2 Years Old!

It's official....we have a 2 year old! I can hardly believe 2 years ago we became parents for the first time. Looking back at pictures (and believe me we took  A TON of pictures...probably more than the average family since we were there longer in the NICU) I can't believe how tiny he was and how fast the time has gone. Nolan definitely was a baby whose look seemed to change with every picture and I would say that around 14 months is when I feel he started to look the same in each picture. It has been fun keeping track of his milestones through this blog and I am so glad that I decided to blog! I love being able to look back at what he was doing at 3 months old, etc. The past 2 years have been so much fun, I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

At 2 years old Nolan...

• Height- 36 inches (91%)
• Weight: 26.5lbs (35%)

• Wears size 18 month and some 2T clothes and size 6w shoe
• Wears size 3 diapers...still.
• LOVES milk-he has to have a sippy as soon as he wakes up of warm milk
• Is still a picky eater-he eats mostly dry foods (cereal, bread, crackers, etc.) chicken nuggets and waffles. He loves fruit and veggie squeezables and will eat anything he can squeeze. He still prefers veggies over fruit and loves green beans.
• Continues to be the best sleeper...sleeps from 7 or 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. He has never been a kid to throw a tantrum when it is time to go to bed...he may whine but when I say lets go upstairs..he willingly has always walked up to his room.
• Is talking non-stop...he can pretty much repeat any word we tell him to and he loves to narrate what he is doing. However, he will not say Grandma....on purpose of course.
• Some phrases we hear often:  "okay," "Hi Mommy!"  "Daddy bye bye!", "yellow school bus, "Nolan watch," "big bird please!"
• At night will tell everyone goodnight..."Night night Daddy, night night Mommy, night night Papa, night night Poppi, night night CC, night night Nani.."
• He loves Sesame Street and Peppa Pig...and will often ask to watch them followed by the word please.
• Is always hot...he dislikes wearing long sleeves and hoodies
• LOVES BOOKS...he will often come get me and say "Read Mommy!" His favorite book is Heads and loves to point out and name all the animals...right now he loves the rino.
• Loves watching and helping us cook
• Favorite songs-Row, row row your boat, Elmo's World Theme Song, The Wheels on the Bus
• Loves playing in his playroom...especially with his kitchen and train table..he loves  his "Choo-choo's!"
• Was scared of the Easter Bunny but enjoyed the train ride 
• Loves to take showers and play in the water but hates getting his hair washed.
• Has not had his first official big boy haircut...I have been trimming it myself.
• Enjoys playing with all of his toy cars and could play by himself with them for hours.
• Likes to "measure" the walls in our house using a real tape measure r.
• Went sledding for the first time and enjoyed it!
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Nolan loves to help vacuum.

Nani stopped over for a visit!

Can I go to Disney World?? I already have the ears!

Helping make french toast.

Watching them sizzle.

Eating his  2nd happy meal

Coloring-I think he favorite colors are purple and blue.

Looking at a snake at the Science Center.

Cheese!

Building dominoes with Daddy!

At the Science Center with Mommy!

Seeing T-Rex!

First time sledding.

1 More Month!

One more month that is...until Nolan turns 2! Where has the time gone!? I can't believe March is almost here and that we are planning for his 2nd birthday. Although I do miss the "baby" stage, I love each stage Nolan goes through. Right now he is into repeating words and trying to do a lot of this by himself. It is so fun to see things through the eyes of a toddler...even the littlest things make him laugh and giggle.

At 23 months Nolan....

• Weighs around 23lbs
• Wears size 18-24 month clothes and size 5 shoes
• Still wears size 3 diapers....and is starting to tell us when he has gone to the bathroom.
• Sleeps from 7:30 p.m.- 6:30 a.m. and takes a 2 hour afternoon nap
• Can say over 50 words and will repeat things that we say. His most recent words are home, gum, and yellow.
• Knows his colors and can say blue, yellow, red, and white.
• Can find the letters o, n, b, and h when asked.
• Loves to read books and understands directionality...whenever we read a book that has an animal upside down on the page, he will turn it to make it correct.
• Had his hearing checked since he was in the NICU when he was born and passed
• Loves Sesame Street and Peppa Pig
• Still is a picky eater but we got him to eat waffles and chicken nuggets.
• Has been throwing little tantrums when he does not get his way....so he has spent sometime in time out lately
• Loves to push his shopping cart around the house and follow us while we are pushing his trike around
• Looks out the window in the morning and says "white" when he sees the snow
• Enjoys helping us cook at the counter...he loves to stir things
• Loves his rocking chair and watches Elmo in it
• Carries Dog and Monkey around with him everywhere he goes
• Has an obsession with buses....we are always looking for them when we drive and he loves to play with his toy buses
• Enjoys trains and loves to reading about Thomas and all his friends...especially Molly
• Favorite songs-Row Row Row Your Boat and The Wheels On The Bus
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Going up and down the stairs

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Eating something not baby food...yeah for chicken nuggets!

Riding around the house

When we ask him to smile this is what we get....cute but we wish his eyes were open!

Playroom Pinterest Success

We turned our den into Nolan's playroom a few months ago and I am now getting around to decorating it. It is amazing how a child can have soooooo many toys, yet they all don't fit in the playroom! I knew from the beginning that I wanted to do a Dr. Seuss theme (but not an overbearing one) to go along with all the Dr. Seuss stuffed animals and books we have. So, I found some cute wall quotes, a clock, and a growth chart all in Dr. Seuss theme to put up. I also have wanted to have a cute way to display his artwork....not that he has much now...but eventually he will. I wanted something that was easy interchangeable, yet still cute. So I turned to pinterest for inspiration. Needless to say, Nolan loves his playroom! ( I still have one wall to decorate which is a large project in itself...so hopefully I will be able to share that sooner than later...)

My little Picasso

Interchangeable picture frames with his current artwork of Sesame Street coloring pages and a painting.

View of the wall

Entry of the playroom-Dr. Seuss quote on back wall

Close up of Dr. Seuss quote

Dr. Seuss quote above the doors

The wall on this side of the room will be my next project...which is a big one.

22 Months on the 22nd

This past month has been a relaxing and fun one at the Wittenwyler house. This Christmas was much different from last year as Nolan was able to open  up all his own presents and enjoyed playing with his toys. He enjoyed seeing his Uncle Brian, Aunt Megan, and cousins Brian, Emma, and Maddy from North Carolina. He also enjoyed taking a trip to Fort Dodge to see aunts, uncles, and cousins from California, Texas, and Arkansas. Fortunately, he stayed pretty healthy this past month until last week when he developed mouth sores...aka HFM disease. =(  Here's hoping to a healthy and exciting February!

At 22 months Nolan....

• Still wears size 3 diapers
• Wears size 5 shoe and size 18-24 month clothes
• Sleeps 12-13 hours a night
• Can say 33 words...yes I counted. He loves to say the word bus and look for them as we are driving in the car. 
• Still will only eat mostly baby food, but he did eat some hamburger the other day and had a cinnamon roll at Kelly's! Yay!
• Carries his stuffed animals with him everywhere...to bed, to the basement, to our bedroom, to the living room, etc. His favorite stuffed animals are: dog, monkey, Ernie, Hippo, Roo, and mouse.
• Loves to copy and imitate us...monkey see monkey do!
• Loves to take showers and baths....but recently has been taking more showers.
• Enjoys standing at the kitchen counter in his new tower standing thing...he loves to help and see what is going on!
• Loves to read books and his current favorites are: Peek-A-Who?, Elmo Says, Little Blue Truck, and That's Not My Lion
• His favorite song is Row Row Row Your Boat....he can sing row row row and merrily merrily merrily.
• Loves to brush his teeth every morning and night...and will even let me help brush them!
• Is definitely becoming a Daddy's boy.....he will follow Jimmy around everywhere and cry for him if he leaves.
• Loves train tables and playing with his cars.
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Playing his "woofer" from God's country!

Eating cheerios and trying a waffle.

Smiles with Mommy

Helping make a Caesar salad.

Christmas with Aunt Christina

Enjoying his new Rock, Roll, and Ride bike!

Christmas at the Wittnewyler's

Drying Ernie's hair.

Sweet little boy

Playing in the bathtub

Cheerios after a bath

Smiles with Clifford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earning his keep

 

 

21 Months

This month and actually the past year has flown by quickly. Nolan is now 21 months and this is the last monthly post I will make in 2012. It is hard to believe Christmas is almost here, but at least it is a white one! I am excited to take Nolan out in the snow, although I am not sure if he will want to play in it or just look at it. These past two days we have been home due to a blizzard and Nolan has spent most of his day looking out the front door. He likes watching people snow blow and yesterday even saw someone snowmobiling down the street!

At 21 months Nolan....

• Weighs about 25lbs
• Wears size 5 shoe and 18-24 month clothes
• STILL is in size 3 diapers
• Sleeps from 7:30p.m. to 6:30a.m. and takes a 2 hour afternoon nap-he is such a good sleeper!
• Has made some progress with eating...he ate hamburger the other night with a fork and at wondas at our family Christmas
• Is repeating a lot of things we say, but loves to say his name...NOLAN. 
• Can say about 25 words and his latest is the word mine.
• Has a great sense of humor and likes to be silly. He will say the incorrect animal sound for an animal and giggle about it.
• Loves to play on train tables-especially the one at grandma and grandpas
• Nods his head now to say yes when he wants something
• Has started sleeping with a blanket...he loves it!
• Recognized his name using letters from Leap Frog Phonics and points at it and says Nolan!
• Recognized his name on his stocking and said Nolan!
• Knows letters o, s, and b
• Continues to play well and can easily entertain himself
• Dramatic plays with animals...it's so cute to watch him move his dog up and down and pretend he is barking or move his horse around and say neigh.
• Loves to go "up and down" on the stairs
• Looks for buses while we drive and will go "Busssssssssss" when he sees one
• Enjoys skyping at night with Nani, Poppi, and Aunt Christina
• When he wants our attention, he grabs our hands to take us where he wants us to go
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Playing with Christmas lights.

All smiles before bedtime.

Being silly at Nani's.

Working hard on the computer.

Going down the stairs...and then soon after we went up the stairs.

"Mufasa" is the same size as Nolan!

We tried.

Clifford is much better than Santa!

Trying a wonda!

Snow!