SIX Months!

Leah is SIX months old!

six months stats

height: 27 inches (87%)

weight: 17 pounds, 11 ounces (77%)

head circumference: 44 centimeters (91%)

Oh, little girl.  You are getting to be so smiley and SO fun!  

 

This six month was a big one.  It was filled with lots of moving, noise making and eating!  

That's right.  After jealously watching all of us for weeks, you finally got to eat a little something too.

And, oh my, it was everything you imagined it would be.  

You were all smiles from the first taste until breakfast was over. 

So far you've tried pears, apples, carrots and green beans.  I love making your food and introducing you to new flavors.

While they aren't very edible, you sure tried a lot this month to eat your toes.

You are rolling across the floor, lifting your upper body off the floor, and just wiggling all the time.

There are still no signs of teeth, but you sure fake everybody out with all of that drooling and chewing.

Your voice right now just about melts my heart. 

 

It's almost like you're singing a little song sometimes and it's TOO cute.  Your brothers love it, and try to talk back to you in a silly, high pitched voice.

They are convinced that you know how to say 'Noah' and 'hi.'  

I don't know about that, but you do make some sounds that have a very strong resemblance to both of those words.  You've definitely figured out that by making noise you can get attention, especially from your brothers.

Some days I feel like your growing up is going fast and others it feels just about right.  Back in those extremely exhaustive second and third months, it seems that the six month mark would never, ever, EVER come.  And here we are.  I love watching you grow and change and figure things out a little more every day.  We are buddies, and for now I'm the one you want to be with the very most.  Can we please keep it that way for a long, long time? 

Joy School Grad

A few nights ago the Joy Schoolers and their families gathered to celebrate these six kids.

I love the values of Joy School.  Academically, I've never been worried about Noah being ready for kindergarten.  That's not what preschool was about at all for him or me.  What I was more interested in and most concerned about was that he be surrounded by goodness, in a wholesome environment, because his exposure to so many things beyond my control would come soon enough in kindergarten.

Admittedly, I've tried to keep his world a little 'small' in this regard, but I'm o.k. with that. My goal has been to teach him problem solving skills, manners, and appropriate social behavior in a more controlled environment like home, joy school, and church.  I'm praying that practice makes permanent in this regard, and he'll have a confident approach to whatever comes his way. 

Joy School has been perfect.  He has built strong friendships, improved his problem solving skills, and put his creativity to work in so many different ways.

I loved being able to talk about each kid in our group, especially this boy.

Noah is silly, creative and competitive.  In the last year I've seen him mature and become a really fantastic friend, brother, and helper.  He tries so hard to choose the right and understands that he can influence others to be good as well.

He's ready for kindergarten.  Me, not so much.  But I've got to let him spread those wings and find success that he'd never experience without leaving.

August 9th is coming too soon!  So in the meantime, I'm just going to snuggle him like crazy every morning until that exciting day comes!

T-ball Recap

We just wrapped up Noah's second season of t-ball.  

T-ball is fun for the kids to play and especially fun for us as parents to watch. 

It's a bit of a comic routine sometimes, but it's also great to see improvement from the beginning of the season to the end. 

This season Noah's hitting improved a LOT, and he's faster than ever running around the bases. 

 

He's also starting to be much more aware of what's going on in the field. 

Making his first out was a big deal, and Noah was so proud of himself.

 

 Number 5 is Noah's friend Drew.  He was so excited when he got to second base, looked over, and saw his buddy on the other team.

 He also thought it was pretty great when Nate filled in as a base running coach a time or two.

Being a Nationals fan for a few months sure was fun.  Noah is learning it's o.k. to fail. He's understanding that getting better at something takes practice -- lots of practice.  I love that he's learning to play a sport and be active. 

Two Years Later

A week or so ago as I was cleaning up the house Noah called from the kitchen table, "Mom, how do you spell died?"  I provided the letters and he continued on with his artwork.  A few minutes later he brought me this:

When I asked this sweet, sometimes old soul to explain it he first read the words.  "I wrote Papa died."  He showed me Papa's smile, how he was laying in 'the box' and the beautiful green grass all around.

I couldn't help but ask more:  So why is he smiling?  Noah's answer was simple: because he's in Heaven now with Jesus, and he's going to be resurrected again so he's happy about that.

And what are these beautiful creations all around Papa?  They're fireworks.  Because when Papa comes back it's going to be fun.

I cried.  It was just a moment full of a lot of love from a five year old who sure has a lot of faith combined with his growing knowledge of the Plan of Salvation.

I miss my dad.

I miss him every single day.

Today marks two years since his passing.

In those two years there have been hundreds of times when I just wished he could be here to help me, but mostly I just want him here still to love me and our family.  His six foot, four inch frame enveloped me when we hugged.  I think I miss that the most.

For the first six months or so after his passing Dad would show up in my dreams a lot.  In the beginning I could never see his face.  He was always there walking in the mall with me or we were having a meal together, but I couldn't see him.  Finally, there were a few dreams where I got to see and interact with him, and then it all stopped.  Those dreams were gifts.

I'm thankful that in two years the more recent memories of Dad being horribly debilitated physically by Parkinson's and mentally by Lewy-Body Dementia have been replaced by images of the decades of good times we had together when his body and mind were whole.

 He was good.  He was smart.  He just about always let me 'help' him.

He loved God and his family so, SO fiercely.

And, Noah's right.  When all of that is restored one day it is going to be fun.  

April's Bits

We took advantage of April's awesome spring weather and went on lots of walks, especially on Sunday evenings.

It's amazing how much beauty (and poison oak) there is all around us within just a ten minute drive!

Joy School was close to home for a couple of weeks so we walked to school.

It made me excited for kindergarten next year and taking this walk more regularly...if we can get out the door in time!

 I love these unprompted moments when I can tell how much they love each other as I watch their interactions and listen to conversation.   Well, and there's also Luke screaming because his little legs just can't keep up with Noah's yet, and Noah knows and loves that he's faster.

Noah and Luke are Uno addicts!  They ask to play just about every day.  Thank goodness for grandparents who will play with them too, because I can only lose so many times!  Those boys have some crazy, good luck with this game.

I teamed up with Leah though and we won four games in a row!

 It's also nice that when I've reached Uno burnout, these game obsessed boys will settle for playing on their own.  Or, in this case, they each included their bears in the fun.

Nate got home from work one day, changed, and Noah proudly dressed himself in Dad's clothes.

Luke likes to request that I take pictures at all kinds of random places, including the grocery store and Old Navy.

 So why does he look grumpy in both of these pictures?  Love him, but there sure is a lot of emotion squeezed into that little body.

Here's a smile!  Noah headed off to a birthday party so to soften the jealousy a little he and I (and my always darling accessory Leah) went on an ice cream date.  Luke was so sweet and made sure to hold the door open for me "because we're on a date Mom!"

 We squeezed all of the kids into the tub for bath time.  Leah's little legs just kicked with excitement as she hung out with her two favorites.

 Noah is very into creating and art right now.  We're going through scotch tape by the yards and paper by the ream.  But it's so fun seeing what he comes up with.

I came to check on his work and found him making a compass. 

 He's also likes writing his first and last name right now.  Next up, little boy, is lowercase letters.