Noah Atticus--17 Months!

Noah is 17 months old and talking up a storm.  I love being his mom.  I love everything about his current age (well, except for his gross hands and face after each meal, as he absolutely insists on feeding himself--what a mess!).  It's been a while since I've written an update about the things he's saying and doing.  I know this type of update is boring for most of you, but I do it for the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the birthparents, posterity (this blog is the only baby book that Noah is getting!), and myself.  I can't bear the thought of losing these memories, so I have to write them down!

Some of the funny and cute things Noah's been doing lately:

*He thinks if he closes his eyes, I can't see him.  Sometimes he will see me heading toward him when he's in the middle of some mischief, and he freezes, holds perfectly still, and closes his eyes.  He stands there like a statue with a sly smile on his face, his eyelids fluttering ever so slightly (I think he is trying to peek to watch my confusion at where he disappeared to).  Of course, I play along: "Where's Noah?" So that has become one of his favorite phrases this month: "Where's Noah?"  He's also been saying, "Where it go?" when he misplaces something.  He holds up his hands in confusion as he says this.  I love it.

*If he wants someone to pick him up, he will say "See me! See me!" and reach toward him/her frantically.  Ryan figured out that this phrase came from him hearing me say, "Come see me!" and "Do you want to come see me?"  So cute.

*His favorite word right now is "please" because he's figured out that it gets him what he wants.  He says it with a long, pronounced E sound, "Pleeeeeeeaase!," and often clinches both of his fists like The Hulk during his dramatic exclamation.  It's super cute but also slightly annoying because it is his constant refrain.  He wants to get his hands on everything I am doing or eating. And how can I resist that polite little please?

*Speaking of manners, he says "Sorry" to himself.  Whenever he falls down or bonks his head, he will mutter, "Sorry, sorry!" and then keep playing.  He even apologizes to me if I accidentally bump into him. The other day, we were in Sunday School, and he scraped his back on one of the chairs and started screaming.  I picked him up and tried to quickly leave so the teacher could continue her spiritual lesson, but as we crossed the room in front of everyone, Noah kept sobbing out pathetically, "Sorry! Sorry!" as if he was apologizing for the disruption he had caused, and everyone was chuckling.

*And speaking of talking to himself, whenever he is trying to grab something that he can't quite reach, he says, "Get it! Get it! Get it!" as if he's giving himself a little pep talk.  :)

*He is starting to throw tantrums, but at this point, they are still really cute and funny.  When he doesn't get his way, he throws his arms down by his sides, slumps down to the ground, and fake cries.  It makes us laugh.

*He counts.  Well, not really.  One day, I heard him going "Tree, Four, Fie, Sixt, Seben..." and I about had a heart attack.  I thought I had a genius on my hands.  But then I realized that he wasn't actually counting anything, he was just repeating the sequence of words he has heard one too many times on Elmo's Count With Me DVD.  Wow--kind of embarrassing!  But hey, what's a mom supposed to do when I need to take a shower every once in a while and my son draws on walls with ballpoint pens if I leave him unattended for a few minutes? (True story.)  We don't have a TV, so he uses my laptop for an occasional video.  He is so amused by the monkey puppets on Baby Einstein--the delight on his face as he watches them is priceless!

*When he is in a giggly mood, he says, "Das funny!" or "Das silly!" over and over and laughs at himself.  Just yesterday he started saying, "Das crazy!" and I love it because it reminds me of Brian Fellow.

*He is still slightly terrified of the vacuum cleaner, though he doesn't sob anymore when I turn it on.  Instead, he runs to his room and emerges cautiously, clinging to his two security blankets: his "gog" from Grandma Nielson and his monster blanket from Grandma Westover.  He is addicted to both of these lovies, and he can't have one without the other--he needs both!  I always swore that I would never let my children get attached to certain blankets or stuffed animals (because what happens if you lose them or forget them on a trip?!), but I think it is so sweet that he loves something from each of his grandmas that I've never tried to break him of the habit.  I want him to have a special connection to both of them.

*He loves books!  Sometimes I find him sitting in his book basket "reading" to himself.  And sometimes he "reads" to his parents (while standing in an oven drawer, of course).

Video taken December 6, 2012

And one final video because it is so "Noah"--lots of jabber with some real words mixed in.  I love his little voice!  (And I LOVE the way he says "Mommy!" when I come to the bottom of the stairs and "Thank you!" to Katie and Drew for his truck.  The way he says "thank you" is my absolute favorite: "Di-jew!")