Noah's Turn

Noah loves art time (even though that smile above is the fakest smile in the world). His favorite colors are black, brown, and white. We have been working on drawing and writing stories together. He is quite creative and most of his stories revolve around dinosaurs or dragons. Here's an example: "Once upon a time there was a lizard. He said, 'Stay away, I'm angry.' He said: 'Go away. You are not in our town.' Then the lion got died, because the lizard cut him with his tail. He put the scissors on his tail, and they opened and closed. Then he cut the lion's sharp teeth. Then the dragon ate him up. (The lion up). Then the lizard was safe." Another page from his journal:

He is becoming more aware of emotions and appropriate ways to handle them. The other day after waking up from his nap, he walked up to me with the saddest Noah face I've ever seen. Holding back tears, trying to control his shaky voice, he stammered: "Mama....I am....kind of.......upset." I asked him why (his box full of dinosaur treasures wasn't where he left it). I helped him find the box I had relocated, and all was well again. I was so proud of him for using words instead of having a meltdown.

Noah is quite the little conversationalist. He interacts in such a grown up way. When we stayed over at Grammy's house for a few days while Uncle Derek and family were visiting, he would start up conversations with the adults in the house. He used the most pleasant tone of voice (use your imagination...reading it just won't do it justice): "Hello, Derek. How was your sleep?" or "So, Grammy, how is your day?" Last Sunday after going to church and playing in the snow, we sat down for hot cocoa and Noah sighed contentedly and said: "What a nice day with the family."

His vocabulary is growing. Lately he has been working on differentiating between comments and questions. He will say: "I have a comment for you. I love you..." and then "Mom, was that a comment? What is a question and what is a comment again?" Or this: "Daddy, I have a question for you. Do you love dinosaurs?...That is a question, right?" Along the same lines, his dinosaur vocabulary is one fit for a paleontologist. Using words such as species, carnivore/ herbivore/ omnivore, Cretaceous Time Period, sail, spine, bony frill, wingspan, etc.

The child is obsessed. I gave him a present for Valentine's Day, the cutest book ever about a little boy who does art. But when he opened it, he started crying and choked out: "But this isn't a dinosaur book!" Since then, I decided to give in to the obsession and not bother him with presents or books or activities that involve subjects other than dinosaurs. And we started Dinosaur School. (This gets a post of its own another day.)

The other day, Papa asked Noah what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer doesn't really make sense, but it was funny: "When I was a big boy, I was a paleontologist. And all the kids came to my dinosaur town and said 'Noah you are so cool!'"

Noah, you are so cool!!