Notes from Nolan

A few Nolanisms

2010-11-02T07:47:00.000-04:00

Nolan informed us that there is such a thing as an "air piper." An air piper dies not have a front or a back, and it looks like a cement mixer but it's really not. An air piper drives on dirt and brings dirt to the flowers so they can grow big and strong.

The other night, we were trick or treating and Nolan turned to me and said, "There is no one in sight!"

-- Post From My iPhone

Legos!

2010-02-27T17:17:00.001-05:00

Daddy made Nolan a Millennium Falcon with legos!

Post From My iPhone

Love

2010-02-24T13:20:00.001-05:00

Nolan's contribution to the decorations for the Tiny Findings bake sale (postponed from Valentines due to snow).

-- Post From My iPhone

A conversation with Nolan

2010-02-21T17:54:00.001-05:00

The scene: I come out of my room, dressed for work with my new silver ballet flats on.

Nolan: "What do your shoes look?" (Translation: Wow, look at your shoes!")

Me: "You like my new shoes, Nolan?"

Nolan: "They are coooool!"

Pause

Nolan: "I maybe have some." (Translation: "I would like to have some!"

Sigh. :)

-- Post From My iPhone

Snow!

2010-02-11T16:47:00.001-05:00

Yes, that's a garbage can lid we're using as a sled. By the time we went out to look for sleds they were all sold out :( We had a blast anyway!

Post From My iPhone

Dup-dake!!

2010-02-11T16:42:00.001-05:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Loop-de-loop

2010-02-10T17:30:00.001-05:00

As a boredom buster during the big storm(s), Jeff picked up this cool Hot Wheels looped track where the car goes down a steep drop and then through a loop before flying into the air at the end. Nolan LOVES it.

-- Post From My iPhone

Snow day!

2010-02-10T17:22:00.001-05:00

Well, with the exception of a quick trip for bagels and provisions on Monday, we've been snowed in since Friday. But we're having lots of fun arranging and rearranging the Thomas the Train tracks, both on the train table and off.

-- Post From My iPhone

Snow!

2010-02-09T21:44:00.001-05:00

Ok, so we've been WAY behind in blogging. We still need to share Christmas pictures and lots of other stuff. But at least we can blame it on the snow now. We got about 2 ft on Friday and Saturday, and as I type this on Tuesday we are due to get another 6-12 inches. The fed government has been closed since mid-day Friday, the longest time ever!

We've been spending lots of time hunkered down inside but we've made strides in potty training. Nolan peed in the potty once a few weeks ago but not since. I've used all of this time at home to encourage using the potty. Most of the time he says no but once last night and once tonight he peed in the potty. This is major progress!

In other news, he's been saying and doing some cute things. He's also quite bossy. Tonight I was going to take a shower after dinner and he said, "No shower! No shower! What is this I tell you?" (I think he means, "What did I tell you?"). Where did he get that from?!?

-- Post From My iPhone

Christmas in Georgetown

2009-12-19T08:52:00.001-05:00

The other day we were waiting for Dad to get out of work so we went over to the Georgetown Harbour. They have a beautiful Christmas tree. There's also a Starbucks where Nolan tried his first hot chocolate!

-- Post From My iPhone

Budding pianist

2009-12-19T08:48:00.001-05:00

The nice lady at the Steinway store in the mall let Nolan play one of the baby grands. He was so gentle with the keys and was very focused.

-- Post From My iPhone

Mom: Sea Urchins

2009-12-04T15:23:00.003-05:00

Here's another funny Nolan story that I wanted to share and--most importantly--wanted to record so I don't forget it. I mentioned a few posts ago that Nolan is really big into the Planet Earth documentary series. One of his favorite scenes is the one where the sea urchins chew through the underwater kelp forests that are several stories tall. For some reason Nolan LOVES this footage, and he loves the sea urchins, which he also calls the "yellow and red things."

Well, fast forward to Thanksgiving Day, when we were at Memere and Grandpa's house watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. There were a bunch of cheerleaders doing a dance routines with red and white pom poms. Nolan pointed to the TV and said, "Look Mom! Sea Urchins!" He's also pointed out that some of the decorative sea grass Memere and Grandpa have around their house looks like sea urchins.

We also got to see some sea urchins in real life when we were in Connecticut. We went over to the Mystic Aquarium and they had a large tank full of colorful urchins, starfish, and other ocean critters. The Aquarium also has 2 huge beluga whales, some seals, and lots and lots fish and other stuff to see. We had a great time!

Mom: Too cute!!

2009-12-04T15:13:00.004-05:00

So this year Nolan is much more into Christmas. We've been reading a bunch of our Christmas books - from "The Polar Express" to "The Night Before Christmas," to "The Christmas Story." He cannot get enough of it. His favorite book right now is "The Sweet Smells of Christmas," which is a scratch and sniff book I remembered reading as a kid. He got this book as a gift for his first Christmas from Aunt Carly. In the book, a little bear and his mom bake gingerbread cookies, and ever since reading it Nolan is obsessed with gingerbread men and gingerbread houses.

Nolan also points out Christmas trees whenever he sees one and definitely KNOWS who Santa is. We're hoping he will sit on Mall Santa's lap when we go this weekend, unlike last year where Mom and Dad also had to be in the picture. So we've been talking about Santa a lot and trying to get him comfortable with the idea of the jolly old elf.

We asked him the other day what he wished Santa would bring him. His answer? "A Christmas tree" Then, "Cars." I think Santa can take care of those requests!

We're going to pick out our tree on Saturday, and it might even be snowing when we go! We're also hoping to make our gingerbread house and bake some gingerbread boys. It's going to be a great weekend!

Mom guest blogs: Some updates

2009-12-01T09:10:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's been over a month since our last post. We've been really busy but that's no excuse.

Nolan is just doing the cutest stuff. First, he has become a really great singer. He sings all. the. time. He sings songs he learns at school (one that introduces the Spanish names for colors), and he even sings songs I make up on the fly. Back around Halloween we went to a big pumpkin patch and took a hayride. The tractor pulling the flatbed with the hay on it pretended at one point to be stuck in the mud. The wheels were spinning and spinning and Nolan got really scared. Eventually the tractor driver had a friend pretend to pull us out of the big mud puddle with a rope and we finished the hay ride. For the next four weeks at least, Nolan would bring up this incident and talk about how the tractor got stuck in the mud. One day I decided to make up a song about it. I sang it to the tune of the Bangles' "Eternal Flame":

Tractor wheels, they're stuck in mud (darlin')
Do you see my wheels spinning?
Round and round they go,
But we go nowhere.
Am I only dreaming,
Or is my tractor (tractor) stuck in mud?

Nolan sings "The Tractor Song" all the time now, so earnestly. It's hilarious. He can really hold a tune and he hits the high notes so well!

He also loves singing the Sesame Street song (Sunny Days), Old MacDonald, Mary Had a Little Lamb (he knows all 7 verses, too!), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and many many more.

He also loves when Mommy tells him stories, which are abridged versions of books we've read together about Lightening McQueen and Thomas the Tank Engine. Mommy has told these stories so many times the same way that Nolan will even correct me if I miss a word or say something differently.

Nolan is also such a sweet boy with so much empathy. He will always ask, "Are you happy Mommy?" When we pick up Daddy from work he says, "How was your day, Daddy?" At dinner, it's, "Would you like some more food, Mommy?"

I'll post more soon. I promise we'll get around to posting more regularly!

Mom Guest Blogs: Emily-O-P

2009-10-26T08:36:00.005-04:00

OK, OK, we have been seriously delinquent in posting new photos. But while we're dragging our feet I thought I'd give a few updates on what Nolan is doing these days.

He's been talking up a storm as usual, can count to 20, and knows all of the numbers from 0-9 and all of the alphabet. One funny thing, though, when he sings the alphabet song he pronounces L-M-N-O-P as "Emily-O-P." Too cute! There's a little girl in his daycare whose name is Emily, and there is also a character by that name in his Thomas the Train books.

He's also been asking us what certain letters spell or identifying numbers he sees on signs or even on our bedside digital alarm clock. He's an expert on shapes and colors, too. He knows all of the basics, and even some trickier ones like pentagon and hexagon. He has also been making a lot of connections, pointing out that something he sees while out and about is like something we have at home, or how two different things are the same color.

Nolan has taken a huge interest in the Planet Earth documentary series. He loves watching the amazing footage of all of the different animals and will often ask to see specific animals, like dolphins or elephants so we can pick those specific scenes. I'm loving it because it's a lot more interesting to me than Disney Cars (previously the only DVD Nolan has seen)! It's also great because we can watch it and talk about what we're seeing.

One last funny thing. Nolan is a world-class procrastinator when it comes to bedtime. He will ask for one more story, or one more trip out of the room to say goodnight to Daddy. Last night we were reading a Thomas the Train book and reading about Sir Toppam Hatt, who, as you can imagine, wears a top hat. Nolan asked to get his Washington Nationals hat so he can wear a hat too. And, silly me, I obliged.

My favorite things

2009-10-02T09:45:00.001-04:00

This morning Mom asked me what some of my favorite things are, and I thought I'd share my responses since I haven't blogged in awhile.

Favorite color: yellow

Favorite animal: elephant (although it depends on when you ask. Sometimes it's giraffe.

Favorite food: strawberries

Favorite DC landmark: Lincoln Memorial

I have also been learning about my five senses in school. I know that you hear with your ears, see with your eyes, taste with your mouth, touch with your hands, and smell with your nose.

-- Post From My iPhone

My Labor Day weekend

2009-09-08T21:13:00.002-04:00

We had a great Labor Day weekend! I'll post pictures once they're uploaded, but I thought I'd share what we did.

On Saturday, we went to Burke Lake Park (I already posted about that). On Sunday, we went to church and then in the afternoon went to Dairy Godmother and had yummy frozen custard. (Yup, that's the same place that POTUS and his daughters went this past Father's Day). I had a chocolate and vanilla cone and Mom and Dad had peach cones. Yum! Later, we went into Old Town to walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather.

On Monday, we went to the zoo and had a blast. Then, we came home and Mom baked up a storm. She made monkey bread and I helped her make heart-shaped sugar cookies with sprinkles on top. I liked rolling the dough and cutting out the little hearts.

It was a great weekend!

I've got my reading cut out for me

2009-09-08T21:07:00.006-04:00

I just found this great list of Caldecott Medal & Honor Books from 1938 onward. I think I'm going to make it my goal to read all of the winners. I can't wait to go to the library and pick the first few up.

I've already read one or two of the most recent ones - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. But there are so many more - I'd better get busy!

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal.cfm

2009 Medal Winner:

The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson (Houghton Mifflin Company)

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, by Marla Frazee (Harcourt, Inc.)
How I Learned Geography, by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar Straus Giroux)
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)

2008 Medal Winner:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic)

Honor Books:

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic)
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)
The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sís (Farrar/Frances Foster)
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

2007 Medal Winner:

Flotsam by David Wiesner (Clarion)

Honor Books:

Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet by David McLimans (Walker)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)

2006 Medal Winner:

The Hello, Goodbye Window illustrated by Chris Raschka and written by Norton Juster (Michael di Capua Books/Hyperion Books for Children)

Honor Books:

Rosa illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Nikki Giovanni (Henry Holt and Company)
Zen Shorts illustrated and written by Jon J. Muth (Scholastic Press)
Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride illustrated and written by Marjorie Priceman. (An Anne Schwartz Book/Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)
Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems illustrated by Beckie Prange, written by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin Company)

2005 Medal Winner:

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollinsPublishers)

Honor Books:

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman (Houghton Mifflin Company)
Coming on Home Soon illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Jacqueline Woodson (G.P. Putnam's Son's/Penguin Young Readers Group)
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale illustrated and written by Mo Willems. (Hyperion Books for Children)

2004 Medal Winner:

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook Press/Millbrook Press)

Honor Books:

Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Harcourt, Inc.)
What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? illustrated and written by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. (Houghton Mifflin Company)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems. (Hyperion)

2003 Medal Winner:
My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann (Roaring Brook Press/Millbrook Press)

Honor Books:

The Spider and the Fly illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, written by Mary Howitt (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Hondo & Fabian by Peter McCarty (Henry Holt & Co.)
Noah's Ark by Jerry Pinkney (SeaStar Books, a division of North-South Books Inc.)

2002 Medal Winner:
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner (Clarion/Houghton Mifflin)
Honor Books:

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins illustrated by Brian Selznick, written by Barbara Kerley (Scholastic)
Martin's Big Words: the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Doreen Rappaport (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion)
The Stray Dog by Marc Simont (HarperCollins)

2001 Medal Winner:

So You Want to Be President? Illustrated by David Small, written by Judith St. George (Philomel)
Honor Books:

Casey at the Bat illustrated by Christopher Bing, written by Ernest Thayer (Handprint)
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type illustrated by Betsy Lewin, written by Doreen Cronin (Simon & Schuster)
Olivia by Ian Falconer (Atheneum)

2000 Medal Winner:
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Simms Taback (Viking)
Honor Books:

A Child's Calendar illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Text: John Updike (Holiday House)
Sector 7 by David Wiesner (Clarion Books)
When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang (Scholastic)
The Ugly Duckling illustrated by Jerry Pinkney Text: Hans Christian Andersen, adapted by Jerry Pinkney (Morrow)

Burke Lake Park

2009-09-05T18:08:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Burke Lake Park, which is just a few minutes from our house. We rode the train and checked out the marina. There is also an ice cream parlour, playgrounds, a carousel, and a mini golf course! We will definitely have to come back with a picnic lunch so we can stay longer.

-- Post From My iPhone

Watermelon!

2009-08-31T08:43:00.001-04:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Playing ball on the beach

2009-08-31T08:42:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pictures of me throwing a ball on the beach. These are all iPhone shots so Mom couldn't really capture all of the action. I'm getting good at throwing a ball, even if it doesn't always go where I think it will go. Mom says my technique is more like shot put than baseball right now, but I'm working on it!

-- Post From My iPhone

Leaving my mark

2009-08-31T08:35:00.001-04:00

As we were leaving the beach yesterday afternoon, I left a starfish imprint in the sand every few steps to let people know Nolan had been there!

-

- Post From My iPhone

Funland!

2009-08-30T19:54:00.001-04:00

I went to Funland tonight and rode all of the big buy rides! I steered a racecar and a motorcycle, piloted a boat, captained a fire truck, and rode in a hot air balloon. It was a blast!

-- Post From My iPhone

First taste of Grotto Pizza

2009-08-29T20:30:00.000-04:00

Mom took me to the beach tonight and we got Grotto's Pizza for dinner. It was the best pizza ever!

-- Post From My iPhone

When I grow up

2009-08-29T20:28:00.001-04:00

I want to drive race cars.

-- Post From My iPhone

More pictures!

2009-08-25T21:14:00.003-04:00

Here are even some more pictures! Almost a smile or two, caught on film for the first time!

Pictures!!

2009-08-25T21:09:00.003-04:00

After long last, here are some pictures from the past few months. Do you love the diaper head picture? And here's one with my Disney Cars figurines. I have almost every one of the main characters now!

Mom blogs: Nolan updates

2009-08-25T18:18:00.002-04:00

Hopefully I'll get around to adding some recent pictured to the blog soon. But until then, some updates.

Nolan has gotten quite good at small talk and manners. Every night on the car ride home or at the dinner table, Nolan asks each of us, "How was your day?" We tell him, and ask how his day was in response. He always says, "Fine!" At dinner tonight, Dad finished his meal first, and Nolan asked, "Daddy want more?"

He's also showing just how perceptive he is, and letting us into his thoughts. We've been reading a book about how Curious George went to the museum and climbed to the top of a dinosaur skeleton. A day or so after reading the book for the first time, I was giving Nolan a bath and out of the blue he said, "Curious George not happy. Dinosaur happy." It took me awhile to realize he was remembering the cover of the book, with a picture of Curious George hugging the head of the dinosaur skeleton's head. Curious George was frowning, nervous about getting in trouble. And the jawbones of the dinosaur's head made it look like the dinosaur was smiling. So cute, I would have never noticed that and Nolan remembered it 24 hours later!

He's also got an excellent memory. He's memorized most of his favorite books, and can now "read" a few of them cover to cover with very little prompting. I sing "Hush Little Baby" to him every night, and recently I've been only singing half of each verse to him and letting him fill in the rest. Tonight, he sang the entire song along with me - all 10 verses. It was SOOOO sweet. I wish I could have recorded it.

I'll share more soon!

-- Post From My iPhone

Why so serious?

2009-08-04T20:34:00.000-04:00

Just a quick shot of Nolan, covered in chocolate at an outdoor concert at the waterpark. He sort of looks like the Joker from Batman Returns, no?

-- Post From My iPhone

Mom guest blogs again

2009-07-22T17:56:00.001-04:00

I've been a little lax about blogging lately so I thought I'd do a little recap. I'll try to do a post with pictures soon, since we have a bunch on Shutterfly that we haven't shared yet.

Nolan took his first train trip to Connecticut to see
Memere and Grandpa. It was fun, he did a great job!

Nolan's vocabulary is still growing by leaps and bounds. I feel like a slacker mom, but I have lost track of how many words this kid knows. It has got to be in the hundreds, and he regularly puts together 3-7 word sentences. Whether people other than Mom can understand them us another thing ;)

We drive by the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Monument every morning and I would always point them out and name them for Nolan. For the past month or so, Nolan has been pointing them out for me instead! He pronounces them as "wash ment" and "jeff mill." So cute!

The other day we were at Union Station and he looked up at the high, ornate ceiling and immediately recognized the shape that repeated in the design. "Octagon!" he said proudly. What a smartie.

Nolan knows his numbers up to 10 but after that it's a little shaky. He will count straight up to 11 but then go back to 8. He will get stuck in a loop, counting 8, 9, 10, 11 over and over again. We're working on it :)

Like his Mama and great-grandmother, Nolan is always humming or singing. Papi and and I spied on Nolan at the playground at daycare the other day. Nolan was riding around on a little motorcycle and singing "Happy birthday" to himself.

-- Post From My iPhone

On the choo-choo train!

2009-07-03T08:54:00.001-04:00

We're headed to CT to see Memere and Grandpa!

-- Post From My iPhone

Swimming!

2009-07-02T18:25:00.001-04:00

I was quite the fish last summer, but this summer I haven't wanted much to do with the water. Well, this afternoon Mom finally got me to go in the water. I even got my hair wet! This picture is proof (and yes, that's a BB&B coupon I'm using as a plate).

-- Post From My iPhone

Mommy guest blogs: Updates

2009-06-29T09:05:00.005-04:00

I've been meaning to write down all of the cute things Nolan has been doing recently so I don't forget them. He's developing such a personality and a wonderful sense of humor and, more importantly, finding so many ways to express himself. Below is just a list of a few of the things he is saying and doing right now (2 years, 1 month old):

After months of blowing and giving silent kisses, Nolan is finally blowing and giving big, loud, smoochy kisses. It is so adorable.
Nolan also wants everyone to kiss his "boo boos," and after we do he says "better!" with a huge smile. He also kisses his own boo boos, and has his matchbox cars kiss his boo boos, too.
Nolan will break out in song just about anywhere. In the car, at home, in the grocery store, it doesn't matter. His favorite song to sing is Old MacDonald or the ABC's. He knows most of the words, too!
Nolan and Mommy have a song we sing together, which is a variation on "Hush Little Baby." We got it from one of his baby board books, it has the same tune as the old standard but it isn't so, shall we say, weird. No materialism (as in buying gold rings) or outdated mentions of horses and carts. It's all about nature and bedtime rituals. For example, "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's going to look for a hummingbird. If that hummingbird should fly, Mama's going to show you the evening sky ..." Well Nolan LOVES this song and calls it "Hush Baby." I sing the first half of the verse and he finishes with the last half. He knows ALL the words, and it's not a short song!
"Bed." Sometimes, especially in the evening, Nolan will ask me if we can go to bed. He doesn't mean he's ready to go to sleep, it just means he wants to hang out with Mommy on Mommy and Daddy's bed. We cuddle, sing, and sometimes he does a little (highly supervised) jumping. It's such a fun time.
Nolan is still a HUGE reader, and it's the only time he sits still all day long. We participated in an early learning study at Georgetown University and a graduate student came out to see how well Nolan learned by having a book read to him. She complimented him on his ability to sit and focus on the book. She said most of the boys his age were more restless and wouldn't sit still.
Nolan is quite particular and has these cute little phobias. Whereas last summer he wanted to be in the pool every day, he wants nothing to do with being in the water this summer. At the pool, he will only stick his feet in or throw his toys in for Mommy to fetch. And at the beach this weekend, he wouldn't even leave the beach towel. But he wanted regular deliveries of ocean water in his little plastic buckets so he could play with it.
He is talking up a storm these days. For the most part, other people understand what he says, but sometimes he needs Mommy to translate. For example, motorcycle is pronounced "mono bike el" :)
Nolan is getting to be a smart cookie. He can count almost to 20 (with one-to-one correspondence up to 10 on good day), knows the entire alphabet, and easily recognizes things in real life that he has only seen in books, and vice versa. On our ride in to work and school in the morning, I've been pointing out the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument, and now he points them out and says their names to me! Recently he built a tower of Legos and told me it was the Jefferson Memorial! It looked a little more like the Washington Monument to me, but I let it slide. He's only 2 after all :)
Last but not least, Nolan is such a happy kid. He's always smiling from ear to ear and he laughs so easily and often. He's pleasant to be around and always says please and thank you. In fact, when we went for his 2-year checkup, the doctor asked if she could use her stethoscope to listen to his heart. Nolan said "No thank you." The doctor laughed.

First trip to Build-A-Bear

2009-06-21T17:53:00.001-04:00

I took my first trip to Build-a-bear today, where I got to pick out and stuff a panda bear. I named him Panda Monkey. Here is a picture of me watching the stuffing go around in the machine and a picture of me putting a heart into the bear.

Earlier we celebrated Fathers Day with a metro ride into the city and a trip to a pub.

-- Post From My iPhone

Pool time

2009-06-13T18:19:00.001-04:00

I've been having fun at the pool playing fetch with Mom. See, it goes like this. I stand outside and throw my toys into the water and make her go in and get them. There's no way I'M going in there!

-- Post From My iPhone

Happy birthday!!

2009-06-05T15:12:00.001-04:00

It's mom here, guest blogging. Happy 2nd birthday, sweet boy! It doesn't seem possible, but this year has gone by even faster than the first. I wish I could just hold time still - this is such a wonderful, fun age. Your little boy voice, your sweet smile and dimples, the way you run and jump, and the pure joy and excitement that you exude all the time. But I have to let time tick forward, and I'm OK with that, too, because I can't wait to see what each new day will bring. Love you, buddy!

Here's a picture of the quilt Memere and I finished today. It is made with some of my favorite onesies you wore in your first year. That, and lots of love, of course!

-- Post From My iPhone

Bike ride... Nolan style

2009-06-01T19:10:00.001-04:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Chalk boats!

2009-05-25T19:10:00.001-04:00

All weekend we spent time drawing in the driveway with colored chalk. I would give the orders, and Mom, Dad, Nana, or Papi would draw what I told them to. Nine times out of ten, the order was to draw a "big boat!"

Here's a picture of me asking Mom to draw a boat. Like my new Elmo t-shirt?

-- Post From My iPhone

Memorial weekend

2009-05-25T19:06:00.001-04:00

We had a great weekend! I was only inside for naps, the rest of the time we were running around outside.

On Saturday, Mom and I found
a cool new county park with a playground; a nature center with live turtles, toads, and snakes to look at and other fun stuff; and an enclosed nature trail so I could explore a little on my own. Very cool!

We celebrated Mom's birthday on Sunday with Nana and Papi, and Mom's Aunt Bonnie and cousin Lynn. Lynn just got back from Israel and Egypt and brought me back a t-shirt with my name in hieroglyphics!

Monday, we planted our herb and vegetable garden!

-- Post From My iPhone

Ice cream truck!

2009-05-19T19:30:00.000-04:00

Mom and I were out mowing the sidewalk again with my bubble mower when the ice cream truck showed up for the first time of the season!

I got a yummy neopolitan ice cream sandwich. Yum!

-- Post From My iPhone

Haircut #4 - after

2009-05-16T18:06:00.001-04:00

Here's a quick pic of the new "do." Right after I stopped crying and was actually pretty proud of myself for being such a big

boy. But I started up again when we realized we had accidentally walked out with a toy from Cartoon Cuts. Dad had to take back the choo-choo and I wasn't so happy.

Now we are out to dinner!
-- Post From My iPhone

Haircut #4 - during

2009-05-16T17:39:00.001-04:00

Here's a picture of the haircut during. The stylist has been at Cartoon Cuts for 12 years and he was fantastic. And patient!

-- Post From My iPhone

Haircut #4 - before

2009-05-16T17:21:00.001-04:00

We are at Cartoon Cuts right now, waiting to get my hair cut. Here's a before pic. We're liveblogging this thing so we'll let you know shortly how it went! Wish us all luck.

-- Post From My iPhone

Summer job

2009-05-13T18:15:00.001-04:00

Mom and Dad has informed me it is time I get a job. So I've decided to take on the

all-important task of mowing the neighborhood sidewalks with my bubble mower.

-- Post From My iPhone

Mall trip part 2

2009-05-09T16:54:00.001-04:00

The second secret to a fun toddler trip to the mall? Seeing the "big fish" at LLBean!

-- Post From My iPhone

Mall trip

2009-05-09T16:45:00.001-04:00

The secret to a successful toddler mall trip? Starbucks! (banana chocolate vivano) The only problem - he won't share!

-- Post From My iPhone

Moo-mie!

2009-05-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

Mom took me in her car to get a "moo-mie" tonight. Yum!

-- Post From My iPhone

Mom guest blogs: Ham

2009-05-01T20:29:00.000-04:00

Nolan's favorite bedtime book these days is "Green Eggs and Ham." Its so cute, he crawls up on your lap and just says "HAM!" in that cute little boy voice. It's just too cute.

Tonight he dropped the book and said, "Uh oh, ham!"

-- Post From My iPhone

Mom guest-blogs: "rain, rain"

2009-04-29T20:27:00.000-04:00

Nolan was such a cutie in the car tonight. I was talking about how it was raining outside. He replied by singing "Rain, rain, go away, come again another day." So cute! I didn't even know he knew that song!

Later tonight, he brought the book "Ducks in Muck" over to me. He pointed to the first word in the title and said, "d" ... "duck" and then pointed to the last word and said "muck." My boy can read!! :)

-- Post From My iPhone

Guess who

2009-04-27T18:59:00.001-04:00

Guess who can count to 10 and say the alphabet?

Me! Here's a cute pic of me at the zoo this weekend.

-- Post From My iPhone

Two other "ish" pics

2009-04-19T10:24:00.001-04:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Checking out the "ish"

2009-04-19T10:22:00.001-04:00

We went to the garden center this morning to pick up some plants for around the house and I had fun checking out the fish in the ponds.

-- Post From My iPhone

First ice cream cone

2009-04-18T17:51:00.001-04:00

We are down at the waterfront in Old Town and Nana bought me my first ice cream cone. As you can tell I love it!

-- Post From My iPhone

After Easter "egg" decorating

2009-04-15T19:27:00.000-04:00

I got a cool Disney "Cars" egg decorating kit, complete with stickers to put on the eggs after they are dyed. Well we dyed the eggs on Easter but never got around to putting the stickers on them.

So I put them all over myself tonight!

-- Post From My iPhone

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T16:18:00.001-04:00

-- Post From My iPhone

I don't like limes

2009-04-10T18:37:00.001-04:00

Well, maybe a little

-- Post From My iPhone

Dinner at Austin grill tonight

2009-04-10T18:28:00.000-04:00

Having a great time with mom and dad at Austin...and I just discovered a love of salsa.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Alphabet song

2009-04-09T18:51:00.001-04:00

Nolan is obsessed with the alphabet these days. Here's a cute pic I snapped while making dinner tonight. He was playing with his alphabet magnets, loading a few of them into his new dump truck, all the while singing the alphabet song.

Too cute! Sorry I couldn't get a better shot. He was hard at work!

-- Post From My iPhone

Blogging on the run

2009-04-07T21:30:00.001-04:00

We will definitely be blogging a lot more, because Mom just downloaded a cool app for her iPhone that will allow her to update the blog on the run!

We will be able to post camera phone pictures like the one you see below. We were at Ikea and I was pushing around a handcart like I worked there. He hee!

-- Post From My iPhone

A few updates

2009-04-07T21:15:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been a busy month here! I'm talking a LOT more, and I have a huge list of words. Here are a few of my favorites: "digging" (whenever I see a construction site), "no, MINE" (needs no explanation, does it?), "yellow," "Jeep," and "truck." And speaking of trucks, I can read almost the entire "Ducks in Muck" book now. I'm also working on the alphabet and singing the alphabet song.

So far, I can identify and say the following letters: A, B, D, E, I, M, N, O, and Q. Still working on the rest :)

I promise I'll be more frequent with my blog posts!

Aquarium pictures

2009-03-03T21:05:00.003-05:00

So it turns out we didn't get great pictures from the aquarium. It was so dark in there and we didn't want to use the flash. Plus, we had the prime lens with us, which doesn't have autofocus. But here are just a few to show you how much fun I had!

In other news, we got lots of snow here on Monday so Mom and I stayed home (daycare was closed). We finger painted (except, instead of fingers I used the wheels of my car to make a cool picture. I hate getting my fingers dirty!), read books, and hung out. I wasn't very interested in playing in the snow, though. It was cold out!

Quick updates

2009-02-24T20:39:00.002-05:00

Things sure have been busy around here recently. Mom and Dad have both been traveling a lot for work, which meant that I got to have fun with Nana and my Memere!

We went to the Baltimore Aquarium this past weekend, and I had a blast! I loved looking at all of the cool fish, and all of the boats in the harbor, too. We'll post pictures as soon as possible.

Also, I've got lots of new words: man, boat, bike, up, dig, buddy (as in, Mom calls me her Buddy), and thank you. Oh, and here's a funny story: I love making the elephant sound by blowing air quickly out of my lips (almost like a raspberry). I sometimes get a little carried away with it and blow so hard my face gets red. Well, the other night I blew so hard I knocked myself backward onto my bum! Mom and Dad were cracking up and wished they had gotten that on video.

New words

2009-01-31T20:29:00.002-05:00

Mom had to go to NYC for a few days this past week and she couldn't believe what she came home to. I look as if I've grown an inch, and I have a bunch of new words. Here they are: mine, more, night night, bye-bye, and man.

As for animal sounds, I also know the sound that owls make!

New words and sounds

2009-01-21T08:56:00.003-05:00

Well, we just had a fun four-day weekend for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and the Inauguration! I spent most of the time at home, though, because it was really cold and we didn't want to get stuck in inauguration traffic. On Sunday, Nana and Papi came down to watch me while Mom and Dad went to the inaugural concert on the mall, and on Monday I got to go to open play at My Gym, which was really fun. I've never been there before! On Tuesday we stayed home and watched the festivities on teevee. We took lots of pictures and Mom and Dad will upload them soon!

I have a couple of new words and sounds. First, I say "egg" now. Scrambled eggs are one of my favorite things to eat, so it's only fitting I know how to say egg! Another new word is "bee" as in bumble bee. We have a bumble bee hanging from the ceiling in my room at daycare and my teacher taught me how to say "bee." I am also saying "beep beep" now when I drive my little cars and trucks around the house. I also can make the sounds elephants and lions make. My new favorite song now is "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." This weekend, I climbed into a laundry basket and pretended I was rowing a boat.

Finally, I know who President Obama is. When Mom or Dad ask who the president is, I find his picture on one of the magazines laying around the house (he's on the cover of practically all of them!) or, on inauguration day, I pointed to him on the teevee. I can say his name, too!

Guess where Mom and Dad are going on Sunday!?

2009-01-16T16:07:00.001-05:00

Dad just scored 2 VIP tix to the concert at the Lincoln Memorial this Sunday. Too bad it's past my bedtime ...

We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration2:30 p.m. - The Lincoln Memorial

President-elect Barack Obama with the help of an all-star line-up of talent will kick off the inaugural celebration in Washington, D.C., with a free and open event at the Lincoln Memorial, between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW on 23rd Street.

Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder.

Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation. Rob Mathes will be the music director and arranger for the backing band, which will support all of the artists. Additional performers will be announced as they are confirmed. The Reflecting Pool area, JFK Hockey Fields and Constitution Gardens are open to the public and space will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 8:00 a.m.

My tricycle!

2009-01-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here are just some pictures of me riding my new tricycle around the kitchen! Can't wait until it warms up outside so I can take to the open roads ... er, sidewalks.

Crab dip and football!

2009-01-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

The only time I get to watch any TV is when Dad watches football on the weekends. Over the holidays, football was made even better with Nana's crab dip. This was my first taste of crab dip and once I had a bite I could not get enough. I even cried when someone tried to take it away.

Here are some pictures - oh, and check out my cool John Deere shirt! I love tractors almost as much as I love crab dip!

Christmas #2

2009-01-14T09:00:00.003-05:00

After New Years, I got to celebrate Christmas all over again with Nana and Papi. It was so much fun, I got all kinds of cute clothes, books, a wooden train set, and a tricycle! Here are some pictures!

Mom got to play around with the new prime lens for her camera, too! She said something about how it has a great depth of field.

We just bought this book

2009-01-13T21:43:00.000-05:00

Yup ... we picked up this book over the weekend. Sigh ...

Air and Space - cont.

2009-01-13T21:19:00.002-05:00

Here are a few other pictures from our trip to the Air and Space Museum.

Air and Space Museum

2009-01-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

Over the holidays Mom, Dad and I took a trip to the Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center out by Dulles Airport. I had such a good time looking at all of the airplanes and even the big space shuttle they have in the hangar. I also brought my friend Thomas along for the trip!

Here are some pics - enjoy!

Update on the daycare transition

2009-01-12T21:44:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a great day on Friday at daycare. I spent the entire day in the Busy Bees room, took a good nap, and had fun with my new friends. Monday was a little like starting over from scratch, though. I cried a little when Mom dropped me off. But I was soon playing with a puzzle and playing with the train table. I really like being in the big kid room!

I'll keep you posted on how things go the rest of the week!

The Little Gym

2009-01-12T21:37:00.002-05:00

This weekend we went to an open house at the Little Gym down the street from our house. I LOVED it. We went to a class back when I was just starting to walk and I wasn't quite ready for it yet. But now, it is perfect for me. I got so excited and was running all over the place, climbing on the wedge mats they called "cheese mats," jumping, and even trying the balance beam. I had a HUGE smile on my face the whole time! I loved when we played with bubbles and sang songs, too. At 19 months old, I'm just old enough for the Beasts class, which goes up to 2.5 years old.

I'm so excited, we start later this month and will go for 20 weeks! Mom and Dad are going to take turns going with me, so Mom can go to her exercise class at the gym. Mom says she's hoping that I can burn off some steam on Saturday mornings so I won't want to climb so much on the furniture at home. Good luck with that, Mom!

Day Two of the Transition

2009-01-06T15:46:00.002-05:00

Well, I started in the Busy Bees classroom yesterday. I was only there for an hour, during circle time, and it was a little rough. All of those new faces! But my new teacher helped me work on a puzzle and pretty soon I felt more at home. Today, I was there for two hours. Still a little crying, but I'm doing better. Both days, Mom said she checked on me during my nap time and I was snoozing peacefully in the cot. (I'm still napping in my old room, until Thursday.)

Here's the schedule for the next few days: Tomorrow I will be there from around 9:30 - 12:30, and I'll even eat lunch in the Busy Bees room. Then on Thursday, I'll be there almost all day, until 3 pm. So I'll be eating and napping in my new room. Friday is my first full day there.

I'm nervous but really looking forward to meeting some new friends! And I'll get to do lots of big kid stuff during the day, like read books and do crafts. Today we painted snowflakes with glitter! We will also get to go out to the playground on site twice a day, weather permitting. And I'll probably start talking up a storm pretty quickly, too - those kids over there are chatterboxes!

I'll keep you posted on my progress. I also need to post some pictures of Christmas part deux with Nana and Papi. I got a tricycle, among other cool things! I also turned 19 months old yesterday, hard to believe!

Fun at the Building Museum

2008-12-30T21:19:00.003-05:00

The National Children's Museum hasn't opened in it's new location yet (at National Harbor, across the water from Old Town), so we don't have anything like that nearby. But there is a great playroom at the National Building Museum, which is actually right across the street from Mom's work. We went there with Memere and Grandpa the day after Christmas to play. The room is full of trucks and tractors, big legos, railroad engineer and fireman costumes for the bigger kids, and tons more. It's all building-themed. There's also a small model house, too! Here are some pictures.

Tooth #11

2008-12-30T21:18:00.002-05:00

Well, tooth #11 popped in today, just in time to ring in the new year. It's on the bottom left, and it's one of the canines. Ouch!

Christmas Gift for Mom and Dad

2008-12-30T21:15:00.002-05:00

Before leaving for the holidays, I made a Christmas gift for Mom and Dad at daycare. Here are some pictures of us unwrapping the gift. (It was after a bath, hence no shirt!)

More Christmas Pictures

2008-12-30T21:14:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-30T14:26:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a wonderful Christmas! The weather has been unseasonably warm around here, in the 50's or 60's each day, so I've been able to spend lots of time outside having fun. I even got to make it to the playground on Christmas Day!

Santa was really good to me! I got a train table and a cool Thomas the Train set, along with 12 different Thomas trains. I also got lots of great books, cool clothes, and other toys (mostly with wheels on them, ha ha!). And Grandpa made me a beautiful wooden toybox to put all of my great toys in!

I even have a new song, by the way. Whenever I see a sheep--in a book or in my farm set--I start singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep."

At least 10 body parts!

2008-12-17T09:30:00.002-05:00

I can identify at least 10 body parts now! If you ask me where my feet are, I will kick them if I'm sitting down or stomp them if I'm standing up. If you ask me where my knees, nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hair or head are, I will point to them. If you ask me where my belly button is, I will pull up my shirt and show you. If you ask me where my elbow is, I will bend my arm and point my elbow up to the sky, sort of like I'm doing the chicken dance!!

I'm getting good at this stuff. Mom says she's going to have to pull out the old anatomy textbook to stump me now!

Flashback: O Tannenbaum

2008-12-17T09:25:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from picking out our Christmas tree from a tree farm out in the country in Virginia, and then a picture of the final product!

Flashback: Thanksgiving

2008-12-17T09:23:00.003-05:00

Finally, here are some pictures from Thanksgiving. I had a lot of fun playing in the leaf pile with Aunt Carly!

Tooth #10

2008-12-16T11:52:00.004-05:00

Finally, I have a complete set of 4 middle teeth on the top and on the bottom! Tooth #10, the bottom-left second-to-the middle tooth, started popping in yesterday, after about a week of very inflamed and red gums.

I've also got another painful spot in my mouth. One of my premolars (see tooth #9 post earlier) has come in on both sides but there's still a strip of gums left where the rest of the tooth hasn't surfaced. Ouch!

New words

2008-12-16T11:41:00.002-05:00

I have some new words lately! I have these cool touch and feel flash cards with pictures of different animals, vehicles, etc on them and this is how I learned how to identify (and bark like) a dog, tractor, and fire truck. Well, this past weekend Mom was so surprised when I picked up the fish flash card and said "ish" and the card with the smiling baby on it and said something that sounded like "ayby."

In other news, I am now preparing for my big transition in January to the Busy Bees room at daycare. Today I am going over to my new classroom for circle time and I'm going to take my nap on a cot. I napped on the cot yesterday and did a great job, so hopefully today will be the same. Mom thought the cots were pretty hard (they're only about an inch off of the ground and they're made of tightly-woven plastic, similar to yard furniture but without the "give"), so she's shopping around for a way-cool nap mat to put over top of the cot to make it more comfy. Check out this one with cars all over it, and note the seller's name!

New words and tricks

2008-12-02T21:30:00.003-05:00

I've got lots of new words and tricks these days. When I see a firetruck or school bus, I start singing the song from my push firetruck toy or the "Wheels on the Bus" song (although you can't exactly make out the words). I also know what cows say ("moo") and, on a good day, what chickens say ("cluck," although this sounds more like I'm clicking my tongue). I also know what sounds cars make ("vroom")! I'm also saying "Hi!" My word for book is "DA!" (not sure where I got that from)

I can also find the mouse in the Goodnight Moon book, though I need a little help sometimes on two of the pages where the mouse does a really good job hiding. I can also point to the red balloon, the cow, moon, and kitty cats.

I just got a new Christmas book this weekend, The Bear Stays Awake for Christmas, which is a follow-up to The Bear Snores On, one of my favorite books. Anyhow, I recognized the bear on the cover from the The Bear Snores On immediately and demonstrated my fake sneeze to prove it to Mom and Dad. See, if you're not familiar with the first book in the series, there's a really great scene where the mouse is seasoning the stew and a pepper fleck makes the bear sneeze and wake up from his long slumber. I can't wait until we get to this page every time I read this book, and I love to sneeze along with the bear.

Tooth #9

2008-12-02T20:41:00.002-05:00

Guess what Mom found today?! Tooth #9! You'll never guess where it is. First, a recap of teething adventures to date:

Tooth #1 - 10 months 0ld - bottom front-right tooth
Tooth #2 - 10 months old - bottom front-left tooth
Tooth #3 - 11.5 months old - top second-to-the-left center tooth (not one of the top two middle teeth, as is most common)
Tooth #4 - just shy of one year - top second-to-the right center tooth (now I had a huge gap where the two middle top teeth should be!)
Tooth #5 - 13 months - top left-center tooth
Tooth #6 - 13 months - bottom second-to-the left center tooth (now I have a row of 3 on the bottom)
Tooth #7 - 14 months - top right-center tooth (FINALLY all four on the top!)
Tooth #8 - 17 months - a random tooth in my top-left jaw, halfway between my front 4 teeth and where my molars will be
Tooth #9 - 18 months - the matching tooth in my top-right jaw, halfway between my front teeth and where my molars will be

So I've got a total of seven teeth in the front and these two odd teeth on each side of my top jaw. Still waiting for that fourth tooth at the front on my bottom jaw!

But yes, tooth #9 explains why I had trouble sleeping last night ...

Turkey Day and Meeting the Real Santa

2008-11-30T21:58:00.004-05:00

Just thought I'd pop in to wish my dear readers a Happy (belated) Thanksgiving. We had a great week. Mom, Dad and I only went to work on Monday and then we took the rest of the week off. We went to visit Nana and Papi for Thanksgiving and also got to see Aunt Carly and Mom's Aunt Judi. We'll be sure to post pictures once Mom and Dad get their act together and upload them. Yesterday we had great weather so we got to spend lots of time outside, helping Dad decorate the house for Christmas and taking a walk down to the playground to run around. Mom says I scare her on the playground - I like to be such a daredevil and walk all the way up the big kids slide!

Then today, after a nice nap we went to the mall to take our picture with Santa. I say "our" picture because there was no way I was going to let Mom put me on the lap of that big man in red with the scary beard by myself! It was funny because Mom and Dad weren't prepared to get their pictures taken. (I'll post that pic soon, as well.) After all was said and done, though, I was excited to meet the Real Santa and even smiled and waved at him as we left.

I say Real Santa because who else would get paid $175 an hour to work in the mall!? You have to check out this story. (Oh, and read the first comment below the article - who knew Michigan was the only state to have a real Santa school?) Real Santa made national (and international) news because the mall hired a new photography company that came with its own "santa" impersonator and Real Santa sued to keep his job. Which he did, after thousands of people wrote letters and e-mails to the mall management. So yes, I got to meet the Real Santa today, after all!

Budding Picasso

2008-11-23T21:42:00.003-05:00

Here are just a few shots of me creating my latest masterpiece (note the cute crayon PJs, too?) at my easel downstairs. This weekend, I also had fun taking stickers and sticking them all over a piece of paper with my crayon artwork on it.

Flashback: One Year

2008-11-23T21:36:00.002-05:00

It's been almost 6 months since we took these pictures, but we just got around to uploading them this weekend. There are tons more, but here's just a quick sample.

Flashback: Halloween at home

2008-11-23T21:27:00.002-05:00

After the Halloween parade at daycare, we went home and I helped Mom and Dad carve a pumpkin and hand out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters at our house. I was too young to trick or treat this year - I didn't need any candy (neither did Mom!) and we weren't sure if it would be too scary for me. Maybe next year! I had fun waiting at the door for all of the kids and waving "bye" to them when they left.

Flashback: Halloween at daycare

2008-11-23T21:23:00.003-05:00

On Halloween day, I got to dress up in my monkey costume and parade around Mom's building at work.

Flashback: Sea Witch Festival

2008-11-23T21:17:00.002-05:00

The weekend before Halloween, Mom, Dad and I visited Nana and Papi in Delaware, and went to the Sea Witch Festival at Rehoboth Beach. It was only me second time at the beach ever! I loved putting my hands in the sand and throwing little pebbles or shells. We spent lots of time enjoying the gorgeous weather, walking around the boardwalk, listening to the bluegrass/fiddle competition, and watching the doggie costume parade. It was so much fun, I can't wait to go back next year.

Flashback: Pumpkin Picking

2008-11-23T21:10:00.003-05:00

I don't know how I'm ever going to get a decent blog going if Mom and Dad are slow uploading pictures! Oh well ...

So here are some fun picks from our morning pumpkin picking last month. We went to the same cool pumpkin patch that we went to last year. It's a cool place, they have lots of places for kids to climb and play, and tons of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Gourds are extra yummy :)

Dear Santa

2008-11-22T11:15:00.003-05:00

Dear Santa,

I've been getting a lot of requests to publish my letter to you on my blog again, so here goes!

I think I've been a very good boy this year again. Since last Christmas, I learned to crawl and then to walk and run. I had my first birthday, too! I started daycare and have been having lots of fun there, reading books and singing songs with my teachers, making art projects, and even going on field trips to the zoo and on a nature hunt with Mom and my teachers. I had my first (and second and third) haircuts, and took my first plane ride to visit Memere and Grandpa for the fourth of July. I'm learning to talk and understanding everything. I LOVE reading books (I could do this all day long) and I love to dance to music that Mom and Dad play. I took my second trip to the Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth (third, if you count the year where Mom was pregnant with me!), where I also got to hang out with Nana and Papi at their house. It's been quite a year!

I already have so many great toys and books at home already, but I guess I'm getting older (I'm on my way to 2 years old!!) and I'll need some big boy toys and books, too.

To make it easier for you and your elves, I created a wish list at Amazon.com here (if the link doesn't work you can go to the Amazon web site and search for my wish list using my name). Santa, I know you're a bargain hunter because you have so many kids to shop for, so you might want to comparison shop outside of Amazon for some of these things. I've seen some of the toys on my list cheaper at Toys R Us, and there are often TRU coupons and sales in the Sunday paper!

This Melissa & Doug toy tool set is so cool, too. (Baby Center is having a great sale and free shipping right now, I think)

Oh, and this touch and feel puzzle combines two of my favorite things: wooden chunky animal puzzles and touch and feel books.

These soy crayon rocks are sure to bring out my inner Picasso. Too bad they're out of stock right now, maybe they'll get some back in soon!

And I love this cool Zutano guitar shirt.

Love,
Nolan

Mom Guest Blogs: Cute Nolan Story

2008-11-22T10:38:00.002-05:00

So I got a call yesterday at my desk at work from daycare. One of Nolan's teachers wanted to share a cute story with me. They were in circle time, singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and all of a sudden Nolan got up from the circle and walked away. He came back a few moments later with a book in his hand - "The Wheels on the Bus" book. What a smarty-pants!

This is such a fun age with Nolan. We can see him learning new things every day. His spoken vocabulary is still relatively small but he understands EVERYTHING, even two-step directions like "Go get that book and bring it to Dada."

Back by popular demand ...

2008-11-13T21:50:00.002-05:00

I've been getting lots of requests for a Christmas list. I'm working on one on Amazon.com like last year but first want to make sure that everyone takes it easy this year. I don't need much - I just can't wait to celebrate the holidays with my family!

Nolan-Approved: Veggies I will eat!

2008-11-13T21:33:00.002-05:00

I'm not the biggest veggie fan, as anyone who has been to our house at mealtime can attest to. Mom and Dad try so hard but every veggie that makes it into my mouth quickly finds its way back out, usually pushed out by my tongue and accompanied by a crinkled-up nose and a "bleh" verbal protest. But Mom has recently had some success and thought we should share:

I really loved the "Lily Pad Pancakes" (which are chock-full of pureed peas) from the great book, "Toddler Cafe." There are so many great recipes in this book we can't wait to try them! Although we're a little nervous to try the "Minty Pea Pops," which, among other ingredients, includes peas, cream cheese, peppermint extract and chocolate chips, all frozen on a stick!

I've also loved many of the hidden-veggie recipes in "Deceptively Delicious," but especially the macaroni and cheese (with pureed white beans and cauliflower), grilled cheese (with pureed sweet potato or butternut squash), and sloppy joes (pureed sweet potato and butternut squash).

Another recent winning strategy has been soup! Mom will drain most of the tomato base from veggie soups like Amy's Organic Alphabet Vegetable Soup and I will scarf down the carrot, potato, green bean, and celery chunks in the soup. I guess it helps that everything is so soft and the flavor of the tomato soup base has soaked through!

And then there are the old standbys - Dr Praeger's spinach or broccoli pancakes, and Morningstar Farms spinach and artichoke bites. And I'm still a HUGE fan of artichoke pizza!

Nolan-Approved: Melissa & Doug Fishing Puzzle

2008-11-13T21:26:00.003-05:00

I received this Melissa & Doug puzzle for my birthday about 5 months ago but Mom and Dad just brought this magnetic fishing puzzle out for me this past weekend. I absolutely LOVE this puzzle. I concentrate really hard and hold the fishing rod above the fish until I hear the "click" of the magnet attaching to the metal brad on the fish. This is the best puzzle ever!

New things

2008-11-10T21:55:00.003-05:00

Since I last wrote, I'm doing lots of new things. I know what cows say ("moo!"), and have developed quite a cute fake laugh (a high-pitched squeal/giggle), especially when we read "Red Hat Blue Hat" by Sandra Boynton. I'm quite the voracious reader these days, I could spend all day having Mom and Dad read to me.

I also turned 17 months old the day after election day. And now that the election is over, everyone in D.C. is excited about the big transition. Not that transition, silly. My transition from the infant room to the big kids room at daycare! We're not sure when it will happen, but it usually happens at 18 months. I may not transition until after the holidays, though, with Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner.

Fall fun part deux!

2008-10-13T21:38:00.003-04:00

Here are some more pictures from our weekend trip to Cox Farms.

I got to meet some really cool goats - they made me laugh big time. I loved chasing them around and trying to give them hugs.