Dear Noah

Last Friday, 5th March, you turned 2 years old. I cannot believe how quickly it has taken for you to be a toddler! One minute you were placed in my arms, all 2.62kgs of you.....730 days later, with lots of sleepless nights, lots of feeds and nappy changes and endless surprises, you are now almost 14kgs, talking in phrases and running around and calling me Mummy and mimicking me when I call your Dada Babe! Seriously!

Today I am writing to you so that one day you can celebrate who you are when you turned 2.








Your Dada and I count ourselves so lucky that for the most part, you are a wonderful baby/child. More often that not, you sleep through the night, giving your Dad and I our much needed time together and sleep. Although on some occasions, you still wake up during the night, screaming Dada or Mumma. Usually, it is your Dada who runs to rescue you from your nightmares. Mummy, although half awake will always try to wait it out to see whether you can put yourself back to sleep. Mean Mummy!

At 2, there are so many things that you are obsessed with. Not sure whether these are indicators of what you will continue to love when you grow up but here are some things that make you our Noah/N/ Noey/NoNo/Noahlish right now:

Music 

First keyboard and guitar

Watching live music

Amazing how at this age, you cannot say the word fish but you know the word guitar! Your Dada and I so love watching you explore your musical interests. Not only playing with your instruments but also watching musicians play. It can be a bit loud sometimes when you are banging on your drums, while playing 2 guitars and getting your Dada to play on the keyboard but oh how proud we were when you starting playing the harmonica!!!

Dancing

Okay, your current obsession with The Wiggles is ridiculous. Well, not really The Wiggles but with only 2 of their songs. Every day for the last couple of weeks, we have listened to Here Comes the Camel and Shimmy Shake about 5 million times. If The Wiggles made a cent for every time I had to hear these songs, the millions they have already made would be at infinity-millions. However, it is quite heartwarming to see you watch it as now, you are copying their actions. You have started clapping your hands above your head, pointing your finger while moving your right arm and doing the salute move on your forehead! Hilarious! I better make sure to keep those Line Dancing videos away from you my love.

Mermaid

It does not matter if she is older, bigger and taller. She is pretty!

Watching his mermaid in action

One day when you are a bit older and know the concept of boyfriend/girlfriend, I will remind you how your first love (aside from me, your Mummy of course!) is the mermaid at Manly Oceanworld. Our regular trips to the aquarium have you running to find the mermaid and asking me to have your photo taken with her. Well, she is quite pretty so you definitely have great taste!

Ate (Ah-te)

Enjoying the ice cream that Ate bought for you

Going for a ride with Ate

Playing with Ate

There is no denying how much you love and adore your Ate Isabel. When Isabel stayed with us for a couple of nights during the school holidays, you could not contain your excitement. It was Ate, Ate, Ate. To date, you look forward to seeing Ate and playing with Ate. When you don't get to see your Ate for a while,  you are watching videos of the 2 of you or looking at photos with Ate in it.



Animals

Enjoying seeing a butterfly land on Daddy's hand

I am holding a shark's egg everyone!

This stems from your Dad...definitely! Your love for the zoo, aquarium, wildlife world is incredible.

These days, we currently average going to Taronga Zoo and Manly Oceanworld about 1x a fortnight. Thank goodness that you have very generous grandparents (from both sides) who are happy enough to give Mumma and Dada passes for gifts (who would have ever thought I would ask for a zoo pass as a present???). It makes feeding your hunger to see your mates regularly so easy.

Cars/Trains/Horses (especially the ones you can ride on at the shops)

Riding on Neigh

Riding on Choo Choo

Need I say more? Your Dada and I are fast learning how to maneuver through the shops without having you see the rides (not being successful as you have such fast eyes!) and fast learning to just let you sit on the ride until a good samaritan who is unable to say no to their child comes.

The above are just a snippet of the things you currently love. Like most 2 year olds, you are a captured market for all things commercial. Thomas, Cars, In the Night Garden are just some of the characters that have already invaded our home. At school, you are a congenial child who loves to partake in all activities (especially music and dancing!). You love your artwork (we still cannot believe that word is part of your vocabulary) and you LOVE the sandpit...so much that you often come home covered with it.

Of course, we cannot fool ourselves to think that all is always easy and rosy. We do have our daily battles with you, Noah Timothy Stentiford (yes that's when the full name come out!). Changing nappies is HARD, not because of the smell, but because you hate lying still. You hate putting dot, dot, dot (suncream) and having your nails cut. Mummy and Dada have to bribe you to get you in the bath....and tooth cleaning is definitely OH&S hazard that parenting books never divulged. I have had my finger bitten so hard a couple of times that it has become blue.

I have started calling you Destructo as oftentimes it seems you enjoy tipping out boxes of toys that I have just packed. You also have zero patience (although it seems as if you are finally learning what "Noah wait" means) and God help us when we try to get the ipad or the iphone off you.

However, all in all, I think we will keep you! You have changed me so much (for the better I hope given that I am now decorating a child's birthday cake!) and if the last 2 years indicate how much love and happiness you will continue to bring into our lives, then your Dada and I look forward to what is ahead of us (including the HARD work!).

Your 2nd Birthday Cake! Dada baked it and Mummy decorated

That's our boy!

Once again, Happy Happy 2nd Birthday our darling Noah.
Mumma and Dada are very blessed to have you. 

Lots of love forever,

Mumma and Dada
XXX