Oh boy!

The other day I had to go to the doctor because of my stupid mouth (still having difficulties from a clogged salivary gland) and they had to look in my mouth and Nolan was fascinated with this. When we got home he kept wanting to look in my mouth just like the doctor. Later in the day he comes running up to me from his bedroom, sticking out his finger and screaming "AAAAAHHHHHH". So I do as I'm told, and open wide. He sticks his finger in and immediately I sense something very wrong with this scenario. This is the MOMENT I learned my son knows how to pick his nose, and he JUST put it in my mouth. I quickly removed his digit and spit a couple times...which made Nolan squeal with glee. He then stuck his finger back in his nose, and offered me his finger once again. This time I knew better and offered him a kleenex instead. Boys are so much fun!

I look forward to reporting our Christmas adventures and stories...and hope for less stories that involve boogers!

Christmas Time

Although I'm with Nolan day in and day out, there are some days where he seems to have grown up over night. Last night my little guy went to sleep, and this morning he woke up a talking, walking, imaginative ball of fun!

Nolan is now sitting in a booster that scoots up to the table instead of a highchair with a tray. He loves that he gets to sit like a big boy...but I secretly miss the highchair, especially since he was locked in and couldn't escape! :) But he is SO proud of himself. I marvelled as we ate breakfast together and he asked for more cereal. He has mastered the spoon and cereal is now fun instead of frustrating. He watched me intently as I sipped my leftover milk from my bowl, and within seconds was mimicking me and pulling the bowl away to say "ah" like it was the most refreshing milk he had ever consumed!

The Christmas tree was put up yesterday. It's barely 4' tall, but perfect for hanging the unbreakable ornaments from! We also figured if it falls over (because a monkey decided to climb it) it wouldn't be as big of a deal! Nolan loved putting up the lights and helping us hang the ornaments. Of course, since he put them up, he feels he can take them down! His favorite ornaments are the trains, which he takes off frequently to play with on the floor. He is very good about putting them back on the tree, but they all seem to make it back to the same branch! :) Our tree may not be the prettiest tree, but I have to say it's the best we've ever had!

Of course I could go ON AND ON about the amazing things Nolan does, but they aren't that thrilling and no different than any other toddler. However when you get to experience life (and the Holidays) through the eyes of a toddler, it's just magical.

If you didn't receive our Christmas Card this year, here is an electronic version! Hope you have a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!

18 Month Milestone

I am frequently in awe of Nolan...lately more often than not. He seems to go through developmental spurts. Awhile back it was his vocabulary. All of a sudden he was adding a word a day. Now, he is adding less each week...but using them FREQUENTLY. His current favorites include:

-Applejuice (I believe this is the first and last word EVERY day...and a million times during the day).

-Pizza (which actually means food, and not pizza in particular)

-Bumblebee

-Bubble

-More

-Thank you (sounds like Tank Too)

-Please (sounds like Peas)

-Up

-Down

-Nolan (sounds like No-knees)

Surprisingly, No is STILL not part of his vocab. Yay us!

Last night he even started experimenting with putting words together. He was trying to convince me that he NEEDED applejuice on the way home. I was driving and after his 421st time saying "Applejuice?" and me saying "Not right now"...we had this little exchange:

Nolan: "Mommy?"

Me: "Yes, Nolan"

Nolan: "No-Knees Applejuice?" said in the CUTEST voice ever.

It was soooo sweet...but he still didn't get applejuice.

Last night we went out to Sushi for dinner. Nolan surprised us yet again. He ate quite a bit of pickled ginger, california rolls, fruit and whipcream. He is such a great eater! He's growing like a weed and eating to fuel that growing. In fact right now he is gobbling up a tuna sandwich, a couple hand fulls of grapes and a string cheese. He is going to eat us out of house and home! :)

I know I have more, but he's asking to get down. I'll update with photos soon too!

I just had to laugh

My son cracks me up. His giggles of course melt my heart. His big goofy grins bring a matching grin to my face.

This week we went to Ikea and he picked out a toy. His pick...a dust pan and hand broom! He LOVES it and has to take it everywhere which is pretty funny.

Today he was running around the house naked because he has another horrid diaper rash and all of a sudden he was CRYING hysterically. I walked over to him, assuming he peed because it upsets him when that happens....and there on the floor were two turds. He was SO upset over this...which just made me chuckle more.

These are the times you just have to laugh!

Summer Fun

This summer has been so much fun...but it seems to be over far too quickly. We enjoyed our 4th of July visiting family. Unfortunately my camera wasn't always around when I really wanted it to be...so I don't have a million to share...but have a few! :)

Playing at Grandma & Grandpa Anderson's house

Summer Fun playing in the sprinkler at the neighbor's house

We went to the zoo with friends and saw some pretty cool animals

We went to Amberlee's 4th birthday celebration. Nolan and Portia enjoyed playing with the stroller best.

Nolan also enjoyed the lake...but mostly just stood on a rock.

We also had jammie mornings and bad hair days.

I knitted a snake for Nolan, it's taller than he is!!

Nolan enjoys my new Tupperware

We had many, many blueberries...on this morning it was blueberry pancakes with powdered sugar and a side of plastic plate.

Nolan is growing so fast! He now has many words, most of which start with B, like "Bumblebee", "Blueberry", "Bubble", "Belly Button" and...my favorite new word..."Costco". Thank you is a new word too..but sounds more like "Tank Too" which is also pretty cute. He's fine tuning his fit throwing, but all in all is a great kid.

His new favorite thing is to hold hands when we walk anywhere...especially if he can con two people into holding his hands and swing between them.

Nolan says "Hi!" and thanks for stopping by his blog...hopefully his mommy will update more often! :)

The Magic of a 15 Month Old

The first year of Nolan's life was definitely measured in milestones (as you do with any baby). His development was obvious when he would finally flip from tummy to back...or took those first glorious steps. However I'm learning the magic of the second year! My darling child has the cutest little personality...he's like a person now!!! I do realize that this was bound to happen, as it happens with all children, but it is oh-so fun to experience.

Just a few weeks ago, his only words were "Mama", "Dada", and another word that sounded kinda like "Bubba" but didn't really have a definition. Now, the child is a chatter box, everyday adding a new word to his repertoire. The most recent additions are "Hi", "Bye" (which includes the cutest wave), "Bubble", "Up", "Uh-Oh", "Ouch", "Hot" and a few other words that are close...but not quite there yet. Today he said "Hat" when they said it on a show. He then walked around saying "At" "At". He repeats words when I say them, but not using them regularly or in context. I'm quite thrilled that "No" is not part of his vocabulary yet. I know it will come (it's inevitable, especially since it is in his name!) but I don't look forward to that day.

The best part of all these words is the increased communication. He walks to his highschair when he is hungry and says "Up, Up". Another aide to our communication is a little bit of sign language. He learned "All Done" awhile ago, which is nice when he is stuffed and can't eat another bite. He recently learned "More", although he sometimes waves his hand towards him as if to say "Bring on the food". Both are cute and get the point across! He picked up the sign for "Milk" all on his own, although his wave goodbye and the sign for milk are pretty much the same, so it's hard to know if he 100% understands how to use that sign! I would really like for him to learn "Thank You", but I'm horrid at remembering to use it...so that might take a bit more work!

It's fun to watch Nolan play. He is experiencing his toys in a whole new way. Instead of just pushing his toys around, he's understanding that they make noises if you press in a certain part. He also knows which button to press on my keychain to make the car go HONK. His favorite pasttime is to steal my keys and sit next to the windown and watch the lights flash on my car and hear the horn honk! He also enjoys running around the house and turning on all the fans, then running away when they blow on him. He is slightly obsessed with brooms and today I caught him getting a rag off the kitchen table and cleaning the fridge door. Someone in this house needs to be a clean freak...and we know that both Brian & I don't fit that description! Today Nolan was playing in our room and picked up a dirty shirt I left on the floor. He walked over and put it in the correct dirty clothes bin!! Brian doesn't even do that!!!! I was so proud I almost cried!

I could not be luckier. Nolan is such an amazing kid and I love watching the world through his eyes.

Father's Day Picnic with Friends

Today was Zoe's babyshower and afterwards there was a Father's Day picnic. We had a ball and I had to share some photos of our fun day. Nolan was in the best mood ever and ran around a lot. He enjoyed playing with a plastic egg. He will pretend like he is going to throw it, but as he pulls his arm back the egg would fly behind him. It was super cute!



Nolan & Portia hug/collide






Nolan made a friend.



Brian and Nolan running & screaming like crazy men



Mommy redirecting Nolan





mommy

Canada Trip

My friend Zoe has family up in Canada. She wanted to go visit before she has her second baby...and I just couldn't have her going alone...so I invited myself along for the ride. Her family was so welcoming, we had TONS of fun and the kids were SO amazing! The fact that they were in the car for 12 hours straight, TWICE...is just crazy! And they didn't even drive us insane!!! Here are some highlights from the trip (although I didn't take enough!!!)

Here are pics from the water park inside the West Edmonton Mall (the LARGEST mall in North America). We didn't see the whole mall, but the water park was so amazing we didn't really care!!! (I'll have more pics when I download from Zoe...she did MUCH better at taking pictures here!)



Arriving at the Waterpark


After (I look like a drown rat)


Putt putt golf place


We went to Old Spaghetti Factory (my FAV!!!)
Nolan being silly


Portia


Shelly, Xander & Xavier


The ice rink inside the mall


We went to a sushi restaurant the next day. If we had that here, I would eat it EVERY day! It was a TON of food for only $9 canadian. Nolan really enjoyed the chopsticks!







Nolan enjoyed "playing" video games with Xavier...are we surprised??


Portia being so cute!


Nolan learned how to go down the stairs...Portia showed him the ropes because she is a pro!


Close your eyes!!! Naked babies!!!



We visited Zoe's family at the campsite her aunt runs (we had the yummiest hotdogs EVER!). Nolan enjoyed the dustpan & broom...of course!



How cute is that little puppy?



I call this, the many faces of Nolan...he has so many expressions...these pics were taken back to back.







Portia was loving on Nolan



Nolan playing in the sand. He ate lots of sand!



Playing on the slide with Portia's Grandpa





I've never seen this in person, but they were EVERYWHERE! They suck up oil...I think they look like mosquitoes! :)



I just think these two pics are cute. We are eating dinner at Tim Horton's. There was a LOT of Tim's on this trip!





I'll have more on Wednesday...Zoe took a ton of pictures!!