Introducing Noah

The End of one Chapter, the Beginning of another...

2008-10-12T21:15:00.002+11:00

One last post to chronicle Noah's day on that very special occasion when his little sister arrived in the outside world.

When Dad finally got home from the hospital, where 'the doctors were helping baby sister to come out', Noah (who'd been playing with friends) had a quick bit of lunch with Dad before heading-off to meet Lily. But even before lunch, Noah had time to wow his Dad with his creative-engineering prowess. Just look at that tunnel, that's entirely a product of Noah's own lateral thinking (and love for tunnels)!

But the time soon came to meet Lily. Noah was prepared. He had chosen a gift to give Lily: a 'My First Soccerball' - rather appropriate, given his love for the game.

And here he is, standing just outside the birth centre, ready to meet someone wonderful beyond his dreams: a baby sister of his very own. We practiced saying her name one last time, and then he was ready.

The story continues, no longer as 'Introducing Noah', but now as the shared story of Noah and Lily. But before we proceed, let us thank God for what He's done in bringing our little Noah thus far. We're immensly proud of Noah, not just his amazing talents, but especially his wonderful character. May Noah love his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, all the days of his life; and may he help his sister to do just the same :)

Cooking, Cooking, and Giving.

2008-10-12T20:52:00.003+11:00

Noah always likes to be involved in what's happening in the kitchen. And who can blame him when there is gingerbread involved?

But Noah's enthusiasm for cooking has spilled over into his make-believe in the playground. He loves baking cakes - of all different flavours (chocolate, banana, etc.) - in the sandpit. I think this one was chocolate.

Noah recently went to a little party for his mate Lachie. He was celebrating his second birthday - Happy Birthday Lachie! Noah's pretty good at *actually* giving gifts now (rather than clinging to them).

Granny & Grandpa

2008-09-17T21:30:00.003+10:00

Granny and Grandpa spent most of the last week staying with us, which was lots of fun. Noah had a great time playing and tumbling and running around with them.

Since they're such green thumbs, it meant Noah spent quite a bit of time in the garden. He helped Grandpa and Dad sow some beans out the back, and helped Granny and Mum plant some pansies out the front.

Naturally, there were many babycinos to be enjoyed, and lots of interesting little outings.

The gelati at Leichhardt are always a bit of a winner, especially when the weather is as warm as it has been lately. Noah chose his gelato for its colour ('green', in this case) - he's very good with colours now. Thankfully he enjoyed the flavour, too.

Today it was time for Granny and Grandpa to head home to Tas. Just a few months and he'll get to see them again :)

Out and about!

2008-09-14T20:50:00.002+10:00

Week by week we head to church on Sunday, and Noah's usually great with crèche and has a ball with his little friends there. Just recently he's started a new trend: he likes to carry the Bible to church.

After church last Sunday we grabbed lunch from a local cafe with the voucher that Katie won from the cake comp. at the Winter Carnival. Noah's egg and bacon roll was gradually demolished.

Then we went to a local clothes shop to find me a jumper. Noah had other ideas. Hats, scarves, beanies - on, they went. Still, it meant he was content long enough for us to buy stuff.

And he still loves babycinos, of course.

Happy Birthday Noah - 2!

2008-08-16T20:43:00.003+10:00

Well, the big day finally came around again for our little man. Here he is looking very handsome at the start of the day.

But of course we began the day in pyjamas, unwrapping lots of pressies that came from far and wide.

Noah spent more time on the phone today that he probably ever has before. He was very good at saying quite specific thankyous. 'Thankyou [for the] train tracks'.

'Thankyou ark'

'Thankyou towel'. Noah is a powerful present-unwrapper these days. Not only can he tear the paper, not only does he realise that the present (not the paper) is the thing to be excited about, but he also get's all of the responses/emotions right: 'Wow!', 'Cool!', 'Ahhh!'.

Noah has been long anticipating his party. Every now and again, for weeks, he's been saying 'Party... birthday... Noah'. Today his friends and rellies turned out in force to wish him many happy returns.

We held the party at a local park. There were just two games for the littlies: Pass the Parcel (to the tune of Wiggly Woo, by George of Play School); and a Treasure Hunt.

But when I asked Noah, later in the day, what his favourite thing about his party was, he was quite clear: it was having Happy Birthday sung to him! That was his special little moment.

Mummy made the cake (with very little help). In recent months, Noahs's got the song figured: he knows when to say his name, he knows about the three cheers, and he even got the timing of the candle-blow right.

We've tried to explain that today is a one-off thing, that tomorrow is a regular day... we'll have to wait and see whether an expectant little boy wanders in to us early tomorrow morning ;)

Time with Dad

2008-08-09T21:21:00.003+10:00

Kate's been a bit crook this week, which means more time with Dad :)

But first, let's re-cap our Tassie-Exiles' time away at Avoca Beach. Noah had plenty of time on the beach... digging holes and shell-hunting mostly.

As you can see, from Noah being in his dressing gown and jimmy-jams, we made an early morning trip to the beach (it was about 2 mins walk from the place we were staying). Just gorgeous.

Back to this week...

Noah was climbing a ladder while carrying this bucket. He realised that he needed both hands, so, voila!

Noah's stringing little sentences together pretty well now. Just a few words at a time. I love it when he does it in unexpected way, like tonight, for example. He was making a strange 'Woooohooohooo' sort of a sound. So I said, "What sort of animal are you being, Noah?". He stopped, and replied, "[A] Noah animal". There you have it - he's just invented another animal.

One of the funniest games we play is the copying game - where I say a series of (largely nonsense) words and he has to copy. Noah thinks it's hilarious! I figure it's probably good tongue-twister practice for him, too. Occasionally we'll swing it around so he leads and I copy... but that tends to get a bit bogged down in blowing raspberries ;)

Toot Toot!

2008-07-30T20:15:00.004+10:00

Blackheath was lots of fun for Noah. New places to explore. Ducks, and sticks, and a fire station. Old episodes of the Naked Chef to watch with his dad. What more could a kid ask for?

Trains. That's what.

We took a family ride on the Zig Zag railway. It was cool. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Noah and I had our heads poked out the window for so long that my neck was getting stiff. He got in some good vocabulary practice too. He was saying lots of words like 'steam' and 'driver'.

Happy times on trains :)

Carrots!

2008-06-12T21:01:00.003+10:00

Last weekend we decided it was high time to pull some baby carrots out of the ground. So off we went to the veggie patch...

Noah was very enthusiastic about discovering each little treasure that we dug up. He'd push the trowel into the ground beside the carrots, and then together we'd pull out some lovely little bubba carrots.

My little gardener :)

A few action shots...

2008-06-02T13:52:00.002+10:00

Noah in our playground sandpit, enjoying some socialising with friends.
Our home can be seen in the background - we're in the unit next to the one with the awning.

Having coffee (co-co) and cake ('cake') with mummy. This is one of our favourite cafes with a cute court-yard. It has nice banana bread and free babycinos with marshmellows on the side (which Noah doesn't really like).

Visiting a playground. What toddler could refuse a go on a springy chicken.

'Big Boy Bed'

2008-05-12T20:47:00.003+10:00

Noah is certainly not small for his age - most people remark on this fact. He was looking a bit squished in his cot, and as we need the cot later in the year for his brother or sister, we were keen on the move to a 'big boy bed'. Our friends lent us the base, IKEA 'supplied' the mattress, and last week I bought up on the fun stuff. Noah is pretty happy with my choice of quilt cover - especially as I bought the matching car cushion...

His first night was quite successful... it took a while for him to get to sleep as he was rather excited about being in a new big bed, but he only fell out once and slept well otherwise. The photo below is of his first day-time sleep in the new bed. He looks pretty happy there, I reckon.

He seems to be enjoying being able to hop out of bed once we've said goodnight... I think it's very cute that if I hear his little movements I can say 'back into bed, Noah', and by the time I get to his room he's making a dive for a sleeping spot. Such a grown up little fella.

Towers!

2008-05-05T19:43:00.003+10:00

Noah's skills are expanding and being refined every day. Take, for example, his tower-building.

He likes stacking just about anything: tins of tuna, phones, whatever. I think in the above-picture he looks rather proud of his little creation; kinda like those photos you see of workmen who've been slogging away all morning at tree-felling or something. Achievement!

There's nothing like delighting in something beautiful :)

PS. Yes, Noah has a word for tower. It's something like "taa-waa".

Chocolate Goodness

2008-04-20T21:19:00.001+10:00

Helping mum with birthday cake baking :)

Funtimes being Noah

2008-03-18T20:37:00.004+11:00

Noah isn't a very good shopper, so if we do hit the shops we stop at most of the kiddie-ride-on things so he enjoys the trip a bit more. I don't pay the $2, but he's happy enough just sitting in them.

This picture is at his favourite friend's house. Ebony and Amber are lovely little girls who like to dance around with Noah. The girls were dressing up in various dresses (hence Ebby is half undressed in the photo!), and Noah came out wanting to wear the bear costume - a great choice!

Here Noah is enjoying our 'Tuesday night BBQ' with our fellow college friends. His little friend is Lochie, who is a similar age to Noah.

Noah loves the trampolines, although he likes it best when someone else is jumping with him.
(By the way, our home isn't in the flats in the background, but is left of those).

I like this photo - hair's a mess, food all down his t-shirt, cloth nappy out of shape. He's gazing up at an airplane, which he loves to point out and then wave goodbye to.

Noah putting in his bit to keep Lochie's car on the go...

The easiest way for me to get things done is if I include Noah. We do lots of cooking 'together'; mostly he likes mixing and tasting.

This was Noah first go at finger-painting. He wasn't so keen on putting paint on the paper, he preferred putting water and leaves into the paint.

Noah riding his bike in our 'front yard'...

Noah has a word for 'higher' and 'push', which he uses often when at the swings. Oh, how much time we spend at our playground - good thing it's just over the fence!

My Chirpy Chatterbox

2008-03-07T20:03:00.005+11:00

Perhaps it's best to start with a little confession: we haven't taken so many pictures lately. But, that doesn't stuff hasn't been happening...

Words

Let's start with Noah being a little chatterbox. He really is quite a good communicator now. True, his words are few, but when you combine his little words with emphatic (whole-of-body) gestures, and a bit of a clue as to the sort of stuff he likes... Mum and Dad very often get the picture crystal-clear. "I want to go down the stairs", "I want to draw with the crayon (instead of the chalk) on the blackboard", "I want your help now, I'm kinda sick of doing this on my own."

Unlearning already! On a potentially alarming note, Noah gets "Nup" and "Yes" a bit muddled sometimes... i.e. somehow he has picked up a word that sound like "Nup" - associated with shaking his head - and he thinks it means "Yes". I'm now, in earnest, trying to replace that with a clear nod and the word "Yes" (which he pronounces almost perfectly).

Doing my Bidding: "Noah, pick the leaves and put them in Daddy's hand". Voila! Coriander is picked for tonight's dinner! He then decided that we also needed some basil...

Roaring Lions: Noah calls all animals by their sounds (not by their names). Elephants, horses, snakes, cows, lions, dogs, pigs (the cutest of all) are all known by their cries (and 'actions' in the case of elephants and crocodiles). 'Baa', curiously enough, must be a bit tricky - sheep get nothing at all!

Wake-time

Hmmm... Well, I'm an early-riser; it's just part of the college routine for me. Alas! I'm not the only early-riser in the house, and often I'm not even the earliest-riser in the house.

Let's just say that at the moment, a sleep-in for Katie is 6am. Sometimes he's great at going back to sleep. Sometimes. We're a little concerned about the first few days of when daylight savings changes back - those could be some early (or at least unpleasantly interrupted) mornings.

(I should qualify these comments by saying that Noah is a very good sleeper - he just likes to start the day before we do.)

Creche and Other Kids

Noah is becoming a much much more social little bear. He's coping with créche (both church and bible-study) much better these days. And he's getting the hang of interacting with other kids more.

By 'interacting', sometimes it's just standing next to them and staring at them while they do interesting stuff; other times it's grabbing toys from them (whether offered or not); often its copying; sometimes it's really lovely stuff, like giving hugs and kisses. He's also very good at being gentle - like with babies, or mummy.

Dining

Ok, food probably warrants a post of its own (with pictures). I'll just say three things: Noah must have cutlery. He's good with a cup. And he likes to share.

Christmas 07

2008-02-11T21:37:00.001+11:00

A bit late, but here's some moments of Noah's Christmas... he enjoyed it much more than his first Chrissy at 5 mths old!

He really got into the excitement of everyone opening presents..

And was a 'natural' at it himself, knowing that there was sure to be something new and exciting inside...

There was, of course, much action when 'all' the boys had presents to unwrap..

Noah's present from mum and dad was a guaranteed winner - a bike! It has steering for the adult which can be removed when he figures it out himself. He loves it.

Adventures in Tassie

2008-01-30T20:48:00.000+11:00

Noah is really good at adapting to new places, and so was able to enjoy all 5 weeks of our time in Tassie - so many adventures to embark on!

Every morning Noah would go out onto Na-Na and Pa-Pa's balcony to enjoy the view of good ol' Mt Wellie.... or, rather, insist on being let outside (the 'o' word) because it's his favourite place to be at all times!

Good times were had with his new bike (stay tuned for Christmas post!). In this case it was a fairly quick trip due to the dark clouds you can see looming in the background!

Noah really enjoyed spending time in Granny and Grampsy's vegie patch - so many things to pull off and eat!

What is it with grandparents feeding their grandchildren things that aren't good for them!? This time I caught it on camera :)

This time it was the OTHER grandmother! The ol' licking the spatula fun.

Noah had lots of special friends to play with...

Liji had a great play-tent in his big backyard.

Phebe and Noah shared their love of beds, and the activity of bouncing on them!

And a rather large proportion of time was spent at the beach... Noah is a sand addict now.

Being at the beach with your cousins is the best, of course. Even better if you've got a yummy lunch to snack on after all that hard playing - here Jos, Shem and Noah are inside Noah's beach tent.

Favourite activities at 14 months old

2007-11-03T19:40:00.000+11:00

Noah has discovered the joy of bikes, and can now get on and off himself. The one we have is borrowed from the Lynches in Hobart, so you can guess what Noah is getting for Christmas!
Bathtime is always fun, and so is having clothes-off time when Noah gets out...

Even better is walking around the house with a towel over his head. Noah thinks not being able to see and bumping into walls is hilarious, and it is rather amusing to watch!

Noah hates to be left out of things, so being able to sit on the bench is a great place to be. And if you've got food in your hands it's even better!

Being rather crazy is part of every day. Noah loves putting on sunglasses, and parades around for anyone who is there to see it - today it was to a bunch of people at a cafe, who gave him big smiles in return.
Balls are one of Noah's serious addictions. So you can imagine the fun he had in a ball pit at an indoor playground Jan and I took the boys to. He didn't care about too many other things; he had unlimited balls to carry around.

Another addiction is his holding soft toys, particularly when it's sleep time. His two favourites are his tiger and doggy. In the photo below I wasn't quick enough in putting Noah into bed, but luckily Tiger was there to save the day.

Noah loves books, particularly when he can climb onto someone's lap to be read the book of his choice. I love discovering him off reading by himself somewhere (as in the photo below).

He doesn't sit quietly by himself very often, though. He is constantly chattering or roaring and stomping like a dinosaur (captured in pic in previous post). He also likes to use 'trumpets' to create a racket.

Playing with cousin Josiah is definitely a big favourite. The photo below shows that an empty bottle filled with leaves and dirt is somehow great entertainment for both of them!

Holidays and Dinosaurs

2007-09-27T21:50:00.000+10:00

I know Kate's been trying to get a post up here, and I don't want to steal any of her material, so here are just a few snippets on life.

First, my favourite photo from the past little while. (Kate took it and she'll comment some more on it in her post).

Jammies have got to be one of the coolest things about dressing your kid, I reckon. Had Charles Darwin seen this particular photo, something tells me that the Origin of Species might contain a very different hypothesis.

Last week our little family made it away to the Central Coast for a holiday. It was superb. Sun, quiet, no-broken-glass, more quiet, yummy food, happy times. Noah got to run around heaps; he was great in the car, both ways; there were little outdoor areas for him to explore... it was great fun. Maybe we'll go back there sometime.

Put on those walking shoes!

2007-08-31T22:27:00.000+10:00

So after many attempts to make it happen by mum and dad (resulting in many 'first steps'), Noah has begun to walk - without holding hands! One week after his first birthday, he simply walked from dad to mum; about 9 steps. Very easily.

Since then, his skills have rocketed. When in Target yesterday he even went missing when mum had her attention on something else. He was only a couple of aisles away examining a toy, but he was fast!

We are very proud. Here's a video from a couple of days ago.

A miniature fair experience

2007-08-31T21:23:00.000+10:00

College held a 'winter festival', or miniature fair last weekend. Much fun was had.

The favourite was definitely the animals. There were piglets, goats, lambs, rabbits, ducks, ducklings, and chickens. Noah was amazed.

In this photo Josiah is hanging out with Noah - he loves his little cousin.. and Noah loves him.

Cousin Shem was also at Noah's side, and was trying to get his little hands on all the animals.

Noah eagerly embarked on his first jumping castle adventure.

And, to top it all off, Noah had his first taste of chocolate ice-cream. This came about when mum had her hands full (with Noah and some purchases), and at the same time tried to eat an ice-cream. Noah was a keen punter to help bear the load and took the ice-cream for mum.

By the time we got to our picnic blanket, Noah's mouth and hands were stuck like glue to the ice-cream. He was quite upset that it was pried from his hands, but it was mum's ice-cream (what was left!) and we weren't sure what effect this new 'food' would have!

And then Shem was allowed to indulge, thanks to Noah's example.

What a nice day!

Fun at the park

2007-08-31T19:57:00.000+10:00

A regular outing for Noah and mum is 'the park'. Noah LOVES being outside, and can get quite upset when his desires to go outside aren't fulfilled. At the park, Noah can admire all the bigger kids - sometimes watching, sometimes pursuing with a large grin on his face.

But he also enjoys the rocking horse, often accompanied by the chorus 'giddy-up horsie'.

But he doesn't play on one thing for long. And he's also been known to 'eat' the gravel or dig in pine-bark for a bit of variation.
Peekaboo at the tunnel slide is a favourite. And if Dad meets us at the park, going down the tunnel slide is a delightful option.

Climbing up slides is always attempted, but with little success. Mum or Dad are always there to help Noah use the slide for it's intended purpose.

[Actually posted by Katie]

The Birthday Party

2007-08-23T20:22:00.000+10:00

Noah's birthday party was last weekend. It was a lovely family-affair. And finally it was time for birthday cake!

A whole lot of thought went into exactly what shape Noah's first cake should be... should it be a duck (from the park); should it be some character from the tv or kids' movies? We eventually landed on a teddy bear. The decoration is all Kate's handiwork this time around.

Obviously we couldn't have gone and fed Noah cake before he'd got over his nasty sickness. So when cake finally found its way to his food-tray, Noah certainly didn't waste any time.

Ah... Noah's first taste of chocolate cake! For a moment there I was a little concerned that too much had gone in... he could handle it :)

Also among the revelers were Nana, Unca Bruce, and Shem (below).
It's won't be long and we'll all get to celebrate little Shem's first big day too. Can't wait. That'll probably be Noah's second sampling of rich, yummy cake!

More Birthday Pictures... and those Jammies!

2007-08-23T20:03:00.000+10:00

Ok, so just in case we didn't give you enough of Noah's Tigger jammies...

This was Noah's first attempt at opening a birthday present. I think he got into the spirit of the occasion :)

Happy Birthday, Noah!

2007-08-20T21:07:00.000+10:00

Last week, Noah celebrated his first birthday!

As many of you know the little lad was quite ill with a nasty gastro-bug for much of last week, so birthday cake was off the menu (until Saturday). But, a birthday is still a birthday. The first birthday-signs were the SMSs. Aunty Fi got in first.

Then it was present-opening with Mum and Dad (in Noah's swish new jammies).

But not long afterward, Aunty Jan and the boys popped around. (Dad stayed home for most of the morning).

Later on in the afternoon, some parcels stacked with lovely presents and cards came in from Tassie. They were rather fun to open.

Thanks very much for all of Noah's lovely gifts :)

Tasmania, in Pictures

2007-07-30T21:41:00.001+10:00

Noah had a great time in Tassie staying at Nana and Papa's house.

Each morning, Noah got up, threw-on his new (puppy dog) dressing-gown and played in the lounge room.

Of late, Noah has taken to carrying a sock with him. Not always. But socks are the first thing Noah has ever been possessive about. Usually he will give-up whatever is in his hand quite readily - not his sock. Stealing that sock can even bring tears to an otherwise happy Noah.

Richmond was a lot of fun.

As well as chasing ducks on land, Noah also looked-on, longingly, from the viewing-platform. (Much to Noah's disgust, Daddy refused to allow any walking-on-water out to ducks on the river).

It was time to go home, eventually.

All in a Days Work

2007-06-04T21:21:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, Noah made three rather exciting little advances in life.

Number 1: He's figured out how to initiate keepings-off. I thought he was handing a sock to me, and then he snatched it back with glee. Then he extended his offer again... Then it was taken back! Now where would he have learned that little stunt?

Number 2: Chasings. Mummy was crawling toward Noah, so he turned it into a game of chasings. It entertained us for about 5 mins as he walked away (with Daddy's help) every time Mummy got close.

Number 3: Noah's discovered he can walk with the support of a wall (side-stepping). Up until now he's needed a surface to put his hands down onto, rather than up against. It's one metaphorical step closer.

This photo has nothing to do with any of the above; we just like him in orange. It was taken in the main hang-out area at college (right near the heritage-listed grape-vine).

In other news... Noah's crawling really well these days. I'll post some pictures sometime soon.

Noah's Bonds Hoodie Ads

2007-04-14T22:29:00.000+10:00

We reckon that if Bonds used Noah as their model they'd sell many more hoodies than by using those teenage-lover-models.

We took these shots while on holiday. (See newtownlife for details).

On a related note, Noah occasionally likes to watch a bit of television (in his hoodie). Sesame Street is still going-strong, and Telly is still a main-stay of their monster-line-up.

Whaddaya say? Tempted to go and buy a new and fresh Bonds hoodie? I thought so. Tell them we sent you.

Progress on Crawling

2007-04-14T22:20:00.000+10:00

Noah is simultaneously making moves towards crawling and walking. But let's talk crawling first.

If Noah sets his mind on some yummy toy that's within a couple of feet, maybe more, then he will squirm along until he gets it. Sometime he makes great lunges in the process.

He's not yet crawling properly, not as this photo might suggest. But he can definitely squirm forwards on his tummy quite competently, as well as turn around.

The next step is to make the same progress while supporting his whole weight on his hands and knees. He'll get there. Soon, I'm sure.

Noah and the Great Half-Banana

2007-04-14T21:13:00.000+10:00

I think it's a great title for a kids book. It would go like this...

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Noah.

He liked to sit in his high-chair and eat things.
But of all the things in the world, Noah most like to eat banana.

Noah especially liked it when he was allowed to feed himself.
No spoons.
No parents.

Noah could eat half a banana all on his own. It would be all gobbled-up in just a couple of minutes.

And that's just for starters...

The End.

Yummy Mushy Moosh

2007-04-04T21:38:00.000+10:00

All manner of things pass for food now, especially vegetables.

Noah has regular meals of broccoli or carrot, sweet potato, baked beans, peas, Farax; whatever takes Mum's fancy. Banana, cous cous, tuna, even Weet-Bix.

Meals of 'solids' take place in the new high-chair. It's quite a command-centre, really. There's a pouch for bibs and toys, there's a lift-off tray, a seat-belt, too.

It's most fun when Noah feeds himself; it's also most dangerous.

What you can't do Sitting

2007-04-04T20:18:00.000+10:00

Once you can sit-up on your own, you can do almost everything in the world.

Noah's been sitting up on his own for a few weeks now. At first he was quite unsteady and needed pillows as props. Then he could sit on his own for seconds, then minutes, then ten minutes.

Now he can sit indefinitely; at least he could, if he didn't get impatient and try to pull himself up on things (to a standing position). But more on that some other time... for now, sitting and playing.

Peek-A-Boo

2007-03-07T21:07:00.000+11:00

Noah has developed an unusual habit... half of Peek-A-Boo. He loves pulling his sheets over his face.

In fact, he loves pulling almost anything over his eyes: bibs, little toys, even books, like "Monkey See, Monkey Zoo". The thing doesn't even need to cover his eyes fully, so long as its generally 'in the way'. Then, he'll kick and kick until...

Boo!! You pull back the covers.

Hopefully, very soon, he'll figure out the second part (pulling back the covers all by himself).

Literature... well, books anyway.

2007-03-07T20:33:00.000+11:00

Noah has a growing library now and is making great use of it. Picture Pairs, Peace At Last, Frog-tastic... there are plenty to choose from.

A new fixture in the bed-time routine is reading... Muddy Pup, on this occasion. Sometimes he'll make it through four or five books before bed.

Noah definitely settles-down to sleep a lot more smoothly if reading is the last thing on his agenda.

Water Baby!!

2007-03-07T20:02:00.000+11:00

Noah has always enjoyed bath times. The kicking (see earlier posts), the splashing, the regular round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"; but baths are never as much fun without a good set of rubber duckies.

Noah's first rubber duck had one serious problem: no squeak!! Thankfully Mummy found another set of rubber duckies, this time complete with squeaking skills. Hoorah!

But the bath is no longer the only place for water-baby fun. There's the pool, too!

On this occasion, cousins Josiah and Shem and good friend Phebe accompanied Noah to the pool (none of them made this photo) along with their mums. The pool is looking like becoming one of Noah's regular haunts.

Cosmopolitan Life

2007-02-25T22:08:00.000+11:00

Life in Sydney is rather exciting :)

There are so many people to see.

We had a Hansard picnic in Centennial Park a few weeks ago. Noah and Shem are seeing a bit more of one-another, which is great. But sometimes it's hard to tell if they're wrestling or just being affectionate cousins.

With Noah's rolling-over skills, the play mat is even more exciting than before. (Though strangely, Noah likes tags - the washing instructions type - more than he likes some toys. Thankfully almost everything has one).

But there's always time for mummy.

Sydney is an exhausting place to live, though.

(Don't worry, he's quite capable of rolling onto his back again. He's very mobile in the cot. In fact, for a while we were regularly having to reposition him after repeatedly waking himself by bumping his head against the far end of the cot.)

Rusks and Food!!!

2007-02-23T20:56:00.000+11:00

Rusks. Sure, they may taste like a bland cracker and be harder than your average cot-slat. But they're, apparently, better than any other toy in the basket.

Or at least they were for a while. Since Noah's been on solid (pureed) foods, rusks have become just another toy.

Probably because rusks don't taste like (yummy) broccoli...

...and you can't do this with rusks:

Noah's onto all sorts of vegies these days, and a few fruits too. Broccoli mixed with pumpkin is a bit of a hit.

Along with his enthusiasm for vegies has come an enthusiasm for spoons. Before they were nothing; now, they're a whole new toy.

One day soon he'll work out how to put a spoon into his mouth without making himself gag.

The Teeth

2007-02-23T20:16:00.000+11:00

Noah has officially left the toothless phase of life. God willing, he won't return to it again... not any time this century, anyway.

His little loppers crept up on us. He was being his normal, happy self when one day Katie discovered something hard on his gum while in the bath. On closer inspection we discovered - to our delight - that he had a little ivory poking through his bottom gum.

We tried feverishly to capture it on film, and ended up with a bunch of blurry shots of his tongue.

Let's zoom that in a bit...

Noah's since added a second installment to his collection. Again, he was very well behaved. Little did he know that having teeth would open his life to a world of new delights: rusks and food!!

Christmas Presents

2006-12-26T20:14:00.000+11:00

Christmas day can be an overwhelming day. But it's not so bad if you have a baby-rocker from which to enjoy proceedings.

It has all the dangly-bits and rocking-features that a baby needs to unwind. Things swing, things velcro-on and -off, things recline.

(Cousin Shem also rather enjoys it).

Two's Company

2006-12-26T16:47:00.000+11:00

A lazy few nights away with cousins afforded some tandem-playtime.

Shem and Noah are both old enough to enjoy putting toys into their mouths and grab at one-another's hands. Thankfully, though, they are too young to argue over those toys, or anything else for that matter. Blissful cooperation.

Bath-time is also much more fun with two. Well, sort of...

Noah is a very strong kicker in the bath. With every bath he totally drenches something: the walls, the floor, a parent, or - as in this case - an Uncle Luke and a comparatively placid cousin.

Noah's going to be seeing a lot more of his cousins in the coming year... Hoooooorahhh!

Do you put your toys in your mouth...?

2006-12-11T21:51:00.000+11:00

Toys, it would appear, are no longer just for randomly hitting and occasionally closing one's fist on. Toys are for your mouth.

The best type of toys for mouth-duty are those that hang from the little frame over your play mat. Simply have a parent adjust them to the right height, reach out, grab hold of the toy and put it in your mouth for five minutes at a time.

There are times when Noah can't be bothered with reaching to grab the toys, so he just opens his mouth and cranes his neck toward the toys; this method is met with only limited success.

It is, however, very cute.

The Ashes

2006-12-11T21:43:00.000+11:00

We'll talk more soon about one of Noah's recent discoveries: the bright, loud box near his play mat (a TV). But there's one picture that can't wait.

Noah's introduction to watching cricket with Dad: the Ashes, the second test (probably the third day if my memory serves me correctly - hence the facial expression).

May there be many more of these days to come :)

Bathing the Little Boy

2006-12-11T21:34:00.000+11:00

Bath time remains one of Noah's favourite times.

He's recently figured out splashing, especially with his legs. He kicks frantically in the water, but only for short stints (like a cheetah). Kicking is usually accompanied by a rather gleeful smile.

His theme music for bath time is "Row, row, row your boat".

Who knows, perhaps his bath-times for the next little while are numbered. Hopefully in Sydney he'll have a bath to play in... perhaps shower-time might become the next big thing.

Smiles by the dozen!

2006-11-15T16:52:00.000+11:00

Noah's smiling nearly all the time, these days. Smiles have been all the rage for about 8 weeks or so...

The change-table is a great place for smile-viewing. Perhaps it's because there's plenty to smile about: Noah arrives at the change table whenever he's eaten a big meal and it's the place where the vibrant contents of nappies are removed from his person - never to be seen again.

Bliss!

Stripes for Every Occasion

2006-10-23T19:34:00.000+11:00

The versatility of a wardrobe of stripey clothes is almost limitless. Take, for example, the following things that can be comfortably enjoyed while wearing stripes:

1. Bonds stripeys are great for sleeping in.
2. Short-sleeved Bonds stripeys are great for not-sleeping on hotter days.

3. But Bonds isn't the only brand of stripes - other stripes are perfectly suitable attire for some thumb-hunting. (Noah didn't manage to find his thumb on this occasion, it seems his fist was satisfactory).

4. Stripes are great for play time. Noah is staring at a colourful star that has flashing lights and fancy tunes - kids' toys these days!

Several Recent Discoveries

2006-10-22T22:09:00.000+11:00

Lions! - In recent weeks Noah has learned to follow the motion of his mobile as it whizzes-around above his sleepy little head. He watches his four friends, Mr. Lion (pictured), Mr. Cat, Mr. Puppy and Mr. Giraffe, as they keep a constant vigil over the Savannah of his bedroom.

Dad's ol' Bed (the cot) - The bassinet can no longer comfortably sleep our growing, young lad. It came time to roll out the old Cane-Family Cot last week. Noah is satisfyingly piling on the kilos at the moment; in fact, there's only one boy, Charlie, at Kate's mum's group who weighs more than Noah - and he's four weeks Noah's senior!

A Thumb in the Mouth is worth Two on the Hands - Noah discovered his thumb the other day, quite unaided by his folks. He's yet to find it a second time, though he'll often slurp on his fist when nothing better can be found.

Favourites

2006-10-08T21:46:00.000+11:00

Firstly, a favourite for Noah's parents: this outfit. I love those little boots. They were the very first thing Kate and I bought for the little guy.

Secondly, a favourite spot... for discovering things! Noah probably learns all sorts of things when Dad's got his back turned... could this be where it will all start?

Finally, everyone's favourite: bath time! Noah loves splashing around and wee-ing in the water and all the nice warmness and weightlessness. But when he gets out and is all wrapped-up he reveals his true identity as the cutest little guy the world has ever seen.

Smiles :)

2006-10-08T21:39:00.000+11:00

Gosh, smiles are hard to catch on camera!

For at least two reasons:

He's quick.
He's so great to watch when he's happy you don't want to spoil things by shoving a camera in on the moment.

Here's probably the best photo we've taken yet of the little smiler in-action.

As soon as we get a better snap, we'll post it here for all to see :)

Master of Disguise

2006-10-08T21:32:00.000+11:00

Thankfully Noah has a bear jacket, so he can circulate undetected amongst the local bear community.

A huge thanks to the girls who conspired together to buy "the best baby item you can own" for Katie... err, I mean, Noah.

The bear (pictured) is named "Cocoa, the Bear". He usually loiters around the change-table but has a habit of jumping into the stroller or the car whenever Noah's going somewhere interesting.

When he's not sleeping, feeding or crying...

2006-09-20T21:16:00.000+10:00

... he's usually surveying the new world.

Noah's becoming more and more expressive. Among his latest moves are:

A rather daddy-like 'concerned' look (Kate says it's 'stern').
The Smile - coming soon to a blog near you
Coo-ing
A complex repertoire of face-pulling that accompanies his wake-up stretches.

Near-expressionless sitting and staring at our faces (see below) also passes the time :)

The Boy at Play!

2006-09-20T21:10:00.000+10:00

Playtimes aren't exactly riotous so far.

We make sure he gets some tummy-time when he's awake (kids need to be slept on their back, etc.) On this particular occasion he stayed awake for... oooh, about 5 minutes. (His play rug - Noah's Ark - is a gift from the Canes).

To be fair, the above picture is actually a couple of weeks old. These days tummy time does actually involve a fair bit of lifting-the-head, wriggling and looking at things... even ostriches and lions.

Sleeping Skills

2006-09-20T21:00:00.000+10:00

Noah is proving rather accomplished at sleeping (and rather cute at it too).
Occasionally he wakes only once (for food) at night (say, 3am)... that is, so long as you don't consider midnight or 7am to be 'night'. We reckon we're pretty fortunate when that happens :) Praise God for giving us such a sleepy little boy!

As you can see, one of his special tricks is being very sleepy during the day too. People come to visit and seem to expect him to have Tonka trucks out shovelling sand. Let's just say his playtimes aren't quite so complicated... (more on that next post).

Aaarrrrr!!!

2006-08-25T19:47:00.000+10:00

Look me in the eye and tell me we haven't given birth to a pirate ;)

Facial expressions are all the rage at the moment. There's:

The Pirate (pictured)
The Pseudo-Smile (more related to bodily function than a true smile).
The Sleepy Philosopher Man (while sleeping, an expression intimating that he has just arrived at the meaning of life).

Introducing Noah Thomas Cane

2006-08-23T11:20:00.000+10:00

Noah's adventures began on the 16th of August 2006.

Praise the Lord!