Pedaling!

Noah loves riding his bike, but he prefers to be pushed. We've shown him how to pedal a million times, but each time he says, "I don't want to pedal. Push me." I can't say I blame him, really. But, today something clicked and he was ready to pedal. After doing a victory lap across the deck he announced, "I want to ride off the edge now." Of course. Of course he does.

UPDATE: Potty and Big Boy Bed

Potty Time
I really can't believe that potty training is this easy so I'm prepared for some eventual backlash. But, so far, it's been a huge success. Noah has been peepeeing in the potty every day for 15 days--even when he goes to Wanda's house. On average he pees in the potty three times a day. I'm sure he would go more if we remembered to ask him more. But, when we do ask more often than not he'll scream, "Sticker!" and run off towards the bathroom. The train stickers are extremely motivating. He actually likes to sit on the potty and hold them so he can pick out his chart sticker and his hand sticker. We moved him to pull up pants yesterday and that seems to really make him feel much more independent.

Bedtime
Noah has slept in his bed for a week now so we're guessing it's safe to remove the crib. The bed has been a big hit and he really likes to read in bed more than anything. Now, along with night-night reading time we have to climb in bed with him each morning to read a few books before starting the day. I'm not sure where he got this idea, but I like it. Extra cuddle time is always fun.

Big Boy Bed!

Surprisingly, Noah has not climbed out of the crib again. He likes his crib. He likes to sleep and more importantly he seems to like lounging in bed in the morning. He'll lay in there and talk to himself and his animals. He'll kick the wall, roll around or just lay there humming and singing. Since Booboo, Zadi and Great Booboo are coming soon for his birthday we thought it might be nice to go ahead and buy his big boy bed so Great Booboo has a comfortable spot to sleep when she's here. (We figured that Noah can sleep in our room in the pack n' play.) We found a nice Trundle bed with matching nightstand so we went to pick them up today along with a new mattress. The plan was to set it all up in his room and give him some time to get used to everything. But, he instantly loved the bed and wanted to climb right in and read some books. He also clearly expected to sleep in it tonight. Kenny was over for dinner, as he is on most Sunday nights, so Noah wanted Kenny to read to him and put him night-night in his big boy bed. I was a little jealous, because it was the first night, but he does love his Kenny. ;)

Peepee in the Potty!

Before Noah got in the bath tonight Daddy asked him if he wanted to go peepee in the potty. He said yes, sat down and went peepee! I quickly ran down stairs grabbed some paper, drew a quick chart, and scrambled for some Thomas the Tank stickers I had just bought in preparation for such a milestone. Noah seemed a little confused by why we wanted to put a sticker on this hand-drawn chart because he likes to wear stickers on his hand. So, we gave him one for hand and one for the chart. After much clapping and praise we called Booboo and Zadi and Grandma to tell them what a big boy he was.

18 months today!

Crazy to think that we have an 18 month old! When I look at the baby pictures it seems like a lifetime ago, but also just like it was yesterday. It's true what I've been told that each age is more interesting than the one before. Noah just gets more fun and entertaining with each passing day.

He runs, he climbs, he can go up and down stairs by himself, kick and throw balls, play "hockey/golf" outside, and feed himself--pretty much every physical milestone he has passed way ahead of "schedule" (guess that's to be expected when you start walking before 10 months). But, he's still not that into talking. However, his understanding of vocabulary is quite impressive and communication isn't a problem. He understands most of what we say and ask him to do. Books are still his number one toy and he points to all the objects in the books while reading...he just wont say the objects. But, knowing his cautious personality I think he's just waiting until he can say full sentences before he really starts gabbing. We'll see.

Today marked a smaller milestone as well. He is no longer a vegetarian--he had two bites of my tuna salad sandwich and loved it. Of course. I guess we'll slowly start dabbling into the land of poultry and fish and see how that goes.

Free From the Bottle!

Noah had his 15 month check up last week and the doctor politely snarled when I said he was still on the bottle. It wasn't a big deal but she said it was time to make the transition. It's crazy because I see plenty of kids using a bottle up until the age of two or three, but stopping a bad habit earlier is probably better.

I figured since he had four days before he was with the nanny again I should try now. Plus, I knew his buddy Max wouldn't be with him on Monday so it seemed like it would be good to give him an extra day bottle-free before being around Max (who is still on the bottle). In my experience, everything with babies takes 3 days--introducing food, changing sleep habits, etc. so I figured it was enough time. And sure enough it was!

Day one (2/20) he only had two bottles (instead of three), day two he refused all milk--especially when I made the mistake of putting the milk in the same sippy cup that is usually used for his water. You would of thought I was physically hurting him!! Day three I remembered the cup with lid and straw that I got at Disneyland so we tried that. A totally new cup was cool and because it was different than his water cup he loved it and drank all the required milk for the day.

So, getting him off the bottle was easy. Of course I hadn't really thought of the emotional side effect which is I miss our bottle/cuddle time!! :(

He Crawls!

Noah had been showing signs of crawling for months now, but just didn't seem motivated. Besides that he discovered that he could get around just fine by rolling everywhere. He loves standing so much and moving around in his walker that I was beginning to wonder if he was just going to skip out on this whole crawling thing.

Today we were at Teresa's house (a Mom from our Wednesday Mommies Group) and Noah just started crawling as if he'd been doing it forever. He wasn't even excited about his new found capability. He just got up and did it. I was chatterboxing away when Teresa looked over and said, "whoa, does he do that?" and I looked over and just started laughing. "Umm, no, that's a first". We went home and I set up little towers everywhere with toy blocks for him to crawl to and destroy and he had a blast.

I guess he just had to wait until he was good and ready. Or perhaps it was Gymboree today that inspired him. It was full on baby crawling mayhem. I think he knew he had to start crawling soon to get what he wants.

Noah's First Spice, Spinach and More Crawling Adventures

Grandma came over last night to watch Noah while Jeremy and I took a CPR class so she spent the night. For breakfast I decided to treat Noah to a something a little extra special for breakfast since he had an audience. I made him a breakfast of pears and apples with cinnamon (his first spice!). It was so amazingly yummy. His yummy noises and crazy hand movements were in full effect. At one point when I was feeding him I looked away with the spoonful in midair. He grabbed my hand and pulled it towards his mouth. He was NOT going to wait for me. From then on I held the bowl as lose to his mouth as possible and just shoveled it in.

For dinner I made him Spinach. I was so convinced that there was no way he would like it so I didn't make any to freeze. This is the first time I've ever made enough for only one meal. And, of course, I was wrong. He ate it right up.

Milestone:
Noah moved from sitting to a crawl position. He did this several times and then moved back to sitting because he couldn't get over his chubby leg. Finally he was able to propel himself a little harder to get over the leg. Of course, then he didn't know what to do so he just fell flat on his belly.

Blueberries

Today Noah tried blueberries. I heated them up with some water until they burst and then blended them into a nice puree. He seemed to especially like them. I know he's loved everything we've given him so far, but blueberries made him smile and giggle. Perhaps it was the color--so different than anything else he has eaten so far.

Milestone:
He crawled forward on one leg, but collapsed before he could move the other one.

Level II Gymboree

Jeremy worked at home so he joined us at Gymboree. Today was a big day because it was Noah's first Level II class. Level I is pretty mellow--lots of singing and tactile play as we sit in a circle on the mat. Level II is a whole new world. We moved all over the room and played with all kinds of big things--boats, slides, and see saws. There's loud music playing, hip hip hooraying and just a lot of movement in general. Poor Noah seemed overwhelmed and cried through most of the activities while everyone else seemed so happy and excited. I was surprised that he even cried when we played baby soccer. We had just played at home and he loved it. Of course, I wasn't picking him up and swinging his body towards the ball as we stood in a circle with a bunch of other screaming babies. Afterwards several Moms and the teacher made a point of telling us that he did really well. The first class is overwhelming and very different than their Level I experience so it takes a class or two to get used to everything.

Milestones:
I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but as we were singing the "bye bye" song in Gymboree today Noah waved his right arm. Jeremy and I were surprised.

While playing at home I was holding Noah by the arms when he bent over to pick up toy. He bent over, picked it up and stood right back up. He's getting stronger and stronger every day.

Sitting on His Own

Jeremy and some friends were hanging out at the house this afternoon before taking off for a basketball game (a belated birthday celebration). We were all outside sitting on the grass when I put Noah down. He sat on his own for several seconds before falling over. It wasn't long, but he did it!

The Roll - Back to Front

After mastering the front to back roll Noah finally rolled from his back to his tummy today.

The Rolling Machine

Mike and Jenny came over for a visit so Noah decided to flirt and show off his new rolling skills. We'd lay him down on his belly and he'd roll over. We'd push him back and he'd roll over, again and again and again and again... At last count he rolled over 14 times in a row.

Eye/Hand Control

Jeremy and I took advantage of some spring like conditions and did some weeding in the front yard. We parked Noah outside in his glider so he could keep us company. Usually he'll wildly bat at the bunny and bear that hang from the mobile, but today he eyed them and very purposefully reached up to grab them. It's crazy how hand control is seemingly learned overnight.

Strengthening Core

Today Noah sat up from a reclined position. He was laying back on me and decided it was time to move so he just leaned forward and sat himself up. It was neat to feel his little body exerting such strength. It's such a little milestone, but so important.

The Roll - Front to Back

Today Noah rolled over from his tummy to his back. He was very confused about what had just happened and of course he couldn't do it again.

Milestones

I don't know the specific dates because I forgot to write them down, but this was a week of two very important milestones in little Noah's life.

1) Head held high. Our fragile little baby seemed way less so this week as he suddenly became capable of holding his head on his own. Who knew he had a neck. :)

2) Giggles. Perhaps the stronger neck meant he could support his giggling because this week out of nowhere he began to giggle instead of just smile at our silliness. The sound is pure bliss--music to my ears.

Smiles!

We've seen Noah smile before, but since we weren't doing anything to bring on the smile we chalked it up to an involuntary reaction to gas. Today we were sitting on the couch and suddenly he began to respond and smile at our silly antics. His smile could just light up a room and melt hearts. It was so positively cute.