the end of summer

I haven't experienced the end of summer quite like this before. Before now, I was either in school...thus dreading the end of summer for reasons obvious, or I was working...and never really thought twice about the end of summer b/c it was just like any other time (except the amount of time spent sweating while standing still decreased). This summer I have felt a new thing...back to school. Noah started mother's day out two days a week last spring when we moved to jonesboro and then he was out for the summer...and now he's back to school! The first day back was actually kindof hard. I always thought I would never be that mom who was sad her kids went back to school, but I am. I most definately am. But school is great. Somehow they get the kid to sleep there...sometimes over 2 hours. (which is something I've seldom accomplished at home) And he is able to play for long stretches of time all by himself. He still comes to me to "taste" what he's been cooking in the pots and pans all over the kitchen floor...but mostly he's independent. Like right now...he's emptying out his drawer of sippy cups, spoons, mini tupperwares, etc...and having a blas: Pretend drinking out of his big boy cups and stirring up his bowls. :) he is so freakin' cute. (and we won't tell daddy that earlier, he was trying to walk around in my high-heels that I took off at the back door after church today.)



So, the pool closes next weekend and in a month or 3 we'll be wearing sweaters, school is back and I get 2 days a week to go to Kroger without a helper. Fall is great. I'm excited for all of the things he'll come home doing that he learned from buddies at school...he's already saying "no"...what is to come with my little smart boy!!

molars

i didn't know that cutting teeth could be so terrible, until the other day when I realized that noah is cutting a molar. goodness. it is awful....for me...I can only imagine how bad he feels. Tylenol & Motrin all around!

However, he is sleeping till 730 in the mornings now. Trade-offs.

to Noah....I can't believe what you can do!!

My precious little man is ONE. And I have not been very good at keeping up with your accomplishments along the way...the baby book is just not handy all the time. Every day you do something else that is new and I can't believe you're doing these wonderful little things and where did you learn them?



Up until now, I haven't really written down the little things and exactly when you did them...meaning that your little brother or sister is likely to never know when he or she walked, got first tooth, etc. But starting around 9 months or so, you really started to blossom into your own little person!! Around 8 months you started standing up and cruising around on furniture and thinking you were generally a genius for doing this (and we agreed, never mind that kids have been learning to walk on their own for centuries...you were the smartest ever born). And since you did this....and 8 months,... I was convinced you would walk at 9 mos like I did, but you did not. You spared us until you were about 11 months. You really took off when we went up to Nashville to see Aunt Erin and Owen...I think you were just turning 11 months then. You were climbing stairs way before you were walking, though...so that was entertaining for me in Dallas with our steep staircase in our apartment.



So...you have done so many things between about March and now, it's hard to remember them all...but before your first birthday you started signing. Your first sign was "airplane" and then "hat". Soon after that you perfected "please" and "milk". Now there is a new one just about every day. It is so great that I can know what you want now and you don't have to scream to tell me!!



You have always been the focused type...you'll sit down for 20 minutes and work on a puzzle or flip pages in a book looking for your favorite things--balls, balloons and other round things. :) You have such a sense of humor...you giggle when you toot and you think it is hilarious to hide from me when I'm trying to get you dressed in the morning. You are totally surprised when you are pointing the water hose at yourself and you squeeze it and you squirt yourself in the face. You hate to get water on your face in the bathtub. You love bubbles. and hammers. You LOVE hammers...anything resembling a hammer...a mallet, whatever. You actually just hammered your bellybutton with your favorite blue and yellow one. You have about 4 favorite "brown bears" all almost identical (and any one will do in a pinch, although the babystyle one is your fave) and a "blue blanket" with your initials on it that miss jessica gave you. You must have these for night night and for naps. Otherwise, it's not good. I love it when you pick up things that are too big for you...you think you're so big, but really, you're so precious and small!!

Your language sounds akin to German with a hint of Portuguese...and you like to give speeches. You will walk around with your hammer and hit things and talk for what seems to be hours....I do so wish I knew what you were saying. It sounds SO important. Your latest sounds like "little" and you say it over and over...littlelittlelittlelittlelittle, dah! It is so absolutley precious.

Right now, you're munching down on your dinner of salmon and cheese, pasta, broccoli and apples....and your Papa has taught you how to chew very dramatically so it's extra loud in your direction! As of the past few days, you've become a good eater, that is, if you're allowed to eat on your own time and do your own thing with your fork. It takes a while....but you eventually get done eating. You just signed at the lights just to make sure I knew they were on. Now you're doing Indian noises with your mouth and hand. It's nonstop action, here.

I'll try to do better, little man, at keeping up with your progress. I know it's not going to slow down any time soon! :)

"Ducks" (or geese)

Yeserday after I almost died pushing Noah in the jogger, we went to the park (which is on the jogging trail) and saw some geese. For simplicity's sake we were calling them ducks because "quack" is easier to do than that weird honking noise that geese make ... and I'm just going for basic right now. So...we were looking and quacking and pointing with both fingers and quacking some more and what do I hear but "DU-U-UK" come out of Noah's mouth. Of course, I couldn't get him to do it again on demand...but I think he said duck. OK, I was hoping that his first real word would be Mommy or at least Daddy, but I guess I'm okay that he's going to talk at all (in English).

respect

I have complete and total respect and awe for someone who can jog with a double jogging stroller on hills. I did a run yesterday with my light-as-a-feather child in his equally light jogging stroller and the few killer hills almost did just that. I was DYING! So, kudos to those with more that one in the stroller & who keep on running.

Vomit

So I only post once a month...sorry. But my life is so full of wonderful things like my first experience with a stomach-bug-like behavior. Last Saturday we were all set to go to Nashville to Owen's first birthday party & Noah was calmly eating breakfast in the highchair. (Adam had commented on how quiet he was this morning...) I put in that last bite of yogurt (we haven't mastered the spoon ourselves yet) and OUT it came, with force. My first time being puked on by my own kid. Made it 13-some months without a single drop of real vomit on me, and whoa nelly, here it came. I didn't realize that a little person could hold so much inside!!! I will spare the details of looks and smells, just to suffice that it was coming out his nose. Poor Noah. He had no idea what was going on...he must have thought he was dying or something b/c he looked terrified! So we get him out of the highchair (lucky he was there b/c the tray was helpful in clean-up) and clean him off...and we did not go to Nashville that day.

Fast forward to Monday. He did great all day Sat. and Sun. Dinner Monday....same ballgame. And same again Tuesday afternoon at lunch. We have deduced as the 2 geniuses that we are as parents that our child simply does NOT like to be "fed" anymore. If you try to feed him anything against his will, even a tasty yogurt snack....it will come back to haunt you in a few minutes. (and seemingly in a greater quantity than it went in as) So we no longer "Feed" Noah. Noah feeds Noah, only. There were a few days of worry on Mommy's part: will he eat enough b/c he's not the greatest eater on his own...and very picky too....but he's doing fine (and actually eating better and more than ever!) My first taste of him exerting his independence, I guess. I'm just getting ready for what's to come, I suppose.

Nashville was a blast with Owen...those boys are so funny together!! Will share some of my favorite pics.