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...

Motherhood is Not For Sissies

It's been one of those weeks where I alternate between thinking, "man, being a mother is really hard," and "seriously, who put me in charge."  But, then I stop and remind myself that I have this awesome little kiddo, who has enriched my life in so many ways, and my life, well, I just can't even begin to imagine it without him.  My dad reminded me today that there is a reason that God choose me to be Noah's Momma, and He has a bigger plan for us.  We just have to trust in the Lord.  You know what though, I think He has a really big plan for Noah, and I.m the one that can help him reach it... I just hope that I can hold up my end of the bargain. 

Everybody's Doing It

Most of my friends with kiddos around Noah's age have already reached this milestone. Some as early as 18 months, but not us. Oh no... Noah doesn't climb out of his crib, I smugly tell them. He likes it in there. Well, yesterday... not so much. 

It happened just before naptime, and he was having trouble falling asleep.  Quick side note, I think I left you hanging on the no nap situation, but it seems that I put it out there and the universe threw me a bone. Naps are back on, but they don't always run smoothly... like yesterday. 

Maybe I am naive, but I am pretty sure he didn't really want to climb out, but must of fallen out while trying to make a statement like "Momma come get me out now or I'll jump," but I wasn't in there to see it.  He hasn't tried again, but he may be waiting to recover from the carpet burns on his nose and forehead. 

I wish I had more to say on the matter, but I have big boy bed online shopping to do. At least someone finds humor in the situation.

The End is Near

Pigs have flown. Hell has frozen over. It's only appropriate that I insert a "who dat" here, but the New Orleans Saints winning the NFC championship in one of most nerve-wracking, heart stopping games ever which is really just par for the course for Louisiana football, is not what I'm talking about here. As I take second to catch my breath after that lengthy opening sentence, I have to wonder if my faithful readers have noticed my tendency for extremely lengthy run-on sentences.

How Bout Dem Saints?

But, where was I? Oh, yes. Hell freezing over... Right.  Noah has dropped his nap. Dum. Dum.

I think I've been complaining about naptime for quite a while now. It's been so hard to find a consistent time for one between school and therapy and actual playing.  And, what ends up happening most of the time, is I put him down at an appropriate hour between 12:30-1:00, and he doesn't nap.  I know what you are going to say... put him in bed, and let him rest.  Have you met Noah?  There is either stop or go.  There is no in between.  So, if he doesn't sleep, he talks and sings and jumps and kicks.  So, still I usually give him about 45 minutes to an hour to try to work it out.  And, sometimes he does fall asleep, but those sometimes are few and far between these days, so I take him out of bed.  So, then what happens is around 3:00-3:30, he is done.  Exhausted.  So tired he can hardly hold it together, so I put him down for a late nap.  And he sleeps until 6:00-6:30, so who knows what time he is actually ready to go down for the night... it was 10:00 one night.  Not much Momma time in the evenings with that bedtime.  I know what you are going to say... wake him up from his late nap.  I've tried that, and then the hours before actual bedtime are COMPLETE TORTURE.  So, between our recent trip to San Antonio and the Saints game this weekend (umm... I wasn't getting up in the 4th quarter to bathe him), Noah's sleep schedule has been all out of whack.  Late afternoon naps have become the norm, and I am so not cool with that.  So, this week I decided to try out just letting the nap go.  Just let it go. 

Are you people seriously still with me, because I am really starting to feel like I am rambling like a crazy person?  So, Tuesday and Wednesday, he did okay without a nap.  He went down earlier than usual, but 7:00-7:30 was okay for me.  Dean made it home in time to see him two out of the three nights, so I am thinking that this no nap thing is doable.  Plus, as a bonus, he slept in until 8:15 AM all three days.  And, except for the day that I forgot therapy was coming at 8:00, and I answered the door in my pajamas... I am all on board with the sleeping in.  However, this is day four, and those couple hours missing during the day have caught up with Mister No.  Today, at about 3:45, HE WAS EXHAUSTED.  So, I stretched it as long as I could, but finally, I just put him in bed... at 5:30!

So, like I said earlier... Noah has dropped his nap.  Or, has he!  (Insert evil laugther here.)

Parenting Mistakes

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I'd like to think that most of the time I learn from my parenting mistakes, and most of the time, I do. 

Like the time Noah was about 12 months old, and I left him alone in his "child-proof" room while I unloaded the groceries. I checked in on him after about five minutes of playing alone only to find him tearing off pits of foam from a NERF football with his front teeth and eating them.  He had swallowed about four big hunks of hot pink foam from what I could tell before I was able to stop him.  Thank the Lord there was no choking involved, and he passed the foreign objects the next day.  Ick!

Or the time when we were still living in Miami.  After a particular harrowing trip to Publix, I wrangled Noah into his carseat with the promise of a movie for the two-block drive home.  It wasn't until I arrived in the parking garage of our building to unload groceries and Noah that I realized I had not strapped him into his carseat.  How scary!  I will not make that mistake again! 

But recently two mistakes have managed to repeat themselves much to my chagrin.

First, one week after we moved into our shiny and new house, I had of course made a huge Costco run.  Included in my purchase was a 1.5 liter bottle of wintergreen Listerine.  I was busy in our master bathroom unloading purchases when I hear the gushing sound of liquid.  I rush to the sound coming from our closet thinking that a call to poison control might be in order, only to find Noah pouring the entire 1.5 liter bottle of Listerine onto the carpet in our closet.  It took me two rolls of paper towels and lots of elbow grease to mop up all that minty freshness.  It must not have been too painful for me because I had to repeat the exercise last week on the bedroom carpet with a fresh 1.5 liter bottle of wintergreen Listerine.  Looks like we will no longer be buying mouthwash in bulk, although our bedroom does smell pretty fresh these days. 

Apparently, I put too much faith in my child, thinking that if he is corrected for something once then he won't do it again.  I was wrong.  He first colored on the wall in our apartment in Miami.  It was his first time using colors.  With his penchant for red, I walked out of the kitchen to find the door to his room covered in it.  That was over eight months ago, and he has never done it again.  In fact, some days red or pink colors are his stick of choice to carry around.  And, he has never written on the wall since... well, you know what that say about saying never.  This weekend, during "naptime," I walk into his room to find red color covering the wall behind his crib.  Sigh.  Looks like I'll be heading to the store for some magic erasers, and it looks like colors are no longer allowed without a desk and some paper. 

Hang On To Your Hat

You may have noticed in the previous post that Noah is wearing a hat.  Are you as shocked as me?  Well, maybe you cannot fully appreciate how momentous this is, but seriously, Noah has not allowed ANY type of headwear since about 9 months.  And, now suddenly, he tolerates it and not only tolerates it, but likes it.  It all started earlier this week.   I had him in a gray hoodie sweatshirt, and I flipped up the hoodie.  I fully expected him to pull it right off, but unexpectedly, he kept it on for at least 5 minutes.  Then the next day, we went to a New Year's Eve playdate, and they had party hats.  He immediately picked up one and put it on his head.  I was so excited.  So, yesterday, he comes out of our closet with two LSU purple hats.  Noah hands one to Daddy to wear, and then lets Daddy put one on his head.  I think he wanted to be like his Daddy.

Momma is so proud of you for trying new things and I think you look so cute in a hat.  I will be getting you your very own LSU cap in your size.  So, you can still be just like Daddy, but...

Possibly see where you are going as well.

Five Things Friday Plus One 11.20.09 - Progress

There are so many changes in Noah these days that I can't keep up.

1. Choices. One of the therapy tools I have long been putting into daily life is picking between two objects. Do you want this one or this one? Encouraging him to choose by words, gestures, eye gaze... something. I could tell he was gradually getting there, and today, he totally got it. It was just before naptime, and I held up two sippy cups. "Yellow or green?" I ask. Pointing emphatically to the green one, "green," he said. I decided to push him a little further, and I opened the fridge grabbed the milk carton and juice box, and said, "juice or milk?" Again, emphatic pointing, "juice." He doesn't usually take juice for naps, always milk (no judgement, please,) but who am I to argue with a talking boy. I am wondering if that is why he didn't take a nap today.

2. Settling Down. Noah is an active little boy. He runs a lot. He jumps a lot. We have started him in therapy with a new occupational therapist. She told me a story about a patient of hers who liked to spin. So, she put him on a swing, and he spun like mad. After that, the patient was totally over the spinning. His sensory need had been met. So, back to Noah. At OT, he jumps on the trampoline. He jumps into the ball pit. He climbs up a big long ramp and jumps on cushy pads. At home, we bought him a mini-trampoline. We put couch cushions on the floor and jump, jump, jump. And, maybe with all the jumping of late, his needs are being met or maybe he's just growing up. Either way, the jumping and running has definitely slowed down. It's amazing the interaction I can have with him now that he is not running away. On a school related note, the teachers are sometimes able to leave the classroom door open without him taking off down the hall. So great!

3. Sitting Down. So, the new calm Noah loves to sit. His favorite spot is at the counter on our new appropriate height barstools. Today, he sat at the counter first thing in the morning for a breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt. Later on, we sat at the counter, lit candles and practiced singing "Happy Birthday." Noah smiles and makes excellent eye contact and sings "dear Mommy" every time. Mommy sounds like "moddy," and I love him even more every time he sings it. In the afternoon, Noah sat at the counter while I chopped onions and seasoned ground meat for a pot of chili. Tonight, he ate a PB&J for dinner sitting right at that counter. Throughout the day, he sat still about 5 or 6 times in 15-30 minute increments. Great time for us to share attention and play. Way to go Mister No. I am so proud of you.

4. Receptive Language. The most exciting change in Noah is he finally understands me. His receptive language has seriously increased. He waits when I tell him too. He runs to the kitchen when I say it's mealtime. He climbs into his car seat when I say he is going to school. He stops jumping on the bed when I tell him too. He holds onto the railing on the stairs when I say, "be careful." All day long he listens and he really hears me and does it ever make parenting so much easier.

5. Rule Follower. He comes by it naturally. He likes rules, and he follows them. He may not like to follow them, but he does. I am sure I've mentioned that Noah has a thing for sticks. He hasn't met a straw, tinker toy, long skinny object he doesn't like. Well, we have a new rule that sticks are not allowed at school or therapy or in bed at night. And, with his new grasp on understanding 90% of what Momma is saying, I don't have to tell him twice. He holds out his arm, opens his palm, and the stick falls to the ground. And, wouldn't it be nice if the story ended there. Once he drops the stick, he totally falls out. He doesn't try to pick up the stick because Momma said he couldn't have it, but the 15 minute kicking and rolling on the floor tantrum sure lets me know that he isn't happy about it. I'm hoping this is just a phase, and I can survive all this striving for consistency.

6. Crib for Life. Last night, Dean had a meeting and I went out with some ladies from my mom's group. I scheduled a sitter for Noah. She was a sweet girl I found through an agency called Seeking Sitters. She put Noah to bed for the night. When I got home, I forgot to move the monitor to my bedroom, and without the sound of Noah to wake me up around 7-ish, I overslept. I rolled out of bed around 7:50AM and went over to get Noah. He was sitting up in his crib, clapping his hands and singing a song he must have heard at school. The amazing part was that his crib side rail was down. I left it down before I went out, and I forgot to tell the sitter to raise it. Noah being the rule follower that he is, stayed put, despite the fact he is an excellent climber and could have easily stepped over the lowered rail. I am fully prepared to keep that little guy in his crib until age 5.

Wild Thing

Something is amiss in the sleep department at our house, and it is starting to disrupt our daytime routine. Noah has been having trouble going to sleep lately. Whether it is day or night, it is taking him anywhere between an hour and an hour and a half to actually fall asleep. Naptime has been hit or miss. I usually give him about an hour to try to work it out for naps, but after that I just call it a loss. So, either one of two things happens. 1. He doesn’t nap. He goes to bed that night super early, like six. He wakes up the next day super early, like six. Then, he is exhausted the next day. 2. He does nap, but not until late in the afternoon. He isn’t sleepy for bed until really late, like ten. He still wakes up super early, like six. Then he is exhausted the next day. Let me just put this out there… HE IS NOT DROPPING A NAP.

The result of this arbitrary sleep schedule is at times an extremely grumpy little boy. Tonight was a perfect example. Today was a nap day. An early morning wakeup call. An early morning nap. So, by early evening, Noah was done. I was trying to keep him up in time to hang with Daddy for a little while. He was having a snack of Cheese Its while sitting on one of the barstools in the kitchen. He scooted forward on the seat, and he slide off falling between the counter and the chair. He didn’t hit his head on the counter. He landed on his feet, then fell backwards onto his butt. He immediately got upset. Upset with the floor. Upset with his butt that hit the floor. Upset with the chair. Upset with me. I mean what did I do. So, he doesn’t just get upset, he gets upset and starts hitting. Well, it was more like swatting, but anyway, he hits the floor. He hits his butt. He hits the chair. He hits me. So, now that his anger has gone on for about five minutes, I am thinking it has more to do with the impulse of being upset than that he actually is hurt. He is now just a big ball of mad. I tried comforting him. I tried fussing him. I tried distracting him with a toy. A snack. I tried walking away from him. Nothing worked. So, I picked him up, put him in his room, and closed the door. He calmed down by himself, and I went in to see him. He was still mad at me, so bath time was fun. Sarcasm. Bedtime was early, but he still took about 1.5 to fall asleep.

It was one of those afternoons/evenings that I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know the best way to handle it. I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing. I was FRUSTRATED. So, I was really planning to do some web surfing, call some friends, get a game plan, and figure it out somehow. So, of course, I logged into Facebook. And, someone had posted this article.

Not to go all Oprah on you, but it was a total ah-ha moment. Not to mention how I love good writing, and it oh so cleverly ties into the “Where the Wild Things Are” theatre release. Which for the record, I have commented to Dean multiple times, “what is the big deal about this movie?” So judgmental, especially since I never even read the book. Maybe there is something to it after all. Anyway, I loved the excerpt from the book by Dr. Anthony Rao. In fact, it is already in my Amazon.com shopping cart.

Gotcha

Our new house is slightly bigger than our previous three bedroom apartment in Miami. I may have mentioned before that Noah is constantly on the go. Well, in our much bigger home, once he gets out of my sight, he is not always easy to find. He is into closing doors, so most times I can follow the sound of a slamming door, but sometimes he is a bit quieter. It is hit or miss whether or not he will answer when I call his name, but today, I came up with a great solution. If I am unsure of what direction he is headed, I will shout out a... "One!" Then, I listen very closely. I can usually hear a quiet "two." A little bit louder, I shout, "THREE!" I can usually find him before I get to "FIVE." That boy sure loves his numbers. I am sure one day he will totally catch on to my trick, but for now, it works every time.

5 Things Friday 7.23.09 - The Explosion

In the past week, Noah has really started talking, and I am starting to think that this is the explosion that everyone is talking about. He is labeling everything, starting to repeat more and more, getting really good at following directions and even starting to communicate things he wants. Here are 5 of my favorite things over the past couple days.

1. I was drying him off after bath and leaning over him drying his hair. He reached out and started rubbing his hand over my face saying, "dry, dry, dry." It was so sweet. I wasn't saying dry at the time, but it is probably something I usually would say. And, the fact that he was imitating me drying by rubbing my face was so heart-meltingly precious.

2. He is really started to be aware of getting hurt when he falls down. It is something I have been working on with him. I'll say, "Ouch, did you hurt your hand/arm/foot? Are you okay? You're fine." All the while rubbing the injured area. So, now when he gets hurt, he'll say one or all of the following: "Owwwhhh. Fine. Fine. Fine. Owkay. Owkay."

3. Want is one of the signs/words that his speech therapist used a lot to teach him to request things. It is something she tried to make him do every session for at least 10 times a session. Well, I think it finally caught on because he signs it constantly, and follows it up with a "wunt, wunt, wunt." At the grocery this week, he even signed/said it on the cracker aisle. He also started saying cracker. I can't in good conscience call it a sentence since they were a little spread apart, but I definitely got the message.

4. The counting is something he does a lot throughout the day. His therapists seem to think that he is using it as sort of a regulatory tool when he gets upset or bored or whatever. Their suggestion to me was to try to use the counting as a way to encourage interaction. The key also being to make the counting functional. He has a small toy with a crab, some fish and a starfish on it. He always goes over and counts them, so I started repeating after him with "one fish, two fish, one crab." Now he will still count them, but say, "one crab, two fish, three fish, four star."

5. I find that a lot of the things he is starting to say regularly are things that I say to him pretty consistently. The most recent that makes me laugh the most is "yay!" He started it yesterday, and any time we finish doing something or playing something, he will look at me, pause, and say, "yaaay!" It is really cute!

The Sign Says Stop

Through therapy, I've learned that Noah is a very visual child. He gets the message much clearer with signs and gestures and pictures. Noah loves to play in our bed. It is pretty high off the ground, and he can get on it without any help. I usually keep the door to our bedroom closed, so he only goes in there when I'm with him. Well, he and Daddy must have had a field day while I was out of town last weekend because on the Monday after I got back, he only wanted to climb on the bed. He would not listen to "no," so finally I grabbed a sheet of paper, drew a stop sign in red crayon, and taped it to the door. He was not happy. He would go to the door, point to the sign, protest a bit and walk away. This went on for a little while, and then he decided that he had a enough. This is what I found.

I guess he technically followed the rules. He didn't open the door until the stop sign was down. Too bad he was the one tearing down the sign. Do I have trouble on my hands or what?

Wings Schmings

Last night, a group of people from Dean's work were getting together for wings. Since moving to Miami, the nights I actually leave the house after dark are few and far between. So, I decided that Noah and I were actually going to go. The way our day was scheduled it looked like Noah was going to take a late nap, so he wouldn't be totally exhausted. Well, wouldn't you know it, he totally denied me a nap. Finally, I needed to shower because hey, a night out deserves a blow dry and makeup. So, I put Noah in his crib about 4:45 PM, and... he fell asleep. Sigh. I had a bad feeling. He woke up crying from his abbreviated nap, and I should have just given up and cancelled, but I forged ahead with my fresh blown hair and pre-pregnancy jeans (finally).

Noah and I picked up Dean at the hospital and headed to the restaurant. I use the word restaurant loosely since it was more like a bar/wings joint. We walked in and the crew was amassed among two picnic tables. The place was dark and crowded and loud, and the tables where everyone was sitting were way in the back. Noah immediately went into sensory overload. I knew within about two seconds this outing was a bad idea, but Dean said we couldn't just walk out, so onward we marched. I tried my best to follow the rule of don't let him down, but he's weighing in at about 34 pounds, and sometimes it's easier said than done.

So, after attempting to sit, act calm and collected, meet people, and join in some small talk, I gave up. Noah definitely had something in mind. He took off running back towards the entrance. En route he managed to wedge between the legs of a group posing for a picture and then got stuck between a couple hugging. I tried to push the amorous pair apart, but apparently they were lacking feeling below the waist because despite my pushing, Noah had to wait out the hug and then ended up on his butt on the floor. Undeterred, he jumped up and continued on his merry way to the arcade games in the front which I had overlooked, but eagle eye Noah must have spotted right off. We stood there for a bit while Noah got his fill of V8 vigilante, and then I bribed him with cheese-its and begged a waitress for a high chair.

A sippy cup of apple juice got him to get in the high chair, a refill of milk, some applesauce, half a pb&j, and an episode of Bunnytown on my iPhone afforded us a little conversation, an order of wings, and a beer in a frosty mug (aaahh). By that time, I decided it was time to put us and Noah out of our misery. As we struggled to get an overtired and overstimulated little boy into his carseat, I wondered if it was worth the effort. I am thinking not. First on the agenda on our move to Texas, a babysitter.

Five Things Friday 5.22.09

I've noticed my post count for May is a little low. So, in an effort to beef it up and get back in the blogging habit, I introduce "Five Things Friday."

1. Last night when I was putting Noah down, he wanted more milk. I knew this because he shoved his empty sippy cup at me. I asked him, "Noah, do you want more?" Not only did he clearly articulate the word "more," he also perfectly signed it, and then made the sign for "drink." I had kind of given up on signing "more," and have been using "want" more. So, it has been at least a couple weeks since I've used it consistently. So, obviously, he's been holding out on me.

2. I love our speech therapist, and I can only hope that when we move back to Texas, we can find someone as great as her. Noah sees Mrs. S three times a week for an hour, and I tease her that Noah and I see her more than we see Daddy. She works at an elementary school, and there is a huge play area covered with mulch where we wait for her. Noah always come into her room holding at least one stick. Today, she pulled out a toy for Noah, and when she opened the box, there was one of Noah's sticks inside. She said that she knows she will find these from time to time after we are gone, and think of and miss Noah. So sweet.

3. Noah was in desperate need of a haircut this week, and I finally took him on Wednesday. I figured since it was summer, and he will be two in a few weeks, that it was about time I let them use the clippers. He looks like such a big boy with his short haircut. I mean I know it grows but, every time he gets a cut, it just kills me.

4. As mentioned, Noah was such a sweet boy on our househunting trip to Texas. He did however have trouble going down at night. I blame it on him being overtired and in a new place. On the first night, we got in really late, and I didn't want to wake him, so we put him in bed with us. Noah has never slept with us, and this time very well may be the first and only time. A king sized bed has never seemed so small. The second night, he was having none of his pack n play, and he kept trying to climb out. I told him no and assumed he'd listen. He didn't and the next thing I heard was a boom. He had climbed out and fallen on the floor. I laid in the bed next to him while I put him back in the pack n play repeatedly telling him "no, no," and "time for sleep." He finally got the point and went to sleep. He woke up in the morning waging his finger at me, and saying "no, no." I am not sure who I am most proud of... Noah for being such a good listener or me for my successful disciplinary skills. All I know is that climbing out of the pack n play just leads to climbing out of the crib, and I am so not ready for that.

5. And a non-Noah related thing, I flushed my bodybugg down the toilet. Dean told me I shouldn't tell people since it reflects poorly on my reflexes and quick thinking skills, but all you mom's know that giving birth causes those skills to decline anyway. So, yes, I flushed my bodybugg down the toilet... on accident, and I didn't even try to reach for it. Before I knew it it went all the way down the drown. And, I had to fork over the money to buy a new one, because seriously, this thing is keeping me honest and on my weight loss goals. It is really weight loss for dummies, and I highly recommend it. You may have seen it on The Biggest Loser.  You wear it on your arm, and it's small enough to go down the drown.  Humph.  

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!

Yellow and Blue and Red Make...

Aquamarine. Actually it was more like yellow, 2 blue, and red, but the color turned out quite nice. Noah is a creature of habit, so every night he knows that after bath is bed. This could somewhat explain his reluctance to get into the bath at the end of the day. He's usually fine once in the tub. He can't resist tub toys and water to splash. I picked up these tub colors at Target a while ago, and Dean and I have found that they make the transition from wet to dry a little easier. We've even started letting him pick out his own colors. Of course, only once he figured out the tablets went in the water and not in his mouth. So, now he shoves his whole hand in the jar, pulls out several, and tosses them in one by one. Then he gives the water a little swish swish with his hands, and usually tries to climb in fully clothed. Maybe one day I will let him, but today was not that day.

Elmo tub tints rock!

Watching the water change.

Going in for a closer look.

Bathtime is so much fun!

Busy Learning

Not much blogging lately since 1. my camera is in the shop and 2. we have been quite busy playing and learning. Noah had an evaluation with the Early Intervention Program last week to address his speech delay. The test results weren’t really that big of a surprise. He excelled in both fine and gross motor skills. He also did really well in personal/social skills. It was definitely no surprise he did poorly on both the communication and cognitive parts of the eval. He qualified for therapy services, and the program is trying to expedite our case (there's a waiting list), but they still said it would be about 30 days. With knowledge in hand, Dean and I decided to not delay, and Noah just completed his first week of private lessons with a speech pathologist.

So, what are we doing? Right now, Noah and I meet with a speech pathologist three times a week. Sessions pretty much consist of lots of playing for Noah and a good bit of homework for Momma. Some of the “homework” we are practicing at home is introducing activities, anticipating words and actions, closing out activities, some simples signs (more, all done), and noisy and symbolic play. He is doing really well with the word anticipation and sound effects. Just yesterday, while playing cars, we took turns moving the cars, “up…up…up…up” one side of the ramp, and “dooowwwnn” the other. After showing him the action with the verbal cues several times, I started to pause after the final “up,” and wait for him to respond. I was hoping for merely a smile showing me he was ready for the next part. Not only did I get a smile, I got a “down.” Well, it didn’t really sound exactly like “down,” but there was a d-sound in there, and I definitely knew what he meant. What a great start for our first week. I am so proud of my sweet boy.

My hardest thing at home is keeping Noah to focus on activities for a period of time. We are working on it, and I am finding that he is enjoying coloring, playing trains and trucks, and reading books the most. This is definitely a parenting adjustment for me. I am not totally a pushover, but in some areas (like toys and playing), I let Noah rule the show. My sister likes to remind me of this story from when Noah was just a newborn.

When he was a mere three days old, I was holding my sweet baby boy after one of his many daily feedings. I struggled to get him to burp. I was having very little success, and with the innocence that only a new first time Momma can, I held him up to eye level, and said in a sing-song voice, “this is a no-pressure household, if you don’t want to burp, you don’t have to burp.” Seriously, those were my exact words and then I cuddled him against my chest. Just my luck, Nanny Aunt Mo was visiting her sweet little nephew at the time and witnessed the whole thing.

Well, the whole “no pressure” thing has now come back to bite me on the butt. That is the way I’ve handled the toys and playtime. No pressure. The toys were previously spread out all over the apartment with no cleanup required. And, playtime, well, it was whatever toy Noah wanted to play with at whatever time. He could play his heart out. Well, at least until the next best thing came along, and for Noah that is pretty quickly. It has never been more evident to me than it has in the last three days as I’ve tried to rein him in during playtime. Man, he jumps from activity to activity. So, I ran to Target on Monday and purchased some adorable DIY shelving. Now, the majority of his toys are picked up and organized. Let the playing begin.

So, Dean and I are feeling really good about all the positive steps we are taking to improve Noah’s speech and communication. I am working hard during the day, and I have enrolled Noah back in a gym program. I plan on attending more meetups with my mom’s group and getting him around more kids. Dean is also making it a point to head home in time for some playtime most days. With all our efforts, we should have our little man talking in no time. Wish us luck!

Dishwasher Safe

I've always heard of toddlers who were attached to a lovey. Something soft and cuddly. Makes them feel safe and cozy while asleep in their bedMy niece Brooke carried around her "lambie" and "peeyow" for awhile. My nephew Seth still likes to sleep with his well-worn blanket made by Grammy. I think it is cute, and I was hoping that Noah would find something he could form an attachment to. Something to love and snuggle. And, well, he has. It's not the Elmo plush toy that I have consistently put in his bed every night since he was six months old. It's not the soft and worn baby afghan knitted by Mrs. Hilda that also goes in his crib each and every night. Oh no, not for Mister No. He has formed an attachment to an... orange rake. In the past two weeks, this attachment has grown, and I think Noah has found his favorite thing. I am serious. He loves it.

Here it is. And, as you can tell, Noah is very serious about it.

Here it is making a cameo in our Christmas picture. Unfortunately, it is not conducive to hand clapping.

Today the orange rake came with us to Chuck E. Cheese.

I spy an orange rake. It made it on our trip to Disney.

Time for bed. Where's my rake?

So, although it is not soft and cuddly and definitely not what I would have chosen for a lovey, it totally works for Noah. On the plus side, it is dishwasher safe, it comes in handy at the park for digging in the dirt, and it is pretty funny!

Deciding to Pick My Battles

There is a lamp in the corner of our living room where we have our breakfast table. It is a floor lamp with a slight arch that holds a cream paper lantern on the end. It is not something that would have ever fit in our old house. I bought it on one of my first trips to Target here, and it gives our apartment a young and trendy feeling. Well, at least in my eyes, it does. It was an impulse buy, and I love it. Apparently, so does Noah.

He cannot seem to resist walking behind the table and shaking the lamp until the lantern falls off. I've told him no, moved him away, and blocked his path. There have been numerous time-outs, lots of tears, and several hand swats. I feel like I've exhausted all options, and still Noah is drawn to the lamp. So, yesterday, the lamp has been moved to the closet in our study. Oh, the things we give up for our children.

I Am Not Being Ignored

I can't help it. I feel the pressure of being a stay at home mom. The pressure of being a stay at home mom on my own without family or friends or babysitters nearby. The pressure of being a stay at home mom who is the sole source of education for the growing brain of a one year old. OK... my intro is a little dramatic, and maybe I don't really feel all that much pressure... most of the time, but sometimes I do think to myself that "if I don't teach him [fill-in-the-blank] , then how can I expect him to know it." I've been working on it. And, this week, I finally have gotten some affirmation from Mister No that all my hard work may actually been paying off.

We read a lot. I try to bring new books into the rotation, but he clearly has his favorites. This is what we are reading now.

Yesterday, Noah was sitting on the floor flipping pages in his stack of books. I came over, and he shoved his "Trucks" book into my lap. His actions saying clear as day, "read this Momma... now." This is something new, and I love it. When I finished reading it, I said to him, "let's read 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar.'" And, what do you know, he grabbed the right book and handed it to me. And, after we read it, I decided to try again, and I asked him for "Mr. Brown Can Moo." And, he found it and handed it to me. He actually had to look for it, since the book was behind him, and he was almost sitting on it. I was so proud.

One of the things that I've also been trying to teach him is animals sounds. My thinking is that well, most babies like animals, right, and animals sounds are easy to make, right, and maybe Noah will start making animal sounds. So, we read books about animals, and we sing songs about animals, and we play games with animals. No sounds yet, but I am excited to say that I think he is finally learning his animals.

Today we went to Gymboree, and the class was about sounds, and on the different slides and tunnels the class instructor had attached some little bells and stuffed animals. Noah climbed up one of the slides and was sitting on the platform. The platform had three stuffed cows attached to it. I asked him where the cow was, and he immediately grabbed onto it. And then he grabbed onto another one, and he even touched the third one. It makes me so excited that he is finally understanding me.

Small Miracles

The flight home today had the potential for disaster. Always looking at the big picture (eye roll), I booked our flight during the height of Noah’s naptime. I was hoping for a nap on the way to the airport because I just knew our chances for a nap in flight were slim. I was at least hoping for a nap on the drive. I got nothing, but a little fussing, and some of this about 10 minutes from the airport.

I again let him run free in the airport in an attempt to get him to expend some energy. It is so funny to me to see the mixed expressions of passengers waiting for flights. I can tell that some people think he is so cute, but others are praying that he is not on their flight.

The first thirty minutes of the flight involved lots of fussing, a 9oz bottle of milk, and almost a total meltdown. I refilled the milk bottle with water, turned my iPhone (on airplane mode) to Sing Gymboree, shoved the bottle back in his mouth and the music in his ear, and shot a little prayer upstairs. And, what do you know… it worked!

Whew!