Nature... and the Call of Nature

Well, is there anything more fun than discovering a roll of toilet paper? Apparently not for Noa! In fact, she loved the toilet paper SO much that she insisted on kissing it good-bye.

But our stay in Windham offered other wonderful adventures as well (though sadly it did not offer internet access). The zip-line the back yard was a bit of a stretch for Noa, but she made it work. Noa also enjoyed pushing a wheel barrel across the lawn with Daddy, the reward (for both of them) being a long ride in the hammock. In short, Noa wore us out!

Noa did a ton of walking around in Windham. The house we were in had a sunken living room so there were some great stair opportunities. We were only in Windham for a short time, but after the grueling pace of the Zoom Flume, it was a nice change of pace. On the way back to NYC we stopped a giagantic Wal-Mart where Noa enjoyed another favorite ride: the shopping cart!

All-in-all, this was a great trip for Noa. She really enjoyed all the new adventures: the amusement park rides, zoom flume, hayride, zip-line - while she has always liked things that move she hasn't always been keen to touch new things, but we didn't see any of that on this trip. She really reached out for new things, and when she was walking was always interested in exploring the world around her.

Noa picked up some new signs on the trip (I'll post photos of those soon). She quickly learned the sign for "shush" - otherwise known in the parenting world as "inside voice, please." She liked it so much that she would make a big noise, and then cut herself off by signing "shush."

She also learned the sign for "same" - as in, Mommy can only hold one food at a time in the car, so even though you asked for different food, I'm giving you the SAME food."

For all the fun we had on our journeys, Noa was also very glad to be home: her own bed, her regular toys, the swing the garden, all big thrills.

Weeding and Riding

Another busy day in the Land of Noa. We noticed today that there were a number of other special needs kids at the Waterpark, and a whole group of special needs adults staying at the resort - guess it is true what they say: Water Good.

I got a water proof camera today but in charming old timely Catskill fashion, it takes photos on FILM of all things! So we'll have to wait and see what, if anything come out. We had a great water park morning - and the afternoon went okay... until she got overly cold and couldn't warm up and hadn't had her snack and well, it was totally tragic meltdown time, which was too bad because until then it had been really really great. The water was freezing though and Noa just keeps going until she can't anymore - she just loves it that much. And, because she doesn't walk, she doesn't move her feet much and so they get icey cold and it can be hard to warm them up.

So until I get more waterpark photos... here are some photos of Noa, including one of her weeding the front entry way to the resort: picking the top off a tall piece of grass and then handing it to Daddy. She loves handing things to us (usually invisible things, or when she has a bug bite, she'll try to hand the itchy part to us). Noa is hanging out here waiting for a Hay Ride which was the event of the night here at the resort. Noa went on the Hay Ride with Daddy and I followed in the car so I could bring them back. The ride didn't start until after 7pm (which is late for Noa) and we didn't think she'd have patience for the part where the Farmer takes everyone into the field to feed the cows and then talks to them about cows and farming and does some demos. It was kind of hard to explain to them that at this point in the day she really wouldn't even want to touch a cow's nose. That kind of new thing is just too overwhelming when she is tired - it's far better to do the ride and leave it at that --- and she LOVED the ride!

We're gonna Zooma Zooma Zooma Flume!

Well in spite of the fact that Noa was up half the night (passing gas and then laughing at herself mostly) and didn't take a nap (a car ride is too much fun to miss) she had a great time in our first trip to the Zoom Flume, and even made it through dinner afterward without a major meltdown. I'm sorry we don't have more photos from the waterpark - trying to figure out how to manage, what with all the water. But if you're curious about the zoom flume water park you can check it out at: http://zoomflume.com/ It really looks like the photos. And we're staying The Country Place which is attached to the water park so we can come an go all day just by crossing a cool bridge across a gorge.

From the moment we arrived Noa realized that there was fun and water in the works. She could hear the water splashing and was signing over and over for "bath" and "drink."

Our first stop was the Wild River Ride: a giant inner tube flume - very much like a roller coaster (except that you're sitting in ice-cold water). Noa loved it and screamed happily all the way down. Then we moved onto the giant pool with all kinds of fountains and waterfalls to splash in, and wrapped up visit number one with the Lazy River Ride (pictured) and a short splash in the kiddie pool with it's in-pool water slide that shoots water in your face on the ride down.

We had about an hour to wait before dinner and so took a paddle boat out in the pond. Noa nearly fell asleep and I thought we wouldn't make it through dinner, but she managed to pull it together.

Below are couple of photos from dinner (and pre-dinner on the porch). In one of the photos you can see Noa doing the sign for "I Love You" for Daddy. Noa of course ate all her own food at dinner. It was pretty funny - they asked if she wanted any desert (ice cream) but of course she didn't. She tried a bit, but didn't like it, so while every other kid was happily eating ice cream, Noa was having her favorite desert: Beef Baby-food. Yum.

The Big Swing

Today we took Noa to what is billed as "the biggest swing" in the world, and though in many ways it falls comically short - it was a great swing and probably provided the longest horizonital swing time that Noa has experienced. She loved it so why split hairs. And it really did go high - at it's highest point it was above Ben's head! And Noa, as you can see is a real champ on this big girl swing set up - holding on and steadying herself (which is some work - the thing was bit wobbly).

The other big draw - for Mommy and Daddy's entertainment - it was located at the nearby Moonie compound which which looked a bit like the setting for a horror movie about an abandoned seminary. So, that's fun.

Also included is Noa swinging out at the keyboard. Melissa took this photo - she popped up for a few days for the Rhinebeck stretch and Noa has really been keeping busy with her BFF along for the fun!

Just a few fun photos from our first full day of vacation - including the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck. Noa is finally big enough to ride some of the rides... so Mommy and Daddy had to step up the plate and take her on some. Noa had a terrific time! The first two photos are from the Wacky Worm roller coaster which was by far the favorite. She could have stayed on that all day. It was kind of a tweener coaster - more rollicking then the toddler stuff, but not too wild. The perfect starter coaster (and frankly just about Mommy's speed). She also loved the Spider ride - we went on the toddler version of that and that was plenty for Mommy. That thing can really spin!!!

Daddy took Noa on the Merry-go-round - which was a big thrill (and the first ride) but I think after having experienced the roller coaster she would find it a bit lame. And he took her on the Bumper Cars - we have some photos but because Noa is so short and always looking down, he just appears to be on the ride with a hairy melon under this arm.

We have some video which I'll post later (not really able to do that from vacaction land).

Noa has been very vocal on this trip and did a lot of singing along with the radio in the car (the untrained ear it may just sound like screaming for some terrible vocal warm-up - but it was singing). She loves being the car - and we took her to the market for the shopping cart ride (and she allowed us to buy groceries) - so we all get a little something from it all.

On Wednesday we take Noa on the next big new adventure: Zoom Flume! But for now, I don't think she can imagine it getting any better.

And Away We Go!

It has been an exciting month for Ms. Noa... and promises to get more exciting next week when we go on our official family vacation which will include 3-days and 2-nights at Zoom Flume Water Park in East Durham, New York!!!

I wish had more video to post, but this gives you an into to Noa's new turn as "Ms. Independent." She wants to do everything herself (which frankly can be a lot of work for the rest of us!) She pulls up her diaper, and then her pants, after using the potty. She wants to get into bed and out of bed herself, and pull herself up out of her chair. She wants to walk everywhere - and no touching please! Gosh, Mommy what are you an Octopus? Then of course when she realizes that she can't stand, then Mommy is okay... as long as she knows her place.

She is also very interested in who initiated an action. For example - if she wants to get out of her chair, she will fuss and whine if try to hold her hand - she wants me to wait until she reaches out her hand for me. And she can be very stubborn about it. Yesterday she sat in her stroller for 15 minutes just considering whether or not she should give me permission to unbuckle her and pick her up. We also have had some rather long stand-offs over putting on pants or diapers.

Noa has been on break from school for the past two weeks and we've been doing a lot of walking at home - and realizing that she probably doesn't do as much walking at school as she does when she is home. This makes sense - they only have some much time to take kids from one activity to another at school, but we're actually noticed for the first time that she is building up some calf muscles! The bike of course helps - she loves riding it around the garden and just the action (even if she isn't initiating the pedaling) is a good work out for her.

Fun with Water

Well... someone just figured out how to make washing hands just a bit more fun... and my bathroom will never be dry again!

As you can see, the little muchkin has pretty much recovered from the trauma of her trip to the ER earlier this week. Aside from a bit of black and blue on the chin, there isn't a trace of it. And after a couple of cautious days, she seems to be back to her reckless, throw-me-in-the-air self, let-me-hit-my-head-on-that-wall self which is good to see.

Her newest trick is taking off and pulling on her clothes. The other night, she heard us running the bath and boy was she out of those clothes fast: shirt, pants, shoes, socks, everything! And she loves helping us pull up her pull-up diaper and her pants. After every successful pull she stops, applauds and yells "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" as loud as she can.