Tinsel hair

2 more weeks until Noah turns 3!!

As I write this, Noah is in bed, supposed to be napping. But instead, he is giggling, because he is tickling his own feet!

One day a few weeks ago Noah and I were visiting the Farmington library. A lady commented on how beautiful Noah's hair is. And it really is. It is an amazing color: a rich golden-blonde but with flecks of gold running through each strand of hair that glistens in the sun. The woman said she has been trying for years to get the same color in a box but could never accomplish it. and she never will be able to, it is only something God could create.

As we are getting ready for Christmas next week, Noah is really starting to understand a little bit more this year. He does not really ask for gifts, and when we do shop, I tell him we are shopping for friends. When he sees his gifts at home by accident hidden in the spare room, I tell him they are for his cousin Emma or cousin Leo. He knows about baby Jesus and God's people and Mary and Joseph. I am really excited to see how he reacts next year and what he learns about the true reason for Christmas.

Joe and I got a baby sitter for tonight and are going to see the Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker!!!

One more month until 3

I just can't believe Noah will be 3 in one more month. These past years have just flown by! There is so much he says and does, I wish I could write it all down to remember. I love the hugs at the grocery store. as we are shopping he asks for hugs and gives me the best ones! I don't care if I block the aisle with my cart, all hunched over getting my hugs..they may not always come so freely in the future.
I also love my "biggest hugs in the world!" Noah wraps his arms tightly around my neck and legs around my waist. I love those!!

Noah is doing remarkably well on the potty! He has had only a few accidents in the past few weeks he has been potty trained which is amazing! He even tries to stay dry at nap (still wears nap time diaper) and wakes up and goes pees and poos! He has been amazing about going potty on his own! He asks his teachers at church to go potty without being reminded. At home he is independent and takes down his own pants and underware and goes. Sometimes he forgets to tell me he went poo and I notice he went only because he is walking around bottomless...

For 2 weeks instead of m&m's, we moved to noah receiving marbles. one for pee and 2 for poos. he put them in a jar and at the end of the night he would dump them out and count them and we'd mark it on a paper hung on the fridge. The most he had in one day is 31!!! and at the end of these two weeks, he had 257 marbles!!! How many diapers is that? He is doing fantastic and I am so proud of him. The best part, he did it when he was ready. I did not push, only offered the potty. If at any time this past year he declined or refused underware or asked for his diaper on, that was fine. He did it on his terms, when he was ready, and it worked!

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent the day at Scott and Lori's for thanksgiving today. It was a very nice day, and noah had fun playing with chris and cheyenne. He ate very well, sharing Lori's salad and dessert. It was a very nice day.

Daddy and Noah put the tree up last night and we are going to decorate it on Sunday. Time to get ready for Christmas!!

box of cinnamon

Noah has been sick for a month so the dr finally agreed to put him on antibiotics. One night while I was getting Noah ready for bed, I realized I had forgotten to give noah his medication. I yelled down to Joe, "Joe, can you get noah's amox?"
and then noah yells down, "Joe!! Joe!! Get my box!"
so then I laughed and clarified, "Joe, can you please get Noah's amoxicillin?"
and then Noah yells his clarification, "Joe, get my box of cinnamon!"

Gift from God

Today I was paying bills on line after bible study and noah kept asking me to come play. I said I would in one minute when I was done. so he went and got his guitar (a real children's acoustical that he cherishes). I hear him strumming and begin to sing... so I slowly turn around... he has taken my minature stool that is a decoration, and placed himself upon it, playing his guitar and singing a song to me he has learned in bible study, complete with hand gestures, which he has to put down the guitar for. "good morning God, this is the day, I'll try it, show me the way!" I just hugged him and of course cried, if you could have seen him! I did not even know that he could do that, but it makes sense that he would as he sings other songs we taught him. it was just a lovely gift from God.

potty blessings

2 yrs, 10 months, 2 weeks

well, noah is potty trained. He has been going pee in the potty since this summer, but he had to be naked from the waste down. None of this pull-ups business, he would just pee in them. (and who wouldn't? how confusing for the kids, they are just glorified diapers!)
so noah has had a cold for the past 3 weeks but getting worse. So I cancelled plans for tuesday and wednesday to help him recoop. I also used these days to really buckle down on this potty training. During the summer, any time he had underware on, he'd pee in them. so we put them away for a few months. I took them out again Tuesday and told noah he is not to pee in them, but only pee in the potty. If he stayed dry and peed in the potty, he'd get an m&m. He did have one accident, but quickly learned that the underware would not hold the pee as he saw it splattering on the floor. The 2nd time he went to pee in them he quickly stopped himself and ran to the potty. It just took a few months of growth and maturation for him to develop this skill.
He stayed dry all day Wednesday and today, Thursday. I have been putting him on the potty every half hour whether he had to go or not. He even began telling me late last night and early this morning that he had to go pee, instead of me asking him. Tonight he began going pee on his own, without me knowing!

and the coolest thing, he went poop all by himself, too!!! I was on the phone with the bank and he told me he went poop! I had to rejoice and the banking lady joined in with me! (I am sure that recorded conversation will give someone a good chuckle).
We were so excited! We called daddy and left him a phone message and noah got two m&m's and he got to pick out a brand new train! He chose Toby, his favorite from the plainville public library train table. He kept checking out his poo, very proud of himself!

While I was finishing up paying the bills, I noticed that he went pee again, and did not tell me and did not ask for a m&m... he really has caught on quickly, all we had to do was wait for him to be ready! It just goes to show that you have to go at the child's pace vs pushing them.

edited to add 11/16. Noah stayed dry for his first outting! We went to a birthday party on Friday where there were tons of kids and new toys and even live entertainment! and noah went pee there a few times and stayed dry! He then stayed dry Saturday during gymnastics and then today at church he conquered his fear of going pee on the adult potty at church and went a few times for his teachers! He had one accident, but it is his first so far. And he went poops in the potty 3 times last night all by himself for Nana and Poppa! yay Noah!

Mrs. Mommy

2 yrs, 10 months

Noah last night, wanted my attention. So he politely said, "Excuse me, Mrs. Mommy."
I just could not believe it! First, how polite saying excuse me, and then using Mrs. like he does for his CBS preschool teachers to address them, and then well, he only knows me as mommy!

Last week, we were going over his name. I would asked him what his name is and he'd say, "Noah, (and then spell) N.O.A.H." Then I would say, what is the rest of your name by prompting, "noah.... john....." and he'd respond "Michaud!!"
Then he proceeded to say, "and you are Mommy Michaud and that's Daddy Michaud!"
Isn't he just the smartest thing?

And now Noah I hear noah saying, "I love mommy, I love mommy, I love mommy" when he is playing or in bed, I hear it on the baby monitor. It just makes my heart sing!