A lot has happened since I last posted. Well, at least, more interesting stuff has happened in the last week or so that in the previous few weeks, so get ready for a long post. There will be pictures though, so that makes it a little easier to tolorate, right?
Josh has pretty much been working non-stop the last 3 weeks, including weekends, but this last weekend, he had to work at The Big Fresno Fair. Noah loves all the animals at the fair, so we tagged along since Josh was getting his ticket paid for, and we also were able to get parking paid for since it was work related. This year they raised the ticket price to a whopping $10 that I was NOT looking forward to paying. Noah gets in free, but still....$10 for me?! We were standing in line, and I was dreading dishing out the dough, and someone walked up and handed us two tickets. FREE!!! We only needed one of them, so Josh gave the other one to someone who was standing in line. Our trip to the fair ended up being pretty painless as far as the moo-la side goes. I did buy a drink for Noah and I since he got thirsty and we were there for quite awhile, but besides that, we didn't pay for anything else while we were there. Made my day. Thanks Mr. Free Ticket Guy!
Since Josh was working, Noah and I hung our with a friend, who took some pictures for us. At least until the camera battery ran out (which was sooner than I thought). Here are the never-before-seen pictures of Noah checking out the sheep.
I think he'd be perfectly happy if he "accidentally" fell into the sheep stall.
I think it was "bahh-ing" at him.
I'm not sure what he was doing, but his face makes me laugh...or as least smile.
Noah also turned 2 this week. Since Noah is just about the last person in the world that would enjoy people coming over to help him celebrate, so we just did some of his favorite stuff with just our little family. Daddy was even able to take a lot of the day off of work to spend with him. Noah loves his Daddy. Noah had his favorite breakfast, of cocoa crispies and hot chocolate, and then played at home until lunch, and had one of his favorite lunches, a hotdog and strawberries, played some more at home, and then it was nap time. I ran out to spend birthday money from great-grandparents so that I could get stuff wrapped for him so that he could open everything at once and I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. When I got home, I wrapped all his present, which ended up being more than I thought. We stayed within the birthday budget, but I did almost all his birthday shopping at consignment stores, so I ended up with a lot of stuff. By the time I was done with that, it was time for us to go out.
First we went to the park to play. We went way out of our way because there aren't any parks around us that have baby swings, and Noah LOVES the swings.
He's a fan of the slide too.
Tummy time!
Doghouse Grill for dinner. Noah likes the tri-tip so much he occasionally takes a break from the french fries to eat some. That's saying something.
After dinner we went home for cake and present time. "Present time, present time, open the present and see what's inside!" I've been watching too much Blue's Clues....
His brownie cake. A big round Fudgy brownie with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting, and sprinkles. He'll be a diabetic by the time he's 3.
Josh said it was "brilliant." Who says that? Outside of England.
His very first puzzle. I figured one with animals on it would be the best shot at him wanting to do it. I was right. He was playing with it before he even got the whole thing unwrapped, complete with making the animal sounds for each of the animals.
He did it! He was very proud of himself.
His gear toy for his little mechanical mind. When he pushes the button at the bottom it makes all the gears spin. He was in awe over this.
The perfect Noah toy- a kitty cat, and a keyboard. It even meows.
A drum.
This is a pretty awesome toy. He gets to build his own Who-like wind instrument. I think we'll get a lot of use out of this one.
His first remote control car. He's not quite sure what to think about this one yet. It's a little loud, so I think it scares him a little bit. He'll warm up to it soon though, and then the cat better watch out!
So, last year was the year of the books, and this year was the year of the music. I think he had a pretty good birthday.
One of the not-so-fun parts about turning 2 is having to go to the doc-doo for a 2 year physical. I was less-than-thrilled with our pediatrician, so I thought that this would be a good time to change. Noah needed his physical, and I wanted to switch before the new baby came. So, by switching now I could meet the new Dr. right before he comes to check out William at the hospital.
Today was our appointment. I think I'm in love. I mean, he's old enough to be my grandpa, but still...."Wuv...twu wuv." This is the first time I feel like Noah has been thoroughly checked out by a Dr. since he was born. I thought I was going to have to fill out a bunch of paperwork so I was able to get Josh to go with me to help with Noah. I also kinda wanted him to meet the new Dr. with me. The office is farther away than the old Dr.'s office, which I was a little bummed about, but it's worth every extra minute.
Dr. Miller walked in the room quoting Bill Cosby's "Noah" skit, which immediately won Josh over. Dr was very impressed when he quizzed Josh on who he was quoting and Josh knew it right off the bat. He asked us a lot of questions about Noah's history, and then went on to tell me that if I didn't learn anything else from him today that I needed to remember one thing- Never, ever, under any circumstances, let Josh and Noah go out alone. Apparently Noah is a "chick magnet" and all kinds of girls will be swarming all over Josh if he has Noah with him. Hehe... :)
I told Dr. Miller about how Noah still doesn't talk a whole lot at two, and also how he's been constipated for the last year and a half. He's been on meds every day since he was 6 months old, and if Noah doesn't get his full dose, or if he misses a day, he gets all backed up. It's pretty horrible to watch. Screaming, shaking, occasional vomiting, the whole sha-bang. Dr. Miller is actually taking this seriously! He asked if either of us has any lactose intolerance in the family. I have a cousin that's severely lactose intolerant, so he thinks there's a chance that could be what it is. So, we're trying a diet for the next 2 weeks where Noah will be off of milk and chocolate. If it doesn't get any better, he's going to refer us to a gastrointestinal specialist. He told us he really doesn't like the idea of a kid, especially as young as Noah is, being on medication every day of his life, and he wants to know why this is happening and fix it instead of just giving him meds to cover it up. *insert the Hallelujah Chorus here*
It makes me a little sad since I know how much Noah loves dairy products, but if it'll fix this whole constipation problem, then it's worth it.
As far as the talking....he says at 18 months if they're not talking, he doesn't worry about it, but at two, he starts to worry. Some kids just start talking in sentences, but that's not always the case, so he wants to make sure there's nothing wrong, and if there is, start working on it now. So, we're getting referred to a specialist over a Children's Hospital just to get everything checked. He told us that they might say that everything is just fine and send us on our way, or they might decide that they need to keep an eye on him. Either way, he wants to get him checked out. He said that in every other way Noah is perfectly on track for his age, but the lack of talking worries him a little bit.
After Noah got all checked out, he told us a little about himself and the office. He's on his THIRD GENERATION of kids. Geeze. The office is open every Saturday specifically for kids who get sick on Friday night, and during flu season, they're open on Sundays too. Like I said, I'm in love. I've never been one to go to the Dr. at the drop of a hat, but it's nice to know that if I need to, I can get kids checked out on the weekend without having to go to the ER. Our old office closed early on Fridays, so we were pretty much screwed if anything did happen.
Anyways, I'm very happy we switched. Even Josh, who usually doesn't have to go with me, noticed a big contrast in this pediatrician compared to the last one. So, if anyone in Fresno/Clovis is looking for a pediatrician, I definitely recommend Dr. Miller at Northwest Medical Group. Even though it's way out in Timbucktoo.
See, I told you it'd be a long post.
Oh, today marks 2 months until William's born. I have a feeling it's going to go by really fast.
Ok, I'm done now. I promise.
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