March warm-up

March has brought some beautiful days to our yard (well, except for today/tonight while we're waiting for 3-5 more inches of snow). Noah has been thrilled to get out without mittens and play in his backyard again. He has managed to play in the sand box, swing, go down the slide, and mow any patches of grass he can find. We've spent happy hours outside already, getting wet, sandy, and dirty.

Noah and Tractors

Noah still is in love with all things tractor related, such as tractors, combines, plows, cultivators, and trailers.

He really loves John Deere and if cut just might bleed green and yellow blood, but he as of late has also appreciated the power of the International Harvester/Farmall/Case tractors
Below is one of his favorite videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RIBuSNoMAo

Enjoy

Latest stats for this BIG kid

Noah's latest stats:

39 inches tall
36.4 #

All at or above the 95% for children his age.

Noah makes a Music Video.

Noah loves the song "International Harvester" by Craig Morgan.

Here is His version of what the music video should be.

Butter and Jelly?

When Grandma Tractor was here she started a bedtime tradition that has still held on. Bread, Butter and Jelly as a snack.
He seems to like it. Watch the movie.

Nana Tractor comes for a visit!

Brrr is it COLD

Nana Tractor came to the Frozen Tundra called Minnesota this last week to visit Noah his Family. She stayed warm despite the fridgid temperatures outside. Noah and her became best of friends very quickly. Noah was treated (spoiled) by her introduction of late night snacks of bread with butter and jelly and bologna cut into triangles.
Nana Tractor (which is how Noah really calls her and is a great honor no less) played cars, trains and airplanes with Noah until her Knees were sore.

And where was Papa Tractor????? You ask

In Hawaii! He had a few Mai Tai's on the beach, flew on a helicopter, and ate exotic food on a boat from Japan.

OK, OK he got to shoot off some really neat Fireworks for Lockheed Martin. So it was technically a working trip for him. Next time Papa tractor can come to Minnesota. I sure he will have a better time.

Keeping Busy and Staying Warm

Noah has been keeping busy and staying warm this early winter of 2008.

Christmas toys have been a big hit as he explores his new found imagination and dreams of warmer days to play outside and help Daddy with chores.

Mommy's Best Christmas Gift

Kristin got the best Christmas gift ever this year. Noah said, "I wuv you" to her today, for the first time. Later at dinner he demonstrated his new skill for daddy by saying "I wuv mommy." Pretty special.

Train Table Boxes & Dinosaurs

Noah still loves the train table and boxes Daddy made for him. All the kids seem to love to climb IN the boxes to play.

The Box was Fun Too!

Noah enjoyed the box his new car seat came in even more than climbing on his car seat!

New Car Seat

Noah's growth is NOT slowing down. He now weighs 36lbs. with his clothes on. In another 1 1/2 inches he will be too tall to use his current convertible car seat with the 5 point harness. Plus, he has officially outgrown the car seat that Grandma & Grandpa use for him. So, out we went to BabiesRUs to look at the only booster car seat found in actual stores that allow a child to remain in a 5 point harness until he/she is 80 pounds. The Britax Regent...only $269.99! But this is the Cadillac of Car Seats, if that makes it any better. There are 1 or 2 other car seats that allow the use of the 5 point harness to 80 lbs, but they must be ordered online. Not ideal if you are concerned the thing will even fit into your car.

So, why the 5 point harness over the car's seat belt system? Some would argue it really is not necessary. Although looking at crash tests it is obvious that the five point harness holds their body in much better support, and allows the distribution of the forces over more areas of their bodies. We only became aware about this last year when someone from church mom's group forwarded a link about it. Kristin cries every time she watches the tribute video clip YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

or go right to the foundation website:
http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/

Noah thought that a new car seat was "great" and we can't get over how little he looks in it!

Checking out the snow!

Noah, Daddy, Cayenne, and Marta all decided to hang out together in the snowy backyard for a while. Noah got some new toasty boots(Kamiks)for some serious snow time. All was fine until he decided he wanted to take his gloves off to play in the sandbox!

Nick & Noah

Nick and Noah dressed alike one day. The only way to catch the 2 busy bodies was while they were watching TV!

Olives!

Noah LOVES Olives...or as he calls them...Olivers! Sometimes we can bribe him to eat the rest of his food with little slices of olives that he likes to put on his finger and then eat. He likes black and green ones equally!

New Look

Well, I thought it was time for a new look to Noah's Blog after 28 months. Can you believe we've made over 400 postings since our "little" guy arrived? Looking back at the archives is a very sentimental journey for us. How one little boy can grow so much is beyond comprehension. Just this last week, no joking, he grew in height AT LEAST 1/2 inch if not more. And we wonder why he gets cranky sometimes. Not only are those 2nd year molars making a VERY slow appearance, but he grows and develops in leaps and bounds!

Noah is an extrovert to say the least. He seems to love anyone and everyone. It is a pleasure to watch him light up the faces of those around him. As my mom and I frequently say, he's a little Italian boy born into a Swedish/German family. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and loudly proclaims them. And has done so almost since day 1! Lucky for us, as much as life can be pretty unfair, there's is also much to get excited about! What joy he brings to us all!

Noah adores Papa and Nana Harrold...and Beember too (Berlin, their dog)! It is incredible for me to watch the bond develop and I thank God every day for this. I only wish Papa and Nana Tractor Scherger lived as close, as I know the bond would be just as strong. For now we have to settle for nice visits and fun memories. Soon we hope Noah will talk more on the phone. Right now he mainly likes to listen and breathe into the phone if you can nab him for a few minutes.

Noah jabbers up a storm. We always know where he is based on the play by play. Never a quiet moment. His vocabulary and sentence structure improves by the day. It's an amazing thing to observe. And he is so pleased with himself!

When we can tear Noah away from his John Deere tractors, Thomas trains, and various assortments of cars, trucks, and construction vehicles, his favorite places are school (his ECFE class), church, playgroups, Adventure Park, the Y, and any farm you can find. He loves to watch Clifford, Thomas, Curious George, and various other PBS shows. He has taken an interest in numbers and letters, and will pretend to name this and that. Some he actually does know and other's are random. It's fun to see the interest and progression though.

And let's not forget that he is 100% boy! Destruction, crashing, derailing trains, torturing the dogs, tackling, falling down on purpose are a part of daily life around here.

Stay tuned here as Steven continues the updates on Noah. And thanks to everyone for their interest in the light of our lives!

Kristin

If you get them started early......

I am sure we are breaking child labor laws......but Noah really wanted to help.

Noah likes the new "snow bower" as he says.

He said that shoveling snow is "fun".

We Keep encouraging him and soon he will be doing it all by himself. ;-)

Lutefisk 2007

This was Noah's 3rd Lutefisk dinner at Zion Lutheran church! Yes Noah ate the stuff this year, but with a little less enthusiasm then in the past.

Let's Go Get the Chrsitmas Tree!

Noah had a great time this year helping cut down the Christmas Tree.

We picked out a wonderful smelling frazier fir this year. Noah made sure we got just the right one.

Christmas Tree

Petting Zoo in the snow

At the tree farm, Noah got a chance to visit with some of his "friends": Horses and llamas and some sheep.

Noah even kissed a horse.

Breakfast with mommy

Noah loves to have breakfast at his table in the living room.

Of course mommies food always tastes better.

First Snow!

Well Noah is pumped. The first snow of the season is here. Noah is getting dressed an ready to enjoy it.

Haircut

Noah got his holiday hair cut, this time he got it cut from his favorite haircut person Faye. Too bad he was not in the best of moods to enjoy it.

But it is done and he looks "better"

Brrrrrrrrrrr it is Cold Outside

Cold weather has finally descended into Minnesota. We woke up this morning to a rather unexpected Cold front that caught us off guard. The forecast was for lows in the teens to 20s but his morning the thermometer said 0 degrees.

Lakes are freezing over, Hunting seasons are starting to come to a close. Ice fishing is around the corner.

Noah's Time outside has been limited to say the least that is upsetting to him. His play in the sandbox is significantly limited.
Noah comes in the House saying "Hands Cold....Ouch...owwie"
Noah does not really like to wear his gloves outside, but the cold may force his hand...per say.

Noah's mouth has been the the most recent focus. Vocabulary has significantly increased with 3-5 words a day spoken that we have never heard before. teething is also an Issue with the last of his molars popping through his red swollen gums.

Soup has been one of Noah's latest foods he likes to eat, perhaps due to the teeth issue. He like Turkey rice soup, tomato and beer cheese. He is continuing to eat and grow like there is no tomorrow.

Photo Shoot Results

On a recent photo shoot Noah was the star of the show! He had a great time working for the photographer despite him coming down with the croup the next day. Here are some of the pictures.

The photographer was very easy to work with and her results say it all.