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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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!

I Officially Have a 3 Year Old!

Noah officially turned 3 yesterday!  Since his birthday fell on a Monday this year (first birthday not on a weekend so far!), we decided to celebrate with family on Sunday instead.  We made a huge deal the entire day... candles in his breakfast, opening gifts from us, and a birthday dinner with the grandparents!  But that didn't mean his actual birthday was ignored!  Chris had to go to work, so it was up to me to make him feel special all day long!  He got some gift cards and a few toys he already owned, so we decided to take a trip to the toy store and pick out a few things (like he doesn't already have enough!).   A special birthday lunch complete with dessert and more singing, and we had a happy birthday boy!  The fun continues today when I go into his school to read a book to his class and bring in a special birthday treat!

But back to the birthday boy!  Just like I always say, I can't believe he's now (enter current age) 3!  I was rereading the post I wrote when he turned 2 1/2 to see what's the same and what's changed in the last 6 months.  In general, he's bigger, but that didn't surprise me... this kid is constantly growing!  He's learned a few new skills and I have a feeling I'm forgetting a bunch as well!  The biggest difference, is in how much Noah is now speaking and how his vocabulary has grown.  It probably has something to do with going to school, but I really just think it finally clicked with him!  I've also gone from rocking him to sleep to now laying with him in his big boy bed.  He has a few favorite books, tv shows, and toys, while many have remained the same.  And for anyone who wants to know all about Noah at age 3, here are all the details!

Stats

Height: 39 inches

Weight: 37 lbs

Size: 3T pants, 4T tops, 5T in most pajamas, 10 in shoes

Skills

Writes and paints with his left hand, but uses his right hand with scissors.  He eats with his left hand, but so far seems to be hitting a bat right handed.  I think it would be cool to be ambidextrous but I think at this age he's still figuring things out, so only time will tell.
He can now ride a tricycle, but didn't like riding a traditional bike with training wheels.
Just like 6 months ago, he can run and jump, takes off his coat and shoes on his own, uses a fork, spoon, and even knife like a pro, and drinks well out of a regular cup and water bottle (though we still use sippy cups when out).  He is still working on getting dressed on his own.
Will use a booster or his high chair (when watching TV) to eat, but when we are out in restaurants he sits in a regular chair (but a booth is preferred) like the adults.
Can navigate the iPad like a pro!
Is practicing writing his letters using an app on his iPad.  Is getting better at identifying letters.
Can count to 12 perfectly and then 13-19 all sound the same ;)

Language

Noah's vocabulary has grown so much and he's really starting to talk in full sentences.  He's now become a parrot and will repeat most things we say... we have finally entered the stage where we really have to watch our language.  He's repeated a few phrases I'd rather he not.  He likes to narrate what we are doing and is really good at communicating what he wants.  He's even pretty good at telling me what he did at school, that is when he's not saying "nothing" or "I don't know"... I can't believe that's begun already!  

Favorites

Books - Look & Find, Digger Dozer Dumper, Steam Train Dream Train, Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin, Baby Loves Fall (from when he was a baby)

TV Shows - Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger, Mickey Mouse, Bubble Guppies, Curious George, YouTube Videos

Toys - trucks (Bruder are his favorite), trains, legos, play-doh, puzzles

Foods - cheese and crackers, mini pancakes and waffles, Dannon yogurt smoothies (monkeys), apple zucchini muffins, peppers, strawberries, rice, hard boiled eggs, "dinosaur" chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken, popcorn, apple juice, fruit snacks

Likes

Preschool, bandaids, riding his bike, birthday cakes, candles, and celebrations, his iPad, and still likes playing with my hair.  Rocket ships, astronauts, and saying blast off!  Painting, glue sticks, scissors, and stickers.  

Dislikes

Baths... he also says no to showers but 99% of the time enjoys himself, having the iPad taken away, listening to daddy (not my favorite phase), my hair up in a pony tail (since he likes to play with my hair instead).

Random

He seems to be against baths now and only wants showers.  Though he often tries to get out of those too, claiming it will hurt his bandaids.  He usually gives in but requests that I don't wash his hair.  Thankfully he's not mad at me that I lie every time telling him "okay, I won't wash your hair" and then do it anyway!
Before getting into the car, he likes to run around our front yard "galloping" and saying "neigh" like a horse (he got it from Daniel Tiger).  
On our way to school, he loves to count school buses!  One day we saw 10 buses on our 12 minute drive!  Usually we see 5-7, but he always says he wants to see 10!

In the morning and at bedtime, we sing a song from Daniel Tiger that lists everything we need to do before going to school and going to bed.  In the morning it often includes "take shower, brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, check diaper, put on shoes, then off to school"!  At night it includes "brush teeth, put pjs on, watch iPad, and off to bed"!
He was starting to give Chris a hard time when putting on his pajamas.  He would get his diaper on and then try to squirm away, and would repeat it after every piece of clothing.  I finally told him it was a race to see if he could get them on before I finished brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed.  It's amazing how the game worked so well and he loves running in and telling me "he won!". 

While I love documenting all the little details about Noah to look back on, Noah is so much more than this.  He really is my best bud and the best little boy I could have ever been blessed with.  I am so thankful that I was given this little miracle and absolutely cherish my days with him.  I am so happy to be spend each and every day with him and truly miss him those six hours a week he spends at preschool now.  We have our moments where he acts like a normal 3 year old, but for the most part he is a really spectacular kid who rarely causes any trouble.  I hope that our close relationship continues to grow over the years and I dread the day when he won't want to give me hugs and kisses! Sometimes when I ask him how old he is, he will joke and say "10".  He thinks it's hilarious but I always tell him, "don't rush me"!  While I love the person he's becoming, I want to enjoy my little boy a little (or a lot) bit longer!  

Happy 3rd Birthday Noah!

All photos were taken by the wonderful Kristen Boylan Photography!

A Noah Update... 2.75!

I am finding it hard to believe that this will be my last Noah update as a 2 year old!  It seems really strange that I will have a 3 year old before I know it.  He will be starting school and learning things without me being with him at all times.  While I wish I could keep him my little boy forever, I love watching Noah grow and learn new things every day.  I really love looking back at these updates and seeing how much he's changed (or not) in just a few months!

Stats

Height: 39 inches

Weight: 36 lbs

Size: 2T (and a few 3T) bottoms, 3T (and some 4T) tops, 9 in shoes

Skills
Has peed and pooped on the potty, but not even close to on a regular basis.  It's usually at bath time.
With help of an iPad app he can "write" a few letters on his own
Can jump off the side of the pool and play gym at Gymboree
He is very good at puzzles.  He loves doing real jigsaw puzzles.
Seems to be left-handed when coloring and painting and eating.  But he switches it up when he throws a ball.
Loves doing crafts and is getting better at using scissors.
Can use the Ikea allen wrench all on his own.
He can't put his shoes on yet, but he can take them off.  

Language

Can count to 13 really well!
Is forming longer sentences every day.  The amount of new words he repeats and retains amazes me.

Favorites

Books - "Steam Train, Dream Train", "Digger Dozer Dumper", "The Pigeon Needs a Bath"

TV Shows - Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse, Curious George, Daniel Tiger, Family Fun Pack and Axel Trucks on YouTube 

Toys - puzzles, trains, legos, his play kitchen and food, playing grocery store, play doh, doing crafts

Foods - smoothies, apple zucchini muffins, peppers, strawberries, hard boiled eggs, "dinosaur" chicken nuggets, apple sauce pouches, string cheese, quesadillas, apple juice, fruit snacks, apples, bananas, gogurts, goldfish crackers, cheese & crackers

Likes

Gymboree, jumping, playing grocery store and restaurant with his stuffed animals, watching his iPad, playing in his sand and water tables, chasing daddy, playing hide and go-seek, bandaids, swimming, playing at the beach

Dislikes

bedtime/having to stop playing, most meat, sauces on food (like ketchup), getting boo-boos, sitting in the shopping cart

Random

For a while Noah had been going to bed without me having to rock him.  I would lie next to him in bed and he would play with my hair and go to bed no problem.  But then all of a sudden he started getting upset and saying he wanted to go down and play.  We had to back to rocking for a while and singing songs.  Thankfully, we just got back to going to bed easily just laying in bed together.  I still sing him a few songs, but otherwise he drifts off to sleep hugging me and playing with my hair.

He still doesn't like my hair up and tells me to take it down.

Until next time when Noah turns 3!

Happy Half Birthday | Noah is 2 1/2 years old!

On Saturday, we celebrated Noah's "Half" Birthday!  I have officially become "that mom" who celebrates made up holidays.  Noah loves baking and blowing out candles, so I thought why not celebrate his half birthday by making half a cake and singing to him???

I honestly can't believe that Noah is already 2 1/2.  That means he's that much closer to being 3, and really no longer a baby... cue the tears!  In addition to some pictures from our 'half birthday' celebration, here's everything you (or maybe just the grandparents) ever wanted to know about Noah at 2 1/2...

Stats

Height: 38 inches

Weight: 34 lbs

Size: 2T pants, 3T tops, 9 in shoes

Skills

Can hop (jump) and run

Is getting better at taking his clothes off.  If I get his pants over his big diaper butt, he can do the rest. He can take his jacket off, though it then ends up inside out.  He hasn't really tried dressing himself yet.
Can buckle the top part of his car seat and the seatbelt on his booster seat by himself.  Thankfully he doesn't unbuckle it himself and waits for me.  

Appears to be left handed

Drinks from a glass and a bottle, but prefers using a straw

Very good at using a fork and spoon.  Can even eat cereal with milk on his own now.  

He's so good at puzzles.

Language

He is really talking up a storm and getting so much better at communicating.  He's now forming 2-4 word sentences.  Like "yellow car", "please thank you abby milk", and "I love so and so".  

We are working on his numbers... he says 1, 2, 8, 9, 10.  He knows what 5 is but doesn't say it

Favorites

Books - Llama Llama, Nighty Night, Goodnight Gorilla, Look & Find

TV Shows - Daniel Tiger, Dinosaur Train, Mickey Mouse, Curious George, Handy Manny, Jungle Junction, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, YouTube Videos

Toys - puzzles, trains, his play kitchen and food, playing grocery store, play doh

Foods - smoothies, apple zucchini muffins, peppers, strawberries, fried rice, scrambled eggs, "dinosaur" chicken nuggets, apple sauce pouches, cheese, yogurt, quesadillas, apple juice, fruit snacks

Likes

Gymboree, Wompy's (music class), kicking in swim class, "driving" fast in his car, stuffed animals, stamps/tattoos, playing in the sink, his iPad, hats, and playing with my hair

Dislikes

fluff (from his socks) in his toes or on the carpet, wind, most meat, sauces on food (like ketchup), real pajamas

Random

He goes through phases of whether he prefers baths or showers.  The same with wanting to gel his hair or not. 

If I have my hair in a pony tail, he tells me to take it down.

Whenever he sees my laptop, he asks to watch "pictures and videos"

When I use the hair dryer or blender, he tells me "la loud"!

At bedtime, he likes to turn off the light and close the door himself and then walk to me in the chair.  Every night he tells me it's dark.

When rocking him to sleep, he asks for "Papay" for Patty Cake.  He then tells me we have to put an "N" on it, and instead of being for "mommy and me", it's just for "me" :)

Noah is a really great kid.  Just recently he's had a few "moments" where he seems to be purposefully ignoring what we tell him to do.  I will tell him no and he looks at me with this smirk and continues doing it.  Some days this really puts me over the edge, but then I remember that in the grand scheme of things he's not doing anything crazy and I need to take a chill pill.  It could be WAY worse!  Here's to hoping that this is the extent of Noah's "terrible twos" ;)

Happy Half Birthday Noah!

It's The Little Things | A Noah Update... 2.25!

While I've stopped with the traditional monthly updates since Noah turned 2, I thought it would be fun (and useful for documentation purposes) to do quarterly updates.  Noah is now 2 and a quarter :)  In some ways it's easier to describe Noah's changes after 3 months compared to 1, but in other areas I feel like there is so much that has changed since November!   The pictures below are from a week ago, before Noah got his haircut.  

Physical Growth

Noah has grown a little since his birthday, but really nothing significant.  He is 36 1/2 inches tall and weighs 32 lbs.  

Developmental/Coordination

Not too many monumental changes in the last 3 months.  Noah is getting better at the stairs and doesn't have to hold our hand anymore, but he does still need to hold the wall or the railing.  He's becoming slightly braver when it comes to slides and jumping to us (like from the side of the pool).

He's really good at throwing a ball and is getting better at catching one too!  Noah often uses his left hand to eat and paint, but we have found that he throws better with his right arm.  I guess only time will tell what his dominant hand really is.   

He's been able to blow his nose for months now, but he just learned to blow out of his mouth too.  My dad was showing him how to whistle and Noah imitated him.  Now he can blow on hot food or at candles normally instead of like he's blowing his nose ;)

He's at the age where he wants to do a lot of things on his own.  Like peeling a banana (which he's actually really good at) and taking off his own coat.  If you try to help him he gets upset and wants to start over.  I've had to put the coat back on him a few times and try to put the peel back on the banana the best I could just so he could do it himself.

Educational

Noah's speech is probably the thing that's changed the most in the past 3 months.  His vocabulary is growing every day and even says a few two-word sentences.  Noah started talking later compared to some of his friends, so it's nice to see Noah really starting to talk more now!  Words that he says on a daily basis now include the following.  He says way more, but these are his favorites :)

Phrases:

I do

I busy
I love you

Open & Closed

Up & down

More (says bore)

Please and Thanks

One more (one bore) and then holds up both hands for ten more

Empty (when he's finished his drink or cleared his plate)
And he has the cutest "yeah"
Hot and Brr (for cold)

People/Animals:
Baby
Mama (says mamama) & Dada
Papa, Grandma, Nonna
Noah (though is sounds similar to Nonna)
He now has all his animal sounds down

Kitchen:

Spoon and Bib

Cheese, Apple (for the fruit and juice), Broccoli, Pepper

Toys & TV:

Argh (for Jake and the Never Land Pirates)

Choo Choo (for trains)
Abby (from Sesame Street)
Peppa
iPad
Digger

Body Parts:

Nose, Mouth, Eyes, Eyebrow, Butt, Elbow, Hat (for hair and hat)

Random:
Tickle
Bath

Colors:

He can say blue, black, purple and can identify blue & black by sight

Favorite Foods

Noah still loves his greek yogurt and has it every morning for breakfast.  He loves to snack on cheese, bananas, apples, popsicles, and fruit snacks!  His drink of choice is apple juice, but if I give him a poland spring bottle he will drink water like a champ.  It's hit or miss with him liking meat, but he always loves cheese, bread, and fruit :)  

Attitude

Noah is a typical 2 year old who has the occasional "tantrum" when he gets frustrated.  Usually it's because he either can't express what he wants or he thinks we don't understand what he wants instead of us saying he just can't do what he wants.   I have found that 99% of the time I can quickly calm him down by getting down on his level and calmly talking to him.  I will tell him to calm down and ask him what it is he wants.  He can usually find a way to tell me and then I can either help him or explain to him that I understand what he wants but that we can't do that right now.  We've only had to do timeout a handful of times, and it's usually because he's hitting or kicking and doesn't stop when we tell him no.  This also usually happens when he's tired or hungry.

He has his moments where he only wants me.  This sometimes hurts Chris' feelings.  I honestly think he just likes to show that he's in charge and can decide who he wants to do things for him (like get him his drink or snack, read him a book, etc.).

Sleep

Sleep has improved a lot.  I rock him to sleep between 8 and 8:30 and he starts the night off in his crib.  At first he was usually waking up between 12:30 and 2:30 which is when I bring him into his big boy bed and sleep with him the rest of the night.  But recently he's been lasting in his crib until anywhere from 3:30-5 am... those are great nights!  He used to be getting up between 7 and 7:30, but since he's been sleeping longer in his crib, he often wakes up closer to 6 am!  You can read about our recent sleep progress here.

Favorites

Noah's favorite TV shows are now Curious George and Jake and the Never Land Pirates.  While he still watches Bubble Guppies and Sesame Street, I wouldn't consider them his favorites anymore.  He also LOVES to watch YouTube videos.  Originally he watched them on the TV or on our phones, but now that he has his own iPad mini, he watches them on there.  He usually watches videos about construction vehicles and play-doh.  Sometimes these videos are in different languages.  He's even started watching old-school Donald Duck videos.  He also found Peppa Pig and loves watching it on his iPad when we first wake up in the morning... I love hearing him say "Peppa".  I'm amazed how he finds these all on his own too!  He's also started doing puzzles on the iPad and I'm impressed at how good he is at them!

Noah is really into his stuffed friends right now.  It started with Elmo and Curious George, but now it's extended to the whole Jake crew (Jake, Izzie, Cubby, and Scully).   His love for Jake and the Never Land Pirates has also made him enjoy his bath again!  We went through a phase where he refused baths and instead took showers with me.  He then got a Jake bath toy for Christmas, and since then he's happy to take a bath daily!  

Noah recently became obsessed with play-doh!  6 weeks ago he didn't even know it existed and now he wants to do it on a daily basis.  He has a few sets and loves playing it with whoever is willing!  We went to a play date where they had some out and he immediately became anti-social, only wanting to play with the play-doh, and getting seriously upset when another kid wanted to play too!

Make sure to stop by Jess' blog for the link up!