How He Plays

Just a few pictures of how I found Noah's toys.

He begged to leave his "farm" out tonight so he could play with it tomorrow.

Why not, right?

We have a lot of other battles to fight.

I thought his organization system was so cute.

These were obvious.

A few other compilations were not so obvious (monkey, tigers x2, and leopard).

Whatever is going on in that nutty little head of his, I sure do love him!!

(We have a giraffe get-together)

 (and a little horse party)

 (and several different types of dogs)

Quiet

Noah was a late talker.

I was hyper-aware of it because of my career.

It lead to many many frustrating months from lack of communication and difficult behaviors.

People told me "don't rush it.  One day you won't be able to shut him up".

But I ignored them, and it secretly annoyed me, because not being able to communicate was also so frustrating!

How could that be worse than not being able to tune a kid out??

Enter my talkative, highly creative and highly imaginative child.

And he won't shut up.  :)
But I remember all of those difficult months (a HUGE part of why he is an only child ;)).
And I am grateful for every word.
Well, most of them.

Last night he informed us that when he grows up there "will be three parents".
And that when he grows up, he wants to sleep in the bed with mommy.
I told him that he probably would change his mind, but he was adamant.

Anyway, those two lips never stop moving.
Last week I let him wear a pair of headphones and listen to Pandora.
He didn't say one word for almost 45 minutes.

So I bought him his very own kid sized pair.
And it works perfectly. :)

I do love that little voice, and I am so thankful to be blessed with such a spirited child.
But sometimes....a momma just needs quiet!!!

Date Night??!!

Last night we got to go on a date.

It was the first in a loooooong time.

We have a babysitter, but she is young, and we tend to use her for other things (not just us-two events).

So I signed Noah up for AWANA, which give us 1 hour and 45 minutes for a date.

Every.  Single. Week.

Ummmmm...heavenly!!!

So Jeremy picked Longhorn, and we went and really lived it up.

It was so nice to dine in peace.

And talk.

And not get kicked, pushed, climbed on, etc.

We even got dessert.

And took a selfie.

Because, well, why not?

It was so lovely, and Noah learned something too.

He says that his memory verse is "God loved us, so he sent his kid".

(I think he improvised a bit by changing "Son" to "kid", but no biggie, right?)

He also told us that he played duck duck goose and ate cereal.

And he swore up and down that he didn't learn about Jesus.

Only God.

Guess he isn't quite seeing the connection.

Oh well, win win win for all.

:)

Can't wait for next Wednesday.

Some Things

 1.   We are thoroughly enjoying the weather!!  Summer is officially over (in my opinion anyway). I am really really looking forward to being able to get in and out of the car without sweating. We are also enjoying the park, bike rides, evenings on the patio...the list goes on and on. Sooooooo happy.

2. Riley's ear infection is gone. It cost us $70. They wanted to "follow up". For $40. I looked in the ear and followed up for free.   I really like our clinic, but boy does pet care add up.

3. Two recipes which are fabulous:  taquitos and sweet and sour chicken.  Amazing amazing amazing.  Try them.  You will not be disappointed.  The first time I made the sweet and sour chicken I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. ( make a LOT!!!)

4. So we signed up for private swim lessons.  I was kinda on the fence about it, but only 2/8 sessions in, and I am very happy. He is doing well I that environment (one on one) and learning a lot. It will be a one time thing (for this year anyway) but still worth it.

5. The ENT gave us an "all clear" yesterday.   Passed the hearing test and tubes look good. Still VERY car sick, but totally unrelated I guess.

6.  Less than month till our cruise!  So excited to explore, eat, relax and float. ;). Cruising is simply the best.

7.  I'm officially 4 weeks into my 8 week fitness blender program.  It's been really fun to try new workouts...some harder than I can manage and some easier (not many). I've enjoyed the challenge and I've been putting some thought into what I'm gonna do next, but I'm not sure. Maybe another program?!?

8.  I finished the 4 day Perceptual Action Approach course on Sunday.  Yes, it was hard to sit through 4 days of classes, but it was worth it and I learned a lot. Gonna try to implement the technique into my treatment.  The coolest part was when they lined up 0-12 month kids (typical development) for us to look at the differences. What an awesome experience!!

That's all for today!  Happy Tuesday (off to make some taquitos!!)

Missing Jeremy

It's been a busy week.

I'm in a class this weekend, so that was two more full days to tack on.

Jeremy's been on a trip this week too.

I can't wait to get him back.

For one, this boy misses him.

Secondly, I miss him.

Thirdly, we are tired of eating dogs and chicken nuggets.  

And fourthly, I could really use a sleep in.  

Come home soon.  :)

Math Via Discipline

Tonight, while getting Noah ready for bed, he said "no" when I asked him go do something.
Right away, I told him he was losing one of his bedtime books.
Normally we ready three bedtime books.

I was expecting a protest but instead, he thought about it and asked "so now I only have two books?"
Jeremy and I looked at each other and were actually quite impressed with his subtraction.
Who knew you could teach mathematics via discipline?

We have also been thinking about ways to expand the curriculum.

For example:

If Noah spends two minutes in time out, three times a day, how much time has been spent in time out in total?

Or

If  Noah has six toys and half of his toys get taken away, how many toys are left?

Of course, I'm just joking.
Love that little squirt a lot.
And he still got his two books. (A lot better than no books!!)

Pooped

We spent the weekend in Phoenix.

We had a lot of family time, food and fun.

I even let Noah skip his nap today (yes, super super rare) to play in the pool.

After that, we headed home.

And this is my view from the front seat:

 And this is how he looked even after bring transferred to the couch:

And then at 7pm, he was passed out in bed (he didn't even **try** to call for something like water, blankets, a tuck, his fan, socks,...you get the idea).

Guess that is the picture of a good weekend for a 3 year old.  

:)

Airplane Progress

Canopy on.

Propellor in.

Seatbelt/harness in (I was a little afraid to ask why we need a 5 point harness!?!?!)

Wheels on.

Engine ready to go.

T minus under 2 months for more garage space.

That guy must have a pretty awesome wife.

Just saying.

Catch up

1. It's been a while since I put together a blog. I keep meaning to take pictures, but somehow I always seem to have my hands full with one thing or another and it never works out. So another list blog comes tonight.

2.  It's been two weeks of pretty much non stop. We are all pretty tired, and I've been quite grouchy.  But a little extra down time and some extra sleep this weekend and I am in a much better mood. My husband is even willing to hang out with me again, so that must mean I'm more enjoyable to be around. ;)

3. Our family and Amy's family went camping this weekend. I only joined for one night (see #2 above), but it was a lot of fun. The boys spent the weekend digging, chopping, running around, and some fighting too. ;). It was fun to see Noah interact with his cousins. Growing up to be such a little boy!   When I got him cleaned off on Sunday, if was digging dirt out from under his nails!!

4. On Saturday, Noah had been crying on and off all morning by the time I arrived at the campground.  After two doses of Advil, we finally figured out what was wrong with him...a stuff neck!  He had been saying his "chin" hurt, but we weren't able to put it together. After we realized it though, and it was pretty obvious by the fact that he was turning his head all weird and was kinda cocked over to the side. ;). Who knew you could get a stiff neck at 3!!

5. We took Noah mini golfing tonight. After the game I gave jeremy the unofficial winner title for "laeast amount of hits" when we realized Noah actually should take that title, since he spent all 18 holes just throwing the ball down. I'm not positive but I think he though you win by getting your ball in the hole the fastest.  Anyway, he was free, and it was a fun experience for all. Don't think he will be taking home any awards any time soon.

6. We got new neighbors, a new dog watcher, a new house keeper (yes I'm lazy) and a new bed (for the guest room). Lots of changes at once. Everything seems to be working out well though, and we are excited to be able to travel again.  Only 2 months till our cruise!!  Can't wait!!

7. I bought an 8 week fitness plan through fitnessblender. It was only $10 , And I've gotten my money's worth already. It's really fun to try some new workouts and not to have to plan ahead. Motivation is really the only limiting factor (and time sometimes).  Also I'm sore in all new places, so I guess I'm getting some muscles that I hadn't focused on before.

8. The second session of swim lessons is coming to a close this week. We are still trying to decide what to do about the next session since he has made such good progress. He just still can't/won't float. He is such a stiffie. Is floating a big deal?!?  Thoughts?  I mean. I can swim well and rarely, if ever have the urge to float on my back. I don't know.

9. I think Riley has an ear infection. Noah is really pumped that Riley "has the chance to do ear drops too". A trip to the vet may be in order soon. Boo.

10. I've taken a bit of a break from couponing. The deals just haven't been so great, and since I'm not longer buying pull ups/diapers I haven't been as motivated. However, I did get my coupons out this weekend and stock up on few things, and it was nice to get the coupon high again. It's been a while. :)

Happy Monday!  What a great, long weekend. :)