Potty Training

Noah has been showing some interest in potty training for a few months now, though we certainly haven't been working at it much at all. The last couple nights he has actually gone on the potty before his bath. We made a HUGE deal about it the first night and gave him a couple tic tacs, his favorite treat. Well, tonight, he had it all figured out! He went just a little on the potty, ran out to the kitchen for his tic tac (naked, of course), went back to the bathroom and went a little more, ran back to the kitchen . . . you get the picture. He repeated this a few times and demonstrated amazing bladder control in the process. He is something else!

Harry Cocoa

I don't know why I thought raising Noah would be much like raising Cole. It amazes me just how different they are! Noah is certainly challenging, wild, and very loud, but he is also incredibly sweet, affectionate, smart, and HILARIOUS! Just the other day in the car, Cole said, "Mommy, Noah makes me laugh SO hard!" And that is so true. Just today, Noah was playing with the laundry pile in the living room while Cole and I finished lunch in the kitchen. Noah comes walking in the kitchen with two shirts on, Cole's underwear over his diaper, and two different socks of Brian on each foot/leg. Cole and I laughed for a good 10 minutes and I managed to get a couple pictures too. This past week, Noah jumped off our king bed onto the hardwood floor. He had a good sized goose-egg on his forehead, but was pretty much back to normal after just a couple minutes. I, however, was not so okay and made him stay up an extra hour so I could monitor him and do periodic neuro checks. A couple days later, while I was going to the bathroom, he managed to somehow throw our 30 lb piece of glass from our coffee table onto the floor. Thank the Lord, it did not break or land on him. He is a piece of work. He has a Frosty the Snowman book that we sing to him when we read it. For some reason, he calls Frosty the Snowman, "Harry Cocoa." He even sings it very loudly in public when he sees snowmen Christmas decorations. He also thinks some of the ghosts people have put up in our neighborhood are snowmen and also calls them "Harry Cocoas." Noah wears me out, but I sure enjoy him and couldn't love him more.

My Student

When I set out on this homeschooling journey, I had no idea how much both Cole and I would enjoy it. We are having such a great time, and I know I'm his mother, but he is doing AWESOME. The picture above was taken on the day our ants arrived in the mail for our ant hill. You can see that Cole was just a little excited about it :) We do school for an hour to an hour and a half when Noah goes down for his nap. At this point, I just can't focus on school with Cole while Noah is awake. As Noah gets older and a little less in need of constant supervision, I am sure we will adjust our schedule and do some things involving Noah too, but for the time being, this is working well. Cole loves math and reading and is always up for a science experiment or art project. I am really enjoying watching him learn to love reading. He has even started reading to Noah sometimes. Cole is also wonderful at memorizing his Bible verses and loves learning the Bible stories. He has really started to ask me some tough questions too. I haven't quite figured out how to explain the Trinity to a 4 year old :) We talk alot about heaven, as that seems to intrigue him, and also alot about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I have been very careful not to push him into making a decision to follow Jesus before he understands what it means, as I want it to be a decision he makes on his own when he realizes his need for a Savior. I also don't want him to do it just to make me happy. I do pray for him and Noah constantly that they will come to know Christ at a young age. I get excited to think about how God may use them in the future. I am so thankful to have a son like Cole who is critically thinking about all of these things and asking really good questions. He does have a kind, kind heart, and I see it daily in his sensitivity towards both Noah and me. I couldn't ask for a better "student," and I thank God for the opportunity to be a part of these amazing years of growth in knowledge and understanding of so many things. What a joy and honor it is to be Cole's Mommy :)