Summer 2009

My Noah,

Here are a few things that will always remind me of the summer you were 2 1/2 years old:

1. You LOVE juice, gum, suckers, and cookies (can we say sweet tooth?!)

2. You are a great swimmer with your floaties

3. You can hit a baseball and run the bases

4. You can ride a bike with training wheels....yes, that's right, a BIKE!

5. You milked a cow at Purina Farms

6. You have horrible allergies

7. You are getting so strong...you want to climb everything

8. You love and strongly dislike your brother all at the same time

9. You strongly dislike sharing and will verbalize it whenever possible

10.You love SuperWhy and are starting to identify some letters

11. Your new Kids Day Out teacher commented on how bright you are and told me you are the best listener...she said she appreciated you

12. You love books and are starting to act the stories out

13. You like to pretend a lot... for example, you make me be Jeff, daddy is Murrey, Max is Dorothy, Brooks is Wags, and you are Anthony (all characters from the Wiggles)...or you're a trash man and I'm your worker (hmmm)

14. You love your family and we love you!

Love,

Mom

WHY?

My Noah,

Why, but why mom, why dad, why, why, why????!!!!??? This is your new favorite word. You started using it on Saturday for the first time and haven't stopped yet!

Why is it that all 2 year olds at some point discover this word and continuously use it? (who do I sound like?)

You might drive me insane,

Mom

July Fun!

Dear Noah,

The summer is flying by and you and I have gotten to do so many fun things together! You've started saying "I love you" and "I love you too" without any prompting from us....it melts my heart. You are 28 months now and seem like you're 3 1/2 instead of almost 2 1/2. You are 95% potty trained...everything except the poopie. You talk SO much and SO well! I love hanging out with you!

You're so into trucks...ALL of them. You can name most of them..we still get confused between the excavator and the bulldozer.

The 4th of July was fun this year...you loved the fireworks and the only reason we know that is because our nice neighbors shared their's with you. The neighbors up the street (Ella and Jack) let you throw their poppers, the Newcomers brought their poppers and other things that spark and spit fire, and the Smiths gave you a whole box of sparklers! Then, Daddy and I got you out of bed when we noticed that you could see all the bigs ones from our deck. You LOVED them!

We got to go to Kansas City to visit Gramma Marcia, Grampa Paul, Caden, Aunt Lindsey, Aunt Jessie, Uncle Pat and all the cats (which you are obsessed with). We got to ride on an airplane and you got to see the pilot and the cock-pit. You had a great time on the plane (we even had to use that stinky potty and you seemed fine with it). You and Caden had fun together and you slept so well at Gramma's and Aunt Jessie's. We had fun!

Here's to more fun!

Love,

Mom

Trash Day and more!

Dear Noah,

You have grown so much in the past month...physically AND cognitively. You are so into trucks, airplanes, bulldozers, mowers, weed eaters, blowers, trash trucks, backhoes, diggers, bobcats....I could go on and on! You have the trash day and recyclable day memorized (Mon and Fri) and we HAVE to go out as soon as you hear the trucks coming up the hill...no matter if I'm in my pj's still or not (and I always am!). The trash guy (Andrew) is SO nice and puts on a show for you every time. He dumps the dumpster even if it's not all the way full, he honks, he uses the lift to lift the trash cans even if he can do it himself, and he always waves to you. The best thing happened on Monday...you got to go in the trash truck and pull the air horn!!!! He wanted to let you sit on the seat, but you didn't want to...I think you got nervous! Such a first born you are.

The other thing that you've accomplished this month is going to summer camp at a new place, staying with the babysitter, and going to Sunday school at a new church without crying!!! That's huge for you. You were so excited to tell us about Jonah and the Big Fish after your first Sunday school experience. We were so impressed! The Bible verse was Children Obey You Parents...the other day I said, "Noah, you need to listen and obey" and you added, "your parents". You must have really learned something! Now, we just need you to apply it!

Keep on growing my little man!

Love you,

Mom

My Big Boy!

Dear Noah,

You are such a little man these days....singing SO much, washing dishes, drinking out of big boy cups, doing the laundry for me, and vacuuming the floor! What a big helper you're becoming...sure hope it continues!

Love you,

Mom

Oh Noah, what more can I say?!

Noah,

You are a talkin, runnin, movin machine these days. You keep us laughing and on our toes every minute of every day! You and Daddy had fun singing and splashing in the rain the other day. Gramma Mary got you a Thomas umbrella for Easter and you decided to try it out! What fun!

You and I made our own playdough together. You love to "help" make anything in the kitchen. Pouring, dumping, and stirring can keep you busy for a few minutes!

We also got your sandbox filled up with lots of brown sand for you.Last summer you didn't like the feel of the sand and didn't like being dirty. This summer....I don't think that's going to be our issue!

You are big into exploring and learning all kinds of new things. This keeps your mind racing at all hours of the day (and night) and seems to make it hard for you to wind down at bedtime. You chat to yourself and your animals for an hour some nights before you call me or daddy in and tell us "I'm having a hard time going nigh-nigh". You then ask us to "pat your head and sing me one song". I always sing "You are my sunshine" and then you seem to settle down.

Today was your first trip to the ER. You were running to show Papa something and tripped over your own feet...bam, right into the corner of a drawer the was pulled out. You got a good size gash above your left eye that wouldn't stop oozing, so the doctor told us to take you to the ER. You were a MESS! You were fine until you saw the hospital room...then the screaming started and NEVER stopped. You are so strong...it was really hard to hold you down to get it cleaned out, but the 5 of us managed : ) Luckliy they used the glue to hold it together instead of stitches...that would've been a nightmare! As soon as we left that room, you were fine again! Daddy and I are exhausted!

Here's to many more whirlwinds with you,
Mommy

Fun on the Farm!

Dear Noah,

We got to go to Purina Farms today for a special Mommy and Noah time! Max stayed at home with the new babysitter; we headed out to run a few quick errands and then off to the farm. The first thing that grabbed your attention when we got there was the Easter Bunny! Saying you loved him is a huge understatement! You LOVED him! You ran up to him, hugged him, sat on his lap, rubbed him, gave him high five and knuckles, and talked to him forever. Then, we had to go back to see him no less than 6 more times! At one point you and the bunny sat side by side on the bench and you chatted to him about the leaves and the screw in the bench. Too cute!

You liked the horses, pigs, and cows...but not when the cow mooooooed right in our face! That kind of scared you!

You are now in bed with a 101 degree fever...coincidence?

Get better my little farmer,

Momma

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Dear Noah,

Wow, it's been two years that we've had you and I really cannot believe it! There are days it feels like you've been here forever and days that I think, "Where have these two years gone?". As I type this you are running around the house completely naked and loving the freedom!

Your birthday weekend was tons of fun! The weather was so nice when you woke up on your birthday that you, daddy, and Brooks got to go for a big, long walk. Then, we went to the pet store to pick out your new Beta fish (kind of creeped me and your dad out), stopped and picked up lunch, went to the park for a picinic and some running around, napped, went swimming at the YMCA with daddy, had pizza and cake, opened presents, and had a group of 11 twelve year olds stop by to sing you Happy Birthday (neighbor girl was having a party)! You're quite the man!

Then, on Sunday, we met Papa, Gramma Mary, and Carter at the zoo! You loved all the animals and are now claiming that the camel is your favorite!

We seem to be back on track with your sleeping. You haven't woken up the past three nights..let's hope it stays that way now. You're in a much better mood when you get sleep...and so am I!

Love you big boy,

Momma