Well kids. . .

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Noah is officially a jock

I was blow drying my hair yesterday so we could take Noah to soccer. When I came out of the bathroom he was quietly sitting on my bed and flipping through a magazine. He saw me and very seriously said, "Mommy, I'm reading this book."

It was the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. He found it on Dan's nighstand and was looking at the football and basketball pictures.

Halloween

Well, Halloween 2007 has come and gone, and there is one very "scary" dragon sleeping soundly in his bed right now. As expected, Noah had a ball. We picked him up from school, changed into his costume and headed over to Malloween and the mall near our house. Kids can go trick-or-treating at the stores. It's safe, not too crowded, and pretty low-key. We went through about half the stores before stopping for dinner and a ride on the carousel. We then took Noah over to his Nana and Papa's house so he could trick-or-treat there. They give out good candy but there were no Mounds/Almond Joy's so I was a bit sad. The weather was nice so after going to a few houses Noah sat outside with my parents and passed out candy to the other kids in the neighborhood. When we asked him at the end of the night what the best part of Halloween was he said it was passing out candy. It was very sweet.

NOAH SCORED HIS FIRST GOAL!!!

As we've said before, Noah likes soccer, but he LOVES basketball. But he's also getting a lot better with soccer and more confident on the field.

Today he scored a goal. His very first one. I though it was an assist but the other parents and Dan told me it was an actual goal.

We are so proud of him!

Noah is a triple threat!

Swimming. Soccer. And in a few weeks, basketball. Technically, I suppose this also makes me a soccer mom. But without the minivan, elastic waist mom jeans, and wash-n-go haircut.

We signed Noah up for swim lessons at the beginning of the summer. Since we live in Arizona knowing how to swim is essential since there are pools everywhere. It's an indoor facility and a year-round program so Noah will take lessons until he is independant in the water.

Soccer started a few weeks ago. I thought it would be fun and a good excuse for Noah to run around and have fun at the same time. He has a FULL uniform, cletes, ball, shin guards, and a soccer bag to carry the ball. His team picture is later this week and he will get a trophy at the end of the season. He's the youngest kid on the team, and not the greatest soccer player. But he tries so hard and have made huge improvements since the first practice. We also have terrific coaches that Noah adores. The pictures are from practice and from his game this weekend. Please excuse the blue socks. Someone forgot that we have red ones that match the uniform (Dan). The games are all offense and most of the kids don't know which goal is theirs, but Noah has fun chasing the ball.

Noah likes soccer. But he LOVES basketball. He can dribble and shoot relatively well for three. In a moment of weakness, we signed him up for Itty Bitty Basketball at the JCC. A friend of his is doing it, and the instructor will pick Noah up from his preschool classroom and bring him to the court/class where I will meet him. He is so excited! He's turning into a little jock and can't go more than five minutes without playing with some sort of ball, including but not limited to: beach ball, baseball, basketball, football, soccer ball, tennis ball, or exercise ball.

Not much else to report. . .next up: Halloween!

And we'll need a urine sample. . .

Noah went to the doctor today for his three-year check-up. He is doing great! He demonstrated to his doctor that he knows his colors and shapes, and he also got to show-off his verbal skills. . .which are pretty amazing. He also told that doctor that he can kick a ball and that scissors are for cutting. In a nutshell, the doctor was pleased and said that he is ahead of where he needs to be. Developmentally, when I asked what he should be doing next she told me that Noah needs to learn how to repeat a story back to us once he's read it. I then told the doctor that he can do that already. This is how we discovered his love the book "No David." They had read it at school and Noah would talk about it in the car.

Then the subject of potty training came up. I explained to the doctor that Noah has gone pee-pee on the potty before and that he clearly shows all the signs of readiness. He knows how to use the toilet, but he holds it in. And he is so stubborn that we're afraid to force the issue because if we do it'll only set us back. The doctor asked if we had used incentives. So I asked Noah what happens if he pees on the potty. He said, "I get jelly beans." When I asked what happens if he poops he said, "I get a lollipop." Yup. We've tried incentives. The doctor then agreed with me that dropping the subject was probably a good idea and that we should just pick it up again in a few weeks.

And then she handed me a cup and said, "we'll also need a urine sample."

I looked at her and said, "are you kidding?" She said that sometimes kids are motivated if they are given a target to "shoot" for. Now, I love our pediatrician, but did we not just discuss Noah's lack of potty training 20 seconds earlier? So if nothing else I figured I would humor the doctor.

Noah and I went into bathroom and he sat on the toilet. First he wanted to use the urine cup to drink some water (thankfully there were some paper cups near the sink). Then he insisted on getting off the toilet to wash his hands. Twice. Then he wanted to flush the toilet. And then mommy gave up.

I walked out of the bathroom, handed the nurse the cup, and said "this isn't going to work." CLEARLY their expectations of Noah are higher than mine. But it was funny nontheless.

And let me also explain the pictures. Both were taken with Noah's new Fisher Price digital camera. I took the first picture. Noah took the second one. Enjoy his foot!

Noah is now THREE

Hard to believe that the "Baby Noah" is now THREE years old. The celebration kicked off last Sunday at a local pizza chain for kids called Peter Piper Pizza (similar to Chuck E. Cheese). ALL of Noah's friends were there, as well as his grandparents, and he had a complete blast playing basketball and skee-ball, eating pizza and cake, and generally being the "life of the party." He talked about it for weeks beforehand and we fully expect him to talk about it for weeks afterwards!! He was so proud of himself for turning 3 and of course very excited about all the great presents he received. The funny thing was, though, at the end of the day, he had all these brand-new presents in front of him and what did he want to play with all night long? The little plastic basketball hoop he "bought" with the 786 tickets he won from playing games at Peter Piper. Probably worth about 3 bucks, the basketball hoop attaches to the door so he can throw the ball through the hoop...apparently this is all it takes to make Noah completely happy. Tonight was his "actual" birthday, and we had a special family dinner of pigs in a blanket, happy-face fries, and a cupcake. Noah received his gift from mommy and daddy (a children's digital camera by Fisher Price) and went around the house taking pictures of the dogs, the floor, chairs, and his foot.

Noah also received some terrific gifts for his birthday. Lots of board games and books. In fact, I taught him how to play CandyLand yesterday (huge hit!). In addition to the digital camera from Dan and I, Noah's Grandma Linda got him a real guitar and his Nana and Papa bought him an Andre Agassi tennis racquet. Papa is planning to start lessons with Noah any day now. In addition to the racquet, the daughter of friends of the family is an animator and worked on the Curious George movie. She knows one of the head artists who drew a picture of Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat that says "Happy Birthday Noah." It's really neat and currently handing in his room.


It's funny, all Noah can talk about is how he will be 5 soon. "Someday I'm gonna be five mommy," is all he says lately. Somehow he expects to skip 4. I guess time will tell . . .

Enjoy the picutres. The little blond boy is Noah's friend Josh. The kids are such good friends that we did their party together.