Summer!

176 student days + a teacher day + one grueling day of math training later summer has finally arrived!   The 3 of us having been waiting for this day for a while!  (well, at least Joe and I have!  Nolan just doesn't realize it yet.)    After Nolan had spent 2 days home with Daddy, he and I needed a special Nolan and Momma day.  We had a lovely breakfast of blueberry pancakes.  

Then I put him on my back and we walked to the local library to get some summer reads for me while Nolan played with all the awesome toys in the Children's section.    We will definitely be back on rainy days.   Nolan threw quite the fit when it was time to leave! 

Back in the backpack, it was time to head to the playground just down the road.  There he enjoyed a little snack of graham crackers and water before playing. 

At this point he was getting pretty tired, so back in the pack and we headed home!

Is it nap time yet??



He napped, I ran and did some yard work and after he woke up, it was back on the road!  We met up with some friends down in Portland for a pre-dinner snack.  He lasted about an hour and a half, and then I knew it was time to head back home!  It was quite an eventful day and Nolan was good to put up with me and all my over-ambitious plans.   I have many of them in store for this summer!  Hang in there, little buddy!  I promise we'll have fun! 

And if you're good, we can get ice cream....a lot.  Heck, we'll get ice cream even if you're bad.  

We Have a Walker!

Last Sunday it dawned upon me that Nolan was gaining more confidence and taking more steps.   He was up to 8-10 steps as he moved from the couch to the Leap Frog Learning Table, his walking toy to the kitchen chair, his Mega Blocks truck to my arms.   I picked him up from daycare on Monday and said "Did he try walking at all today?"  The provider looked at me funny and said "He walked back and forth across this living room all day!"   Sure enough, we got home and you could see the difference.   He was walking farther with less falls.   By mid-week, he was able to pivot around and go in the other direction and get up from the floor into a standing position and take off!   I started to wonder "When is a child officially a 'walker'?"  I guess I don't really need to spend any more time wondering because Nolan is definitely walking now.   At times, it seems he is running!

And it's hard to try to draw a line in the sand trying to decide "When did he learn to walk?"  I guess it begins when they take that first unassisted step (at a funeral home in the direction of a complete stranger).   The learning experience begins then and continues even after the child is toddling around the kitchen barefooted as his mother prepares dinner.  I think many milestones from this point out will be this way - without a date that can be "officially" recorded on a calendar.  I've already got a few stickers floating off in the margins; not being able to pinpoint an exact date of when something occurred - Discovers Toes???   Stands Alone????   2nd Tooth????    Not sure about some of those although I know they happened....

So the sticker for "Walks Alone" is dangling off to the side of mid-June.   He still crawls from time to time; after all, it is still the quickest way of getting from Point A to Point Momma.   But after a while, even that will fade away and new milestones will take the place.   It's bittersweet really.   But that is what growing up is all about....they can't stay babies forever (no matter how much we want them to!!) 

Here's a couple of videos to share how excited Nolan is about this new accomplishment!   You can just see the joy and pride on his face!    Enjoy!

The Nest

I have a couple of longer posts I wanted to update with, but for now and the sake of my ever diminishing time (although in 7 school days I'll be ALLLL done for the summer!) I will have this fun little update. 

When Nolan first transitioned to his crib, I put all the things I used in the bassinette in the crib - elevated sleeper with bumpers, rolled up blankets, and all the same bedding.   He was sleeping through the night at  3 months and me, being superstitious, chalked a lot of it up to the supports he had in the crib.  One friend called his crib his "hamster cage" because of all the stuff in there.    I took that stuff EVERYWHERE!!  Finally, I realized he was getting too big, he was starting to roll over, and it was just getting ridiculous.  

So I started to take away items one at a time.   I'm not just a cold turkey kind of girl.   Eventually we got to where we are now, although he still has a lot of stuff in there now!  But fun stuff - his favorite blankets and all his favorite stuffed animals for chewing on.   He's still sleeping through the night and lately has been squirming his way out of my arms while I'm trying to rock and sing to him, letting me know he's ready to just go to bed!   When I lay him down on his back (where he used to stay and just sleep like that all night) he immediately flips over, grabs as many puppies as he can, and snuggles up, one of the puppy's ears in his mouth.  I say "goodnight" and "I love you" one last time and slip out.   We listen to him as we sit in the living room flopping around in there and getting comfortable.   This can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes - and one night, one hour! 

The best part is going in to wake him up on the mornings we have daycare.  He is absolutely NOT where I saw him last.   He's usually on top of a pile of blankets with puppies all around.   I refer to this as his "nest."  I laugh every time and usually run out to grab the camera.   And here's how we end up with shots like this:

And this:

One of my favorite things....(which will be one of my next posts).

My Partner-in-Crime

Nolan and Momma, Momma and Nolan.   We're pretty tight.  I love this kid for many reasons, and yesterday we added a new one to the list.  

It's been a rainy week here in Maine.   Like drive-you-up-a-wall rainy.   And that's pretty much where I was yesterday - up the wall.  Nolan had turned into Sgt. Fussypants and I decided that what we needed was a change of scenery.   We'd been holed up in the house long enough.  So we all (me, Nolan, and our shadow Buckley) piled into the mini-van and headed into downtown Brunswick.  It's a quaint little downtown with your typical Main St. dotted with shops and cafes.  First we stopped in to my former employer, Maine Running Company.   Nolan is fascinated with shoes so this was the perfect place to spend some time.   I chatted with one of my work buddies while he stared at the walls lined with sneakers and watched people trying on box after box of sneakers.   Then I indulged in trying on my favorite sneaker - the Saucony Triumph.  Swoon.  (Hmmmm...pay for a week of daycare or buy a pair of new sneakers????  Tough decision.)     

After leaving MRC, we headed over to my most favorite place downtown - Gelato Fiasco.   Joe is not really an "ice cream" kind of guy.   He likes candy.  Me, I could eat ice cream every day.  I don't, but I could.   So I figured I'd treat Nolan and myself to some gelato.  This place makes their own fresh gelato on a daily basis.  And the flavors are endless.   Often they'll have an interesting flavor they're trying out.   They're culinary artists, really.   So after browsing the gelato case and sampling a few flavors, I chose Junior Mint for myself and Strawberry Balsamic for Nolan.   The boy could not get enough of the sweet stuff.  I could barely enjoy my own because he wanted that red spoon in his mouth every 3 seconds.  

Love me some gelato!

Mmmmmmm....







Keep it coming, Momma!

I'll just take that spoon, thank you!

So I have found my new partner-in-crime.   I forsee many trips to Gelato Fiasco this summer.  Forget Dairy Queen!     Joe can keep his candy.  

So after our little gelato date, we headed down the street to check out our new local Cool as a Moose/Life is Good store.  So many things I want....so little money.  Ah well.   Then we played with the Brio train table at another favorite store.   It ended up being a lovely afternoon.   Nolan and Momma, Momma and Nolan.  

"Ma-ma"

Best.sound.ever.    Last Wednesday I was washing bottles at the sink.   Nolan was standing over at our kitchen window looking outside.   All of a sudden he dropped to his knees and started crawling quickly towards me.   "Ma-ma, Ma-Ma" he said.   And when he reached me, he grabbed onto my legs and stood up.   My heart burst.   This was the first time he had said it - "Ma-ma."   Needless to say, I stopped what I was doing, scooped him up, burst into tears and smothered him with kisses.   Then we spent the rest of our evening outside walking around, swinging and blowing bubbles. 

Life is too short.  Savor every moment.  <3

I love this...

The classic "sleep-on-my-stomach-with-my-tush-in-the-air."  I don't know exactly when it started.  It was about a couple of weeks ago when he started getting sick.  I think it made him feel better.  I'd put him in his crib on his back and he'd instantly flip over to his belly and tuck up his knees.   He's feeling better now, but still does it.  I love going into his room in the morning and seeing him like this:

Makes my day.  :)

The Birthday Recap

I know I owe you an update on how his first birthday party went.   It's just that things have been busy.  Between trying to get through these last 27 days of school (but who's counting?), preparing for the birthday party and cleaning up after, Mother's Day and then returning to the daily grind, it's been hectic.   I'll give some details, but I think I'll mostly let the pictures tell the story.  

The party was scheduled for after the Birthday Boy's nap.   This also gave us some time to clean up and get ready.  I made Nolan a "small" 7-inch smash cake - chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting.   Joe said "Let the boy eat some chocolate!"   No problem.  I made both chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for the guests.  I decided to use those monthly pictures I'd been taking of Nolan as decorations to stick in the cupcakes. I also chose some favorites from througout the year.  They came out really cute!  Since the party was 3-5, I also did a couple of hot appetizers and other snacks - crockpot meatballs(delicious!), Buffalo Chicken Dip (ALWAYS a hit), cheese and crackers, veggies and hummus, some popped kettle corn, and Joe's mom made yummy clam dip with Fritos.    It was a pretty decent spread! 



I wanted to have our party outside, but right at 3:00 the dark clouds rolled in and the thunder started.  It never did rain, but I wasn't going to take the chance!  After chatting and mingling for a while, we decided to let Nolan at his cake.   While he didn't enjoy his birthday hat, he definitely loved that cake!   He made good work of it, too, eating about 1/4 of the cake.  

After that, we cleaned him up and attempted having him open his gifts.  With all that sugar running through his system, Nolan didn't feel much like sitting down.  So I took over that.  He got some really neat gifts and we were so thankful for the wonderful things he got.

I swear he likes it, Ali!  We've been practicing.  :)

Daddy picked this gift out special

It was a fun day surrounded by loved ones, both friends and family.   It's sweet that there are so many special people in Nolan's life.  Our boy is very fortunate to know such wonderful people.   We look forward to celebrating down in Massachusetts with the rest of our family!    Can't wait!   :)