Chair

Gammie has been teaching Nolan all kinds of things while visiting.  He is catching on quick!  He is already walking better with assistance, matching shapes, and climbing into his chair by himself.  It's such a fun age when they are learning so quickly.  His verbal vocabulary is not growing much, though.  He stills says dah for everything, although he can touch many items on command because he knows the word.  We are finally getting some comfortable summer weather here in KC and enjoying our walks.

Great Grandma

Nolan is so lucky to get to spend some time with great grandma Leeser who stopped by on her way to St. Louis. He showed off his skills and cute smiles! He is enjoying a book with her. We loved the visit!

Getting the Hang of it

Kansas City Zoo

Nolan had so much fun at the zoo today. He laughed at the polar bear, stared at the sea lions, was wide eyed at the elephants, and went bezerk at the site of the monkeys. Good thing he likes the zoo because we got a pass so we can go all year!

1 Year

Bubbles

Why Do We Buy Toys?

Here is Nolan, having a ball with a piece of the flooring.  Fisher Price is a scam, Nolan would much rather play with paper, the basket with dirty washcloths in it, and the remote.

First Word

Nolan has spoken!  His first word that actually refers to something is . . . dog!  Sometimes the g is more pronounced than others, but he says it with real dogs, toy dogs, and pictures of dogs.  He will also look for Sierra or his toy dog when adults say the word.   He continues to say da da da indiscriminately and hasn't figured out the m sound yet.  You can see in the video, he is into everything right now. He has also finally gotten   to the point where he can tip his own sippy cup back far enough to drink all by himself. Just in time for summer.

Mother's Day

Mike and Nolan brought me flowers and cheesecake for the weekend.  I got donuts Sunday morning, and we spent a nice day at the Botanical Garden, in the pool, and making pizza with Gammie. My first Mother's Day and no one was sick or behaved terribly, what luck!

11 Months

Uncle Trev and Aunt Diana

Nolan had tons of fun with Uncle Trev and Aunt Diana who suffered the heat and came to visit their nephew.    Poppy was able to join in some of the festivities as well.  Aunt Di especially loved Nolan's chubby cheeks!  I    think Uncle Trev is waiting for Nolan to get a little older so he can teach him all sorts of bad things.  We really had a great time all weekend!

Children's Museum

We took Nolan to the Phoenix Children's Museum.  He loved it!  We don't get to see him interact with other babies much, it was comforting to see he is nice.

Swim Time!

Nolan's first time in a pool, and he loved it!  It reached over a hundred degrees today, and we cooled off with a dip in Gammie's pool.  Even Sierra got her feet wet.  Nolan kicked, grinned, and giggled for half an hour in the water.

Our Day at the Museum

We enjoyed our afternoon at the Museum of Natural History.  They had a lot of dinosaur displays, and Nolan wore his dino onesie in honor of it.  It is already getting hot here, so we are looking for indoor things to do.

Cheez!

10 Months

Nolan is so close to crawling. He can scootch forward and backward, lift his stomach up off the ground, but he hasn't gotten those knees under him yet. His monthly pictures will start getting much harder to take once he figures it out. He got another ear infection this month, but other than that, he's a happy boy all the time. He is starting to spend a lot of time outdoors as the weather warms. He loves his walks in the stroller still and spends a lot of time sitting up looking around at everything. He has 6 teeth with 2 more coming in soon. He has been eating finger foods for snack each day. Nolan seems to prefer Cheerios over the other snacks.

Into Everything!

Nolan has been into everything lately. He finds the remote control all the time and has even gone into my pocket to grab my phone. Here he is grabbing my laundry basket before snack time.

Nolan and I had a great week when Tif went back to work but I was still on Spring Break. On Wednesday we went to the zoo. Nolan loved many of the animals especially the Mexican Wolves which looked similar to Sierra. They were really active and he was just laughing and laughing. He was entertained for a good 15 minutes. On Friday we went to the Phoenix Art Museum and Nolan liked a lot of the works. He was very quiet for the first two hours we were there and despite nearly getting us kicked out because he took off my sticker, he was a great companion. Also on Friday we went to the park for lunch and duck feeding. Nolan was just staring the whole time and we'll have to keep going back and looking for little duckligs.

Kiss me, I'm cute!

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday Uncle Trevor!

Congratulations Dad!

Nolan, Tif, and I went out Si Senor's to celebrate Dad's new job in Kansas City teaching Science to 6th graders. We are really excited and now are full in on our move. Of course, Nolan had to do something new. He made a growl face! It was so cute and it looks like he was yelling at the top of his lungs, but he didn't make a peep the whole time we were eating!

Cute Firsts

Nolan has been having a couple of really cute things lately. He started waving hello, playing peek-a-boo, and had his first catch with Dad! Take a look at the video and you'll agree, what a cutie!

Feeling Better

Last night we went to the after hours care for our pediatrician group because Nolan was wheezy and not any better. He got a shot of antibiotic and a new breathing treatment regiment. This morning he was hungry and ready to play. Nolan and Sierra have a pact that both enjoy. Sierra can lay on part of his blanket and even use his soft book as a pillow and Nolan can treat Sierra's head as a giant fluffy moving toy. Sierra has had enough and now went behind the couch so you know who feels they got the raw end of the deal.

Super Virus!

Get off my phone Nolan or it'll get sick! Nolan's ear infection got even worse despite the antibiotics so he is on a heavier dose. We hope it works! Nolan's fever and vomit ended his sleepover at Gammie's (and
Mom and Dad's date).

Happy Birthday Dad!

Nolan is so excited to be with his Dad on his birthday! 27 was a great year and I am sure 28 will be just as good. This is Nolan yelling at Tif at Joe's Farm Grille while we waited for our lunch. Look at the little guy doing such a great job of sitting in the high chair!

8 Months and Counting

Nolan has had a very busy month. He is now easily sitting on his own and reaching far for things. It also took him a while, but he can roll over with some complications. When he moves from his stomach to his back he has to barrel over his arm, which sometimes takes a few grunts of effort as seen in the second picture.

Nolan is eating peaches, pears, apple sauce (kind of), puffs, carrots, squash, pumpkin, broccoli, zucchini, potato, sweet potato, banana (but not really), and stange combinations of them. He is much more of a vegetable lover and hasn't gotten his sweet tooth yet. He really is a great eater and will eat five of the mini-muffin cubes that we make. We make everything but the fruits (bananas are the exception).

Nolan also has four teeth now, two on the top and two on the bottom. Don't get your finger close to him because he will chomp on it!

The past two weeks have not been the best for the little guy. Nolan had a head cold and it took a bit too long to get over it and Tif took him to the doctor and he had an ear infection. He has some bubble gum amoxycillin and the smell brings me back.

This month, Nolan started to go to Day Care on Fridays to give Gammie a day off and to give us a back up in case we need it. Stacy is really nice and it is good for Nolan to spend some time around a few other babies.

Speaking of babies, Nolan is now wearing 12 month clothing, so I guess he isn't baby sized anymore. He is still about 20 lbs. but is quickly approaching the 30 in. mark and will soon graduate from his baby car seat.

Tif and I are busy with work and submitted applications and resumes to some districts in Kansas City in anticipation of moving there this summer. I have had a few interviews over Skype and it takes the worry out of a major life event. It will be all worth it in the long run though. Tif and I want Nolan to grow up climbing trees, getting grass stains, playing in the autumn leaves, and throwing snowballs. That and we want to be able to spend our summer break not hiding from the oppressive heat. Sierra will just have to get used to not laying out in the rocks in 110 degrees in the middle of the day.

We are looking forward to the month ahead. We are all ready for Nolan to be crawling any day (hopefully week) now. The house is all baby proofed and we (mostly Tif) have been great at keeping the floor really clean.

Bat Wielding Maniac!

Nolan's favorite toy is from his "Aunt" Sandee, a baseball bat from the All-Star Game this year has gotten each of us on the noggin at least once. Nolan seems to be the victim of its' assault most of the time though. We're just shocked he always holds the bat on the right side. All the Phillies games on tv this summer and all of the softball games he's been to must have helped!

7 Months

7 months is a fun age. He's awake longer between naps, he actually eats the baby food (which means he sleeps longer at night), he is very curious and playful, but he can't crawl or walk yet. We have baby proofed the house in preparation for mobility, though.