noah has started a truly independent phase, complete with saying, "I can do it myself!" when we offer to help with something. of course, this doesn't mean i am excluded from reminding him that instead of collapsing into a heap of tears if something doesn't work the way he wants he might instead need to say, "mommy, can you help me please?" ;) he continues to love to sing, a lot. we are serenaded with songs about everything, even songs he makes up. he also likes to point out when he hears drums and guitars, and will often pretend to play an instrument. and he asks on a daily basis to listen to "that roar song" (Roar, by katy perry). he loves that song and we will listen to it a dozen times in a row while he bops around the kitchen, dancing partners in tow: green car in one hand and stickers in the other. he actually asks me to play it in the car (my ipod doesn't connect to the car, the outlet for the cable doesn't output anything anymore), and we've had *several* conversations about the fact that i don't control what the radio stations play and that we just have to wait for it to come on. i don't think we fully understand just yet, but at least now i don't hear screaming and crying every time it's not on the radio...
noah has also fully mastered singing the ABC's and enjoys that song as well, and will count up to about 16, only occasionally missing a few numbers here and there. he can put together puzzles like no one's business and does a great job identifying numbers and letters and we've recently started working on states -- and for our out-of-state side of the family, you will be happy to know that he doesn't call it the "states puzzle" he calls it the "ohio states puzzle" ;) dad might be coaching him some while i'm not listening ;) and he also knows now when i leave for work, but he really connected the dots the other day. i told him he needed to take a nap "because grandma sharon is coming over today." and instead of his usual response "to play with me? and sammy?" he looked up at me and said, "because you have to go to work?" :( he'd finally put together that when grandma sharon comes over after nap, it's usually because i'm headed to work. fortunately, he doesn't start crying just because i'm going to work. and that sweet kid loves to tell you, "goodnight, i love you, sweet dreams!" when you tuck him in to bed, and sometimes when you are just leaving. i'll tell him, "bye, noah! i'll see you in the morning!" and he'll say, "bye, mommy! i love you, sweet dreams!" haha, if only! he continues to love his pockets and couldn't be happier that most of his long-sleeved outfits consist of zip-up hoodies that have two front pockets. they are typically the receptical for good ol' green car and stickers during mealtimes (they aren't allowed to be on the table), while playing with other toys, or just because.
and speaking of clothes, noah has become exceptional at undressing himself in the evenings for bath time and then putting both his clothes and sammy's in the dirty clothes hamper -- such a help! and speaking of helping, he continues to be a stellar big brother. this month i watched as he cautioned sammy not to climb up the stairs "no, sammy, you shouldn't go without mommy or daddy!" and told me one morning during breakfast, "i'll be right back, sammy's cart is stuck, i'll go fix it for her!" and he did and then said, "there you go, sammy!" :) he also thoroughly seems to enjoy unloading the dishwasher, helping with laundry (especially his sheets when lovey "gets a bath"), and vacuuming.
the other day our conversation went like this:
me: noah, what do you want to do today?
noah: uhm, wash the dishes!
me: really? (as i take a plate out of the dishwasher)
noah: *breaks into screams and sobs* nooooo!!!!!! i want to help!!!!!!
me: *obviously confused* ooookay. i will wait until you are finished eating to unload the dishwasher...
noah: *regains composure* yes, thank you, mommy.
and i had to share with matt the other day that i had vacuumed and noah *noticed* and asked me, "did you vacuum mommy?" to which i replied that i had and he said, "ahhhh, it's just so nice and clean! it feels so good!" :D
and just a few more stories: he has gotten excellent at pointing out his logic. the other day he was making fishy/kissy noises and i asked him if he was a fish. he said, "no, mommy! i'm not even swimming!" and another day he pointed out that somthing wasn't a robot and i agreed. then he told me that he wasn't a robot, so i asked him, "what are you?" and his response wasn't about being a boy or a human, instead he said, "I'm NOAH!"
samantha has continued to make strides, literally! she took three whole steps on november 1st and has progressed to walking up to 7 or 8 at a time. again, i will report that she seems to be unimpressed with the idea of walking and will typically walk a short distance before deciding to switch back to crawling, but i am encouraged by her progress, at least. she now prefers to walk behind the walking-cart toy to get around at times, and will even indulge me by walking around holding on to my fingers (which she absolutely seemed to hate doing a few months ago). hopefully soon we can convince her that walking is actually a better way to get around than crawling, but this girl likes to do things on her own schedule :) i will point out that the thing that motivates her the most is walking towards and then kicking a soccer ball. matt denies having any influence over this, so i guess it's just something my kids are inclined to do (our first pictures of noah walking are to go pick up a soccer ball). matt is more than a little proud of this fact.
she is saying a few more words, she loves to say "daaaad" for matt, and use the term "all done" but doesn't always use it correctly. she also says "ball" and will occasionally say "no no" when referring to noah. my favorite thing to hear, though, is actually to listen to her sing a song from the lorax, of which the chorus consists of the characters singing "na, na, na na na nah...." and she will frequently start singing and/or point to the ipod, clap excitedly, bounce up and down, and sing those lyrics. seriously, this kid loves music. she has also gotten very good at playing hide-and-seek type games. she really loves to crawl across the room, sit at the corner of the wall and wave and say "hiiiiiii!" or she will crawl under our glass-top table, look up at you and do the same thing, waving and telling you "hi" with a huge smile on her face. she also enjoys holding her lovey during diaper changes and playing peek-a-boo while giggling. our sweet girl has also shown some "girl" traits lately, like asking to wear hair clips. i'll get her dressed in the morning and she will point to her ribbon of clips and sign "more." so i oblige her and put one in. of course, the first time she gets upset she decides to remove it and throw it on the floor.... and speaking of hair, i've not only been able to put her hair in (my favorite!) sweet little pig-tails, but now she has *just* enough hair for a single pony-tail. i don't know why, but it's so cute to see on her and it is the one way i can do her hair that she can't take down (for now).
the only not-so-cute thing lately has been sammy's disappointment when someone has to go to work. the other day she got upset just seeing me change into my work clothes and practically became a corsage on my chest while i finished getting ready. and anytime she realizes i'm kissing her to go to work, or i tell her to say "bye to daddy" or we drop her off in her class at church she cries and reaches for us :( little heart-breaker. fortunately, these episodes are short-lived and after about a minute she accepts the fact that it is what it is and that we will be gone, but we will come back. contrast this to her brother, who has begun asking starting on saturdays if we can go to church, and is usually so upset that we *aren't* going to church yet that he starts crying. this past sunday, he was so excited when i got home from work the first thing he asked was, "can we go to church now!?" and later that day as we were leaving he began crying saying, "i want to go to church again!" check back for pictures from thanksgiving!
sunday funday: football and playing on the couch
power tools and goggles
too cold for a ride outside? no problem
cookie-baking season!
celebrating november birthdays: the line for chicken fried steak
candles, cake, singing
noah was playing outside, and sam wanted to join him
sam found daddy's sunglasses on the kitchen counter and decided to try them out
good, clean fun :)
sweet little helpers
my anywhere sleeper, during naptime
noah has become our designated "chocolate chip placer"
building with blocks
decorating the tree for christmas
and even though we had discussed *not* removing decorations, i woke up a few days later to this lovely sight. i only remembered to take pictures after i had already picked up about a dozen unbroken ornaments, so imagine what it looked like initially!
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