Snake charmer

Adam took Nolan to the farm with him this past weekend so I could go out with some friends and attend our friend Nicky's bridal shower/bachelorette party. I was out pretty late Friday night - 2 AM! I woke up Saturday morning not feeling all that motivated, but new I needed to get moving so I could finish my "chores" before the party. My first order of business was to go grocery shopping and make a Target run. I make the decision to make baby food for Nolan, so 2 baby cook books, 4 ice cube trays, a steamer and a food processer later I was on my way back home. I did manage to forget the weed killer I bought at Target in the lower part of the cart, so I had to go back to get that. I plowed, or rather mowed, our lawn when I got home. I love the fact our grass is thick and green, but seriously - we have to mow every 5 days to keep up with it! I thought it would be a good idea to weed whip after that, and somehow managed to do something to it that made the whipping string disappear. During that process I noticed our nice, friendly garden snake hanging out in front of the garage. I hate that thing! The weed whip scared it because instead of slithering in to the grass like it usually does it moved it's way in to our garage. Ugh! I was not happy. Good thing the weed whip was still running so the neighbor's wouldn't hear me saying some unmentionable things! I have no idea where it went, so the rest of the day I was a little creeped out by the fact it was in our garage somewhere. I tried trimming a shrub in our front yard after that but couldn't get that stupid thing running, either. I finally got so frustrated that I showered and got ready for the party. I got home pretty late again last night, but did remember to leave the garage door open about 2 inches in hopes the snake would make it's way out of our garage!

This morning I got up fairly early and began the process of making baby food. As I anticipated it took quite a bit of time and required lots of dish washing, but I feel good I did it. My only stumbling block was that I didn't realize the blade guards were on the blade for the food processor when I started to puree the peas, so when I finished I was pretty puzzled by all the white plastic shards in the peas! I started to pick the shards out, but then realized that 1) I hate the look, smell and texture of pureed peas and 2) Nolan would probably cut his mouth, so I had to throw them away. 4 1/2 hours later I managed to get through the rest of it, so now once he starts eating fruits and veggies we'll be ready to go with green beans, a few peas, sweet potatoes, zuccini, asparagus, peaches, apples, plums, blueberries and mangos!

I did manage to get outside today and apply the weed killer. [SIDE NOTE: As soon as I opened the garage I noticed the head of our friendly garden snake sticking out of a small hole in the concrete between our driveway and garage. Honestly, I think it's stalking me.] We haven't done a great job of keeping up with our weeds this year, so it took me a while. The highlight of the process was the fact I killed thousands of baby boxelder bugs that have somehow decided to make their home (or maybe it's a nest?) on the curb in front of our entire front yard. I hate boxelder bugs so good, bad or otherwise I took a lot of satisfaction in killing them with Round Up! I also sprayed the crack between our driveway and garage door in hopes the spray would make it's way down the little hole the snake lives in and kill it. That didn't work, but I tell you what did take care of it - Adam and Mike Farrington:)

We were going to try and wait until after Labor Day to start feeding Nolan rice cereal, but apparantly he was a litte fussy after this bottles this weekend and appeared to be hungry. So, with little fanfare, we put Nolan in the bumbo, put a bib on him, and attempted to feed him rice cereal. The idea was to mix 1 tbsp of cereal with formula, but I somehow managed to put too much formula in it so I had to mix in more cereal. I finally got the cereal to the right consistency and started feeding Nolan. I think Adam and I both thought he would be super excited to eat, so we were a little disappointed when he cried through most of it. He didn't eat much because we felt so bad for him! He calmed down once we fed him his bottle. I'm sure it was because it was familiar to him. Now that we've started we'll continue on and hope it gets better. I hear most kids end up liking it, so I'm sure Nolan will too - once he gets used to it!

5 months and counting

Nolan has officially passed the 5 month mark. Wow! He is doing really well. He’s starting to develop some new skills, like sitting, rolling from back to tummy, and standing while supported by other things, like his crib. He’s continuing to talk quite a bit, and everyone once in a while I know I hear the word “mama” come out of his mouth! He’s still feeding with formula only, but we’re going to start adding in solid foods after Labor Day. He’s developing quite a personality, and really loves to just lay on the ground and talk and throw around his toys. I think his favorite things at this point are his exersaucer, his rings, and standing while holding our fingers. He really likes “Adam’s dance party”, which involves Adam holding Nolan and shaking his butt! We’ll try and post a video sometime. We’re guessing he’s gained another pound and gotten a little taller, too, but we’ll find out for sure at his 6 month appointment on October 6th. The attached video showcases one of Nolan’s new skills that he really worked on tonight – rolling from his back to tummy. It’s funny to watch him learn something new, because once he starts getting the hang of it he practices it for quite a while!

Last weekend we made the trip to Moose Lake to visit Chris, Sasha and Jackson. We had so much fun! Nolan and Jackson are too little to play together, but they did stare at each other a little, Nolan more than Jackson. I love seeing Jackson because he is a great indicator of what we have to look forward to with Nolan’s development! We took the boys for a pretty long walk Saturday morning and they both fell asleep. Sasha and I used the walk as exercise, and Chris and Adam used the time to look for wildlife and relax! Adam and Chris went fishing Saturday afternoon when the kids were down for their naps, so Sasha and I stayed behind and took naps as well. I have to say it was one of the highlights of my weekend! Saturday evening we enjoyed some wine, beer and s’mores around the campfire. Adam did a good job of researching the road construction and we were able to avoid the backup on I-35 by driving on Hwy. 65. Nolan had an off day on Sunday so it made for a long drive home. He seemed to do a little better after he took a big poop, but then was ready to get out of the car before we even made it to 394, which made the last 20-25 minutes really long. He didn’t nap well on Sunday either, so he was in bed at 6:30!

While I was hanging out with Sasha she introduced me to the idea of pureeing baby food. Chris and Sasha have a huge garden and have decided to use left over veggies and store bought fruit to puree Jackson’s food. It was fascinating to me to learn about the process. The thought would never have entered my mind on its own! I’m not sure if Adam and I will do it once Nolan starts eating. My initial thought is that it would be worth a try. It doesn’t appear to be all that time consuming, and it is healthier. On the other hand, some things are just worth the convenience, and baby food might end up being one of those things. We have a few more weeks to make our decision. Tomorrow morning I’m driving to Rochester for the rest of the week to attend an HR conference. I need to start thinking about recertification for my SPHR already! I’m staying with my aunt and uncle to save Park Nicollet a few bucks – thanks Jo Jo and Loren! I’m looking forward to it, but am wondering how I’ll do away from Nolan until Friday. So far I’ve spent 3 separate nights away from him and have been fine. People have told me that the older he gets the harder it will be to be away from him, so I guess we’ll see. I’ll see him for just a little bit on Friday, because Adam is taking Nolan to the farm this weekend. He and our friend Mike are helping Greg do some work on one of the barns. I have plans to go to the state fair on Friday night and eat many, many things on a stick, and on Saturday I have a bridal shower and bachelorette party for my friend Nicole. My only other plan is to sleep in and take naps!

How can I be so far behind?

I’ve been meaning to update our blog with the below information for 2 weeks . . . so some of this seems outdated already! I actually wrote this last Monday and just haven’t had time to update – so here it is!

Nolan and I survived Adam being gone for 5 days on his baseball trip with ease! I got in to the swing of things with our morning routine, and other than one day wasn’t thrown off from it. Nolan went to bed at his usual time between 6:30 and 7, so I had a little time for myself to clean the house and get a few other things completed. Nolan was so good I even took him with me to happy hour on Thursday at Fletcher’s! My parents picked Nolan up from daycare on Friday for me, because I had the wedding rehearsal for Melissa and Rob’s wedding at 5 in Monticello. Nolan was good for my parents, but he was a little confused and concerned that I wasn’t there. He never really cried, but he kept sticking out his bottom lip and the big crocodile tears kept forming! They fed him early and got him down for bed by 7, and then he was fine. It stormed pretty bad on Friday night, but luckily Nolan didn’t wake up at all. I got up with him Saturday morning around 6:30 and got him ready for the day, and left the house around 8:15. My hair appointment was at 9 in Edina, and after that Jackie and I got our make-up down at Mac. What a relaxing morning! We made it to the church right on time, but pictures were delayed because the flowers were delivered late. The florist was stuck I-94 and it took him 2 hours to drive 15 miles! We took our first pictures at 3, and were done by 3:30. The wedding was at 4 – it was beautiful! After the ceremony we took a limo to 2 bars and made it to the reception in Buffalo just in time for dinner. Adam surprised me by showing up at the dance around 9. He was tired as he had been driving since 7:30 a.m., but it was good to see him! We woke up with Nolan the next morning and spent the day hanging out together. This is me, Melissa, Lindsey and Jackie at Melissa's wedding.

Nolan is working really hard on his next set of skills. He’s getting really good at sitting, with the help of his boppy. He still has quite a ways to go, but it’s impressive to us none-the-less when he can sit for 3-4 minutes at a time! I think our favorite part of the day with Nolan is getting him up in the morning. He is always happy and greets us with a huge gummy smile! Based on a recommendation from Julie (daycare) we bought some size 3 diapers. His diaper is always super full after nap, to the point where it leaks through. Hopefully the bigger diapers will help. He doesn’t even weigh enough to technically wear them, but he’s going to anyway. They’re super big so they should hold lots and lots!

Last week before Adam’s softball game I was sitting on our front step with Nolan. I had him sitting next to me on the step so his feet could touch the ground. He used that time to practice his sitting and standing skills. It was a weird feeling to realize that it’s no longer my front step, but his front step, too. He just sat there with me and talked while he looked around. It’s just amazing to me how fast he’s growing! I made his 6 month appointment yesterday. 6 months! Pretty crazy.

Adam has been working out at the PGA all week. He worked at the tech check booth, which he realized early on was a lot more work than he anticipated! He was excited because he got to see Tiger every day and was able to take some cool picture of him. He saw a lot of the other big name players yesterday, too. One of the supervisors of the tech check booth noticed that Adam was taking a lot of pictures, so he took Adam out on the course and to the CBS reporting booth! He got to sit at the anchor desk and take a few pictures. Needless to say he was really excited! Adam is a little sore from all the walking and pretty sunburnt, but he’s having fun. This is how close Adam was able to get to Tiger.

Gina and Eric and the girls came in to town last weekend for Eric’s brothers wedding. Adam and I watched the girls Friday night so Gina and Eric could enjoy the rehearsal. Adam didn't get home until after I had given all 3 of the kids a bath - at the same time! I felt like super mom being able to do that by myself! Justin and Christina's wedding was fabulous - my whole family was there. Adam and I left Nolan with Jackie overnight so we can enjoy the wedding and our friends Justin and Lori’s 10th wedding anniversary party. We had so much fun celebrating with them , too - me until 2 am and Adam until 3! I picked up Nolan at 10:30 Sunday morning and Adam spent most of the day at the PGA. We were really happy to get a good report from Jackie. Nolan was good for her, which is good for us - Jackie said she'd do the same thing again for us!

And the verdict is 3 more months!

I feel like I’ve been super busy lately, but if you asked me specifically what I’ve been up to you I’d be hard pressed to think of anything too crazy!

Last Friday Nolan had another chiropractor appointment. It went really well. Nolan loved seeing Dr. Amiot, and he never even whimpered when she made a slight adjustment in his neck and back. He’s holding the adjustments really well, so we don’t have to go back for 3 more months! Dr. Amiot said he’s turning his neck just fine, so I think we’re out of the woods in regards to having to do any rehab with him. Friday evening Adam, Nolan and I headed down to St. James for the annual cabin party. It was super cold, but we had so much fun hanging out with everyone. We left around 4 on Saturday and stopped in Mankato on the way home to celebrate our niece Lalayna’s 3rd birthday. It’s hard to believe she’s 3 already! It’s amazing how many toys kids get for birthdays. And yet the most exciting thing was literally the cardboard box her new playhouse was packaged in!

Nolan’s newest trick is that he now lays around with his feet in his hands most of the time, and yesterday discovered he can actually stick his big toe in his mouth and suck on it. Seriously, babies are so flexible! The other huge improvement he’s made in the last 2 weeks is that he’s able to suck his thumb for extended periods of time while he’s falling asleep, and does the same thing when he wakes up at night. We don’t have to get up with him at night, but sometime between 3 and 4 a.m. he usually wakes up and talks. It takes about 20 minutes for him to go back to sleep, but as long as he’s not crying I’m not going to get up!

The next few days should be interesting, as I have Nolan duty through Saturday by myself. Adam just hopped in Eric’s mini-van with Brian and Eric’s buddy Ben and drove off to pick up Ryan in Plymouth. From there they’re driving to Eau Claire to pick up Brian’s brother Mike. The 6 of them are headed on a road trip to Cleveland and Detroit to watch the Twin’s play a few games. They are going to be spending a lot of time together over the next 5 days, so we’ll see how talkative they are when they get back! 3 of the 4 of them were sporting some pretty rockin’ mustaches. It will be interesting to see what the other 2 decide to do!

My friend Melissa is getting married this Saturday and I’m one of the bridesmaids. My folks are going to be down here to help me out with Nolan on Friday and Saturday since Adam isn’t here. I’ll basically be gone all day on Saturday. I sure hope he’s good for them! I know he'll be well taken care of, which is why I'm totally going to enjoy getting pampered. Pedicure, manicure, hair-do and make-up sound like a great way to enjoy some me time!

Vital statistics

Nolan had his 4 month check-up today. Here is the important information every new parent wants to hear about their kid, according to the dr.:




Height = 25 1/2 inches (75%)
Weight = 14 lbs 8 oz. (60%)
Head circumference = 16 1/2 inches (50%)

He is doing all the things a 4 month old should be doing, plus some. We talked about feeding him rice cereal, and the dr. recommended we wait to as close to 6 months as possible, as long as he's full and satisfied with his bottle feedings. We're going to wait and see how he does over the next few weeks. He has great range of motion to his left side with his head now, but is having a little bit of an issue looking to the right. Nolan was pretty tired by the time the exam came around, so the dr. seemed to think he was just being stubborn. Adam and I watched him tonight and he was looking both ways with his head just fine. I'm taking him to the chiropractor on Friday, so I guess we'll wait and see what she thinks. He fell asleep between his exam and when the nurse came in to give him his shots, so he was quite surprised to find the nurse giving him a liquid dose of a shot, and then 1 shot in each leg. He cried pretty bad, but as soon as I picked him up he cuddled right in and fell back asleep. The dr. noted how relaxed and happy he is - and he really is like that most of the time!

I had him off his routine most of the weekend. I drove up to my mom and dad's house with him on Friday night. I helped my mom set up a new user account on her computer and then install her i-pod. On Saturday morning me, Nolan, my mom and sister Gina drove to Alexandria to meet up with my other sister's Paulette and Christianne for a little wedding dress shopping for Paulette. She's getting married next June and she wanted to buy her wedding dress before school starts. She found an awesome dress that looks spectacular on her! Me, Gina and Christianne tried on bridesmaid dresses and were lukcy enough to find one we all liked and looked good on us. Nolan hung out with all the ladies at both bridal stores and was fantastic. He felt a lot better after he filled his pants at the first store! Saturday evening Adam and I had a wedding reception and we brought Nolan along. We drove seperate because we weren't sure how he would do. I left around 10 and brought him home, and then he decided to stay up and play until midnight. I was exhausted, but what can you do? I was so happy when he finally went to sleep! Adam was super nice and let me sleep in on Sunday. I needed it! Sunday afternoon was spent at Ellen and Greg's.

Oh, good news on the car front. The CRV is back and running like a champ. Apparantly it needed a software update. Strange, but whatever. We love the new car and all the room it has for our stuff.

This weekend we're heading down to St. James for the annual cabin party with our friends. We're really looking forward to it!

The Booger

So, I’ve begun to understand the meaning of “true” love with Nolan… Of course, having Nolan has been an awesome experience-you feel an immediate sense of purpose and responsibility the second he shows himself to the world. But, the feeling that really overtakes you more and more everyday is the way you feel when you’re the first person to say “Good Morning” and the last person to say “Good Night” to someone day after day. Again, that’s all fine and dandy. But love, true love (say it like in the Princess Bride it’s a lot more fun!) can only be expressed as you try to suck a booger out of your kids’ nose…especially when what you thought was going to be a simple process ends up being the biggest, slimiest thing you’ve ever seen. Rather than being mortified at what just came out of Nolan’s nasal cavities, I laugh, do a mini fist pump with him because of the amazing feat he just completed and carry on with the whole morning routine-that’s love I guess, huh? Sometime’s what you think is a little ice cube becomes a huge iceberg-of boogers. Fatherhood is hilarious! Have a great week everybody! Adam

4 months ago . . .

It’s almost hard to imagine life before Nolan since he’s now been here with us for 4 months! Oh wait, I do remember a few things – motorcycle rides, long walks after work, laying out in the sun without interruption – but I digress:) He is turning in to such a little man! We can tell he’s putting on weight, but he’s getting so long that he’s starting to look a little skinny. I know, it’s deceiving when all you see is his little round head, but really, he’s getting skinny! He plays with his toes all the time now, and likes to roll back and forth from side to side. He doesn’t spend a lot of time on his tummy, primarily because he uses his legs to prop himself up and then he flips on to his back. His voice is still a cute little baby voice, but you can hear that it sounds different – maybe a little more scratchy? He still sucks on his hands and thumb all the time, and the drooling is getting worse. We are convinced he’s teething a little bit. Last night he was so uncomfortable and whiny because of his teeth that we had to give him baby Tylenol. He giggles a little more each week, and it’s so funny to hear his laugh develop into a deep belly laugh! Nolan is sleeping through the night without a dream feed most nights, depending on when we give him his last bottle. It is so good to be able to get 6-8 hours of good sleep a night! If he does wake up it’s usually for a diaper change and then he goes right back to sleep. He’s a pretty laid back kid, and I know we’re very lucky. Julie, our daycare provider, continues to tell us what a great kid he is, and how he’s so easy going. He takes either a 3 hour nap in the morning or afternoon, followed by another one hour nap at the opposite time of day. It’s incredible the amount of sleep babies need. I kinda wish that could be me some days! I think back to when he was a tiny newborn and it seems like it was a long time ago. We’re so blessed that he’s healthy and happy!

This last week has been pretty busy. Adam and I are both still trying to get our workouts in after work, but I think we’re finding out it only really works if one of us works out each night. My nights are Monday and Thursday at this point. I’m sure it will get easier as Nolan gets older, right? We were in Mankato for a baby shower for me and Nolan hosted by my aunts this past weekend. None of them had met Nolan yet so it was fun to show him off. Of course he was a perfect baby the whole time we were there. I think he likes all of the attention from the ladies (just like his dad!). Nolan got a ton of cool new gifts – super cute clothes, a doorway exerciser thing, toys, and a new exersaucer. He is one spoiled kid. After the shower Eric and Brian babysat Nolan for us so we could go car shopping. Yes, it’s true. Eric and Brian not only watched Nolan, but they also were watching Emma, Allie, Lalayna and Lola at the same time. At one point they said they looked at each other, looked and the kids, and realized they were outnumbered! Luckily Christianne and Gina got home from their pedicures an hour later to help out, although they did a great job with the kids. Back to car shopping – yes, we decided it was time to get ride of the Jetta. It had almost 110,000 miles on it and we were very squished in it. It was such a fun car to drive, but for a family of 3 it was not very practical! The most frustrating thing about car shopping was that we really had no idea what kind of vehicle we wanted to get. I kept thinking it shouldn’t be this hard to figure out! After we got back from car shopping we hung out at Christianne and Brian’s house. On Sunday we had a family reunion with my dad’s side of the family at a park in Mankato. We hadn’t all gotten together since my grandma passed away over a year ago, so it was time. We had so much fun catching up, and especially watching all the little kids run around. The picture I posted is of all the cousins and the kids. I really hope it’s something we do every year!

We didn’t buy a car last weekend, but we did yesterday! We got a super good deal on a brand new 2009 black Honda CRV. It is going to be a much more practical car for us, especially with all of Nolan’s stuff we have to haul around. The only really big bummer is that we now have 86 miles on it and 3 service lights are on. Honestly, I didn’t sign up to have a brand new vehicle with issues! We’re taking it in to get looked at tomorrow, and depending on what happens we may return it and get a different new one. We’ll see. I just want a vehicle with no problems. Is that so much to ask? I'm trying to think positive thoughts!

Before I sign off I want to give a shout out to my sister Christianne and congratulate her on her first day back to work! Everything is finally back to normal in the world again!