Noah News {2 years, 4 months}

It has been quite awhile since I did a post solely on my favorite two year old! While two is dubbed "terrible", Scott and I find ourselves laughing with, and enjoying our little boy constantly. That's not to say that we don't have our fair share of two year old drama, but on the whole, I am loving the 2's! Honestly, the most difficult part is just keeping up with his energy. He is a really good kid 99% of the time and the only truly exhausting part is trying to keep up with whatever sport he is demanding to play or redirecting his zesty energy!

A few funny Noah-isms

"Gad" (sounds exactly like God). He used to call Scott "GaGa" but he has recently made the jump to the more formal, "Gad"

"Fock" We'll spell it like that for the sake of the internets but suffice it to say it sounds exactly like the same word spelled with a "u". He truly is trying to say "fox" and has no idea why Scott and I fall over laughing when he repeats "fock off" (to indicate he would like his fox towel off his head).

Any word ending in -ing. He always adds an extra ending. For example, "hiding" is "hidin-ing".

"Passesgers", aka, passengers. He loves to drive by the train station and see all the people waiting for the train, or even better yet, getting on/off the train. As of late, if there are people walking anywhere in the vicinity of the train station, he squeals with delight that he has spotted a "passesger"! 

Language

This has taken off. I did my best not to worry when we hit two years and he wasn't putting words together yet. Our pediatrician (and every other person on the planet) reassured me that his speaking would catch up and to reevaluate come May if nothing had changed. Well, it changed. Noah is talking up a storm. He is pretty much a parrot for anything we say and watching him concentrate to put sentences together is so cute. While we aren't sitting down for a chat necessarily, he is really getting his point across and there is a lot less frustration on his part now that he can tell us what he wants. Plus, some of the things he comes up with are pure comedy.

"I did it!"

Physicality

Sometimes I wonder if he is 6! I can confidently say that Noah has surpassed all milestones here. This isn't really a surprise given his early walking, but he has just kept going! Sometimes the moves he pulls off are quite impressive. Just the other day he went running across the house, flung himself into the couch, missed the cushion, and somehow managed to roll himself down the couch, back onto his feet and back to running. Not to mention, when he does wipe out, he just jumps up and brushes it off (most of the time).

Running...always running.

Likes

Sports. We try to expose Noah to a lot of different activities yet somehow he always gravitates back to sports. He loves them all and turns just about any object into a golf club, tennis racket, bat, or ball.

Bubbles. Holy obsessed! At least 3 times a day he asks to go outside and play bubbles. He will happily blow bubbles for himself and Nana or grab the bubble gun and go to town. Watching the two of them run around the backyard chasing the bubbles is seriously the best. Pure joy!!

Nana. 98% of the time Nana and Noah are best buddies. As I mentioned, they play bubbles. 

Looking forward to our new soccer class that starts in April!

Independent Play

This has taken off in the past month. He will sit with his trains, planes, or play mats and just work his toys while talking to himself. It is really funny to eavesdrop but if you get caught you get asked to leave and sometimes even have a door closed on you!

Doin' dishes (aka, flooding my kitchen).

Fears

Things that make noises unexpectedly (this could be a toy or a printer), and "bees" which is actually anything that flies (including gnats).

Little boy. Big slide.

Motor Skills

I am not really sure what is appropriate at this age, but he seems pretty adept to me. Obviously his gross motor skills are great, and he will show me the correct way to hold a pen, "hold it down", whenever he draws (Papa taught him this). A funny new trick is that he can now run to the back door, unlock it, open it, and let Nana (or himself) out the dog door. This is great when I need help with Nana, not so great when I don't want him outside. I see a higher door lock being installed sooner than later.

He actually prefers this method of going outside and will opt for the dog door over an open door!!

Challenges

Meal time. My, oh my. One of my goals for the New Year was to get meals confined to the table for Noah (versus a bite here and there while on the go). We are doing really, really well with this. All meals take place at the big table or his little table (there are special occasions but for the most part I am calling it a win). That said, we battle some nights. The amount of 1-2-3s that are counted, desserts threatened to be taken away, ultimatums given about toys, etc. are endless. I try not to force him to eat if he isn't hungry but he also can't eat only macaroni-loni for every meal (seriously, he asks for it for breakfast). So I try to be reasonable while also making sure that he understands that meal times are to be taken seriously and that we sit and eat. It's an ongoing battle but the nights we have argument free dinners are so encouraging!

Other than meals the only time we really battle are when he is hungry or tired. After he gets home from school he is a complete bear. Usually it is because he is hungry AND tired but we go around and around until nap time. Honestly, all pretty typical two-year-old stuff and nothing that a little snooze or snack doesn't correct. 

Because you never know when you might need a helmet and fly swatter on an evening stroll around the neighborhood.

Injuries

Nothing major (i.e.-no urgent care/E.R. visits) other than a quick grab of the stove last week. It was a moment of sheer panic for me when I saw his little hand dart out (after I had warned him 700 times it was hot and to not touch it) and the panic that swept across his face as the pain set in was heart breaking. Luckily, we got cold water and cold compresses on it immediately and after a rough morning of tender fingers he pretty much moved on without a second thought. The silver lining...he definitely learned his lesson and won't be touching the stove again!

My favorite hiking buddy (well, as long as Kristina, my other favorite, is there to push him up all the hills)!

School:

Noah goes to school every Tuesday and Thursday from 9-12. With the exception of a couple of weeks after the holidays he ADORES school. He gives me a hug and a kiss goodbye and doesn't even look back. I hear about "Teacher Mindy", "Oo, Ah, Sean", and his "art" every day when I pick him up. Each of those have stories but I will spare you the details. It is a great break for me to recharge, get a workout in, clean up, run errands, etc. and it is wonderful to know that Noah is learning and having a blast during our time apart. 

I sure do love getting my boy back at noon, though!

 

The big ones: sleep, pacifier, potty training:

Hotel beds are oh so snuggly!

Sleep - Noah is a fantastic sleeper (hopefully this doesn't curse me for Cooper). He takes a 2-3 hour nap every day at about 1:30pm and goes down for the night at 8pm. He wakes for the day anywhere between 6 and 8 depending on the day. I would say 7 is pretty reliable. He is a trooper when we push his bedtime so we can stay out a bit later with friends and will even blow through a day without a nap without being too much of a bear. One day without a nap is about the limit though or we will start to pay for it! He is still in his crib and has never climbed out, nor showed any desire to try. So, we will stay the course until there is some kind of sign that he is ready for a big boy bed. If it ain't broke...don't fix it!

Pacifier - Paci is still kicking around for naps and bedtime. He is extremely attached to paci for sleep and I dread the day we have to take it away. I was told that at 3 it begins to effect their teeth (and have heard reports of dentists saying earlier) but with Cooper's pending arrival it is just not a battle I want to face. My gut says we will ditch paci around his third birthday. 

Potty training - We have had a potty for months and have a few potty books around but we have had zero incidents of any action actually happening on the potty! He is definitely taking an interest in his potty books and it is becoming extremely clear when he is going to the bathroom (he hides in corners and will often tell you "poo poo", or just dismiss you with a "bye, mama"). That said, this is kind of like the crib thing...I don't want to force it. I don't want potty training to be a forced battle and something that we push before he is ready. I, again, see this happening around his birthday.

We always end the day on a happy note and sometimes it is just so hard to lay him in his crib and say goodnight. Those last snuggles after the lights go out are the absolute best.

I have had this post written in bits and pieces for a couple weeks now and I just haven't hit publish because I feel like this is such a small picture of what Noah is up to right now! I want to include every little detail, or, better yet, just bottle him up so that I can always flash back to this time. But, alas, this is what I have come up with. An extremely small glimpse into Noah's world at 2 years and 4 months.