Some Pics.

I weighed Noah the other day. He was exactly 5 weeks old and weighed exactly 10 lbs! I really can tell a difference from when he was born. He is just growing and growing and getting cuter and cuter everyday too ;)
Noah went to church for the first time today! It was stake conference and he did so good. He slept the whole time and only woke up about 5 mins before the end.

This outfit is from the Gap. I got it for 1 Dolla! I know, I'm awesome. One Dolla make you Holla!!!!!

He is liking his car seat more and more everyday!

TummyTime :)

I placed him in his crib one day while I was hanging up his clothes. He no likey! BUT, he does blend in with the bedding. lol.

Cute little face :)

It's not easy being a personal trainer

Okay, some of you, our adoring fans, have wondered what the details of Trudi's training sessions are. Well, like she said they're grueling. I do yell. I get paid for child abuse mind you! (Like not real child abuse, but I do get paid to yell at kids and make them perform physical feats that are quite painful) So she get's it pretty tough. You asked about whips. While I don't condone physical violence as a part of coaching and motivation I do condone the use of threats of physical violence. As long as you're scary enough you never actually to have to follow through with the violence. Trudi hasn't quite figured this out yet and I still have my scare in on her.

Here's a picture of me right before one of our workouts. Don't let the smile fool you. I put on a pretty face for the camera. I'm an animal.

No Time

I never truly understood it when women would say, "you will have no time when you have kids." Now, I truly do. The other night I did one of those biore nose strips...The five seconds I had to myself was like the equivalent of having a spa day or something. hahaha. Also, those biore nose strips are totally disgusting, but awesome at the same time. My nose looks A-MAZ-ING! It's blows my mind how fast my days go. I feed Noah and before I know it, it's time to feed again. It's crazy. I wake up and the next minute, it's midnight.

Tyler is a junior class advisor and has had to help with the prom set up, so today Noah and I accompanied him. Noah didn't do much but sleep and scream, but I found myself making hawaiian flowers. It still amazes me how some people can be so crafty. When I walked into the gym, I felt like I was on an island in Hawaii. Some lady made a huge waterfall and there were homemade surfboards etc...It looks awesome. Prom is next weekend. Tyler has to go chaperone, so I might bring Noah....in a tux....jk, but wouldn't that be so cute?

I am proud to say that I am now off sugar for one week. I did this before for about 3.5 years, but once I got pregnant, I started eating sugar again. I can honestly say that I prefer carbs to sugar which is not good, but it makes it easier to steer clear of ice cream, brownies, chocolate etc... I have been walking everyday and the weather here has been beautiful! I have come to learn that there is not one single normal sidewalk in this lovely town. Seriously, I may write the mayor a letter asking him why these issues haven't been fixed since we pay the city an arm and a leg each month? BUT, that's a different post. lol. Seriously, my brand new stroller is taking a beating.....not good. Anywho, my original point was that I have been trying to get back into shape. So, the other day I asked Tyler to get a workout ready for me including stretches, crunches, push ups, etc.... The next thing I know, Tyler has my doing like squats, lunges and these things from hell called deep knee bends. My thighs were literally cramping on the spot. I kept trying to get out of it by saying "please sir, I just had a baby," but Tyler was like yelling at me to drop and give him 20. Seriously, it sucked and 4 days later, I still burn. I want to start running again, but need to give it time. I think I already overdid it.....anything to get out of that hellish workout with my man :)

Noah had been sleeping better since my last post until last night. I was awake until the wee hours of the morning consoling the little man. I believe I woke up sitting on the couch at 4:40 am with a total creek in my neck. OUCH!

We took this picture today after his bath. Blackmail for when he brings his first girlfriend home :)

Zzzzzzz

We have been having some wild all nighters here at the Matlock home....and I don't mean all nighters in a good way. Noah has been keeping us up all night. I seriously lay down at 6:30 am this morning for the first time and only got about twenty mins in until he started crying again. Tyler get's up at about 6:30am, so things here have not been pretty. I thought it was gas at first so we got mylicon drops, but now I think he just doesn't want to sleep. He will only stop crying if I cuddle him real close which is fine, but I am still trying to find a way to sleep and do this at the same time. Tyler went and got this book today



We've heard great reviews about it so hopefully things around here will change, otherwise we will turn into zombies. I know a lot of people will probably tell me to leave him in a room crying until he falls asleep, but it's so bad that we can hear him, even in a different room. Tyler spends most of his nights sleeping on the couch because he has to get up so early. I feel like Noah is on such a backwards schedule. I am looking at him snoozing in the bouncer right now. He sleeps so good during the day...TOO GOOD!

I'm soooo tired. Like, I seriously don't know if I remember ever being this tired. Of course, when I said this to Tyler he said "well, you did used to drink one energy drink per day before you got pregnant." Thanks! Even though I am so tired, I can't help but love this little face :)

Old Woman

I was flicking around on the tv today trying to find something to watch! There is never anything on during the weekend :( That was until I stumbled upon Legends of the Fall. Hello Brad!!!!


Ah, the memories. I remember watching this movie when I was growing up! I'm not sure if we were supposed to be watching it.....eek. Anywho, looking at Brad in this movie makes me feel old. He was so young in it. I just googled it and I guess it was made in 1994. Shoot me now!

So, little Noah Vann Halen has taught himself a little trick. He now holds his pacifier in his mouth all by himself. 3 weeks old and already looking after himself.




Every time Tyler changes Noah's diaper, he laughs at his feet. They are too cute :)

We have now upgraded from the boppy to the bouncer. I'm not gonna lie, we may have had the bouncer in the bed with us the other night. We will do whatever it takes to get a few minutes of sleep, don't judge.

G'day Sir!

This picture just cracks me up. Doesn't Noah look like an old man? Like a little old cute Ben Franklin? Maybe it's just me....Either way, he's cute.

p.s. Tyler asked me last night if I thought Noah was going to mold into the shape of the boppy due to all the time he spends in it. ROTFL.

Politics

I have never been a fan of politics. Mainly because I'm not an American citizen and always chose to keep my mouth shut when it came to political conversation. However, due to some recent changes, I have become a little vocal regarding politics. Some of these changes include the following:

1. I'm married to a history teacher.
2. I found out that the above teacher is very passionate about politics and WILL NOT back down for anything.
3. Things are changing drastically in this country we live in.
4. Transatlantic "people" are so caught up with things going on with America's government and as they continue to voice their opinions, I continue to get fired up.

Before I go on, let me say that I do not want this blog to turn into a political platform (Tyler :) but I just need a venting outlet real quick. We've all had those awkward heated political discussions that have turned into world war III. Mine usually take place at my mam's house during a family gathering. While I think it's good to be up to date with the haps of your government, I do not believe it is necessary to get into an argument. I have learned that sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. We have some friends who have the very same beliefs as us, but chose to be on a totally different political side. This has been hard for me to swallow and at times I have felt that these same friends only claim to have those political beliefs for the simple fact that they like to rock the boat. Not because they really feel that way politically. Tyler and I have even had to agree to disagree on a lot of political issues. It's been hard to let it go and not beat a dead horse with my opinions, but you gotta do what you gotta do right?

As most of you know, I was born in Ireland. Before I get on my soap box, please understand that I LOVE Ireland and miss it dearly. I think about it a lot and sometimes even pine to be back over there. However, I will never ever EVER understand the passion that most people over there have for American politics. I remember visiting the country with my sister Bev when I was 18 and she was 17. We were in Dublin city one day shopping. As we walked down a famous street (Grafton street), we were stopped by a kid about our age. He was carrying a clip board and seemed to be doing a survey. He began to ask us some questions and recognized our "American" accents. He commented on it and continued with his survey. The survey turned out to be about the American government and George Bush. We were asked if we liked George Bush. We said, "Sure"...because we didn't mind him. The kid proceeded to flip out and began yelling at us and basically called us all sorts of names. He continued to tell us that the people in Europe have more access to what was going on over in the middle east because of the BBC being over there and that we had no idea what George Bush was doing to America. I'm pretty sure Bev and I ran off to the nearest store and dropped some money that we didn't have on clothes that we didn't need :) My point in that really long story was that this was my first experience where people from Ireland/Europe thought they had a say in what was happening over in America.

I will never understand this! All of my family, except for my mam and siblings live over in Ireland. Most have never even stepped foot outside of the country, yet most of them and most of my friends over there feel the need to voice their opinion regarding America. As we all know the healthcare situation has our country up in arms right now. But, it has other countries up in arms too. The most shocking part of it all is that Ireland is a country that has taken part in socialized medicine since I can remember. I also remember that that was a factor in my family deciding to immigrate to America. That among many others. Even to this day, the healthcare system over there is a mess. For example, if you need an MRI...you will be put on a waiting list for 2-3 yrs. AN MRI?!?!?!? Something that we can get done in less than 24 hours will take a person over there 2-3 yrs....YET, those same people are all for socialized medicine.....in America, no less.

I recently got into a confrontation on facebook with a friend that we went to Primary with in Ireland concerning this matter. He is Irish, but lives in England and has for years. Every other status update on facebook was about America's healthcare bill. I watched it and watched it and even tried to ignore it, but finally snapped one day. I posted my feelings on his wall to which he replied that "America chooses to put their nose into everyone else's business so now the shoe is on the other foot." I can't lie and say I was shocked at his response, but I refuse to keep quiet when someone is obviously ignorant. After all, I may not be a citizen, but he doesn't even pay taxes over here! So we went back and forth for awhile and finally I let him have the last word...which didn't even make sense.

Just because I don't agree with the changes happening to our healthcare system doesn't mean I don't think our country's healthcare is in need of change. It is in dire need of change and help! It doesn't mean that I am going to picket outside of the white house and send threatening letters to our leaders when I know they will never even be read. It means that I think it's important that we pray for this country and for all the changes and decisions that are taking place just like I think it's important that people outside of America pray for their own country and their leaders.