Months Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six

November 01, 2017

Noah,

You’ve jumped with both feet into being two since your birthday. Enough time had gone by for just observing, and you can’t stop talking about everything that’s going on around you. We’re still working on legibility, but until then, you feel free to babble away in your crib, and work on your one and two-word statements. From “tank you!” to “yo welcum” to “booka-booka-booka-book” when it’s time for bed, you are opening us up to how much of the world you are observing and processing each day. From counting basketball hoops on the way to school, to knowing exactly which grocery store Mommy is at based on the fun things you get to do, you don’t miss much (Walmart has cookies, “cookie!” Bakers has the cart with the car, “Car! Car!” Fresh & Thyme has the red tractor to be discovered for a treat, “tractor!”) The list of new phrases and fun just goes on and on:

“Do you want to do it by yourself?” “Yep!”
Running inside from splashing on a rainy patio covered in puddles, “Pash! Pash!”
After picking out jammies with fire trucks on them, “Fi tuck! Eee ooo eee ooo eee ooo!”
After finding out we were out of cookies, “Cookie? Cookie?” with his hands spread questioningly.
“Upstairs” or “downstairs” or “down slide” depending on where we are at the park and what you want to do.
Determined to show Daddy your dinner via FaceTime, “taco!”
“Mommy….Witmer!” “And what’s Daddy’s name?” “Daddy….Witmer”, which sounds more like “Wimor”
“Say fruit” “fut”. “Snack” “nack”. “Say fruit snack” “na-na”. “Fruit” “fut” “snack” “nack”. “Fruit snack” “na-na”.
Opening up the freezer drawer to try for a popsicle. “Pop-pop!”

Almost every time we sit down now, we’re greeted with a smiling face and a request for a book. “Do you want to snuggle with Daddy?” "Uh uh. Book!” When Nana and Papa were visiting, we’d hear a “Nanee! Nanee! Booka-book” every night as bedtime approached. If it ever goes quiet in the house now, we’re almost guaranteed to find you in one room or another paging through one book or another. With the realization that it had stories about trains, you fell in love with the volume of Apple Tree Farm stories, and we read them almost every night before bed.

Your kind and gentle personality has continued to shine through this month as well, with no terrible twos in sight (yet…we hope…and assume as much). You have no problem just rolling with life as it moves around you, generally, Even fits are short and at least semi-justified, and easily dispelled with some soft-voiced reasoning from Mommy, and occasionally Daddy.

Each day brings new opportunities to chase Seth around and do everything that he does. You’ve completely convinced yourself that you can jump just like he does. To be fair, you can get something like one or two inches of air with the right effort. Otherwise, it pretty much looks like a controlled fall. As long as it’s into a pile of cushions that Seth set up for that purpose, we should be ok. When it’s the edge of the bed, it doesn’t work quite as well, though that’s only happened one time, after a rolling tumble over a bench to the floor. We’d prefer you avoid any major head injuries prior to the age of three, if possible. After that, too, all things considered.

You happily chase Seth around the playground at the park and at school now, climbing up the slides and climbing walls, while attempting the ladders and other paths. Going down the large slides is a challenging quest that depends on the day and conditions, but you have no hesitation about climbing up the biggest curly slides right after your brother. We even bought the two of you a swingset late this month, which has gotten all of its money’s worth in the week or so that it’s been in the backyard. You and Seth would pretty much swing all day. Mommy and Daddy just sit back and watch as you hang, dangle, and attempt to pull yourself up on the swings, along with the headfirst swing on your tummy.

Seth has always been able to ask nicely for one more minute when it’s time for bed or something similar. You’ve picked right up on that this month; with a single raise of the finger you ask for one more story, one more snack, one more minute before bed, one more minute in the bath, or other such considerations.

Fall brought some cooler weather, along with the opportunity to go pick apples. That included a tractor ride, which resulted in a number of requests for “mo tractor!” with the accompanying sign language. We got to take you and Seth out to pick apples, almost exactly the same age when we took Seth out to do the same. It’s a joy to watch you head out and explore the world, whether an apple orchard, the zoo, the park, or the air and space museum for trains, planes and autos day. If there’s one thing you love more than reading books, it’s trains of any kind. We’ve begun to set up the trains we got from Oma in the basement, and you’d be happy to watch for hours as the trains run round and round. If Mommy has any time at all free, you get her in the playroom to build trains on the train table as well.

Lots of other things for fun over the past two months as well. In no particular order, you also got to see your first total eclipse, love to help unload the dishwasher, and can climb in and out of your booster seat and car seat now. We had friends come visit for the solar eclipse, where you got to face away from the sun eating snacks until totality, and after. Maybe the next one you’ll get to rock the glasses and see a little more. We had lots of fun with Nana and Papa visiting for a few days. When time came to leave, you heard “plane” and were so excited until Mommy informed you that you had to stay in Omaha. At that point, you just laid your head down on the breakfast table, the very picture of disappointment.

The sweetest part of the day now is coming home for a joyous “Daddy!” and a little (not so little now…) bundle of excitement looking to be picked up for a kiss. You’re quite assertive with this, taking our cheeks in your hands to make sure that you get your kiss on the head after coming home, before bed, or whenever you feel that it’s necessary. You wear your love for others on your sleeve, from enjoying seeing Mommy and Daddy kissing, so pulling us in to do the same when we’re holding you. From time to time when we’re in the kitchen kissing hello or goodbye, we find a little one running circles or driving trucks through our legs. Everyone still loves getting hugs from Noah at home and at church, and you’re even well known by other kids from the gym for your rockin’ hair and sweet personality.

We love you just as you are right now and always, little bear.

Daddy and Mommy