Visiting Family and New Sunglasses

Some recent pictures. Our cousin Ariella came to stay with us recently on the way back from her whirlwind world tour. Her first night, we were also lucky to have Jordan in town, and a fun family dinner was had.

A few more pictures...

Noah and me.

Just our little guy.

You may have noticed Noah's awesome Hello Kitty shades. He was absolutely in love with these sunglasses (which, sadly, have broken in the last week), and he wore them all the time. Here are a couple more pics.

Air B Conditioning

ME: "It's getting hot in here. We should turn on the AC."

NOAH: "I'll turn on the ABC!"

Noah runs to the fridge, and activates his LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Toy, and it blares, "A,B,C,D,E,F,G..."

MiniFolman Blog Post, by Kevin Henkes

In the last couple of months, I started telling Noah the names of the authors and illustrators behind the books we read. I want him to understand the notion of authorship, that stories don't just appear out of thin air. Well...

One of Noah's favorite books this summer has been Kitten's First Full Moon, by Kevin Henkes, and, as we've read it many times, Noah seems to have come to the conclusion that Kevin Henkes is the author responsible for all stories in existence.

NOAH: "Dr. Seuss book, by Kevin Henkes!"

ME: "No, Noah. Dr. Seuss writes Dr. Seuss's books. Kevin Henkes writes Kevin Henkes's books."

NOAH: (more enthusiastically) "Dr. Seuss book by Kevin Henkes!"

Now the problem is that Noah realizes how funny we think he is when he ascribes universal authorship to Kevin Henkes, and he knows how to play to his audience. Recently, in the midst of an impromptu rendition of "London Bridge Is Falling Down," Noah closes it as follows:

NOAH: "London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady... by Kevin Henkes."

I'd like to think that our repeated corrections are starting to have their impact, and Noah is starting to figure out that there are other writers beyond Mr. Henkes. Just yesterday, I was reading him the story Knufflebunny, by Mo Willems, an author whose various books we have enjoyed numerous times.

ME: "Knufflebunny, by Mo Willems."

NOAH: "Mo...Willems."

ME: (excitedly) "That's right, honey, Mo Willems. We read a lot of books by Mo Willems. We like him a lot."

NOAH: "Mo Willems... by Kevin Henkes!"

Noah Plays Piano and Sings

Lest there be any doubt who the real piano man in our household is...

An Exciting Week

Noah is officially the owner of a big boy bed.

A little over a week ago, we went to Target as a family to pick out a sheet set, and this past Wednesday night, we all trekked over to Al's Discount Furniture (where two prior beds had been purchased by Folmans) and picked out...Le Bed.

Here it is.

And what follows is Noah's excited reaction upon coming home from school Thursday to find the bed in his room (the pictures are blurry, but I think they nicely capture the moment).

Here, Noah tells Grandma Barbara about his new bed on the phone.

The first storytime in the new bed.

This picture was taken a few days later by my wife, and I absolutely love it. She just happened upon Noah reading to himself in his room and grabbed this shot.

Later that day, Rina and Paul visited us from Massachusetts with their two delightful daughters, Ava and Sonia. There were sprinkler runs, three kids who played adorably with each other, roasted lamb, and much fun all around. Here are a few pictures.

Song #2

The second song I wrote is a short, simple breakup song. While songs #1 and #3 are very personal, I can't say #2 was inspired by any major life drama in particular. I just came up with a hook and a title and then worked backwards, trying to write a song that would fit the chorus.

Lyrics after the jump.

So I've been writing some songs...

After a year in which I've had great difficulty starting projects, I've been overwhelmed of late with a desire to finish things. So I've decided to take some time this summer to work on a few shorter creative projects–things I can start and finish in a comparatively short amount of time—for my own sanity and artistic fulfillment. One thing I've been exploring is children's books. Another has been music.

While my piano skills have never really advanced beyond the step where you memorize Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (...and what's that other one? Roy G. Biv, I believe), I do enjoyed tinkering about, finding chord progressions that appeal to me, etc. Recently, I've decided to take things a bit further and actually try writing some songs. It's been a fun challenge for me, and I've really enjoyed it. I've always wanted to be able to sit down at the piano and accompany myself, and I think it's pretty cool that I now can. The trickiest part for me has been figuring out how to turn chord progressions into something more interesting to hear—and yet not so complex that it proves too much for my unskilled fingers.

Thusfar, I've written three songs. This is the one that started my journey. Hope you enjoy.




Lyrics after the jump

Cactus Flower Season

'Tis the season for the flowers on our cactus to do their work. These flowers each bloom for only about 12 hours, but during that time, they are the kings of the garden and put all other flowers to shame. For size comparison, I took this picture of Noah last year at this time.

So, here are some more pictures of this year's bloom, the most amazing one we've had yet. As you can see below, at one point, we had, I believe, 10 or 11 flowers bloom at the exact same time.

At Dinner Tonight

Me (staring at the odd, crunchy aftermath of an overcooked artichoke): "It's weird."

Noah: "I want some weird!"

Screw Your Lips Beautiful

I love that my son is really into his Home Depot kid's tool set. I also love that he has been pretending the screw/nail combo is lipstick and keeps asking Carin and I if we want some. The world needs more contractor/makeup artists.

[To the lipstick point, a) the sensation of having lipstick sawed onto one's face by a plastic screw is truly a unique one, and b) if I were being judged by the amount of imaginary lipstick on my face right now, you'd think me quite the harlot.]

More June Pictures, Noah and Mommy Edition

At the park, 23 weeks pregnant.

Reading in bed together, 25 weeks pregnant.

Noah Sings His Greatest Hits

Actual album currently on backorder. Please check back for updates.

These video clips were taken from May and June of 2013.

Pictures from Grandma and Poppy's Visit

Grandma Toby and Grandpa Bob were in town this past week, and a fun visit was had by all.  Here are some pics:

Grandma Toby feels some kicks!

To our pleasant surprise, Noah started showing real interest in his T-ball this week.  And skill!

Dinner at Rive Gauche.  Noah didn't eat much of his pasta,
but he did seem to like Daddy's duck. So it begins... 

Our enthusiastic eater

Noah watches the fountain with Grandma.

 

Recent Noah Exploits

Noah is being so awesome so frequently that attempting to chronicle all of his magical moments is an impossible task. Carin and I are constantly kicking ourselves over the things he says and grinning stupidly at the sheer power of his enthusiasm.

This is a boy who runs wherever he goes. And why not? It's faster than walking.

This is a boy who occasionally says hello to his body parts. "Hi foot!"  "Hi penis!"

This is a boy who sings all the time. He is particularly drawn to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle"/"ABC"/"Baa Baa Blacksheep" (which, in case you haven't thought about it, are all the same song). He's been riffing on this tune a lot recently, using whatever syllables he has handy at the moment ("Do do do do do do do..."), and I've definitely heard him combine the melody with another song, which I like to think is his version of jazz.

Recently overheard:

NOAH

(sung to the tune of Barney's 

"I Love You, You Love Me")

I'm all done,

You love me,

We're a shabby shabby shab.

Jazz, right? I mean, he's scatting, isn't he?

This is a boy who is fiercely independent-minded. He is always telling us, "No, I do it!  I do it!"

This refrain was heard a lot yesterday at the mall with Grandma Toby as Noah insisted on pushing his own stroller, driving like a drunk teenager who forgot to wear his contacts. The highlight for me was when he careened through JC Penney, screaming "I go to elevator!  I go to elevator!"

This is a boy who is the organizer and the dictator. He lines up his toy cars in a neat row and requests that lights be turned on or off, doors be shut, and windows be opened. Sometimes he will make requests of us: "Eat it please," "Mommy, put your glasses on," etc.

This is a boy who is sometimes a self-disciplinarian.  He will often repeat our scoldings to himself, often as he is tempted to break a rule (or in the act of breaking it). "Noah, no! No throwing toys!", "No feet on the table", "Black pen is not for walking around", etc.

This is a boy who has been using the phrase "Whatcha' doin'?" a lot lately.

A recent conversation with our cat:

NOAH

Scottie, whatcha' doin?

SCOTTIE

...

DADDY

Yeah, Noah.  What is Scottie doing?

NOAH

Watching Noah.

This is a boy who sees the garbage can across the street and says:

NOAH

Garbage can fall down. 

(to the garbage can)

Garbage can, garbage, can.  You okay?

Garbage can, you okay?

This is a boy who runs into a room and announces, "I'm back!"

This is a boy who now shows us his Duplo blocks and says, "Look what I made!"

From a recent video chat with Aunt Shari and Uncle Gary (Noah was rolling around on the floor with Daddy's foam roller):

NOAH

Shari! Gary! I stretching!

Noah knows how to stretch, and he must be doing yoga at school because he was showing us some pretty interesting poses today.

We've been reading Noah the book I made for him (see previous post) so that he understands what is happening with my foot. We've been very pleased with how well he seems to grasp the situation, and he's been relatively cooperative so far. He has been good about not playing with my knee walker or crutches—although he is a fan of both. On occasion, I let him push me around in the knee walker which is lots of fun for both of us.

Yesterday, I found him in his bedroom, looking at the "Daddy Hurt His Foot" book. When I entered, he asked me:

NOAH

Daddy's foot feels better?

DADDY

No, Noah. It's still going to be a long

time before Daddy's foot feels better.

(In response to this, Noah begins running in circles.)

NOAH

I go around and around.

DADDY

You are going around and around.

Be careful not to crash.

NOAH

(crashing)

I crash.

The real thrill for us is that, for the last month or two, we have been having full-on conversations with our little guy. He is speaking in full sentences, sometimes quite long sentences (example: after my post-surgery icing machine was sent back, he asks, "Where is the machine for making Daddy's foot to feel better?" I get particularly proud when he drops prepositional phrases like it ain't no thang.)

This is a boy who is asking lots of questions. Sometimes, the same question many times. Last week, he spent the whole morning asking, "Why is the garbage truck so loud?"

Two days ago, when we heard police sirens nearby, the question was simply, "What is that?" Over and over and over again.

I'll end on my favorite Noah moment of the last couple weeks.  We were in a restaurant with Grandma and Grandpa, and we had just finished up a terrific meal. Noah had been his usual well-behaved self, and he was standing on top of his high chair as we wiped his dirty hands. Suddenly, out the window in front of him, a firetruck passed with flashing lights and a siren.

Noah might as well have been struck by lightning. He screamed at the top of his lungs, as loud as he is physically capable of yelling:

"FIRETRUCK!!!!  FIRETRUCK! FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRETRUUUUCK!!!!!!"

The whole restaurant fell quiet. We were unable to contain our laughter. We left soon after.

Moments later.

If only I could bottle his enthusiasm. God, I love this kid!

Noah and I water the roses together
(a few weeks before my surgery)

and tonight