchiolitis - inflammation in his bronchioles. Noah has absolutely no appetite for solids this week, so he's been nursing and sleeping a lot. I knew it was only a matter of time before I caught his illness, and I was almost looking forward to it, for a very motherly reason. Whenever a nursing mother is exposed to her baby's germs [bacteria or viruses], her body creates antibodies against the illness, which are then passed to the baby through her milk. Since it was inevitable that I would get sick, at least I can look at the silver lining: it will help Noah get well! Yesterday I woke up with a scratchy throat, and today I woke up with a headache and stuffed-up sinuses. Hopefully we both start to feel better soon.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures of Noah that I took on Tuesday. You can see Noah's two bottom teeth and the World's Ugliest Chair.

We're Sick

2009-03-04T17:01:00.004-05:00

I work in a hospital laboratory. I deal with blood, urine, and feces on a regular basis. My son was born with a condition that made it necessary for us to irrigate his colon every single day for the first four months of his life. Needless to say, I do not have a weak stomach. I've dealt with his poop, pee, puke, and phlegm without batting an eyelash. This morning, he tried to test my limits.

Noah and I both have bronchitis right now. I'm just getting it, but he started coughing and having a runny nose this past weekend. He is pretty congested, and every time he has a coughing fit, he starts to gag. Most of the time, it makes him throw up. It seems like every time this happens, he just happens to be in my bed, which just happens to have brand new clean sheets on it, which I just changed from the last time he threw up in my bed. A lovely cycle. This morning when I got home from work, we did our usual routine of get Noah up, do a quick diaper change, then put him in bed with me so I can lie down and nurse, and we both fell back to sleep. At some point, I heard Noah start to cough. I was half asleep, and my eyes fluttered open to make sure he wasn't going to throw up what I had just fed him. I had put down a blanket under his head so that he wouldn't throw up on my clean sheets. He was about six inches away from my chest, facing me. He gagged and - woosh - up came all his milk. Right into my open nursing bra. Nice.

Ahh, the joys of motherhood.

Buddha Baby

2009-03-03T17:44:00.005-05:00

What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say the words cute, chubby, and perfect? Well, for me, it's Noah. A couple of these pictures remind me of the round-bellied, jolly Buddha statues I've seen in my favorite Asian restaurants... And now I'm craving some shrimp lo mein and spring rolls!

Hello, Buddha Baby...

Thoughts

2009-03-01T23:32:00.003-05:00

I have a lot of thoughts whirling through my head right now.

I don't think my blogs are as interesting without pictures, but I don't have a picture for this one.

I can't wait until someday gets here. You know, someday I can be a stay-at-home mom... Someday my husband and I will have time for each other again...

Cameras are like computers; as soon as you buy one, there's a new model to drool over. Right now I'm drooling over the Canon 5D [not even the Mark II, just the regular old 5D].

I am really looking forward to my birthday. There are so many things about it that I'm excited about: being off work for 6 days straight, getting away with Nate and Noah, sleeping, being able to spend time with my husband!

If Nate and I found $50,000 lying around, I think I could quit my job. If only!

I'm ready for spring. Bring on the sunshine!

Seven Months

2009-02-27T15:38:00.003-05:00

I can't believe Noah is seven months old. That sounds so much older than six months. Right now he's sitting contentedly, playing with his star rings toy. He hasn't changed much in the last month, and yet he's changed so much. He says both mama and dada now. He learned a new vowel sound - E - and a couple of times he convincingly pronounced Daddy instead of dada. I know one day soon, without my realizing it, he will understand the words.

We are still nursing, and Noah is eating more and more solids. We started him on the 2nd foods since he's big enough and had mastered the 1st pureed foods. The 2nd foods aren't much different, other than they are a little bit thicker, a little less pureed, and they mix things together in combination now. He likes a lot of things, and it's interesting trying the combination foods like corn + sweet potatoes. We are still following the HD diet, cutting out applesauce, bananas, and rice. He is doing really well with digesting everything. So far, so good!

He still only has those two teeth on the bottom. He still isn't crawling or rolling around. As far as I'm concerned he can take his sweet time with that! I'm not ready to be chasing him around the house yet.

Height: 28-1/2 inches
Weight: 22 lbs, 6 oz

This month his favorite things are:
Daddy (both of their faces light up when Nate comes home from work)
sitting up
playing with the baby wipes box
being tickled
getting raspberries on his neck
chewing on everything, mostly his fingers
bath time with his rubber duckies
other children, especially his cousins Isabella and Alexis
carrots, pears, and prunes

Superheroes

2009-02-25T02:37:00.004-05:00

When Nathan saw my new banner, he said to me, "Superhero? Why didn't you tell me?" Now maybe he didn't say it with a tone, but it made me feel the need to explain nonetheless. First of all, it is a generic word that I feel is true for all mothers. It should be enough that we carry and protect and nourish a child inside ourselves for nine months. Nine months of holding onto a precious life, feeling its swirling and rythmic thumping against our ribs, and finally, after so much long-suffering, bringing that life into the world amongst great anticipation, joy, and yes - feverish pain. It is enough for me. But should that not be enough for you - perhaps it's too mundane since half the world's population is capable of the same - then consider my other superhuman efforts. Amidst all kinds of stress [severe post-partum anemia, Noah's hospitalizations and surgery, sustaining a full-time job outside the home], I have done the impossible: exclusively breastfeeding Noah until he was 6 months old! And even after he began to eat solid foods, we're still nursing [On a side note, I like to say we are nursing, instead of I am nursing him, because Noah is just as much a part of the experience as I am]. To all the mothers I know, and especially nursing mothers: You are superheroes.

This post is dedicated to the following superheroes and their sweet babies:

Sarah & baby Jacob
Amy J. & baby Emiliana
Kristin & baby Gabriel
Amy H. & baby Katelyn
Tiara & baby Aidan

And lastly, to my Noah, the heart of my heart.

Lazy

2009-02-24T16:37:00.003-05:00

For the past two days, Noah and I have stayed in our pajamas all day. I had all kinds of errands I wanted to do, like going to the library, shopping for baby food, picking up my thyroid prescription, and doing another load of laundry at mom's house. I fought my desire to be lazy and lounge around in my bath robe all day, but lazy won. Isn't it enough that I get up for work every night? Plus Noah is very cute in his tiger jammies!

The weekend was pretty eventful for us, so we're taking it easy now. Friday Noah and I drove to Columbus and went shopping with Sarah and Jacob. Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for Kristin. Sunday we went to church and then spent the rest of the day doing laundry.

Noah has been doing well with eating solids, nursing, and pooping. For solids, we stick to the diet for HD patients that I found on Cincinnati Children's hospital website. He has been doing well with all the solids we've fed him. However, we had to irrigate him once last week. His stomach was looking big, and we could feel some hard loops of bowel on his belly. He hadn't pooped all day either, so Nate and I decided he needed us to clear him out. When we did the first flush, a big glob of sweet potato-colored poop came out all at once. It looked like it had been plugging him up. The next day, he pooped really well all day. This is the first time we've had to irrigate him since January. I guess we can handle one irrigation a month. We're going to test out the sweet potatoes again slowly and see if they are causing the problem. Yesterday I fed him a jar of sweet potatoes + corn, and he has been going just fine all day today.

For all non-HD parents, I'm sorry for the poop talk!

Father and Son

2009-02-23T16:18:00.002-05:00

I love pictures of a new baby with his daddy. There is a magical bond between father and son.

Nicholas and Gabriel - February 18, 2009

Shane and Jacob - November 14, 2008

Nathan and Noah - September 6, 2008

Jacob in Black & White

2009-02-23T15:32:00.002-05:00

I am getting a lot of practice with babies lately. Here are a few black and white conversions of baby Jacob. He's 3 months old, and he has such bright, soulful eyes. And I absolutely cannot stay away from baby toes!

Babysitter Desperately Needed

2009-02-20T05:28:00.005-05:00

I've decided I hate third shift. I miss sleep so much! Noah is a wonderful baby who sleeps through the night with daddy and wants to be up all day to play with me. I'm averaging 4-5 hours per day of sleep. I'm not one of those people that handles that amount of sleep well. I hate it. I'm the grouchiest, meanest, crummiest version of myself right now. Ask anyone [especially Nate]. I asked my boss if I could go to dayshift, but there's not a position open right now. I'm just waiting for someone to leave so I can take his or her spot.

So my new plan is to hire a nanny/babysitter for a few hours so I can rest! I'm thinking 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. Ideally the person would be there for when Nate has to go to work, around 1pm-4pm Monday through Friday, and they would have off whatever day during the week my boss lets me have off since my schedule is a random day off during the week plus every other weekend off. Nate is off on weekends and holidays, so this babysitter would never have to work weekends or holidays, she would only have to put in about 12 hours a week, and I would pay her $100 per week. I think it's a pretty cushy job, sitting at my house, playing with my adorable baby, no weekends, and you get $8+ per hour. Now if only I knew someone who lived in town who I could trust for this job. I wouldn't trust just anyone with my son. He has health issues, and he's my first baby, so I couldn't just hand him to strangers for the day. I really wish Sarah lived in town, because she would be PURRRRFECT for this job. Extra money for her, peace of mind and SLEEP for me. Nothing is ever easy... {sigh}