jumping those hurdles

slowly but surely, noah is growing up.

i'm so SO behind in blogging - BAD BLOGGER!! - but i want to get a few things down before i forget.

the friday before xmas, noah's first molar broke though. he never seems horribly bothered by his teeth coming in, thankfully. i'm also not above giving him tylenol to make him more comfortable...

on xmas eve, we were having dinner at the koechling's and i gave noah a green olive (sans pimento) just to see what he'd do with it, and he ATE IT! well, not really. he ripped it apart, put the small pieces in his mouth, chewed them, and spit them out. but it's definite progress!

xmas was so fun. noah really got into it, and was all about opening presents. his presents, grant's presents, my presents... he didn't discriminate! santa brought a kid laptop, some puzzles, fridge phonics, and a sled. noah was definitely on the *good* list.

on new years day, noah - started - WALKING!!!! he's still inconsistent and does it only on his terms, but he can and will do it when he wants! that morning, he and i were watching the Rose Parade (which he *loved*) and during the parade he took three steps from near the coffee table to the couch, which he'd sort of done before. usually two step from table to couch, and a dramatic flop face first into the couch... (his VERY first indepdendent steps came when he took two steps while we were in AZ.) but anyways, i was at the mall and got a text from my mom: "noah just took 6 steps". and another: "took another 9". i hurriedly finished up my errands and went home, and lo-and-behold, he did it for me! he was so so proud of himself, especially given my reaction!! we try to practice every day and i'm hoping that by the time we go to arizona on feb 8th, he'd been pretty stable on his feet.

noah's fully recovered from surgery - had a follow up with the ENT last weekend, and he told me i could pick the scab off noah's neck. ew! and okay! (i started but then stopped myself...)

over the weekend, we took noah for his first haircut. we both just decided he was starting to look pretty raggedy. serious borderline mullet was happening, and he was starting to look kind of like a hobo. we went to a local chain place called kidsnips where they specialize in cutting kids' hair. noah loved all the colors on the walls, the toys, the kids, the mirror, the taxi cab seat he sat in during his haircut, the elmo video he got to watch during his haircut... he looks like such a big kid now. it's crazy how a haircut can change him so much. just looks so grown up. :)

last night, i gave him a piece of muenster cheese, and just like the olive on xmas eve, he tore it up, put the pieces in his mouth, chewed, and spit... again - progress. i'll take what i can get at this point...

in general, he's just talking a lot more and understanding even more than that! still no real words (beyond maybe mama and dada - and maybe look?), but lots of babbling and always making noises and silly faces. he FINALLY has started letting me brush his teeth (as of about a week ago), and tonight i said "noah, say ah!" - he opened wide and said ah. i said "noah, show me your teeth - say eee!" he smiled a toothy smile and scrunched his eyes the way i had demonstrated. when i started laughing, he crunched his eyes all the way shut and started chuckling. he and i crack each other up every night while he's getting ready for bed. he's so tickling and loves it! he just laughs and laughs... ah, the coolest kid ever!! pictures soon!