Sweet and Silly Noah

Noah has us all rolling these days with the funny comments he makes. He is such a verbal 2 year old and has a great sense of humor and very outgoing personality. Last night on the way home from the mall with the family, I told the boys that it was bedtime when we got home. Noah responded, "No, Mommy, it's not bedtime it's poopy time." We all laughed hysterically, because he was serious and did have to poop. He then repeated the phrase another 50 times much to Cole's delight. We normally do not condone "potty talk" but this was pretty funny. Whenever Noah does something mean to Cole, I explain to him that it not only makes Cole and Mommy sad but that it makes Jesus sad. I am trying to teach him that more important than pleasing Mommy is glorifying God with our lives. So, the other day he and Cole were really well behaved on an outing, and I was praising them for it when we got to the car. Noah smiled and said, "I made Jesus happy." He also told me the other day that Jesus likes to sit "criss cross apple sauce and drink almond milk" (which Noah was doing) and that riding on a ride at Busch Gardens made Jesus happy too. He is such a character! He loves to sing Bible songs, the B-I-B-L-E in particular. He has a great dance that goes with it that I will have to post at some point. It always ends with, "It's in the book . . . HUH!" Noah is SO friendly, and at the mall play area last night, he went around to every kid in there and asked their name and told them, "I'm Noah." Noah can get into some trouble but he has the kindest heart and is always the first to tell us thank you for dinner or his drink or whatever we've given him. He has an unending supply of hugs and affection for us too. I am so thankful God gave us such a sweet and silly and smart little guy :)

Park Days

With the nice weather we've had this winter, we have spent alot of days at the park. Sometimes we meet up with friends, but most times it is just the boys and me. I so cherish my days with them. We have so much fun just running around and playing, and both boys love swinging lately. I remind myself how quickly these days fly by, which makes me relish them all the more. I really try hard to keep us from getting so busy that we can't just enjoy a beautiful day at the park every week. I thank God for those days that always seem to refresh us and leave us with fun memories.

More Noah's 2nd Birthday

Noah's 2nd Birthday

Today is Noah's 2nd birthday! I still can't believe it has been 2 years since we welcomed him into the world. He is such a wonderful and unique little guy . . . so much personality and energy. Kind of a whirlwind of excitement, emotion, and, at times, destruction. He loves books, building blocks, and the Crocodile Hunter. Some mornings he wakes me up by yelling, "Crikey!" He is full of affection and still loves me to hold him all the time. I am okay with that :) He has done a pretty good job of transferring to his big boy bed. I think it has been harder for me than him. He just seems to be growing up so fast! It is funny to hear his bedroom door open and see him just come walking out with this look, like, "Is this allowed?" We had his birthday party last weekend with the neighborhood kids, my parents, Austin and Ava, and some other friends from church. We played games, had pizza, did a pinata, and had Noah's much anticipated cookie cake (with Lightning McQueen on it). Noah really enjoyed being with all of his friends. Today, we met my Mom and the kids at the park and went to lunch, and then Brian and I took the boys to Texas Roadhouse and Wiregrass mall this evening. The people sang to Noah at the restaurant and he was pretty excited! We will celebrate tomorrow night with Brian's family and Andrea and Tammy. What a blessing to be able to celebrate our little guy with so many friends and family. I love my little Noah so very much and thank God for each moment I spend with him. I look forward to watching him grow and change this next year, just hopefully not too quickly!

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 :)