An Incredible 17 Months

Today Nolan is officially 17 months old. How in the world did that happen????? I continue to be amazed by him each day. Every day is a new adventure full of laughter and learning, and some tears and boo-boos along the way. I hope that the next 17 months don't go by as quickly as these have...I have enjoyed watching him grow and change and I am looking forward many many more fun-filled days with my little Roo.

From a Penguin to a Lion

Ok..so here is my belated Halloween post of my little lion. A couple of days before Halloween our church hosted a "Reformation Day" celebration, very similar to a fall festival to give kids a safer alternative to trick-or-treating. The kids are supposed to dress as a favorite Bible character or ark animal. Last year Nolan was an adorable little penguin, but this year he moved up to king of the jungle status. I had his costume picked a long time ago, so starting in early Oct. I began asking him what a lion says. He first looked at me like I was absolutely crazy when I started "roaring," but he quickly became amused and started "roaring" back to me in a sweet little voice. Of course he doesn't always perform on command, especially when others are present (sound familiar to any other mommies??), so getting a video clip is pretty much next to impossible. (BTW- now he not only knows what a lion says, but also a pig, cow, dog, cat, snake, monkey, duck, bear, chicken, horse, and elephant, ok proud mommy moment over :)) So since I didn't have my blog last Halloween I decided to post some old and new costume pictures. It is amazing what a difference a year makes!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Thanksgiving is absolutely one of my most favorite days of the year. You get to spend the day with family and/or friends thanking God for all of your blessings, eat way too much, watch football, and hang out all day just having fun. I know that most of blog friends have done "I am thankful for.." lists, so I thought that it was only appropriate that I should do one, too. Here it goes.... I am Thankful for:

1. God up above...he has provided me with so many blessings: more than I need and certainly more than I deserve.

2. Bill, Nolan, and Riley: my boys mean the world to me and I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband, fabulous son, and quirky dog. I love you all more than you will ever know!I love being surrounded my boys each day.

3. Family/Friends: I thank God everyday for my family and friends. What wonderful people I am blessed with in my life. Even though I don't live close to all those who are my relatives or those that I consider to be family, I think about you all each day and I am so grateful for all of you. And we are looking forward to Nana and Papa moving into their "weekend home" permanently one day.

4. Our Nation/Our Soldiers: What a blessing to live in the US..even though I don't agree with everything that goes on in this country, there is certainly no better place to live. Each day we enjoy freedoms that other people can't even imagine. Thankfully our soldiers fight for our safety and the freedoms we enjoy and too often take for granted. So lets say a special prayer,especially today, for our soldiers and their families and for all they do for us.

5. Laughter/Smiling: Once you have a child, there is an endless supply of laughter and smiling. I really can't imagine my life without my Roo Bear. And Bill is pretty funny, too :)

6. Memories: the good and the bad or sad..each memory and life experience I have had taught me a lesson about who I want to be and who I don't want to be. I am also thankful to all my friends who have provided their love and support in the funny times and the sad times. I will treasure all those experiences forever.

7. Life/Birthdays: ok..so I joined the "30" club on the 22nd and I have to admit that the time leading up to the big day was quite difficult for me. Something about leaving my 20's behind just really stressed me out. But once my big day actually arrived I was ok. I was thankful that God had given me a wonderful 30 years..I have a beautiful and healthy son, a fabulous husband, wonderful family and friends, what more could I possibly need??? So I have decided to fully embrace being "30" and look forward to my next 30 years :)

16 Months

Ok..so I am really behind on my blogging, but I just had to let everyone know that Nolan is 16 months old today!! He is the joy of my life and I have so much fun with him. He is all boy, but such a sweet little man, too. Bill and I love him more than words can say, so Happy 16 Month Birthday, Nolan :)

We have been extremely busy this fall, but I promise to post some pics from all of our fun adventures very soon!!

Our little "Weepublican"

Today Nolan went with us to vote in his very first official presidential election. After lots of FOX news (Nolan LOVES the theme music for Brit Hume's 6 o'clock news~what can I say, he is his father's child!!) and political talk with Daddy, they cast a vote for their nominee. So here is a picture of Nolan proudly displaying his "I Voted" sticker. Daddy refers to this as Nolan's best impression of an ACORN voter- HA HA ;)



On a serious note... What a wonderful country we live in and how blessed we are to have our freedom. That was what I was thinking when we went to vote today. So as you vote this year, no matter what your affiliation, let's all continue to pray for our nation's leaders and the men and women who fight for our freedom everyday. God Bless America!

The Pumpkin Patch

Nolan has really been into pumpkins lately. His Nana and Papa brought him a big pumpkin a couple of weeks ago and he constantly points and talks to the pumpkin. He even turns to the orange page in his Baby Colors book to find the pumpkin. So of course on Saturday we had to take a little trip to the pumpkin patch. Although it was quite the drive out in the country,Patterson Farm, was well worth the drive. It is such a fabulous place for little ones and next year I know Nolan will have even more fun at the playground and the petting zoo. All this going on and Nolan's favorite was definitely the tractor ride. He had so much fun on the hayride and he kept pointing to the big tractor and saying "ta", which is his word for "truck," "tractor," "car," "train," anything that moves. He also had so much fun toddling through the pumpkin patch and talking to all the pumpkins. In the end Nolan ended up picking out a little pumpkin that is just the right size for him to carry around. He loves to carry his little pumpkin around the house~it really is so sweet!! So here are some pictures from Nolan's big adventure to Patterson Farm and his new little pumpkin!!

15 Months Old

Nolan is officially 15 months old today. I am completely in disbelief. These past 15 months have gone by so incredibly fast and his whole little life just seems like a whirlwind of fun and fond memories. I do find myself coping better with these monthly birthdays than I did before he turned "1", so I feel like that is a huge accomplishment for me :) Now, we celebrate each new month with joy and anticipation of what's to come. He surprises me each day with something new. A new word, a new funny antic, a new favorite, or simply a hug and a kiss. Hugs and kisses are certainly my favorite though. I love how he comes over to me when it is time to go to bed and gives me a big snuggle and a smile before he toddles over to the door to go to his room. And I love this cuddly phase he is in right now. Granted this could totally be because he is teething and just needs some extra TLC from his mommy right now, but I don't care... I love it anyway :)

So to celebrate his 15 month birthday we are going to go to Monkey Joe's with his best buddy who is celebrating his 13 month old birthday today. It should be a lot of fun. These two little men have a ton of energy and love to play with one another!! It is such a rainy and yucky day AGAIN today (where is the beautiful fall weather I love so much????) so it is the perfect kind of day to go somewhere fun and play indoors. I'm sure I will have some very cute pics of the boys after our day is finished :)