Noah C.

October 31, 2005, 10:19 am

There is a 2nd Noah in Noah's preschool class this year. Noah is now Noah T., and the other Noah is Noah C. Noah was so excited to meet the other Noah. This is the first other Noah he has ever known.

Noah C. has a little sister named Hannah. Hannah was born August 15th, 2004 (yes, one day before Lily).

Turns out Noah C. also has a dog named Jack. I didn't believe this when Noah T. first told me, but I confirmed it with Noah C.'s Mom and sure enough there is a collie named Jack in their family.

Creepy.

[ 2 comments ] ( 19 views )

Hard worker

October 31, 2005, 7:12 am

Last week I decided to organize the kid's closets. I haven't done this in a while and clothes were stacking up from summer. So Noah and I worked very hard all morning moving clothes into storage and throwing trash away. We were both working up quite a sweat and then Noah said, "Wow, Mom, you're working really hard today. You're being just like Papa. He's a hard worker."

[ 3 comments ] ( 25 views )

The Scarecrow

October 27, 2005, 6:20 pm

Noah, Lily, and I went on a walk today. It's a beautiful, sunny fall day here. We passed a house and there was a man in his backyard sitting on a bench. He was a tall man in a flannel shirt with curly hair. I waved to him. Noah said very loudly, "MOM! That isn't a real man! That's a SCARECROW!"

Well, the man heard Noah, and he slowly got up. Noah grabbed my clothes and stood very close to me. The man laughed and said that he's been retired too long and not moving enough if the neighborhood children think he's a scarecrow.

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Trophy

October 21, 2005, 3:23 pm

Last night Noah had an awards ceremony for soccer. All of the children gathered in the field with their teammates and walked up to receive their trophy. Noah looked so proud and excited. He exclaimed, "THIS IS MY FIRST TROPHY EVER!"

Then in the backseat on the way home he asked me, "Why did I get a trophy if I never scored a goal?"

I told him, "Because you played so well. You stopped lots of goals as goalie and you kicked the ball lots of times."

Then Noah started talking to himself in the backseat. He said things like, "Presenting Noah with this trophy for making one THOUSAND MILLION goals! WOOOOO-OOO!", etc. He was in quite the fantasy world.

We got home and Noah walked in very slowly with his trophy behind his back and a sneaky smile on his face. He got in front of Papa and dramatically pulled the trophy out. Nathan let out the loudest whoop I've ever heard.

(Note: I would have pictures of Noah and his trophy and a sweet grin on his face, but our digital camera is broken. It's tragic for me, and I expect Nathan will buy me a new one this weekend, as I can't live without it.)

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Busy

October 20, 2005, 3:07 pm

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself. I think about how busy I am. I have two small children, work 2 days a week, and try to keep my house in order. I rarely have a moment for myself.

I recently started taking the kids to storytime at the library. At first I wasn't sure if I could handle two kids during storytime, but I thought I'd give it a try.

The first week Noah sat down next to a girl named Genna. Genna was there with her Mom and 3 siblings. I watched the mom in constant motion tending to her 4-year-old daughter, 2 1/2 year old son, and twin 15 month old son and daughter. She never raised her voice. She called them "love" and took everything in stride. I was amazed. Suddenly my life seemed simple. Noah sat quietly and listened to the stories and made his craft. Lily sat in my arms staring at the whirlwind of a family across from her. I wondered how I could ever feel overwhelmed with two children.

Today I told the mom that she amazed me. That she's my hero. That she makes my life look simple.

She smiled and said, "I just hope they turn out to be good people."

I think that's what we all hope for.

[ 3 comments ] ( 24 views )

My doll

October 19, 2005, 10:10 am

[ 5 comments ] ( 34 views )

End of soccer

October 18, 2005, 8:02 pm

Soccer season is over for Noah. Tonight was his last game. He was sad to see it end. Noah never really got soccer. He was very conservative and often started kicking the ball in the wrong direction. Nathan and I spent a lot of time yelling, "OTHER WAY!" He also looked at us a lot and gave us thumbs up or watched games on other fields rather than his own. Maybe next year he'll get the concept a little better.

Noah did enjoy being goalie and stopped a number of goals. And he made one goal himself. It was in his own goal, but we're still proud.

[ 2 comments ] ( 23 views )

Striped hair

October 18, 2005, 12:16 pm

About 6 months ago I started highlighting my hair. I have blond highlights, and my hair is basically striped brown and blond. Noah was very excited when I had this done for the first time. He wanted to know how they did it (with a paint brush?) and if it would come out in the rain or shower.

Last week I got my hair re-highlighted. I came home and asked Noah what he thought. He said, "I think you should get it filled in so it's all yellow like mine."

[ 2 comments ] ( 22 views )

Nooooo-ah!

October 18, 2005, 12:09 pm

Lily says her brother's name now. She's been saying it for a while, but now she says it all day long. Noah is a huge part of Lily's everyday life, and she likes to yell his name. Noah went to his friend Tyler's house this morning, so Lily and I had some time alone together. She kept pointing to the door and saying, "Nooooah? Noooooah!" She seemed sad that her brother had ditched her for a friend. But then I told her that a cow says moo, and she was instantly distracted. Animal noises are very funny to Lily right now.

We went to Nebraska City last weekend, and Lily did wonderfully in the car. At this age Noah would cry and try to get out of his car seat. I had the realization that Noah was just bored. Lily has constant entertainment from her Nooooah. I hear him say to her, "Shhhh, now what do you want? Do you want my dump truck?" Noah is willing to give up any toy to make Lily happy in the car. Their favorite activity in the car is singing and dancing to Vacation Bible School songs. Nathan and I gladly listened to the VBS cds over and over on the way home as the kids giggled and flapped their arms and kicked their legs.

So there are advantages to having two kids.

[ 2 comments ] ( 18 views )

Conversation with Noah

October 12, 2005, 10:44 am

I was doing dishes yesterday while Noah played in the backyard. The window above the sink was open, and Noah yelled at me.

Mama: Yes?
Noah: I have something to ask you!
Mama: What is it?
Noah: Why didn't Sammy have any babies?
Mama: Well, because she had an operation so that she couldn't have puppies. If dogs have puppies then you have to find people to adopt all of the puppies and there are lots of dogs in shelters that no one wants.
Noah: Oh.
Mama: Why did you ask?
Noah: Because I was just thinking about how Sammy was a girl and never had any babies.
Mama: I see.
Noah: And on Air Bud the girl dog has 4 babies! 4 mom!
Mama: That's a lot of babies.

[ 2 comments ] ( 23 views )

Goof

October 2, 2005, 8:50 pm

Lily is crazy. She's goofy. She makes us all laugh. Her favorite thing to do these days is walk around with a bucket or container of some sort on her head. If she can't see through it then she walks into walls. If she can see through it...well, that's funny too. Just look:



She also thinks walking up a slide is pretty funny:



And wearing a Batman mask:



But let's remember who her #1 role model is:

[ 3 comments ] ( 25 views )

Apples

October 2, 2005, 8:47 pm

I believe that all 1-year-olds love apples. Passionately. And take them out of the refrigerator when no one is loooking. This is my experience with Noah and Lily anyway...



[ 5 comments ] ( 30 views )