Nolan turned 11 months old today. It's his last month as a baby... my baby. In one month he will be a 1 year old, otherwise know as a toddler. If you can't tell by the subtle tone, i have mixed feelings about this. Pat likes to say whenever i get blue about Nolan growing up too fast, "It's better then the alternative" which is definitely true but I know I will miss these days with my baby.
Everyone says "it flies by" but seriously where has the last 11 months gone?!? When he was about 3 months old we had a guest speaker come to our PEPS group and he had an 18 month old. He told us we won't even remember the first 6 months and I remember thinking "this guy is full of s#*@!" I felt like i was in the middle of the most traumatizing journey of my life! I was existing on very little sleep, even smaller amounts of food and virtually no showers and this guy is telling me this will all be soon forgotten?
Now i understand what he meant. I forgot about the sleepless nights, the delusional/hormonal fights with Pat, endless days worrying about why Nolan hasn't pooped and all the crying.
But what i haven't forgotten is how he would always hold his hands together like he was praying, the little clicking noise he would make with his tongue he would make when he was hungry, and how happy i was when I saw all that brown curly hair when he was finally born (I still think his curls will come back one day).
I am surprised how i long for those moments now and wish there was a way to put each of those memories in a box so that i could open them and have that moment all over again. In some ways I feel like this blog will be able to offer this in the future. A way to look back and remember the moments and achievements month by month. The blog holds me accountable to documenting everything and even if no one reads it I would know that these moments will last forever somewhere out on the
Internet universe. Cheesy, I know but somehow motherhood has made me a sentimental, emotional mess (a.k.a - my sister). Who knew!
But as i said previously I have mixed feelings about Nolan turning 1, its not all longing and feeling blue. I am so excited to see what is around the corner too. I know we are just getting into the fun stuff of him being able to play and experience things with us. I can't wait for Nolan to be able to run into our room on Christmas morning and tear open his presents, for him to tell me those crazy stories kids tell and to learn where he fits into this world. Plus, birthdays mean a party and I've been planning Nolan's 1st birthday since before he was born. Consider it a professional casualty that he will always have a birthday party with some over the top theme but this is how i get through otherwise difficult transitions... by celebrating!
Alright, Sorry for all the words and feelings, I know you come here to see the pictures. I promise i have lots of pictures coming. Here is one taken December 10, 2008. I had just started having contractions that week and a few days after this picture was taken my doctor said he would be born "any day now"... try 30 days!!
I love Halloween! Before I had Nolan I really loved the idea of dressing kids up in Halloween type clothes and accessories. Why can't kids wear fairy wings on a Tuesday or be a lion a few days a week? Now that I have a baby of my own, my feelings are even stronger and I'm stockpiling costume-y things for him to wear. First up, sock monkey body suit. He needed a warm outer layer to get him through the winter...
Then when I realized that I needed booties to keep his feet warm (since he pulls off all his socks) I started my search for something a little more interesting then the typical blue mukluks or baby ugg boots. I mean, what little boy doesn't need booties in the shape of monster feet?
Hopefully this won't scar him for life!
On days that I work from home, I let Nolan play with his toys on the floor just around the corner from my office area. He usually makes all kind of noises as he talks to his toys and Cortez but this day the talking was much louder. I turned the corner to see what he had gotten into and found him halfway under the TV console. Before I pulled him out, I of course had to take a picture. A very proud mommy moment for me!
He is standing with support, although he is not pulling himself up to standing if you stand him up, he will stand forever!
Pat and I have always done Halloween pumpkins, even when we were poor college kids we managed to save up enough to buy one and this year is no exception. We loaded up Nolan and headed down to the Carlito (or something like that) brothers farm in Kent. Evidently everyone else thought the same thing as that place was CROWDED!! Luckily it was a giant farm with tons of perfect pumpkins.
I wasn't sure how Nolan would like his first pumpkin patch experience. Usually he likes anything that has a lot of people, so maybe the crowds were a good thing. He loved it of course and was squealing with delight, here is an action shot of that...
He was very patient with me as was Pat since my main focus was not on finding the perfect carving pumpkin but the best photo ops! Another cute one...
We did eventually find our pumpkin soul mates and checked out, here is Nolan with our finds, and his little baby stripped pumpkin that he had a death grip on.
It was a good day, I can't wait for next year when he is old enough to go on the hay ride or get lost in the corn maze. So much to look forward to, but I'm pretty sure Nolan is going to love Halloween!
Later in the game, when the hawks weren't doing so well Nolan wasn't quite as engaged.
Saying he's not a cuddly baby is an understatement. When he is tired he just wants to be in his crib so this was a complete surprise and now my favorite picture!
