Four Teeth

As Nolan continues to get more interactive I think I can speak for both Tricia and I in that it's become more and more fun to get home from work and spend the weekend time with him. Nolan now pulls himself up on anything with a enough grip for his little (but chunky) hands around. He pulled himself up next to the bed by pulling on the quilt-for a 10-month old he's got some pipes! We continue to take Nolan to swimming lessons on Saturdays and last weekend he surprised us with a splashing extravaganza that left anyone in a three foot radius of his flailing arms soaking wet. The two instructors couldn't get over his change in one week-I think it may have had something to do with the fact he slept in until 7:45 and he wasn't ready to fall asleep this time!

Another advancement is Nolan's ability to copy and repeat what we're saying, and when we say it. The other night while we were video taping his first experience eating baked beans (which he seems to enjoy), Tricia told him to say "good-bye" to the camera-so he stopped eating, looked up at the camera, and said "Bye Bye Daty" like it was nothing. Then, with Tricia and I in shock he continued eating the rest of his supper like it was nothing-needless to say we're going to record him a little more, I think! This last week at daycare we also found out that Nolan, while crawling around in Julie's kitchen, stopped when he saw the stove and said "Hot." Is this kid a genius or what?

Finally, our little guy was giggling before his bath last night (after climbing the stairs from the basement-with a watchful set of parents) which gave us a chance to take a peek at the top of his mouth where low and behold the two teeth that had been sticking out and receding back into his gums look like they're going to finally stay. So, everyone be aware - sticking your finger in his mouth from here on out might not be the best idea! Again, it's hard to imagine that 10 short months ago we were looking at the little guy with skinny little arms and frog legs, and after a doctor visit the other day our little guy is up to 22.2 pounds! His cheeks are still rosy and his hair (which has yet to be trimmed) continues to get more and more curl! The new sound of the week is the letter "f"...I just hope it's awhile before he says all the words that start with it! Other than that, we're looking forward to more excitement as Nolan continues to stretch his legs and get some of the inevitable bumps and bruises along the way!

Climbing a mountain

Last weekend we kept Nolan hopping with different events, and he kept up with us pretty well. On Friday night we met up with Erica and Dave at Ruby Tuesday’s in Chaska. It was Nolan’s first time sitting in a high chair at a restaurant. He looked like such a grown up! He loved looking around at all the people, but mostly enjoyed the Cheerios he got to eat at the table! We ordered him a kids meal of chicken and mashed potatoes, but he wasn’t all that interested in eating it. Oh well – I knew he wouldn’t like the ribs I ordered! After we got done eating we stopped at Kohl’s to get him some new pj’s. He’s getting so long that he’s outgrown all the other ones we had for him. On Saturday at 9 AM we took him to his first parent/child swim class. As usual he didn’t laugh and he didn’t cry. In fact, while we were bobbing in the pool with him his eyes kept getting heavier and heavier – it was his nap time! He toughed it out, though. The class is for 8 weeks, and our goal this week is to dunk him under the water. I was too nervous last week! He took a really long nap when we got home, so it gave Adam and I time to get ready for the day. We left the house around 1:15 and drove to Foley to visit my grandma. There was also a celebration/dinner/dance in memory of my cousin Jake, who was killed last year in a car accident. It was really nice to see all the relatives since we didn’t get to see them at Christmas. Plus, it was the first time most of them got to meet Nolan. We heard a lot about his chubby cheeks and rosebud lips! Nolan lasted until about 8 at the dance, and then got really antsy because he wanted to sleep. No sooner than getting him strapped in his car seat he fell asleep! Sunday morning started out fantastic – Nolan slept until 7:45! We made it to the 8:30 service at church, and were there until 10 counting collection. I went back on my own for the 2nd service collection counting, as Nolan was napping. I got home at noon, and we packed up again and headed over to Brant and Stacy’s to watch the Vikings win their game against the Cowboy’s. When we left at 3:15 or so Nolan was ready for a nap. Instead of driving home right away we decided to just keep on driving so Nolan could sleep. We got home at 4:45, and Nolan was in bed by 6:45. Whew! I had to take some time on Sunday evening to clean out his closet of clothes that don’t fit him anymore, and add in his 12 month clothes. He doesn’t quite fit in the 12 month stuff yet, but he doesn’t really fit in his 9 month stuff, either.

On Tuesday when I picked up Nolan from daycare he was practicing his walking skills with Julie. She has a big lego truck on wheels that he likes to play with, so he was standing behind it and she was slowly moving it forward – and he was slowly walking! Earlier this week I also had Nolan standing, and when I let go of him he stood there by himself for a few seconds. It wasn’t long, but it’s a start! My prediction is he’ll be walking before his birthday. I guess we’ll see in a few months if I’m right or not!

Last night Nolan decided enough was enough, and climbed up all the steps - from the basement to the main level. It was pretty amazing watching him figure it out. It was a little difficult for him to make the curve in our stairs, because he couldn't reach the step in front of him to pull himself up. But, he continued on, and with a little help made it all the way to the top! You could tell how proud he was of himself. He is so busy, pulling himself up and standing on everything. His new favorite thing to do is to pull himself up and stand, holding on to the handles of the lower kitchen cabinets. Then he opens and closes them really fast, making a really loud noise - over, and over, and over, and over. While it's fun to watch him learn new things, I could do without all the noise:)

Today Nolan turned 10 months old. Seriously, where does the time go? I'm beginning to notice that going forward it isn't going to be as easy to take pictures of him. Every time I pull out the camera to take a few pics he stops what he's doing and crawls over to me to see what I'm doing! Such curiosity . . .

Heart strings

Today was the first day since Nolan was born that I felt a twinge of guilt for being away from him for the day. It all started at 5:40 this morning – he started talking in his crib. Since he wasn’t crying I let him talk, and after about 15 minutes it got quiet again – so I thought he had fallen back asleep. Around 6:20 he started making noise again so I went to check on him. He was sitting in his crib, just chillin. I picked him up and snuggled him up, and then handed him over to Adam so I could get to work. While Adam was holding him I said “bye bye Nolan”. He looked at me and said something that sounded exactly like “buh bye mama” – and he repeated it a couple of times – all the while waving bye bye at me! Then he leaned over from Adam to give me a hug. I know, sappy as this sounds it made me want to cuddle him up and stay home with him!

His first day back at daycare went well. Julie couldn’t believe how much he changed since she last saw him! Apparently he’s testing out another new skills – climbing on the dishwasher! Nolan was in the kitchen with Julie, and she had the dishwasher drawer down. He likes to pull himself up in to a standing position on it, which isn’t a big deal. She turned her back for a second to take something out of the microwave, and when she turned back around he was sitting on the dishwasher, laughing his fake laugh at her! We seriously have to keep an eye on him at all times. I guess he’s going to be a little monkey – just like George!

The next dancing sensation

Nolan loves to "dance" - by shaking his head back and forth!

Curses!

I knew that as soon as I wrote on the last blog that I was hoping we wouldn't have to take Nolan to the dr. until his 1 year appointment I was cursing myself! On Wednesday his cough had progressed far enough that we needed to take him in. His lungs, ears and throat checked out fine, but the dr. thought he might be fighting a sinus infection - so she prescribed a 10 day treatment with amoxicillin. Lucky for us Nolan happens to like the bubble gum taste of his medicine, so he doesn't fight taking it all! He still has a cough, but the gunk in his nose looks a lot better.

Nolan was a model kid today. He slept in until 7:30 and took 2-1 hour and 45 minute naps! This never happens to us, so we were pumped. His normal wake up time is usually between 4:45 and 5:45. Adam had a great idea this week that I think is really helping Nolan learn to sleep in later - removal of the night light from his bedroom. We think Nolan was waking up and could see well enough to think it was time to get up. Hopefully not any more! Another thing that's helping is the mirror we hung on the side of this crib. When he wakes up from his naps he plays with it for about 10 or 15 minutes. Fabulous!

Kibbles and bits

I keep forgetting to update Nolan's stats! He had his 9 month check-up 2 weeks ago. He's doing great. He weighs 20 lbs, 5oz. - 50th percentile (no wonder my arms hurt when I hold him too long!), is 28 1/2 inches long (55th percentile), and has a head circumference of 18 inches (70th percentile). He's a growing boy! Hopefully we won't have to take him back to the dr. before his 1 year appointment in March.

Nolan has really developed a lot of new skills over the last week. He loves to “dance”, and by dancing I mean shaking his head back and forth when he hears music. He also figured out how to pull himself up on his feet in to a sort of bent over standing pose, and how to crawl up the 2 stairs that separate our basement from the landing. He is definitely what we call a mover! The other night Adam was holding him in a standing position. Nolan decided to take it upon himself to take a few steps. You know what that means – we don’t have a lot of time left before he’s walking! A new game he likes to play is to push his smaller toys under the couch, and then lay down on his belly and try to find them. He likes to play catch. He likes to copy different noises we make, too. I’m developing a little bit of a cough, and whenever I cough he feels the need to cough as well. He enjoys spending time in the kitchen with us, just crawling around and trying to open the cupboards. He really likes the pots and pans! We’ve moved some of his bigger toys downstairs. So far he likes to rotate between them. At this point whatever keeps him occupied, I guess!

Adam and I had a fun time on New Year’s, celebrating with our friends at Justin and Lori’s house. We were planning to stay overnight, but Nolan had other plans for us. He woke up a few times because he heard the other kids playing – and we think he was jealous that he couldn’t play with them! He woke up around 12:45 and wouldn’t go back to sleep, so we packed up all the stuff we brought over and drove home. On Friday I stayed home with Nolan so I could start to take down all the Christmas decorations, and Adam went out to lunch with some friends and ran errands. On Saturday we celebrated Christmas at Adam’s grandma’s house in Buffalo Lake. Nolan not only ate all the food I brought for him to eat, but he also enjoyed quite a few mashed potatoes and Sweedish meatballs! We’re starting to transition him to regular food. The only downside of it is that he doesn’t like to touch stuff that’s mushy. For example, he won’t eat soft, cut up peaches and pears, but he will eat cut up apples and pears that are hard. So weird. He’s also tried macaroni and cheese and beef stroganoff and seems to like both of them. Tonight I made tator tot hotdish, and he loved it! I need to make some more food for him this weekend, but not nearly as much as I have as in the past. It's time to him to transition to more regular food.

How could I almost forget about what I saw in the backyard today, under the birdfeeder? Usually its deer, but not today. Today I saw a pheasant (hen, to be exact) eating some of the birdseed out of the snow, along with the squirrels. So weird! Last winter Adam swore he heard a pheasant in our backyard, but I never saw it. It really does exist!