Drenched

The Winnie the Pooh park at the Magic Kingdom has a splash pad that Noah has been drawn to at every visit. So, this time I had the foresight to bring a change of clothes.

And boy, did he need it.

Jonie on the other hand. She didn't get the memo about the splash pad, and her boys didn't ask first. Here is Andrew soaked and loving it.

Here is Joseph running through the spray. They were sopping wet and had to call it a day after the park.

Dripping wet and probably a little chilly, but Noah had a blast.

Me and my sweet, soaked boy.

Carnival Time

It’s carnival time, and everybody’s having fun… on vacation. If you are from Louisiana, the novelty of Mardi Gras usually wears off by the time you are in your thirties. And, the holiday week becomes the perfect time to take a family vacation. My nephews are off skiing in Colorado, and it looks like they are having a blast.

Although no longer a Louisiana resident, I decided to take Noah on a vacation for Mardi Gras too. We are at Disney… again. Seriously, I love this place. Disney is a sea of purple and gold this week, and we ran into a few very familiar faces.

Having lunch with Joseph and Andrew B. along with their Mommy and Mimi.

Joseph and Andrew about to take off with Mimi on Aladdin's magic carpets.

Katie and Noah watching for Brooke on Splash Mountain.

Brooke after riding Splash Mountain two times with her Pozz. It doesn't look like she got too wet.

Hanging with the girls outside Cinderella's castle. What an awesome day at the Magic Kingdom!

Jungle Island

The Wine and Food Festival was this past weekend in South Beach. Most of the events were for adults over 21, but there was one event that was family friendly. It was held at Jungle Island, which is sort of like a zoo, but with less lions and tigers and bears, and more birds and monkeys and fish.

It was a beautiful day, although a bit sunny. Notice the squinting.

The event was hosted by Kellogg's Cereal. Here I am showing Noah how to do a Tony the Tiger thumbs up.

Here is Daddy showing Noah the birds or the "tweet tweet" as they are known in our house.

One of the birds.

Noah calling out "tweet tweet" to the birds.

Here are Noah and Daddy checking out the monkeys.

Daddy is showing Noah how to make the mmm... sound.

Love and Happiness

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like a face full of chocolate!

Beach Bum

Our good friends Care and Dan are in town for the boat show. So, Noah and I made the drive out to Miami Beach. The weather was beautiful today. And, as we crossed over Biscayne Bay, I could smell the salty air, and it occured to me that... what a minute, I live at the beach. It has been about 5 months since we've been to any beach, and Noah had a blast.

We started out at the pool, but I had forgotten a swim diaper. I felt a little better about Noah going commando in nature as opposed to one of the heated pools at the Eden Roc, so we headed to the beach.

Noah loved the beach.

Here he is getting his feet wet in the ocean water. It was so funny how he sucked in his belly when he was splashed. The water was only about ankle deep, but it was a little chilly.

Water time was over once Noah spied all the sand toys... his Achilles' heel.

Noah had a great time playing in the sand with all the toys. It gave Care and I plenty of time to visit and catch-up. Dan even stopped over to say hello.

Hi Mr. Dan. I hope you don't mind a little sand in your face.

What a fun day at the beach! It is definitely something we need to do more often. Thanks Care and Dan for sharing your hotel beach! We hope to see you guys again during your stay in Miami.

Hello Separation Anxiety. Welcome To Our House.

Another big change lately is the sudden appearance of separation anxiety in our house. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It is not an exaggeration that up until about 3 weeks ago, Noah has spent 90% of the last six months with me and only me. I have even entertained the thought that the reason he hasn’t said Momma yet is that he seriously thinks we are the same person. So, with all the therapy sessions we are attending. with all the extra activities we are cramming in our day, and with all the extra Daddy time Noah has been getting the past couple weeks, I think he is finally starting to get that the world is filled with other people besides his Momma. Hence, the unhappiness when I leave without him.

The funniest moment happened over the weekend. Dean was going out to run an errand and was taking Noah with him. They went through the routine of diaper change and shoes and were just about to head out the door, when I called out goodbye to them. Noah realized that I wasn’t going with them, and he ran over to me for me to pick him up. Dean was calling him from the door, “come on buddy, let’s go,” and I was still not moving from my spot in the kitchen, and he was so torn… wanting to go with Daddy, but so sad that Momma wasn’t coming to. He ended up going with Dean, and he was fine, but there was a slight meltdown before leaving.

It was so bad on Sunday that the act of Dean putting Noah in his carseat and then walking around the car to get in the front produced crocodile tears. I am pretty sure this is normal and the progression of things, but I am so not used to these tears and meltdowns.

Keep On Keepin' On

We are knee deep in therapy over here, and I finally have a good reason to put my IPhone calendar to use. Noah is doing well and aside from the days when therapy coincides with naptime, he is really enjoying it. What’s not to love… bubbles, coloring, play-doh, blocks, and a nice lady to meet his every need? I honestly think that Noah’s favorite part of going to sessions is playing in the school’s playground before and after. There is a huge sandbox with tons of toys, and you definitely know where this is going. I am having to be pretty diligent that he doesn’t take off with one of the rakes, and more than once, I have had a preschooler come up to me and say, “he’s not sharing,” only to look over and find Noah hoarding an assortment of about 5 rakes and shovels.

Last week, Noah had a hearing test to rule out any hearing loss as the cause of his speech delay. There was no loss, but the audiologist did find some fluid in his ears. We went to the pediatrician this morning to make sure that the fluid was from last week’s cold and not something that was still hanging around. His ears were clear, and it was nice to chat with the pedi about what is going on with Noah. She was really supportive of the speech therapy and told us that it can only help and to keep doing it.

Noah has definitely become more verbal and is babbling nonstop. He has also become more aware and his receptive language is definitely improving. I am not sure if it is a result of the therapy or just a part of him closing in on 2, but I’ll take it.

Here are a few things worth noting:

• Noah is cutting his first set of molars with one out. So, that’s nine teeth out, and how many more teeth to go?


• He loves to color and sat at the kitchen table today with crayons and coloring books. It was so precious.
  
  
• He is making some animal sounds. Tweet, tweet for bird, meow for cat, and doo-da, doo- da, doo-da, doo for penguin. OK… so penguins don’t really go doo-da, doo, but he mimics me, and it is adorable.


• He fills-in-the-blank to twinkle twinkle little star and sometimes to the EIEIO in Old McDonald.


• On the count of three, he calls for Daddy. It comes out soft and sweet like a “Da,” and I love it.

Yellow and Blue and Red Make...

Aquamarine. Actually it was more like yellow, 2 blue, and red, but the color turned out quite nice. Noah is a creature of habit, so every night he knows that after bath is bed. This could somewhat explain his reluctance to get into the bath at the end of the day. He's usually fine once in the tub. He can't resist tub toys and water to splash. I picked up these tub colors at Target a while ago, and Dean and I have found that they make the transition from wet to dry a little easier. We've even started letting him pick out his own colors. Of course, only once he figured out the tablets went in the water and not in his mouth. So, now he shoves his whole hand in the jar, pulls out several, and tosses them in one by one. Then he gives the water a little swish swish with his hands, and usually tries to climb in fully clothed. Maybe one day I will let him, but today was not that day.

Elmo tub tints rock!

Watching the water change.

Going in for a closer look.

Bathtime is so much fun!

All Aboard

Today Noah and I met up with my mom's group at the railroad museum. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a pretty cool place and really cheap. With my zoo membership, I got a 20% discount, so it only cost me $4.80 to get in.

We got our tickets to ride the 11:00 AM train and the front desk clerk told me the train room would be a good place to play while we waited. The museum was outdoors, and there were 4 real tracks loaded with huge trains. Our walk to the train room took us all the way down to the end of the first track.

Noah was a little intimidated at first being so close to all the big locomotives, but he soon warmed up.

We finally reached our destination! A huge room filled with trains and tracks. What a great idea!

I think Noah could have played in here all day. We did stay about 2-1/2 hours, and he was still not ready to leave. He fell asleep in the car on the way home, and he is still napping. I think this is an outing we will be taking again soon.