Noah turns two!

Dear Bug,

What a year you have had! On your birthday last year, we held a subdued party for you. You had a tube in your nose and didn't have any cake at your own birthday party. It made me so sad. In the year since, you've conquered feeding therapy and shown everyone just what a turnaround looks like. 

You've incrementally improved healthwise while at the same time made leaps and bounds developmentally. The number one thing that stands out about you is your verbal ability. You put together sentences with prepositions and participles, and leave the rest of us saying "did he REALLY just say that??" You're a delight to talk to, because you so readily express what's going on in your little mind. You ask a lot of questions, and you answer our questions as well. 

You are a big storyteller, just like daddy. There are alligators, hyenas, and barracudas EVERYHWERE. You love lions, Lion King, and Brave. You like to play with cars and your play food in your kitchen. You enjoy playing with Nathan, but sometimes you guys egg each other on just a bit too much. You do love him dearly, though, and express concern for him all the time. If Nathan is hurt, you always ask him if he's okay, and you always give genuine hugs and apologies when you hurt him. 

You have an incredible sense of humor, and you particularly love irony. You like Dr. Seuss and any books that have wordplay, which makes me happy. You love noises and are an expert imitator. You often ask "what's that sound?" and if I ask what you mean, you'll imitate it exactly. 

You also like active play- you're enjoying swimming, gymnastics, and you love to play basketball. You have quite an arm!

Unfortunately for the rest of us, you're still a really early riser, but most of the time you're sleeping until 6:45, which is at least manageable (except when you are at grandma's, in which case you get up around 5:30). 

You have kept us really busy over the past year, but now that we're past the biggest hurdles we are really starting to have time to slow down and enjoy life with you. It's a blast. You are a huge personality packed in a little body, and when your blue eyes sparkle and your nose crinkles as you smile, nothing else matters. 

Happy birthday bug, we hope it only gets better every year. 

Happy 4th Birthday Nathan!

Happy birthday, big boy!
This is the first year that your birthday has been a Big Deal to you. You were looking forward to it for weeks, and when it finally arrived, you positively glowed. You told us that you felt different- could jump higher, stand taller, and could finally sleep all night in your own bed (you chose a consequence for yourself too- if you don't stay in your bed, the baby gate to your room will be locked). You continue to be a sensitive and honest soul, and we've really seen you start to care for your little brother, even though you have your moments. You also are really attuned to Noah's trials, and you can explain all of his feeding issues and therapy sessions to anyone who asks. You even know his medicines and will remind me if I forget to give a particular one. You actually seem to love all things science/medical, whether Noah-related or not. You like listening to your heart with my stethoscope, and I taught you how to take your own pulse. You like to explain to people how the body works- lungs, heart, kidneys, blood, you name it. 

The one thing you are resisting is learning how to read. I'm not sure why. You know and can write all of your letters, but you just don't seem interested in learning how to read for yourself. I don't think you realize that learning to read would open a whole new world for you (and keep us from being able to keep secrets by spelling in front of you). 

You are still a very emotional person, but you've learned to self-regulate a little better. At school you are consistently in green. You choose your friends wisely, hanging with your best buds Izzy and Alexa, and avoiding trouble at all costs. You're doing well at school, although we still have to send lunch on some days because you won't eat the school food. We just got your VPK paperwork the other day, I can't believe it's already time to think about that! Really, when you went from three to four, it really did feel like you grew overnight. I'm not sure where exactly the time has gone! At any rate, happy birthday big boy, here's to a wonderful year full of discovery and growth!