Months Twenty-Nine and Thirty

March 03, 2018

Noah,

We had the joy of a second Christmas with you and your brother! It’s so much fun to see you engage with everything, from the tree, to the family, to the presents and celebration. We went to a white elephant exchange, and you’re fully on board with the concept of trading presents with other people now. Maybe a little too much. You celebrated each present opened with a “Yay baby!” You got a little help from your brother to open the stockings, though. Your arms are a little short to reach in to the bottom, so Seth introduced you to the “upend the whole thing and shake” approach.

Time in Colorado with family brings all sorts of fun with family and friends. You spent a lot of time with your cousin who is just your age. She was determined to help you get your clothes on, and proceeded to give you commands to help you get your shirt on, after you’d already tried to get your pants up.

You’ve fallen completely in love with books now. We can pretty much track you around the house by looking for the trail of discarded books as you wander from room to room. It’s not the least surprising to find you in the middle of the hallway, doorway, or other space just sitting and paging through any book. On the drive back to Omaha after Christmas, you looked through and discarded enough books over the side of the chair to jam the automatic door mechanism when I tried to open it.

You’re an organized little helper now. From trying to get your clothes on and off, to picking up your toys, you like things just right. Of course, this now extends to “helping” out with your diaper. More than once, we’ve found that you’ve taken off your jammies in the crib and gotten mostly or all the way out of your diaper because you’re wet. Or, if you’re downstairs, you’ll just bring Mommy or Daddy a new diaper as a request. You clean up your plate and cup in the kitchen now, and toss them into the sink. Sitting in the stool at the counter, it requires two hands to get down. However, you can’t reach your plate once you’re down. Solution? Plate goes in the mouth. It stays perfectly level until you clip the edge of the stool on the way down, and then anything left on the plate belongs to the floor and Molly. When you spill things around the house, you often come to us and request a baby wipe or paper towel to clean them up. It’s clear that you watch us closely when you take the paper towel, drop it on the spill, and then step on it just like your parents do.

Each month brings new ways you play with Seth. You and your brother are pretty inseparable lately. From sledding in the snow (or slush) after school, to playing tag around the house, it’s go time when the two of you are together. You or Seth will kick things off with a “Tag, you’re it!” Of course, if you aren’t interesting in playing, it’s a “No tag you’re it!” This also extends to the dinner table, with a “tag it” from one to the other and back when it’s supposed to be dinner time. Many is the day when I come home from work to find the couch cushions piled on the floor and two flying monkeys working off the couches. You have no fear when it comes to flying leaps, to include watching you balance on the junction of the couch arms, waver as if you were going to fall backwards to the floor, and then lean into the leap to the cushions. The two of you love to chase each other around the house with Nerf guns, laser tag, or just finger guns, with shouts of “pew pew” echoing around the rooms.

Each day brings new words, statements, and sometimes sentences as your vocabulary has flourished.

  • You’ve picked up on the concept of knock knock jokes, without the understanding of the comic pause. We get the stream version, "Knock knock, who’s there, owl, owl whoo whoo!”
  • You looked at Daddy across the dinner table, yelled “Catch!” and threw your (fortunately empty) milk cup at me. Good arm, it went a good 8 feet before hitting the floor.
  • Quick to inform Seth, “No funny, brother!” when Seth was laughing at Noah for something.
  • You’re now quick to assert yourself. We get an “OK!” or “Nope” in response to almost all our questions. That assertiveness is moving into the “throwing fits” phase, but you’re still surprisingly logical and able to be persuaded with a few sentences that throwing a fit isn’t in your best interests. We’ll keep that logical/emotional balance if we can.
  • We now direct you to “Monkey up!” when it comes time to go anywhere. You’ll charge out to the car and scramble right up into your car seat to be buckled in. You also use the term “monkey up” to indicate that you want to climb in the car seat.



You, Seth, and Mommy had the fun of watching the Falcon Heavy launch this month, as the largest rocket the US has launched in 50 years flew successfully. You were so excited to watch the space rocket take a car to space! You couldn’t wait to tell Daddy that the “rocket flew car to space!” Since you’ve only just mastered counting up to 10, you count 1-2-3 up to 10, and sometimes beyond, with a “blast off!” any time you see a rocket. We also got to watch the Olympics this month. You’re a big fan of skiing and ice skating, after seeing the ice dancing.

We enjoy each and every day with you. You have a flair for the adorable in everything you do. Even running into the wall, as we hear a bright little “ow”, and you wander around for a few moments at random with your hand on your head. We’ve pulled out your bright green rain boots for the snow, and you pretty much refuse to take them off. Any time we need to leave the house, you’ll pretty much be wearing them. Night-night time brings us the sounds of you singing Twinkle Twinkle at the top of your lungs in your crib.

We love you so very much, Noah.

Daddy and Mommy