Noah-isms | January 2017

I love sharing the funny things Noah says.  And since I haven't done a "Noah-isms" post since November, I thought it was time to share some of my recent favorites!

When picking out his shoes or who he wants to do something with he often does "Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe".  But with Noah it's... "Eenie, Minie, Moe. Catcha Catcha Moe. Eenie, Minie, Moe".  Chris and I literally laugh every single time!  

Noah and I were sitting in the living room and Chris was in the kitchen.  Chris and I kept talking back and forth, and finally Noah says...

"What's all the commotion??"

For some reason, instead of saying "can", Noah says "allowed"

"You allowed to open this for me"

But the best is that I can make your hands clap song... "I allowed to make your hands clap"!

One day we were coloring a Doc McStuffins coloring book.  Instead of coloring each character, we instead would take a marker and color everything of that color.  Noah was doing pink, and I told him he forgot to do Lambie's bow.  He so sweetly said, "thanks for reminding me".  He's been saying that a lot ever since.  

One morning he told me...

"I love you and grandma the same amount" Not sure whether to be hurt by that or not lol

So then I told him I loved him as far as space and back.  To which he replied...

"That means it's "41".  41 to get to space and 40,000 to get back."  Umm, okay!?!

Noah is still very into the bathroom humor...

He told Chris to close his eyes for a surprise.  Chris was very hesitant.  

Noah said, "I promise it doesn't have to do with tooting"

"I know it was you that tooted because I didn't feel it in my butt" LOL

While it didn't end up happening, Noah was very adamant that he wanted to help take down the Christmas lights outside.  I told him it was kind of hard getting them off the bushes so we would have to help.  So he came up with a plan...

"I've got an idea... Daddy takes the lights down, hands them to you (me), and then you hand them to me to put in the box".  

I love that he's really thinking these things through ;)

After watching a Daniel Tiger episode about "differences", Noah started listing differences between him and me.  

"I have short hair, you have long hair"

"I like to play, and you don't" (Again, should I be offended?)

"I pick my nose, and you don't" HAHAHA

Noah has always played with my hair for comfort.  When he's tired or hurt or just needs some loving. He will randomly come over to me sometimes and just say "I want to play with your hair".

One night I was out at book club and didn't get home until 10.  Chris wasn't able to get him to sleep and when I walked in to his room, Noah immediately started crying saying "I missed your hair".  

Chris often gives Noah his bath before bed time, but if I'm home he only wants me to take him out and dry him off.  It can sometimes be annoying.  So one night, I'm drying him off and he tells me that I'm hurting his hair.  I told him that maybe he should have daddy do it instead if I'm so horrible at it.  He said, "No, I want you to do it, just not horribly".  

One day we were talking about something and asked if he knew what it was.  He said "Yes, it's like we did on holiday".  Umm, when did my kid become British?  I can only assume he picked it up from Peppa Pig.  

Chris one day took Noah to school and by accident missed the turn.  Noah thought it was hilarious and couldn't wait to run in after school and tell me what happened.  He said, "I like telling mommy things daddy does wrong!"

You can read more Noah-isms here.  

Happy Birthday! | Noah at 4 years old

Today is Noah's 4th Birthday!  And as Noah often reminds me, I am no longer a mom to a "baby" but rather a "big kid".  Since Chris is at work today and might even have to work late, we decided to do a little celebrating this past Sunday.  Chris and I sang him Happy Birthday over a stack of donuts and gave him a few gifts.  This coming weekend is going to be all about his birthday as well.  His kid party is on Saturday and we will be getting together with the grandparents on Sunday to celebrate some more.  As for today, I will be bringing in a treat and reading a few books to his class in honor of his birthday.  My mom and I are then treating him to a birthday lunch and maybe even a trip to the toy store :)

Here are some photos from our Sunday celebration as well as some details all about Noah at age 4...

^^^ we made sure to get Noah's favorite... chocolate and pumpkin :)

In preparation for this post, I went back through some of my old "Noah posts".  I love re-reading them, reminiscing on how little he was, and seeing how much he's changed over the months. While many things stay the same, it's really fun to see how his interests have changed and how much he's learned over such a short period of time.  Just last update I was commenting about how weird it would be to have a 4 year old.  And while I'm still kind of shocked that we are already here, in some ways it just feels right.  Noah is growing into an amazing young boy and I feel very fortunate to be along for the ride.  

Stats

Height:  43 inches

Weight:  44 lbs

Size: 5T pants, 5T (toddlers) or XS (boys) for tops, 11.5 wide in shoes

Skills

While there's always a chance of it changing over time, for now it seems Noah is a lefty.  He writes, draws, and paints with his left hand.  So far the only thing he seems to use his right hand is to cut with scissors.  

We recently got Noah a bike with training wheels (an early birthday gift). Until then, Noah was riding a Ninja Turtle big wheel.  He's really good at riding it and can go really fast.  He's slowly getting more and more comfortable with his bike, but most times he prefers to ride his big wheel since he can ride faster on it.    

He's becoming more comfortable on the playground and is becoming more physically agile.  He's still a cautious kid compared to most boys his age, but he's getting better with time.  He used to hate slides at the playground, but now he happily goes down the small ones on his own and will try the larger ones if one of us holds his hand.  While he's still hesitant about the tall playground slides, he has no fear when it comes to those huge bounce house slides, which is a good thing considering that's where we are having his birthday party!  
Noah's swim skills have really improved over the last 6 months.  As of the last update, Noah was just starting to hold his breath and stick his head in the water on a regular basis.   Now he's swimming very short distances on his own.  If you asked Noah, he would tell you he knows how to swim.  And while he's doing really well, I wouldn't trust him to go swim in a pool by himself.  But with weekly swim class, I'm excited to see how he's doing in another 6 months!  

Noah is now able to dress and undress himself all on his own.  While he still prefers me to help him, I'm proud that he's fully capable.   

Noah is a pro with the alphabet.  He can sing the song, identify all his upper and lowercase letters, and write all of his uppercase letters.  He can write his own name with no help from me (not even spelling it), as well as "Mom" and "Dad".  He can write any word as long as we spell it for him.  
He loves to draw and is getting better at drawing things that we can actually identify.    

Language

While Noah was a little delayed with his speech compared to his friends, he is definitely catching up now!  He is now speaking in full sentences and I love to hear all his questions and thoughts.  There are still many words that he doesn't pronounce correctly, but he actually likes it when we tell him how to properly say each word so he can repeat it back to us.   For example, he was saying "aminal" and "reboon" for animal and balloon.  We would repeat it back to him correctly and when he takes his time and thinks about it, he's really good at pronouncing these words correctly now.  In the car one day, we randomly came up with a game where we would each come up with different stories involving animals and balloons.  Simple sentences like "the animals love to play with balloons" and "the man was making balloon animals".  I love that Noah was having so much fun while practicing his speech.  

Recently, I've been sharing some "Noah-isms".  Here are a few current ones...

One morning before school.

Me: I'm gonna miss you today when you're at school.

Noah: Not me.
Me: You're not going to miss me?
Noah: I'm going to miss giraffe (his stuffed animal).
Me: That's not a very nice thing to say.  
Noah: I'm going to miss giraffe and your hair.  

We were at the store and I had a migraine and Noah was tired.  He said that when we got home, he wanted to go upstairs and lay down.  When we got home, I said I think it's time we go up.  
Noah: I agree
Me: You're the cutest kid ever
Noah: You're the best mommy in the whole world.

Noah loves to play his guitar and make up little songs.  In reality they are just little stories they come up with while he strums, but they are so cute...
"There was a cupcake who was looking for a friend.  He found a watermelon.  Happy ever after."
I'm telling you, I have a future songwriter on my hands ;)

His teacher does a mystery box each week.  She puts an item in the box and then the kids try to guess what it is based on some clues.  One day, it was a tape player that they use for books on tape.  None of the kids guessed it and even after seeing it they still didn't know what it was.  He was telling me about it but couldn't remember what it was called, so he described it as a rectangle that read the words of the book instead of his teacher.  I guessed what it was and then started telling him that before DVDs (I don't think he even knows what a CD is) and my iPhone/iPad, that we would listen to things on tape.  To which he replied, very excited, "That's what SHE said!!!".  

After watching a new Patrol Patrol episode, for days he would tell me his favorite parts.  
"When Robo Dog hits the horn" and "When Marshall says who turned out the sun and shake your bootie".  

We were at the store one day and I sighed at a frustrating person.  When they were still in earshot, he asked me "why did you just go... and then proceeds to recreate my face and sigh".   It was spot and rather embarrassing!  

The first thing he says each morning...
"Is daddy home?"  

What was your favorite part of the day?
"When daddy got home"

He asked for me to help him go to the bathroom...
"But your my best friend, so you need to do everything with me"

"Carry me downstairs.  I'll give you hugs all the way down"

On the way home from the grocery store, I kept worrying that the watermelon was going to crush the eggs.
Noah: I have an idea... next time daddy asks you to get a watermelon, tell him no.

When I got off the phone from making our anniversary dinner reservation for me and Chris...
"Why 2 and not 3"

Favorites

Books - Brown Bear Brown Bear, How Deep is the Sea

TV Shows - My Friends Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins, Super Why, Thomas, PJ Masks, Daniel Tiger, Octonauts, Team Umi Zoomi, Paw Patrol

Toys - Magnatiles, Legos, board games, puzzles, Octonauts Gups, Transformers, Superhero figures

Foods - hard boiled eggs, plain pasta, grilled cheese (when I make them), "dinosaur" chicken nuggets, cheese and crackers, smoothies. Banana bread, apple zucchini muffins, pumpkin muffins.  Carrots, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, apples.  Ice cream with sprinkles, Skittles, Swedish Fish, Milky Ways, popsicles, Oreos, chocolate Munchkins.  Pizza and Chipotle are his first choices when going out to eat.  Chocolate milk is his preferred drink now (even over apple juice).  

Likes

Preschool, swim, art and sports enrichments.  Going to the playground and riding his bike. Playing at home.

Drawing, writing, painting, coloring, cutting, play-doh... anything crafty!  
Doing puzzles - the big 100 piece kind now!

Bubble baths, his iPad, playing with daddy, board games.   

His best buds... Owen & Jonathan, JP.

Superheroes!  His stuffed animals, giraffe specifically.
Playing with my hair.  Being carried.  

Dislikes

Wearing real pants.  Rushed mornings. 

Random

Naps are very seldom.  When he does nap though, it really pushes back bedtime.  Normally he sleeps from around 8pm to 6:30 am, but with a nap he often doesn't go to sleep until 9:30.  

Still doing well with the potty.  Last year he was struggling with using the bathroom at school, but he's a pro at it now.  They take the kids after they go outside and before snack even if it's just to try.  But he's also good at telling them if he needs to go at random times too.  He's really good at giving me warning when we are out.  At home, I sometimes have to remind him/make him go because he gets so involved with playing that he holds it longer than he should.  But so far no real accidents.  At night I still put him in a pull up just to be safe.  Though he's really good at waking up in the middle of the night to go.  We've only had two mornings where the pull up was wet.  
Noah can be really shy at first.  I think he's just cautious and likes to get the lay of the land.  Once he feels comfortable, he's not shy at all.  From what I understand, he is very similar to how Chris was as a child.  

 _______

In addition to candles and singing, we gave Noah his gifts (from us) a little early.  This year, an art easel (and the bike we got him a month ago), were his "big gifts".  Since Noah loves doing arts and crafts and always runs to use his friends and our family's (Nonna & Granddad and cousin Kaitlyn) easels, we figured it was finally time to get him his own.  We got him the Melissa & Doug art easel and accessory set that includes paper, spill proof paint, chalk, and a dry erase marker.  In addition to his main gift, we also got him a Lego Junior Race Car set, a Melissa & Doug self correcting puzzle, Superhero sheets, and an old school (2009) Hess Race Car that Noah loves to play with at school.  The funny part about the Hess Race Car is that Noah told us that the one at school ran out of batteries.  Now that we own it, I have a feeling the batteries were conveniently misplaced... boy is that thing annoying!  

^^^ I found the camo wrapping paper at Target.  He was so excited when he saw his "camo" gifts!

 Lego Junior Race Car set

^^^ Noah loves putting Legos together, but he especially loved racing the cars with Daddy for the rest of the day!

 Superhero sheets

^^^ while I was nervous he wouldn't be excited about getting sheets as a gift, he really loved these Superhero sheets!

 Melissa & Doug self correcting puzzle

^^^ Noah didn't look very excited when he first opened the puzzle, but it was the first present that he wanted to open and play with.  He was adamant that we do the whole alphabet before we even sang to him!

accessory set

^^^ Noah's face here cracks me up.  Pretending he didn't know that the paint set was for him to use with the easel!  

Melissa & Doug art easel

Another amazing year has passed but the birthday celebrations just keep coming!  I don't mind though... I absolutely love celebrating this kid!  

Happy 4th Birthday Noah!!!

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Noah in August | Picture Perfect Project

One of my goals for 2016, was to take a photo of Noah each month. While I take lots of iPhone photos, I wanted to take the time to use my DSLR and get at least one photo of him each month that shows his personality, his interests, and reflects the current season. I hope that at the end of the year I will have an amazing collection of photos that represents our year. So when I saw Stephanie post about The Picture Perfect Project I knew I wanted to participate! But this month, I thought I'd mix it up a bit and share some photos I've recently taken with my waterproof camera!

When I got my underwater camera (Nikon AW130) a few months ago, I knew I'd really enjoy using it, but I didn't expect Noah to get into it too!  This is the first summer that Noah's been interested in going under the water.  He gets more confident and better at swimming with every trip to the pool.  It started with me just asking him to go under the water and I'd take his photo.  As he started swimming more, I started taking photos and videos of him in action.  And now that he's diving for toys in the super shallow area (2 1/2 feet deep), we are having even more fun!  He's even at the point now where he asks me to bring my camera and get photos and videos of him jumping in and swimming to the wall.  The photographer in me is giddy whenever he requests a photo!  

I'm also a fan of using this camera around the pool but above the water.  It gives me the piece of mind that I won't ruin my phone and let's me take fun photos near water fountains or with Noah splashing me (like the first photo).

rash guard | goggles

As much as I love photographing Noah under water, I was really looking forward to testing it out with my niece.  She's 8 and absolutely loves to swim!  She definitely didn't let me down... she came up with the coolest poses all on her own and was even smiling under water!

The photos I took of her made me realize I desperately need to work on my facial expressions under water...

All the photos I took of my niece (and nephew) were at the indoor pool at the hotel we were staying at in Rhode Island last weekend.  It was definitely a different experience since I wasn't getting the natural sunlight that I normally get when I photograph Noah at our outdoor pool.  Not only was I not getting natural light pouring in, but the first time we went swimming was at night.  Instead of fighting it, I decided to embrace the dark and edit the photos to be a little moodier.  This first photo almost looks like she's swimming in ocean.

While these have nothing to do with our underwater adventures, I still wanted to share a few more Noah-isms this month!  

Somehow, we got on the conversation of marriage.  I told him that when he grows up, he can get married.  I told him... "you will meet someone you love and want to be with them all the time".
Noah: "Grandma!"

When we wake up in the morning and he asks to go downstairs, I ask him to give me a hug first.
Noah: "How many?"
Me: 10 million
Noah: "How about 1?"

We were at the pool and he was playing with some of his pool toys, trying to collect fish in the net...
Noah: "those tricky fishes"

Noah has always called me "mama".  But recently he's started calling me "mommy" every once in a while.

One day, he got a little boo boo.  I told him to go to the freezer and get an ice pack (since they cure all in under a minute).
Noah: "When people are hurt, the other people get the ice pack"
This has now evolved to "when people are cold, the other people get the blanket"

When daddy said something was really heavy... "You do have muscles.  Your muscles are your elbows."

Noah calls hershey kisses "swedish kisses"... he really likes those swedish fish!

Noah calls tomorrow, "the next day".  He was telling me a story about something that happened a few days ago.  He said, "Last time, not the next day.  It's backward days".

Noah: "Mommy, grandma, and me are the bosses.  And daddy and papa are not the bosses"
How observant ;)

Noah: "I make the rules and you make the pretend rules"

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Noah in July | Picture Perfect Project

One of my goals for 2016, was to take a photo of Noah each month. While I take lots of iPhone photos, I wanted to take the time to use my DSLR and get at least one photo of him each month that shows his personality, his interests, and reflects the current season. I hope that at the end of the year I will have an amazing collection of photos that represents our year. So when I saw Stephanie post about The Picture Perfect Project I knew I wanted to participate! And as I often like to do, I'm also sharing some current Noah-isms.

We love spending our summer days at the beach and the pool.  So what better way to reflect July, than to share some photos of Noah doing just that!  This month, we had a sunnier day at the beach than we experienced last month.  While it's easier to take photos on an overcast day, I'm still pleased with how these photos came out even with direct sunlight.  Noah loves to play in the sand and is getting slightly braver with going in the ocean, so it's fun to just sit back and watch him.  We went with a friend, so while they dug in the sand, my friend and I were able to sit and relax (a little bit).  

bucket from Ellie and Addie

And as for the pool, Noah has gotten so much braver when it comes to the water!  Last year he was jumping in the pool, but only if he had a floaty on.  Now he is comfortable jumping in all on his own and doesn't mind going underwater, as long as he has his goggles on!  He can swim very short distances and loves going back and forth to me and Chris (or whoever else will go in the water with him).  We can barely keep him above the water now!  

goggles

And since Noah is cracking me up on a daily basis, I thought I'd share with you a few more Noah-isms this month!  

When I told Noah it was his last day of school...

"Can I go back to school?"

After his first day of VBS...

"Camp was boring"

Second day of camp...

"I like boring"

I've learned Noah likes to say things weren't fun.  When I say we don't have to go back or do that again, it magically gets more and more fun.  

Each night I ask Noah what his favorite thing we did that day.  I was shocked when he told me...

"Going through my toys to donate"

When I gave him a new Octonauts Gup...

"Thank you so much mama.  This makes me so happy!"

For his last day of swim class they had to get in the water with their clothes on. 

"That felt super weird"

The bathroom humor is at an all time high right now.  We have tried to just ignore it, but it doesn't seem to be working.  I really don't want him repeating these things at school, so I'm not sure how to nip it in the bud. 

"I like brown the best because it's the color of poop"

He calls me in when he's done so I can wipe him.  He tells me... 

"My poop is your surprise"

Noah was playing in his play kitchen.  He hands me a hot dog and says.. 

"It's super hot, you have to blow on it"

I blow on it..

"Now it's ready.  Is it yummy in your tummy?"  

Me: Yes. 

"Well there's poop in it... I tricked you!"

Me: What do you want for lunch?

"Poop... and boogers and pee."

I have a good remembery (memory)

Repending (pretending)

Renoying (annoying)

Noah put his shoes on the wrong feet.  I told him he needed to switch them, so he just crossed his legs!

Noah wanted to help me and my dad bring the furniture back onto the deck...

"I'll help, I have muscles.  You take this side, I'll take this side"

"I want to watch iPad with daddy.  I love daddy.  I don't love you. Is it okay that I don't love you?"

Me: umm no, you should kind of love me too

"I love you this much (fingers almost touching)"

One morning I was asking him some questions...

"You done talking?"

Noah in June | Picture Perfect Project

One of my goals for 2016, was to take a photo of Noah each month.  While I take lots of iPhone photos, I wanted to take the time to use my DSLR and get at least one photo of him each month that shows his personality, his interests, and reflects the current season.  I hope that at the end of the year I will have an amazing collection of photos that represents our year.   So when I saw Stephanie post about The Picture Perfect Project I knew I wanted to participate! Last month I shared some tips on  my photography process.  While I would love to do another post with more technical information, I would love to hear from you guys on what you would most like me to talk about.  In the meantime, I will be sharing a few current Noah-isms.  

rash guard | swim trunks (similar) | hat

This month we went to the beach, or the shore as people in NJ call it, with some of our good friends.  Noah's friend ended up having to go up for a nap, so we got some one on one play time with just Noah.  I figured it was the perfect time to get some photos of him.  And while I always picture a hot sunny day as being best for the beach, I'm learning that I kind of prefer an overcast day.  Not only do you stay cool, but it's perfect for taking photos!  

Now for some random Noah-isms...

On Mother's Day night, Noah out of the blue said his name correctly.  For the longest time he would say his name was "No-nah".  When he said it that Sunday evening, I didn't even notice it at first.  Noah then pointed out to me that he now says "No-ah", not "No-nah".  Not only am I so happy that he is now saying it correctly, but I'm impressed that he is aware of the change.  A very similar thing happened when he started calling my mom "grandma" instead of "mommy".  I kind of think that he knows how to say things correctly but waits until he's ready.  I've learned to not make a big deal of these things and that it will all happen when he's ready.  And then I'll probably miss when he pronounced things wrong.  

^^^ This photo represents Noah so much right now.  Obsessed with writing names, (Noah, Daddy, Mom) though sometimes he writes right to left ;)

After running around with daddy, he came to me needing a little rest...

"I need water and kisses"

When he was sick, I was checking his temperature a few times a day.  After his fever was gone, if I asked him how he was feeling, he would say...

"check my tentamure" 

I love his explanations for things...

We were at the zoo and he asked me how they know where to put each animal.  I told him I didn't know.  So then he said...

"I know... they look for the sign (on the cage) that says the animal"

Haha, of course!

Noah: "I want the Gup-???"

Chris: "Oh really, do you have a job?"

Noah: "My job is buying gups"

HAHAHA... well he is very good at his job then!

"When I grow up, I want to wear a watch"

"When I grow up, I want to be an Octonaut"

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Happy Half Birthday! | Noah at 3 1/2

Noah is officially 3 1/2 today!  But since it falls on a Monday (just like his 3rd birthday did), we decided to "celebrate" yesterday.  I know, I know, who actually celebrates half birthdays???  But before you think we are completely crazy, we don't celebrate our own half birthdays, just Noah's.  We just love any excuse to make his day a little more special.  And this kid loves cupcakes, singing, and blowing candles out!  And he may have asked if presents would be involved ;)   

As Noah gets older, I can't help but be excited about the boy he's becoming and all the cool new things he's learning.  But at the same time, I want to slow time down and keep him little forever.  Recently he thinks it's funny to tell me he's already 4.  Every time I tell him "Not yet!  Slow down!".  I also joke with him that he has to stay 3 forever ;)  There's just something about 4 that seems so old.  Definitely no longer a baby, or even a toddler.  At 4, he becomes a bona fide kid!  So I guess I have the next 6 months to wrap my head around being the mom of an actual kid!  

Just like I did for the last update, I re-read it to see how Noah has changed, and how he's stayed the same.  This time, while his height and weight hasn't changed as much, he's grown leaps and bounds in so many other areas!  The biggest things are that he's just more physically able now AND that he's now talking... non stop.  It's hard to remember that he was a little late in the speech department!   And in case you care about all this stuff, here are all the details of Noah at age 3 1/2!

Stats

Height: 40 3/4 inches

Weight: 40 lbs

Size: 3T pants, 4T/5T tops (depending on brand), 5T in most pajamas, 10.5 in shoes

Every 6 months we mark Noah's height on our growth chart (similar)... it's so fun to watch him grow!

Our good friend, Ken, made this amazing Octonauts shirt for Noah!  

Skills

We (as well as his teacher) think it's pretty safe to say he's a lefty.  He writes, draws, and paints with his left hand.  He does use his right hand for scissors and I've noticed he kicks the soccer ball more with his right foot, but that's about it.  

He loves riding his big wheel.  He's really fast on it and pretty good at steering.   

He loves to run, jump (two feet, still working on hopping on one foot), and gallop.  Just recently he's become a whole new kid on the playground.  He used to be scared of slides but now goes down the small ones at least!  He's also mastered climbing up ladders and can even do the more complicated ones.  

Will hold his breath and put his face in the water! 

Can climb into his car seat on his own finally!

He can put on his own coat and take it off.  He's able to put on his own shoes but often requests I still do it for him.  He takes off his coat and shoes when he gets home from school and puts them away.  He is able to take off his clothes, but still struggles putting a shirt on without help.  He's a little slow at taking off his pants, so if he really needs to use the bathroom he prefers I help him.   

Noah now sits in a regular chair all the time... we finally got rid of the high chair!

Can navigate the iPad like a pro! 

Knows all his letters now.  One of his favorite thing to do is sing the ABC song.  He can identify all his uppercase letters and we are now working on the lowercase ones.  He can write almost all of his uppercase letters too.  Can write his name with no help from me (not even spelling it).  And he can spell almost any word I spell for him.  He still struggles with S, and probably a few more that don't come up in words very often (like K and Z).  

Can count to 20, though he still sometimes gets confused in the teens.  

^^^ Noah lined up all of his Octonauts so they could help us sing "Happy Half Birthday" to him :)

Language

While his language has grown so much in the past 6 months, I don't know what else to say other than he's talking non-stop!  Recently, I've been sharing some "Noah-isms".  Here are a few current ones...

When describing a friend, I told him she had blonde hair.  He asked what that meant.  

Me: Well what color hair does Grandma have?

Noah: White...  Gray...  Yellow

What letter does lion start with?

Noah: B

Okay, what letter does bear start with?

Noah: Nothing

At 8 am...

Noah: I want M&Ms

Me: You can't have them for breakfast, you can have some with lunch.

Noah: Then I want lunch now

Touche! 

Whispering something to me in the car

Me: Why are you whispering?

Noah: Because daddy's at work.

... Ummm okay!?!

When I told him he couldn't wear his Superman shirt because it was in the wash

Noah:  Okay, I'll pretend this shirt is my Superman shirt instead

When I asked if he wanted to go to the car wash...

Noah: No, I want to wash it at home with daddy.  Not you.

Me: Can I take photos?

Noah: No

Me: Video?

Noah: No.  You go inside.  You can watch one of your shows.  I'll tell you when we are done. 

Just recently started saying "meeny miny moe" 

He likes to play the "repeating" game where he repeats EVERYTHING I say!  It's very annoying and not a phase I enjoy.  

While he's talking a lot and his vocabulary has grown a lot, there are still many words he mispronounces.  Our favorites at the moment are...

"Regumer" for Regular 

"Hotipal" for Hospital

Favorites

Books - Danny Dozer, How Deep is the Sea

TV Shows - Octonauts, Transformers Rescue Bots, Team Umi Zoomi, Paw Patrol, Sheriff Callie YouTube Videos

Toys - Octonauts Gups, Transformers, Dinotrux, legos, play-doh, puzzles, board games

Foods - hard boiled eggs, plain pasta, grilled cheese (when I make them), "dinosaur" chicken nuggets. Dannon yogurt smoothies (monkeys), Gogurts, smoothies, string cheese. Banana bread, apple zucchini muffins, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Rice Krispies treats, Nilla wafers, Skittles.  Carrots, cucumbers, honey dew, cantaloupe.  Chocolate milk is his preferred drink now (even over apple juice).  Used to love vanilla ice cream and just a week ago switched to chocolate!  

Likes

Preschool, swim, soccer.  Going to the playground, riding his bike, drawing with chalk, the stomp rocket!  

Drawing, writing, painting, coloring, cutting, play-doh... anything crafty!  

Bubble baths, his iPad, playing with daddy, board games, playing "I spy" in the car!   

His best buds... JP, Eli, Owen, his cousins!

Choosing his own shirts.  

^^^ And Noah was right... presents were involved!  He got the Gup-S and this Octonauts Creature Report book :)

Dislikes

In the last update I mentioned that he disliked baths and preferred showers.  We've switched back to liking baths and I can't remember the last time he took a shower!  

Loud things, getting dirty, things out of place.  

Wearing jeans or pants without an elastic waist... basically any pants other than sweatpants.  Tags.

Random

He no longer naps.  He usually goes to bed anytime between 7 and 9 and wakes up around 6:30.    

Is now officially potty trained.  We did it back in February and it went really smoothly... way easier than I expected!  He still wears a diaper at night but he's even good at that too.  He often wakes up dry and will even wake up in the middle of the night telling me he needs to use the toilet.  He is struggling with using the bathroom at school.  Most of the time he holds it, but twice he had an accident.  

He often complains that things are too loud.  He doesn't like when the blender is on.  He sometimes says he doesn't want to go somewhere or didn't have fun because it was "too loud".  

He loves swim class.  He wears goggles now (since March) and is really good at holding his breath and putting his face under water.  He's even starting to lie on his stomach and kick while doing it!  

He just started soccer and loves it!  

Happy Half Birthday Noah!!!  May the next 6 months go by slowly!

Noah in April | Picture Perfect Project | Noah-isms

One of my goals for 2016, was to take a photo of Noah each month.  While I take lots of iPhone photos, I wanted to take the time to use my DSLR and get at least one photo of him each month that shows his personality, his interests, and reflects the current season.  I hope that at the end of the year I will have an amazing collection of photos that represents our year.   So when I saw Stephanie post about The Picture Perfect Project I knew I wanted to participate! While this project is all about the pictures, I also want take the opportunity to share all about Noah and what he's currently into.  Kind of like a monthly update :)

The weather this month has been so up and down.  One day it's cold and raining and the next day it's sunny and warm(ish).  This past weekend was the perfect example.  On Saturday, there was snow in the forecast, so we were thrilled when it just rained.  On Sunday, the sun was out and in the mid 40s, so we took the opportunity to get outside!  Noah rode his Ninja Turtle big wheeler down to the playground, stayed there for maybe 10 minutes, and then came back home.  Before heading inside, we played a little soccer.  Noah's starting soccer next week, so we thought it would be a good idea to get some practice in :)  

"stop and listen to stay safe" from Daniel Tiger!

And just like past months, I thought it would be fun to share some current "Noah-isms".  

Noah has started to repeat words that I'm not even aware that I say a lot.  For example, he's saying "holy moly", "that's gigantic", and calling anything and everything "annoying".  Often, it doesn't even make sense when he says something is annoying!

Noah: "Daddy, I don't like your shirt"

Chris: "Why?"

Noah: "It's annoying"

Later, he randomly told Chris that he liked his shirt now.  We asked why.

Noah: "Because I like you now"

Speaking of liking or not liking people.  Depending on the time and his mood, Noah will express his preference for one of us.  

"I want to sit with him (Daddy) because he's my best friend.  Not you, just daddy"

Noah's a little too smart and perhaps watches too much TV.  When we were at Grandma's house watching TV, he wanted to go get something in the other room.  And as he does to me at home, he asked her to "pause it".  She wasn't as quick with the remote as I am, so he yelled back, "it's the yellow button!".  We just about died laughing!

And even things that should hurt my feelings are cute when he says them...
Me: "I like your little butt"
Noah: "I like your big butt"

On vacation, when the water wasn't working in the hotel room...
"Maybe papa can fix it"

When driving by the parking lot that usually has a back hoe, 2 big front loaders, and 2 small front loaders.
"The backhoe and one of the baby front loaders isn't there anymore.  That's a bummer!"

Recently he's started to request songs when we are driving in the car and it's cracking me up!
Cake by the Ocean!
Wrecking Ball (ever since Chris played it for him when we got a toy with a wrecking ball!)
Shake it Off!

Me: "Do you want to go to the beach?"
Noah: "No, I want to go to the sand"

When on vacation...
"Let's go home, I want to play with my transformers"

"I need to talk to Grandma.  I want to ask her when I'm getting another Transformer."

When doing a sticker book, Noah found an anteater.
"I'm a fruit snack eater! Daddy's a watermelon eater.  Mama's a popcorn eater."

At the playground or when riding his bike home
"I need more energy"

Me: "How do you want your hair today?"
Noah: "I want it up like Ryder"  OR "I want it down like Rubble"

At night when we are about to go to sleep...
Noah: "Let's talk about our day"
Me: "What we did today or what we are going to do tomorrow?"
Noah: "Tomorrow"
So then we talk all about what we are going to do.
Noah: "The next day?"  
This continues until I finally say we need to go to sleep.
Noah: "Ok, let's sleep for a little bit.  Almost a lot.  4 minutes."

In the morning, we always ask each other how the other slept.  One morning I forgot to ask him.
Noah: "How did you sleep?"
Me: "Good"
Noah: "You're supposed to ask me too"
Me: "Noah, how did you sleep?"
Noah: "Bad"
Me: "Oh no, why?"
Noah: "Because I had a bad dream"
Me: "What about?"
Noah: "I don't remember"

Some things he's started to say correctly...
Used to say "mommy" for grandma, but now he says "grandma"

But some he still says incorrectly and I love it...
Honey dew... "honey doop"
Palm (from church)... "pom pom"
Here I am ... "Here am I"
Noah... "Nona"