Reflections...

Wow... It has been such a great year! I can't believe all of the things we have been through over the past year.


Aside from having a few pregnancy issues, being pregnant was great. And I have got to say, I kinda miss it! We will work on that in a couple of years! The birth of Nolan was an experience I will never forget. Not because of the 12 hour labor with 3 intense hours of pushing (Ouch!), but because I welcomed my beautiful baby boy with my Husband and Sister right by my side supporting and cheering me on. It couldn't have been any better! The sound of Nolan's first cry was so touching and I was so happy to finally be a mommy. (Oh... tears are filling in my eyes!) Nolan has been a wonderful baby. He is full of smiles and laughter and just lights up the room. He is growing so quickly... crawling, sitting, cutting teeth, babbling (sometimes saying "HI!" and "Dada"), and eating big boy foods.... I can hardly believe it! We have been so extremely blessed to welcome him into our lives. He is also loved by so many... his family just can't seem to get enough of him. I could probably go on all day about Nolan and how we love him to pieces, but I will save you some time!!

Soon after Nolan was born, Michelle (Nolan's Aunt MiMi) found out that she was also expecting a little boy. Brody is due to come any day now and we are just thrilled for Troy, Michelle, and Madyson. Nolan will love playing with his cousin Brody and I know they will grow to become great friends. (They will almost have to... Michelle and I see each other at least once a week!)

In August, Gary and I moved into our very first home! Being a homeowner is a great feeling; however, we are now realizing the costs of owning your own home. It is not as easy as calling the landlord to have something fixed; although most of the time our landlord would take about 6 months to fix something anyways! We have made some small improvements/updates to our home including, updating the main bathroom, painting the walls, and removing the ridiculous ivy all over the outside of our home! All together, it has been worth it and we are loving every minute of it!

All in all, it has been a fantastic year! Thank you to everyone that regularly follows our blog. After all, this really is for you! We hope everyone had a great Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year! Until next year!!!

Nolan's First Christmas!

Nolan's first Christmas was an extremely exciting day! I was so anxious for Christmas to come. I knew Nolan wouldn't know much about it, but he sure made everyone else's day. Christmas started with opening presents at our new home in the morning. Grandma and Grandpa Stein, Shawn, and GiGi all came over to watch Nolan's big event. There wasn't really much to see... Nolan only wanted to eat the bows and tore the paper a little bit. I finished unwrapping most presents. As soon as daddy would get the presents out of their boxes Nolan did not care about the present he was currently "opening". He REALLY wanted to play with his new gifts. We ended up letting him play with each gift for a few minutes and then we would hide them so we could move on. After we were done at home, which took about 2 hours to open 4 presents, we went to Gary's Parent's house for food, presents, and family! Nolan received way more presents at The Stein's; some from GiGi, some from Grandma & Grandpa Stein, and some from Gary's Aunt MeeMee in North Carolina. Then, on Saturday, we had Christmas with my family from Champaign. It was my first time hosting Christmas at my house... and it was great! With some help from Theresa, Michelle and Gary, I think it was pretty successful. Not bad for claiming that I don't know how to cook! We opened presents at my house in the evening, but by that time, Nolan was knocked out. I ended up opening his presents for him! This weekend totally took its toll on Nolan, but it was great fun! I can't wait for next year... I have a feeling he will be way more interested!

Thank you to all who visited and for the wonderful presents! We hope you had a great Holiday!

Actually ripping open a gift!

Eating a bow off of one of his presents. Yummy!

Opening another gift from Mommy and Daddy!

Eating the book that Aunt MeeMee sent from North Carolina.

Tooth Number 2... Success!

Nolan now has two teeth that have broken through the skin! The second one broke through on Christmas day. He sure looks cute with two little bottom teeth. I just wish the tooth that is bothering him right now would come through... Mommy, Daddy, and baby need sleep!!

It's Official... He Said his First Words!

My favorite thing to say to Nolan is "Hi" and he thinks it is HILARIOUS! Every time I see him... I just say, "Hi, hi, hi!" For a couple of weeks now I have been thinking that he has been saying "Hi", but many people have told me that it is doubtful because he is too young and 'Hi' is a hard word for babies. I am now convinced that he is saying it! Last night every other sound that came out of his mouth sounded like "HI!" So, I started trying other sounds, as I have been for a couple of weeks, like 'Mama' and 'Dada'. And EVERY TIME I said "Dada" he would repeat after me. Later in the evening he was constantly saying "Dada"! I am still trying to work on Mama... but I am just thrilled to hear any words come out of his mouth!

Now... only if I could get him to understand meaning... and the meaning of "No, no"!

Merry Christmas Everyone!! And enjoy the pictures below!

Bath time at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Bundled Up and Ready for the COLD weather!

Nolan's Tummy Issues

For a little over a month we have been struggling with Nolan not sleeping through the night. At first we thought it was just a teething issue and pushed is crying through the night to the side. After two weeks of restless nights, I noticed that he started tugging on his ears.... ear infection, right? NO! After four weeks of waking up at night and screaming crying for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, I decided to take him to the doctor. I couldn't stand the thought of my baby being in pain anymore. ( I didn't take him sooner because I didn't want to seem like a paranoid first time mommy!) The doctor said that he did not have an ear infection, but he thought he was having reflux and indigestion issues. They put Nolan on Zantac and another medicine that coats his tummy to help it settle down. After two weeks on the meds, he seems to be doing a lot better. He actually slept two entire nights through the past two nights. So, my question is... was it his tooth that just popped through that was giving him issues at night? Or was it his belly? I tend to still think it was his belly because during his crying fits he would tug and hit his belly. :(
Anyways, things seem to be looking up! Woohoo!

I See a Tooth!

Yesterday Nolan's first tooth finally broke through. He has been teething for quite some time now and his gums have been super swollen. But now.... one is finally through. Hopefully the other will come through soon too! He keeps rubbing his tongue and lip against the tooth... I think he realizes something is actually there now. I sure am going to miss the "gummy" smile!!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Here Comes Santa Claus, Right Down Santa Claus Lane....

Nolan met Santa Claus for the first time ever at the Annual Kid's Christmas Party at the Firehouse on Sunday! He didn't cry at all when he met Santa, he kind of just stared at him. Santa also gave Nolan a toy tractor; however you can see from the picture that he was not interested in Santa nor what was in the gift... just the bow! I am sure he will be more interested next year. Hopefully he won't cry like some of the other kids!

Nolan sitting with Daddy and Santa

Nolan with Kahli, Brent's (Gary's Best Man) daughter, at the Christmas Party

Nolan Already Loves Brody!

We are fast approaching the arrival of baby Brody and we just can't wait! I am sure Aunt MiMi can't wait either!! Here is a picture of Nolan loving on Brody. So stinking cute... I just had to share! (Sorry Michelle, I just couldn't resist the urge!)

There was also a picture of Nolan kissing Aunt MiMi's belly, but I didn't want to make Aunt MiMi too mad!!

Big Boy Carseats

Nolan now has big boy carseats!! Woohoo! And he is loving every minute of it! He sits in his new seats like a big boy and looks out the window. It is such a bittersweet moment! Here are a few pictures to document this big event!

Testing the Big Boy Seat for Mommy's Car

Testing the Big Boy Seat for Daddy's Car

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

So, it is our VERY first year having a Christmas tree and our first year in our new house and the first time we get to share the holiday with our baby boy... and we couldn't be more thrilled!!! We put our Christmas tree up the other day and put wrapped presents under it. There will be a small number of gifts this year, but let's be honest, it will take Nolan 3 hours to open the 4 presents we got him!! Here is a picture of our tree that I am so excitedly proud of! I just LOVE Christmas!

And... I know you are all just dying to see a current picture of Nolan... so here you go! This is a picture of Nolan and Gary playing on the floor a couple of days ago. Cutest picture EVER!! :)