Swim Lessons

Noah has 4 swimming lessons "under his belt!" The class is for 3 to 5 year olds. He turns 3 in 1 month so I put him in this class. I wondered if it would be too much seeing as how parents don't get in the pool, too. The teachers at the YWCA are really great and patient. There are 9 students and 2 teachers. Each teacher takes a child one at a time and works on a particular skill. Noah has done very well entertaining himself in the water when it's not his turn.

The first day of class, the teacher wanted him to jump to her (which he wouldn't do), blow bubbles in the water (which he wouldn't do), and kick his legs (which he did). That afternoon, I took him back to the pool (which is outside, the "teaching pool" is small and inside) to have fun and try some of those skills. He learned to blow bubbles, jump from the side without holding my fingers, being "Spiderman" on the wall, etc...It was exciting to see him try and have fun. I couldn't wait for the next day so he could show his teachers what he could do.

Guess what, Day #2 Lessons: He had fun, but he didn't do any of the things we practiced! He told his teacher, "I can only blow bubbles in the outside pool with Mama!"

Well, we've finished 4 lessons now. He will jump to the teacher but still refuses to blow bubbles. Too funny! I do know the important thing is to have fun in the water and learn a little bit about swimming.

Noah Loves Hotels!

Noah loves hotels! In fact, he often tells me he lives at a particular hotel when we drive by it! So, he was so excited to learn we were going to a hotel today! He loves doing the elevator buttons, packing his suitcase, and toting that suitcase everywhere! At home, that suitcase stays out in his room because Noah loves to play with it!

When we were getting ready to walk out our door this morning, he announced, "I packed my sunglasses!"
I love how he knows so much about traveling! He's my little traveler & always has been. He took his 1st big trip at 5 weeks old & his first plane ride (from El Paso to LAX) at 3 months old, and hasn't turned back since!

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Dentist Visit

Noah had a great time at the dentist! No cavities! :) His dentist, Dr. Bowden, is awesome. Everything is so kid-friendly. He could play in a rocket ship or watch a movie while we waited. He also got to earn tokens to put in prize machines. He ended the visit by getting a medal, a balloon, and some ice cream. Noah actually didn't want to leave the dentist's office. What a great experience!

Backyard Fun!

Noah loves his new swing set!

Noah is Funny

Noah is cracking me up lately! This is a picture of him at Lowe's. When we walked in, he took a deep breath and said, "It smells good in here!"
Of course, he had to ride all the "tractors." That was his reward for behaving in the store while we shopped. However, if any other kid got on one, he would get upset with them getting on his tractors! There were at least 12 tractors! Too funny!

During 4th of July fireworks, he kept yelling out, "Disneyland!"

Then tonight, as he was playing in his diner, he made me some coffee. He asked if I wanted ice cream. When I said I did, he told me I had to go potty first!

Disneyland-June 2010

We went to Disneyland in June. Noah had an absolute blast! His favorite rides were: the Disneyland Train (on which he yells, "All Aboard!"), the Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, It's a Small World, and the Autopia cars. This time when we went, he had 2 categories for the rides: scary or not scary. When we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, he held onto me for dear life! (He loves pirates!) When we got off, he said, "Mama, that was kinda scary. Let's ride it again!" That's my boy! :)

Some thing else funny was he started potty-training on this trip! All the way from Albuquerque to Phoenix, he used the bathroom when we stopped. He stayed dry during the car ride! Amazing!! So to continue the great progress, I often encouraged him to "go." One time we were at the hotel and I said to him, "Let's go to the bathroom so we can go to Disneyland." Well, he sat on the toilet and tried. Then suddenly he started crying. I asked him, "What's wrong?" He answered, "I didn't go to the bathroom, so no Disneyland!" Sweet little baby! I quickly assured him he got to go to Disneyland no matter what happened in the bathroom.

Noah got a wonderful bubble gun toy at California Adventure. It lights up when you "shoot" bubbles. He would go through a bottle of bubbles in about 5 minutes! He would ride down the street in his stroller constantly shooting bubbles. You could find us just by following the stream of bubbles floating in the air. He would tell me, "I'm making everyone happy!" He was so adorable!

He also cried when Ryan went on Splash Mountain and he didn't get to go. He really wanted to go with Ryan! I had to take him to the entrance where you see if you're tall enough to ride to show him he has a few more inches to go. That helped a little bit. It helped a lot that we got to ride the Winnie-the-Pooh ride 2 more times while Ryan rode Splash Mountain.

Getting Big

Noah is getting so big! For the first time in Noah's life, the doorbell rang yesterday and our neighbor's son was asking if Noah could play. We had to tell him Noah was still taking a nap!

Also, tonight I was vacuuming. When I finished our bedroom, I called out to Noah who was playing in his room. He asked me to come to his room. I found him sitting in his chair reading to Minnie Mouse! He even had a book for Minnie to look at. He read Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel. He said, "People, tractor, steam, steam, steam..." for most of the book. It was so cute! He loves books. :)

He also LOVES outside. His shirt today reads, "My favorite color is dirt." It's true! He shovels dirt, throws dirt, makes mud, runs through the sprinklers, rides his "motorcycles," helps water...and more. I think if we had a fort out there, he could just about live in the backyard! I almost always have to hose him off and bring him straight to the bathtub when we come in. So when we do come in, he's in for the night! We needed a door that leads straight to the bathroom.

Last week, I made the mistake of letting him play outside before Puggles church! Of course, I had to then give him a bath which took too long, wrestle him to get him dressed (which also took too long), therefore he only got a snack before it started. Not a good Puggles night for Noah! This week, we will stay inside and eat a good dinner first!

Lastly, I bought some fruit snacks today. Noah got one when we got home. He of course wanted more. I told him he'd have to wait until after dinner. He took a fruit snack package to the office. He tried successfully to open one with craft scissors that make pinking shear cuts (with a blunt edge)! He's too smart!

I went to a conference a few weeks ago that talked a little about children and their attention spans. They do have long attention spans. Noah worked on that fruit snack package for 20 minutes! He also watered the tree and put dirt in the "water hole" for about 20 minutes the other day, too!

Noah is amazing & I can't believe how quickly he grows physically and mentally! He's got a great imagination for a 2 1/2 year old! He's so much fun.

P.S. About every other day, he begs to go to Disneyland and ride the train!