Thanksgiving 2010

Where do I begin?? Ohh, I know! We will start with the 1 hour 45 minute flight to TX! Poor Nolan just did not understand why he could not get down to play. We had a late flight, so I was hoping he would fall asleep like he has every other flight we have been on. I guess there was just too much to look at to fall asleep. He kicked me, threw his head back, kissed on me, hugged my neck, and tried his hardest to give the old man next us his paci. We had a great time! :)


Nolan spent the next 5 days being the center of attention, and he loved it! There are a ton on pics on this post, so I will use them to tell about our visit.



Here is Nolan playing outside. Our first day there it was beautiful outside. That evening it rained and brought some VERY cold temps to the large state of TX. We went out and bought Nolan a hat and gloves. The brand on this particular set was labeled...Nolan...so we had to buy them :)


Nolan perfected his climbing skills at Grandma's. If he could step on it, he was on top of it. He started out sitting in the basket, and had a grand time doing so. As soon as he figured out he could flip it over, he was on top. BOYS.




He was not a big fan of staying in the play yard by himself, so every now and then someone would get inside and play with him

These pictures are from our first day there when the weather was nice. He loved to be outside, and had a blast at the playground.

Thanksgiving is my favorite time to be with my family. We have fun cooking up a storm and hanging out. We never really left the house for 5 days, and still had lots of fun just doing family stuff. This Thanksgiving trip we ate: sausage balls, turkey, ham, yeast rolls, dressing, mashed taters, peas, creamed corn, deviled eggs, made from scratch gravy, banana muffins, carrot cake, chocolate pecan cake, apple pie, sausage gravy biscuits, eggs, cinnamon rolls, potato cakes and some fruit thrown in there as well. Allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll made my mom, Elise and myself!! :)

Nolan enjoyed his Thanksgiving meal very much.

Mom bought Nolan a fun little...I mean BIG...play stage thingy. He loved going inside and out. When he came out or you went in, he would say in his sweetest tiniest voice....HI!

He found the wine room. He found it to be tons of fun...until he realized he could not get out :)

The day after Thanksgiving we went and got a Christmas Tree which is tradition in our family. At the Christmas tree getting place Nolan found a cat. I think his was his first time to see one. He chased that critter all over the place...poor cat.

Elise is our expert light putter onner.

Even Nolan got to help put an ornament on. He is putting MY baby ornament on his this picture :)

Finished tree. We had so much fun in TX with my family. We miss you guys already and can't wait until you come here for Christmas!!!!




On a side note, and just because it's funny. I went to visit Nolan on Tuesday before we left for the airport. I found him dressed in an Indian shirt with a tootoo. Interesting outfit choice...don't you think???? ;)

Bumps, Bruises, and Everything in Between

Right now, I sit on the couch reflecting on our day. I am physically and emotionally tired...done. Not done enough, however, to make sure I document this NUTSO day in history. Our morning started out like our usual Sunday morning. I made pancakes and sausage for breakfast...Nolan's favorite. After he ate, he did his usual gallop around the house. I heard a bang and found him on the floor crying. He must have tripped and hit his head on his play door. His poor little eye had a cut at the edge, and it was already starting to puff up. Lovely, I thought. Just in time for church. We rushed to get ready for 10:00 service. Keys in hand, Brad opened the door to let Nolan go to the car. His weight must have been leaning on the door because when it opened Nolan fell flat. The nice sippy cup I handed him as we were leaving jammed into his mouth. At first I didn't really think anything of it. He falls and cries multiple times a day. Didn't think much until Brad said a choice word or two with the word BLOOD mixed in between. I looked at him and his mouth was GUSHING blood. I hurried to grab a wet towel and some water to clean it up, but it would not stop bleeding. I could see his lip and saw the cut, but that did not seem to be where all the blood was coming from. Brad sat down with him in the chair and tilted him back. I lifted his lip amidst screams and kicks and flipped out!!!! You see our little man has a slight gap in his teeth. Kind of cute and not uncommon for little tikes. The puffy gum area between those two front teeth was bleeding like no other, and it appeared as though his upper inside lip was stuck in between. It was swollen and bloody and we could not tell one way or another what exactly had happened. Because of all the blood and possibility of his lip being jammed in his teeth we thought about going to the emergency room. Of course, serious things only happen on the weekend when the doctor's office is closed. So, I did what any first time parent would do. I called my mom. As soon as I began telling her what happened, I started to cry. I don't know why..overwhelmed and scared I guess. She seemed to be an expert on this type of thing and told us to chill out and put some ice on it. So we did. Turns out that this kind of injury is VERY common among kids and it will heal itself. We sat on the couch to love on our poor booboo. I looked over to see something and the next thing I know Nolan is head down on the floor. To add injury to injury, he fell off the couch and did a face plant. He cried and then I cried. I felt so bad for him. What a morning he had! Needless to say we did not make it to church.

To end on a funny note, we had a great rest of the day. No more injuries and he even had a visit from Grandmommy. He had a little diaper accident, so we took an early bath. We played in the water, and talked with Grandma and Pat via Skype. Toward the end of our chat, I saw him make his "face". My friends, as if my day could not get anymore interesting my "NEVER BEFORE HAVE POOPED IN THE TUB" baby did the unthinkable. He pooped in the tub. I called for my wonderful husband, and the first thing he does is grab the video camera. Warning...there is a little "present" that you may not want to see. OHH!!!! And to add insult to nastiness....when we got him out of the water and put him down, he peed all over my bathroom floor. :)

Dinosaur March

Nolan does this cute little dance at daycare. He is suppose to be marching. He gets a little distracted in the middle, but it's still a funny one! Wait till the very end to hear him RRRROOOOAAARRRR!!

Halloween 2010

This Halloween was very unlike last Halloween. For one, Nolan was able to stay awake. Remember this from last year???


Dad wanted a pic with the same pose, and I am glad he suggested it. We will have to make this a Halloween costume tradition for the next few years. This time Nolan was awake and a little wiggly!



Here is a pic of our spooktacular home. :)

Brad has had the Halloween Homer Simpson for years. Since we lived in a condo for the past few years, the Homer has been tucked away in a box. He wanted to put it out this Halloween, but I had some reservations. I didn't want the neighbors to think we were nutso. We made a compromise. Instead of having it up allll month long, he set it up Halloween morning. The neighbors ended up loving it, and we got many a compliment when the trick or treaters arrived :)

Mom, who is this guy???

That afternoon, Brad made a pile of leaves for Nolan to jump in. What kid doesn't like leaves?? Mine! Brad tried to show Nolan how fun they were, but he didn't bite. So, we threw him in.

Scared for life. We are great parents :)

Once we had a yummy chili dinner and PawPaw arrived, we were ready to go. Trick or treating started early for us. Nolan isn't the happiest camper past 7 pm. Also, I really wanted to be home for our trick or treaters. This is the first year we have been able to hand out candy, and I for one was super excited!

Here is our little spider. Every other time I have put this costume on him a massive meltdown occurs. He must have know this was a special night!

Going to his first house. He knew exactly what to do. He walked right up that drive way without anyone directing him to.

He was not happy that he had to home someones hand. He likes to roam free!

This has to be one of my favorite pictures. My daddy, my hubby, and my baby :)

Nolan and daddy going to fill up the treat bag. Nolan was so funny. He WOULD NOT take the candy from the neighbors. Brad had no problem though :) Loves you babe!

Cute little spider loves him a bag. Thanks Grandma!!!

Checking out the loot before he collects some more.

I love my husband for capturing a picture of my big butt. However this is the only picture of Nolan and I trick or treating :(

Notice the paci....it was time to go home!!!!!

Finally back home. We made it just in time for the hoards of spooks. I guess the sidewalks in the neighborhood make this a trick or treat hot spot. We nearly ran out of candy! Next year I will know how much to buy.

The house at night! Spooky!!!!! ;)

I think Nolan had more fun digging through his bag than actually trick or treating. Being the awesome mom I am, I put 99% of his candy in our treat bowl for the spooks. I let him keep the Smarties :)