Hi. Again.

Hello, there! I figured it was a good time for an update. We moved Nolan to a toddler bed a couple of weeks ago and he's rocking it. His first night was rough. He totally didn't get it. He screamed and screamed and screamed. The second night, he only cried a little bit. The third night, I asked him if he wanted to go to bed and he ran right into his room laughing. He loves it! The only problem we're having is he keeps falling asleep at his door. He will get so excited to lay down, but sometime after we leave he gets up and lays down with his blankie at the door. We are having to carry him to bed every night. It has only been a couple of weeks though and he isn't freaking out anymore so I think he'll get there!

We decorated his room in Finding Nemo stuff. He has a major fish obsession right now. He has cute decals on his walls and a bright Nemo bedding set. I've been painting pictures for his room, too. It is turning out so fun and colorful. He loves it! We also got him his first pet. A fish. Shocker. He is a pretty blue betta named Sushi. Nolan walks by his tank over and over saying "Hiiii Sushiiii." It is the cutest thing ever.

Griff has had a very eventful couple of months! He's growing so fast. He is pulling up on everything he can get his chubby hand on and walking along furniture. He's only 9.5 months old! I'm not ready for this yet! He speed-crawls, too. It is fantastic.

Still no teeth, but it looks like he has one on the bottom that will poke through any day. Chris just noticed the bump on his gum last night while he was giving him a bath. Yay! I'm going to miss his cute, gummy mouth though. His lack of teeth doesn't stop him from eating. He loves food so much. He's getting a little chunky, actually. His weight jumped from the 5th percentile to the 25th between his 6 and 9 month appointments. For someone who started out not even on the charts, that's great! He sits in his high chair for breakfast, lunch, and dinner now. I'd tell you what his favorite foods are, but he honestly loves everything. He isn't a huge fan of cottage cheese, but he still eats it. Other than that, he's all over it. He screams when he can't get it in his mouth fast enough. The other night, my mom was babysitting and Nolan dumped out a bucket of popcorn. Griffin was ticked that he couldn't eat it. Ticked.

He still doesn't know how little he is. He talks and screams all the time. For as feisty as he is, he is 1000x more sweet. I just love him. All of his movements are so huge and powerful. He doesn't raise his arm, he RAISES his arm. You don't want to be in his path when his little arm gets swinging. It hurts.

We moved him to Nolan's old crib last night. I can't believe I kept him in our room for as long as I did. I really wanted to wait until the boys could share a room. I still don't think they're quite ready. I ended up moving the crib into the play room and getting Griff set up with a little cd player and night light. I plan on moving the crib back as soon as he adjusts and seeing how they do sleeping together. I just don't think I'd get any sleep if I did it now. He did great though! I feel bad because I think he was pretty uncomfortable in the Pack and Play he was in. Now he's in a cozy, big crib and loves it. He only woke up once and put himself right back to sleep. Yay!

They play together so cute right now. They just laugh and laugh. I think they're going to be great buddies. I'm one thankful mommy!

Hi.

Not that anyone reads this anymore, but I feel bad because I haven't kept up on updating since Griffin was born. I had such a detailed record of everything Nolan did as he was growing and learning. Griffin, not so much. Everyone told me that would happen though. He's healthy and happy so that's good, right?

He turned 8 months old a few days ago. Crazy. He's still super tiny. He's wearing 3-6 month clothes (although he doesn't look ridiculous in 6-9 month anymore). He is more stocky though and is in size 4 diapers which is so strange to me. Still not teeth! He is the most feisty little thing I've ever known. He is so determined to be big. He started full blown crawling a month ago. Right now, he will pull to standing by himself and try to walk while holding our hands. He yells the entire time, like "watch me!" It kills me. He also does this little spin thing on the floor when he's sitting where he will push up on one knee, use his hands to spin himself around in a full circle, and sit right back where he started out. It is like he's scared to death to miss anything.

He was spitting up so bad. We started giving him 4 ounce bottles again and feeding him more frequently which has helped a lot. I think his little tummy was getting too full. He's getting 3 solid meals a day now, too. He hates veggies, but loves anything with meat. If I mix the vegetables in with turkey or chicken, he will down it. He gags when I try to give him chicken noodle soup though which makes me laugh because Nolan absolutely hated it, too. That stuff must be sick.

He's still not sleeping through the night. I was so spoiled with his big brother. We still have him in our bedroom, but I'm seriously considering letting him start sleeping in the playroom or something. I'm exhausted. He gets up at least 3 times a night. I know he doesn't need to be eating, but he does. He screams like he's getting his arms chopped off. I'm not sure what to do in this department. But, yawn.

He has the most hilarious little personality. He loves to wrestle and get dirty and pick on us. He's such a boy. For every bit of extreme screaming or drama, he has twice as many sweet moments. He just feels everything to the max. He is so cuddly and will snuggle right up on my shoulder when he feels like being nice. When he's happy, he's sooo happy. When he's ticked, the people in the next county over know about it. He's strong-willed and determined and crazy and amazing. I love him so much.

Big brother is doing awesome. He's a little boy now. He's finally starting to talk (yay!) and it is so freaking adorable. Right now, he thinks everything is so "cool!" He also says milk, juice, dog, orange, noodle, hi, wow, yee-haw, bubble, banana (NANA!!!), cheese (for the food and for the camera), pizza, mom, daddy, blankie, outside, please, bath (all the tiiiiiime...), and I know there are more. He has a word book with everything you can think of and he will sit forever identifying pictures. It is good because he just took so long to really start trying, but now that he started he's picking up a few new words a day.

He's between size 2T and 3T right now and still in size 5 diapers. He eats with us, but doesn't really love food. Right now, his favorites are muffins and pizza. He isn't into sweets or candy which is nice. He still doesn't like meat and will only eat it in spaghetti. He thinks it is awesome (oh, he says that too) that Griffin gets baby food and will sneak a bite here and there. I don't mind because I always give him something with meat or vegetables so it is good for him and he thinks he's getting a treat.

They are starting to play together and it makes my heart feel like it is going to explode. They chase each other around and just laugh and laugh. Nolan will lay on the ground and Griffin will speed-crawl over to his face and tackle him until Nolan about dies of laughter. Nolan will hide from Griff and he will search and search for him, then crack up when he finds him. There are times when Nolan will just look at Griffin and get the sweetest smile on his face. They love each other so much and I hope it stays that way forever.

We moved into our new house last month and love it. It was so sad to leave the boys' first home and the place I became a wife and a mommy but now I don't even miss it. They are just so happy there. They have a huge playroom and a covered patio that they can play on. They couldn't even play outside at our other house. It has an open floor plan and is all one level so the kids have full access to the house and we don't have baby gates up. It is perfect.

That's all for now! I'd say I'll try to do better at updating, but yeah...that's not going to happen. I'm too busy enjoying my kids.

Soaking.

I know I've written about this before, but I struggle with death. Not with what happens to the person who dies...that doesn't worry me. I am terrified of being left behind. I think about losing someone close to me way more often than I should. I wouldn't say it consumes my daily activities, but it definitely plays a huge roll in how I treat my loved ones. I don't go to bed angry. I'll wake my boys up to kiss them goodnight before even thinking about just letting them sleep. I forgive everyone.

I feel like my way of thinking has helped me treasure tiny moments with my boys that a lot of people would take for granted. I smell their hair. I study their fingers and toes. I take pictures of their eyelashes and their chubby baby hands and their pouty lips. I want to remember everything about them on this day even when I'm old and they are grown men with babies of their own. I'm thankful for this.

I realized this morning that even though I'm taking the time to absorb them right now, things are changing too quickly for me to be able to keep up. Nolan doesn't want to rock and have milk before bed anymore. I can't remember the last time I sat in his chair in his room with him, singing him our song and snuggling him while he drank his milk. I don't mean that in a general "it has been forever!" way. I mean that literally. I want to remember the last time. I obviously didn't know on that night that I would never snuggle up with him in the crook of my left arm with just the dim light from the hallway in the room again. I'd never pull my hair over my shoulder so he could run his fingers through it as I found our song on YouTube to sing along with over and over again. I'd never hear his breathing change and see his sippy cup fall from his mouth as he fell asleep again. I'd never lift his too-heavy sleeping body from my arms to his crib and cover him with his favorite blue blankie again. Overnight, one night, he became too big for that.

The rocking chair isn't even in his bedroom anymore. He quit wanting to be rocked at night and now there is an awesome play tent in the chair's place. A big boy tent. He goes in there with his books and his animals and has adventures. He loves it. It makes me sad. But I keep watching him in that tent, and will continue to. Every night when he drags his toys in to play in his own special world, I will make a mental note of every giggle and every time he peeks out the side window to smile at me. I don't want the day to come when I look back and think "I don't remember the last time he wanted to have adventures in his tent." He won't know it is the last time, and chances are I won't either until later on. But I want to be present enough every day that I can look back and remember.

Griffin still wants to be cuddled as he falls asleep. I give him a lavender massage and put him in his pajamas. Daddy and Nolan come in and give us each kisses goodnight. Then I sit with my legs crossed and he lays in my lap while he has his bottle. I fold my left arm in front of me and he snuggles his face against it the same way every night. He doesn't hold his own bottle yet. He still needs me to do it for him. When he falls asleep, I pick him up and lay him on my chest for a little while before putting him in his bed. We do the same thing every night. It is always just me and him. I am so present during those moments. I will be able to look back and remember the last time he wiggled closer to me so he was able to press his cheek against my arm as he drifted off.

Every day I wake up and they are still there. They're healthy and living and strong and incredible. But they're changing. They're growing. Every morning they are a little bit different than they were when I put them to bed the night before. The baby I brought home almost two years ago is a little boy and the baby I brought home six months ago will be a year old before I know it. Every tomorrow is a gift and one I would never wish away so I could stay in today, but I'm soaking in every. single. second. while I'm here.

New Year.

Well hello there, 2014! Where did you come from?

I suck at blogging. End of story. But I'm going to update anyways because now is better than tomorrow or next month or next year. We all know how quickly next year will be here.

Let me start with my amazing Nolan. He will be two in just under six weeks! I am absolutely loving the age he is at right now. He is the most incredible, sweet, and loving little boy. He is still a little bit unsure of Griffin as a person, but I think he's starting to like being a big brother. Well, maybe "like" isn't the right word. He's starting to fall into his roll? I don't know. He is a very dutiful brother. He takes on a lot of responsibility that he obviously doesn't have to as a toddler, but he doesn't seem to understand that. Like a couple of weeks ago when I had Griffin in his jumper, he started to cry. Instead of Nolan ignoring him or looking to me to see what I was going to do to fix his brother's problem, he stood up, huffed over to the drawer in the kitchen, pulled out a binkie, shoved it in G's mouth, and went back to playing. A few mornings ago, I was upstairs getting dressed to take the boys out for the day. I'd left Griffin on the floor and Nolan was playing next to him. All of a sudden, G started crying. I ran downstairs thinking Nolan had smacked him, but they were both on their tummies facing each other and Nolan was shaking G's favorite rattle in front of his face to try to cheer him up. It is amazing to see how observant he is and how easily he can recall what his mom and dad do in certain situations to make things better.

Having Nolan around for the Christmas season was magical this year. He loved all of it. We didn't do anything to protect our tree aside from putting all of our special ornaments out of his reach so he could really enjoy it. By the time I took it down yesterday, all of the ornaments were on the top half of the tree thanks to little toddler hands and their redecorating. His favorite thing to do this year was kiss the ornaments. He'd go up to touch one of them and we'd tell him to be soft, so he'd kiss them and say "awwwww" instead. Most. Adorable. Thing. Ever.

He kind of kisses everything right now. Toys, dogs, the floor...he is a little kisser. Every night, I bring Griffin to our bedroom to get him ready to go to sleep and Chris brings Nolan up a few minutes later. They come in to say goodnight to us and Nolan kisses me, then kisses his brother on the forehead followed by his "awwww." I look forward to it every single day and will be so sad when he decides he's too cool to kiss me and his baby brother goodnight.

I'm not sure how much he weighs right now, but he's pretty solidly in 2T clothing and size 5 diapers. His growth seems to have slowed quite a bit which is nice. He looks like a little boy now. We grew his hair out for winter and he could not be any more handsome. He's mastering the art of drinking out of an open cup and doesn't need our help to eat anymore. His favorites are pizza, spaghetti, and macaroni and cheese. Yum!

Now for the littles. What a sass. He just turned five months old a few days ago and I seriously can't believe where the time is going! He's a tiny little guy. I took him into the doctor last week and he's only 13 pounds. His 3-6 month clothes are still a little bit big on him. He's in size 2 diapers and will be for a while still. He takes about 4 ounces of formula every couple of hours and started on solids last month. So far, he's had rice cereal, oatmeal, prunes, pears, and sweet potatoes. He is such a good little eater like his brother!

One thing I can't believe is how strong he is! He can almost pull himself up into a sitting position from laying flat just by using his stomach. He rolls all the way across the floor and it is impossible to keep him in one place. He can push all the way up on his arms while laying on his tummy and loves to look around. I helped him sit up the other day and aside from a little bit of balance issues, he is strong enough to sit with very little support. He can also hold himself up on his legs like it is nothing at all and I have a feeling he will be walking way before I'm ready for it.

He is a mommy's boy. Big time. He screams and yells and waves his arms until I'm holding him, then he snuggles into my chest and just stares at the person who was holding him before me like he's mad at them. He's started to reach out to me when I go to pick him up, but I haven't noticed him do it with anyone else. I can't say I hate having him be so attached to me. It feels good to be wanted and needed after my independent Nolan.

His eyes are turning green and he seems to have darker hair. He looks so much like his daddy. His eyebrows are the same exact shape and they're turning brown. He looks a lot like Nolan still, but he's definitely turning into his own little person.

Life is busy and crazy and amazing. Those boys have changed me in ways I didn't know I could change and I'm loving every second of it. Being a mommy of two under two is so hard but it is so worth it! I love my crazies!

Griff.

Obviously, I haven't been doing monthly posts for this guy. I'm a busy lady. I wanted to jump on and note a few things now that he is coming up on four months old, though!

He is his daddy's son. He has such an incredibly passionate personality. If he's happy, he is so happy. If he's mad, he is ticked off, steam coming out of his ears, scream at the top of his lungs mad. But he is funny because as quick as he gets upset, he calms himself down. Kid just knows what he wants!

He is smiling, but not laughing yet. He's this close though. Seriously, any day. He loves when I "nomnomnom" his little feet. He thinks it is hilarious. He's almost rolling, too. He hasn't gone from belly to back yet, but he's great at getting on his side from his back. He'll be flipping all the way over soon. He's at this awesome age where he is right on the verge of so many things. I am savoring every second of him being tiny though. I'm in no hurry for him to get big.

He's still a bitty little thing. I don't know how much he weighs, but he still fits in some newborn sleepers. His 0-3 month clothes fit, but he won't be growing out of them any time soon. He's in size 1 diapers. He eats every few hours, but he mostly just snacks all day. If he takes a full bottle, it is usually 3 or 4 ounces. He's getting mostly pumped milk with some formula here and there, so he doesn't need as much. He spits up so, so, so much. He's on reflux medicine like his brother, so that is helping.

He loves his mommy. He's way more obsessed with me than Nolan was. He is such a snuggler and wants me to hold him all the time. I don't mind. Nolan was always so independent, so it is nice to have one that just wants to lay his head on my shoulder and hug me all day.

He is such a talker. I joke that he will be talking in full sentences before Nolan will. He will hold full conversations with us, complete with awesome facial expressions. He doesn't know how tiny he is and will yell at us if we aren't doing what he wants us to. He's going to be a tough little cookie. It doesn't even phase him when Nolan comes up and gives him a loving, brotherly smack in the head.

He fits so perfectly in our family. I wouldn't say we're complete yet, but we're getting there. His personality fits just right with the rest of ours and I'm so thankful for him. I love my boys so much!

Griffin Leslie.

My experience bringing my second little love into this world couldn't have been more different than when I had his big brother. Everything with Nolan was so planned...so smooth. I'd been told so many times that it is actually easier with your next child. I expected a scheduled induction, a fast, easy, and painless labor, and an easy recovery. Silly me.

Griffin was due on August 11. He looked great at all of my appointments. Every time I was checked, I wasn't dilated or anything so I figured I'd be induced either on or right after my due date. Nolan was so late that I thought for sure I'd go over with Griff as well. My entire pregnancy was so smooth. My blood pressure was great, I gained just the right amount of weight, and I managed to stay out of the ER for the most part. I think I was just a lot more laid back. I knew he was going to be okay and I didn't have the freshness of losing Eden in my heart like I did with Nolan.

On July 27, my parents and Chris' parents threw me a brunch to celebrate the new little guy. I said I didn't want a huge shower because I'd just had one a year and a half prior, but I loved that they wanted to show Griff some love. We had some delicious food and got some cute gifts for him. I spent the morning telling friends and family that I couldn't wait to meet him, but I knew it was going to be a while. I'd been on leave from work for a few weeks already, just getting stuff done. I was going to spend my last couple of weeks spending some quality time with Nolan and enjoying my "only child." That's what I get for making plans!

The next day, July 28, my family came over to help get some stuff done around the house. We put Nolan's water table together, changed light bulbs, plugged electric outlets, locked toilets, drawers, and cupboards, attached large furniture to walls so it couldn't be pulled over, and cleaned. I took it easy for the most part. I pretty much just bossed people around and ate pizza.

We went to bed pretty early that night. I was exhausted. It had been such a miserably hot summer and I was always anxious to get into my cool bed at the end of each day. I fell asleep almost instantly. At a little after 3:00 in the morning, I woke up suddenly to a huge gush of water. I got up and ran to the bathroom to clean myself up, but it just kept coming. I woke Chris up and told him I was pretty sure my water had broken. I was exactly 38 weeks along.

He shot out of bed and asked what we were supposed to do now. I told him I'd call my mom to come sit with Nolan and we needed to get a bag packed. I hadn't prepared at all because I thought I still had a couple of weeks. I started throwing clothes for me and Griffin on my bed as I called my mom. I gave up on trying to pack a bag in my frazzled state and snuck in Nolan's room. I pulled him out of bed and snuggled him for a little while...oh, and I cried. I was so sad thinking about how he didn't know how much his life was going to change. He got ticked off at me for waking him up though so I put him back down. My mom got there about 40 minutes later, and we headed to the hospital with just my purse. I figured I could text her what I needed after I was set up in my room and she could get a bag packed for me.

Everyone was so calm when I got to the hospital. They sent me to Labor and Delivery and I fully expected to get sent right to a room. Instead, I had to wait in triage for about an hour. Apparently, I was #13 to come in that night claiming my water had broke, and 1-12 had actually just peed themselves. I wasn't having contractions, but my water had clearly broken. They finally came in to do the test strip, and it couldn't have been more obvious that I wasn't mistaken. They didn't even let me get off the bed. Instead, they pushed me on the bed to the delivery room. The lady who was pushing me should have her bed driving licence taken away. She ran me into multiple walls, hard. I had to just laugh.

By the time I got set up where I was going to meet the little guy, it had been about 2 1/2 hours since my water first broke. I still wasn't feeling any contractions, so they got me hooked up to the monitors to see if they were even happening. They weren't. Not regularly, anyways. They were concerned because with every small contraction I had, Griffin's heart rate dropped. They were worried that of they started me on meds to regulate them and kick start my labor, it would stress him out too bad and they'd end up having to do an emergency c-section. He was hardly moving and just seemed a little too cozy in there. However, he didn't really have a choice. His fluid was running out. He was coming out one way or another.

We decided to wait a little while and see if he became more active and his heart rate picked back up. It wasn't down far enough that we had to get him out right that second and I really wanted to avoid a c-section if possible, so I was more than fine with that plan. I knew how well my body responded to Pitocin and felt comfortable that if we could get him stable enough to get that flowing, it would be a relatively quick process from there. Chris went to sleep on the couch and I settled in to watch some TV as they pumped me with fluids to hydrate me and try to get little boy moving.

After about another hour, my contractions were still inconsistent and not strong at all, but Griffin was a lot more active. I think we just caught him during his sleepy time and he wasn't quite sure what was going on. They decided it was safe for me to start the Pitocin, so they got me hooked up. Just like with Nolan, the contractions started almost instantly. I was in quite a bit of pain, so I decided to get the epidural and relax. It hurt more than it did with Nolan, but it still wasn't awful. I think he may have hit a nerve because I felt a shock through my entire body as he put it in. He had to yell at me to keep still. Once it was in, only one of my legs went numb. He told me to just give it a minute and push the button to release more if it didn't seem to be working.

Things felt better for a little bit, but then it felt like I hadn't even gotten an epidural at all. I could feel everything. They checked me, and it was just about time to push. This part gets a little bit hazy for me. I remember the room getting hazy and just being overwhelmed with the most intense cramping pain. They called the guy who did my epidural back in to give me another direct dose, but it did nothing. Chris kept pushing the button to pump more medicine, but it wasn't working at all. I could feel every bit of pressure and every contraction. It turns out, the epidural wasn't put in correctly and the medicine wasn't even getting where it was supposed to go. I was having him naturally, even though I had the tube in my back.

All of a sudden, I felt this really intense pressure and needed to push. The nurse checked me, and he was right there. They called the doctor in and he basically just caught the baby. He was born in about 2 pushes at 12:22 in the afternoon on July 29. He weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces and was 18 inches long. My sweet, tiny little boy! They put him right on my chest and I was holding him when Chris cut the umbilical cord. My love for him was so instant and so intense.

He had low blood sugar like Nolan did, so they took him to the nursery for a while to give him some formula and get him feeling better. He was gone for a couple of hours, so I just relaxed in the recovery room. Once he was done, they brought him back to me and I snuggled him while Chris went and picked up Nolan. We wanted him to be the first person to meet his brother and we wanted to spend some time together as a new family of four before everyone else came to meet him. This is something that was so, so important to me and I'm very thankful to our family for respecting that and understanding.

Chris returned with Nolan, and he was more excited about everything in the room to play with than he was about seeing me. He gave me a smile and a kiss, but then he was off to play. We let him explore for a little while, but then I pulled him up in bed with me to meet his brother. He just wanted to get down and play. He stopped what he was doing every once in a while to look at Griffin, so he was curious. Just not curious enough to do anything about.

After I snuggled both of my boys for a little while, we invited the rest of our family up. Everyone came and hung out for a little while. Nobody could believe how tiny Griffin was. Chris ended up leaving with Nolan to spend some time with him at home and keep things as normal as possible for him. After a couple of hours, everyone else left and it was just me and my boy for the rest of the evening. I spent the night feeding, holding, and snuggling him. I had so much more time to do that with him than I did with Nolan. I studied him and stared at him and kissed him and hugged him. It was just us and I loved that. I think I'll insist on it again when we have our next child. I wish I would have had that with Nolan.

We ended up having to stay two nights in the hospital. The second day, we didn't have any family visit. Chris and Nolan came just before dinner time and we ordered room service for the three of us. Chris took Griffin, and I snuggled with Nolan in bed as we ate our food. It felt good to spend time with him and just love on him. I remember looking in the mirror that was across from my bed and my heart almost exploded as I saw my new family's reflection. I never knew I could love three people as much as I love those three.

We were discharged on the third day in the early afternoon. Griffin was very jaundiced and we had to be sent home with lights for him to lay on 23 hours a day to get his levels down. There were a lot of blood draws and heel pricks in the following days, but he ended up being okay by his two week appointment.

He's three months old today, and he fits so perfectly into our family. I keep falling more and more in love with him. He is Nolan's complete opposite in pretty much every way. He has a lot of Chris' personality already and I think we will have our hands full with him, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

We love you so much, Griff Griff!

Howdy.

Oh, hey. I had a baby. Plus I suck at blogging. There is just something about having two children under the age of two that takes up a freaking lot of time. I'm not complaining, though. My life is incredible right now.

Nolan is almost 21 months. I can. not. believe. that in a few months, we will be celebrating his second birthday. He is so much fun right now! He isn't talking much, but he's starting to say a couple of new words a day so I think he will have a verbal explosion pretty soon. Right now, he knows and uses yes, yeah, yay, bubble, apple, mom, daddy, I love you, book, eat, up, and milk. He hasn't started saying no yet, which I appreciate. His answer to every question we ask him is "yeaaaah." He couldn't get any more adorable. 

He's wearing size 24 months and some 2T. He's in size 5 diapers and size 5 shoes. He's walking and running and climbing all over the place. I take him to My Gym on Friday mornings to practice his skills. He is in a class with about six other kids his age. They do tumbling, games, songs, puppet shows, and different exercises. He absolutely loves it. His favorite activity is the ball pit. He'll climb up this huge ramp and just dive right in like it is no big deal. He's so big.

He is awesome with his little brother. He gets annoyed with him if he cries too much or we try to let Nolan hold him, but he'll usually just gently push him away and go back to what he wants to be doing. He kisses him on the forehead all the time and will rub his head so softly. Now that Griffin is getting a little bit older, they are interacting more and I can't wait to see what their relationship develops into.

I'll try to do better updating here. It is really for my record and I don't want to forget these amazing times in my life. It is going by too fast. Now, to get cracking on Griff Griff's birth story...

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.

Eight Months.

Well...I pretty much no longer have a baby. I have a tiny little boy. We have had such an awesome month together and I swear he is more and more fun every day. He was sick for most of the month which sucked. It started out as a common cold. We took him in to get checked out by his doctor and found that he had a sinus infection and infections in both ears. They put him on Amoxicillan and told us to give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen as needed. I felt like I was constantly drugging him or suctioning his nose. He was so congested and miserable. After a week of antibiotics, he still didn't feel better. We went back to see his doctor and he was given a more powerful antibiotic. Tomorrow will be his last day of that (day 10) and he finally seems to be feeling better.

He is so amazing. Even when he was sick and miserable, he was not fussy. He laugh was all scratchy and his smile was under a swollen, red nose...but it was there. He is such a trooper! I'm just so thankful that he is finally back to normal and can start having real fun again!

My mom bought him some stacking cups to play with a couple of weeks ago. He loves them! He will pick two up and bang them together over and over and over again. He will also take one and lift it to his mouth as if he is pretending to drink out of it. This was hilarious to me because he hadn't used a sippy cup (correctly) before so he was just going off of what he'd seen us do with cups. We introduced a sippy cup again last week and he is slowly getting the hang of it.

As far as food goes, he is a whole new baby. We started really introducing solids on Sunday, October 14. We went to Olive Garden with my dad and Peggy and Nolan was sitting in the high chair. I broke off a piece of my breadstick and put it near his mouth to see what he would do. He took a bite, chewed it, swallowed it, and went back for more like he'd been doing it his entire life! That night when we got home, I gave him some sweet potato puff cereal with his dinner and he started pinching them between his pointer finger and thumb and lifting them to his mouth. He has also been drinking water out of a cup with no lid (with assistance.)

He typically wakes up between 8:00 and 9:00 each morning. We go downstairs and sit right down for breakfast. Right now that usually consists of yogurt and maybe a little oatmeal. Then he sits on the floor and plays with toys for about an hour or until he starts acting hungry again. At that time, he gets a bottle and takes a one-two hour nap. The rest of our day is spent playing it by ear. We run errands, meet up with friends, play, snooze a little bit, cuddle, and hang out. He isn't scheduled much again until around 7:30-8:00 in the evening when it is time for dinner. He eats a fruit or vegetable puree with either rice cereal or oatmeal mixed in. Then we do his bath, bottle, and bed.

On Monday, October 20, we moved him to his crib for the first time. Up until then, he'd been sleeping in his Rock and Play next to my side of the bed. We noticed he seemed to be outgrowing it and looked uncomfortable. The first night without him in our room was really hard on me. I cried and cried and cried. All I could think about was how he was going to wake up alone for the first time in his life and have no idea where he was at. We hadn't spent much time in his nursery before that night (besides the occasional rocking and book-reading.) He hadn't spent any time in his crib.

He did just fine! He cried a little bit, but not nearly as much as I did. The second night was quite a bit harder, but I think he was overly tired. He ended up crying for a lot longer than I was comfortable with and I wasn't able to calm him down in the way I wanted. I caved and brought him to our room for the night. Last night, I was at work and Chris decided to try the crib again. Nolan did awesome! He didn't cry going down and slept all the way through until almost 9:00 this morning. He even woke up and played with his toys in his crib until Chris got up with him instead of crying for someone to come get him. He is in his crib again tonight so hopefully he does just as well.

He is getting very good at sitting on his own and isn't as wobbly as he used to be. He hardly ever loses his balance. He started grabbing onto my hands and pulling himself to standing about a week ago. He couldn't take steps (while holding our hands) until two days ago, but now he is so good at it! He will hold our hands and walk clear across the room. It is so adorable. He isn't making any progress in the crawling department and I'm starting to think he isn't going to. He rolls like a pro and uses that to get where he wants to go. I think he'll use that as his means for getting around until he starts walking...eek!

He talks all the time. So far, his regular babble has consisted of lots of Mamas, Dadas, and Babas. He throws in a few other sounds every now and then. If I am not giving him the attention he wants, he will yell "Maa! Maa!" over and over until I look at him, then he will start laughing. I don't know if he fully realizes he is calling me yet, but it is adorable nonetheless.

We went to the zoo for the first time yesterday. He seemed to be more into the people watching than the animal watching. He had a blast though! He did have quite the conversation with a friendly gorilla through a really thick window. Nolan really wanted to make sure he knew about everything else going on in that crazy zoo.

He is still in size 3 diapers and he is kind of in between clothing sizes at the moment. His 6-9 month clothes are getting snug while his 9-12 month clothes are still too big. I'm not worried though because the kid is growing like a weed and will be outgrowing his 12 month clothes before I know it.

He laughs at everything. Seriously. He has this deep belly laugh where he has to stop and catch his breath because he is so out of control. His armpits are super ticklish and nothing makes him crack up quite like being tickled. However, he also laughs if he is sitting in his swing and I look over at him and smile. There isn't much that doesn't entertain him. He is so well-natured and genuinely fun to be around.

He is 2/3 of a year old and I literally can't believe it. I know I will be writing his nine month post before I know it...

Nolan, you and your daddy are the loves of my life. Thank you for being mine.

Seven Months.

What a month it has been! Nolan has had so many firsts this month that I'm going to have to try hard to remember them all. He has been a busy little nugget.

On September 6, we took our first family vacation. I'll write more on the trip in another post but it was Nolan's first time on a plane, his first major road trip, his first time sleeping in a bed other than his own, his first time to the ocean, his first time off-roading...the list goes on and on. He was awesome! He is such a great traveler.

While we were on our trip, his third tooth popped through. This one came in on the bottom on the right side next to his middle two. He's growing a whole row of bottom teeth with no top tooth in sight! We noticed this tooth on the evening of September 8 so I'm pretty sure it came in that day.

On September 7, he started sitting up completely unassisted. He had been sitting with help for a while, but all of a sudden he could do it on his own! He was so proud of himself and couldn't stop smiling.

On September 11, he woke up at around 3:00 in the morning and started babbling. I was laying in bed listening to him and all of a sudden he started saying "mama! mama!" I was half asleep so I kind of wrote it off and didn't think much about it. Then the next morning, he was laying on our bed and started saying it again. It is the absolute cutest thing I have ever heard. I was able to get a pretty good video of it and I think I have watched it about 7,000 times since then.

He is officially mobile. He is not crawling yet but the kid can roll. He gets where he wants to go by rolling like it is nobody's business. Gone are the days that I can lay him down and expect him to be in the same spot for longer than three seconds.

He is wearing 6-9 month clothes, but he is going to have to move up sizes pretty soon. This is the first time he has been on the large side for his clothes. He is in size 3 diapers and will continue to be for a while. He eats two solid meals a day. He usually has oatmeal or rice cereal with fruit in it for breakfast and rice cereal with a fruit or vegetable for dinner. He drinks about 40 ounces of formula a day as well. He holds his own bottle but lately he has been getting distracted while drinking so it gets pretty messy. He would much rather look at what is going on around him than focus on getting the milk in his mouth.

He is outgrowing his infant car seat and we will have to get a bigger one for him soon. It is so hard to carry him around in it. I have tried putting him in a high chair at restaurants and in the front part of the shopping cart, but he is still pretty wobbly. This in-between stage is rough but I'm not ready for him to be big yet so I can deal with it a little while longer.

He is an amazing baby. He hardly fusses and only actually cries one or two times a week if he is in pain from teething or really hungry. He laughs at everything. I use the nose-sucker (what are those things called?) and he cracks up. When we took off on the airplane, he laughed. I look at him and he laughs. He has the most awesome sense of humor and watching it develop has been so much fun.

He is beautiful. I can't take him anywhere without people stopping me so they can look at him. I feel weird saying that because I feel like I'm bragging, but he is the gorgeous one...not me. So I can brag about him, right? He gets compliments on his eyes and his cheeks all the time. Today, I was walking out to my car after getting lunch with my mom, and people were yelling from across the restaurant "beautiful baby!" I'm not even kidding. I'm sure it helps that he flirts with and smiles at every single person he sees.

I was going to do a "Nolan Loves, Nolan Doesn't Like" post, but there isn't much he doesn't like. He is so relaxed about life. He loves baths, eating, playing, people, phones, rolling, toys, Paisley, getting his nose suctioned, flying on a plane, riding in a car, going for walks, being outside, being inside...he loves it all. I guess he still isn't very fond of peas...so, yeah.

We are past the half-way mark and well on our way to his first birthday. I get choked up just thinking about it. It is going by so fast but this is the most incredible thing I have ever done. I love being his mommy.

First time sitting up!

Cheese!



I'm blessed.







Six Months.

I swear, this month has been the most fun yet. Nolan is learning so much...he is like a new baby every day. He is drinking five 6oz bottles a day, along with a fruit or vegetable and rice cereal at dinner time. His doctor said we can start him on two solid meals a day, so we'll probably give that a try this weekend. He is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes right now but it is about time to switch him to 6-9 month. He is in size 3 diapers. His second tooth should cut through any day!

His growth is right on track. At his doctor's appointment on Wednesday, he weighed 16.6 pounds and was 26.6 inches in length. That puts him right around the 50th percentile for both. I keep waiting for him to get some baby rolls, but he hasn't really yet.

He is gorgeous. I try to not to say things like that because I'm his mother and obviously I am going to think he is cute. He really is, though. People tell me all the time that I'm going to have my hands full with him when he gets older. I need to start working on my kung-fu skills to fight the ladies off!

He recognizes his mommy and daddy and is starting to show his affection and love for us. To love me, he strokes my hair or arm as he eats and stares into my eyes. He'll also grab the sides of my face and pull mine to his so he can give me a slobbery kiss. With Chris, he is more playful. He will wrap his entire body around Chris' shoulder and laugh if Chris even talks to him. I swear, Chris can get that child to laugh at the drop of a hat in a way that I couldn't if I tried for hours. He acts totally different with each of us. It is so sweet to see him start to show us how much he loves us and see how our relationships with him are developing.

He is such a laid-back baby. We get comments all the time on how calm he is. He is fine going anywhere and hanging out with anyone. He hardly ever fusses in public. He is content just about anywhere as long as someone talks to him every once in a while. He is very social and loves to just be with people.

My absolute favorite time of day is first thing in the morning. He loves mornings so much. He doesn't cry when he wakes up. He'll just make little noises until I wake up and look over at him. I'm always greeted with a giant smile and flailing arms. He kicks and squeals and smiles and laughs until I pick him up and hug him. Then he gets all sweet and snuggley until I give him his bottle. I freaking love it. I don't care how tired I am from working until 3:00 in the morning...I wouldn't trade all of the sleep in the world for those times with my boy.

Baby Bird: You, aside from your daddy, are my best friend. You make my days so much more incredible than I ever thought possible. I never knew I could love someone so much...yet every single day I love you more than the day before. You are more than I deserve. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure you never go a second without knowing how cherished you are. You are safe and so loved, little one. Thank you for loving me back.

Nolan Loves:

• Jumping. All. The. Time. In his jumper, on our laps, on the floor...doesn't matter!
• Paisley. If she is in the room, nothing else matters.
• Orange Veggies. Carrots...sweet potatoes...squash...
• Mommy's Singing. It is one of the few things I do that will make him smile and laugh every time!
• Rolling. Only from his tummy to his back...he has a way to get out of tummy time!
• People. Bird is social like his daddy.
• Electronics. I swear, every single picture we have of him is goofy. He makes this super curious face and grabs for the camera or cell phone...

Nolan Hates:

• Being Hungry. There is no warning! He goes from 0 to 60 in about two seconds flat.
• Being Ignored. If he wants to talk, he wants to talk. There is no way around it.

Chomp.

Nolan cut his first tooth yesterday. He grabbed my finger and shoved it in his mouth. I wasn't paying much attention since he normally does this a million and a half times a day to gum me to death. This time, I felt something sharp poking through his little gum. Sure enough, little buddy has a tiny sliver of a tooth! Where is the time going?

Five Months.

He's almost at half a year, people. I know every mom says this, but I seriously have the coolest kid. I wake up every morning to his sweet face smiling at me. He has stopped crying when he wakes up. He'll just stare at me and wiggle around in his little rocker until I roll over and look at him. As soon as we make eye contact, he'll start kicking his legs, swinging his arms, smiling, and squealing. I love that he gets that happy just at the thought of getting out of bed and starting his day with me. It melts my heart...

He is my best little buddy. When he was younger, I wanted to spend time with him because he was my baby and I was his mommy and I loved him so much. Now, I want to spend time with him for those reasons, but also because he is such a blast to hang out with. We can sit and laugh at each other for hours at a time. Seriously. His sense of humor is developing like mad and the things he thinks are funny just crack me up. He is really ticklish (especially his tummy, his armpits, and his butt...haha!) He still adores Paisley and laughs really hard whenever we help him pet her.

We bought him a jumper a few weeks ago and now that he can touch the ground, he goes crazy in that thing! He can only tolerate it for 15 minutes or so at a time because it has a lot of lights and sounds, but for those 15 minutes he is a jump master. I'll sit on the couch and watch him play. Every once in a while he'll look up at me to see if I'm still watching, smile really big, then go back to jumping away.

He still hates tummy time and screams his little head off whenever I try it with him. I don't know if he is ever going to crawl. He much prefers standing. I think he might skip right to walking...yikes!

We're still giving him solids every night before his bath. So far he's loved everything but peas and pears. He gags when we give him peas and the pears are too sour for him. His favorites are sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, and carrots. He's showing a major interest in food. We've had a hard time taking him to restaurants lately because he wants to eat what we're eating but can't. He doesn't realize he isn't big enough yet! He'll be fine until the food comes out...then he just yells at us until we finish. We actually had to leave 1/2 way through our lunch at Red Robin a few weeks ago because the little stinker was causing such a fuss and did not want his bottle. He wanted french fries and a chocolate malt, duh!

He's growing like a weed. He's still wearing mainly 3-6 month clothes but wears some 6-9 month depending on the brand. This is the first time in his life that he's worn a larger size than his age (which I know is not unusual...just sad.) He can still fit in size 2 diapers but we have a lot less leaks in size 3.

I really need to try to post more. I know I didn't even do a post with his four month pictures. I want so bad to remember all of the little details in his life but I don't want to miss them while sitting behind a computer either. I will try to do better...for my sake and for his.

Disturbed.

Warning: This post may be very disturbing to some of you. I'd advise those of you closest to Nolan (Mom-I'm directing this at you) to probably skip this post.

About an hour before I left to work tonight, I was overcome with the feeling that Nolan was going to die. Normally I'd be fine to let him play with Chris as I did my hair in makeup for the day, but I kept him wrapped on my chest the entire time. I couldn't put him down. Chris was headed to his parent's house for dinner as I left tor the evening and I kissed Nolan about thirty times before I could put him in his carseat. I left out the front door and the boys went out the back. I felt like throwing up the second I shut the door. I hurried up, got in my car, and sped around to the back of the house before Chris got Nolan in the car. I fought the urge to get out and kiss my baby again, but I wanted to...bad.

I've never felt this way before. I've had the normal new mom fears. I do my research and take the steps needed to be sure he is safe. I worry if he seems sick and I probably overthink a lot of what I do. I'm doing the best that I know how. He isn't sick right now. He is growing and healthy and strong...I have no specific reason to feel the way I did earlier.

Last night I had a dream that I was staying in a large bed and breakfast with my family. I left Nolan with the lady that owned the house as she was baking cookies. She was so sweet and loved him and I felt completely safe with her. I went upstairs to grab something and when I went back down to her, she handed me Nolan's burpcloth. It had been washed and ironed and was on a hanger. His blue sailboat binkie was hanging around the hook of the hanger. She didn't say anything to me.

All of a sudden, I heard Chris screaming my name. He was down another flight of stairs. I dropped the burp cloth and ran down the steps so fast that my feet barely even touched them. I already knew. He was holding Nolan...and he was blue. Chris had his face burried in Nolan's chest and was screaming. I fell to my knees and that's all that I remember. I woke up shortly after that with my hand on Nolan's chest (he's still sleeping next to our bed) and he was smiling up at me.

I have a hard time shaking dreams and feelings like those. I know in my heart that Nolan is safe. There is still that tiny part in the back of my mind that believes that since God works in such strange ways sometimes, maybe I'm being prepared for something horrible. I wish I could get that part of my mind to shut up. The part that says I'm having these feelings so that I stop and give him an extra kiss before I leave for work so that if something happens, that won't be one of my regrets.

I had Chris bring Nolan in to see me at work on his way home from his parent's house tonight. I held him and loved on him and kissed him before they went home. I felt physically sick as Chris drove away with him in the backseat. Right now, I'm going to credit my dream with my horrific feelings. Nolan is just fine. I just haven't felt this way before and felt like I needed to get it out. I'm sorry if this bothered any of my readers...I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow. I just love that boy so much. He is my world right now and I really think I would die if anything were to happen to him.