Things have been busy-- very busy. And I catch myself thinking "Man, I am not doing well at all at keeping the blog updated." But, this blog is for me as a place of reflection and memories, and it's okay if I have to be inconsistent for a while in order to focus on other things that have to get done-- like work, and feeding the kids, you know.
I'd like to take a moment today to give a quick update. These moments with the boys happen so fast and I kick myself for not writing down more of the funny things they say or the silly ways they dance and the cute conversations they have with each other.
Michael is currently 3 years old and wears a mix of 3T and 4T clothes. In pants, I say he's 3T and a half because 4T pants are a little too long on him, but 3T pants are bordering on high-waters. He is POTTY TRAINED! Completely. Wears underwear all day and at night and when we're out and about. He even told me in Target on Saturday that he needed to tee-tee, which is what I was hoping for because I didn't want him to ever just tee-tee on the floor. I was so proud of him for telling me he had to go. He and I walked very quickly back to the front of the store where the bathrooms are, but I knew as soon as we set foot in the restroom that he would be afraid of the big toilets. And he was. So I told him we could try the family bathroom where it would be just him and me. He opted to give that a try. But, that small room with the giant toilet was still too much for him. So he decided not to go. I did tell him that I was so proud of him for telling me he had to go, and for looking at the toilets before deciding he could hold it. Baby steps. I know we'll get there someday. But I'm proud of how far he has come!
My plan is to work with Noah on potty training in November and December. He turns 2 in January.
Michael is quite rowdy and can talk my ear off any given day, but I love it. He has SUCH an imagination and it my heart bursts into tiny heart shaped confetti when he tells me stories or just simply smiles at me. With Michael's Type 1 Diabetes, I often grieve the childhood he doesn't get to have. I grieve the carefree life he could have lived. Now it's wrought with finger pricks and pump changes and CGM insertions. So much for a little boy. But he is such a trooper. And that makes my heart smile.
His current breakfast favorite is Kashi 7 Grain waffles. The whole grains and the protein in these waffles keep his blood sugar at an even level and we love that!
He still loves Greek yogurt for snacks! Yay and Praise Jesus! He's become a fan of air-popped popcorn and so has Noah!
Aaron recently bought a bag of skittles for himself, and Michael has convinced Aaron to give him a Skittle if he goes tee-tee on the "big potty" rather than the toddler potty. Michael calls Skittles "freckles" or "skiddys."
Favorite toys are most definitely cars. Hot Wheels. Die-cast cars. Wooden cars. Any kind of car. His impression of a Formula One motor is spot-on.
Favorite drink is Crystal Light lemonade. He drinks this all day long.
Favorite color is green. Favorite shape is a triangle. Favorite letter is abcdefg. Favorite number varies between 2 and 3.
I love this little boy so much. He picks out his own clothes and clean underwear each day. He wears a toddler size 9 or 10 in shoes and is thoroughly enjoying his light-up Spiderman tennis shoes. He cheers for Auburn and the Seahawks. Smart boy. :) He knows Aaron likes Hockey, specifically the Red Wings. He can recognize numbers written down. He astounds us everyday with what he says and what he knows. Thank you, Lord, for this precious son.
Now for Noah.
He is my early riser, morning person. I like mornings too, but not when they start at 5:00 on a Saturday to some little boy screaming "mama dadda mama dadda mama dadda!" Noah is NOT a good cuddler in bed. He will lay across my torso with his arms and neck at my trachea. He likes to squish right up next to us and needs to have his forehead be in contact with some bony part of our face like our chin, or our foreheads. So, at 5:00am when Noah screams, you can just go ahead and turn on the coffee pot, because there's no cuddling in bed with this guy. He will wriggle his little booty and sing every song he knows. If you tell him to be quiet, he will whisper "okay" once and then will proceed to yell "Ba??? Mama, ba???" meaning "bottle" which really means "almond milk in my sippy cup."
He's recently started saying "lemonade" and it's the cutest sound if you ask him to say "yum yum lemonade." He gets tongue tied and it comes out "lum lum lemonemonade."
He is a happy guy and loves to tease and laugh at whatever we're laughing at. That makes it even more hilarious. He loves his big brother and wants to do everything Michael does. If Michael goes tee-tee on the big potty and asks for a "freckle," Noah will hold out his hand and say "Skittle?" and think that he deserves one too for being such an awesome brother.
He is a very tough little guy. He's gotten two goose eggs over the past couple months but he doesn't cry for more than a couple seconds. He hardly cried when he got his flu shot last weekend and he can keep up with Michael's antics and wrestling like no other. He holds his own and is desperate to sleep in a toddler bed. He crawls into Michael's bed any chance he gets and burrows himself into the blanket and sheets and says "night night. Night night." We are going to convert his crib into a toddler bed very soon.
He comfortably wears 18-month clothes. He can fit into 2T things, but pants are too long, shirts are a little big and the waist-line is much too large. So, although he can fit into things, they wouldn't stay on him all day. So we dress him in 18 month clothing and call it good. He's not 2 yet anyway. He could really still wear 12-month items but I made myself remove those clothing pieces from his drawers since he will be 2 this winter and I need to let go. :)
He wears size 4 diapers during the day and a size 5 overnight diaper at night. As stated above, I'm hoping to begin potty training him in November and December. There's a little boy at our church who was fully potty-trained by the time he was 2, so I know it can be done.
His current breakfast favorite is also "wobbles" (waffles), but he still fiercely loves applesauce and Nutrigrain bars.
He is a hefty eater. Seriously, I don't know where the food goes. Like I said earlier, he could still fit into 12-month clothes if I let him, but he can out-eat Michael at any meal, so I don't know where all that food goes. I suppose it becomes the wild-hair energy Noah exerts at 7:00am and 7:00pm each day.
Noah's favorite toys are his "abba abba" (toy broom) and "adoo" (vacuum). He will tremble with excitement when we take the real vacuum out of the coat closet. After we're doing vacuuming, we'll wrap up the cord and then just leave the vacuum in the living room. Noah will walk around the vacuum inspecting it and talking about it. He loves vacuums.
He's also become recently attached to a blanket. I called it a blankie and he responded with "bampeen" so that's what we call his special blanket now.
He loves our dogs and just giggles with excitement when they come inside.
He repeats words and phrases back to us, and it's so nice to have him be able to tell us what he wants. He can pick his own snacks and distinguish Nutrigrain bar flavors to tell me which one he wants. He can ask for more milk or lemonade. He talks about the toy he wants from the toy basket if it's buried and he can't get to it. He picks out books for us to read. He loves to do Ring Around the Rosey. He knows that a shrill squeal will get our attention if Michael is picking on him. He is 100% boy through and through and together with Michael, we will have our hands so full. Thank you, Lord, for sweet mischievous Noah.
I sorted the boys' clothes to make sure they had seasonably appropriate things to wear now that it's getting cold. It's so fun to get a "redo" on the clothes of Michael's that he has outgrown. We get to see Noah in the same outfits and it eases the pain just a little bit of seeing your children grow up. I was able to get a very good assortment of clothes to sell at the consignment sale coming up next week. I also sorted through ALL of the bottles we no longer have a need for. I took a deep breath and also listed my breast-pump and the spare parts for sale. This was such a hard one for me. I knew, though, that I couldn't hold onto it forever, but it was the real piece of equipment that reminded me of being a mom to a newborn. Sure, I kept some newborn outfits that the boys wore, but the pump was something that I used that contributed to their growth. So I guess it held an extra special place in my heart. I think part of why I didn't want to sell it was because I wanted to be sure we could adopt in the future before I got rid of all things baby at the house. However, I reminded myself that we do not plan to adopt for a few more years and at that time, if something didn't work out on the adoption road and we decided to get pregnant again, then I could buy new bottles and a new pump at that time. That eased the pain a little bit. I'm actually excited now to see how well my items do at the sale! I'm even contemplating volunteering this year so that I can meet more local moms.
Whew! That "brief" update ended up taking up a lot more room than I thought. But it was worth it and it was needed.
Until next time,
Much love, Reba
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