Noah has such different sleep habits than his older sibs. Yesterday he was awake from 8:30am to 10pm, no nap. I put him to bed at 8, but he carried on til ten. I had to re-tuck him in 3 times, the last with a threat of a punishment. (I know that's not a pc term, but let's get real. When your kid is bad and you put them in a time-out chair, it's a consequence for bad behavior. Punishment is the same. Someone breaks the law, they get thrown into the pokey. I'm getting a bit tired of all the "soft" talk for what really is.) I've decided that Noah, like my dad and me, is a low-sleep-need person. Lucky me! Now I know what my grandmother and mother went through... Sometimes, when he catnaps in the evening, he'll stay up til 1am! So, if he dozes off, we try to wake him within 45 mins, so that we can get him to bed at least by 11. I've even popped him into his bed if he dozed off around 6, just to have him appear downstairs, rubbing his eyes, ready for action, at 8! What would I do w/o coffee?

Noah is full of questions and obsevations. It's an inquisitive age, four. Today, he told me that he didn't like so-and-so (someone he met at a party) because she had "pointy" hair. I explained to him that he should never tell her this, as that would hurt her feelings. Noah expresses remorse for being naughty or hurting others' feelings, something I don't remember the other kids doing. Rebekah and Ben were sensitive to the feelings of others, but didn't express remorse over bad behavior. In this, Noah is unique. I wonder what personality type he is. So far, we have two ENTP's, Sarah Jane and Josh, an ISFP, Rebekah, and an ESFP, Ben. David is an INTJ and I'm an ENFP. I know two things about Noah: he's introverted, and a feeler. I suspect he's a guardian, but he could be an idealist. Time will tell. Don't know what in the world I'm talking about? Go to this link www.keirsey.com and you'll learn all about it. You can even test yourself to see which personality type you are.

One thing Noah said recently really touched me. He was running past me, and I scooped him up, and smothered his little fat cheeks with kisses, and told him I loved him. In response, he said, "Even my heart loves your heart!" Then at bedtime, I told him that, and he returned, "Even my beatin' heart loves your beatin' heart." So now we say this to each other every night, last thing before I leace his room. (mother sigh...)

OK, that was unexpected. I just laughed at something on TV, a man reading a story to a cartoon character. Noah corrected me: "That's not a story, that's a poem." I didn't know, at age four, that he knew the difference.

Noah loves our Sheltie, Maisy. They spend a lot of time interacting. He "walks" her around the house, hugs her heartily, and tickles her when she's trying to nap. To her credit, she's very patient. She does get excited when they run together, and will nip in play, so I have to watch. As long as they don't run, she doesn't nip.