Swimming Lessons

Noah and Sophia had their first day of swimming lessons today. They were great in the pool with the their teacher, Ms. Kristin. I really want him to take lessons because he has absolutely no fear of the water. Usually he goes in with us with water wings (we call them "swimmies"), but these lessons are to get him used to being in the pool without them. He loves to be thrown and go entirely under the water and bob back up, but that's all with the water wings on. It's definitely time for real lessons. We'll see how it goes, but maybe we'll need to do private one-on-one lessons at some point.

One of the things they learned today was how to sit at the side and then turn over onto their stomachs to slip into the pool.

The teacher also tried to show them how to be comfortable on their backs.

Noah seemed a little rigid.

Goodbye Tendersteps

Yesterday was Noah's last day at Tendersteps daycare. While I'm so excited for him that he's starting at Little Acorn Patch for Pre-K this Monday, it is so sad for us to leave Tendersteps. He has been there for nearly 2.5 years, and it has been such a wonderful place for him. We will always be grateful to Sangeeta and Danette for being such wonderful teachers. I always felt comfortable leaving him there. He has learned so much with them. He has always been loved, and he has always been happy. I couldn't ask for a better formative daycare. So, it's with mixed emotions that we say Goodbye Tendersteps. We will miss you.

Four Year Old Stats

Noah went for his four year old well check on Friday. He weighs 41 lbs (85th percentile) and is 41 3/4 inches tall (81st percentile). He had the second MMR, second Varicella and the last in the DTaP series (I think it was the last anyway). He's now vaccine ready for Kindergarten next year.

I have an odd child though. He was so good while getting his shots. He didn't even say ouch. Then, when it was done he told me "That was fun. I liked those shots." I'm not really sure what to make of that. Then he said "I was a little bit afraid, but it didn't hurt." Wow.

Noah at Four

I can't believe that my little guy is four years old. It's just amazing how fast the last four years have gone by. In four more years he'll be eight. Eight. I can't even fathom that. Noah at four:

• Is a truly sweet little boy. I feel like we're so spoiled and lucky to have him because he's just a really easy kid to parent. So easy to love.
• Is a lot less picky about what he wears than he was a year ago. It's a lot easier to get him dressed and he's not so set on specific colors (oh, the days of orange and yellow phases).
  
• Loves to see his grandparents. Nothing is more fun than going to Grandmoo and Papa's house. He loves to point out the trucks and the water towers on the way down I95. He won't stop talking about them the whole way down. It's just a running commentary of everything he sees out the window. He's also really looking forward to seeing his Grandma Jean when she comes to visit us in October. It's always amazing to me how--even though he only sees her once a year-- he always talks about her and knows her immediately when she visits us.
  
• Is obsessed with trucks. He likes all kinds (and apparently I like tankers because he always says "look Mommy, a tanker! It's your favorite), but his favorite kind of trucks are garbage trucks. The kid has a strange fascination with garbage trucks and dumpsters. Hoping this isn't his future career.
• Is such a smart little boy. He's not reading yet, but he memorizes books so quickly, it almost seems like he is. I know one of these days it's just going to click for him. He is really into numbers as well as letters and can recognize numbers up to 1000. He knows his right from left (as in, "Look Mommy! Look at the big blue truck on the left!").
• Still says some really funny, cute things. He loves to play hide and seek, and when he's seeking he will say things like "Where she can be?" in this sweet little voice. The other thing that I love is when he wants to know what day of the week it is, he'll say "What today is it?"
  
• Has my sense of direction. He always knows where we are, and if we take a turn he wasn't expecting, he points it out and asks where we're going.
  
• Also has my love of rides and my stomach, because he LOVED our trip to Dutch Wonderland and all the spinning rides.
• In all other ways resembles Darren.
• His favorite toys are trucks. He also loves his ipod (a birthday present for his third birthday) because he loves to watch you tube. At the moment, he's very interested in a little mini golf putting green that we gave him for his birthday, and his plasma car, another birthday present from Aunt Sue.
  
• He also loves games and puzzles. We've been playing Candy Land for quite some time and we now have Trouble and Chutes and Ladders.
  
• Still loves books. He likes the longer Doctor Seuss books a lot these days. Things like The Sleep Book, The Butter Battle Book and Horton Hears a Who. He's also into The Wump World, The Look Book (also a birthday gift), and the infamous "White Book" which lives at Grandmoo and Pappa's house (and always will). In general, he seems to be looking to branch out to new books lately. I think he gets bored with the old standards.
• Loves movies. He will watch a single movie over and over for a few weeks, then switch to a new one. At the moment, the favorite is 101 Dalmatians, but he also loves the Toy Story trilogy, The Incredibles, and Cars. As for TV, the only channel we really let him watch is Sprout (the PBS pre-school channel). He loves Caillou, Kipper, Fireman Sam, and (unfortunately) The Wiggles. He doesn't really watch the Disney shows at all any longer.
  
• Is still a fantastic sleeper. He wakes up at night maybe once every six months... maybe. And, he's very easy to get to sleep.
• He's still a picky eater. He likes meat and fruit and bread, but really won't eat pasta-- at least he won't eat it at home. He's also not great about eating vegetables. When he does eat veggies, they tend to be things like raw carrots and raw red bell pepper.
  
• Is entirely potty trained. He's even in underwear at night now.
• Is still a big fan of Manchester United. He knows all the players, even the minor ones, and he knows all of their numbers. He loves to put on his "Scholesy outfit" and watch the games with Darren.
  
• Has started swimming lessons. He needs them because he has no fear of the water. He has been wearing water wings and going in with us and totally knows how to swim around and swim on his back if he is wearing them. He'll jump from the side of the pool and go under the water entirely, then bob back up. He doesn't even need to hold his nose.
• Just had his last day at Tendersteps and is getting ready to start at Little Acorn Patch for Pre-K!
• His best friend in the world is Sophia. His other friends are Mia, Greydon, Sienna, C.J. and Wyatt, and the other kids from Tendersteps: Gabriel, Matthew, Lucca, Isabella, Elijah, and of course his sweet little cousin, Evie.
  

Here are links to Noah at three, at two and at one.

Noah and Sophia's Birthday Party

We had a joint birthday party for Noah and Sophia on Sunday morning at a old schoolhouse in Arlington call Carlin Hall. It was a great spot for the party. There was a large room inside to eat and do crafts and a great playground for the kids outside.

The first thing the kids did was to color in shrinky dinks. They each were able to make a necklace and a bookmark to bring home with them.

While the shrinky dinks were baking, the kids got to play outside on the playground.

It was really warm and Noah was dripping with sweat, but enjoying himself all the same.

And of course, there was cake. We had a cupcake cake made so each kid got a cupcake. No slicing needed.

Pre-Party Costco Trip

In preparation for Noah and Sophia's birthday party last weekend, Gretta and I took the kids to Costco to pick up a the food. They just looked so cute in the cart together, I had to snap some pictures. Sophia's such a peanut, it's hard to believe that she's actually older than Noah because she is so much tinier.

More Pictures from our Pennsylvania Trip, Care of David

Sillyness

Self Portraits

This is what happens when your nearly 4 year old gets hold of your camera.

Dutch Wonderland is Wonderful

To celebrate Noah's and Sophia's birthdays, the Wiegolds joined us for a trip up to Pennsylvania Dutch Country. We drove up early Friday morning and spent the day at Dutch Wonderland park, then slept over at a local motel on a farm and then did some Amish tourism activities on Saturday before heading back to Virginia.

Noah and Sophia both loved Dutch Wonderland. It's the perfect park for the 4 year old set. They were big enough to ride almost every ride, and there were rides that really spanned the spectrum between tame and exciting. We learned that Noah takes after me when it comes to amusement parks because he was willing to go on pretty much every single ride and loved them all, even the ones that made Darren a little queasy. Sophia's favorite was the carousel. Noah had too many favorites to name.

Dutch Wonderland has a medieval theme, so there are princesses and knights every where. When you walk into the park, you enter through this castle. Somehow Noah got confused and thought that Pennsylvania is the name of the castle. We're not correcting him.

This is one of the first rides they went on. I wish the pictures could convey the pure love they had for the rides. Noah kept begging to go on more. It's a good thing we went on a weekday because the lines weren't long, if they existed at all, because he wasn't in the mood for patience.

Sophia, ever the princess, passed Noah to the reins so he could drive her around.

That's him on the blue slide going down on his own. He didn't want me to go with him the second time down this slide. Very independent.

Another favorite ride. See the video below.

On Saturday we decided to do some touring of Amish country. Here is the view from our horse and buggy ride.

We had gorgeous weather both days and the scenery is amazing. These are miniature horses at one of the farms.

Dinner at Greydon's House

Sunday night was our monthly dinner with Greydon, Sienna, Mia and their families. It was a beautiful night, so we were able to enjoy dessert outside in the back yard and the kids were able to enjoy Greydon's climbing toys. We also took a walk down to the beach at Lake Barcroft.