Too cool pool

Noah and I went swimming with our sweet friends Melissa and her daughter Kendall. It was SO much fun. Just look at the pictures...how could it not have been fun? The entire pool was only 1.5 feet deep and full of fountains, just perfect for Noah. He was such a big boy walking around all by himself. It was a pretty relaxing day for me too because I didn't have to hold him the entire time. There were lots of tears when we had to leave, but other than that it was a perfect pool day. Thank you so much, Melissa, for letting us come with you guys. Any time you don't want to go swimming by yourself, just let us know. :-)

Our trip to the Aquarium and Centennial Park

Last week Noah and I went with some friends to the Atlanta Aquarium and then we ate lunch and ran around in the fountain at Centennial Park. It was a long day, but we had lots of fun. Noah loved the fish and kept yelling "Whoa!" at everything. He is very easily impressed.

Noah loved looking at the sea otters. I know that you can't really see what is behind the glass, but Noah thought he was so big climbing up and seeing over the bar.

Noah wasn't so sure about the fountain at first, but once he figured out that he could get to the middle without getting too wet, he liked it.


Sajan, Libby, and Noah all sitting in the back seat together after a long, fun day of playing. We all rode together to make it easier. It was so funny to look in the back seat and see the three friends just chatting with each other and "sharing" snacks.

Our week in Baltimore...

Noah and I returned from our big adventure to Baltimore last Friday. Noah was an angel during the flights; I was so impressed! I was especially impressed because 2 days before we left he learned the word "NO." Noah has this crazy idea that when he says the word it should carry the same effect as when I say it to him. Yea...um...not so much. We're working through his new way of expressing himself. Silly me, I thought the "___ two's" (not using the word that goes in the blank) was when he threw a few minor tantrums...I guess I was wrong. Enough about our new life. I know that you just want to see the pictures from the trip. I'm sorry that I don't have any from the actual plane...I was a little preoccupied.

Noah's ready to go. He has his monkey "backpack" and his headphones.


Noah spent a lot of time outside. He loved the sandbox, the water mat and the pool. It was pretty hard to get him to go inside. (Remember his new form of expression...)


Noah also loved playing inside. We thought that it was pretty funny that even though he had tons of toys to choose from, he picked TP stacking to pass the time.


We went to the Science Museum on the harbor one day. It was great! It had a really neat children's area that Noah thoroughly enjoyed. As you see in the first picture they have a pretend submarine that you can push the buttons and things light up...pretty cool. In the 2nd picture Uncle Stephen is showing Noah the dinosaurs. In the 3rd picture...we thought we should get a picture of all of us before we forgot.


Everyday Noah got to take a walk through the neighborhood. He loved to see the big fish in the "lakes." Nana and "Ampa"/Papa are much nicer than I am and let him get out of the stroller to feel the water and look for rocks. :-)


Noah loved helping Papa fix the lawnmower.

The last 2 months in pictures...

It has definitely been a while since I have posted anything. The slide show should get you pretty much caught up. Noah has developed quite a personality lately. He definitely knows what he wants, but he is getting to be lots of fun. He likes to say "Big Boy" or "Big Dude" a lot; usually these phrases come when he is about to do something that only big boys should do...pretty funny. As you can tell by the pictures, he loves going to the park and herding the ducks. We have been hanging out at the neighborhood pool whenever Noah is well. Also, Noah is still enjoying Gymboree classes. In other words we have been keeping pretty busy. Enjoy the slide show! Hopefully future postings will be less than 2 months apart.

New Posts coming soon!!!

Okay, I know I've been the worst blogger ever! Well, maybe not ever, but pretty close. There has been a lot going on so I'm trying to get all the new pictures organized so that I can share with you guys. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will get my act together and update you on the last 2 months. Check back soon for new pictures of my precious little man. You're not going to believe how much he has grown. :-)

Reading with Dad

Noah really likes to "read" books and have books read to him. Lately some of his favorites are the "Critter" books by Mercer Mayer. They are great!

Noah and Chris reading Cowboy Critter.
Noah especially likes the part when Cowboy Critter eats hotdogs and baked beans.
(for some reason the phrase "baked beans" is hilarious)

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere...

Our lives have been pretty busy lately. I'm so sorry about being so lazy with posts.

Noah got a bubble machine for Easter, and it is pretty amazing. It blows 4000 bubbles/minute...crazy! We have had some requests for pictures of this amazing bubble machine, so here they are

As you can tell, Noah loves bubbles. We have so much fun running through the bubbles and trying to stomp all of them.

Easter Slide Show

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the Easter pictures. These are the pictures of both the neighborhood egg hunt and the "chaotic egg scramble" at the church. There are lots of pictures that I have been wanting to post, but I've been trying to keep things in order. So...I will be posting more frequently for a little bit to get you all caught up on the life of Noah.

This is my 1st attempt at a slide show using Adobe...be patient with me.

Busted...

Noah has always had a fascination with Abby's food and water bowls. For some reason Abby doesn't really care too much even if there is food in the food bowl. For the past couple of months Noah has been leaving the bowls alone, so we have been leaving them on the floor instead of always putting them out of reach. All that to say, this is what Chris and I found a few nights ago...hmmmm.

So now we are working on another way of keeping Noah away from the bowls. He has recently discovered how to walk backwards. So, if I see him heading towards the food and water bowls. I say, "Stop, back it up!" and then make a sound like a backing up truck, "Beep, beep, beep." It is pretty funny, and he giggles while shuffling backwards away from the forbidden bowls. The only problem with this technique is that we did that over and over for about 15 minutes yesterday. Oh well...at least his socks were still dry.

Florida Trip

Here are some pictures from our trip to Florida weekend before last. He had such a good time, and it was go great to see everyone! Thank you so much, Gram, for opening your home to all of us. We hope to see you again soon.

Noah is showing off his RedSox cap.
It was so warm in Florida that day that we all were wearing shorts and T-Shirts.

I'm not quite sure what was going on, but here is Noah sitting in a tiny rocking chair hugging the bear that originally occupied the chair.
We thought it was so sweet.


Here is Noah splashing in the puddles with Chris.
It rained really hard on Saturday morning, but never fear, Chris and Noah both knew exactly what to do after a big rain storm. They both had a great time! Who needs the ocean?!


Noah and his Great Gram.
I think they are having a good discussion...probably about either the Patriots or the RedSox...just a hunch...


Noah with his Uncle Jim and Aunt Julie


Noah and his Grammie watching Cars together.


4 generations together!

18 months old

After enjoying Shea's reports on what her little man is doing, I thought that it would be good for me to journal what was going on in Noah's life yesterday, more so that I can look back and see that we have made progress.

***Warning!!! Get ready for a painfully detailed story of Noah's day.***

Written Feb. 26th...A day in the life of Noah:
Well, today Noah turned 18 months old. He had a big day today! It all started with a bang, literally. Noah woke up to a huge thunderstorm. Then he ate his usual oatmeal with fruit and 1/2 of a waffle and gulped down about 3/4 a glass of milk. We then watched Sesame Street off and on and went down for a little nap to get rested up for the big day. When Noah woke up (a little cranky) we got ready and went to his Gymboree class. Since we were a little early, we decided to get a haircut before class. He was beginning to look a little shaggy. He had a great time at the haircut place because they have a train track (see list of Noah's favorite things). He didn't want to leave until he realized that we were headed next door to Gymboree. He did really well in class and has decided that he LOVES the slides (both climbing up and sliding down), the bubbles, the balls, and the parachute time. When we got home I gave him his lunch which would have been a big hit last week, but today he refused almost everything on his plate. Yesterday he loved rice, today he loves to throw rice. Last week he loved green beans, today he loves to feed the dog his green beans. Last week he loved chicken sticks, today he loves to use chicken sticks as hair gel. Etc. ...and this is the life of my toddler. By the time I figure out what food he likes he will change his mind again. Due to the "hair gel" that he discovered at lunch, Noah got an afternoon bath followed by a good nap. Upon waking from his nap, he played trains for about 30 minutes. He loves to build train tracks and see how long he can make his train. When he was finished playing trains we headed downstairs for a snack. Of course he had to navigate the stairs by himself. Following a yummy snack of yogurt and animal crackers, we played race cars until I got tired of playing. You see, although he loves the race track, he will not shake the cars by himself, so I get to play race cars with Noah. :-) Noah is very good at cheering the cars on though. It's actually really fun for the 1st 20 minutes. While I worked on dinner and straightened up a bit, Noah worked some puzzles and watched Cars (the movie). He kept running into the kitchen yelling, "Hi." I guess he wanted to make sure that I remembered he was there...pretty cute stuff. When Chris got home, Noah yelled "Hi" with a big grin on his face. I know it made Chris' day; they are best buds. We all ate dinner together and Noah ate pretty much the same things that we did. He is feeding himself with a fork now. He really seems to enjoy that. He still has some trouble with the spoon. It always seems to be upside down. We're working on that! I think that Abby wishes Noah would try the spoon more often because that means more food for her. After dinner, Chris and Noah had some father/son bonding time playing trains, and then it was time for bed. What a long fun day Noah had.

Noah's favorite things: Cars, trains, balls, bubbles, puzzles, Abby, any book or stackable thing. Did I mention cars, trains and balls? He has a slight obsession:-) He also likes to put objects inside of things. (i.e. crayons in the box, band aids in the box, etc.)

Noah's favorite Shows: Cars, Finding Nemo, Veggie Tales, Curious George, and Sesame Street

Noah's Expanding Vocabulary (these are the ones that anyone could understand. There are lots that only I and maybe the trained ear of another toddler mom can understand): car, ball, bubble, pop, Abby, Momma, Daddy, Bye, Go, Hey there, Hi, All Done, Uh Oh, any animal sound. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that came to mind.

A few funny things Noah does:

1. When asked what Old MacDonald says...Noah responds "EIEIO" with this funny hand motion that looks very similar to the sign language for "all done" or he says "Baaaa" and starts laughing. He is starting to understand that it is sometimes funny if you say something unexpected. :-)
   
2. He chases Abby around the house wagging his finger in her face and saying, "peak, peak, peak." The reason for this is that "speak" is one of Abby's tricks, and Noah thinks it is hilarious. :-)
3. Anytime he likes the food he is eating, Noah says with great emotion and shaking his head..."Mmm, mmm, Mmm, mmm, mmm." (emphasis on the 1st and 3rd Mmm)
4. Jumping. Enough said...if you haven't seen a toddler try to jump, I highly recommend it. It is really funny. Especially if they are doing it to the beat of a song. :-)

Noah stomping in the puddles at his

Great Gram's house this past weekend.

The helping hand strikes again...

Well, Noah has really started to have a slight obsession with trains and cars. At Christmas, Noah got part of his Uncle Stephen's BRIO train set. (on loan of course) We (meaning Chris or I) usually put together a simple track so that he can push the train cars around the track and up and down the hill. He has been getting very frustrated when he tries to put the track together by himself, so of course, being the sucker that I am, I have been coming to the rescue. Well, today I was busy folding clothes while Noah was playing in his room. I heard him get a little frustrated, but instead of coming to the rescue, I told him to keep working on it and be patient. (like a 1.5 year old understands what it means to be patient...) Well, the fussing stopped, and I went into his bedroom about 10 minutes later. This is what I found. Let me just tell you...my tracks don't come even close to being as good as this one! I was so impressed. Let me just say, I will not be suckered into building a track because it is "too hard" again.

Such a funny little guy

So the past couple of weeks Noah has been pretty funny. He has developed some new skills, some good some not so good. I thought that everyone might appreciate a good laugh. Normally, I would spread these out over multiple posts, but all of this has been happening in the last 2 weeks.

I'm sure there are child labor laws, but I promise he likes cleaning...really...
This is my favorite new skill of Noah's.

So, we try so hard to toddler-proof our house with gates,
but somehow he always finds a way around our best efforts.

Noah likes to spend time in his toy cabinet.
Sometimes he even closes the doors so that I can't see him.
I think he is going to be fantastic at hide-and-seek!


Noah is "marching" around the house with his new tupperware hat.
He kept it on for quite a while.
I think he was showing off for Emma. She was over to play that day.


Yes, that is my child dancing on top of the coffee table.
That's about all I can say about that...

Noah's future room

Yep, Noah is changing rooms. It's pretty sad that I haven't decorated his room since we moved. We decided it is time. So...mom and I have been painting. Here are a few pictures to show what it looks like so far; I think it's turning out pretty good.