It's been way too long.....

Wow, has it really been 6 months since my last update? I'm not sure where to even begin so I guess I will start by hitting some highlights. Maybe then I will get my bloggy grove back. As you can see by the snow picture, we have had a winter wonderland in our neck of the woods. To be more specific, our region received a mountains worth of snow ( 4+ feet!). Noah absolutely loved the snow. Icicles could have formed on his eye lids and that wouldn't have stopped him from frolicking in the snow. His tiny snow boots were pretty much worthless after the first 6" but that didn't stop him from dragging them out of the closet every 20 minutes to inform us ( saying "b" oots) it was time yet again to play outside.

We couldn't be more proud of all of Noah's accomplishments over the last year. He turned 3 in October and since then his vocabulary has started to emerge. He can say clearly about 8 -10 words and says another 10-15 words along with signs. My new favorites are Blue ( "b" oo) and bless you ( "b" ess ). Just the other day he said "daddy no" and I cried with joy to hear him say two words.

Starting in October, Noah started attending a preK classroom 4 (1/2 days)/week and a typical preschool in the afternoons. We absolutely adore his teacher and have met some wonderful families during this transition. For those curious about is very first IEP, Noah gets the following therapies:

Speech - 90 minutes/week 2 -individual / 1 -group
OT - 60 minutes/week - 1 -individual/1- group
PT - 30 minutes once a week (group)

He has become Mr. Independent. Which I have a love/hate relationship with. I so want him to try everything himself but there is only some much time in the day. I think we have worked out a good balance where I allow him to start by himself and I offer to help when appropriate. The above picture is of him helping me clean out the bathroom vanity. He insisted on climbing all the way in to clean. These are truly the moments that make me love his independence.

He is also Mr. Orderly, and always makes sure all draws & doors are closed. He also doesn't like anything left on the stairs and will let us know if something needs to be removed. Each morning he needs the window blind opened and his blanket folded and put at the end of the bed before even thinking about venturing out of his bedroom. Which leads me to his bed. It's finally time to transition him to a big boy bed, although he stays put in his crib it pains me to hear him knock into the crib rails throughout the night. So the bed has been ordered and due to arrive this week. Wish us luck on this transition!

I just love this picture of Noah rolling out playdoh. Just look at his determination. He is not one to stay focused on anyone project and prefers to bounce from one thing to the next. So watching him stay focus even if it's for 10 minutes is a nice moment for me. I still try to sneak in fine motor therapy whenever possible.

Noah started playing soccer this year. He truly was a super star. He learned quickly and enjoyed all the comradery of his team mates. It was fun to watch 8-10 , 3-4yrs olds scattering themselves all over the soccer field. It was actually quite a work out for the parents chasing after the kids especially when they strayed into the next field.

I know there is so much more I can update but I don't want to make this too long. I hope to get back into a blog groove and post more regularly.

Cheers,

Terry

Back from the beach...fun!

We had a wonderful time at the beach last week. I am so grateful to have a generous brother who happens to own a beach house and made it available to us for a week. Noah got to spend time with his Nan, Aunt Melissa, Niece Sophia & Uncle Chris. The weather was perfect and both kids loved the beach. Noah preferred to keep his feet "sand free", an impossible task when we couldn't keep him out of the water. He kept asking to have his feet wiped clean everytime they hit the sand. I can't blame him, I'm not a huge sand fan either

He insisted on having his own ice cream, despite Daddy's efforts to share his.

Our future life guard !

Ok, so we are still working on potty training. Supervision is still required unless you have endless quantities of toilet paper hanging around. Noah continues to make positive strides in the potty training department. I am a big fan of pull ups especially when they stay dry!

Noah's new obsession involves arcade car games. It was difficult to walk by the numerous arcades on the boardwalk without making a "pit stop" and allowing him to drive his favorite "Drift" car. An ice cream bribe was the only way to convince him to release his death grip from the steering wheel.

Our family's love for the Frog Game has now been passed down to Noah. He loved to play with Nan. I can't forget to mention that he even got a frog into the lily pad and won a stuffed dog!

He is just to darn cute!

What a good role model, showing Sophia how to be independent when it comes to finding the yummiest treats in the refrigerator.

My sister, Mom & niece Sophia and of course Noah on our last day! It was hard to say good bye after such a wonderful time. Looking forward to next year!

Cheers, Terry

Look who's driving..

Noah loves to visit Uncle Greg & Aunt Ru Ru's farm! Especially when he gets to drive the tractor. His safety ear muffs have a built in radio which is a must have as far as Noah's standards go. Just too stinkin cute not to share. Cheers - Terry

Well, what can I say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree (Daddy). Noah is doing a wonderful job with potty training. So well, we decide it was time to buy some big boy underwear to test drive. As you can see, Noah seems pretty comfortable in his Thomas the Train underpants...so comfortable he pooped in them 5 minutes after putting them on! Our potty training journey has begun and all I can say is that I am so proud of our big boy for working so hard.

We enjoyed a nice sunny weekend and I thought I would share a video of Noah playing outside.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Hope to post a few more pictures of from our trips to the beach later this month.

Cheers, Terry

Lil Boy in the "hood"

What can I say, our little guy is keeping us busy. He continues to make us proud of him every(OK most) moment of each day. To our complete amazement, he has been using the potty (1& 2) on a daily basis. I actually think he is more excited to flush the toilet and say bye bye to his "creation"than actually going.

We recently needed to change daycare in order to be in the same school district he will be receiving services when he turns three in October. I was, of course , a nervous wreck thinking about the transition to a new environment, teachers and classmates. We absolutely loved his old school and it was an extremely difficult decision. Well, I need to admit all my worrying was for nothing. Noah loves his new school, teachers and most important his new friends. He is even going potty at school. We still do miss our old teachers & friends :(

We are still working on his feeding issues and continue to make progress with little regression. Our goal over the next 6 months is to have him eat 100% of his food in "soft chewable" form. He went from only eating only 2 foods 6 months ago to eating : yogurt, apple sauce, ice cream, sweet potatoes, hot dogs, bananas, soft carrots, and a few pureed foods (baked beans, noodles & sauce & which are his safe foods. He is now able to spoon feed himself and is starting to learn how to use a fork. He does have behavioral issues while eating, like throwing his food, utensils and drink cup. He seems worse at home than at school so we think it may be a control thing with me :(. If anyone has any advice on how to eliminate this behavior I am all ears!

We are looking foward to Summer this year, already have two trips planned to the beach!

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to post more frequently.

Peace - Terry

Lil Stinker!

Who needs a potty?

It's been way too long since my last entry and I apologize. Life has just taken me down a different path these last months.

Noah has been doing great. I few setbacks but nothing we couldn't handle. I just can't believe how quickly he is growing up. He will be 2.5 in two weeks and he fits the "terrible two" definition perfectly. I do remember how quiet our "sweet pea" was in his first 12 months of life. I would hold him in my arms wondering if I would ever know what his voice would sound like...... well fast forward and now I can't even catch him most times and don't even think about holding him for fear of him bursting my ear drum! Yes, my sweet pea is now at times my "lil monster" who loves to scream at the top of his voice for attention. Granted his list of words extend to 6.... daddy, hat, ball, up & down and when he is desperate for me not to leave him I will hear an occassional Mama. I love Noah to death and most days forget he is suppose to have a disability as he mirrors most typical children on a daily basis.

We are still working on his feeding issues and hope to move him to chewables in the near future. He has shown progress and now eats about 5 different foods that are pureed. ( sweet potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, pancake & banana). He started to self feed with a spoon about two months ago and is doing great. He is still on thickened only and drinks soy based milk and pedisure from a straw cup. His little tummy just can't digest any type of juice, at least not yet. When he is not sick,he is able to put on weight. Unfortunately he loses most of the "new" weight when he is sick so it's a vicious cycle. He certainly didn't get his weight issue from his Mommy.


Thanks Nan, I love my new wheels! Vroom Vroom!

I would like to send out lots and lots of hugs to all of Noah's friends (mine too)... and want to let each and everyone of you know that we are thinking about you and do check your blogs to see how everyone is doing. So our thoughts and prayers are on going even if you haven't heard from us in a while.

Hugs & Kisses - Terry

Look who is........

TWO!!!!
My Sweet Pumpkin turned two last Friday! Daddy surprised him with a new sandbox and lots of toys to play with. We had a small party on Saturday with a big dinosaur birthday cake. Noah opened lots of "big" boy toys this year ...dinosaurs, trucks, cars & beads ( for therapy....a little deceptive I know.


OK, he didn't eat any cake but he sure did think it was really cool & so did I. ( Thank you Aunt Ru Ru).


Some things about our "big" two year old ....
1. He is signing like crazy, last count was at 25 signs. His favorite is "help"
2. He is vocalizing more, lots of varying sounds and is starting to say "mmmama". He says ball, hat, hi, dada, daw "dog", uh oh, ut "up", mmmm "moo"& bah " baa".
3. He is drinking from a straw cup
4. He is showing interest in self feeding
5. He is learning to chew
6. He loves strawberry quik powder!
7. He loves to be outside especially with his Daddy
8. His loves to camp and hike. We can't get him inside ( just like his Daddy)
9. Our kids loves motorcycles. He is always asking Daddy to sit on his bike and walks around signing motorcyle and saying vrrrrooom! He doesn't watch a lot of T.V. unless of course Daddy happens to turn to a Monster Truck or Motorbike show then he is glued.
9. He is WALKING!!!! ( I attached a video at the end of the entry)

I am thrilled to annouce Noah started to walk a few weeks before his birthday. We were not even expecting it to happen so suddenly....once again Noah reminds us that is schedule is unpredictable! Now if we can only find his "off" button. Walking has allowed him to discover a whole new world. A world filled with adventurous explorations through our cabinets, drawers, closets, bathrooms, behind furniture, over furniture & where ever his pitter patter feet will lead him. He is so adorable when he follows us around like a little puppy. I can't say enough on how proud we are of our "big" boy.


Gee whiz Daddy makes this look so easy!


Vrrrooom Vrrrooom!


Hey, who wants to go for a hike....I do I do!


Look I'm actually keeping my hat one...hmmm must be pretty darn cold!


Can I play in this box?

I apologize for the sparse updates. It's been a busy time for us lately, and I just haven't had the focus time. I'm gracefully signing off with a beautiful video of Noah walking....Cheers, Terry

Tiger watch out!

This is a lot of work retrieving all these balls.

Summer has come to an end and what better way to bring in the Fall season than to go camping. We loaded the camper and headed West for the weekend. The weather was absolutely perfect, blue skies and plenty of sunshine. Temperature was a bit nippy but nothing to prevent us from enjoying the great outdoors.

Noah really enjoyed the whole camping experience this year. Especially since he got to sleep next to Daddy for two nights. Mom graciously gave up snuggle time with Noah to spend two nights fighting for covers with Cody ( our spoiled to the bone dog)who absolutely refused to sleep on the floor.

The highlight of our weekend was spending time around the campfire and managing to cook dinner over the open fire. Noah also helped Daddy warm up on the practice green before his early round of golf. I think he is going to be a natural.


OK, so what am I suppose to do with this?
Line myself up, I can barely stand!

Hi Mom, yes I know how to stand up all by myself. What's the big deal?



Come on Cody lets go play golf!

Nice horsey!

But Mom, you make me practice on the stairs at home....



Cody, look I can stand on this chair.
Uh Oooooh!

Noah continues to improve on his standing. He can now push up to a stand all by himself. He has become more brave with taking independent steps. He loves to climb or pull himself up, over and across anything he can. Stairs and chairs seem to be his favorite sport this month. Attempting to climb in and out of the the tub is a close third.

He has cut two top molars for a total of 5 teeth with a few promising bumps in the works. Poor little guy spends more time with his hand in his mouth which leaves little time to practice his eating...UGH. Thank goodness for pedisure.

I would also like to congratulate my friend Julia on her engagement to Jason. I wish them both the best of luck.

Cheers, Terry

Beach Bums again!

We were spoiled again by having the opportunity to spend a nice long weekend at my brother's beach place with my Mom. Chris, if you are reading this, we want to thank you for making our staying so much fun and relaxing. Noah really misses Tex, but don't tell Cody.

Here is our little guy showing off by taking a few steps.

We had him so exhausted with trying to take steps, he decided a nice cold one and a rest in his buggy was the safest place to be. While cooling his jets, we walked up to the boardwalk and Nan won him a polar bear by whacking a frog into a lily pad....after like 20 missed frog attempts!

Shhh! Don't tell Cody, but while at the beach Noah found a new friend Tex. I'll have to be honest, I was not sure how Tex would be around Noah but he immediately won my heart. It was love at first sight. Noah just adored him and would follow him everywhere. Which was not to hard, as he seemed to enjoy sleeping most of the day.

Oh Tex where are you?

I'm gonna get you....

Tex wait for me.....I'm coming!

Noah is still working on his standing and as has even surprised us by taking a few steps with lots of encouragement. I think he may have caught onto my eagerness for him to start walking, because lately he has been Mr. Jelly legs. He continues to find ways to remind me, that things will get accomplished on his schedule not mine.

Now lets talk about teeth. Yup, he sprouted another tooth. Top right and is working on cutting a molar. So officially the tooth count is up to 3 1/2. Still working on the GI & eating issues and hope to find some answers soon.

On a very sad note, friends of mine lost their 3 yr old daughter Arden, to cancer after a 10 month battle with stage IV, high risk Nueroblastoma. Arden will always have a special place in my heart. Her family will continue to be in my prayers. May they find comfort during this very difficult time. God Bless!

Making Mommy Proud!

Wow, where has the Summer gone? I can't believe it's almost over. We have managed to keep ourselves busy with weekend trips and trying to stay healthy. Noah's health is much better this Summer than last for which I am very grateful for.

Last weekend, was spent at Aunt Ru & Uncle Greg's beach place. Noah loved watching the boats go by and especially enjoyed their heated pool. Despite Noah coming down with a poop virus and stinking up the whole place, we had a nice time. Poor little guy still has the darn poop virus :(

Noah is really starting to become more confident with taking assisted steps. He usually likes to walk while holding two hands, but lately he has been taking several steps with just one! He has mastered the walker and enjoys crashing into walls, furniture and running over toes & paws.

The biggest news to date is ......he is starting to stand all by himself! This weekend he turned the big corner and was pushing away to stand alone all the time. The pictures will tell you how proud he has been. He is even trying to push to a stand from the bear crawl.


Look everyone I think I'm standing all by myself!!!


Is everyone still looking because I'm still standing....


I can take steps with Aunt Ru and wave at the same time


Aunt Ru & Uncle Greg helping me take steps.


Thank you Aunt Ru & Uncle Greg , I had a great time at your beach place.

He has also mastered how to push buttons, especially the ones on the remote and phone. I haven't been able to snag a picture yet....but he loves to point the remote to the TV and push the buttons. He likes to stand next to the TV and push the buttons as well. My DH just loves that during a nail biting sports event! It just melts my heart how he is starting to learn more and more everyday.
He also is learning signs like crazy, he has added hurt, horse, pig & sheep to his list. I'm trying to teach him please and sorry as he is enjoying his "terrible twos" along with all this new learning.

This weekend we are off to the beach again, this time to spend time with my Mom. Cheers, Terry

A breath of fresh air!

Ok, maybe not that much fresh air! Since starting Noah on daily flovent treatments, he has turned into a energetic and playful child. My DH says it is like putting water on a flower, and now we are watching him blossom.

We were not in the Pulmonolgists office 20 minutes before the Dr. stated clearly that Noah has asthma. Within one week of using the inhaler, Noah started sleeping through the night. He still enjoys getting up around 4:30- 5am, but no interruptions before than. His continuous wet cough all day long, has been reduced to a scattering thoughout the day. Mainly after eating, drinking , waking up and when outside.


He is becoming more mobile now as well. Climbing more (sorry Cody), crawling faster and cruising longer distances. He has also using a walker and started to test the waters on standing. With his sure steps on, he has stood for 8-10 seconds. Yippee!

Nan spending time with Noah.

We took Noah to see his cousin Sophia Grace over the 4th of July weekend. It was a 9 hour drive to NC and I spent about 7 hours in the back seat with Noah. We stopped to stretched our legs every 2 hours so the drive wasn't too bad. Seeing Sophia was worth the entire drive. She is so beautiful!
Nan's grandchildren

SOPHIA GRACE!

After having a family bar-b-que at my sister's on the 4th, we continued our trek east to spend a few days on Topsail Island, NC. Noah absolutely loved the beach and the ocean. No fear!

Mom, where did you go?


Daddy, quick put me down a big wave is coming!

Daddy........I LOVE YOU!
I love the beach!

OK, since I'm so horrible about keeping my blog up to date, I will finish with a few more updates on Noah.
Eating, is not our favorite subject these last few months. As eating continues to be an issue for Noah. His main source of nutrition is still pediasure. For a while he was refusing all foods, but has recently turned the corner and now only eats(with some refusal) yogurt and stage 2 oatmeal! He won't eat any table foods or anything with texture. I have a cabinet full of stage 2 veggies & fruits , that a few months ago he would eat without hesitation but now complete refusal. I have even tried pureeing foods, but no luck! But....don't let me forget to mention, Noah can spot an ice cream within a 100 mile radius and will gladly consume it! He will even self feed ice cream sandwichs. Everything else put in front of him gets tossed and gobbled up by the dog.

We are still working on control his aspiration/reflux. We are trying a medicine to see if we can reduce aspiration from below and better control the reflux. There are still talks about the Nissen surgery, but we are keeping our fingers crossed his new medicine will work. Thickened liquids have drastically improved his apirating.

We are extremely pleased with Noah's signing. He now knows and sign appropriately 15 signs (more, eat, drink, ball, bath, hat, dog, cat, book, hi/bye, swing , up, shoes & milk). Sometimes when all the stars line up and it's a full moon out, he may even sign Mama!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer. Cheers, Terry