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12/14/08 - Wow, over three months without a story. I hate that I can't don't write more often, but I just don't have enough energy in the evenings to sit and write something. Chris is working evenings and has been since August I think and so it's like being a single mom in the evenings. By the time the kids are in bed, I want to crash myself. And before I moved into a recruiting roll, I had time to write a story at work. Now, I'm lucky if I get a break other than lunch. Hopefully I'll get better, for sure at least when Chris goes to another shift and I have help in the evenings. So since it's been three months, this should be extremely long, but I'll just do a quick update.
Nolan is half way finished with his 2nd year in preschool and is learning so much that he amazes me every day. We were riding in the car yesterday and he told me, "The primary colors are red, blue, & yellow." Then he went into what color each of them made when mixed together. I don't know if that's advanced or not, but it still surprises me that he's old enough to know and comprehend that kind of information. He's learning the lowercase of all his letters this year. He's still MUCH better at his capitals, but he certainly tries his lowercase every chance he gets.
He's addicted to video games. I know it's Chris and my fault, but when you have a mom and dad who loves playing video games too, it's really hard to stop your child from loving and playing them too. We've put restrictions on him (I think I'm the only one who follows them), but it's something we really like doing as a family too. Even Bennett likes to make the characters jump and run!
Bennett is still a character. He's a daddy's boy. He's a charmer, but a controller. He HAS to get his way and doesn't know how yet to deal with his feelings when he doesn't. He has no regard for rules and doesn't think twice in breaking them. He doesn't like getting in trouble, but for some reason it doesn't click that "if I do this thing that I'm not suppose to, I'm going to get in trouble". I think he sincerely feels bad for doing something wrong, but not until AFTER he's done it. I may need some help with this one. Don't get me wrong, he is a wonderful little boy. He cracks me up and is turning into a real sweetheart. He LOVES giving kisses and makes the "MUAHH" with every one. And everyday when I get home and he run as fast as he can to me yelling, "MAMA" never gets old!
Chris and I couldn't have gotten any luckier. They are becoming buddies themselves and they can't go to bed without a hug and kiss from each other. I can't wait until Bennett is at Nolan's school next year with him. That will be interesting, I'm sure. I really pray and hope they will always be this close and love each other and be there for each other forever.
I absolutely LOVE the age Bennett is right now. Sure he has his moments with his tantrums and his hitting and throwing toys, but man, this little boys has some personality. He makes us laugh all the time. He may have just turned two, but there isn't a word he can't say! He's even picking up expressions that his big brother uses already...GREAT!! The day Nolan turned 4 he looked at his Aunt Tammy and said "Tough!" If my two year old ever looks at me and says that, although it will be hard to keep a straight face, I won't know what to do!
We got the results back from Bennett's allergy testing. I was devastated at first because it showed an allergy to dog and a slight allergy to egg. I thought for sure I was going to have to make a horrible decision as to what to do with my dog that I've had for 12 years, but once I talked to the dr's office, the allergy is ever so slight that as long as the medicine is working right now, we don't have to get rid of the dog. Since he's so old too, he probably won't be around too many more years and the dr said there is no harm in Bennett staying on the medication for years much less one or two. And the allergy to egg was hardly on the chart and he can still eat it. He goes back in 6 months and hopefully they'll test for more things. The blood test only tested for things that are all year long. They did that because I can't tell of a time that he hasn't had allergies (now we know why that is). But I believe there are some seasonal things he's allergic to as well.
Nolan is LOVING gymnastics. He's been three times and can do a pretty good cartwheel and can push himself up in his backbend pretty good already. It's so great to see him get some energy out. Aunt Tammy and I tried to take Bennett last week and that didn't work at all. He wanted out there with his brother!! I'm going to try to get better videos for Aunt Lori and everyone, but the ones that I had didn't work for some reason.
He's also enjoying his second year of preschool. He gets to sleep on a cot two days a week this year and I think he thinks he's so cool! He made it a week and a half before getting sick this year (last year it was TWO days). He ended up with strept throat and was pretty sick.
Anyways, please sign the guest book to wish Bennett a happy birthday. I know everyone just did for Nolan, but Bennett needs some loves too. By the way, Nolan LOVED to hear all the messages everyone left - he wants to hear them every time I pull their page up. It's hard to believe that I've had this page going since he was a little peanut in my belly!!
I know I say it every year, but I can't believe that he's already 4!! He's growing into a very sweet and sensitive little boy. He's still my cuddler and I hope that doesn't change anytime soon. I want so much for this little guy that I can't even express it. He's learning so much that sometimes, I don't even know where he learns some of the words that come out of his mouth or expressions that he shows. I have never felt so much pride for another human being in my life. Why does 4 seem so much older than 3?
Nolan starts his second year of preschool today on his birthday...what a big day! I think he's so excited, but he actually didn't show it that much. He's become such a 'computer geek' and 'gamer' this summer that I hope that he will still love preschool as much as he did last year. It's totally our fault that he wants to be on the computer or playing 'nintendo' as much as he does. It's just amazing that he's so good at it and he was only 3!
This summer flew by, but we got to go to the zoo, the Magic House, took a train to Aunt Lori's, and went to the water park three or four times. So I think the boys had a great summer. I'm sad that it's over, but next summer will be here before we blink. The days fly by these days.
So after school today we'll be having Aunt Tammy, Grandma and Papa over for dinner and cake. Then Nolan starts gymnastics on Wednesday! I can't wait for that and he is sooo excited. He has been practicing his 'standheads' (handstands) every day since I told him that gymnastics starts soon.
Bennett's birthday is in three weeks (so at least you won't have to wait so long for an update again!) - he'll already be TWO. We FINALLY had him into the allergist last week and should find out soon some answers why he's had horrible eczema and asthma already so much in his short little life. I'm sure that it's going to be something that is going to change our lives, but we will FINALLY have a road to take on making him feel better. We opted for the blood test instead of the pricking. It takes longer for a result, but way less invasive for Bennett. We've been two years without knowing - what's another two weeks? We left that doctor with FOUR - yes I said FOUR prescriptions!! He has an two inhalers - one that we use twice a day every day and the other one is only for breathing problems, we have a nose spray that we use every day, and he gave us a much stronger steroid cream for the eczema. We've used the cream for a week and his eczema is amazingly better already! Hopefully after we get some answers we can control it other ways than with all the medicine!
Well, hopefully I'll be back to update much sooner than this time - I have so many Nolan quotes that I have to get into the stories.
Please wish Nolan a happy birthday - I will be reading him all of the entries!!
***I don't even know when I wrote this story...I think it actually took me a couple weeks and still never finished it - but I didn't just want it to go to waste...so here it is...***
Can you say slacker? That's me! I think it was actually a whole month before I updated anything on the website. I'm glad I got something up for Father's Day, but the calendar is still May! I did want to get up a background of our zoo trip, but never got around to it. We've been busy and sometimes I just really don't want to get on a computer when I get home after sitting at one ALL day long. Anyways...enough excuses. I'll try harder. This time. I promise. Maybe.
Nolan finished his first year of preschool and although he'll be going back there two more years, I was sad that his first year of school was over. I took the day off and spent the morning at school with him. He loved it. He, along with all the kids, had to show me around. They did their circle time and reviewed all the songs they've learned all year long - "The Days of The Week"," The Months of The Year", they did a song with their thumbs. Can you say beaming with pride? And all the while he sat there close to his little girlfriend Lani. The teachers told me that they always try to sit by each other. How cute is that?
I wonder if her dad thinks it that cute.
They played outside for a while and I got to finally see how crazy all the boys are with the dump trucks. I've heard stories all year about how all the little boys play with the big dump trucks and they'll take off running, get the trucks going fast, and then jump in the back until the fence stops them. It once again made my heart beam with pride watching him and all his little friends playing so well with each other and having a blast. Also made me love his preschool even more than I already did. They then were taking a walk to the child development class at the high school. That's when I ducked out and went home because Aunt Tammy and I were surprising Nolan with a trip to the zoo. I wish I could have seen him in the 'Big School', but I knew he'd get more out of it without me there. I went and picked up Bennett and Tam and we got everything ready for the zoo and when it was time we went and got Nolan together. Bennett immediately called out for Nolan (he says Dowen) when we got inside. When he saw him, he ran up and gave him a hug...too adorable! We told Nolan what his surprise was (which he had guess the day before from the clue we gave him..."We're going somewhere there are dinosaurs and mice." How he got the zoo from that, I'm not sure). He was excited, but didn't like that we had to drive a while before we got there. It was so very hot, but we still had a wonderful time. We went towards the dinosaurs first and Nolan was weary the whole way there. I finally had to tell them the dinosaurs were not real because as we got closer and closer, he kept getting louder and louder with protest about not wanting to see them! Once we got there it again took some coaxing to get him to sit next to them to get some pictures!! I guess he's got such a great imagination, that he can imagine them to be alive. (That's much better than saying he might be scared or something!) But after he realized they weren't alive and figured out that none of the other animals could get to him, he was fine and really relaxed. Bennett loved it too! Bennett's favorite animal was the penguins, I think. Actually I think that he liked anything that was in water (fish and the ducks were also favorites). We took them to see the sea lion show also and while we were waiting for it to start, there was loud music playing and Nolan and Bennett were the start of the show at that point. Bennett was dancing his butt off and everyone around us just laughed and loved him! Nolan of course had to get in on that action. I wish I would have gotten some videos of that, but I was too busy trying to make sure Bennett didn't fall off the bleacher and/or run away! The rest of the day they were awesome also. We were going to take them to Chuck e Cheese, but thought that might have been a little much. They both were getting pretty tired. So instead we met Uncle Mark and just ate at one of his favorite restaurants. It was a great day to end the first year of preschool.
So the summer has been good so far. I think Nolan is having a little difficult time with how the days are so unstructured. He's always done so well with change, but I think this going to somewhere different and someone different watching him every day is a little too much for him. He's spending a lot of time with a family of FOUR boys ages ranging 15 to 4. He loved it soooo much at first that he'd ask me EVERY hour if he was going to Wayde's tomorrow. But last week he didn't want to go. He just wanted to stay home. What? Nolan doesn't ever want to stay home. I asked for a good reason and all he could say was he just didn't want to go. I really think that it's hard that one day he goes to Aunt Tammy's, the next to Grandma's where he may or may not spend the night, the next to Wayde's, and the next day home with Daddy. Not to mention the weekends when mommy actually stays home with him. I'm sure that's hard for even someone who likes change. So this week Wayde came over to our house instead. We'll see how that goes. School will start in 6 weeks again and he will get his OWN cot. Now that's a BIG deal to Nolan!
Swimming lessons went great and we just started Nolan's second session yesterday. He's doing great and is getting more and more comfortable in the water every time. At the community center he will actually swim from one side of one part of the pool to the other (only about 8 feet), but it's because he knows the distance. I took him to my brothers pool then and he wanted nothing to do with it because it was unfamiliar and because he couldn't touch I'm sure. I was pleasantly surprised though with what he learned during the first session though. I was hoping that he would learn to feel more comfortable in the water and like putting his face in - that's all. Instead he can float on his belly and back and swim under water when he feels comfortable. We're doing it one more session and then he'll start gymnastics in August. I can't wait to see that.
Bennett has been great too. I looked at him the other day and noticed he's starting to not look so much like a baby anymore. Sniff sniff. He's showing so much of his personality and his sense of humor that he definitely amazes me every day. He says every word possible or at least tries. He even says complicated words like "Einsteins" (for Little Einsteins) and "Higgytown" for (Higgleytown Heros). He's even had small conversation with us already and I LOVE it. Although, I also want him to be a baby again. It's a catch 22 - you can't wait until they learn new things and grow, but on the flip side you don't want them to grow too fast.
5/14/08 - OK - so my three year old came to me Monday night before swimming lessons and said, "Mommy, at swimming lessons tonight please don't stand like an ice cube. You stood like an ice cube last time and you embarrassed me. So don't do that, OK?"
What's up with that?????
Seriously.
He's three.
I don't think I was embarrassed by my mother until AT LEAST 7 or 8!
And what does it mean to 'stand like an ice cube'?
I asked him after swimming lessons if I did better, "I went all the way under mom and got the ring! Can I get some water rings??"
5/11/08 - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHER'S OUT THERE! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing day. We had a pretty relaxing day here except that it was SOOO windy and actually too cold to even be outside. We went out for maybe 15 minutes and played with the bubble machine but then came in because all the adults could NOT stand it out there! After the fits from the kids though, we played and had fun inside.
So the Claritin is still working for Bennett. We've been giving it to him along with a nebulizer treatment every night and he's sleeping wonderfully! The eczema still comes and goes, but it's nothing like it was before the Claritin. We'll try stopping the Claritin in another week or so and see how he does.
Other than all the allergies though, Bennett is doing great. I took down his word chart because there are too many to keep track of. He will repeat ANYTHING you say now and is soo curious as to what everything is that he'll hold up an object and have you tell him what it is. He'll have a different object in each hand and keep alternating so you're saying "Car - Block - Car - Block - Car - Block" over and over and over again. It's just his way of burning it into his little head. He's slowly giving up his pacifier up on his own. I think this was right when I took it away from Nolan but I knew that I wasn't going to push Bennett as hard. We pushed for Nolan to give it up because we knew we were going to be having another baby and we didn't want Nolan to have all the changes at once. But now I'm thinking I'm holding onto Bennett being a baby a little longer. But he pretty much only wants it for naps and bedtime (and sometimes not even then). I mean we don't offer it to him ever but there are some laying around everywhere in this house. If he's not rid of it by 2 years though, I'm probably going to get rid of them.
Nolan is doing great too. School is coming to an end on the 30th and so he'll have the summer off and some nephews of a friend of mine are going to watch him over the summer, along with Aunt Tammy and Grandma of course. We're so very fortunate to have so many people to take care of our boys!!! Nolan has learned so much at Preschool this year it's amazing to me. He knows all his ABC's, can write them all, spell a few words, counts to 30 (firty), knows the months of the year, the days of the week, and has accumulated THREE girlfriends. Man he has been busy! I wonder what he's going to think about not going to school every day. He knows though that when he turns 4 and school starts up again he gets HIS OWN cot!! That's right! He is so excited and proud that he gets to take a nap at preschool next year. What he doesn't know it's only for two days. He's still going to go everyday but two full days and three half days.
He also started swimming lessons last week. He was really scared of putting his face in at first but we worked on it over the weekend and now he's a pro. We even had to take a bath at Grandma's today so he could show everyone and I kept noticing that he just kept doing it even when no one asked him to!! I'm so excited for him to go tomorrow night! As Nolan says, "My swimming teacher is going to be so proud of me!" You're right babe - she will be!!
Aunt Lori, Clayton, and Tanner came in for two days last weekend and Nolan had an awesome time with them and didn't want them to go. We tried to fly a kite - key word being TRIED. We had a BBQ and went swimming at the Community Center. Nolan wants to know when they'll be back!
4/23/08 - Two updates in one week - has that ever happened?
So I called our doctor about Bennett and all his situations (fall down the stairs, fever, and eczema) and he was sure that he was ok from the fall down the stairs. He said that if they would have been concrete or uncarpeted wood, he would want to see him, but it would take him falling almost straight on his head from the top to really do anything major to him. He wasn't sure what the fever was, but didn't think it had anything to do with the fall either. Then we went over his eczema and how bad it has gotten over the last few days. (I mean his little hands on Saturday night were so red and bumpy they actually looked like they were burned) Then I found eczema patches in places he's never had it (on the back of his ankles, all the way up the back of his legs, all the way down the back of his arms). We were outside most of the day, but man, he just sat in the swing. He got down once to play in the sand box, but my texture challenged child couldn't stand the feel of it! So he got back in the swing.
Anyways, Dr. Rudolph suggested Claritin for a week and if it didn't get better he had one other thing to try and if that didn't work he we would have to see a dermatologist. I think though the Claritin is working. It's not gone, but it's not as red AND drum roll please - he has slept through the night TWO nights in a row, without coughing, moaning, or crying. Lately he's been waking himself up with his coughing, but we put him to bed by 8 and he's out now until I wake him at 6! Cross your fingers it's the answer.
I have some pictures of the boys playing on the new swingset Papa built for them. I'll get them downloaded tonight!
4/20/08 - Man - over two months since I've written a story. I won't fully blame Nolan, but the lack of updates lately has a lot to do with the fact that I NEVER get to get on my own computer these days until everyone is in bed and by that time, I'm so tired that I too just want to go to bed! Nolan has his own computer in his room, but since we have showed him the endless fun on nickjr.com and Disney.com, he's taken over our space! I know we're the parents, but it's quite amazing that he's three and knows the word "Options" "Next" "Play" "Quit" "Games" by site. He's also learning stuff all the times on the computer, so I don't feel all that guilty. What I will be upset at is if this summer he would rather stay in and be on the computer than be outside. That's when I will take a stand.
Anyways, things have been a little hectic too here. Since I've written last, we've had three cases of strept throat, one with pink eye, both of them had mysterious viruses that gave them very high fevers for about 12 hours, a trip to the emergency room for Bennett because he was having a hard time breathing, and almost a second one because he fell down the stairs and had a big scrap on his head!!! What's going on here????
The trip to the emergency was eventful, but confirmed what I've been saying ever since Bennett had RSV last winter...he has asthma. They won't 'officially' diagnose him until next winter (three winters in a row with the same problem), but we got a nebulizer and he'll more than likely have trouble breathing when he gets colds or allergies. And cross your fingers will hopefully out grow it. And let me tell you, having your baby have trouble breathing is taken VERY serious at the right emergency room. We made the right call and passed up on all the smaller emergency rooms that we passed on the way up to St. Anthony's. I even didn't know at the time that they just opened up a Cardinal Glennon satellite office there, but we will never go anywhere else! When I called the exchange to tell them what was going on with Bennett - wheezing that progressively got worse throughout the day and his chest descending as he breathed in they immediately told me to get to an ER, even asked me if I wanted an ambulance. Man, did I feel like a bad mom for waiting so long. I guess though the fact that he was still running and jumping and laughing didn't make me think it was an emergency. I passed on the ambulance and we left right away for the ER. When we got there, we didn't even barely have time to give our name and they whisked us away to a room. Within a minute there were at least 6 people in our room...some were asking me who we were and our address, some were asking me all the symptoms he was having, others were doing three things to Bennett all at once. I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't even remember my address!!! I can't imagine what Bennett was feeling at that moment! But, we were in and out of that ER within 2 hours - including getting an x-ray, a breathing treatment, and leaving with a much better breathing little boy!!!
But then just Friday night we almost made another trip up there. Chris, Nolan and I were in the living room talking and playing. Bennett was in the toy room (or so we thought) playing. We heard a loud crash and then screaming. I ran into the playroom and Bennett was stuck in between the last step and the gate that we have blocking him from getting upstairs. He must have climbed over the gate, when all the way upstairs (he had a truck in his hands that was upstairs) and then came back down, but fell at some point. We weren't sure from how far, but he had a pretty bad scratch on his head. I say scratch because it wasn't bleeding, but was really read and raised. To be honest his head actually came to a point on the top of his head. He had a few other red marks on his face, but nothing else broke the skin. I was pretty upset, but Chris was sure he was ok. I called a friends dad who is a pediatric nurse and he told me things to watch. I think I over analyzed everything he did and thought we should take him in for everything. I woke him up every few hours that night, but I guess he was ok, because he's still doing fine. He did however get his mysterious fever yesterday from about 4pm until he went to bed. It got all the way up to 103.7 before it ever came down. Everyone I talked to didn't think it had anything to do with the fall, but I'm still a little weary about the whole situation. I'll be making a call to the docs tomorrow morning!
Nolan has been doing great. As you can see from the website that he got to go to his first circus! He had a great time. I think the show was a little too long for a three year old, but he didn't want to leave even when he kept asking if it was over yet. Our conversation in the car on the way home...
Mommy, "Did you like the circus?"
Nolan, "Yes, I miss the circus." In his very dramatic sad Nolan voice.
Mommy, "Well, what did you like the most about the circus"
Nolan, "I liked the camels the most."
Mommy, "But the camels weren't even in the show."
Nolan, "I know, but I liked them the most."
Mommy, "Well, did you like the elephants?"
Nolan, "Yeah, but the elephants are stinky."
Mommy, "Anything else you liked a lot?"
Nolan, "Do I go to school tomorrow?"
Mommy, "Yes, Nolan, you go to school"
Nolan, "Yea"
Silence.
Can you say redirection because I'm tired of your questions??
I'm sure I have lots more to write, but if I don't post this now, who knows when I'll get to this again...so ta ta for now and I hope I'll post another one soon!!
2/17/08 - Just found THREE more molars in Bennett's mouth today!! They had to have come in within the last few days because I pretty regularly check his mouth...esp when he has a bad night sleeping. Poor little guy! I need to update his tooth chart because now he has all his one year molars in. He hasn't gotten any of his eye teeth in yet, but I think those are suppose to be pretty bad also.
As you can see from his chart up front, Bennett is talking up a storm. It seems I can add a few more words every week. Yesterday he said Spongebob over and over while we were at Aunt Tammy's. I know it's sad that one of his first 20 words is Spongebob, but I was pretty excited.
Nolan is still doing great without naps. I can't wait until summer though, because these cold days where we stay in all day, make him go stir crazy and actually I think he gets a little bored and he knows if he slows down, he'll fall asleep. He asks to go places ALL day long! I think that's also my fault when I was working from home, we always found something to do at some time during the day.
He's still doing great in school. He writes all the letters, most of his numbers and can spell his first and last name. It's amazing that only a year ago - you could hardly understand him talking (see Flashback video #1!).
Tommorrow is Uncle Tony's birthday AND Nolan's half birthday! Three and a half - just doesn't seem right. Will there ever be a day that I won't be amazed at how old he is? Or will I always think he should still be small enough for me to cuddle in my arms?? Some days I can't wait for the next age, but others I just want them to stay just the way they are right now!!
We've been doing well here. The weather has been a little all over the place, but the boys have loved it. It was in the 60s on 1/27 and we were able to hang out at the park. It then snowed about 8 inches on 2/1 and the boys spent lots of time in their first big snow of the year. And then just 3 days later (2/4) it was in the 70's! Nolan got to get out and ride his bike at Aunt Tammy's! Then 2/11 we got about 3-4 inches of snow mixed with ice!!! How crazy is all that!?! I'm done with the snow though - bring on the spring!
Nolan has conquered another milestone...NO MORE NAPS!! Aunt Tammy was having long drawn out fights with him during nap times. At first we thought it was just that he was just that tired that he needed a nap, but I was also noticing it would take him hours to fall asleep at night. So I suggested we tried to go without a nap. And I'm not kidding - he has done a 360. He's been so much more agreeable, way less whining, the fights with Tammy have stopped, and he's been falling asleep at night within 10-15 minutes and sleeping 10-11 hours! He's only fallen asleep once for a nap in the last two weeks. I thought I would dread the days of no naps, but it's actually better! He has to consistently tell us though that he is a big boy and he doesn't take naps anymore!
Bennett is talking so much lately. He's repeating us now or at least attempting too. He's getting so affectionate - running to me when I get home and laying his head down on my shoulder and saying "ahhh", sometimes patting my back. LOVE IT!! He's given kisses, but doesn't to it too often. I have been trying and trying to get him on video dancing...it's a pretty funny site. He bounces up and down and moves his head a little like Stevie Wonder. I'll get it one day. As a result though, I have sooo many videos downloading now. I'll put a few on today and the rest in a few days, so check out all the videos before I exchange them for the other ones.
Chris has been moved to night shift. They rotate once a year. Other than days, it's actually the better shift to have with the boy's schedules. Poor thing though, I know he's got to be so exhausted. Right when he gets home from work, I walk out the door and go to work, he gets the boys to daycare and school and then comes home and hopefully gets at least 6-7 hours. He then goes and gets both boys and feeds them dinner and STILL helps me at night get them ready for bed...amazing or what.
My job is still going great. I've reached two of my goals and now I'm on my own interviewing the docs. That just happened today and after talking with my supervisor today the norm for reaching these goals is 8-10 weeks. I reached them in 6! Here's to hoping for the same results now that I'm on my own!
Well, I must get to bed...hope everyone is doing great and please feel free to send the boys some valentine wishes in the comments section!!!
1/20/08 - My scrapbooking weekend was great and I got a lot accomplished, but I was ready to get home because I missed the boys so much. With working full-time out of the house now, I cherish the weekends and to not have that, it seemed like I was away a LOT longer than just a weekend. But the boys had some great Daddy time and from what I heard from Nolan and Daddy, they had a great time.
I actually just wanted to quickly write that I know Papa's birthday is tomorrow, but his 'birthday background' won't be up until hopefully tomorrow night. I am so exhausted that I have to go to bed not (I was actually almost falling asleep readying to Nolan!) We stayed up way to late this weekend both nights working on the scrapbooks until we couldn't work on them anymore. So I thought since Papa doesn't have a computer and more than likely won't see his background anyways, being one day late, won't make a big difference, but he'll get a background. I just realized, I have to make SEVEN different backgrounds including Papa's by then end of February!!! Stayed tuned...
1/13/08 - I was going to update the entire site this weekend, but everyone but I has been sick this week with a 24-hour bug. Bennett had it first on Wednesday. He threw up before we left in the morning, but he was in such a good mood and not running a fever that I thought maybe he just drank his milk a little too fast. So I took him to daycare and no sooner did I get to work, they called and Bennett needed to be picked up - he had thrown-up all over his bed. Aunt Tammy went and got him and said he was as happy as could be, but after his nap and just a little water, he threw up all over again. So I left work a little early and poor little baby had a fever when I got there and had gotten sick once more. He just lay in my arms staring at me as if to say "What's wrong with me??" We rocked for a couple hours until he fell asleep. Thank goodness because he slept through the night and only got sick once the next day.
Then this morning I was in my room and Nolan came running in my room crying and gagging and I barely got him in the bathroom in time. He was totally freaked out. But after he would calm down he was brand new...playing and saying he felt fine. Then he'd get really lazy and soon after that, he throw up again. This happened on and off all day. He ended up getting a fever after his nap and kept down some Gatorade (small shots ever 5 minutes or so) and two crackers. It was so sad because he just kept begging me for food, but I had tried one little thing of jello earlier and that all came up, so I just couldn't give in to him...it was almost more difficult because he could talk and beg me for something whereas Bennett could just give me the look.
Chris also got sick at work and came home early and slept the rest of the day/night. I just hope I can dodge the bullet. I really don't want to miss any work since I just started my new position, but if I'm going to get sick, I hope it happens sometime before this weekend. Wouldn't it figure I'd get sick on a weekend I'm suppose to have all to myself to do nothing but scrapbook - let's all say a little prayer and cross our fingers that doesn't happen.
So anyways, other than the sickness, there's not too much going on. Bennett had his '15' months (he's really 16 months) checkup on Saturday and he's growing just fine. I'll get his stats up on the front page soon. I think he was 30 pounds exactly and 31 inches maybe...I'll have to make sure of that. He did pretty well with his shots. He had to get three and I think it hurt him more that I was holding him so tight and wouldn't let him go rather than the shots themselves.
My new job is going great! I'm still a little overwhelmed at all the information, but really do think I'm going to love it. They say I'm doing great. We get points for everything we accomplish through the week and on Thursday's there is a celebration meeting where everyone who has enough points gets to spin a wheel and win prizes and they said no one has ever had enough points to spin their first or second weeks, and I GOT TO SPIN my FIRST week! Whoo hoo. I'm sure it helps that I've worked there for 7 months prior and know a little more about the company and software systems than if I would have just started, but it felt good anyways! So here's to beginners luck continuing!!
Six years ago today, Chris and I met! It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago, although a lot has happened in those six years. Here's to many, many, more!! I love you babe!
12/28/07 - I wanted to get more updated in while I was off for FIVE days, but man, five days flies by faster than you think! I need five more! Too bad that can't happen.
Christmas was a blast. It's great having a three year old around for Christmas. Nolan got so into it this year and it was great!! I got to take Nolan to school Friday and stay for a little while for his Christmas party. I was amazed at how well he listens. Then I actually got to pick him up and Nolan was so excited about that! Then Friday night Aunt Tammy had her annual Gingerbread Party for the boys and their friends. We did presents with Clayton and Hannah first and we gave Clayton a Hot Wheels race track and it was such a hit that they only did Gingerbread Houses for about 15 minutes (enough time for the dads to get the race car track together and the boys were too interested in that to care about their Gingerbread houses. I guess we'll have to do presents AFTER Gingerbread houses next year! So the kids played for a while and us adults hung out and had some slush!! It was pretty fun.
Saturday, I got to go out to breakfast with my friends and then after the kid's naps, we went down to Grandma and Papas and hung out with Aunt Lori, Uncle Tony, Clayton and Tanner who drove in from Kansas City. Uncle Gary, Aunt Laura, Luke, Danielle, and Olivia also met us down there and we went out for pizza and then went bowling. Nolan COULD NOT hardly sit through dinner because he was so excited for bowling! And he did great! The bowling alley we went to actually had a little 4-pound ball made just for little ones and he got his own lane. I didn't fall this year and jam my finger!!! (See the story from last Christmas to remember!)
On Sunday we celebrated Christmas with everyone down at Grandma's house. We had a great time and Nolan didn't even ask all day if we could open presents. I thought he would. We played Catch Phrase and ate dinner and then after Chris got down (he had to work), we cleaned up and opened presents. Nolan was the one to find the pickle so he got an extra present! Yeah for Nolan!! Then when we started opening gifts, he didn't want to stop! He wanted every presents to be his. He got some great gifts down there - his rocket ship, a race car track, Rock em Sock em Robots, a game for his computer, and some building blocks. Santa also got both him and Bennett some Christmas PJ's. Bennett didn't open any presents, but liked the gifts once they were opened. He got a hammer and pegs, a Little People Airplane, an inchworm, some clothes, and a tractor. He ended up falling asleep about half way through presents anyway while Papa was holding him. Nolan got to play a while with all his presents and then we came home. The boys were pooped and fell asleep before we went a mile I think.
Christmas Eve was spent at home doing a whole lot of nothing. The boys played with their toys and got some good naps in their own beds, which was a great thing so they were ready for Christmas Day at home! We made cookies and set them out for Santa with a glass of milk. Nolan was almost excited for bed for once because it meant that Santa would come. I finished wrapping and was up pretty late, but I think that also had to do with the fact that I was actually almost as excited as Nolan was. I could not wait for Nolan's excitement the next morning!
Nolan actually climbed in bed with me about 7 and didn't even try waking me up. I thought for sure he would have, but once I woke myself up good enough, I asked him if Santa came and I think he actually FORGOT that he was coming. He all of a sudden got excited and said, "LET'S GO SEE!!" So he went out and noticed that the cookies were gone and Santa had wrote him and Bennett a letter on how great they have been this year. Then he walked into the living room and his mouth dropped open. He couldn't wait this time to open them. We made him wait though because Grandma, Papa, Aunt Tammy and Uncle Mark were coming over to eat breakfast and watch them open their gifts. Bennett still didn't really open any of his presents; instead he climbed on top of them and started jumping up and down. It was quite cute! They made out like Bandits. They got a ball pit, racetrack, a marble game, a Little Learners computer, and a whole bunch of Power Ranger stuff! They got so many new things that we hardly see the kids now! Bennett sat in the ball pit almost the rest of the day and Nolan wants to play his 'puter' all the time now too! It's almost funny to see a little three-year-old work on a computer. He knows how to click the mouse and understand the concepts of the games. Amazing.
It was hard going back to work and leaving them since Nolan is off school now until the 7th! It's times like these I truly miss working at home. But I start my new position on the 2nd and am training my replacement now, so hopefully that will be a lot more fulfilling and I'll understand better that it's all worth it.
12/11/07 - I need to start a "Quote of the Week" box on the front page for things Nolan comes up with.
Yesterday, Chris was trying to get Nolan to do something and he said, "Son, if you don't get to it, I'm going to put my foot in your butt."
Nolan replied, "Daddy, you're silly. Your foot wouldn't fit in my butt."
I was making supper and almost dropped the knife.
Another one I've been meaning to write in here is when he was at Aunt Tammy's and he asked Aunt Tammy what the "Noel" spelled.
Aunt Tammy, "That says Noel."
Nolan thought for a bit and said, "Yeah there is, it's right here," pointing at the L.
Isn't he so smart!! She was saying No L!!
Anyways, he is a smartie, if I say so myself. He can almost write all of his letters already and 100% knows all his letters by sight. Every word he sees now, he name all of the letters - which he does quite frequently. He also can recognize almost all his classmates names - I know it's memorization and not reading, but man it still blows my mind sometimes. I mean I remember only learning how to write my ABC's in Kindergarten. How things change!
The boys finally got to meet Santa Claus this past weekend. Nolan did great waiting in line for probably about 30 minutes. Bennett was a little cranky, but he did pretty good once they got to sit on his lap. All of our pics turned out blurry (that's what happens when you give your camera to your husband!), but I'll scan the pic they printed out for me and put that on the front page soon. It's really cute. I couldn't hear what Nolan told Santa he wanted, but he told me he said that he wanted a Power Ranger Helmet. I guess I'll have to help Santa find that one! We might get to see Santa again this weekend, so hopefully it won't be as chaotic!
Nolan is at such a fun age around Christmas time. He really gets the whole fun of it and we have a little elf that 'flies' around our house watching the boys for Santa. Santa also sent an elf to Aunt Tammy's and Grandmas house. It's really cute, because now if I don't do what he wants me to do or he gets in trouble for something he runs up to wherever the elf is and says, "Elf - mommy is not listening. Please tell Santa."
The boys also got letters FROM Santa this year! They were so adorable! Nolan sat so intently and listened to the entire letter. He couldn't believe that Santa wrote him and Bennett a letter! We definitely keeping them for the scrapbooks!!
As you can see from the videos on the front page Bennett is playing peek-a-boo all the time now and is trying to jump off the ground. He's always jumped on the beds and stuff, but just recently has been trying to get off the ground. He gets some air sometimes and just gets so proud of himself.
I think Bennett is also working on one of his molars. It hasn't broken through yet, but I feel something rough back there. Plus he was up all night a few nights ago. Uggh! I hope it's just his molars anyways!
We've been eating a lot a good food lately too. Three of my friends and I started a Supper Swap where we all cook one meal for all the families and in turn you get dinner made three other nights. We did a trial run the last two months and it worked out better than I ever thought it would. I've never been a big cook, but now it's gotten fun because I don't feel like I have to do it as often. Plus my kids are eating better and we haven't had fast food in almost two full months!!! How about them apples!
Also, I officially start my new position as a recruiter on January 2nd. A total career change for me, but I'm excited about it and hopefully will turn into a great lucrative opportunity. I still have my days where I get rather sad I'm not with the boys as much, but I know they are in good hands. (Not as good as Mommy's would be, but still great ones!)
I hope I get to journaling again before Christmas, but if I don't, I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday!!
11/18/07 - Nolan has been sick for four days now. After I picked him up from Aunt Tammy's on Thursday, we came home and took his temp and it was 103.9!! I couldn't believe it! I called the exchange and they were more worried about how he was reacting to the fever rather than how high it was. And actually at that point he was still acting pretty normal. Shortly after he because very tired and just wanted me to hold him, but he pretty much went straight to bed. I think he was asleep by 7, and he got to sleep with mommy. His fever would come down after the medicine, but then would spike back up. I changed his clothes three time that night because he would be soaked everytime his fever would break. I actually had to towel him down one time. He got to stay home on Friday with Grandma and then yesterday I decided to take him to the doc to rule out an ear infection before the weekend. The doc said his right ear didn't look right, but it didn't think it was a full ear infection...maybe the start of one. He also said he had a sinus infection, so he put him on meds for that. Well tonight when I got him undressed for the bath, I noticed he's got a slight rash all over his body - so it looks like it is Roseola. He had it once before. We'll call the doc tomorrow and let him know of the rash and make sure I'm correct.
We set up the Christmas Tree tonight - didn't put the ornaments on yet - we'll do that tomorrow night. I think it's going to be pretty interesting with Bennett this year. He likes to push the limits a lot more than Nolan ever did, so I won't be surprised if we have a tree incident this year.
Grandma bought the boys a train set to go under the tree, so we put that together too tonight and Nolan loved it.
Nolan taughed Bennett how to throw a balloon up in the air tonight and keep it in the air. Bennett was trying to hard to be just like his big brother - it was so cute. I tried getting it on video which I'll try to get uploaded sometime this week.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Nolan is excited - "it's the day we eat lots of turkey (he sometimes says chicken), vegetable, pumpkin pie, and lots of white stuff (whipped cream)!!"
11/11/07 - The boys had a GREAT Halloween. Nolan was such a big boy - and made sure that I knew he was. He wouldn't even let me walk all the way up to the houses with him. If I started up the front porches, he would say - no stay there. I would obviously creep on up there anyways. And he did really well too because before we went Trick-or-Treating, I talked to him about how you just knock on the door, say trick-or-treat and then wait OUTSIDE for them to give you candy. As friendly as Nolan is, I was afraid he would invite himself in everywhere. I wasn't actually telling him it for safety reasons. So when one of these old ladies kept telling him just to step inside for a second, he very kindly said no thank you and held out his bucket. Although it would have been ok for him to just step inside, he was listening to what his mommy had told him (something that is quite rare these days). I was quite proud! I ended up having to hold his bucket he got so much candy it was too heavy for him to carry by the end.
Bennett LOVES his new daycare! I am sooo glad that we decided on this place. He even seems so much happier at home since he's been going there! I drop him off in the mornings and he just gets down and takes off - no clingy to me, not even a second glance at me. It's so wonderful to know that he feels so safe and secure being left there. They continuously tell me what a wonderful little boy he is!!
Bennett's vocabulary is growing - sometimes Chris and I can't believe that he's already talking. With Nolan only starting to talk at 25 months, it just doesn't seem right that Bennett has at one time or another said about 5 words already. He also has developed a cute sense of humor. He is always looking at us and cheesing and trying to get us to laugh. Him and Nolan laugh a lot together these days too. They are also starting to fight too! Nolan is about to get his bootie kick, as I don't think Bennett will have any hesitation showing him who is boss. I've already had to walk into a room when both of them are crying asking Nolan what happened. I just get the puppy dog eyes and him telling me nothing. I'm not sure I'm ready for this stage.
Nolan is ready to meet Santa. We've been talking about him continuously for a while now and use the fact that Santa is watching all the time - sometimes he doesn't seem to care, but others it works like a charm. Aunt Tammy even has an elf that ends up being in different places all over her house watching over him...he likes to look for the elf right when we get over there.
Nolan still comes up with some of the funniest things to say every day. The other day was a funny one. I got a tissue to wipe his nose and he says, "Mom, it wasn't a booger. It was a green sprinkle." Just matter of fact...just like that. Hmmm...I hope he doesn't really want to put a green sprinkle up there!
I'm sure there is so much more to write about, but I keep starting these stories and never finishing them, so I'll stop here and get it on the site.
10/5/07 - A lot has happened in just a month of not updating.
We pulled Bennett from the baby-sitter he was at. I should just trust my instincts sometimes. It wasn't that I thought she was hurting him, but from the day she called me freaking out, I just had a bad feeling. We never got a good report - nothing - not even, "He did ok today." It was always "He cried most of the day." Or "He didn't sleep at all". Chris picked him up one day and he could hear him crying the minute he got out of his car and so he went around the house and they were outside. Bennett was sitting down in the grass and Bennett is still at the stage where he doesn't like the feel of grass and hates to sit down in it. So Chris saw her bend down grab him under the arms, stand him up and say "Oh just stand up." She didn't jerk him or hurt him, but just didn't seem all that compassionate. Which to me, if you had a new baby at a daycare who was having a hard time adjusting, wouldn't you be a little more affectionate to him until he bonded with you. So Chris called me after leaving there and said he wasn't going back. And although we were in a pickle as to where we were going to take him, there was a sigh of relief.
So on to the search of another daycare. I never thought I find one. I even called to all the surrounding cities that Chris or I drive by or work in. NO ONE had openings. My mom kept him for a week and luckily I found a daycare that week. It's a small daycare that is religious based and I was very forthcoming with the problems Bennett has with adjusting and all the baby-sitters seem to give up on him right away. The lady was great! He's been going there now for three weeks and he's only had ONE fussy day. The first day he was there they held him most of the day, but after that he gets right down when I drop him off and goes straight to the toys. That's all it would have taken - some extra love and attention at first.
Nolan is still doing great in school. We had about a week and a half of some bad reports, but after talking to him, he's doing good again. He didn't have his 'listening ears' on during center time (when they read books, and learn about their letters), and was getting sent to time-out everyday. He was also acting out at home too. He still has his moments at home, but his teachers say he's listening again. He was also crying screaming when I would drop him off in the mornings. I'm not sure where that came from or why that started. All I think is that he was seeing other kids do it, so why shouldn't he. I kept asking him why and he said that he missed us while he was at school. Then just Tuesday when I was dropping him off he said, "You know what mommy?" I said, "What, Nolan?" and he "I not going to cry today." It was like he just had to make a decision himself. So we haven't cried this week yet. This morning was close, but I think he just gets so tired by Friday.
He's learning so much too - for the most part he can recognize his letters by sight now. He doesn't always perform, but does it for me EVERY night when we read books. And he's surprised me a few times and actually told me what some words start with. For a kid who only started talking a year ago - I pretty proud of him!!!!!!!!!!!
As you can see from the front page - Bennett is already saying a few things. We think there's a few more, but not too sure yet. He coughs on command and makes the sneezing sound too - which is the cutest and funniest thing I've ever saw. I've been trying to get it on video, but he stops as soon as I start recording.
Nolan was also in his first parade!! My camera stopped working that night, but some people are sending me pictures so when I get them, I'll post them. I think he would have had more fun watching the parade, but he didn't know any better. He still had a great time and if I wouldn't have limited him to throwing only what was in my hands, he would have thrown all of our candy (which was a whole backpack full) with the first street! He would even throw it when there wasn't anyone there!! I guess he thought that's what you do when you're in a parade - throw candy!!
Chris and I are doing great too - we just had our 4th anniversary. We didn't do anything special. Aunt Tammy watched the boys one night and we just watched two movies without having to stop and get someone some juice or change a diaper or answer the question "But why?" It was nice and peaceful and great to have some time alone.
I really can't believe that this year is already over. There are so many things that happen this first year that it's hard to imagine that we've been through it all. He's learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, and walk. He's learned to say Dada and blow bubbles, and give zerberts. He's learned who is mommy and daddy and big brother Nolan are. He's learned to climb stairs and fall asleep on his own. He's learned to laugh and giggle and throw fits. He's gained about 17 pounds and grew about 9 inches. He's learned he loves bananas and cake and doesn't care too much for green beans, but mom still makes him eat it. He's learned that if he pulls on the dogs tail, he makes a growling noise and if he bangs on the TV he gets told "No" every time. But most of all I hope that he's leaned that his mommy and daddy love him with all of our heart and we're so proud of the little boy he's becoming!
We had Bennett's first birthday party on Monday the 3rd and although it was such a long and tiring weekend, he seemed to have a good time. He absolutely loved eating his birthday cake as you can see from his pictures. He got some nice gifts and we thank everyone for coming and celebrating with us. But let me tell you that when everyone was out the door - was when he went crazy. We had been going nonstop since Friday evening and I think that with everyone trying to hold him and cuddle with him, he realized it was just us at home and he ran like a mad man. Him and Nolan played and giggled for about an hour - it was too cute!
We've also had a rough start with the new baby-sitter. He started their on the 27th of August, but didn't sleep at all and cried a lot of the day. We weren't sure if he was just sad we left him there or if he was getting sick. We had just taken Nolan to the doctors that day because he was saying his ear hurt and he had a double ear infection, so we kept Bennett home on the 28th and got him in to the doctor just to make sure and about two hours before going he spiked a fever and so I just new it was an ear infection and sure enough - a DOUBLE ear infection! Two kids with double ear infections - the week before the busiest weekend of their lives - would you guess it would happen that way! So then Tuesday 9/4 was Bennett's second day at daycare and she actually called me sorta freaking out because he wouldn't sleep and was waking all the other kids up. We didn't think she was going to keep watching him which angered me because I talked to a few daycares and all of them said you have to give it a month at least before they can start to adjust. But thank God - yesterday he did so much better! He actually took a three and half hour nap!! I'm crossing my fingers today is just like yesterday!
Aunt Tammy and Uncle Mark's wedding was a success and absolutely beautiful! When Nolan saw Tammy for the first time today he looked at me and said, "Aunt Tammy is a princess." Such a smart little boy! And he did perfect walking up the aisle with the ring! That's when I lost it! I was sooo proud of him! He's definitely my little ham. And at the reception, he had everyone laughing hysterically with his dance moves! He never sat down ALL night long! We have some great videos of him, so check them out.
8/26/07 - Well, we survived Nolan's first week of school - barley though - he already had to stay home on Thursday because he was up all night on Wednesday night with the Croup! At school three days and already sick! Wow...what are we in for!?! Bennett then got a cold on Friday and their both still fighting it, but doing better. Hopefully Bennett will be able to go to his new babysitters for the first time tomorrow.
Nolan LOVES school! He pops up right away in the morning and doesn't fight getting dressed right away and doesn't understand why he has to wait until Mommy finishes getting ready to leave. He wants to go to school "Right Now!" He gets little sheets everyday on "How My Day Went" and I love getting them. He's got a great report every day so far. His teachers say they just laugh at him all day. They say he's so curious and wants to know how everything works and is very polite. They also said he sticks up for himself which is something I was always worried about because he likes to cry when things don't go his way. I really don't want him to be a tattleler (word?).
He also had a WONDERFUL birthday. Aunt Tammy and Grandma picked him up and they drove to the airport to pick up Aunt Lori and then got to go to Babies R Us and McDonalds. After Mommy got off work everyone met up at the bowling alley and went bowling. Nolan LOVED it! He didn't want to stop bowling! We went to Culpeppers for dinner and the boys were pretty good, but got a little restless towards the end. We got home then and had cake and opened presents. Nolan got sooo much Spiderman stuff - he loved it. He also got a whole bunch of art stuff from Aunt Lori. After everyone left, Nolan played with all his toys until about 10:30 (Aunt Tammy said that it's a rule they get to stay up as late as they want on their birthday's - but he was starting to get a little whiney). But while he was playing he was looking at everythin he got and he would pick something up and say "I got this" and put it to the side, pick up something else and say "I got this". Then when he was through everything. He said, "That's it, that's all I got." Then as serious as can be, hung his head and said, "It's over, my party if over." Lori and I lost it - it was too cute! Then after he went to bed, Lori and I blew up about 50 balloons and filled his room with a whole bunch of balloons so he would know that it was his actual birthday! I kept his monitor on so I could hear his reaction when he woke up and it was so cute. He said, "Balloons, there are a lot of balloons in my room." Then he came downstairs and I met him and he screamed, "Mom come here - there are A LOT of balloons in my room!" I'm going to try to do that every year on their birthday!
We've got Bennett down to two bottles - makes me a little sad, but at least his babysitter won't have to worry about bottles now. He's doing a little better with table food. He does pretty good as long as he can pick it up with his fingers. I think if we feed him, he tends to think it's suppose to be soft like baby food and sometimes gags if it's something chunky. He starts at his new babysitters tomorrow - please everyone pray he does ok - he has a hard time sleeping anywhere but his own bed. I'm scared she's going to be overwhelmed with him. Cross your fingers. /font>
Aunt Tammy gets married next weekend and we're all so excited. We can't believe it's already here! I can't wait to see how the boys do! I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to post after next weekend.
8/16/07 - Aghhhhh - Nolan turns three on Saturday!!!!!!!! I can't believe it! We're going bowling tomorrow night and I think Nolan is going to have a blast. I'm desperately trying to make his "Spiderman Cake" that he wants so bad...I'm sure I'll be doing that all night tonight! Anything for me baby though!!
Here are some more funny things that three year olds say....
Nolan was going to the bathroom before his bath the other night and Chris was in there talking to him and Nolan says, "Dad, we have a problem."
Chris - "Nolan, what would that be?"
Nolan - "I ran out of poop."
I was cutting up fruit and about dropped the knife - he was so serious! I really need to start writing down all the funny things he says all the time now.
As you can see from the videos on the front page, he's really trying to sing along with the TV all the time and he even recited some of the words too! Can you say - too much TV???
A cute thing he said though the other day was when he sat down next to Bennett and gave him a hug and said "Bennett, you're my best friend." Chris and I looked at each other and I even thought Chris may shed a tear (and we all know how that's almost impossible!). Those are the moments you wish you could rewind and capture on video.
Nolan is counting like crazy now. He counts to about 15 pretty consistently. He has gotten to 20 a few times, but he really likes to go from 15 to 100 - I think he thinks he's funny. He also can count to 10 in Spanish - he actually could do that before he could do it in English!! My little genius! He starts Preschool on Monday and we went and picked out his backpack this week. It's Spiderman of course. I took off on Monday so I can take him and pick him up for his first day - I don't think he really gets it, but I know he's going to be so excited!!
I guess I should also update on Bennett a little. My baby is turning one three weeks from today!! I this year went even faster than Nolan's first year! His walking is getting so good that he barely crawls anymore and actually tries to run if the surface is flat. He's jabbering a lot and we've cut one bottle out. He's still having a little trouble with solids, but we're still working on it. He gags on everything - hopefully we figure it out soon.
We had a few bad nights in a row last week - one night he was actually up screaming for about an hour. Come to find out over the next few days that he had THREE new teeth!! Poor baby was probably in so much pain!
Nolan and Bennett are really starting to play together. Bennett loves to follow Nolan around and Nolan loves to play the Big Brother. He always puts his hands out to Bennett and wants him to walk to him like we always did when Bennett was learning to walk. I can't wait to really see them play. I'm a little sad that they are going to be split up next week, but I guess it has to happen at some point.
Anyways, please feel free to wish Nolan a happy birthday in the comments section - he loves me reading them to him now!
8/8/07 - Well, we met Bennett's new babysitter last night and I think we're going to really like her. Bennett got right down and took off walking exploring her whole basement and when she picked him up, he didn't get upset at all. I've gotten a lot of great feedback from people who know her! Finally - the stress of finding someone who has room for a baby is over! He'll start there on the 27th.
Less than 10 days until our baby is three - he keeps asking when his birthday is. He's asking for superheros and robots. We're taking him bowling and I can't wait - he's going to have so much fun!
8/5/07 - Where do 3 year olds come up with some of the things they say? I guess these funny moments and stories they come up with are to balance out the temper tantrums and the bossiness of this time.
I was eating dinner Saturday night and Nolan runs in to the kitchen (Chris was upstairs or something), and he said, "Mommy, I'm a rocket!"
I say "You are! Where are you going to fly to?"
He says "I'm going to fly to outer space! There's fire coming out of my butt!"
I was crying I was laughing so hard!
Then Chris came downstairs and sat down to eat with me and Nolan came running in with his hands cupped as if he was holding some water in them. (Nothing was in there though) And he says, "Oh no!"
I said, "What happened?"
He said, "I forgot my milk!" Like it was a tragedy that he didn't have milk in his hands!
Too funny!
Well, we had a slight set back for about three days on Nolan's potty training. I thought I jinxed it by putting it up on the website, but now we're accident free again for 9 days. I think maybe we had stopped praising him so much when he did go because it wasn't new anymore and he wasn't too fond of that. Now we're back to getting jelly beans when he goes and he's been good ever since. He also sometimes asks "Are you proud?" to me after he goes. He definitely needs that reassurance that he's doing everything right!
As you can see - Bennett is walking...he gets so excited all the time now when he gets on a roll and doesn't fall down, but then he usually goes too fast for his britches and takes a spill. He'll be running at Aunt Tammy's wedding, I'm sure.
Bennett is also working hard on figuring out the sippy cup and we're trying to eat more and more table food. He's had a hard time with table food because he just doesn't like the texture of things. He's been loving pancakes in the mornings and real peas and green beans. We've just started giving him those nasty smelling meat sticks, but he sure does love them. We think we found a baby-sitter for him. We're going to meet her on Tuesday, but I've heard great things about her, so my hopes are high for this one.
Nolan starts pre-school on the 20th. We decided to keep him at the first pre-school we looked at and Aunt Tammy has volunteered to pick him up every day at noon. What do people do with out an Aunt Tammy?!?! I was just really struggling with putting him into full-time pre-school already since he'll be in pre-school for three full years. I can't wait for him to go - I think he needs to be around kids again. He's been at home since I quit my job in March and now when we are around kids, he's been having a hard time sharing with other kids. I know that's hard from most three year olds, but I just don't think he had that hard of a time before all these changes.
There's lots of things going on in the next month, so stay tuned to all the new backgrounds and themes to the website. We have Nolan's 3rd birthday, Nolan's 1st day of school, Aunt Tammy's wedding, and Bennett's birthday all in the next 30 days!!! Wow - I better get busy!
7/18/07 - I know...it's been so long since I've written a story...I hate that I just can't get in the habit of writing one every few days. There are so many things I don't write in here because I forget it over a month.
Anyways, as you can see from the front page - we have accomplished potty training!! This by far has been one of the biggest challenges we have dealt with since becoming parents, but the victory is that much sweeter that we're through it! Nolan even goes ALL BY HIMSELF now - much to our dismay sometimes...(he's not so good at the wiping thing). He actually tried telling one of his baby-sitters that he wipes all by himself and she believed him!! He's great about washing his hands though, so that's good. He also can undress himself and is getting close to being able to dress himself too. Patience is definitely needed at this age! I can't believe some days that he is going to be three! Just doesn't seem right. I look at him some days and he's starting to look more and more like a little boy and not a baby anymore. His legs are getting longer and more slender and without the diaper now...well he's just growing up way too fast! Someone tell me how to make it stop!
We were at the doctor with Nolan last week. He had what I thought was a mosquito bite that I saw on July 4th and so I covered it up and told him not to scratch it. A week later it looked like this and so I called the doc and they wanted to see him right away. At first when the Doctor saw it, he thought it was going to be the beginnings of Lyme disease, but when he pressed on it, the redness went away and apparently that doesn't happen if it would be Lyme disease. So he thought he was just bitten by a bug, but put him on antibiotics just in case.
Bennett is already 10 and 1/2 months old and has really been trying to walk. He's taken up to 4 steps by himself and I've even seen him stand up by himself in the middle of the floor.
He gets so excited when we practice at nights. He doesn't even want me to help at all. He's definitely my Mr. Independent already at this age. He's also my little determined baby. He doesn't care how much you tell him no, if he wants it, he'll keep trying. We used to hurt Nolan's feeling every time we'd tell him no, but Bennett could care less. Chris and I joke about Nolan is my child (very sensitive) and Bennett is his (not sensitive).
July 4th was fun this year. We went down to mom and dad's and hung out all day. Nolan and Bennett got to swim and I tried to get Nolan to swim in the Lake, but he didn't really want to. I'm sure that if I would have gotten in the water first and then asked him, he would of, but I didn't want to get in for nothing and so I asked him first and he was just satisfied with hanging his feet off the paddle boat. Nolan LOVED the fireworks and thought his dad was the coolest thing because he was shooting off the 'rockets'! He would jump up and down after EVERY firework! I wasn't going to take him to any of the parks for the big fireworks, but since he loved it so much, we raced home to make it to the park just in time and he was amazed...then it started pouring! We had to sit in the car for most of the show, but he still thought it was neat.
I guess I haven't journaled about Nolan's flight to Outer Space. HE LOVED IT! He loved runny all over the airport - talked to EVERYONE! He sat by the window and watched so intently out and when we got in the air he yelled, "I see the City!"
Sometimes I have no idea where he gets these things. Once we got leveled off, he got a little restless, but luckily it was such a short flight that we weren't level for long and we were already landing. As soon as we landed though, he said, "I want to go back up!" Luckily Tanner came with Aunt Lori to pick us up because he was looking for him before we even touched the ground! He had so much fun with his cousins Tanner and Clayton that when they left on Sunday, Nolan got up from his nap and went looking for them and when he realized they were really gone, he was devastated! He actually told me "I can't play toys anymore." I asked "Why?" and he said "I just so sad." He pouted for a good hour! My little sensitive drama king!!!
I think everyone is getting used to me working out of the house full time (including me). I still enjoy my job, which makes it so much better. Nolan has been so much better - not crying when I leave and not acting out much anymore. Bennett still gets sad if I don't pick him up when I get home, but that's just his age too.
Nolan starts pre-school in a month - I can't wait! We haven't talked too much about it to him because a month is eternity to a three year old. It just doesn't seem like he's old enough to go to any kind of school!
6/6/07 - I'm working on getting the pics and calendar updated, but since starting work, I don't have much time in the evenings to sit at my computer. I miss the boys extrememly and just want to play and be with them. So be patient with me while I figure out this working full-time out of the house thing.
The boys may be having a slight problem adjusting to this change. They aren't doing too bad though. Nolan tells me how much he misses me every night and this morning he cried when I couldn't hold him right away because I was still in the shower. Bennett has been pretty fussy the last two days, but with babies, I guess it could be anything from a tummy ache to teething. They do have to be attached to me though as soon as I walk through the door. I don't mind though...it's been a bit of an adjustment for me too. We'll get through it though. I do like the structure so far though. I didn't think I would so much. I think I'm actually getting more sleep now than I ever have. I'm not getting anything else finished though. I also really like my job too, so that is a big plus. I'm so busy that the days fly by and knock on wood, but I seem to miss traffic every day.
We're making headway on the Potty Training! Nolan has been in big boy pants for four days with only a handful of accidents. My mom is watching them today and she just called and Nolan has told her three times that he has to go. He's had a small case of diarreah which has in turn made him hold his poop and so we've been having troubles in that area, but I think once that clears up, we'll be good to go. I am sooo ready for this stage to be over. I didn't know Potty training would be sooo hard. Maybe we should start potty training Bennett now!!!!!!!!!
Bennett is all over and into EVERYTHING! For a while there he was staying in one room, but now he's crawling from room to room. He dumped over the dog's water bowl twice yesterday! I think we're in for with him! He's so curious and not afraid of anything.
Anyways...there's more to write, but my lunch is over...must get back to work...finish more when I have time.
5/26/07 - Bennett is on the move. He is officially crawling. He still doesn't do it all the time, but tonight he actually made his way over to the computer desk to get into all my stuff. Chris and I are going to have to come up with a way to block this area off. With Nolan, we just put up a gate, but now in this house we have the computer desk in the living room, so there isn't a way to put up a gate. We'll have to get creative I guess.
Bennett is also pulling up all the time. He is standing up everytime he wakes up from a nap or in the morning. It's quite adorable because as soon as I wall in the room, he gives me his cheezy smile and reaches for me. What a sweetie!
His personality is really starting to shine through. He's a determined little fellow. Yesterday, Chris and I were watching him try to pull up on the couch and he was a little too close to it and so he couldn't quite get the leverage he needed to get up there. He'd get about half way and they tumble over. But he tried and tried, I think about 5 times and finally he got it. It was so hard for me not to help him. Nolan tries something one time and if he doesn't get it right away he get really frustrated and cries for me to help him. I don't know if that's just his personality or I made him that way. I can't remember if he was like that from the beginning or not. I've been trying really hard lately not to come to the rescue so quickly.
Bennett is getting over a cold...I thought it was just a runny nose from teething, but then I got it for a day...shortest cold I ever had! He has gotten his two top teeth in the past week, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. Chris is sick now...Nolan had been lucky though...knock on wood.
Well, I'm starting my new job on the 29th. I tried the daycare thing, but only got calls for babies that weren't even born yet. That would be great, but I needed to get at least four kids in here soon to get us through. So I kept interviewing and finally got something and I think it's going to be for a great company. It's a Accounts Receivable position for a Medical Recruiting firm and so hopefully that'll be my foot into recruiting in the future. The benifits sound great, the best one being that they take the recruiters on a trip every year if they meet their sales goals...and the administrative staff is eligible to go on it every four years! And they are big trips. They just got back from Mexico. Last year they went on an Alaskan cruise. They've been to Aruba and Ireland! I really hope I enjoy it! I will seriously miss my kids though. This past two and a half months have been so awesome spending so much time with them. I definitely could be a stay at home mom - a hard job, but so very rewarding.
So now we're in the delima of finding a daycare. Nolan starts preschool in August, so I only need to find him something part-time, but Bennett is going to be the hard one. Chris is stopping by a place on Tuesday to see how he feels about it and find out availability. Let's cross our fingers.
Chris also got his transfer to a prison that is much closer to home. It's also a super max which means there is a lot worse criminals there and a lot more action happening. Chris sees this as a plus, but it makes me quite nervous. I know he's great at what he does, but as a wife, you can't help but worry.
As you can see from the pictures, I had to take Nolan and Bennett to the zoo before I start work. Grandma came with us and the boys were so good and had a great time. Nolan was a little afraid of some of the animals, but loved the sea lions, birds, prairie dogs, and the giraffes. We rode the carousel, and he wasn't so sure about it. He was sooo excited while we stood in line, but then once we got on it, he wanted off. I pushed him anyway and he eventually settled down and smiled a few times. Bennett liked it though.
We also rode the train and he loved that...all except the tunnels. His favorite part though was the sprinklers in the Childrens Zoo. I think we were there for 30-45 minutes. It was time for Bennett to eat so mom and I sat down and fed him while Nolan went wild. He was so soaked.
Luckily I had more clothes in the car...since he's getting older, I don't always pack an extra outfit for him, but did this time for some reason...thank goodness. They both were passed out in the car before we got out of the parking lot. We were there from 10am until 3:30pm...much longer than I anticipated. They were so good too.
I'm going to start putting pictures with each story...and will eventually go back through the stories and put pictures with each one. I was going to print out the stories for their scrapbooks and some of the stories I kept referring to some pictures, but since they are old stories now, only I would know what pictures I was talking about...so that's the reason.
5/5/07 - Bennett will be 8 months tomorrow...I seriously can't believe it. He's becoming so fun too now. He just giggles all the time and has this cheezy grin that I just can't seem to get on camera. It's the cutest two tooth grin you ever saw...he scrunches up his entire face. He still is talking up a storm. He's even saying mamamama. There has been a few times that he seems to say dada to Chris and Mama to me and even baba to his bottle, but I guess until he does it consistently, we can't considerate it his first word. It's so hard to gage what is their first word. And I just don't feel like he should be able to say anything since it took Nolan over two years to speak much of anything.
Bennett can pretty much get where ever he wants to go now...no he's not crawling, but he just rolls and pivots to his destination. He gets up on those hands and knees, but just lunges forward. He'll move his hands every so often, but hasn't figured out the knees need to come along too. I'm really thinking that he's going to skip crawling because all he wants to do is be on his feet. That's when he giggles and talks and laughs...when you're holding him by his hands in a standing position. Or what is even more exciting to him is when you stand him next to something so he can hold on himself and he thinks he's so cool doing it all by himself!
Bennett was doing great at falling asleep on his own too...he went about about a week with no fussing at all. Then he got off his routine one night and it was like we took 100 steps backward. One night he actually cried for over an hour. I was about to give up and start rocking him again, but stood my ground and now he's been back to falling asleep on his own for three nights...I hope I'm not jinxing anything!
Nolan is doing great also. He amazes me at least once a day with some of the things that he knows and I have no idea where he learned them. He actually told me a 'joke' the other night while we were laying in bed. He said "Knock knock" and shocked I said "Who's there?" and he said "Boo" and I said "Boo Who?" and then he laid there like he couldn't remember what to say next and so he went back to the beginning. This went on forever and so then I help him with the punchline. We giggled forever.
Nolan also told me he loved me for the first time without me saying it first...my heart melted to put it lightly. We were outside. I was pulling weeds and he was drawing with chalk. he came down sat beside me and asked if he could help. I said definitely and a few minutes later he got up, gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and said "I love you, Mommy." These are the times you want to know what was going on in his little head that made him want to do that. I fell in love with him even deeper...not knowing that was possible.
His talking is becoming clearer and clearer every day also. Sometimes I think he talks better than some of the kids that talked way before him...but I guess that could be because I understand him more than anyone else. He's also got a little sarcastic bone too and LOVES to try to manipulate mommy by throwing the guilt trip out there. He's been using "I want Daddy" and "You make Nolan sad" when he gets in trouble or doesn't get something he wants. Most of the time it's quite humerous.
There's so many other funny stories I wanted to write in here, but I forget. I really need to write in here daily...I'm sure there's at least one funny thing Nolan said or did. But who am I kidding...writing in here every day...let's try a little more often first.
4/15/07 - Where did spring go??? It's been soo cold here...there was even snow flurries Easter weekend...we didn't have snow on Christmas - what's up with that?
Anyways, our Easter was still great! Nolan had so much fun hanging out with the big boys all weekend, but was so pooped out by Sunday...he didn't even argue about leaving Papa and MaGa's house.
Friday I took the boys down to Papa's house and we colored eggs...Nolan LOVED it...he couldn't stop shaking he was so excited! Those pictures are on my film camera and I'm sending that off to get developed tomorrow, so I'll post those as soon as I get them back...digital went crazy for a few days - but is back in service(for now).
Then Tanner, Clayton, and Aunt Lori got to Papa and he RAN out to give them great big hugs. Then he just hung out with the big boys the rest of the day. He didn't have a nap that day, but did surprisingly good. We had our fish fry and it was soo yummy! Bennett didn't sleep very well either with all the excitment, but did great too.
Saturday everyone came here for a BBQ. Aunt Tammy and Mark actually were having the BBQ, but then we decided to eat at our house there is a little more room since they're not finished with their basement. Aunt Amy, Scott, Hannah and Clayton came up and we had a small Easter Egg Hunt for them - Nolan caught on right away and they all went to town! Then Lori, Tammy and Mark and I went out and I left the boys with someone other than Aunt Tammy or Grandma for the first time...Clayton, Tanner and Luke watched them. I had Bennett down for the night already, but they had to put Nolan down. They did awesome! If only cousin Luke would learn to change diapers, he could make some money baby-sitting more often!!
After we got up and recovered a little, we all went to mom and dad's for Easter. It was cold, but the boys got to hunt eggs again. They found so many that their baskets couldn't fit anymore! Dinner was good and Nolan actually ate meat!! I told him the bratwurst was just a big hot dog and it worked...he ate really good!
It was a fun weekend, but I think the boys were ready to get home and have naps in their own beds and just chill. If it only would get warmer, we could go outside more often...he's dying to be outside.
Bennett has been talking up a storm...he started saying Dadadada and babababa this week and Chris is loving it. I think he fell in love with him all over again since he started saying Dadada already. Hopefully I don't have to wait until he's over 2 before I hear Mama!!!! Cross your fingers!
3/31/07 - I can't believe that it's already April! Time sure does fly when you're having fun! I've been home now for almost a month and I think I'm going to go ahead with the daycare. I've been spreading the word and have gotten a few calls, but I'm going to get a flyer out there and put an ad in the paper for next week. I have loved keeping the kids home and I really think they will LOVE it with kids coming over every day.
Nolan had his open house for pre-school last night. When he walked in the door, he just stood there and said Wow like 5 times. He didn't know where to go first. Then he just took off. I could have left and he would have never known. We have one more pre-school to look at on Monday and then we'll make a decision. I think he will do awesome and he is just going to LOVE it.
As you can see from the pics on the front page, that he split his chin open pretty bad last Sunday at Grandma's house. We were down there hanging out since it was so beautiful and Nolan wanted to swing in the baby swing. We put him in there, but didn't strap him in because it was too hard to move the straps to make them bigger, plus I thought he'd be fine, since he swings on a normal swing and doesn't fall off. Well, I guess the red bar that went over his lap gave him a false sense of security and when he wanted down he let go and reached out for my mom and when the swing went back, he fell out and straight on his chin on the concrete. I have never seen him jump up so fast from a fall. He got up so quick that I actually thought everything was fine, but then noticed the blood. He was also crying so hard that he couldn't take a breath. We got him inside and put pressure on his chin and I noticed then that he had also bit both sides of his tongue. Poor little guy. After the bleeding slowed down, I couldn't decide if we should go and get stitches or not. We got him calmed down and since he relaxed, I decided not to take him, but still wasn't sure that it was the right choice. It 'ooozzed' as Aunt Tammy explained it, for about 24 hours, and then finally dried up a little. I'm thinking we probably should have taken him in, but I guess he'll just have a nice little battle scar there forever. It's all the way under, so you won't be able to see it. I'm sure there are many many more to come!
Bennett is still doing great...still not doing much more than sitting there. He still won't roll over from his back to belly. He's done it, but won't do it regularly...and even still cries out if he rolls on his back at night for me to go up there and turn him over...he's got me trained doesn't he! He also got up on his knees for the first time tonight and rocked back and forth a few times. I'm not sure he's going to be much of a crawler though. He already LOVES it when you stand him up and he can hold on to something and stand there by himself. I'm just really getting the signs that he's a pretty darn lazy baby...he WANTS to get to things, but doesn't want to take the effort to get there. His temper is showing through too...he really knows how to yell at you if you don't do what he wants right when he wants it. I think we have a handful with Bennett.
Bennett still only has two teeth. I started giving him a sippy cup to play with and he knew exactly what to do with it. Nolan took FOREVER to learn that one. It's amazing how different they can be. I think next month, I'll substitute a bottle for a sippy cup of formula. We'll see.
We're still working on falling asleep on our own though...he's taking A LOT longer than it took with Nolan. I think with Nolan it took two or three nights and he was fine going to be awake. Bennett on the other hand is standing his ground. He cries consistently for about 20 minutes ever night. I go up about twice to give him a pacifier and usually have to turn him over, but then he's out for the night...for about 10-12 hours...guess I should complain huh!
I guess that's about it. Aunt Lori, Clayton and Tanner are going to be here in less than a week and Nolan can't wait. Everytime we talk about Tanner, he has to make sure that he's going to come to the "Big House". I'm hoping Tanner can potty train him while he's in town! What do you say Tanner...you up for it???
3/19/07 - Another month has passed since I updated the stories, and I guess a lot has happened again. My last day of work was March 9th and so since I was going to have a lot of time home with Nolan, we woke up on the 10th and I told him we were going to wear underwear today. He was excited and we made a game about going to the potty everytime we heard the buzzer go off. I set it for every 30 minutes. He did GREAT...when it came to #1. But no matter how long I let him sit on the toilet, he WILL NOT go #2 on there. THEN he started wiping his poop everywhere if I didn't find him right after he went!!! I gave him two days in underwear and 3 episodes with the poop and he was back in diapers. I know it's not smart to go backwards, but I also can't allow him to spread poop all over the house. WHAT DO I DO???? Does anyone have any advice out there??? If you do, please email me wallscarrie@sbcglobal.net. We've now only been talking about the potty when he brings it up.
Other than that, Nolan is doing great and we've actually been able to go across the street tot he park pretty often lately. There is also a track that is walking distance and we go over there too. Tonight Nolan actually RAN a mile. I couldn't believe it. He stopped every so often and let me catch up or to let Clayton (my friends little boy) catch up, but he ran 90% of the 4 laps!!!! I think he would have did more, but it was getting dark out!
Bennett is doing good too. We were at the doc this week for his 6 month check-up. He's weighing in at 21 pounds! He's our chubs! He ended up having a double ear infection, but never showed us any signs. I actually just thought he had allergies...his eyes were watering and he was sneezing a lot, but no fever or anything else. So we've been on antibiotics and now he's had diareaha (sp?) for two days now and the worst diaper rash ever. Poor baby! I'm so sick of bodily fluids!!
Aunt Tammy found his first tooth on the 7th and I can see the start of his second one! He's sitting up like a pro and actually he rolled over from his back to belly for the first time that I saw him tonight, but he only did it twice and then pretended that he didn't know how anymore. He's a little more lazy than Nolan was. Bennett definitely wants mommy to do everything for him still at this point and gets very frustrated if I don't and he's have difficulties. He also listens VERY intently when I speek to him. (I know that will change...since he's male and all :) ). But when I talk to him he watched my mouth and he moves his mouth in all these different shapes as if he's trying to imitate me. I won't get my hopes up, but maybe, just maybe, I'll hear mama before he's over 2!
2/24/07 - A lot has happened in the last three weeks...I'll try to keep it short.
As you can see by the pictures, Bennett is sitting up now...he's actually almost a pro now. He only falls over every so often. He thinks he's a big shot when he's sitting and I think Nolan is liking it too...he's really trying to get him to play with toys and laugh all the time. Bennett still hasn't rolled over from his back to his belly though. He was so close tonight, but just couldn't get over that shoulder.
I think he's finally feeling better today...we've been in an out of the docs since I last wrote. We were in on the 17th and he had an ear infection and then back on the 22nd, because his cough was getting worse and he was actually haven't a difficult time breathing. He still has bronchiolitis. We've been doing breathing treatments, but I don't know that they are doing any good. He did sleep well last night and didn't sound too wheezy today, so hopefully he's turning the corner.
Other than Bennett being sick, we've also had a bit of daycare drama this month. Bennett started a new daycare on the 8th and was kicked out by the 14th! Basically, the woman tried to blame me for bringing him when he was sick (I followed Dr's orders...free from a fever for 24 hours and he was safe to go back - and actually he was free from a fever for 48 hours) and her child got sick. What the real reason was though, I believe, is that Bennett was really fussy on the 12th and she just couldn't handle it. She KNEW he was sick on the 8th when she started watching him and didn't say anything about it until he had a bad day. Then all of a sudden she has to use that excuse!...Whatever. If she cracks with one bad day, I don't know that she's meant to be a babysitter...
So Bennett is back to Sue's with Nolan and Mom is going to watch them when I go full time the two days that Sue doesn't watch kids until I find someone else. It's so frustrating trying to find good daycare down here. The good ones are all taken. If anyone has anyone in mind...let me know please!
Nolan is doing great...we're still working on the potty training. He's not too interested. Grandma can get him to go all day long, but he hates going here at home. I did get him to go #2 the other day, which was a breakthrough, but then he did #2 in his diaper about 30 minutes later! He'll get it soon! He's spent the weekend with MaGa (As Nolan calls Grandma) and Papa this weekend and mom just called and said he's having a blast...I miss the little stinker!
2/6/07 - FIVE MONTH OLD...I can't believe it's been that long already! We took Bennett to the Doctor yesterday because when he woke up he had a 102.7 fever and they wanted to see him because it was so high. He has Bronchiolitis/RSV. Poor buddy! Doc says the fever may last another day or two and the cough up to two weeks! Much to our joy though, he's been an amazing baby! He's actually been better while he's been sick than when he's not! What's up with that??? Nolan was an angel when he was healthy, but when he was sick...man he's clingy and fussy. Not complaining though!!
Chris started evenings tonight...I was pretty nervous about being a 'single' mom in the evenings with getting them both in bed at decent times without one of them crying for too long. It went pretty good. I gave Nolan a bath early and then we got our jammies on and let him watch a Mickey DVD while I gave Bennett a bath and his nighttime bottle. Then off to bed for both of them. Nolan did ask where daddy was. Sad, but Chris will be taking them to daycare in the mornings so he'll see him then.
Bennett is sitting pretty well. He'll stay there for a few seconds by himself. He still flings himself backwards though. I think though, he'll be sitting on his own before 6 months!! He's also trying really hard to roll over...that's going to happen any day now.
2/4/07 - Bennett is sick. He had a cold the first week we were home, but this is his first pretty bad sickness. He has a horrible cough which is making him wheeze. He also had a 101.3 fever this evening. I didn't even think he felt hot, but decided to take it because he just seemed uncomfortable. Thank god I did. I gave him Tylenol and held him in the recliner while we watched the Superbowl. He finally got about an hour nap (he didn't sleep hardly at all all day). He's down for the night now, so let's hope he gets some much needed rest! He was suppose to start his new daycare tomorrow, but now we'll have to wait until his fever is gone for more than 24 hours.
I took Bennett for his 4 month check-up on my birthday (he was actually almost 5 months old) and he's looking healthy. He weighed 19 pounds even and was 26 3/4 inches long...3 inches in two months...amazing! Nolan came along again and did really well. He was so funny in the waiting room and had me, Grandma and even Bennett cracking up. The nurses there LOVE Nolan. He wasn't even scared when they took us back to the room, but when the Doctor came in the room, he froze a bit and then pointed to Bennett and said "Baby Doctor". He wanted to make sure that he was here to mess with Bennett and not him!!! My mom then took Nolan out of the room while Bennett got his shots. Bennett did pretty good. He got three this time...poor little guy. He was fine, until the evening. Screaming all evening. He relaxed for a while in the bath tub, but until I got him Tylenol after that, he was hysterical. He slept really good though!
Bennett has had all the orange veggies. We'll start with green beans tomorrow, then peas, and then Fruit...yeahhh!! He still isn't really rolling over yet, but is finally starting to use his hands more while he's on his belly. He loves being on his belly and can look all around, but would always just keep him arms at his sides and not do push-ups or anything. But now, he's doing much better and hopefully the rolling over will be any day now. I don't know if I'm ready for him to be mobile yet though. I realized when my friend Robyn and her 10 month old were over here this weekend that we have a lot of toys to go through before Bennett gets moving. A lot of Nolan's toys are too little. You forget all this stuff as your babies become two years old!
Nolan is Two and a half this month!!! Wow...crazy. Chris and I have decided to put him in pre-school in August for a couple days a week. I think he's going to love it and I really can't wait! Aunt Tammy said that she'll pick him up from school, so that'll be extra fun for Nolan. He's talking in complete sentences now almost all the time. And we're still pretty lucky with the terrible twos. He has fits, but they are very mild. He went a week shaking his finger at us and yelling "NO!", but we ignored him and I haven't seen him do that for a while. He's still not sleeping too good at night yet. Before we moved here, he hardly ever woke up. But now, every night it is something. Last night I went up there when because he kept yelling for us and saying "OH NO!". His pillow had fallen on the floor! I guess he knows that he's not suppose to get out of bed when we put him to bed and maybe he's scared to get down to get his pillow, but I picked it up and he laid down and fell right back to sleep. He's also been getting up earlier and earlier every day. Two days ago he got up at 5:30 and screamed bloody murder when I told him that it was still night time and we had to go back to bed. Hopefully he'll get back in the grove soon. He did ask to go see the little house the other day. I asked him if he missed it and he said yes and hung his head. Sad.
I must get to bed in case Bennett has a bad night.
1/20/07 - Nolan did it...he is officially repeating EVERYTHING we say. Chris said damn the other day and Nolan said it right after. And THEN he followed by saying damn it! You just never know they are learning EVERYTHING you do and say until that happens. We really have to watch what we say and watch on TV now.
Check out the pictures on the picture page. There's some of the house. It's still really messy, but we're working on it. I'll get some really good ones, when we finally get it all together.
1/13/07 - Chris and I met 5 years ago today. Wow...a lot has happened since then. Who else can say that they met, fell in love, got engaged, got married, had two children, went on two trips and bought two houses all in five years!?!? I wonder what we'll do in the next 5 years? We're finished having kids, and we're staying in this house forever, so I think the next 5 should be pretty mellow...I guess we'll see!!
The move went amazingly well! Chris and I had almost all the boxes out by moving day and so it was mostly just all the furniture that had to be moved. We were totally out of the old house by 12:30!! On my last trip out there, I actually got teary eyed! I knew I was going to be sad, but never thought I'd cry! It was just so darn cute and we brought our babies home to that house, and Nolan had so many first there. I already want to go back and visit!!! What do you think the new owners would say?
The boys have been adjusting good to the new house. The nights are the most challenging for them. They both were up a few times the first couple nights. Nolan has yet to sleep a full night. Seems to be waking up with nightmares. I hope he gets through this soon. I think Chris and I feel a little sorry for him, because he upstairs all alone. We haven't moved Bennett up yet...that's tomorrow night. I'm a little nervous for that. Bennett has been doing pretty good though. He's still waking up about 5 for a bottle. He then goes right back to sleep until about 9. I've been trying to get him to give that one up and stay sleeping, but it hasn't seemed to work.
Nolan loves this house though. When I picked him up from daycare the other day, I said, "Come on, let's go home." and he said "Big housh??" I said "yep, the big house" and he got so excited! He just has SO much more room to run and play here. We're slowly working on potty training. He goes everytime we put him on the toilet, but hasn't begun telling us when he has to go. We'll try this summer if it doesn't click for him before then.
Bennett has been eating solids a lot better this week. I finally started Squash today for the first time. He loved it! He was pretty crabby today though. I hope that it didn't give him a belly ache! I STILL havne't seen him roll over! The little shit only seems to roll over in his bed, sometimes when he's sleeping, but also when he's ready to get up. He hasn't been too interested in rolling from his back to his belly though. I guess it will come in time! He's really been trying to hold his bottle all of a sudden. He can do it if it's almost empty. He also is my naked baby. He LOVES to be naked (well down to his diaper). Even in this house, which stays a lot cooler than the other house...he's the happiest when he's without an outfit.
I've posted a few pictures of the house before we moved in. I'll get some more up once we get it all put together.
It's hard to believe that it is 2007. I started this website over three years ago when we found out we were pregnant with Nolan. A lot can happen in three years!!! Makes you wonder what is going to happen in the next three years.
We spent the last few days at the new house, cleaning and painting. We'll be ready to move right in on Saturday. I'm so looking forward to staying there. Nolan LOVES the house...there is so much room to run. I hope the transition is good for him.
Nolan's talking is amazing me everyday. It's becoming clearer and clearer all the time. And he comes up with words that I have no idea where he learned them and he even uses them correctly. He looked at me the other day and said "Mommy pretty". My heart melted. That moment made the 2 1/2 year wait for him to start talking well worth it! He knows all the basic colors and can count to 10 now but usually skips 6 and 7 for some reason...even if we say them with him.
Bennett started cereal on Dec 27th. I was going to wait until we moved, but it's been hard to keep him eating three hours apart. He gets really hungry about every 2 to 2 1/2 hours, so I decided to try it. He does ok with it, if he's not starving by the time we sit down to eat...then he just wants his bottle. If I get him at the wrong time though, he screams and won't swallow. We'll keep trying though.
I haven't been so good at keeping up with the website lately. It's been a little crazy to say the least. Works been crazy with the big ice storm (we also own a snow removal business), and with Christmas, two babies, and trying to move, there's not much time to do anything else. I'll try to recap the last two months though...
Nolan recovered enough to go trick or treating. We didn't stay out long since it was pretty cold. He wasn't so sure about it at first, but once he realized after the first house that they put candy in his pumpkin, he was all for going to the next house! We only went to a few in the neighborhood and then to Uncle Gary's. By that point, Nolan was exhausted. That was more than he'd done in 5 days. I let him have a sucker or two, but since he hadn't eaten in about 5 days either, we cut him off there. Bennett went with us, but he was happy eating his bottle that we brought along. They were the cutest monkey and banana ever!!!
We got a contract on a house on November 8th, put our house up for sale on November 9th and sold it on December 8th! We weren't even planning on moving for another year or two, but we decided that this house was getting a little small for four of us. Even without Bennett moving around, it fells smaller since he came. So I called up our realtor and gave her a few houses we wanted to see and she actually found the one we're buying herself. I knew as soon as I walked in, it was going to be ours. We close on January 5th and move on the 6th. We can't wait!
Bennett was baptized on November 19th. We chose Tammy and Brittany Uding as his Godmothers and Tanner as his godfather. We chose Tammy because she is both my and Nolan's godmother and she's done such a terrific job with both of us that she had to be Bennett's also. We chose Brittany because she is my goddaughter and her dad is my godfather and so we had to keep the tradition going. We chose Tanner for Bennett's godfather because he's always been so excited to see Nolan and Nolan loves him to death and so we knew that he'd make a great godfather! After the baptism, we had everyone over for Chicken Creole and cake. It was a good time!
Thanksgiving was good. Nolan didn't eat much. Last year he ate so much that I thought this was going to be his favorite holiday, but I guess it doesn't surprise me that he didn't eat much since he's getting so picky on what he will eat these days. We can't get him to eat meat for nothing. Hot dogs is about the extent of his meat intake. Everyone though says that is normal and he'll grow out of it. Bennett had a good day too. Aunt Tammy bought his turkey and sweet potatoes for his Thanksgiving meal. We gave him a few tiny bites of each and you would have thought we gave him really sour stuff. Every time we put something in his mouth, it was like he would have a convulsion. It was quite humorous. He was pretty young though to be trying anything like that. We'll start cereal next month. I think we'll wait until we're settled in the new house for that.
We put up the tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and Nolan loved helping this year. I let him put the non-breakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree and sure enough, they all went on the same branch. He also loved looking at Christmas lights this year-'pretty' has become one of his favorite words these days.
Bennett is now 3 and half months old and we went for his two month checkup on Nov 28th. He weighed in at 15 pounds even and was 23 ¾ inches long. Dr. Rudolph said he was only in the 85% for weight, which shocked me from where he began. He's gaining a lot slower than Nolan did, but then again Nolan had cereal in his bottles from the start because of his reflux problem. Bennett then got three shots, which wasn't fun, but he was fine after they were finished. We took Nolan along so he could see that Dr. Rudolph was so bad after all. Maybe if he went a few times and didn't have to get anything done to him that the next time he went, he would freak out on us. He did really well. He was a little concerned when the doc started pushing around on Bennett-what a concerned big brother he already is. But he didn't freak out. So that was good.
The best accomplish Bennett has achieved though is sleeping through the night. The first night that he did this was Nov 16th. It took a few nights with me getting up and getting him a pacifier, but now he?s down about 9 and usually only gets up about 5 or 6 for a bottle and then goes down again until about 9 or 9:30. It's great!!! He's also been laughing out loud a lot now. And he is extremely ticklish. It's too funny. His body wiggles all over the place when you tickle him. He's also rolled over a few times. I have yet to see it happen, but December 21st, he was really fussy while he was sleeping and I finally went in there to find him on his back (he's a belly sleeper). I don't think he was totally awake, and so he couldn't figure out what was wrong. I had to roll him back over and out he was. That happened again last night. He gets really close also when trying to get from his back to his belly, but that's always harder for them. Bennett had his first day at daycare on Dec 7th. He's been going about once a week since then. I think we'll start going all three days in the middle of Jan. Sue says he does really well over there. I think he really likes watching all the kids.
Nolan is still talking up a storm. Sometimes he rattles off these sentences and really is trying to get something across to us, but we don't understand a word he is saying. I understood one the other day and he got so excited. He said "I got a bo-bo on my hand." It was exciting for both of us! He repeats everything we say and it's music to our ears. We're working on Please and Thank you now. He does say please every so often without being prompted and has said thanks once. The terrible twos haven't been too terrible just yet...knock on wood. He does have his share of fits, but they usually consist of slowing throwing himself to the ground (because he knows that if he does it quickly, he might hurt himself) and then starts whining. I've started crying like he does and it seems to make him laugh right away and then he forgets what he is crying about. Let's see how long that approach works. We haven't started time out yet, but we're going to soon. There's really not a good spot here in this house since there's toys or a TV in every room. We'll have plenty of places for a naughty mat in the new house!
Christmas was a lot of fun, but a little exhausting for all of us. Nolan went his first full day without a nap yesterday, but was in bed at 6:15. He woke up once asking for water and then slept until 7 am. He was so tired. Both boys made a haul as usual. Bennett got books, the little people farm, a Bumbo seat, a glowworm, and a hat. Nolan got a cowboy outfit, books, a watch, movies, a doctors coat and doctors tools, a tool belt, a tool bench, and a bike. Nolan had a great time-he was so excited when he saw all the presents under our tree when he woke up this morning and freaked out when he was that the tool bench was here. He opened that one down at Grandma's house and I think he was excited that it actually came home with us! He doesn't quite get the bike yet, but it won?t take long.
The gingerbread house party was crazy. Instead of doing it for all the nieces and nephews this year since they are getting too old, Tammy is starting to have it for the boys' friends now. This year it was Nolan, Clayton, Hannah, and Ella. Hannah and Ella made pretty good houses, but Nolan and Clayton were more interested in how much they could eat before we would cut them off. They both looked like they had white beard at one point from the icing they were shoving into their mouths! It's amazing they didn't get sick! They had a blast though and that's all that mattered!
We also went up to St. Louis and we were suppose to meet all of Mark's family. We met our family for dinner and then went bowling where Mark's family was to come. Only Lauren and Marcy showed up, but we all had a great time anyway. Nolan couldn't have had a better time! I on the other hand could have!!! Right when we got there, I took Nolan up to bowl for his first time and after we pushed the ball down the lane, he took off after it. I went too and we both took a huge spill. I caught him and as I landed straight on my back he landed on me, so he was ok. I thought I was ok, but my pinkie on my right hand was jammed. I could hardly bend it, which meant I wasn't able to bowl. I'm sure it was a site to see. Nolan though couldn't have been happier. We'll have to take him bowling more often now!!
I will try harder to keep up with the stories now. Hopefully once we get into the new house and get DSL, keeping up with the website will seem much easier since everything will go much faster.
We hope everyone's Christmas was a great one and hope that 2007 brings everyone happiness! Love to all!!
11/2/06 - What an interesting week we had! It was one of the most exhausting and stressful times of my life, but thankfully everything turned out ok and we're slowly getting back to normal.
It all started Friday night. I was lucky enough to get out of the house for a few hours to go scrapbook. Chris stayed home with the boys. I was packing my stuff up about 11:30 and my phone rang and it was Chris telling me to get home ASAP because Nolan just woke up crying and he went in there and there was three piles of puke in his bed, and Bennett was ready for his next feeding. I was home in ten minutes. Chris had Nolan lying in our bed while he was changing his sheets and so I went in to see how he was feeling. I picked him up and he puked all over our bed and me! I ran into the bathroom and he got sick three more times. He was so upset because he didn't know what was going on. After Chris got everything cleaned up and I got a bucket to lie by Nolan's bed, him and I lay down and I tried to get him to rest. He did fall asleep but was woken up every 10 minutes (no kidding) to get sick. About 3:00, I called the exchange and since at that moment Nolan seemed to be sleeping peacefully, the nurse had me wait to go to the ER unless he got sick three more times in the next hour. He did get sick 3 more times and so I called back and she said that I really needed to go to the ER. So I woke Chris up and called Tam. Chris had to make it to work because he was going to be the highest ranked officer there and said he?d leave as soon as he found someone to come in for him. We got the boys things ready and I got really nervous when, while I was dressing Nolan, he seemed unconscious instead of just asleep. It was like dressing Bennett because his head just flopped around and he was just limp.
I decided to go to the hospital in town since I had to drop Bennett off at Tam?s and I seriously thought that they would just give Nolan an IV and we?d be there a few hours and we?d come home. How hard could that be? I always said I?d never go there since it?s such a small hospital and I haven?t heard all that many great things about it, but I didn?t listen to myself?big mistake. We arrived there about 5am. It was 8:30 before they even started prepping him for an IV!! In those three and a half hours, they never offered Nolan a blanket or even much checked up on him since they had another critical patient in there. I had to ask for something to drink for him, which they had only water (I?ve always been told water is the worst thing to get for an upset stomach). I had to ask for more diapers which they only had a size 4 and he wears a size five. And after about 12 horribly messy diapers and the fact that his butt was getting redder by the minute, I asked for diaper rash cream and they didn?t have any! By this point though, my mom had shown up to be with us and so she ran over to the grocery store and got me diapers, wipes, and cream for him. His puking had stopped, but now it was full force coming out the other end. Not 30 seconds after changing him would he go again and just scream because it hurt so badly.
Finally at about 8:15 the doctor came in and said that he talked to Dr. Rudolph and he wanted Nolan to be put on an IV until 11:00 and if his throwing up and diarrhea didn?t stop then he was going to have us go up to Cardinal Glennon. So the nurse came in at 8:30 and I?d have to say that lying my child down to be strapped in to get an IV was by far the most heart wrenching experience I?ve had to endure. They wrapped him up in what could only be described as a full body straight jacket. The only things that he was able to move were his head, his feet and the arm they were going to put the IV in. The look in his eyes broke my heart and they told me it was probably best to leave. I?m so glad that I did. I couldn?t be the calm consoling mother that he needed me to be at that moment because I was just as scared as he was. I knew it was only an IV, but the fact that I was so helpless in helping him feel better was the most disconcerting. It seemed like it took forever but mom said that he did awesome. He looked so pitiful at that moment. He was confused because he had this thing that looked like a cast on his arm, but he did pretty well about not bothering it.
I lay on the bed with him for about 15 minutes just enough time for him to calm down and fall asleep and the doctor came back in and said that he wanted to transfer us to Cardinal Glennon. I was so confused. I had thought that we were going to see if the IV worked and they weren?t even giving it time to do so. I asked if that was what my doctor wanted and he said that it would just be better if we would go. I told him that I wanted to talk to my doctor first. I called his office and he got on the phone. I was crying and he said that if Nolan was relaxed and sleeping, not to bother him and let him on the IV until 11 and then if he wasn?t doing better, then we?d reevaluate everything. The nurse came in then to make sure the IV was working correctly and I told her what Dr. Rudolph said and she said ?Your doctor obviously doesn?t understand that we?re only a three bedroom ER.? I looked dumbfounded at her and asked ?So, is it that you just want us leave?? She said that?s not what she meant, but it sure sounded like it to me. They let us alone for a while and Nolan slept well for about an hour. My dad stopped by for a little bit, and Nolan was SOOOO excited. It was the first time that he really perked up. I thought for sure the IV was working and we would be home in a few hours. Nolan was only happy for about 15 minutes (if that) and then he started crying and getting real sluggish again.
Chris showed up about 10am. Nolan acknowledged him, but really didn?t want to deal with anyone but me. About 11, they came in and since he was still filling his diaper about every 10-15 minutes, they wanted to send him to Cardinal Glennon. I told them that I just wanted to talk to Dr. Rudolph first. They called him for me and my mom talked to him and he said that he would feel better if Nolan got looked over at Cardinal Glennon. I think he trusted the doctors at Ste. Gen as much as I did. So, the ambulance was called and they started getting him ready for the ride to St. Louis. Meanwhile, mom and Chris noticed that the IV wasn?t even dripping!!!! The nurse came in and fooled with it and got it dripping. Come to find out?Nolan hardly got any of the IV in those 2.5 hours!! I was beside myself. WHY did I ever come here?!?!
Once they got Nolan?s car seat strapped on the gurney, we put him in his car seat and he was a different little boy?he knew that he was leaving this awful place!! (He didn?t know that he was going to another hospital?poor thing). He was so cute?he told everyone bye through the tears. He was exhausted?you could just tell. But the ride to St. Louis was great. He was actually talking to the EMT and kept waving at Chris through the back window of the ambulance. It was so cute because every time we switched lanes and he couldn?t see Chris anymore, he would say ?all gone? and be sad, but then when he would see him again and say ?there he is? and wave! He was a different little boy?it?s amazing what the IV did for him once it was working correctly!
Once we got to Cardinal Glennon and he realized that we were going back to a hospital, he started getting crabby again. They got us checked in and put in a room. Doctor?s and nurses walked in and out asking lots of questions. They came in and brought him a popsicle and if he kept that down then we were going to try another one about a half hour later and continue doing that for a little while. He was so excited for the popsicle and ate it like a champ. He started perking up again after that and actually wanted to get down and ?play?. He couldn?t do much considering he had the IV hooked to him. He was asking for another Popsicle and so they gave him one and once he kept that down, they decided to try to unhook him from the IV and see how he did. He was finally free and he knew it. He took off trotting through the halls saying hi to everyone and even jumping and running around. He did that for about a half hour and then it was a little much for him and came back and cuddled for a bit. They had him drink some juice and then about 5pm, they came and decided to release us. At this point, I think he accepted that these doctors and nurses were just going to do whatever no matter how much he protested, so he wasn?t so alarmed when they came in. He didn?t like the IV being taken out, but then again, they had about a roll of tape on his arm! He was ready to go though. He slept all the way home and kept everything down. We were all so exhausted, but relieved to be home!
Poor little Bennett didn?t know anything had happened. We decided the best thing to do at this point was to keep the two of them far away from each other. So Aunt Tammy kept him Saturday night. We went in to drop off some more things for him and I didn?t even get to hold him. I felt so germ infested at this point (I had been puked on, pooped on, and had snot wiped on me for nearly 24 hours now) that I just kissed the top of his forehead and left to get Nolan home.
I think he was glad to be home. I put him in the bath, but it hurt his bottom too bad that I just rinsed him off. He got to sleep with me in our bed and I think that he liked that. I put in a movie and I don?t know how long it took him to fall asleep because I was out in a matter of a few minutes. I woke up when the credits were playing and he was out. He slept all night with no episodes of throwing up.
We woke up to a full diaper, but still no puking since earlier the day before. He wanted milk and we were told no, but Chris couldn?t resist and gave him a half a cup. Nolan just kept wanting more, but we made him wait a little bit. We gave him some juice then and maybe a little while longer, we gave him some more juice. (I found out later, that Chris also gave him more milk some where in this time). About noon, he started feeling really bad again. Chris and I just fixed ourselves our first food in almost two days and as we sat down to eat, it ALL came back up. Nolan puked three times right in a row. Then I got him cleaned up and he got sick again. I was crying by this point?why was this happening again??? I called the exchange, explained this whole story and they wanted us to go back to Cardinal Glennon. On we went.
Nolan relaxed and talked a little on the way up to the hospital. When we got to the hospital, he finally fell asleep in my arms?just in time to get called out of the waiting room. He knew where we were at this point and got upset again. They came in and asked us more questions. They prepped his little hands in case they had to give him another IV. He was begging for juice but they would only give him an ounce ever 30 minutes. It was so sad. He wanted more and we couldn?t help him. Once we got to the hospital, he kept everything down. So after about three hours, he started to feel better and no IV was necessary. Let?s just say it was a very expensive popsicle and few ounces of juice!!! We got home about 6pm. He actually took a bath for me and sat down, but still wasn?t too sure about it. He slept with me again?I might get addicted to it as much as he might!
He slept really well again and when we got up and he kept everything down, we went down to Grandma?s house because she kept Bennett that night. We hung out there most of the day and I actually got to hold my baby for the first time in 3 days!!! Nolan did really well all day. He would tired out easily, but then do good after we cuddled a short time.
He?s doing great today and Bennett is back home finally. Poor little guy was shipped from one place to the next for almost a week. He was a trooper and did well for Aunt Tammy and Grandma the whole time.
Nolan actually got to go trick or treating this year! Ironically, every year so far, he has been sick on Halloween. He was feeling a little better, so Grandma, Aunt Tammy and I took him to the house down the street. He wasn?t too sure about it at first, but once he saw at the first house that they put candy in the pumpkin, he was ready to go! They were the cutest monkey and banana ever!!!!
10/23/06 - My first day back to work...maternity leave really should be longer. I'm so lucky that we're not in a situation right now that we HAVE to put a 6 week old into daycare. I thought I was going to have to with Bennett, but it's working out that on Monday's Chris will watch him since he is off and on Wednesday's my mom is going to come out to the house and keep him. So hopefully, if all goes smoothly at work, I'll be able to work only 2 long days instead of 3 short days and I'll be able to stay at home on Thursdays. I'd like to keep Bennett out of daycare until January or until he gets into more of a routine. We'll cross our fingers that work is cool with this situation, but knowing them, I won't hold my breath!
I'm doing pretty good though while I'm here at work so far. I haven't had much time to think about him, and I know that he's in good hands, but it just sucks when you really don't enjoy your job and you feel much more appriciated by a 6 week old than the people you work for! (I guess I'm a little bitter about being back at work already). I do think it's about time to start looking for something new though...anyone have any ideas???
Bennett isn't doing too much better at nights yet. We're still waking up about every three hours and some nights (like last night) are horrible. I think he knew I had to work for the first time today because I think I got about 3 hours of sleep collectivly through out the night last night. I'm running on fumes. He's holding his head up so well already and is staying awake for longer periods now. He's still pretty needy and really likes to be held and talked to. He's starting to sit in his bouncy or his swing a little more and just hang out and check out his scenery, but it's still not his favorite thing to do. He also is starting to coo and smile a lot.
Nolan's talking is still going strong. Something just clicked in that little head of his. He now repeats almost everything we say and jabbers all the time. The funny thing is though that while we were so worried about him not talking, everyone kept telling me to enjoy it because once he starts talking, we'll forever be telling him to be quiet. I had my first experience with this feeling on Friday night! We were driving down to mom and dad's which is about a 20 minute drive and I think almost the whole time he was in the back seat yelling at the top of his lungs "bee bee bee bee bee bee bee...." I think he thought he was singing. It was really cute at first, but after about 5 minutes of it, I was counting to 10...I didn't want to tell him to be quiet because he just found his voice and he wasn't doing it to annoy me. I just had to laugh. Bennett slept through the whole thing...I don't know how, but he did.
I must get back to work so I can get out of here and get home to my babies!
10/17/06 - Nolan has FINALLY been talking up a storm lately. He's finally repeating a lot of the words we tell him too which I think tickles Chris to death. He constantly telling Nolan to say something which is so cute!
Some of Nolan's newest words are: Stop, Go, Peek-a-Boo, Leaf, Down, Up, Mine, Come On... and there's many more that I'm not thinking of right now. The best of them all though is MA MA!!! He's finally saying it for me all the time now. I never thought I'd have to wait 26 long months to hear it, but it was all worth it!...(maybe it too having another baby needing my time and attention to bring it out of him!!!)
Bennett actually slept all night last night, only waking up for one feeding at 3:30. I was so happy since I have both boys today. I don't feel too tired for once! Hopefully it stays like this for a while! I go back to work next week and I was getting nervous about how I was going to function!
10/13/06 - Well, I was trying to catch up on the stories by writing individual stories, but I think I'll just make one entry and touch upon the important parts of the last month.
Bennett a already a month and a week old. It seems like it's been forever ago since he was born, yet then again I can't believe he's already a month. I guess the lack of sleep can make you crazy like that. Bennett is still a great baby, I guess I just don't remember being this tired with Nolan. I feel like Bennett needs to be held much more than Nolan did, but I think that it might be too, that we had the time to sit around and just hold Nolan, and with Bennett, the time is a little bit more limited because there's a two year old that also needs our time and attention. We're still struggling with the eating issue. Bennett very seldomly finishes a full bottle and tends to eat an ounce or two and then fall asleep and then want to eat another ounce or two an hour later. Sometimes I feel like we feed him ALL day long, not to mention all the formula that has gone bad because he doesn't want it. But I'm also a firm believer in not forcing your child to eat when they don't want to "just because it's time". I'm hoping that changes soon, because I think if he'd just figure that out, we'd get a little more sleep at night!
Other than sleeping and eating, Bennett isn't doing too much more. We're getting some smiles out of him now which is the best! He's also starting to be awake for longer periods every day. He loves his baths and relaxes the whole time. We're still not too much in a routine yet, but we're working on it.
Nolan, on the other hand, is learning something every day. He FINALLY starting to talk, although not always understandable, he is trying really hard. He FINALLY says Mama all the time now...such music to my ears. He's even starting to repeat us, which is what always concerned us. We're really working on his colors now. He can point to the correct color if we ask him say "where's the yellow one?", but if we ask him "what color is that?", he usually says blue or red, no matter what color it actually is. He's also working on counting and learning is letters.
Nolan is still doing great with Bennett...sometimes loves him a little too much though. He's already sat on him, threw a football to him, and knocked him in the head with a plastic golf club. All of that was out of love I have to say. He's just trying to get Bennett to play with him! I really can't wait for those days. To see the joy on Nolan's face, when Bennett accidently flares his arm and touches him, is priceless. Nolan's tried so hard to get Bennett to hold his toys, and doesn't understand when they fall right out. We've had a few bouts of jealousy which have about broke my heart, but we're working through them. He's definitely wanting to be held a lot more, which I love if I can put Bennett down. I have a poem that I want to put in here because I read it while I was pregnant and it brought tears to my eyes and it can't be more true of how I feel about having two children right now. Here it is...
~Loving Two~
I walk along holding your 2-year old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship.
Suddenly, I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited.
And I wonder, how could I love another child as I love you?
Then he is born and I watch you.
I watch at the pain you feel at having to share me as you have never shared me before.
I hear you telling me in your own way, "Please love only me," and I hear myself telling you in mine..."I can't."
Knowing, in fact, that I never can again.
You cry, I cry with you.
I almost see our baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared.
A relationship we can never have again.
But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being and feeling almost guilty.
I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying him -- as though I am betraying you.
But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity...then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.
More days pass and we are settling into a new routine.
The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.
But something is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just us two.
There are new times -- only now we are three.
I watch the love between you grow.
The way you look at each other, touch each other.
I watch how he adores you, as I have for so long.
I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments.
I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you.
I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.
I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong.
And my answer is finally answered to my amazement.
Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you, only differently.
And although I realize that you have to share my time, I know you'll never share my love.
There's enough of that for both of you -- you each have your own supply.
I love and thank you both for blessing my life.
9/11/06 - Our first night home wasn't as bad as anticipated! Bennett actually slept all night, only waking up twice for his feedings!! I couldn't believe it! Nolan's first night home was one of the worst nights and so Chris and I were expecting it to be just the same. We had decided to split up the night where I would take the first half of the night and wake Chris up about 1 to take the second half of the night. Since I was getting some good sleep, I didn't wake him until about 4. He was amazed and was wondering why I waited so long to wake him. Is there any way we got an even better baby than Nolan was/is???
9/6/06 - He's here!!!! ALL 10 pounds 7 ounces. They actually weighed him in the operating room and I couldn't believe it!!! Good thing we opted for the C-section!! So here's how the day went!
Chris and I left for the hospital about 4:45 am. We were a little late, but it ended up being ok because we sat in the admissions waiting room for about 45 minutes. We finally got up to Labor and Delivery floor about 6:45 and since the C-section was scheduled for 7:30, they pretty well went right to it. It almost seemed like they were rushing everything. I was changing while they were asking me all the questions. There were nurses coming in and out doing all sorts of things. It took them four tries to get my IV in and I told them on the second try that they always have to get the anesthesiologist to do it for me. No one ever listens because he was the one that finally got it in for me with one little poke.
I was pretty glad it seemed kinda rushed because there wasn't much time to get nervous. I was just excited on the way up because I knew that I was finally going to get to meet this little (ok, not so little) boy. But once we got there I remembered that I was getting ready to have a major surgery done. With Nolan, I think that I was just so tired from 16 hours of labor that I didn't really listen to a lot of what they were telling me was happening. This time was different, and I don't think I really wanted to hear a lot of it. I stared to get really nervous and quiet.
I think they finally took me to surgery about 7:15. Once we got in there, I was really freaked out because Chris couldn't come in until they got me all prepped and ready. I really wanted him there when they were giving me the spinal block. It is so hard to be really still when you're sitting in just a hospital gown on a hard table in a room that they have to keep at what seemed like 40 degrees. I couldn't stop shaking, probably a little from nerves too. The spinal block was actually a lot different than the epidural. The best part about it was that my body instantly got warm and relaxed. The worst part about it was that I HATE not having control over my body. I got a little light headed at one part, but the anesthesiologist gave me something to fix that. Then all of a sudden I could feel them running that big sponge over my belly with that brown medicine on it. I started freaking out because I could feel it. I asked them if I should be feeling anything and they said that I should be able to feel touch, but not pain. Dr. Pearson then asked if I could feel that and I said no and he said that he was pinching me. TOO FREAKY! The scariest part was though when I actually could feel the knife across my belly...it didn't hurt, but I knew they were doing it. That's when I got sick...couldn't deal with that at all.
After three hard tugs (yes...they actually couldn't get him out of there!), Bennett Vincent was born at 7:55. This time they actually had the table where they clean him up and do their assessment of him close enough to me that I could see him. When I saw him, the first thought I had was how much he looked like Nolan. I couldn't believe it! And he was HUGE! The nurse actually said how he looked like a month old already! After they cleaned him up and gave him an APGAR of a 9/9, they weighed him and everyone was shocked. I cannot believe that he was that much bigger than Nolan was and Bennett came out a week early!!! If we would have waited until his due date, he would have been 11 POUNDS!! Finally I got to hold him and we were taken back to our room. I really couldn't believe how much he look like Nolan to me.
Once we got back to the room, they took him and gave him a bath right there and then tried to feed him his first bottle. He didn't take to it too well...doesn't really get the whole sucking thing just yet. After they got him all washed up, Chris tried to get him to eat a little bit more, but really didn't take much if any. He kept gagging and they said that since he didn't come through the birth canal he probably still has a lot of amniotic fluid and just goop still in his body and will have to probably get all that out before he'll be able to eat much. Mom and Chris took turns holding him and kept trying to get me to sleep. I think I dosed off a few times, but it's so hard to sleep when you just had a baby!! I just wanted to stare at him.
We made a few phone calls and EVERYONE was floored at how much he weighed...I now hold the record of the biggest baby with all my friends. I don't know if anyone will ever beat that one!
Dad and Tammy finally brought Nolan up at 3:30 and I couldn't wait to see him and how he reacted! He was so excited to see me, but then when he saw Bennett, it was priceless. He was SOOO excited and just had to touch him. When we told him he could hold him, he was just beside himself. He didn't want to let him go then. Every time Aunt Tammy would stand up and take Bennett away, Nolan would fuss and want him back. TOO CUTE!!! Now let's see if that lasts when he realizes that he's coming home and staying with us forever!
Mom and Dad took Nolan home then about 5 and Chris and Tammy hung out for a while and then Chris left to go and get a good night sleep. Tammy stayed and Mark came over and met Bennett and then they left about 7 to go eat.
They came and got me out of bed about 9 to walk to the bathroom, and then I went to bed right after that. I can't believe that I'm a mom of two boys!!!!
9/5/06 - Our last day as a family of three. I had to work, so Nolan spent the morning at Amy's house and then Aunt Tammy went to get him for his nap and then he stayed there. I had a lot of running around to get finished too before the big day tomorrow, but I made it home in time to go into to Tam's and hang out with Nolan for a short time. I did pretty good, but got pretty emotional on the way home. I can't shake the feeling that I'm betraying him in some way. I know he'll love his baby brother...and eventually it'll be great to watch them play with each other. I'm more nervous about when Nolan comes to meet Bennett than I am about the surgery!! It won't be long!!
9/4/06 - Happy Labor Day! Nolan and I went to Papa's for the day and Daddy met us down there after he got off work. Nolan was so good and too funny. If you look at the pictures of him with his shorts pulled up really high...this is why. Papa kept telling Nolan that he could see his belly so Nolan kept trying to cover it up with his shorts. He actually had them A LOT higher than I got with the picture. We were cracking up! I don't know if it's Nolan's first bout of embarrassment or if he knew that he was being funny...probably the latter knowing him, but who knows!?! I'd love to know what is going on in their head all the time!
8/31/06 - If this was my first pregnancy, I think I would have went to the hospital tonight. I had so many contractions and they wouldn't go away! Nolan and I went to hang out with Aunt Tammy because Daddy had to work a little late tonight. I didn't feel like cooking so we picked up dinner for Aunt Tammy and went over there to eat. I bet I had hard contractions about 3-5 minutes apart for at least two hours. Tammy was freaking out and was more concerned about if her chair would be ruined if my water broke rather than if I was really going to have Bennett!! I decided I needed to get home and lay down for a little bit to see if they would go away. They did. At least we didn't freak Aunt Tammy out!!!
8/28/06 - 12th and Last Doctor's Appointment - Boring appointment...Blood pressure perfect...no weight gain (so 5 pounds total weight gain for this pregnancy)...Bennett's heart rate is really slowing down - it was 133...and I'm measuring 3.5 weeks big still. Only 9 more days until we meet Bennett!!! I really can't believe he'll be here next week!
8/27/06 - Nolan had his evalutaion with the speech therapist from First Steps today. Her name was Tammy Drury and she was really nice. She was here for a little over an hour and actually got Nolan to say two new words. He said "O" when looking at a circle and then he said "line" after drawing a line. Little shit!! Anyway, after working with him and asking us lots and lots of questions, she really doesn't think he's delayed enough to qualify for thearpy. I guess that's good news! I still really want him to start talking, but it was nice to know from a professional that he's not as far behind as we thought he was.
Ever since his evalutaion from the Parents As Teachers, he's been saying a few more things. Yesterday, after drinking his morning milk he brought his cup back into me and said "More milk" and then he's been saying "Papa" all the time now and yesterday he came and got me, took me to the front door and said "Bye bye Papa" I asked him if he wanted to go to Papa's and he got so excited. We HAD to go because he came and told me that he wanted to go see Papa. So we called them up and went down and hung out for the day.
Then so far today since the speech therapist left he's said "Baby" and "yellow". It figures...he's start talking until after all his evaluations. I just really hope this is the start of a whole bunch of new words!!
8/24/06 - Last night was very interesting, but scary at the time. All day long I felt so tired. I worked, but I kept feeling light headed and just totally out of it. It didn't concern me too much because I've been pretty tired lately. When I got home and picked up Nolan, we went straight home and I laid on the couch. I was dosing in and out when Chris called. He was planning on staying in St. Louis after work because he had his first softball games and asked how we were doing. I told him how tired I was but that we'd be fine and to have a good time. Shortly after talking to him, I started feeling pretty bad. I felt really achey and started getting the chills. I went and took my temperature and it was about 100. I called Robyn to see if she would call the exchange for a low grade fever and she said she would because of how far along I was. So I called the exchange and by the time the doctor called me back, my fever was at 101. He thought I should go straight to the hospital. The problem is that with my insurance, I have a $1000 COPAY every time I get admitted to the hospital. He said that was crazy and to first try to take some Tylenol and see if it would come down. He said that if got too much higher though that I should go in. I called Tam and she was on her way from St. Louis and so she said that she would come and pick up Nolan so I could go straight to bed (also in case we had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night). I had called Chris too, but since he was playing softball, he didn't have his phone on him. After Tam came and got Nolan, I finally got some Tylenol in me and before I laid down, I took my temperature again and it was 103.7. I was in tears by then, because not only did I physically feel bad, but I felt horrible that I wasn't going to the hospital just because of money. I told myself that if it got to 104, I was going to have my mom come and take me. I fell asleep and about an hour later, Chris called freaking out, wanting me to go to the hospital and he would meet me there. I was so out of it that I hardly remember talking to him, but told him that I wasn't going just yet and just to get home. When he did come home, he woke me up and had me take my temp and it was down to 102.3. It was still high, but at least it was coming down. I woke up three times throughout the night and had to change clothes because I had the sweats. And every time I took my temp it was lower than the time before. When I finally got up this morning, my temp was normal and I was feeling just fine. It was weird...just like that, I was all better. My doc called at 9 and told me to stay in bed though and get some rest and if the fever stayed away, then I could resume as normal. It stayed away and never came back so far. How weird was that? I just hope that I didn't make the wrong decision by not going to the hospital!!
8/22/06 - 11th Doctor's Appointment - We have a date set for Bennett's arrival! For some reason in just one week Bennett decided to grow tremendously. Last week I was only measuring one week big, but now I'm measuring FOUR WEEKS BIG!!! Dr. Pearson takes back what he said about Bennett being smaller, and thought that having a repeat C-section would be the best for both of us. At this point, it's good to just have a date set! Unless for some reason Bennett decides to make an early arrival, we'll be having him on September 6th at 7:30 am at St. Joseph's in Kirkwood. I can't believe he'll be here in two weeks!!
Other than me measuring big, everything else was normal. I only gained one more pound and my blood pressure was perfect. Bennett's heart rate was about 140. We go back next week which should be my last doctor's appointment before we get to meet our little boy!
8/20/06 - We had Nolan's birthday party today down at Grandma and Papa's house. We had a fish theme since they live on a lake and had Papa fry fish for dinner. Once again Nolan had a blast and loved playing with all the kids. I think he got a little overwhelmed throughout the day, but he still had such a great time. We had a little water balloon fight which he thought was too cool and we let the little ones splash around in the baby pools. The older kids went fishing and I think everyone caught at least one fish! Other than the few down pours of rain (which seems to be a normal thing for Nolan's birthday parties) everything was perfect. Nolan loved all his presents and wants to thank everyone for coming and spending the day with him!
8/18/06 - Happy 2nd Birthday Nolan! Mommy and Daddy love you and are so proud of the little boy you are becoming! We wish we could freeze the hands of time and keep you this small forever while you still like us to hold and cuddle you!!
We had Nolan's Two Year Evaluation by the Parents As Teachers today. He passed with flying colors in everything but the communication. He actually couldn't get any more points in the gross and fine motor skills, but since he was in the 'gray' area for communication, they will contact "First Steps" and have someone with more background in speech come out and evaluate him. Chris and I were actually glad to finally have someone come out and see him. Everyone tells us not to worry, but when it's your child, it's really hard not to. So we're really looking forward to finding out what they say!
Later on in the evening we had everyone over for pizza and cupcakes (which Nolan helps mommy bake!). Grandma, Papa, Aunt Tammy, and Cousins Luke, Danielle, and Olivia came over and Nolan had a blast!! He couldn't stand it and got so excited that he would just run around and shake. He blew out his candles (about 5 times) and opened all his presents himself. He had such a good time!! I can't believe my baby is TWO! I laid with him until he fell asleep tonight...I really wish he wasn't growing up so fast!
8/14/06 - 10th Doctor's Appointment - I rescheduled my doctor's appointment for today because I have to train the temp that is coming in to fill in for me at work. Bennett's heartrate is getting slower...it's getting tight in there. His heart rate was only 144. My blood pressure was still perfect, but I gained 5 pounds!! So now I've only gained 4 pounds total, but 5 pounds in two weeks freaks me out. I was at the other doctor's office and everytime I go there I always seem to gain more weight, so maybe it's their scale. We'll see next week! I can't believe I already go back every week now. I got checked and no such luck for dialation and Bennett hasn't dropped. I was a little disappointed, because I thought for sure that Bennett has been much lower than Nolan ever was. We talked about the possiblity of a VBAC or if we'll just have to schedule a repeat C-section. For some reason he thinks Bennett might be a little smaller than Nolan, so he's not giving up on a VBAC yet, but we'll have to wait two more weeks or so to see if there's any progression. If there isn't by the end of August, we'll probably schedule a C-section for the first week in September. I think I'll be ready by then!!
I took Nolan down to Grandma and Papa's house this evening so I could get into work early tomorrow and not too long after we got home, my mom called me and told me that Nolan walked up to Papa (who was sitting at the kitchen table playing a game) and said "What you doin?" as plain as day. What a little sh**head!! Why won't he speak for his own mother!?!?!?! We have his Parents As Teachers Two Year Old evaluation on Friday, so we'll see where he lies on the communications spectrum.
8/5/06 - Nolan went Pee-Pee on the Potty for the first time tonight! We've been sitting him on the toilet every night before bath and he'll sit there for a bit and read his book, but never has gone until tonight. It was so cute because you could see when he was about to go and then we clapped forever for him. He loved it! I wonder if he'll do it again!?!
8/2/06 - 9th Doctor's Appointment - Another pretty uneventful doctor's appointment. Dr. Pearson did prick my finger to test my blood sugar to make sure I was still ok and everything was fine there. My blood pressure was great and I LOST 2 pounds!! So once again I'm -1 pound since I found out I was pregnant!! I think I found the new diet plan for me! Bennett's heart rate was still 150. We go back in two weeks!!
8/1/06 - Grandma came up today and help me really clean Nolan's old room which will now be Bennett's room in about ONE MONTH!! I really can't believe that he's almost here! Anyway, we washed all of his bedding/clothes/bottles and got anything up from downstairs that we will need. It really feels like we just packed it all away! I did get a little teary eyed once we got it all put together because it reminded me just how fast they grow up! All this stuff was Nolan's two years ago, but it seems just like yesterday!! Nolan did love exploring everything that we were setting up. I wonder if he remembers it?
7/27/06 - We have a dare devil!! Chris and I were in the kitchen today talking about our days and all of a sudden we heard a thump in the living room. We both looked at each other and braced for the screams, but instead here comes Nolan running into the kitchen. He grabbed Chris's hand and led him into the living room. I heard the thump again and Chris say "Oh my!". He then told me to come in here. I walked in there and he told Nolan to show me. So Nolan climbed onto the couch and jumped right off! He was so proud of himself!! Who wants to take bets on when we'll have the first broken bone??
7/23/06 - Our trip to Kansas City was fun! Nolan did really good on both the ride up and the ride home. Of course he got a little restless at points, but I got that way at times too.
Friday we didn't do much, but go out to eat and play outside. They still have a swing set from the people who lived there before and so Nolan was in heaven! Tanner and Clayton both had fun with him. We went out to eat at a pizza place, where Nolan turned around and tickled the waitresses butt!!! Let the embarrassing times begin! He's really into tickling people and loves when they tickle him back. When we got back to their house, we walked over to a near by school where there was an even bigger playground and played for hours.
Saturday we got up early and went to the Kansas City Zoo. I had heard that it was really great for kids. We had fun, but it wasn't as great as I was hoping it to be. Nolan was a little cranky at first, but then got into the animals a little more. He really liked the giraffes and hippos. He was VERY terrified of the train though. He was ok at first, and then we had to under a tunnel...he freaked out!!! He did great though, but passed out as we were leaving. After he woke up from his nap and we ate dinner, we went over to their sub-divisions pool and he was in heaven once again! He almost was jumping into me without holding on to my hands. Then Uncle Tony and Tanner taught him to blow bubbles. He thought he was sooo cool!!
Sunday we just got up and lounged for a short time while Nolan played outside for the last time and then got on the road early. We stopped at the outlet mall on the way home and Nolan was soooo good! He was hamming it up for everyone. I love that he's so friendly...but I guess I'll always have to keep a very close eye on him!! We got home at a decent time and we just played and organized all his new stuff...THANKS to Clayton and Tanner! They gave Nolan ALL their leggos, hotwheels, and army men. I don't know who was more excited about the army men...Nolan or Chris!!!
7/20/06 - Nolan has had an awesome week hanging out at Grandma's with all his cousins. Grandma said how he just follows the kids around everywhere. He just wants to be big like they are!
Tonight we met Tanner, Clayton, and Aunt Tammy in at Aunt Tammy's and hung out there for a while. Nolan busted his bottem lip wide open. He was jumping on the bed and slipped and hit his mouth on the metal footboard. It looks aweful, but he did finally calm down and then we went down to Sirros to eat and he ate fine. I was pretty worried about it though.
We're leaving to take Clayton and Tanner back to Kansas City early in the morning!!
7/19/06 - 8th Doctor's Appointment - My doctor's appointment was pretty uneventful this time...thank heavens. My blood pressure was normal and Bennett's heartrate was still in the 150's. I measured NORMAL for once but Dr. Pearson still says we're going to have a 9-10 pound baby! I had only gained one pound this time so I'm +1 pound...amazing!
He asked me how I was doing on watching the sweets and I said good, except that I had a few Chocolate Chip Cookies this past weekend and he wasn't too happy. They were mom's homemade cookies - what can he expect? So now he's making me eat two hours before my next appointment and I have to get my blood sugar tested again. Everyone cross your fingers!
7/16/06 - Nolan and I met Aunt Tammy, Mark, Clayton, and Tanner at the Midway for dinner. After we ordered Clayton and Tanner got up to play pool and Nolan couldn't let them to without him. He thought he was so cool hanging out with the BIG boys!! The problem was...he didn't want to sit down and eat then. He sure had a good time!!
7/15/06 - Aunt Lori, Clayton, and Tanner came down to visit for the week and Nolan, Aunt Tammy, Luke, Danielle, and Olivia met them in Farmington to go to the waterpark. When we got there we had to wait about 10 minutes because they had heard thunder, and Nolan was beside himself. First of all he doesn't understand that we have to stand in line and pay, much less stand in line and not be able to get in the water. But after that, he was in heaven! He loved it as much as the first time. Aunt Lori took him on the Lazy River and then down the water slide. He still didn't care for the Lazy River unless she hung him over the side so he was in the water, and he really didn't care for the water slide. He loved the fact that Tanner was there though...he kept saying "Hi Tanner"...how dare he keep saying that and only once in a blue moon say "Mama"!!!
After that we went down to Papa's to hang out for the evening with everyone. What an exciting day!
7/5/06 - What an interesting day! I had my 7th Doctor's Appointment and overall everything went fine. The nurse couldn't find Bennett's heartbeat, so she had Dr. Pearson find it, which he found right away. It was great - still in the 150's. He pushed around on my belly and was trying to see which way he was laying and couldn't really tell. He asked me then if he has been moving much and I told him that on the way up to the appointment that I was thinking how he hadn't really moved much this morning. So he pushed and pushed around and Bennett didn't really do much, so Dr. Pearson told me that when I got home tonight to eat dinner and then lay down and count Bennett's kicks...I should have 10 kicks within 2 hours. So of course I became paranoid then and when I went back to work, I tried counting kicks and couldn't get 10 kicks in 2 hours. So I called Dr. Pearson back and asked if I had to be laying down and he said no, but that if I was, then I could concentrate on just the kicks and not miss any. He said though, that if I wanted to, that he would just order the Stress Test and we would all feel better. So I said fine and decided to go have it done. I went to St. Joe's and everything went great. Bennett did everything he was suppose to do. I had 10 kicks in about 45 minutes which is great and his heart rate would go up everytime he moved which is also something they look for. I was finished in about an hour. I'm so glad that I went because it just relaxed me like you wouldn't believe. I've just heard so many horror stories since Nolan, that I don't want to take any chances.
Other than all that, everything else was great. I gained 3 more pounds which finally brings me up to my starting weight. My BP was great and I don't have any swelling yet. I passed my Glucose Test by one point! Dr. Pearson wasn't all that happy about that, and still wants me to watch my sugar intake. No Krispy Kreme donuts or Dr. Pepper anymore!!! I go back already on the 19th...every two weeks!!! Bennett will be here soon!!!
Nolan spent the day with Grandma and Papa and she told me that today after she changed his diaper he went and sat under the table. She asked if what he was doing under there and he pinched his nose. She asked him if he pooped and he said Yeah! She checked him and HE DID! I guess potty training isn't too far away. I'm trying to wait until he's used to Bennett being around, but maybe we'll try a few times here soon!!
7/4/06 - Happy Fourth of July!!! We went and spent the day down at Papa and Grandma's house. Of course, Nolan had a WONDERFUL time! He swam in his little pool and even went out on the boat with Aunt Tammy and Mark (he was too scared to do that the last time they were down!). They went for a ride around the lake and we were all so proud of him. We tried to keep him up for fireworks, but then it started pouring and he was getting a little cranky so we decided to give him a bath and just go to bed. He was spending the night a Grandma's and so as soon as I left, Grandma said they started shooting off fireworks and she took him out there, but he wasn't too impressed. He definitely didn't like the ones that whistled at all, but she said the ones that were big and pretty he would just sit and stare and even shake a little bit. I think it was that he was just so tired too. Hopefully next year, he'll understand and like them a lot more.
We've been making some progress on his communication skills over the last week or so. He's still not talking all that great, but we've been teaching him sign language and he's picking up on it very quickly. He also is saying all of his animal noises. He just doesn't feel the need to talk about much. He'll say things every so often, but just not all the time or when we ask him to. Hopefully he's just a little bull-headed and that's all we'll have to overcome!
6/27/06 - When I picked Nolan up last night from Aunt Tammy's house (she got him from daycare), so told him to say "Bubble". Out of the blue he just started saying it plain as day. I was so excited!! We've been working on that word everytime we're at Papa's because he loves playing with bubbles when we're down there.
Then today, he learned to get off BOTH feet now when he jumps. It's too funny. He gets sooo proud of himself and did it ALL day long. It was the first thing he showed Daddy when he got home from work.
6/23/06 - We won't be trying a movie any time soon. Amy and I were brave tonight and tried to take Hannah along with Clayton and Nolan to their FIRST movie. We went to see Cars. I thought for sure that Nolan would make it through at least most of the movie. Well, between him and Clayton, we made it through about 15 minutes. Luckily I met them their from working in St. Louis and so I took Nolan and Clayton and we came home to play while Hannah and Amy got to watch the movie. Nolan was much more interested in all the people that were around. He kept trying to talk to the people in front of us and then he wanted to walk around in the lobby and talk to everyone. So I guess we'll wait a while longer before we go and see another one. Him and Clayton had a lot of fun here at the house playing with each other, so that was good.
Chris and I talked about the babies name tonight and we've finally decided on Bennett Vincent. I know it didn't win on our poll, but Ethan is just SOOO popular right now. And although, I love the name, I just don't want a REALLY popular name. Justin was second, but Chris didn't really like that name at all. So we've finally decided and we will have a Bennett Vincent Walls joining our family sometime in September!
6/22/06 - Nolan had the MOST fun today that I think I've ever seen him have. I took him to the water park in Farmington with Robyn and Amy and their kids. From the moment we pulled into Robyn's driveway to pick up her and the girls, he was so excited and saying HI to everyone. But when we got to the water park and he saw the water...he screamed with pure excitement that he couldn't contain himself. He didn't understand that we had to stand in line and pay though, which upset him because he couldn't wait to jump in. After wrestling with him to get his swim diaper, trunks and sunscreen on, he just TOOK OFF. He literally wore me out! He was a little nervous about the big bucket that fills up and pours out all over you, but he would always squeal with excitement when it dumped out. By the end of the day, he was fine with that and was climbing all under it. I even put him down one of the baby waterslides all by himself. He didn't cry, but he wouldn't go down again...a little too crazy for him yet I guess.
I love the fact that he loves the water though...I was such a water kid and I only hope my kids aren't afraid of the water. Nolan is definitely not. He would come up to me, grab my hand and then kick his legs out and float on his back...to most kids that's pretty scary! We were also jumping in forever. At one point, I thought he was going to jump in by himself. Amy actually jumped out of the pool because she thought the same thing and I couldn't get to him fast enough being that I was in the water and pregnant. He didn't though, but I almost think that I should have let him to get some sort of fear in him because he doesn't quite get it that he can't touch the bottom all the time. All in all it was an awesome day!!
He had a small meltdown when it was time to go, but was the first to fall asleep on the way home. He ended up taking a three hour nap...he was one worn out little boy!!
6/18/06 - Happy Father's Day!!! We went down to Papa's to spend the day down there. Daddy got off early and met us down there about 1:00. Nolan was a little cranky because Aunt Tammy and Mark kept him out late last night!! They took him to a BBQ at one of Mark's kids houses. They only brought him home at 11pm!! I felt like I was waiting for my child to get home from a night out!! (Just kidding - I knew he was in good hands!) According to Tammy, he had a blast! He slept good last night, but still woke up at 7:30 and was in a really good mood at first, but then was just a little cranky throughout the day today. It rained really hard for a little while and he LOVED it! We let him play in the rain and slash in all the puddles. He was one happy baby!
Nolan cracked Papa up today. Nolan was running around without any shoes on because they got so wet while he was playing in the rain and I was trying to let them dry out. Well, that's when he decided that he wanted to play in the pea gravel. Nolan has very sensitive feet and I knew that he wasn't going to like walking in the rocks. Once he figured out that they hurt he very calmly said "Ow, ow" but kept trying to walk on him. It was much more funny when you actually heard him say it...I thought Papa was going to choke on his beer. So add that word to the list!
But for the big news of the day - Aunt Tammy and Mark are FINALLY getting married! She asked Dad in his Father's Day card to walk her down the aisle on September 1st, 2007! Dad's eyes got really big and asked her if she was serious and then he showed the card to mom and she did the same thing. I thought for sure they were pregnant! But then mom showed me the card and I was SOOO excited. I went inside to show Chris (he was hanging out with Nolan who was resting) and I've never seen him jump up so fast! I still can't believe it!!! It seems so far away, but it'll be here before we know it!
6/15/06 - I took Nolan swimming outside for the first time this summer to Lake Forest with Robyn and the girls. He was a little nervous at first, but got used to it and then had a blast. He made a little friend while we were there and played with her almost the whole time. He's so cute now because he just goes right on up to the kids and wants them to play with him. We stayed mostly in the kiddie pool, but I did take him in the big pool for a little bit. He loved jumping off the side into the pool (holding my hands of course.) Hopefully we'll get out swimming more this summer than we did last summer.
6/13/06 - I had my Gestational Diabetes test done this morning. I fasted forever before this one, so hopefully I won't have to take the three hour one like I did with Nolan...not fun! The one hour wasn't so bad because they actually let me leave after I drank the stuff and before I had to give blood. So I went back to work for about 45 minutes. I guess we'll find out at the next doctor's appointment on July 5th!
6/7/06 - Sixth Doctor's Appointment - I only gained one pound this month...I thought for sure that it was going to be more than that. I feel huge lately! My blood pressure was exceptional as Dr. Pearson put it. I'm still only measuring about 1 week big, which is much better than I was doing with Nolan at this time, so we're still crossing our fingers for a slightly smaller baby. The baby's heartrate was at 144. He kept moving and kicking the monitor while she was trying to find his heartrate...it was pretty funny. Dr. Pearson was helping pick out names...he actually thought we had already named the baby Justin. I told him that he must be able to read minds because that's one of the names on our list, but we haven't pick yet. I have to take my Gestational Diabetes test before my next appointment which is in four weeks. After the next appointment I already start going every 2 weeks - CRAZY that it's coming so quickly!!
Nolan is still doing much better. He FINALLY ate a good lunch for Grandma today - I was so glad about that! I'm so glad that my baby is feeling much better.
**Update on the Big Boy Bed: NOT ONE PROBLEM - he's a pro! He even gets up in the mornings and plays for a little bit so mommy can have a little more sleep. He gets so excited though when I open his door in the mornings - he let's out a squeal! Gotta love him!!
6/5/06 - What a weekend we have had!!! Wow...and it all started so suddenly!
Aunt Tammy and I took Nolan to the Dr. on Friday. He cried as usual once we got into the room, but did slightly better this time than the last few times. Dr. Rudolph just thinks that the rash is an allergy of some sort, but since it doesn't bother Nolan (no fever, no itching) he didn't want to put him through all the testing to find out what he is allergic to. He gave us a steroid cream and obviously if it gets worse to give him a call.
So we left and went shopping. Nolan was fine and happy...running all over Target talking to everyone like usual. We went to lunch and it was all down hill from there. As I was filling our drinks, Aunt Tammy took Nolan and sat down. All of a sudden I heard a scream and then a cry - I knew it was Nolan. I went back to the table and Tammy wasn't sure what happened. Nolan was just playing with those table numbers that tells them where to bring the food and he just started screaming. So we looked him over to see if it pinched or cut him, but found nothing. He calmed down, but just wasn't the same. He wouldn't eat or really drink anything. So after a short time, we decided to get the rest of our food to go and took off for home. Tammy sat in the back to make sure he was happy, and kept mentioning that Nolan had the goose bumps. I thought that was weird because Nolan is always warm. Once we got home and I picked him up, I knew right away he had a fever. After we settle in, I took it and it was 102.6 - WHOA! I called the doctor right away and he didn't think that it had anything to do with the rash and to just treat it with Tylenol and Motrin. So after cuddeling and laying around the rest of the evening, Nolan finally ate some fruit about 7. We put him in the bath about 8 and he just kept wining. He still had a 101 fever and so I gave him some Tylenol and went to put him into bed. He started crying and all of a sudden puked ALL OVER me and him. He freaked out! I was a little freaked too - it was the first time he's ever puked. After we got all that cleaned up and him calmed down, we settled in and he finally fell asleep. He did wake up once at night and dry heaved a few times - I felt so sorry for him.
Once he woke up, I could tell he still wasn't feeling all that well. He still didn't want anything to drink or eat...but that was understandable. He was trying to drink, but would just let it run right out of his mouth. He went down for a nap just fine, but once he woke up he was beside himself...wouldn't stop crying for about an hour and a half. We finally called the exchange and she said that if he was that distraught to just take him to the ER. So off we went. He was calm on the way up there, but once we got there he knew we were at the doctor's...started crying. They looked in his ears right away and he had a DOUBLE ear infection. They also looked in his throat since he wouldn't even drink anything and it was sooo red. They swabbed it for strept, but that came back negative. The doc also said he had an upper respiratory infection and probably had the 24 hour flu on top of all that. They gave him a dose of antibiotics while we waiting for the strept test to come back and also put some ear drops in his ears for the pain. After those drops he was a totally different baby. He still was out of it, but was at least calmed down. He slept better, but still would wake up when his fever would come back.
Sunday, he still wouldn't eat or really drink much for us, but was trying really hard to play like usual. We even went down to Papa's so mommy could have a small break. (Nolan was glued to me since all this started and my back was hurting sooo bad!) When we got back home, there was a message on my machine from the ER telling to call them back. They were calling to see how he was doing, but also to tell me that Nolan's strept test came back positive for a different group of strept...so now the poor thing had Strept Throat, a double ear infection, an upper respiratory infection, and the 24 hour flu!!! Can you blame him for being so cranky!!??
I stayed home today and Nolan is finally acting a little better. Still not eating, but is finally drinking more. His fever finally broke and stayed away after his nap today. So I think we're finally on the up slope of this sickness...let's pray we are anyway!!
6/2/06 - Nolan spent his first night in his Big Boy Bed last night and guess what - HE DIDN'T CRY OR WAKE UP ONCE!!! How lucky are we!!
Both Chris and I had to talk ourselves into putting him in his new room but finally we just did it. We stayed with the same routine we always do but just in a different room. I thought for sure that I'd have to lay in bed with Nolan for the first few nights, but after we read our books, turned out the lights, said our prayers and did kisses - he kept pointing to the door. I took that as he wanted to get out of this room, so I told him that this was his bed now and we needed to go night night. I laid there, but he wouldn't settle down and kept pointing to the door. So I decided to try to leave. He didn't fight it, wine, or cry out for me. I think he might have been trying to tell me to leave!!! We held our breath, waiting for him to knock on the door. He did cry out once and I went in there to reassure him everything was ok and that he needed to go night night and that was the end of that. The next time I went in there to check on him before I went to bed, he was out. I couldn't leave the room though...there was my baby boy looking so tiny in this enormous bed of his. Where has the time gone...why is he big enough already to sleep in a big bed? After I finally did leave the room (after sneaking many kisses) and went to tell Chris how he was sound asleep and even Chris mentioned he was a little sad! I got up once throughout the night to use the restroom (starting to do that a lot these days) and I had to peek in once more. When my alarm went off I was soo excited that he was still sleeping and hadn't woke up all night. As soon as I finished with my shower though, I heard him in there. I went right in this morning and he wasn't scared, just kept jabbering - it was like he was trying to tell me ALL about it!!! I hope it goes this great from here on out!!
We have a doctor's appointment today for the rash that has been on his leg and stomach for three weeks now. Aunt Tammy is going with us and then we're shopping for material for Nolan's curtains.
5/29/06 - Happy Memorial Day! Papa and Grandma had everyone down for a BBQ. Aunt Amy, Scott, Hannah, Clayton, Bonnie, Jerry, Aunt Tammy & Mark were all there. Nolan had so much fun. Him and Clayton swam all day. It's so fun watching them interact with each other. Nolan tends to stand back and watch a lot, but I think that compared to the kids at daycare, Clayton and Hannah go a mile a minute. Amy and I tried to take Nolan and Clayton on a paddle boat ride, but for some reason Nolan was too scared. I don't know what came over him, but all of a sudden he's afraid of different things like the four-wheeler, the tractor and now the paddle boat. He LOVED going on the four-wheeler last summer with Papa all the time. We can't think of any reason why. Hopefully he'll outgrow it.
Nolan stayed at Papa's overnight because since we were off today, Mommy had to work on a Tuesday and Sue (his babysitter) doesn't watch him on Tuesdays. I was sad leaving him there for some reason tonight, but I think that he could have cared less...he loves it at Papa's.
5/28/06 - Nolan and I went down to Papa and Grandma's to spend the day doing nothing. I was so sore from working all weekend in Nolan's room and I think that I might have pulled a muscle in my back, so I decided to take the day off. Nolan swam in his pool and we blew bubbles all day. It was such a nice and relaxing day!
5/26/06 - We worked on Nolan's new room all day today. The painting is finished and the baseboards are up. Grandma is coming up to help me clean the carpets good tomorrow. Hopefully we can get Nolan's Big Boy bed up tomorrow night. I don't know if I'll have the strength to put him in there tomorrow night, but we'll see...I don't want my baby to grow up!!
Aunt Tammy stopped out to see Nolan's room and she brought him his first Push-up Pop. He loved it!! We're going to have to get some of those. There's some pictures of it on the picture page.
5/22/06 - I felt the baby hiccup for the first time today. I hope this baby doesn't have the hiccups as much as Nolan did. They get sort of annoying after so long...feels like you have a twitch in your belly that won't go away!
5/19/06 - Daddy and Mommy both got new cars today! We went looking for Daddy a new car because his was getting too old and wasn't exactly family friendly (it was only a two door), but we said that if we could get a van for a good deal that I may just cross over into the Mini-van world (something I said I'd NEVER do). We got so lucky and found two that were just what we were looking for. Daddy got a Ford Focus and Mommy got a Ford Freestar. Nolan LOVED the van...climbed all over when we picked him up at Grandma's and kept saying Wow! It's so much easier to get him in and out - I think it was the best move we could have made and the guy said that once you have a Mini-van - you'll never get anything else...I'm thinking he might be right.
I must have gotten dehydrated while we were looking at cars all day because while we were in the finance office, I had so many contractions. They were starting to become slightly uncomfortable by the time we got Nolan home and in bed, but once I laid down, relaxed and had a HUGE glass of water, they slowed down. I need to really watch the water intake!!
5/16/06 - We had a Parents As Teachers Meeting this morning. It went pretty good. She brought over all the fake food so we had a 'picnic' in the living room. Nolan loved it. We again talked a lot about his lack of speech and once again said that we shouldn't really start to worry until he's two. She did however say that she would talk to the speech therapist if it would make me feel better. So we went over the words that Nolan knows and says all the time (hot, Dada, Wow, Oh No, Ah Oh, Bye Bye, Night Night, whoa, weee) and then went over the words that he has said once or twice, but won't say all the time (Mama, Popsicle, Ice Cream, yum, hat, more - there's more that I can't think of right now). Once we did that...she thought there was pretty many words, and really doesn't think there is a problem. She thinks that it might be just his personality to sit and observe rather than have to say anything about something...meaning he may just be a quiet kid - not shy (he's FAR from that), but just quiet...doesn't have a lot to say. Hopefully it'll come with time. Our next meeting is in August and he'll have to have some sort of screening for his two years and then if he's still not saying much then we'll start figuring out what the next step is.
Tonight Nolan kept putting his finger up to his mouth and it looked like he was in deep thought, so I told him to do what I do and I put my finger to my mouth, tapped it and said "hmmmm..". He did it right after me and then couldn't stop doing it all night...it was too cute. He will mimic EVERY action we do, but rarley any words - maybe we should try the sign language thing again!
5/14/06 - Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there! It was such a beautiful day today! We went down to Grandma's early. Uncle Gary and the kids brought donuts and Nolan shared a whole donut with him. Nolan hung out with his older cousins and had a wonderful time.
We hung out outside and Nolan wrote on the patio with sidewalk chalk and we blew bubbles like always.
Aunt Tammy came down after she got off work and we gave Grandma her presents and then ate Bratwurst and Hot Dogs and Corn-on-the-Cob. It was Nolan's first experience with Corn-on-the-Cob and he LOVED it! He wasn't so good about portioning out how much he put in his mouth though, so he had to keep spitting it out because he couldn't swallow everything he had in there!
5/11/06 - Fifth Doctor's Appointment - First off I gained 6 POUNDS! WHOA!! I'm still down 4 from when I found out I was pregnant, but I was shocked at the 6 pounds! Dr. Pearson didn't seem concerned. He did however seemed shocked at what my belly was measuring. He asked if we were just going to schedule a C-section since the baby was already measuring so big. I asked him what I was measuring & he said I was measuring at 23 weeks and I said that was only one week big since I was finished with 22 weeks. He thought I was only 20 weeks along so he was thinking I was already 3 weeks big! We looked back at how big I was measuring with Nolan at this point and I was already measuring 2.5 weeks big then - so we're doing a little better! The baby's heartbeat was about 150 and my Blood Preasure was great. Four more weeks until my next appointment!
5/8/06 - Nolan has his first sunburn. I feel horrible! I put sunscreen on him about a half an hour after we got to Tanner's soccer game, but I guess I was already too late. Poor little guy!!
5/7/06 - Nolan, Grandma and I went up to St. Charles to watch cousin Tanner play soccer. Nolan was SOOO good. I was scared I'd be chasing him the whole time because he would try to get onto the fields, but once we told him no, he stayed and played with us. Once he did try to get the ref on the sidelines to pick him up, but I caught him just in time!! Once the game was over and he saw Tanner, he was so excited! He walked all the way back to the car holding Tanner's hand giggling. It was like he knew that he was hanging with the cool big boys!
4/27/06 - I sent Nolan's website out with a puzzle on it that had him holding a sign that said "It's a boy!" to everyone. Most people were excited, others were confused, thinking that we weren't suppose to find out until tomorrow.
Katie Boyer, who has two boys of her own sent me this poem...I thought it was so cute...
Raising Boys
I scrub the wall of fingerprints,
Pick up the mounds of clothes.
I sweep the dirt that shoes track in-
Wish I could use a hose!
Meals are served from dawn to dark,
Dirty dishes crowd the sink.
Just when they're washed and put away-
Everyone wants a drink!
The washer pulls the dirty grime
From pants worn thin and patched.
They look so very neat and clean-
Yuck, look what the pockets hatched!
Broken bones and bloody knees,
I should have been a nurse.
I take it all in shaky stride-
Just grateful it's not worse!
Screams and shouts and arguments
Test the keeping of my cool.
They left the neighbor's faucet on-
See their new front yard pool!
A soothing bath is ecstasy,
A reward at the end of my rope.
Raising boys isn't really bad-
But first I must wash the soap!
A rose can say I Love You,
Orchids can enthrall;
But a weed bouquet in a chubby fist,
Oh my, that says it all!
We had our ultrasound this morning. Everyone thought it was suppose to be the 28th, but we moved it up and didn't tell anyone. I thought for sure that the baby was going to be a girl, but I was totally wrong! The nurse did her thing and measured all the baby's parts commenting on how everything looked great. We had told her that we didn't want her to just blurt out what it was...that we wanted to see if we could tell ourselves. Chris blurted out soon after we started that he thought it was a girl. The nurse started laughing and I asked her if she knew if he was correct...she said that she hadn't even gone down in that area yet and she didn't know what it was! She showed us the heart and while we were looking, the baby did a somersault...too cool. Then the baby was laying there with it's legs over it's head. Finally she said that she was going down in the area and I knew right away...ANOTHER BOY! I was shocked...I was sooo sure! But the fact that Nolan was getting a little brother was awesome!
Nolan was at Aunt Tammy's and when I went to pick him up, I told her to check out the last picture I took on her digital camera (I was downloading all her pictures to my computer). I had made a sign that said "It's a boy!"...she was confused since she thought our ultrasound wasn't until the 28th, but was excited. We showed Nolan the ultrasound pictures and told him it was his little brother and he got excited...not knowing what that really meant - kinda funny!
Now we're on to the difficult task of naming him...I think it's going to be a little more hard this time around. We'll keep you posted though.
4/25/06 - Aunt Tammy and I took Nolan to the Zoo for the first time. It was pretty cold, but Nolan didn't seem to mind. He loved the penguins, which were swimming and jumping all over the place. He also loved the gorillas and monkeys. I think he could have sat in the gorilla house all day long. The big mean gorilla scared him a little, but as long as Aunt Tammy and I held his hand, he was ok. We also took him on his first Merry-Go-Round and he didn't like it all that much. He actually cried at first, but then settled down, but never really relaxed! I'm sure that'll all change as time goes on.
All in all, I think Nolan loved the Zoo. We'll have to take him back sometime this summer when it's not so cold, and hopefully the animals will be more active!
4/22/06 - Nolan is doing so good without his pacifier. He hasn't had one since I broke and gave him one the other night (Tuesday the 18th). What a big boy! Last night when I laid him down he looked up at me, waved and said "night night". I almost had to pick him back up to squeeze him!
Today was also sort of a big day...he said "Oh no" when he dropped anything and also everytime we said "Yes" he would shake his head up and down. We're making some progress!!
4/20/06 - Aunt Tammy and I took Nolan swimming to the Community Center. He actually didn't like it at first and clung to me like Super Glue. Amy brought Hannah and Clayton up and after they got there, Nolan settled down and then he loved it. He actually fell down under the water once, but didn't freak out. We'll have to get him in the water more often, so we don't have to get him used to it every time!
4/19/06 - I broke down and gave Nolan a pacifier last night. He did good for his nap yesterday, but then he was up every hour crying last night. I'm not sure that he was really awake when he started crying, but after the third time, I gave him a pacifier and you could just see his body instantly relax. We're going to keep trying, but maybe he's not ready to go cold turkey. Even his doctor said to only do it every so often at first. We'll see...
4/17/06 - Mommy decided to try to put Nolan to sleep without a pacifier tonight just to see what happened and there wasn't a peep out of him!! I hid one in the very corner of his bed under one of his stuffed animals, but when I went to check on him, he hadn't found it and he was fast asleep! We were so proud of him, but I was, for some reason, so sad about it. I think I'm sad because he's getting so big, plus, the pacifier was such a comfort to him that I felt bad taking something like that away from him. Hopefully, tonight wasn't just a fluke and he does good from now on!
4/16/06 - Happy Easter!! It was such a beautiful day today! It was really sunny but not too hot yet. We went down to Grandma and Papa's again and hung out outside all day. Nolan LOVES these days! He played with bubbles again and with the Mr. Potato Head he got from Uncle Gary, Aunt Laura, Luke, Dani and Livi. He figured out how to put the hands in all the holes, but he's still working on all the other parts...makes for a funny looking potato head!
He chased the Easter Bunny again and did a lot better today. He loved picking up the eggs and wailing them into his basket. Then once he figured out that he was cracking them...he was amazed.
Mommy forgot Nolan's pacifier and his stuff giraffe (Jack) today. He did good though...a little confused as to where the frogs tail was (the stuffed animal we gave him to hold during his nap), but he fell asleep and did good. Maybe we'll work on loosing the pacifier soon...if mommy is ok with it too!!
I felt the baby kick today for sure! It happened a few times and I was sooo excited! This is the best part of being pregnant...having this secret that only you can feel...your baby inside you!
One funny thing that happened today...Nolan was climbing all over me and I told him to get down because mommy was hot and he looked at me and started blowing on me...he thought that he could cool me down like we do his food at dinner time!! So cute!
4/14/06 - We spent the day at Grandma and Papa's again. They had a Fish Fry. Aunt Amy, Scott, Hannah and Clayton came down too. All the kids had a blast! They blew bubbles, played in the pea gravel, we took a walk up to the birds, and they chased the Easter Bunny. We knew they had a lot of fun because when we gave them all a bath together, we had to actually drain the water it was so dirty!!!
4/12/06 - Fourth Doctor's Appointment - Nothing too interesting happened at this appointment. I lost another pound, which means I've only gained one pound since my first doctor's appointment and a loss of 10 total pounds since weighing myself two days prior to finding out I was pregnant...not sure which beginning weight to go by. My BP was perfect and Dr. Pearson found the baby's heartbeat right away and it's still really high at 155-160. He made a comment about how my uterus is already getting big and so he measured my belly already and of course I'm measuring big...surprise, surprise! We have the big ultrasound in about two weeks and then my next doctor's appointment isn't for another month. We're moving right along!
4/4/06 - Nolan spent the day with Grandma and Papa. His eyes have cleared up, but I wanted to keep him out of daycare until Thursday. So he spent the night with them too. Grandma said that you were so good!
4/3/06 - I did the Drano test again this morning when my urine was really yellow (that's what I've thought is the reason the Drano turns blue or green). BUT IT WAS STILL GREEN!!!
4/1/06 - Nolan's has Pink Eye! His right eye was so watery all morning and as the day went on it got pussy. I cleaned it all day. It was also really red. He also has HORRIBLE diaper rash - poor thing! But even so, he's not complaining and was really good!
3/31/06 - Nolan had his 18 month Dr.'s appointment today...he's really 19 1/2 months old, but that's ok. He still is extremely frightened of the Doctor's office. He was asleep when we got there, so I'm sure that didn't help, but this time he started crying the minute we walked into the waiting room and didn't stop until we were back out in the car. He didn't even have to get a shot this time. I don't think that he needs a shot for a while, so hopefully we'll get over this sometime soon. He doesn't have to go again until after the baby is born, so also the fact that the baby has to go too will be of comfort to him.
Anyway, he weighed 32 3/4 pounds and was 34 3/8 inches long. Dr. Rudolph says that he's in the 90% for height and 95% for weight - hey at least he's proportionate!! He says he's healthy in every other aspect...we're still working on his talking. He'll say things a few times and then we won't hear them again...I think he's just really stubborn! We also got a pamphlet on Potty Training, but I think we'll wait a while to start that process. Maybe right after he's two. I've put him on the toilet a few times and he's pretty scared of it right now. There's lots of changes coming up for him in the near future, (a new room, a new baby, no pacifier, a big boy bed) so we'll let him get used to all that.
3/28/06 - I did the Drano Test this afternoon and it came back green....which means a GIRL! It was correct with Nolan, so I guess we'll see if it's right once again. I've been thinking this is a girl since the beginning, and so the fact that the Drano Test says girl, I'm about 90% sure that it is. Of about 15 girls that have taken it, it was only wrong twice. I guess we'll see...
3/24/06 - Aunt Tammy, Mommy, and Nolan went up to see Cousin Tanner for his 12th birthday. Nolan spent the night with Aunt Tammy last night and then met Mommy at her work to pick her up. Nolan was so good the whole way up. We stopped and picked up a balloon for Tanner since today is his birthday.
Nolan was SOOO excited to see Tanner and they played right away. Then we went out to eat for Tanner's birthday and Nolan was sooo good. He enterained us all with his silliness. We tried to get Tanner to drink out of a cup shaped like a girls body that was wearing a bikini, but Clayton was more interested in it than Tanner.
Aunt Lori and Tanner taught Nolan how to go down the stairs and he did really good. He was a pro by the end of the weekend! He also said "yum yum", and through his hands up to say "Tah Dah". What a great weekend!
3/15/06 - The doctor's office called this afternoon and they scheduled our big ultrasound for 4-7-06 at 8am. I called the hospital to make sure that wasn't too early since I'll only be 17 weeks along and they were concerned that it might be too early to measure everything they need to to make sure the baby is ok. So I rescheduled it for 4-28-06 at 10am. Will we find out?
3/14/06 - Third Doctor's Appointment -
Nothing too exciting happened at this doctor's appointment. I lost a pound so that's -9 pounds. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat and it was still really high...about 160. Pretty normal this early. My blood pressure was normal. That's about all that happened. I go again in four weeks.
3/3/06 - I swear that I felt the baby move tonight at dinner, but everyone seems to think it was way too soon.I felt it in the same place about 4 times.I'm not sure if that's what it was, but it sure felt like it did when I first felt Nolan.I guess I'll feel it more soon.
2/23/06 - HE DID IT!!! Nolan said "Mama"!!! I couldn't believe it!
Nolan, Chris and I were sitting at dinner and I was blowing on Nolan's food and told him that is was HOT and blew on it and Nolan answered by saying "Mot"...which I'm translating to be "hot". He kept repeating it, so we got excited and tried asking him to say "Mama". It took some concentrating, but he then said it!! He repeated it a few times, but also kept saying "Mot". We called Grandma and tried to let her hear, but of course he wouldn't say it then. I just hope this is the beginning!
We bugged him all night then to say it over and over, so he probably will never say it again because he thinks we're insane!!
2/18/06 -
Nolan is a year and half old today and I can't believe it. I know I say this all the time, but I still feel like we were just bringing him home from the hospital yesterday. With this baby, I'm really going to keep it in my mind on just how fast these days fly by.
Nolan still isn't talking, but he is jabbering things to us when he seems to want to tell us things. And there have been times when I can tell that he gets frustrated when I don't do what he wants me to do. So I'm hoping that triggers something in that little head of his.
Like I said, the past month has been pretty boring. I lay on the couch as much as possible and go to bed the second Nolan goes down. Daddy and Mommy's birthday's came and past. Daddy and Nolan, along with Aunt Tammy had a surprise party for Mommy's 30th birthday. That was really fun and Nolan had a BLAST with all the balloons and he even stayed up until 11:00...which was extremely late for him.
We went to the doctor's on the 11th because he had a cough for weeks and he had Bronchitis and a Sinus infection. That poor kid freaks out the minute he sees Dr. Rudolph. Now he doesn't have to get a shot until he's like 4 I think, so maybe someday, he'll be ok with going. Anyway, this time he only weighed 32 pounds, so they were a little off last time. He's feeling a lot better and we're hoping the winter is almost over, so the sicknesses stay away for a while.
Valentine's Day wasn't too eventful. Nolan spent the day with Aunt Tammy shopping while Mommy went to her Doctor's appointment to see the baby again. Nolan had a great time with Aunt Tammy, but was so sleepy.
I'll try to be better at these stories now that hopefully the sickness is slowing down. Cross your fingers!
2/14/06 - Second Doctor's Appointment - Dr. Pearson gave me another Ultrasound since at the appointment before you could barely see the baby. There was a little more to see this time, but it was still hard to distinguish much. I could at least tell the head from the body and I did see little arms and legs moving around. I also could see the heart beating. Dr. Pearson decided to scare me a little and asked me "How many babies are we having?" I told him I knew he was kidding, but he tried to keep me going for a little bit. I asked him to try to hear the baby's heartbeat, but I really didn't think that we would be able to hear it. He found it right away and it was really strong. It was about 160. I was so excited!! I gained 3 pounds...which confused me since I've been so sick, I haven't been able to eat too much. But I guess I'm still down 8 pounds from when I found out I was pregnant.
Since it's Valentine's Day, Aunt Tammy brought out gifts for Nolan and the baby. She gave Nolan some balloons which he was ecstatic over. She gave the baby a little stuffed elephant that has a pink bow and pink ears on it. Can't tell what sex she's hoping for can you???
2/10/06 - I took the nausea medicine this morning and one of the side effects is that it may make you tired.That's an understatement!I couldn't open my eyes all day.The bad thing was that I had Nolan at home today.I was the worst mom.I laid on the couch all day and dozed in and out.Luckily he was so good today and played all by himself and knew to come and get me when he needed something.I guess now I'll be dealing with the nausea because I can't afford to sleep all day now with a toddler running around!I just hope that this ends soon!I'm about 9 1/2 weeks now.
2/9/06 - I thought I was getting better, but then I got SOOO sick this morning. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I finally called Dr. Pearson and he prescribed some medication for naseau. I'm so hoping that it works!
1/24/06 - First Doctor's Appointment - Chris and I went to our first doctor's appointment today - which happened to be Daddy's birthday. We had an ultrasound, but there wasn't much to see. We could tell there was only one baby in there, so that's really what I wanted to find out today. Since I've been so sick, I was starting to get a little nervous that there might be more than one. Dr. Pearson said that he could see the heartbeat, the fetal pole and the yolk sac and that's all really good. We were happy about that and since there wasn't much to see he's letting us have another ultrasound in three weeks. He said that their will be a big difference. I can't wait.
He measured the baby and came up with a due date of 9-14-06, which is one day off what I thought it would be. That's actually Uncle Gary's birthday. I'm suspecting that we'll get to pick the birth day anyway, (because of the previous C-section), but Dr. Pearson is letting us play it by ear. He did say though with a VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean) that you can't induce labor. I'd really like to try a VBAC, but I guess we'll have to see how impatient I am about that time.
So everything looks great. Oh, and since Jan 2nd, I have already lost 11 pounds!! I couldn't believe it!
1/22/06 - This morning sickness stuff is kicking my butt! I remember thinking with Nolan that I never wanted to go through it again, but I seriously don't remember it being this bad. Friday, I only got off the couch, to go to the bathroom or help Nolan with something. And last night I couldn't even sleep I felt so bad!! I was up at 5:30 and was in and out of the bathroom all morning. I even woke Chris up with my god-aweful noises! I keep reminding myself that this too shall pass...but let me tell you - this has been the LONGEST week of my life!
1/17/06 - We had a Parents as Teachers Meeting this morning and Nolan did great. We talked a lot about his speech or lack there of. She said I still shouldn't be too concerned yet. He's understanding everything, so that's all she's cared about. She said by 2 years, we'll start getting worried. I just want the kid to speek already!!
She commented how social and friendly he was and just how sweet he seems to be. (She didn't get to see one of his famous tantrums!) So overall, he did really good!
1/16/06 - My first bout of morning sickness showed up today. I couldn't even eat my cereal this morning and brushing my teeth was a chore. It's true when they say that you 'forget' about all the pains that comes with pregnancy. Now that I'm experiencing this feeling again, I remember saying when I was pregnant with Nolan, that it better be twins because I couldn't go through that again. But you forget and you do go through it again. I know that it's all worth it and I know that this pregnancy is going to fly by. I promised myself that I wasn't going to wish any part of it away like I did with Nolan...I just couldn't wait for the next milestone and before I knew it he was here and I so missed being pregnant. But it's really hard not to wish the weeks to fly by when the thought of food brings a gag reflex on. I did just manage to get a chicken ceasar wrap down, so I hope that helps a little.
1/10/06 - We went to Nolan follow-up visit to the doctor today for his ear infection. Everything looked good, but he had to get a shot that we didn't give him at his 16 month check-up. He wasn't too happy about that!
He had to get weighed on the big people scale today and I think they totally messed it up. They said that he weighed 33lbs! That means that he had to of gained 2lbs 4oz in only two weeks. I don't really think so. Hopefully we'll get a more accurate one next time!
I forgot that on Saturday the 7th, while we were out to dinner with Mom and Dad, Nolan finally said another word!! He said the word 'WOW'. We weren't sure for a while, but he kept saying it and then has been saying it ever since. Maybe this is a start!!
1/9/06 - Uncle Tim emailed me back and didn't say a word about his sweatshirt!!! I emailed him back and told him to look at his shirt and he finally got it! Now since the whole family knows, we can tell anyone.
1/8/06 - We went over to Uncle Gary's today and Nolan had his sweatshirt on. They all got it right away! Everyone seems so excited.
Aunt Lori got her email this morning also and called so excited. Cousin Tanner had to ask Nolan if he's excited to have a little brother! I guess he's willing it to be another boy.
The tiredness has set in...I can't seem to make it through the day without a nap or going to bed the second Nolan goes to bed. I forgot about this stage. It's going to be so hard now with a toddler running around...I can't just sleep whenever I want! I guess I need to be glad that I'm not nauseous yet...I'll savor these days until that sets in too!
1/7/06 - Chris finally figured it out, but I really didn't think that he was going to. Chris got him up this morning and went to change his diaper and I swear 15 minutes went by before he asked "Who made him that shirt?" I said "Me." He asked "Why?" I looked at him and just laughed and he asked "Are you pregnant?" "YES!!!!" He was excited.
Then this evening Aunt Tammy, Nolan and I went down to Perryville to have dinner with Grandma and Papa and they read his sweatshirt right away - they were really excited too.
I emailed Aunt Lori and Uncle Tim the picture of Nolan in his sweatshirt, so we'll see how long it takes them to get it. We'll keep you posted.
1/6/06 - HE DIDN'T SEE IT!!! I did the thing with Nolan's magnetic letters on the fridge and he NEVER saw them! I kept them up there all night and some of the morning, but then Nolan and I went shopping and I didn't want him to see it while I was gone, so I messed up all the letters.
I went and had Nolan's shirt made that on the front it says "The Big Brother Club" and the back says "9/13/06". He's sleeping in it tonight, and hopefully Chris will see it sometime in the morning. I'm thinking he might not...I guess I'll have to come up with another way tomorrow if he doesn't. I'm running out of ideas!
I'm dying to tell people already and I know we should wait a little bit at least. I don't know how long that will last. My first doctor's appointment is only January 24th, but I don't know if we'll be able to wait until then. I figure if something does happen, we would tell people anyway, so who knows...we'll see what Chris wants to do...if he ever finds out!!!
1/5/06 - Nolan has some exciting news for everyone...
HE'S GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!
So much for celebrating the Big "3-0"...I just found out we're expecting again...that's right! I really didn't think that I was, but when I was giving Nolan a bath tonight, I thought I'd just take a test. I was only suppose to start yesterday, but I've been so irregular since Jamaica, that I told myself that I wasn't going to take a test until Sunday. But since Nolan was playing and I had to pee, I got out one of the test that I got at the dollor store for $1...thought if it was negative I didn't waste anything. I watched it as the urine moved across the stick (sorry if that grosses anyone out) and I only saw one line, so I got down on the floor and washed Nolan and played for a bit. When he was ready to get out, I picked him up and wrapped a towel around him, emptied the water and as I reached to turn out the light over the sink, I glanced down and saw the second line...I gasped and said OH MY GOSH! Nolan looked at me like I was crazy!! I gave him a BIG hug and told him he was going to be a Big Brother! Wow...I just can't believe it. I haven't even told Chris yet. I just talked to him at work, but I didn't want to tell him over the phone. I've been racking my brain on how to tell him. So far, I think that I'm going to move Nolan's magnetic letters around on the fridge to read I'm Pregnant and see if he sees it. He's getting milk on his way home, so he should see it. I'll let you know how that goes. I have so much more the write, but my mind is just whirling with so much...
1/1/06 - We had the Uding Christmas today at the Econo Lodge. Nolan had a great time running like a mad man! He got some books that he loves from Santa and a BIG Teddy Bear from his cousin Brittany which he loves too.
Afterward, we went over to Aunt Tammy's again so Mark could put in Daddy's new radio. We just hung out inside, napped, and watched TV...nothing too exciting.
12/31/05 - Nolan and I spend New Years Eve at Aunt Tammy's just hanging out. Daddy had to work. Nolan didn't make it to midnight, but pretty close. He was up until 11...crazy baby!
He did do something funny tonight though. Tam had just munchies for us to eat which she set out on the table. Well, Nolan is just tall enough to see there something on the table, but not see what it is. He went right up to the table and jumped to see what was up there. It was too funny, because for those of you who don't know - he doesn't get off the floor when he jumps. But he sure knew what to do.
HAPPY 2006 to all our wonderful family and friends!!!
12/27/05 - It wasn't just his tooth!! Chris and I were up ALL night last night...we took shifts, because Nolan wouldn't sleep unless one of us was holding him. Poor thing. As soon as the doctors office opened, I called and got him an appointment and mom came up to go with me.
He has another ear infection and the croup is back again! I really just bragged too much I guess. He was so healthy for so long, I thought that we were extremely lucky. Now, as soon as one infection goes away, we get another one.
He was beside himself in the doctors office again. He knows where he's at as soon as we get into the little room. He's usually ok, but then when the doctor walks in...he goes nuts...trying to climb as far away from him as possible...screaming and crying. I hate it, but it's something we got to do. He weighed 30lbs. 12oz.
12/26/05 - He's definitely got a cold. He had a running nose and is coughing again. I checked and he's getting another molar, so maybe that's what it is. That make tooth number 11!
12/25/05 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We had our Christmas here at the house today. It was a lot of fun...Nolan still wasn't too interested in opening his presents, but had a ball afterward. Daddy got him a huge stuffed NEMO, and he was a little scared of it at first, but then was playing with it by the end of the day. Grandma and Papa came to watch us open presents.
Nolan really is started to not feel well. Him and I cuddled up on the couch after Grandma and Papa left to watch Madagascar and we both fell asleep. We'll give it one more day and see how he's doing tomorrow.
12/24/05 - Nolan did have a tummy ache last night. He kept waking up and moaning. I felt so bad for him. We didn't eat as many sweets today!
We went down to Grandma and Papa's for Christmas Eve. Nolan had such a good time, but still wasn't all that interested in opening presents yet. He liked them a lot once we got them opened though. He was a little scared of "Bounce" from the "Mrs. Spiders" cartoon, but he started coming around by the end of the day. He loved his Weebles. But I think his favorite had to be his Cozy Coupe Police Car! He figured out how to get in and out of it within seconds and giggled every time someone pushed him around.
I don't think that he's feeling all that great...hopefully it's just another tooth.
All in all, he had a wonderful Christmas Eve and he loved seeing everyone. He wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful toys!
12/23/05 - Nolan had such a wonderful day today! He got to see all his cousins (especially his cousin Tanner), had an audience who clapped for him for everything he did, he got pizza, cookies, & candy, made his first gingerbread house, and then got to EAT his first gingerbread house! WHAT A DAY!!
Aunt Tammy held her annual Gingerbread House party and it was Nolan's first that he got to participate in. He was definitely more interested in eating his house than building one! I couldn't get the marshmellows on there fast enough. I'm sure that he's going to have a belly ache tonight!!
He sure loved having all the audience that he had tonight. He started jumping for everyone and then everyone would clap, so he'd keep doing it and if you weren't clapping for him, he'd come right up to you and jump for you. I guess he thought that if you weren't clapping, you didn't see him. Too funny!!
12/21/05 - We're still not pregnant, but I can't say that we've been giving it our best shot. We've both had the attitude the past few months that "if it happens, it happens". I think though that next month we'll start trying a lot harder. We were really going to try this month, but then I decided that since I turn the big 3-0 next month, that I want to be able to party. We're still not preventing anything from happening, so if it does happen we'd still be really happy, but next month we're going to give it our all!
12/20/05 - We finally got around to Nolan's 15 month check-up (now that he's 16 months old). But with the ear infection, we had to push it back. He just hates the Doctors office! He knows why we're there and starts crying the minute the doctor comes in the room - it's so sad! The ear infection was gone and everything looked fine. Nolan was 30 pounds 8oz and 32 1/2inches tall. Hopefully we won't have to go back any time soon!
12/17/05 - Santa was at the Car dealership in town today and so Nolan and I went to see him with Amy, Hannah, and Clayton. Nolan wasn't all that fond of him. He cried right when I put him on his lap, but after he saw that I wasn't leaving, he sat there, but leaned as far away from him as possible. It was too funny!!
12/9/05 - Aunt Tammy and I took Nolan out in the snow today. He loved the fact that he was outside, but wasn't too sure about all that white stuff! He slowly touched it and tried to pick it up. But when we put him on the sleigh and he tried to get out, he put his hand without the mitten (one wouldn't stay on) straight in the snow and that freaked him out. I think his hand was so cold it probably hurt. We didn't stay out too long. But at least he got to experience the snow for the first time. Last year he was too little.
12/8/05 - Nolan's first snow for this year came today. I can't wait to take him out in it. We got about 4-5 inches. It was an awesome day, just hanging out in our PJ's all day.
Nolan is feeling much better. He was better within a day of starting the antibiotics. He's still pretty cuddly and clingy, but that's just fine! At least he's not so upset anymore! I did notice he has another molar coming in...that with all the sickness...how miserable he must have been.
HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY TO COUSIN CLAYTON!! One more year until he's free on the road!!!
12/3/05 - We took Nolan to the Doctors this morning. He's been so congested and had a runny nose all day yesterday, plus was running a low fever. I called the exchange last night to see if I could give him Dimatap and Tylenol at the same time and after talking to her, she almost had us go to the ER because Nolan was also slobbering all day and not drinking all that much. She was afraid he was having trouble swallowing, but she had me try to get some fluids in him and if I couldn't then we were suppose to go the the ER. Well, he had a few sips of water and then ate two popsicles and some soup. He was also playing like a mad man, so we opted out of the ER. Dr. Rudolph called this morning then to check on him and Nolan had an OK night, but seemed so miserable when he woke up. I couldn't make anything better for him. At one point he cried histerically for what seemed like forever. I finally broke down and cried with him. Chris and Mom took over, while I got Nolan's stuff together and we went to the doctors. Dr. Rudolph says he has the Croup and a DOUBLE ear infection!! I couldn't believe it. We haven't had an ear infection yet and now he gets one in each ear!! Poor little guy! I haven't heard him cry as much as he did today in all his 16 months! He finally settled down once we got home and I got his first dose of medicine in him. He actually played for a small while. We did just have another small crying fit about an hour and a half ago...but we survived and he fell asleep after it and is still sleeping. I usually wouldn't let him take a nap this late (7:30pm), but if he's up until midnight now...that's fine - as long as he's feeling ok. Well, I think I hear him stirring...must go.
Oh, by the way, Nolan hit the 30 pound mark exactly! We'll be getting weighed on the big person scale at our next appointment in two weeks!!! What a BIG BOY!!
11/27/05 - We put up our Christmas tree tonight. I was so nervous that it wasn't going to be smart if we put one up this year...for fear it would be pulled over by one little man. He was pretty amazed at this tree in our living room and kept going up to and peeking and pointing at it. He'd then run over to me and babble about it and then run back over to it pointing. But he never touched it. I'm sure it won't be this easy the whole time it is up! And who knows what will happen when I put some presents under there!!
11/24/05 - Nolan loved his second Thanksgiving! He ate so much that even I had a belly ache for him! He actually ate longer than everyone who was sitting at the dinner table! He had fun all day long, and was awesome...as always! I wasn't feeling too hot, I think I caught what he had last week. But all in all it was a great day.
Nolan didn't have a good night though...I really think his belly was hurting because of all the food he ate! He finally settled down about midnight and slept the rest of the night. I'm thinking this might be his favorite holiday...because he gets to EAT a lot!!
11/22/05 - We just found out that Jill & Jon Teslow are expecting their first baby on June 3, 2006! We can't wait...another friend for Nolan to play with. More and more people getting pregnant...who will be next???
11/18/05 - 15 MONTHS OLD!!! Where has the time gone?
Nolan just got over a pretty bad fever. We never found out what he had this time. I guess just a virus, since he never went on any medicine. We went to the doctor's on Wednesday the 16th and he tested Nolan for Strep Throat, but that was negative. We were then going to test him for a UTI, but today he has kept his fever away all day. Dr. Rudolph said that if he had a UTI then he would still have a fever. We're just suppose to keep an eye on him for a few more days. Poor little boy!
He got weighed at the doctor's and he was only 29 pounds 7 ounces. I thought for sure we'd be 30 pounds by now. I guess he's hanging on to those 20s for as long as possible. It's all that running he does all day long!
He's learning new things every day now. Still not talking, but we work with him every day. He breaths really heavy when we blow on something that is hot and we say HOT. He jabbers all the time, so hopefully he's just waiting for the right time to utter those first few words for our ears. He's so stubborn. I ask him to say something simple as "More" when he wants another bite at dinner, and now he'll look at me and shake his head no. Little stinker!
He shared for the first time a few days ago. We were visiting my friend Melanie and Thomas is 4 1/2 months old. He was sitting in his bouncer and Nolan was playing with a book. He went over and gave it to Thomas. It was so cute. He then took it right back, but it was cute for a few seconds!!
I'm starting to slack on taking pictures. I know - hard to believe - but when I looked for new ones to put up, the last good ones I've gotten were from Halloween. I'll do better this month!
11/7/05 - Nolan has developed a slightly annoying laugh. Chris loves it, but I think it sounds like the Beavis and Butthead laugh. He does it all the time! I hope it's just a phase!
11/3/05 - I had to take Nolan up to get the first half of his flu shot. When they get their first flu shot, they get it in two doses, so he'll get his second dose at his 15 month check up at the beginning of December. He did pretty good with it. But I think he's understanding what happens when we get to the doctor. He's fine in the waiting room, but once they take us back to the doctors room, he freaks out. He tries and tries to get out and cries and wines. Once we leave there, he's fine once again.
I noticed this morning also that he's finally gotten his fourth bottom tooth. I guess that explains the crabbiness and probably explains the runny nose. His molar still isn't all the way in, but he doesn't seem to be chomping on his fist as much. I just can't imagine how painful that is for him!
10/31/05 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Nolan didn't get to go out Trick-or-Treating again this year. It rained the entire day and was pretty cold. Then Daycare called today and had Chris come and get him early because he was coughing a horrible cough. I don't know what's going on with him. He woke up Saturday with a cough that I've never heard come out of someone before. I actually almost called my mom at Midnight, because it scared me. It was like he couldn't breathe. But after I held him for a while, he slept the rest of the night. Then Tam kept him last night and she said he woke up coughing. But he seems perfectly normal during the days, so I sent him to daycare. Well, he looked liked he wasn't feeling well tonight, but acted just fine. His eyes are so glassy and red. He goes for a flu shot on Thursday, so I might have to turn it into an appointment if things don't get better. Needless to say, I didn't think taking him out on a rainy and cold night would be a good idea. Hopefully someday he'll be able to go Trick-or-Treating!!
10/30/05 - Nolan went to his first Halloween Party today. Clayton and Hannah Drury had it at their house. Nolan had a wonderful time. They painted rocks orange like pumpkins but Nolan pained much of everything else orange also, including himself and me. They had a silly string fight and Nolan played on the swing set. He had a great time and he didn't really want to leave. He got lots of candy...between that and "Trunk or Treat" I don't even think we need to buy any to give out tomorrow night!
10/29/05 - Nolan isn't to fond of Trick or Treating!! There was an event in the playground of my High School that was called "Trunk or Treat". Aunt Tammy, Mark and I took Nolan down there. He loved it at first because there was such a wide open space for him to run wild and steps everywhere that he could climb. But then there were so many little witches, and goblins, and skeletons all over the place and he just didn't know what to think. People had their trunks open and decorated with Halloween decorations and the kids went "Trunk or Treating" at 7. We took Nolan around and everytime we went up to one of the cars, he turned his head and tried to wiggle out of our arms so he could get away! If he only realized that all those people were giving him candy!!! I think that this will be his favorite holiday in the years to come, but for now, I think we'll stick to a few neighborhood houses and relatives!
Nolan has been waking up a few times every night for the past few days. I noticed yesterday that he's working on one of his molars. He also has a runny nose now from it. Poor little boy. Molars must hurt so bad!!
10/24/05 - Daddy and I took Nolan to the Pumpkin Patch today. It was so windy and cold, but Nolan loved it. He got to just run all over the place. He climbed on all the pumkins and picked up every leaf in sight. He even found an apple and kept throwing it like a ball. We sat him on a tractor and he just seemed to know what to do. He kept moving the steering wheel back and forth while making an engine noise.
We picked out three pumpkins and hopefully we'll have time to carve them. Next year we'll have to go earlier in the month of October, when it won't be so cold!!
10/23/05 - I just got back from New York, and I was afraid Nolan wasn't going to have anything to do with me again, like when we went to Jamaica. But he was excited to see me. I guess I wasn't gone too long and he was with Chris for part of it, so that made it ok.
New York was amazing. It's like a whole different world up there. I don't think I've ever walked so much in my life. I think Nolan would have loved it there. We should have taken him. But he had a good time with Grandma and Papa.
10/18/05 - Nolan is 14 months old today. He's becoming a little boy right before my eyes. We just got his haircut again yesterday and he looks so much older. Boy did he hate getting his hair cut though. He screamed the entire time! I felt so sorry for him. Sara (the girl that cuts our hair) says that happens a lot. I think I'll be waiting a while again before we get it cut!
I just saved his life once again a few minutes ago. Last night, he figured out how to climb onto the couch all by himself. Well, I was cleaning up after lunch and I peeked in to check on him and he was standing on the couch and when he saw me he flung his head back (it's a game we play on our bed and he loves it). I dove for him and caught him just before he fell head first off the couch. I'm afraid to let him out of my sight now. I wonder how long until his first broken bone!?!
Nolan also took his first shower last week. He loved it. We were in at Aunt Tammy's and thought we'd see what he would do and he just giggled. He loves to try and catch the water. I was having trouble with him in the bathtub ever since we got back from our trip. He all of a sudden cried every time I had to wash his hair and didn't really want to be in there at all. But the shower seemed to cure whatever he had going on. Now he once again gets mad when it's time to get out.
Sunday we went to Clayton Drury's first birthday party. Nolan had a lot of fun. The party was at the city park and so Nolan had so much room to run and explore. Chris and Nolan walked all over the place, playing with the rocks and swinging. Clayton was a cutie. It's seems like yesterday we were all still pregnant!
Sunday was also Cousin Luke's 13th birthday...a big teenager. Happy Birthday Luke!
10/17/05 - I finally started...almost a week late. Talk about not knowing what was going on. I finally called Dr. Pearson today to see what he thought and he said that it was probably a cyst on my ovaries (which he didn't seem to concerned about) or it could have been a tubal pregnancy in which I miscarried. Who knows, but at least I finally have an answer as to what was going on. Now Chris and I have actually talked about maybe waiting a few more months...we're going to try once again to get on the Biggest Loser. We made it to the semi-finals the second time and so we're going to give it one more shot. They obviously wouldn't allow me on the show if I was pregnant. I guess we'll be a little more careful, but if it happens then it happens. It would be really great to be skinny the next time I get pregnant. Time will tell...
10/16/05 - I'm dumbfounded...it's day 33 and I still haven't started. I can't remember being this late in forever. But the tests still keep saying negative. I just don't get it. I guess I'll give it a few more days and then I guess I'll call my OB. The only thing that I can think of is that maybe it's not a very strong pregnancy and my body is in the process of having a miscarriage. I've heard that happens a lot more than many women know. I just need to know.
I hate not talking to Chris about it, but I really want to surprise him again when I find out. Especially if I'm pregnant this time, I had the perfect way to tell him.
10/14/05 - Still haven't started, but still a negative on the pregnancy test...don't really know what is going on. I just want to know...one way or the other. I really do feel like I am, but I won't let myself get excited about it until I know for sure.
10/12/05 - Well, I was suppose to start today, but I haven't yet!!! I'll wait until the morning to take a test. I feel every symptom as if I'm going to start, so my hopes aren't up too much. Until tomorrow...
10/9/05 - I'm suppose to start on Wednesday. I have been feeling so crampy the past few days, which is odd. I normally don't get too crampy when I'm about to start and I remember that I was crampy before I was late with Nolan. I ended up breaking down and taking a test last night...it was negative. I still need to wait though because I had a negative test with Nolan only one day before I was suppose to start, so I'll have to wait 3 more days! Crazy how 3 days seems so long when I'm always complaining that I don't have enough hours in the day. Cross your fingers!
10/7/05 - Well, we got back on Monday the 3rd, but I haven't had a moment to update until today. Nolan came down with a fever that last for three days. We took him to the Doctor on Wednesday and Dr. Rudolph gave me a few things that it could be. One of which was Roseola. It's a virus where that have a fever for 3-4 days and then it's followed by a slight rash for a few more days. He is now in the rash stage. This should last for a few days. Dr. Rudolph said it's pretty common and not to worry, so I'm not. Nolan has been extremely clingy though. Until this evening he hasn't wanted to do anything other than be in my arms walking around or sitting watching TV. I'm getting a little stir crazy, but I guess I shouldn't complain. He didn't want to have ANYTHING to do with me on Monday when we got back from our trip! And I mean NOTHING! All he wanted was Chris. I tried to take him to go and take a bath (which he LOVES) and he screamed bloody murder! I was devestated. It was the day before his fever started and Mom said that he had to be exhausted, but I do think he was trying to teach me a lesson on never leaving him again!!
He's started acting more like himself this evening. He still isn't really eating all that good. All he's been wanting is Sherbert and Mac and Cheese. I've tried it all and that's all he'll eat. Aunt Tammy even brought him a Twinkie over tonight and he didn't even eat much of that. I do think we're on the upslope of this virus though, so that's great!
Chris and I did much better than I had thought we would while we were gone. Sure, we missed him from the second we got there...we kept saying, "I wonder what Nolan is doing?" and "I wonder how Nolan would react to the sand." But we didn't wish we were back home until about Friday night. I think five days would have been long enough, but all in all it was a good trip.
Nolan looked so big when we got back. He's learned to brush his hands together when they are dirty and clean his hands with a napkin. Too cute. His cousin Tanner also taught him to throw a ball really well. Before we left, he would bring his hand up as if he was going to throw it, but then just let it drop, but now things go flying!!! I heard him and Tanner had a BLAST!
Hopefully Nolan will be better soon and everything can get back to normal.
9/25/05 - Well, we're off to Jamaica in a few hours and Nolan is already in bed. I didn't want him to go to bed tonight. I already miss him and I haven't even left yet. That's the truth! How will I ever survive it without him for an ENTIRE WEEK?? We're taking our video camera, and I smuggled in a few home videos of Nolan...I'll have to get a Nolan fix probably a few times while I'm there. He's in good hands, but I just don't want to miss ANYTHING!!!
He's definitely learning things all the time. He's really into putting things into other things. We have to hide the trash can now because we'll find a few blocks in there or a stuffed animal. When Chris did his laundry tonight there were four toys in there.
He's been sleeping SOO SOO much lately. I don't know if it's a growth spurt or if it's just because he's our child, but man can this child sleep. He's been sleeping 12-13 hours a night and taking 2-3 hour naps. I hope he continues this for Grandma and Aunt Tammy while we're gone!
He's blowing kisses too now. It's so cute! He doesn't know to let go of them yet, but he kisses his hand.
Well, pray for me and my sanity while I'm gone. I'll update when we return...
9/22/05 - Well, we're 'officially' trying to have another baby! It's still a little early probably to conceive, but we're trying! I should be VERY fertile in Jamaica!! We leave in 4 days!!
9/15/05 - Chris and I talked and we may still get pregnant in Jamaica!!!! Hopefully God will be in our corner and if it's not suppose to happen yet, then he'll do what is suppose to happen. I'll be thinking pink the whole time in Jamaica 'just in case' it happens. Chris insists that he only produces boys, but I think he just likes teesing me. What he doesn't know is that I really don't care what we have as long as the baby is healthy. Sure, a girl would be nice, so I can experience it all...baseball games, cheerleading, trucks, ponytails...but another boy would be nice for Nolan and we already know what we're doing with a boy. Plus, all of Nolan's clothes can be worn again. I went through all his clothes the other night to organize them and I miss the little bitty onsies he wore those first few weeks. I'm so ready!!!
9/10/05 - Nolan tried to fly today...right off the side of our bed into the wall where there is a register. He now has lines on his hair line!! If we make it to his second birthday it will be a miracle!!! I wasn't in there, but Chris said that he broke his fall with his hands. Chris looked liked his was going to cry. I didn't know who to feel more sorry for, Chris or Nolan! Everyone is fine now...until next time!!
Nolan is spending the night at Aunt Tammy's tonight, so we must go pack his bag.
9/8/05 - I didn't get any good news. I am not able to change over to the other insurance plan and so it's looking like Chris and I will have to wait until January to start trying. We could start trying sooner if we want to take the chance and then still switch me in January, but Chris is working and we haven't had the time to discuss it. I guess we'll see. I've been so upset all day. I've been just so tired of my job lately it's unbelievable...but that's a whole other story.
I guess there is many worse things that could happen. I guess it all happens for a reason and it's just more one on one time with Nolan.
9/6/05 - Nolan has not been feeling too good the last couple days (maybe that was also the problem the other night!). He had a fever yesterday, but slept all night and he didn't get one today, but he was very sluggish and clingy. He just didn't seem to want to do anything. I feel so sorry for him when he's like this...as a mother, all you want to do is make it all go away. I've already been in his room twice since he's been asleep to feel his forhead, and also just to stare. I still get the urge to just pick him up and hold him like I always did when he was first born. I think now it's because I don't get as many cuddles as I used to and he's so cuddly when he's sleeping! Anyway, I must go check on him once more before I go to bed. Pray for a happy baby tomorrow.
9/5/05 - Well we may have to wait a while longer to start trying. I just found out on Friday that my insurance plan has changed and it SUCKS!! I find out tomorrow if I can change over to the better plan, but if I can't then we'll have to wait until January so I can go on Chris's insurance until after the baby would be born. I've been a little down about the possibility of waiting, but I don't think that it would be smart. Cross your fingers!
9/3/05 - Nolan was up 7 TIMES last night! Every hour on the hour he would scream. I went in every time and he was just beside himself. Sometimes he would fall asleep the second I picked him up, others it took a little cuddeling. I wasn't sure what was going on until I picked him up at Aunt Tammy's this evening (I had a friends wedding) and I noticed he has another tooth...number 7! So far, everytime he's gotten a tooth, the night before he has a bad night...nothing as bad as last night but he always wakes up when they're coming through. How are we ever going to survive the MOLARS???
8/30/05 - Aunt Tammy and I took Nolan to his one year check-up today. He weighed 28 pounds 6 ounces and was almost 30 inches. He's getting SOOO big!! He had to get a finger prick to test for anemia...he didn't like it too much...mostly because I had to hold his finger to stop the bleeding for a minute...he wanted down to play! Then we got two shots, but this time they were in the arms. He did pretty good - only cried a little bit. He was pretty out of it the rest of the night. But he didn't get a fever like most of the other times. Now we don't go back until December.
8/20/05 - We'll I think I'm a little more ready for another baby than I thought I was.I was a day late this month.Since I had Nolan, I've never been so much as an hour late...when I wake up on day 28...there she is.But day 28 was yesterday and I didn't start ALL DAY!!I started this morning and there was a slight feeling of disappointment.But then again, I'm glad I won't be pregnant for our trip.Next cycle we'll be actually "trying"!!
8/19/05 - We have another tooth. Actually, I think it came in Wednesday. Nolan was up four times Tuesday night and it seems that everytime that happens lately, he gets another tooth. We have six now!!
Also on Wednesday morning we had a Parents As Teachers meeting. He got his one year evaluation done. Marlene said that he's doing excellent but we have to keep working on his talking. All he really says now is Dadadada. She didn't seem worried though. She said his fine motor skills are excellent and sometimes babies concentrate more on a certain things and excel in that before they move on to other things. I'll make sure I bring it up to the doctor on his one year check-up on the 30th. I dread holding Nolan down for his shots now!!!
8/14/05 - We had Nolan's birthday party today. It was an exciting, fun, but stressful day! We had to have the party outside because we just don't have enough room in the house to let everyone sit down and relax. The problem with that is the weather. It started out pretty good...not even too hot, but then it got more muggy as the day went on. Aunt Tammy had planned a Jungle Theme and she had the cutest decorations! I made Nolan's cake ALL DAY on Saturday...it looked just like his giraffe that he carries around all the time. I loved it, but it was a pain! Nolan was so good all day...I didn't even know he was here. He got so many toys, Chris and I don't know where to put all of them. He didn't help much with opening the gifts, but he played with all of them once everyone left.
With the exception of his Birthday sign not staying hung, a wasp nest that stung two people, having to move everyone inside because a thunderstorm came through, and a lot of our decorations blowing all over the neighborhood...it was an awesome party! I thank my sister and my mom for helping me with everything and to my dad for BBQing. I know Nolan won't remember it, but he'll have the pictures to look at and our stories.
After everyone left and Chris went to go get the dog, Nolan and I were just playing with all his toys. It hit me...my baby is one year old. Tears came to my eyes, but then he did something funny and I laughed. He's becoming such a big boy and cracking me up all the time!
But seriously...where did Nolan's first year of life go...I feel like I wished it away, always wanted him to accomplish the next step. I promise with this next baby, I WILL NOT do this. I will cherish every cuddle I get because in one year there aren't as many.
8/10/05 - Mom and I took Nolan to get his 1 Year Portraits done today...they are so awesome. I recommend FoJo Studios to everyone. Nolan LOVED the guy and just followed him around. Plus he so resonably priced...which is the best part of it!
8/9/05 - NOLAN'S FIRST HAIRCUT! He did so good. He sat on the booster thing most of the time. Towards the end he got a little restless and Sara had to chase hime around with the scissors. He was so cute though...looks like such a little boy now. I was a little sad!
After his haircut, Nolan and I went to Festus to meet Trish Granzow for lunch. Nolan had fun playing with his balloon the whole time.
Then it was off to pick up Cousin Tanner in St. Louis. Nolan was sleeping when we first picked him up, but once he woke up he was so excited to see Tanner and just kept giggling. We did some shopping and then went down to Grandma and Papa's house for dinner. Yum!!
8/4/05 - I know it's just a stage...I have to keep telling myself this. When Nolan realizes that I'm not in the same room as him, he has to come and find me and cry until I pick him up. And I mean cry, not whine, he cries. If I don't pick him up right away, it turns into, what I consider, his first tantrums. He flings his head back and makes himself cry HARD!! It was like this ALL day today. He's fine if we go outside or when we go somewhere else (for the most part). I guess he's sick of this house. For those of you that have experienced this stage...please let me know about how long this last...I need to have sight of the light at the end of this tunnel!!!
**Here is where I started a seperate website for our second baby, but it was quite difficult to keep two websites updated as often as I wanted, so I'm putting all the stories from that website into Nolan's and I will have one for both of them together...
8/4/05 - Well Chris and I haven't even started trying to conceive another baby yet, but I felt like starting up this website already anyway to jot down some thoughts and feelings as we go through the process of "trying" again. We didn't have any trouble with Nolan, but I also don't have anything written down about my feelings before we found out we were pregnant, so I thought this way, I would.
Chris and I are taking a vacation to Jamaica at the end of September. We'll actually be down there over our 2nd wedding anniversary...pretty neat. We decided that, we wouldn't 'care' what happened down there...in other words...we're not taking any precations on 'not' getting pregnant. Well, when I figured it out, that's definitely the fertile time of the month. I guess we'll see...
I just found out today that one of my best friends is pregnant again! Her and I were pregnant together for a short time, and we probably will be again...how cool is that! We're hoping for BLUE with her...she already has two girls!! I got so excited when she told me...I can't wait to share some news like that soon. I have a few ideas on how I can share this news...I got pretty creative with sharing the news about Nolan, so I'll have to come up with something this time too!
I have mixed emotions about getting pregnant again. I so CAN'T WAIT to be pregnant again...I absolutly loved it with Nolan. But since this will be our last child, I don't want it to fly by or be over with. For those of you that haven't had a baby yet, I'm sure you're saying..."My Gosh...she isn't even pregnant yet and she's sad that it will be over soon!" But let me tell you, it is over before you know it! Plus, I get emotional when I think about taking time away from my precious son. He's everything to me and the thought of him having to share me is so sad to me. I know this is a normal feeling and one that I thought I'd never feel, but tears just swelled in my eyes as I looked at Nolan's picture on my desk and thought about another baby. I'll get over it, and Nolan will be an awesome big brother!
Well, that's it for now...it's acutally fertile time right now, but I so don't want to be pregnant for our trip, so back off honey!!
7/27/05 - We have another tooth...5 total. I think it actally broke through on Monday the 25th, but now you can really see it. It on the top and his other one on the top is right there.
Nolan also had another fall last night. He was a Grandma and Papa's house and him and Papa were playing with his ball. Well, Nolan really tries to get places way too fast now...trying to run and all. But he's just not that good yet. He fell and hit his chin on the bottom rung of a bar stool. Well, he bit his lip pretty bad. Good thing I wasn't there because mom said that it bled forever. I think it's bothering him pretty much today because he's pretty fussy. Grandma felt so bad, but it's going to happen so many more times!
7/25/05 - Daddy found out today that he got his promotion!! He's a big Lieutenant now. Nolan and I are so proud of him. Nolan colored his first picture today for Daddy that translated to a congratulations card. Aunt Tammy has pictures that'll I'll post once she gets me copies of them. She said that he had marker ALL OVER HIM!!
7/22/05 - Grandma and I took Nolan to the doctor's today. He's having a slight pooping problem. I won't elaborate much so as not to gross anyone out. But Dr. Rudolph gave me the go ahead to start mixing Nolan's formula with whole milk...whoo hoo!! Hopefully this will help with the problem!
Nolan weighed 26 lbs 10 oz. Wow! While Grandma and I were waiting in the room for the doctor, we started snapping our fingers, which intrigued Nolan...he couldn't stop watching our fingers. Then all of a sudden he tried snapping his. He couldn't stop...every time we would snap, he would do it too. Mom and I couldn't stop laughing!! Dr. Rudolph said that was pretty advanced! We have a genius!!
7/18/05 - Eleven months old!! I freaked out a little today at lunch when I realized Nolan is going to be one in just a month. I seriously can't believe it's been that long, but then again sometimes when I think about the past year, I feel exhausted! It's amazing how far they come in just a short year.
Nolan is walking full force now. He hardly ever crawls unless he falls and needs to get over to something to get himself up again. I've even seen him get up without the help of anything, but that's a lot harder for him to do. He'll be running by his birthday! Sometimes I think he thinks he's an expert and tries to run now.
We had a pretty bad fall this morning. He slipped on one of his toys and hit his nose on the hardwood floor. He instantly got a bruise below his nose, and I think may get one on the top too. He was a trooper though and didn't even cry very long. I think it hurts me more than him. I keep looking at it and feeling sorry for him, but it apparently doesn't bother him. I just need to get used to the fact that he's going to get a lot more bumps and bruises along the way!
7/7/05 - Nolan and I went swimming with Robyn and the girls to Lake Forest today. Nolan loved it. They have a kiddy pool that if from 1-2 feet. I put him in his intertube and let him go. He could stand or relax and swim or kick as fast as his little legs would kick to get somewhere. We all had a wonderful time.
Grandpa came and put up some of the new doors in the house. Now Nolan can roam almost anywhere. He was amazed at that. He's really practicing his walking too and getting so good. He just might be running at his first birthday party!!
7/4/05 - Nolan's first Independance Day! We had a fun day at Grandma and Papa's. He got to show off his new talent. Everyone was so excited to see Nolan walk. And he was so proud of himself. Nolan played in his pool on and off all day until it rained and cooled down by about 20 degrees. He learned to climb in and out of the pool all by himself.
He didn't get to see any fireworks. Since it hasn't rained in so long, they cancelled the fireworks at mom and dad's lake. We were going to take him up to the park where Daddy and Mommy got engaged, but then it started pouring down rain. Plus with Nolan going to bed by 8pm, I don't think he would have lasted through them anyway. We'll definitely go see them next year!
7/3/05 - I guess I can say that our baby is officially walking! He just took off this evening. We were both hanging out in the living room and he was holding on to the couch, and then all of a sudden let go and walked into the dining room. I jumped up and started counting steps and he fell at about
3O!!!!!! I then got so excited and he got so happy too. I stood him back up and he took off again! He then did it two more times tonight! I tried to get it on video, but everytime I'd turn on the video, he'd fall or sit to play. He obviously still prefers crawling and had to remind himself that he can walk. Once he started to get down to crawl over to a toy and then stopped and walked over there! I guess we're in for it now!! I'm so proud though!!!! Daddy is going to be so excited to see Nolan show off in the morning and I'm sure Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Tammy can't wait to see him tomorrow!!!
Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Goddaughter Brittany - she's 14!!! We love you and we'll call you soon to get together!
7/2/05 - I figured out how to get Nolan to walk! I just have to give him something to hold in each hand and he thinks that he's holding on to something, so he has the cofidence to take some steps. He took about 7-10 steps twice today! He was so excited (probably because I was so excited!)! We'll keep practicing that for sure!
A friend from the softball team had a BBQ today and so Nolan and I went to hang out. (Chris was working). All the babies were there...we pretty well doubled the population of our softball team last year. EVERY married girl on our team had a baby last year...too funny! Nolan had a good time - he kept taking toys away from the other kids, but they did the same to him...it was so cute to watch them all interact with each other. Nolan did get his first bloody lip though. He was jumping in the Pack n Play and hit his chin on the side. I don't know if he bit his lip or his tongue. He didn't cry too long, and I was actually pretty calm. We just washed it out and everything was fine and dandy.
6/28/05 - One of my best friends gave birth to a beautiful baby boy today. Thomas Schroeder came into the world weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces! Congrats Mel and Tyler! I can't wait to for Thomas and Nolan to meet and someday play together!
6/22/05 - We went over to Cousins Luke, Danielle and Olivia's pool today to swim. Nolan wasn't so sure of it at first. I was scared at first that the dive into the pool incident scared him out of liking the water, but once I made it in the water and we both got used to the water (it was a little chilly), he relaxed and had fun. I bought him an awesome intertube that allows him to still be able to play in the water. I was afraid if I got any of those big baby ones, that he'd just try to climb out of it. This one he actually relaxed in and splashed and played with toys.
Then as you can see by the pictures, he got to enjoy his first Dilly Bar from Dairy Queen. My, was he a MESS!! He loved it though!!! I wish I knew how to make a slide show on my homepage, because it's funny to see all these pictures in consession. They ALL would be the "Pic of the Week!"
6/20/05 - Nolan turned 10 months on Saturday!! His first birthday is getting too close! His Aunt Tammy and I are starting to plan his party and it's exciting, but sad too. I'm not sure I'm ready for him to be one yet!
Nolan is trying so HARD to walk. I really think that he has the balance to just take off, but is too scared. As soon as I let his fingers go, he sits right down. I guess I shouldn't be rushing that either!
We went down to Grandma and Papa's yesterday for Father's Day. Daddy had to work, so we just left his cards and gift (a picture of Nolan and him in a frame that read "Daddy, My hero") sitting by the coffee maker. He loved it. We were sad to not get to spend our first Father's Day with Daddy, but we understand he has to work. Nolan got to spend it with Papa though. Papa took him on two Four-wheeler rides. Man, did he LOVE it. I thought he'd be scared of the loud sound, but he just looked at it and then when they began to move, he started to kick his legs with excitement!!
Nolan gave Mommy a little scare on Friday! We went into Aunt Tammy's for dinner and she had bought him a pool. Well, he went right to it and started splashing at the side. I was standing right there with my hand on him when I look away to help Aunt Tammy figure out the gas grill for two seconds and I hear a SPLASH!! I looked down and Nolan had DOVE IN THE WATER!! I grabbed his ankles and swooped him up. He was a little surprised but never cried. And low and behold...he got right in that water. CRAZY!! That makes two times I saved his life now!! (He choked a month ago on one of those Biter Bisquets - and I was sitting right there watching him eat it...those things are evil!!!) What am I in for????
He's been eating more and more table food. So now, if he'd just figure out the sippy cup, we could start substituting those for bottles.
6/16/05 - I forgot...Nolan has his top two teeth. They came in right before we left on our trip. Whoo hoo!!! Just a few more and we'll be eating steak and potatoes!!
6/15/05 - Nolan has been sleeping like a log lately. The first night home he slept almost 12 hours! Now he's almost going on a 3 hour nap! I guess he just LOVES his own bed!
6/12/05 - Well we survived our trip to New Mexico. Nolan was wonderful on the plane rides. As far as sleeping...that's another story. Actually it wasn't that bad. The first night was a nightmare, but then it got better.
We left at 3am Thursday morning and he slept until we got in the shuttle bus to go to the airport. He loved it...he was moving and wasn't in a car seat. He couldn't stop looking around! For getting up so early he was in an amazing mood. He was just so interested in everything going on around him. He had to explore everything. I think that's why he was so good on the plane too. He was just so interested in everything that was going on. Don't get me wrong...he got a little restless here and there, but all you have to do is give him a puff (little cherrio like things) and everything was great again. He also played with a straw the whole time...such little things can make him so happy.
Once we got to New Mexico we ate lunch...Nolan had his first taste of Mexican...chicken quesadilla's and quacamole! Of course he loved it. We did a little shopping and then went to the hotel. Aunt Tammy took him straight down to the pool...he would have dove in if she would have let him go! Once Mom and Dad got to the hotel with our swim suits, we all got in with him. He went wild...loving every minute of it.
He got to meet Uncle Tim and took to him right away. Uncle Tim's grandbaby, Chasidy, was with him and they just loved each other.
That first night was not a good night. I think the mistake was that I tried to let Nolan sleep with me. He hasn't slept with me since he was about 3 weeks old and so I think that once he knew I was there, he wanted me to hold him....I had to hold him ALL night long. I slept about a total of 2 hours during the night and about 2 hours from 5-7 when my sister's got up and took him. That wouldn't have been too bad, but I forgot to mention that I didn't sleep a wink the night before. After getting everything ready for the trip and setteling down for bed, Nolan decided to wake up every half hour until about 1am. By that point, I was scared to fall asleep since I had to get up by 2. So, I was at my wits end after the first night in New Mexico. I think I would have come home if Tim's retirement ceremony had already taken place!
Tim's ceremony was really awesome. I didn't really get how important he was until that day. Nolan did really good too during it...cried only once. I tell you those puffs work miracles!! After all was said and done and a nice long nap for Nolan, we took him to the Aquarium. It was the cutest thing to watch him. He LOVED it! when we stood him up next to the big tanks, he would bounce up and down and bang on the tank. When a big fish would swim by, he would stop and stare.
We stayed at the hotel that night and Tim and his family came over and swam and we ordered pizza. Nolan was exhausted at this point but was a trooper. Aunt Lori decided to sleep with him this night to see if that would help. He did better, but still woke a few times throughout the night.
On Saturday we went to Uncle Tim's for a party for his retirement and for cousin Ryan's graduation. Nolan had a good time and tried and tried to be the center of attention. He would yell at people until they talked to him and then would play peek-a-boo. What a sweetie!
Nolan took a nap when we got back to the hotel and then woke up hungry so we took him to Applebee's and he proceed to eat the most I've ever seen him eat...so many mashed potatoes and some of Aunt Tammy's mushrooms and puffs and chicken and ice cream. But after that he was wound up and ready to go. EVERYTHING Aunt Tammy did was cracking him up! Then he was playing with the intertube Uncle Tim bought him and got stuck in the middle. He couldn't figure out how to get out of it...and that was so funny to him too. After FINALLY calming down, Aunt Tammy put him to sleep and she slept with him the last night and he only woke up ONCE!! Whoo hoo!
The plane ride home was fine too. He slept a lot so that was good. I wonder if sleeping in his bed tonight will do wonders or throw him for a loop again. I guess we'll see!
6/7/05 - My baby gives kisses!!! He gave me one last night for the first time, but I thought it might have been just a lucky time and that he wouldn't keep doing it. But when I dropped him off at daycare this morning, one of the little girls got down to play with him and he kept leaning in to give her kisses!! It was so cute. And then when I went to leave, I asked him for a kiss, he gave me one. It's a nice wet open mouth kiss...mmmmm! Ohhh...I just want to squeeze him!
Pray for us on Thursday...our first plane ride!!! I'm so stressed beyond belief! I don't care how fidgity he is as long as he doesn't scream or cry!!! We're going to New Mexico for my brothers retirement for the military. It's the first time he's going to meet Uncle Tim and we're so excited about that!
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