Noah is Two!

"Holy moly, spicy guacamole!"
-Moose A. Moose (NickJr)

Can't believe how time keeps on flying by.  On December 7, 2011 our 2lb preemie turned 2! How did this happen?! I remember the events that led up to his birth and me waking from my coma to find myself a new mother, the first time I held him, the first time I was strong enough to stand up by his isolette and change his little preemie diaper, the day we brought him home and how it rained the whole way up, the first time I took a bath with him, when I secretly whispered mama over and over again after he said his first word (the opposite of mama, LOL!), the first time he cooed at me and the way those big brown eyes shined up at me, when he rolled over for the first time... all the way up until now.  A big two year old little boy.  Again, I ask, how did that happen?  How did we go from calling him a baby, to calling him a boy?  The truth of the matter is this, he will always be my baby.  Not because he is probably my first and last, but because he is the whole of my heart, my greatest accomplishment.  Nothing I ever did before mattered until I held the product of mine and Mike's love in these two arms. He has shown me how to fight, how to love, how to stress and how to walk in the light of God's blessings. I find myself thinking of all the things I want to show him, the lessons I hope to teach and I stop myself because I realize that nothing I ever say or do can begin to touch upon all of the things he has taught me.  And for that I am so thankful to be his mommy.

Ok, let me wipe away my tears and let's talk about Noah at 2 years old!
Character: He is the biggest one I know.  He relishes in attention and has even devised a way of making sure to get it.  He pretends to sneeze.  Only a parent of preemie will recognize the importance of a sneeze. It can be a precursor, a marker of an illness that is sure to come.  It can paralyze us as we fear the worst and brace for the fallout of something as simple as cute sound that kids make.  Could it be RSV?  Did he catch the Flu? Yes, a sneeze will make us drop everything and start a 'zap this illness in the ass' protocol: sanitizing every surface and toy, washing clothes and bedding, turning on the vaporizer or starting a breathing treatment plan just in case.  A sneeze = a sure fire way to get attention at once.  And my, does he love to pretend to sneeze!
Favorite words, including and not limited to: shit (had to make that one first based on sheer clarity and cognition), hi/bye, see ya, help, tv, bath time, jump, Lola, Bella, car, Oobi, Gabba, num num, baba, clean clean, Miaaaaaaaaa, NO!, yesh (as in Yes), hold me, wawa (agua), light, trash, off, socks, dipee (diaper), Elmo, pee pee, poop, push, all done (you like that sequence of words don't you?!), careful, mimi (sleep), mommy/daddy, horsey, Tia, open, soup, hot, bubbles, blow, happy, beya (better), ok, knock knock, ssshhh, shoes, tea, brush brush, cheese... and I'm done now.
Things I love about him right now: the way he makes a super annunciation of his kisses (mmmmwwwwaaaaaaahhhhhhhh), how he comes to find me when he hurts himself so I can kiss it and make it better, the way he runs into the room after Mike gives him his bottle in the morning and yells "Mommy", how he won't leave me alone when I'm cooking in the kitchen, the little dimple on his lower cheek/chin when he smiles or laughs extra hard, how he says no even when he means yes, how he jumps on my back (practically choking me out) to be his horsey, the way he gets your face to make eye contact when he really wants something (especially Talking Tom, aka kitty), the way he skips forward on his microphone that plays music to get to the song "Skip to my Lou", the fact that he still can't get up and down stairs by himself yet and that he needs my help to hold his hand and get him down or up, the fact that he is social butterfly and will go up to anybody and everybody to start up a one-word conversation, his complete and utter adoration of his daddy (we have this in common).

Can't wait to see what this year brings, I am so proud of this miracle!