3.5

Noah is officially 3 1/2 today! Love this boy more then words could ever describe and I am amazed at how much he has grown in the past 6 months. He is definitely a 3 year old and has been doing some interesting, and not so interesting, things lately. So, here's what my Noah has been up to lately...

• He is still into trucks, but lately he has added the new dimension of building. He builds things constantly and is always looking for new ways to create something. I love watching him build something and see his little mind at work.
• He is full of questions, and sometimes he asks me things that I don't even know the answer to! That is how deep some of his questions are. For example, he asked us the other day why his arms and legs were hard under his skin, so which we told him that his body if full of bones. Now he is obsessed with the bones in his body and wants to know the names of all of them. "What's the name of this bone? that bone?". I love seeing what he is going to ask next :).
• He is very imaginative lately. He will have pretend conversations with his stuffed animals or on his phone. I love listening to these little conversations...they are pretty interesting!
• He LOVES his bike...the one he got for his 3rd birthday. It's a two wheeler with training wheels, but he is so dang good at riding that thing that I'm thinking we should take the training wheels off and see how he does. He is going to be so dang sad when he can't ride his bike outside anymore...I don't look forward to that day.
• He has a pet, well, two pets. We have taken in two fuzzy bear caterpillars and I am amazed at how dedicated he is to feeding them and taking care of them. He reminds me every day that we need to feed them...I'm impressed.
• There was a point where he wouldn't watch a show on TV to save his life, but lately he has been drawn to some really fun shows and has actually learned quite a bit from them. No, I don't let him watch TV or movies all day long, but in the morning there are a few shows that he loves and looks forward to watching. He loves this show called Word World, and it really is the cutest little show. Even I enjoy watching it with him :).
• He has the most amazing memory. It's crazy! He remembers the tiniest of details...just like his daddy! He also knows how to get from our house to pretty much anywhere, so if we are going to Grandma's house and I go a way that he is not familiar with, then he gets so frustated. But, then he memorizes the alternative way to Grandma's and will NEVER forget it. I really am amazed of the things he remembers.
• He is obsessed with letters and talks about them constantly. I'm so grateful that he has this interest and wants to learn more about them :).
• Like I said, he has really started to test the waters with us and is constantly trying to persuade us let him do things that he knows he shouldn't be doing. I was not prepared for this...really! I won't go into details, but let me just say that if he doesn't get his way, then watch out! He will get so upset and to the point that it is hard to calm him down so that I can reason with him. Oh boy! Once he is calm and I can talk to him, all is well, but when I initially tell him that things aren't going to go his way...I just brace myself. We're working on it, but I just did not see this coming! He has thrown me a curve ball and we are still trying to figure it out. Oh my!
• He has, just recently, started to take really, really short naps. Now, he has always been an amazing sleeper, and he still knows that he needs to get some rest during the day, but 20-30 minute naps?!?! Really? I so am not looking forward to the day that he has no naps. He is just so much happier if he gets a good nap in. Like today for example...he didn't take a nap and was the BIGGEST grump from 5:00 to bedtime! I really don't like being around him when he's like this...and then add in the factor when he doesn't get his way...WATCH OUT! Seriously, I thought we were past the terrible twos! I'm beginning to believe that three is the NEW two.
• He LOVES music and I think that listenig to music is very calming to him. He loves The Killers, just like Doug and I, as well as Coldplay, Metro Station, Francis England {love her...she writes children's songs and her songs are so much fun, as well as very calming}, Barenaked Ladies, and the list goes on.
• He is so dang funny and he says the greatest things sometimes. I love it when he says something just to get a smile out of us. Love it!

Well, there's some highlights on our boy.

Noah ~ We love you to the moon and back. You are simply the BEST!