Hat!

This video actually demonstrates something new that has been (mostly) wonderful - which is a real leap in Noa's receptive language. As you'll see in this video, I ask Noa where her hat (hoodie) is - she answers with the sign for "hat" a couple of times, then I ask her to show me her hat and she pulls up her hood. This is really much more complicated and specific than the kind of stuff she has done in the past. And we've noticed it in other areas as well - asking her to lift her leg, or walk a few steps, she just seems to get it more quickly and more specifically.

It's just mostly wonderful because she also has a better understanding of when we don't want her to do something. It used to be that we'd have to sign "no" when we said in order to get the point across. Now she gets it with just the word. She also gets it when we tell her something like "no kicking" - which as you can imagine, if you read the last post, is hugely disappointing. So this causes some regular ol' toddler meltdowns... which is good. Unless of course you're Noa and you want to kick stuff.

don't fence me in!

A couple more quick videos and notes before we shuffle off to Idaho. Here is a video of Noa walkin' the fence in the garden of our building. The video is a bit funky because when I shifted the orientation it got all weird. She really isn't this squat and lumpy.

Anyway, Chillin' at the fence is a new favorite activity and she is so secure on her feet now that I can actually get far enough back to take a bit of video. She likes to kick the bars - kicking is a fun, new thing overall. When you kick things they make noise. Sometimes they even rattle or fall over completely. It's really fun. We're working on getting her to walk toward us, and I think she is starting to get the idea. The other day she walked to Daddy to get a drink of water.

Gonna Fly Now...

More wonderful photos from Talya - or Noa's personal paparazzi as I like to call her. This photo catches Noa and Ben in the midst of one of their favorite activities... and right at the moment were I usually look away.

Noa and I are off to Idaho on Sunday, leaving poor Ben behind to work. Noa LOVES airplanes, they are giant jiggly chairs and I nearly always get comments from people about what a good traveler she is. She is the only kid not crying... until the plane parks at the gate of course. Noa is also a big fan of turbulance. Ben and I were once on a very bumpy ride once and after every huge, rocking, gut punching plunge, rising above all the gasps of terrified grown-ups was Noa's bright laugh. And then she'd sign for "more."


The big new for Noa is that she is finally drinking plain water! Although she's been glad to drink water out of swimming pools and bathtubs (much to my dismay at times), she wouldn't drink it out of a bottle. Suddenly, out of a straw cup, it's a-okay which is fantastic because McCall is hot and dry and keeping hydrated is important.

As you can see from the photo to the left, she gettin' tall! (and heavy) Much more confident on her feet, sometimes taking a step or two just holding one hand. But she still really lacks the balance to stand on her own - or to even make sense of what finding that balance on her own would mean. Occassionally she'll balance for a few seconds, but when she loses it she either collapses straight down or falls flat like a plank.

In other news, she has also had some success using the potty at school - which is a real miniature potty (not a plastic toddler potty like we have at home). We're very proud. And she is starting to get the idea that she can tell when she needs to use the potty. She is also learning the signs for "mommy" and "daddy" - which is nice for us. We didn't really have names before.

she oughta be in pictures...

Check it out! Who is this kid??? Can you believe it?

So, long story short, we were very fortunate to have a great photographer walk into our lives. Talya is working on a project - which I will share more about later as it all comes together - but she has been taking some photos and they are... well, obviously, spectacular and I'm very grateful that she's allowing us to share some of them with Noa's fan club. She is doing an amazing job of capturing the many moods of Noa.

So in addition to her life as a super model, Noa continues to be a rock star on the potty. We're getting a routine going so she knows when to expect potty time and since she enjoys it so much, she's getting the hang of it quickly.

As for me, I've just finished my level 1 Sign Language class, which I loved (I'll have to wait until July to take the next level), and am starting to use some of the signs I learned with Noa - just conversationally. Most of them are words like "nice" or "tell" -- words that don't relate directly to an object or a game. These are sort of tough concepts for her, so I figure I'll just keep using them for now without putting too much pressure on her to "learn" them. She really does play closer attention with she gets both verbal and sign language together - so hopefully it will start to sink in. She seems to be learning the signs for Mommy and Daddy - which is nice... especially for Mommy and Daddy...

Now that we've done away with the bottle, we're also working on getting rid of the binky. Noa has always had a particular attachment to these binkys that have stuffed animals on the end of them, so I cut off the stuffed animals - making the one toy into two. She still loves them both, but hopefully over time we'll be able to get rid of the binky part and just keep the stuffed animal.

So in closing this week, and with thanks to Talya, check out this great family photo: Ben and I as Noa's humble servants, as I'm sure it should be.

The Big Sip

As you may recall, Noa took very quickly to drinking from the straw, but picking up the cup was just too much. But here she is picking up the cup and taking a sip like a big girl! She still will sometimes resist picking up the cup - I've seen her practically bend herself in half trying to find the cup on the floor with her mouth rather then just touch the dang thing.

Today she really got me. She wanted a drink and I was trying to get her to pick up the cup, but she would have none of it so instead she starts this game of "Noa says." This is one of Noa's favorite games: she taps her knee - then you tap her knee, she squeezes her finger - you squeeze her finger, etc... This game can get quite elaborate including multiple props, body parts and various kinds of taps, pinches, squeezes and rubs. She got me going with the cup: tap the cup here, rub the cup there, then with a giant smile... stuck her finger in her mouth (i.e., put the straw in my mouth). Man, she is one tricky monkey!

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know...

While I update you on our progress in the area of toilet-training, I hope you'll enjoy this short video of Noa walking. As you can see she is feeling very confident in her walker. You'll see that about half-way through she starts just swinging her foot back and forth - sort of like a ballet dancer at the bar. She gets caught in this movement sometimes - she knows it's the right movement for walking but doesn't always get that you also gave to alternate feet and keep some forward motion going in order to get somewhere.

(warning: the following material may not be suitable for people of taste and breeding)

So in the wonderful world of potty training, we've had 2 banner days! Friday night just was we were getting ready for bed time I put Noa on her little training potty and I had this idea. Generally she.... does her business... just during or after her bedtime story (we try not to take it as a comment). For the past few weeks, I've been using bedtime to work on memorizing "The Cremation of Sam McGee" (watch Idaho/campfire folks!) so I figured she'd recognize it as the signal that bedtime was near. I got about a verse and a half in and sure enough.... #1! (we'd caught a few lucky #2's in the past because, well, she makes a face which is kind of a clue.)

Just as I suspected, Noa thought this was the funniest thing in the world - the sound in the little plastic potty, the feeling of freedom and a few other things I won't mention and you can all imagine (or not). We both laughed our heads off and clapped and had a great time. Last night - same time - took a bit longer but the same thing. Again, hysterically funny. Very exciting stuff.

In other bathroom news, Noa has taken to helping us out during changing times by trying to grab her (ahem) used diaper and fling it across the room. And she's fast. Sadly... Daddy was not aware of this when he tried to change her yesterday afternoon. And this was followed by a bath for everyone. Again, I'll let your imaginations take you where they will (or not).

So that's it for the bathroom update. I hope you enjoyed it.

Finally, the proof!!!

I have to tell you all that this video is already old news... but one step at a time. This is from sometime during spring break when, with absolutely no ceremony or screams, she left the bottle behind.

And I figured I ought to post this before I jump ahead to the most recent news. Noa is in one of those learning leaps that is oh-so-exciting (and exhausting) for us and this is really just the beginning. But it's also been a very busy time with Daddy starting a new job, Mommy trying to wrap up the semester at school and get things launched for Idaho in June and... sadly, the passing away of our 13-year-old cat Shekhina last weekend. People have asked me if Noa gets that Shekky is gone and to tell the truth I'm not really sure. She always seemed to think he was a giant stuff animal - every time he'd brush by her she'd make the sign for "make that toy kiss me."

More video and news coming...