First Baby Gift

Our first gift to the baby was chosen by Noah.  So sweet.  We were at Target, passing by the baby section, not even looking or shopping for baby stuff, and Noah randomly picked up a tiny onesie, asking what it was.  When I told him, he said, "Oh!  I think the baby will really like that.  We should get it for him." And he put in in the cart.  Luckily it is gender-neutral, as we won't find out the sex until next week.  Little things like that just melt my heart :)

New Pet

Noah has a new pet.  We went for a walk yesterday and he spotted a huge, hairy caterpillar on the sidewalk.  It looked like a feather to me.  He immediately had to pick the creature up, ever so gently, and let him crawl up and down his arm, around on his back, up on his neck, up and over his head!  It was amazing!  Of course it was now his pet.  He had to take him home.  Daddy would want to see it.  What will we name him?  "Charris" Noah replied.  His name is Charris.  "I want him to sleep with me in my bed.  I think he will like my bed, do you mommy?  And he'll want to jump on the trampoline with me."

So we took him home, looked on the internet to find out how to build a caterpillar habitat, and Noah played with him for two hours straight.  I remembered we had a butterfly habitat from my mom.  Perfect!  We made it nice and homey and caterpillar-friendly.  The only problem was getting Noah to part with Charris.  We had to remind him that Charris's job is to become a butterfly, and that he will need to stay in his home to do so.  He will need to be left alone so that he can build his cocoon.  So we went on You Tube and looked at tons of videos on how caterpillars build cocoons, and the whole process of metamorphosis.  He was so excited! 

So today we woke up and couldn't find Charris.  Oh, there he is!  He's already building his cocoon under one of the flowers we placed in his home :)

Birthday Boy

I can't believe my little baby is already four...I look at him and think, wow, he's a little boy now...there's nothing baby about him anymore.  It's bittersweet...each stage brings new fun adventures and experiences (and challenges of course) but each exciting milestone also reminds me of how far he's come from that little guy I first locked eyes with four years ago:)  It makes me happy and sad at the same time...we can never get that time back and I am reminded to live fully in each fleeting moment.

Just Saturday, I went shopping for new clothes for Noah, and I was in total denial about how big he's grown.  I would look at smaller sizes and think, that's his size.  But it wasn't!  And when I looked at the size he now wears, my eyes welled up with tears.  I asked my mom if she thought it was just pregnancy hormones and she said - no, that sometimes she looks at me or my brother and feels the same way - that was my little baby!

Speaking of pregnancy, I'm pregnant!  Since this blog is about Noah, I'll talk a little about how he feels about the pregnancy.  It's all super sweet and heartwarming.  I'm really glad we waited this long to have another one because I feel in my heart that he is fully open to sharing me now (at least as much as a four year old can tolerate!)  He talks about how my belly is growing and lifts up my shirt to gently rub my tummy (with his soft little hands, so sweet).  He tells people that he's going to have a baby.  He's convinced it's going to be a "brother baby" and I asked him how he would feel about having a sister.  He said the funniest thing the other night while we were having pillow talk.  He said, "No mommy.  It certainly isn't dignified."  I cracked up!  I have a feeling he will welcome a boy or girl, though.  Randomly while we are doing something together like playing on a slide or counting, he tells me he will teach the baby those things.  He talks about sharing nummies with the baby.  Even though he barely nurses since I became pregnant, he is sure that one side will be his and the other will be the baby's when the baby comes.  Tandem nursing might be in our future, who knows!

Noah requested not to have a party for his fourth birthday because he didn't want to share his cupcakes or cake with any other kids (speaking of sharing LOL).  He gave me very specific instructions regarding the decor and flavors of his cupcakes and cake.  "Vanilla cake with white frosting with M & M's, cars, Cat in the Hat, candles, and Hershey's kisses."  He said all he wanted for his birthday was to be able to eat cupcakes and cake all day...he asked, I delivered.  He did not have one bite of real food from the moment he woke up.  And I didn't make the healthy version either!  Surprisingly, he didn't have one meltdown the whole day.  Grandma got him a huge trampoline for his birthday (a godsend while I'm pregnant and have little energy to walk to the park twice a day, thanks Grandma!!!).  Keeping with tradition, we had a fun bonfire at the beach with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle John and Cynthia.  I love our family!

Oh yeah, when he woke up the day of his birthday, I had to tell Noah that it was indeed his birthday.  He was so excited and said, "I'm four??  Right now?  Like Roman? It's my birthday!"  Now all he talks about is turning five.  He is so eager to grow up.  I remember feeling like that.  He wants to be a big boy.  Slow down little one!  I need you to stay little for at least a little while longer!!!!

xoxoxoxo precious boy...

First Train Ride, Trip to Zoomar's

Yesterday we went on a fun little adventure with a few friends from our homeschool group.  Noah rode a real train for the first time and it was so much fun watching his eyes sparkle with excitement.  Sharing firsts with children is definitely one of the best parts of parenting.  You get to experience something that by now, as an adult, you have taken for granted, all over again through your child's fresh, innocent eyes. 

The reason we decided on a trip to Zoomar's petting zoo is because Noah is really intrigued lately with animals, especially little ones he can hold and touch.  Boy did he get his fill yesterday!  It was really weird because the night before, he asked me to tell him a story and I happened to make one up about a little bunny who was so hungry, looking for food, when a little boy found him and took him home.  Little did I know, Noah would find a bunny house at Zoomar's and spend 45 minutes gently petting, holding, and feeding bunnies.  That was all he really wanted to do there.  That, and ride on a cool oldschool teeter totter with a bunch of sweet kids.  I think I'm clairvoyant or something, in regards to the bunny story, because I had no idea they would have bunnies at Zoomar's!

I was secretly really proud of how gentle Noah is with little animals.  Some of the other kids were really rough with the bunnies and treated them like objects.  Noah was really gentle the whole time and very concerned about the bunnies' well-being.  Not that I'm taking credit for his actions or anything, but I do feel like we try to instill and model a certain level of respect for all living creatures.  So it was heartwarming to see that yesterday. 

I love our little family adventures! 

Christmas in Mammoth

We just spent nine days in Mammoth, enjoying a white Christmas and many fun activities!  We bought Noah a cool new sled and had lots of fun in the meadow pulling him around and we all, including Noah, attempted snowboarding on the sled.  We spent way too much money at Sledz, where Noah and Simon shot down the mountain on an inner tube together.  They both had a blast:)  Mammoth got about a foot of snow while we were there, so Simon enjoyed some fresh powder on his snowboard.  I stayed behind this trip as funds were low.  I did, however, try cross country skiing, which was a ton of fun and a really good workout. 

We also rented a little snowboard (so cute!) and took Noah up to the mountain, found a small hill, and let him go at it.  He rocked on the snowboard!  He was totally fearless and really wanted to feel it out on his own.  We're going to get him a lesson next time we're up there to teach him some basics.  It was a lot of fun watching him tear it up on his little snowboard.  We also did the usual gondola ride and ice cream at the village.  Simon and I also had some alone time, enjoying crisp winter walks together and indulging in Irish faire at the Auld Dubliner, our favorite restaurant in Mammoth.  We were lucky to have Uncle John's girlfriend Cynthia come up on Christmas Day.  Noah loves her and loved bugging her and Uncle with endless requests to play with him (which they thankfully welcomed and accommodated:)

All in all a pretty fun trip as usual!  We're so lucky to be able to spend time in Mammoth with our family.

Summer in Mammoth!

This post is a little late, but I really want to blog about our summer fun in Mammoth!  We stayed for a week in August and had a blast.  Simon and I went mountain biking (we biked alllll the way down Mammoth Mountain!)  We paid for a two hour long lesson with a pro, which was totally worth the money...he took us to the head of the lines and actually stayed with us for four hours total.  It was grueling and very technical, but totally worth it. 

Noah loves Mammoth...he asks to go nearly every day and always has a blast.  A few weeks ago, he was sick, and do you know what he said would make him feel better?  Going to Mammoth!  This year was special because he was old enough to take part in some of the mountain activities like zip lining and rock wall climbing.  He was so fearless!  Until he got to the top of the rock wall and then looked down.  He had a look of panic.  I don't think he was paying attention to how high he was going during his ascent.  Of course we also rode the gondola (which Noah *loves*) and ate way too much ice cream. 

We are so lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa's condo to stay in and that they freely give their time watching Noah so that Simon and I can have some fun couple time.  We couldn't have gone mountain biking or out to dinner at the local pub without their help watching Noah.  We can't wait to go back in a few weeks for Christmas!

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!