Blankie

Noah has finally chosen a "blankie".  I wasn't quite sure this would ever happen since he has a clear preference for his shirt sleeves or other article of clothing while he sucks his thumb... who knows, maybe this warm weather and lack of clothes has pushed him to choose something else.  This morning, after he had gotten out of his crib I was doing some laundry, he went over to his crib and pulled this blanket out, which was not the closest one to the edge.  I turned around to see him standing, holding his blanket, and sucking his thumb. He then took off into the kitchen and living room with it... we'll see where this leads:)  

New Things

Noah is rapidly starting to put things together, it is so neat to watch him try to process things and figure them out.  He no longer is content to sit in front of the cupboards and play with the pots and pans.  Instead, he will take them all out, and bring them to me one by one to put up on the stove.  At first I thought he was just giving them to me, but he got very angry when I wouldn't put the pots on the stove.  I finally figured it out when he continually would point and make the sign for "hot" all the while trying to lift the heavy pan up onto the stove himself (thankfully he is not an inch taller!).  Needless to say at any point now we have several pots and pans piled on the burners of the stove...  Two nights ago when it was really hot and muggy here I had hung some of Noah's clothes out to dry (the washer/dryer are in his room and it was way too hot!), so before his bath I let him run around on the porch naked while I folded his clothes.  He found his little ball and started kicking and chasing it all by himself.  He knows not to go by the grill, so when the ball went near it he would stop and point, I would pick it up for him and when I tried to hand it to him he wouldn't take it until I put it on the floor for him to kick.  This was so interesting to watch since I am not sure if Gabe or I have ever really showed him kicking.  I initially thought that he was just bending down to pick up the ball and would miss, but he was purposefully kicking it (or to be more accurate, hitting the ball with his foot)... soccer player???

Dessert!

After a long hard day of playing in the 90 degree heat we walked to the "Dairy Twirl" for an ice cream after supper. The ice cream melted faster than Noah could eat it, needless to say, Noah road back home in the stroller in just his froggie diaper:)

Hot, Hot, Hot... Our Trip to the Montshire!

Noah loves watching the turtles and fish at the Montshire (the local science museum)... He was  able to stand on the stools this time without falling off and hitting his head (it only happened once:)).  He laughed very hard when his dad would blow the bubbles for him to pop!

These are pics from the water exhibit at the Montshire.  The part kids are allowed to wade in is set up in a cascading stream.  Noah was fine being in his own section... he spent a lot of time watching the other kids from the comfort of our laps:)  Being that is was 90 degrees on Saturday, this was a popular spot.  We had some great pictures of Noah here, but the kid in the top picture in the blue swim suit was wearing his shorts a bit too low when he bent down...

We found this great spot that was free of other kids for long enough for Noah to claim a spout and get wet.  He loves to play in the cold running/spraying water... he also is a big fan of his dad's sunglasses...

Back in the nice cool air conditioning, the ball exhibit was a huge hit.  Noah easily picked up a push shovel and started moving the balls around after just one demonstration by his dad, to which we didn't even think he was watching.

Jo Mary Picnic

Noah was playing with his cousin Maria and his truck inside the A-frame while the bugs were terrible outside, this was, of course, followed by a huge thunderstorm... 

More Sandbox

I realized, looking back, how badly Noah really needed a haircut.  This is his second haircut and I think he looks like a grown-up little man with it.  He sat in the chair and held very still while the barber used the razor & scissors!  You can also see that he is getting much more comfortable in the sandbox... he runs over and tries to pull the cover off saying "up" every time we go out:)

Walking... finally!

Noah is doing a much better job of walking about on his own.  He started initiating this himself last Sunday night when we had friends over for a BBQ and he wanted their food.  By Monday night he was walking laps from our dinning room to bedroom for about 30 minutes while he smiled and was so proud of himself.  Each day now he gets a bit more confident and has a few more bruises on his forehead:)  The top picture he is Noah showing his sign for "hot" (which seems to often be interchangeable at this point with "stove").  The bottom pic was after he walked himself over to the porch railing.  

Memorial Day Celebration

On Monday we took Noah to the Memorial Day festivities in Lebanon.  The parade was actually a bit shorter than the East Millinocket parade (unbelievable I know).  We, unknowingly, stood right next to where they threw the wreaths into the river and gave a gun salute... Noah thought the gun shots were a bit too loud:)  We then went to the park where there was a dedication.  Noah has learned to clap (mostly for himself) and would always smile and clap about 5seconds after everyone stopped clapping... it was so cute!  He is also doing much better about not being afraid to stand on his own.

New Pool

Last weekend we also got out Noah's "pool".  As with the sandbox he was very frightened of it at first and had a strong preference to play with the hose instead.  We have gotten him to at least be willing to splash in it.  I wasn't as good as Gabe b/c I wouldn't get in the pool (the water was FREEZING), but Noah would stand in it at the end.  Maybe when the weather warms up a bit I will be more adventurous:)

New Sandbox

This weekend we finally got out Noah's sandbox... we have come to realize the he is a textbook "slow to warm" child.  He was scared to death of the sand... it took us three days, we progressed from touching the sandbox, to standing and hitting the sand with the shovel, to kneeling and using the shovel (crying if the sand actually touched his skin), to playing in the sand with his hands outside of the box, to finally sitting in the sand and letting it touch his hands and feet.  Luckily, after this slow introduction and Gabe getting in the sandbox with him he now loves it and walks over to it and takes the top off every time we go out to play:)

Cheerios

Noah plays in our cupboards often, but up until this point he hadn't made the correlation between the Cheerios he gets for a snack and what is inside the yellow box he plays with...

Jo Mary- Part 2

Just a few more pictures from our Jo Mary picnic after much hard work...

Jo Mary- Part 1

Noah and I made a recent trip to Maine to visit family and help clean out the campground.  We got some great pictures and Noah was a very good sport to tolerate all of the riding.  We took him down to the beach where we eventually had to carry him as the umbrella stroller wasn't exactly made for the sand.  He loves riding on his Nana's shoulders and chewing on this piece of driftwood, by the end he looked as though he had just eaten a bag of Oreos.  As a bit of background, when we went to Florida Noah was scared of the beach (sand, water, etc.) to the point of us having to carry him the entire time... apparently though he likes the freezing water of Jo Mary lake because as you can see I had to take his pants off for him to get in the water... he cried when I pulled him out...

Cat Toys

Noah loves sneaking behind the rocking chair to play with the cat toys and my cell phone:)

Mother's Day Hike

We decided to hike French's Ledges in Plainfield, NH since it was such a beautiful day.  The last time Noah and I hiked this the trail was covered in snow and ice!  Noah really enjoys riding in the backpack (or tolerates it well).  He is big into pointing now and still loves anything that makes noise when he shakes it.  He is also training to be able to hike Katahdin soon.  

Dad's First Bath

For a Mother's Day "present" Gabe decided that he would bathe Noah for the first time ever:)  I could tell that Gabe was very nervous the whole time as I wasn't allowed to be more than an arms length away.  So I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of the two of them.  I think Noah sensed that his dad was nervous and was on his best behavior... he happily played with his toys and only splashed a little.  Noah didn't even cry and put up a fight when it came time to put his pajamas on (as you can see he has this fire truck book we got from the library that he just loves and seems to keep his occupied, for the time being at least). 

Cinco de Mayo

Noah and Bonnie are becoming good friends, she knows he is willing to give her attention, and he is learning to pet her gently... it is very cute to watch them.  Noah is also learning how to put things into containers and how to take them out.  He plays with the pots and pans at least once per day while I am preparing meals.  He loves to play outside with his truck... it gets him where he wants to go since he does refuse to walk on his own yet, even though we have caught him several times taking steps.  He has quite a collection of rocks and sticks (and a golf ball) in that little bucket, all of which he usually tastes before putting it in the bucket.