little noah things

Ok, so I have no time to blog these days and while Noah isn’t yet 13 months, this will have to be his 13 month post because now is when I happen to have some free time.

Part of the reason I haven’t been blogging is because of how darn much he has been doing. There is something new (or 3-4 new things) he does every day. It is almost overwhelming. Most of the things we have been busy with are playdates with neighbors and getting together with the playgroup. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this, but if we do something exciting before nap time or bed time, Noah actually sleeps better. Go figure. So we stay busy. Huntington Gardens, Garfield Park, Storytime at the Library, friends houses. So much!

Talking…
While he doesn’t have a lot of words he says on a regular basis, he usually will say one new word a day. His regular words are Momma, Daddy, Up, Hi and now Five (in reference to high fives, not the number). We hear these every day, a lot. His other words have been pretty random, red brush, light, on, off, auntie, juice, all done. I have really only heard these once or twice.

There are lots of sounds. Apparently, in Noahland, everything is named by the noise it makes. Dog=Woof, Blender=pppwwhhhtt, Lion/Tiger=Roar, Grandma=HHHIIIIEEAA!

We have been introducing sign language for things that can help us avoid big melt downs. Milk, all done, drink, eat and now potty. They have seriously helped us out. Now that he has figured out that if you sign something you get it, his favorite sign is milk (and not the milk in a cup…that is moo juice). His sign for milk seems closer to an air guitar performance than sign language:

The most amazing part of Noah being 13 months is how much he understands now. When I say It’s time to sweep, he goes and gets the broom. When I ask him to put something in the recycling, he does it. He doesn’t do it really well (often the item will land in front of the bag), but he knows what we are trying to say. I have to keep reminding myself that he really does understand and to not just do things for him.

Chores…
He loves to sweep. He has his own broom, but prefers mine, so often I end up sweeping with his little broom while he follows behind with the large one sort of stabbing the floor instead of an actual sweeping motion. This has also happened with the duster. I bought a second handle for our Swiffer dusters, and he wants the one I use. Of course. He does however do a really good job dusting. He will walk around with the duster for hours and it will be filthy at the end of the day. He also really likes sticky rollers and does a great job cleaning up with them.

When he is eating, right before he tells us he is ‘all done’ (in sign language), he will wipe his plate. While this is great if it were happening at the sink, unfortunately it just throws the crumbs of his meal all over. We are working on this one…

As well as wiping his plate, he loves to wipe pretty much everything in the world. While at Oinkster the other day he walked around from table to table (the small ones near couches) wiping them off with a napkin. Of course between each wiping he would blow his nose, but they are probably still cleaner than when he started. As for the blowing his nose bit, I had a cold a few weeks ago and CONSTANTLY had to blow my nose. Noah thought this was the funniest thing ever and would need a tissue for himself anytime I used one. Now whenever he sees a tissue box he reaches for a tissue and will walk around blowing his nose for a few minutes.

Putting things ‘in’
As with most other kids his age, he is OBSESSED with putting things ‘in’. Any type of toy that involves being placed inside another toy provides minutes of entertainment (and that is really something). Along with toys, basically anything he finds on the floor or can reach also will find a home ‘in’ something else. At Grandma Kerry’s house blocks go ‘in’ the vase. At our house, Tupperware goes in the toy buckets. Magnets go ‘in’ the recycling bins. Toothbrushes go ‘in’ the trash. Bath toys go ‘in’ the diaper pail. You get the idea. Basically, any trips to the trash or laundry usually require a quick riffling through of it’s contents to make sure it is all actually trash or laundry.

Brushing his teeth…
We have been trying to be better about not letting Noah walk around with things like pens in his hands or mouth. I started having visions of him falling and poking his eye out and ending up with a glass eye and blame me for the rest of his life. One exception to this is toothbrushes. He loves brushing his teeth. He demands a toothbrush of his own when Mommy and Daddy are brushing their teeth and will not be happy until he gets one. He also walks around brushing for a while after that, usually until he decides his toothbrush needs to go ‘in’ something. Something like the trash, or the toilet. Sam’s last toothbrush ended up in the diaper pail, that was about the time we decided to get Noah a toothbrush of his very own.

Eating…
He loves to eat with a fork. He enjoys spoons now as well, but dinner just can’t start unless there is a fork in his hand. He tends to stir his meal more than actually get pieces of food on his fork, but there are usually a few bites at each meal that he gets on there. He also drinks out of tiny shot glasses we bought for him at Ikea. He sometimes forgets that he has them in his hand and end up soaked, so for now these cups are just for water.

Haircut…
I broke down and cut his hair last week. He went from this:

To This:

Well! Hello, little boy!