Wednesday, January 28, 2009

funny boy

yesterday as noah and i walked to his room for a diaper change, he hustled in front of me and led the way. "i am not a coach," he said. "i am the engine." and today as he walked in front of me again, he said, "i am thomas and you are clarabelle."
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at naptime today noah was talking to himself for a long time before he fell asleep. when he woke up, i asked him what he'd been talking about for so long. "blah, blah, blah," he said, and we both cracked up.
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tonight at bedtime i sang noah a song we learned at library storytime a long time ago, but i'd forgotten the words a little. the words should be, "rain is falling all around/on the rooftops, on the ground/rain is falling on my nose/on my head, hands, knees and toes." but i said "toes" two times, forgetting "nose." "no, you already said toes!" noah pointed out. and who says he doesn't pay attention?

father and son

a few sundays ago at lake padden. isn't this picture nice?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

visitors from the east

nope, not the magi. my sister and our friends andrew and jess were both recently here for visits.

hillary was here for a little under a week, before her spring semester began again at gordon. it was really nice to see her. noah developed a very big crush on aunt hillary, following her around the house and even into the bathroom. (privacy is not a concept he understands.) they read many many books together, sang many songs, played lots with trains and trucks, made vegan cookies, watched a john deere tractor movie, checked out facebook, sent text-messages, primped, etc. noah was very sad to see her go, and also sad that he couldn't ride with her on the cool white bus to the airport. poor boy.

aunt irene was here the day hillary left, and to allay the sadness of hillary's departure, we all took a bus trip of our own to fairhaven and back (about 5 minutes each way). it was a simple but very fun adventure. in fairhaven we hit up the bookstore, the toy store, the bakery and the train station, then took the bus back to downtown and hit up a coffee shop. noah was thrilled. he was especially excited about watching a freight train go by at the station, and playing with the cars, trucks and trains at the toy store. (we were in there for over an hour, and his cheeks were rosy and his forehead sweaty from the intensity with which he was playing. it was very cute!)

here's aunt irene and isla lou at the train station:
then a few days later, we spent some time in vancouver and down here with our dear friends (and noah's godparents) jess and andrew. we went to jess's art show on granville island, (thankfully sans noah in the tiny craft shop).

here's jess with some of her tiny dresses

andrew and noah had tea together and munched puffins

and maryka, jess and i enjoyed some educational reading: entertainment weekly. so much to learn about the world!
now all our visitors are back home in the east, shoveling themselves out of snowstorm after snowstorm. we miss you, hillary, jess and andrew!

Monday, January 19, 2009

my little boy

lately noah asks what things are "about." for example, driving home from grandma and grandpa's house the weekend of the waldorf fair, he said, "what's waldorf school about, mama?" good question.
today i said "hmm..." as i walked around the house looking for something. "what's 'hmm' about, mama?" noah asked.
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recently while noah wasn't napping in his crib at naptime, i was talking on the phone in the kitchen. i hung up, and then heard noah ask from his room, "what was it, mama?" which means, who was on the phone? he said it a few times and i finally went in to set him free and fill him in on all my telephone business. he is so involved! it's hilarious. every time i hang up the phone: "what was it?" "what he/she said?"
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he recently made a train from kitchen chairs, with a laundry basket caboose. he sat up front to drive, and i rode in the caboose. "are you the engineer?" i asked. "yes," he said. "and you are the caboose-neer."
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noah is such a big boy all of a sudden. i can't believe his third birthday is nearly upon us. often aaron and i refer to him as a little boy, and he always corrects us by saying, "not a little boy; only a big boy!" (except in the case of him hiding, in which he says, "mama, mama, say, 'where is my little boy?'")

he suddenly knows how to dress and undress himself (thanks, aunt irene!); he is semi-interested in the potty; he is very excited about the prospect of having a big-boy bed (particularly a bunk bed); he is anxious for isla to grow big so he can play with her; he loves swings and slides; he is very adept with small things and loves to "hitch" cars and trucks to one another; he sings lovely songs; he eats a ton of food; he has officially had his first temper tantrum (over a plastic firetruck at a consignment shop); he understands and upholds deals; he sleeps 11 or 12 hours a night; he loves sending and receiving mail (like his mama); he likes to say prayers (though he varies who he prays to); he loves to read and choose new books at the library; he gets very excited about the new practice of "friday night movie night"...
and is overall a very sweet, very fun and wonderful boy. we are so lucky to be his parents!

learning how to drive a train with daddy at the railway museum

driving a train at the railway museum

excited about the cool scenery and steam train

the homemade train, with laundry basket caboose

aaron and noah made a zocalo (a town square)

the zocalo, up close

at the train station in fairhaven

a basket-hat and two gift bag-shoes

an apple and cheese sailboat snack

Thursday, January 15, 2009

noah's banjo medley

in which noah plays lily's banjo.  he begins with "the wheels on the bus" and smoothly morphs into "down by the bay."  impressive musicianship.  then lily takes over and noah gets distracted.

Monday, January 05, 2009

epiphany

aaron, noah and i (crudely) represented the holy family in our church's epiphany celebration on sunday.  grandpa captured this bit on film.  please note how interested big boy jesus is in the frankincense.  good thing he didn't spill it!

the roller

isla rolls!  (with a little help from aunt i, on the other end of a chain of toys)

tall tower

in which grandpa helps noah build a very tall tower with his tiny blocks, and noah knocks it down.  (and promptly says, "build it again, grandpa!"

cough cough

isla was laughing before i began videotaping her.  here, she cough coughs.  silly girl.

christmas cards of yore

as we've been slowly packing up our few christmas decorations, i've been thinking of a way to save and display my favorites of the cards we've received. i think maybe next year we'll make a bulletin board (from foam board covered with pretty paper) especially for the purpose of displaying our favorite christmas-related images. this way they will last longer than the few weeks between when they're received and when it seems silly to still keep christmasy things hanging around.

with that in mind, i've been digging up the christmas cards we've made in years past, and with fond remembrance share them now with you!

this card was from two years ago. (we didn't make one last year while we were in new england.) the quote is from tennyson's poem of the same name, about ringing out the old and the negative, and ringing in the new and the positive. you can read the whole poem here. here's a taste:

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

i loved the ideas in the poem and the sound of "wild bells." as usual, i supplied the idea and aaron did the work to make it happen. he really likes carving fancy lettering.

(and actually we never finished mailing all these cards--i think i stopped about halfway through the alphabet, too exhausted to finish the project. so sad! but please, if you never received one and would like one, let me know. we have lots left.)

this card was from 2005, and remains my very favorite. i like the combination of lettering and a simple image. the font is grasshopper, in the arts and craft style, and the floral decoration is meant to go with that style.

the quote is from the magnificat, mary's song from the gospel of luke. it is an incredibly beautiful song of acceptance and joy, and a great prophesy for what jesus will bring to the world. i appreciate the different meanings the above text can hold: that jesus literally fed the hungry with food, but also that he has given a hungry world many reasons to be full of joy. (and now as we begin a new political season in our country, i also appreciate the line, "he has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly." may it be a season of things turning topsy-turvy!)

this was our very first christmas card as a couple. it doesn't have any hidden meanings--just a simple scene of light and warmth inside a household on a snowy night. the dutch word gezellig might be a good title for this one.

from wikipedia: Its closest equivalent is the word "coziness"; however, rather than merely describing a place that is compact, well-heated and nicely furnished (a cozy room, a cozy flat), Gemütlichkeit connotes the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the opportunity to spend quality time.

what better could we wish for than a gezellig new year?