Snow and San Diego

As I'm sure everybody reading this knows we have had record snowfalls here in Baltimore this winter. It has been both nice (Chris has had more time off, we've been able to get the house in order, and fun in the snow) and annoying (lots and lots of shoveling, cancelled plans, panic at the grocery store). I would say Noah tolerates the snow. His snowboots have not been a hit with him which means if I want to get him outside he wears his tennis shoes so he can only stay on the shoveled pavement, which he enjoys. He karate chops the snow, laughs at the dog running around like crazy and loved walking in the empty streets. I think we've all had about enough snow for awhile and are impatiently waiting for spring to arrive.

About 3 weeks ago all the animal sounds we've been teaching Noah finally clicked. He can now woof for the dog and whine for Chance, moo for the cow, quack for the duck, ah ah for the monkey, hoot for the owl, smack his lips together for the fish, growl for the lion and dinosaur (and pretty much any other animal he doesn't know the sound for) and he tries to make a sound for an elephant and throw his hand up in the air. He will also sniff the flowers in his books.

He also blows on his food no matter what it is. And gives kisses freely - my favorite! Everyday it seems he is picking up on something new and he finds himself as funny as we find him, breaking out that adorable smile and infectious laugh often. He has also continued on the path of becoming quite the daredevil. I came out of the bathroom yesterday to find that he had used his chair to climb on to the rocker's arm and was straddling it like a horse rocking back and forth. He has become more adventureous on the stairs and continues to try to climb on top of anything and everything. So, we have to keep a close eye on him and hope that when he does topple over or off of something he does it gracefully :o)

Noah and I just returned from sunny, warm San Diego where we had a great time visiting my brother, sister-in-law, and their 5 kids. It was loud and crazy and fun and we both miss it so much after being in this quiet house for a few days. Noah loved his baby cousin Jameson - hugging him and giving him kisses. He loved being able to play outside especially with their cool cars and loved having playmates every day. I'll post pictures soon.