Jason and I quickly learned that Nolan is at the absolute worst age to be flying, especially on a long, four hour flight! He is old enough to not want to sit still and be easily distracted, but not yet able to reason with or fully explain what is going on. Poor kid probably thought he was in a narrow torture chamber, forced to sit on our laps for a very long period of time. Our usual tricks didn't work - books, snacks, video clips on the iPod. It was a long flight! Pretty sure Nolan was "that kid" on the plane. Anyway, despite the not very fun flight, we made it to San Fran safe and sound.
Nolan was amazing the entire vacation, such a trooper! He was so flexible to our schedule and the time change. He would stay up late (and then actually sleep in!!), take naps in strollers, go with the flow of whatever we were doing. He definitely made up for the plane ride. :)
Highlights from San Francisco - going on long, long walks with Jason every morning, visiting Julie and Steve's beautiful house, playing in their sprinkler and going "night night" on a blanket under a tree (he kept saying that and laying down, but never actually slept), visiting Elsa!!! :), Fisherman's Wharf - including the sea lions (Nolan preferred to climb up and down the stairs instead of look at them), the carousel (he was unsure about it, but ended up enjoying it), and the small three person circus act (Nolan was amazed at the contortionists and the man who climbed up the tall ladder), a hot fudge sundae at Ghirardelli Square, going to the Children's Museum with Abigail, Mamie and Papa, and eating out at many restaurants. It was a busy, super fun vacation. The plane ride home was a little better, Nolan actually took a 45 minute nap.
Our time back at home has not been so fun, though. Poor Nolan and Abigail caught a cold at the end of our trip. Abigail was hit hard with it right away, while Nolan just had a runny nose. But our first night home Nolan took a turn for the worse and it went into his chest. We had a low key, stay at home weekend with our sick guy, who didn't want to eat or drink very much and was very clingy, which is highly unusual for our energetic, independent boy! I took him to the doctor yesterday (Monday) and the strep test was negative, his lungs sounded fine, and his ears were clear. But he was just miserable. I felt so bad for him! Thankfully today he is happier, eating and drinking more, and has more energy. Hopefully this nasty virus is going away!
My check-up a few weeks ago went very well. Since this pregnancy is going well and so did my first one with Nolan, the doctor said I don't have to come back until 32 weeks (first time moms and high-risk pregnancies would normally go back at 30 weeks, which is what I am now). She did have me get the Tdap vaccine (whooping cough is on the rise in MN and babies don't get the vaccine for it until 2 or 4 months, this way the baby will get some immunity through me). Nolan was with me at the appointment and when he saw the nurse wipe my arm and get the needle out, he got a worried look on his face and said, "Oh no!" It was so cute. :)
Jay and I have our girl name locked in and are in the process of narrowing down boy names. We'll be keeping it a surprise and announcing it whenever he/she makes the big debut! Hard to believe it will be in about 10 weeks! Time to start getting baby stuff ready again!
As usual, here are many, many photos! Some are super old that I forgot to upload from last fall/winter.
Thanksgiving in Chicago, at Uncle Bob and Aunt Ginny's house
Drinks at the top of the Hancock
Elsa and me last fall. Why didn't we take a picture together in San Fran?!
Picking out a Christmas tree!
Our little family
I love this picture!!
Future Johnny?!
Happy guy playing with the water table
Drinking the water
Saying "Ahhh!" after he swallows
Splashing and giggling like crazy!
Love this little man.
Pretty blue eyes :)
Oh, hey there, Keegan! Thanks for deciding to roll in a mud puddle!
Full House house!!!
Postcard Row, also seen in the opening credits of Full House! :)
Loving the backyard at Julie and Steve's house! And why yes, that is a dirt mustache :)
Goofy guy
Are you watching, Mama? I'm going to eat it! (He knows he isn't supposed to so he purposely waits until I'm watching to put things in his mouth)
Loving the sprinkler!
Abigail's expression is the best!
Cool dude
Climbing on Papa
Superman is flying!
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SuperNolan!
Smelling the flowers...or plant!
Now he's smelling the flowers :)
A tad hesitant to go in the pool. Partly because there was a random dude with goggles on. Nolan was scared of him.
He ended up loving it!
Having fun with Dada
Bay Bridge
Trying to get him excited about the carousel
Poor Abigail was sick :(
