Tennis Anyone?

My mom and sister are in town this week to watch some tennis at the Sony Ericsson Open. On Saturday, Dean spent the day with Noah, and I headed out to Key Biscayne with Mom and Mo to watch some tennis.

It was a great day for tennis, and Sarah A. will be happy to know we all wore hats and sunscreened up for the day.

I think that if Dean and I were to ever have twin boys, I would name them Bob and Mike, put a tennis racket in their hands, teach them how to chest bump, and send them off on the circuit.

I "puffy heart" the Bryan brothers.

We also saw Serena decimate her opponent while blinged out from head to toe.

Rafael Nadal played the night match on center court. He played great and definitely lived up to his number one ranking.

Jelena Jankovic was the final match of the night, and if I still looked like I did when I was 17, and I, of course, still played tennis, I would totally buy this dress.

What a fun day! Thanks so much to Daddy for keeping Noah all day. And, thanks to PaPa for getting me tickets. I had so much fun being kidless and hanging with the girls.

A Day of Rest

After Noah's initial testing, I decided not to be that mom who said, "nothing is wrong with my child." I also didn't want to be that mom who totally freaks out either. And, although I did have a week or two of panic over Noah's delay, I'd like to think I settled somewhere in the middle.

I mentioned earlier that the state funded program had us on a waiting list. But as a mom, when someone tells you that your child needs this, this, and this, waiting lists are not what I want to hear. Dean and I decided to start right away with private therapy. Because really, when you sign up for having kids did anyone say that they would be cheap? So, we enrolled Noah in both private speech therapy and private occupational therapy (OT). Now for those of you who have met Noah, you may be wondering why he needs occupational therapy. While Noah is quite adept at any and all types of motor skills, the occupational therapy is there to help him attend better to tasks. So, with referrals in hand, off we go to speech for an hour three times a week, and OT for an hour twice a week. After a week of sessions, Noah is really starting to improve, and I am learing so many things to help our play at home. After about a month, the state funded services finally kick in. This means that while we already have something 5 days a week, we are now adding an additional speech for 30 minutes one day a week, an additional OT one day a week, and a teacher that comes to our house once a week. Confused yet? My IPhone calendar is overloaded, and it is the only way I am able to keep our schedule straight. Good thing I don't have anything else to do in Miami.

So, here is how we fit everything in.

• Monday: Speech Therapy (1hr) 1:00 PM
• Tuesday: OT (1hr) 2:00 PM
• Wednesday: Speech Therapy (1hr) 1:00 PM
• Thursday: Teacher (1hr) 8:00 AM, OT (30min) 11:00 AM, OT (1hr) 3:00 PM
• Friday: Speech Therapy (1hr) 1:00 PM
• Saturday: Speech Therapy (30min) 9:30 AM

Somewhere in the middle of this schedule, we manage to fit in a few meetup playdates, My Gym classes, naps in his crib, naps in the car, lunches on the go, and somehow, we get it all done.

Today is Sunday. A day of rest. A day of reflection and pray. And, a day to thank God for this beautiful little boy who has blessed and enriched our lives in so many ways, and although our weeks are now full, I am so happy and proud to be able to offer our little guy the help he needs to be the best person he can be.

Riding Along in My Automobile

On my last trip to Louisiana, I caught up with an old friend who is all grown up and married with kids of her own. Courtney and I met in junior high when we were on the same softball team. I was the pitcher, and she played catcher. Oh, you didn't know I played softball. Well, it was a long time ago, back when I tied the sleeves of my team t-shirt up with grosgrain ribbon that matched the one in my hair, and I was awful. Anyway, despite my lack of softball athleticism, Courtney and I became best friends. We lost touch after high school, and thanks to Facebook, we have since reconnected.

So, on my last trip to Louisiana, we got together. She has a cute little girl named Riley and an almost brand new little guy named Mark. Noah loved hanging out with his new friends, and we left our playdate with a major case of backyard envy.

Momma, this is awesome! Look at all this grass?

Hey Riley, can I go for a ride in your car?

Only if I can drive. Let's roll!

Hold on Noah. You are in for a bumpy ride.

Testing the Waters

The pool is open at our apartment complex, so we decided to try it out this weekend. The weather in Miami was slightly overcast in the upper 70s. Not exactly summer weather, but warm enough for a quick dip. Noah was so pumped when he saw the pool.

The water was a little chilly, and Noah was not quite sure if he wanted to play.

Noah has one brave Daddy. Going under in the cold water all to see Noah laugh. Poppy and Deah were in town for a visit, and they enjoyed watching Noah splash and play.

Hey Momma! Do you see this? Daddy is underwater.

Surprise. It's Daddy!

Time to practice kicking.

Brrr... this water is cold. Let's get outta here.

What He Does

Blows kisses with a big "maa" sound. Sings "Old McDonald" - the "E-I-E-I-O" and cow sounds. Finish the verses to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" - "star," "are," "high," "sky." Climbs into his highchair by himself for food. Does the hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Open Shut Them." Matches colors. Knows A B C and 1 2 3. Rocks shape sorters. Says "more." Signs "all done" - very dramatic using his full body. Makes eye contact really well. Uses food as a vehicle for ketchup. Loves to be tickled. Says "tickle, tickle." Says animal sounds - "moo" (sounds like "baa"), "tweet, tweet," "urrhh (for elephant with arm to nose for a trunk), "meow." Plays trains with sounds - "chugga, chugga." Loves to play in his Thomas tent. Examines new toys before deciding whether or not to play with them. Approves bites of food with a look before taking a bite. Shares his snacks. Repeats words and sounds - "Pa Pa," "Outside." Babbles constantly. Runs really fast. Says "uh, uh" for no while shaking his head. Protests when corrected. Holds out his foot to put his shoe on. Climbs really well. Climbs into his stroller when I say "let's go." Wrestles on the floor. Definitely not a comprehensive list, but Noah is doing so well with therapy that I really wanted to jot down some of the new things he does.

A Day Out with Thomas

We spent the afternoon at the railroad museum for a Day Out with Thomas. We had tickets to ride Thomas at 3:00 PM, but with the time change, it just so happened that Noah was still napping when it was time to leave. So, we got him up from his nap early and hustled over to the museum.

Noah was not happy to be woken up from his nap, but he was a total trooper on the 20 minute ride on Thomas the train.

He perked up a bit when he got to play with the train table display at the Imagination Station.

His mood definitely improved after we got some food into his belly. Daddy taught him how to "dip dip" his french fries into ketchup.

Mmmm... delicious.

We headed over to the gift shop where Noah spied a Thomas tent. For Noah, this was the highlight of the event.

Noah decided he had to have it. Who needs talking or pointing? Noah is happy to grab what he wants and dive in.

We ended our day at the museum with a romp in the sand pit because what is an event in Miami without a little sand and sun.

Counting the Days

There are thousands of reasons why I am counting the days until our time in Miami is complete. This is at the top of my list.

This is the view from our apartment. Lovely isn't it?

Ongoing construction. Right under our building. It's noisy and ugly and goes on between the hours of 8 and 5. Lucky for me, Noah is a such good sleeper, and it doesn't seem to phase him during naptime. Maybe it's because the more you listen to it, it becomes slightly hypnotic.

On a happier note, the pool has finally opened only about 7 months behind schedule. When we first moved, I asked the management office about once a week about the opening date. The answer was that they were not giving a set date because they kept missing it, but soon. They jokingly said that so many people were asking that they would post a huge banner outside the building when it was finally open. Well, there was no banner, but just last week, I did see a guy wearing a swimsuit with a towel hung over his shoulder wandering aimlessly, trying to navigate the construction in an effort to locate the entrance to building G. Noah and I headed over yesterday to check it out, and I can't wait to go for a swim. Unfortunately, this has been the coolest month in Miami so far, so we will be waiting a little longer.

Pretend Play

Me: "The therapist wants Noah to get better at pretend play.”

Dean: "Pretend play?”

Me: "You know making play-doh into a cookie and pretending to take a bite”

Dean: "You know only the weird kids ate play-doh.”

Me: “OK. So, like putting his arms out and pretending he is an airplane.”

Dean: "But, he is not an airplane.”

Me: "Didn’t you ever play pretend when you were a kid?"

Dean: “One time I tried to dig a hole to China.”

Me: “Well, there you go, that is pretend.”

Dean: “Don’t think so. I really thought I was digging a hole to China.”

Me: "Hmmm... I wonder where Noah gets it from."

Back to the Beach

Hi. My name is Noah. My Momma called my name, so I am looking right at her. And, she is very happy. Oh, and I am at the beach.

My Daddy is at the beach too. We are splashing in the surf. We are dressed curiously similar. Momma said she didn't do it on purpose. only that she seems to be gravitating towards green and brown in our wardrobes.

Here is my little friend Zach. He is 8 months old and is staying at the beach with his Momma and Daddy. He invited us to come over and play.

Momma says he is adorable and that she loves his precious baby curls. I like him because he let me play with his sand toys.

I love the beach!

I especially love the beach with Momma and Daddy. What a fun afternoon!