Ian is Growing Up!

I was trying to get things cleaned up for a Girl's Night at my house and was very pleased that the boys seemed to be entertaining themselves very well. As I was going into my room to put some things away I glanced in Noah's room and saw the above picture. Ian was thrilled with his position. I was less so. Noah has not yet realized all the implications of the bunk bed no longer being safe from prying hands. No matter the results, I am pretty certain you can't resist a face like that!

I have since found him up there one other time, but crying because he wanted to down. (Just like at my VT companion's house earlier in the week. 'Bout scared the pants off me to see him at the top of a real flight of stairs!)

This week Ian was all up in Noah's speech therapy session. Joyce and I were both surprised when he opted to help put the beans in the tube rather than throw them hither and yon. Although, that did come later. Look at that concentration!

Sparky

This is Sparky. He joined the family when Chris and I got married. He is the only vehicle we own. The CD player is on the glitch but I will miss his tight turning radius when I some day have to give him up. I am really looking forward to intermittent windshield wiping and less road noise with the next car we have but on the other hand he is comfortable and familiar.

Our faithful little Corolla is well traveled. Purchased in TX, he has been in UT, VA, and IN, all the states in between and some of those more than once. That is how he got to this point.
We have had not problems with him the whole time we have had him. He runs well and has few scratches despite having been rear-ended twice (once on the way home from the hospital with Ian!) And while I am actively...um...dreaming...of a minivan (I can't believe I am to the point where I am wishing for a minivan!), we are hoping that Sparky will go another 100,000+ miles and that we won't have to trade him in to get the minivan some day.

Here's to another 100,000 miles or more, Sparky!

Super Saturday

Alisa came to my house last Saturday! (I am well aware it is not the best picture but it is the only one I got of us. How typical of me I know. Be sure to check out the link-she put some of our kids on her blog and they are much cuter than us:)

I still remember what she was wearing the first time I saw her. (What a girl thing to say! And it was a t-shirt and lava-lava.) She was so welcoming. She was a great teacher and companion. She taught me how to take a shower out of a bucket. She taught me what 'dk' meant. We apparently talked in our sleep to each other. In Spanish. She taught me about avoiding the stored water with the worms in it. She introduced me to La Bandera. She made me share a scripture that first night, in the dark, by the light of a single candle. (It wasn't her fault the lights when out:) She introduced me to Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. She taught me how to sit with 3 other people in the back of a car. Oh, and not to slam the doors of those rusted out, cockroach infested, buckets of junk. She was my "mom" and I "killed" her.

And, years later, she came to my house to visit! (It was a miraculous recovery:)

We saw each other a few times when we were both still in school. We got to see each other a few years ago in MD before they jetted off to Turkey.

And, last Saturday she came to visit!

I spent the morning running around getting all my errands done. I didn't get my jewelry or make-up on (yes, I do wear it occasionally) or my hair done or my house completely picked up.

But you know what? It didn't matter! It was like no time at all had passed since those days when we spent 24/7 together. Once we got going it was like a freight train and we just talked and talked. Our sweet husbands kid wrangled and we sat and talked some more! I loved watching out children play together. It made me wonder why I wasn't in the car once a month making that 3 hour drive to see her!

I have found, going through life, that good, true, special friends can be few and far between. This makes them precious and valuable. I am so glad that Alisa is such a friend to me. No matter where life takes us or the time between visits when we do get together it will be like no time has passed.

Thank you Alisa and Greg for making the trek out to see us! It made me so happy! I can't wait for July!
And thank you, Chris for doing dinner and desert and the kids!

It was a super Saturday!

Some Funnies

Yesterday, after naps, I decided that we would go to Sam's to pick up the few things I needed and we would stop and get the combo meal for dinner. I was fairly certain that I could coax my recalcitrant one year old to eat a cinnamon and sugar pretzel too. Sam's combo meal is my new favorite thing.

In preparation for the outing I took off my socks and put on my flip flops, my official summer footwear. Noah noticed my toenails painted Rockin' Red.

"Nice toes, Mommee" he tells me. And then two more times, each time he noticed them. So sweet.

While we were enjoying our cheap, yummy meal the lady who checks carts as you leave would come over and tell Ian to chew his food and pinch his cheeks. He didn't cry like the other poor little boy she approached. But about half way through the meal the ladies switched. A young woman, maybe late teens, early twenties took her place. And, oh my, the flirting to behold. There were wiggles and giggles, coy looks and smiles. Holy Cow! I guess he is an appropriate namesake:)

This video is a little old but so cute. I tried to be sly but Noah sees me.
One of Ian's all time favorite ways to pass the time is to sing all the action songs you know over and over and over. This is just a glimpse but he is so cute as he watches enthralled and attempts some of the actions.



And to cap off the day yesterday, I have to mention the words that Ian has attempted to say. Unlike most babies (but seemingly in keeping with our kids:) there is no mama or dada to be heard. So far, Ian has taken a stab at open, shut and up. All from Wheels on the Bus. They are the signs he will sometimes do too. He repetoire of signs is not huge and spider and more look a lot alike but he does frequently nod his head which is quite helpful.

Goodness, I love my kids!

Things to Remember...from a month or so ago.

This post is old. It has been sitting as a draft for weeks now, waiting for more things I want to remember or a picture or two. (I wish I posted the little things about what the kids do more often.) So, the news in it is also old. The picture of Noah is the only recent thing in this post actually.

(Noah, not looking me and not smiling, the opposite of the request)

Noah's language skills have improved a lot over the last year. There is still a lot of echoing and imitation, however, and it has really given me a glimpse into the things I say often (perhaps too often?) as Noah says them to me or as a comment to his own activities.

I frequently ask him if he is my boy and if he is my Noah. He always responds in the affirmative. I tell him he is my favorite Noah in the whole world. I don't say all these things together but Noah must have connected them in his mind because we had this conversation awhile back and many times since.

M: Are you my Noah?
N: yeah. whole world.
M: Yes, you are my favorite Noah in the whole world!

While helping him pick up his toys, Noah tells me "Good job, mommee"

While jumping on the bed, Noah says "good jumping"

'so smart, mommee'

The other day he was looking for his blanket and when I told him to check my room he went down the hall calling "Wanket, where aaaaaaaare you?"

It is his bedtime routine now to change his diaper, put on pjs, read scriptures and say family prayer. It has been fun for us since he tells us what is next saying 'read scritures' and when we finish that 'hold still and quiet' to tell us it is time to say prayer.

***

At Ian's one year well child check up (what an adventure-Chris took them since I also had a doctor's appointment and he waited for an hour or so in that tiny room since the doctor got stuck at the hospital doing a circumcision) we got his current stats. He is (at the beginning of Feb.) in the 90% for height at 30.5 inches and in the 50% for weight at 23 lbs 8 oz. Ian is a long lean walking machine.


His walking has come a long way, as I suppose is the case for most babies. His world would be perfect if he could stand from sitting without something to pull up on. Still, the gorilla crawl has lost it's allure and now if he is not walking he does an awkward knee and foot scoot thing.

Whatever his mode of transportation he is never far behind Noah or myself. Something we both occasionally find irritating. He is in the dump it out phase. Anything and everything. Especially if it has a lid on it.

The New Neopolitan?

I have been planning on doing it for the longest time. Mom even helped me pick out the paint chips the last time she was here. When was that? The summer? But time goes by, money comes and money goes, and then there are always the kids. ( I know cool moms would let their kids help but I have to admit I don't have the temperament for that.)

This weekend the time was finally right for a few things. It started Friday night-date night. Three hours free to paint the bedroom. I had taped it before hand so we dropped off the kids and jumped right in.



We had some...deliberation...about the green. It started out too pastel to hold up with the two other colors. We considered something creamy. In the end, the paint store made the green a little more opaque and we used that. I like it best in sunlight. The room lights make it a little too...neon? Anyway, I was pleased with the end results. Which was good because Chris and I both had some 'oh, my' moments while we were painting.

Part of the changes, after we got the room painted, was to bring in the new bed we got for Noah and the future. (Nope, sorry, not pregnant. Think Ian, folks.) Again, getting the bed was one of those 'the time is right' things too. So, Noah said 'goodbye' to his 'good bed' of almost three years while Ian said 'hello.'

It pushed us past bedtime but we finally got it up. Thank goodness for having the right tools. That's all I'm going to say about that!

It takes up most of his room but he is loving the place to play that is free of Ian and grabbing hands. Enjoy it while it lasts, I say. And, what is better than one new fun place to play? Two! Big boxes are always a hit in this house!

By the time we were done we felt like pretty proud but pooped weekend warriors.

(And if you aren't sure about the colors, just adjust your monitor until you find something you like:)

Coolest Husband in the World!

Yep, I know. I keep saying this. But it is so true!

Do you know why? Today it is because he can write a potty song. Not a song with potty humor-a song about using the potty!

I have been looking for a no pressure method to encourage Noah towards potty training in hopes that his performance anxiety will be limited or nonexistent. Since Noah spends a lot of time singing to himself when he is playing I thought I could plant some ideas in his head if we could teach him a song about using the potty.

Where do you turn when you need a potty song? Your way talented hubby, of course!

So, here it is. I think it will make you smile and if it inspires you and yours to use the potty, all the better! (Hopefully, it will work for Noah too!)

Noah’s Potty Song

To the tune of “Yankee Doodle”

Ian has to wear a diaper

He is still a baby.

Noah wears his underwear

‘Cause he can potty maybe.

Chorus:

No more diapers, no more wipes,

No owies on my body.

When I have to pee and poop

I put them in the potty!

Dora doesn’t wear a diaper

She goes in the potty

Boots and Bob the Builder say

That diapering is naughty.

(Chorus)

When I feel I have to go

I stop what I am doing

I jump up and tell Mommy that

Real soon I will be pooing.

(Chorus)

Then hurry, hurry, chop chop chop!

I run right to the toilet

I drop my pants and underwear

‘Cause I don’t want to soil it.

(Chorus)

And when I’m done I wipe my bum

And pull down on the lever

To flush the yuckies down the drain

And say goodbye forever.

(Chorus)

The next step is to wash my hands

With soap and lots of bubbles

I’ll sing about the ABCs

And wash away my troubles.

(Chorus)

Daddy is so proud of me

The toilet water swirled.

Mommy says that I’m her favorite

Noah in the world.