Eye Update

Elliot had an eye exam yesterday. I hadn't noticed them drifting outward as much, but figured I was just used to it or not paying attention. Actually, they have improved a LOT! They amount they drift is a lot smaller. It went from 12 degrees to 8 degrees. We don't see it as often because it is a lot easier for him to control now. Also, when he does it, it isn't as dramatic. So happy to see him improving! He still doesn't need glasses and we will check them again in 6 months, unless we see something change.

So happy that these are the only "ga-ga" that E will be wearing anytime soon :) Well, unless you leave your sunglasses at our house. Then they are fair game, too.

Burr Oak Woods

We headed out to Burr Oak Woods for a morning hike on Saturday. The weather was perfect. It's no Rocky Mountain National Park, but it was surprisingly really cool. I can't believe we never even knew it was here. There are a lot of trails, so we will be back. I'd love to go back in a couple of weeks when the leaves start to turn. There was a pretty good sized area on the trail we went on that had a lot of large rocks for climbing, so Noah was loving it!

Dad & his boys before our hike

Noah at the trailhead

He lead the way. Shortly after this we saw two deer pretty up close. My camera focused on the woods around them though, so nothing worthy of posting.

Me & my little hiker

Little guy having fun

He was making me so nervous trying to keep up with Noah

Noah was excited about this "secret passageway"

Up and down many rocks. Definitely Noah's favorite part.

Exploring. The most exciting thing they probably found were daddy-long-leg spiders and Noah was excited about some berries, too.

They also are huge fans of bridges. Elliot would run back and forth over them.

A little fancy footwork while we waited for Paul & Elliot to catch up. Noah insisted we "get our exercise" and run for part of the hike. Elliot was setting the pace with Paul after our lunch stop so we had some time to kill.

When I saw Paul carrying Elliot with the backpack on, I suddenly had flashbacks to Noah when he was almost 2 in Colorado, refusing the backpack and also refusing to go forward. But, Paul said he did great and he had just picked him up. We had him in the pack for the beginning of the hike, but he walked most of it.

Naturally, E had to climb up the bridge and scare me, while Paul insisted I leave him there for a picture. It was about a 15 foot drop, so you will notice my protective hand ready to save him :)

This was at the end of our hike. The boys just played on the bridge for a long time.

Prairie Days

We had a great time hiking in Burr Oak Woods this past Saturday. What a great thing we have in the KC area I didn't even know about. It was a bit of a drive to get there, but worth it. We will be back for sure to try out the many other trails. Pictures of our fun hike will be coming up in our next post.

We just so happened to come on Prairie Day. It's a free thing they put on with activities focused on education about the history of the area and conservation. They had little crafts for kids to do and the thing that made Noah's eyes light up: a free wagon ride!

We decided to go on the 11:45 wagon ride we were given tickets for. We were told it was 30 minutes. We'd go on a tour and watch a skit, too. Well let's just say E was tired to begin with. We flip-flopped on whether or not to skip it since it was A) close to naptime and B) we had 3pm plans with friends that afternoon, so really wanted to keep E on his normal nap schedule. But, Noah wanted the ride and I hated to let him down. So we start off on this tour.

Oh.My.Gosh! It was torturous. And L-O-N-G. 1 hour and 15 minutes long to be exact!

We went from station to station along a trail watching cheesy skits taking us back in time to this spot in Missouri. Learning all about when it was a shallow ocean, the ice age, glaciers, how much land was praire before and now, when barbed wire was introduced and how it affected the prairie, how people hunted buffalo, how people cooked, how people washed, the Missouri state grass, the Missouri state fossil, how to help with conservation, etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on, but it would take 1 hour and 15 minutes to tell you all about it. Just into the 2nd skit (of many) early in the tour, Noah looked up at Paul and said, "Daddy, I'm getting boring."

I mean bless their hearts, they tried to share their knowledge with us and they are PASSIONATE about Praire Grass. It is not just tall grass that makes you sneeze to walk by and itch to walk in. It is SACRED to these people. And that is to be respected.

However, these were all little kids on the tour and it was way too long and hard for them. Paul had to finally leave with Elliot. Noah was well behaved, but oh so bored. Then towards the end we finally heard what we had been waiting for the whole time. "Let's move on and climb on the wagon for a ride". Ahhhhh! Aboard the sweet reward my good and faithful little kids. Thanks for listening to all this stuff about Praire Grass. NOW, you can take your much anticipated ride!

Um yeah. Our wagon ride was about 2 minutes and they dropped us off saying "we are going to drop you off here and Carolyn is going to talk to you for about 10 minutes'. AHHHHHH!!!! NOOOO!!!! Some little boy said "I hate when we have to stand here" and Noah said "Me tooooooo!" They weren't trying to be rude. And I had to stifle the laughter.

Let's just say we won't be doing that again, but looking back it was a little amusing. And God Bless those passionate conservationists, for they truly must love what they do! And now I know more about Prairies than I ever thought there was to know.

Turn off the TV week conclusion

I thought since I posted I was doing this last week, I should post an update. Compared to all my daily posts last time we did this, it's a pretty boring update :) It wasn't too hard, really. The only time we missed it was naptime for E. I usually let Noah have a show. But, we did other things. Things better than sitting in front of the TV, like reading :) We were also outside all the time. Daily bikerides are a must now that he's proficient on the bike. We go to the park and also on errands like going to the grocery store. He's doing awesome!

Even I stuck to it. Here Oprah is in her LAST season with great shows on every day. I've heard parts of them replayed on XM radio. I have them all DVR'd though and hopefully will catch up sometime :)

It's a bear!!!

Even though he’s four, we still use a monitor in Noah’s room. I’m not sure when parents normally stop, but it is hard to hear him from our room, and even though it’s rare, he occasionally gets up at night thinking that it’s morning, and goes downstairs.


As a result, we sometimes hear him talking in his sleep, which is pretty cute, and every once in a while we have to rush in there to talk him down from some nightmare he’s having (monsters, bugs, dinosaurs, etc).

About 3:45 this morning he woke up and I could hear his door open on the monitor, so I jumped out of bed to intercept him. When I ran into him in the hallway, he said “I just wanted you to sleep in my bed, daddy”, as if it were something that just happened to cross his mind in the middle of the night, and he was coming in to get me.

I took him in to the bathroom, then walked him back to his bed and lay down with him so he would go back to sleep. I started to hear him breathing deeply and I was about halfway dozed off myself when he suddenly yelled “Don’t let that polar bear get me daddy!!!!”

Now, it was iffy anyway whether I could get back to sleep after getting up at 3:45 AM, but until then I had a fighting chance. However, I was not expecting any noise as I tried, much less shouting in my ear. I laid there for a few moments, heart now beating fast; wondering where in the world that came from when it occurred to me that I was wearing a big, white polar bear on my chest from the charity run t-shirt that we got last weekend.

My climber

I caught the little climber red handed after scaling to the top of the kitchen counter

"Oh crap"

"I can explain"

"What the hell? I"ll play the cute card"

Pearly Whites

Noah had a dentist appointment today. I was nervous because although he did good last time I posted about it, there was another one that I didn't post about. Last time we went, he was filled with anxiety about the whole situation. He not only was scared of the "tickle toothbrush", he wouldn't even let them in to clean with a regular one. All we got out of it was the dentist inspecting his teeth confirming no cavities. I tried to prepare him, but didn't make a big deal of it. He did great! I could tell he had on his "brave face" and was a bit nervous, but he didn't let on. He picked raspberry toothpaste and strawberry fluoride foam. No cavities!

These are just some pics from my phone. :)

Noah's 4th Birthday

Can't believe that it's already been 4 years since my petite little 9 1/2 pound bouncing baby Noah made his way into the world, changing our lives forever.

How the heck did that happen so fast?! Noah turned four on September 18th! We had a fun day celebrating. Paul & I had signed up to run the Zoo Run that morning. Noah was still asleep when we headed to the zoo for the 8:30am 4-mile run. I was surprised after finishing to see him, Elliot & Claire there at the finish line cheering for us. I felt so bad I didn't hear/see him cheering until I was done. It may be because I was simultaneously cussing Paul out in my head for telling me to sprint while trying to just breathe and keep going up that last hill. Paul & I finished the run in 38:53, which is great. Previously, my best 4 mile time was 40 minutes (downhill) and this was a very hilly route, so I was pleased. Paul went "slow" so he could run with me.

I look irritated, don't I? I heard someone say once they will take up running when they actually see someone running with a smile on their face. haha!

We hung out at the zoo for awhile, seeing the Polar Bear and letting the boys play. That afternoon we had family over for a casual party. We grilled out, the boys played, ate some cake and opened some presents. Just a laid back time with family. The boys spent most of the time building forts. I wish we had taken more pictures that day. I think we were just enjoying hanging out with our family.

This is a little 4 year old update on Noah:
- He is a big boy - 47lbs and tall (will know when he goes to the doctor next exact height). He wears a size 5 in clothes & 11.5 in shoes
-He is riding his big boy bike with pedals (and no training wheels) all.over.town
-He loves building forts with these rubber foam mat things we have
-He can write his name well (in capital letters). He knows all his letters and their sounds. Can recognize/sound out some simple words.
-He cuts really well with scissors, too
-He is pretty independent. Dresses himself everyday, brushes his own teeth, even makes his own lunch and snacks.
-He really enjoys playing with Elliot, but plays way rougher and wilder than I like. Elliot laughs the whole time and loves it - until he inevitably gets hurt.
-He is very sweet to other kids - especially little kids.
-He will be starting preschool in January 2 days a week! Then he will go to Pre-K in the Fall. I'm not sure if he'll do 2 or 3 days a week. I'll see what he's ready for when the time comes.

Opening presents

Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing

"I wish for my friends having dinner."

Turn off the TV week (AGAIN!)

If you remember, we participated in National Turn Off the TV Week back in April. I saw yesterday afternoon, that it was this week again. DOH! I had already let Noah watch some silly Thomas the Train video when E was napping. But, we turned it off. And we're going to keep it off for the week again. Do it with me. You'll be surprised at how it changes your week. If nothing else you can DVR your favorite shows and catch up on them later ;)

The weather is beautiful. Noah just learned to ride his bike. I think this week will be a cake-walk.

The next Lance Armstrong

Well Paul blogged last week about teaching Noah to ride a bike. He immediately was able to balance and ride it, but lacked the confidence to go too far at the time. Downhills were out of the question that first week. He was used to different brakes on his Strider and on his bike he only knew how to pedal fast and then slam on his brakes.

Well it took about one week for him to get it down smoothly. And boy did he ever get it! Wow! I took him to the church last week most days and he'd walk it down the hill there and ride it over and over again on the flat area and all the way back home (slight uphill). He needed help getting started (I'd hold bike steady while he put both feet on pedals).

Well Sunday night we went out for a ride on the Trolley Trail to QT, then to Meyer and home. It was 2.5 miles. He was able to go down some hills on the route and have success. Paul worked with him on lightly braking to slow down and he finally figured it out.

Yesterday, we rode all the way to Arno Park and back (about a mile or so I think). He had to cross Ward Parkway, and he did very well. He really has a pretty good handle on road safety rules already from riding his Strider. At Arno something clicked and when it was time to go and he was impatient waiting for me to get Elliot in the bikeseat and his helmet on, he put both feet on the pedals himself and started riding. YAY! He figured it out and hasn't needed help starting since! Also, on the big hill from Ward Parkway all the way to Penn on 69th Street he was able to go downhill and coast/control his speed with brakes without stopping at all. I am so proud of him!

That afternoon he wanted another bikeride when E woke up. This time he wanted to go to Brookside Park. This is a longer route, but he insisted. Of course he didn't disappoint. I estimate we rode about 3 miles round trip. Noah is a pro now! I'm really working with him mostly on rode safety and how to ride on the right side of the road and really watch for cars since we live in the city and like to ride bikes all around, it's very important. Obviously he's not ready to go out on his own yet anyway, but at this rate he'll be able to ride his bike to school when he starts Kindergarten for sure! (even if I trail behind a bit)

Sorry for the low quality pics. These are from my cell phone. I will post video of him this week hopefully. It's so funny to watch him pedal just as fast as he can on that little bike!

Going down Ward Parkway to Arno Park (we were only on the side of Ward for one block)

So proud of his first bikeride to the park!

Riding through the neighborhoods on the longer ride to Brookside Park

It was a hot afternoon. A little red-faced and sweaty at Brookside Park. GO NOAH!

And this is today at Arno Park again. He was just riding around the playground equipment in circles

Noah's 4th Birthday Party

Noah turns 4 on Saturday, September 18th. We had a birthday party for his friends this past Saturday because of a special sale at Pump it Up for that night. Boy, did this confuse Noah. He kept asking if he was 4 yet. I told him not for another week. Then when it was time for his party, he asked again "Am I four now?" He still knows he's three, and though he was confused why we celebrated it early, he had a blast and the party was a big success. Fun was had by all. Prepare for a picture overload :)

Elliot was pretty happy to see Hudson in the lobby

And of course Hudson's big sister, "A-di-di" (Addison)

Oops! All the kids forgot the "one at a time" rule. Haha!

Noah

Grandma Anita came to the "friend" party, too!

Paul sent Elliot flyin' solo

Charlie

Addison

Charlie mid-stunt (he did rolls the whole way down)

Our party attendant, Dan was awesome. Here he was doing a magic trick.

I'm getting Elliot off after Paul sent him down alone, again.

Mom

Elliot, Jack & Murray playing dodgeball

Noah having so much fun

Elliot did the smaller obstacle course with a little help

Yay! The end of the obstacle course.

He liked it!

Our beloved babysitter, Claire was actually babysitting Hudson & Addison and brought them to the party. Noah was THRILLED to have Claire there to play with!

Addison

Hudson's got ups

So does Noah!

Elliot is keeping up pretty good for a 1 1/2 year old!

I'm helping E up the small obstacle course

I guess you never really are too old for a cozy coupe

After an hour and 20 minutes of jumping

Love this sweet picture!

Making funny faces for the group shot (sans Elliot who wasn't cooperating)

They were all sooooo tired

Until the found out we had pizza & cake in the next room! E joined for one group shot!

Icing melted....oops! The kids didn't mind. Noah loved his #4 cupcake

Addison, Noah & Charlie

Everyone wanted to sit on Noah's "throne"

He gets by with a little help from his friends

Yummy

Awww sweet Nona Grace & big brother Murray

Jack

Elliot loved him some cupcake

Messy, but I love his eyes here

Opening presents