The Sinister Cult of Mr. Ben

 While I was on paternity leave Noah joined his first cult.  Both of us fell prey to the smooth sounds of Mr. Ben, Portland's premier children's musician who puts on a heck of a show each Tuesday morning.  Noah and I went to three different Mr. Ben concerts.

When Mr. Ben sings, children obey.

I made sure my parents got the Mr. Ben experience during the show.  Even George "pops" Tucker was impressed as he commented "That guy has a hell of a lot of patience." Trust me, that expression on his face is one of unrestrained joy.

Mr. Ben preaching to his dark minions.  He always brings the house down during his Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ ABC's encore.

If you play Mr. Ben's songs backwards they all tell his followers to sleep.

Noah's first photo shoot

Noah Meets Thomas the Geriatric Pug

Last weekend Noah befriended the "Old Man" on our block, our neighbor Kathy's Pug Thomas.

Noah admires the years of wisdom in Thomas's glazed over eyes.  

I can't tell who is grumpier in this picture Noah or Thomas?  Thomas has the ruthless battle hardened thousand yard stare going on.

There was an encounter where Thomas barked at Noah, and Noah countered by laughing in Thomas the geriatric pug's face. We took a video of the incident but I am having trouble posting it.

Mommy Has Mad Skillz!

Julie is back at work this month, providing sustenance to Noah on a daily basis while fighting the man for the union members of  Portland (she's a labor lawyer).

Mommy needs to be jacked up on caffeine a lot when she has multiple hearings in a week AND Taco Bell style "fourth meal" feedings with Noah every night at 3 a.m.

Julie is a black belt in Kung Fu burping as shown above. I hope Oregon Child Protective Services is not monitoring this blog.

Julie is the MVP of our family.

Noah v. Food

Here are photos of some of Noah's culinary adventures.

A true Portlander already, Noah with homemade pickles.

Ready to dive into some pork broth soup for breakfast.

Transfixed by the Reggie Sandwich at Pine State Biscuits.  The Reggie is hard to ignore, especially during the digestion process.

Revenge of the Tuckers

Noah spent the week visiting with his grandparents George and Phyllis who prefer to be called "pops" and "gramsy."  They were a great help the whole week. Here are some pictures:

Feeding Noah on a walk in Laurelhurst Park. 

George at Happy Hour. He enjoys having a grandson because "I don't have to be a disciplinarian any more." Cheers to that! Noah you don't want to mess with this guy.

George helping out around the house.

It was a great visit!

Paternity Leave Update

I am sadly about half way done with my paternity leave.  It has been great, Noah has transformed from his shriveled old man phase into a super cute little guy.  I have gotten used to walking around with vomit on my clothes in the middle of the day, and commanding newfound respect at our local cross walks.

Here is a photo of the budding bromance developing between Otis and Noah.

Very difficult to pull off action photo of bottle feeding.

Noah protecting the house against intruders. You can tell no one is getting through him by the look on his face.

More pictures to follow, we are looking forward again to having the Tuckers in town to help.

Another day, another bath

What a difference a couple of months can make.  Above is a picture I forgot to post in May when Noah hated baths.

He no longer chooses to stew in his own filth, and looks forward to baths everyday.

Noah vs. Zucchini

I am confident that Noah could defend himself if the zucchini decided to attack.  He only has a couple pounds on the biggest one so I think it would be a good contest.

Scary Boobs: Noah's First Modern Art Experience

Noah took a trip to the Portland Art Museum Today.  He was excited about touring the boob section of the gallery, since that is where he spends most of his time.  Needless to say we found some scary boobs.

Noah says "I shall refrain from nursing"

Scary boobs here too.

Noah thinks this guy is making a big mistake. Dude, it's not worth it.

After his first modern art experience needed to decompress. He played with some toys at the museum and flipped himself over for the second time in his life.

But the happiest time of the day is when mom comes home.

Noah's First Bird of Prey Encounter

Noah met a fierce member of the Animal Kingdom today on a hike.

It started pretty mellow, as Noah passed out after a mile or so and soiled himself.

His senses quickened as we approached the the beast's sanctuary.

We soon ran into this guy and his spotted owl.  

He actually looks like a pretty nice bird, a little sad since his species is being wiped out.  I am also thinking about incorporating a similar gauntlet into Noah's wardrobe.

Perhaps the goal of paternity leave will be one bird of prey encounter per day. 

3 months old

Congratulations to Noah for making it to three months! Mom is very sad that she has to go back to work, and is learning how to milk herself and do legal research at the same time.

Dad is happy to have one month of paternity leave to party with Noah. So far there's been more vomiting at this party than any kegger I've been at. This explains the ever present bib/cape.

Noah's First Movement (of the day)

 Noah and his parents attended a free classical music event in Laurelhurst Park.  At the beginning of the show Noah was a bit pensive which we attributed to his lack of pooping for 24 hours.  We have been expecting "the big one" all weekend.

 Noah was obviously pleased with the musicianship. As the orchestra entered the second movement of a piece, he experienced his first movement of the day.  The sweet sounds of Mozart coaxed the "big one" out.  

Much more relaxed after some classical gas.

Julie has become a diaper changing Ninja. We thought the big one would be our nemesis but it was just another day at the office.

Obviously this item was pretty crucial.

Another great morning

Visiting the Medwells in Seattle

Noah took his first road trip to Seattle to visit his great grandmother Shirley and the rest of the Medwell clan.

Julie's Aunt Nancy and Great Grandmother Shirley a.k.a Nauny

Noah with Aunt Nancy.

Noah was also able to meet his cousin Elena before she left for Europe and his Uncle Steve and Aunt Carol.

We hope to come back soon!

Look Who's a Happy Camper

 Noah had his first camping trip last weekend.  We went to a lake up on Mt Hood to escape the heat.  In this picture you can see his faux hawk blowing in the gentle mountain breeze.  Noah likes to maintain his urban hairstyle even in the wilderness.

One of the rare moments I got to sit down on the trip. There was a a lot of wilderness bouncing.

Noah was obsessed with looking at trees the entire time. He's geeking out on the foliage in this picture and was so enthralled that he rolled over for the first time.

When the crying begins I run for the water.

Below is a photo of Noah with all of his gear in the tent. He managed to sleep through the celebratory shotgun blasts on the other side of the lake. The campground host told us that she had  a bigger gun at her site and was going to retaliate by shooting it off beside the armed campers' tent the next morning.  It's good to get Noah outside of Portland so he wakes up with the fresh scent of a warm gun instead of vegan pastries.  Man up son, no soy lattes for you!

This slumber only lasted about 40 minutes before Julie had to use her crazy creek and rock him to sleep. It was enough time to take down a tall boy and eat some s'mores.