Noah is such a boy - he's learning how to blow spit bubbles
Friday, October 21, 2011
It's Been Awhile
Dear Family and Friends,
It's been awhile since we've updated you all so there is a lot to catch up on. At the end of July we headed up north to attend the wedding of one of Stephanie's great friends. I (Steph) was a bridesmaid and Noah was the most adorable ring bearer. We had a great time at the wedding and we ate and danced the night away.
While we were up north, we spent a couple of days hanging out with my parents. In Delaware we took Noah to the zoo for the first time. Unfortunately my mom tricked us into thinking this zoo was worth the ten minutes it took to drive there. After getting there we quickly realized that this zoo was one of the worst zoos imaginable. The entire zoo was about 1/4 mile long and the exhibits included bees, a fox, and ducks. There was a potential bright spot of the zoo - a monkey house. But when we entered the monkey house (which was literally a house converted into an animal enclosure) our hopes were quickly extinguished. There were monkeys in the house, but there was also the smell of poo, roaches, and mice. Next time we take Noah to the zoo it will DEFINITELY be an improvement.
This August the Rivera family saw many new and exciting changes. I started a new job at Cook Endoscopy in Winston Salem, NC. My new title is R&D engineer and I will be working to bring medical devices that are used in the biliary system (bile duct, pancreas, and liver) to market. These devices will typically be used to clear any blockages that may be present near the liver and pancreas if people have gall stones or tumors. So far I've been there for a couple of months and it has been an easy transition. Most of my coworkers have been at Cook for more than five years but they have been super friendly in welcoming me. It helps that another engineer started a month before me so I'm not the only new engineer in our department.
On the same day that I started my job, Jorge started attending A&T University full time to a pursue a MS in Computer Science. At the end of July he resigned as a teacher from the Durham Public School system. After many discussions, we decided it would be a good decision to make a career change. He's done a great job of managing his busy class schedule with spending time with us.
Noah has been awesome as usual. Since our last post, Noah celebrated his first birthday and walking became his main mode of transportation. He also loves to babble and play hide and seek. For his birthday party, Noah celebrated like a super hero. Check out the pictures of Noah in his Super Noah outfit.
Now that Noah is able to walk, we though it would be great to take him to the park. We aren't quite sure if Noah enjoyed himself or not because when we put him in the swing he had a look of confusion the entire time.
It's been awhile since we've updated you all so there is a lot to catch up on. At the end of July we headed up north to attend the wedding of one of Stephanie's great friends. I (Steph) was a bridesmaid and Noah was the most adorable ring bearer. We had a great time at the wedding and we ate and danced the night away.
While we were up north, we spent a couple of days hanging out with my parents. In Delaware we took Noah to the zoo for the first time. Unfortunately my mom tricked us into thinking this zoo was worth the ten minutes it took to drive there. After getting there we quickly realized that this zoo was one of the worst zoos imaginable. The entire zoo was about 1/4 mile long and the exhibits included bees, a fox, and ducks. There was a potential bright spot of the zoo - a monkey house. But when we entered the monkey house (which was literally a house converted into an animal enclosure) our hopes were quickly extinguished. There were monkeys in the house, but there was also the smell of poo, roaches, and mice. Next time we take Noah to the zoo it will DEFINITELY be an improvement.
On the same day that I started my job, Jorge started attending A&T University full time to a pursue a MS in Computer Science. At the end of July he resigned as a teacher from the Durham Public School system. After many discussions, we decided it would be a good decision to make a career change. He's done a great job of managing his busy class schedule with spending time with us.
Noah has been awesome as usual. Since our last post, Noah celebrated his first birthday and walking became his main mode of transportation. He also loves to babble and play hide and seek. For his birthday party, Noah celebrated like a super hero. Check out the pictures of Noah in his Super Noah outfit.
Now that Noah is able to walk, we though it would be great to take him to the park. We aren't quite sure if Noah enjoyed himself or not because when we put him in the swing he had a look of confusion the entire time.
Well that's all for now! Love you all!
God Bless,
Stephanie, Jorge, and Noah
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Carnival Freedom
Dear Family & Friends,
On July 1st, our family embarked on our first big family vacation. We drove to the airport in Charlotte, NC in order to catch a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Once in FL we met up with my parents and brother and his girlfriend who were joining us on the vacation (which was actually intended to be a celebration of my parents 30th wedding anniversary). We had to get plenty of rest that night, because the next morning we were going to be heading out on an 8 day cruise!
On Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast while we waited for the taxi to take us to the cruise port. Once the taxi came, there was surprisingly little trouble loading everybody's luggage and dropping off the luggage at the cruise terminal. Within 30 minutes of arriving at the ship, we were able to board. After everyone dropped off their bags in their rooms, we made our way to the Lido deck (where the pool and all the buffets are located). All of us (except Andrea and Noah) had been on a cruise before so we knew that this is where we would hang out on our days at sea.
Our first port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. Here, we decided to spend a relaxing day at the beach. Everyone, except me, went snorkeling right off the beach. I decided on our last cruise that snorkeling was not for me, so I avoided the water knowing that there were some decent sized fish swimming out there. The most exciting part of the day was when we came across the amazing artists who can use spray paint to create awesome surreal works. We had them make a custom NC State painting for us (all for only $25). These guys had obviously never heard of NC State so one of the artists had me Google the NCSU block letters on his iPhone. After seeing the block letters he proceeded to go out templates (without using rulers). He made five templates in all in order to allow the red, black, and white colors to be produced. In the pictures below you can see our work of art in progress. If you ever get the chance to go to Cozumel, this is one souvenir I recommend you waiting in line to get.
Our first port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. Here, we decided to spend a relaxing day at the beach. Everyone, except me, went snorkeling right off the beach. I decided on our last cruise that snorkeling was not for me, so I avoided the water knowing that there were some decent sized fish swimming out there. The most exciting part of the day was when we came across the amazing artists who can use spray paint to create awesome surreal works. We had them make a custom NC State painting for us (all for only $25). These guys had obviously never heard of NC State so one of the artists had me Google the NCSU block letters on his iPhone. After seeing the block letters he proceeded to go out templates (without using rulers). He made five templates in all in order to allow the red, black, and white colors to be produced. In the pictures below you can see our work of art in progress. If you ever get the chance to go to Cozumel, this is one souvenir I recommend you waiting in line to get.
One of the funniest nights on the ship was when "Stevie Wonder" gave an impromptu performance on the Lido deck. Jorge, Noah, and I were hanging out in our cabin when suddenly there was a manic knocking on our door. My brother was there (almost frantic) and he told he said, "Yo, Stevie Wonder is on deck. You've got to come up here now!" Jorge and I looked at each other with disbelief but he decided to venture up there and see what the fuss was about. A few minutes later he came back and told me that there was no way that was Stevie Wonder. So I went up there and sure enough it was clearly an impostor. Jorge called the front desk and confirmed that it was an impersonator. About an hour later we hear our family coming back. When we broke the news to them they were in complete shock and argues with us for a good five minutes. They didn't believe the truth until they called the front desk themselves. For the rest of the trip my mom complained about Carnival's "false advertising." Despite there disappointment, we all had a good laugh about it whenever the "concert" was brought up.
One of the most awesome experience of the whole cruise was partially traversing though the Panama canal. We boarded a ferry docked in a marina in the Pacific Ocean. We (Steph, Noah, and Steph's parents) traveled through three locks and made our way to another smaller port located within the canal. It was interesting to learn that complete passage of the canal will take up to 10 hours and can cost up to $250K (for the largest ships). While traveling through the canal we passed the construction site for new locks that will accommodate ships that are too large to fit into the existing locks. While we were going through the canal, Jorge and my brother and his girlfriend went kayaking on a lake that is considered part of the canal.
Throughout the cruise, one of our favorite times together as a family was dinner time. Every night we all got together to share the stories from our day. We especially had fun on the nights when the crew put on a show for all the guests. Noah was a big hit in the dining room and got waves and smiles from every member of the waitstaff that passed our table.
All in all this was an amazing vacation. It was great to get away with my family and discover new locations in the process. It was also not as scary traveling with Noah as I had imagined. This has definitely allowed me to start mentally planning our next couple vacations. Here are a few more pictures from the trip!
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| Steph and her mom in Panama |
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| Pose on the deck |
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| Granny and Noah at the cacao plantation in Costa Rica |
Love,
Steph, Jorge, and Noah
Steph, Jorge, and Noah
Monday, August 1, 2011
June = Beach Time!
Dear Family & Friends,
In order to prepare Noah for our impending cruise we thought that it would be a good idea to take him to the beach so that he could have some exposure to the ocean. In the beginning of the month we packed up the car (with what felt like three time as much as we would take to the beach before Noah was born) and headed to our favorite North Carolina beach spot, Topsail Island. Jorge and I have been going to Topsail Beach for years. We love the small crowds and easy beach access. Plus on a good day the water is pretty clear and reasonably warm. On a more sinister note, this beach has pretty frequent shark attacks - ~2/year. Which makes me nervous whenever Jorge decided he wants to some far from the shore. This year we wouldn't be worrying about sharks, thought, because we weren't planning on swimming in the water.
As the next two pictures show, Noah was not too thrilled with the beach, which was super disappointing to Jorge and I because we absolutely love everything to do with it. As soon as we put Noah's feet into the water, he had a fit. I imagine the huge expanse of water in front of him was somewhat intimidating. But we figured the cool water would feel refreshing in the blazing heat. This, surprisingly, was definitely not the case. As soon as Jorge put Noah in the sand to play, he attempted to make a bee-line escape away from the water.
At the end of the day, our first trip to the beach was awesome. We had fun kicking off the summer and by the end of the day we were looking forward to our big vacation in the Caribbean.
This trip to the beach was not just viewed as a quick weekend escape. As new parents, Jorge and I are making a conscientious effort to expose Noah to as many of the world's wonderful experiences as we can, starting at a very young age. To us, it is important for our children to understand that the world is a very big place and that we should do all we can to prevent them from becoming complacent and encourage them to be people who are continuously looking to explore, learn, and be more enriched individuals.
Be Blessed,
Friday, June 24, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Spring is Here!
Dear Family and Friends,
Despite the massive influx of pollen and the crazy storms and temperature shifts, this spring has been pretty great so far. With the warming weather, we began to take Noah outside so that he could get familiar with crawling around in the grass and getting dirty (like a typical little boy). Although he loves being outside, it doesn't take too long until the sun wears him out and he's ready for a nap.
At the end of April, Noah took his first plane trip. He and Steph traveled up to NJ so that they could attend a bridal shower (both Steph and Noah are going to be in Steph's friend's wedding at the end of July). Noah was the life of the party and all the ladies in attendance got a kick out of his great personality.
While visiting up North Steph, Noah, and Steph's dad took Noah on a little walk on a trail behind Steph's parents house. As usual Noah loved being outside. Steph's mom also encouraged Noah to make a mess in her kitchen by pulling out any non-dangerous cooking item she could find and letting Noah play with them. Steph used this time to practice taking close up pictures of Noah with her mom's Nikon DSLR (it also inspired her to purchase a camera like that of her own).
After Steph and Noah's traveling weekend. Noah became pretty sick. We're not sure where he picked up the germs (His grandfather was sick, germy airport, daycare) but when Steph and Noah got home he had slight fever. I felt bad for Steph because he started feeling sick in the airport and her plane was delayed four hours.
After I took him to the doctor, he was given several prescriptions to help improve his breathing and reduce the mucus in his lungs for the first two weeks of May. The 2nd week of May Steph became deathly ill. Her fever shot up to a scary 103.7 degrees. Although the temperature outside was easily in the upper 80’s, she was under the covers shivering as if we were in the middle of January. Throughout the usual occurrence of Noah and Steph being sick, I did what I always do to help around the house. I looked at Steph and Noah with pitty wishing they could be blessed with my OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD immune system. (Side Note: I tell people all the time that my immune system is so amazing, I’d swear my blood can be used as a cure for AIDS).
While visiting up North Steph, Noah, and Steph's dad took Noah on a little walk on a trail behind Steph's parents house. As usual Noah loved being outside. Steph's mom also encouraged Noah to make a mess in her kitchen by pulling out any non-dangerous cooking item she could find and letting Noah play with them. Steph used this time to practice taking close up pictures of Noah with her mom's Nikon DSLR (it also inspired her to purchase a camera like that of her own).
After Steph and Noah's traveling weekend. Noah became pretty sick. We're not sure where he picked up the germs (His grandfather was sick, germy airport, daycare) but when Steph and Noah got home he had slight fever. I felt bad for Steph because he started feeling sick in the airport and her plane was delayed four hours.
Little did I know, however, that Noah and Steph’s germs and somehow managed to penetrate this fortress that no other germ or virus has ever been able to break through. And, YES, for the first time in my ENTIRE memory I was legitimately sick. Prior to this moment, the most I had ever experienced was a sniffly nose that would last, at most, a day and a half – I would not call that being sick at all. Prior to this moment, I had NEVER experienced a headache. Wow, did this all change in the blink of an eye. In what seemed to happen instantly, I was suddenly coughing uncontrollably, my nose was totally stuffed and runny at the same time, I had a fever over 100 degrees, and I had experienced my first headache. I have never taken so much medication in my life. But fortunately after a couple of weeks, I started to feel better.
Right now, I am wrapping up a major graduate school assignment, and I have to make up for the time I lost when I was sick. Only two more months to go and I will have a Master's Degree in education! Steph is doing well, she's been working hard to tone up in time for our cruise. So far she's lost 15 pounds (reached her pre-baby weight) by doing the Insanity DVDs.
Love and God Bless,
Jorge, Steph, and Noah
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