Grammy and PaPa Come to Town

It all started with a phone call last week from my dad. It went something like, your mom mentioned coming to visit, and you know how much I hate to get on the road, and what are your plans for the weekend, and ok, I'll think about it, and get back to you.

I hung up the phone and asked Noah if he wanted Grammy and PaPa to come visit. Noah said yes. So with video evidence recorded, I sent a quick text over to my dad with the note, "No pressure or anything." The immediate response was "We'll be there tomorrow." How could he possibly refuse this cutie?

We had a great weekend with lots of yummy food to eat and lots of yummy food in our freezer to eat later. My dad and I played three sets of tennis. And, it is so anti-climatic that I lost again (0,0,1), because of course, he going to win, even at 65. It doesn't help that I have the WORST forehand ever. Seriously... the worst. Noah was so good during the match and watched from the sidelines. During a changeover, PaPa helped him get in on the action.

Grammy encouraged the guys to get all the furniture out of the garage and into the upstairs bedroom. It looks great and is almost ready for guests. Any takers? Grammy and I also got a chance to hit some of our favorite shopping spots... TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Homegoods. Noah tagged along with us and was very happy to let Grammy feed him jellybeans for good behavior.

Dean also put together a little toddler bed for Noah this weekend. It was initially a big hit. But after five days without a nap, a change in bedtime routine did not go well... but that's a post for another day.

Noah did love taking a ride on his new big boy bed while Daddy and PaPa moved it into his bedroom.

Thanks for coming to visit Grammy and PaPa. We loved having you here. I hope the drive home is traffic free.

A Day In the Life 06.23.10

7:35AM Up.

8:27AM Out the door. Headed to swim. Listening to the Glee soundtrack in the car. Noah’s insisting on "Gives You Hell" on repeat. Hmmm... wondering if I should be more concerned with the minor bad words in the lyrics. Decide to change to track no. 17 “Give Up the Funk.”

8:45AM Pull into Starbucks. Grande skinny latte for Momma and a chocolate milk for Noah. A little fuel for our morning.

8:56AM Pull up at swim. Dress out. Grab a green chip, and join the crowd ready to go into the pool.  Can you spy Noah?

9:14AM Mrs. S dumps Noah into the center of the pool, watches and waits for him to come up for air and attempt to float on his back. He gets his head up with his arms and legs hanging straight down treading furiously underwater. No solo back floating, but at least he doesn’t drown.

9:34AM Class over. Pokes his head out of the pool area and walks back for his pink lollipop. We head outside to change.

9:39AM Back in the car heading to OT.

10:02AM Step into the elevator. Running a few minutes behind schedule.

10:30AM - Asks OT for colors, and says “let's do the alphabet.” OT is happy with Noah’s decisive attitude.

10:42AM Not only tolerates, but enjoys some swinging in a blanket held by me and OT. OT and I count the swings. Noah requests more swinging in increasing increments of 2s. 10, 12, 14, then 18. 18 proves to be too high of a number for Noah to tolerate.  Momma begins to worry that Noah's math skills will soon surpass her own. 

11:00AM Back in the elevator. Heading to car. Talking about lunch and chocolate milk.

11:14AM Lunch at Pei Wei. Momma has some beef fried rice while Noah has sweet and sour chicken, applesauce, a chocolate chip cookie and chocolate milk.

11:49AM En route to speech therapy. Catch up with blog follower and old college roommate, Carla. Would love to have more time to impart my knowledge on all things baby registry. Check this and this post out.

12:06PM Running behind schedule, again.

12:16PM Listening outside door as Noah has speech therapy. Lots of feet stomping and "quiet feet" from therapist.

12:58PM Done with speech. In car. Heading home.

1:36PM Home. Attempt #1 for a nap.

1:45PM How does my countertop get so messy? Guess I should get to some housework.

2:15PM Kitchen clean. No nap for Noah.

2:52PM A liberal amount of Blue Lizard applied. Headed back out the door to meet mom’s group at the park.

3:07PM Pull up at the park. Thinking the overcast sky might make being outside in the 95 degree heat a tad more tolerable.  Noah still manages to get super hot and sweaty.  Notice how badly he needs a haircut.

3:22PM Meet up with our friend  Henry.  Note the air beneath Noah's feet.

3:51PM Still going strong (or should I say running on fumes) at the train park. Figured out a way to get Noah to drink water.

4:21PM Still at the park. Thinking of strategies to keep him awake on the ride home.

4:36 PM Leave park kicking and screaming.  Almost lose a croc in the process.  Totally recover in the parking lot thanks to the 4 pink jellybean from our good friend Mrs. Judi.

5:10PM Home again. Very dirty. A little hungry and extremely tired.

5:36PM Nothing like a hot shower to get off the day’s dirt.

6:02PM And, we're done.

Five Things Friday 06.18.10 - Totally Random

1. Jo Jo, Uncle Chuck and Caroline sent Noah the cutest birthday gifts this year - two monkey plates, a pair of space monkey pjs and a personalized monkey place mat.  Jo Jo is such a creative gift giver.  I want to be her when I grow up.  Anyway, Noah, of course, loves all the monkey gifts.  When I ask him what pajamas he wants to where, he tells me the "outer space monkey" ones.  Noah loves the place mat too.  The first time he used it, he immediately said, "N-O-A-H.  MONKEY!!"  I reminded him that N-O-A-H spells Noah, which Noah pronounces "No-da," which is so stinking cute.  Anyway, last night during bath time, I wrote his name in shaving cream on the bathtub wall.  He looked at it, and said, "N-O-A-H.  NO-DA (pause) MONKEY!

2.  Today, Noah and I headed south to catch up with our old friend Aidan.  If the tantrum he had when we left was any indication, Noah had an awesome time.  Seriously, it was a great afternoon, and the boys were so good playing together.  I was so proud of all Noah's interaction and parallel play with Aidan.  Here are two cute pictures I snapped with my IPhone.  Thanks Brooke, Aidan and Gavin for having us over.

Holding hands with Aidan on the way to lunch.

Joining Aidan for a game of Lucky Ducks.

3. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that when disciplining a child you should use positive words. For example, instead of saying "don't run in the street," say, "walk on the sidewalk. And, instead of saying, "don't pour sand in the grass," say, "sand stays in the sandbox."  I try really hard to steer clear of negative statements, but as Noah reminded last week, maybe not hard enough.

Me: "Noah, do you want to take a bath or a shower?"
Noah: "Shower."
Me: "Do you want Momma or Daddy to bathe you?"
Noah: "Daddy."
Me: "Do you want Momma or Daddy to put you to bed?"
Noah: "Daddy."

Me (pretend crying): "wah, wah, wah"

Noah: "Ugly. That's ugly."

Exactly what I tell him. At least he's paying attention.

4. I am super excited to get back in the swing of home improvements.  Thanks to my mom and dad for sending over the bedroom set for our guest room.  It's my old bedroom furniture from parent's house, which was used before me by my sister, which was used before her by my parents, which was used originally by my great grandmother.  I am sure there are tons of other people who have shared this set, but I am excited to have it passed down to me.  It is on Dean's honey-do list to bring it upstairs, but now it is sitting in our garage, and just like my Momma told me, I eventually went outside and put a good coating of Murphy's Oil on it.  That's about the time Noah figured out what a good hiding spot the dresser would make. 

5. I don't really have a fifth thing except to say that it sure is HOT here!  Noah keeps asking to go outside... "want backyard,"  and within minutes, he heads back to the door and says, "want inside."  I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. 

I Like What I Know and I Know What I Like

One thing I am starting to learn about Noah is that he knows his own mind.  He knows what he likes, and he likes what he knows.  Here are two examples that I thought were pretty funny. 

Total Request Live: Noah and I were having lunch at a local sandwich place in town. On this particular day, there was a young guy, probably high school age, playing the guitar. It just so happened that he was playing "Three Little Birds," which just so happens to be one of Noah's favorite songs. Noah immediately attended to the guy and was really enjoying the entertainment. When the song ended, the guy immediately launched into the next tune. Noah, not happy with the change in song, said, "Nooo.... not this one. Three Little Birds again." We ended up getting a booth next to the performer, and I put in a request for Three Little Birds. He was happy to play it after a couple songs, so as not to bore the crowd. Noah waited pretty patiently for his request, but every time the guy would start a new song and it wasn't "Three Little Birds," Noah would say, "noooo."  Then he would look at me and say, "Three Little Birds again."  Noah was pretty excited when he finally got to our request. When the guy finished playing, Noah wanted it again.  That was our cue to leave, but if you know of anyone having Bob Marley hour any time soon, just let us know.

Comfortable in the Water:  Noah is still taking swim lessons twice a week, and although he refuses to float on his back without assistance, I am pretty confident that if he were to fall in a body of water, he knows enough to get his head up and out so he can take a breath.  He is becoming pretty comfortable with the swim facilities and the routine of class.  One thing that happens during every class is that the instructor will grab a float and pull the kids to the end of the pool for a chance to go down the slides.  Noah loves jumping on the raft and being pulled across the pool.  I should mention that the swim lessons are at a pretty big facility with anywhere from 8-10 group lessons going on at a time.  So, today as Noah's instructor Mrs. S was working with another kid in the center of the pool, Noah was hanging out on the side waiting his turn.  I'm watching him through the observation room, and I see another instructor with her class of four float by on a raft.  As the raft crosses Noah's path, he totally jumped aboard and floats along with his non-classmates toward the slides.  No one noticed at first, but as they got about halfway to the slides, "not Noah's instructor" notices the extra kid, Noah.  She looks around to ask who he belongs to, and Mrs. S finally looks up to claim him, but not before having a good chuckle.  I was laughing myself.  It was pretty funny!

Say Cheese!

This morning as Noah was having his breakfast, I decided to pull out my camera from its dusty spot at the bottom of my currently unused diaper bag and snap a couple of shots. 

Good morning Momma.  I'm having breakfast here.

Where did you want me to look?  Right here?

Cheese!  Does my smile look fake?

This is fun Momma.  I'm pretty cute too. 

You should do this more often... you definitely don't want to miss these memories. 

Back to the Bounce House

It's time to insert some levity on this here blog.  Nothing says footloose and fancy free like a birthday party.  Don't worry we aren't still celebrating Noah's birthday.  Although, he did have a grand total of five birthday cakes this year.  But, I digress. 

Happy Birthday Henry!  Arrggghh!

As I guess you can tell from his head wear, Henry had a pirate birthday party.  My friend Judi, who is oh so Martha Stewart-like in the baking department made this cake.

Ummm... impressive. 

Not only did the party have a super cute pirate theme, it was at the super fun bounce house.  Noah loves him so bounce house!

Daddy was off this weekend, so he was able to join in on all the fun. 

You know what else Noah loves about the bounce house... besides the bouncing, of course.  Air hockey.

So does Henry!  Oh yeah... this place is nothing but fun!

God Will Save Me

Have you heard the story about the old man sitting on his porch watching the rain fall?

Well, the rain starts falling so hard and fast that pretty soon it is coming over the porch and into his house. A rescue boat comes by and the people shout out, "You can't stay here you have to come with us."

The old man just shakes his head and shouts back, "No, God will save me." So the boat leaves.

In no time, the water is up to the second floor.  And another rescue boat comes by, and again the people aboard shout for the old man to come with them.

"No," the man says, "God will save me." So the boat leaves again.

An hour later the water is up to the roof and a third rescue boat approaches the old man, and tries to get him to come with them.

And, again the old man refuses to leave stating, "God will save me." So the boat leaves him again.

The man drowns and goes to heaven.  When he sees God he asks him, "Lord, why didn't you save me?"

God replies, "You idiot! I tried. I sent three boats after you!!"

Since mid-April, we have been trying to settle Noah's school situation for the fall.  To make a long story short, there is this one school, that we were really hoping to get him in.  We went through the entire admission process, all the while feeling that Noah was a perfect fit for the program and that this was a place that could really help him.  We sat at the admissions meeting in early May and were crushed to hear that they didn't think he was ready.  But he might be ready for the fall, they tell us.  But they can't hold him a spot.  So they suggest enrolling him in their affiliated therapy center over the summer where they would keep tabs on him, and determine whether he has progressed enough for fall enrollment.  So, we have an intake with the clinical director, then we meet again to try out a therapy class, then she gives our name to another person in the center for different services, and now it's today where I spent the morning at another intake to determine some placement in the therapy center, which turns out, they don't have any openings.  Are you kidding me? 

The thing about it is that we have other options.  We have an excellent occupational therapy.  We have started him in some social skills therapy.  We are consistently doing speech therapy services.  We've had his admissions meeting for the public school system and he can start in the fall if we choose. It's a great program.  But I just thought that this school/program would be THE answer, and I'm disappointed and frustrated. I just don't see how anyone can look at my little man and not see so much potential in him and just want to snatch him up and make him whole. 

But, I don't really think that this can be anymore out of my hands, and I definitely don't want to be the guy that drowns.  So, it is in the hands of the Lord.

Kinda Sorta Well Check-Up

With birthdays come doctor's visits... at least when you're a child, so Monday Noah was scheduled for his three-year well checkup.  On Sunday morning, I realized that the next day's checkup would not be so well since Noah was running fever.  How high?  I have no idea.  My son no longer wants to have his temperature taken, and although I am not opposed to holding him down when the instance warrants, he was not feeling great, and it was obvious he had a temp, so I figured I would cut him some slack.  On the same note, my son no longer wants to take medicine.  This blame I place squarely on the shoulders of McNeil who went and had all the Children's Tylenol and Motrin ripped off the shelves, so I am stuck buying generic brands that I am convinced do not taste the same or as well to Noah.  This just adds on to the unfun-ness of Noah being sick. 

Anyway, Monday dawned and Noah seemed to be feeling a bit better.  According to the hand to the forehead test, no sign of fever.  So, after laying low most of the morning, we headed to his 3:15 PM doctor's appointment sans nap.  I had a feeling that Noah was not going to be too happy about going to the doctor, and I wasn't too far off base.  She was able to get his weight, but had to delay the height because Noah refused to stand against the wall to be measured and completely flipped out when I tried to lay him on the examining table.  The nurse decided to try again later.  She took his temperature while I held him down.  Not fun.  She looked at me and decided to forgo getting his blood pressure because it was obvious it would be high.  She did say that she would have to get a height, so I forced him down on the examine table, and she measured.  Then I mentioned that he had been sick.  She reviewed his chart and saw that he had just been seen for strep, so she wanted to recheck him... you see where this is going.  Good night... this was a painful office visit.  And, this was all before he even saw the doctor.  Who, when she finally came in, had to listen with her stethoscope and check his ears and throat.  He needs one more vaccine, but I figured I would go back to get it when he is feeling better.  Enough trauma in poor Noah's life for one day, and Momma's...  do you have any idea how difficult it is to hold down a 3 year old who weighs in the 98% and measures in the 95%.  Man, he's strong.  I do have to say that for all the kicking and thrashing and crying that he did for every little thing, as long as we weren't touching him, he was a perfect angel at the doctor.  Yay 3!

Three

One day I plan to accept full responsiblity for why my son requires a brass band and a week of celebration for any and all birthdays. Because, well, I love birthdays and isn't it fun to have something to celebrate. On Noah's birthday, Daddy took the day off of work, and we headed to the zoo. Summer temps have already hit Houston, and it was so hot. I will be honest. Noah did not love the zoo. I think the animals were a little too big and real for Noah. And, did I mention it was hot?

Here we are waiting for the sea lion show, which did not start at the posted time. We did not make the show.

Here are Daddy and Noah checking out the dinosaur section of the zoo. Noah was not a fan. He kept saying, "no... not dinosaurs."

The most fun Noah had at the zoo was running around the play area. I love this picture because it reminds me of this picture from two years ago. Wow! It's amazing how much my little man has grown.

Here we are heading out from the zoo. Notice the rainbow striped pencil in Noah's hand. On our way to the car, Noah's eagle eye spied this baby through the gift shop window, and since it was his birthday, Daddy was more than happy to fork over 4.99 for it.

After the zoo, we decided some a/c was in order, so we had lunch at the Downtown Aquarium. Noah loved the aquarium.

He must of sat in this exact spot for about 30 minutes. Everytime a fish would pass he would say, "Bye fish. See you later."

We also ordered dessert for another rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Noah.

Did I mention that we went a little overboard on birthdays this year? This was the fourth birthday cake/candle lighting for Noah to celebrate age 3. How could we not? He loves it so much.

We had such a good time at the aquarium. It is definitely a place we plan on visiting again.

Happy 3rd Birthday Noah!

Happy, happy birthday to my sweet baby boy, who is (sniff, sniff) three today, and not so much of a baby anymore.  Looking back at pictures, it is hard to believe how much you've grown this year. Where did my little baby boy go? You are holding steady these days at about 40 pounds, 40 inches. I don't know how many times this year I have been asked how old you are, and when I told people you were two, they were shocked! At least, now I will be able to say you are a three-year old.

What a great year it has been for you?  I guess I can start with geography.  We started your second year off by finishing up our time in Miami, and finally we made our move back to Texas.  It took us a month or so to get settled, but now we are happy in our new home.  You are still sleeping in your crib, although there was one incident back in March where you tried to jump out.  Luckily, we have not had a repeat performance.  Daddy and I are in talks over moving you to a big boy bed, but a date has not been set.

Your progress in speech and language has improved so rapidly, and Daddy and I just know that it will continue to do so.  It is hard to believe that when you turned two, your speech was pretty much limited to numbers and a few select phrases, like "ready, set, gooooo."  Now, I cannot even begin to count all the words that come out of your month.  You can label almost anything you see, and the more you talk, the more Daddy and I realize how incredibly smart you are. This year you managed to pick up (with very little encouragement from Momma), numbers 0-20, letters A-Z, all the colors (including brown, gray, white, and your favorite pink), shapes (including hexagon, pentagon, oval, and crescent). You can recite them, recognize them by sight, put them in order (letters and numbers), and make all the sounds associated with each (letters).  We are starting to think that you may have a photographic memory because you remember things you've seen and heard after only one or two exposures.

You understand nouns and verbs and prepositions, and you are starting to use them. You are beginning to talk in sentences, and just this week, you told me that something was behind your bed,  that you dropped your color on the floor, and that you were ready to go in the backyard.  You are using the word "want" more and more to convey your needs, and it is awesome.  I will repeat your want request back to you, and you have started responding with the sweetest little "ok."  You have a firm grasp of the word no, and I am happy to say that you have finally added "yes" to your vocabulary.  You talk nonstop, and I can't wait to be able to understand more and more. 

Your receptive language has also improved drastically this year, and I can remember all to well thinking to myself, "wow, it is so much easier to parent a child who understands you."  If you know the rule, you like to follow it.  I guess you come by it naturally.  You are such a good listener to Momma, and despite an occasional tantrum or two when you don't get your way, you remain a very sweet boy.  You interact and listen so well to Momma, and I can't wait for the day that you realize that there are people out there just as fun if not more so than me.

You are still very active, but you have become more conscience of your surroundings and are less likely to run off. We are also learning that just because you are jumping and running doesn't mean you are not paying attention. In fact, we actually think you learn your best while in motion.

You love music and are pretty indulgent to all the different types of music Momma throws your way.  When you find a favorite, you insist on listening to it on repeat.  Right now, the short list is Poker Face from the Glee soundtrack, Three Little Birds from B is for Bob, and What Kind of Dog Are You? (aka "The Dog Song") by Billy Jonas.

You still have a penchant for holding stick-like objects in your hand, but I have been able to keep you content with just one.  Your favorites these days are red and pink crayons and unsharpened pencils.  It is one of those pick your battle mommy moments for me, and I find that these are comfort objects that really help to ground you. 

You are not the greatest eater ever, but there is enough variety in your diet to not give us too many worries.  I think you could seriously live off of peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs, and cheese its... as long as there was milk or apple juice on hand to wash it down.  You are excellent at eating with a fork and are perfectly capable of eating with a spoon, although you strongly prefer Momma handle all the spoon feeding. 

Daddy reminded me to include that you give the tightest hugs and best kisses.  And, he loves it when you give high fives and follow it up with, "all right."  He also wanted me to say that he loves the days he gets to come home from work early enough to see you and do bathtime.  He loves bathtime with you.  Daddy also loves weekends off, where he gets to spend lots of quality time with you.  He loves that by the end of the weekend, you've completely welcomed him in the "Momma and Noah" circle. 

It is so hard to belive that it was just a mere three years ago that you came into our life and changed it forever. I always knew I wanted to be a mother, but I never knew how very much it would infuse my life and define who I am as a person.  You make me better.   Happy, happy birthday, Noah!  Your Daddy and I love you so very much, and we are so proud of all your accomplishments this year.  We can't wait to see all the things in store for you in year number three. 

July 2007 - 1 month

June 2008 - 12 months

June 2009 - 24 months

August 2009 - 26 months

October 2009 - 28 months

January 2010 - 31 months

March 2010 - 33 months

May 2010 - 35 months