Not the news I wanted

Yesterday was Noah's 18-month checkup with his pediatrician. Luckily for him, there weren't any shots he had to have this time. I did ask about his lack of speech, and she said that it's not normal for him to have such a small vocabulary (only 2 words he uses consistently, and one of them isn't an actual word). She said it happens a lot when an only child stays home with Mom all day, and doesn't have a whole lot of social interaction. She said that apparently I'm a very attentive Mommy, so he doesn't feel like he needs to talk to get what he wants. Also, since he's an only child and doesn't have any older, talking siblings and doesn't have any cousins or anything that he gets to hang around with a lot, he doesn't really understand that little people are supposed to talk. He thinks that talking is for big people, and he's a little person, therefore, he's not supposed to talk. Shoot, if I thought that, I wouldn't talk either. So, she told me to look into signing him up for some classes or something where he can hang around more kids his age so that he can start figuring out that little people talk too. It'll also be nice for him to get out a little more since, for the most part, he's stuck with me all day long. I'm also supposed to be talking to him non-stop so that maybe he'll decide to try it.

I've spent all morning looking for classes he would enjoy. They're all "Mommy and Me" classes, so he won't totally be thrown in the deep end. I'm between gymnastics classes, and swimming. He loves the water, but I'm not sure how much he'd actually get to interact with other kids while he's in the water. So, I'm leaning towards "gymnastics" classes. I put it in quotes, because I know it's far from actual gymnastics, but he'd still get to run and climb on things, and hopefully, learn how to play well with others. Now I just have to narrow down the options as far as where to go. There's 2 gyms that specialize in classes for little ones, and one that focuses on much older kids, but happens to have classes for his age group too. The last one is a lot cheaper, but I also am tempted by the places that specialize in the toddlers.

We're going back to the Dr. for a follow-up at the end of June, and if he hasn't improved, we'll probably have to get him some speech therapy. Oh, they joys of parenthood.... I do want to help him as much as possible though. Even though it was slightly upsetting to find out from a professional that his speech development isn't normal, I'm at least glad to know that there are things that Josh and I can do to help him.

My little Hungry Man

I have to say, this is probably the best surroundings I've had for writing a blog post. I'm out on our porch, on a clear and perfect 73 degree California night, listening to Frank Sinatra, with a cup of tea. The only things missing are lightening bugs. Then it would truly be perfect.

This is just a short post to brag about how my little boy is the best eater in the entire world. At least, I think so. Last night we went out to an "Asian fusion" restaurant with a group from Josh's organization. Honestly, I wasn't too impressed, but there were lots of new things for Noah to try. As soon as the cashew chicken hit the table he was trying to grab the serving spoon to get the first mouthful. I expected him to like that, though. There were also crab egg rolls. I don't do crab. Honestly, I don't think I've ever tried it, but I don't like fish, and crab, shrimp, and lobster just gross me out. I did want Noah to try the crab though so that hopefully he won't grow up with my crustacean phobia. He loved it. As soon as he tried it, he did his sign for "yummy, yummy yummy!" Big fan. Then later on he tried the "spicy shrimp." We had water nearby in case it was too spicy for him. He ate it, but no "yummy yummy yummy!" sign. I'm betting it was the spiciness that made him not do the sign. We'll try again later, and hopefully he'll grow up liking it.

As some of you saw, we had company last week, which means I had a tub of sour cream left over to use up. Chloe wanted it for her baked potatoes, so I bought it for her, but I hardly ever use it. So, I found a recipe for a seasoned chicken with a sherry cream sauce. Sounded good to me, so that's what I made for dinner tonight. Noah really liked it. Sautéed onions and mushrooms and everything. He immediately did his "yummy yummy yummy" sign, and opened his mouth wide for more. I'm so proud of him. :)

He never stops surprising me.

Like I mentioned in another post, I've been trying to teach Noah sign language to compensate for him not feeling the need to talk right away. I found a book recently that had a slightly different approach where if the baby is over eleven months old, you can do an "express version." All this is, is signing the word for "more" at every possible chance for a week before moving on to new words. We started on Monday. On Wednesday we were playing one of our silly games, and when I asked him if he wanted more, he grabbed my hands and made me do the sign for "more. " I just about died laughing. I was definitely not expecting that! Now I'm just waiting for him to do it with his own hands. :)

An adventurous week

We've had an adventurous week here in the Brahm family. Well, actually, the Brahm family, and half of the Briner family. This past week was by brother and sister's Spring Break, so they flew out here to Fresno to see us. This was the first time anyone from my immediate family has been out here to visit, so it was pretty nifty, especially since Noah's never really been around either of them long enough for him to get comfortable with them. That problem was fixed, as you will see. So, this blog post is a guided tour of the week for those of you that can sit though an excessively long post. There's pictures though, so that'll help hold you're attention, right?

Friday

Nathanael and Chloe flew into LAX because the airfare was so much cheaper than flying into Fresno, so we drove down to LA on Friday and had dinner with with Josh's grandpa, and also with his cousin Matt and his wife Lyndsay at The Coffee Table Bistro in Eagle Rock. I don't particularly like hanging out with people I don't know very well, but this was fun. I wish we lived closer to LA so we could hang out more often. After dinner we went back and watched a DVD with Papa, and then went to bed.

Saturday

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and went with Papa on the way to the airport to see his ministry that he does every Saturday. After that, we were headed to the airport, but of course, had to stop off at a donut store to pick up some donut with a ridiculous amount of chocolate in it for Josh. :)

As of now, I'm not a fan of LAX. We quickly found the terminal we needed, but their flight

wasn't on the screen. How dumb is that? Delta is BASED in Atlanta, and they don't have their flights from ATLANTA on the screen. *rolls eyes* Anyways, we asked around and found where they would be coming to meet us, and found them without any trouble. Then we headed to find food, and go to the beach. We found the best little restaurant where we could sit on the patio and look out onto the ocean. Good food too. :)

Noah has been to the beach before, but he wasn't really old enough to do much, or really care what was going on. This time, he LOVED it. Definitely his Momma's child. :) He did have a little trouble getting used to the whole walking-on-sand thing, but he figured it out eventually. There was no hesitation what-so-ever. He went full speed into the ocean, squealing the whole time. I always have a hard time not getting completely soaked, no matter how cold the water is, and this time was no different. I was drenched up to my waist, and Noah ended up in just his diaper.

As you can see, Chloe managed to only get her feet in. I don't think the ocean has quite the hold on her that is seems to have on Noah and me. She liked watching her crazy sister, and her favorite nephew though, as long as she didn't have to get too wet. Josh and Nathanael were there too, obviously, but they stayed up on the beach and pretended to be "cool," and took pictures of us while we played.

Sunday

Sunday was Easter. Josh had to get up at the shoulder blade of dawn and go down to Visalia, about an hour away, to play for an Easter service there, so we were heathens, and didn't go to church on Easter. We only have one car, so we didn't really have a choice in the matter, because I'm not going to get Noah up at 5am. After Josh got back, we went out to TGI Friday's for lunch. I know, I know, it's Easter, what are we doing at TGI Fridays? Well, Josh is not a huge fan of traditional Easter food, so I don't bother making it since I'll end up eating it all and gaining 50 billion pounds. So, TGI Friday's it was. Besides that, Nathanael and Chloe had never been. When asked if she has any thoughts about TGI Fridays, Chloe says, "yummy." She also got her very first Jamba Juice experience on Sunday, since they don't have any in GA. Nathanael didn't want to try it though. Oh well, his loss.

We came home, and gave Noah his Easter basket, which was probably more fun for me than for him, but he really liked some of the toys in it, and we still have plenty of Easter candy that he's working on. He particularly liked the two spikey ball things. He walked around with those for awhile after getting them, and they're still a favorite, a week later. They've stood the test of time. Hehe. He really likes Mr. Froggie too, but I already knew he would since he picked it out. He just didn't get to have it until Easter. He thinks it's hilarious when I make Mr. Froggie jump and make him "ribbit."

Monday

Monday was relatively boring. I took Chloe and Noah to the mall and we went shopping at one of our favorite stores, Forever 21, let Noah play in the play place, shared a frozen coffee, and attempted to get a stuffed animal with "The Claw," and of course, failed.

Tuesday

Tuesday we went to In 'n Out since if anyone goes to CA, they must try In 'n Out. We all got Double Doubles, except for Noah, he just got a cheeseburger, and fries well done. Blah. I hate their fries. I try them every time, and every time I remember why I don't like them. Kind of like mildly salty foam. Appetizing, eh? They liked them though, so I guess they like mildly salty foam. When asked what she thought about In 'n Out, Chloe says, "Yummy. Best burger EVER."

After In 'n Out, we went to Woodward Park, and chased the geese/ducks. Well, Noah did- Nathanael and Chloe weren't too sure about getting too close since the things hiss a lot. Noah loves them though. He "talkes" the most often around any kind of animals, and around water. Maybe he'll be a marine biologist. Ugh. That sounds like an awful job, but hey, that's just me.

This was really the first time Nathanael and Noah

got to play. We played Noah's very favorite version

peek-a-boo, where I swing him up near someone's

face and then swing him down, and back up.

The last picture cracks me up every single time I see it. He doesn't know what he's doing, but I still think it's hilarious. :)

Wednesday

Wednesday we just hung out around here and went out to play on the golf course and as you can see, they guys did computer stuff.

Thursday

Thursday we went up to Millerton Lake. Noah and I have been there before, but this was the first time Josh had gone. After going in the wrong entrance, and driving the wrong way for awhile, we found where we wanted to be.

It's hard to see in this picture, but it was clear enough that day to see the Sierra Nevada's with the snow on the tops of them. I love being able to see the mountains.

I found a rock a little ways into the lake and I stood on it and did "Cannon Balls" with Noah. As you can see, he was in heaven. My arms and back were sore for three days after this. I think we will definitely be going back a few times this summer since Noah obviously liked it so much. :)

Friday

I don't really remember what we did on Friday....oh yeah. We went to the Dog House Grill for dinner and let Nathanael and Chloe have their very first taste of tri-tip.

Saturday

Saturday we went up to Yosemite. I have the worst luck up there. The first time we went, it was so foggy I never got to see half dome. The second time I went up there, it was really foggy until right when we left that night, so I kinda sorta got to see half dome. This time, it was clear, but overcast. Still the best I've seen though. The waterfalls were amazing. This was also the first time I've seen snow up there, and we definitely took advantage of that.

We hiked to the bottom of Vernal Falls first. I took the sling to carry Noah in, but he didn't want to have too much to do with that. Since he's started walking he wants to walk by himself as much as possible. He doesn't seem to mind being on my shoulders though. I was usually the one wanting to take breaks on the way up there since I had an extra 25 pounds attached to me. An example of one of our breaks is over on the left. Look at Noah...all acting like he's exhausted. :)

Once we got to the top we found someone to take a picture of all of us, and then we utelized Chloe to take some of just our little family.

Nathanael was nice enough to carry my sling for me, but he didn't realize he still had it on until after the picture was taken. Hehe. Oh yeah, and I'm the pale one of the family. At least until summer. :)

Although there were plenty of people around to take our picture for us, we had to do the classic stick-your-arm-out-to-take-a-picture picture.

Josh talked Nathanael into doing a "male model" picture. I personally, love the sling. It gives him a Roman look. Now all he needs are gladiator sandals to complete the ensemble.

After hiking back down from Vernal Falls we made a quick stop in the general store to get a snack for Noah, and a drink for us, and then headed for Yosemite Falls. Oh yeah, Chloe and I switched shoes before that little hike. I'm not even sure you can call that a hike. Anyways, her feet really hurt 'cause she was stupid and wore Converse shoes instead of tennis shoes, so I switched shoes

with her.

She was more comfortable, but me, not so much. They were too small to begin with, and then I have extra wide feet, and she does not have extra wide shoes by any means. I'm pretty sure those things were in about as much pain as I was from stretching over my massive feet. It was totally worth the discomfort to see Yosemite falls in April though. We took plenty of pictures, and let Noah run around and play for awhile, and then we headed back to the car. On the way back, we found lots of snow for us to play in....at least until we got too cold to play in it. I didn't know there would be snow, so I didn't bring proper attire for Li'l Bit. He was a big fan in spite of being slightly chilly.

Sunday

Sunday we got up and drove back down to LA to take them to the airport. After dropping them off, we headed to Santa Monica beach to hang out there for a little bit before getting back into the car for another 4 hours. I restrained myself a little better this time at the beach and only got my feet in. Noah too. We were very proud of ourselves. Unfortunately there aren't any pictures of that since it was "Hey Josh! Let's go to Santa Monica. I want to see the Pier," type of thing. It was really nice though because they have a playground and stuff so Noah got to play on the swings for the first time in a really long time. He LOVED them. He squealed and laughed for about 15 minutes straight. It was awesome. I'm totally going to find swings around us somewhere.

And that is the end of the longest blog post ever. I hope all 5 of you weren't too bored by my narrative.