The Kings: marching right along

always a busy month around here, march has kept us on our toes. fresh off celebrating noah's birthday, we made preparations for my birthday this month. i actually got to celebrate this year with my sweet niece olivia during a "wild kratts" themed party (hosted by my amazing sister, sarah). i can't image a better way to celebrate birthday #28 than with a super-excited (even though she had a fever!) little girl who was celebrating birthday #7.
i also was lucky enough to get to make *two* trips to the dallas auto show this year: one with my friends from work, plus their respective spouses and children; and the other time as my annual father-daughter date with my dad. my time with the family was great; noah just wanted to sit in *every* car. but of course, i really enjoyed the time with my dad, since *we* got to sit in every car we wanted to see, plus drool over some of the ones we will never be able to afford. ah, the joys of the auto show! after birthdays, we got ready for and then hosted easter, which happened to land at the very end of march this year. and through it all, the kids kept growing....

noah's favorite thing this month has been a new phrase, "how about..." we've started hearing it frequently, and i'm not certain where he picked it up from. i've since found myself saying it occasionally, but i can't tell if i've picked it up from him or if he picked it up from me! either way, it's absolutely adorable to hear him try to reason with me or matt, even if it can be trying at times. this typically comes into play during meal times and goes something like this:

me: noah, are you ready to eat? would you like some chicken nuggets or some turkey for lunch?
noah: how about.......cheerios!
me: no, you can't have cheerios for lunch.
noah: how about......bread!
me: nope, try again. chicken nuggets or turkey?
noah: how about......grapes!
me: *sigh*

he has also learned the phrase "and then." we have been working on sequencing and started using phrases like, "first, we're going to eat, and then we can go play" or "first, eat your hot dog, and then you can have more crackers." noah picked up on this all too quickly, and now after we make practically any statement, he feels it necessary to add his own agenda. he also always adds a particular amount of emphasis to the word "then," making it pretty darn cute when he says it.

me: okay, noah, it's time to eat dinner.
noah: and THEN we go play outside?
me: no, and then we go take a bath and get ready for bed.
noah: and THEN we go play outside?
me: no, and then we go to bed.

in other noah news, our still-teething son has sprouted all four of his molars now. because they are so much harder to see on a daily basis than the front teeth, i do not have an exact date (bad mom, i know!) but he first sprouted the second lower molar, followed very quickly by the top two molars. fortunately for me, and him, i couldn't appreciate any real changes in his behavior due to teething. yay!

noah has also started "reading" books to us. since he tends to choose a lot of the same stories for bedtime and naptime, he's started memorizing parts of, or most of, the books we read. currently, he will complete nearly every sentence in are you my mother?, of which my favorite lines he reads to us are, "[...] and the snort put the baby bird right back in the tree!" and "you are a bird, and you are my mother." :)
and speaking of bedtime, noah has gotten exponentially better at allowing us to move him to his bed and staying in his bed when he sleeps. now, most nights he will stay in his bed for the night, and naps tend to be hit-or-miss. the cutest thing, though, is that now when we go up there to check on him at night, usually around 10pm, if he wakes up when we try to move him he rubs his eyes and says in a little sleepy voice, "bed...bed, please!" then he snuggles in as whichever one of us picks him up and tucks him in. sweet boy <3 p="">
as for our sweetheart samantha, she has most certainly begun teething! i won't be surprised at all if she spouts teeth in the next month with the way she has started drooling and feeling it necessary to bring *everything* to her mouth.... including her own toes! this is a favorite past time of hers, most especially during diaper changes. she has also learned to pull her own socks off and enjoys making them adequately soaked as well.

and speaking of things she loves, even though we started using it before this month, samantha has started loving her "lovey" toy we use for bedtimes and naptimes. since it stays in the crib, it's always such a treat for her to see that sweet little owl or monkey (she has two, one is always the clean backup!) as she gets ready to take her nap. in fact, she now enjoys them so much that she will stop crying once she sees lovey if she's become fussy before a nap. her tears will stop and she will grin a huge baby grin, then bury her face in the stuffed toy and squeal with delight. ah, the little things! some days i've gone to check on her and even seen it draped over her face, in the same manner her brother does with his, and the way their father uses the extra pillows on the bed! must run in that "king gene!"

and, in other big news, we celebrated samantha's first easter here at the house as i mentioned at the beginning of the post. because i took a ton of pictures of both kids, and -- let's face it, it's a pretty big holiday -- it's earned it's own separate post that you will have to check out, also. for now, enjoy the other pictures from march!