Let’s talk about Noah

I feel like I’m a bit of a mommy failure these days when it comes to talking about my favorite biggest boy. Adjusting to knowing that there is one baby in my tummy and one big baby running around has been tough on me. Part of me wonders (still) how I could ever love another baby quite like I love my oldest. But, I’m constantly reminded by friends and family who have more than one child that it is possible and that I’ll be amazed and how much more I can love when this second baby arrives.

Noah is growing like a weed. In the 18 months that we’ve lived in Alaska he’s gone from a size 6 1/2 shoe to a 10. The kid has a huge foot. He’s wearing extra small shirts from places like Target and The Children’s Place and a size 4T pants. We did a little weigh in Sunday at the Clinic while the husband was working at he’s topping out at 37.8 pounds. I feel like he’s finally starting to gain some weight after sitting between 33-35 pounds for over a year. And have I mentioned how tall he’s getting? The taller he gets the more he slims up, and I really think he’s going to built like his daddy and have his stature.

He still hates getting a haircut and I can’t force myself to chop too much of his pretty locks off. This boy has beautiful, thick, soft hair and I don’t think he’d even look like himself if we cut too much off. His hair hasn’t been really short since he was a year old.

He’s really excited about the baby. He’s still convinced it’s a “sister,” though he has made mention of a baby brother a time or two the last few weeks. Truthfully, it won’t matter to me what this baby is. For a while, I thought that I’d really want a little girl. But the more I love on my oldest boy, the more I realize how much I do love being a boy mama and adore the relationship that comes with having a son. So, as long as this baby is healthy, whether it’s pink or blue, I know that we are all going to love this little bundle fiercely.

We ask Noah every day who he loves (just one of those little routine things before bed, etc.). He’ll smile sweetly and say, “Mommy.” So we’ll say “who else?” to which he responds, ‘Daddy.” And we’ll say again, “who else?” And he gets this giant little grin and says, “the baby.” Melt. My. Heart.

He’s still interested in the same things he’s been into for a while: sports, cars, Transformers, Robots and Legos/Blocks. I bought him a set of wooden blocks from Melissa & Doug the other day and he’s had a blast building and tearing town pretend cities. Still no interest in coloring or writing/drawing. He’s so hands on and has an architectural type mind. He likes to see how things work. His imagination has gone wild these days and it’s so exciting to sit back and watch him create his own worlds and play pretend.

Despite the little temper tantrums he throws now and then, he’s really a sweet kid. And even though the “terrible three’s” have proven to be trying and frustrating at times, this has been one of my favorite ages to far. Because he’s so sweet. He loves to give hugs and kisses and snuggle. He climbs in the bed with me every morning when he gets up and rubs my face or holds my head between his hands. He’ll look at me all sweet and say, “Good morning, mommy!”

He loves his mommy and daddy. So much. And I love that he relies on us so much. We’ve finally broken the habit of him trying to climb in our bed (except on the rare occasion) and he’s getting better at staying in his room, in his bed. We did build a little pallet on the floor beside our bed for him for the nights where he does get up and wander. So far, he’ll just tiptoe into our room and lay down beside our bed and go to sleep without any noise or complaint. Some say we shouldn’t let him do that, but I say he’s a toddler…a child…and he won’t stay that way for long. He can’t sleep in our bed with us (the pillows I’m using and my growing belly alone take up more space than usual), but if he wants to be near us, I’m not going to stop that. That will end soon enough on it’s own and I want to enjoy it while I can.

He’s still carrying his beloved puppy dog around with him. He leaves her in the car when we go places (sometimes) but she still sleeps with him and she’s still a very loved and included part of playtime. Again, another thing that I’m not pushing him to get rid of. Truth be told, I’ll probably cry when he decides that he doesn’t need her anymore. That poor dog has seen more love than any other stuffed animal I’ve ever seen. Her stuffing is almost completely gone (we tried our hardest to let him let us fluff her back up for free when we were in Anchorage at the Build a Bear, but he was convinced it would hurt her) and her fur is coarse, but she is well taken care of.

It’s hard to believe that he’s going to be four in just a few short months. Doesn’t seem like he should be so big so fast. What I do know, however, is that these last almost four years with him, have been some of the best of my life. Because God knows that I love this little boy to pieces.