To the Boy Who Made Me a Mama....

NOAH,

There is nobody on this earth like you. You are ONE. OF. A. KIND.

When I told you that we are family and you have to share your bithday toys with your brother-you chuckled and said “oh yeah mom. I forgot. I thought Deacon and Daddy were just visiting.”

You love with your whole heart.

When we looked at your class pictures posted online yesterday and you found THE GIRL you talk about constantly, I tried to look at other pictures and you got upset. “ BUT MOM I NEED TO SEE KATE, PLEASE LEAVE IT THERE.”

You are curious about everything and determined to be right.

Noah- “When will I be brown?” (To our African American Nanny)

Nanny- “Your mommy and daddy aren’t brown, so you won’t be brown because you are their son. I am brown because my mommy and daddy are brown.”

Noah- “I’m white- brown.” Walks away.

(seeing a sweet Caucasian family on our soccer team with newly adopted daughter who is African American threw this explanation out the window)

Animals are your thing.

At school, you say good morning to your teacher and good morning to Lenny the lizard. She says you stare at/talk to him for a good 10 minutes every day without fail. They have added a turtle as of last week- I haven’t checked to see if this has extended your morning routine.

Little Brother is your best side kick. Also the greatest gift we ever gave you.

There is nothing like seeing the two of you together exploding with giggles.  Night time brings out the comradery and craziness- Daddy and I brace for it. You two are hilarious. Noah, you are learning just as much from him as he is from you. I never realized that it would be a partnership this soon. 

I love how you listen and want to teach him EVERYTHING. You can translate to others what he is communicating with no problems. You say his name probably 1,000 times a day- wanting all of his attention on you.You ask often when he can come to school with you. Last week, you told me “Mom, I’m going to stay home now. I need to wait until Deacon can come with me. We are brothers- we go together.” (que the tears)

You are FOUR. No longer a toddler or baby but a BOY! We are PROUD of you kindness. We are STUNNED by your intelligence. We are HUMBLED by your love for JESUS. We are FOREVER GRATEFUL for YOU!

Deacon Matthew is 23 Months Old!

Weight/Length :  close to 30 pounds and 33/34 inches, I’ll know more next month for TWO YEAR CHECKUP!

Eating:  Deacon will eat when he wants to eat. He loves to dip things in sauces and often requests mustard with everything. He would live on a milk/orange juice diet if we allowed it. Here is a short list of my go-to food for this grazing, independent boy- Greek yogurt, orange slices, cheese, bananas, lunch meat, cooked carrots, edamame, sweet potatoes, and beef jerky.

Bedtime/ Awake:  Eleven/Twelve hours a night and then a two/three hour nap in the afternoon. We switched to big boy bunk beds and sleep has suffered. We are waiting for the top bunk so the double trouble has been sharing a full size bottom bunk. They are both tired and cranky come 6pm.

Diapers:  4’s

Clothes: 18M/2T depending on brands

Favorites:  Snack- Fruit bites, Comfort- Blankets & Orange Juice/Milk TV Show- Dino Trucks on Netflix, Song- Wheels on the Bus, Book- Curious George Goes to Zoo & RoadWork  , Outside activities- making mud soup, riding the tractor, swinging at the park, and kicking the soccer ball.

He loves to "drive" our parked cars in our driveway with Noah. They each take a turn in the captain seat and could be in there for hours. Silence = trouble for this kid. If it’s quiet, we know he’s climbing or getting into things he shouldn’t be. The Deek loves to sit at my desk and “work.” He could race cars along our tile with Noah all day. Bugs, cats, turtles and dogs- Deacon is an animal lover. We found a cockroach and put him the toilet. Deacon kept opening the lid to check on him. It was gross and sweet at the same time. He kept saying "swim bug". Deacon thought the bug was just going for a swim-little did he know....

Deacon is thinking- will he ever stop bossing me mom? 

Dislikes:  He is very particular about how things are presented and eaten.  He only likes certain cups. His water has to be cold. He prefers it to be sparkling water and hot tap water is just unacceptable. Little brother doesn't like wrappers on his granola bar and hates dirty hands. Deacon wants it his way and has no problem letting you know HIS way. We can’t help but laugh. He is great at sharing toys with other kids (not so much brother), but he will not share food.

Tricks: Deacon can count to three. He mimics Noah and points to letters trying to “spell.” Deacon keeps adding new words to his list; here are some new favorites that are audibly recognizable: smoothie, nanny, monkey, choo-choo train, and treat. We are working on his alphabet and he can pronounce most letters fairly well. He knows his name and age. (He already says two- I’m not going to correct him). Little buddy has peed in the potty multiple times and loves it. I am just waiting until Christmas when I have some time to work with him. Deacon can kick the soccer ball well and throw the football with accuracy.

Deacon is built like a linebacker and quite a stud muffin. He will flex and show you his muscles to prove it. We love the boy he’s becoming and find him so hilarious. 

He laughs and cries like his brother and their voices can sound identical yet they are very polar opposite when it comes to personality. Deacon Matthew- you are almost two and we can’t wait! 

Noah Says...

"Let's relax mom."

Mom, I’m going to take my wife home. She looks like Wonder woman.

Me- I love her hot pink shirt.

Noah- hot puke?

Talking after church…

Noah- How was church mom?

Me- It was great. They had baptisms.

Noah- What's baptism?

 (I explained all about it and how it involves dunking in the water. I talked about how it is an outward expression of your belief in Jesus. I felt like I really put it into perspective for him until...)

Noah- Oh that’s great mom. Can I do that? I’ll cannon ball in the water.

Walking out of the mall as a lady is cleaning the glass…

“Mom, is that girl windexing???”

Me- Can I have a kiss? 
Noah- Mom, if I give you too many I’ll run out.

Hunting Coyotes 

Soccer Stud/ENJA

This boy (although forever my baby) is really all BOY.  Baby, toddler, young tot- all out the window I tell ya. This weekend seals the deal. He scored two goals in his first soccer game and  picked out a NINJA Halloween costume all by himself. A sound making sword was an extra purchase because according to him all "ENJAS" have swords. (pictures to come). 

 The other day he let me have the last oatmeal square cookie bite because he said he wanted to do something SPECIAL for me. He said- “mom, I am thinking about you. “ 

I pray that he will always be a kind, respectful gentleman- shining his light in this world. This country needs men who love Jesus boldly. 

I love this kid so fiercely. He’s competitive like his mama, sweet as pie, hungry to learn and 100% an outdoors man. 

10 things about my almost 4 year old….

1) If we ever let him choose the restaurant, it’s always Jason’s Deli (or Jason’s Jelly according to Noah).

2) Noah started soccer and is on the Silver Snakes. He is very competitive and I’m interested how to see this season unfolds. Noah is not a graceful loser or winner. He will quickly let you know that he beat you and has had some good pout/cry sessions over losing.  (Confession- it runs in the family on both sides, he didn’t stand a chance.)

3) Noah loves his new school. One of the class helpers told the teachers that she thinks Noah will be a politician. I’m still not exactly sure what character quality he has that made her say this, but we will go with it. If he’s like W, I’ll take that as a win.

4) This boy loves to talk about Australia and Southern Canada. We aren’t sure where it’s coming from, but it’s been fun to learn about alongside of him.

5) He wants a cat badly. I think we might surprise him with a fish or lizard for his birthday.

6) We have started doing chores around the house and Big Brother earns dimes. This boy was an awesome duster last weekend. Matt even noticed.  Noah also loves the task of picking up the dog’s poop with a shovel and putting it in a bag. No complaints here. Yes, yes we wash our hands VERY thoroughly afterwards.

7) He can spell his first and last name as of yesterday. We are working on the middle name and our address.

8) He loves to tell stories. He loves to be told stories. His favorite characters include alligators and dinosaurs. It’s bringing out my creative side because I have to wing all these stories and have good answers for the “why” questions that follow.

9) Noah’s prayers are amazing. He says what he thinks like “thank you for making me medium.” Or “help me to have a good day tomorrow”  and “I want to be nice to my brother.” We pray every night and I love it. Start ‘em young!

10) He has a mole on the corner of his mouth that I’m obsessed with. It’s not Cindy Crawford size, but I think it’s going to be a distinguishing mark about him. His eyes have changed a lot too- they are green but the right one has the big speck of brown in the corner. I love genetics and how God formed this handsome boy. He’s stellar. 

Deacon Matthew- 22 months!

 

Best smiles are always with this sweet daddy 

Weight/Length :  close to 30 pounds.  33/34 inches

Eating:  He is an orange maniac- orange juice, orange slices, anything orange he LOVES. Every morning he asks for fruit bites and juice for breakfast. He loves chicken, salad, grapes, corn, peas, carrots, noodles, pears, and apples. This boy loves fruit bites (if that wasn't obvious from the breakfast request)- it’s his reward for everything and if you ask what he wants for snack- sure bet that it will be his answer.  

I am always surprised about what he chooses to eat and what he leaves behind. He’s unpredictable to say the least. Deacon is the definition of a grazer- he would like eight small meals. At dinner time, the Deek would like to have a plate sitting around and come back to it every 10 minutes after he gets some playtime in. We are working on this. He still has about 14 ounces of milk a day. I would like to cut back here in the next couple months in hopes of reducing the graze mentality.

Bedtime/ Awake:  Eleven/Twelve hours a night and then a two/three hour nap in the afternoon

Orange Slices

Diapers:  4’s

Clothes: 2T. I’ve decided that he has the Buda belly that sticks out and makes shirts super tight but at the same time has a skinny waist. It makes some shorts hard to stay on- especially swim trunks. Deacon is the king of plumber crack in the pool.

Favorites: His FAVORITE possession is three blankets that we all now refer to ask his “bundys”. They are pretty much rags at this point, but he LOVES them. Deacon gravitates towards all things with motors. He loves trucks, cars, school buses, trains, airplanes, and helicopters. Deacon asks to drive his daddy’s car every day when Matt gets home. His favorite song is “tractor tractor” by slugs and bugs. If he hears the TV on, homeboy requests choo choos or football. (Every man’s dream right?)

On an average day, you will likely find him building a Magna-tile box to store his “vroom vrooms” or reading Curious George Goes to the Zoo.  Little brother loves to play hide n’ seek, wrestle, climb, swim, run, and ride his tricycle. 

He is fearless. He will jump into the pool, go under, and come up with no tears and the trust that you will be there to catch him. He is doing slides and rock walls that Noah diddn’t dare touch until these past couple months. This kids is BOLD.

Dislikes:  Deacon doesn’t love road trips. I would say long car rides are probably his nemesis. He hates to be buckled down that long and will let us all know very quickly. Deacon doesn’t like to share snacks or toys that he is playing with. He is very into his own space with other kids. Deacon has seen some time out over the past month for attitude issues. He is the best lover but also the best fighter.

Last week Deacon was really upset when he fell down. I came into the room to see what happened and Noah said he tripped. Deacon was very angry with his brother and  wanted Noah out of his way. I couldn’t figure out why. Deacon looked me in the eyes and said very clearly “Noah pushed.” Come to find out- Deacon hadn’t tripped.  Noah was rough housing when they were running around and had pushed him. It was the first time that Noah got tattled on by little brother and it won’t be the last. It was hilarious to see it all come to fruition. Noah was shocked that Deacon could verbalize what really happened.  

Tricks: Deacon’s vocabulary has expanded immensely this past month. Big brother has been in school, so I think some one-on-one time with the nanny has done him wonders. It’s been awesome to see and watch it all unfold. We are seeing sentences that are about 30% distinguishable to most and 70% distinguishable by Matt or me.

Some of my new favorite words used in correct context- Elmo, elbow, chin, nanny, orange, jeep, and orange juice. He knows to clean up if he spills and understands how to put his clothes and shoes away. Deacon is an expert with the iPhone (much to my dismay). He is our little engineer and it’s awesome to watch him go. This boy who is almost two and looks so BIG with his hair cut is AMAZING. I can't remember life without him. 

Buda Belly

Noah's Thoughts on Commuting to School, Songs, Bunnies, and Vegetables

Noah rides with Matt to school everyday. I try to offer to help sometimes, but I think they both enjoy the morning ritual of Taylor Swift and Joy Riding. Here are some things he has told Matt.

“Dad, if you don’t make it through that light I think you’re just going to have to run thru it. “

GPS- “Follow Walnut Hill for two miles.”

Noah- "ONLY TWO MILES DAY-TWO MILES!"

Behind a slow driver...

"Speed up Lady."

"Mom, I've got "Shake it Off" in my body."
Me- "OH yeah?"
Noah- "I listen to it every morning and it goes from my head to my body all day."

Here are just a couple things that have happened throughout the past couple weeks. 

Me- “Deacon you want to sing a song?”

Noah- “Oh mom. I got this. I know 100 songs, but I’m a big fan of just one.”

He then proceeds to sing a made up song for 5 minutes and does NOT want to be interrupted.

Noah- “Can my bunny share the blanket with you? Remember, he is a stuffed animal- he can’t toot.”

Noah- “WAIT… Does this have vegetables?”

Looking at the casserole he’s eating…

Me and Matt- “YESSS….”

Noah- “I LOVE VEGETABLES.”