Thank You, Sakrete!

You may remember my blog post last month about how I resurfaced my driveway. In the final paragraph, I thanked Sakrete for making the products that were used. As it turns out, somebody from the Sakrete company read the blog and sent me some items as a token of their appreciation. A Sakrete t-shirt, hat, can holder, and keychain/bottle opener ended up at my house today. I appreciate the gesture. I do have a little bit of concrete patching left to do at my house, and guess whose products I'll be using.

Noah's Belated Five-Month Blog

I'm nearly two weeks late, but here is a picture of Noah at five months. Noah's fifth month was pretty eventful. To start off, we dove into the world of solid foods. It began with rice cereal, and now has branched out to several foods, including sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, squash, bananas, avocado, and oatmeal. Angie has been making Noah's food, buying fresh produce and pureeing it. We recommend the Wholesome Baby Food website, which contains tips on when to feed each food and how to prepare them.



Over the 4th of July weekend, we went to Danny and Marianne's wedding in Chicago. Noah did a good job handling us being stuck in Chicago traffic, and he slept well. He slept through the ceremony, which made Angie happy. He also made it through a decent part of the reception. It was nice visiting all of our family, and it was a beautiful ceremony.

On Tuesdays, Angie and Noah have been attending Baby Talk. Baby Talk is an organization that provides resources to parents of babies. They do weekly meetings throughout the area, all free to the public. It's a great organization that got its start right here in Decatur, Illinois.

One of Noah's favorite things to do right now is sucking his big toe. Those of you reading this on Facebook have probably seen the video by now.

Noah is making a lot of noises. One of his noises sounds like he's saying "Hi." Right before he falls asleep at night, he will roll around in the crib and talk to himself.

Noah is doing some discovering. He likes to grab faces now. He also likes to scratch things, to see what they feel like. When we go on walks (which we've done quite a bit, thanks to the nice weather we've had this summer), he looks around at the trees. One thing that he's not a fan of, though, is the grass. We laid him down in the grass, and he voiced his displeasure.

The fifth month was fun, as you know. It was a real blessing to have reduced work hours this summer, so that I could spend more time with the family. I'm not looking forward to having bigger responsibilities again next week.

Well, the next update shouldn't be too far away, given that I was so late with this one. Stay tuned later this month for the big six-month update.

Our New Driveway (sort of)

Last week was a big week for the Hynds House. I spent last Thursday, Friday, and Monday resealing the driveway. It was long overdue. I didn't have the foresight to take a "Before" picture, but this is a big improvement.

It took five gallons of crack filler (tee hee!) to patch up the major cracks, and then just over two 5-gallon drums of sealant to patch it up. The whole thing was preceded by a long night of powerwashing. There were a lot of weeds that refused to give up, and had to be either pulled out or cut out.

Strangely enough, I had to wait a couple of days before finishing the project, as the materials are not supposed to be used when the temperature gets below 50 degrees. That didn't quite happen last weekend, but it came pretty close. I didn't expect that kind of barrier when I decided to do this in the middle of July.

Not to brag, but I'm pretty proud of myself. You see, I'm not what they call "handy," so this went way beyond what I thought I could pull off. Sure, nobody will look at it and say, "Hey, did you hire Dunn Company to do your driveway?", but it looks good enough, in my opinion. Plus, the whole project cost just above $100, and those are savings that you can take to the bank. The money bank!

I'd like to thank Angie for her support. She took care of Noah, since I couldn't come inside. She also prepared a couple of meals for me to eat outside, and provided a great deal of moral support. I also want to thank Don Reining and Bill Austin for letting me borrow some materials. Finally, I want to thank Sakrete for making the products that were used. (I'm hoping Sakrete will reimburse me for giving them the plug.)

Good night, and happy paving.

Noah is 1/3 of a Year Old (That's Four Months, People!)

Noah turned four months old on June 22. (Call me biased, but I think that is the best of his monthly Pooh pictures to date.)

The fourth month was quite an adventure. We had our first overnight trip, with the three of us going to Naperville for his Uncle Danny's wedding shower. We stayed at the Hampton, and I am happy to report that Noah slept very well. In fact, he slept so well that we were tempted to use the Pack 'n Play at home as well.

In mobility news, Noah can now roll over completely. He moves around much more these days; we have to watch him when he is in his bouncer seat, as he now can move himself out of it. He has a little more strength, although sitting up is still a short while away. Whenever we grab his hands, he will stand up if we gently bring him up, and he will stay standing when we hold him.

Noah makes a lot more sounds now. Some of them even sound like words. I'm pretty sure he said "Hi" the other day when I got him from his crib. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, we'll wake up to hear him talking to himself in the other room.

Speaking of sleep, it is getting better. He still wants to fight sleep, but he has slept all through the night on several occasions now.

I had my first Father's Day last week. Noah (with mom's help) made a nice poem with his footprints, and a mouse pad that's a photo collage. It looks great on my desk at work.

Noah starts having small solid foods (starting with rice cereal) this week, so stay tuned for an entertaining fifth-month report in July!

Noah at Three Months

Noah turned three months old on May 22. The third month has been a fun one.

Noah now is laughing, and he has some ticklish spots. He also is babbling a lot these days; most of you saw the video on Facebook. One of my favorite things to say to him is "Ah Gee!" He seems to respond to it, and it sounds like something that he says.

Angie got to have her first Mother's Day this year, and Noah made her a nice gift.

Noah got to spend his weekdays with his Grandma Tina, since Angie and I both were working. Those were fun times. As of yesterday, Angie is no longer employed with the school district, and is now a full-time mom! We're very excited, and thank God for providing for us.

Last weekend, Noah went to his first baseball game, as he saw his cousin Zach play. He also had his first trip to the Central Park water fountain. He was mesmerized by the fountain.

We also are happy to report that Noah slept from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. earlier this week. Of course, we are all very happy by that.

As you'd expect, we're having a lot of fun with Noah, and we can't wait for the summer.

(If you are reading this on The Hynds Quarters, I thank you very much. I also would encourage you to check out my Facebook page. I have more pictures and videos on that page.)

Noah is Two Months Old

Believe it or not, Noah turned two months old on April 22. Here's a picture montage of his first two months:

This is a picture of Noah taken about two hours after he was born, on February 22.

We took this picture on March 22, his one-month birthday. We plan on taking a picture of him next to this Winnie the Pooh doll at every month, to show how much he grows.

And here's his picture at two months. He has grown quite a bit.

Noah has done a lot of growing and developing. He can move to either side, he can lift up his head, and he occasionally can hold his head in the air. He also is very close to completely rolling over. In fact, he wakes up every morning in the corner or the edge of his crib, but it doesn't seem to bother him.

Noah is smiling a lot these days, and he does have some small laughs. He actually laughs the loudest when he's asleep.

He likes to lay down on the floor or the bed, but he really likes to sit in his bouncer seat and talk to the animals on the seat. One of his least favorite places to be is his carseat. And for the past couple of weeks, he hasn't been a big fan of baths.

Sometimes, when he's fussy, I like to call him either Fussypants McGee or Noah Von Fussypants.

He sure has been a lot of fun. There will be many more pictures, videos, and stories over the years.

Noah Lee Hynds is here!

We'd like to welcome Noah Lee Hynds to the world. Noah was born on Sunday, February 22 at 3:24 p.m., at 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 22 inches long. He has brought tremendous blessing and joy to Angie and I. Here's the first of many pictures of our little guy. Noah and his mom are both doing well.




There will be a lot more pictures and videos both on this blog and on Facebook. We can't wait to share his stories to all of you! A big thank you goes to all of our family and friends for their caring and generosity.