We Survived Our First Week!!

We survived our first week of me going back to work and Nolan going to Ashlee's, his babysitter.  I was a little nervous about getting a schedule established, but everything went great!!  I take the night feeding and then Bill gets up in the morning and feeds Nolan before he leaves for work.  Nolan goes back to sleep after eating until I wake him up to dress him and load him in the car.  I take him to Ashlee's, which he loves, and then head to work.  I even made it to work 10 minutes early each day!!  I'm not going to allow myself to sleep an extra 10 minutes because the one time I do there is going to be a last minute poop explosion or a meltdown over something, which I will need those extra 10 minutes.  Bill picks up Nolan and I get home shortly after the boys.  We snuggle as a family, feed Nollie, and then Nolan goes to bed. Yes, this means he sleeps 6-7 hours at one time!!

It feels so great to be back to work! I get to visit with  my patients and hang out with my other family all day.  I call and check in on Nolan a couple of times a day, but I know he is doing great!!  Ashlee is such a sweetheart and her little boy loves Nolan.  Ashlee said Landon talks and plays with Nolan and he laughs and talks back to Landon.  When Nolan gets a little older he'll be following Landon around all over the place.

Snuggling with my love after my first day back to work

 Big boy on Daddy's side of the bed!

Nolan is growing up so much!! He loves to smile, laugh, and coo.  He will have conversations with Bill for about 10 minutes.   He also enjoys playing on his play mat by swatting at the rattles, kicking like a crazy man, and listening to music.  I was in the kitchen while he was on his play mat and I heard him going to town talking and kicking! I'm still trying to figure out how to upload the video onto the blog, so everyone will just have to take my word for it.

Here are a few pictures I took of Nolan this morning.  He's developing such a little personality!!

Nolan's 2 Month Check Up

Today was Nolan's two month check up with Dr. Jennifer Hulsen, his pediatrician.  Not to be confused with Dr. Thomas Hulsen, the doctor who delivered Nolan.  You guessed it... they're husband and wife.  We arrived at our appointment a little early, so Nolan fell asleep in the waiting room.  Once, we were called back into our room the nurse weighed and measured Nolan.  Nolan now weighs 12 pounds 6.5 ounces and is 24 inches long!! My little boy is growing like a weed. Since Dr. Hulsen was running a little bit behind, she went ahead and had the nurse give Nolan his vaccines.  Two were in the form of shots and one he was able to drink.  The liquid went down just fine, but the shots didn't go over too well with Nollie.  He let out the loudest cry I have ever heard come out of him and he actually had tears in his eyes.  As soon as the nurse was finished, I swooped him up into my arms and he settled right down.  He ate a bottle while waiting for Dr. Hulsen and fell asleep again.  I have the best baby!! We're now back at home resting and recovering from those treacherous shots.  Nolan was a little fussy, but is doing great.  I took a few pictures of the battle wounds and then dressed him in his pajamas so he can sleep better.

 The reason Nolan is growing so much is because he is such a great eater!! And we all know what goes in MUST come out, so not only is Nolan growing but so is the size of his bowel movements!!  He had a little explosion the other day and I thought it was a great opportunity to document, so when he gets older we can show the pictures to his friends.  This is why I call him Pooter.

 Still working a little bit up....

 He thought it was quite funny

 All better

 He even got some on Mommy

The aftermath of the explosion.

Cleaned up.  Now time to relax.

Nolan's First Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our wonderful family and friends!!  Nolan and I started our Valentine's Day off with a hug and a kiss from Daddy this morning.  Nolan gave me the best present of all; he slept until 7:00!! haha  After we slept in, I took Nolan to my chiropractor appointment where I had a nice adjustment.  Nana and Aunt Kelby stopped by with an adorable outfit and shoes from Old Navy for Nolan.  We all went out to eat at Applebee's and then came back to the house to hang out.  I decided it was an opportune time to have a little photo shoot at the house because I had some helpers, Nana and Aunt Kelby.  Nolan did a great job!!  Aunt Kelby kept him satisfied with his paci and Nana and I took the pictures.

After the photo shoot, Nana and Aunt Kelby left to go back home to Coffeen.  Nolan and I layed down for a nice long afternoon nap.  We were really tired because I awoke to a scratch on my nose, and it was Bill tickling my nose with the stem of the rose he got me for Valentine's Day!! He also bought me a box of chocolates and a card from himself and from Nolan.  Bill is such a sweetheart, I love him more and more everyday.  He truly is my best friend and the most wonderful father Nolan could ask for.  I fall more in love with him everyday because of the wonderful things he does for our family.  I love you Billy Head!!

Ten minutes later, I had eaten half of my box of chocolates when Nana text me to say my family was going to Uncle Jaron's basketball game in Hillsboro.  I could not miss this opportunity to show off my little man, so I packed Nolan up and we made the drive once more.  Nolan is starting to like his car seat a little more since he is in it ALL the time.  Bill stayed back to work on his thesis.  Nolan did great at the basketball game.  He was so alert looking around at everyone and smiling like a big boy.  I was worried about all of the noise, the band, and the buzzer, but Nolan did so good!!  We left after the first quarter of the Varsity game and made it back to Glen Carbon in time to bathe, feed, and put Nolan to sleep by 9:30.   He is such a trooper and a great little boy.

PHOTO SHOOT!!

 This one cracked me up! He's just hanging out.  Thinking, "Mommy, are we almost done?!"

 "Seriously, I'm getting tired of waiting!!"

 This is the quilt Great Grandma Jane made for Nolan's bedroom.

 GO TOPPERS!!

Hanging with the Hygienists

As most of you know I am a Dental Hygienist and I went to Hygiene school at Lewis and Clark Community College.  While attending college, I met a great group of girls and we have still remained in contact today.  Among that group of girls are Brooke and Linda.  Today, Brooke stopped by to see Nolan for the first time.  Brooke brought a few goodies for Nolan including a Mizzou Tigers outfit.  Brooke said since her and Joe moved to Missouri she has to represent!  Thanks Brookie for my cool outfit!!  Brooke, Nolan, and I met Linda at Applebee's to have a delicious lunch.  Nolan is pretty much a regular in the restaurants. We had a good time catching up and of course the girls think Nolan looks like Bill.  Oh well, at least his daddy is a good looking guy!  After we ate, we all came back to the house to cuddle with Nolan a few times and then the girls left for the afternoon.

 Linda and Nolan

 Brooke and Nolan

Nolan ended the day hanging out with daddy on the floor.  Bill cannot believe how alert Nolan has become.  After looking at these pictures, Nolan definitely looks like Bill.

 

 Smiles for Daddy

 

Nollie loves his Daddy

Mommy's Little Sagittarius

I went to Old Navy the other day and saw little outfits with zodiac signs on them.  Of course, I had to buy one for Nolan.  As I was looking at the different zodiac signs, I remembered the recent conflict of the changes of zodiac signs due to the Earth's rotational change.  I went ahead and bought the outfit because I couldn't pass it up.  I came home and found this lovely article and instant relief overcame me.  Nolan is STILL a Sagittarius!! I thought this article would be interesting for Nolan to look at when he was older, so I went ahead and copied and pasted the article onto the blog.

 Here are a few pictures of Nolan's Sagittarius outfit:

 Front

 Front Close Up

 Back

Back Close Up

Bill is a little nervous about the "life of the party" saying.  I told him not to worry Nolan will be just like his daddy!! 

Horoscope Hang-Up: Earth Rotation Changes Zodiac Signs

By: Megan Friedman

Topics: astrology, bizarre, horoscope, new Zodiac, zodiac

Getty Images

If you're the type of person who relies on mysterious-sounding locations of stars to determine your personality and outcome in life, get ready to be shocked.
The field of astrology, which is concerned with horoscopes and the like, felt a major disruption from astronomers, who are concerned with actual stars and planets. The astronomers from the Minnesota Planetarium Society found that because of the moon's gravitational pull on Earth, the alignment of the stars was pushed by about a month.

(More on TIME.com: See if your horoscope will change with the "new" Zodiac model.)

"When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces," noted Parke Kunkle, a member of the group's board. Your astrological sign is determined by the position of the sun on the day you were born, so that means everything you thought you knew about your horoscope is wrong.
It turns out that astrology has had issues from its inception. (Aside from the fact that it tries to link personality traits with positions of the stars.) Ancient Babylonians had 13 constellations, but wanted only 12, so threw out Ophuchicus, the snake holder. Libra didn't even enter the picture until the era of Julius Caesar.

(More on TIME.com: See the most surprising pictures of 2010.)

According to the Minnesota Planetarium Society, here is where the real signs of the Zodiac should fall. Get ready for your world to change forever.

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.
Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.
Pisces: March 11-April 18.
Aries: April 18-May 13.
Taurus: May 13-June 21.
Gemini: June 21-July 20.
Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10.
Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.
Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30.
Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.
Scorpio: Nov. 23-29.
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.  (Yep, this one is new — read all about the Ophiuchus way of life here)
Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/13/horoscope-hang-up-earth-rotation-changes-zodiac-signs/#ixzz1Dhf9hxxa

To the Beeler Farm We Go

Nolan and I went to visit Grandma Donna at her work place today.  We left Glen Carbon around 11:30am and made it to Hillsboro around 12:45pm.  It was my first big trip with Nolan all by myself.  We made pretty good time and Nolan got a nice nap in.  After showing Nolan off around the office, we all went out to eat at no other than Mexican!!  The parking lot was so slick and covered with ice that when I parked my truck, it slid back a few inches.  After the truck stopped sliding, we made it in to eat a few tacos and shredded chicken nachos......delicious!! 

Nolan visiting Grandma Donna at work

After Grandma Donna and I finished eating we decided it would be fun to take Nolan for a surprise visit to see Great Grandma Beeler.  Boy was she surprised!!  Grandma Beeler kept saying how much Nolan looks exactly like "Billy" did when he was that age.  I believe it.  Nolan is definately his daddy's son.  I text cousin Ethan to tell him we would be at the Beeler's and he should stop by to see Nolan.  Great Uncle Joe showed up too.  The Joe Beeler family bought Nolan his first camo outfit from Cabela's.  Nolan now has an outfit to wear while shooting his Henry Golden Boy Rifle!  Thanks for the camo outfit!!

 Mommy and Nolan with Great Grandma Beeler

 Nolan loved Great Uncle Joe's hat!

 Cousin Ethan and Nolan

Great Uncle Joe and Nolan just hanging out!