Weekend Getaway Complications

I started this over on FB, but as always, I have too much to say for there.

We'd like to do a weekend getaway around the end of September.  We don't really do summer vacations, because we don't like hot weather or lots of people!   We need somewhere within driving distance because flying is just too much trouble for a short trip.

Now, Ching and I like nice hotels with pools and hot tubs and big comfy beds.  Ok, Noah likes a lot of that, too.  We like to gamble and eat good meals.  Noah likes to run, run some more, chase some kids around a park, and watch his videos.  He's not really into zoos, or amusement parks, or things like that yet.

We've learned that if we take him somewhere, there had better be good places to do lots of walking/running.  It's harder to keep him entertained on the road than it is at home.  And there's also the chance there won't be a nap for us to get some down time.

Also, as we had reinforced the other night, we don't have to worry about Noah becoming addicted to playing games on a device anytime soon.  We used to could to out to eat and he'd eat his snacks, and then play some aps on the kindle.  Not anymore.  Once he's done eating he yells, "GET OUT" until we get him out of the high chair.  This usually happens just as we're in the middle of eating our entres, which means one of us gets to take him outside while the other gets the boxes, settles the check and all that fun stuff.

So, back to that getaway.  We found a cool place in West Virginia (about a four hour drive) that is a small hotel in the woods/at the base of the mountain.  There are trails and a big creek and not very many people.  There's also no good restaurants.  I like the idea of spending some time outdoors and think Noah would really like it.

Then there's also a Great Wolf Lodge/Busch Gardens/Colonial Williamsburg about two and a half hours from here.  We don't think he'd like Williamsburg.  He's also not a "water kid".  We went to a swimming party and it took him fifteen minutes just to get his feet into the pool.  He never did play in the water by himself, he was in Ching's arms the whole time.  The plus side is everything is indoors at Great Wolf, so weather is never an issue.  There would be lots of kids for him to chase around.  And there are some things other than water activities.  Again, though.  No good food or gambling for us big kids.

Third option is Atlantic City.  Noah really enjoyed the boardwalk last time we were there.  He wasn't too crazy about the beach.  We're not thrilled with the beach either, but it's not terrible.  The problem here is what do we do with Noah while we do a little gambling or go eat at an adult restaurant?  I found two babysitting services for Atlantic City, one in business since 1998.  But is that something we'd be comfortable with?  Maybe.  Ching does have some family in NJ, but we're not sure they could meet up with us.

It just seems like it should be easier to pick a place!

He's growing up so fast!

  When I pick him up, Noah's legs dangle almost below my knees, and at the rate that he has been growing, when he's 5 or 6 years old, he'll probably be at least at my chest level.  Part of that has to do with his donor's height, which is 6'2", and part of that was probably due to how tall my father was, at 6'4".  Myself, at 5'6", is the shorter one compared to my sister, who is around 5'7" or maybe a bit taller.
  Besides Noah's height, he is also speaking more, in ways which we understand better, and that is an improvement.  However, he will definitely need speech therapy.  We will try to work that in with the upcoming event of him attending preschool.  Two things which I think work to his advantage are that he is a very social child, and he's naturally curious.  We also have noticed that he enunciates words better when he's "singing".  Therefore adding some more exposure to music in terms of maybe getting him some more varieties on his ipod, or even maybe music lessons (but we are not going to push him) will be ways to help him better his speech.
  Even with the latest difficulty of  eating out with him (chronicled in the last entry), he is still the best tempered child around.  I cannot remember the last time that he had thrown a fit (he does, just ever so rarely).
  He's also now calling both of us "Mommy!" and still gets crazy when I'm at home.  Keeping him occupied, well fed, and entertained now surpasses everything else.  I don't really miss that much of anything else, except for the occasional t.v. watching.
  Life is pretty good so far, aside from the doom and gloom of Obamacare, corrupt politicians, angry lesbians, and you can fill in the rest of blanks, having Noah around helps us stay as grounded as we could!

Noah Now

Well, our little boy is growing up.  He weighs in at 36 1/2 pounds and is 39 inches tall.  I was surprised that only puts him in the 80th % for height.  Not that we're complaining, he's plenty tall!

If I only had one word to describe him, it'd be goofy.  Wait, or maybe sweet.  It's a close call. 

Here's what he's up to these days.

Viewing preferences:  He loves Curious George, Mickey Mouse - old episodes and new Clubhouse ones, Sophia the First (my only guess is he likes the music), and he still watches Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends sometimes.  He hasn't watched his Japanese movies much lately, but some. 

Food preferences:  It's all about cheese and crackers.  The little pages of crackers that come with the cheese and little red stick, ritz crackers, string cheese.  Then it's all about apple sauce and yogurt.  He eats the Fage yogurts with the fruit you mix in.  He's dropped a lot of his fruits.  Nerdstar will make them into a shake some nights.  He loves white grape juice and his nightly before bed milk. 

Actually, his real favorite food is a McDonald's chicken nugget happy meal with lemon aid and then ice cream after.  He'll sing-song "french fries, chicken, ice cream" all the time! 

His favorite song right now is "Snow Day" from one of his "For The Kids" cds.  Some mornings I just put it on repeat so I can go make my coffee and get a couple of things done before he's ready to get out of his crib.

Our days are pretty routine.  He wakes up anywhere between 8 and 9 a.m.  When he wakes up, he yells "HI" until one of us comes upstairs.  This is because one of the first things we've always said to him in the morning is "hi handsome!"  Then he usually demands "Snow Day" and jumps up and down in his crib to it for five to fifteen minutes. 

After he's actually out of bed, it's time for either Curious George on the computer or Sophia downstairs on the tv.  He'll say "stairs...  T" for that.  He usually lets me shower while he's watching T, if not, I'll put him in his room to play while I shower. 

Then it's time to get him dressed and either run errands or go to the park, or both.  We'll play at the park about 45 minutes in the mornings, then he wants to go back and play another 45 minutes or so once Nerdstar gets home.

Thankfully, he still naps from around 1:30 to 4 or so.  I have no idea how long it actually takes him to get to sleep, but as long as he stays in his crib and doesn't cry it's ok with me. 

After his nap it's usually more George or Sophia or play time until Ma gets home. 

We're working on bath time being about 8:30, then more play time in his room, then bed time by 10.  It's hard to get in dinner and park time and everything else before bath time.  He loves his bath, lets Nerdstar brush his teeth and then he brushes them. 

He has slept with a glow worm from the time he started sleeping in his crib instead of his bassinet.  He still has it and still loves it.  He also has two Pooh Bears, a small pillow pet, a small pillow from when he had his adenoids out, his longtime blanket and a new blanket, and now his Mickey Mouse.  Plus, he usually wants one of this little school buses, trucks, or cars in the bed, too. 

Our only current complaint is that he's getting harder to go out to eat with.  For a long time, he was content to eat his snacks and then play his game on the kindle.  Now, the kindle no longer holds his interest and he just wants to eat and then literally run around the restaurant.  Ugh.  We really need to up our cooking skills.

So Cute It Hurts!

These are the bongos and Mickey Mouse we got Noah for his birthday.  Last night, after his bath, he just started playing the bongos and singing!  Our hearts melted!

Turning Three!

Tomorrow, Noah turns 3.  We did a little party for him this evening.  (Very little, one of Ching's army buddies came over.)  Not having family in town makes it hard to be motivated to do a bigger party.  Also, Noah still doesn't understand what a birthday is.

So, we got him some little bongos, because he likes watching Curious George play them.  And we got him a Mickey Mouse stuffed figure because he saw one at a friend's house and loved it and loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse these days.

We got a couple of balloons and an ice cream cake.  He would have simply preferred getting a cone and McDonalds. 

Park Time

Change is Coming

One thing we've consistently said is that we can make our plans for Noah, right up until those plans come in touch with the reality of who Noah becomes.

I don't think it's any secret I'm not a big fan of public schools, especially when it comes to boys, and then even more so when it comes to our boy.  When Noah started noticing other kids at the park and playing chase and such with them, well, my thoughts started to change.  He really, really likes being with other kids.

Yesterday, at the park, a school bus pulled up with about 25 kids who were going to play on the playground before going to the water park.  He stood there mesmerized as they all walked over to the playground and eventually found three or four boys to hang out with.  Today, there were two kids playing when we got to the playground, but they soon left.  Then, a lady with four kids came and when he saw them get out of their car he stood there and waved and said hello before they even saw him on the playground.

So...

I had put in an application at one pre-school that Noah's speech people had recommended.  It's through a Methodist church, doesn't require potty training, and works with kids like Noah who might be a little delayed in speech or other areas.  I got a call about two weeks ago saying there was a wait list for the morning sessions, and said that was fine.  They have two day a week and three day a week options from 9 to 12.

I got a call this morning saying he could start in the three day a week classes.  I'm still hopeful the two day a week will open up, but three is fine.

I'm already sad about how much I'm going to miss him.

I know this will be good for him for so many reasons other than just letting him hang out with other kids and make friends.  And those things will be good, but they don't matter as much to me.

Noah is the sweetest kid I know, and out going.  He's easy going and happy.  I'm all on board with this pre school thing, unless it starts to change our boy.