Sesame Street Live!

On a whim, we decided to take Nolan to Sesame Street Live one weekend since the show was in town at the Orleans Arena.  To say Nolan is obsessed with Sesame Street would be underestimating his love for the show.  It is by far his favorite thing and we are slowly collecting more and more Elmo and Cookie Monster things around our house!  We had gone back and forth with the idea of taking him to the show days earlier, wondering if Nolan would be old enough to sit through the 90-minute production and enjoy it, but once we found some discount tickets through their website a few days before the show, we figured we would try it out!

Once we entered the arena, Nolan lost his mind.  I had a feeling he would be really excited, but this was just over the top for him!  He tends to screech when he gets super pumped, so lots of people were staring and laughing at his craziness!  We just roll with it and let him enjoy his excitement! 

Throughout the outside of the arena, they had cute props set up and of course, the souvenir shops.  He was super excited to see Elmo and stopped to have a little chat with him.

Next up, he found Grover and definitely had his eye on those massive balloons.  We promised to buy him one after the show.  

After walking around the outside of the arena, we decided to grab a churro and find our seats.  We had the best view and it was a perfect setup for Nolan to be able to dance around in the small space next to the aisle.  We had front row of the pavilion so he could hang on the railing and see above the floor seats, which worked out great.  Plus, during the show, characters walked and danced around and came right in front of us, which of course, blew Nolan's mind!

The show started, and Nolan's excitement grew even more!  He basically screeched through the entire show and pointed to every character, like he couldn't believe they were really right in front of his eyes!  He clapped nonstop and was a total fanboy!  These videos crack me up so much because he was SO happy and SO excited.  The show was actually really entertaining, and Jason and I even enjoyed being there!  The theme of this years show was "Let's Dance!" which incorporates a live dance party throughout the performance.  It's perfect because it let's the kids get up and shake off their energy and that is definitely what we did throughout the show!  There were multiple story lines, and most of the characters made lengthy appearances, so favorites of each individual child aren't forgotten.  The energy in the room is awesome because all of the kiddos are dancing around, enjoying themselves, and the characters actually come down and dance with the kids, which makes it that much more fun!

There was a quick 15-minute intermission, where we decided to go roaming around to get up out of our seats.  We took a bathroom break and stretched our legs!

For the second half of the show, there was more dancing, songs and singing, and we also got to hear familiar songs that Nolan perked up extra about because he recognized them!  There were a few from his YouTube videos of Sesame Street segments he watches, as well as nursery rhyme favorites like The Itsy Bitsy Spider (one of Nolan's favorites, so that was perfect)!  The absolute highlight for Nolan was meeting Cookie Monster and getting to dance with him towards the end of the show.  He was a bit more shy this time around (unlike Bay of Play at Sea World), but he still walked up to Cookie and gave him a shy hug.  SO cute!  The ending number was the most fun-filled dancing, with bouncing balls thrown into the audience and a big celebratory ending dance party!

When the show ended, Nolan ended up crying because he wanted more and to stay!  After a few tears were shed, we took some pictures as we were leaving... the first being the aftermath of said crying fit, the second, showing how much fun he had at the show!

Of course we had to make a stop at the souvenir booth on our way out, coming through with our promise of an Elmo/Cookie Monster balloon (double sided, Elmo on one side, Cookie on the other, which was amazing), and also spoiled him with a figurine set that he has since placed with every single day, so definitely worth it!  They had plenty of cute memorabilia that is only available through Sesame Street Live shows, but we tried not to go too spoil crazy!  

I was amazed that my not-so-patient, won't sit for movies, always on-the-go 17-month old actually lasted the entire 90 minutes.  The up-close, interactive production is to credit for keeping his attention and allowing him to have a blast, getting to see and meet his favorite friends!  He had SO much fun and I left wanting to go back and do it all over again with him (once a week would be great... let's get a Sesame Street Live Vegas contract, please?!)  We will certainly be attending the next Sesame Street Live show that comes here, and I know he'll be looking forward to it!  It is by far the best thing to watch your child experience something new and absolutely love it.  I think Jason and I had just as much fun watching him love this show as much as he did, and we're so glad we took the chance at trying it out!  It was the best!

Until next time, Sesame Street!

May Happenings

We started out the month by filming this adorable video of Nolan reciting his "Shake a Leg" book that he loves!  The volume is really low due to Jason's crappy phone case, but here are the verses he is acting out:

Is everybody ready? Shake a leg!
Honk your nose!
Pat your head.
Waggle your fingers.
Wiggle your toes.
Rub your tummy.
Jiggle your ears.
Flap your elbows!
Shrug your shoulders.
Swing your arms!
Touch your ankles.
Knock your knees.
Kick up your heels!
Make a muscle.
Twist your waist.
Close your eyes, and take a rest.  

Jason worked near the Linq one Saturday, so he decided to pick up some of our favorite Sprinkles cupcakes and we did some damage on them later that night...  YUM.

Nolan practiced brushing his teeth, which really means he just sucks on the bristles while I chase hims around trying to get at least one good swipe in. :)

He found the paper towels and decided to go to town on them, making a huge mess!

Nolan has a love/hate relationship with the vacuum cleaner.  One morning, while I was vacuuming, he decided to hide in the front room, which is normal for him to either hide or yell while I'm vacuuming.  After I finished a quick sweep through, I came back to check on him, and found him fast asleep!  He's never passed out randomly around the house like this... so he must have been exhausted!

At our weekly MyGym class, the instructor set up a maze for the kids to navigate through, and Nolan absolutely loved it and wanted to do it over and over!  He really likes this class, and unlike his other classes, he is pretty outgoing in this one (for him)!

He took some cute pictures on the stairs as we practiced going down (we're working on it).  I couldn't believe how old he looks in the last picture!

We spent a morning at McCullough Vista Park, that's right around the corner from our house, and I snapped an amazing picture that might be one of my favorites ever of Nolan.  This hill is amazing!  We did some swinging on the swings and Nolan gave me lots of waves and high fives.

Nolan enjoyed some painting one afternoon, followed by some nakey diaper time and hanging with his best doggie friend.

We went out to dinner at Shake Shack with our friends, the Luks, and Nolan decided to take a rest while waiting for his friends to meet us.

He looked super sweet one night before bed, and the complete opposite, a crazy nut, the following night!

I found Nolan with one arm out of his shirt after an afternoon's nap.  Not even sure how this happened, but it must have been some intense sleep!

We celebrated Mother's Day with my mom and our family, and decided to try a special event Brunch that was held at Buckman's Grill at Revere Golf Club- the country club that we had our wedding at!  It was special to be able to take Nolan to the place where our family officially began.  The food was delicious and the view at the clubhouse is always amazing.  When we first got there, we thought we would check out the petting zoo that they had for the kiddos.  Of course, Nolan loved it, and wanted to cuddle and touch all the animals.  The baby goats and sheep were SO adorable and we were able to hold and cuddle them, too!  Nolan loved touching the bunnies and their fur was extremely soft.  All of the animals were so clean, compared to lots of other petting zoos we've experienced!  His favorite was, by far, chasing the ducks around to hear them quack.  He would crack up so hard every time he heard them!  Inside, we snapped some pictures before eating, and Nolan was not having it, so we had to cut our photoshoot short.  We ate a yummy breakfast, visited the petting zoo once more, and then made our way back home for nap time.  

To say I'm lucky to be Nolan's mama is an understatement.  I am thankful to have his giggles and love everyday and even more thankful that I can stay home and experience all of what he has to offer (the good, bad and the ugly!)  I'm grateful to have a healthy little guy and so happy to be given the job of "Mom".  It couldn't be harder, but it's the best job I'll ever have and I try to soak up every minute of it! 

We spent an afternoon at Reunion Trails Splash Pad with our besties, the Luks.  Nolan has been hit or miss with splash pads, so I wasn't sure how he would do with this one.  He was hesitant, but eventually warmed up and had fun with his friends!  He followed Scarlett and Hudson around, and learned from the big kids.  He's still not 100% sure about the water, but he's getting there!  

Nolan had a close call with his eye, and ended up slicing the eyelid pretty good when falling on a toy in the kitchen.  He was a trooper, but was super upset about it for a while.  It looked rough, and the following days, he had his first black eye!  No good.

"Minion" is a new word Nolan has been saying, and although it's not super clear or the best he's said it, this video kind of captured it.

We had fun at a new park, Paseo Vista Park, and Nolan ran around this place for 45 minutes straight! Everything is accessible by ramps or bridges, which is awesome since he isn't a fan of climbing unfamiliar stairs alone yet.  He went down slides, swung on cool seat swings, hopped in a rocking car, and explored all over the place!  We will definitely be going back to this one, especially once the splash pads open up!

Our backyard renovation is slowly becoming more and more complete, with one last project to go.  Nolan really loves his playset and we are outside playing on it at least once a day, if not more!

I got some snuggles with Harley in during nap time one afternoon.

Nolan practiced using his spoon and eating some cereal one morning... and half the time gave up and used his hands.

We brought Daddy to McCullough Vista Park one evening after dinner, and enjoyed the awesome sunset while playing at the park. 

We spent an amazingly fun weekend in San Diego, visiting Sea World, the beach and a baseball game!

We met up with lots of friends on Memorial Day, eating brunch with the Luks at Hash House, and visiting with Auntie Stacey afterwards since she was in town for a quick trip!  The kiddos sported their 'Merica outfits and played together at the end of brunch.  

Nolan was so excited to see his Auntie Stacey, and had so much fun playing with her while she was here for a bit.  We met up with Erin and had a girls afternoon of Pitch Perfect 2 and drinks afterwards.  Jason watched Nolan, and I must say, it's nice to get out once and a while!  It was a much needed afternoon with my best friends!

We had a fun month welcoming in the warm weather and spending lots of time with our friends.  Here's to the start of summer and what fun activities the next months ahead hold!