Sixteen Months.

Well, that went by fast. At first, I thought I'd continue my monthly updates. Then I thought I'd switch to every three months. Obviously that didn't happen. I'm here now, though!

Technically, he's not sixteen months old for four more days, so I'll keep pretending I have a little baby. I don't. At all. He's a little boy. He runs and laughs at jokes and teases us. He is growing into the most charming kid though. He's so mellow and just loves to be around people. He's started talking more (finally!) and it is basically the most adorable thing ever. His favorite word right now is "Daddy." He freaking loves his dad. It took him so long to start saying it and everyone was "Mom!!!!" but now he won't stop. If Chris isn't home and Nolan hears anything outside the door, he'll run up screaming "Daddy!" It is so cute.

He doesn't say "no" yet, which I'm thankful for. He can hold off on that one as long as he wants. He does shake his head if we offer him something he doesn't want, so he can communicate it, but he doesn't verbalize it. He is a "yeah" baby. Anytime we ask him a question, he will either say "yeah!" or "yesssssssh!" and smile. The other day, we were walking into a sushi resturant, and I asked him if he was going to eat some chinese food. He looked at me and said "yeah!" like it was totally obvious. He didn't touch the stuff. Haha!

He still only uses "Mom" when he's mad at me or trying to get my attention. I'm waiting for that loving "Mommy" or "Mama" when he's not frustrated, but so far I've had no such luck. He says also knows how to say book, cat, hug, okay, and bye-bye. He understands so much  more, he just isn't really a talker.

I love that the weather is so gorgeous right now. It is so much fun to be able to take Nolan to the park and let him run around. He has so much fun and can't stop smiling every time we go outside. The other night, I took him out on our back patio and turned the faucet on. I gave him some old cups and a pitcher and let him go to town. He was soaked by the time we went inside, but he had a blast! This age is the best. Period.

He is in 18 month clothes and size 5 diapers. He's losing his baby face and starting to look more like a child. He's still adorable though.

I'll try really hard to update more, but I can't promise anything with Griffin due in 8.5 weeks (whaaat?!)  Life is about to get crazy, friends. I'll leave you with some pictures of my little buddy to hold you over until next time. Who doesn't love pictures?





This is from our Mommy & Me photo shoot for Mother's Day. Photo by Stephanie Powell



Photo by Stephanie Powell











 
























Lately.

It has been a while since I've written. I decided to stop my monthly updates on Nolan after he turned one because I thought it would probably be too much, especially with a new little one coming that I'll want to do the same thing for. I've still been keeping track of his major accomplishments and will make sure to update those here!

The biggie: we have a walker! Well...now we have a runner and a kinda-skipper. He is all over the place. He took his first steps on March 2. He took five perfect steps the first time, and kept going all day long! I was so proud of him. I felt a little bad because Chris wasn't home, but I took lots of video for him. We call Nolan our little zombie because he walks with his arms straight out in front of him for balance. He just gets so proud of himself. It got to the point that he would fall just because he was laughing so hard. I have a toddler!

March was a big month for him. On March 6, he went to bed with no milk. Our typical night-night routine is the three of us go upstairs and play in his room, change him into his jammies, and he tells Chris goodnight then gets in the rocking chair with me. I give him a sippy of milk and we cuddle until he lets me know he is ready to get in his crib. That night, he decided he didn't want his drink and just went to sleep. I thought about continuing to skip it, but I love that time I have with him so I decided against it. At least now I know that the sippy is more for me than it is for him! He's such a big boy.

Speaking of big boy, we took him to get his first haircut on March 7. He did freaking awesome. They put a little cape on him and a big cape on me, then cut his hair while he was sitting on my lap. They gave him a sucker, which he loved (he never gets treats!) and that was the only thing he paid attention to. The worst part of the whole experience was the little pieces of hair getting stuck in his candy and the sticky drool running down my hand. Everyone there loved him. They kept saying they'd never seen a baby do so well. It turned out adorable and I can't believe how much older he looked! It has grown out quite a bit since then and I'm thinking we may need to go back in soon.

His first molar (bottom-right) finally popped through on March 14, at exactly 13 months old. That was a miserable one! He was so sick. Most of the week, he was running a fever and couldn't stop crying. We did a lot of cuddling. I'm not looking forward to the rest of them coming in. We had it so easy with his front teeth that I was not prepared for seeing him in so much pain with the bigger ones. It was awful.

He is changing and growing so much. He is still wearing 12 and 18 month clothes, but he seems so much bigger to me. He is losing his baby face and starting to look like a little boy! He is starting to develop a little attitude and challenge us when we tell him he can't do something. Right now, if we scold him, he will grunt at us and close his eyes really dramatically before slowly dropping his head. After his quick moment of silence, he'll go back to playing as usual.

He dances at the slightest hint of music. He'll wave his hands and rock his whole body. If he is standing, he usually ends up falling over to dance on the ground. If he is sleeping and a song comes on, he'll wake up and dance until it ends, then he will go back to sleep.

He has started shaking his head no to everything. It is adorable when he does it though because he has no idea what it means. He opens his eyes and mouth really wide, raises his hand to us, and shakes his head back and forth. It kills me.

I still can't believe how much I love him. For real.

Oh, Yeah.

By the way, although most of you already know...my blog doesn't.

Nolan is going to be a BIG BROTHER!

We found out a couple of months ago. I'm 16 weeks now and finally starting to feel like a normal human being. I was so sick with his little one. I felt like because this pregnancy has been so different than my last, that this baby had to be a girl. We found out last week that we are actually having another little boy! My buddy is going to have a little brother to rough house and get into trouble with.

I'm due August 11th. Things are definitely different this time around, but I couldn't feel more blessed. I can't wait to hold my new little man and introduce him to the loves of my life at home. I am surrounded by the best guys a girl could ask for. Blessed.

One Year Old!

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! This has been the best year of my life. Seriously. I never knew how much love my heart could hold. How hasn't it exploded by now? I'll never know.

We spent his special day as a family...just the three of us. I set my alarm and went in to wake him just before 07:23 so I could take a picture and hold him as he turned exactly one year old. After that, I took him downstairs and made him a yummy breakfast of waffles and cinnamon applesauce while he watched the Birthday episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. We spent the rest of the morning playing and cuddling.

At around 11:00, we got ready and headed out for the rest of the day. We started out at Cracker Barrel so we could order Nolan his first kids meal. He got macaroni and cheese, a baked sweet potato, a biscuit, and an apple juice box. He loved the potato and biscuit, but only ate a few bites of his macaroni. Luckily, Daddy was there to help him finish it.

Once we were stuffed full of delicious food, we hit the road to spend the afternoon at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. Nolan loved it. I kept pulling him out of his stroller so he could get right up against the different tanks. He kept following the fish around with his little hand and trying to tickle them through the glass. His favorite part was the penguin exhibit. We went back to watch them two different times because they made him laugh so hard.

We stopped at the gift shop to let him pick out a special toy (he got a stuffed penguin), squeezed in the photo booth to get our pictures taken, had a snack, and headed home. He was asleep within seconds of being in the car. He was in such a good mood all day long. I think he knew it was his day and I know he felt loved.

On the 15th, he had his well check appointment. He weighs 21.2 pounds and is in the 25th percentile. He is 30.5 inches long, which puts him in the 75th percentile. His head is finally evening out and is back down to the 50th percentile. He is absolutely perfect! We discussed how his eating habits should be changing now that he is getting older and he shouldn't be as dependant on formula. He only uses sippy cups now and drinks whole milk instead of formula. He's getting so big!

He is still in 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. We need to move him to 18 month pajamas though...those seem to run a little small. His growth has definitely slowed down and he is growing more like a little boy than a baby. He wears size 4 shoes.

He learned so much this past month. He started waving bye-bye on January 20th. He did it really well for about a week, and then he just stopped. I know he still knows how to do it, but he chooses not to. On the 25th, he started standing on his own. Chris and I were sitting on the couch and looked down at him, and he was just standing there looking at us, like it was no big deal! On the 27th, he woke up and was rolling his r's with his tongue. I have no idea where he picked that up, but it only lasted a few days and he was done with that too. His 8th tooth came in on the 10th (finally!) This one filled out his bottom row and came in on the far left side.

He does so many things that just crack me up. On the 28th, he learned that he could "work smarter, not harder" by putting a book on the ground and sliding around on it with both of his hands instead of actually crawling. On the 5th of February, he was sitting on the ground with a toy cup and was pretending to actually drink out of it. He'd put it up to his mouth, swallow, and sigh really loud before taking another "drink." That same day, he came up to me while I was taking a nap, pulled the blanket off my feet, and tickled them. He also started screaming along with girls on TV. He doesn't even have to be paying attention, but if he hears someone scream, he will imitate them and smile. It is hilarious.

He isn't walking yet, but he is so close. I'm guessing he will just take off within the next couple of weeks. His doctor said he is right on track developmentally and to just keep doing what we're doing!

Little Boy, you make my day, every day. I wake up and can't wait to hold you. You are the last thing I think about before I fall asleep each night. You have made me the happiest mommy in the world and I can't wait to see what your next year has in store for you. You're my best buddy. Happy Birthday, Nolan!

Eleven Months.

Okay, this one might get me a little emotional. This can't be Nolan's last official month as a baby. In a few weeks, when people ask me how old he is, I'll say "one." We've started planning his birthday party and I think it is going to be so cute! It is going to be sock monkey themed. I went back and forth for a long time on whether or not I wanted to invite friends or just family, and I think I've finally decided on family only. Buddy is starting to get a little fear of strangers and this is his day...I want him to have fun. I also want to be able to focus on him and not on hosting this giant bash that he will get bored and be uncomfortable at. He will be surrounded by his favorite people and I can spend my day loving on him. It will be perfect! Next year when he knows what friends are, we'll invite his pals to his party.

He has changed so much over the last month. I looked at my calender where I keep note of major milestones and he only met one since my last post, but his personality is developing like crazy. He is turning into a little boy. He is so vocal and talks all the time. He'll attempt to hold conversations with us by responding "yeah!" to anything we say to him. He yells for me whenever he needs something or I'm out of his view. If I go around the corner in the kitchen, he'll go to the doorway and say "Ma! Ma!" until he can see me again, then he'll start laughing. He does this funny thing when he gets really excited where he'll put both of his hands up by his face and gasp really loud. He will do it over and over until we start laughing, then he will too.

He is a cheesy little one. He can be sitting on the floor minding his own business, but as soon as he realizes someone is watching him he will scrunch his whole face up, close his eyes, and smile so hard it looks like his head might explode. He flirts with everyone he sees. We were at dinner a couple of weeks ago and he was leaning around me and giving this shy smile. I turned around to see this adorable little girl in a high chair smiling back at him. This continued through our entire meal! The little girl's mom and her friend just loved Nolan. I told him that if he were older and had a pen, he would have left with all three of their phone numbers that night.

He hasn't grown much. He is still mostly in 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. He is finally starting to become more experimental with his eating which I'm thankful for. I was starting to worry that he was going to be picky like his dad! Bananas are his absolute favorite. He loves them. He tries to take huge bites though, so when we sit down to eat one I make sure it is something I'm ready to battle over. He won't eat it if it is cut up into bite-size pieces, so I just have to help him through it to make sure he doesn't try to bite off a quarter of the banana at once.

I mentioned that he met one milestone this month, and it was a big one. On December 16, he started to pull to a standing position! Since then, I haven't been able to keep the kid down. He will pull up on everything he is able to. He has even started to let go of what he is holding onto and stand unassisted for a second or two. He is able to get on his tiptoes (mostly to look over our baby gate to see where the toys he dropped ended up landing.) I feel like he will be walking sooner than I'm ready for.

He still lets me rock him to sleep at night and I will do that as long as I'm able to. I know some people say it creates poor sleep habits, but he has no problem putting himself to sleep if I lay him down awake so I'm not concerned. I love that time with him. He will lay in my arms and look up at me with the sweetest tired look in his eyes. He loves to run his fingers through my hair. I tried rocking him with my hair in a ponytail once and he was so fidgety until I let it down so he could touch it. It calms him down and melts my heart a little.

I love that monkey so, so much. He is my best buddy. I still can't believe that next time I do one of these updates, he will be a year old. Time...feel free to slow down whenever.

Ten Months.

Double digits, buddy! Nolan is an entirely new baby this month. I can't believe how much he has learned. His personality is developing and I love watching the different ways he interacts with people. He is so affectionate with me. He will sit and cuddle with me and run his fingers through my hair for as long as I'll let him. Then the second he is in his daddy's arms, he starts playfully smacking his hands and yelling and laughing. It is absolutely hilarious.

We have a crawler. He was so close for so long, then all of a sudden on December 1 he just started doing it! He was a little wobbly at first, but he got the hang of it fast. We practiced by putting my phone on the ground and letting him crawl towards it (he loves our phones!) It took him a few extra days to figure out he could crawl on the tile in the kitchen just as well as the carpet, but he did. He started sitting up from a crawling position on December 9. On December 11 I went into his room in the morning to find him sitting up in his crib for the first time.  Now we can't keep the kid in one spot for longer than about twenty seconds. He just wants to move, move, move!

His top right tooth finally came through on December 9. That one was stubborn! His gum was swollen for weeks and although he didn't act like it really bothered him, he would squirm if I tried to lightly touch it with my finger. He is up to five teeth total now (two on top and three on bottom.) His smile is so precious with his little baby teeth. I just love it.

He seems heavier when we lift him, but he is still fitting in his 6-9 month onesies and 9-12 month clothes. We did have to move him to size 4 diapers because the size 3 diapers were leaking. He seems to be right on track for his age. He's never really had baby rolls but what little ones he did have are quickly disappearing now that he is moving around so much. That makes me sad but he is healthy and that's all that matters to me.

He is eating better. He still doesn't like chunks in his pureed food. He throws a major gagging fit if I try to give him anything like that. He is starting to really like solids though. Some of his favorites are string cheese and rice (not together.) One of his first times crawling was actually across the room to me so he could have a bite of my string cheese. He ended up eating almost the whole thing on his own. He is getting pretty good at drinking out of a sippy cup. He understands that if he lifts it to his mouth and drinks, he'll get water. He doesn't understand that if he bangs it on the wall or chair, the water will spill out. Well...maybe he does and he just thinks that is funny. I don't really know.

He is starting to grasp more complex ideas. He started clapping on November 18. At first we'd have to prompt him for a little bit before he'd do it. Now he'll clap for himself when he does something he's proud of. The other day I was helping him walk across the room and when we got to the couch he sat down. I said "Yay!" and he started clapping all on his own. He knows it is a happy gesture. He always smiles really big when he does it too.

He's "talking" all the time. So far the most obvious things he says are "Mama", "Dada", and "Baba" but the only word he really associates correctly is "Mama." He calls for me in the morning when he wakes up and in the afternoon when he is done with his nap. I'm pretty sure he is working on "Hi" and "Yeah" too. We'll ask him a question and he kind of nods and goes "Aaah!" but it is starting to sound more and more like "Yeah" every day. When he is really excited, he smiles and makes this adorable gasping sound like he just can't even believe how happy he is. It is pretty much the most adorable thing ever.

Oh, and speaking of adorable...he winks. It is with both of his eyes, but he is winking. He sighs, purses his lips, and closes both of his eyes really tight for just a second. My mom said I did the same thing when I was a baby. I hope he never learns to wink with one eye because I want to see him do it exactly how he does forever.

Little boy, you continue to amaze me. You're my best little buddy and there is nobody I'd rather spend my days with. You will be a toddler soon...I'm savoring every last second that you are my literal baby. You and I both know you'll always be my baby in my mind. I love you so much.

Nine Months.

Well, the little one has been a part of this great big world for longer than I was pregnant with him. Possible? It must be. How? I have no idea.

We took him in for his checkup on November 14. He is up to 19.8 pounds and 28.6 inches long. Both put him right around the 50th percentile for his age. His head...well...it is large. The circumference is 18.4 inches which bumps him up to the 90th percentile. I laughed when we found this out because his daddy's pet name for him is "Big Head" (in the most loving way possible, of course!) and I always respond with "he doesn't have a big head!" But I guess he does. His parents do too. It happens and he rocks it.

He wears 6-9 month onesies and 9-12 month pajamas and pants. Some of his 12 month clothes are still a little bit big on him, but they will fit him in the next week or two. He has a couple of 18 month shirts that I put him in sometimes because they seem comfortable, but we can't leave the house in them yet. He has started soaking through his size 3 diapers at night, so we moved him to size 4 while he sleeps. He still wears size 3 during the day though because they aren't as bulky under his clothes.

He is a mover! He is still rolling all over the place. He isn't crawling yet, but he will get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. When he wants to go somewhere, he drops to his belly and rolls. I still can't decide if he is going to crawl or not (as if it is up to me to decide...) He loves to "walk." If we hold our hands out to him, he starts laughing hysterically, grabs our fingers, and pulls himself up. He takes the most adorable jerky steps and will haul his little butt back and forth across the room. I really need to get it on video before he gets more steady on his feet. I never want to forget the proud look he gets on his face or the wobbly way he picks his feet up way too high.

He is up to four official teeth. He has three on the bottom and one finally came through on the top left on 10/22. His second one on top has been trying to pop through for weeks and it just won't! It is stubborn. He looks too cute for words with his random mouth of teeth. I just love it.

His hair is getting pretty long. I've actually been debating taking him in to get it trimmed because the sides are so poofy and hang over his ears. I always wanted to grow it out into a shag, but I'm thinking I might need to just cave here. Maybe for his first birthday.

We've been introducing new foods, and boy is he picky! He loves crunchy things like puffs and purees (only in baby food form), but nothing in between. I've tried giving him noodles, different sauces, soups, vegetables, lasagna...he gags and growls and yells at me like I'm feeding him Windex. The worst was when I tried to give him wild berry applesauce (I know, how dare I?!) He cried because he hated it so bad. I talked with his doctor about it and he told me to just stick with what he likes and try things with more texture every once in a while. Hopefully one day he'll just love it!

He is doing pretty well in his crib. He has started fussing almost every morning right around 3:00. This is the time I typically get home from work and I have a bad habit of going in to cuddle him for a while before I go to sleep. I think he's come to expect it. I feel torn because I don't want to create poor sleep habits, but at the same time I don't want to ever regret a moment that I didn't cuddle him or hold him when he wanted me. I realize that when I hug him at night, it is just as much for me as it is for him and I openly admit that. I think we just miss each other when I'm gone in the evenings.

His laugh is evolving. His baby giggle is gone. He started doing what sounded like a really forced cackle laugh instead. That has gone too and now he sighs and squeals like a donkey when he laughs. Each one was amazing, but this newest one has got to be my favorite. It is yet another thing I really need to get on video before he stops.

He's a talker! He has stopped saying "Mama" which I'm sad about, but it was his first word so I'm trying not to care too much. Now he says a lot of "Dada" and "Gaga" and "Baba." He screams and growls when he is angry. He cries to show emotion and not just when he needs something. He is becoming a little boy.

He is still the most amazing baby I've ever known. I was walking with him through the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and a lady stopped me to tell me he was the most beautiful baby she'd ever seen and she had 12 grandkids! I am even more in love with him than I was last month, believe it or not. He's the best. Plain and simple.