Victory in Peanut Butter

What is this my child is biting into? Why it's a peanut butter sandwich. Now, you may be thinking, my kid eats peanut butter all the time. Mine does not. Outside of breakfast, mine will pretty consistently eat three things: yogurt, rice, and Goldfish crackers. So for us, taking a bite of this sandwich was a pretty big victory. And I have to thank this guy for playing a big part in this victory.

Go ahead and laugh at me. I'll wait until you're finished.

Yes, I'm thanking a bear for getting Noah to eat a peanut butter sandwich. He offered it to the bear first. I picked up the bear, made nom nom sounds at the sandwich, and then let the bear whisper in my ear about how good the sandwich was. When I told Noah that the bear thought the sandwich was really tasty and he should try some, he smiled and took a bite. And I did a little happy dance on the inside. So thank you, tiny stuffed friend. You helped me achieve greatness in eating. I think you will have to start attending more meals with us.

Fingerpaint Fail

The weather has been incredibly nice lately, so I thought I would take Noah outside to let him finger paint. It seemed like a good idea. Put on a crummy shirt, put a blanket down in the shade, and have a blast. There was only one problem; he did not have a blast.

 

He barely got any paint on the paper before he remembered that he doesn't really like to have anything on his hands. This is a child who loves to eat cheese puffs, but holds his hands out for you to wipe them off between each puff. So I wiped the paint off his hands, gave up on painting, and brought out the hose.

The hose is always a winner. I also gave him his orange bucket to play with. Apparently it's really exciting to spray water in your bucket, carry it three feet away from where you began, and dump it out on the ground. Or on your feet, if they happen to be in the way.

 

It's also really fun to turn the hose on Mommy and watch her dance around and make silly noises while you try to spray her feet.  My finger painting idea may have been a fail but the hose, as always, made for a fun afternoon.

In a Daze

At my niece Emsley's birthday party last weekend, Noah really wanted to sit on the stairs while Em opened her presents. Uncle Spencer decided to sit with him and let Noah wear his hat.

Noah seemed skeptical. He wasn't sure he wanted this big hairy guy sitting on his stairs. But he did share his hat. And apparently, this hat is magical.

Now, let me just say, this hat is truly disgusting. It's covered in layers of dirt and sweat, and apparently the smell of it is mesmerizing. Noah sat there for the longest time just looking at Spencer, then looking back at us, without moving or making a sound. He seemed to be in some kind of trance. We knew he liked hats, but not quite this much. He decided that Uncle Spencer could stay on his stairs. As long as the hat stayed with him.

Baby Aviator

Noah decided it would be fun to try on Daddy's old headset. I think it looks good on him.

 

Maybe when he's old enough we'll get him into flight lessons. He does seem fascinated by airplanes. And he already has the right pajamas for it.

Happy Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day, my mom suggested that she and my Dad treat us all to a trip to the zoo. Of course we jumped at the opportunity. Noah seems to really like animals and he's never been to the zoo. We were all really excited to see how much he would enjoy it. It was not quite what we expected. He got really excited about the first few animals that we saw and was sort of indifferent toward the rest. I think he was just frustrated that he couldn't touch the animals and didn't really understand why. A few things he did like:

The flamingos, which are the first thing you see when you come in. He always points out birds when he sees them outside. These are huge and pink, so they are even more exciting.

The elephants. He has learned what sound an elephant makes and he puts his arm up in the air beside his face to imitate an elephant's trunk. He did that as soon as he saw them.

Feeding the parakeets. Again, he really likes birds. It was like walking into the movie Rio for him. My parents bought him a little feeding stick that you hold out for the birds to nibble on. He really enjoyed watching the brightly colored bird nibble food off his little stick. He would have loved it more if he could grab the birds and hold them, but they don't really appreciate that.

What he did not like: the carousel.

We walked over toward it seemed as though he liked it. He pointed and roared at the tiger, so we headed for the tiger. As soon as I tried to put him on the tiger, he screamed and started to cry. He wanted no part of it. So we stood by the tiger for a while and finally moved to a rhino that was not moving. I climbed on it myself and held him in my lap. He seemed a little more okay with this option, but still not thrilled. After that, it was about time to head out for our picnic lunch. We grabbed a few pictures and a tiger truck from the gift shop (you heard me...a tiger truck) and headed to the parking lot. It was a great day.

Noah gave me flowers for Mother's Day, which Daddy planted for me in the front yard. I also got an adorable handmade card and photo magnet from Noah and his teachers at school. My mom gave me a cute Mommy and Me picture frame with a photo of me and Noah. And I got to spend most of the day outside with my sweet boy. I couldn't have asked for a better day. I am truly blessed.

Little Buddies

I think there are few of us who can say we have been friends with a person our entire lives. Taylor is one of the people who can say that. He has known his friend Ryan since they were toddlers. They have been able to grow up together and are still great friends. Since Ryan and his family live in our neighborhood, Noah and Ryan's daughter Rebekah are sharing the same beginning as their fathers.

It's always fun to see these two playing together. They share their toys (most of the time) and seem to get along well. I know they're still young, but I'm hopeful that they will have a good friendship as they get older. I can't wait to watch them grow together and see their personalities develop more. And maybe, just maybe, they'll still be friends 25 years from now.

Daddy's Little Helper

It's that time of year again. A time to get outside and start working on the yard. One of the first steps is spreading new pine straw. Noah saw the bales and saw Daddy working and decided he wanted to help.

He jumped right in and started trying to spread the straw around the way Daddy showed him. He did a great job moving tiny little bits of it here and there. But, he tired of this job quickly and decided to just play with his car. I can't blame him. Spreading pine straw is really no fun at all.