20 months

Laura had her "Noah" post a couple weeks ago, so it's my turn. Our little man is 20 months old today! I couldn't have imagined how much he would change in these 20 months, nor how much he would melt my heart. It is incredible to watch him learn and grow, especially with language. He is constantly surprising us with what he understands, and he seems to pick up at least one new word each day. About a quarter of Hungry Noah's words relate to food, including "cheese", "pan" (bread), "'nana" (banana), and just yesterday, "pizza." He loves calling out what he sees on walks, especially "car" and "bus", And he just started trying to say his own name, calling himself "Nah-nah."

Here are some of the latest adventures....

Noah and I took an afternoon recently to hit one of the local parks while Mama studied. The real park was closed (as are most green spaces in Arequipa), but we found an acceptable alternative nearby. The main requirement for a Noah-approved park is not a playground or toys, but space to RUN! He has boundless energy and doesn't like to stay in one place for long, so we kept on the move and had a great time.

Speaking of running, Noah is becoming quite the futbolista. Throwing and kicking soccer balls are his favorite things to do outside (besides running), and he goes crazy whenever he sees a ball or a picture of one. "Ball! Ball!" he yells, sometimes sticking out his tongue on the "L" for emphasis. His latest game is to kick or throw the ball between my legs, and then shout, doing his best (high-pitched) Latino announcer impersonation, "Goooooooool!" I have no idea where he picked it up - it's not like we say that, and we don't really watch much soccer on TV. Must be in the air here.

And of course, Noah is ever the aspiring artist. He still dances to music, even to my quena melodies, high-stepping around the room and turning circles. He loves - to the point of mild obsession - guitars, or "Ga-ga" as he calls them. Several times a day he begs me to take out my guitar so he can listen or play. Sometimes we practice duets! (see above) He has his own quena as well, which he hums into instead of blowing.

Yes, our boy is growing up too fast.

One final story: Tonight we were holding him, singing just before putting him in his crib, and he began giving us each kisses, back and forth, one to the other, before finally grabbing both of our heads and pushing them together so that we would kiss! He did it about a dozen more times, giggling through it all. We sure love our little Noah.