Nineteen Months

Noah is nineteen months old today. Wow! I cannot believe how much my Little Stinkpot has grown and learned and changed. He is becoming so independent and loves to play. He is constantly on the move...stopping occasionally for a cuddle, hug and kiss.

His current stats are:

Weight: 28 pounds, 7 ounces
Height: 33 inches

I don't know what Noah was thinking here...but how cute is he?!? Noah is such a cuddler. He loves to hug, kiss and snuggle. This is such a tender picture. I can almost see two brothers together.

The Changing of the Guards

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update our blog...this past week has been just crazy busy.

I have officially started back at work. After sixty-eight days of being a SAHM the fairytale has ended and I am struggling to get back into a routine.

As I left for work on Monday morning, I turned around and saw Kc and Noah {along with Charlie, of course} wishing me good luck. We are so blessed that Kc's new job is allowing him to work from home two days a week and that my parents are watching Noah the other three days. While I would much rather be the one taking care of my Little Man, it is a relief knowing he is well taken care of.

Hopefully the next few weeks will bring about a sense of normalcy and routine and that my heart won't ache quite as much as it does right now.

Splish-Splash...the proof

We've previously talked about how much Noah LOVES his bath and how much he loves to splash. Here is the proof!

Walking...Almost

Last week, one of Noah's therapists {of sofa scaling fame} recommended that Noah try walking with a Kaye Walker to give him more confidence and increase his balance.
Noah took to it almost immediately and began walking all over the house. I had tremendous feelings of pride and joy as I watched my little man gain more freedom and independence. When Kc came home and saw the walker, however, he had quite a different reaction.

Understand that Daddy-O is the GREATEST Daddy-O in the whole wide world. He LOVES Noah with all his heart and only wants what is best for him. And he felt the walker was NOT what was best for our Little Stinkpot...walking was what was best for him. Walking independently. Walking with purpose.

Daddy-O had a mission!!! He took it upon himself to encourage and push {with all the love in the world} our little man to overcome his fear and take more than a few steps before falling. I must admit that I felt very protective {overprotective perhaps} of my little man and cringed as he was walking with his Daddy-O. I learned that there is a reason that God designed children to grow-up with a mother and a father. Where one parent is overprotective {me} the other one can bring balance and explain that all kiddos fall while learning to walk.

Well...I am pleased to announce that after only two days of working with Daddy-O Noah is walking...almost.

He still prefers to crawl {lower to the ground has always been his motto} but will walk if you encourage him. We still have quite a bit of work to do {fear not, Daddy-0 is on it} but are so encouraged by our Little Stinkpot who is walking...almost.

Last Hurrah!

We decided to head out of town one last time before I have to go back to work {tears}. When the highs hit 64 degrees, where else would you want to be in the middle of August but Huntington Lake?!? It was so nice to get away, spend some quality family time together, sit in front of the fire at night, take naps during the day, and head down to the lake for a swim {for Sierra, that is}.

Noah loved to watch Sierra fetch sticks in the lake. He would laugh every time Sierra came out of the water and shook off.
Waiting patiently for Kc to throw the stick.
Mr. Man was very interested in the lake this time around. All he wanted to do was touch the water. As long as his feet were protected from the horrible, icky sand and cold water, he was quite happy to "play" in the lake.
Noah is still not walking on his own very well, but he loves to walk "with" you. Two hands please!
I just love my Little Stinkpot!
Kisses!
What an awesome weekend to wrap up the best summer ever! How in the world am I going to go back to work?!?

Big Boy Bath

Kc and I decided a few nights ago that we would try to give Noah a bath in a real bathtub...a big boy bath. Mr. Man just loves his bath time in the kitchen sink and we {make that I} were hesitant to make any changes to said routine. My little man is quite the stickler for routine.

Daddy-O filled up the tub {not too much}, brought in his tub toys {that currently live in our kitchen sink}, and added his current favorite ball {a red wiffle ball}. At first, Noah WOULD NOT sit down in the tub. It took brute strength from both parents to get the little man to sit on his hiney. As the tears flowed down his cheek, he spotted the red ball floating around and quickly grabbed it. Everything is better with a red ball in your hand {if you can't have Charlie, that is}.Noah was definitely not a fan of the tub. We were able to lather up our Little Stinkpot and rinse him down {although rinsing his hair was a bit tricky because water cannot drip past his trach} before the tears started to flow again. Whether the tub was too big, too echoey, too low to the ground {Mama's knees agree with that one}, or too confined {we have glass doors}, Mr. Man did not have as much fun as he normally does in the bath. I'm glad we tried out the big boy tub, but for now, I think we'll continue to take baths in the sink. Noah Man sure is happy about that!

The Sofa Scaler

We all remember Noah's fascination with throwing toys over the back of the sofa. It truly combines his love of throwing and loud noises. Just like throwing toys in the tub.

Well...one of Noah's therapists told me last week that our little man needed to be climbing furniture. What?!? Climbing?!? Isn't that every parent's worst nightmare? The stories of kiddos climbing dressers or out of cribs just scare me to death. And we are supposed to teach Noah how to do it?!? Are you crazy?!?

With her fancy shmancy degree to back her up, she told me it is quite normal for kids to climb and they need to learn how to do it correctly so they don't fall. We went home that afternoon and I showed Noah how to put his leg up on the sofa and climb up. He tried it once and...success! He did it with such ease you would have thought it was a normal thing to do {I know, fancy shmancy degree, blah, blah, blah}.

He hikes one leg up on the sofa and pulls himself up.
The poor toy never saw this coming.
Can you hear that crash? The most beautiful sound in the world.
Where did they all go?Ahhhh...victory is mine. I must take a break and catch my breath.
With this fun new skill comes a few bumps and bruises {getting down is much more precarious than getting up} and the inability to leave Mr. Stinkpot alone in the living room even for a split second. He can now scale the sofa and chair. I am wondering when the coffee table will be next?!?

Another Zoo Trip

Saturday morning. The Jacksons. The McIlhargeys. The zoo. What fun!!!!!!

Funny looking bird

Ring-Tailed Lemur {they live in the rainforest}

Betsy the bear

Adorable baby giraffe

Just two weeks old

Showing all the visitors how fast he could run

Jack was peer pressuring Noah into drinking from a bottle. "Come on, man. Everybody's doing it. Just one little sip. Nothin' bad is going to happen. I promise."

What a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning.