A month later...

The past month has been crazy and busy! A week after Nolan's birthday party, we went to Chicago with my parents to celebrate Thanksgiving with my Aunt Ginny, Uncle Bob, and family. Nolan did really well on the plane, napping in my arms, which I loved. He had a blast running around Bob and Ginny's beautiful new home. What was extra nice was that there were no stairs to worry about, so no baby gates! We had a wonderful time with the family, playing a rousing game of Who Wants to be  a Millionaire. On Black Friday we planned to go downtown, but Nolan ended up with the stomach flu! My mom generously took care of Nolan for the day, urging Jason and me to go downtown with my dad and Uncle Bob. Nolan felt a lot better by the time we got back (thank goodness for babies having mild cases of our illnesses!) Jason and I thought we had managed to escape the icky flu, but literally within an hour of getting home we both ended up getting sick. We are so thankful that we didn't get sick on the plane or in the airport!

Last weekend my brother Jeff got married!!! He and Jenaye got married in a private, outside ceremony at Aamodt's Apple Farm. Afterwords, there was a huge reception with family and friends at the Marriott near the Mall of America and airport. Nolan had SO MUCH FUN running around, eating yummy food, and dancing! He didn't go to sleep that night until 10 pm! It was a busy, exhausting, fun day.

On top of that, Nolan has been busy learning how to climb. He now easily climbs up onto the couch, the table, a chair, you name it, he climbs it. He also loves our Christmas tree. He looks at it and yells until we turn the Christmas lights on! Then when the lights come on he stares at them in awe, smiles, and says, "ahhhhhhhhh"! So cute.

Nolan is starting to say and do some more things now. He understands a lot of what we say. I tell him that I'm going to go get the mail and he runs to the front door ahead of me. Or I tell him that it's time to feed Keegan and he runs to Keegan's dog food container. He also tries to brush his hair with a brush and he is spoon feeding himself (ok, he's messy, but he's doing it!). It's amazing to watch him learn and do things.

Here are some pictures from the wedding. I have pictures on my other camera from Thanksgiving, which I still need to upload, and some cute pictures on my phone, which I also still need to upload. Look for those in a future post. :)

hey blue eyes :)

peekaboo!

We see you!

Our little family at the groom's dinner :)

Jeff + Jenaye at their beautiful outdoor ceremony

Excuse me, mom, I'm trying to watch my uncle get married!

Husband and wife!

Picture time inside Aamodt's

Love this

The groom and his nephew

Stop it. Too cute!

Sooooo pretty!

Silly cousins!

Bunny face. Nolan's favorite look for when he's mad, frustrated, silly, or for any reason, really. 

Sweet speeches.

Dance time!

Dada and Nolan having a blast on the dance floor. :)

One Year Old!

Our sweet little boy turned one year old last week! It's so hard to believe that Nolan is already one! The year absolutely flew by.

On Nolan's birthday he had cake batter pancakes for breakfast (thank you, Pinterest) and his favorite, grilled cheese, for dinner. He also got to open a present from Jason and me, a toy cell phone. He loves it! Nolan also got a handmade card from his favorite buddy, Abigail, and a birthday card from Mamie and Papa (my parents). It was a good day!

Nolan's birthday party was last Saturday. It was so much fun! We decided to make his party a train theme because one of Nolan's favorite books is I am a Train and it is in the shape of a train. He loves it when you make the book ride across the floor and say, "chugga chugga chugga choo choo!" I found most of the ideas for our decorations on Pinterest. That site is amazing, but so addicting!

Both Jason's family and my family came to celebrate Nolan. Thank you to everyone who came. It meant so much to have you there! Nolan loves all his wonderful presents. :)

The kids had fun playing in the cardboard train. They looked so cute in their conductor hats! Also, Jason put together a slideshow of all the Nolan pictures we took this year. It is so much fun to watch and see how much he has changed and grown!

Nolan shyly grinned and stuck his fingers in his mouth when we sang Happy Birthday to him. But he dug right into his smash cake! He loved it so much! He got chocolate all over himself and then waved at us. It was hilarious.

All in all, the party was a huge success!

This past Monday Nolan had his 12 month doctor appointment. He is up to 31.5", 92%! He weighs 23.3 lbs, 57%. Healthy little guy! He received 4 shots and had to have his blood drawn to test his hemoglobin and lead levels (both were good). That was not fun. At all.

Nolan has become quite the climber. Now that he is taller he is able to climb up on stuff. He climbs up onto the couch (he stands on a pillow first), he turns over the cardboard boxes from his train and climbs up on them, he climbs up on a riding toy dinosaur, he climbs on everything he can! I showed him how to turn onto his tummy and back down feet first. He caught onto that quickly. Nolan is always so proud of himself when he successfully climbs up and back down from something. He looks at us, grins and claps. It is so sweet.

This past year has been amazing. Jason and I feel so blessed to have such a healthy, happy little boy. We can't wait to see what Nolan will learn and do this next year!

Birthday boy playing with his new phone

Bittersweet - our last monthly photo! 12 months old

The awesome train cake Jason made

Snacks and Sangria

I think people knew they found the right house

Watch out for a train crossing!

The Nolan Express :)

Party boy wearing the conductor hat

Reading a book and riding on his new rocking toy Jason and I gave him

Happy birthday dear Nolan!

He did not hesitate to dig right in

Tasting the chocolate

yum

Licking the chocolate off his hand

Waving at the audience :)

Brunson, Nolan, Abigail and Blake riding in the train

So cute!

 

Our happy birthday boy <3 

Little Ham

There's so much to catch up on, but this will have to be short and sweet. Jason and I leave for Mexico in 8 hours and we aren't finished packing. But I have been dying to get these videos posted and secured on my computer. I would be devastated if something happened to my phone and I lost them.

Nolan is such a little ham. About a month ago he started fake laughing. He does it when other people are laughing and he wants to join in. He has learned that his fake laugh makes me laugh, so now he'll do it just to make me laugh. It's so adorable.

A few weeks ago Nolan started laughing like The Count from Sesame Street. I have no idea how he learned to laugh like that, because he has never seen Sesame Street. But I took the opportunity to teach him to laugh like The Count when I ask, "What does The Count say?"

This video captures both of his unique laughs.

Also, Nolan lets us know when he is ready for bed. One night around Nolan's bedtime, I randomly asked him if he wanted milk. He grinned and took off running for his bedroom where we nurse. I thought it was just a one time thing, but he has been consistently doing it! If he isn't ready for bed, he'll just smile and keep playing. But when I ask 5-10 minutes later, he's usually ready for bed and will run to his bedroom. My mom has tried this for nap times at her house when I'm at work. She asks, "Do you want to go night night?" And he'll run to the bedroom where he naps and say, "Ni ni." So cute!

Here is a video of Nolan running to his bedroom ready to nurse and go to sleep.

I will have tons more to post in the next few weeks as Nolan turns ONE! There will be birthday pictures, professional one year photos, and birthday party pictures. Jason and I can't wait! :)

A walker...and a talker! (Plus videos!)

I've heard from multiple sources that a baby is a walker or a talker. The brain focuses on one big thing at a time, so if a baby is an early talker, he/she probably won't be an early walker, and vice versa. Nolan was an early walker, so he wasn't talking yet. Over this last month he started to say some words, and it is so fun! He now says mama, dada, nana (banana), ni-ni (night night), and num num. He also says mmmmm for moo. We have been signing with Nolan since he was 6 months, and it has been obvious for awhile now that he understands a lot of the signs. For instance, just the other night I asked him if he wanted milk, and he took off into his bedroom and ran to the rocking chair where we nurse. When I sign for drink, he turns his head and looks at his sippy cup. He does sign "eat", "milk", and "more". It's so fun that he understands some of what we say now and is able to let us know what he wants!
Another completely adorable thing that Nolan does that melts our hearts is kiss the air. He smacks his little lips together and makes a kiss noise. My mom says that he will walk over to the baby gate that I meet him at when I pick him up after work, say "mama", and kiss the air. SO SWEET! Last weekend my parents watched Nolan overnight while Jason and I went to his cousin Jamie's wedding. It was Nolan's first overnight (he did better than I did, I think). He did the mama/kiss thing that weekend. He must have missed me! Then this work week he was eating lunch in his highchair and started saying "mama, dada" and kissing the air. It is the cutest thing ever! And Nolan is generous with his kisses. The other day when we were hanging out at my mom's before I went to work he went up to my mom and looked up at her and kissed the air. What a sweetie!
Today our little man turned 11 months old. I know I say this in the majority of my posts, but I cannot believe how fast time flies. Seriously. One more month and we will have a 1 year old on our hands! What!?
In the meantime, here are some pictures and videos of our little guy. Enjoy!

Playing under a table at a restaurant 

Cheesy smile

Love this.

Sweater made by my mom's friend Kathy Kallas when my mom was pregnant with me! Love it. And I love the red khakis. :)

Double Digits

It's been awhile since I posted. School started again so I am back to work (insert sad face here). I am still half-time, but it's different this year. I teach in the afternoons every day, rather than full-day half-weeks. I don't like it. I miss my whole days off with Nolan. I try to spend as much time with Nolan (and Keegs) as I can in the morning. But I miss snuggling with Nolan after his naps. He now naps in the car on the way to my mom and dad's (my mom is watching Nolan again this year :)) and then takes one afternoon nap when I'm at work. So I miss out on his one snuggly time of the day. Ok, end of my pity party.

Nolan is doing terrific! He is walking all over the place. It is so fun to watch. He'll wander around the house checking everything out. It still seems weird to see him walk into a room, instead of crawl. Nolan still uses walls, objects, and sometimes his cousin Abigail - sorry, Abigail! to stand up, but I think he'll be able to stand up on his own really soon. He is able to bend down and pick a small object up and stand back up on his own, so he is capable. He just needs the confidence to try. I'm sure it won't be long.

Jason and I can't believe that Nolan is ten months old now - he is in the double digits! The past ten months have flown by. His first birthday is quickly approaching. It makes me both happy and sad. I'm sad that he is growing up so quickly and won't be my little baby boy forever, but at the same time I'm so happy that he is growing, healthy and happy. Jay and I feel so blessed to have Nolan. :)

Hey, Gophers fan!

Where ya going?!

Our baby boy is ten months old!

Trying to crawl off the chair again

Sweetie pie. Nolan loves to sit criss-cross!

Nolan is WALKING!!!

Yes, that's right! Nolan is walking at 9.5 months! Holy cow. About a week ago, Nolan started to let go of what he was holding onto and try to walk into our arms. At first he would just kind of step, step, tumble, and it felt more like a delayed fall than a walk. But just a few days ago, it turned into real steps where he made it into our arms without tumbling down! It is so fun to watch him. Nolan gets the biggest smile on his face after he successfully takes a couple steps. Sometimes he gets a grin on his face right before he walks because he knows what he is about to accomplish. The most he has done so far is five steps. And of course, it is completely on his terms. He won't walk when you want him to or when you're hoping he will. It mostly happens when you aren't watching him like a hawk. Jason and I are so proud of him (and he is of himself, as he should be!)

Here's a video of him walking today.

I never posted Nolan's 9 month stats from the doctor. He is 21 lbs, 0 oz (57%), and 28 3/4" (67%). He is a growing boy!! He is quickly growing out of his 9 month (6-12 month for some brands) sized clothes, and getting into the 12 month (12-18 month for some brands) sized clothes.

Jason and I played professional photographers (ha!) for Nolan's 9 month photos. Here are a few of our favorites. We'll be taking him back to Judd Sather (studiojphoto.com) for his 1 year photos.

9 Months Old

Yesterday was a special day for all of us; It was Jason's and my 2nd anniversary and it was Nolan's 9 month birthday. I can't believe we've been married two years! Time has flown by. I also can't believe that in three short months Nolan will be one year old! Time needs to slow down!

Nolan has been his busy little self. Back in June he started standing up and walking with some walking toys. He also is now cruising around furniture and moving from furniture to furniture. I don't think it will be too long before he is walking!

Nolan absolutely LOVES Keegan, but Keegan has mixed emotions. Keegan kind of freaks out when Nolan starts crawling right for him, but then will lick Nolan if Nolan has food on him. I've been teaching Nolan how to pet Keegan gently. He is catching on to it! He doesn't grab handfuls of Keegan's fur anymore.

Last weekend Jason, Nolan, and I went to Chicago. We had tons of fun going out to eat, walking around the city, taking a water taxi to the Shedd Aquarium, seeing the penguins, dolphins, beluga whales, and fish there, walking around Navy Pier, and meeting up with Heather, Phil, and Grayson! It was a very busy, busy weekend, but Nolan did great. He was a happy little guy and slept pretty well. He also enjoyed petting Grayson. I could see that he really is learning how to be gentle.

Nolan also understands the word "no", but definitely tests it out.The little stinker. It's so cute though and hard not to laugh or smile at him, but I don't want him to think that the word "no" is a game. Nolan knows he is not supposed to play with cords or with Keegan's toys. He will grab them and look at me. I'll say no and shake my head and he will put it down. Then, of course, he will pick it back up again and smile at me, I'll say no and he'll put it down. Then I'll redirect him to something else before it does become a game. Sometimes he'll be crawling for something and I'll say no and he won't pick it up.

Since Nolan became mobile he hasn't been very interested in books. However, when I can get him to read books he really likes looking at the books that include textures. He reaches his hand out to touch the soft/fuzzy/scratchy/etc texture on the pages. We've been reading a lot of those books lately.

This coming Friday is Nolan's 9 month appointment. I'm excited to see how tall he is and how much he weighs, but not excited for his shots. I will update this weekend with what his stats are. For now, here is a Nolan photo bomb!

Early this summer, first time walking with a toy

He loves walking with this toy he got from Grandma and Grandpa McCabe

Nolan and Keegan, checking out the world together

Waiting for Dada to get home

Nolan and Abigail checking out the world together

Loving the swing at Laurie and Nick's house!

Posing with my favorite, penguins, at the Shedd

Nolan's first carousel ride (at Navy Pier)

Nolan and Grayson checking each other out

They are bffs!

9 months old! Nolan would NOT sit still! He kept trying to crawl off the chair or else stand up, turn around, and try to grab the curtains. Silly guy!