She's a Bad Mamma Jamma (and not in the good way)

August?! Really!?  That was my last journal entry!!  This starting off every blog apologizing for the lag time since the last one is becoming a habit that I just can't kick.  I am hoping it will get better, just give me some time.
I plead insanity!  And I'm really not kidding!  I guess you could say it all started when we... MOVED INTO OUR NEW HOME!!!  Yippee, we are so beyond that this became a reality and that Noah finally has a place to call home, forever.  Here she is, and our street name is fitting since we like to party (whether it's we're doing it like it's 1999 or singing a favorite YGG tune "There's A Party in my Tummy"): we live on Luau St! Hula time! LOL!  Added bonus, we are directly in between my parents and sister's house on the other side of the highway.  Noah has been having a blast being so close to his Nana, Tata, Tios/Tias and cousins.  Here she is, isn't she a beaut?!  Did I mention we practically have a football field sized backyard that we plan to do some great things with?  We live on a cul-de-sac with great young families and have a toddler park adjacent to the house!  Double bonus, we are certified green and have solar panels that generate energy!  Woo-hoo!

Ok, so aside from this major life event I don't have much to report.  It's been all consuming really.  It's taken Noah a little time to adjust to the change and his schedule was really off there for a while with new surroundings,  furniture deliveries, and various appointments for house stuff.  We finally cleared out the garage today (almost 2 months after being here).  Remind me to never move with a toddler, EVER AGAIN!  And now, it's just a matter of hanging some stuff up, painting a couple more rooms and having a major garage sale to sell some stuff we've been wanting to get rid of for a while now.  I can't believe we're in our forever home!
Let's see, what else?   November is Prematurity Awareness month and on that note I thought I would share a couple things that I've been doing to help families of premature babies and babies who were born with special medical needs.  I have teamed up with the lovely and wonderful Dr Daneshmand and his organization Miracle Babies who helped Mike and I while Noah was in the NICU.  Another fellow preemie mom whom I met while trying to set up a smaller preemie support group for central San Diego, decided to start the Miracle Babies Family Network- San Diego Chapter.  We are basically a support group for the Miracle Babies organization.  Here's a little spiel from our flyers which we plan on posting in every hospital in San Diego:

I am so excited about this wonderful opportunity to help Dr Daneshmand and Miracle Babies support families who are going through a very tough time in their life.  Having walked that path almost 2 years ago, I can't tell you how much I would have loved to have a group of people to commiserate with, people who knew exactly what we were going through.  Tanya and I make a great team and I am lucky to have crossed paths with her this past July.  This is going to be a great thing and I hope to expand this to the Temecula/Riverside area now that we're up here.
On the Noah front, what can I say about this special peanut?  I mean I probably sound like a broken record at this point but this is both the hardest and most beautiful experiences of my life.  No one ever goes their whole life planning on raising a preemie child.  I sure as heck did not.  No one can ever truly grasp the heartache and triumphs one experiences while raising these precious angels.  I don't know how many people pick up something that weighs 1 or 2lbs and thinks, "I can't believe my baby used to be this small".  Sometimes I'm taken back when I look at his NICU pictures and realize how far he's come.  This is overshadowed a lot by how much further we still have to go.  Noah is doing pretty well given his crazy entrance into this world.  But we struggle, mainly with gastrointestinal issues such as GERD, poor digestion, vomiting, gagging, constipation, food refusal, trouble chewing and swallowing, weaning him from his Pediasure, etc...
This is the longest amount of time it's taken him to gain a pound and he is hovering at 24lbs 14oz and 25lbs 2oz now.  I really can't wait for the day when I look back on these blog entries with relief that these days are over and these mountains and molehills are a thing of the past.  I know I'll be able to do that one day, I just don't know when.  If you're there God (and I know you most definitely are) sooner would be so much better than later.  ;)
On a much more positive note, Noah's personality is really starting to come through lately.  I think we are entering the dreaded words every parent doesn't want to hear or acknowledge: The Terrible Two's (which will now be referred to as TTT)! He has always been, shall we call it, strong willed.  It's this stubbornness that helped him win the fight for his life.  It's the same thing that has me pulling out my hair and rubbing my earlobes while chanting "Wooo-saaa" repeatedly throughout the day.  He is obsessed with other people's shoes and tearing out pages of his books.  He is still going strong with his "eyes/ojitos" which he still is convinced carry limitless mind power, making even the strongest succumb to his every demand.  He loves to hurt himself on purpose (only with the smallest touch or bump into something because we all know what a sensitive guy he is) so that I can kiss it and make it better by singing an old Mexican song and then proceeding to punish the offender (whether it's a wall, the floor, or a toy) by 'spanking' it.  This has lead to another issue in which he raises his eyebrows, lifts his arm, cocks his hand back and wants to "spank" everything in sight, including his poor innocent mother who almost gave her life to save him (I warned you all that I would be using this little tidbit whenever the situation warranted).  I've created a monster!  He is still very much into cleaning up with baby wipes and his little broom and vacuum, I wonder if he'll still be this way when he's 15?  A girl can wish, right?!  His new thing is spitting and watching his spit fall to the ground, I know, yay!  Typical boy stuff that I have to be prepared for I guess.  He's still in love with his regulars: Yo Gabba Gabba, Fresh Beat Band, Oobi, and Elmo.  He still loves his baths and anything having to do with his beloved "Wa-Wa".  Here is a list of words I can think of off the top of my head...

He says:
Dada
Mama
Nana
Tata
Mia
Tia
Ball
Bird
Wa-Wa (water)
Shoes
Bye or Bye-Bye
Go (as in Go Chargers, which he yells at the TV screen.  That's our boy!)
Light
Num Num (food)
Ba Ba (bottle)
Kitty
Oobi
Elmo
Gab Gab (Yo Gabba Gabba)
Lola
Hot
Muah (kiss)
Mimi
Nite Nite
Up/Down (usually in that sequence, back to back so you to pick him up)
Outside
Juice
Bath Time
Knock Knock
Push
Cookie
Baby
Pank (Spank)
Bounce (Jump)
Eyes
Bee Bee (Beep Beep)
Fi (High Five)
Wee (Swing)
Pee Pee
Poo Poo

He signs:
More
All Done
Thank you

We had an amazing block party for Halloween (I love our new neighbors/neighborhood) and Noah was a super cute Elmo.  His cousin Isaiah was Woody from Toy Story and Mia was Alice from Alice in Wonderland.  And of course, the two older cousins are too cool for school and this was the first Halloween they didn't dress up.  I knew these days would come, but I didn't think they'd come so fast!
Ok, I am going to pass out talking about this crazy kid and our hectic life as of late!  I will post soon, and by that I mean sooner rather than later! ;)