fun weekend

This past Friday was my birthday and I think it might have been my best ever! (I don't say that every year, I promise) It was very relaxing and fun and I spent it with my two favorite people:

For some odd reason I decided to turn the lights out tonight and give Nolan a headlamp and flashlight to play with (yes, we have a headlamp and we keep it on our closet door, just in case???)...anyway, he loved playing with them.

On Saturday my sweet, sweet, amazing friends cooked up a delicious brunch for me and I felt so loved by them. Keelen hosted and whipped up some amazing pumpkin pancakes (my favorite!)

Jesse's amazing gift to me was a new camera which I am LOVING and learning how to use so that I can catch Nolan in the action. The good news (or bad news depending on how much you like seeing our faces) is that I have been taking a ton of pictures and I'll probably be posting them as I go. So, you're welcome (or, I'm sorry...whichever)...

SHOCKING NEWS...

...apparently Nolan is a tall baby, SURPRISE!!! With both parents over 6 feet he never really had a chance to be short.

We finally took him for his 9 month check up this morning (he really was officially 9 months 16 days ago) and he measured in at 30 inches, putting him in the 95th percentile for height. In other words, our little boy is a MONSTER.

He also beefed up his poundage in the last few months because he gained almost 4 pounds since his doctor's visit at 7 months. Apparently that's amazing because most babies don't gain much between 6 and 9 months since they are so active all the sudden scooting and crawling around. Hmmm...maybe that's because we fed him an entire barbecue bacon cheddar cheeseburger on vacation...

All kidding aside, his appointment was great.

Thank you God for a healthy and thriving little boy.

Florida Vacation

After coming back to NC from spending Christmas in NJ, we jetted down Florida to spend a week vacationing with Jesse's family. Nolan did great on his first plane ride! He was a little restless but amazingly, Jesse and I scored a row with an empty seat for Nolan to play around on.

The rest of the week was spent playing at the pool, playing golf, bike riding, and relaxing! Here are some pictures from the week:

Jesse and Nolan at Downtown Disney

Also at Downtown Disney

Nolan playing in the pool
(after an hour of coaxing him into 3 inches of warm water)

Enjoying a post pool snack...I felt like I was feeding a baby bird

Family photo after Nolan's first time ever in a pool!

Finally, a video of Nolan's new laugh, which he does just for fun, not when he thinks something is funny. I'll try to post a better video of it soon because it's pretty ridiculous.

Jesse wanted me to post some shots from finals week when Nolan and I stopped by the law school library to help him study (aka bring him lunch). Nolan REALLY liked the library.

He couldn't stop grabbing for the books, yearning for some legal knowledge so he can sue us for forcing him to eat vegetables

Here's a short video of Nolan at Jesse's desk preparing his case against us...

Christmas 2008

As always, my pictures are in the wrong order. So reliving this past week backwards...

Nolan modeling some of his new wardrobe, thank you Aunt Mary and grandparents!

On Saturday we went bowling with Jesse's family and cousins. Nolan drooled while he watched, anticipating the day he could lift something that heavy.

Above: Nolan, Ally (Jesse's 2nd cousin), and Jesse

Below: Drooler, Laura

I love this picture of Jesse and Nolan from the first day we spent in NJ at my parents house

Nolan crying after 10 minutes of me placing him strategically under different lights trying to get a bright shot for a Christmas picture the week before we left.

One of the first tries at a good picture of Nolan with one of his Christmas gifts.

Our little family of three had Christmas here on Friday night before we left for NJ. It was fun to watch Nolan crawl OVER his wrapped gifts to get to the wipes box that has been in our living room for 2 months now. I'm so glad we didn't spend a lot of money on nice toys for the king of trash.

We are here for New Years and then on Friday we're heading down to Florida for a week. Pray for Nolan's first plane ride. Anyone have any tips? (Besides Benedryl, it makes him hyper instead of sleepy...not like we've tried it or anything...)

PS- Hi KAIT!!! : )

5 down 1 to go!!!

I finally emerged from the library yesterday afternoon after spending two somewhat excruciating weeks studying for finals and writing papers. Thankfully its over for the time being and I don't go back to school for at least 3 weeks. We'll spend part of that time in NJ visiting family, part of it in NC hanging out with friends, and the other part in Florida with family again. Laura and I are really looking forward to seeing everyone, we're driving to NJ for Christmas tomorrow morning. I haven't packed a single thing yet, and now Nolan is thwarting my progress by taking a nap. Not that I mind that at all, its giving me time to catch up on the National Geographic Channel. Its all about the marine iguana.

- Jesse

p.s. sorry i don't have any cool pictures to show like Laura always does.

for future girlfriends...

I know he probably won't be happy about pictures like this when he gets older, but I had to get a little tush shot.

Jesse helped Nolan learn how to pull himself up on the ottoman last night! We were really excited about it until this afternoon's nap consisted of Nolan repeatedly pulling himself up in his crib for an hour and a half.

Better lighting, less crawling

Tada!

Nolan wanted to play with my phone so badly that he crawled to it tonight!

Pictures galore!

Prepare yourself for Nolan overload:

He gets so giddy when we put him on his rocking giraffe. We watched with amazement yesterday when he dismounted gracefully onto the ground. It was ridiculous!

Jesse running and jumping on the cart with Nolan

Nolan trying to pay for our groceries. If only they took drool as credit...

This kid LOVES baths.

Did we mention he drools?

Doing two of his favorite things: standing at the ottoman and playing with the remote

Playing in his toy bucket. I put him in here as a joke to see what he'd do and he loved it so much I left him in there while I made dinner.