A Whole Year Old!!!

At Mall Of America...Nolan loves to help push the stroller...

because it means he doesn't have to be in it!
Wet t-shirt contest, anyone?

Birthday Boy cooling off

Yummy Cake! Proud parents too!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Not cooperating

We made it to the Warren Fair in July. He loved the animals

His smile can melt any one's heart

Finally!! We made it to the lake in July. Nolan loved the

water. He was like a fish!

On our way to the lake.

Gosh it has been a while since I last posted... Nolan turned 1 on August 21st! We had a party for him at our house and he had a blast! It was extremely hot, so all the kids (and Danny) cooled off in the sprinkler. Nolan participated in opening a few gifts, but was too busy playing. My lucky boy got lots of great gifts! We also turned his car seat around. He thought that was pretty cool! Dan and I took the following week off to spend together and we also took a few days to spend some time in the cities. We went to Albertville, Como Zoo and Mall of America. The trip was a lot of fun, but we learned that our 1 year old does NOT do well on long car rides. Dan and I got a really big kick out of how excited Nolan was to be in a hotel. That boy was like a kid in a candy store. He loved it until it was time for bed, then I think he wanted to be at home. His new favorite thing to do is kiss the "baby" in the mirror, or a baby in one of his many books. Now that school is starting, Nolan will go back to my aunt Holly's for daycare. I know he will miss Jenna, but I am sure he will be excited to play with all of his friends at daycare! He will be in for a big surprise when he has to wake up before 8. Overall, Nolan is doing great and is so much fun. He is a busy boy that is running everywhere! All he wants to do is be on the go or sit and read books. He is also a very good listener for a 1 year old and tries to be very helpful. He especially likes to help me vacuum! Enjoy some new pics!

First Steps!

WooHoo! Finally a big boy car seat!
My Big Boy Pjs

Haha Mom, I'm not ready for bed yet!

Stylin'

Mmmm...big people food is good!

Daddy and I being silly

Snuggling with my nanny Jenna

Books, books, and more books. I love my books!

Yes it is true! Nolan is taking some big boy steps all on his own. Once he figured out his push toy he got the courage to take some steps on his own. It seems like each day he adds a step. He can almost walk across the whole living room! Nolan is also sporting a new hair-do. We finally got his wings cut off. He thought it was pretty cool and flirted with the girl the whole time. We are pretty sure more teeth are coming, considering the past week we have had with sleepless nights and more beaver marks on the crib! But with all of these teeth Nolan has been getting (6 and counting...) eating big boy food is getting easier. If he has a bottle it is before bed and maybe before nap. Nolan is getting just about anything to eat and loves trying all of the new food. Num, Num! Also, after driving myself crazy researching convertible car seats, Nolan finally upgraded to a big boy car seat!

Almost Walking

Summertime

I love to swing at the park!

Big boy standing all by himself!

Happy

When you are 10 months old you want to eat the paper!

Ready to go for a swim

One of my new favorite activities...digging in drawers

Eating and driving

Nolan has hit the double digits turning 10 months on June 21st. He is having a great summer being outside, going to the park and even going swimming a few times. He continues to be a book worm and is content just reading all day. He is standing on his own and is thinking very hard about taking some steps. He has a few times taken a step or two, but he is still very cautious. He does like to run around holding on to our hands though. He is "talking" lots and we have identified his second word, Bauer, which actually sounds more like "Bow". Bauer is liking Nolan more and more now that Nolan shares just about all of his food with him. He also got his 6th tooth! My busy boy is growing way too fast!

Busy Boy

I can't get enough of the remote!
Happy to be 9 months

I just like to take the books out and make a mess

and I really love to read them too!

Mmmm that ice cream bar looks good

Jackpot!

My busy man is already 9 months old, and he is moving all over the place and is getting into EVERYTHING! He is so much fun and is learning so much everyday. He is most definitely a hazard in the tub, but he loves it and just leaves it up to me to make sure he doesn't crack his head open. He is really loving his books, and especially loves just taking them out of the cubby they are in. He also got his top two teeth in and has discovered how to grind them together...yuck! I don't know how he does it, but he must think it is a pretty cool discovery. Those teeth have also left their mark on his crib. Apparently he needs to chew on the crib before he falls asleep. We also decided to try to switch him to regular formula with lactose in it, but his belly is not ready for it, so I guess we need to stick to the lactose free formula. My cousin Jenna is starting to nanny for us after Memorial day. It will be nice to have someone come into our house and for Nolan to be able to sleep in and lounge in his PJs for a while. Hoping for a good summer!

I'm Standing!!

Haha Mom! Catch me if you can!
Standing!

Who needs a nap when you can jump!

One of my first days standing!

Wow! We can hardly blink our eyes these days without Nolan getting into something or standing up on something. He is everywhere and loves every minute of making me chase him! Now that he can stand and jump up and down in his crib he no longer thinks he needs to nap! He used to lay down and fall right to sleep, now he knows that jumping is much more fun. He jumps and yells "dadadada"! A car ride is now used for a much needed nap. This past week Nolan was sick with Hand-Foot-and-Mouth disease. It started with a fever of almost 104, then we went to the doctor the next day to find out that he had canker sores covering his throat. Of course my poor man had to get the sores in his mouth and not on his hands or feet. (I take that back...he had one small red dot on his hand). I felt so bad for him. I have never seen him so miserable. Luckily I worked late all week so I got to be home with him all day. On top of that his top teeth are getting VERY close. Hopefully they pop through soon, so he can quit sucking on his blankie. Tomorrow I get to celebrate my first Mother's Day. I had no idea how wonderful being a mom could be. I have so much to be thankful for and so many great memories to look forward to. We are blessed to have Nolan!

On The MOVE!!!

Nolan on his way to get his favorite new toy...Bauer's
Almost there!

Getting stuck by the chair...

I really love to brush my (2) teeth!!

Such a happy boy all clean and ready for bed

Ready for his walk

Walking really poops a guy out!

Nolan is on the move! He is crawling everywhere and usually is crawling for things he should not have. His favorite things to crawl for are Bauer's toys, Bauer's food and the lamp cord. Bauer's toy is what got him to start crawling. Nolan will even take it right out of Bauer's mouth, but Bauer doesn't mind because he thinks Nolan is playing with him. I think he is even crawling in his sleep. The first week that he started to crawl he would wake himself up in the middle of the night by crawling into the corners of the crib. He also has decided that he likes to sleep on his belly... which keeps me up most of the night. With all of the new exploring Nolan is doing it is making diaper changes and getting dressed a real chore for Dan and I. He needs to be on the go at all times. Nolan also turned 8 months yesterday (4-21-09) I can't believe how big he has gotten and how fast the time has gone. He is even starting to stay up later, which we love so we can spend more time with him of course! His bedtime is usually around 8:00 and he sleeps really good at night. He even slept in until 8am last weekend! Nolan is also becoming Mr. Talkative! He really likes saying "Dadadada". Danny eats it up! He is also getting very good at eating table foods. He loves toast, waffles, crackers, potatoes, chicken rice...well lets just say he would eat solid foods all day if we kept giving it to him. He seems to be a bottomless pit. He is starting to drink from a sippy cup too, which he loves. We have added a few new things into our routine this past month...with the warm weather we try to get out for a walk everyday and we also are starting to brush Nolan's teeth. Luckily he loves to get his teeth brushed!