Rock 'N' Stroll.

Yesterday I discovered that Noah Finn does not share his mother's affinity for public radio. Classic rock it seems, is more his thing. While driving the short distance between Target, the park for a playdate, and our home, there was no classical station to be found and I had left all of the classical compilation cds that daddy had made for Noah at home. The only thing found on the radio dial to soothe the screaming beast in the backseat was Led Zeppelin--nada to mariachi, nada to alternative rock, nada to slow jams. Only the rockin' rhythms of Bob Seger and Fleetwood Mac calmed my mighty car seat crooner. I truly don't mind a nostalgic trip down bygone decades' memory lane, but several stoplights of The Eagles while I could be indulging in the stimulating intellectual acrobatics that only accompanies a good dose of "All Things Considered" seems detrimental to my mental health--but then again, so does a screaming baby. So, Ms. Stevie Nicks, we welcome you with open arms to the Surette-Nelson mobile.

In other Noah news, Noah Finn is making more friends than Mr. Rogers due to the rigorous social calendar that we have been keeping. Really, it's no more than an outing or so a day that has us meeting and mingling with other "grown-up talk" deprived mommies and their little spawns. The L.A. M.I.L.K.s. has turned out to be a great group of moms. Last weekend I ventured out for my first "mommy's night out". Despite mediocre Chinese food at an even more questionable dining establishment in Chinatown, pumping a bottle of breast milk for Dean and Noah while I indulged in some mommy-to-mommy face time amidst sweet and sour soup and stale cookies of fortune was just what the Dr. ordered. Weekly walks, playdates and other pint-sized adventures have forced us to practice getting out of the house at a specific time--which is harder than it sounds for those who have never had to do it.

So, if it seems that all things in babyland lately are sunny and splendid, well they are. For the most part, we have moseyed on by the dark days of blog postings past. Dean and I have been continuing to experiment in an effort to find what's right for us and little Noah Finn. I guess it's just a matter of getting over mental hurdles--the hurdle that makes it difficult to accept that you are on your little one's schedule or "not-schedule" now--your time is no longer your own. Once that revelation is realized and embraced, life with baby it seems is sweet.