Thanksgiving Revisted

The Clingman's hosted Thanksgiving this year and had my family over. Pat cooked a Jurassic sized turkey and we had a ton of great food (as always). Clementine and Nolan played a game of Hide and Seek, this is Clementine telling Nolan to come find her.

She was a great hider but Nolan needs to work on his seeking. Maybe next year they can try again.

Then Nolan did a little fashion show with Clementine's new winter boots. They were a huge hit!

We sat around and chatted for a while.

And finally it was time to eat. Nolan's first turkey and stuffing.

The boys (Pat, Nolan and cousin Mason) in their post turkey lounging.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Just Because

The Bootie Scoot

One thing I've learned about Nolan so far is that he does things his own way. It might not be the most normal or even easiest way to do something but it's Nolan's way and it works for him.

Case in point, crawling. There are hundreds of ways to crawl, most involve being on all fours. But this little boy has hated tummy time all along and avoids that position at all costs. So when it came time to work on crawling I got a little concerned when he was showing no signs of mobility. Then one day the scooting started. I figured eventually this scoot would turn into a crawl but it's looking like this might be it since he is now working on pre-walking things like pulling himself up to stand. After much encouragement to try to get this on video, i started carrying the camera around with me everywhere to capture this milestone. Video is difficult since he has learned to stop everything he is doing and pose when the camera comes out. But here is some choppy proof of the scoot. The first few seconds show Nolan's classic scoot that Pat and I call the "sick dog". The second half is his more advanced version that I will call "the worm" for obvious reasons. So here it is, Nolan's scoot:

Behind Bars

I finally got around to baby proofing this week. I kept waiting for Nolan to crawl but he instead has invented a new way to get around. He sits on his tush and throws his arms forward and pulls himself forward. He has been doing this for a few weeks and at first it was slow going. I could put him on the floor, clean the kitchen, do some laundry and take a shower and he would be about 2 feet away from his original spot. Then last week I put him in the living room with some toys and before i knew it he had scooted his way into the office about 6 feet away. So the gate went up and the house is safe...for now!

Catching Up Again

I'm a little behind on my blogging. Between birthdays, holidays, computers crashing and a steep learning curve on how to use a Mac, I haven't had much time to blog. So here is what I've missed.

Clementine turned 2 in October and she threw an awesome barnyard blowout party to celebrate. Nolan had a blast in his cow hat.

I think Clementine had a great time too, she definitely loved her cake.

Where have i seen that look before? hmmm...

Yup, this girl loves her cake!

and it looks like it runs in the family!

Happy Birthday Little Clem!

Monkeys and Monsters, Oh My!

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!

Backed into a Corner

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's So Grown Up!

He is standing with support, although he is not pulling himself up to standing if you stand him up, he will stand forever!
He is scooting across the floor. This scooting isn't quite a crawl as much as it is a pulling and pushing himself across the floor to get to where he wants. It's slow going, but he gets there eventually.
He is started to talk and I'm pretty sure he knows what he is saying. He says Dada whenever Pat is around, yells up whenever i walk by and don't pick him up, mimics yeah! when others say it (complete with clapping) and says diddy which I'm pretty sure it Nolan for Kitty since he yells it whenever Cortez is around.
He is also eating finger foods, so far we have had veggies of all kinds, chicken and tofu. Besides the vomit inducing tofu stuck in the back of his throat all has gone well with this new introduction. He definitely prefers purees still but at least he is willing to try new things!
I can't believe how much he has learned in the last month alone. I am cherishing these last few weeks of him not zooming around everywhere as I'm sure the crawling and cruising is right around the corner.
Yes that is Cortez in the basket, these two are practically inseparable and have started to make up their own little games. Here's another shot to show the love!

Pumpkin Patch!

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!

Game Day

As usual we watched the Seahawks game on Sunday. Nolan put on his jersey and cheered for the home team! I love this picture because he simply cannot look away from the game!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!