11 months

So I realized I did a terrible job keeping up with documenting Nolan's first year on this blog. I don't know where the last 11 months went! I had every intention to keep up with every little thing he did so I would be able to look back and have this to remember it, but time just got away from me.

I'm still struggling to believe my teeny tiny baby turned 11 months old. I've started planning his 1st birthday party. Stephen and I have started thinking about what we want to do with him for his actual birthday to celebrate his special day with just our little family. As much as I hate to think about it, it will be here before I know it! I don't know how. I still feel like it was just yesterday that I was uncomfortably pregnant and getting impatient for his arrival.

At first, when he was a newborn it seemed like he stayed in the same phase for a while. Now he changes everyday. Every single day he discovers something new or hits a new milestone and it never ceases to amaze me. I enjoyed him as a snugly little baby bundle, but so far this is definitely my favorite stage. He actually interacts and listens when I talk. I can tell he's starting to remember people besides just Stephen and I. It's cute to watch his little face light up when someone comes to visit him or we go visit someone he recognizes.

His developed an attachment to his blankies. He has two that are interchangeable, thank the Lord, but one of them has to be with him at all times, especially when he's sleeping. So far, we've been able to limit the blankie to only riding in the car and not actually going places with us or being outside, but I imagine it's only a matter of time before that changes. He LOVES to read. Books are his favorite of his toys and pretty much how we spend our days. He picks out a book and brings it to me and shakes it at me until I read it. Then when it's finished he either insists on rereading that book(we have about 6 that we read over and over) or goes to get me another. He has to sit on my lap and turn the pages for me. He started doing that at about 9 months old and I still think it's the cutest thing ever.

He still loves to eat. He eats three meals a day and an afternoon snack. We've yet to find a food that he doesn't like, but he is getting a little more choosy. He eats anything you put on his tray, but if you watch him, he's careful about which bite he wants. He'll feel around with his little fingers til he picks the exact right bite. He's down to just three 4oz bottles a day. One before morning nap, one before afternoon nap, and one before bed. His doctor said he drinks so well out of a sippy cup I could get rid of the bottles all together and just switch to milk in a cup, but I'm surprisingly sentimental about that. I feel like that's my last piece of baby. I'll start weaning him off completely closer to his birthday, but for now I'm just going to enjoy our bottle time snuggles a little bit longer.

He is in to everything. He crawls all over the place and cruises around the furniture. He's starting to get braver and more confident about taking steps, but he's still not quite ready to take off. He loves to explore though. It makes it hard to go places right now because he wants to be taking off exploring everything. He won't just let you hold him anymore. He's a squirmy worm! Since he won't walk just yet, that makes being in public places where he can't crawl on the floor a little more tricky.

He loves to take walks in his stroller. I take him and Natty every morning after breakfast and now he's learned the routine. This morning while I was putting on my shoes, he crawled over and stood up by his stroller and waited to be buckled in.

 His favorite thing right now though is animals. He loves them! I've never seen a baby this young get so excited by seeing an animal. He loves to watch them on tv or movies. If it has an animal(cartoon or real life) he will sit and watch and make his little excited gasps and squeals as long as its on. He loves to see animals out on our walks. He points and gasps until he can't see it anymore. We've started walking over to the PetSmart right in front of our house and letting him check out the animals there too. It's probably his favorite place. We stop in front of each cage and watch the different animal and make the sounds it makes. We can't wait to get him to the zoo! I will have to video that because he will be in his little heaven! We've talked about taking him for his birthday, but it's still so hot we may have to wait a couple more months for it to be enjoyable.

I know most people say the reality of parenting really hits them when they leave the hospital alone with their baby for the first time, but that wasn't the case for me. I still felt prepared at that point. I was excited and anxious. I couldn't wait to get home and just have our little family time. For me, the reality sank in around 4 months old.

I was home with Nolan and Stephen was at work. We had decided we were going to start trying to spoon feed baby cereal because he could sit up so well. It was in those first few attempts with the spoon that reality set in. I realized, I think for the first time, that it was our responsibility to teach this tiny little human EVERYTHING. We would have to teach him to eat, then to feed himself, to use the bathroom, to take a bath on his own, every little thing. At that moment, that thought seemed completely overwhelming. I had never really thought of it in those terms before and it was a little scary.

Luckily for us, he was a pro eater. He took to spoon feeding like a natural and never looked back. I realize now that it's not so overwhelming. He doesn't need to learn everything all at once. He will learn, I will learn, we will all get there. Parenting is a crazy adventure. I have spent the majority of the last 11 months feeling tired with a mix of several emotions all at once depending on the moment. I know this roller coaster isn't for everyone, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Nolan- 2 months

I can't believe my baby boy is already over 2 months old! Time needs to slow down, he's growing too fast!

This month was a busy one. He's looking more like a baby now than a newborn and he's definitely filled out more. He has officially out grown his newborn clothes.

He was baptized after church on October 14th at Redeemer Lutheran. After church we had a big Italian meal my Mom made and one of Grammy's traditional baptism cakes at our house with both of our families.

Nolan started rolling over from his tummy to his back during tummy time and those little legs get to moving and he squirms all over his play mat. He holds his head up really well on his own and prefers to be held up on my shoulder now so he can look around.

He looks all around and you can tell he's seeing things now and recognizing people. He loves his family! His little face lights up whenever one of us talks to him. He loves to smile and giggle.

Our schedule has been a little all over the place. Typically he's still pretty good about being on a 3 hour schedule. He's still eating 4oz every 3 hours then he typically sleeps for about an hour to an hour and half. Wakes up to be changed and play a little bit then it's time to eat again. At night he's still usually really good about sleeping 5-6 hours at first, wakes up to eat, then right back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. I definitely can't complain about his sleeping when we're on schedule. But like adults we do have our bad days and they can be bad!(like Monday night when we were up every hour all night. Not fun!)

He's already getting more independent. He will sit in his bouncer now and he doesn't have to be completely asleep before I lay him down. He can soothe himself the rest of the way to sleep sometimes. He is still sleeping in his rocker in our room at night. I like being able to roll over and see him. I'm afraid he's going to out grow it pretty soon though. He's growing like a weed!

He celebrated his first Halloween this year by "trick or treating" with all of his cousins.  Little Mickey pretty much slept through the while thing. Little pumpkin princess Carmen looked around and watched all night. Pirate sock monkey Brayden rode in his little car and filled up the trunk with candy when he felt like following Trae to the door. Trae was the only one who was a pro and he sure was a cute little Batman!

His next appointment with the pediatrician is Tuesday. I'm curious to see how much he's grown.

We've been venturing out more and I love seeing him check things out. I'm looking forward to his first holidays! He's going to love all the Christmas lights and sparkle! :) I love watching this little man grow up but wish he would slow down just a little! ;)

Nolan: 1month

<p>I'm going to attempt to get through this post without crying. I'm having a hard time accepting that my sweet newborn is already a month old! I've enjoyed every minute of the last month, but feel like it's just flying by way too fast. I feel like we were just in the hospital waiting for him to arrive. </p>
<p>Just in the last few days I've noticed how much more grown up he looks. He's changed a lot already. (ok, so I'm probably the only one who would notice.)</p>
<p>Nolan has already gotten really good at holding his own head up. He's smiling all the time and is starting to be awake more often and for longer stretches. </p>
<p>He eats between 3.5 and 4oz every three hours, and never misses a meal! This is a big change from battling to get him to wake up enough eat 1oz while we were in the hospital. He got himself onto a really good schedule and I'm really lucky that he is so easy going. We can take him everywhere with us.</p>
<p>He naps in about 2.5 hour stretches every time he eats. At night he goes from 9pm to 3am then every three hours after that. He's been that way since we brought him home from the hospital. To say we're lucky is an understatement! I'm afraid he's going to pay us back for this later.</p>
<p>We're in a really good routine and I love spending our days together. I've started realizing how hard it will be to go back to work in a few weeks even though it is only part time. </p>
<p>This month he had his first bath at 2 weeks, first doctor's appointment at 2 weeks(85% height and 25% weight- long and skinny like his Daddy!), first real smile at 3 weeks, he had his first trip to church last Sunday(3 weeks), he watches lots of football with daddy, and has started venturing out to eat and to visits with family. He loves to snuggle and loves visiting with all of his family!</u></p>

I can't believe this first month has already flown by! I'm enjoying every minute and can't wait to see how he continues to grow and develop his own little personality.