Noah was so little the first time we saw him. He came from another foster home. They were already asking to adopt the twins so they decided to move them to a family that wanted to just foster.
It’s kind of funny now that us not planning to adopt is part of why we were chosen given that he is ours forever now.
He fills our entire sink now. It was bathtub to him just over a year ago when we got him.
Noah loved his bouncy chair. He took naps in it regularly his first few weeks in our home.
I had so much fun picking out clothes for the twins. We had a set of superhero onesies and a set of Harry Potter onesies.
Noah was a very serious little baby. It took so long for him to smile. Even as a tiny one he would sit and observe everything going on around him.
He has always liked to just sit and be held. He’s a real cuddlebug.
Noah has always been extra congested. He probably has allergies which definitely fits right in with our family.
He also snores which is just so cute coming from a baby. Of course when he doesn’t snore I get concerned about why he isn’t.
The first time the caseworker came to visit after placement she couldn’t believe they were the same boys. They had already grown so much.
One day we were at Wal-Mart and on a whim I bought this blanket toy. We named it Bear Bear and it became Noah’s favorite toy for the next few months.
Once the babies were four months old we started them on rice cereal. Noah was a big fan!
Cameron had a theory that holding a sleeping baby makes you fall asleep to. He tested this theory pretty much every day.
By five months Noah was smiling for us if we worked really hard for it. More often he was given us this look like we just amused him or something.
Adrian wasn’t sure what to think about these little ones at first. After a while he discovered he could play with them and Noah loved all the attention.
It was an adjustment going back to babies after eleven years. We had a lot to learn quick including cribs and formula and bottles.
Noah has always really studied things. Once I watched while he spent about thirty minutes testing putting things and then his own body parts through the doggy door. It was fascinating to watch him study it out and discover new things.
By six months, Noah was smiling all the time and hasn’t stopped yet. I just love his mischievous little smile.
When I took the boys for their six month checkup, they were both sick. Noah has always had a rough time with congestion and breathing. He did not like his breathing treatments, but he did like being able to breathe better afterwards.
Noah loves being outside. The first time we tried to put him in the grass, however, he lifted up his legs and started crying like we had totally betrayed him.
Noah has always loved baths. Once he figured out how to splash he wanted to stay in the bath forever.
Noah’s favorite TV show is Little Baby Bum which is animated nursery rhymes. He asks for it, but he calls it Cars because that’s what Nicholas always asks for on the TV.
We went to the zoo one day and he cracked me up with his silly faces and babbling. He was just in the best mood, probably because we were outside for so long.
Noah loves toys. He loves Magna-Tiles and blocks the most. He also really likes the toy kitchen.
Noah absolutely loves Fritz. He can often be found riding around on Noah’s shoulders.
At some point he decided this book tasted good and proceeded to chew on it. He never tried to eat any other book, though he did taste several. We’re still not sure what was so tasty about this one.
Noah learned how to army crawl when he was seven months old. And so nothing was safe and he didn’t stay on his big floor blanket anymore.
The first time Noah sat in a highchair at a restaurant, he was so thrilled. He just knew he was so big.
It’s funny to think we had to work so hard at first to get Noah to smile at us. He is still on the serious side, especially compared to his twin, but he smiles a whole lot now.
Because they were in foster care, the twins had to do ECI. They had special skills training and physical therapy. They didn’t need it, though. Despite all odds, they have been consistently ahead and so far have showed no deficits in spite of their rough start.
Noah’s favorite person in the world may very well be his new grandfather. He loves any attention from his Dada (my older kids call him Daddis and the little ones couldn’t quite say it and Dada has stuck).
When we got the bouncer, Noah was so incredibly confused by it. Eventually he got it figured out and would just laugh and laugh playing in it.
Noah’s hair took so long to begin to grow. Once it did, we discovered he has the most beautiful little curls that are as soft as a lamb’s wool.
Once Noah got used to sitting in grass he would sit and pull on the grass and try to eat it.
By the time he turned nine months old Noah was crawling. He was a little behind his twin so he was very pleased with himself that he could finally keep up with his brother.
Noah has always taken food very seriously. He eats almost everything we put in front of him. For a while he didn’t like to be fed with a spoon, but he’s back to not minding which is useful for messy foods like yogurt.
He does have his limits for what he’ll eat. Pureed chicken noodle soup was definitely not something he cared for. And eggs. Eggs have offended him from the first we tried to give it to him.
Magna-Tiles are not something I would expect a tiny one to enjoy playing with, but Noah always has. He has experimented with sticking them to various surfaces and stacked them to see if they need to be the same shape to work. He’s tried to build things with them but so far he is still too little.
Sometimes Noah’s face just looks like he knows so much more than everyone else. He probably does.
Often when Noah wakes from a nap, he’ll just lay there happy as can be. Sometimes he’ll babble to himself. Or times he just looks around.
By eleven months old, Noah could pull himself to a stand. He hadn’t gotten brave enough to let go or take any steps yet, though.
The twins think it is great fun to climb into the dishwasher. Noah was so proud of himself the first time I found him standing in it.
Like his older siblings, Noah loves books. Sometimes he’ll just sit and page through a board book and study the pictures.
Once Noah started growing, he didn’t stop until he had a nice, big, round belly. Now he’s not putting on much weight, but he’s getting much taller.
Noah started walking soon after he turned one year old. Once he could walk, we were really in for it with the twins (creatures of chaos).
The first time I put shoes on Noah he was so confused. He could barely take a single step without help. He couldn’t wait to get those shoes off his feet.
Noah has an incredible vocabulary. He started saying his first word at three months which is insane (good). We kept track of the number of words he can say for a while and quit at fifty. He’s added a bunch more since and has started combining them into short sentences now.
Noah can climb on the table now (his twin has been able to for a couple months). He thinks it is great fun to run around on it until we make him get down.
Noah really likes climbing into cabinets. He’s also good at breaking the baby locks on the cabinets so this presents a bit of a problem and has led to us clearing out a couple for him to play in.
The first time he ate a quesadilla it was like he had discovered a world of food he never knew existed. He loved it!
Noah is generally a really good sleeper. He often sleeps from 9pm to 5am, drinks a bottle, and then goes back to sleep until our alarm goes off at 6:20am.
His cabinet obsession leads to him doing some amusing things sometimes. Like sitting in a frying pan.
Noah sit in a squat while playing or watching Little Baby Bum for long periods of time. It is clearly a very comfortable position for him.
It’s kind of funny seeing Noah in clothes we bought for Nicholas when Nicholas was first placed with us. It seems crazy that the tiny little human could be this big already.
One day Ani tried to teach Noah his colors using his blocks. He was much more interested in playing with her water bottle than picking which block was yellow.
We got this giant bear years ago on clearance at Walgreen’s after Valentine’s Day. It sat in a closet until the babies found it. Noah really likes cuddling with it/on it, especially when he is sleepy.
He was an alien from Toy Story for Halloween. He matched Elijah, though Noah was a lot less thrilled with the costume than his older brother was.
Welcome to the Duk family, Noah Moses Christopher!
Smaller on the Outside 