naked watermellon

(28 months 3 weeks)
noah and I were outside yesterday and he was running around naked eating watermellon. that was very cute. then I put a sun shirt on him and a hat and let him play in the water table and then the sprinkler, still naked on the bottom, with shoes on of course. I had the potty outside.. see my idea? he always pees when in the tub, so I figured the kiddie pool, the sprinkler, and the water table and watermellon would encourage him to go. a couple times he straddled the potty or sat on it, but never went. not sure if he peed any other times. Then, noah did peepee on the potty twice last night without tons of encouragement, just asking once if he had to go! we tried this morning but he said "it's broke"... meaning no pee can come out. then he watched elmo's potty dvd twice and peed on the living room floor. so the diapers went back on, lol. he did not want his diaper on this morning so I put on those super absorbant undies and he peed thru it. I have not bought any pull ups yet. we are slowly moving to potty training!!

Today is my 33rd birthday.
I remember 3 years ago today I found out that I was pregnant with Noah!! Being Noah's mom is the best gift I could ever ask for (besides salvation). I love being his mom and try to remember to tell him each night when I tuck him in. I want him to know that. tonight when I had birthday cake, noah saw it and immediately opened his mouth like a little bird! no words or whining, just wide eyes and a big open mouth! so he shared my piece (it was a small piece of specialty dessert that joe got just for me). when we were done and he was licking the fork clean, he exclaimed, "more party!" I love that he thinks we had a party, just the three of us, because joe sang happy birthday and we shared a small piece of special cake. so sweet, dear noah, always stay so sweet. he knows it is my birthday too, because when debbie called and sang to me, noah listened on the phone with me and when she sang "Dear delanie" noah said "yep, momma".

we stayed in our pj's until noon playing and snuggling and then had a picnic lunch in the back yard on his little pinic table. then we went for a walk looking for kitties and bunnies.."cat, are you home? bunny, where are you?"

I had a wonderful day home with noah all day. it was so special just the two of us. I really am so blessed!

kids mimic what they hear

28 months, 2 weeks
you know how kids mimic what they hear? I am always trying to encourage noah when he does well with lots of praise. so last night, we were playing ball with paris and noah kept yelling to paris, "good job paris!" when he retrieved the ball, lol. and this morning, I was washing the toilet and noah lifted the lid when I was done to exclaim, "whoa! good job momma!"

then this afternoon I was bringing the dogs outside. Noah yells from the livingroom, "momma, where are you?" so I yell from downstairs that I am bringing the dogs out potty, can you clean up your toys please? and he yells back, "ok ok, I'll clean up!" and he did!!!!

lol, I just love this age!!

A friend of mine at mops told me she is teaching her 2 1/2 year old to recite john 3:16. she teaches her two words a day. I figured we can do that, if noah can memorize and sing sesame street and rock a bye baby, he can memorize scripture. so far we have, "for God", (fo god?) "so loved" (so yoved?) "the world" (da wold?)... lol, this is a lot of fun.

And then today, fun news to report, noah did pee pee and poopy on the potty!!! We are so proud of him!!! Lately he has been standing up in the bath tub and holding onto the washcloth towel rack and peeing. so today when joe was changing his diaper, Noah stood up and looked like he was going to pee. so we brought him into the bathroom where he stood and straddled the potty and peed! then we put the potty seat insert on the toilet and he sat on that and pushed to poop and he made a little one! we were so proud of him!! I made a little thomas card that we punch holes in like a train ticket and when he completes all the way around, he'll get a new thomas train.

this past week, Noah has really shown an interest in reading. He has always liked to look at books and often we'll find him sitting and looking at the pictures, turning the pages. But he never really had the patience or interest to sit and listen to us read. So we improvised and just talked about the pictures or asked him what he saw. But now that he is in a big boy bed, I lay down with him at night and we read. He likes to hear each page read and listens and is even starting to recite some of the more familiar books that he knows. His favorite is "bunny book" which is really called something else, not sure what actually. it was bought for him at easter time, (accidentally, b/c he was cranky at walmart and I grabbed any book to keep him entertained while I shopped. when we got to the check out, he would not give it up!) so this is his favorite book. It is a story of a momma bunny who puts her babies to bed and one baby bunny wakes up and says that he can't sleep or something along those lines. I improvised a few months ago before noah took a real interest in listening to stories and now my version has stuck. so now noah will say when I read, "momma, I can't sleep", and he'll recite other lines from the book that I made up. the bunny has a blanket that I call his stinky, just like noah's. momma bunny sleeps alone in her bed and I said that daddy is a work, so when ever we get to that page, he'll say, "daddy works." I am glad he is starting to take more of an interest in reading, I always hoped he would like to listen to stories when he was in a big boy bed.

noah is continues to say his abc's and count. he can count to 20 with minimal assistance once in the teens and he can say his letters very fast! the lastest is now he is starting to know his shapes. he knows diamond, heart, star and "round like a circle", and the latest is a triangle. I learned he knew this because he picked up my makeup sponge when I was getting ready one day and told me it was a triangle! also at gymboree, he'll take large foam shapes and insert them way across the room into a wooden bridge that has large cut out shapes built in. I love how he encorporates learning into play.

Mother's Day

28 months, 2 weeks
I celebrated my 3rd mothers day this past weekend. I can't believe it! 3 years ago, I conceived Noah, I forget how truly special that day is.

Noah's favorite breakfast is "mana-ka and almond milks".. banana/avacado with almond milk on the side.. his new favorite drink.


we went for a walk a few days ago and noah noticed the moon (during the day) so he kept trying to reach way up high out of his stroller to touch the moon! and he was getting soo mad and frustrated b/c he could not touch it! lol, then as we rounded the block, he noticed that now the moon was on the other side! he was like, "moon, where did you go?" lol and so the next day we went for a walk, but it was cloudy out and he said, "moon, are you home?" isn't that so funny??

Today Noah had his first art class at gymboree. He did such a great job! He shared, helped clean up and was so big when the teacher said it was time to move on or end an activity. I was so proud of him. He was even going as far as trying to clean up the other kids art stuff, but I had to ask him to stop. The kids did not like that too much. But I was proud of him!

Today noah woke up before Joe left for work. I went in to get noah; he hops out of bed with such determination and runs so fast to shut off his night light and tells me "nite-yite off. ope shabee?" asking me to open the shades. so then he realizes that daddy is still home and runs to his bedroom door and says, "oh, I have to go find daddy!" then he runs to joe and hugs his legs so tight and keeps saying over and over,"my daddy, my daddy!" What a fun way for Joe to start his day!!!

Big boy bed

28 months 5 days
Noah has been sleeping well for naps in his big-boy bed. I am so proud of him! He stays in his bed the whole time and waits for me to say ok when it is time for him to get up. Last night was the first night he slept in his bed for the whole night!!! We are so proud of him!!!

noah fell the other day and hit his nose (nothing happened, no marks, no blood). He was crying so hard (the nose does hurt!) and came running for me and asked "momma fix! momma fix! bandaid! I need bandaid!" so I gave him one of those little circle dot ones and he put it on the end of his nose! he looked so funny/cute that I started to tear up. then he asked why I was crying, and I said, "b/c you got hurt, momma cries when noah gets hurt." so all day he kept saying, "momma cry". it is so cute that he notices everything and says/repeats everything!

He loves to give kisses goodbye and mimick me when I go "mwa" when kissing him. so tonight, before I was leaving for work, he kept kissing me and going "mwa" and then kept saying "more mwa, more mwa." He is such a character!

another fun thing he is doing is singing his abc's now and counting to 20. He can start to identify quantity, too. He saw two frogs on the tv screen and told me. The other day at Lucia's office, he was playing with her business cards. I asked him to count them, and he did, each one, up to 10!

He loves to sing the "play with me sesame" theme song, too. and at night, when going to sleep, he'll sing "rock a bye" with me, but really focuses on the "fall down" part of the song. wish I could sing something more positive, but it is such a ritual between us, as long as I can remember, now noah ask for me to sing it. "amen, rock a bye?" asking for prayers and sometimes, "amen, again?" to pray again, and then for me to sing.
I just can't get enough of him!

17, 18, 19, tummy!

27 months, 3 weeks

I am trying to transition noah to his toddler bed. Yesterday he kept getting out and playing around in his room on and off for 20 min. It was a good first try and I put him back in his crib. Not as a punishment, but as a first trial. Today I put noah in his toddler bed again to trial for nap. I have to keep going up reminding him to stay in, and he is listening better today. just horsing around mostly in bed, playing and talking. it is a slow transition, I guess. I will just be patient and keep going up to ask him to get back into bed and not expect it to happen over night. I will have to realize that his naps will be shorter, than in the crib. but I also have to realize that he is growing up. The next child, I will not put the toddler in their room until it is time to transition. I think what made it hard on noah is that I use the bed for noah to play and read on, so how can I expect him to sleep in it, if after all these months I have been letting him play on it? silly mommy! Also, I want him to be able to sleep in the twin bed this summer in the cottage in Rhode Island that we are renting without having to bring the pack n' play.

Forgot to mention about 2 weeks ago, he had his first peanut butter and jelly sandwhich. He did well, no allergies, thank goodness.

He is getting over another stomach bug that he and joe both got. It was really awful, non stop vomiting for the both of them. Luckily Noah bounces back quicky. Joe on the other hand landed in the ER. I think Joe had it worse than noah.

Noah is talking so much, learning new words every day. He asks me to open the shades in the morning, "OPE shaybee" Not open shade. "close the door" at night sounds like "call joe". lol sesame street is finally "sesame steet" not "sessa".. I love hearing him talk!

He loves his friends in play group. He loves saying hello to "emm mama" (emma), "zame" (zane) and he says sarah and andrew correct and notices when one of them is missing. yesterday he said "andrew coming." so he knew he was missing.

we are playing outside a lot more, now that spring his here. the bad thing about winter is that noah got hooked on tv more than I had anticipated. He is obsessed with sesame. ("play with me sesame", not sesame street, although he calls it that).

Noah always amazes me, each day, with how smart he is. Today at lunch, Noah was counting his little pieces of corn as he was moving them from the left side of the plate to the right. He was counting 1 to 10 and I laughed because he sped counting from 6 to 10, like an experienced counter does. Then he proceeded to count to 14. I just stopped and stared, my mouth gapping open. I had no idea he could count to 14!! I helped him count to 20 and he had no problems doing it. The funny thing was twenty was "tummy"! I love how smart he is!

I love you, Momma

(27 months)
Today, for the first time, Noah said, "I love you, Momma." We were leaving gymboree, and I kept saying I love you, I love you.. and he repeated it, adding Momma, at the end. I thought that was the sweetest thing! I just huged and kissed him. He said it again later that night.

I love these days. I don't want him to grow up. He yells, "momma!!" from across the room and runs right to me and gives my leg the tightest hug. He does this several times a day.

I am so scared for him to get older, knowing how precious these young toddler years are. I pray that God keeps his heart tender. He is so innocent, no cares in the world and just enjoys being 2. Watching an ant crawl on the driveway, playing outside with a shovel and dirt, playing with his friends in playgroup or gymboree, throwing a ball to Paris, yelling "hello" through the hallway vent into the basement, taking a bath and playing with the bubbles, watching sesame in the afternoon and curious george and clifford or super why in the morning with momma as I drink my coffee. getting excited because nana and grandpa (pappa john this past sunday) are coming over. smiling and getting excited because he loves to count to 10 with me as I drive and then say his alphabet and colors. singing rock a bye baby each night before bed and praying to Jesus. I love these days so much, it hurts to know it won't be like this forever; here's praying for fun school age and teen years.

rock-a-bye-baby...

(almost 27 months)

I am totally not pushing noah on the potty. he says, "I gotta go pee pee" and will sit on his potty fully dressed. just copying me. he tells us about 50% of the time when he has poops, after the fact. so he is starting to show signs of readiness... this summer will be the time, when he is only wearing shorts and a top, not 13 layers...

Noah is growing like a weed. He still is in 18 month pants, but they are quickly becoming high-waters. He is just a little too short for 24 month pants but can wear them now, where as a month ago, or just a few weeks, a couple pairs were just way too long.

He is recovering from a stomach bug, which unfortunately triggered his reflux again. He was only vomiting in his crib at night, which was an awful sight and smell in the morning.

He had a so-so Easter and good Friday, as he was sick, but still enjoyed family time. He loves to say beCKy, emphasis on the hard k sound, and Dan, and still says emmma and baby weeoo. He just started saying "poppa" for grandpa. and nana has always been nana. my mom came to visit a week before easter and noah knew right away she was nana and said hi nana and when she was leaving, bye to nana. Even though he does not see her too often, he still knows who she is.

He loves taking his vitamin each day, or "one blue one--sin" as he calls it. It started as giving him "one blue one", and telling him it was medicine, which is why he could only have one blue one. Just recently he began calling it "medicine" finally, instead of "sin".

At night for the longest time now, as long as I can remember, I have been singing "rock a bye baby" to noah, and before naps, too. Well, he has finally learned the lyrics and will sing along with me and at the end of each line, will open his mouth up really wide and sing loudly and shake his head like he is some great opera singer.. It really is so funny to watch.

He loves music, singing, and playing any instruments and "rock band" which Joe and I made up to play along with him. I really think he will make a hobby or career out of music.

I just have to keep saying how fun noah is. The things he comes up with, the faces he makes, the words he says, never cease to amaze me. He was drinking his milk and told me it was his coffee.. I did not even know he knew what coffee was, or that I drank it. But it goes to show how much he does listen and pay attention.

He was acting silly at dinner and making Joe and I laugh, unintentionally and I said to joe, this is why I stay home with him, instead of working full time. Just sheer joy he brings me. I know he will never remember any of this, but I will.

He is starting to tell us when he has poops.. or "pups" or "popes"... so we slowly are on our way, non-rushed to potty training.

He still loves to play in his bed, but loves to sleep in his crib. He'll be ready to transition when he is ready. simple as that.

Over the last week or so, we have noticed words that noah has been saying for a while, although previously pronounced incorrectly, he is starting to say them right. For example, he is now saying "pappa" for grandpa, instead of "boppa". He says frog, instead of "fop". Alright, instead of "awfight", TV instead of "weewee", mommy and mom, in addition to "mamma", daddy and dad, in addition to "dada". sesame street, which used to be "sesame" and prior to that, just "sessa". "hanging" is still vacuum though. and the latest which took us a week to figure out, "dadoff"... is pizza!!!

He now starts sentences with "why, what and where" when asking an appropriate question. "why is it off?" for example, when turing off the tv or light.

I love hearing him say "thanks" now, when you give him an apple, or a dropped block, or a napkin (which he asks for to wipe his hand or mouth).

He is using pronouns now, all the time. mine, I, you, it's, for example. and he can say his name! Not sure if I wrote about it, but he finally started referring to himself as noah, not baby or ray. where did he get ray from?

and the best is the singing. He now sings "jesus loves me". The part he does best is at the end, "yes jesus loves me, yes, jesus loves me, yes jesus loves me, for the bible tells me so....." and he'll just sing it right along!

I guess the point of all this is to just share and note how much he is changing and growing up. and I don't want to miss any of it.