I love you...and bye-bye

Noah loves Ryan Bear, making animal sounds, and you.

Bye-bye.

More ABCs

Noah just loves signing his ABCs.

He says quite a few more letters in this video.

ABC Song

Now that Noah had entered into the "Naked Neck" club {decanulated} he is trying very hard to vocalize.  He loves to make animal sounds and even has a few words he can say.  His voice is quite raspy and doesn't go above a whisper...but it is still a voice...and Bubs is trying to make more noise each and every single day.

Here, Mr. Man is signing his ABC's for you.  He gets more and more silly as the song goes on, but you can hear his laughter and sweet little whispers.

I am looking forward to seeing how much more sound he can make once his stoma {blow hole} is closed in September.

My Boys

While in Monterey, we headed to the Fisherman's Wharf for dinner...clam chowder in a bread bowl...Yumm-O.  I couldn't help taking a picture of my favorite boys.

Monterey Photo Shoot

We took advantage of a fantastic old wall across the street from the home we were staying at to snap a few photos.

Bubs was not sure about the location.

Eventually, my Little Man smiled for the camera.

And then decided that he simply had to wear Mama's sunglasses.

 

What a ham!!!!!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

I know it's been a while since I've blogged.  Sorry!  Life has been quite busy these past two weeks and now...I'm back at work.  

Last weekend we were blessed to head over to Monterey Bay for a final hoorah before school starts.  Some very generous friends allowed us to stay at their vacation home and it was absolutely perfect.  Perfect size.  Perfect location.  Perfect weather.  Simply perfect.

Noah particularly loved the cute little balcony at the house.  You can see the bay, hear the seals barking, and smell the sea air.  Perfect.

Can you find Noah?

 

Nana and PopRo came along for the ride and treated Kc and I to a date night while we were there.  Perfect.

 

On Friday morning, we headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium bright and early.  Prior to coming, Noah and I visited the website on a daily basis and watched the live web cams.  It was great to give Bubs a taste for what we would be experiencing.  

Once entering the aquarium, enormous whales greet you from above.

Mr. Man LOVED the whales.  He spent the first thirty minutes just running around under them signing "whale" "big" "up".  He was one happy Little Man.  It was quite the feat, however, to pry my Little Man away from the whales and actually observe some other ocean creatures.  He quickly became one un-happy Little Man.  Bubs created such a stink crying and signing "whale" that PopRo quickly bought him very own whale that he carried with him everywhere.  Problem solved.  Perfect.

 

It was so fun to watch all the fish swimming around.

 The jellyfish were spectacular.

 

And the puffins were so cute.  

Noah's favorite that first morning was definitely the tidal pools.  He got such a kick out of waiting for the gush of water to crash down.  There is an area that you can actually stand under the crashing water...Bubs LOVED that.

Then we went outside to see where the water ended up.  Bubs ran around, jumping up and down, every time we saw the wave...and we stayed there for quite a long time...and saw many waves...every.single.time.

 

Mr. Man found a little area he could stand under and peek into the tidal pool.  He is signing "water".

There were so many buttons to touch,

toys to play with,

and things to observe.

I'm so glad we got a season pass and will be heading back very soon.

Rough and Tumble

Noah is turning into one rough and tumble toddler.  He LOVES to run, hop, jump, climb, roll, and occasionally even fall. 

And he has the bruises on his shins to prove it!

Backstage Pass

Sometimes it pays to have friends in high places...or more importantly...friends who have friends in high places.  On Wednesday, we had planned on heading to the zoo with some dear friends who live in Portland.  It was supposed to be a relaxing {if not HOT} morning spent admiring the animals, catching-up, and watching our kiddos play.  It ended up, however, being a spectacular morning {still HOT} with a private backstage tour of the zoo where we admired the animals, had time to catch-up, and watched the kiddos play.

We started out our tour in the elephant barn.  We got to see where the elephants sleep at night, where they get weighed and taken care of, and then got to see them face to face and feed them.  The zoo keeper called one of the elephants over {I think Kara was her name} and we got to feed her carrots and celery.  She was impressively large {even though she has just lost 1800 pounds...talk about the Biggest Loser} but unfortunately I did not get any pictures.  Noah was fascinated by her but rather nervous...he refused to be out of my arms.

We left the elephants and ventured into the animal hospital.  We saw {and got to pet} a newborn baby anteater and watched a wolf go under anesthesia.

 

It was quite interesting to see the amazing care all the animals receive.

After leaving the hospital, we entered the giraffe barn and followed another zoo keeper who had a big bucket of apples.  We got up close and personal with the giraffes and were able to hand feed them.  Bubs tried to feed the giraffe, but as soon as the long, black tongue got close to his chubby, little hand, Mr. Man dropped the apple fast.

 

He was content to watch everyone else risk life and limb to feed the gigantic creatures.

They truly are H U G E!!!!

Next we went to visit the warthogs and give them a back rub...with garden hoes, of course.

Owen was quite the pro at warthog back rubs!  If the warthogs could purr, I'm sure you would have heard them all the way in Portland.

Getting the technique down perfectly.

Bubs loved to watch.

 

Most of the group...Brian, Grace, zoo keeper, Owen, Me, Noah!

The final stop on our tour was behind the scenes at Stingray Bay.  We got to see the enormous filters, heaters, and coolers that keep the touch pools perfect for the stingrays.  We even got to see the shark and crabs that are off exhibit.  Bubs LOVED the shark and could have spent all day watching him swim around!  We then headed out to the touch pool and got to touch the stingrays.

Amy was trying to convince Bubs that he should stick his hands in the water.  Bubs was not very confident in Amy's advice.

She even showed Mr. Man how easy it was...no dice.

On the way out, we stopped by the camel. 

It truly was a once in a lifetime event and I am forever thankful for the amazing opportunity!