The BIG Trip

We have been waiting for this moment since July... our BIG trip out east to visit Aunt MeeMee, Uncle Jeff, and the boys! Every year, well almost every year, Mom and Dad Stein fly out to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. Since we had never been out to visit, we thought that it would be great to fly out for Thanksgiving too! So, the day before Thanksgiving, Nolan, Gary, and I all flew out to Raleigh to visit for an extended weekend. Aunt Karen came too... and thank goodness! She was a HUGE help with Nolan! The trip on the plane was very short, about an hour and a half each way. On the way to North Carolina, Nolan just looked out the window and continuously said "Oh Wow!" Most of the ride he sat on Aunt Karen's lap looking out the window, opening and closing the window shade, and messing with the overhead lights. But what can I say, he was great!
The time at Aunt MeeMee's house was fantastic! It seemed like we never stopped eating, but that was fine by me! Uncle Jeff's side of the family came in for the Holiday too, so it was a packed house. But that is how we like it! Nothing like being surrounded by family during the holidays! North Carolina was absolutely beautiful! There were a ton of shopping malls and subdivisions surrounded by heavy woods. I was amazed at how such a big city area could be nestled among nature without disturbing it. We definitely don't see that around here... you wanna build something?? Tear down the whole entire forest! Besides resting at Aunt MeeMee's house and eating to our heart's desire, we also went to the Science Museum and a couple of fantastic malls. I have got to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Aunt MeeMee and Uncle Jeff were so accommodating and we were so happy to build these memories with Nolan.
As much as we hated to leave, we had too! :( The airplane ride home was a little more difficult than the ride there, but hey, wouldn't you be mad too if you had to leave Aunt MeeMee's house?! Thank you Aunt MeeMee, Uncle Jeff, Jathen, and Andrew for welcoming us into your home and spending time with us. We had a great time! We can't wait to see you all again this summer!

First Bonfire

Nolan went to his first bonfire this last weekend at the Rickmann's house. He was so enthralled by the fire pit. I am sure we have a mini Gary on our hands! He couldn't get over the excitement of the fire! He roasted many marshmallows and with the help of Jessica even made a yummy s'more! The s'more made a HUGE mess, but he sure enjoyed it!

Trick or Treat... Smell my Feet!

Halloween this year was so fun! Nolan still didn't quite understand what it was all about, but he did dress up and go "trick or treating." Nolan dressed up as a vampire in a costume made by Grandma Marsha. He looked so absolutely adorable. Nolan only trick or treated at 4 places, but that was plenty! He didn't really get it anyways and doesn't really need candy. I am sure next year he will understand better... can't wait to see what intricate costume Grandma Marsha will come up with next!

Hello?

Nolan has an extreme obsession with all phones. If one is in sight, he tries his hardest to get it in his hands. Here is a picture of Nolan playing with Grandma Marsha's cell phone.
He is so funny with the phone; he pretends that someone is actually on the other line talking to him. And of course, many of you have been on the receiving end of a "phone call" from him. Enjoy!

What's That?

It's Grandma Marsha's kittie cat! My Grandpa, Clarence Gould (my mom's father), recently passed away. My grandpa was in love with cats... and that is an understatement! After going through hundreds of photos of family, we quickly realized that about 30% of those pictures were of cats. With that being said, grandpa had one cat still living when he passed away, Blackie. My mom decided that she would take Blackie and care for her. Nolan has never been around cats, only dogs. I took him over to meet Blackie and he absolutely loved her. Maybe it was her kind heart allowing him to actually pet her (the dogs run from Nolan) or maybe it's that she is just way too old to know any better. Either way... Nolan was thrilled! Here are some pics... Loving on the kittie and trying to get her to talk on the phone!

It's Pumpkin Season!

We took Nolan to Eckert’s this past weekend. I think he was in awe of all of the big orange things aka pumpkins! He had fun running around and touching all of the pumpkins, although it made me really nervous. I thought they may tumble off of the hay stacks. We didn't take him out to the patch this year, we just picked from the selection that Eckert’s had picked. Maybe next year when he listens a little better we will take him (fingers crossed)! We got Nolan the perfect sized pumpkin that he can actually lift and a few mini pumpkins. We are getting really excited for Halloween!

Mmmm... Good!

This is Nolan’s new habit…

That’s right… my little stinker has been licking the outside of Nana’s oven as the scrumptious food cooks inside! Thank goodness the outside of the oven is cool to the touch. And thank goodness Nana and Papa keep their house spic and span! He does this all the time. Not just a onetime event, but HILARIOUS every time!

Fire Prevention

This week was Fire Prevention week, so we HAD to take Nolan to the firehouse to see all the great fire trucks! Nolan looked in amazement at all of the giant trucks. He had fun running around and then stopping every once in a while to gaze at the trucks and all of the hustle and bustle of the “big kids” around him. He took a particular liking to the fire pole and even went down the pole four times! The first time he was kind of scared, but after that, all bets were off! He is so fearless. He would have gone down that darn pole 20 times if I would have let him. Nolan even got to see the Arch Ambulance Helicopter land. VERY COOL!

Also, Gary took one of the fire trucks to daycare to show all of the kids. All of the other kids were terrified and refused to get on the truck. Not Nolan… he jumped right on. Looks like we have another fireman in the family!

Future Rock Climber?

Nolan has been climbing everything lately. He has learned how to climb chairs at Nana and Papa's house. He sits in them like a big boy too! He has conquered couches a time or two, but still has his struggles. He will whine until you put him on the couch most of the time. The picture below is the cutest climb as of yet... he pulled himself up on the stool at the end of the hallway at Nana's house. The stool isn't very big, so it was quite the task. After he got up there, he was so proud of himself. He didn't want to get down! Gotta love a baby boy that is so proud of his simple accomplishments!

First Ride on the Carousel

As we walked by the carousel at the mall, Nolan just stopped and stared in awe. Gary looks at me and I say “Don’t you even think about putting me on that thing!” But Gary decides he wants to take Nolan on the carousel… Thank God! That would turn out to be a disaster if I went on it! So Nolan happily rode the carousel, smiling every time he came around and saw me. So cute!

Gym Class

We have some VERY exciting news to share... we enrolled Nolan in a gym here in town called The Little Gym. (You thought I was going to say that I was pregnant, didn't you? hehe!) It is actually a nationwide gym that caters to little kids, particularly children Nolan's age. He went to his first class this last Saturday and he LOVED it! He was running around, climbing things, and even learned some gymnastics moves. The class is every Saturday for about 4 months for 45 minutes. In class, they do various things such as: ring bells, sing songs, play with balls, do somersaults, walk on balance beams, play on the mats, "rock wall climb", and much more! Nolan is taking the class with one of his best buddies, RJ. Okay, mommy's friend's son, but soon to be one of his best buddies!! We think this is going to be a great thing for Nolan, especially considering he is such a monkey at home. Hopefully Saturday afternoons will be great for naps now. If someone will come observe the class soon and take pictures so that I can post them. I can't take pictures while I am there because, as I learned on Saturday, this class is a very active class for mommy as well!

Oh Fudge... Only, it Wasn't Fudge....

It was a FUDGECICLE!!! hahaha! Nolan's absolute favorite past time at Nana and Papa's house... eating fudgecicles with Papa. That Papa sure knows how to spoil Nolan. Here is a picture of the common occurrence. Too funny!


(Oh and those of you that don't get it or can't remember... it's from A Christmas Story. It's a Stein Family tradition every Thanksgiving and Christmas to watch this movie on repeat!)

Riding a Ducky

Nolan got this rubber...err... this stuffed riding ducky from his Uncle Brad and Aunt Katie when he was still in my belly. It has been in Nolan's bedroom for months, readily available for him to play on; however, he has ignored it, until NOW! He is absolutely obsessed with this duck. He whines until I bring it into the living room for him to play with. He rides it and even gets brave... he will stand on the back of the duck and let his hands go. Please don't tell me he is going to be a rodeo clown, standing on horses backs!! At any rate, he found a new favorite toy!

Starbucks Addict Already?

He is definitely his daddy's boy!! All kidding aside... it wasn't coffee or anything! I had ordered a Strawberry Banana Smoothie from Starbucks, that I wasn't in love with. I figured since it was a smoothie, it wouldn't harm him. And then... Nolan took over. He loved it! He was carrying the smoothie around and actually drank most of it himself. Mmmmm......

15 Month Appointment

Okay, I know it has been a really long time and I certainly have some catching up to do. But right now, I have only got about 5 minutes before Nolan comes pulling on me to get off of the computer. Last weekend we took Nolan to his 15 Month Appointment. And of course, he is STILL growing like a weed. He weighed in at 25lbs 13oz. and was 31.5 inches long, which puts him in the 50-60th percentile. So, I guess you could say he is pretty average! Nolan loves to jibber jabber, and he occasionally says words that you can clearly understand. Our new phrase is "uh-oh"! And it is quite funny! He has started using names a lot more to get people's attention and he will also grab you by the hand to show you what he wants. I like the "showing" idea- I can finally get him to "tell" me what he wants! Oh and almost forgot, Nolan has been having a lot of gas issues. As we have been trying to transition him to Milk from Formula for the past 3 months, we have noticed that milk has been giving him terrible belly aches... the doctor thinks he may be lactose intolerant. So for now, we are switching him to lactose-free milk and we will try regular milk again at two.

Other than that, we have been the busy Stein family that we are. Daddy's been working a lot, mommy's been working and prepping for school to start again on Monday, and Nolan's been getting into everything! This is life when you have a busy family!

I promise that I will get some more posts up soon and some pics! I have a lot to share! XOXOXO

P-O-O-L

While on vacation we also took Nolan to the O'Fallon Pool. And he loved it! Of course, he loves anything associated with water. The pool has a kiddie pool with a waterfall and a ton of little kids for Nolan to play with. He latched on to these four little girls and tried to follow them everywhere... even into the deep end (1ft10in). Here are a couple picks of the fun in the sun!

Under the waterfall with Daddy
Splashing in the shallow end

BACK to the Zoo!

Daycare was closed this week, so Gary and I decided to take the week off and have some quality family time. As you know, Gary works quite a bit and doesn't get to spend as much time with us as he would like. It was so great to be together as a family this week. Made my heart melt! And as you also may know, Nolan is a total Daddy's boy, so he thoroughly enjoyed seeing his daddy EVERYDAY!

Since Gary wasn't able to come with us last week... we went back to the zoo. We went and saw the reptiles again, but everything else was new. We saw the seals splashing around and we went to the children's zoo. In the children's zoo, Nolan was able to pet the goats. And he actually loved it! We also went to the Build-A-Bear workshop at the Zoo where Nolan made a Panda. We named the bear "Baby Bear" and Nolan loves it! He has been carrying it around the house and giving it lots of hugs and kisses. So cute! Here are some pics of our family trip to the zoo.

Chloe is Here!

Aaron and Jennifer welcomed my new niece into the world on Friday, July 10. Chloe Lou Fletcher was born at 7:24pm weighing a mere 5lbs 12oz and measuring 17.5 inches. She is a tiny a little thing, but cuter than anything! Congrats to Aaron and Jennifer. And Welcome to the world baby Chloe!

Day at the Zoo!

Today we took Nolan to his first trip to the St. Louis Zoo. Nana, Papa, Aunt Karen, and the Mansons were all there to join in on the fun. Unfortunately Daddy was unable to go because he could not get off of work. :( We had a great time! Nolan loved seeing all of the animals and would get really excited when they would move. As much as I did not love the reptile house, I think that was Nolan's favorite. He could see the snakes, lizards, and turtles up close and he wanted to touch them. Thank goodness for glass barriers!! Here are some pictures from the big day. Enjoy!!

The Mansons Are Here!

Aunt Mee Mee, Uncle Jeff and the boys are in town for the week! We are so happy that they are here! It has been a year since we have seen Aunt Mee Mee and about two for Uncle Jeff and the boys. They rolled in from North Carolina on Sunday evening and we have been at Nana and Papa's as much as possible ever since. I think they are all surprised at how big Nolan has gotten and the HUGE personality that he constantly has on display.
They also brought their puppy,Lil Bit, much to Alabama's dismay! Lil Bit chases Bama and barks at her because he wants to play. Alabama just wants to be left alone! Nolan is also not too thrilled about Lil Bit. I think, perhaps, he has a little to much energy for Nolan? Sounds crazy, considering Nolan is like a little tornado, but definitly possible!
We are all planning on going to the zoo tomorrow and taking Nolan too. It wil be his first trip and I am super excited! I will be sure to post a bunch of pictures from the big day as soon as I can!
We will be enjoying the Manson's company for the rest of the week until we have to bid them farewell.... if only they would move back! :)

Trip "Home"

This weekend we took a family trip back to Champaign. The Medvick Family and the Stein Family packed into the Medvick van and braved a 3 hour trip with an 8 year old, a 14 month old, and a 5 month old. The babies did okay... Brody didn't really love being in his seat (he wanted to sit up so badly), so he put up quite the fuss. And for some reason, every time Brody would cry, Nolan thought he needed to pitch in too. Headache city!! We made a pit stop in Tuscola to shop the outlet malls... wahoo!!! And then finished our trip to Champaign.

Visiting with family was fun, and hectic. Josiah, who is Nolan's age, was visiting from San Diego, so the house was filled with babies. Hectic, yes... Interesting, yes... Fun, yes! And of course we were able to visit some of the Champaign food staples, Monicals Pizza and Custard Cup.

We made an earlier than expected exit this morning because Nolan didn't feel very well. For some reason he threw up five times this morning. We are thinking he was catching a bug. He looked miserable. Good thing is... Nolan and Brody both slept the first hour and a half of the trip! The trip home was much easier and less eventful than the ride up. Thank Goodness! Glad we made a trip home, but with two young babies, it definitely isn't easy.

So, we have been nursing a sick baby today. Plenty of love, rest, and Pedialyte! Until next time, so long Champaign!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Fathers in my life! Here are a couple of pictures of the day!

Pool Day

Today was our first day in the little pool that we got for Nolan. We set up shop in Nana and Papa's front yard and Nolan had a ball! He splashed in the water, pulled out grass and was having the best time of his life. Here are some pictures of his day! So cute!

A Nolan Update!

Wow... way too long... almost a month! I am super sorry. I have just been really busy and have not had much time with a real computer to blog on! Unfortuneately I can't do it from my BlackBerry, otherwise I would post almost daily!

Anyway, Nolan is growing like a weed! He is such a big boy. He has an extended vocabulary these days and he never ceases to amaze me. He still has a favorite word, "HOT", but he has recently picked up "SIT". The 5 year old at daycare quickly pointed out that Nolan's new word sounds like the bad word... and I think I have to agree! But he really is saying SIT! He is also walking consistently too. He started steadily walking about the time of my last post, but now it is regularly. He is also getting pretty quick at it. The only bad thing is that everytime I turn around, he is gone!

He is also getting into EVERYTHING. Currently his obsession is the toilet. It is now time to buy a toilet seat lock. I am tired of fishing toys out of the toilet! He loves to pull all of his toys out of his toy boxes and will play for hours if you let him!

Everything is great, just keeping busy! I will try to blog more!

The BIG Cut!

For about two months now Gary has been telling me that we need to cut Nolan's hair. I really didn't want to have his hair cut until he was one, for some unknown reason. And I for sure wanted to be there when it happen, which Gary thought was unnecessary. I am sure all of the moms out there agree with me! So, we took Nolan up to the barber shop. And not just any old shop, we took him to Daddy's Barber Shop! Gary would not have it any other way except to have Tim and Stacey cut his baby boy's hair! So, Daddy and Nolan sat in the barber chair as Mommy tried to take pictures and Stacey worked her magic! Okay, let's be honest, not much magic needed to be done, he doesn't really have much hair! Nonetheless, Stacy did a fabulous job! Nolan sat so still, like the big boy that he is and got his hair cut. What a monumental moment in MY life! My baby boy's FIRST hair cut! Who knew hair would mean so much?

One Last Thing...

...to Commemorate Nolan Turning One! We turned Nolan's seat around this past week. Nolan is now facing forward like the rest of us and he is LOVING every minute of it! He has so much leg room now and constantly kicks his legs around. I am pretty sure that he thinks he just found Heaven on Earth! :) He also loves the fact that I can reach him from my seat. Still can't believe how fast this year went, but am looking forward to see what this year has in store for us!

Our Two Year Anniversary

Gary and I celebrated our two year Anniversary on Tuesday. I can't believe that it has been two years, my how time flies! We didn't do anything special yet, but we are planning on going out to dinner tomorrow... baby free! Two years of marriage and many more to come! Here is a reminder picture of the beautiful day that we shared two years ago!

Nolan's One Year Appointment

We had Nolan's one year doctor appointment on Monday...Again... I CAN NOT BELIEVE MY BABY IS ONE!! He did really well at his appointment. He weighs 23 lbs. 13.5oz and is 29.5 inches tall. The doctor said he was in the 50th percentile all the way around. He has a small mama and dada, so I guess that is expected. No 90th or 95th percentile here... Michelle! ;)The doctor was impressed that Nolan has 8 words that he says and knows (Mama, Dada, Baba, Dog, Cissy, HOT, Hi, and Bye). She said that most one year olds only know 2-3 words. She also stated that according to definition, Nolan is technically walking right now. I just don't think that taking 3 or 4 steps and then getting on your butt to crawl is walking! I will officially say that he is walking when he continually takes steps to get from one place to another. Nolan had 3 shots, which he was NOT happy about, which is to be expected. He also had to have a vial of blood drawn to test him for a bunch of things, including Lead and Anemia. Again, he was not happy, but he actually did extremely well. Who would have thought that a one year old would sit still enough to have his blood drawn?

The Doctor said that he can strictly be on table foods now, which is mostly what he eats anyways. I have a HUNGRY boy! She also said that we can start weaning him off of the formula. We are going to have to do it slowly though (over the next three months) because his will be changing from soy formula to cow's milk. She said the sudden change could upset his stomach greatly.

Overall, all is well! We have a beautiful and healthy baby boy that means the world to us... and many others!!

One Year Pictures

Yesterday was picture day! We took Nolan to get his one year pictures and he did such a great job. He is cutting another tooth and has been quite the pistol lately, so we were somewhat concerned with how he would act. While he was in the studio, you would have never known he was having issues. He had the most wonderful photographer, whom I will request from here on out. He smiled and laughed and really seemed to enjoy himself. Daddy was busy running after him as he was crawling away... last time we had pictures Nolan wasn't very mobile! But, as soon as pictures were done, a storm cloud rolled over and the attitude was back! Needless to say, despite a crabby baby... err... toddler, we got some wonderful pictures! I have ordered a few pictures for us and some family, if you are interested in having one, please let me know. We purchased a CD this time, so the pics will only need to be printed out at Walgreen's. Here are a few of my favorites!
Oh and we have Nolan's one year doctor appointment tomorrow. Very excited to see his stats and prepare for the next chapter in his life... NOT excited for the shots! Wish us luck!

Nolan Turns One!!

Yesterday was Nolan's FIRST Birthday! My baby is so BIG! All day long yesterday all I could think of was "this time last year". Every time I looked at the clock I would think, "This time last year I was getting hooked up to my IV" or "This time last year I was holding Nolan for the first time". (I am sure you catch the drift!) It was a very bittersweet day. I was happy that my baby boy was growing, but I was sad because it all went too fast. And I tell you what... Nolan moving into Toddler-hood has made me catch a case of Baby Fever!! But, I think I will wait for a little while longer on that! By the way, that is what we said when Nolan was conceived too!;)

We ended up going out to dinner for Nolan's Birthday. He REALLY wanted Red Lobster, so we gave in and took him there! He was so overcome with excitement that he ended up falling asleep and slept on the bench of the booth for about 35 minutes! After he finally woke up, he enjoyed a couple Cheddar Bay Biscuits, mashed potatoes and some fruit! He MUST be just like his momma... he LOVES biscuits, bread, and... Red Lobster!

After we got home from dinner, we sang 'Happy Birthday' and allowed him to indulge in a cupcake, WITHOUT red icing! (The red icing fiasco at Nolan's Party almost sent daddy over the edge!) Again, he dug right in and made a mess!

Here are a couple of pictures from Nolan's actual birthday... Here's to one of most wonderful years of our lives! We can't wait for the many more to come!!!

Nolan's First Birthday Party!

Nolan had his first birthday yesterday... such a bittersweet moment! I am so happy that my baby boy is growing up, but I am so sad that he is growing up so fast! His party was a lot of fun... It was held at the Firehouse, so naturally, it was a fire engine themed first birthday. We had a lot of great friends and family come (thank you to all that came) and celebrate the big day. The highlight of the day was his cake, of course. And, he was a ham! He was not afraid to delve right in... much to his daddy's dismay! He starting by playing with the icing, placing a little in his mouth. Then he got brave and started taking handfuls. It was hilarious. There was icing everywhere! Daddy mysteriously disappeared half way through... Troy pointed out that Gary was having a panic attack because of the mess that Nolan was making. Definitely a possibility!! Nolan recieved way too many toys, which means that I think he will be set on toys for quite some time. Here are some pictures of the big day... after the cake was done, I didn't get any more pics because I was too busy cleaning up! Can't wait until his actualy birthday gets here... 3 more days!!