"Out!"

Never has one short word meant so much. "Out" is only three letters long, but it has been given new meaning.

Yesterday, Noah took a bath by himself. Usually, he and Aidan will bathe together, but Aidan wanted to take a shower instead. Noah's been in speech therapy for nearly a year now. His vocabulary grows weekly, but he always say "Uh, uh, uh", and points to whatever he wants. It's kind of frustrating, because at this age, I expect him to tell me what he wants. If he wants a drink, I expect him to say "Drink!", but all I ever get is "Uh, uh, uh!"

Bathtime is one of Noah's favorite times of the day. He adores splashing the water, and he will refuse to get out of the tub, or throw a tantrum while we try to dress him. Last night was different. I was getting his towel out and making sure I had his diaper and pjs while he splashed around. He loves pouring water out of his bath cup and "washing" his hair. As I was getting everything prepped for when he got out of the shower, the unthinkable happened.

"Mama.....out!" Noah was standing up and holding his arms up towards me, signaling that he was ready to get out of the tub. I looked at him for a minute, not quite sure I believed him.

"Out!" he said again.

I must admit it--I nearly cried! For the first time in his entire life, Noah told me exactly what he wanted, and he told me with real words. Naturally, I took out of the tub and got him dressed.

My baby boy is growing up. He's making tremendous progress, and I now know that he is capable of telling me his needs with actual words. I am so proud of him!

Ballet

My boys know what they like. Aidan started out by loving Cars, then Thomas, and now Mario and Super Hero Squad. Noah loves Cars and Thomas. Katie is a bit different. She's a bit more...ahem....fickle. Katie will see a new Barbie and want to buy it today, but will forget about it in a week. She will save up her money only to waste it on things she doesn't care about. She signed up for cheerleading when she was in kindergarten only to refuse to do any cheers. Therefore, when I mentioned other activities that might interest her last fall, I wanted to see what she would remember. I mentioned soccer, softball, cheerleading, gymnastics, and ballet. She decided she wanted to take ballet. Keep in mind this was the fall of 2009, one year ago. However, since Katie is Katie, I decided to wait and see how long she stayed interested in ballet. She continued to talk about it during the winter and spring, so I began looking into ways to introduce her to ballet. Grayson School of Ballet had a summer intensive that would've given her a crash course in ballet, but we decided to wait and sign her up for the new dance year that began Aug. 9.

At this ballet school, the girls are divided up into classes based upon their ages, not their experience. Katie is in Ballet II. We purchased the royal blue school uniform leotard that has Grayson School of Ballet embroidered on it, but we purchased some pink Danskin tights and pink leather ballet slippers elsewhere.

On her first day of ballet, we tried pulling her hair into a bun, but her hair is so thin that it didn't work very well. However, she got dressed in her outfit and was eager for her first class. Luckily, Chris was off of work that day, so he stayed home with the boys while I took Katie to dance class. Parents are not allowed to stay and watch except on special days (due to lack of space in the studio), so I went to Publix while she danced. When I picked her up, I was greeted with a huge grin and could see her class finishing up through the window. She danced across the floor, trying her hardest to follow the steps. When her class let out, she told me how much she loved ballet! I was stunned!!

She had ballet again this past Tuesday, and once again, she loved it! I am so glad to have found something that Katie has a true interest in learning. I took ballet when I was a child and I loved it, and then I took clogging for awhile after ballet. It taught me a lot about poise and grace, and I hope Katie will learn a lot of that as well. It's an activity that is physically demanding, but can be so much fun and so enjoyable.

Tantrums

The move has been hard on all of us. Katie and Aidan have both given us behavioral issues. However, it's Noah that's given us the most trouble. Before the beach, he was very laid-back and fun to be around. Lately, it's been horrible. Every time we leave the house, he will throw a tantrum. He has to help open the car door and close the car door. If we go to a place, such as Target, that has automatic doors, he will refuse to come inside until HE opens the door. If we don't understand what he wants, he will literally forget every word and begin screaming at the top of his lungs. He will scream so loudly that my ears occasionally begin ringing now, even when he's not around. I am at the end of my rope. I don't know what to do to keep him happy, but more than anything, I just want him to communicate his needs to me. I don't want him to melt down over everything.

Today, Noah had a good day. We went to the post office, and he was sweet. He stood still and talked a little bit. Our tire went flat yesterday as soon as we arrived at a birthday party, so we had to get two new tires this afternoon. As we entered the store, Noah tripped and skinned his right knee. I tried to bandage it up, but he screamed and would not let me help him. I got him to relax, and I told him that if he was a good boy, we would get a treat. He repeated "good boy", and calmed down. After nearly 2 hours, the car was fixed, so we stopped by Steak 'n Shake for a grilled cheese, one of Noah's favs! We had to go to Publix next, and I asked him to be a good boy again. We walked calmly into Publix, got one of the carts he can "drive", and though he nearly melted down because he couldn't open the door from inside the cart, he quickly calmed down and he got a chocolate chip cookie. When the baker handed him the cookie, he smiled and said "Thank you!" The baker grinned. The rest of our trip was uneventful, and we managed an outing without much crying.

On Saturday, though, Noah melted numerous times. We went to Lowe's first, and there is something about Lowe's that Noah does not like. He screams bloody murder when he walks in the door. He was buckled into his stroller, but he managed to wriggle enough that he almost fell out, head first, during his fit. We went to Kohl's next, and once again, he screamed and cried. Payless was the same, and so was Target. We were exhausted and have no idea how to help him control these tantrums.

Aidan went through a similar phase, and outgrew it after about 6 months. 6 months is a LONG time.....................

Southern Methodists

I was born and raised a Roman Catholic. As a child, I gladly took part in every part of my religious upbringing, from First Communion to Confirmation. I was an active member of youth group, and I loved participating in the Life Teen Mass on Sundays. Chris, however, was brought up Southern Baptist. Not simply Baptist--Southern Baptist. He was raised without dancing, drinking, and everyone singing praise music at church. When we decided to get married, we were both faced with questioning our religious stands. Though both of us are strong Christians, we didn't feel that getting married in the Catholic Church or Baptist Church was the right fit. We ended up getting married at a Methodist Church. It worked for us. We both still attend the churches we were raised in sometimes, but we also have attended Methodist churches.

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to attend a new church. Chris saw a Methodist Church just down the street--Prospect UMC. It was a smaller looking church, and Chris thought it might be nice to attend a smaller church, just to see what it was like. To begin with, the parking was a nightmare! However, once we went inside, many people were happy to help us figure out where the nursery was. We got Noah settled, and Katie and Aidan went to regular church until they called the kids for children's church. As soon as we got into the santuary, something seemed vaguely familiar. There was a screen in the middle of the alter, and the choir was very animated, singing praise music that was quite unfamiliar to me. Immediately, I felt uncomfortable. Growing up Catholic, I prefer a very specific format at church, and not a ton of music. Chris has never been comfortable with a lot of music during church. Some people really love churches that are contemporary, with videos and lots of music, but that's not for Chris and me. This church reminded me of my in-laws' Southern Baptist Church! They sang about 10 songs, and there was nothing familiar during this service. Chris said that he'd heard of Southern Baptists, but never Southern Methodists! When we picked the kids up, they were so excited and loved the church! Naturally!! However, I think it's safe to say we won't return to that church--it was not our cup of tea!