Ever since Kc and Noah created the most wonderful Mother's Day gift for me, I have been wracking my brain trying to think of something equally as creative. I pinned a couple of things on Pinterest, like this, and this, and decided to just let the "creative juices" flow at the craft store.
Bubs went with me and helped me pick out two {one for Daddy and one for PopRo} square canvases, some alphabet stickers, and a few bottles of paint. I painted each canvas with the base color {orange for Daddy and Red for PopRo} and put the stickers on.
Then it was time for Bubs to get painting. I pulled out all the colors of gray paint I had and even mixed up a few new ones to create about ten different shades of gray.
Noah was very careful in the beginning and I quickly realized that this project was going to take more than one day.
After the first few layers of gray paint.
Noah asked me, "I touch it?" as he was already sticking his finger in the wet paint.
After the top had dried, I went ahead and painted the sided the darkest gray color I had. The second day, we used a fairly dry brush, small amounts of paint, and I let Bubs add layers of color.
"Is the paint brush wet?", he asked me. Why yes, it is!
Notice the swoopy lines of color on the canvas {yes, I just made up that word}, that was exactly what I wanted. Layers, upon layers, upon layers of a single color.
Painting is SO MUCH FUN!
Bubs helped me carefully peel the stickers off the canvas.
Happy Father's Day to the most amazing Daddy-O on the planet. You are kind, thoughtful, playful, silly, loud, tender, considerate, rough, generous, and just plain awesome!
Ok...this is not Noah's first haircut. I have been cutting Mr. Man's hair since he was a wee little one. Noah's hair seems to grow quite fast and I never thought he would sit still enough for a "professional" hair cut.
As the curl has been falling out of Bub's hair, I kept it pretty long. I suppose I was trying to hang on to the last of his baby curl. Well...those baby curls are officially gone...my Little Man is no longer a baby...this boy needed a haircut.
After several referrals from friends, we headed to Cool Cuts 4 Kids. I figured that they would be the experts in cutting the hair of wiggly three year olds.
Noah immediately found the train table and was in LOVE. His Cuz Jonah {more on the two of them later} has been teaching him all about Thomas and Friends and so Noah felt like a pro at the table. While we were waiting, I would periodically show Bubs the other kids who were getting their hair cut. We talked about the scissors, the comb, the spray bottle, and the electric clippers. He seemed to be OK with them...well, at least for other kids.
Little did I know that Bubs was not OK with them on his head. Mr. Man sat down in his fire engine chair {too cute} and started to watch Thomas and Friends on the TV in front of him. I was planning on taking some cute pictures {for the Blog, of course}, but as soon as our WONDERFUL stylist started to comb Noah's hair the screaming began. Then the crying, kicking, thrashing, bucking, hitting, and wailing ensued. Our AMAZING stylist didn't even bat an eye as I pinned Mr. Man's arms down and tried to hold his head steady. Let me tell you, Bubs is strong...I got a work out trying to keep him in his seat and still.
After the haircut was finished, Noah got to pick out a lollypop {apple is his favorite these days}. The smile started to return and once we left the building {after a very. large. tip} Bubs was his usual, cheerful self.
Doesn't my Little Man look so grown-up?!? I can't believe how big he is getting...time is truly going by way too fast!!!
Last week was the last week of school for both Noah and I. It was a BUSY and fun week filled with field trips {Noah}, class parties {Mama & Noah}, Olympic Game Day {Mama}, Talent Show {Mama & Noah}, and Preschool programs {Noah}.
The
Preschool program was attended by both the Special-Ed and Regular-Ed
preschool classes at Copper Hills. The cafeteria was transformed into a
Luau oasis
and all the kiddos were decked out. Bubs simply LOVED his grass skirt and lei.
The classes worked so hard learning five songs. They signed the songs as well.
Sometimes Mr. Man was a bit late in the signs. Oh well...at least he was trying.
Bubs looks so short compared to the four and five year-olds around him. Most of those kiddos will be heading to kindergarten next year.
Here he is singing and {trying to} sign, "My Mother is a Baker". It was too cute!
All the kids got to walk across the stage, receive their certificate, and tell the audience what they wanted to be when they grew up.
Bubs with his beautiful teacher!
We have been so blessed with an amazing Preschool experience. Not only have Noah's teachers been EXCEPTIONAL, but the confidence and knowledge that Bubs' has gained is phenomenal. We are excited for a glorious summer and cannot wait for school to start again in August!
At Noah's last OT session, he learned to take {miniscule} bites of crackers and chew and swallow them. In the past, Bubs would FREAK OUT whenever he had anything with texture in his mouth. He would immediately wipe the offending food out with his fingers or use his shirt sleeve to scrape it off his tongue. Yesterday, however, he willingly took bites of graham crackers and allowed the crumbs to stay in his mouth long enough for him to swallow them.
Oh, my, goodness!!!
Kc took plenty of videos at the OT session and Bubs just loves to watch them. Here he is watching the videos and doing his "homework" with Daddy.
Checking to make sure he's doing this "eating thing" correctly.
We are so proud of our Little Man and so thankful for his amazing Occupational Therapist. We've still got a long way to go but are so encouraged by these little steps forward.
Noah had his
first field trip with his pre-school class last week. Our school
district hosts a Special Olympic Event for all students in the Special
Education program as well as a Mini-Olympic day for all the
pre-schoolers.
This
year, the Mini-Olympic Event was open to all regular-ed and special-ed
pre-schoolers in the district. Nana did an excellent job as a chaperone
and took some fantastic photos as well as videos and I stole some
pictures from my friend Erin's facebook page...Thanks Erin!
The
kiddos all painted their own shirts...aren't they just the cutest???
The CH is for Copper Hills and the pick represents our school mascot,
the Miner.
The
kiddos were divided into small groups to complete each of the four
games. The first one was a bit of a challenge for Bubs. They had to
pick up a wet sponge from a bucket, jump through the rings on the
ground, squeeze the water into the bucket on the other side, and return
the sponge to the first bucket. Noah didn't really want to touch the
wet sponge {cold, wet, and slimy are still not his favorite} and then
once he did pick it up he wanted to squeeze the water out immediately,
in the first bucket.
Nana did an excellent job stepping in and helping Bubs understand the "rules" of the game.
The next activity was definitely MUCH better. Who doesn't love music, bubbles, dancing, and pom-poms???
Mr. Man had a great time shaking his booty.
After all that activity, snacks are a definite must!
Don't get me wrong, Bubs was not actually eating anything...just licking the salt off his crackers.
The parachute was definitely Bubs' FAVORITE!!! He had so much fun running and jumping and playing with his friends.
It's so fun to watch Noah doing what the "big kids" are doing.
All
good things must come to an end...but not without an Otter Pop. Bubs
is quite the fan of Popsicles and found the Otter Pop to be quite
enjoyable!
We are so blessed that Noah is a part of an amazing Special Education program through our district.
Our son, Noah Stone Jackson, was born with a very rare genetic disorder called Fraser syndrome. Among his many challenges are one “hidden eye”, a narrow trachea (which required him to have a tracheotomy), an imperforate anus (which required a colostomy), difficulty swallowing (which required a G-Tube for feedings), the fusing of his vocal chords (which means he may never speak), and club feet (which are being corrected with braces). Our family is on an amazing journey together. We are learning to walk along this path that God has planned for us, trusting in His infinite love and wisdom. We are taking each day (or each moment) as it comes and relying on each other, our friends and family, and our God for strength. We have a long road ahead of us filled with several more surgeries, lots of recovery, countless hours of therapy, and many trips to specialists around the state. Every day brings us challenges but they pale in comparison to the smiles and cuddles from our little man. Noah is our son, a true gift from God, and we cannot wait to see where this adventure leads.
