Noah and the Alphabet

We have been deliberately relaxed (or lazy) about Noah and his academics.  I have encountered enough highly functioning Adults Who Behave Badly at work that cause us to focus on other life-worthy preschool lessons like how to play nicely and... you can't throw tantrums every time you don't get your way.

However, we live in a competitive and high achieving area and it turns out most children know how to read by the time they enter kindergarten. Considering Noah knew absolutely none of his alphabet, I thought it may be time to focus on it a little. A few weeks ago, he happened to choose an alphabet book about jets from the library and wanted to read it every night. After a week of this, it finally dawned on me to ask him to tell me the letter first. He is now able to remember more than half. I'm sure he knows the jets more than the actual alphabet, but at least we're making some progress?

For the grandparents...



When we showed him this video, he was cracking up at himself for being so squirmy and told us, "I didn't do that!" Uh yes Noah, newsflash, you are always this spastic.

18 Months

Sometimes I reflect on the absurdity of my days... a waddling pregnant mom of two active boys pretending to be an attorney when I can. Nevertheless, Max turned one and a half last month and is moving full speed ahead to boyhood.





At 18 months, he has discovered running. When you say "diaper change" he starts running. When you say "Max, too far" he gives a mischievous smile and keeps running.


A man of few words, he uses whining and grunts to get his way.

He is now holding is own in the realm of I-take-toys-from-my-brother and we can no longer assume Noah is in the wrong.


Adopting the "no hands" philosophy, he absolutely refuses to hold anyone's hands when walking. Not sure how I will be transporting three kids through a parking lot with that kind of attitude.



This child has a temper. If the trains aren't working for him, he will bang them vigorously against the table in frustration.



He is turning out to be quite the little jokester, and we are all enjoying the laughter he brings.

Come to think of it, I believe I just described the classic toddler. Max is now a toddler indeed!

Selfie

When Mom is doing this...

Noah is doing this...

When Max refuses to nap

Organization

Organization is not one of my strengths, but I am always aspiring towards a more clutter-free life. In all my failed attempts, three things have actually stuck in creating some order to our busy home...

Desk Tray

For the sake of our marriage, Terah and I have always maintained separate desks. His is in the living room and has become our dumping ground for mail, random papers, receipts and so on.  The tray allows him to pile everything he has not had time to go through yet while keeping some of the clutter contained.

Art Filing Box 

Young children bring home A LOT of artwork. I recycle most of it but keep a few of my favorites in a filing box, one folder for each year. 

 Electronics Home Station (my favorite!)

Despite my general dislike of most gadgets, we have somehow accumulated laptops, iphones, ipad, kindle and many more.  Except when we need to check work email or are taking photos, we try (not always successfully) to put our phones down when we are off the clock with family.  We invested in this docking station to keep all our chargers in one place and to help create some distance from our devices at night. 

Now if only I can figure out how to stop finding toy trains in every crevice imaginable...