What's New With Noah

I feel terrible that I haven't been taking notes on what Noah is up to these days. I want to have something to look back on someday so I am going to put it here. Since both boys (actually all 3) are resting right now, I will do my best to give an update.
For the first time, Noah asked, "Why?" yesterday. I thought, "Oh no, here we go..."
When we say his name or call for him, he responds with, "What?" It's so cute.
One of his latest things is flipping light switches. For a while, he would push his little step stool ladder around to flip them on and off but then decided the ladder was too much work. So now he wanders around from room to room flipping all the switches down. He's still too short to flip them back up so we have random lights on throughout the house depending on if the room has multiple light switches.
Noah knows all of his manners AND uses them the majority of the time.
He is beginning to use the first person a lot more when speaking. At times he still calls himself Noah but is now saying "I, me, yours, she, he, you, etc"
He tells us stories or recalls events the way he remembers them. It's so interesting to hear things from his perspective.
He has days where he likes Nate more than others. Recently though, he has begun to rub his head and arm and also tries to make him laugh by making silly faces.
Not only does he help Mimi with "chores" at her house (using the hose on whatever he wants and sweeping random things) but he also helps me. He loves to use the Clorox Bleach Wipes and also helps put the soap in the laundry and move clothes from the washer to the dryer. He obviously then has to push the button to turn it on.
He recognizes gender which is funny because I never really quizzed him until I noticed he was calling girls "little girls" and boys "little boys" and using them correctly. We were at the playground the other day and he was playing with a 4 year old girl calling her "little girl" when she quickly corrected him - "I'm a big girl!" He responded with "Oh, okay."
He prefers to drink from an open cup but we still have him use one with a top most of the time.
We still are not 100% sure if he is a lefty or righty. It seems like he switches from one meal or activity to another. If I HAD to guess, I would say righty.
Noah is also showing more signs of love. Not only does he say "I love you" but he also will come up to me and rub my back. Jay is taking advantage of him and asking him to rub his shoulders all the time.
He uses feeling words and will talk about himself or others being happy, sad, excited, angry, etc.
Every time someone coughs, Noah tells the person they're sick, they have germs in their mouth, and they need to go to the hospital. The germs in the mouth part is because I taught him to cover his mouth when he sneezes or coughs so he doesn't spread the germs in their mouth.
He also prefers all the doors in the house to be closed. He closes all doors behind him and likes to be the one to open it upon entrance.
He loves to sing and picks up on the lyrics easily (we're talking children's music that he hears often - not random radio). I am definitely going to get the video camera out because I have to let everyone witness how cute he is. He sings "BINGO", "There Was a Farmer", "Jesus Loves Me" and loves all the songs on his childrens bible songs cd, "Row Your Boat", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Rock-a-bye-Baby", the Wonder Pets theme song, and others that I'm sure every kid is singing. If he doesn't know the words to a song he lip syncs. It's so funny!!
Thomas is still his favorite thing in the world.
He knows all of his letters (what they look like and the sound they make) but hasn't quite caught on to the numbers. He can count to 22 (once in a while he messes up 14 and 15) but doesn't recognize them all. He doesn't show much interest in learning to recognize them either. I can tell when he doesn't want to play with the flashcards with me anymore because he'll say the same number over and over for every number just to get me to stop. I'm learning now..
There's a billboard with a picture of the hospital Noah and Nate were born at. Jay and I hadn't seen it until Noah pointed it out saying, "Noah and Nate born there. Noah and Aunt Jenna visit Baby Nate, Mommy, and Daddy. Noah no want leave. Noah cry." Aww.
When it's quiet and he all of a sudden hears something, he makes a suspecting face and says, "Hear that (dat)?"
He's also starting to actually play with others. Before he would just chase other kids around, but now he communicates with them what he wants to do and what he wants them to do. He also listens and follows their instructions if they have an idea what to do.
Noah knows now about monsters. He doesn't seem to be afraid of them, but it worried me when he said they were in his room. I was concerned that he was scared but he reassured me that he wasn't by explaining that it was a happy monster on his Leap Frog Letter Factory movie. He says that it "the letter T" hides behind his curtains. He's a little confused though because the actual monster is the letter A but he thinks the T is also a monster since he hides and jumps out.
He's taking soccer right now but we're not sure he likes taking the classes. The first week, he did pretty well. The second week, he was a mess. He sat on the sidelines and wanted me to hold him the entire time. Did I mention he swatted at the coach. Yes, he did. The third week, I thought it might be best if Jay just took him. So the two of them went and Jay said he did great. He wasn't interested in playing for the first little bit but then decided to join the other kids and have fun. I was so happy to hear that he enjoyed what is supposed to be something fun for him.
Noah chooses which books he wants to read throughout the day and before bed. It melts my heart to hear him "read" me bible stories: "Zacchaeus, you come down - I'm going to your house today!" Except, when he says Zacchaeus, it sounds like Ikeas. His other favorite bible story is about Jonah and the whale. There's a picture of Jonah inside the whale that he just can't get enough of.
We haven't put the twin size mattress on his top bunk yet so he loves to hang from the bars above calling himself "Monkey Boy".
We have gotten a taste of the "terrible 2's" over the last few weeks. His pediatrician seems to think it's this and also still not being #1 all the time since Nate has joined our family. So we've implemented a sticker chart for him where every time he has good behavior and listens without putting up any kind of argument, he chooses a sticker and puts it on his chart. Once he gets ten, he gets to choose a place to go with either Jay or myself. This is uninterrupted quality time doing whatever he wants with whichever parent he wants. I have to admit that this has really helped. He absolutely loves stickers and is usually very eager to earn another. He gets stickers for things like setting the table (napkins, spoons, forks), sharing, washing his hands, having his teeth brushed with no trouble, and anything else he does that's positive.
This is all I can think of now, but I will try to give another update sooner than later.

Sampling

Sampling is what Noah does best. Jay is on a kick of exploring all the self-serve frozen yogurt places around and Noah is loving every minute of it. These places will give you a little sample cup to try the flavors before you decide what you want. As soon as we walk in, Noah says "Cup please!" Here are the two frozen yogurt lovers sitting on the curb with their sample cups.

Napping

Since Noah has made no attempt to switch to one nap, we have taken the initiative. It seems that most of our friends' kids nap soon after lunch (1:00 or 2:00) which is half way between his two naps (10:00 and 3:00) so I wanted to see what would happen if I just let him decide. I asked him periodically throughout the morning to which he (of course) told me he wasn't sleepy. Jay came home around 12:15 or 12:30 for lunch. Noah just about finished when we saw him sucking on his straw with his eyes closed. At first we thought he was just being silly but when the straw fell out of his mouth and he didn't flinch, we knew he was sleeping. The funniest part is that he still had a bite in his mouth to which we tried swiping out but he wouldn't open. So right now he's laying in bed with a bite of a chicken sandwich in his mouth. He officially fell asleep at 1:00. Now, we'll see how long he sleeps...

Playtime

This afternoon we borrowed Mimi's kiddie pool. PS: Noah thinks that is such a funny name for a pool. Anyway, every time he plays in it he makes, serves, and sells us drinks. It seems like most of his selections are $20 (which seems a little steep to me). I have to admit, though, that I received really good service being that I was his only customer today and he probably wants me to come back.

After I sampled (and payed for) all of my drinks, he jumped in.

He is pretending to be a shark, whale and dolphin in these pictures, but don't ask me which is which.

As usual, Nate just hung out and watched. I can't begin to tell you how much he loves it outside. If he ever just won't stop crying, we just bring him out and ta-da - happy boy!

So Noah says to me, "Mommy, I have special treat?" I say, "Like what? It's just about lunch time." His response, "Peach!?" What kid asks for a peach for a special treat? Mine! Yay! I don't mean to brag. We have other issues. This just isn't one of them.



He finishes his sandwich in the pool to get away from the fly that is trying to eat it. I know what you're thinking: "Sarah let Noah out of his highchair AND eat in the pool?" I know. I know. I was having a moment. And it was worth it. Noah loved it. Besides, when he was done, I brought some soap and a washcloth out to wipe off his peach juice. Easy!

Recommendation

I won't elaborate on the documentary/movie because you can just google it yourself, but Jay and I watched a great movie (recommended to us by my brother) called Lord, Save Us From Your Followers. If you are looking for a film to rent or order on Netflix, this is highly recommended!

Happy Birthday Uncle Matt!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Matt! We hope you have a great day!

Nate's 2 Month Check Up

Can you believe Nate is 2 months old? Wow, time flies!! We just went to his check up and he is growing well. His stats:
weight 12 lbs 2 oz - 55th %tile
head 15 3/4" - 50th %tile
length 24" - 80th %tile
He is definitely an Erickson with that height.
His right eye's tear duct is still blocked. It has been since birth so it can get pretty goopy at times. We massage it often in hopes that we can hurry the process. He also has the tiniest umbilical hernia which will hopefully close soon.

The Dentist

This was Noah's second trip to the dentist - Sweet Tooth. I've been prepping him for about a week letting him know that we were going back to see the dentist. I personally can't believe he remembers going (that was six months ago). He was not looking forward it. He would tell me, "No, go home. Go to sleep." It must be a bad memory if a toddler would rather sleep than do something. It really wasn't bad though. I think he just didn't like the idea of having to perform for a stranger. Anyway, he clung to me like a peach from the car to the office door. As soon as we walked into the waiting room, he saw endless amounts of fun and took off to join the other kids. He calls from the other side of the room, "Mommy, come play!" Relief. Only moments later the hygienist comes out and peach remembers why he is really there. Luckily, the hygienist was really patient and waited for him to build some trust in her. He then followed all her instructions and got a clean bill of health from her and the dentist. He got his picture taken to be posted on their "No Cavities Club" wall, picked a balloon, a new CARS toothbrush, and a bath toy. As we walked out, I asked him if he liked going to the dentist. His response: "YES!" I asked him a few hours later: "NO!" Shrug. What are ya gonna do?
*sorry the pics didn't turn out. i meant to take more later, but forgot...
PS: Noah's last two teeth have erupted and are almost completely in place.

Enchanted Island

This afternoon we tried going to Enchanted Island. We tried to check their website before leaving to make sure they would be open, but it was down. We thought, "Why wouldn't it be open on a weekend?" Well, since AZ temperatures peak from 1-5pm, they are closed from 1-5pm. What time did we arrive? 1:30pm. So we wandered around the property...


Nate enjoyed the breeze in his hair...

Noah could not get enough of the railroad tracks. (Have I mentioned he's in love with trains? Yes, he still is!)

Then he chased some birds...

And got angry when they flew away...

After exploring for a bit, we decided we'd come back AFTER 5:00 to check out the rides...

It looks like Noah's about to ride in the helicopter and rocket, right? Don't be fooled. As soon as Jay walked away so the ride could begin, our little boy wanted no part. We took him out and put him back in FOUR times. The ride technician (is that what they're called?) must have thought we were ridiculous. It's not our fault though. We'd take him out, stand back, and watch the other kids fly with grins from ear to ear. Of course, then, he wanted to be a part of the fun. So we'd get back in line, let him choose which one he wanted to ride, buckle him in, back away, and... then get him out. So we stuck with more basic rides like the train.


Noah and Daddy are waving and pulling the horn (?). Choo! Choo!
Noah is still pulling the horn (again, I'm not sure if that's what it's called) and yelling, "ALL ABOARD!!" in the deepest voice he can find inside him. It was so cute!!!
Then he rode other things like the carousel...

Again...

And again...

I won't bore you with all the pictures but I will let you know that he rode it four times - on the same pony - he named it Caramel - that's how close they became. Jay was a great sport.
He then saw this thing and ran away with wide eyes. Then he decided it looked like something from Disneyland and wanted to take a picture with "Pete the Parrot". We couldn't get him away from it. They acted like long-lost friends; hugging, laughing, high-fiving, all that stuff.

Oh,LOOK AT THIS!! All I had to say was Harold the Helicopter (from Thomas and Friends) and he grabbed that steering wheel.

And wouldn't let go.

Here we go again.

And again.

He looks like he owns this thing. He pretty much did. The ride operator (yes, that's it! ride operator) didn't make him get off. The rules state that you must get off and get back in line if you want to ride again but she saw how much we went through to get him on in the first place so he stayed on for 5 rides. Yes, 5.

Checking out the gear.

The only reason he got off was to board this rocket. He thought he was flying Rocket from Little Einsteins.

Meanwhile, here's Nate hanging with me. He loved all the flashing lights and music!

Soccer

Today was Noah's first day of soccer. It is a class with all two year olds (some just turned two and others are almost three). You can definitely tell who is closer to three because they are A LOT better at following directions. All in all, Noah did really well and he liked it. His favorite part of the class, though, was at the very end when each child was given a stamp. Noah stared at his all day.


Nate was asleep during soccer but this is a pic of him taken yesterday:

He is getting to be more and more fun everyday. He loves to interact with us and always wants to be a part of what's going on.