Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Our Long Weekend: The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY

So for the most part, we had a pretty good Memorial Day weekend. Saturday was the coolest day, at around 85ish degrees. Mimi was kind enough to watch the boys for us so Mike & I could grab lunch and then see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It was okay; different by far from the first three movies, and there was a subplot that I found unnecessary and annoying, but overall it was still enjoyable. One thing I was NOT thrilled about was the group of teeny-boppers that would make fun of a mentally disabled many every time he laughed at an inappropriate moment. I've never been closer to telling someone off in my life. :(

On Sunday, we headed up to my folks' house for a visit. Despite the climbing temperatures, we had a great time, especially since we got to visit with my grandparents as well!

Aiden had a great time running through the sprinkler.

And Nolan was perfectly content to cool off by sitting in his own bucket of water. :)

Monday was an odd day. It didn't start out well with the announcement that Jim Tressel had resigned as head football coach for the Buckeyes. It's amazing the damage that dumb decisions by immature "star" athletes can cause. Their actions ruined an amazing career, and have tarnished my favorite team. It's gonna take awhile to get over, but I took my frustrations out by pulling weeds in my flower beds in the 90-degree heat. Mike & Aiden worked on building the boys' swing set.

It's almost complete, save for attaching the slide once we get the correct screws (you'd think they'd QC those kits).

Then my guys graciously held still long enough for me to get a photo of them together, which lately is no tiny feat:


I CANNOT BELIEVE how big Nolan is getting. Just this week alone, he a) got his first two teeth! b) figured out how to get out of the bumbo chair, and c) learned how to clap on demand! See the video below for the proof...

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Weekends are ridiculous around here...

...and since that's the time I do most of my blogging, you can see how well that's working for me. Compared to how they have been, and how they're going to be in June, this weekend was relatively easy. We met up with the playdate crowd yesterday at the Columbus Zoo--along with pretty much the entire population of Columbus. Seriously, they were SLAMMED. Obviously it was the first nice weather weekend in quite some time. The kiddos had fun, though, as only they could--by climbing on a large bronze statue of an orangutan.


Today was supposed to go a bit different than it has; since Aiden stayed with MiMi last night, Mike & I figured we'd try to sleep in a bit since that's probably not going to be an option with our crazy weekends ahead. Unfortunately, Nolan had other plans; he began his happy, LOUD screaming at 5:30. Couple that with my inability to go back to sleep once I've woken up, and we had a bit of an early morning. But Nolan reached into his bag of tricks later in the morning and pooped a good one right up his back that required an emergency bath. What a stink. At least he was in a good enough mood for me to snap some photos in our pretty weather.





Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Seven Months Old

We are more than half-way to Nolan's first birthday. E-friggin'-gads. I looked at my clock today around 12:20ish, and realized that seven SHORT months ago at that time, I was waiting on my final blood test to find out whether or not I'd need knocked out for my C-section. Luckily, the answer was no, and I was able to witness Nolan's angry, screaming face above that sterile green curtain. And boy, does seven months make a difference; Nolan has morphed from Angry Newborn to Sweetest Baby Ever. I used to tell folks what an easy baby Aiden was, and no offense to my darling first-born, but Nolan is ridiculously easy. No wonder I want another one...but that's another post somewhere far, FAR in the future.

Getting back to No. 2; at seven months, Nolan:

--by my guess alone weighs somewhere around 17 lbs. He still makes my arms tired after holding him for a bit, but it's such a satisfying tired.
--smiles All. The. Time. And it's contagious! He's the happiest, most content baby I've ever seen, and he rarely even fusses, let alone cries.
--is still ridiculously close to erupting two teeth--as in they might come in by the time I'm done typing this post. You can see them, you can feel them--we're ready. So anytime now.
--might be quitting the pacifier on me pretty soon, just like Aiden did. He seems to be finding his thumb lately, so the baby plug isn't the go-to it used to be.
--loves interacting with his brother. He hugs, grabs hair, giggles, everything--and Aiden can't get enough of it!
--continues to be a lover of all things edible, and I've been experimenting with some weird combinations; one of his favorites, believe it or not, is blueberry/pear/purple carrot(!). Yucko to me, yummo to him.
--looks a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e in shorts. I loved last week's warm weather; it meant I could see his pudgey little legs more often than diaper-change time.
--can sit unsupported, but rarely chooses to; he's got this obsession with throwing himself backwards, so I have to back him up with a pillow AT ALL TIMES.
--may be ready to crawl sooner than I'm ready for him to be. He's found his knees while on the floor more than once. And we all know how mobility turns babyhood on its head.
--still is a total Daddy's Boy. I think he would hang out in Mike's lap all day if given the choice. I'm pretty sure Daddy wouldn't mind, either.

So there's your seven-month update. It scares me that next month I could possibly be detailing how many teeth have come in and describing his silly army crawl. I need him to slow down just a bit...

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Catching Up

Can't believe it's May already--the weeks are flying by so quickly that I almost still think it's March. I must say I am glad that April is over, though--it rained nearly EVERY day last month. Not cool for a toddler who wanted to play outside.

Easter was last weekend! We took Aiden to his first Easter egg hunt, and he made out like a bandit--not even kidding. I still need to make some of his candy "disappear" from his basket & take it to work where it cannot rot his beautiful teeth.

A few Easter photos:

WAAAAAAAY too much candy for a 3-year-old.

Love that face after his first time coloring eggs :)


With Daddy after hunting for eggs at home.

Nolan is obviously excited about his Easter bucket as well :)

The boys in their bunny ears :)

This morning, we participated in the Greater Columbus March for Babies. We had a GREAT time. Nolan stayed home with Daddy since the weather was calling for rain, but luckily, we only had a few sprinkles once the walk was completed. There was a great turnout, and I just love the atmosphere at the walk. Aiden was an angel and even walked the last half-mile on his own! So proud. And speaking of proud, our team raised $2,113, which was OVER our goal of $2,000!!!

Some MfB photos:

Abby & me

Me with part of my inspiration :)

More stuff to come--we're leaving for Q's birthday party this afternoon (beware: sugar overload ahead), and then tomorrow I start my new position at work. Should be interesting. With that being said, I hope you all are enjoying this first day of May!