Like a willful weed

First I have to clarify the last post. I have folks contacting me alarmed thinking we aren’t paying our bills and swimming in debt while I continue to buy the boy new hats. Not so. It’s just that we’re going a bit over our monthly budget. We’ve been cushioning that with savings we had set aside from our tax returns, but that money is gone now. And for the first time this month we have to carry a balance on our credit card bill - we’re actually pretty debt free thanks to Mark’s aversion to credit. So if we don’t start bringing in some more cash we’ll just have to cut way back on the niceties – gifts for family and friends, new stuff for the boy (he’s the only one who gets stuff), an occasional meal out, higher quality groceries, etc. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m crying desolate or anything. I’m just saying going forward we could use to make some extra bucks so we can live in the semi-modest way in which we’ve grown accustomed. Relieved now? Good.

So the boy is GI-NORMOUS! I can’t believe how much he’s growing and how fast. It seems like in the last two months he became a real little boy. His vocabulary and understanding have exploded. He went from saying a handful of one word declarations to using nouns and adjectives. Now he can tell you he’s eating “dried apple” and that it is “chewy.” He can say some numbers, colors and letters and tell you he has two feet. (Admittedly though he often counts by saying “Un, two, two, two, nine.”) He repeats part of nearly every sentence he hears. He loves to sing, dance, read books, put together puzzles and draw. But his passion for trains is unsurpassed by anything else. He wants to watch Thomas, play with trains, look at the Thomas website, go to the playground to watch the El ride by and watch train movies on youtube. It’s all trains all the time. It’s INSANITY. I’m so relieved when he wants to do something else like pretending to cook muffins by putting cupcake liners in the toaster oven.

Though he never seems to bore of the same old stuff, I do. I’m having to get more imaginative about what we do together. It’s why I constantly want to buy new (or used) toys – not because he needs them, but because I do. Last week I gathered him up and took him on the subway just to ride the train. We ended up going to Mark’s campus and climbing around on the landscaping until Mark got off work so we could all come home together. I imagine we’ll be doing that a lot more often in the coming months since Noah enjoyed it so thoroughly.

And with maturity comes will and independence. Yes, the tantrums are here. I’m fairly thankful however that they are fairly short lived. SO FAR it doesn’t take too long to reason with him or redirect him. Hopefully that’s his nature and will continue to be the case. Maybe it’s some of the tips we picked up from Happiest Toddler on the Block or because he’s a “textbook child” as sayeth The Baby Whisperer. Whatever it is, I’m thankful. He’s also starting to insist he do things by himself. It was a day after Patrice told me Bella wouldn’t allow her to place her in the booster seat that Noah began insisting on climbing in himself. He’s beginning to push my hands away as I try to help him do anything and to point to himself when he wants to master something on his own. Like he doesn’t need me. Pishaw! I won’t allow it.

One of the things that I am most happy about is how loving Noah is. He likes to list all the important people in his life and say he loves them. He enjoys going to see all his grandparents and talks about their visit for days afterwards. He's a hugger, a kisser and he just loves to be close. He's giving with his toys and gentle with other children. He's sensitive, empathetic and kind. He really is such a sweet little soul.

I’m determined to take some video of Noah soon. My Mom lent us a video camera we never use and Mark assures me that with some sort of wire/card thingamabob that I could post some video. I need to do that because I just can’t do the boy justice. I can’t adequately capture how vivid he is. You just have to see for yourself.