18 Months

On this first day of Fall, Nolan is officially 1 1/2 years old. Fall brings lots of fun things-football, leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and smells of apple cider. Nolan is a busy little boy and I can't wait to watch him pick out pumpkins, dress up for Halloween, and play in the leaves this year.

At 18 months Nolan....

• Weighs about 24lbs and 33.5" (83% for height and 24% for weight to height ratio)
• Still wears size 3 diapers
• Wears mostly 12 month or 18 month clothes and size 4 shoe
• Loves milk just like his mom
• Has started to use a spoon to feed himself and he does a pretty good job.
• STILL will not eat table food besides bread, crackers, and cheerios....so Gerber fruits and vegetables are still on the menu every night.
• Has 4 teeth on top, 4 on the bottom, his molars are starting to come in and I think a few others on top-he is definitely going through teething pain right now.
• Loves to play in the bathtub and pour water on himself
• No=his favorite word, along with the shaking of his head.
• Enjoys going for walks up and down the street
• Plays with his cars and trucks daily-he likes to line them up in rows and try to push them
• Builds towers
• Is obsessed with shutting all the doors in our house
• Likes to pick up his toys and put things back where they belong. He loves to put his clothes in the hamper.
• Enjoys cleaning-especially vacuuming!
• Reads books daily-he loves the Sesame Street Beginnings books and does all the actions
• Elmo is his favorite character and likes to watch Elmo's World
• Besides being able to identify all his body parts, he can point out the body parts of people/animals in his stories.
• Loves to play with his Leap Frog magnetic farm animal puzzle-he can make matches all on his own, but loves to mismatch and giggle.
• Enjoys dancing and watching Glee
• Will put himself in timeout when he thinks he is in trouble and will willingly go there when we ask him
• Tries to do the actions of the itsy-bitsy spider and patty cake on his own
• Had his first haircut given by mom while in the bathtub 
• Likes to brush his hair in the morning while we are getting ready
• Likes to flush the toilets in the house
• Dances to music and asks for more music all the time!
• Will come and get you for whatever he wants you to do....he will pull your finger or push youto go somewhere. It's really cute when he wants both Jimmy and myself to come do something.
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Playing with his truck

Walking up and down our street

Feeding himself with a spoon

First haircut

Our little family

17 Months

August 22-first day of school with students and Nolan turned 17 months. Where did summer go?! It's hard to believe that I've already started school again and Nolan is almost a 1 1/2 year old. He continues to amaze us each day and we now live for the weekends.

At 17 months Nolan...

Little Hands on the Farm 2012

• Weighs 23.5 lbs
• Wears size 3 diapers STILL, 12-18 month clothes and 3w shoes
• Eyes are still blue...so I'm guessing they will stay that way. His hair is curly and getting long. I need to cut it...eventually.
• Still eats Gerber baby food.....hopefully this fall he will start to like more table food. He will eat crackers, cheerios, puffs, crunchies, and bread.
• Shakes his head no in the correct context.
• Loves to play with cars and trucks. He will line his trucks up in a row and push them around.
• Is OBSESSED with Elmo and Big Bird. He loves to watch Sesame Street and carry around his Elmo and Big Bird. Loves to sing "La, la, la" like Big Bird.
• Is starting to say beginning sounds for many words and can say the following clearly-mommy, daddy, dog, balloon, ball, bye-bye, baby, done, and bubbles.
• Enjoys being outside-he loves to go for walks, swim, the zoo, and swing.
• Loves to brush his hair with my brush
• Is still obsessed with balloons-we always have one in the house. We attended the Indianola Balloon Festival-he loved watching all the balloons in the sky.
• He likes to carry around his golf club and baseball bat-he is left handed just like me.
• Understands everything we are telling him....he just chooses whether or not to listen.
• Had his first Iowa State Fair experience-he did little Hands on the Farm and saw the animals.
• Has learned how to go down the stairs by sliding on his tummy.
• Loves baths
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Hanging out with his friends from the street.

16 Months Old

I can't believe summer is half over and Nolan is 16 months old. It's hard to believe that this time last summer we were kept in doors due to the heat and him being only a few months old. This summer has been a busy one even though we have not been able to do much as a family due to Jimmy being in his cast. (Fortunately he gets it off on Friday and we will find out if he needs to have surgery...which my guess is he probably will need to have surgery.) Each day I have tried to do some type of activity with Nolan...whether it be playdates, the park, the pool, the zoo, or even visiting Grandma/Grandpa or Nani and Poppi. Nolan sure loves to run errands and especially ride in the carts that look like little cars.

At 16 months Nolan...

• Weighs 23lbs
• Wears size 3 diapers and size 12 or 18 month clothes
• Wears size 3w in shoes, but thinking I need to switch to 4's soon
• Drinks a sippy of milk in the morning and just before bed.
• STILL only eats mostly Gerber baby food...he really enjoys the Organic Sweet Potatoes. He will eat crackers, bread, cheerios, puffs, and teddy grahams.
• Loves going to the pool and his float.
• Has taken many trips to the zoo this year and loves to watch the monkeys. He experienced his first train ride and his first ride on the merry go round. He loved them both and did not want to get off them!
• Enjoys his swing in the backyard but hasn't been in it recently due to the extreme heat.

• Is a quick learner...we can show him how to do something one time and he can remember it and do it on his own.
• Words he says clearly-Daddy, mama, baby (he loves to point out the baby on his Gerber food), dog, ball, balloon, byebye, roar, Emma, zoo, more.
• Words he says but only has the beginning consonants and middle sounds- up, down, out, bird, on, off, roo (for Kangaroo), ma for Grandma, na for Nani.
• Can point out animals on a page when asked and can make a sound  for a monkey, tiger, and dog. He loves to read books.
• Does a pretty good job with following directions and can point or show us what he wants.
• Is OBSESSED with Elmo on Sesame Street....also as I just started watching it, when did they change the song a little bit?
• Experienced his first "real" 4th of July parade and fireworks. We took him last year but he was too little to realize what was going on.

• Said his first two word phrase-"More ball."
• Took his first steps barefoot in grass and liked it...although I don't think I will let him be barefoot that often.
• Does NOT like to get food on his hands or his tray...he will wine and hold his hands up for you to clean them.
• Enjoys coloring and doing mess free finger painting. His favorite color is purple and he holds the crayon mostly in his left, but will switch to his right.
• Loves to be tickled and his giggles are so cute! 
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day! 

Nolan's 15 Months

Summer is in full swing and so is little Nolan. Our now 15 month old is enjoying his summer days at the park, swinging on his new swing in the backyard, swimming in our pool, zoo trips, and going for walks. This summer is by far much different than last summer. Nolan was only a few months old and couldn't be outside...but now that he can, he loves it! Every morning he points to go in our backyard to either a. the pool or b. the swing. We bought a bucket swing for him and he is obsessed with it. He cries so hard when we take him out.

At 15 months Nolan...

* Weighs 22.5lbs
* Height- 30.5 inches
* Wears size 3 diapers
* Wears 9 and 12 month clothes mostly and size 3w for shoes
* Takes a morning and an afternoon nap- roughly 2 hours each
* Eats mostly baby food STILL besides crackers, bread, cheerios, yogurt. This summer my goal is to get him to eat some solid foods....hopefully.
* Drank from a straw for the first time and had his first milkshake.

* Loves bathtime and the pool- he loves to use cups to pour out water and sit on the little stool in his pool.

*Words Nolan can say mostly begin with the letter B- balloon (his favorite word), ball, bye bye, baby (We were wondering where he heard this word...then when I was feeding him he pointed to the Gerber baby on his baby food jar and said BABY!) bath, belt, daddy, mommy, and belt. He is trying very hard to say Georgie for his Curious George Monkey...he almost has it.

* Loves to watch his 1 year old slideshow and name the people in it...he can identify mommy, daddy, Nani, and Grandma (which he says ma)
*Can follow any direction given to him...just depends if he wants to do it.
*Can identify his head,eyes,  nose, ears, belly, belly button, mouth, and toes. Apparently that's a 2 year milestone.
*Visited the zoo for the first time this summer...and can make the "ooo aaa ooo  aaa" sound the monkeys make and can also make a fishy face.

* Had his first skinned knee...but didn't cry to bad.
* Can sit and play so contently with his toys.
* Loves his balloon and carries it around with him. His favorite word is balloon and when we go into stores with balloons, he signs please and motions for them.
* Loves to put things back where they belong and to put clothes in his hamper.
* Continues to be such a good listener...I hope that continues!
* Enjoys swinging in the backyard with his new swing and cries when we take him out of it.
* Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Nolan's 14 Months

Nolan is 14 months old and is in the cutest little stage ever. He loves to walk around, run, giggle, and babble. I am so looking forward to summer so that I can relax, play, and enjoy the days with him.

At 14 months Nolan...

• Weighs 21.5lbs with clothes and a diaper on
• Height-not sure, perhaps on Friday when he goes for a check-up we will find out
• Wears size 3 diapers
• Sleeps roughly from 7:30-6:00a.m. on weekdays and on weekends will sleep until 7:45 a.m.
• Wears mostly 9 and 12 month clothes, size 3w shoe
• Eats only baby food, crackers, bread, yogurt, puffs, and crunchies. We try to get him to eat regular food, but he just won't do it. I think it's a texture thing...he will feel cheese and then feel his crackers and he knows they aren't the same and will not eat it. It's interesting to watch his little mind at work...he compares and contrasts things all day!
• Has ear infections ALL.THE.TIME.
• Follows directions extremely well.....he knows exactly what we are saying and what we want. Nolan can pretty much do anything we ask him to....he even walked alongside us at Jordan Creek mall and didn't try to run off.
• LOVES to be outside, go for walks, and go to the park. The other day we were driving by the park, Nolan saw it and started to point and make noises...so of course we had to stop. He is so observant.
• Can identify cows and pigs in books. He loves to read each night and pick out his own books,
• Says Mama, Dada, bye bye, mil (Milk), baaa (balloon)
• Can identify his head, ears, hair, belly
• Loves to wear shoes and brush his hair. He loves to try to put peoples shoes on their feet as well.
• Carries his little puppy (snuggle buddy that has an animal head and a blanket body) with him everywhere he goes and sleeps with it
• Has 2 bottom teeth and 4 on the top.
• Loves riding in his outdoor car and playing with his new basketball hoop
• Points at things he wants
• Can sign please, more, and all done. If you ask him if he needs help, he will say please.
• Loves to turn off the lights...he loves to push the light switch down and figure out which light it controls.
• Has recently become obsessed with ceiling fans. He points, stares, and wants them on all the time.
• Is a child of routine-he is truly my child.
• Continues to bring joy to our lives each day!

Riding along in my automobile....

Little shopper at Hy-Vee

What are you looking at?

Pushing the shopping cart around at home

Riding Mom's Playskool toy

Just like Daddy

Waving to all the cars as they go by.

Walking through the shoe store...he was in heaven!

Spaghetti?...Naw I prefer string

Real Men Wear Pink

Playing with pudding because he wouldn't eat it