NOLAN'S 5 MONTH UPDATE

NOLAN'S 5 MONTH UPDATE:

Weight: ?? Will find out at check up in 3 weeks

Height: ?? Will find out at check up in 3 weeks

Clothes Size: 3-6 month/6 month and even some 9 month

Diaper Size: 2 (Still using pampers swaddlers) -

Sleeping Patterns: Sleeping was touch and go this month... Nolan started waking up several times a night again... it took us a while to figure out that he was teething!  (At 5 months and 4 days, his first tooth came in and then he immediately was back to his normal sleeping pattern of waking up only once a night :)

Milestones: Teething: Two bottom teeth are officially in.  Rolling over from back to stomach and now also from stomach to back very easily.  Loves to shake rattles/toys and has also started throwing toys or other objects across the room... Occassionally when he is in his swing and we think he is going to sleep, he grabs his pacifier and swings it around and then we hear is land across the room :).  He is starting to sit much better and balance himself some.  We introduced some solid food this month too - so far he has tried rice cereal and bannanas.  He wasn't exactly crazy about either - but seems to be getting better at keeping some of it in his mouth. 

Favorite Memory this Month:  Some friends here in Huntsville let us borrow one of the jumping chairs that you hook over the door frame... they look kind of crazy, so I wasn't sure about it.  We put him in a few times and he really didn't know what to do and would get bored/upset after a minute or so.  About 2 weeks ago, Nolan started trying to jump anytime he was standing (while we were holding him of course) - so, we decided to try the chair again.  He loved it.  Now it is part of our nightly routine.  I LOVE watching him smile and laugh while he jumps in the chair.  Josh and I usually join in the jumping too... yes, it is as crazy as it sounds - but so fun.  :)  "JUMP, Nolan, JUMP!!"

Once again I can't believe how fast Nolan is growing so fast that I feel like when I blink, I miss something.  I am so fortunate to be Nolan's Mommy and I love him more each day. 

Two Valentine's

So last year, Josh and I celebrated our 10th Valentine's Day together... count em... 10!!  I feel old.  We have lots of great, funny, nerdy and even lovely memories together... we have never made a huge deal out of Valentine's Day... except maybe our first one together when we were in highschool and Josh took me on a picnic and made me cupcakes :).  

Here are a couple of flashback pics from Valentine's Day in college: Freshman year... I was at Florida and Josh came down to visit for the Day. (Yes, those are Christmas lights in our Dorm Room... my roommate Tasha and I were awesome, don't be jealous.)

Junior year at Florida... we took swing lessons at RUF... Don't we look like we know what we're doing ??? NOPE.

I certainly wouldn't trade the time I have spent with my first Valentine for anything - I love you, babe.  I am so incredibly proud to be your wife and I am so thankful for the wonderful husband and father you are.

But now... I have another Valentine that shares my heart :).  

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

NOLAN'S 4 MONTH UPDATE

NOLAN'S 4 MONTH UPDATE:
Weight: 15.1 lbs (55th percentile)

Height: 25.8 inches (75th percentile)

Clothes Size: 3-6 month/6 month and even some 9 month

Diaper Size: 2 (Still using pampers swaddlers)

Sleeping Patterns: Sleeping much better this month!  Usually goes to sleep around 7:00-7:30pm and wakes up around 7:00am in the morning.  He typically only wakes up only once in between around 3 or 4 am.  Sometimes, he doesn't wake up at all... but this has only happened a couple of times.

Milestones: "Talking" and laughing a ton - he is really starting to communicate with us.  Rolling over from back to stomach a lot... but not stomach to back yet.  Puts hands together and grasps lots of things - toys, mommy's hair, pacifier, blankets, his feet, etc. He still loves to lay on his playmat and bat and grab at toys.  When he is on a flat surface, he usually rolls up into a ball so that he can grab his feet... then we starts rolling around like a roly poly - hence, we have started calling him Noly Poly.  Cheesy - but, it fits!  We have also started to try to get him to sit up more in his bumbo seat and he is holding his head up really well - he just does not like to be confined and tries to roll out of it... not good, I know.  I think we are in trouble. :)

Favorite Memory this Month:  This month I don't have a particular favorite memory... but more of a collective one... after starting daycare at the beginning of January - I love picking Nolan up and bringing him home to spend time with him before putting him to bed.  Josh and I sit and play with him for about an hour before dinner and then putting him to bed.  It is such a special and sweet time.

Nolan officially started daycare this month and it is going really well!  I am so relieved... it makes it so much easier knowing that he is being well-taken care of and is really liking it there.  He has developed a sort of schedule during the day which I think is helping him sleep better at night.  He seems much more social and loves to look at and talk to the other babies in his class as well as any other adults/kids when we are out in public.

His 4 month check up last week went really well.  Ok - here is where I am going to be "that parent" who brags about what the pediatrician says about their kid.  She said that he was "very advanced" in his ability to move around and hold his head up.  Maybe he will be an early crawler/walker?  :).  She said we are free to start trying some solid foods this month - but I think we are going to wait a few more weeks until he can really sit up well.

Once again, I feel like Nolan is growing and changing so much every month!  It is so hard to believe that he is already 4 months old!  (More like 4.5 since this blog post is a little late... eek!  I need to get better at this.)

HAPPY APPY

This month has been a whirlwind... Nolan started daycare and I am back to the wonderful, busy, crazy world that is my job as an interior designer.  This year I have a whole new set of projects that are once again spread all over the country... Fort Collins, CO, Tampa, FL, Carbondale, IL and Boone, NC. 

This week I am getting ready for a presentation for a clubhouse that I am working on at our property in Boone. It will service students who attend Appalachian State University. I have done a couple of idea boards for the furniture and accessories in the clubhouse - what do you think?  I have to present them tomorrow so we will see what the powers the be think.

One thing that I love about my job is working at colleges all of the US.  It is fun to dive into their culture and learn about their traditions.  These clubhouses are no small undertaking... you may recall the one that I helped install at LSU in Baton Rouge a couple of years ago.  There is lots of art, furniture, accessories, wall fillers and the like that all have to be selected, purchased and installed by yours truly.  This will be the first clubhouse that I will be solely responsible for... somehow up until this point I have managed to avoid them primarily worked on residence halls on campus that are not as heavily decorated.  I am sure it will be fine... I am just feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment.  We will see how it turns out...  Stay tuned.

Nolan is 3 Months Old!

NOLAN'S 3 MONTH UPDATE:
Weight: 13 lbs. 8 oz  (Found out at the Doctor on Monday)

Height: Will get measurement at 4 month check up

Clothes Size: 3-6 month... depending on brand

Diaper Size: 2 (We still prefer the pampers swaddlers... so glad we switched to size 2 this week.  Size 1 was getting a little tight!)

Sleeping Patterns: Was sleeping 6-8 hours on the first stretch at night until he got sick last week... now we are all over the place :(

Milestones: Nolan finally laughed!! Still smiling a lot, pushing head up while on tummy, starting to show interest in rolling over... not there yet, grabbing a lot more items - pacifier, toys, still Mommy's hair, will imitate facial expressions, able to focus for longer periods on activities, toys, people, etc. His favorite thing to do now is lay on the playmay gym that Mimi got him for Christmas... he looks to kick and grab all the toys and look around at all of the animals and patterns.  Everyone is saying that he is really starting to look like Josh - and we think those baby blue eyes just might stick around!  Although, after taking this picture today, I think he looks like my Dad. :)

Favorite Memory this Month:  Nolan's laugh!!  It happened when we were headed home to Jacksonville for Christmas.  We drove half way and stopped in Macon to spend the night in a hotel (first for Nolan) and when we were in the room unpacking, Josh got Nolan to laugh when they were playing.  We were so excited!  It has happened a few more times... such a sweet sound.

We had a wonderful trip home to Florida and then to North Carolina visiting family and friends.  Nolan got to meet even more of his adoring fans and he loved every one of them.  :)

At the end of our trip, Nolan experienced another first - well, we all did.  Our first family cold!  We all came down with it pretty bad by the time we were heading home, which made the car ride so much fun.  I took Nolan to the Doctor when we got home and she diagnosed him with the RSV virus which is a severe cold that can linger for weeks.  Poor buddy!  It breaks my heart to see him so sick - not to mention the sleep we are all losing :(.  I think we are on the up and up though - hopefully by this weekend we will all be well.

I was able to postpone going back to work until next week as Nolan was not allowed in daycare until next Monday - I am so thankful for the extra rest and time spent with my little man!  Leaving him will still be very difficult, but we are trusting God is his plan and timing for our sweet little boy and our family.

I already feel like Nolan is growing up too fast!  (I know every parent says that...) I look back at the first few month pictures that we have taken and I see a huge difference...  He is starting to develop such distinct characteristics and a personality to go with it!  As much as I hate to see him grow up, I look forward to how much he will grow and change this month!  We love you, Nolan.

Laughing with Dad

Today I am reminded of my Dad's contagious laughter.  Lately Josh and I have been trying everything we can think of to get Nolan to laugh... he smiles a lot and makes cooing sounds like he is trying to laugh... but nothing yet.  My Dad had the best laugh.  Well, he had different ones really... one for a funny TV show or movie, one when one of his friends or siblings told a funny story, one when he was laughing with us during tickle fights when we were little, one when he was trying not to laugh and me or my sister when we said something clever or sarcastic and even one when he was trying to laugh so hard that we would be embarrassed to death in public :).   I loved my Dad's laugh.  I love that my Dad loved to laugh.  I love and miss my Dad.  Nine years and it still seems like yesterday.

I literally can't wait for Nolan to laugh!  I am excited to share future laughter and memories with him.  I look forward to sharing funny stories with him about my Dad, his Pop.

Nolan's 2 Month Update

Nolan is 2 months old!  (Or was on December 1...)  I figure that posting a little late is better than never :).  I have gotten quite lax with my blog as of late... guess that's what maternity leave will do to you.  I would really like to get back into updating it as I have always loved looking back on it in later to years to see what we were up to... and now I think I will want to do that even more!  Here is an update on Nolan.

NOLAN'S 2 MONTH UPDATE:
Weight: 12 lbs. 6 oz  (75th percentile)

Height: 24.8" long  (95th percentile)

Clothes Size: 3 month or 3-6 month depending on brand

Diaper Size: 1 (We prefer the pampers swaddlers - I am thinking that we may need to switch to size 2 with our next big box...)

Sleeping Patterns: 5 hour stretches at night... give or take.

Milestones: Smiling a lot (no laughing yet... despite Josh and I's constant efforts), pushing head up while on tummy, starting to grab some things... mainly mommy's hair :)

Favorite Memory this Month:  Introducing him to so many of our family when we went home for Thanksgiving to Florida.  He is so well loved by everyone.

During this month, I feel like Nolan has grown and changed so much... which kinda makes me feel guilty for not updating the blog more.  I feel like each day he grows and changes a little bit more.  Right now we are getting ready for Christmas... the tree and decorations went up the week before Thanksgiving.  Nolan loves to sit it his swing and look at the lights on the tree.  All I keep thinking about is how different our Christmas next year will be :).

This week Josh and I went to visit the daycare that Nolan will be going to in January.  Although I know leaving him there is going to be one of the hardest things I have to do... I feel better about it after seeing it.  I know that he will be well-taken care of and he will be right near the hospital (Josh's work).  I am trying to get everything ready for daycare... make sure we have the correct supplies and that I have enough bottles pumped.  He will start 2 days after we return from Christmas travels which is coming quickly!

My maternity leave (although I still have 3 weeks left) has gone by so fast!  It definitely makes me sad that it is almost over - I would not trade spending these precious first few weeks with Nolan for anything.  It also gets me excited about how much he is going to grow and how we will be able to interact with him in the coming months.  We love our sweet boy.