Celebrating Nolan's First Easter

Nolan had a very exciting first Easter!  He started the excitement on Easter Eve... by wearing his new, comfy and cute Easter Bunny PJs!  He rocked that bunny booty, for sure...

The next morning, Nolan woke up at his usual 6:30 for his breakfast.  We kept him awake to go downstairs right afterwards to see what the Easter Bunny had brought for him!  The Bunny knew that  Nolan was too small for an egg hunt, so he left his basket (and Harley's) on the coffee table in the family room!  He brought Nolan a basket full of goodies, as well as a big present, all wrapped up right next to it!  Nolan was so excited to open his basket, so we got right too it, but had to open Harley's first since the puppy just couldn't wait any longer for his treats left by the Easter Bunny!  We snapped a few pictures of Nolan with his basket and then we got to opening!

Nolan received lots of fun things... that Easter Bunny sure knew what he needed and wanted!  He got some of his favorite pacifiers, a new pair of denim moccs, lots of books, a couple toys, and some fun things for summer, like a swim shirt and sunglasses!  

His big present was a big surprise for Nolan, and he was super shocked and happy to see that he got his very first Scout Puppy!  Mommy programmed Scout right away so he could learn Nolan's name, his favorite animal, color and even food! 

After we opened Nolan's basket, we ate a quick breakfast and started getting ourselves ready to go over to Grandma's house for good food and company.  While we ate breakfast, Nolan played with his new buddy Scout in his high chair.

Once we got to Grandma's house, we took some pictures since we were all dressed up and looking adorable!

The Easter Bunny also made a trip over to Grandma's house and dropped off another Easter basket for Nolan!  What a spoiled little guy.  He got lots of cute clothes, a pair of adorable shoes, some more books!  

We enjoyed some yummy food and Grandma even made her special maple dumplings... a Canadian dessert that is my absolute favorite and hopefully will be Nolan's, too!  We used to make them every Easter when I was younger, and tapered off as we grew up.  It had been years since my mom had made them, and they tasted better than ever!  Yum!

If he wasn't already spoiled enough, the Luks' dropped off yet another Easter basket for Nolan a few days after Easter!  He loved his new toys and teethers, and he is super excited to be able to try his baby food pouches soon!  Thanks again, guys!

Easter was so much fun this year, and holidays are so much more special when celebrating with kids! I think Nolan had everything he could ever imagine for his first Easter!  He was very spoiled and we appreciate all the love!  We can't wait to make traditions and celebrate them every holiday with Nolan!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  We are so excited to be celebrating Nolan's first Easter.  He visited the Easter Bunny very early and loved being held by the big, furry, mostly creepy looking Bunny at the mall.  Now he's awaiting his visit to the house and will be excited to open his basket tomorrow morning!  We will be spending our day with Grandma and enjoying each other's company as well as some yummy food.  We hope you have a fun and memorable Easter as well!  Enjoy our Easter photoshoot pictures!

Nolan's Three Month Update

Nolan has been in the world for three whole months already!  He is one quarter of a year old... Whoa!  He is a very happy baby who is always smiling and is so content most of the time!  He's been extra great on outings with Mom and Dad, and with the recent company we've had in town, he's been spending lots of time away from the house and has done great with all of these encounters.  As long as he's fed on time, gets a decent nap and a clean diaper... this kid is easy peasy!  He loves to smile and laugh, and enjoys talking up a storm with anyone who is willing to listen.  He's reaching many milestones and continues to work on others.  Tummy time is still terrible for him, which has left us to be quite creative with ways to help build his neck muscles and get him off of his back and head (only for sleep).  He's developed quite a flat spot on his head, so we're trying everything we can to make sure we don't contribute to it.  He spends all of his day awake sitting up on the couch, our laps, being held upright on our shoulders, and playing in his exersaucer, bumbo and bouncer chair.  He has gotten very strong at sitting against things and can sit straight up, and can even handle a few seconds by himself with no help or anything to lean on, but still topples over after a second or two with that.  We practice time in the Britax carrier and have started play dates at the park since the weather has been nice!  Here are some other updates for baby boy:

Height, Weight, and Sizes: 
Little man is continuing to chunk up in size!  We don't have an official weigh-in or percentiles this month (no well check until 4 months), but based on our rough estimates at home (scale and tape measurer), it looks as if Nolan is about 14 pounds and 24 inches long.  He has moved up again in both clothes and diapers!  He is now filling out a Size 2 diaper, and his clothes are very random!  He fits in some 0-3 months onesies still, but mostly 3-6 months.  Pajamas are 3-6 months, but lately it's been so hot we've been wearing onesies to bed with a swaddle!  His shorts and pants are anywhere from 3-6 months and even a few pairs of 9 months shorts!  We've struggled with finding a happy medium between waist and length of pants and shorts lately.  If the waist fits, the pants or shorts are usually too long for our shorty.  Mom has gotten creative and rolled lots of bottoms... they look cute either way!  

Feeding:
Nolan's feeding schedule has changed a lot over the last month.  We've tried switching to numerous different schedules and finally have sort of found one that's working for us!  A few weeks ago, when Nolan wasn't finishing his bottles at every feeding, we tried switching straight to a 4 hour schedule, and that was a disaster.  Nolan was a wreck and cried and cried.  I couldn't stand seeing him so sad and it just didn't feel right, so we went back to our original 3 hour schedule during the days.  A little later, I was brave enough to try again, and switch to a 3.5 hour schedule.  This seemed to work much better, and he was consistent on drinking all of his bottle and seemed content with the time between feedings.  The hard part was figuring out a nap schedule from the evening hours of 5-10PM.  After lots of trial and error, we've gotten into a routine (for the last week or so) of eating 5 ounces at 6:30AM, 10AM, 1:30PM, 5PM, 8PM, and a top-off at 10:30PM.  I have been waking him at 2:30AM (I know, I'm crazy, right!) up until last night, which I let him sleep through as long as he could... which he did (more below)!

Nolan switched to medium flow nipples on his bottle (since the slow flow were for babies, apparently he's a big boy now), and he's consistently taking 5 ounces (sometimes 4, rarely 6).  He's learning to help feed himself by putting his hands on his bottle, but can't quite get a strong enough grasp yet to hold it up himself.  Mom and Dad are still good for something!

I'm still pumping like a madwoman, and producing equal enough milk to store that Nolan takes in.  Holy cow (literally, that's what I feel like, I produce so much milk)!  Our chest freezer is filling up fast, which is a great thing!  I am also still pumping during the night, which again, once we get this schedule figured out comfortably, I plan on readjusting my pump schedule to finally get some shut-eye for more than 4 hours at a time!  So exciting! 

Sleeping:
We're continuing our 3.5 hour schedule and are still following the EASY schedule (eat, activity, sleep, your time).  Nolan has completely improved on being nice and awake after each one of his feedings during the day, so that issue is behind us!  He consistently naps for 1.5 - 2 hours for each of his naps.  Our routine with the 3.5 hour schedule lets Nolan get plenty of sleep... which is what he always likes!  He wakes at 6:30AM and eats, and then goes right back to sleep with me until 9:30-10AM for his next feeding.  His morning nap is at 11:30AM, and his afternoon nap is at 3-3:30PM, both of which he sleeps easily for a good 1.5 - 2 hours in his crib.  Our tricky time is from 5-10PM which is what we are working with currently.  He eats at 5PM, and can't make it to his next feeding at 8PM without a quick catnap in between.  After a lot of trial and error (like stated before), I allow him to nap usually around 6:30PM and wake him at the latest at 8PM.  We then do feed, bottle, bath and PJs, and have him down again for "bedtime" at 9PM.  He tops off at 10:30PM and had been sleeping until 2:30AM, where I would wake him and feed him once more.  As of last night, to my surprise (not really, I kind of expected it), he slept all the way through with no waking!  He went down at 10:45PM and woke up at 6AM this morning.  He tossed and turned a bit throughout the night, and of course my mommy sense was super sensitive, also waking every hour or so to peek over and check on him, but he did it!  Now that I know he can sleep through, we will definitely be letting him sleep all night as long as he gets a good amount of calories during the day!  We will also be working on getting rid of that catnap in the evening so he's nice and tired for his full night of sleep come bedtime.

Nolan still sleeps swaddled, which is another change we will be making in the next few weeks... getting rid of the swaddle!  He sleeps, but not as sound without it, so it will be an adjustment for him to make.  He has started to roll onto his side while sleeping (his right side only), so most mornings and after long naps, I find him completely on his side.  Although I'm afraid of him rolling over and not being able to roll back from being face down, it is comforting to know that our lack of tummy time isn't hindering his rolling milestone.  He takes all of his naps in his crib, but still sleeps in the Pack N' Play at night with us.  Once we get rid of that night feeding, we'll consider moving him to his room for full time crib sleeping!  (Boo... this will be harder on Mommy than on baby, I'm sure!)  

Someone is super happy he slept through the night!

Firsts & Milestones:
-Bath without newborn sling (sitting in baby tub)

-Scream/yell in happiness and frustration

-Drooling up a storm 

-Sitting in his Bumbo chair

-Standing when pressure is put on his feet 

-Holding his bottle (starting to, can't without our help still)

-Belly laughs

-Sitting in highchair 

-Sitting up against furniture without assistance 

-Finding his feet

-Makes razzing noise

-Meeting the Easter Bunny

-Rolling/Sleeping on his side

-Finding/playing with his tongue

-Playing in his exersaucer 

-Clutches and brings items to mouth

-Visited Great-Grandpa's house

Likes:
-Playing Hands, Shoulders, Knees and Toes 

-Eating/chewing on his hands

-Laughing at himself in the mirror

-Rookie the Bear (still his favorite)

-Exersaucer 

-Photoshoots (monthly and weekly updates, especially) 

-Seeing Mom or Dad first thing in the morning (biggest smiles of the day!)

-Playing with toes

-T.V. and the newest obsession- watching himself on Mommy's iPhone camera

-Putting on lotion in the AM and after his bath at night

Dislikes:
-Tummy time (for any length of time... still... ugh!)

-Being woken up

-Getting put initially in the carseat (once he's in the car, he's fine)

-Diaper changes

-Baths are still somewhat nerve-racking for him in his baby tub... we're working on it!

-Burps and spit-ups

Showing off his sitting up by himself skills... still a little wobbly!

Nap time is right around the corner...

Happy 3 Months, Nolan!  We can't wait to see what the next month has in store for you!

Nolan: 12 Weeks

Holy moly, almost 3 months old.  I know I say it every update but I really can't believe how big my baby is getting!  They aren't lying when they say the first year flies by.  It's already going too fast!  

This little chunk is continuing to grow and learn everyday.  He won't have an official weigh-in until his four month well check (still so far away!) but according to our scale, it looks like he wobbles between 13.5 and 14 pounds!  His little chunky smile melts my heart every day, and when we do photoshoots like the one today, it is so hard for me to pick just one or even a few pictures... he makes all of them so dang cute!  (That's why this post is going to have a ton of pictures... I couldn't resist!)

Nolan continues to try new things with activities around the house, and we are introducing new toys, like his piano keyboard, his exersaucer, the bumbo chair, and lots of music and lights all around.  He continues to play on his playmat and now enjoys watching outside the windows and sliding glass door.  With the weather warming up, we can't wait to get out and go on walks and trips to the park! 

Nolan has started putting pressure on his legs to stand, and is also drooling up a storm!  His hands are always in his mouth, and most recently, he's been playing with his tongue and can't quite figure out what is in his mouth!  He's starting to wear bibdanas a lot, not only because they are adorable but because he's constantly making a mess of his onesies with drool.  He's been starting to grab objects, and his favorite thing to do is try to feed himself with his bottle.  He doesn't have the best grip yet, so he still needs some help from Mom... but soon enough, he will be chugging his drinks down like a champ!

Chomping on a tasty hand!

Found my tongue!

I can hold the cards now... and eat them!

Drool.

He still loves to laugh and smile, and has recently started screaming and yelling in excitement!  He just can't contain his happy demeanor.  

We won't update with too much this time since his 3 month update is right around the corner!  We will go in to lots more details next week :)

March Happenings

This month, we started going out a lot more with Nolan, finding new things to do and places to go!  When we weren't out and about, we were home getting used to our new routine; adjusting as a stay at home mommy!  I gave my notice to work and couldn't be happier with our decision.  Jason and I thought long and hard about whether I should return to work or stay at home, and our conclusion turned out to be the best thing!  I love being home with our baby and I couldn't imagine it any other way for our family.  We are fortunate to be able to have this opportunity and I love raising our son.  It's the hardest job I've ever had, but the best reward!

Nolan and Daddy spent time talking to each other one night.  He loves to babble and just listen to us talk to him, back and forth conversation couldn't be any cuter!

One morning, when getting ready for our day, I realized we needed to do some reorganization of Nolan's closet and drawers when we put this outfit on and saw some shins!  We tried on lots of clothes and realized that we had a huge growth spurt!  This is just the first of many we've had throughout the month.  I sadly packed all his newborn clothes away, and busted out his 0-3 months, and even a few of his 3-6 months clothes (towards the end of the month)!

Nolan started swinging and hitting his toys on his playmat.

He was adorable doing his ever-so-hated tummy time on the Boppy.  This is the only way he doesn't scream, and only for a couple minutes at a time.  Needless to say, we don't get much tummy time done around this house!

I snapped a picture of the cutest naked baby!

We had lunch at Mission Hills Park with Denise and Abbi one afternoon.  The weather looked nice, but ended up being super windy and cold!  These two weren't fans.

Jason and I went out by ourselves for the first time since Nolan came into our lives.  We left him with my mom for a few hours while we enjoyed an afternoon out at Lake Las Vegas for the Brew's Best Beer Festival (we go every time, twice a year).  It was so hard for me and I was a cry baby, even though I knew he would be fine with my mom (and he did do fine).  I only managed to take one picture while we were out, enjoying ourselves!  We had a great time, but I couldn't wait to get back to snuggle my little guy!  When we came back to pick him up, I felt like I never wanted to leave him again!  I hope it gets easier!

I caught the smush having a meltdown on camera.  Love his pouty faces and that lip melts me every.single.time.

Nolan turned eight weeks old!

Nolan had his 2 month well check, which also meant his 2 month shots!  I was particularly not looking forward to this.  He actually did really well!  He cried for a bit (the worst cry I've ever heard!) but after about three minutes, he was totally fine.  He slept most of the rest of the evening, and that night, he was really lethargic.  I was a little worried, but knew it was pretty normal and decided to check his temperature.  He had his first fever of 101.1 (again, another normal thing with vaccines, luckily I was aware of this), we gave him some fever reducer, and his fever went away by the next afternoon.  It wasn't as terrible as I thought, but I'm not looking forward to his next appointment at 4 months to do it all over again!  Poor guy.

He was so tired one afternoon, he fell asleep getting his diaper changed on his changing pad!  Since we were in his nursery, I decided to try to let him nap in his crib to see how he would do.  He did great!  We now let him sleep in his crib during the day for his naps, but at night he's still in the Pack N' Play in our room.  He looked so cute that first time he slept in his crib!

We hung out with Harley on the couch and all snuggled one afternoon.

The District started a farmer's market on Thursday afternoons, so we went to check it out with our friends Denise and Abbi.  It was really small with only a few booths, but still worth getting out of the house to walk around and enjoy the nice weather!  We bought some veggies and some honey sticks, and while Denise and Abbi went home, we met up with Jason for an early dinner at Lucille's.  This was Nolan's first outing to a restaurant for dinner, and I was really nervous he would wake up and scream his head off while we were eating.  He did so great and kept himself entertained the whole time!

Nolan turned two months old!

We received our Britax carrier in the mail and we decided to try it out around the backyard to enjoy the nice weather.  Nolan hated facing inwards, but somewhat enjoyed facing out.  We'll have to practice with it more so he gets used to it.  He's working on his neck strength and needs to get a bit stronger before we go full out with it!

We had breakfast at The Cracked Egg one Sunday morning, which is always delicious.  Nolan slept through the whole time.

We celebrated Nolan's first St. Patrick's Day!

The bumbo was brought out on multiple occasions and we got some more practice with his neck muscles.  He really enjoys sitting up so he likes the bumbo chair, but only for a max of about 20 minutes.  After that, he gets frustrated and is over it!

Baby and I caught up on some sleep one afternoon.

Almost a month ago, Nolan started smiling and laughing at the picture above our bed.  It's one of our engagement photos that is blown up, and at first we thought he was just smiling at the wall or something random.  The more he did it though, the more we realized it was consistent with that photo, and the first thing he does when you face him in that direction is look up at the wall and smile!  It is the cutest thing and we like to think he loves looking at his Mommy and Daddy in love. :)  This is the only video I have of him doing it, he somehow gets camera shy every time I try to record it!

We let Nolan try out the highchair one night when he was fussing.  He actually really enjoyed it and totally surprised me that he could sit well enough in it!  We got to enjoy our whole dinner with him by our side, talking and hanging out with us!  Some nights he doesn't like it, but we definitely utilize the high chair during dinner as much as we can!

We had a bath one night, and Nolan became the absolute most adorable puppy!

He hung out with Sophie the Giraffe that was sent from Aunt Denise and Uncle Georges, all the way from France!  This Sophie is the real deal.... straight from Paris!

We joined the Luks' one afternoon for lunch at The District and spent some more time outside, hanging out and catching up.  The kids played and we chatted, and I again forgot to snap pictures!  Next time!

I caught Nolan looking SO chunky while taking a nap in his bouncer.  Chunk!

Our good friends Dustin and Desa came into town to visit, and we spent a whole afternoon catching up with them and having them meet Nolan (again, NO pictures, ugh!)  A few days after their visit here in town, they got engaged!  We are SO happy for them and can't wait for their big day!  Congrats again, guys!

We took a walk at Mission Hills Park with Harley one Sunday morning, enjoying the amazing weather!  Nolan wore his cool old man floppy hat and Harley loved getting out of the house finally!

Nolan turned ten weeks old!

I caught this little guy escaping out of his swaddle after his nap one afternoon, and he thought he was SO sneaky and funny!

I put together a collage of the three of us, comparing all of our baby pictures.  I think Nolan is a great mixture of both Mommy and Daddy!

Harley had his teeth cleaned and got caught up on his vaccines, and spent the next day extremely lethargic and drugged up on the anesthesia.  Poor puppy, but it made for some funny pictures!

Nolan wakes up in the morning SO happy to see me next to him and he's the absolute cutest at this time.  I took a quick video of just a glimpse of how happy he is!

I got some snuggles in while rocking Nolan to sleep, before putting him down for a nap.

Nolan took a selfie and sent it to all his Aunties on Snapchat.

Finally, we took advantage of the Easter Bunny arriving at the mall, and Nolan got to snuggle with the creepy bunny and take an adorable picture with him!  Jason wanted to get these pictures done ASAP, because he had no desire to wait for an hour to get pictures done.  I felt weird going before it was even April, but we went the last Monday (the 31st) after Jason got off work, and luckily, he was right and we didn't have to wait at all!  Nolan looked right at the camera with the tiniest smirk.  He wouldn't smile, but he was totally calm and enjoyed talking to the Easter Bunny after the pictures were over.  Too cute!

Can't wait for next month with the weather warming up and celebrating more holidays and some more friends visiting!  ...Until then!