Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The Day after Christmas

On the day after Christmas, Bill, Nolan, and I went to Grandma and Grandpa Funderburk's to celebrate the holidays.  Uncle Joe and Great Grandma Beeler joined us as well.  More gifts and another delicious lunch.  Grandma Donna made amazing homemade chicken pot pie.  They were so yummy!! Grandma took Nolan to the basement for a nap, while Bill, Grandpa Rick, and I settled in for an episode of Northern Exposure.  When Nolan awoke from his nap, we packed up the car and headed home. FINALLY, back to our own beds and comfy home.

 The silver cup and spoon were Bill's when he was a baby.  Nolan thought he was pretty cool drinking from the cup and eating with the spoon.
 Nolan and Grandma Donna opening presents
Nollie loves his daddy!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas morning we awoke an hour later than planned.  Nolan decided to sleep in, so Bill and I kept sleeping without our little alarm clock going off in the early morning.  Thank goodness Nana called us at 7:45am and woke everyone up.  Who knows how late we would have been the rest of the day.  I went into Nolan's room and woke him up.  He was all smiles with crazy bed head.  We went into the living room and ripped into our presents! What a great Christmas full of love and goodies.  I was too busy using my Christmas present to have a picture taken with it.  Bill and Nolan gave me a new Nikon D5100 camera which also includes a video recorder.

 This picture cracks me up, I think the flash got him!
 Silly boys
 Portable Impact Drill for Daddy
 Nolan received foam letters, plastic balls, and a tunnel and tent from Santa

We finished opening presents and loaded up into the car.  Bill, Nolan, and I made our way to Nana and Papa T's, only an hour behind schedule.  Upon arriving at Nana and Papa T's, we had a ton more gifts to open.  We were so busy opening presents, I forgot to take pictures.  Nolan played with his Little Tikes truck again, and still loved it.  Bill and I are very grateful for the gifts we received as well!! 

 The only picture taken at Nana and Papa T's house

It was time to go to Gigi and Papa Chesser's.  Bill, Nolan, Jimmy, Aunt Kay Kay, and myself jumped into our car and headed into town.  Gigi and Papa Chesser always have the best decorations for Christmas.  One of their traditions is the upside down Christmas tree.  Of course, I didn't get a picture of it, but it's amazing.  Everyone settled in for a delicious lunch.  Nolan really likes eating table food.  After the grand kids opened their presents, we played Dirty Santa.  We had a blast and great gifts were stolen.  I ended up with the $25 gift card to Wal-Mart, even though it was stolen a couple of times. Holla!!

 Chilling with his favorite guy
 This tree is a perfect example of my grandma's exciting personality!! love it
 Nolan was more excited about the red bell instead of the huge gift in front of him
 Another set of wheels......VROOM VROOM!!
 Nolan and Nana
 Bill's buddy that was in his Dirty Santa gift
Two handsome dudes looking into the mirror

Nolan became grouchy, so Bill and I decided to head back to Nana and Papa T's to take a nap.  Nolan passed out in the car five minutes after leaving Gigi's driveway.  I carried Nolan upstairs to nap. Meanwhile I read on my Kindle and Bill rested his eyes too.  The rest of the gang arrived around 3:00, so we loaded up for the last time and headed over to Meme and Poppy Young's house.  Another feast was eaten and more great gifts were opened.  Nolan had a lot of fun playing with his younger cousins.  Now that Nolan is walking, he was following the younger kids around all over the house.

 Twins?
Playing cashier with cousin Liv, who proudly showed off her missing front tooth!!

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family!! What a very Merry Christmas Bill, Nolan, and I experienced.  Good gifts, good times, and most importantly a good God!!  Let us not forget the true meaning of CHRISTmas.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!

Christmas Eve

This year for the holidays everyone decided to split Christmas up into different days.  This way we could spend more time with each family and not be running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  Christmas Eve day was spent at Grandpa and Grandma Purcell's house.  We arrived around noon and had a nice lunch, opened presents, played Dirty Santa and White Elephant, and relaxed before heading home.

Nolan received lots of fun gifts, bathtub toys and books to name a couple!!

 Playing kitchen with Grandpa Bill
The three youngest: Rebekah, Zach, and Nolan

After leaving the Purcell's, Bill and I decided to go ahead and drop off our presents at Nana and Papa T's that way there was one less thing to do Christmas morning.  Nolan found his Christmas present and was thrilled!!  He received a Little Tikes Truck from Nana and Papa T.

 Nolan honked the horn all night!! He thought he was big stuff in his new truck.
The Allis-Chalmers tractor was played with too.  I remember when I was a kid, Papa T wouldn't let us play with his "collectible" tractors.  Funny how things change when a grand baby is born!!

Bill, Nolan, and I arrived back home at a reasonable hour.  Nolan had his bath and we settled in to watch Christmas specials on ABC Family.  Bill and I have a tradition where we open one gift each on Christmas Eve, so we had to let Nolan in on the deal.  After we each opened a present, Bill and Nolan settled into the big chair and listened to Grandma Donna read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, a new tradition on Christmas Eve which was started when Nolan was born.


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Happy First Birthday Nolan Henson!

At this time one year ago, I was settling into my hospital room at Anderson Hospital with my new family. Nolan Henson Purcell was born December 20th at 6:20pm.  Weighing in at 7lbs 7oz and measuring 19.5in long. What a very Merry Christmas we had!!


ONE MONTH OLD - Nolan fit into our lives perfectly.  I was lucky enough to be able to stay at home with him for the first 8 weeks before returning back to work.  I had to have my appendix removed.  Nolan was learning to roll from his belly to his back.  He weighed 10lbs 3oz and was 22 1/4 inches long.


TWO MONTHS OLD - I returned to work February 27th and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  Nolan experienced his first haircut and his first Valentine's Day. Nolan weighed 12 pounds 6.5 ounces and was 24 inches long!! The nickname Pooter or Poot came into play after a large bowel movement.


THREE MONTHS OLD - Nolan experienced his first St. Patrick's Day and his first Kubota ride on the farm. He weighed 13lbs 4oz and was still 24in long.  He was attempting to sit up on his own and starting to laugh out loud!


FOUR MONTHS OLD - Nolan and I played a great April Fool's joke on everyone, "Plus ONE Makes Four", I think the blog post about gave everyone a heart attack.  Nolan had a great first April Fool's Day.  Daddy turned 26 years old on April 10th. Nolan attended his first Easter dinner.  Nolan weighed 15lbs 1.5oz and  was 26 1/8 inches tall!! For his height he was in the 90th percentile and for his weight he was in the 50-75th percentile. We attempted rice cereal, but it made Nolan sick.


FIVE MONTHS OLD - Nolan was growing like a weed. Nolan measured 26 inches in length and weighed 16lbs 8oz.  He was rolling over from his back to his belly and army crawled all over the place.  I had my first Mother's Day and it was beautiful!  Nolan received a few gifts from Grandma Donna when she came back from China.


SIX MONTHS OLD - It was in the middle of the summer and Nolan enjoyed his first dip in a pool. Bill had is first Father's Day.  Nollie weighed in at 18 pounds 1.5 ounces and measured 27 and 1/4 inches long.  Nolan was 65th percentile for his weight and 55th percentile for his height.  Nolan attended his first wedding as well.


SEVEN MONTHS OLD - Nolan loves being read to and turning the pages of books.  His first tooth came in, Letter P and soon to follow came Letter O.  Nolan was given his blue helmet to help shape his head into a more rounded shape.  Nolan went to the St. Louis Zoo for the first time and we had our picture drawn by a cartoonist.  Nolan measured 28 inches in length and weighed 19lbs 7oz. Nolan also liked jumping in his new JumpaRoo and his obsession with the computer began.


EIGHT MONTHS OLD - Nolan almost gave me a nervous breakdown this month.  He had to be taken to the ER for his first ear infection.  I learned being adjusted by a chiropractor can decrease the risk of ear infections, so Nolan also had his first chiropractic adjustment.  Nolan measured 29.5 inches in length and weighed 21lbs 1oz. Bill and I took Nolan to his first Cardinals baseball game where he also had his first taste of ice cream.  We also went back home for Nolan's first Old Settlers. Nolan started saying "dada" and sitting himself up.


NINE MONTHS OLD - Nolan officially started crawling.  We had to baby proof the house.  We visited the Lewis and Clark Confluence Towers with Nana and Papa T.  Nollie weighed in at 21 pounds 6.5 ounces and measured 28 and 1/2 inches long.  Nolan was 75th percentile for his weight and 50th percentile for his height. Nolan enjoyed sucking on lemons. I decided to let Nolan's hair grow out and it looked good!  I turned 24 years old on September 8th.


TEN MONTHS OLD - Nolan went trick or treating for his first Halloween as a sack of potatoes.  We went to Eckert's and picked out a pumpkin and went to the Halloween parade with the Kellers.  Nolan no longer had to wear his blue helmet, his head shape looked great!  We went to our first football game in Edwardsville.  Nolan measured 30 inches in length and weighed 22lbs 3oz.  Nana and Papa T bought Nolan his Radio Flyer wagon.


ELEVEN MONTHS OLD - Nolan's third tooth, Letter F, came in.  He started to stand alone and point at objects while jabbering away.  Nolan developed a silly habit when pooping, he lays down on the floor in an all fours position and pushes until it comes out!  Nolan had his first Thanksgiving dinner.  Nolan measured 30 inches in length and weighed 22lbs 10oz.  Nolan started walking while pushing his toy train.


TWELVE MONTHS OLD - I cannot believe this day came so quickly.  As I have been making this post, I have teared up numerous times.  The joy and love Nolan brings into my life is indescribable. My little man celebrated his birthday on Sunday with family and friends.  Nolan is truly blessed to have such wonderful people in his life.  He loves you all dearly.  Nolan has his twelve month check up next week, so I'm not sure how much he weighs or how long he is at this time.  Nolan is now walking on his own,  teeth Letters E and G have come in as well.  He loves to watch the movie Rio and to be read to.  Nolan is all boy; destructive and cuddly at the same time. Nolan still loves to play with the laptop, iPhone, and iPad!  Bill graduated with his Master of Science Mechanical Engineering degree too. 


Nolan Henson,

You're the best son a mother could ask for.  You bring a smile to my face even when you're sticking your finger up your nose.  I can see the love and happiness in your eyes and it makes me feel blessed to have such a loving child in my life.  Your daddy and I are so proud of all of your accomplishments you have already achieved.  I will continue to love and cherish you for the rest of my life.  Happy first birthday Poot!

Love,
Mommy