Five Things Friday 08.27.10 - End of Summer

Isn't it the way things always go?  I spent the first half of summer bemoaning it's arrival, and now that school is started, I am wondering where all those semi-lazy days have gone, and why I am so exhausted.  It is quite possible it has something to do with all the activities that were jam packed into the last few weeks of summer.

1.  Jack Johnson in concert.  Monique came into town for the concert.  The venue was oh so far.  Dean couldn't get off work early, so he had to meet us there.  It poured down raining for about 30 minutes during one of the opening acts.  Luckily, we were in covered seating.  The rain stopped and created this steam, and we all started sweating... a lot.  But, it was so worth it, because... well, I love me some Jack Johnson.  I wish he was my friend, so he could come over and play Banana Pancakes anytime I wanted.

2.  Lake Austin Spa.  In celebration of my sister's 10th anniversary of her 30th birthday, she invited some girlfriends on a spa weekend.  It was such a fun time, and I highly recommend the place.  The service was awesome.  The spa was great.  The scenery beautiful.  There were tons of activities.  We swam.  We kayaked.  We did yoga and body pump.  We laughed a lot, and we had a great time.  And, I came home very, very sore.  It was such a great break from being a momma.  Noah was left home in Daddy's very capable hands.  Thanks Dean for taking time off of work, so I could hang out with the girls. 

3. Lunch Dates with Noah.  Our summer schedule gave us an hour lunchtime break between therapies on Mondays and Wednesdays, so Noah and I started having lunch out.  It definitely helped that we usually frequented the same location, but by mid-summer Noah became such a pro at eating out.  One of his (Momma too) favorites, Pei Wei.  In this picture, Noah is sitting on the booth side of the table which he picked and where he stayed for the entire meal.  Strong work, little man!

4.  Back to School Haircut.  The past five or so haircuts have so not been fun for Noah.  He hates the clippers, and he is pass the age where he can be distracted by TV or my IPhone.  So, I did a little praying, and a lot of talking it up to Noah while he waited his turn.  Pointing out the other kids getting clipped and asking Noah if they were happy or sad.  He would say happy.  So, I just kept driving the point that haircuts are happy, and whether it was God throwing me a bone or my little man figuring it out... we finally got a good haircut without a fight.

5.  Friends.  I was so happy for Noah and I to have some down time this summer. We finally had time to hang out with all our new friends in Texas.  Hope we get to see more of you guys during the school year.

 Ready to rock with his friend Henry.

  Playing IPhone games with his friend Jackson.

Play area fun with his old classmate Sara.  Part of the twin duo of Sara and Ryan. 

Sweating the front window.  Waiting for his neighbor Mikaela to come from down the street.

♪ Noah is Going to Sch-ool ♪

I just finished completing a 280 question child development questionnaire on Noah. 280 tiny little dots. My hand is tired. I am putting it in the mail to Noah’s developmental pediatrician. He has a follow-up appointment in September. It’s been a year since our last visit, so we figured it was time. For Dean and I, all we are really expecting is a, “Hi. Nice to see again. I’m not going to tell you anything you don’t already know, but let’s put a label on this thing” kind of meeting. At least that was our experience last year when we met the doctor for the evaluation. Don’t get me wrong. This guy was excellent. He spent 2 hours evaluating Noah while we watched. Two hours of just Noah and the doc. Definitely knew his stuff. And, I think for someone who doesn’t quite know what is wrong or what to do for their child, he is excellent, but us… we were looking for a quarterback. We were looking for someone who would tell us what to do. Lead our team. At the time, we were leaving a group of therapists in Miami who we loved and who totally got Noah, and we were moving into a city that boasts the largest medical center in the United States. It was a slightly daunting task to weed through all those therapists within a 30 mile radius of our new home. We needed a little guidance. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it, and I got a very fast lesson that I was my child’s advocate and case manager, and no one else was going to do it for me. So, I did, and now Noah is getting some really great therapy, and today, he started a preschool program geared towards kiddoes just like him. It is 5 days a week for 3 hours a day, and I can only hope and pray as I hand my child over to this new school that with their help, this will be the year that gets him over the hump.

Now for the first day of school pictures.

The day started on a high note with a yummy breakfast of oatmeal, as I tried to prepare my little man for the carpool line.

Here is my diagram of school, Momma and her car, and Noah’s teacher ready to take him from the car. Not sure how much it helped, because there was a bit of protesting as he was taken from the car. Looking back at me with a heartbreaking, questioning, “Momma?” I am sure he’ll get the hang of it. We do have to do it again tomorrow.

Do you know that episode of Blue's Clues where Steve goes to college?

Well, they sing that annoyingly, catchy, stuck in your brain all day song that says "Steve is going to col-lege."

I replaced the "Steve" with a "Noah," and the "college" with a "school" and that is how I got this smile. Happy first day of school sweet baby boy! No go learn something.

Nick Jr. Storytime

This weekend Daddy and I took Noah to see Nick Jr. Storytime at the theater.  I point out that it was at the theater because the use of electronic recording devices was strictly prohibited.  Translation.  Limited picture taking opportunities.

We did have good seats.  Orchestra right.  Row B.

Right by behind our good friends Aidan and Olivia.

Photo taken from Nick Jr.

I can't really say that Noah loved the show.  He liked it ok.  It started off with Kai Lan followed by Backyardigans.  After intermission was the Wonder Pets and then Dora.  It was a lot more story than singing/dancing, hence the name of the show.  Noah watched a few parts behind closed eyes. 

By far his favorite part was the map on Dora.  He got really into the music that he recognized and danced along.  It was glaringly obvious that his least favorite part was when the Wonder Pets came out.  He burst into frigthened tears.   

Photo taken from Nick Jr.

 I guess these guys do look a bit scary.  It sort of seems like the humans are attacking the Wonder Pets.  A bit confusing for a 3-year old. 

Overall, it was a great family outing.  And, we really enjoyed catching up with our old friends. 

Happy Birthday MaMa Gladys

There is longevity among the women in my family. Need some proof. Today is my grandmother's 90th birthday. Nine-zero.  And, I know at some point today, she'll get on her computer, check my blog, read this post, and probably check my grammar. Oh yeah, she's online.

MaMa (at 88) with a newborn Noah

She does a ton of stuff at ninety.  She drives, plays cards with friends, watches all the Saints games, does crosswords and sudoku, reads.  She even takes road trips to visit Noah.  Last time we talked, she was telling me a story about how she was having a craving for ice cream, so she stopped at McDonalds.  She went inside, ordered, and sat down to eat her ice cream.  For her, the point of the story was that she spilled and a nice young woman helped her with some napkins, but for me, I thought... how awesome to just be driving and think, you know what I want so ice cream, so I'm going to go get some, and I'm not going to eat it in my car just because I'm by myself.  I'm going to sit right here and enjoy it.  That's my grandmother.  She's indepenedent and strong and smart.  And, I am proud to be her grandaughter. 

According to reports from back home, she's starting off her 90th year with a bang, dinner out, lunch, cake. Lots of family and lots of celebrating.  As for me, I hope her birthday is filled with a win at the casino, a yummy lunch out, a win from the Braves and maybe a good book.  Happy Birthday MaMa Gladys.  I love you!

I Know You are Dying to Know What Happened Next

Due to the exterme length of my last blog post, I will spare you and keep the follow-up short and sweet.  Because there is a follow-up.  I would be remiss if there wasn't.  If I just let you believe that Noah has indeed transitioned to a toddler bed with that much ease.  And, if parenting was easy, Noah would have spent the entire night in his toddler bed.  But, it isn't, and he didn't.  What actually happened was, he woke about 12:30AM and wandered the house a bit. Daddy found him and attempted to get him settled back in the toddler bed.  In the process, Daddy fell asleep on the floor next to his bed and Noah got up again and wandered a bit more.  Daddy found him in the kitchen playing with some mixing spoons.  After a bit of trial and error, Noah returned to his crib for the remainder of the night.  If I'm being honest, I kind of like him in his crib.  Not so much a fan of the house wandering.

Asleep in His Toddler Bed

I guess now is as good a time as any to tell the story of the toddler bed.  Since as we speak, Noah is fast asleep in the toddler bed. 

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  I am not sure why I decided to make the jump to the toddler bed.  It suprisingly didn't have anything to do with this.

Noah's nose dive out of the bed back in March.  I was pretty sure he didn't really mean to fall out of the crib.  That it was done in a fit of anger, and that after experiencing first hand the consequences of falling, it was not something he would be attempting again.  And, he didn't.  To appease my husband, who was ready to take apart the crib that night, I started to think about moving Noah into a big boy bed.  I asked my sister, who responded with an "I wouldn't if I were you."  I asked my mom's group, who were more than happy to share their individual stories of how they moved their little on into a big boy/girl bed.  So, I thought about it.  And, then summer came...

I had big plans for summer.  Start thinking about potty training.  Encouraging more independent eating.  Getting rid of the milk before bedtime.  Moving into a big boy bed.  I am hear to tell you that all of the above worked out... umm, not so much.  I did buy the big boy bed back in mid-June.  And, as much as I would like to say that I was thinking that this was something we were going to do... transition into a big boy bed.  It more came about because, well... he needed new crib sheets.  The ones on his bed were the same shiny and new ones he had as an infant, and they were becoming threadbare.  I guess most kiddoes don't use their crib sheets for three years.  So, I went to Target, and I found some super cute rocketship crib sheets.  And, I pumped them up because my kid likes consistenancy, threadbare crib sheets or not.  I told Noah in my best cheerleader Momma voice, "Do you love your new sheets?  Outer space!!  Rocketships!!"  And, it worked.  Well, on the same aisle as the rocket ship crib sheets was the rocket ship toddler bedding, and it was super cute.  I couldn't justify buying it, unless we had a toddler bed to put them on, so I bought the toddler bed too.  The problem was I didn't have a plan. 

So, here I am with new super cute rocketship sheets and a toddler bed with super cute rocketship bedding that I have no plan for transitioning my "I am not a huge fan of change, Momma" son.  So, off the cuff, I decided to just put the bed in his room next to his crib.  Well, I had a little input from Daddy and Grammy about where exactly the bed would go.  But, the final verdict was just to scoot his crib over and put the toddler bed right next to it.  And then, give him a choice.  You want crib or you want bed?  Well, of course he wanted bed.  He loved the bed.  But, he wouldn't stay in the bed.  And, he didn't want to get in his crib.  I know this is probably normal three-year old behavior, but have I mentioned that I did not have a plan, and I was not ready to fight this fight with an exhausted child.  So, less than two hours after the toddler bed ended up in his room, it was moved out.  Clean break... start fresh another day.  The toddler bed was moved into one of the guest bedrooms, and it took Noah about a week to find it.  Crib sleeping resumed, and the toddler bed in the guest bedroom became a little place for him to go and hang out during the day. 

Fast forward to today... if you are seriously still with me, you are a very loyal blog follower.  Noah didn't nap today.  He is not feeling great.  A bit of green snot, so he went to bed early.  6:30ish.  About 8:00 PM, I hear some crying and kicking.  Noah is not a cryer.  He doesn't cry in the morning for me to get him out.  He doesn't cry when I put him down.  So, I went into his room.  He was crying and soaking wet with sweat.  I'm thinking bad dream.  He wants to rock.  Noah is not a rocker.  But, I sit in the chair in his room for about 20 minutes and listen to his deep breathing thinking he is asleep.  But, then I hear, "want bed."  So, I stand up to put him in his crib, but he cries.  I am so not thinking about his toddler bed because we haven't talked about him sleeping in it since June.  So, he doesn't want his crib, and now I know he is awake, so I figure that I'll just let him down.  He gets down, walks out of his room, through the kitchen and straight into the front guest bedroom.  Climbs up in his toddler bed, and looks at me and says, "want chocolate milk."  Oh yeah, on a sidenote, not only did I not get rid of the milk before bed over the summer, we've added chocolate syrup to the cup.  No judgement please.  So, he's in the toddler bed, covered up, patiently waiting for some chocolate milk.  I have my doubts but as of 8:45 PM.

And so, here I sit with no plan for this.  But, if there is something I am sure of it's that when Daddy gets home, he is definitely going to be sleeping in the guest bedroom.  To be continued...

There Once Was a Doodlebug Whose Name was Seth

This week we had a last minute visit from Noah's youngest boy cousin, Seth.  Also known as, Seffie, Seffie-Do, Doodlebug.  Noah loved having Seth at our house evidenced by the fact how bright and early he woke him up every morning.  (Sorry about that Seth.)  And, Noah was really, really sad to see him go.  "Nooo... not Seffie." he cried as Seth's drove away.

Here are a some pictures from the visit.

We hit a couple neighborhood pools trying to beat the heat.  Seth was so sweet hanging out with Noah and me in the baby pools.

Here Noah and Seth are enjoying some snacks during a pool break.

We spent some time indoors and broke out RockBand.  Noah loved dancing along, and Noah's friend Henry is so ready to be a rockstar.

Rock on, Henry.

During Noah's naptime, Seth asked me if we could do something "not electronic."  So, I pulled out a game of Scattergories.  Seth did a really good job.  Insect that starts with G?  Grasshopper.  Famous Female that starts with H?  Hilary Duff.  Strong work Seffie Do. 

We also spent some time in the backyard.  Luckily, there were no injuries involved during the use of the bonzai slide, but it was not because of lack of trying. 

Seth told me his number one favorite part of the trip was Rainforest Cafe.  Noah calls it the jungle, and I think he sort of has a love/hate relationship with it.  The thunderstorms ever 20 or so minutes... he definitely doesn't love.

This yummy volcano may have something to do with Seth choosing Rainforest as his favorite activity. 

Thanks for coming to visit us, Seth.  We can't wait for the next time.

Happy Boy

I love how Noah is starting to develop some conversational language skills.  Last night during dinner, I was prompting him with "Momma likes gumbo.  Noah likes..."  "Sausage,"  he finished.  Then he said, "Noah likes backyard.  Momma likes backyard."  Awwhhh... so sweet. 

Here is a video I took last week on my IPhone that I completely forgot about.  I know he is eventually going to grow out of the the "nooo... not xyz," but it is so stinkin' cute.  And, I love how all the expressions he shows me are all really just a variation of happy. 

Take Me Out To the Ballgame

Today Dean and I took Noah to his very first baseball game.  The Astros were playing... hmmm... somebody.  And, the winner was... hmmm... not sure.  We didn't make the end of the game.  OK... so we are not true fans, but we had the opportunity to go, so we went.  I think Noah enjoyed it.  He didn't want to leave the stadium and kept saying, "Nooo... not home.  Want baseball."  Here he is sitting outside Minute Maid Park.

Before the game, I decided to again print him out a few pictures... of the stadium, the mascot and of course, the train filled with oranges.  When we got to the game, I think the earlier picture preview gave him a good idea of what he was going to see.  Noah really enjoyed looking out onto the field.  He did the best sitting at the top of the steps, but unfortunately he ended up being in the way, so he had to move.

What is a baseball game without yummy park food?  Daddy arrived from the concessions in the nick of time with hot french fries and cracker jacks. 

It was a fun afternoon at the ballpark.  It's definitely something we need to try again.  And, maybe get a redo on the family picture.