Big Brother

Poor Noah has really been neglected lately. Both in real life, and on this blog! I had a feeling Noah would be a great big brother, and I was definitely right. He absolutely adores his sister, and although sometimes he is definitely attention starved, he has shown essentially zero jealousy of her. It certainly hasn't always been easy, especially when I was constantly at the NICU for an entire month, but his easy-going temperament has helped so much. Noah constantly wants to hold Elodie, and when he gets home from preschool each day the first question out of his mouth is, "Where's the baby?" If she's napping he lets out a disappointed groan. It's really everything I always wanted. I love watching the two of them interact. I can tell they already have an unbreakable bond. 

During the month of January I could tell I was really starting to get burnt out with everything going on with Elodie. I was frequently completely impatient and short with Noah, and I felt really bad about it. I decided that I needed to start making time for just him and I. Talk about some amazing free therapy! So far we've only gone to a movie and birthday party together, but it has already done wonders for my mental health!

A Sunday morning birthday party at the Home Depot for a friend.

Brian has also been giving Noah some one-on-one time while teaching him to ski. Noah still has some gross-motor delays and tends to shy away from activities that are challenging for him so we weren't sure how it would go. Luckily kids under 5 ski free at all the big resorts here, so if he hated it we wouldn't be out too much money. Well, he loves it! My brother has also been going with, and took him down his first green circle a couple of weeks ago. Go Noah! 

He is such a sweet and loving kid, and still a total mama's boy. Lately he's taken to telling me, "I want to fall in love with you and marry you." He doesn't really know what he's saying, but the sentiment behind it is incredibly heart-melting. At times I get so distracted by everything going on with Elodie that I forget to enjoy these moments with Noah. He's growing so fast! We just registered him for Kindergarten next year and visited his new school. He is so excited to start and hates that August is so far away. I, on the other hand, cannot believe my first baby is going to attend elementary school this year. WHAT?! 

Noah is also a very imaginative kid who loves to play super heroes or dragons. When he plays he constantly hums. I'm not kidding. Our house is always filled with the sound of Noah's personal soundtrack. I wonder what his preschool teachers think of it. Brian and I are naturally quiet people, so sometimes his constant chatter and humming is exhausting, but I wouldn't have it any other way. He used to do this thing where he would end every single comment he made with "Right Mom?" or "Right Dad?" If we didn't immediately say, "Right Noah" he would keep asking over and over again. It's gotten better recently, but it drove us a little crazy when it was at its peak! He is still very silly, too. He talks in goofy voices, tries to tell jokes, and thinks it's hilarious to talk about poop, butts, and farts. Yup, he's a 4 year old boy all right!

Inside his "shell"

It's a lot of fun talking to him and seeing what goes on in his little mind. He has a good friend named Olivia, or Livey as we call her, and the two of them already have plans to marry each other. He talks about how they will live with each other, but not with us because you don't live with your parents when you get married. However he says that he'll live right next door to us. I asked him where Elodie will live, and he said, "Next door to me!" I also asked him who Elodie should marry just to see what he would say. His answer? "The first person she meets on eHarmony!" What?! Somebody pays WAY too much attention to commercials. No seriously, he quotes them all the time. He's really starting to understand rhyming, can count up to about 30 without help, and writes his name in the smallest print ever. He smiles and laughs all the time, and makes me feel so proud and lucky to be his mom. 

I love you Noah. You'll always be my first baby, and my favorite little boy!