Today my Baby Noah turns FIVE!

Someone please tell me how a tiny human being goes from this...

To this...

In the blink of an eye?

Today my baby, Noah, turns 5 years old. 

In honor of his 5th birthday I decided to dedicate this post to the 5 wonderful, quirky, joyful, silly and touching things that make up my little man.

1) Noah was born on March 21, 2005 at roughly 11:00 in the morning at Baltimore's Sinai Hospital.  He was a planned C-section, but unfortunately due to a unique spinal issue I have called Transverse Myelitis I cannot have spinal anesthesia and therefore had to be put under general anesthesia for his delivery.  I didn't actually get to hold him for the first time until a number of hours after he was born.  Noah weighed in at 8 lbs. 1.75 oz. and was 21 3/4" long.
I fell in love with the name Noah when I was pregnant with him.  At that time I did not know of any other Noah's among my friend's children and I was sold on it for good when I read that the name meant "Peaceful and Obedient".  I figured after the whirlwind first 2 years of Sam's life I could use a little peaceful obedience!

Noah's middle name is Russell.  He is named after my good friend and wanna-be big brother, Russ, who I have worked with for over 12 years at TDH Nurseries.  Russ would always joke with me when I was pregnant over how "Russell" was doing and I would always correct him with the name we had already chosen for our baby boy, which was certainly NOT Russell.  Imagine his surprise when Noah was born and he came to see us at the hospital and introduced him to Noah Russell Godfrey.  He was completely stunned and I think a bit honored.  To this day Russ will still call and ask how "Little Russell" is doing.  He has chosen to ignore the fact that is first name is Noah. 

2)  Noah loves color!  He will arrange his crayons, toys, books, and everything else into a rainbow formation.  I will find these little rainbows all over the house.  I think it must be comforting to him to see the order of how they are placed.  Here is an example of his work:

When Noah was in the hospital last summer the only thing that made the stay tolerable were the crayons the children's playroom gave us for Noah to use in his crib.  Unfortunately because he had a MRSA staph infection he was not allowed to play in the room with other children.

3)  Noah also loves balloons.  He will carry one around with him attached to a string for days on end.  Even after the balloon has lost its helium and is trailing behind him on the carpet he will continue to hold it and throw it in the air and watch it fall back down to the ground over and over again.

Every major celebration (and even a few minor ones) have featured balloons in celebration of Noah.

Noah's 1st Birthday

The love affair with balloons begins!

 His 2nd birthday

Noah reaping the benefits of Sam's 5th Birthday party balloons!

When Noah has a bad day I know all I have to do is make a trip to the dollar store and buy him a helium balloon to make everything right in his world again.  Thank goodness it is such a simple fix.

4)  Noah can see beauty and wonder in anything.  I often find Noah laying down on his back looking out the window at the birds flying, or the trees swaying in the breeze, and I honestly wish I knew what it was about these actions that are so marvelous and mysterious to him.  

When we are outside he wants to pick up leaves or sticks and throw them high in the air and watch them fall back down.  He loves to run in circles and spin wildly like a whirling dervish.  When we see a bird or an airplane he will squee with excitement. 

I find Noah is most at peace when he is moving.  He can run like the wind and at times I wonder if he is trying to catch it and hold onto it.

5)  Noah loves to hide under blankets and pillows and in tight spaces he calls "caves".  He will carry a large king-size blanket into the living room and flop down on the floor and cover himself up and then chatter to himself about Dora and Boots and their adventures in the bat cave.  Sometimes he wants me to join him under the blanket and Mommy becomes the official tent pole by holding my hand up above my head.  If Noah happens to have a balloon with him under the "cave", all the better!

Noah, is my sweet baby boy.  My second and my last.  He has always kept me on my toes, is certainly the most mischievous of my 2 boys and prefers to play alone and do his own thing.  He has had some definite rough spots with recurring MRSA staph infections, numerous bowel and upper GI issues, and his dietary limitations can make meal planning a challenge, but all in all he is my easier child.  He is the one I can depend on to wake me up at the crack of dawn, and the first to fall asleep every night.  When Mommy wants to go outside he is the first one at the door waiting to tag along.  He is quick to anger but doesn't milk it for all its worth and when its done, its done.

And still I think he may not be peaceful....or obedient.

But, he is mine and that is most definitely enough.