Disneyland!

So we broke down and got annual passes to Disneyland. We were going quite a bit the past month, averaging twice a week! The ticket attendants never believed Noah wasn't three, although now we actually do need to purchase a pass for him since his birthday already passed. Noah loves riding the train, visiting Goofy's house, riding Pirates of the Caribbean, the Rockets, and Dumbo. He's been on Pinnocchio, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Tea Cups, and I think that's it so far. Oh yeah, he *loves* Tarzan's tree house. That exhibit will give you some buns with all the stair climbing!

He's actually tall enough to ride almost all the rides, but I don't know if he's emotionally ready. We took him on a small roller coaster in Toon Town, but I think it slightly freaked him out. Maybe because daddy told him to hold up his hands? I think that made him feel insecure. I know it makes me insecure on rides when I hold up my hands.

So we are Disneyland locals for sure now!

Farmer's Market

Every Thursday, Noah and I head on down to the Costa Mesa Farmer's Market. We both love our trips there. We start out at the Kettle Corn stand, head on over to the hummus stand, and then load up on fruits and veggies, sometimes eggs. Then we stroll over to Centennial Farm and visit the goose and windmill, enjoying the rest of our kettle corn. Noah's a little apprehensive around the loud honking goose but is intrigued nonetheless. If it's open, we visit the farm, or else Noah pushes the stroller back and forth around the fairgrounds. After the farmer's market, we head to a park and enjoy our hummus and fresh pita bread. Yum! We really enjoy our Thursdays and look forward to the farmer's market every week:)

That was easy!

So Noah is potty trained! Whew! After he turned three, I decided it was time. We had read lots of books, talked a lot about using the potty, and he dabbled in going pee in the toilet here and there. So basically I just told him we weren't going to wear diapers anymore (except during nap and night time) and he was down. He did ask for diapers here and there, but I prompted him to just go in the toilet. After a few accidents the first few days, and some delays in going #2 on the toilet, he got it. Just like that. No rewards, lots of praise, and a few accidents and then two weeks later, we are fully potty trained. I guess you would call it potty learned. So the combo for us was: Noah was ready, I was ready, we put slight pressure on him, and we took the diapers away completely. Now he can hold it like a champ and go anywhere. Even went #2 at Starbuck's the other day. I have to admit, I thought it would be a lot more time consuming, stressful, and drawn out. Not so! Congratulations big man!

Three!!!

Did I mention Noah turned three? "I'm a big boy" is his favorite phrase. Let me tell you a little about his birthday...

We had a little pre-birthday celebration at the Waldorf school. It was so sweet...I was a weepy mess and Noah was so proud. He happily followed Ms. Uschi to his little "throne" and wore a beautiful handmade flower crown along with a little cape. Ms. Uschi told a traditional Waldorf birthday story, detailing how he made it to Earth, while Ms. Rusty played beautiful music on her guitar. Then Noah paraded in front of his classmates, was given a handmade birthday card from Ms. Uschi, and all the children brought Noah a flower. He happily accepted them. Sooooo sweet. I had to explain to him that my tears were tears of joy, as he was quite concerned that I was crying. Then, after blowing out the candles, he devoured the cupcakes I made for the class. He was pretty stoked on those cupcakes!

So that was Friday. I spent most of the night baking his cake after he went to bed that night. Noah wanted a "chocolate cake with white frosting, with hotwheel cars and m & m's". So that's what he got! I'll post pics later. I also spent the better part of the night decorating with some cool hotwheels decorations I found...a Happy Birthday banner, Hotwheels hanging cars, a Hotwheels sticker book and tatoos, along with the traditional birthday ring he just loves playing with every year (and blowing out the candles over and over again).

Might I add that this year was so much fun, as Noah is fully aware it is his birthday. Weeks prior, he was telling everyone his birthday was coming up, holding up three fingers as he professed his age of coming, and waking up most mornings wondering if it was indeed his birthday.

So Saturday he woke up to his little decorations, to which he replied over and over, "Wow! Wow!" Then, to his delight, I made him pancakes with vanilla ice cream on top. Could this day get any better? Yes! He opened his new all natural wooden tool set and Daddy showed him the ropes. Then, our neighbors, the Currens (Jen, Gavin, Tegan, and Camryn), came with us to the Waldorf May Faire. Noah ate cookies, made a paper kite and ran around with the kids. Then it was nap time so he could rest up for the bonfire later that evening. We headed to the beach around 6:00pm with our neighbors and grandma and grandpa. Noah had fun with the girls (as usual!) and roasted hot dogs and smores. He loves bonfires as do we!

Then we headed home for the final treat of the day...mama's homemade cake (Noah couldn't believe his eyes and couldn't decide what to focus on...the cars, m &m's, or frosting, so he dove right into the frosting, took off a few m&m's, and rode the cars through the frosting!) We all sang Happy Birthday and he blew out the candles on the cake and the birthday ring. After inhaling the cake, he played with the kids and his new awesome tree fort (from grandma) then settled in for a long, well-deserved rest.

Happy Birthday sweet boy! We loooooove you...you brighten our lives. xoxoxoxoxoxo

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