Wheeler Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Pedigree

The Boys Christmas Party

Yusef, Luca, Dillan, Noah and Johnny

Zoe & Noah

The changing faces of Noah Wheeler

I have been taking a photo of Noah each week since he was born and put them into a video, here is the latest installment, any ideas on what sound track I should use appreciated!




Maurice

Light at the end of the tunnel

Sorry it's been a while but the last month seems to be a bit of a blur. Our little man decided that rather than sleep more at night he would sleep less and so we went down the path of hourly wake ups driving me and often Mo crazy and having experienced this on a nightly basis I now know why sleep deprivation is such an effective form of torture! However just as I was about to pack my bags and do a runner things have taken a turn for the better and without wanting to tempt fate, the last two nights have been wake-up free and i feel like a million dollars!

Days are more fun too - Noah has become a bit of a foodie and shown a liking for (so far) carrot, pear, apple, sweet potato and occasionally baby rice but it's a bit bland for his developed tastes.

Today was the Sunday that I have been waiting for.... we woke up at 7; I never thought I'd say this buit quite a reasonable hour for a Sunday! We breakfasted together around the kitchen table; Mo and I had smoked salmon bagels, Noah had apple mush; he napped well and then to top it all off we went swimming this afternoon. I watched my boys from the side of the pool, he really enjoyed it, and the teacher said he was really so clever, managing to go under the water twice and come up smiling. Noah was great too :-)

Four Weddings and a Naming Day

Well, it's been a hectic month in all - We've now attended 4 weddings since Noah arrived although the most recent one (Rupert and Caroline) was sans baby; Noah spent the day with Katie and Mum in Newbury and we got to parteeee. Well, actually Mo was driving so he was sensibly sober whilst I got sozzled on a few glasses of bubbles and some vino! Superb.

Here are some pics for your delectation:

Wedding 1 - Simon and Nat



Wedding 2 - Zoe and Ben


Wedding 3 - James and Elain

Wedding 4 - Rupert and Caroline
[more pics to follow]

We also had Noah's Naming Day at our house. It was a fabulous day and we cant thank you all enough for coming along and making it so special. Special thanks go to Nanna for the catering, Louisa for making such a yummy cake and to Russ and Helen for getting us such lovely balloons.

Team Noah (Me, Mo, Joel, Alun and Katie) all said a few words and we were so touched by the contribution our Guardians made. Alun and Katie made a beautiful blanket and some of you have asked to see what was said - so if you want to sit through it all again, minus Zoe and Katie blubbing, click here.

Naming Day Speeches

Hello everyone welcome to Noah’s naming ceremony, for many many years now people have be having both formal and informal occasions to celebrate the birth of their children and welcome them into the world. The one thing they all have in common is that the ceremony is always accompanied with good food, good drink and good friends and a combination of great sincerity and great joy.

In today’s naming ceremony we will consider our responsibilities towards Noah and all the children among us.

Kicking things off is Zoë:

Bringing Noah into this world was the most privileged and amazing thing I have ever done and it puts a big responsibility on my shoulders. Noah, you will depend on me. The way I look after you, care for you and love you will play a part in how you grow up and how your life will be shaped in future years. I promise to do all I can to secure your confidence, learning and strength and to try and return all the happiness you brings me.

Mo:

What does a Father say to his son on such occasions, I guess it is about promises, word of wisdom and intentions about what I am going to teach you?

I am not always going to be there when you fall over but hopefully I can teach you to be brave and have the resilience and be able to pick your self and get stuck back in.

I am not going to be able to teach you about girls, as I have only pulled one, your mother, but hopefully I can teach you about being honest and true to yourself… the ladies love that

I am not going to be able to teach you to read proper, but I can hopefully teach you about the values and fun of learning.

I am not always going to be able say the right thing when you come to me asking for
words of wisdom or the meaning of life, but in those situations I hope you remember this, the meaning of life is to give and receive love, the rest is just gravy, if you remember that, you’ll do just fine.

We have picked as the guardians Joel, Alun and Kate, why on earth did we pick these three?

Joel. you have been a rock for me and Zoe and always been there with us through everything we have done, we would like you to always be there for Noah in the same way, give him the support and guidance you have given us. Also with all the stuff you know about me and Zoe we want you on the inside where we can keep an eye on you.

Alun and Kate, we have chosen you because together you embody the spirit of the life we want to give Noah, whenever we are with you there is always an atmosphere of adventure, a sense of real love and caring and plenty of laughs. Also it is pretty obvious that Alun is punching way above his weight by getting married to Kate so we want some of this jammy luck to rub off on Noah

---X---

Joel do you wanna say something

I was deaply moved when Zoë and Maurice asked me to be a sponsor for Noah and I
take the responsibility very seriously.

Lots of musing and chatting with Mo and Zo formulated my idea that I should always try to guide rather than advise and perhaps just set a good example.

My position outside the family affords some flexibility, on both sides, in language and choices but I believe we share the same moral compass and values.

To this end, I started jotting down some thoughts, mainly drawing on the words of people far wiser than me. Sort of their own accord, my writings formulated a letter – so here goes.

Dear Noah,

One of the most useful things I learnt, from the school your Dad and I attended was the motto: “Esse quam videri” – To be rather than to seem to be.

As I have grown older, I have learnt the real value of honesty and integrity and the importance of standing for what you believe in.

The latin writer Publilius Syrus advises us that “No-one knows what he can do until he tries” and, perhaps less eloquently, the chemist James Conant said “Behold the turtle: he only makes progress when he sticks his neck out”.

Your teachers, elders and indeed your parents will encourage you to work hard, study and learn. I would certainly agree! But always keep in mind the thoughts of one of the greatest scientists ever, “imagination is more important than knowledge” – Einstein. And just when you think you’ve got life licked, remember
Michelangelo’s favourite saying “Ancora imparo” – I’m always learning.

One day, a long way from now, life will get tough but don’t be discouraged – everyone who gets where he is, has been where he was.

A poem by Goethe guides us when things get tough:

We must not hope to be mowers,
And to gather the ripe gold ears.
Unless we first have been sowers,
And watered the furrows with tears.
It is not just as we take it,
This mystical world of ours.
Life’s field will yield as we make it;
A harvest of thorns or of flowers.

But that’s for another day, and ahead of you is lots of fun. Your journey through life should not be a move from playtime to work so always try to hold joy in your heart and keep these famous words in the back of your mind: “I spent a lot of money on women and drink, the rest I just squandered” – George Best!

To finish, always respect your parents, but if you ever hear them bemoaning the youth of today, read them this quote; “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, rush their food and tyrannise their teachers” And then tell them that Socrates wrote that in 420 BC, 2500 years ago, nothing changes.

Enjoy yourself Noah,

Love your Parents, friends and Life

Joel.

---X---

Alun and Kate made a blanket for Noah and wrote a poem:

A hug,
A helping hand,
A thoughtful word,
A cherished man.

We will watch proudly,
Through all of your years,
Through laughter, smiling,
And help through the tears.

Be positive and brave in the paths you take,
Have confidence and pride in the decisions you make.

Good Luck Noah, in all that you do,
And remember, that we are here for you.

---X---


Now for the Naming bit, A name once given will be associated forever with a face, a voice, a laugh and a spirit. The Name NOAH will be spoken, whispered, shouted, cried, sung, typed and written, thousands of times by friends, family teachers, doctors, colleagues, lovers, strangers and maybe by children and grandchildren. It will define his identity.

Your name is Noah William Wheeler; we all wish you happiness and fulfilment in your life.

Summer Holidays

"Baby... What baby?!"

****()****

So it seems holidays will never be the same again now that we have Noah tagging along. The last two weeks have been busy, busy, busy and i think Mo and I are more tired now than we were at the start but it's been fun! Here's some of the stuff we got up to and some pics from Devon -

- we painted pottery;
- we went to Zoe and Ben's wedding (8 hour drive to Warrington);
- Mo paved around the shed;
- we actually went out for an evening for Joel's birthday while Nanna babysat;
- Mo cleared all of Zoe's crap out of the study;
- we went to see Nanna and Opa - Noah helped Opa with the BBQ;
- we went to Devon to see Grandma and Grandad. Ellie came along too.
- we drank tea in the Boston Tea Party; went in the hot tub and Mo and I even got to go to the cinema.

All in all i think we achieved a lot and all that on not much sleep a night.

We are family....

This week we met John and Paula from Oz and had dinner with Bob and Carole, Lise, Robert, James and Joel and Adam. We think that James and Joel are Noah's 2nd cousins??? Is that right? We had a great time and had a bath at Bob and Carole's house:

Last weekend we had a visit from some other Wheelers - Uncle Ashley came with cousins Lilia and Harry. We had a great afternoon playing chess with Harry and watching Lilia clock up about 1000 steps - she must toddle around 10 miles a day!

Noah is proper laughing now which is great fun. His favourite songs are "if you're happy and you know it" (or our version - if you're happy and you're Noah) and "heads, shoulders, knees & toes" as these make him chuckle but if the truth be told, in a good mood, he will sit and giggle at the ceiling so I'm not sure what electrons are firing around in his little head!

I'm still kinda tired but getting the hang of feeling tired and enjoying this motherhood lark none the less. Today I had lunch with Nicola (and Darragh) and Lydia (Yussef) on Parsons Green ... with three lovely boys, a sunny day and the best fish and chips I've ever had - it was a good day.

Zx

Some more "firsts"

So this has been a week of more firsts...

* Opa came to stay for the FIRST time since Noah was born and proved that not only is he handy for weeding the garden but he's not bad at endlessly walking around the room so Noah drops off to sleep and making Noah laugh. It has been noted that he's not quite as good at dinners, cuddles and changing nappies as Nanna is tho ;-)

* Noah took his FIRST black cab after visiting where Daddy works for the FIRST time.




* We spent our FIRST Sunday afternoon in the pub with our new friends. It was great, 5 bonnie baby boys and 10 bleary eyed Mum's and Dad's. Here's to many more.

• Karin, Pete and Luca
• Nicola, Austin and Darragh
• Lydia, Bakr and Enou
• Angela, Brian and Johnny

And the rains started to clear....

So pretty much forty days and forty nights since Noah arrived and at last the rains are starting to stop!! We are settling into a little routine - 3 hourly feeds, sometimes a little longer at night but this week I'm quite knackered as Mo has been on his motorbike training course all weekend so no let up for me!!! Mo crept up on me this morning and took this picture ... we'd had a rough night!

Things I've learned this week:

• Gina Ford book stresses me out - the three times i've tried to follow it's advice it's ended in tears.... mine. Mo has hidden it now!


• Baby Whisperer book is great - everything it says is true and works... love it!


• It really is best to sleep when Noah sleeps, people aren't making up that advice.


• Not leaving the house for 5 days is not constructive.


• Online shopping is a god send.

Told you it was a smile :-)

Today he smiled - a real smile

Woohoo - today after a couple of weeks of me thinking he was smiling and everyone telling me it was just wind (!) Noah grinned back at my ugly mug. Whoopee - my heart jumped for joy and then he smirked at the TV, beamed at the door and smiled at the cat too.

This is obviously his new found skill and he's gonna make the most of it.... hopefully I'll get a photo of him in action soon.

Zx

Noah Wheeler has arrived

On 20th June 2007, Noah William Wheeler arrived, if not a little unceremoniously.

He was born weighing in at 8lb 14oz at 8:20pm in Kingston Hospital. It was waterworks all round - Mo cried, Noah peed on Mo and Zoe breathed a sigh of relief.

Hoorah - here he is at about 30 seconds old!