I didn't know you could yodel!

Yesterday morning, Noah crawled into bed with us. We had some fun, giggly, family time, but the best part was this conversation:
Geary: Knock, knock!
Noah: Who's there!
Jeana: Little Old Lady
Noah: Oh! Come on in, little lady!
Jeana: No, say, "Little Old Lady, who?"
Noah: Okay, Who Little Lady!
Jeana and Geary: (giggles)
Noah (shrugs): Okay, see you later Old Lady...bye!

Our First Find

On our second attempt at geocaching, we made our first find! We didn't use a GPS, but we printed out a list of clues from other people who had found the cache and were able to find a little box of treasures (rubber ball, beaded mermaid, plastic car, eraser, etc.) at Green Lake! It was so exciting! I think we are really going to get into this geocaching thing. Other exciting news: We saw over 40 rabbits while walking around the lake, and we put in a bid for a Magellan 100 GPS on ebay. We bid $0.99. So far we are the highbidder...*grin*.

Giddy

We just got back from seeing Star Wars Episode III. I laughed, I cried, it was action packed. Yoda rocked. But the thing that made me REALLY excited was the trailer for the Narnia movie coming out on December 9th! Excuse me while I go make a place on the shelf for the DVD and label it with my P-Touch.

Hello Boy. Hello Girl.

Last night we had dinner with Grandma Lila, Grandpa Eldred, and the Johnsons. Lili, EJ, and Noah were playing with a Magna Doodle. Noah would tell EJ what to draw or Eric would draw something and ask the kids to identify it. It was kind of like watching a toddler's Rorschach Test.

When this drawing came up (reproduction) Noah immediately said, "Car!" But Lili said, "Hey! That's a purse!"

Sunshine!

It has been so beautiful outside that Noah and I went to 2 different parks yesterday. I just didn't want to be inside. After Geary was done with track practice we went to another park and watched a little league game. We didn't know any of the kids, but we just decided to pick a color and root for them! Noah is now really exited about baseball. My favorite quote about baseball from Noah is, "Good job, boy! Hit and Run!"

Cheese!!!

Noah's first response when a camera comes out. I like how he's almost winking here. I also like how he is posed like the Verizon guy. "Can you hear me now?"

Our Little Parrot

I overheard this conversation while Geary was putting Noah in pajamas:

Geary: You're athletic!
Noah: You're a lettuce!
Geary: You're superb!
Noah: You're super!
Geary: You're exquisite!
Noah: You're a squeeze it!
Geary: You are...
Noah: You are!
Geary: Wonderful!
Noah: Water ball!
Geary: Wanna go put your diaper in the trash?
Noah: Yes, sir!
Geary: Where did he learn "Yes, sir??"

Treasure Hunters

Some friends from college have sparked our interest in geocaching. People all over the world hide caches of little treasures and give you GPS coordinates and clues on how to find them. We don't actually have a GPS, but I'm sure we could find the caches with good old fashioned treasure hunting skills! We are always talking about being a tourist in our own town, so this seems like a fun family hobby that would not only take us on adventures, but also teach us about our neighborhood. I ran a search for any geocaches within 5 miles of our house and there were 96!! A search for caches within 2 miles produced 28! This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!

Grandpa Time

Noah has this little people figurine (this is taken from a storybook)
He has named this little mechanic "Grandpa", I think because my dad has a mustache and is a mechanic. This morning I overheard Noah saying in his deep pretending voice, "Come on, Grandpa! Let's get in the truck!" And then later, "Mommy? Grandpa wants to play in the sandbox. Right Grandpa?"

LinhART

"I make the fishies"
Artist: Noah James Linhart (age 2)
Medium: My First Crayola (a.k.a. Chunky) and Bic Round Stick

On the right side of the page about halfway down is Noah's first triangle. Pretty good, eh?

Want to see what Jeana was doing while Noah colored?

The Gwirl at the Park

Yesterday at the playground,

Noah (pointing to an 8 year old): Mommy, what's that?
Jeana: She's a girl. Why don't you ask what her name is?
Noah: Hi, gwirl*! What you name, gwirl?
Girl: (stares blankly at Noah)
Noah: My name Noah. What you doing, gwirl?
Girl: (ignores Noah and goes down the slide)
Noah: Good job, gwirl! Yay! You did it!
Girl (running to her mom): That baby is talking to me! It's creepy!
Noah: Come back, gwirl! I not done with you!

*rhymes with squirrel

Gee, thanks

This morning, while watching me put on some lipgloss.
Noah: Mommy? Why you coloring your face?
Jeana: So I can feel pretty.

After lunch, Noah hands me a black crayon.
Noah: Here. Color face, Mommy. You need more pretty.

Megan

Geary and I were appreciating our friendships last night when he reminded me of a funny conversation we had with my friend Megan. We had just moved to Seattle and were just getting to know Megan and how to get around town.
Megan: What church do you go to?
Jeana: Maple Leaf...it's on Roosevelt and...something. Sorry, I don't know the street names very well, yet.
Megan: Oh! I know where that is! My house is just down the hill from it. You know the side of the hill that goes down? I'm at the bottom of the hill.
Geary: Don't ALL sides of a hill go down?

Somebody has a Hero...

Last night Noah was holding his yellow blanket over his shoulders and head in semi-cloak/semi-cape style. I asked if he was pretending to be Superman. At first it seemed like he was going to answer yes, but then he shook his head, dropped the blanket, thrust his fists into the air, and in a deep (for a 2 year old) voice, said, "I Uncle E.J.!"

So...

Noah has discovered the word "so" and has been putting it to great use. Examples:

I'm SO naked.
I'm SO sleepy.
I'm SO hungry.
I'm SO excited!
I'm SO busy!

I know you're thinking that he learned, "I'm SO busy" from me, but that is actually not the case. Noah says "busy" when he means "dizzy" and his other new habit is spinning himself around and then attempting to run a straight line. He usually crashes and then he'll lay there moaning, "I'm so busy....I'm SO busy...oh, goodness, I'm so busy..."

Call1-800-GRANDMA

Jeana: Noah, it's nap time.
Noah: No!
Jeana: Yes. Come on, put your toys away.
Noah: No! Not nap time, right now.
(several minutes of whimpering and moaning)
Noah: Mommy? It's not nap time! It's grandma time!

Like Totally!

Noah has really been into undressing and dressing himself lately (remember, he's furry, himself). Tonight, he took off his pants and exclaimed, "I'm SO naked!"

Manners Monster

Lately Noah has been shouting, "Go Away!" when he wants to do something himself. It was funny the first time, but since we've witnessed him being rude to friends and strangers, we've tried to give him other ways to express himself. Last night I picked Noah up to put him in bed and he pushed against me saying, "No, Mommy! I'm furry myself!" Yeah, it took me a moment to realize he was saying, "I prefer to do it myself."

What's black and white and red all over?

"I'm pretending to be a train! A firefighter-dog-firetruck-train!"
-Noah James Linhart, 2 years old.