Noah ~ 4 1/2 Years

~ He is FULL of questions! He is constantly asking us questions about this and that...he wants to know about everything! He is so into learning new things right now and I just love his thirst for knowledge.
~ He has made a number of new friends in our new neighborhood and he is always wanting to go outside to play with them. He wasn't able to just go outside and *play* out our old house, and it did take Noah some time to actually do it here, but now he is all over being outside and playing to his hearts content! It is such a joy watching him laugh and play with his new friends...it makes me so happy to see him so happy.
~ Although he plays well with his friends, he still wants me by his side whenever he is playing at home. Sometimes I wish that he would just go and play by himself, but then I sit back and realize how much fun I have with him when I'm playing with him, so I'm sure {and hope} that he feels the same way. We have a great time together playing with his trains and trucks...I just wish that he would have fun playing *my* games...like cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc... I don't think that will ever happen!
~ He is beginning to realize that he is the oldest sibling, and with it comes certain responsibilities. He definitely looks out for Leah and Isaac, but he is just now starting to teach them new things...like helping Leah with her ABC's and 123's, teaching Leah how to play games, comforting Isaac when I'm busy and can't do it myself... It's wonderful seeing him as the BIG brother around here.
~ Now, although he watches out for Leah, doesn't mean that he's always nice to her. Those two butt heads constantly, and it drives me *crazy*! Noah likes to take control when they are playing together and he kind of expects Leah to just follow along, BUT Leah is NOT a follower! Not at all! She does not like being told what to do and she will most likely do the opposite of what you ask her to do...SO, this does not fair well with Noah. He gets easily frustrated with her, but he's learning...heck...I'm still learning how to get control of the little 2 year old. She's a force...a strong one! BUT, when they do play together, it's great! I love hearing them laugh and enjoy their time with one another. I just hope that Noah realizes that she can not be controlled and to just stop doing it, because it is NEVER going to work.
~ He still loves trucks...he can't get enough of them! He is {still} also a huge fan of playing with Play-doh...the possibilities are endless with that stuff!
~ He is SO excited for Christmas that he is about to burst with excitement! He is already talking about what he is going to ask Santa for this year {a truck, of course!}. I think I might have to pull out the Christmas stuff early this year so that we can really have some fun with it. One month is just not enough!
~ It wasn't until a few months ago that Noah really started to enjoy watching movies and shows on TV. Well, this new found *love* is getting to be a pain in the you know what because he is constantly asking me to watch TV. He absolutely loves watching The Backyardigans, which, by the way, really is a fun show to watch, but it is just getting out of hand. I'm not a huge fan of TV to begin with, so I've definitely had to have him cut back on watching shows. Now, he has never really watched a lot of TV, but our problem here is that he is constantly asking to watch something, and whenever I tell him no he mopes around and acts as if he will never be happy again {which I know isn't true, but his actions make me think this sometimes!}. Anyway, it's just one more thing that we are working on. Disappointment is obviously a *very* hard emotion to deal with, but he's just going to have to learn to deal with it, right?
~ He absolutely LOVES preschool! He is learning so much and has made some great friends. He looks forward to going to school and I am so thankful for that! I hope his love for school and learning continues...he's got a long way to go!
~ He has SO much energy...it's crazy! Nothing slows him down, which sometimes isn't a very good thing.
~ He definitely has selective listening. Please, oh PLEASE, tell me this is normal with a 4 year old! It drives me nutty that I have to tell him something so many times before he actually *hears* it and understands it. I really don't like repeating myself, and, let me tell you, I TOTALLY feel like a broken record these days. If I ask him to do something that he doesn't want to do, he will act as if I'm not even in the room! BUT, if I say something in regards to playing, or treats, or anything to his liking, he'll be completely alert and pay attention to everything I say {go figure}.
~ He has an amazing imagination! He will make his bed into a boat and go on a trip with Leah and all of his animals. He likes to pretend that he's a pirate, or a cowboy, or Buzz Lightyear. He likes to ride his bike around and pretend that he's an officer. The things that he comes up with are endless and I just love seeing what he is going to come up with next.
~ He is not the best sleeper at night...he wakes up 3-5 times EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! Oh my...I'm so sick of this. Because of this, he is so tired during the day and still wants to take naps {not always, but sometimes}. Well, we recently found out that he has huge adenoids, which could be the reason for his bad sleeping. He is going to get them removed soon, and I'm hoping that this helps him. I'm am totally nervous about this, as I'm sure every parent would be. I just want to get better and have a good nights sleep! He definitely needs it!
~ He is such a loving little guy. He is always telling us that he loves us and giving us hugs and kisses. And what I love most is that he is so genuine when he does this...it's just so sweet.
~ He is such a happy little boy and loves to laugh. I just can't get enough of his amazing smile :).