Almost November

 This was at the end of September.  It had finally cooled off enough to use the backyard.  Nolan was pretty happy in the swing.  When it went high he got a little unsure, but still enjoyed it.

The usual monthly picture.  This one was 10 months.  Nolan is happy as always.  We really are blessed with a very happy baby.  He is always happy and smiling. 

 He's also climbing now too.  While I was making breakfast he climbed right up into the bouncer.  He was quite proud of himself too.

He now climbs into the cabinets, and empties them.  I guess it's time for us to get some child locks.

 We went to the pumpkin patch.  Meghan enjoyed feeding the goats.

She mastered the hay maze on the first try.  She is such a beautiful little girl, and growing up so fast.

Trying to get both Meghan and Nolan to look at the camera for a picture was challenging to say the least.  And then, when they are finally both looking the sun comes out making their faces too white.  Oh well.  Someday I will get a picture of them both looking at the camera.

All Nolan wants to do now is move around.  Trying to get him to sit on Meghan's lap was nearly impossible.

 We have a stander....Nolan is now standing on his own.  He can even get to standing position without lifting himself up on anything.  I think he will be walking soon.

Now that Nolan is a little more interactive Meghan enjoys playing games with him.  In this one she sets the farm animals on the top of the farm and flicks them off while Nolan chases after them.  Kevin started a game where you have to stand up all the animals before Nolan pushes them over.  Nolan usually wins.



11 months!  Wow!  I can't believe in a month Nolan will be one year old.  He is such a fun little boy.  He has four teeth now.  Two on top and two on bottom.  He is about to have two more on top.  Today he said his first word, I think.  Kevin took him in to wake Meghan up for school and told him to say hi to Meghan.  He responded with "I".  when Kevin called me in and told him to say hi to Meghan he did it again and included a little wave.  Another big milestone came tonight when I was holding him and asked if I could have a hug.  He leaned in and put his arms around me, put his head on my chest, and squeezed.  It melts my heart.  He is cruising around everywhere with his push toys.  He definitely has the strength and the balance to walk, he just hasn't tried it yet.  Whenever we try to get him to take a step he immediately drops to his knees and crawls.  Truthfully, I'm not ready for him to start walking.  I want him to stay my little baby forever.

August

So, it's almost September 10th and I'm just getting around to the August blog post.

 

 Nolan has started pulling up on everything.  He loves to look out windows.

 

 He's even started moving along things after he's pulled up on them.  I wonder if he will be an early walker?

 

Here's the obligatory 9 month picture.  Nolan is in his sleep sack and ready for bed.  The Teddy Bear is starting to look smaller next to him.  He weights almost 20 pounds and is 28 inches long.  He feels huge to me but is really only in the 50th percentile.  He is still always smiling and happy.

July

Earlier this month we actually had some comfortable weather and were able to play outside again.  Nolan loves being outside even more now because he can move around and explore.

I took Nolan and Meghan to a park to get some pictures of them.  Nolan thought it was okay.  The mosquitos were torturing Meghan which led to no usable pictures of her.

Nolan goes to bed by 7 so that usually leaves us with an hour or so of one on one time with Meghan.  Lately, all she wants to do is play Candy Land.  It is much more enjoyable now that she actually follows the rules!

Crawling, Crawling, Crawling.  That is all Nolan wants to do now.  He started crawling on the 5th of July and is unstoppable now.  You turn your attention for a second and he is gone.  Having an open concept house has been great, up until now.  There is no way to gate him into one area.  We have resorted to shutting all the doors to keep him slightly contained.

Meghan is 4 going on fourteen.  She asked to have her hair "smoothed".  This meant we had to blow dry her hair, add tons of product, and then flat iron it.  I'm not sure what made me think this was a good idea.  She now asks every day to have her hair smooth.  I think she looks like a totally different kid with straight hair.

This is Nolan's 8 month picture.  Trying to keep him still with the bear is next to impossible.  At least he turned to look at the camera before tackling the bear.

June

 It's June.  I have loved being home so far this summer.  We have had so much fun playing!  I will be very sad when it's time to go back to work in August.  Nolan is starting to become such a little person.  He loves playing with toys now and is always smiling.  He is the happiest baby.  He still doesn't have any teeth but continues to teethe.  Notice the necklace he is wearing in the picture?  I credit this with his continued happiness whilst teething.  It is an amber teething necklace, made of 100% Baltic amber.  It is supposed to relieve pain and discomfort.  Even Kevin agrees that it has greatly improved his mood.

My sweet little Meghan is such a helper.  She usually does the dusting but has recently been begging to vacuum.  She did a pretty good job too, only missing a few places.

Nolan isn't crawling yet but has become the master of scooting.  His new favorite thing is to jiggle the door stopper in his room.  He loves the annoying noise it makes.  I will often put him on the floor in the middle of his room so I can wash hands after a diaper change and by the time I get back he is jiggling the door stop.

It has started to get really hot these last few weeks, too hot to go out much.  But, that didn't stop Kevin and Meghan from going out to test the paper airplanes they made.  Such a fun daddy!

Little Man is 7 months old now.  He is still so cute and squishy.  His personality is blossoming.  Whenever Kevin comes in the room he lights up, Meghan is still the one who gets him to laugh the most.  He is such a joy to be around.  I am thankful every day for him.

Enjoying May

 Nolan continues to grow.  He has perfected rolling, laughing, and playful screaming (not a fan of this one).  We are working on sitting up unassisted, crawling, and he's starting to teethe. As you can see, he is very good at lounging around.  All he needs is a bottle in the cup holder and he would be set.

 The weather has been mild this spring so we have been playing outside a lot.  Meghan is almost too big for her play car, but she has found the next best thing to riding in it. She loves to push her brother around in it. It makes me a little nervous.

Grandma and Papa came to visit during Memorial Day weekend.  Meghan and Grandma colored pictures, baked monkey bread, and went on walks to the park.  Both Meghan and Nolan swam with Papa in the pool. Nolan is a natural swimmer as he kicks really well. Meghan just likes to float in the pool and stay cool. This was an exhausting weekend as both children had no problem falling to sleep Monday night.  Thank goodness their Grandparents wore them out.

The April Progress Report

 Meghan loves to play "house".  She always wants to help make meals, take care of Nolan, and help around the house.  When she plays "house", she mimics me and acts very motherly to her babies.  In order to carry her babies better, she asked to use the baby carry.  Her babies are a little smaller than Nolan.

Nolan continues to grow.  He has become an expert roller, very vocal, and irregular sleeper.  I love how he has continued to grow (except for the irregular sleep).

A Busy March

 Another busy month is in the books.  Here is the recap. 

Meghan continues to be a playful and helpful little girl.  She likes to play "house".  She always asks Kevin to play with her because someone has to be the Daddy.  She is also very helpful.  She likes to help me with Nolan and play with him when he is fussy.  Meghan makes Nolan laugh better than anyone else.

 Nolan continues to grow.  At 4 months, he is now rolling over occasionally, smiles a lot, and giggles at his daddy and sister.  

 In early March, we went to Columbia, Missouri to have Nolan baptized.  Four years ago, we had Meghan baptized in the same church.  This time she helped.  She held the Holy Water as the Pastor baptized Nolan.  

Nolan was fantastic during the baptism and the whole church service.  The same cannot be said for his attitude during the nine hour car ride home to Texas.  He screamed and fussed for the better part of five hours.  

 While in Missouri, we introduced Meghan to Golf.  She and her Papa (Todd) used the little golf clubs to hit the ball around the front yard.  

I added this picture because I really like how they interact with each other.  

And it was St. Patrick's day so Meghan and Nolan flaunted their green.