Where did January go?!?

I have been saving videos and photos on my phone with every intention of posting, but all of a sudden something comes up and I don't have time to post.

January was busy with going back to work after winter break (which was awesome, can't wait for summer vacation!!). It was also busy with my birthday celebrations.

Nolan has been just as busy as ever! He climbs on anything and everything. He knows he isn't supposed to climb on tables, but he does and then yells, "Down!" Haha, little stinker. Nolan can now open all of our interior doors and is very proud of this. We've had to put some safety locks on some of our doors. He also is very proud to be mastering puzzles. He is really good at putting the chunky wood puzzles together. Nolan also stays busy giving his cousin Abigail hugs and kisses!

Nolan is learning to say more and more words. Just over the last few days he has added baby, Mamie, Abby, and puppy to his vocabulary. He also said to my mom, "mama, dada, ruff ruff ruff! (Barking), bye bye" like he was telling her that we were all bye bye at work. This age (15 months) is so much fun!

Nolan is also learning how to show different emotions. When he "accidentally" rips a page or a pop-up out of  one of his books, he gets a concerned look on his face, puts his hands on his cheeks, and says, "Oooooh!" or "Oh no!" It's so cute! Although I do have quite a few books that need to be taped/repaired.

Here is a video of Nolan getting excited it's bath time. It's his favorite time of day. He is devastated when it isn't bath night (he has dry skin so we can't do it every night). He calls bath "baba."

Here is a super cute video of Nolan and Abigail playing "hide and go seek."

Hugging his baby

Fell asleep at lunch

Hugging his baby again

Silly guy

Face timing with Elmo and Gladys

Who, me?

Playing with a kitty

Kisses from dada

Giving Abigail hugs and kisses

Giving me hugs and kisses

It wasn't me!

Reading a book in his rocking chair

Ohhhh!

Train conductor

Holidays and Dancing

The holiday season is officially over. It flew by! I go back to work on Monday (boooooo). Nolan had a very happy Christmas with both sides of the family. He made out like a bandit with a ton of clothes and toys! Jason's and my gift to Nolan was a tent with balls (a ball pit) and a tunnel. He loves it! He especially likes it when I go in there with him. Silly guy.

Nolan is still as active as ever! He still loves to climb on everything and anything. He also LOVES to dance! He will dance to commercials, TV shows, the little tune that his farm toy makes, anything! It's so cute. Jason really likes it, since I'm not much of a dancer. Nolan's two favorite things to dance to are Psy's Gangnam Style and the original Beverly Hills 90210 theme song (yes, I still watch that show). Here are some videos of him dancing.

Gangnam Style

Beverly Hills 90210

Here is a video of Nolan knocking down a tower of blocks. He gets so excited when he sees that we've built a tower!

Nolan's expressing his sweet side more and more. He now will come up, put his arms around my neck, and hug me. He kisses two different ways - one way he leans his forehead against yours and lets you kiss him, the other way he will (open mouth) kiss your lips. It is so sweet! Here is one of my favorite videos - he was playing peekaboo with me in his closet and every time he saw me he would kiss me.

Nolan has put two words together a few times. Of course they mostly center around food. He loves to eat! Although he is getting a little picky. So far he has said "mo mama" (more mama), "bye da" (to Jason when he was leaving for work), "aaa du" (all done), and "oh no!". He gets so proud of himself when he says a couple words. He grins and claps with me. 

Here are some of my favorite recent pictures I've taken of Nolan on my phone. 

Those eyes!!! (no filter was used on my phone)

Pretty proud of himself

Looking dapper on Christmas Eve

Having fun with his ball pit and tunnel on Christmas morning

Sweet boy on Christmas day

Out to eat with mama and dada

Having fun at Edinburough

Wee!!!

hey cutie

Ooooh!!!

All week he has been practicing saying "ooooh!" in a concerned voice. 

Ready to cheer on the Vikes!

"Oh no!" He was unable to turn my laptop on :)

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