Noah @ 17 months

I have no idea where that pose came from. But it makes me laugh. 

Noah is so much fun right now. 

• has his bedtime routine down. Teeth, kisses, books, prayers, one song, and then he gets to lay in his bed with his doggy, Charlie Brown doll, and teddy all next to him (by his request). He knows the drill and will blow me kisses and say night night as I lay him down. It has made life so much easier for him to put himself all the way to sleep. 

• still obsessed with looking out the window and pointing at all the cars/trucks/buses/airplanes/helicopters/fire trucks/ambulances etc that he sees. He also discovered tractors the other day with a backpack of farm games and books we checked out from the library. 

• likes to throw things into the bathtub if he is not taking a shower, throws them out if he is. He also has been pouring out cups of water over the edge of the tub during his baths which is not fun. 

• we have found a few new-to-us playgrounds and one of them is so great for him to just run all over. He loves the independence and being able to do a lot of it by himself. Although he still makes me nervous quite often. They also have a sandbox with toys (including the hot commodity fire truck). He loves to watch the other kids too and sometimes tries to play with them. 

• he does this scowling face when it's time to say prayers. We try so hard not to laugh but sometimes we can't help it. 

•we are learning a lot about sharing and when it is his turn or not. It's hard to explain this to kids because they are naturally selfish but Noah is doing okay. He likes the game of offering you something and then pulling his hand back. He thinks it's hilarious.

• now that it is finally spring, we can go outside to meet David's bus again. Noah gets so giddy when he sees him get off, runs to him but just before he gets there, he stops to wave at the bus pulling away.

 

• still eats whatever we are eating except when he decides he isn't hungry and just plays with his food. He always has to spread some of whatever he is eating onto the table (and inevitably, the floor), which is just as fun to clean up as it sounds. He loves to dig in the fridge anytime we open it a crack. He pulls out whatever it is he wants us to give him. But he is getting really good at helping me put groceries away too. 

• Speaking of helping. I am trying to get him in the habit of doing certain things every day. Like putting his pajamas away in the closet or hanging his bath towels up (even though he can't reach) or put clothes in the dirty laundry basket. It is so cute to see him understanding my request and running off to do it. He is best at the pajama one, probably because he knows he gets breakfast when he comes back to the kitchen. (Yes, he eats in his diaper.)

• He also likes to try to help me with the sweeping and vacuuming. But no matter how many times we pick up his books, he almost always knocks them off right away. 

• he is quite the little iPhone user (oops). He knows how to get to the photos app on my phone and watch videos. He has the swiping and pressing play down. (He swipes one direction with one hand and then switches hands to go the other direction haha.)

• he LOVED being spoiled when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. He always gets mopey after visitors leave. 

• still likes to put on shoes and pants. He can get one leg in his jeans even. He wants to try to wear our shoes now too so he will happily go into the closet and grab daddy's shoes while I am getting ready. 

• loves his books still. Which makes me happy. He will sit and thumb through them and then toss them aside for another in his reach. He has started ripping covers off books and pulling pages apart in his board books and I'm not sure why. I can't tell if he thinks there is another page there or what. Lots of glueing and taping is happening though. I got him a few books from the library book sale about trucks and he likes those the most currently. 

• we just finished a "mother goose" class at the library for babies/toddlers his age. He liked most of it but also liked to wander when he was bored. But he learned a lot of songs and read books every week and it was fun to do. I wish they were doing it during the summer too. Oh well.

• We did sign him up for "swim" lessons (ha). Mostly because I think it will be hilarious to do but according to the class description, he should learn a few new things. He already loves the water so I'm curious to see how he reacts. Plus it will be good to just get us to the pool. And it was cheap. Win win. 

• He is getting really good at trying to say new words. I used to understand most of what he was trying to say but now it's getting tough. He jabbers a lot when he thinks I'm not listening.

And I know this isn't all but I can't come up with anything else tonight. 

Noah @ 16 months

Gosh this one snuck past me. 

Let me see what I can remember this time around.

• obsessed with: school buses, Elmo (Ernie and Big Bird too, just not quite as much), an open fridge door, his books, trying to put on his clothes, baths/showers, POPSICLES, and stealing our phones to make Siri show him pictures, Brown Bear (the book)

• is getting 4 new teeth which has been awesome. We had a little round of the flu or something like it followed by a cough/cold combo too, so overall not our best month health wise. 

• I can't even count the number of phrases he understands. It has made communicating SO much easier. Even if half the time he doesn't like that I'm telling him no. 

• discovered that he loves stickers. Especially if he can tell you what they are and pretend to hide them. Animals, Elmo and cars are big faves.  And the slide and swings at the park were rediscovered recently too. 

• still loves to read books. Lots of times he will just plop himself down in front of his bookshelf and thumb through anything he can reach. 

• will climb anything he can. He has climbed OUT of his highchair a few times too. 

• loves loves loves to play hide and seek with just about anything. He thinks he can hide pictures in books by turning the page. Or by just putting his hand over them. It's pretty fun. He also uses a cupboard for all his hiding needs. We know to look there first for missing remotes and brushes. 

• loves to have keys to try to open the doors. Car doors, house doors, mailboxes. He wants control. He also likes to have a mini fit when he can't have it his way. 

• is getting more affectionate with his stuffed animals and less with us. Our kisses are few and far between unless we make him give them. But he will kiss his doggy alllllllll day. 

• loves being able to see out the car window and tell me about the school buses and trucks he sees. It is fun to see what he notices. Lots of times he will point out that he can hear an airplane or helicopter WAY before we notice. 

• knows how to put buckles together. He also is really good with his fine motor skills and knows how to unscrew lids. I made the mistake of putting a gallon of milk by him while getting groceries and turned around to find him trying to drink out of it with the lid already off. He also really likes to empty his piggy bank and put the coins back in through the slot. (Supervised, of course!) 

• he is a LOT stronger than we give him credit for. We discovered (the hard way) that he knows how to open our food storage buckets that hold rice and flour. He just puts all his weight into getting it off and then goes to town playing in them. We are constantly having to find new places to put things we don't want him to touch. 

• loves to wiggle his way onto my lap whenever he wants. Even if I try to get him to sit next to me, he ends up on my lap after 10 seconds. 

• really likes to be involved and have some control. He likes being able to stand on a chair while we make dinner and see what is happening. (Which really makes us want a bigger kitchen.) I can notice a difference in our days when I let him participate too. He is much less whiny and is more willing to let us help him if we let him try things on his own first. [which I thought we wouldn't have to deal with for another year or so....]

I don't know if I can think of anymore. 

I definitely miss having a little baby around but having a toddler boy is SO MUCH FUN. He is such a goofball crazy child sometimes but we can't help but think that he fits perfectly into our family. 

HBD!

Happy birthday to someone-who-thinks-birthdays-are-silly-but-I-don't-care-cause-I-like-them!

Thanks for being alive. And a part of my life. (THAT'S why I like birthdays.)

Also, we take the same exact picture wherever we go! And I kinda really dig it. ;)

Noah @ 15 months

(I have had this draft open on my phone for a WEEK. About time I finished it up!)

NOAH:

• after a few funky weeks of fighting me on naps, we are down to one long(ish) nap a day. He still sleeps 11-12 hours and then his nap is usually 1.5 but rarely (oh so rarely) does 2 or 3. 

• the pediatric dentist shamed us into dropping his pacifier. Which actually went 100 times better than the first time we tried. 

• we dragged him all around NYC with friends and he did really well most of the time. He LOVED being held so much and missed it when we got home. He also managed to chip some teeth on the hotel bathtub (hence the visit to the dentist...)

•he has a slight discoloration on his legs that has been there since birth. We finalllllllly confirmed with a dermatologist that it is a port wine stain and is completely harmless. It was nice to hear from someone else that it is nothing. 

• flipped off a couch at a friend's house and got a little bump on his head. Then an hour later fell from a few stairs up onto the SAME spot. He had the biggest goose egg I've ever seen all night long. Luckily it went down pretty quickly and was a small bump with a big bruise the next day. 

• now it seems like every time he falls, it is on that exact spot. He's got a nice lump of scar tissue to remember his not-so-cautious playing

• has figured out nodding and will nod if we ask him a clarifying question. Which is pretty much all day because I can't understand most of his babble and his pointing. But it is nice to be able to communicate at least a little bit. I can tell it makes him happy too. 

• he has learned quite a few new words even if he doesn't make them sound remotely like the real word: Apple, banana, yogurt, school bus, truck, book, blanket, basketball, elephant, lion, cat, window, jacket, hat, please, more, thank you, turtle, up

• he also is into learning body parts: head, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, hair, hands, fingers, belly button, toes

• loves to come up and tickle you while saying tickle tickle. I randomly hear him walking around saying tickle tickle to himself. 

• he has really come a long way with using his fork and spoon. He's not perfect but definitely gets the concept and is getting better and better. Even stabbing with the fork, which is adorable and hilarious to watch. 

• likes to take the books off my desk or out of my hands and sit and flip through them repeatedly. Especially the parenting ones with babies on the covers. 

• he has become a lot more affectionate and will snuggle into my shoulder now or randomly come and snuggle into my lap. 

•he is a goofy silly kid who loves to make us laugh and will laugh when we do. His "social laugh" is really funny too. 

• he loves to play in the toilet, climb all over the couch, stand on his bike, stand on chairs, putting things in his not-so-secret cupboard, trying to put on his own shoes, sitting down in a pile of his books and opening all of them, brushing his teeth, tickling daddy, and being the silliest boy. 

• he will wave and say "bye bye" to me at bedtime some nights. My heart melts every time. 

Basically he is our bestest little crazy guy and we still can't get enough of him. 

Noah @ 14 months

Hey look! Less than a week late! And with lots of iphone pictures!

I'm having a harder time distinguishing certain things that are new to each month. The milestones aren't as noticeable anymore. 

Noah:

• trying to say more and more words. But lots of it still sounds identical to other mumbo jumbo he says. Things we understand most of the time: car, banana (nanna), his animal sounds (moo, ruff, neigh, baa), baby, ball, dadda, momma, bye bye. He will bring me the remote and try to say "Daniel" meaning he wants to watch Daniel Tiger. 

• got a little plastic bike for christmas. He pushes it everywhere around the house. He has only recently started sitting on it. He can go backwards too but not forward haha. 

• has somehow managed to make David's work keys and a credit card disappear. Not so fun. 

• still really into climbing things. Me, his trike, trying to climb out of the bathtub. He figured out how to climb on the couch but can only do it when he is not wearing diapers 

• is getting more and more insistent about having his own fork/spoon at mealtimes. He also would prefer that you put any/all food into the small cup holder indentation instead of onto his tray.

• can and will inhale fruit in 10 seconds. We have found him sneaking oranges more than once and he really loves his bananas in the morning. And cottage cheese. He always pulls it out of the fridge and wants me to open it. 

• he learned how to play ring around the Rosie and will spin and sing to himself a lot of the time. He really likes the "fishes in the water" part too and will wiggle his hands for you to sing it. 

• he understands tons of phrases now. If you put a hat or sunglasses on him and tell him to go look in the mirror, he will dash off to my room and giggle. He likes to show daddy it too. He is pretty good about listening when we tell him to close the door/cupboard or to bring us something or put something away. 

• still really loves to read books, watch cars out the window, and take baths. He likes to wear daddy's headphones and listen to music. 

• we have him a real haircut and he actually did really well (mostly because David was feeding him candy the whole time)

We both have cabin fever pretty badly at this point. I'm just happy it's February already. This is the point of the year where we start talking about moving to a place where it doesn't snow. 

Noah @ 13 months

This is super late due to Christmas vacation and my own procrastination. And also, no real pictures for the same reasons. Thanks a lot, January, for making me get nothing done. 

From what I can remember and not confuse with what he does now:

- obsessed with things that open and close -- airplane windows, doors, cabinets, Tupperware, etc. 

- has moved on from the hand gesturing to the finger point which gets used over and over again

- is also still obsessed with taking the keys and standing at the front door and pretending to unlock it while sliding the key in the gap between the door and the frame. He will pick one key out and try it over and over again. 

- went to his first BYU basketball game. He seemed to like it and would clap when everyone else was clapping. It was so cute. 

- while at my parents' house, he learned to play "where's Noah?" But instead of covering his eyes to play, he just covers his mouth with both hands and watches you while he waits for you to say "there he is!"

- also at my parents' house: STAIRS. Mainly going down them. He knew how to go up, but we spent a couple days trying to teach him to turn around and put his feet down first. And to keep his hands down on the stairs. Now he can go SO FAST. Speedy McGee over here. 

- will still eat anything but loves fruit. He probably ate an entire bag of clementines by himself at one point. And he knew if he pointed most people would let him have it. 

- speaking of that, he is a master manipulator. He will hold his arms up to anyone until they pick him up. And as soon as they do, he turns and points to what he really wanted in the first place. And everyone loved when he would hold his arms out, so of course he almost always got what he wanted. 

- he didn't really get christmas 100% but he definitely had fun seeing everyone and was totally spoiled. 

And that's all I remember at this point.