Eleven Months Old

Houston, we have an eleven-month-old.

You know how certain sights and smells bring back memories so strong that you swear you're having dejavu? I've been having a lot of that lately with the arrival of the fall weather; I keep thinking how pregnant & uncomfortable and EXCITED I was a year ago. And while I'm just as excited this year, right now I'm almost to the point that I can't say I have a baby anymore. Nolan is no longer my helpless newborn, nor my dependent infant. He's my bubbly, slobbery, squealing, silly eleven-month-old, and he's racing down the hill to his first birthday.

At eleven months, Nolan:

--is probably hovering between 20 & 21 lbs. He's heavy to me, and I notice it most when I have to hold him in one arm and then hold Aiden's hand with the other. OUCH.
--eats like a champ. No worries on this front. New favorites are Mum-Mums and Cheerios.
--LOVES his brother! When Aiden is crying, Nolan drops whatever he is doing, crawls over to him, and starts yelling "Ahhhhhh!" at him. SO CUTE to watch. :)
--has been walking behind a walker for a few weeks. He literally just decided one day that he could do it, and off he went.
--REFUSES to stand on his own. I know it will come, but he flat-out rejects any help from me in this arena. Oh well, he'll come around.
--has a favorite place to relax, and it just happens to be the place he's forbidden to hang out--the fireplace hearth. Aiden just LOVES to tattle on him. Drives Mike crazy. :)

Up next for Mr. Nolan? Oh, nothing much--EXCEPT HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

E-gads.

My Week (10) in Droid Photos

Saturday 9/10: GO BUCKS!!!

Saturday 9/10/11: Not for another 20 years, kiddo...

Sunday 9/11/11: Exhausted after Abby's bridal shower & cookout.

Monday 9/12/11: Silly

Monday 9/12/11: Rough-housing already?!

Wednesday 9/14/11: Calendar is filling up! YAY FALL!!!

Friday 9/16/11: Line for food at the company picnic.

9/16/11: DUNK TANK!!!

Want to link up? Head on over to Amy's blog!

My Week (9) in Droid Photos

Saturday 9/3/11: Final regular-season Clippers game of the year--and it was 93 degrees at 9 PM!

Sunday 9/4/11: MUMS!!!

Monday 9/5/11: Happy boy :)

Tuesday 9/6/11: Happy Birthday to Aunt Abby!!!

Wednesday 9/7/11: Hot caramel cider at work--YUMMO

Thursday 9/8/11: First (professional) haircut, and he did great!!!

Friday 9/9/11: Someone tried a mum-mum today, and L-O-V-E-D it :)

Want to link up? Head on over to Amy's blog!

Silly Guys

"A Magical Age"

At least that's what Mike calls it (tongue-in-cheek, of course).

Slight disclaimer before I continue: I realize I may get some raised eyebrows for this post, so let me say up front that I'm just venting a bit. Now, back to it:

Who replaced my sweet Aiden with a preteen?

Seriously. Whoever invented the label "Terrible Twos" is a moron. Aiden was downright DELIGHTFUL for that year compared to when the switch flipped on his 3rd birthday, and suddenly he's all attitude and meltdowns.

Want a visual? In a typical day, in the space of 2 seconds, he goes from this:

to this:

You're lucky that I don't have a visual of the screaming fits. If I do or say something he doesn't like, He. Just. Screams. I can't get above him, and recently I've had to resort to just walking away, which makes him even angrier. He screams so hard that I'm afraid he's literally going to pop.

Is this just a normal stage? Because when Aiden's happy, he's an ABSOLUTE JOY. I couldn't have asked for him to have a better transition into the role of big brother. He walks up and randomly says, "You know I love you, Mom. We'll be best friends forever." And then he starts talking about the "phoneworks," which is own word for a cell phone tower (no idea where that came from?), but that's another whole post...

I just want us to be here more often:

My Week (8) in Droid Photos

Sunday 8/28/11: Shoppin'

Monday 8/29/11: Ornery

Tuesday 8/30/11: He NEVER falls asleep on me. I found it absolutely necessary to document it.

Wednesday 8/31/11: More ornery

Thursday 9/1/11: Best cookie EVAH, courtesy of Carie.

Friday 9/2/11: A rare lunch date with my honey :)

Saturday 9/3/11: Early morning. TOO early for a Saturday.

Want to link up? Head over to Amy's Blog!

This Time, I Got It

Nolan's (almost) first steps. :)

Assisted? Well, yeah.

Adorable? Oh, hell yeah.

He's so proud of himself and giggles the whole time he's using the walker.

I freakin' love this kid. :)

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