Sitting, Playing, and Eating...Oh My!

This past few weeks have been really busy at the Wittenwyler house.

Nolan has started to learn how to sit all by himself. At first he needed lots of support with the boppy or with someone holding him, but now he can sit for periods of time without falling over. (I am still putting the boppy around him so he doesn't hurt his head if he does fall.)

He's gotten really interested in toys! Grandma and Grandpa Wittenwyler bought Nolan a basketball toy that he loves! It plays music, counts, makes the swish sound when the ball goes through, and lights up. He is really interested in all the sounds and has even put the ball in a few times.

He loves going for walks in his stroller and looking out our living room window. This kid loves to be outside and loves to look at the trees and leaves.Nolan has started to reach his arms out for Jimmy and me when he gets picked up from daycare or we walk through the door at night. He immediately wants to be held by us and does a little cry until we pick him up. He constantly wants to be by us....so he's really started to help with the laundry. He's going to be a social butterfly when he's older.
Adventures in baby food....Nolan has had oatmeal and rice cereal, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, and peaches. He is not too fond of peaches...I think it's the texture. Hopefully he will be a good eater like Jimmy and not a picky eater like me!

Eating carrots

Eating bananas

6 Months Old

Today Nolan is 6 months old! It has been an eventful month with lots of firsts-including lots of sickness. =( This past month Nolan had a viral infection that caused him to break out in a rash head to toe which looked like measles, and my doctor had us go to the ER. At Mercy, the doctors all had the books out trying to figure out what kind of rash he had because it wasn't your typical hand, foot, mouth, roseolla, 5th disease, etc. Needless to say Benedryl was his savior.....until 2 weeks later when he got a bacterial infection. 6 shots later and he is now better....what a tired, sick, and poor little baby! Hopefully he will stay healthy...and I just want to add that no he did not get it from his daycare...he got the viral infection the night BEFORE he was to go to daycare. All these doctors think daycare.....I think kids just get sick...and esepcially kids whose moms are teachers unfortunately. I'm getting better at keeping my room squeaky clean now with wet wipes and lots of hand sanitizer. Instead of the morning handshake, it's the morning hand squirt and go clean your table. =)

Go Hawkeyes!

At 6 months Nolan....

* Weighs 16lbs

*Wears size 2 diapers

*Wears mostly 3-6 month clothes and a few 0-3 month

*Sleeps 8:30p.m.-6:30 a.m. Then goes back down til 9 when he gets to daycare.

*Takes roughly a 2 hour nap in the morning and in the afternoon

*Drinks four 7oz bottles-9, 1, 5, and 8p.m.

*Has had rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and squash (We had to take a break when he broke out in his rash from starting new foods.)

*Still has bright blue eyes

*Experienced his first Iowa Hawkeye game at home with mom

*Is a MOVER....in his crib he is all over the place..back to stomach, stomach to back, corner to corner, etc.

*Is attempting to crawl-he can get his knees up and slides his body to get where he wants to go.

*Reaches for objects, pulls them to his mouth

*Loves his Sophie Giraffe teacher from Holly Jo!

*Loves going to daycare at Grandma's and Kelly's house-especially when he's not sick!

*Enjoys being outside-he loves going for walks and looking at trees.

*Has discovered his feet a month ago, but has just now started to pull them to his mouth

*Continues to love bath time and is splashing like crazy.

*Squeals in delight and loves to blow raspberries

*Can hold his bottle for part of his feeding, but then needs help to tip it as it gets empty.

*Is attempting to sit up...he has a done it a few times for about 10 seconds before falling over

*Loves to stand...I'm afriad he's going to go from sitting to walking and skip the crawling stage!

*Is SO HAPPY...especially in the morning when he wakes up.

*Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!
First Sweet Potatoes

5 Months Old!

Nolan is 5 months old! I can't believe how fast time time has gone and I already am going back to work this week. It is bittersweet-I am excited to go back, yet sad to leave Nolan. I know he will be in good hands with his Grandma and Kelly, so I'm really not worried. I also think it will be motivation for me to leave school at a decent time.

At 5 months Nolan...

*Weighs 15lbs 4 oz (30%) and is 25.5" (50%)

*Wears size 2 diapers (just started)

*Has started wearing 3-6 month clothes, but wears 0-3 in pants and a few onesies

*Started baby cereal-oatmeal *Sleeps 9:30p.m.-9:00a.m. and takes a 2 hour nap in the morning, afternoon, and in the late evening

*Grabs feet when being changed

*Coos, giggles, and squeals in delight-especially when waking up in the morning

*Has rolled over from his belly to his back since he was 1 month consistently, but finally rolled from his back to his stomach a few times

*Plays in his baby Einstein Jumperoo

*Pulls and reaches for toys when on back or belly
*Enjoys being read to each night before bed

*Loves baths and has started splashing with his legs
*Loves getting rasberry kisses and has the cutest giggle

A Wedding and a Baptism

My cousin Carrie Jo got married last weekend in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She got married on the most perfect day to her perfect man, Brady. This was Nolan's first time staying in a hotel and traveling overnight-his suitcase was just as big as mine! The wedding was a blast and Nolan enjoyed meeting a lot of relatives. His Aunt Christina bought him the cutest suit and he was the talk of the wedding. I can't wait to go back when things settle down to go visit Carrie Jo and Brady in their new house and play some pitch!This weekend Nolan was baptized at Sacred Heart Church by Father Hess on Saturday after the 4 pm mass. This was Nolan's first time sitting through mass and he did great! He would make little coo sounds when we were singing-it was cute and the old ladies sitting behind us just loved him. Nolan also did great during his baptism. It was nice to have it after mass that way we didn't feel rushed, a lot of people could participate, and we could take pictures/video. My cousin Franky is Nolan's godfather and my sister Christina is Nolan's godmother. The baptism was extra special because Nolan wore the same gown that his great- grandfather wore on the day he was baptized. This gown is 90 years old and was handmade. Jimmy and some of his cousins also wore the gown. After Nolan was baptized, we came back to our house and had a great feast-lasagna, ham, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, salad, pasta salad, corn, fruit salad, bread, and cake. Everyone had a great time and we were so honored to have family and friends there-although we did just a small crowd of 15 people.

Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins Oh My!

Nolan met his Aunt Kate and cousin Jake in July. They came all the way from Texas to visit. Jake is 1 and 1/2 years old and loves to "dance." He has changed so much since the last time we had seem him-it's like he went from a baby to a little boy overnight! It's crazy to think that Nolan will be that big some day! I didn't get that many pictures when they were here since Jake was always "on the move" but I did capture one cute one! We can't wait til their next visit!
Nolan met his Uncle Brian, Aunt Megan, Brian, and Emma the first week of August. They came all the way from North Carolina to spend a few weeks here in Iowa. Brian is really starting to talk and is so cute! Emma is 10 months old and is adorable. They all went swimming at our house in a little kid pool and had a blast. It's fun to watch Nolan interact with his cousins and when Nolan started to cry, Emma patted him on the back. We wish they lived closer to us because visits will usually only be twice a year. =( Here are a few pictures that we captured during their trip.