thanks to his eagerness to join us on this side of the womb, our sweet son noah has already been living in this world longer than he was in utero! while this is a milestone in itself, noah has been making strides in developmental ways, also. the biggest news? this month noah learned to feed himself! per the pediatrician's recommendations, we started noah on cheerios and even though it took him a while to come around to the new texture and taste, in no time at all noah was learning to shovel the little o's into his mouth by the handful. much to lexi's liking, a few always tend to fall to the floor for her taking, also. consequently, as we've added more foods to noah's meals, lexi has had to cut back on her kibble intake. we've added a number of fruits and vegetables to his menu, but we rapidly discovered that our sweet son has one favorite food: blueberries. the child would eat an entire crate of them if we let him! i promise i'm not exaggerating, as anyone who has witnessed him eating can verify this fact. other favorites include grapes, peas, and bananas, but he also eats bread, turkey, green beans and sweet potatoes.
mobility-wise noah has continued to improve his crawling speed and has grown more confident in his standing and cruising abilities. he's not quite ready to let go of whatever is steadying him, but he will use just one hand or simply lean against something so he can use both hands for a toy. this is strides away from his white-knuckle grasp that was previously employed when standing. i'm sure we will have a walker on our hands in no time.
noah on the move, with his own signature crawl:
noah has also become much more verbal, chatting constantly while playing and especially while eating. he strings together phrases of syllables and stops to smile every so often when he realizes you are in on his conversation. he continues to have a love for his rubber-tipped spoon as a teething aid, but also loves calculators and phones and is always a little jealous if we try to check something on the computer and don't give him a turn at the keyboard. noah has also developed a love of vacuuming, or maybe more appropriately, the vacuum itself. i can only assume this has to do with the fact that, thanks to lexi, we vacuum nearly every day. he now squeals with excitement when he sees me wheel the vacuum out of the closet and when it's sitting unused between rooms noah crawls up to it and acts like it's his favorite toy. so funny! he has also developed a fascination with the dishwasher and is eager to crawl up to (and onto) it whenever we are doing dishes. i can only hope that this attitude carries over into the coming years when it's time for him to do chores! :)
socially, noah was busy again this month, spending time with his cousins on halloween and for the pumpkin carving just before. we also celebrated his daddy's birthday at home and thanksgiving (exactly 9 months after his birth) with the extended family. these events are more and more fun for him as he gets better at interacting with people and playing with his cousins. i can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for us...before our sweet "little baby" turns ONE! this year has flown by and it's been quite a ride!
and to end on a happy note, some noah giggles from november 16th:
