Noah Update

Aaron's first week was pretty crazy for all of us, but since then, life has been slowly settling, and I can see Noah settling too. He handled all the upheaval really well, and I'm so thankful for his sweet temperament. Considering that Aaron can't play, talk, or eat food, I didn't expect Noah to be so affectionate - eager to share, always wanting him nearby, kissing his hair and feet (and face if I'm not looking).

At the same time, Noah is about to turn two and making some effort to remind me of that fact. He's practicing his whining skills, experimenting with disobedience, and talking up a storm. But mostly, I love his interactivity:

- Last night, we just sat and played with his firetrucks, a penny, and a little fireman for about 20min as he pointed out all the features of the trucks and repositioned the man and penny for firefighting.

- The other day, I was reading "Beauty and the Beast" to Noah when he informed me that Beauty's father drives a dump truck, and the Beast serves Beauty peanut butter & jelly, oatmeal, and apples. When we got to the last page (with the Prince and Beauty), Noah told me it was a picture of "two ladies." I tried to correct him, but he would have none of it. (Actually, he's not far off. The prince in this version is a little too pretty...)

- This morning, Noah would not come to Daddy from across the room when he was called. I told him he would be disciplined if he didn't respond, so he looked at me and said "sorry" while staying steadfastly across the room. Pretty clever, that kid, but "sorry" doesn't work when you're still disobeying while you say it.

- So far, Noah only watches two programs on TV: "Elmo's World" (part of Sesame Street) and Father of the Bride 2. The first is a toddler staple, but Steve Martin on pregnancy? What? Well, turns out there's a scene with a crane and bulldozers preparing to level the Banks' house, and that's just the cat's meow. Noah spotted it after his nap one day, and he's loved watching the "big crane" ever since.