First Father's Day!

Jason celebrated his first Father's Day right as we got back from vacation in San Diego.  Before we left for our trip, Nolan helped me make Daddy his card and gift.  We made hand prints in his card so Jason can always remember how small Nolan was for his first Father's Day, and Nolan got to practice writing his name again, just like Mother's Day!  We put together Daddy's gift before we left for our trip, that way it would be all ready to go when we returned.  Nolan helped hold the golf balls while I shredded up the grass paper, and he also enjoyed holding the flag for me while I put together the basket.  Here is our finished product!

On Sunday morning, we woke up, ate some blueberry muffins that I baked, and then Nolan gave Daddy his gift.  He had a fun little golf basket with new balls and a gift certificate for lessons and swing analysis at Golf Galaxy.  Jason is super excited to get that booked ASAP!  

Harley wishing Jason a Happy Father's Day, too!

We spent the day relaxing, watching the U.S. Open and some World Cup games, and also went out to dinner at one of our regular places, Jun's Korean Restaurant.  Nolan wore his Daddy's All-Star shirt and took some really great pictures to celebrate!

We are very thankful for all that this amazing guy does for Nolan and I on a daily basis.  He works extremely hard at giving our family everything and asks for nothing in return.  He works his butt off to allow me to stay home with Nolan, and plans for our future like nobody else I know.  It's safe to say that he takes the absolute best care of us and always puts our needs before his own.  I love watching Nolan's face light up when Jason comes home from work, and the little wiggle dance he does with excitement is the cutest thing!  These two love each other so much, and I'm so happy to have the most amazing role model for my son to look up to.  I know Jason will teach him values and great life lessons because I am constantly learning from him, too.  I appreciate the husband he is to me and the father he has become to Nolan, and we love him so very, very much!

Happy First Father's Day!  We love you!

Nolan's 5 Month Update

I know I say it every month, but whoa!  Slow down, time!  I can't believe Nolan is already 5 months old.  He has done a lot of new things within the last month, and many firsts and milestones, so let's get right to it!

Nolan continues to be an easy, happy-go-lucky baby.  He loves to laugh and smile, and does so as soon as he wakes up in the morning until his head hits the mattress at bedtime.  We are constantly trying to find new things that make him giggle and belly laugh, and he thoroughly enjoys watching us make a fool of ourselves doing so.  He is quite social and loves to talk, whether it be to us, his toys, or just himself in his crib.  All of his happiness and laughter isn't to say he goes without a scream or two here and there... This little guy has a temper and has found a new type of cry when he's mad, and he'll be sure to let you know.  It's amazing to see his emotions changing and him discovering them.  He doesn't get mad very often, but when he does, it is because he's hungry, he's done sleeping and wants OUT of his crib, or he's bored or "over" a toy or an activity that he's doing.  For the most part though, Nolan can be found in a great mood and lights up when you play with him with his toys, talk to him, or give him any type of attention (even a glance in his direction is priceless to him)!  

He is becoming more coordinated and has mastered sitting up unassisted.  He can completely hold himself up and this is mostly how we spend our days playing.  He loves this new perspective and likes his independence.  He can reach for his toys, rake them over to himself if they are far away, and uses both hands extremely well while holding things, all while sitting up.  He has started to throw things in the air and off of his high chair (it begins).  He has also started to scoot/bounce while sitting up, so I know he is starting to get the itch to move, he just hasn't quite figured out how, yet.  

Nolan finally learned how to roll over from belly to back unassisted!  He still hates being on his tummy, but we worked really hard on getting him to learn how to roll and it paid off!  He does very well at tummy time (when we do it) and can hold his head up completely and has even started to put pressure on his arms and lift himself up.  Yet, he still doesn't last long in this position, because he just prefers to not be on his belly!  Every time we place him on his belly, he instantly rolls over, so it's nearly impossible to keep him in that position, but we try!  Even more recently, because he has been sitting up so frequently, he gets frustrated being on his back, so he wiggles and stretches, trying to figure out how to move up, but hasn't figured it out yet.  He definitely prefers to be sitting up or even standing, which we've been doing much more of lately, also.  He can stand for quite a while, but always assisted and still hasn't quite mastered leaning against furniture yet.  Now we need to work on more standing, rolling the other direction and getting ready to crawl!    

(Sorry for the loud voiceover... just a proud Mama celebrating!)

He is great at holding himself up when you hold him, and started wrapping his legs tight around your body for extra support.  He learned how to give "hugs" by wrapping his arms around your neck (only when he wants to), and snuggles into your neck when "playing shy".  When he's tired, he lays his head down on your shoulder.  

He has developed a new sense of independence, and I can foresee him being very stubborn in his toddler years with the "he has to do it himself", attitude.  He already displays this through holding his bottle and rolling over, two things he has made clear (when he wants to) that he has to do, not us.  When in the mood, he will hold his bottle himself, but it has to be his idea, not ours.  When teaching him to roll over, we had to lay him on his back and help roll him (letting him think he was doing it) rather than placing him on his belly first.  Eating his first solids and even still, he likes to hold his own spoon and feed himself with his hands, by shoving his hands in his mouth after each bite (so messy, but fun).  His stubbornness is also apparent in his new-found fighting to go to sleep (more on that below).  This little man is so full of personality, and I can't wait to watch it develop even more!

Here is what else Nolan is doing at 5 months:

Height, Weight, and Sizes: 
Nolan's weight gain has slowed down, but he's still moving upwards on the scale.  We don't have a well-check visit this month, but unofficially he weighs around 16.5-17 pounds on our scale at home.  He is still in mostly 6 month onesies with a few 9 month ones, and still in 6-9 month PJs and shorts.  We've switched to size 3 diapers and also switched brands, from Pampers to Huggies.  The extra band on the back of Huggies seems to work well to contain his blowouts and I find I'm not doing nearly as much laundry (yay!).  

Feeding:

Lots of new milestones in this category!  Nolan started solids at 19 weeks by introducing rice cereal.  He loved it the first day and thought it was so funny to eat from a spoon!  He isn't nearly as excited anymore about it, but still takes in solids on a daily basis, making it part of our daily schedule.  He started oatmeal cereal shortly after, at 20 weeks, and eats this regularly rather than the rice cereal.  We started only giving these to him once a day (dinner), and most recently, introduced a second feeding (breakfast) at 22 weeks.  Soon enough, we will do three meals a day, and then introduce the fun stuff, like veggies and fruits!

We successfully switched to a 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule with hardly any setbacks, and I feel much more normal in the sense that he is on a schedule most babies his age are on.  Before, I found myself having different awake times than other friends, so setting playdates was hard because they would be completely opposite of sleep/awake times.  Now, we're on a normal schedule and it is wonderful!  Nolan usually wakes between 6:30AM and 7:00AM, and has his first bottle feeding at 7AM, followed by 11AM, 3PM, and a bedtime bottle at 7PM.  He continues to dream feed at 10:30PM, and drinks 6-7 ounces each feeding, completely finishing his bottle every time.  He eats solids for breakfast at 8:15AM and again for dinner around 4:30PM-5PM, only eating about a tablespoon of oatmeal cereal at each meal.  We're excited to start introducing the fun stuff: the veggies and then fruits!  I can't wait to see his reactions to the different flavors.

Nolan also got his first taste of water, as he has been showing a large interest in any glass you drink out of.  I let him drink out of the bottom of a straw by holding the top and dripping drops of water into his mouth.  He still needs a lot of practice at this, and didn't really get how to swallow the water once it hit his mouth (of course he'd be confused... it's not in a bottle!)  He has also tried a few sips out of a glass the regular way, and was even more confused when the water hit his lips!  Needless to say, he really hasn't drank too much water, just a taste here and there since he's so curious! We will introduce the sippy cup when he turns 6 months old and start getting him acquainted using a cup that way.  

Sleeping:
Since switching to the 4 hour E.A.S.Y. schedule, Nolan goes two hours between naps now, with some days still barely making it to the 2 hour stretch.  He loves his sleep and can get quite cranky if he's over his limit!  After waking in the morning between 6:30AM-7:00AM, his first morning nap is at 9:00AM-11:00AM.  Most days he will sleep the whole 2 hours, but sometimes he will only sleep for 1.5 hours.  I try to keep him in his crib to play quietly and talk to himself if he's content, until his 2 hour mark.  His afternoon nap is from 1:00PM-3:00PM, again, most days lasting for 2 hours.  He usually needs to take a quick catnap again around 5:00PM-5:30PM, and sleeps for 30 minutes exactly every time.  It's crazy how he has an internal clock set for only a 30 minute catnap... it is to the tee every.single.time.  This little catnap is nice because I can get dinner started while he snoozes, and then he joins us for dinner at the table in his highchair as soon as he wakes up.  After dinner, we start our bedtime routine around 6:45PM, with a bath, PJs, bottle at 7:00PM-7:15PM, some book reading, and then it's lights out by 7:30PM.  He is always guaranteed to be asleep by 8:00PM.  He continues to sleep through the night, minus the dream feed at 10:30PM, where he is half asleep, drinks his bottle and then dozes back off immediately.  

Nolan has started fighting going to sleep, not because he isn't tired, but because he has so much fun during his awake time that he wants to stay up and play!  I still can't complain that he is hard to put down, because I know people have it much worse than we do.  But, for our easy sleeper that he's always been, the 15-minute struggle of getting him to go down is a new challenge for us.  He never cries, but always flairs his arms, wiggles, kicks, spits his pacifier out; pretty much anything he can to fight the fact that he is slowly drifting off to sleep.  He does this for both his afternoon naps and bedtime.  Hopefully it's just a phase!  He doesn't do it every single time, so I'm hoping it's just a timing issue that we can work out with practice.   

We continue to move Nolan into the Pack N' Play in our room at his dream feed (I know, I know... no criticism, please!) Sidenote: We are planning on keeping him in his Pack N' Play until after our big trip to Vermont, because I don't want him to get used to his crib and complete quiet at night when he will be rooming with us in a Pack N' Play in Vermont.  Once we return, then we will work on getting him through the night in his own room.   After his dream feed, he falls back asleep immediately, sleeping through the night until 6:30AM-7:00AM the next morning.  I've noticed the earlier I put him down at night, the later he usually sleeps in, which is why we strive to get him down by 7:30PM.

He still sleeps in a SleepSack and we plan to use these for a while... we love them!  He also still uses his pacifier and can easily take it out and quite often put it back in.  He uses his pacifier only for sleep and if we are out or in a different environment, especially in the car.  He is getting better at soothing himself to sleep, and at times can put himself to sleep without being rocked.  We will be working on putting Nolan down in his crib when he is just drowsy and not completely asleep, so he can start putting himself down better.  He continues to sleep solely on his right side, and is quite the mover in his crib.  I still manage to find him in so many different directions when I go to get him up, and lately he has discovered the slats in the crib, so I'll find him playing with the sides with either his hands or kicking them with his feet in his SleepSack.  Soon enough, this will mean putting the breathable bumper on so I don't walk in to find limbs hanging out of the crib!

Firsts & Milestones:
-Rolling over from belly to back, unassisted 

-"Fake" coughing

-Watching Sesame Street on a regular basis (30 minutes max. a day, usually after his dinner and before his catnap)

-First time baby boy got a rash (on his belly-still don't know what caused it, but it only lasted 24 hours)

-Started rice cereal

-Started oatmeal cereal

-Sips of water

-Holds bottle completely unassisted (when he wants to)

-Pressing all buttons on all toys

-"Hugging" and clutching arms around neck when holding him

-Playing "shy"

-Designating he's tired by laying head on shoulder

-First road trip (to San Diego)

-First time at the zoo

-First time at the beach

-Celebrated first Father's Day with Daddy (5 months, 1 day)

-Grabbing Harley's tail and ears

-Riding in the "big boy" stroller seat (regular stroller seat and not the infant carseat)

Likes:
-Musical turtle 
-Fred the Dachshund toy
-Playing "Superbaby" (flying in the air like Superman)
-Wheels on the Bus book 
-Grocery shopping- I usually wear Nolan in the carrier when we go, and he gets a front row seat of everything we shop for.  His absolute favorite part is bagging produce!
-Exploring the refrigerator, loves to feel the cool air and touch the cold shelves
-Spinning in circles while being held
-"Jumping" up and down on the bed

-Sophie the Giraffe (still obsessed)

-"I'm a little teapot" song and dance

-Baby Einstein jumper

-"Wrestling" with his stuffed animals 

Dislikes:
-Being tickled

-Stranger danger- he currently is in a phase with initially being skiddish and crying around men... no idea why!  It only lasts for a few minutes and then he's fine.

-Being overtired

-Being startled (We have to be careful when we go in to get him from his naps... there have been multiple times we swore he saw us, started talking to him, and he jumped, screamed and started bawling because we caught him off guard!)

Next month marks Nolan's half-birthday... 6 months!  I can't believe it.  Slow down, little man... mama's not ready to see you grow up!

Nolan's First Road Trip!

We had talked about taking a quick weekend road trip to San Diego to see how Nolan would do as a little traveling man.  A few weeks ago, we decided to just wing it, book a hotel and see how it goes!  So that's exactly what we did.  A few days before we left, I started getting super nervous about all the things I didn't think about... How will he do in the car?  What will he do when he gets tired of sitting in his carseat?  Where and how will I pump?  All of these things I found a solution to, and came up with a loose itinerary to go off of for the three days we would be gone.  I crossed my fingers everything would go smoothly, and to my luck and happiness, it all did!

We packed everything up and into the car Wednesday night, that way we could leave after Nolan's breakfast in the morning on Thursday.  Once we got everything together and made a stop at Dunkin' Donuts, we got on the road at about 8:30AM.  Nolan quickly fell asleep around 9:00AM, which is his normal nap time, and slept all the way through until we reached Barstow around 11:00AM (perfect timing for his next feeding).  We stopped in Barstow to feed Nolan, change him, and let him out of the car to walk around.  After spending about 30 minutes resting and refueling, we got back on the road.  Nolan played with his toys in his seat and did great!  He fell back asleep again a little before his next nap time at about 12:30PM, and slept until we reached the outskirts of San Diego.  We arrived at our hotel in the downtown Gaslamp District, and Nolan couldn't be happier to be out of the car and ready to start his adventure!

Sleeping in the car

Ready to see the hotel room!

When we got checked into our room, Nolan had a blast bouncing on the bed and looking super tiny in the pile of pillows on our comfy King size!  He played with some of his toys from home and didn't even act like he was in an unfamiliar place.  I think he thought it was pretty awesome to have all of his toys with him!  We brought his oatmeal cereal with us so he could eat his dinner at his normal time, but we forgot about how messy it is and didn't have a place to feed him (no highchair, no bumbo).  So, I got creative and sat him in his bathtub that we brought with us!  It was quite a scene to see, and Nolan thought it was pretty goofy that we were feeding him in his bathtub!  Either way, he gobbled up his food like a champ.

Comfy bed, I approve!

We got ourselves cleaned up and headed out to downtown Gaslamp to find a place for dinner.  It was a little cool, so Nolan got bundled up and looked adorable in a hoodie that cousin Everette passed down to him.  We were happy to get to wear it before he outgrew it, since there hasn't been an opportunity in Vegas to wear it!  We ended up eating dinner at Burger Lounge, which we thought was great but realized after eating there that it is more or less a Southern Cali "fancier" fast food joint.  Ha!  They serve all grass-fed burgers and had some delicious onion rings and fries.  We were happy with our choice, and Nolan took a quick catnap while we ate.  After we finished eating and Nolan woke, we took a walk around Gaslamp and strolled through the Westfield Horton Plaza.  We made a stop at the Gap and picked up some more clothes on clearance for Mr. Spoiled.  He decided to have a blowout while we were there, but lovely Cali stores have nursing rooms in their GapKids stores, so we did a quick wardrobe change and decided to head back to the hotel.  We gave Nolan a bath and tried to stick to his bedtime routine as best as we could, and after a little fight to get him to go down, he eventually wore himself out around 9PM.  He stirred in his Pack N' Play through the night, but I think most of it was because I kept checking on him.  I was nervous about how he would sleep, if it was too humid, if he was comfy enough, but overall, he did well and slept in until 7:30AM the next morning! 

Burger Lounge for dinner

Sound asleep in his Pack N' Play

The next morning, we ventured out again through Gaslamp to grab some breakfast at The Mission.  It was highly rated on Yelp so we decided to check it out, and it definitely did not disappoint!  Jason ordered the Roast Beef Hash & Eggs, and I ordered the prettiest French Toast with Berry Puree.  Nolan took his nap while we ate again (it's all about timing!), but woke back up on our walk back to the hotel.  He slept for a about a half hour and was totally over it... he wanted to hang out and explore, too!  

Dressed and ready for breakfast!

Ready to roll in his big boy stroller seat

French Toast at The Mission

Our plan was to head to the zoo after his morning nap, so we made our way over around 11:30AM.  We spent our whole day there and Nolan did great!  He took catnaps here and there, and enjoyed being awake for the giraffes, polar bear, ducks and birds, monkeys, and his favorite, the fish and hippos!  We took a milk break in the monkey exhibit and enjoyed sitting and watching them swing around.  Nolan was more distracted from drinking than anything, but it was fun to see him observe the monkeys and try to figure out what they were doing.  His absolute favorite was by far the hippos and the fish in their tank.  I think he would love an aquarium at this age, which made me think we should definitely make a trip to the Shark Reef at home sometime soon!  He liked being up close and watching the quick fish swim back and forth in front of him, and got super excited when the hippos swam by.  We took lots of pictures with the statues around the zoo since he could touch and explore that way, and by the time we got to the Children's Zoo and petting zoo, Nolan was out for the count. 

Nolan had to show Sophie the giraffe the REAL giraffes!

Catching up on a nap

Nolan loved watching the ducks

Getting excited about monkeys!

Lunch break in the monkey exhibit

Hippo swimming by!

We finally finished up our day at the zoo around 5:00PM, and decided to drive straight over to dinner at our favorite San Diego spot: Filippi's Pizza Grotto.  Nolan fell asleep on the drive over, and once we got in and sat down, didn't want anything to do with being in his carseat anymore, so lucky boy got to sit on our laps while we ate.  It's tradition for us to eat at Filippi's every time we visit.  Jason's grandparents ate here when they were younger, as well as Jason's parents, and now us, and to pass the tradition on to Nolan was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. 

That night, we returned back to the hotel, bathed, bottled and bedtime'd Nolan, and he was out for the count by 8PM.  He was so exhausted, he snored, which he never does, and during his dream feed at 10PM, he passed out on Jason before finishing his bottle (which never happens)!  He had a big day, and needed his rest for another big day ahead of him: the beach!

Our third and final day, we ventured out for another breakfast in Gaslamp.  This time, we chose Brian's 24, where we got the biggest breakfast plates I've ever seen!  Jason got the Massive Breakfast Burrito (seriously, it really was) and I got Brian's Big Breakfast Sandwich.  Both were HUGE and delicious!  Nolan took another lovely nap while we ate, but again cut his nap short when we returned to the hotel, so we packed our things and left a little earlier than we planned to head to the beach.

Dressed and ready for another walk down Gaslamp

San Diego selfies

Nap during breakfast

HUGE burrito!

We decided to visit Coronado Beach, one of our favorites when we go to San Diego.  I figured it was a good choice for Nolan because it's large enough that there's never crowds, there is usually close parking for all of the stuff we had to carry, and the sand is super soft and the water decently calm.  When we got there, Jason put up our beach shade and we gave Nolan his new beach toys, but after fifteen minutes, he was way past nap time and way too overstimulated.  I had this perfect vision that he would just drift off to sleep due to the beach breeze and the sound of the waves.... totally not reality!  He had the hardest time falling asleep for his nap because he was so out of his element, which I totally understood and couldn't blame him.  It took us a good 30 minutes to calm him down and get him relaxed enough to fall asleep, but he eventually did and looked adorable napping on his beach towels in his swimsuit.  Jason and I took some pictures and got some sun while he napped.  

He only logged in a half hour of sleep, but at least he rested up enough to experience the beach and then we could head home.  He woke up happy and excited, so we introduced him to the sand, which he loved!  He enjoyed putting his hands in it and tried to eat it a couple times, and loved playing with his shovel and beach toys in the sand.  

We wanted Nolan to get a taste of the ocean for the first time, so we walked down to dip his toes in the water.  He really loved this part!  He got really excited as we walked down, and then very serious right before Jason dipped his feet in the water.  He kicked and danced his legs up and down when the waves hit his feet.  The water was really cold, so I think it was a little shocking for him and we only put his feet in because it was so cold, but when we took him out, he giggled and kicked his wet little toes!  

Walking down to the water

Checking it out before he goes in

Nolan enjoy some more time playing in the sand, but before we left, I wanted to get a few pictures of him shirtless in his swim shorts on the beach.  Once I took his shirt off, he had enough, and melted down, which was sad but made for some really adorable pictures.  We snapped a few quickly, and packed up our stuff and headed home.  This little beach bum was totally exhausted from his big weekend, the fresh air and the beach... and as soon as he hit his carseat, he passed out for a good while on the drive back.  

The drive home went decently smooth, and Nolan did really well, but bedtime at 7:00PM came and he was still in the car.  He was confused and upset, but only cried for about fifteen minutes before finally settling down and falling asleep, which he slept all the way home.  We're still catching up from the weekend and recovering, but overall I think he had an amazing first road trip!  He did so well and adjusted great to a very random, on the go schedule (which he is not used to)!  Even though he is still small, I think he really did have a good time and enjoyed the zoo and the beach.  Of course he won't remember this trip, but Jason and I loved creating some amazing memories for our family, and we had just as much fun!  After all the planning and worrying about how the trip would go, it ended up perfect and worked out so smoothly.  I couldn't be more proud of my little man... he did so well and I absolutely loved seeing him have fun!