(my much overdue post about Noah. feel like its pretty long - and hope it starts to make up for a skimpy, 2nd-child baby book :) feel like i could go on forever with these posts, and have to force myself to just stop typing...)
Noah B. Our middle son. A boy filled with such sweetness and great love. He amazes me each day with his tenderness and kindness. With his love for others. With his empathy and thoughtfulness of others. His heart amazes me.
Noah loves to laugh. He has this awesome belly laugh that makes me laugh when I hear it. He gets carried away whenever his brothers do something funny, when there is fun music playing on the
ipod, whenever he can, really. He's also a five-year-old boy, so he's big on the potty humor these days (which is not allowed, but still creeps in). The other day I was read a line in a book that was "B is for the Butler who snuck away in the night." He started giggling immediately and said, "mom...you said butt...." I explained what a butler was and still 2 minutes later he flipped over and in a sing-
songy voice said, "mom....look at my butler..." He said it with such a sweet face and such a funny laugh, I couldn't help but giggle myself. :)
This picture is the epitomy of Noah to me. Snuggled up. Laughing. Eyes twinkling. It also perfectly demonstrates his combined shyness in new situations/yet interest in what is going on. I love it.
He is such a snuggler (at least with me, and lately with Mike and his brothers too). He's big on physical closeness and touch. When he wakes up in the morning, he'll come find me and ask for "loves". If I'm laying around on the floor or the couch while we're talking, its not unusual for him to snuggle right in. He loves to give and receive huge hugs and still loves kisses (though I'm guessing as a boy, he'll drop these soon).
Noah has not been a huge sports nut to date, but he does love to play outside. He loves to swing (still learning how to pump his legs) and especially loves a huge "underdog" push. He loves playing with his brothers in the playhouse treefort and jumpy slide and he always has a ball on nature hikes (though he'll assure us on the drive there that he does NOT want to go. :).
Noah decided just last week that he wanted to start taking karate with Miles and some other neighborhood boys. I'm excited that he's interested in it. Noah can be pretty clumbsy (the type of kid that will be eating his dinner one minute and one the floor the next minute) and it is no surprise to me that he has already knocked out two teeth (one during a chasing match with his brothers about a year ago and another due to a wrestling match with Mike last week). His second tooth popped out midway through his first karate class. Think it made him feel like a rock star amidst all of the "big kids". :)
If Noah is anything, he is a brother. He adores is brothers. He loves them unconditionally. He wants nothing more than to be with them. Always. Noah lights up around Griffin. He's constantly hugging and picking up Griffin (sometimes to Griff's dismay) and he loves to run around with Griffin, making up silly games or just playing back and forth with their lovies/guys. They are great playmates and laugh a ton together.
Noah looks up to Miles and wants to do everything he is doing. The two share common passions - drawing, legos, etc.. so they are often drawn to the same activities. Noah looks to Miles for affirmation and to share a laugh with. If I take Noah and Griffin on an adventure and Miles does something else, Noah asks about him or mentions periodically that "Miles would like this too". When Noah unwrapped the Lego StarWars Wii game that his grandparents gave him on his birthday, he stopped everything so that he could find Miles and tell him how excited he was that they could play the game together. It was precious and totally something that Noah would do.
Noah is also 'the great encourager'. He is the brother that will listen to his brothers' stories or check out their artwork/project/building and said, "that's cool!" or "wow, I love that!" He's the one that will say, "I want Miles and Griffin to be able to invite a special friend to my party too." When I ask if the boys want a book/movie/game, etc.., he'll look to his brothers and say, "which one do YOU want?" On Miles' birthday I kept overhearing him say, "no, you should go first. Its your birthday." Maybe he's already settling in to the "peacekeeper" characteristic that is common of middle children?
At times, Noah can be very shy and reserved. He gets nervous about new experiences, particularly those where he feels he needs to perform (e.g. school, t-ball) and he'll show these feelings in either tears or clingyness or both (he was pulled out of my car crying about a dozen times during the first few months of school). This circumstantial tentativeness led his teachers to recommend that he attend TK/transitional kindergarten next year instead of going straight to kindergarten. But he also can be very brave when he sets his heart/mind to it...like at his Aunt Dana & Uncle Brad's wedding. After his showing at the rehearsal dinner (very shy/nervous in the beginning and then silly/rambunctious at the end) we decided that he would not be in the ceremony. But, he decided that it was VERY important to him and he knew that he could handle. And he did. He was brave. He stood very still (are wore a smile the entire time). I was very proud of him.
Noah's school held a 'donuts for dad' a couple of months ago. The teachers had documented what all the kids said they most liked to do with their dads. Noah said, "He makes me happy. I wrestle with him. He give me love." In true Noah style, he was the only child that shared how their dad makes him FEEL: HAPPY. It made me teary.
Noah is in a huge wii phase. Favorite games are Lego Batman, Lego Star Wars and Mario Kart. Its not uncommon for his first/last/dinner conversations to be about some intricate aspect of the games. We limit how much all of the boys play, but he is still semi-obsessed with it. Maybe just a boy thing. :)
Noah is a great artist -- loves to draw, do projects. He's also our resident lefty (taking after his Grandpa Bob and his Great-Grandma T). His teachers told me after he'd been at the school for a couple of months that he has great handwriting for a lefty (the best at writing his letters in the class) -- and that he'd often pick the art table when the class had free play (they would have preferred him to pick something more social). I think it was half interest for him and half because he was still figuring out his footing, who is favorite friends would be. Noah loves the ladies at school (and will often get a tiny smile if I talk about his favorite girl/friend at the time) I think because he can be on the more gentle/mind-mannered side (though don't get me wrong, he loves to be silly and can wrestle with the best of them). Soon after, he became good friends with 2 boys across the hall, that have personalities similar to his, and he started meeting them in "the block room" during free play.
Noah can be really animated when he's excited or taken by surprise. He'll raise his shoulders up and give a sweet smile if you tell him something that makes him really happy -- something as simple as "I love you Noah" will bring out this response.
He also makes this very big, opened mouth faces a lot. This particular face was because they saw a caterpillar (or something like that) on this old tractor. You'd get the same response from "hey, should we watch a movie tonight?", "should we go to big daddy's restaurant for dinner tonight?", etc... I love the passion and the exuberance. I totally love it.
Where some people are great thinkers, Noah is a great feeler. He loves so deeply and in turn can feel disappointment and sadness so deeply. I think one comes with the other and that's just the way it is. But, Noah is a guy to have in your corner. He can be tentative about selecting his favorite friends, but once he does, he is tried and true. I think he's going to be one of the guys that continues to make close friends as he grows up, adding one or two here or there, and never letting go of the "old" ones. He's loyal and will love you for YOU.
I love this boy. With all of my heart. I proud to be his mother. And feel blessed for every moment with him. As he tells me everyday and I say right back to him "Noah, I-love-you-to-infinity-and-beyond."
