Fire Station Field Trip

This week's toddler group field trip was to the local fire station.  If you recall, the very first field trip Noah and I went on last year was to the fire station.  And if you recall, Noah was quite overwhelmed with the loud noises, tons of kiddos running around, strange people, and huge fire fighters. He DID NOT let me put him down the entire trip.  

You would think that this year...being one year older...Bubs would be much more confident.  He does love fire trucks after all.  You would think that Mr. Man would have fun running around with all his friends from school.  You would think that...but...that was not the case.  Bubs WOULD NOT let me put him down the entire trip.  He was quite overwhelmed!

We did manage to get up close and personal to the fire trucks.

 

Once again, Noah loved to look at all the shiny equipment.

Bubs tried to take the shovel off the truck.

The firemen were so patient and kind.  They help all the kiddos up into the truck and let them sit in the front seat...everyone accept my Little Man.  He would have NONE OF THAT!

They even hooked up the hoses and let the kiddos shoot water across the front lawn.  Bubs was less than enthusiastic...he refused to hold the hose.

Once he saw the fierce stream of water, however, he thought that was pretty interesting.

Here I am signing "off" when the fireman turned the hose off

Noah quickly signed "on".  I guess it wasn't so bad after all.

All in all, it was a fun morning with friends.

Close Encounters of the Wild Kind

Noah and I had the privilege of going to the zoo two times this past week...once with Daddy-O {hence the amazing photos} and once with some friends. 

As I've mentioned before, Bubs just loves animals.  He could spend hours going from animal to animal at the zoo watching them, signing their name, and trying to make the noise they make.

{As of right now, Mr. Man is making a few more sounds..."ba", "sh", and "rrr".  All the sounds are associated with animals...of course..."ba" is what a sheep says, "sh" is how he says "fish", and "rrr" is the "roar" of a lion.}

Bubs truly thinks that all animals are as gentle as Sierra and Kitty {our dog and cat} and that he should get to hug and pet them whenever he wants.  Poor Bubs!  He doesn't understand why there are fences around the elephants and tigers...he just wants to love on them.

This poor bird was just trying to get a bit of sun when Noah came by.  If only Mr. Man was allowed to pet it.

We did finally take Noah into the petting area of the zoo.  He was in HEAVEN.  There were goats and sheep galore.  It was too cute to see Bubs try and pet the animals.  He would point them out,

run up to them,

and quickly put his hand on their back before they would run away.

There were many a sheep that were scared into a corner trying to run from my Little Man.

After successfully petting some animals, we decided it was time to finally feed the giraffes.  There is an area at the zoo where you can feed a few leaves to some very gentle creatures.

As we approached the giraffe, one of the zoo keepers gave Noah a nice green leaf.  Wouldn't you know that my Little Man thought the leaf was for him.  Noah had a firm hold on the precious foliage until the long, black tongue of the giraffe snatched it away.  Bubs was crushed!  How could that creature steal from me?!?  Noah refused to give any more leaves to the greedy animal.  I had to finish the job for him.  Too funny!

{Notice Noah's tight grasp of Charlie...don't you dare eat my Charlie!}

Our season passes to the zoo have been money well spent.  I know Bubs is looking forward to our next visit!

iPhone

Noah LOVES Daddy-O's iPhone.  Bubs truly thinks it is the most amazing device to hold games...rather than a communication tool that you talk to other people on.  He knows how to turn it on, find his folder, and open and close all his apps.  I think that is more than I can do.

Now that Nana has her {white} iPhone, Mr. Man is in hog heaven.  He opens the same game in each phone and bounces back and forth.  How funny is that?!?

Discovery Center

A few days ago, Noah's preschool went on a field trip {they do one weekly during the summer} to the Discovery Center.  It was a fun morning...not too hot...where the kids got to run around and explore the facility.

Noah loved the pond area.  He found several fish and enjoyed looking at all the rocks.

The bridge was the perfect spot to find fish.

Look Mama!  There are so many fish!

There was also a HUGE section of a tree that was over 1000 years old.

They estimate the tree was planted in 932 A.D.  WOW!!!

There was also a fun Dino Dig area.

Noah grabbed a shovel and started digging!

Look at the GINORMOUS bone I found!

In case you were doubting the authenticity of the dinosaur bone, there were "real live" iron dinosaurs nearby. 

It was such a fun field trip...we can't wait for next week!

Noah and Jonah

Noah and Jonah were so cute together all last week.  They had a blast playing together, stealing toys from each other, following each other down the slide, giving each other high-fives, jumping on the trampoline together, and taking wagon rides together.  

Here they are showing me their tongues. 

Jonah is signing "Noah" {sign N over the right eye}.  How cute is that?????

Gotta love those cousins!

Cousins...Gotta Love Those Photos

Unfortunately we only got one picture of all four cousins while they were together.  Trying to get four kiddos, age three and under, to sit still is...still...quite a feat.  Can you believe how much they have grown in one year?!?  Introduce bubbles, however, and they were all in a trance.  Too cute!

Noah, Jonah, Brooklyn, and Hunter

Cousins

Last week, we were blessed to have both the Susanville Smiths as well as the Iowa Smiths in Fresno.  It was an awesome week full of cousins, laughter, tantrums {only a few}, oranges, cupcakes, birthday celebrations {Jonah}, 40th anniversary celebrations {Nana and PopRo}, and bubbles.

Jonah's second birthday was celebrated with the cutest farm party.   

Noah and Lizzy enjoyed the bubble machine.

Gotta love those bubbles!

 

Hunter loves his new hat.  Howdy partner!

Noah loves his animals

Noah loves his animals.  He loves to hold them, make them run, make them fly, line them up, and throw them across the room.  He definitely has his favorites...but they seem to alternate from day to day.  The lion, of course, holds his place on top, but is often trumped by the elephant, giraffe, dolphin, whale, or horse.

He truly is my Noah!

Alphabet

It might seem as though we've fallen off the face of the Earth, but I assure you we have not.  What with the end of school for me {YAY!!!!!!!}, Noah's scope and decanulation {Double YAY!!!!!}, and both of my brothers and their families in town {tripple YAY!!!}, it has been a world wind of activity. 

Noah continues to do quite well post-decanulation.  We have had no major issues so far {knock on wood} and are loving the freedom of not having to lug his suction machine around with us wherever we go.  Bub's little stoma {hole} is slowly closing.  And I do mean s.l.o.w.l.y.  We were told it could take up to six months to close and that almost 50% need some surgery to fully close.  EEK!  We're trying to keep it covered with large band-aids {Noah HATES this} but fortunatily Mr. Man has not tried to stick his finger {or anything else, for that matter} in his "blow hole".  You'll see it in a few of the pictures that follow.

Bubs has been working hard on learning all his letters {uppercase that is}.  He can now recognize their oral name, pick them out in print, and can sign all twenty-six letters.  Here he is showing you a few of his favorites.

B

 D

 C

 E

 N 

{seriously Mama, will you stop quizzing me on my letters}

 {What's inside the camera?}

 S

 D is for Dog

Notice the lack of quality of the photographs.  I took these...Kc is at work...sorry.  I promise to post more often now that school is out...we've got loads of plans this summer...should be a blast!

Noah needs another surgery like he needs a hole in his throat

On Wednesday,  we headed back up to Stanford for yet another scope of Noah's trachea.  

 

We had a 4:00 a.m. departure, a 7:15 a.m. arrival, and an 8:30 a.m. procedure time.  We were confident that we would be back on the road, heading home, by noon. 

That, apparently, was not to be.

By 10:30 a.m. my Little Man looked like this... 

Notice the IV {both of them}.  Notice the leads.  Notice Charlie by his side.  Notice his trach...wait...what?!?  NO TRACH!!!!!!!!!

Our MOST FANTASTIC Otolaryngologist came out after the scope looking like a ten year old boy staring at his pile of birthday presents.  "So", he said enthusiastically, "do you want to get this trach out?"

"Um...OK", we nervously responded, looking at each other for reassurance.

This is it...holy crap...this is it!

After a quick trip to the ICU, Our MOST FANTASTIC Otolaryngologist pulled Noah's trach and we all took a deep breath.

Inhale.  Exhale.

Inhale.  Exhale.

Bubs was doing it.  We were doing it.

Inhale.  Exhale.

Can you believe this???

Inhale.  Exhale.

So simple...so dramatic...so pure.