Happy Birthday Monique

About a year ago, I had this great idea to start a blog and countdown the days to a milestone birthday by writing about a person a day. Ok… it really wasn’t my idea. I saw it on the internet, but it was a good one, so I borrowed it. And, since I was floundering along in my early thirties with no milestone in sight, I conned my 39-year-old sister to make a list and get to writing. Amazingly enough, she did. And, whereas I am pretty sure I would have given up say somewhere around January, she plowed through with a blog a day for an entire year. And, if that doesn‘t scream first born, I‘m not sure what does.

And, today is day 365.

Happy, happy birthday Monique!

Thanks for being such a great big sister. Well, except for that time age 5, when you wanted me out of your room and threw a hammer at my head. I know, I know... It was an accident. The top flew off. Whatever, I've heard the story. I do remember you teaching me the dance moves to all my talent show dances. I'm pretty sure Erica and I killed to Electric Youth in 7th grade. I also remember riding shotgun in the green lizard hoping you'd let me bang the dashboard to start the 8-track. I do know that, when you moved off to college, I took over your room and inherited the clothes you left behind. The details are a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure it involved lots of reconstructed denim, pink heart appliques, and a fuzzy blue beret. I know you and I really became close as adults, and it is so awesome to have a sister as a friend. I appreciate all the advice over the years.  You suffer through my occasional bouts of tears, laugh at me when I say ridiculous things, and always remind me to put on my big girl panties and "toughen up." I do believe that the sisterly support is not one sided.  I will take credit for breaking your habit of wearing Gap classic fit jeans.  Yes, there was a reason they were only sold online and were always on sale.  I also will take full responsiblity for your strong skills on the computer.   I am glad we are finally done with the whole, "ITunes is a just shortcut.  The files are saved under My Music" conversation.  I really appreciate you still giving me a ring with the occasional Excel question. It helps to slow down the brain atrophy of my stay at home mom-ness.  You are such a great mom and juggler of all things. And, I know it's cliche to want to be like your big sis, but it's true. I love you, and I pray your 40s are filled will lots of happiness and love. You deserve it!

Now, for the photos. Is it really possible to embarrass you with old photos since you’ve been putting yourself out there for an entire year? Probably not, so I’ll just put the ones where we look our best. Don’t mention it. That’s what sisters are for.

1980-something.  Looking oh-so-sassy.  I'm pretty sure Dad put us up to these poses.

1980-something.  I'm wondering if this was taken sometime around the hammer incident?  It might explain the super mad face.

1980-something.  Enjoying a freakish snow storm in Mom and Dad's backyard.  Love the tight rolled jeans.

1993 - Your wedding day.  I'm pretty sure you were married at the height of the Garth Brooks craze.  That would explain my awesome shirt.  We are not going to even talk about how neither of us should ever where those particular shades of pink on our faces. 

1996.  What do you get when you mix a terrible backhand and a horrible forehand?  Umm... only the best double team ever.  I wonder if we won this match.

2000.  Waiting at the hospital for Brooke to be born.  Notice the aforemntioned classic fit jeans.  I really have no room to talk since my large feet should never have graced a pair of Doc Martens. 

2007.  Nanny Aunt Mo and Noah meet for the first time.  I think he's crying because Momma didn't burp him.

2009.  Vegas, Baby.  I told you I would post a pretty picture.

Happy Birthday Brooke

Today, my sweet niece Brooke hits the double digits.

Where has the time gone?  I remember this like it was yesterday.

And, how could I forget the year she was all about being Spiderman.

And, what about the summer she pulled on this pink dress and rocked it for family pictures like a superstar.

And, now, she is way too big to swim in aluminum tubs, way too cool to dress as superheroes, and so over tolerating pink.  But, she is still always...

Always… willing to strike a pose.

A girl after my own heart. Happy Birthday Brooke! We hope you have an awesome day!

Noah's Ark

I can't resist but sing the old camp song to Noah about Noah's Ark.  You know the one... "Rise and shine, and give God your glory glory."

Well, there is this one part where it says, "The animals, the animals.  They came in by twosie, twosies.  Elephants and kangaroosie, roosies."  It's my favorite verse. 

Well, for some reason unbeknownst to me, Noah is opposed to the kangaroosie, roosies.  So, he tells me, "Noooo... not kangaroosie, roosies."  Imagine this face, but with some serious head shaking. 

And, then he smiles and says, "Giraffesie, raffsies."

It makes me laugh everytime.  Not sure what he has against the kangaroos, but giraffes it is.

Drew the Daredevil

Today, Noah had a playdate with Drew.  Drew is the son of one of my high school friends.  He and Noah were born only four days apart.  And, today was the first day these guys have ever met.

Drew showed up at Grammy's house with a "What up.  I'm a firefigther." And then he did this...

And, then Noah was all, "Hey, look, I can go down the slide."

And, Drew was all... "oh yeah, watch this."

And then Noah was like, "hmmm... let me try that."

And, then Noah thought better of it and went to play in the sand.

Who would have thought hidden in this sweet face lurks the heart of a daredevil.?

We can't wait for our next playdate, sweet boy!

First Field Trip

When the note came home from school that Noah's class was having a field trip at a local mall. I just knew that this was going to be right up Noah's alley. There are few things that Noah loves more than a mall play area.

I mean what is not to love about a place where running, jumping and climbing in a softly padded contained area is not only allowed but encouraged.

Noah had a blast, and if his teachers weren't aware of how fast Noah was before they got a pretty good idea this morning.

After leaving the castle play area, the class headed to the food court, where the teachers brought along a snack. When they pulled out the bag of popcorn, I said, "Oh, Noah loves popcorn." Mrs. F looked at me and said, "oh yeah, we know."

After snack, the teachers were both really excited about taking the kids for a spin on the carousel. Mrs. I asked me, "do you think Noah would be up for the carousel?" My reply was that he hates the carousel. I'm learning that when you tell your child's teacher that your child hates something, that pretty much guarantees that they are going to make him try it.

And, they did. And, just like Noah, he allowed us to coerce him onto the carousel, and then he just went to his happy place and rode it out. It wasn't until we suggested a move from the carriage to an actual horse that he put his foot down, and his pleas of "No, not carousel," were answered.

All and all, I think it was a pretty great outing for a first field trip. Noah did great, and aside from the carousel, had an AWESOME time.

I Love to Swing

This afternoon we met up with a few members of my mom's group at a nearby park. Noah actually napped this afternoon, so we arrived a bit late. After surveying the territory, Noah decided to settle for some swinging.

It is his new favorite thing.

He gives me this look and says, "want go high," and well, how can I say no.

Here is Noah and his friend, Henry. Or Noah likes to call him, "Angry." Noah's been seeing a lot of Henry lately. He goes to school down the street from our house, and EVERY afternoon when his Momma picks him up, he says, "I go to Noah's house."

Of course, you can sweet boy. How can anybody say no to this face?

And, don't even get me started on his little sister Molly. So, stinkin' cute. She has started to call me Mrs. Sarah. Melt my heart. You can come to Noah's house anytime too, baby girl. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a cute kid.

Lots Of Learning Going On

This past week, Noah had an appointment with his developmental pediatrician. I think it has almost been a year to the day since we last saw him. It seemed that the evaluation done on Noah was very similar to the test done the previous year. We spent about an hour and a half with the doctor, and the evaluation portion lasted about 45 minutes. Noah did so well. We had a reference point for today. Something to compare. And, the difference in one year is amazing.

Last year, he did not stack blocks for the evaluation. It wasn’t something that he couldn’t do at the time, he just wouldn’t do it for the evaluation. But, today it was the first thing the doctor had out. This year, he stacked blocks. He stacked 7-8 blocks.

Last year, when small container with tiny beads was placed in front of him, Noah did not put the beads in the container. This year, Noah placed the beads in the container which moved him ahead to the next section of the test. This year, he was asked to place a long bead into a cylinder shaped container with a pointed bottom. The difficulty was that the container did not stand up on the table and the bead was long so he had to hold it at a certain point to make it fit. He did it, and it took him a little while to figure it out. He tried several different ways. He turned to look at Dean and I, and said, “want help.” He realized he had to do it on his own. He didn’t get frustrated. He just figured it out. I could just see his little mind working, and it made me so proud.

Last year, the doctor showed Noah a series of pictures asking him to the point to a certain object. Last year, Noah did not process what the doctor was asking and instead pointed to and labeled every object on the page. This year, Noah correctly pointed to with a verbal “there it is” for almost all the requested objects. This year, Noah was able to demonstrate the things he knew because he understood what was being asked.

This year, Noah demonstrated his strong grasp of the concept of cause and effect. It didn’t take him long to realize that the doctor didn’t require a correct response to go to the next page and that the sooner he answered the question, the sooner the doctor would “turn the page.” This resulted in some missed questions towards the end of certain sections, and lots of rapid succession of “There it is. There it is. There it is.” Sigh. I wonder where he gets his listening skills.

Last year, when a baby doll and a cup and spoon was placed in front of him, Noah did not demonstrate strong symbolic play. This year he immediately tilted that cup to the baby dolls mouth for a drink and then put the spoon in the cup, gave it a stir, and fed the baby doll a bite.

Last year, Noah scored above average for his age on the numbers and letters portion of the test. This year, (although the test hasn’t been scored yet) Noah did equally if not better on the letters and numbers portion of the test. So much so, that one of his questions was “if you have nine apples and take away four how many apples do you have?” He didn’t get it right. Whew!

This year, during a slight lull in testing, Noah held up his pencil and asked the doctor, “what color is this?” I don’t think the doctor understood what he had said, but it sure got a chuckle out of Dean and me.

Dean and I walked out of the doctor’s appointment feeling so very proud of our little man and of all his hard work this past year. Way to go Noah!

A Lunch Date with Daddy

Around 11:05 AM today, I got a call from Daddy. He says, "I can do lunch today. Do you guys want to stop by?"

Ummm... Yes, we do.

So, I picked up Noah from school and headed to the hospital with some yummy Jason's Deli.

It was a toss up who was more excited about the visit. Daddy or Noah.

(Here is where a year ago, I would insert a couple cute pictures from the visit, but sadly, I didn't even think about pulling out my camera today. So, here are a few captions sans pictures.)

Noah enjoyed a yummy peanut butter and jelly sandwich along with some strawberries. He tried to put the entire berry in his mouth - stem and all, but luckily Daddy saved the day by borrowing a knife from the nurses' station.

Noah and Daddy spent some time playing under Daddy's desk. Noah kept saying that he was going "underground." Daddy, always willing to play along, joined in the fun.

Daddy walked us to our car, and when we were almost there, Noah said, "Bye, bye Momma. See you later." Excuse me?!? Daddy asked if Noah wanted to stay with Daddy or go with Momma. He said, "stay with Daddy." I bribed him with a little Tigger and Pooh, so thankfully, he came with me without any tears.

Tonight, Daddy got home in time to tuck Noah in bed. They were playing in Noah's room, and Noah was telling Daddy, "peanut butter and jelly." Daddy thought Noah might be hungry, but when I told him that Noah had just eaten a big bowl of spaghetti, we realized Noah was talking about lunch today. I think Noah really enjoyed his lunch date with Daddy. We can't wait to do it again!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I Scream You Scream

So, I've said before that Noah isn't really a bad eater, he's just not the best eater.  He's just not very adventurous.  If it's something he's had before and liked, he will readily eat it again.  If it's something that looks like something he's had before and liked than he probably will try it and eat it again.  Ice cream doesn't fall into either category.  For one, we don't eat a lot of it.  I'm not a big ice cream person, and I've probably tried to feed it to him once or twice where he turned it down.  Maybe because it's too cold.  I never really felt like it was such a big deal that he didn't like ice cream.

Today, I picked him up from school, and we had an hour break to grab a quick bite for lunch.  I usually pack his lunch, and we hit Starbucks.  Can I just say here, that I love Starbucks at straight up noon.  It's empty!  This hour break before therapy Monday through Thursday was starting to feel like kind of a pain.  Noah doesn't eat lunch at school, so by the time I pick him up, he is pretty hungry.  But, it's noon, so everywhere we go is crowded, so I usually pack him something.  But, I was stumped at finding a place for him to sit down to eat it.  Starbucks has been my savior.  It is always empty, and they ALWAYS have chocolate milk.  Anyway, I digress.  Today, after walking out of Starbucks and heading towards our car, Noah spied the sign for Marble Slab Creamery.  He looked at me and said, "want ice cream cone."  I looked at my watch, saw we had about 10 minutes to spare before therapy, and thought, "why not."  I'm so glad I did.  It just warms my heart to see my little man trying new things. 

To say he LOVED it would be quite the understatement. 

Everytime I would take it from him to take a bite, he would immediately say, "Momma!  Noah!"  Translation: "Momma, it's Noah's turn."

I am thinking this won't be the last time we stop for ice cream.

Now if only it came in veggie flavors.

Road Trip

Our Labor Day weekend started out something like this.  Well, it actually started out something like a five-hour non-stop drive to Louisiana with some continuous Little Einsteins and Justin Roberts playing from the backseat, and when I say "our" I mean Noah and me.  Daddy's Labor Day weekend started out and finished up with something like a lot of work.  I guess that kind of defeats the purpose of Labor Day, but that's life.  Noah and I dreaded the thought of another Daddy-less weekend, so we to Louisiana we went.  And, PaPa had these yummy crabs waiting for us.  And, let me just tell you that there is nothing better than the smell of boiling seafood.  Oh so yummy!

So, we spent the weekend in Louisiana.  We hung out with the family, ate some yummy food, played outside a bunch and cheered on the Tigers.  I will confess that I really only watched the last minute of the game, and let me say that those last 60 seconds were plenty.  I was feeling very thankful that I did not spend the entire evening invested in yet another LSU football game that would threaten to give me angina in the closing moments.  I'm really glad they came away with a win, but seriously. 

I love this picture of Noah and Uncle D.

Here Noah sharing markers with Morgan. 

Noah and Grammy enjoying the pool. 

Noah spent a lot of time outdoors and happily went shoeless the entire weekend.  Grammy and PaPa have the best backyard, and for the first time ever, Noah took a ride on the zipline.  So awesome that my little man is trying new things!

Despite all the many fun things in Grammy's backyard, Noah's favorite spot is right here.  The stoop just outside the shed.  Not really sure why, but he spent a lot of time hanging out here.  Maybe because it's in the shade.  Maybe just because it's a cozy stoop.  I have a feeling though that he is really just waiting for someone to come by and open the door, so he can do some exploring in there too. 

School is in Session

If all the changes in Noah recently are any indication, this is going to be a great school year. 

Looking.  Getting a good shot of Noah is always tricky.  But, lately it is really improving, take this picture for example. Captured after only about two tries.  How precious is my little man in his school uniform carrying his own school bag. 

Swinging.  I am tempted to send a note back to his teacher to ask, what have you done to my swing fearing son?  Today, while playing in the backyard, Noah wanted to swing forever.  Every time the swing would slow down, he would say, "want higher."  Strong work Noah.

Accessorizing.  Historically, Noah is not a fan of things on his face, around his neck, over his ears, on his feet.  Today, he put on my tennis shoes, put on a pair of earphones, and put on my sunglasses in the car.  So stinkin' cute.  Momma is so proud of all this branching out. 

Eating.  Food is not really something that I would say is a major issue with Noah, but he does have some major likes and dislikes.  A major like is anything in the hot dog family.  So, last night for dinner I fixed him a bowl of jambalaya.  He usually turns away the rice and just sticks to the pieces of sausage, but he ended up eating the entire bowl.  So awesome.  And, he took several bites all by himself.  He is getting much more coordinated with his spoon and much less concerned with all the spills.  Way to go, Noah!

Loving Life.  The biggest change in Noah is that he is really starting to take enjoyment from interactions with other people besides Momma.  Both his speech and occupational therapist have noticed and pointed it out to me on two separate occasions.  He laughs when things are funny.  He acts silly.  He does things to get a rise out of me.  And, I guess even his teacher.  This week I got a note home from school that said that she had to tell Noah no.  She said she enjoyed doing it because she was correcting a typical boy behavior.  He was pulling the ponytail of the little girl sitting next to him, and when the teacher corrected him, he had the biggest grin on his face.

Probably one like this... but seriously, those eyes! If you keep it up with this eye contact, the ladies are going to love you whether you pull their pony or not.