Mr. Potato Head

Disney has such cool ideas. At Downtown Disney there is a store named Once Upon a Toy. They sell this huge plastic Mr. Potato Head that you can fill with as much parts and pieces as long as the lid closes for one low cost Disney bargain price. Wink. Wink. Noah plays Mr. Potato Head a lot at therapy, so it was pretty easy to convince Daddy how good of an idea it was to make this purchase. Plus, Dean loves a challenge, and you wouldn't believe the number of parts he was able to fit into that plastic potato.

Daddy and Noah outside the toy store. Noah is pounding on Mr. Potato Head's hat saying "open."

With so many pieces, we made him wait to open it until we got home, but he hasn't stopped playing with it yet. He is loving all the little individual pieces, and I am afraid they will quickly be strewn all over the apartment.

Our masterpieces from day one. Noah's is the one with the Dumbo ears. He picked out all the pieces himself. What a fun new toy!

The Parks at Disney

At Disney, Noah spends a lot of time either in his stroller or being held. He is still mostly resistant to hand holding, although he did get a better towards the end of the trip. More often than not he falls to the ground until I let go of his hand, and then he hurriedly gets up and takes off running. And, he is fast. I sometimes wonder if I would just let him go, (1) how soon he would realize that he doesn't know where he is going and (2) when he will figure out that I am not following him. Anyway, I digress. At Disney, Noah spends a lot of time in his stroller or being held, and whenever we came to a play area that he was able to run loose, we let him go, and he loved it.

The Journey Into Imagination Pavilion, Epcot.

The splash pad at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The huge Kodak film slide at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The splash pad at Donald's Boat in Mickey's Toontown, Magic Kingdom.

The Toon Park in Mickey's Toontown, Magic Kingdom.

Daddy's Little Man

As I was ruthlessly tagging and deleting the 784 pictures, I took at Disney this weekend, I came across this picture from our last day at the Magic Kingdom.

Noah was ready for naptime, and we were planning to hit the road soon. The carousel in Fantasyland had no waiting, so we decided to take a quick spin. Noah went along for the ride, and he snuggled up to Daddy. It reminded me so much of this picture taken when Noah was just a few hours old.

There is just something so sweet about a Daddy and his little boy. Noah loved having his Daddy around this week, and so did I. Thanks for taking some time off for a not so relaxing Disney vacation. We love you!

Disney at One

I am pretty confident that this will be our last trip to Disney for quite awhile. We only have 93 days left in South Florida, not that anyone's counting, and with 5 trips to see Mickey under our belt, I think we can officially say, "been there, done that." Noah had more fun this time than any of the other trips. I took tons of pictures, and I am having trouble narrowing them down for a post. Instead, I decided to make a list of Noah's favorite things from this trip to Disney.

Starting with Magic Kingdom, Noah loved Mickey's Philharmagic. He kept his glasses on most of the time, and he has even learned how to say "glasses." It's a Small World is by far Noah's favorite ride, we rode it twice this trip,which brings Noah IASW tally to 8 cruises around the world. We didn't actually have to invest in a Mickey balloon this time around, but Noah loves all the balloons flying over the park and pointed them out every time he saw one.

At Epcot Center, Noah was crazy about the Finding Nemo ride. He loved the all the fish in the huge aquarium once you get off the ride. We tried to take him to see Turtle Talk with Crush, but by this time he was so into getting up close and personal with the tanks that all he wanted to do was head to the front of the stage and touch the screen. We decided to step out to prevent a major tantrum. Noah also really liked the the Imagination Pavilion after the ride with Figment.

Next to Magic Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios is the park Noah has the most experience. He loves the Honey I Shrunk the Kids park, and he definitely recognized the park. When we strolled by, he struggled out of his stroller and took off running towards the entrance. He really got into Playhouse Disney Live this time and laughed along to the show. We rode Toy Story Mania twice, but I think that it was a toss up whether Noah enjoyed the waiting area or the ride better. Check out these humongous colors! We also kept him up late to watch Fantasmic, which he loved.

Zip-a-Dee Do Dah

My, oh my, what a wonderful day!

My Little Picasso

Noah's funk continued into the afternoon. During his OT session, he was not interested in participating in any of the activities Mrs. V suggested.

I'm just going to sit here in this cozy chair, if you don't mind.

Red. My favorite color. I'll just hang onto these, thank you.

Being a trained professional, Mrs. V had a great (and messy) idea to perk Noah up.

Squishy, messy hands. I love this.

Noah's work of art.

The Terrible (Almost) Twos

Noah knows the word no. He also knows how to communicate the word no. Sometimes it's cute, like when he says, "uh uh, uh uh" shaking his whole body from side to side. Sometimes it's not, like this morning.

Noah had My Gym this morning. We had kind of a full day with a car nap planned for later in the day, so gym class was sort of a lagniappe activity. I have a habit of always keeping a fresh sippy cup in my bag. Noah knows this so as soon as we got to gym, he decided he was thirsty. He was whining and trying to get into my bag for his sip. I gave it to him in the lobby, but of course he didn't want to give it up to go to class. So, if I took the sip and tried to lead him into gym, he fell to the floor kicking and screaming. If I let him keep the sip, but stopped him from going into gym, he fell to the floor kicking and screaming. The "no food or drink" sign was staring me in the face, and I was not letting him in that gym with his sip. We were at what you call an impasse, and Noah was not willing to bend. Rules being rules, I carried him sip in hand kicking and screaming to the car. And, as soon as I got him buckled, he threw the sip down and calmed for the ride home.

This display is just par for the course of what I've been getting the last few weeks. I've heard of the terrible twos, but Noah is still two months away. Sigh. What happened to my sweet little boy. Noah's speech therapist sees these tantrums as a good sign. He's communicating his wants. The tricky part is showing him that I understand. I spend a lot of time saying, "oh, you're upset. I'm sorry you're upset, but..." I'm trying to ride this phase out gracefully, but it is beating me down. Well, today is done, and in the words of my onscreen idol, "tomorrow is another day." Wish us luck!

The Beachcomber

This afternoon Noah and I met some friends at a nearby beach. Noah took one look at the expanse of sand and a plan immediately formed in his head. It all started with the shovel he stole from his friend Luke.

Here is Luke. He just turned one. He is walking really well, but doesn't really wander too far from his Momma.

And, here is Lydia. She's one too, and she is also walking. She actually doesn't wander far from her Momma at all.

Noah on the other hand. He likes to wander far, and he doesn't really mind if Momma is following or not.

Any idea what the plan is?

Luckily, the beach wasn't too crowded, so I was able to locate the proper and separate owners for each of the beach toys that Noah pilfered.

All this thievery sure works up a thirst.

What's the Point

I don't know for sure, but I think that most mothers probably take for granted that their little ones point at things. According to the developmental charts, I think it should happen somewhere about 15 months. Noah was never a pointer. I was pretty good at the guessing game, so it never really bothered me because I pretty much knew what he wanted. It wasn't until we started therapy that I realized how big of a communication tool pointing is, and how important it was for Noah to do it.

And now at 22 months, he is finally pointing, and I love it. I am so proud of him.

And everytime he points to something, I am very quick to acknowledge what he is pointing at.

And of course, if he is pointing to something he wants, whether it is something he usually gets to have or not, I almost always give it to him.

Because really, shouldn't good communication be rewarded?

You know, he's a pretty smart boy. I wonder how long until he figures it out and starts using this to his advantage.

No Love for the Bunny

On Friday, Noah and I walked to the mall to have his picture taken with the Easter Bunny. We made it to the mall before the bunny. We were the first in line, and the nice young camera lady let Noah run around the picture area while we waited. I thought this was a good idea since Santa pictures did not go well this year, and I thought maybe if he got used to the area, he would feel more comfortable with the bunny.

Not sure if the nice young camera lady knew what was ahead when she gave Noah free rein in the picture area.

Noah was very interested in the huge styrofoam glitter eggs.

So much so that he picked all of them up one by one to put them at my feet.

But once the Easter Bunny made his appearance, no oversized sparkly egg could convince Noah to have a seat on his lap for a picture.

Oh well, better luck next year.

Happy Easter!

Thanks Grammy for the super cute outfit!

Who Doesn't Like A Good Mix Tape?

Noah loves music. The IPod gets kicking, and I swear you can see his little ears perk up, his head cock to the side, and the sweetest little smile touch his face.

Yesterday, we were heading on an emergency run to Target to pick up the 3rd book in the Twilight series. I mean, seriously, who ends a book with a cliffhanger like that. It was the witching hour for us between 4:30 and 5:00... too late for a nap, too early for bed, and not quite dinnertime. En route, I plugged my IPhone into my car stereo, so Noah could hear some tunes. The drive to Target was quick. We got into the store, and I plopped Noah into a cart. As we headed to the back of the store, he started shaking in his seat. I could tell he still had the tune in his head, so I started singing the song that had been playing in the car. He looked at me like I was nuts and started to protest a bit. Ouch. I thought I sounded pretty good. So, I handed him his sippy cup, which he angrily tossed in the back of the cart. OK, really, this is where the talking would come in handy. What Noah? He reached out for my purse hanging across my body trying to reach inside for something. I realized he was looking for my phone to continue listening to his music. So, I pulled it out, and we happily continued our shopping trip to Noah's very own soundtrack.

For posterity's sake and for anyone else whose interested, here are a few of Noah's favorites. Feel free to chime in on what is on your kid's mix tape.

All Together Now from All You Need is Love: Beatles Songs for Kids
Hello Goodbye from All You Need is Love: Beatles Songs for Kids
Black Horse & The Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
Bubble Toes by Jack Johnson
Steal My Kisses by Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Hot Dog! by They Might Be Giants
Taylor by Jack Johnson
Shoo Fly Pie from Short & Sweet Andrew & Polly
Jelly Man Kelly from Short & Sweet Andrew & Polly
Goodnight from Short & Sweet Andrew & Polly
The Sharing Song by Jack Johnson
3 Rs by Jack Johnson
Spider On The Floor by Raffi
I'm Yours by Jason Marz
Bubbly by Colbie Caillat

Open Shut Them from Sing Gymboree

We Take Our Little Hands from Sing Gymboree

All Done

Noah woke up yesterday feeling much better. We still headed to the doctor just make sure. After some blood work revealed it was a virus, we headed home sans meds to continue our weekend of rest and relaxation. Noah is feeling much better, and I couldn't help but share these pictures of the yumminess that is Noah communicating.

I think I mentioned that the speech therapist is trying to teach him a few signs, and he doesn't really seem that interested in using them. There have been a few times that he has begrudgingly done them, but only because he realizes that she will not let him go until he gives her something. We have been laughing at his attempts to sign "all done." The sign she is teaching him is to swipe his hands together in front of him. It reminds me of the motions made by the blackjack dealer during a shift change at the casino. Noah has put his own twist to the sign, and I was so happy to catch it on camera today.

All.

Done.

I wonder where he gets his flair for drama from?

Sick Day

I had a feeling yesterday. Noah didn't want to particpate in any of his therapy sessions. He kept climbing into my lap to snuggle turning his back to the therapist. He felt a little warm, but I thought he was on the mend. We've all been passing around a cold/sore throat/runny nose since early last week. I took Noah to the doctor last Wednesday. The doctor checked him and said he had a slight ear infection. She thought it would clear up on it's own. She gave me a prescription for some antibiotics but said to sit on it a couple days. I did and be seemed to be better... until yesterday.

It was confirmed that Noah wasn't better last night when he woke up crying at about 4:30 AM. I knew immediately something was wrong since it's been about a year since he's woken up crying at night. He was burning up, and his temperature was around 102.5. Poor baby. After some milk and Tylenol, he went back down and slept in until 9:00 AM. It looks like we'll be staying in today, catching up on TIVOed episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and alternating Motrin and Tylenol to keep his fever down. We are heading to the doctor tomorrow morning. Dean spoke to her this morning, and there seems to be some viral infections going around. Let's hope this passes us by quickly.