Noah at Three

Today is Noah's third birthday. Noah at three:

• Is even better than he was at two, if that's possible.
• loves the color orange. It has entirely replaced yellow as his favorite color. He's still very picky about what he wears (preferably orange). Such a diva! Sadly, this can make getting ready in the morning (or even putting pajamas on at night) a difficult experience.
• Talks all the time and says the funniest things. The other day, Darren was getting dressed with Noah in the room and when he was done, Noah turned to him and said "Daddy, you look cute!"
• Knows all the sounds that the letters make and tries to sound things out on occasion. He can count unassisted to at least 50, and sometimes higher. He's so smart and I'm so proud of him. He also really likes the globe in our living room and can always find Virginia (where Noah lives), England (where Grandma Jean lives) and China (where mommy has gone a couple times this year for work).
• Thinks garbage trucks are the coolest things on earth. We have several toy garbage trucks and they are his favorite toys. He also loves to watch videos of garbage trucks on YouTube (I cannot believe how many people record their garbage truck picking up trash and post it on the Internet). And, when he has the opportunity to see a garbage truck in person... well, that's something special. He'll tell you if the truck is a rear loader, a side loader or a front loader.
  
• Really enjoys puzzles. Grandma Jean has brought Noah a number of puzzles from England and he loves to work with us to put them together.
• Has started watching cartoons and other kid shows over the last year, though he still doesn't really have the attention span to watch most movies. The exception to that rule is Charlotte's Web (the Dakota Fanning version, not the cartoon version). He loves it and calls it "Pig and Spider." As for TV shows, his favorites right now are The Wiggles (my least favorite), Micky Mouse Club House, and Handy Manny. Sometimes he watches Sesame Street (he likes Elmo) and he enjoys The Muppet Show, which we have on DVD (the first season from the mid 1970s). Earlier this year he was really into the Leap Frog DVDs, and I can't say I was sorry to see the back of those.
  
• As for music, he seems to really like the Beatles, but he happily listens to anything we have on in the house.
  
• Is still a big fan of the cats. Audrey especially seems to be his favorite.
  
• Often says "Mama, let's cuddle." Can you imagine how that makes my heart melt?! If Darren hugs me, Noah will come over because he wants to be part of the hug and sometimes will announce out of the blue that we're a family. Love that.
  
• Is a great sleeper. He has a relatively late bed time for a kid his age-- I usually start the bedtime routine around 8:30, which means he's usually asleep close to 9 pm.
  
• The reason the bedtime routine takes so long is because I'm really struggling with Noah about the potty. He's 3 now, but far from potty trained. He'll go at night before bed and sometimes in the morning if I really coax him, but he only rarely says he needs to go potty and he has never actually gone at school. It's the one thing I wish would change. I'd love to stop paying for diapers.
  
• Is a huge fan of books. We read every night before bed, and often during the day. His favorite books right now are Dr. Seuss books -- the Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Wacky Wednesday, Mr. Brown Says Moo Can You and Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now. Earlier this year he was really into the Lorax and Fox in Socks, but they've seemed to fall out of favor. He went through a stage where we had to read Where the Wild Things Are every night, but no longer. He also likes Eric Carle's Papa Can You Get the Moon for Me? and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The Pigeon books and Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems are still big favorites. He also likes We're Going on a Bear Hunt and the book about the Mole who got pooped on... the kid has a sense of humor and loves potty humor (even if he won't go on the potty himself).
  
• He'll watch football with Darren and yell out the names of the players (Rooney!! Scholesy!! Giggsy!! Fletch!! Fergie!!). Maybe he'll get interested in the World Cup this summer.
• Is really enjoying the pool so far this summer. No fear of water.
• His best friends are Mia, Greydon, Sienna, Sophia, Gabriel, and Isaiah. We were all sad when Micah moved to Hawaii...
• Is really enjoying Tendersteps (his daycare/school). We are always grateful to Sangeeta and Danette for being the best teachers in the world and loving him like family.
  
• Sometimes calls Darren Da Da (which Darren loves) and almost always calls me Mamma, though I'm hearing Mommy more and more often these days.

Here are links to Noah at Two and Noah at One so you can see how he has grown and changed.