Nolan is 11 Months Old

Today, my little boy is 11 months old!! Bill and I measured and weighed him tonight because he doesn't have to go back to the pediatrician until he is 12 months old. Nolan measured 30 inches in length and weighed 22lbs 10oz. Once again, we don't know how accurate these measurements are, but at least we know he is continuing to grow.  Nolan also had his 3rd tooth come in, Letter F!!

A few of Nolan's favorite things to do:
             - Stand all alone
             - Point at objects
             - Jabber nonstop
             - Attempt to take steps on his own
             - Walk while pushing toys
             - Blow bubbles with his mouth
             - Watch Sesame Street
             - Crawl through tunnels
             - Attempt to destroy anything he can get his
                hands on

 Tooth Letter F; Left Central Incisor

Nolan has the funniest little quirks.  For awhile now, anytime Nolan has to poopy, he goes onto the tile floor, lays down on all fours, puts his face to the ground, and he blows on the tile.  He will do this until he has finished his business.  Finally, I was able to capture this hilarious moment on video.

 
With Nolan's 1st Birthday right around the corner, it seems like I've been planning non-stop.  I decided to go with a Winter ONE-derland birthday party theme.  I found everything on etsy.com, of course.  I had to take a picture to send to the woman who is making the invitations.  Here are a couple of the pictures I took.

I ended up using this picture for the invitation

We are still as busy as ever.  Nolan has taken us on an adventurous trip and we cannot wait to celebrate his first birthday next month.  It's so hard to believe, a year has already passed since this beautiful blessing has come into my life.  Okay, I'll save the sentimental stuff for his birthday post!!

 Nolan's new thing.  He likes to put his hands behind his head like he is going to lay back and take a nap.

Happy baby boy!

Helping with the laundry.  Bill used a make shift gate, chairs, at the bottom of the steps because Nolan now knows how to climb the stairs.  Nolan knows how to climb up the stairs, but not back down.  This can lead to a problem, so we no longer allow him to attempt to climb the stairs.

An Early Thanksgiving Dinner

Today was our Annual Chesser Thanksgiving Dinner.  Gigi always holds her Thanksgiving Dinner the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so everyone can get together and not have conflicting schedules. I know I'm not going to complain, a Thanksgiving Dinner early.  Yummy!!

Watching Sesame Street before we loaded up in the car to head to Chesser's house.

Not only was it Nolan's first Thanksgiving Dinner, but it was also the first time Nolan met some of his cousins.  At first Nolan was a little shy, but he warmed up to everyone as soon as he woke up from his nap.  Aunt Julie brought down an old toy train of cousin Broc's for Nolan to play with.  Nolan thought it was the coolest thing ever!!

 Everyone got a kick out of the name on the Train.  We weren't quite sure how to pronounce it....

Entertaining everyone

Nolan played for a little bit and then it was time to dig in.  He sat in the same high chair I used to sit in!!  I allowed Papa T to feed Nolan some mashed potatoes with gravy and green bean casserole.  He really enjoyed both the mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.  I put my foot down when Papa T tried to give Nolan fudge though.

That's some good stuff!!

 Hanging out with Nana after dinner

Hamming it up for the camera

Nolan was in such a great mood the entire day, every chance he had he was hamming it up for his audience.  Playing with Gigi's gourds, pushing around the train, pointing and talking to anyone who would pay attention to him.  Which was pretty much everyone in the room.

Blowing bubbles (spit) everywhere

 Nolan and Aunt Kay Kay

Daddy enjoying some delicious Cherry Delight dessert

 My little Pooter and I

We attempted a family photo numerous times and this picture ended up being the best one.  Of course, Nolan isn't looking at the camera.

We had a delicious meal and a great day with the Chesser Family!!  Nolan had a blast playing with everyone and meeting his cousins.  Until the official Thanksgiving Dinner....

Nolan the Master Chef

Since I went grocery shopping this past weekend, I've been making dinner every night this week.  I know, it's an amazing feat and Bill is too scared to say anything for fear of losing his home cooked meal privileges.  Anyways,  Nolan needs to be entertained while I'm preparing the meal, since Bill is finishing up his thesis in the basement.  Yes, I said FINISHING his thesis.  Bill will be walking across the SIUE stage on December 17th, to receive his MS for Mechanical Engineering.  Nolan and I are so proud of Bill!!

Back to cooking and entertaining Nolan, so I bring out the bowls and spoons which make the most noise.  Nolan has a hay-day banging and pushing the metal bowl around the entire house.  Tonight I decided to take some pictures of my little man.  Starting Nolan out early with an interest in kitchen utensils is a must!!

 Nolan wearing the colander as a hat

 Pure boy, making as much noise as he possibly can.

 Nolan thought it was neat how he could see himself in the bottom of the bowl.

"Here mom you try.  It's pretty cool!"

Of course, after about ten minutes of making noise Nolan became bored with the bowl and spoons.  He decided to venture around our bedroom.  Nolan loves to play peek-a-boo.  So after he was out of my sight, I readied the camera, and took a picture of Nolan the moment I jumped out and yelled peek-a-boo.  You can see the excitement on his little face!! I love how expressive his big brown eyes are.

Nolan and I had such a great time playing, I forgot about the simmering potatoes and chicken on the stove.  Needless to say, I am not the best chef around, but the meal was salvageable and Bill did not complain.  He's such a good husband.  He says he likes his scalloped potatoes a little burnt, because they have more flavor!!

These are the Days

I have been behind on my blogging, so I've had to compile a bunch of different pictures into one blog post to catch everyone up to speed.  Nolan has become quite the little adventurous man.  He is into everything: the toilet, the trash can, the toy box, the entertainment center, pushing buttons on the side of the TV, and smiling after we tell him, "Nolan, NO!"  He is too darn cute for me not to smile back at him.

Poot has some pretty funny quirks that are starting to make quite a regular appearance in his life.  For one, he loves to have his tongue hanging out of his mouth.  Nolan also knows how to click his tongue, so if he is another room, Bill will click his tongue and Nolan will answer back with a click.  It is too funny!!  They have their own little communication going on.  I've tried to have Nolan click back at me, but I guess I'm not cool enough.

 Nolan enjoys walking all over the house, but only with a little assistance.

Quirk number two, Nolan's obsession with the breast pump phalanges.  Whenever I pump in his room, Nolan likes to visit me.  He will grab one of my extra phalanges and carry it around the house.  Eventually, he sits up and acts like he is drinking out of it, like a martini glass.  He will suck on it a little and give up when nothing comes out, but he continues to crawl around the house with it in his hand.  Hopefully Nolan will outgrow this "toy" and he won't want to be taking it to show and tell in kindergarten.

Another of Nolan's favorite toys is his toy train.  It is an Alphabet Train by V-Tech and it is full of all kinds of goodies to play with.  The train teaches colors, letters, and lights up.  Nolan mostly plays with the book on the side, because he enjoys turning the pages in books, and he likes to push it around the house.  He thinks he is big stuff walking all by himself.

 Again with the tongue....

Turning the pages of the book on the train

Nolan still enjoys being read too.  Almost every night, we read a couple of his books.  He is now tall enough to reach the shelf his books are on, so when we play in his room he will stand up and reach for his books.  He will pull one down and we will read, but he does have a few he favors more than the others.  A few of his favorites are, "I Love You Through and Through", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and "I Spy with My Little Eye."

Peek-A-Boo is among one of the top entertainers of the evening as well.  Tonight I placed his blanket on the side of his crib and he thought it was the funniest thing ever.  He would pop up and bust out laughing as he found me in his room.  I would start to hide and even look under the blanket and grab his belly.  We had a lot of fun waiting for daddy to get home.

Poot has a fascination with closing doors.  Almost anytime he crawls into a room, the door will be shut right away by him.  He will play for a long time opening and closing doors to the rooms.  He thinks its really funny when someone is on the other side, knocks, and says, "Housekeeping, you want me fluff your pillow?"

Thinks mirrors are pretty darn cool too...

My oh my, now you see why I'm a few weeks behind on blogging.  I have one very busy, adorable, happy little boy!!  I cannot believe he is going to be eleven months old this Sunday.  I've started making plans for his birthday, but first we have his First Thanksgiving!!