DS

This is Nolan, as often as possible these days. He and his DS are permanently joined. Unless his stinkin' parents forget to charge it, and then WATCH OUT.

He has a Mario Brothers obsession. I'm not even kidding. Hums along to the songs as they go, and sings them when he's not playing. It's crazy.

Yes, he's only 2.

No, he's not at all good at the game.

But he's getting better. And he knows the parts of it he likes and how to get to those parts. It's a little bit scary to watch the determination on his face, actually.

I've convinced myself that it's teaching him hand/eye coordination and how to get along in this tech savvy world.

Mostly, though, it keeps him from acting like a 2 year old.

Phone Dump

A few recent captures from my phone, of the cuteness that is my kid.

He turned 2 on Sunday! How crazy is that?
I can't even begin to wrap my brain around it.

One of the times we managed to get Nolan into his Mickey costume, happened to be when we were opening the mail. . .
This is him loving on the birthday blanket that aunt Hilary sent him It matched him perfectly!


Post trick or treating at Wyview, Nolan spied the playground, so we took his Mickey stuff off and let him go nuts.
This kid is not afraid to climb and brave the slide alone.



He chose chocolate cupcakes for his birthday, with fudgy frosting.

This is the sweet moustache that followed that cupcake.

We went to Toys R Us to let him pick out birthday gifts. We spent some time in the bike section, even though we had no intention of buying him a bike. He's never had one, but somehow, he knew just what to do with the helmet. . .

And of course he chose the bright pink one.

What of it?

OK, what he actually chose. . . with a little help from his dad. . .

His own vacuum!

He loves to help us vacuum, but this one is a little more his size. . . And it actually picks stuff up! (it's not great, but it gets bigger things) How could I turn down that kind of help?



And finally, a couple of clips of the little man "driving" my car. He has a panic attack every time I put him in his seat and don't let him "drive". . . so I gave in after he'd been a particularly good boy one day and let him have some time in the drivers seat.

Taco Picnic

After a long work-from-home day on Thursday, Nolan and I needed to get out of the house. But, as energy levels were also a little low, and we had a plan for dinner already, we decided to picnic in the back yard.

So we had a taco picnic.

Nolan was pretty much just interested in the cheese.







Ben tried to encourage him to eat a taco by piling one high with cheese. . .





But he just went back to eating it straight out of the bowl instead.

Video Fun

Nolan is growing up faster than I can keep up with him. . .

We took a quick tript o Walmart last night to stock up on basics and get the things I needed for my wedding cupcake baking adventure tonight. . . (and don't even get me STARTED on the number of things we needed that were missing from their shelves. RIDICULOUS)

Anyway, Nolan decided that it would be a lot of fun to help unload the cart. Apparently he's done this with Ben before, but it cracked me up.



& today, we played an unconventional game of catch.



The floor is now covered with Starburst. . . but he had fun.

Kitchen

As you all know, Nolan is a little chef.

Ben has been planning a kitchen for him for some time now, but due to time being at a premium, work space being practically non-existent, and tools needing to be purchased. . . it was taking a while to come to fruition. So we decided that it would be more cost effective, and certainly more time saving, to buy one.

Especially when we saw THIS beauty at IKEA.

Holy gender neutral!

We loved it.

And so we got it for him
And set it up on Monday night with all of his dishes and such
(forgive the graininess, and the lack of stove top. the batteries were charging)



Aside from his intense frustration that the sink will not actually produce water when he turns the knob, he really seems to like it. We're not 100% done with his set up yet, as he is in need of a little bit more storage and work space. . . but that will be remedied soon.

(I was trying to get him to open the microwave as a demonstration of the fact that he can reach that high. . . but he wasn't in the listening mood this morning)

Friday Randoms, Video Edition

I have been meaning to upload video for a very long time. And I finally got around to it last night. I have made some smaller clips, for the sake of size, and everyone's attention span, that I will share as Friday Randoms today. Enjoy our goofy child:


Playing peek-a-boo with Tamera


Torturing Elmo



A few of his favorite tricks
Interacting with the TV, finding his body parts, and being a little faker. . .


And playing around with mom & dad after work

More Letters

Nolan continues his obsession with his foam letters. We have misplaced (and/or baked) several. . . and I've stopped trying to account for all of them at the end of the day. There are 3 full sets, and he just doesn't notice.

We have been attempting to teach him to clean up his messes lately, and Ben managed to get him to put all of his letters in this rubbermaid container on Sunday:

He then had to join them

But it was a bit tight. . . and slippery
He needed some help out again

Nolan Stuff

It's been a while since I've posted cute pictures of my kid, so I've searched iphoto for some appropriately cute ones to share along with some of his favorite things at the moment. He's still as cute as ever, he just moves too fast to catch a good photo of most days. . .

Nolan will not wear sunglasses, but he's a champ about this hat. Thank goodness. He's got the fair skin that tends to go along with red hair, so it take a lot of vigilance to make sure he doesn't sunburn.
------------

Nolan loves a good cupcake (more on that in a minute) but more than that, he loves to stand up on a chair in the kitchen and "help" with dinner, baking, whatever he can. He wants to be one of the big kids so badly.

-----------

While working from home one day, I stopped paying close attention to what Nolan was doing as he ran back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. I had a batch of orange cupcakes cooling in the kitchen, and it never occurred to me that he could reach them. . . until I looked over to the living room and saw this:

He didn't need to wait for me to unwrap it. . . or even ask permission to HAVE a cupcake, apparently. He just dove right in.

--------------

When we drive, Nolan is usually a perfect angel in his car seat. It normally only takes a few toys and his sippy cup and he's good all the way to grandma & grandpa's house (which is about as far as we ever drive) But every once in a while, he gets crabby. In those cases, usually brought on by tiredness, the thing that calms him down is holding someone's hand. He threads his fingers with yours and he is content. . . He does this instead of cuddling with a blanket or stuffed animal. It's not the most comfortable thing for the parent in the front seat, but it's more comfortable than screaming. . .

This particular day, he not only wanted mom's hand, he also needed a few of his letters. . . & dad's empty soda cup. . .

whatever it takes. . .
----------

And finally, a short little video of Nolan eating his first popsicle. Peter bought it from the ice cream man driving down the road and we tried it out. Nolan wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do with it. We'll have to work on that one:

Latest Videos

Just a few of our favorite moments from the last few months. Nolan currently enjoys "playing Guitar Hero" with his dad, jumping off of the couch arms, and just generally being a nutty kid. He's slowly picking up words, too, so there is hope!



And his newest favorite pastime. . .

Baking!

No, it's probably not the best idea ever to let him play in the oven. I'm pretty certain he'll get over it quickly. . . and we watch VERY carefully if it's on. And how clever is that?

Building Words

Remember how I told you how Nolan LOVES Word World?

It's one of the few things he actually SAYS (besides Coke, chocolate, and cupcake) the second he hears the theme song . . .

WORD WORLD!!
(except it sounds more like WUH WUHL)

Tamera took a few cell phone pictures of him today, "building some words" with his letters. He has started sorting them by color before he builds. I guess we know he's not color blind!


And eating his alphabet soup:

Random Pics

Reading Harry Potter

He often assumes this position to watch TV. He leans against a couch, the love sac, the table. . .
heaven forbid he sit down, or hold himself upright on his own power.

Eventually he just put the pillows on the ground and flopped.

He loves his Tamera

Still practicing his xylophone skills

Probably while watching the talent show episode of Sesame Street where a seal plays the glockenspiel

He always spills a little yogurt down his bib when he eats. It's an inevitable part of letting him eat it himself. But this morning he got a little more energetic.

This is what his hair does when he gets sweaty. He had been asleep on my shoulder while we walked around a store, and his curls actually stayed. I had to capture them. Here's hoping he doesn't resemble Ronald McDonald when he grows up.

Outside in PJs

Helping to water the plants (and simultaneously sneezing)

Trying to put Tamera's shoe on by laying it on top of her foot.

not pleased that it didn't work

FINE, I'll wear it myself. I'll show you how it's done!

Out of the Office

As we are heading out again on yet another adventure (this time to AZ), and I am not taking my computer with me (GASP!) I thought I would leave you all with a series of posts while I'm gone. . .

These posts will once again consist of cell phone photos taken by me and by Tamera, of Nolan. If you're bored, please move on. I can't come up with anything more clever right now, and some of these are downright entertaining to me (even if they aren't to you)

Today, we will start with the following:

Drawing on the magna doodle. Best invention EVER for toddlers.

Drawing on the magnadoodle in only his diaper. . .
Whatever spurs on his creative energy, I say

Throwing one of his many recent tantrums
I'm pretty sure Tamera was in the process of ruining his life or smothering his non-existent puppy or something when this happened

Much happier and playing with the ball popper.

Chillin' with some juice. He is either watching Sesame Street or Curious George. I know this for 2 reasons:
#1-- those are the 2 shows we DVR, so they can be watched at any hour, and they are the only ones he loves
#2-- It is only while watching one of those 2 shows that he sits this still


See, wasn't that fun?

Spring Video

A few new clips of Nolan at Easter time, and since. . .

Special

I can't even remember where our food came from this particular day. . .
I think maybe Green Burrito. . .

Ben labeled Nolan,

and then Nolan labeled Ben. (and then stole the sticker back to put on his own head again)

But if you're going to put someone in a box, "special" is an OK one. . . as long as you don't mean it that way

Nolan Video Update. . . Sort of

We got a new video camera recently. A really pretty one with all the bells and whistles that a new video camera should have. Unfortunately, the software on my computer hasn't QUITE caught up to the bells and whistles. (don't even get me started. It's a long story) In about a week or so we should be up and running on getting the sweet new videos from THAT camera into the computer. But in the mean time, I had a few straggling videos hanging around on the OLD camera that I hadn't posted. Even the newest of these is from early December, so they aren't the most up to date. . . but actually. . . not a lot has changed where Nolan is concerned. He says a few more words and does a few more tricks. . . but not a LOT more. I think he's hibernating a bit right now. . . and who can blame him?

So hopefully this will satiate the appetite of the far flung friends and family for a little bit until I can upload the new stuff.

Enjoy!

Tease

I have TON to post on from our crazy weekend. . . But I don't have time right now. The insanity isn't quite over yet. In the mean time, enjoy a little photo from Nolan's early birthday celebration we had Saturday night. And I will catch up SOON!!

Video Time

This is another ridiculously long and indulgent video. . . mostly because I can only be bothered to buckle down and edit every 4 months. . . And this is stuff I want to remember. Kudos to those who actually make it through the whole thing.

I'm simply amazed by how quickly kids learn and grow. I cannot comprehend absorbing that much so quickly (though I obviously did at his age)

It begins with him singing along to his favorite song. . .
Enjoy!

More Boylike Behavior

Another installment in the never-ending saga of Nolan's climbing habit. . .

We got one of those bench things that looks nice but has tons of space inside for storage. . . I'm pretty bad at keeping it organized any real way, so the toys just get thrown in at the end of the day. (why do I feel the need to clean up the toys for the hours Nolan is asleep? Am I the only one that does this?)

So, without further ado. . . the toy box:


He was pretty mad, so I only took on picture. . .

I took this one intending to show it as a "before" picture, but the truth is, I took it after I fished him out. . . and I just can't lie to you people. . .

Also, my best attempt to document his walking. . . he won't take more than a couple of steps at a time, but this series looks like the real thing.


Also, yes, I know the browns don't match, and yes, I'm a little bit embarrassed about that, but it was laundry day, and that's what he was wearing. . . Don't judge.

New Video

A little video showcasing Nolan's love for his glow worm, our attempts to get him to walk on his own, and his love for his dad. We've showed him how to scratch Ben's back, and he loves to do it. He loves his daddy.