Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Nolan's 6 Month Update



We're half way through Nolan's first year of life!  This is so unbelievable to me and I can't believe the transformation he has made in these first six months.  He is currently learning so much so quickly and I can tell he is taking in every little thing in his surroundings.  Nolan is still a happy and giggly little guy, and it's becoming easier and easier to figure out what makes him belly laugh consistently.  He has become extremely aware and obsessed with his puppy, Harley!  He loves watching Harley whether he is running around playing or just laying on the couch taking a nap.  He tries to talk to him often and constantly has his hands reaching out to pet (or pull) Harley's fur.  Harley, on the other hand, has learned to keep his distance, but every now and then will humor the baby and give him a little kiss or two on his face.  

Nolan likes to play with his mommy and daddy, but also has learned to entertain himself well independently.  He loves to jabber and babble as soon as he wakes up from his naps, and willingly lets out lots of Aaaa's and Oooo's, along with happy screeches and squeals before we go up to get him.  He loves spending time in his jumperoo, exersaucer, and most recently, his walker, and also spends some time playing with his toys in the living room while Mommy keeps a close eye from the kitchen.  It's great that he has learned to be independent, because it's a trait we will be happy he has learned later down the road!




Even though his temperament is usually always happy and fun, Nolan has started to develop some stranger danger (which is completely normal at this age).  Some days he is fine with our friends, and other days he completely melts down and cries when seeing "unfamiliar" faces (although they aren't unfamiliar at all, he's been around these friends and family many times before, he's just not used to seeing them every single day).  We know it's just a phase and he will soon outgrow this, so bear with us friends and family that have recently gotten a cry from our cautious babe!



Nolan's activity is becoming greater and greater... although still not quite mobile!  He continues to roll from belly to back, but will stubbornly refuse to roll the other way.  I've tried everything under the sun to convince him to roll from back to belly, but it's a no-go for this guy!  He still prefers sitting than being on his belly.  When on his belly, he can put pressure on his arms and lift, and he does move his legs in a kicking motion, but doesn't get anywhere.  While sitting, he can squirm forward with his arms raised outwards, which leads me to think he will enter crawling via this position rather than his stomach.  Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if he skipped crawling and went straight to cruising!  He enjoys standing and leaning against furniture but is still a little wobbly without assistance.  We'll be working on that in the coming months!  He continues to scoot/bounce while sitting, but still doesn't get much distance out of this, either.  He wants so badly to go somewhere, just hasn't quite figured out how yet!  We'll keep practicing!

Here is what else our big boy is up to at 6 months:

Height, Weight, and Sizes: 
At our 6 month well-check (on his birthday, exactly!), Nolan weighed in at 17 pounds, 12 ounces (55th percentile), is 26 1/4 inches long (35th percentile), and is becoming more "average" in his head circumference, measuring at 17 1/4 inches (66th percentile).  He has outgrown most of his 6 month clothing, and is currently wearing 9 month shirts and onesies, 6-9  month shorts, and 9-12 month pajamas.  His PJs are actually getting a little snug, so we may be skipping through our 9 month jammies quickly straight to 12 months!  He continues to wear size 3 Huggies diapers, but is still blowing out of them now and then since he's been started on solids.  I've just concluded he's an explosive pooper and no change in diaper brands or sizing is going to change that.  Lucky us!  

Feeding:
Nolan has successfully been introduced to the world of Stage 1 solids!  He has tried all of the stage 1 purees and happily chowed down and enjoyed each one of them!  He is definitely not a picky eater, and loved bananas, pears and peas the most.  We continue to feed him solids at breakfast and dinner, and graduated from eating 1/2 of a container to a whole container at each meal.  He has gotten very good at eating from a spoon and sometimes gets frustrated when I don't spoon it in to his mouth fast enough!  He associates seeing the bowl and bib and instantly knows food is coming, squirms and gets excited for his meal.  



We recently introduced baby Mum Mums (rice biscuits) as well as baby "Puffs", and he loves one but isn't too sure about the other!  The Mum Mums he is obsessed with and quickly munches these down, making quite the mess during the process!  The puffs are still a little tricky for him to maneuver, so he gets frustrated when they stick to his hands and he can't get them to his mouth.  We'll keep practicing that pincher grasp and soon enough he'll be inhaling those just as quick!

We often let Nolan practice with his trainer sippy cup of water (usually once a day during dinner), and most of the water gets all over himself and his high chair more than in his mouth.  Most times he gets very frustrated and angry that he can't tilt the cup to get water out by himself, and it usually ends with tears of frustration, so we limit his time with the sippy since he's not quite ready for it yet.  

He continues to get 4 bottles of milk a day following the same E.A.S.Y. schedule as last month, as well as his one dream feed at 10:30PM.  We will work on taking away the dream feed this month after our vacation, and hopefully that will go smoothly!


Sleeping:
Nolan continues to do very well on the 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule with his sleep, with not much changing from last month to now.  His naps remain 1.5-2 hours long, with 2 hour active periods in between during the day.  Depending on how our day activities are, he may or may not take a catnap in the late afternoon.  If we are home all day sticking to our normal schedule, he will usually catnap around 5:00PM for 30 minutes.  If we are out and about, running errands or meeting up with friends, he may skip his catnap if he had a later afternoon nap.  He continues to go down for bedtime at 7:30PM and sleeps through the night (minus his dreamfeed still at 10:3oPM), until 6:30AM-7:00AM the next morning.  

Our timing is everything when it comes to getting Nolan down successfully.  Like stated last month, he started fighting going to sleep, and I realized it was because he was overtired.  He never puts up too bad of a fight, but if I'm 15 minutes off-schedule, he'll wiggle and whine for a bit instead of drifting off instantly when we are "on" schedule.  We've gotten decently well at predicting when to go down to make it less of a struggle!

He continues to love his pacifier and sleep sack and we use both during all times of sleep (naps and nights).  Most recently, he has started throwing his pacifier out of his crib, but never cries out for it and doesn't seem to miss it when it's gone.  I only notice when we go to get him up out of the crib and it's lying on the floor or behind the crib completely!  As long as limbs aren't hanging out, we'll continue to keep the breathable bumper off, but I think we only have a month or so left of that!  



Firsts & Milestones:
-Started solids (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pears, peas, peaches, green beans, apples, prunes, bananas)
-Started Mum Mums and baby Puffs
-Dancing/Bouncing/Scooting while sitting
-Drank out of sippy cup
-Had his first x-ray (skull)
-Throwing a ball and playing catch
-Sitting unassisted in shopping cart
-First Forth of July
-Swimming in baby pool
-Laughing at Harley (in response to something the dog did)
-Leaning against furniture unassisted
-Visit to the Shark Reef
-First Disney movie (Finding Nemo)
-Time in walker (steps in walker)

Likes:
-Sophie the Giraffe (still absolute favorite!)
-Bouncing/dancing/scooting while sitting
-Chicken farm toy
-Empty water bottles (crinkling, tossing, chewing)
-Playing with his own hair while drinking bottle
-Mum Mums
-Playing catch and throwing the ball
-Watching Harley play fetch/run
-"I'm gonna get you!" game 
-Aquariums (the Shark Reef)
-Hokey Pokey, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes songs
-Imitating "Aaaa" sounds with Mom and Dad
-Chicken cluck sounds
-Eating solids


Dislikes:
-Stranger danger (even worse than last month)
-Plastic bags (he went from loving them to being absolutely terrified of them)
-Taking toys away (starts to cry if he still wants to play)
-Sippy cup and puff frustration 
-Spending time on belly, still, and learning to roll from back to belly


This little giggle monster just keeps getting cuter and cuter each month... We love watching him grow!  Happy 6 months, baby love!  We can't wait to see what the next half of your first year brings!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Nolan's 6 Month Photoshoot

Well, time has finally snuck up on me.  Tomorrow will be 6 months since Nolan came into our world and changed it forever... and for the better!  I love this little man with my whole entire heart and every single day, I discover something new to love about him.  He's growing so quickly before my eyes and I just know his first birthday is going to be here in a blink!  I already miss my baby... and he's still a baby!  Although I'm obsessed with the little guy he is becoming, how fun he is to interact with, the way he plays and learns... my heart still wants to snuggle my tiny, newborn Nolan and smell his dark hair and hold his tiny fingers as he cuddles into my chest... but he will never be that newborn baby again, which is so sad!  

I wanted to capture everything about his age and his life right now, because I know in six more months I'm going to ache to snuggle his chunky arms and legs, kiss his sweet cheeks and play with his funny, balding, poofy hair.  I figured I would try my own hand at taking some pictures and save some money, and I'm pretty happy with how they came out!  I love the detail shots the best... because I know I'm going to cherish those the most!

Happy 6 Months, baby boy!  Mommy and Daddy love you so, SO much and couldn't imagine our life as a family without you to better it!  























Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Fourth!


Nolan is super excited to be celebrating his first Fourth of July!  He had a blast with his festive photoshoot and loved sticking his American flag in his mouth.  We practiced waving it around, but he prefers the stick-in-mouth method.  He rocked his Let's Go Crazy fireworks shirt and awesome stars shorties.  




To kick off our long weekend, we will be celebrating with a BBQ with our friends and trying to stay cool in this awful heat!  Nolan will pass on the fireworks this year... but we will try to catch the Mission Hills show from our windows!  We hope everyone enjoys a fun and safe 4th of July!






Wednesday, July 2, 2014

June Happenings

June was an eventful month for us, as we experienced our first family road trip, eating out, friends visiting, a date night and lots more firsts for Nolan!

On the very first of the month, Nolan rolled over on his own!  He rolled from belly to back and we're still working on the other way... but this was a super exciting moment that we caught on video (see 5 month update post), and of course had to document with our milestone cards!  He does it constantly now, especially because he hates being on his tummy so he immediately rolls when he can to avoid being belly down!  We snapped some pictures of our big boy and the proud moment.





Nolan read his favorite book, The Wheels on the Bus, while enjoying some nakey time!


One afternoon, I walked in to find Nolan taking a nap with an awesome hair-do that happened all on it's own:


I could listen to this giggle for the rest of my life and be completely happy.  It's the best sound in the world and I LOVE making him laugh!


Nolan wore his turtle pajamas that are my absolute favorite, and wanted to take some pictures of him being adorable in them.  Swoon!  




He also modeled his new camo bloomer shorties from one of our favorite Etsy shops, FuzzyPeachThreads.  Visit them here, they have such cute things for both boys and girls!



Nolan has learned to share my water bottle, except he doesn't get much out of the deal.  He doesn't seem to mind and enjoys gnawing on the handle!  


Harley spent some time hanging out with us on the couch one afternoon:


Nolan has become much more aware of Harley and thinks it is hilarious when the dog runs by him while playing fetch.  It is the cutest thing to watch him laugh so hard at the puppy, and it makes my heart melt!



Breakfast time consists of messy faces and taking lots of pictures while eating some oatmeal cereal.  Those eyes... 





Nolan enjoyed some time playing with Fred the Dachshund.


Our friends Jason and Diane came into town from Mississippi.  We've been friends with J for years and years (since high school!) and they recently moved to Mississippi for his grad school.  It was great to catch up with them and let the boys meet each other and play!  Nolan loved watching Liam and Ezra and they both played and entertained each other in the jumper and exersaucer.  






Nolan has mastered sitting up for a while now, and recently, he's started a dance/scoot while sitting up.  I'm pretty sure this is the start of him trying to get mobile while not having to be on his belly!  We'll see how this develops over the next few weeks!


We took our first family road trip to San Diego, and you can read all about it here!

While we were in San Diego, Nolan turned 5 months old!  We took some pictures of his new monthly milestone card when we got home and wrote all about what he's been up to in his monthly update.

After turning 5 months, we visited with Dr. Reddy again to have her analyze the shape of Nolan's head.  He has had a flat spot since he was super tiny, and we've always been watching it as he grows from appointment to appointment.  At our 4 month well-check, Dr. Reddy said if it hasn't changed in a months time, to come back so she can check it out in more detail.  It hadn't changed much and Nolan is never flat on his head except for when he sleeps, so we figured we should start the process.  We went to Dr. Reddy and she referred us for an X-ray of his skull to make sure he doesn't have craniosynostosis (that his sutures/fontanels were not closed in his skull).  The chances of this are very slim, so I'm not too concerned, but we are pretty positive that after the X-ray, we will be referred out to a cranial orthotic specialist to talk more about Nolan's flat head.  We'll keep you updated on his "head journey!"

When we returned from vacation, Jason got to celebrate his very first Father's Day!

Water bottles are a new favorite for Nolan, he loves the sound and throwing it around!



Nolan watched his first U.S. World Cup game and cheered on Team USA while snacking on his toes! He also dressed for the occasion for the second game for Team USA.  He believes!




He's gotten really good at holding his own bottle, but chooses to rarely.  He knows we will still hold it for him, so he's smart (or lazy!) and chooses to kick back and relax.  I still don't mind... I know one day he'll want it all for himself and won't need me anymore, so I take full advantage of cuddling while I feed him!


We tried on lots of clothes since big boy went through another growth spurt, and found that his awesome fedora fits perfectly, and some of his clothes, well, don't fit so perfect!



We finally started introducing real solids to Nolan, and so far he has enjoyed every one of them!  We've tried sweet potatoes (very first), carrots, squash, and pears so far this month.  He loves them all, and mom loves taking fun pictures of a messy face!





Nolan sat in the cart seat for the very first time while we grocery shopped at Sprouts one afternoon.  He wasn't too sure about it and stared at all the people around, and once he started getting tired, he started to lean to the sides, which wasn't too comfy.  He still prefers to be attached to mom via the Britax carrier, but we'll keep practicing in shopping carts!


The spoiled guy got a new dino popper toy, and he loves it and freaks out every time the music plays and the balls pop.  



I documented my Sir Chubs a Lot being lazy before his nap:


Nolan has started making a razzing sound all.the.time. and I snapped a hilarious action shot and got a quick video of him performing.  He's been making the sound for a months now, but he must have just discovered his love for it because he seriously does it non-stop!



I made Nolan belly laugh which is by far the most adorable thing he does:



He modeled his awesome Yo-yo shirt from the Gap that I'm obsessed with:


Jason and I went on a date night to The Smith Center to see The Book of Mormon!  This was only the second time we had left Nolan for a lengthy period of time and he did great for my mom.  The Smith Center is beautiful and the show was hilarious!  We had a great time getting out of the house and feeling like a normal couple again, enjoying just time for the two of us!







I had been trying to get Nolan to roll from his back to belly, so I tried convincing him with all of his toys lined up, ready to be played with.  No such luck.  He stayed in this position, like a stand-off, and still refuses to roll!  One day.... one day.  (Stubborn boy!)



Nolan was teething quite terribly one afternoon, and we had the worst day of crying, crankiness, and being so tired.  He finally fell asleep for his nap after fighting it (so not like him) and he looked so sad and helpless.  Poor guy.  It didn't last long though, because after his nap he was all smiles while we played!



He also learned how to throw the ball, and absolutely loves doing so!  He thinks it is awesome that he can do it now after trying for a while, and we think it's awesome, too!  


Jason knew I had a rough day with Nolan's teething, so he went out and got me some Thrifty Ice Cream that we just discovered is right down the street (yay)!  What an awesome hubby!


Lots of pictures for the month... hope you enjoy!!  Next month should be just as eventful!  Until then!