Tummy Time

17 Weeks

Nolan is 17 weeks old today.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around that. . .

UGH!

Christian Bale is doing a Terminator movie? Directed by McG?

Seriously?

I just don't like that idea AT ALL.

Grandpa's Birthday Weekend

Friday, Natalie and I met at the mall to get dad's birthday present and had to wander through Children's Place and Gymboree while we were at it. We ended up getting sunglasses for all of the kids on sale at the Children's Place. We had to make them all pose with them on.


Aubrey was surprisingly enamored with hers. She grinned like a little movie star and was quite content to keep them on, which is saying a lot of an 11 month old. Nolan's didn't fit so well yet. It was the length of the arms on them that was the problem. Sitting up, they were fine, but when he leaned back against the couch, they would pop up. . .

Nolan got to spend some quality time with grandma and grandpa. They watched him while I went ot Katie's play on Saturday night, and we hung out with them all day Saturday and Sunday morning as well.

Grandpa introduced him to his first piano playing experience



And they cuddled quite a bit. Nolan is a bit restless lately, but he let grandpa hold him some. It was only fair, it was grandpa's birthday after all.

Oscar Night

We partied for the Oscars last night, as usual. But, believe it or not, I managed to make it through the whole party without taking a single picture.

Yes, something MUST be wrong with me.

Maybe it, along with not seeing a lot of the movies, was good luck. For the first time ever I tied for first place in predicting the winners. 15 right! I was so excited that Marion Cotillard won. I thought she was amazing, and I can't believe how gorgeous she is in real life!

I took lots of pictures at my parent's house this weekend (Ben went out of town, so we escaped the boredom of staring at each other all weekend for some fun with the grandparents). I forgot to bring the camera to work, so I'll upload them later tonight or tomorrow.

(the pictures are thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk)

The Ring

Ben and I have a Valentines Day tradition. We go out to dinner and we buy each other socks. I honestly can't remember why we started the tradition, but it works for us. It makes us happy. This year, we even bought Nolan some socks (but we didn't take him with us to dinner).

When we got married a year and a half ago, because it was my second time around, we were paying for a lot of the wedding festivities. I had just started a new job after 4 months of unemployment and while we weren't seriously hurting for money, we weren't swimming in it either. So when it came time for ring shopping, I decided to forgo the diamond ring for a while. I found a ring I really liked, and picked a simple white gold band to go with it, and went on my way. I didn't really mind that much, and we figured we'd get the diamond when we got sealed, which we hoped would be on our first anniversary.

Alas, that process is taking a REALLY long time, and on our first anniversary I was 6 months pregnant and very puffy, so we didn't get the ring. Since we have no real date in sight yet (don't even get me started) for when we'll be sealed, we decided Valentines day was as good a time as any to go use our tax return money on a good cause.

This is what I came away with (though this picture doesn't show the very cool tiny diamonds on the sides, and I'm not 100% sure it's really the one I have. . . It's awfully close)

I LOVE it. I didn't think it mattered to me if I had a diamond on, but I have to admit, I love to stare at this thing. It's the prettiest thing I've ever worn.

Expressions

Nolan is getting more and more expressive as he grows. This is true of his face, as you will see in the following pictures, but also of his voice. I think he inherited our ability to project. He will chat away with you so loudly on his changing table that he can easily be heard downstairs. Not crying mind you, just cooing, at a ridiculous volume. It's really very impressive.

Also impressive, these darling pictures Ben got of him on Monday. Enjoy.

Nolan's New Hobby

Nolan has discovered his feet this past week. It started out innocently enough. At first I thought he just liked the turtles on his shoes when he was in his swing one afternoon.

But then he started grabbing at his ankles and pulling them up to his mouth while having his diaper changed. He couldn't reach his mouth with his toes, but he was going to try, darn it! Just yesterday he finally achieved his goal.

Tanner's Birthday

We learned a lesson this weekend.

Chuck E Cheese is a ZOO on Saturday. It was a mass of humanity all shoved through one little doorway, stamped so you didn't leave with the wrong kid, and listening to the same 10 80's songs over and over again. It was nuts. But Tanner loved it, and we all still played the games and gathered tickets and handed them over to the kids to get prizes.


Honestly, I don't think the kids even noticed the crowds much, they were having so much fun playing games. It was only the adults that were overwhelmed by the insanity. Nolan even fell asleep on grandpa's lap with a dancing animatronic mouse not 15 feet away.

A Cute Mug

Coca Cola

He's definitely a Hess boy.

Eyeing the bottles on the counter


Dad offers one


He takes it!


(they were empty, don't you worry. We won't start him on Coke until he's at least 6 months old. . .)

Happy Valentines Day!

An Outing

Yesterday was surprisingly warm. . . at least compared to the weather we've had the last few months. It was 45 degrees at our house at 5 pm, so rather than drive over to the clubhouse to do our business, Nolan and I took a little walk. Even though it felt pretty mild out me, I didn't think he would totally appreciate it, since he's normally bundled in his car seat when he leaves the house. I decided to put him in the awesome orange patagonia fleece that Rick and Jen gave him and carry him in the Bjorn.

This is the picture I took just after we got back.


The whole trip he hardly made a peep. He was chatting away inside the house, but the minute we stepped outside, he was just silent. He just looked around as we walked. I can't wait for spring so we can spend more time outside! (a little less bundled up)

Giveaways!

To the moms out there. . .

mod*mom is having a major giveaway over on her site. check it out! You could win cool stuff!

It's Over!!

They're back! It's going to be a pretty big mess trying to get everything going again, and some stuff won't be back until fall, but at least the strike is over. I got the impression the writers settled for quite a bit less than they wanted, which makes me a little sad for them, but at least they have jobs again, in most cases.

For a list of what's coming back, check out this article.

Weekend Roundup

We had a pretty mellow weekend at the Hess household. We did some reading with Nolan. He's loving the Runaway Bunny.


We also did a lot of laying about watching TV on DVD. Melissa introduced us to a Canadian series called Slings & Arrows, and we were hooked. It's about theatre people, after all, and shows a surprising amount of the process. We're about half way through the 3 seasons so far (it's not that impressive, though. There are only 6 episodes per season).



Saturday I went to redeem the gift card Ben got me for Christmas. I got a wonderful hour long massage at the Aveda salon in the mall. I love that place, and I loved my massage. I wish I could spend an hour of every day like that. The massage therapist was hardcore. When I said I wanted a deep tissue massage, she did not disappoint. It was awesome.



Sunday afternoon was spent baking, at least by me. Nolan hung out on the couch using his dad as a pillow while Ben played Lego Star Wars. It worked out pretty well for everyone.




I made some sugar cookie dough to use to make cookies for family night. I also made some birthday cupcakes for Melanee. Her birthday isn't until tomorrow, but since I won't be in the office, I had to bring them early. These pictures don't do them justice (I don't have my real camera with me. Had to use the phone again). They're lemon chiffon cupcakes with citrus cream cheese frosting, and I have to say, they turned out pretty well. I tried out the chocolate swirls I had seen people use before as decoration. They were actually pretty easy, once I figured out the right technique. I think it's something I'll definitely try again.

Playing With Tanner

Nolan really seems to get a kick out of hanging out with Tanner 3 times a week. It's a crazy big blessing for us that Jenny is willing to watch him for us, but the fact that he has a good time, and Tanner has a good time, makes it all that much better.

Check them out cheesing for the camera (forgive the bluriness, I took these with my phone):

Lunch

We had lunch at Gurus yesterday and Nick couldn't resist taking Nolan out of his carrier and playing with him.

My Baby

I was eating conversation hearts while I was working yesterday and I came across one that said "My Baby".

I felt compelled to put it on Nolan's head and take a picture.

He'll hate me for this when he's 15.

Nostalgia

This is the building I lived in as a freshman at BYU.

S-Hall

I know it's old news that DT is being knocked down, but I had to make Ben take a picture when we drove by it from the Creamery the other day.

It looks like something out of Children of Men.

On The Move

He rolled over last night.

4 times.

Front to back, and he can't go the other way yet, but progress is progress!