Adventures in Parenthood...

March/April 2010

2010-05-19T12:40:00.036-07:00

March and April were busy too! Story of our lives now, I guess :)

Some highlights: Nolan took swimming lessons again, Brad's baseball season started, we celebrated Easter with Brad's family, Nanny came to visit for a weekend, I took a week off from work and stayed home with the boys, we've tried (unsuccessfully) potty training a few times, and had about a million birthdays to celebrate!

April was a big month for Mr. AJ - he got off the nebulizer, had his 6 month check-up, and started crawling!! He and I missed out on a lot of stuff because we were afraid to take him anywhere for fear that he'd get sick again with RSV. At his check-up, he weighed 18 lb. 7 oz. and was 26" long. Whoa! And of course he was in the 92nd percentile for head circumference :) Compared to Nolan at this point, he's about a pound heavier and the exact same length. AJ is still on his medicine for acid reflux, and we're going to continue it until his 9 month check-up. He's such a happy baby and for the most part, sleeps pretty well at night. He is definitely a good eater!

Nolan has just been getting funnier and funnier! The things he says just crack us up. He has his moments of whining and crying and fit-throwing, but we're working through it. Here are some of the hilarious things he says:

When he sees two things that are the same color or shape, or two trucks, etc., he says, "Look - like the both same!"
One night after we got home from work/school, we were all in our bedroom and Brad was changing clothes. He didn't have a shirt on and he was holding Nolan. Nolan patted Brad's belly and said, "I like your fat belly, Daddy!" I thought I might pee my pants laughing!!!
Recently he has started telling people that AJ is "my AJ". Not his brother, his AJ....it's pretty cute :)
One of Nolan's most used phrases lately is "I want to do it with myself!" instead of 'by myself'. This tries my patience daily. I have to remind myself that not everything has to be done right now, and that I need to let him figure things out on his own sometimes.
We play baseball in the house. I know, probably not a great idea or a great practice to have started, but it's too late now! Anyway, Brad will pitch the ball underhand to him and he tries to hit it with the bat. Brad told him to keep his eye on the ball and Nolan said, "No, Daddy. I keep my bat on the ball." Not entirely wrong!
Instead of something falling down or over, it falls off. Like when AJ falls over, Nolan says, "AJ fell off the floor." Or if Nolan falls down when he's running, he says, "I fell off the floor!"
When I ask Nolan a question, for example, "Why did you bite today?", he usually responds with, "Why?" Like he's the one asking the question! Sometimes he does this when he doesn't know the answer or if he needs some time to process the question before he answers it. We've found that if we give him some time to answer, sometimes he will. But most of the time we ask those kind of questions, we either get the whole question repeated back to us or the popular 'why?' :)
Apparently Nolan has a thing with alligators. For some reason if he gets scared or hears a weird noise, he says, "There's alligators coming!" Recently though he's added monsters and dinosaurs to the mix.

We have a baby gate in Nolan's bedroom because his room is upstairs and we're downstairs. We've started leaving it open at night and he's done fine with it. He's come downstairs a couple of times - once before we were even in bed and another time at 4am to get in bed with us. He's never liked sleeping with us (which is okay with me!), so we're hoping that trend doesn't continue. We are crossing our fingers that AJ is as good a sleeper at night as Nolan always has been!

Here are some pictures and videos of the boys from the past couple of months - enjoy!

Laughing at Daddy being silly

This was back in early March - you can still see his birthmark over his left eyelid, but it's almost completely gone now (just like Dr. Mary said it would)!

I think we have two of the drooliest kids ever!

Look at those rolls!

Brad and I have no idea where this pink baby doll came from (Brad was a little more worried about it than I was - haha!). We thought maybe Grandma Cindy sent it home with Nolan from her house, but she didn't recognize it either. Hmmm, maybe Cambell or Mylee snuck it home with him ;)

This was about a week before he started crawling - he would get up on all fours like this, and then he would finally lay down and army crawl or roll to where he wanted to go. But once he started crawling, he got going really quick! The dog food bowls have been his favorite so far, of course.

AJ fell asleep at dinner one night - it was so funny because his head kept falling and wake him up!

And then there's Mr. Nolan who has started hiding from the camera. That's why I have a ton of pictures of AJ, but only a few of Nolan.

Mr. Serious.....it was raining that day, so he was watching it out the window from the living room.

Here's the pink baby doll again :)

I really think AJ looks so much like Nolan in this picture. Okay, he looks so much like Nolan most of the time, but especially in this picture!

3/16/10 - AJ talking

4/2/10 - the boys playing

4/19/10 - a week before he crawled for the first time

Bubble wrap!!!

AJ laughing

Review: October 2009 - February 2010

2010-03-16T13:20:00.036-07:00

So we've been busy. Just a little. And since I've only gotten Brad to make one post in the past 3 years, I'm the only one to blame! So here's a little slide show to review!

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Here are some highlights that were included, and some that I wasn't lucky enough to get a picture of or capture on video:

My mom got here the day after AJ was born and stayed for a week and a half. I was HAPPY beyond belief that she was here! My dad came for the last few days that she was here. It was really nice because they were able to be here for Nolan's birthday party this year. We were all really sad when they had to leave. :(

Nolan had his 2-year well child check-up on October 19. Dr. Mary also took a look at AJ while we were there. Luckily, I didn't have to try and take both of them by myself since Nanny went with us. Nolan weighed 25 lb. 7 oz. and was 32 1/2" long. AJ was up to 7 lb. 1 oz., and Dr. Mary was very impressed that he had gained so much weight from his birth weight! She was also impressed at how well Nolan is progressing. Of course he talks endlessly at home, but wouldn't say a whole lot when we got there. He talked in the car all the way there about seeing Dr. Mary, but then wouldn't talk to her at all!
Apparently all I wrote down from AJ's 2-week appointment was his weight: 8 lb., 0 oz. I feel really bad that so far I haven't kept as good of "records" for AJ like I had for Nolan. I do have baby books for both of them though, and a bag/box/specific place that I put keepsakes/notes to go in the baby books. I just don't know if or when the notes will ever actually get jotted down in said baby books. Sigh.

We got a little lenient with Nolan's binky when we came home with AJ. We had been doing so well at only giving it to him for naps and bedtime, but it just made things easier on all of us sometimes to just give in. We wondered if he would ever get rid of it. But then, on February 16, 2010, we took the binky away at bedtime as a punishment for biting. He did fine! So we decided it was cold turkey from there on out. And it WORKED! We thought it was going to be such a process, but nope, we have been free from the binky for a whole month now!! I won't lie, there are definitely times when I wish I could just stick one in Nolan's mouth when he's throwing a fit or screaming/crying about something, but I know it's for the best. It's teaching me patience.....sigh.

The first two months after AJ joined our family were......a little rough. He got a little bit of a cold when he was 3 weeks old and wouldn't sleep for more than 2 hours at a time, and had to be propped up for him to sleep that much. We were not ready for this....AT ALL! Nolan was such a laid back, easy-going baby that we got spoiled. We just thought this was how it was going to be. So we struggled through it and didn't figure out until his 2-month old doctor appointment that he has acid reflux. (Quick stats at 2 months: 12 lb, 14 oz. - 75th percentile; 21 3/4" - 20th percentile; 41 cm head circumference - 75th percentile) I was kicking myself for not taking him to the doctor sooner just to have him checked out. I guess with the next one, I'll know (not that I'm saying there will be a next one!). So we started him on Zantac twice a day and, even though he hated the medicine at first (it tastes like mint), he got used to it and slept so much better. We finally had a happy little baby! He was like a different kid :) On one of his RSV follow-up visits we switched to Prevacid (yes, the over-the-counter stuff, except it's really EXPENSIVE when you have to buy it for infants!) and it comes in a pill form that can be dissolved in his bottle. Much easier to give him :)

We stay in Colorado for Thanksgiving every year and it was pretty low key. We went to Cindy's on Thanksgiving - after the annual flag football game, of course! - and then to Morey's over the weekend. It was nice to just relax and eat way too much. Also nice to have Brad home for an extra day!

Every year for Christmas, we go to Pinehurst Country Club with Morey & Sharon. They have a great family room where Santa and Mrs. Claus visit and sing with the kids. They have face painting, a balloon maker, and a train ride outside. Oh, and the food!!! It's a huge buffet that is awesome. Again, we totally stuffed ourselves. Of course, my camera went dead right after we got there, so no cute pictures of everyone dressed up. :(

We celebrate Christmas early with Cindy & Kenny since we spend the actual holiday in Indiana with my family. We always have a blast, but this year was so much fun because Nolan was totally into it. THANK YOU Grandma Cindy for getting him a drum set! Every time he plays it early in the morning, we think about calling her so she can hear just how much we love it!!! ;) ;) She had a little rock band of her own with all the grandkids - drums, guitars, microphones, you name it! Too cute.

Nolan, AJ, and I left on December 12 for Indiana. Since I was on maternity leave, we stayed there for 2 weeks, and Brad came out for the last week. I was more than nervous about flying with both of them by myself for the first time. Freaked out is more like it. Frontier let Brad come back to the gate with me before we left, which was a huge lifesaver. Nolan didn't even throw a fit when we got on the plane and Brad didn't. This was his first time flying with his own seat - we took his car seat with us. Both the boys were complete angels. I couldn't have asked for a better flight. God must have known that I couldn't handle it by myself if they were out of control!! Like always though, I was ecstatic to see my parents at the airport when we got there. A weight was literally lifted off of me - I was holding AJ in the carrier on front of me and Nanny grabbed him up right away!

We had a blast in Indiana. We are so lucky that both the boys adjust to the time change pretty well for naps and bedtime. We got to spend a lot of time with my family, got together with my friends Sarabeth and Suz from college (and their cute kids!!), had the Buell family Christmas (complete with pictures of everyone - which I have to say was my idea!), and had the 2nd Annual Booe Cousins Get Together. And I just have to add that we had a mean game of SPOONS going at the Booe get together.....and I was the winner!! Katrina, maybe next year.....bahahaha!

We agreed a long time ago, before we even had kids, that we would spend Christmas in Indiana every year. Now that we have kids, a lot of people ask us what we'll tell them about Santa Claus. We tell them that Santa knows they're at Nanny & Papa's on Christmas, but that he knows when we get back home too and makes a special stop at our house that night. They'll never know anything different, so I think it will work out just fine. Just like this past Christmas - "Santa" was up pretty late putting together Nolan's work bench and wrapping both his and AJ's presents after flying home from Indiana ;)

Oh, January.....what a long month! Pretty uneventful until the day before I was supposed to go back to work after being home for 3 1/2 months. Of course, isn't that it always works? AJ got bronchiolitis/RSV and we made our first visit to the ER. Poor little guy was so good about the whole thing. Even though his oxygen levels were lower than they should be, he was still just as happy as could be. Dr. Mary sent us straight over to the ER after checking his oxygen. I am a pretty emotional person, but I found out that when I really need to pull it together, I can. Brad was at work and I had AJ at the ER by myself. He was hooked up to oxygen for awhile and things were kind of rough, but I didn't cry or fall apart once! Until Brad got there, then I finally let it out, but just for a second. I knew he would be okay and that it could have been a LOT worse. It was just really scary since it was his breathing that was questionable. There were hundreds of RSV cases this winter, and it's hardest on the little bitty guys. We were sent home with oxygen. Let me tell you, that was an experience! AJ was back in our room so we could hear him at night and we said goodbye to sleeping through the night for awhile :) His oxygen levels came back up enough to quit the home-oxygen after a week. We were more than relieved!

I ended up going back to work 3 days late, so not a big deal. I jumped right into busy season, which was good and bad. Good because at least I wasn't just sitting there with nothing to do, but bad because I was thrown back into being so busy that I needed to take work home for the first couple of weeks. It was kind of nice to get back into the social aspect of work though ;)

Just when we thought AJ was all better and over his sickness, he started with the coughing and wheezing again. It was almost a month after the first round of RSV. So we went back to see Dr. Mary and it was like a repeat performance. Back to the ER, this time twice, and back with the home-oxygen. But this time we were like old pros!! Same thing, oxygen for another week, just to be safe. I think with all the ER and follow-up doctor visits we ended up paying around $500 in co-pays. And the actual medical bills have just started to roll in. Good thing for health insurance! With the second round of RSV, we started doing albuterol nebulizer treatments - the same steroid used in inhalers. We are still doing the neb treatments every night, now it's just a different steroid, and they seem to be helping quite a bit. There was no wheezing at his follow-up/well-child visit last week - woo hoo!!

Last weekend was really the first time we took AJ anywhere other than daycare. He and I missed out on a lot of events, but it was worth it for him not to get sick again. I keep telling Brad it's all his fault that AJ is wheezing because he has mild asthma and it's genetic. haha

Nanny and Papa came to visit at the end of February, which ended up being perfect timing since AJ was sick and had to stay home. It was good that neither of us had to take days off from work, plus the fact that I felt really comfortable leaving sick little AJ home with Nurse Polly to give him his neb treatments.

So there's our "quick" recap of events for 4 months!! If you're still with me at this point, sorry it was so long and drawn out! I know I left out a lot of things because I can't remember all the details - how will I ever remember anything to tell Nolan and AJ when they're all grown up??????

Here are a couple of cute videos though: the first one is Nolan playing cars (I think he's inherited his Mommy's OCD) and the second one is Nolan playing "soccer ball" with Papa. Papa kept telling him that he need to take a time out from the game.... :)

Happy Halloween!

2010-03-16T12:54:00.009-07:00

Last year, we "accidentally" started a Halloween tradition with our neighbors, The Bell's. After doing a little trick-or-treating of our own with them, we gave out all the candy at their house. We decided to do the same thing this year, except Renee, AJ, and I stayed back and gave out candy while Phil and Brad took Delaney, Nolan, and Kennedy door to door for a couple of blocks. We had so much fun! Next year, it's at our house!

Nolan was a horse (a yard sale special - only $4!) and I don't think he was too crazy about it. I figured this was the last year I could get away with picking his costume out for him, so next year will be so much more fun for him I'm sure! It was pretty chilly this year, so I think he figured out that his ears would stay warm if he kept his hood up. But as soon as they walked in the door, he wanted the whole thing off! :)

Nolan, and Delaney as Dorothy

AJ's first Halloween - pretty uneventful! His shirt says 'Boo!' which, in my family, is pretty cute ;)

Nolan was happy to dig into the chocolate and candy as soon as he got his costume off. I'm not gonna lie, so were his parents!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Nolan!

2010-03-16T12:37:00.010-07:00

Our little man turned 2 on October 18, 2009....it flew by so fast! I'm just glad that he and his brother have separate birthdays. I was extremely worried about that before AJ got here. That, and the fact that I didn't want AJ to have to share a birthday with me either!!

Since AJ was due on Nolan's birthday, we weren't sure when to plan the party. It ended up being about a week after Nolan's actual birthday, so everything worked out. I'm not sure what I was thinking though, inviting 40 people (yes, that is not a typo) over to my house 10 days after giving birth! I wouldn't have been able to do it without Brad, and my parents who were visiting to help out with AJ. I was exhausted afterward, but I definitely wanted to make sure Nolan had 'his' day :)

We went with a Hot Wheels theme, and I even made the cake myself. I was so proud of myself! Nolan loved the cars on the top.

We are so blessed and lucky to have such great family and friends that love Nolan so much! He definitely had a wonderful 2nd birthday!

Here he is with one of his many Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars. He actually squealed when he opened a couple of them....it was hysterical!

Another typical boy birthday gift that has gotten lots of miles around our house - the dumptruck!

Nolan is not a shy kid, but when he looked up and saw that many people staring at him, he got a little bashful :)

This has to be one of the best pictures. We have so many friends with kids, we just had to try and get them all in one picture. We are only missing two boys that got a little camera shy, so I think we did a pretty good job!

Left to Right: Mylee holding Jacob (or Jackson), Max holding AJ, Cambell holding Rylann, Kennedy, Grayson holding Jackson (or Jacob), Evan, Delaney "holding" Nolan

We had a lot of fun and Nolan got a ton of cool stuff for his birthday. What a sweet, loving, funny, outgoing little man we have....can't wait to see what his 3rd birthday is like!!

Nolan & AJ pictures

2009-11-10T11:39:00.004-07:00

Here are Nolan's 2 year old pictures, with a few of AJ too :)
Thanks to Jessica Maliszewski for taking such great pictures of the boys!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-29T19:10:00.009-07:00

Last Sunday Brad and I took Nolan to the pumpkin patch. AJ decided to stay home with Nanny :)

Nolan had so much fun this year - he got to go for a pony ride and run around in circles for a little bit. He's grown so much since last year at this time!!

He's Here!

2009-10-29T18:47:00.014-07:00

I'm a little late with this post, and most of you already know about our new addition, but just to make it official:

Andrew James Engle arrived on October 13, 2009 at 3:21 am. He weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19 inches long. Here is a picture right after he was born and then one when he was 3 days old. What a difference!!

AJ is a really good eater and most nights, not a bad sleeper. When we left the hospital, he had dropped in weight to 6 lbs. 3 oz. By the following Monday (6 days old), he was back up to 7 lbs. 1 oz. We went back to the pediatrician on Tuesday (2 weeks old) and he was already up to 8 lbs.!! I tried nursing and he seemed to be doing great while we were at the hospital, but once we got home it was like he completely forgot what he was doing. So I'm pumping now like I did with Nolan so he at least gets the breast milk. It's a little more difficult since Nolan doesn't completely understand what's going on, and that he always chooses the time when I'm pumping to do something he's not supposed to. But I feel good that AJ is getting breast milk instead of formula for now, at least while I'm not working.

AJ does NOT like to be swaddled. This is so different from Nolan because he absolutely loved it and would go right to sleep once he was wrapped up good and tight. AJ just wants to be toasty warm with a couple of blankets and he's good to go. He goes back to sleep relatively easy, so that's nice for me when I'm up with him in the middle of the night :)

He also hasn't seemed quite as attached to the binky like Nolan was already at this point. Maybe that's a good thing???

AJ's hospital pictures look pretty close to Nolan's, but I think he's got a little more Booe boy in him than Nolan does. Maybe I won't have two little mini-Brad's running around after all!!

Here is the link to AJ's newborn pictures from the hospital:

http://www.our365.com/newbornportraits/babydetail.aspx?BirthId=31e4ca9b-b154-4251-aaec-48f1e074c5af

We are just thrilled with our new little man and can't wait to see more of his personality. So far he is definitely very mellow, which Mommy appreciates every day ;)

Quick Pics

2009-10-09T13:58:00.009-07:00

We're still hanging in there and anxiously waiting on Bobby to make his arrival. :) I'm still feeling pretty good, considering I'm super uncomfortable. I got spoiled when Nolan was 2 weeks early....now I know what people mean when they say the last 2 weeks are no fun!

This is me at almost 37 weeks. This was taken the day before the ECV.

This is me at almost 39 weeks (taken yesterday). Most of my shirts don't fit my big belly now, so I'm sure all of my co-workers are sick of seeing me wear the same stuff week after week!

Of course I can't post without a couple of pictures of our big boy!!

Nolan and Brinkley....Nuke would NEVER let Nolan do this!

Crashed out on his couch after watching Elmo. For what seems like (to Mommy & Daddy, at least) the 8 millionth time!

Success!

2009-09-30T06:45:00.003-07:00

The ECV was successful! No more Breech Bobby!

Saturday was kind of a long and exhausting day, but it was totally worth it. We got to the hospital around 8am, and we both mentioned that it felt like we were going there to have a baby. That must be what it feels like when you have a scheduled C section - kind of nerve wracking!!

We got all settled into our room and the nurse came in and asked all the same questions they asked me when I went to the hospital to have Nolan. Then we waited for awhile, but not to fear, we were able to catch some college football in the meantime. :) One of the residents that would be helping Dr. McCrann with the procedure came in and did an ultrasound to make sure Bobby was still breech, and exactly what position he was in. That little sucker had moved his back from one side of my belly to the other in just a day!! Maybe he'll be a gymnast??? During this waiting period, they were monitoring Bobby's heartbeat and my contractions.

Then came the IV fiasco. I do admit to having very small veins, but come on! It took two nurses and finally an anesthesiologist FIVE tries to get my IV in. FIVE!! I am still bruised all over my hands from that. But at least it was a little distraction. Once we were set with the IV, they gave me a drug that would relax my uterus so I wouldn't have contractions while they were trying to turn the baby. Dr. McCrann said it would make me feel like I had six cups of coffee. It started working right away, and it was definitely weird! You know how sometimes you get so cold that you start shivering and your teeth chatter? That's exactly how it made me feel, except I wasn't cold at all. Very weird.

Around 9:30, Dr. McCrann came in with the resident and a medical student (St. Joe's is a teaching hospital, so a lot of times there are students there to observe - which I'm totally fine with) to get started. Then it hit me. I just felt really overwhelmed and scared and emotional, so of course I started crying. They couldn't start until I calmed down because when I was crying, I was all tensed up. Brad was helping me calm down and the doctors were talking about which way to 'spin' the baby. They were on either side of me, both turning him at the same time. Dr. McCrann had to get her hands up and under his bum to push him up out of the birth canal. I'm not going to lie - it was really painful. But the whole time they were turning, Dr. McCrann talked me through it, and would say how many more seconds until we'd take a break. Brad was really good at helping me take deep breaths, so I was trying to focus on that.

The first try lasted maybe a minute - of course it seemed longer than that to me - and Bobby didn't budge. We took a quick break, checked the baby's heartbeat, and then started again. Dr. McCrann had told me they would only try twice, so I was really hoping it worked this time. After another 45 seconds to a minute, both the resident and Dr. McCrann were excited and told me it worked!! They did a quick ultrasound to make sure, and sure enough - head down!!! We were so excited.....and relieved!

The medicine was still going full force, so I felt like I had no control over anything and I was shaking pretty bad. They kept me there for about an hour so the medicine would wear off, and so they could monitor the baby. Before I was allowed to leave, I had to feel him move at least 3 times within a 20 minute time period. It took a good 20-30 minutes after the procedure for him to start moving again, but after that he was fine and has been since then.

As painful as the procedure was, I would totally do it again and recommend it to anyone else with a breech baby. I think if this would have been my first pregnancy, I might have just gone with the C section, but I just didn't want to have to deal with that with a 2-year old that wouldn't understand if I could avoid it. Now hopefully Bobby will stay put with his head down!

Brad's mom offered to keep Nolan all weekend so I could rest. That was super helpful, and I'm so glad that both of us were able to relax afterwards! I was a little sore the rest of the day and the next day, but I actually didn't have any bruising.

I freaked out a little bit Monday afternoon thinking that he had turned back around, but it ended up that I had just been sitting for awhile and his bum was sticking out at the top of my belly. I go back tomorrow morning for my weekly check-up, so we'll definitely double check that he's still head down. I really feel like he is because I feel a lot heavier at the bottom of my belly than I did before. And lots of pressure on my bladder now too!!

Thanks to everyone for thinking about us and praying for everything to go well....we really appreciate it! Hopefully we'll have some baby news soon!! :)

Turning Point

2009-09-25T12:15:00.004-07:00

Here's a quick update on Breech Bobby:

Last week at the doctor, our little guy was still breech. We talked over the options and decided that one more week needed to pass before we scheduled anything - ECV (turning) or a C section. We were able to get an ultrasound and make sure that Bobby is fact not a Roberta, and we were able to ask a gazillion questions about everything. We were both feeling much more at ease with the whole situation when we left.

This morning was my 37 week appointment. I knew that the little guy was still breech, and Dr. McCrann confirmed it. We have opted to try the ECV tomorrow morning because I'm a good candidate for it. She said that she rarely sees a baby turn back to breech after a successful ECV. When she has seen it, it's on a woman who has 4 or 5 kids and the uterus is a little "stretchier". She also said that he's in a good position for turning, so I feel really confident that things will go well tomorrow. The procedure will only last a few minutes, successful or not. They will try twice to turn him and if it doesn't work, that's when we'll talk about scheduling a C section. But that wouldn't be until 39 weeks....which would fall on or around MY BIRTHDAY! So we'll see.....

We'll keep you posted after the procedure is done. I just keep telling myself that even if it doesn't work, everything will be fine. At least Bobby is healthy, regardless of exactly how he gets here :) Keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow!

More updates....

2009-09-03T13:18:00.031-07:00

Here are some pictures from the past month or so.....with Nolan and Bobby updates at the end!!

We had Brad's family over for his mom's birthday the middle of August. I got this cake decorating recipe from a co-worker (Family Fun website) and just had to try it out. I knew I couldn't get away with this for either of the boys, so I took advantage of Cindy's birthday! The 'ribbon' is Fruit by the Foot (which, ironically, is not a foot long...haha) and I used Dots for the other decorations. It was pretty fun!

Brad's friend Ben (that he grew up with and went to high school with) and his wife Nancy are the proud parents of twin boys! Jackson and Jacob were born August 28 and weighed a healthy 6 lb. 1 oz. and 5 lb. 1 oz. - good size for twins, I think! I think Jackson is on the left and Jacob is on the right in the picture below, but I'm guessing :)

I thought this was so cute :) Being at the hospital and holding the new babies made me even more ready for Bobby to get here!

Here is Nolan eating a chocolate chip cookie. He likes to eat the top of the cookie (that's right, the TOP of the cookie) first - that's why it's everywhere!!!

Nolan trying out Mommy's shoes....

Nolan has really taken to his stuffed animals and blankies lately - I think it's completely adorable. The day this was taken, he constantly wanted his Cabbage Patch Kid wrapped up in this blanket. Every time it would come undone, he wanted him wrapped up again - right now!!!

I think Nolan will end up being well-rounded like his Daddy.....here he is with a golf club and a baby doll. Precious :)

Again with the well-roundedness: playing in the dirt.....with his blankie!

Our laid back little man has decided that he LOVES the word 'no'. What kid doesn't, right? It cracks us up most of the time, because he just keeps saying it. Unless it's something that he might want to do, and then he repeats (or tries to repeat) what you just said. Here's a cute little video, complete with airplane noise and all.....

Two hats are apparently better than one.....

This is one of our 'we're really good parents' moments! We had a few errands to run after work one day, so we stopped and grabbed Subway on the way home for dinner. Nolan just had to have Cheetos, and we decided to let him dig in on the way home. He was an orange, cheesy mess and loved every second of it!

And now for the Bobby update!

This is me last week at 33 weeks, 4 days (as of today, I'm 34 weeks, 5 days). The torpedo belly!

At my appointment last week, we figured out that Little Mr. Bobby is breech. Dr. McCrann said that we'll do an ultrasound at my 36 week appointment just to double check that he's still breech, and then go from there. She talked about wanting to turn him manually at 37 weeks if he is still breech at that point, but after doing a lot of reading and research, I'm not sure that's something we want to try. At least not that early. The procedure is called external cephalic version (google ECV), and from what I've read, sounds entirely painful and uncomfortable. There's no guarantee that if we are successful at getting him to turn that he would stay head down until I go into labor. And since most doctors don't really let you deliver a breech baby vaginally anymore (I was born breech, but that was how many years ago???), I would have to have a C section. Not exactly my optimal situation, but if that's what is best for the baby and for me, that's what we'll do.

The past week has been nothing short of me freaking out about all of this, but I've gotten some really good support from everyone which has helped tremendously. A few of my friends have had C sections, so I picked their brains about what to expect. Everything went so smoothly with Nolan, and pretty much exactly the way I expected it to go that I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that Bobby is probably going to be much different. I just wanted everything to be like I planned! I know that everything happens for a reason, so I'm trying hard to prepare myself for anything and everything. Maybe his umbilical cord is too short and he can't be head down, or maybe he's just really, really comfortable sitting up in there!! I'm trying to calm down about everything and just let things happen the way they're going to happen and realize that sometimes I actually don't have all the control over a situation. But if you know me, you know that is easier said than done....

Brad has been really helpful about calming me down and listening to me go on and on about this option or that option, so a big thank you to him. :) Even though sometimes it's easy for me to forget that I'm not the only one affected by the outcome of things, we are definitely going through this together. I can't wait until our appointment next week since he's going with me - he is the question asker of the universe, so Dr. McCrann better be prepared!

I've been trying to do different things to make Bobby turn on his own. I get on my knees and elbows and 'hang' my belly for 10 minutes at least once a day. This kind of allows him a little more freedom to move around - if he ever feels like it. I've also been massaging my belly in a circular motion, sometimes while I'm hanging at an incline. This sort of worked the other day - but then he moved right back to head up! The other night we put a flashlight on my belly to try and get Bobby curious about it so he'd move. Nothing. Oh well, we'll keep trying!

Other than the whole breech/C section/ECV drama (or what I'm making out to be more dramatic than it probably should be!), I've been feeling okay. My heartburn is flaring up more than normal now and I'm a little more tired than usual. But I'm trying to get enough exercise and trying to eat better. The key word there is 'trying' in both cases! The dogs make it easy though because they expect to be walked at least a few times a week, so that gives me a good excuse. I usually take the dogs around the park a couple of times while Brad plays with Nolan on the playground. I've had some trouble sleeping lately, but that's expected at this point I think.

But the countdown is definitely on - just ask my co-workers! The whiteboard on my desk says '37 days' today......although I'm hoping it's a little sooner than that :)

I'll keep everyone posted after my appointment next week!

Happy Birthday!

2009-08-25T06:36:00.006-07:00

Today is Brad's 29th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We love you and hope you have a great day :)

Updates!

2009-08-07T08:19:00.029-07:00

Well, here I am at almost 30 weeks (sorry, it's a little blurry).... the torpedo belly is back! And a little earlier this time around. The picture on the right (in the black and pink shirt) is me at 31 weeks with Nolan - it was the closest I could get to a comparison shot. So I'm definitely justified when I say I feel bigger at this point with Bobby than I was at this point with Nolan. Sigh. I guess it's to be expected though - at least that's what everyone tells me!

I'm feeling really good, and everything is measuring on track. I have only gained 15 pounds as of my appointment last Friday. Only 1 pound more than last time - woo hoo!! My glucose was good, but my iron was a little low so I've started taking a supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamins. Bobby's heartbeat was about 150 beats per minute, good and strong. He's VERY active, it seems like a lot more than Nolan ever was. It's usually when I'm laying down in bed or relaxing on the couch when he really gets going.

I've been craving Raspberry Iced Tea lately. The funny thing is that I've never liked it until now. We've been to the Sonic by our house A LOT lately, that's for sure! Other than that, no weird cravings.

I feel like this pregnancy is taking longer than last time, but I know our little guy will be here before we know it! We sort of have a name picked out, but we keep changing our minds. Or I guess I should say, I've changed my mind and gone back and forth a few different times. Brad is pretty good about just going with the flow, figuring that we'll have a name by the time he gets here, but I need to nail it down now for some reason! We have 2 or 3 definite contenders, so maybe we'll be at the hospital deciding what he looks like to us when he does finally arrive. :)

Now an update on our almost-2-year-old!!

Nolan's vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger every day. We are always amazed at what new word or phrase he's picked up. The other day Brad sneezed, and Nolan said "Bless you!" We both just laughed - it was so cute. It really came out more like "Ble you", since he never says his s's, but we knew what he meant. Last night Nolan sneezed, then said "Bless you!" to himself...hahaha He is starting to repeat things that we say, but mostly just when we ask him to. Which is not such a bad thing I guess....especially when some not-so-good words slip out once in awhile!

We still use the binky, but really try to give it to Nolan only at nap time and bedtime. At daycare, he only gets it for his nap. At home, if he really thinks he needs it, he goes over to the drawer in the kitchen and asks for it. We tell him he has to sit on his couch while he has it. He's really good about sitting there with it, then when he wants to get up and play, he brings it to us. I guess sometimes he just 'needs' it to calm him down for a few minutes.

He's kind of started growing attached to his blankets in the past month or so. The funny thing is that it doesn't really matter which one, he likes them all! Even the big throw blankets that we keep in the living room - he'll drag those all over the house like it's nothing. I think we might have to get some new blankets that are just for the baby at this point - I'm not sure how it will go if we don't!

Nolan has always been such a good eater, but lately he's started to get a little picky. And he hates wearing a bib these days....much to my dismay. But what can you do? I guess in the long run it's not that big of a deal. He had his first corn dog the other night - surprising, because we eat easy stuff like that all the time. I made the mistake of trying to cut it up for him because he wasn't eating it. It was like I'd ruined his whole life the way he was screaming and crying!! When I figured out he wasn't going to stop, I made him a brand new one and he was fine. He played with it like it was a sword or bat for the better part of 15 minutes before he figured out he could eat it. He pulled the breading part back, his eyes got big, and he said "hot dog!" It was hilarious! Then he took everything off the stick, ate the little part of breading at the bottom of the stick and said "all gone!" I think he ended up eating half of it that was spread out everywhere in the end. It was a long night at the dinner table for Mommy.....but worth it because it was so funny!

Here's Nolan with his newest discovery - toilet paper!! He's done this a few times over the past week or so....I guess at least he didn't shove it all in the toilet. He must have worn himself out :)

Here are a couple of videos - Nolan giving his brother kisses and hugs, and then laughing with Daddy. Priceless!!

Indiana 6/27 - 7/4

2009-07-17T13:03:00.016-07:00

Normally my family gets together in Gatlinburg for the week of July 4 every year, since that's when the sawmill is shut down. But with the economy the way it is, and the need to save a little moolah (for all of us!), we decided to have sort of a "stay-cation". Well, it was a stay-cation for the rest of my family, we just had to get to Indiana to start ours!

We had a busy, but relaxing week this year. Here are the highlights, followed by pictures:

Kylie's softball game in Indianapolis - we went straight from the airport and it must have been the hottest day ever. Brad thought he would die from the humidity. Even Nolan made sure to find the shade when he was playing. These native Coloradans just aren't used to the high humidity!!
Nic's baseball game - he had a few really good hits! It was an exciting game that they almost pulled out at the end.
Swimming - thanks, Aunt Peggy & Uncle Bill!
A slip-n-slide in the backyard - lots of fun even though it "ruined the yard" for Dad - with good ole' Uncle Brad leading the way (check out the video)!
Brad was able to go golfing a few times at a few different courses. He even talked my Uncle Richard and cousin Elliott into joining him.
Nolan and I met up with my friends Sarabeth and Susan and their kids Emily (6), Sam (4), Lucy (1 1/2), Kaitlyn (5), and Kendall (1) for a few hours at Deming Park in Terre Haute for a picnic and playing. We don't get to see each other often, but it's like we never left off when we do. We had a great time catching up!
Brad, Nolan, and I got to meet up with two of my other friends and their families on Wednesday night too. We drove to Martinsville to see Mandy and Eli (3), Laura & Andy, Abigail (4), and Hannah (1). Mandy made a wonderful dinner and we all got to enjoy each other's company while the kids played. Same thing - it's like we never left off!
We got super lucky with the weather - all through the week it was breezy and not too hot - perfect for vacation!
Good thing Nanny/Nurse Polly have connections at the doctor's office.... ;) Nolan was not himself after playing at the park so we took him to see Dr. Schuld as the last appointment of the day. Another ear infection!!! But we got him some antibiotics and he was fine after that. At least it was all straightened out before we got back on the plane.
Friday we all headed up to Turkey Run State Park to hang out/picnic/hike for the day. We usually do this when we're in Gatlinburg and everyone has a blast. Mom and I went up early to grab a good spot and then waited for everyone else to get there. (We both got some good reading in!) We cooked out, took a short hike (that even the kids did well on), and just enjoyed each other for the day. Again, we totally lucked out with the weather because the next day it poured!!

Our flight back was on July 4, and it had literally rained all day long, so I was glad that we hadn't intended to stay until Sunday to see fireworks because we wouldn't have gotten to see any! The plane wasn't full, so we got an extra seat to let Nolan roam around in between us....always nice when it's free! Before this trip we got a portable DVD player for him and it definitely came in handy on the way home. He wasn't bad, but he sure didn't plan on sitting still for too long! He did watch a Blue's Clues video and read some books, but was mostly back and forth between the seats the whole time. I can't complain too much though - at least he was screaming the whole time!

As usual, we had a great trip and it was so nice to visit with everyone. And as usual, there were people we wanted to see while we were home and couldn't. But don't worry! We'll all be back at Christmas, so hopefully we'll be able to visit with everyone then.

I've already booked our flights using our frequent flyer miles (now that we'll have to start buying three seats instead of two, it's coming in handy!) and we'll be home for 2 weeks. Well, the kids and I will be home for 2 weeks, Brad will be home for the last half of that. I'm braving an airplane with a 2-year old and an approximately 2-month old BY MYSELF. That's right, I'll be hauling the boys to Indiana on December 12 and Brad will join us on the 19th. We all fly home together (thank goodness!) on the 26th. I'll be on maternity leave, but Brad only has so many vacation days.....and he'll be using a majority of that time when "Bobby" gets here!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Nolan's favorite things....

2009-06-26T13:44:00.011-07:00

Nolan LOVES popsicles and corn on the cob!

This picture reminds me of Forrest Gump.... :)

Father's Day / Nolan's Big Boy Bed

2009-06-26T13:36:00.008-07:00

Happy Father's Day! Brad told me that he wanted to celebrate by "milling around the house" and changing the oil in the cars. So I let him do exactly that. We spent the day just hanging out as a family and it was so nice. I haven't gotten pictures of his Father's Day gifts yet, so I'll wait to explain those later once we have a pic.

While Brad did his manly stuff in the garage, Nolan and I played in the front yard. We've been working on being gentle with the flowers, but Nolan just loves to pull the petals off....and then he just grins! It's cute. But he does say "pitty" and some other nonsense for flower but I wouldn't begin to even know how to type it! It always comes out the same though, so that's something :)

Nolan LOVES playing in the truck with Daddy. He threw a fit when it was time to go in....imagine that!

Today was the first day that Nolan slept in his big boy bed. We had thought about putting him in it just for naptime for awhile to see how that went, but that first time went so well, we put him in there that night too. It's been great! He's had no problems at all. We put a baby gate in his doorway since his room is upstairs, just in case he decided to wander out. We read books for a little bit, and then I leave and he just goes to sleep on his own. Sometimes he cries, sometimes he reads, sometimes he goes right to sleep. The first night he stood at the gate shaking it, like he was in prison or something. :) We are so lucky to have such a good sleeper. Sometimes it's hard to let him cry, but it never lasts for more than a few minutes. And he always ends up back on his bed, so he knows what he's supposed to be doing when he's in there. Yay!

Here's a little sneak peek at his new room/furniture with our little man snoozing away:

Happy Father's Day to the best dad and husband ever! Brad does such a great job that he deserves to be celebrated every day, but especially today. I am so blessed and fortunate to have him here to share all of my experiences with, and I don't think he gets told often enough what a wonderful father he is. I am constantly in awe at the way he connects with Nolan and can't wait to see him holding and playing with both of our sons. :) Our family wouldn't be the same without you - WE LOVE YOU!

Denver Zoo - 6/15/09

2009-06-26T13:31:00.014-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom/Nanny! We ended up spending her big day (59!) at the Denver Zoo. We got there when they opened, and the rain held off until after we'd left. It was a fun and snake-free (for me) visit and Nolan loved it!

Here are some of the best pictures - courtesy of Brad:

Matching Rockies hats

Almost looks real, huh?

It had started to sprinkle, and this was the only smart one trying to stay dry!

Every time we saw one of these little statues, Nolan would stick his finger up the nose! haha

Exhausted after the big day!!

Nanny & Papa visit! 6/11 - 6/16

2009-06-26T13:23:00.013-07:00

Nanny & Papa were able to come and spend a long weekend with us in June.

Just like they did when I was pregnant with Nolan, they came out to help get the baby's room ready. And when I say 'help', I mean they did all the work!! They are great painters, so when they offered I wasn't about to pass it up. We decided on red and blue for Nolan's new room (pictures to come later when the room is really finished) and it turned out great! They helped put Nolan's new big boy bed and other furniture together and get it arranged (again, pictures to come later!). It was really a big help, so THANKS Nanny & Papa!

As I mentioned in my last post, my parents got to spend a lot of quality time with Nolan since we went out of town for a wedding, but we just kind of hung out most of the time they were here. Although on Sunday afternoon, we got hit with some crazy weather - tornado warnings and hail!! Brad was at his baseball game and we were in our basement for about a half an hour. Well, all of us except Dad who was weather-watching on the front porch most of the time! The video is of the street in front of our house - the rain was so heavy that the street looked like a river. You can hear the tornado sirens that go off in our neighborhood too. The hail on the roofs of our neighbor's houses looks like snow instead! It didn't last too long though, and everything was back to normal by that evening....whew!

We were glad the weather got better because we had Brad's family over for a cookout (or BBQ, if you're from CO). It was nice to have everyone together for a couple hours.

Cambell and Rylann - I can't figure out why this is the only picture we took that day, but it's cute!

We had a great visit with my mom and dad. It wasn't too hard for me to say goodbye this time because I knew we'd be out to visit them in Indiana in just two weeks. But try explaining that to a 20-month old at the airport!! The picture below is while we were waiting in line to check in and everything's cool. When Nanny & Papa had to leave to go through security, he was NOT happy! He even threw his binky on the ground. That NEVER happens! I suppose I should get ready for more of that with the terrible 2's creeping up.....

Congrats to Sharon & Munish! ~ 6/13/2009

2009-06-26T13:19:00.012-07:00

Our friends Sharon & Munish tied the knot! We were able to go to the wedding in Snowmass Village (about a 3-hour drive west of Denver) and spend the night because my parents just happened to be in town the same weekend! It was nice to have a night out...even though we didn't sleep in at all the next day! Why? Because we had to get back for Brad's baseball game....of course!

There were two different ceremonies - one traditional and one Hindu. Neither of us had been to a Hindu wedding before, so it was really fun to see something different.

Us before the traditional ceremony

Here is a shot of Munish on the horse that he rode to the Hindu ceremony. The little boy that's riding with him is to symbolize purity. Below is a video of the music that was played while everyone followed Munish and the horse to the ceremony. Hopefully I'm not getting this wrong, but I think this part is called the Baraat.

The bride before her big entrance into the Hindu ceremony - yep, she got TWO wedding dresses! :)

Both ceremonies were beautiful, and the weather completely cooperated for the whole day! It was gorgeous. I always cry at weddings, and little did I know, Brad and Danielle made a bet at how many times I would cry. Can you believe that?? Danielle won because I only cried once. They bet over/under that I would cry at least 3 times....Brad took the over! haha

Now the reception was a totally different story.....I couldn't stop crying! I felt ridiculous, but at least I could blame it on the pregnancy hormones. But in all honesty, I think I would have cried that much anyway. I'm just an emotional person, what's wrong with that??? Everyone gave speeches, but I think Munish's dad's speech was the best. He kept talking about how Munish would always be his little boy and how he remembered holding him for the first time. I mean, how can you not cry when you hear that???? :)

Sharon and I at the reception

We had a great time, and wish Sharon & Munish the best! Congratulations!

Sharon's Bachelorette Party - Chicago - 6/6/09

2009-06-19T12:46:00.017-07:00

My friend Sharon (who used to work with Brad) had her bachelorette party in Chicago, so my other friend Danielle (who also works with Brad) decided we should have a girls weekend!! Now, I made these plans before I knew I was pregnant, but I had a really great time anyway. I was worried I'd be too much of a party pooper, but I think I did okay!

It was a quick weekend, but lots of fun. Friday night we went to a White Sox game - they got shut out by the Indians and I had to bust out my 'mom' voice and yell at some kids sitting behind us who were throwing food - and had perfect weather.

U.S. Cellular Field

Danielle, me, and Sharon (side note - Brad was jealous because he's never been to this field!)

On Saturday, not-so-perfect weather! It was cold, windy, and rainy, but that didn't stop us! We had lunch at Gino's East - Chicago deep dish pizza - and then headed to Navy Pier for an architectural boat tour. It was freezing, but we ended up laughing about it later!

Yes, it was THAT cold! Jenn, Lisa, Marcy, me, and Danielle

That night, we had a shower for Sharon at the hotel. We had so much fun! Everyone else decided to keep the party going at a few local bars/clubs, but the prego went to bed early :)

Faye (another of Brad's co-workers), me, Danielle, and Sharon

Group shot!

Danielle and I headed back to Denver early Sunday morning, just in time to meet a few tornadoes! Yikes! We were in a holding pattern for about 45 minutes before we were able to land at Denver. Once we did land, our pilot told us that a lot of flights were re-routed to Colorado Springs, so I wasn't complaining too much after that (we only live 15 minutes from the Denver airport - CO Springs would have been a MUCH longer trip). I'm just glad we made it back safely!

It was a great weekend and a great way to help Sharon celebrate her last week of being a bachelorette!

IT'S A BOY!

2009-06-19T12:29:00.006-07:00

That's right, come mid-October, I'll still be living in a house full of testosterone!

To say that we couldn't be happier is an understatement. Our little guy was so cooperative during the sonogram - he just let it all hang out there! I knew right away because it looked just like Nolan's sonogram pictures, but Brad couldn't see it until we pointed it out to him. Then of course he was ecstatic!

The ultrasound technician went to type 'Baby Profile' on one of the pictures and accidentally typed 'Boby Profile' instead. And it was decided! We'll call Baby Boy Engle #2 'Bobby' until he decides to join us. You might remember that we called Nolan 'Cliff' before he was born since we like to keep the actual name a secret.

The best part is that Bobby is healthy. Everything looked good and they even said I was measuring about a week early. They didn't change my due date, but a week early would be my birthday instead of Nolan's. So let's all cross our fingers that Bobby decides he wants to meet us a few weeks early to avoid anyone having the same birthday! :)

As for me, I've been feeling really good lately. Aside from the fact that I'm more emotional this time (if that's possible!) and really anxious about a lot of different things, everything is going great. I do feel like I'm bigger at this point with Bobby than I was with Nolan, but I hear that's normal. I just try not to think about it too much. My heartburn has graced me with its presence again this time, so I've stocked up on Tums and Maalox. But all in all, I'll take the occasional heartburn and lack of energy any day over the nausea I had just a couple months ago!

Here's a picture of me at almost 24 weeks (taken on 6/25/209). I looked back at my blog from when I was pregnant with Nolan, and at 20 weeks I had only gained 6 pounds. I'm up to 8 pounds this time, which still isn't bad, but I do need to start watching what I'm eating more. It's just so easy to 'splurge' more often now!

We are very excited and very blessed to have one healthy son and now we'll add to our boy-filled family with healthy son number two! I'm just going to call it now that Bobby is going to be a spitting image of his brother....the Engle genes have proven to be pretty strong!

Grand Junction, Mother's Day, Preggo Pic!

2009-05-19T14:14:00.008-07:00

Ever since I met Brad, I've heard stories about Grand Junction - that's where Brad went to school at Mesa State College. I've only met a few of his old roommates/friends from college, but I feel like I know them all well. A couple weekends ago, I finally got to make the trek GJ! Brad's friend Travis was turning 29, and his girlfriend MJ wanted to surprise him. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive and it was a quick trip - we got there on Saturday afternoon and left Sunday morning. But we had a good time visiting with Travis and MJ, just hanging out and listen to the boys talk and laugh about their crazy college days. There was an art and jazz festival downtown that we ended up walking through for awhile. Everyone was glad that we had a designated driver that we didn't have to draw straws for :)

Travis and Brad reliving their old glory days....

This buffalo is apparently made entirely out of car bumpers. I had a hard time trying to decide if I should post the pictures of the boys acting like boys with the sculpture - you know, pointing out certain things or picking its nose. I'm deciding not to encourage them by not posting the pics! haha

Nolan spent the night with Grandma Cindy while we were gone and we got home on Mother's Day to these wonderful flowers that he helped plant for me! I haven't seen the pictures yet (hint, hint Cindy!) but I guess Nolan was covered head to toe with dirt. I am not surprised - he is definitely all boy. :) My other Mother's Day present was an Edible Arrangement that Brad personally delivered to me at work the week before. He figured what's better for a pregnant woman than a bouquet she can actually eat??? It was wonderful! I had a lazy Mother's Day and it was perfect. And next year I'll have two little miracles to celebrate that day!!

Okay, here it is....my first preggo pic for Baby Engle #2. This is me at 18 weeks. Bear in mind that Brad took this picture before we left the house for work. At 6:15 AM. I am not a morning person, so that explains the look on my face! I've been feeling SOOOO much better the past couple of weeks. Now I'm just tired. But I'll take that any day over the nausea. We find out in 2 1/2 weeks what the baby is - I can't wait!! I think I'm more anxious to know what this one is than I was with Nolan for some reason. We have a girl name picked out, but haven't exactly decided on a boy name that we can agree on. But just like last time, we're not telling until he/she is born. We like to keep it a secret!

And here is our little man. :) He's growing up so fast. Over the past week or so, he's been talking a lot more. It's so fun to watch him learn things. He's started repeating things that we say now too. The funniest is when Brad and I are in separate rooms and he calls my name. A few seconds later I always hear Nolan say "Abby!" It's too cute. We've found out that he LOVES fresh blueberries. He'd eat a whole package of them at once if we let him. And he LOVES being outside. Can't get enough of it. At least we don't have the humidity here, so I'm glad to take him outside every night when we get home!

One problem we've been having with Nolan is that he's been biting other kids at daycare. When he does it at home, he gets at time out, but daycare doesn't impose any form of punishment. Just "redirection". Which is fine, and we understand why they have to do things that way, it's just hard for us to try and talk to him about it because it's not right after he's bitten someone. We haven't caught him in the act at home since it's started at daycare, but we're really contemplating biting him back the next time since we've tried everything else and it hasn't worked. Even though the experts say that's not the right thing to do, I've heard from plenty of real-life mom's that it does work. He usually does it when he's angry or frustrated, so at least it's not just to get attention.....or so we think. :) Let me know if anyone has any biting advice - we can use it!

Baseball!!

2009-05-08T13:51:00.017-07:00

Nolan got a tee for his birthday, so last weekend we got it out and Brad gave Nolan his first lesson. I'm not sure who had more fun! It kept Nolan's attention for almost 2 hours, which is unbelievable. Brad told me the next day that there's a level of happy, and then there's a level above that....and that he was on the level above that....it was just the sweetest thing ever! :)

Nolan has discovered that putting his finger up his nose is funny.....

This is Nolan doing his new 'thing' when he sits on the couch. Not sure what it is or why he does it, but it cracks us up!

Welcome, Rylann!

2009-05-04T11:40:00.005-07:00

Introducing Rylann Grace Taylor, born May 3, 4:25pm, 7 lb. 5 oz., 20 inches long!

Everyone is doing fine, and both big sisters are very excited! Congratulations Jason & Melissa!

We'll see if Nolan is this nice and this excited when his little brother or sister comes along in a few months! :)

Long time, no blog!

2009-04-24T08:40:00.014-07:00

Yes, we're still here! And with lots to update you on.....

Most everyone knows already, but the reason I haven't posted in so long (aside from the fact that I've been working while I'm at work since it's tax season - shocker!) is that WE'RE PREGNANT! We found out a little earlier than last time because I was pretty sick. I just thought it was the flu, but Brad talked me into taking a pregnancy test. We had been trying, but who knew that we were so fertile in January?

We had planned to try and have Baby Engle #2 around the same time Nolan was born, but for no other reason that practicality....you know, right size clothes for the right seasons if it's a boy. Turns out our due date is October 18. Sound familiar? That's because it's Nolan's birthday!! We knew it would be close, but when Dr. McCrann told us, we both started laughing. I'm really trying to avoid that day because I just don't want them to have to share a birthday. Also trying to avoid my birthday (the 11th).....I just can't think of anything less fun than giving birth on your day! But it's not exactly up to me, so we'll just wait and see what this little one has in store for us. (I'm hoping to go 2 weeks early like I did with Nolan and get out of the last 2 weeks of fall tax season, but shhhh, don't tell anyone I work with!)

We are both really excited about Baby #2, but we both have days where we think, "What were we thinking?????" I think the first couple of years will be a little hard, but down the road it'll be nice that they're so close in age. Nolan doesn't really know what's going on yet, except he does know where the baby is. When you ask him, he comes over to me and lifts up my shirt, points, and says "Baby!" He also does it to Brad's belly, so still a little confusion...probably until I get a little bigger. He has been a little extra fussy lately, and the girls at daycare have said that's pretty typical when mom is pregnant. I've also heard it's like that as you get closer to your due date.....so we'll see how that goes.

I am feeling much, much better now that I'm 15 weeks and out of my first trimester. Brad was a HUGE help when all I felt like doing was laying around for a couple months. I'm very lucky to have such a great husband who didn't complain once when I went to bed at 6pm and left him with all the parenting/cooking/cleaning duties. So, thanks, babe....it never went unnoticed :)

Sooooo, in Nolan News......he is getting to be such a big boy! We had his 18 month (wow! 18 months already!) check up on Monday, and Dr. Zavadil says everything is great. He's 22 lbs., 10 oz. (15th percentile) and 29 3/4 inches long (3rd percentile). She said there's no cause to worry that his height percentile is so low because both Brad and I are average (at best!). Poor little guy, he's just not gonna be tall! But his head circumference is in the 50th percentile....gets that from his Daddy!!

Nolan is saying more words every day. The ones we hear most are Daddy, Mommy, uh-oh, bee-bee (binky, Brinkley, AND blankie), nu, (Nuke), snack, more (while doing the sign language), please, thank you, baseball, car, open, book, ball, drink, table, bear, quack quack, and his favorite - outside! He doesn't say his s's at all, and the doctor said that's normal. He's been repeating everything we say more and more, so he's definitely trying. Before long we won't be able to get him to stop talking! My favorite thing that Nolan has been doing for awhile is giving hugs and kisses. It's just the sweetest thing ever and I hope he keeps doing it for awhile! I'm sure by the time he's 6 or 7, it will just be embarrassing though....

You'll see in the slideshow that he has a new booster seat that he sits in all the time now for meals at the table. He loves it! He's been doing well with his utensils at meals, and is still a really good eater. Although he does not like grilled cheese or cheeseburgers which I think is the weirdest thing! He loves cheese, so it must be the melted cheese that he doesn't like? Who knows.

We have been busy the last few months. Here are just a few highlights:

In January, my cousin Jason and his cousin Melissa came out to Colorado to visit a friend, so we were able to get together with them a couple of times. We went to a jazz concert in Boulder that was pretty cool (and definitely not something we have done before), and then had them over to our house for dinner. They were impressed with my down-home meal of pulled beef BBQ sandwiches and homemade macaroni & cheese. It made me feel good because I hardly ever cook an entire meal!! It was so nice to catch up with Jason since we don't see each other much anymore. We had a great weekend, complete with some culture!

Brad found cheap bicycles for both of us on Craiglist, so we got Nolan the little seat that goes on the back. He absolutely loved his first bike ride! He wasn't so sure about his helmet, but once Brad got going he kind of forgot about it and enjoyed the ride.

Nolan loves playing outside, and we had some uncharacteristically nice weather towards the end of February. While Brad was working on the landscaping, Nolan was busy eating dirt and exploring. He did end up eating some dog poop, but spit it right back out. Gross!

Nanny & Papa came for a visit the last weekend in February which was perfect timing. I felt like crap, so it was nice to have them around to help out with Nolan. And it was nice to spend some time with them too :) We went to the Children's Museum in Denver and Nolan had a blast. I can't wait to take him to the one in Indianapolis in a couple years - if it's as good as I remember, he'll absolutely love it! We didn't do much else while they were here, just hung out and relaxed.

Nolan got a double ear infection in March, but we never would have known if hadn't taken him to the doctor for a bad cough. I swear this kid is so good, he never once acted like his ears were bothering him. We are really lucky! One round of antibiotics later and he was good to go.

We traded in my Mazda6 for a family vehicle.....no, not a minivan, although I voted for it! We got a Chrysler Aspen that has third row seating and Brad could handle it since it's not such a 'mom' car! I really loved my little car, but it just would have been too crowded with two car seats....ahhh, things are changing..... :)

Our neighbor Delaney turned 3 at the end of March, so we got to go to Monkey Business for her party. It's a giant warehouse full of bouncy slides and castles. I'm not sure who had more fun, Brad or Nolan! Delaney's sister Kennedy turned 1 a couple weeks ago, so we celebrated with her and a bunch of kids next door and he had a blast then too.

We headed to Indiana for a quick trip over Easter weekend to celebrate with my family. My dad turned 60 the following weekend so we got to celebrate his birthday too. We got lucky and had some great weather while we were there! My mom had her annual Easter Egg Party and the kids had a blast. She's done this forever, and I secretly can't stand coloring Easter eggs, so I'm glad she does so I don't have to!!! There were about 12 kids there and they all had a blast, icing sugar cookies, coloring eggs, and then hiding and hunting for a few hours. They all love Nanny/Polly! We also got to go to church with my parents and got to see my mom play in the bell choir. Brad had never seen that before, so he was impressed. It was a really nice service. We loved spending time with all my family and all the kids, but it was just too short of a weekend!

Brad's baseball season was supposed to start a few weeks ago, but every game so far has been cancelled due to weather. Not that we've had much of it at our house! But further west and south of us have had quite a bit. He's disappointed to say the least, but this Sunday should be his first game. Nolan and I will go to a few games, but I'm not sure how long he'll last...we'll just have to play it by ear I guess. Let's hope the Wolfpack have a good season!!

So we've had a busy couple of months!! We've been able to get together with a lot of our friends and have also had some nice relaxing weekends at home with just us. I promise to be better about updating the blog since I don't have any excuses now :) For now, enjoy the slideshow of pictures and the videos. The first video is from the middle of February and we were just having a blast in the bathtub. The other video is Nolan playing with his very first baseball glove that the Easter Bunny brought. Who do you think is more excited????? :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Playing the nurse once again - 1/8

2009-01-20T14:27:00.007-07:00

Brad and I both found out shortly after we were married that I was a terrible "nurse" when he had knee surgery back in 2005. Thankfully, Lasik eye surgery didn't require as much help from me!

Brad went to the 20/20 Institute, and he couldn't be happier with the results! I got to watch the whole thing on closed circuit TV (a lot less gross than the knee surgery) and could see him the whole time - less than 15 minutes!

The first night was a little rough, but he was able to sleep for a long time when we got home, thanks to a sedative they gave him before the surgery. He had three different eye drops to use and was surprisingly good at remembering to use them all at the right times. He had some really cool goggles to wear to bed for the first few nights....sorry, I didn't get a picture of those!!

Brad had a follow-up appointment the next morning and drove himself to it, then went to work right after that. By the following weekend, he was seeing almost 20/15! It's absolutely amazing. Now he doesn't have to worry about contacts or glasses anymore, which will help when he's playing baseball this summer.

This is right before the surgery - he was super nervous (which is not like him at all). It probably didn't help that I really wanted to take a picture for the blog!

These are the really stylish sunglasses they gave him to wear outside and at home in case lights were too bright. Not too long after we got in the car he totally zonked out from the sedative!

I knew everything had gone well when Brad pulled out a new joke the day after the surgery...."Now I can see how beautiful you really are!" Please. What a goofball! :)

Random pictures

2009-01-05T11:26:00.014-07:00

Here are some pictures I just got from Grandma Cindy from Christmas on 12/13, and a couple random ones from my phone. Too good not to share!

We borrowed a pink bib at Melissa's....gasp!!

I absolutely love this picture :)

The timer worked!! Grandpa Kenny, Grandma Cindy, Melissa, Jason, Brad, Terry (Jim's dad), me, Jim, Kelly (Jim's girlfriend), Mylee, Cambell, and Nolan

Bath time!

Brad's beard that he grew on vacation

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T20:37:00.006-07:00

We hung out with our neighbors on NYE this year - pretty low key. Nolan got to play with Delaney and Kennedy and we got to have some wonderful green chili for dinner! We were home by 9:30 and made it to about 11pm. So this is two years in a row that we haven't seen the ball drop. I guess that means we're officially old, right? :)

I haven't really made any official new year's resolutions, but Brad and I have decided that we need to start eating better. Maybe a little healthier and not quite so much! I'm sure everyone says that after the holidays, we'll see if we can stick to it.

2008 was a great year.....here's to a wonderful 2009!

Denver Zoo Lights

2009-01-02T20:20:00.011-07:00

Our neighbors Phil & Renee invited us to go see the lights at the Denver Zoo. Now, for those of you that know me well, you know that I absolutely HATE snakes. I've had a couple of horrifying experiences at the Denver Zoo involving snakes, but I didn't want to miss out on Nolan's first trip to the zoo. We all bundled up and headed downtown to check it out. And no snake sightings! At least not for me - I've figured out which places are 'safe' and which ones aren't. I know, it's ridiculous, but I can't help it!

Nolan had a blast - he rode in the wagon with Delaney (Kennedy stayed home this time) and loved the animals that were still awake. He was amazed at how tall the elephants and giraffes were!

He totally zonked out on the way home - and even got to ride in a very girly flowery car seat!

Mommy & baby giraffe

The sea lions were really loud!

Serious hat hair!

Our family Christmas 2008

2009-01-02T19:51:00.017-07:00

We made it back to Denver safely on the 27th! I'm glad that we had a day to regroup before heading back to work.

We decided to start a tradition of Santa Claus coming to our house the night that we get back from Indiana, because we'll always be in Indiana on Christmas Day. Nolan didn't really understand Santa this year, but I'm sure he will by next year. I suppose we can figure out which way works better and adjust it to before we leave too. Santa Claus is pretty flexible! :)

We didn't go crazy with presents this year, and even held a few of Nolan's birthday presents back to give him on Christmas. I think this is the only time we'll be able to get away with that!! He got a Cars couch that he absolutely loves. He pulls it out, sits on it, and folds it back up. It's so cute!

This is the Cars table and chairs that Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Kenny got Nolan for Christmas. Mommy and Daddy were just a little late putting it together :) Notice Brinkley lurking for Nolan to drop one of his snacks!

Brad and I always set a limit for each other, and this year he decided on $40. You have to get a little creative when it's that low! He's been wanting a deep fryer for awhile now, so I figured I'd surprise him....and I did go a little over the limit....oh well! We should be having funnel cakes this weekend when he tries it out for the first time. We've also got fried ice cream on the agenda....

I had gone on a slight shopping spree a couple weeks ago, so I told him I didn't need anything for Christmas. Except one thing....a silicone basting brush for when I make tea rings. He came through! I'm excited to try it out!

Nolan's 2nd Christmas was so much fun. I can't wait to share many more memorable family Christmases with my boys! (We got this one all on video, just like my mom and dad used to do....wonder if we'll ever watch them?)

Christmas in Indiana!

2009-01-02T16:24:00.009-07:00

As usual, I'm a little late with my post!

We had a wonderful time in Indiana for Christmas! It started out a little rocky because we were delayed about 2 1/2 hours getting out of Denver. Plus, Nolan was running a fever so we thought we were in for a long flight. But it wasn't bad at all! We just didn't get to my parents' house until around 3am, but at least we made it there safely and weren't stuck in an airport like some people.

Highlights from our trip:

* Nolan got his first ear infection. Good thing that Nanny has some good connections :) Dr. Schuld was able to get him started on a prescription that we eventually found out Nolan was allergic to. After a couple of doses of the new antibiotic, Nolan was good to go. We're just lucky that he's gone this long without having one - it was not fun for any of us! Oh, and I just found out that Brad was allergic to almost everything when he was a baby....so this could be fun figuring out what else Nolan is allergic to!

* We got to visit with a lot of my extended family from both sides. We had dinner at my Uncle Pat and Aunt Jennifer's house with the Buell clan (my mom's side), and all the Booe cousins (my dad's side) got together one night to hang out. It was great to see everyone!

* My parents celebrated their 40th anniversary on December 20. 40 years!! We decided awhile back that we wanted to throw them a surprise party and it worked out perfectly. They were definitely surprised! It's such a rare thing to know someone who has been married that long, and they've been such a good example for all of us kids. Brad and I have 3 down.....with many more happy ones to go!!

* Brad, Nolan, and I got to spend a lot of time with my nieces and nephews during the week. I love watching Nolan play with them, and hope that once he gets older he'll look forward to our visits to Indiana as much as I do. :)

* Freezing rain kept us from getting together with my two friends Sarabeth and Susan, but we decided next spring it will be nice to get all of our kids together at a park when the weather is nice. Brad, Dad, Nolan, and I did venture out early the day the ice started, and it was not fun! I missed getting to see them, but it was a good idea for everyone to stay safe!

* Brad got the flu....again. It never fails that he gets sick every time we go to Indiana. He joked that my mom is trying to poison him! HA! Luckily, he recovered before we had to fly out, and I never got it!

* We all went to the Christmas Eve service at my parents' church in Terre Haute which was really nice. Nolan stayed in the nursery with Kenzie and was right at home. They said he loved the music!

* We celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve also. Dad tried a new recipe - Cornish hens. They were great, everyone loved them! I love watching all the kids unwrapping their presents....there's always so much excitement!

* On Christmas Day, we usually go to Cary and Ryan's houses to see what Santa Claus left all the kids. It's a whirlwind of all the kids talking at once, but a lot of fun!

* We spent a lot of lazy time at home this trip, and it was really nice. Brad took a nap every day I think (wait until you see the video!), and we were able to sleep in a couple times too. And we both probably gained at least 5 pounds from all the good food!

Whew! Here's our Christmas week in pictures:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas was so much fun this year, and I think next year will be even better since Nolan will really understand it all!

Nolan's new playground

2008-12-18T14:18:00.004-07:00

Nanny & Papa gave (meaning, Mommy & Daddy went and got it and put it together instead of them paying an arm and a leg for shipping!) Nolan his Christmas present early. He loves it! We took a video of him seeing it for the first time that we'll show them when we get home in a couple of days. I think he likes standing at the top of the slide because he can see into the kitchen and hallway over the couches. He gets to the top and screams like he just climbed a mountain, it's hilarious!

Nolan's 1st snow!

2008-12-18T13:55:00.013-07:00

The morning before we went to brunch, it snowed 3 or 4 inches and was super cold outside!! We bundled Nolan up and headed out to "help" Brad shovel the sidewalks and driveway. We didn't stay out long though!

Reminds me of the movie 'A Christmas Story' :)

Brinkley & Nuke LOVE playing in the snow!

Christmas Brunch with Grandpa Morey & Grandma Sharon

2008-12-18T13:42:00.015-07:00

Every year we go to brunch with Grandpa Morey & Grandma Sharon at their country club for Christmas. They always have the most amazing food! They have a room for kids with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and they have story time and sing songs. Last year Nolan sat on Santa's lap, but he had no idea what was going on. This year, he was NOT happy about Santa Claus! I really thought he would be okay with Santa since he's generally not afraid of new people, and Papa has a big white beard too! Maybe next year....

It was soooooo cold that day - and just a week earlier we were wearing shorts outside! I think it was like 10 below outside. Anyway, we opted out of the train they had and got Nolan a balloon animal instead. He just chewed on it until it popped, so the balloon wasn't around long at all!

I just love this picture :)

I didn't get the argyle sweater memo.....

When we got home, Nolan unwrapped his presents from Grandpa Morey & Grandma Sharon. He got a puzzle, a drum, and a really cool set of wooden blocks.

Maybe he'll be in marching band like his Mommy!

Playing with his blocks

Even the goose with jingle bells couldn't cheer him up!

Christmas with Grandma Cindy & Grandpa Kenny - 12/13

2008-12-18T13:13:00.027-07:00

Since we spend Christmas in Indiana, we always have Christmas before we leave with Brad's family. We celebrated at Melissa's house this year, and only did presents for the kids. They're the most fun to buy for anyway!

Nolan got a vacuum, a Handy Manny toolbox, an Elmo cell phone, an Ernie doll, a Cars table and chairs, a picture holder that looks like a baseball, and a cool mouse book. We had a blast playing with everything once we could get it all out of the packages!

The Grinch (or as Cambell calls him, "my boyfriend") sings and dances when you push a button. Nolan had a blast dancing along with Cambell!

They can't wait!

The men bonding over tools....

Nolan sweeping with his new vacuum

Cambell playing with Mylee's McDonald's drive-thru set (you guessed it, I picked it out!)

Brad did a great job of helping Cambell "paint" Barbie's nails!

Uncle Jason & Nolan playing drive-thru

And Uncle Jason helping Nolan try on the tiara!!

We took family pictures too....

Mylee, Melissa, Jason, & Cambell

Terry (Jim's Dad), Kelly (Jim's girlfriend), & Jim - we consider them part of the family!

Grandpa Kenny & Grandma Cindy with the grandkids

This one took awhile....but turned out pretty good!

This doesn't happen all that often! :)

Happy Birthday Max!

2008-12-18T13:04:00.013-07:00

Brad's half-brother Max turned 10 on December 6. The weather was so nice - it didn't feel like December at all! Here are some pictures from his party:

Uncle Max & Nolan

A hockey player like his uncle, maybe?

The cake even had a zamboni!

Playing ring-around-the-rosy with Cambell & Mylee (who both had to try on and wear their Christmas dresses from Grandma Sharon!)

Nolan's first experience with Pop Rocks!

Nolan's 1st trip to McDonald's - 12/6

2008-12-17T16:07:00.011-07:00

It's no secret that I LOVE McDonald's! I know it's bad for you, but I just don't care. It's my very favorite thing. We took Nolan for the first time and he definitely loves it too! We went for breakfast, and he even got to play in the huge Happy Meal!

Marsico Christmas Party - 12/6

2008-12-17T15:54:00.018-07:00

The annual Marsico (Brad's work) Christmas Party is always something we look forward to. Nolan spent the night with Grandma Cindy and we got all dressed up and had a great night. Brad was a little sick, but he stuck it out like a champ - we even made it to the after-party this year!

My good friend Melissa (we used to work together at BKD)

Melissa's husband and Brad's co-worker, Shaun (he got Brad the job at Marsico!)

In four years, I think this is our best picture :)

Adam & me (someone at the party thought we were a couple - that's the second time that's happened to us! haha)

me, Danielle, and Sharon

Danielle talked Brad into 'giving off the vibe' while I was in the bathroom.....hmmmmm.....

The after-party.....I must have been telling a secret! :)

Parent/Teach Conference - 11/21

2008-12-17T10:51:00.011-07:00

We couldn't be happier with Nolan's daycare! We love the girls who take care of him, and it's clearly obvious that he loves them too. I have never felt like I needed to worry about him and we can really tell that Nolan loves being there, both of which make it so much easier to be gone from him during the day every week. I think he really benefits from being around the other kids his age too. It's so cute when they all sit around the little bitty table for snacks together!

One thing I love about Creative Beginnings is that they have parent/teacher conferences with us every so often. Miss Erica and Miss Hannah are Nolan's main teachers, and we got to chat with Erica on a more formal basis about Nolan a couple weeks ago. They gave us his artwork - we are very impressed with and proud of our little guy! Here he is at home with all of his paintings on the fridge.....our favorite is the goat (the gray one)!

Nolan loves being outside and even throws a little bit of a fit sometimes when they come back inside. He plays well with the other kids in his class, and has even started playing "catch" with his little friend Martin. They stand on either side of the room and throw the ball back and forth to each other....how cute!! I can't tell you how excited Brad and I were when we heard this. Not that we have any expectations of Nolan, but we would be absolutely thrilled if he wants to be a baseball (or football) player. But we'll love him just the same if he wants to play soccer too....or - GASP - no sports at all! :)

Erica and Hannah have also been able to teach Nolan how to blow kisses, which Brad and I were completely unsuccessful at.

I've figured out that Nolan is probably about as stubborn as I am - he can say quite a few words, but won't unless he really, really wants to. We were leaving the parent/teacher conference and all of a sudden he said "Bye!" for the very first time, clear as day!! He never stops surprising us......

We should be heading to Vegas.....and taking Brad's mom with us!

2008-12-05T14:13:00.007-07:00

Thursday nights at our house is "Grandma Night". Grandma Cindy usually picks Nolan up from daycare and hangs out with him at our house until we get home from either running errands, a date night, or just going out to dinner. It's wonderful!

Last night, we started out Grandma Night by having Grandma Cindy take our Christmas card picture - it turned out great! At least it turned out great once we got the dogs and Nolan to all look at the camera at the same time! Brad and I took off to grab a quick bite to eat and do some Christmas shopping for Nolan.

Brad had told me yesterday morning he was hungry for Jim's Burger Haven, an old diner where they have the best burgers and shakes. It definitely rivals my all time favorite Steak-n-Shake back home. :)

We pulled into the parking lot and as Brad was getting out of the truck, he slipped and fell on the icy parking lot. (It was SUPER cold yesterday and had snowed a couple of inches.) Now, when something like this happens, my first instinct is to laugh hysterically. I just can't help myself. But I bit my tongue and held it in until I made sure he was okay. Then I definitely laughed about him eating it in front of everyone! I pointed out that he had some slush stuck to his pants and he reached down to brush it off with his left hand.

When he did, his wedding ring flew under his truck and across the parking lot....GASP!!!!!

I think we were both in shock and just stood there for a minute. We rushed around to the other side of the truck and started looking, the whole time Brad just kept repeating, "Really? Really, did that just happen?"

You might remember my experience of losing my wedding band over the summer.......I knew exactly how he was feeling at that moment.

So, cold weather and all, we started searching. Unfortunately there was a huge snow covered bush right where we thought his ring had landed, so we started digging. Literally. It was ridiculously cold and dark, so I suggested that we drive all the way to Brad's mom's house to get her metal detector and come back better equipped. It's not like anyone was going to steal his ring, right?

That was a looooong drive - not a whole lot of talking!! I tried to be a positive as I could, but Brad was really upset with himself. I was disappointed too, but I didn't want to act like it because I knew Brad felt bad enough as it was.

We got back to the parking lot and I'm sure we looked like a couple of weirdos out in the freezing cold digging through a bush with a metal detector. I only wish I could have gotten away with taking a picture of Brad so I could post it once we actually found the ring (because I was that positive we would find it!), but I knew that would have been way over the line!

We spent about another 45 minutes looking and decided to come back when the snow melted and it was light outside. Needless to say, we didn't eat and didn't get any Christmas shopping done last night. :(

Brad called me this morning at work and said he was on his way to meet his mom at the parking lot so she could help him look for his ring. Not ten minutes later he called back. I knew it hadn't been long enough for him to get all the way there, so I was really hoping he had good news. SHE FOUND IT! That's exactly what he said when I answered the phone! He was so excited, and I was so happy we hadn't lost it for good.

She pulled into the parking lot, stepped out of her car and took about three steps and found it! How lucky is she???? Brad said it was right next to a branch we had pulled off of the bush and that we probably stepped on it more than a few times last night.

A big THANK YOU to Cindy for finding the lost wedding ring! My dad said we need to tie strings to our wedding rings from now on. :)

I think we need to go buy a couple of lottery tickets tonight.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-04T14:19:00.015-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was pretty low key, which was nice. Brad had his annual flag football game with a bunch of guys he grew up with. It's always the morning of Thanksgiving Day, and I'm usually at home baking. There are usually at least a couple of minor injuries, and always some aches and pains for a week or so after the game. This year, the injury was Brad's big toenail. It's gone. And it's pretty disgusting. I have pictures that I sent to Nurse Polly just to make sure it was 'normal' to look like that. Trust me, you don't want to see them!

We ate at Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Kenny's - and I didn't get any pictures! But we had a great meal, talked about all the things we're thankful for, watched a lot of football, and played some Wii. It was nice to relax and just hang out for the day. I was in charge of green bean casserole this year, and even added my Grandma Booe's homemade cranberry salad to the meal. Everyone loved it, so it must have been good!

Friday Brad had to work since the market was open, but it was just a half day. Nolan and I headed to only one store to do some shopping (and that was enough!) and then settled in at home to wait for Daddy. That afternoon, we took Nolan to Aunt Melissa and Uncle Jason's to spend the night. He played with Cambell and Mylee and had a blast! Since they're going to have another little one in May, they thought they might need to practice and see what they're in store for! Melissa got back into the swing of changing diapers again - I'm sure it didn't take long to get into the hang of things!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching LOTS of football (we don't discriminate - we watch pretty much every game, college and NFL, you name it!!) and I got the Christmas tree and other decorations up. Somehow I ran out of lights for the tree even though they all fit on there last year. I haven't had time to get more lights yet, so the bottom quarter of the tree looks a little weird with no lights or ornaments. I figured I'd keep the ornaments out of Nolan's reach, just to be safe. He does like to pull on the red strings of beads though, but he's been fairly good about leaving it alone when we ask him to.

Here are some pictures from our lazy weekend at home:

Ahhh, the son of two accountants....of course he'd like playing with a calculator!!

Nolan's first run in with chili....obviously, he loved it! (Notice Brinkley strategically placing himself to lick Nolan's hands clean whenever needed.)

Playing with Daddy

This is one of my very favorite videos. I love watching Brad and Nolan play together, it just makes me smile and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little family!

Indiana Trip 11/13 - 11/18

2008-11-25T09:17:00.039-07:00

I found some cheap tickets and had some downtime at work, so we decided to head back to Indiana for a long weekend. Nolan and I flew out Thursday afternoon and Brad came in late Friday night.

We spent Friday morning Christmas shopping - all the presents are wrapped and ready to go under the tree once Mom gets it put up! I think that's a record for me :) Friday afternoon we hung out at home with Collin, Molly, and Mackenzie. We baked sugar cookies and played games and had a really good time with the '4 babies' as Nanny calls them!

Nolan & Collin (everyone is always calling them the other one's name...they're too close!)

Molly & Mackenzie

Nolan & Kylie

After Brad got in late Friday night, we got an early start for a big day. First we got the catch the Clay City Elementary School 5th & 6th grade girls basketball game in Spencer. It was highly exciting!! Kylie did a good job and even though she didn't score any points, she made a couple good shots. And as you can tell from the video, Papa thinks she needs to work on rebounding!!

After the game we headed back to Clay City and met up with Cary, Collin, and Mackenzie to eat lunch at Glory Days, the new restaurant in town. Nolan loved Collin & Kenzie's little chairs! Looks like we'll have to let Santa know this would be a good idea for Christmas!

After lunch we had plans to visit my friend Meghan that I grew up with, her husband Treg, and daughter Olivia at their brand new house! They were still in the process of unpacking and Nolan and Olivia had a blast playing in the big closets. We got some good pictures to embarrass them both with when they're older :)

I can't say this too many times - Nolan is such a good traveler! Not only did we have a good flight out (which I was worried about since I was by myself with him), he was really good about taking naps in the car while we were visiting everyone. Here's a video of him - he does this a lot in the car and we say he's "singing" himself to sleep - too cute!

We stopped in at Nanny & Papa's to regroup for a minute (literally!) and then headed to Monrovia to visit our friends Sarabeth and Mike and their kids, Emily, Sam, & Lucy. Lucy is a week younger than Nolan but she's already taller than him! Poor guy, hopefully he won't be short like his mommy. Lucy liked pushing Nolan around in the dump truck. She kept walking over to him and saying, "Hiiiiiiiii!" It was too funny!

Sunday we had Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It was so good!! We even got a visit from our good friends Ruth & Lyle! We all just relaxed for awhile after lunch and then got all cleaned up for family pictures. This was a last minute kind of thing, so luckily we had brought something decent to wear! Not everyone was too excited about getting pictures taken, but they didn't really have an option! haha Even though we had a long wait, the kids did such a great job. No one threw a fit or ruined the pictures, and everyone looked at the camera. Collin and Kenzie didn't smile once, but at least they were looking! They turned out really well. Another year before we'll have to do that again, woo hoo!

I think I might have played with this toy when I was little....and it's still a favorite! Kenzie and Nolan had a couple of arguments about toys over the weekend - we had the sharing lecture a few times!

The big kids and Brad, the biggest kid, riding bikes (Collin, Molly, Kylie, Nicolas, and the neighbor kid Lucas)

Nolan playing a game with Rhiannon and Molly

Monday morning we visited Fern, and old friend of my Granny's. She's in a nursing home in Terre Haute and we always try to stop in when we're in town. Then we drove down to Clay City to visit an old friend from New Hope (my old church), Brenda Shidler. Her mom, Ruth Culler, just passed away and she was really a special lady, so we wanted to stop by to say hello since we weren't able to be home for her funeral. They made Nolan a quilt after he was born and Ruth always sent homemade noodles out with my mom for me. Here's a picture of Nolan laying on the quilt from last Christmas - I can't believe how little he was! The other side is yellow, and it's the best blanket - not too heavy, not too light.

Ruth was 98 year old and still right on top of things until she passed. We had a nice visit with Brenda, and Nolan loved the old farm toy she brought out for him to play with while the grown-ups talked. :)

Monday afternoon and night we were able to relax a little bit at home....Dad even watched a little Monday night football with us!

Long day, I guess

Ice cream from Papa - Nolan started saying 'Papa' the day we left!! He was so excited!

Nolan loved my parents' cat, RatCat (or Peaches, depending on who you ask). He was really verbal every time she came around. She swatted at him the night we got there and I think it just scared Nolan, but he was telling her all kinds of things when she was running away!! It was really funny.

Another first for Nolan over the weekend was pooping in the bathtub! Luckily Nanny was giving him a bath instead of me....I'm glad it happened at her house and not mine!!

The new Indianapolis airport terminal opened a few days before we flew in, so we got to check out the new place. Nanny and Papa came in with us when we left on Tuesday to hang out for awhile. We like to have Nolan burn a lot of energy before we get on the plane, so he walked around for a good hour or so in his jammies! One lady asked my dad how old Nolan was because he looked so little and was walking so well....I was so proud!

Nolan was enthralled, to say the least, with the moving walkways at both airports this time around. This is really the first time he's noticed them. While he and I were killing time in Denver before we left, we'd get on the walkway and ride it to the end and get on the other one going back. We did that A LOT. But he was occupied and happy! It was funny though - I thought he'd want to walk on them but he sat down and rode on it every time!

Hanging out with Daddy at the new airport

Bye!

We had a great visit and had a lot of fun catching up with lots of old friends. As always, it was too short a trip and we can't wait to go back for Christmas! We'll be home December 19-27, so hopefully we'll be able to see everyone again!

1 year check-up

2008-11-10T15:33:00.030-07:00

Last Tuesday Nolan had his 1 year check-up and shots. He's starting to even out a little bit! He weighs 20 pounds 13 ounces (15%) and is 28 1/4 inches long (8%). We know he's not going to be tall by any means, but he did grow 2 whole inches since his 9 month appointment!

His shots were a little rougher this time than they had been in the past. Not the best timing since it was also election day and we had to vote on our way home, but he ended up being pretty good while we waited in line. We waited, voted, and were out the door in 30 minutes at our polling place - I couldn't believe it!

Nolan woke up Friday morning with a pretty high fever from his shots, so I got to stay home and cuddle with him all day! There were some fussy periods throughout the day, but he was pretty good considering he felt so awful. Saturday he was feeling much better and Sunday he was pretty much back to normal again!

Here are some recent pictures and videos from the past week or so....enjoy!

Nolan's first babysitter(s)!

2008-11-10T15:23:00.006-07:00

Nolan got to hang out with our friends Shaun and Melissa (check out their blog here) the day after Halloween. They graciously accepted the offer to babysit so Brad and I could have dinner with his dad, Sharon, Melissa, and Jason downtown. We had a good time at dinner and it was nice to know Nolan was in good hands. I have to admit I was a little worried that he'd be a terror the one night we're not there.....but the reports were good! Of course Nolan was spoiled with all the attention!

They brought along their dog Billy for a play date with Brinkley and Nuke. Now they'll just have to give Billy a little brother or sister to have play dates with Nolan too!! :) But seriously, thanks to the Tuttle's for letting us have a night out!

Trick or Treating

2008-11-10T15:18:00.006-07:00

Our neighbors talked us into taking Nolan trick-or-treating on Halloween! Phillip and Renee have two daughters, Delaney (2 1/2) and Kennedy (6 months). Kennedy stayed home with her grandma to hand out candy while Delaney and Nolan brought home some more candy! We had perfect weather and I think Nolan really did have a good time.

So cute! A princess and a monkey.....almost Beauty & The Beast!

Hitching a ride with Daddy

Recent pictures....and videos!

2008-10-31T13:35:00.026-07:00

Updates on our little guy.... :)

Nolan has become so curious lately! We've noticed him noticing more things, especially things that are higher up off the floor, on the walls, or the ceiling. To say he's gotten good at walking is an understatement! He's this close to running already! I've read and heard that babies/toddlers tend to focus on either walking or talking first and Nolan has definitely taken up walking instead of talking! He can only say book, ball, and dog so far. He can mimic sounds that we make (like Dada and Mama) but doesn't necessarily know what they mean. He's also following simple directions now, like I can ask him to give me his binky and he'll take it out and hand it to me. Miss Hannah and Miss Erica at daycare taught him how to blow kisses, but he has to be in the right mood to do it for you. Hmmm, wonder where that stubborn behavior comes from??

Nolan has also started testing us. The dog food bowls are in the laundry room and we try to keep that door shut as much as possible. So of course when it's open, he goes straight for it! He's walks over to the hallway and turns to see if we're watching before he books it down to the dog food! He also likes to get in the trash can. We've smacked his hand a few times and it's almost like he laughs at us! Looks like he might be a time-out kid.....

We love watching Nolan explore and figure out new things. He keeps us busy and on our toes! Here are some recent pictures and videos from the past month or so.

Ready for bed in his pj's

Right back to playing the next morning....ahhh, it's a rough life!

I can't figure out how this is comfortable!

Nolan LOVES the dishwasher. (For the record, I do not normally let him sit on the door, I just thought it was a cute picture!)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T13:11:00.022-07:00

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Not exactly a real pumpkin patch, but it was close to home! We've been having wonderful weather this fall, and it was a perfect day to be outside. There were lots of other activities like pony rides, a corn maze, train rides, and a corn box. Nolan couldn't do much, but we let him play in the corn for a few minutes....he really just wanted to eat the corn, so it didn't last long!

The picker of the pumpkins

Our little climber

We asked an older couple to take our picture, and the lady was really sweet - she kept trying to get Nolan to look at the camera. But then she kept calling him 'she'! I never know if I should correct someone or not, but as soon as we walked away Brad said we were cutting his hair as soon as we got home. And we did! (Pictures in the next post...) The funniest part is that Nolan was wearing this exact same shirt the first time someone called him a girl. And we cut his hair that same day too! But does he really look like a girl in this picture??? The shirt has a baseball on it and it's blue and gray!! If I ever have a daughter, she'll most likely wear pink or purple every single day....

Deloitte has Trick or Treat Street every year in the office. Everyone puts candy out on their desk and we always end up eating half of it before the kids even come in. It's so much fun to see all the kids dressed up! I took the afternoon off and picked Nolan up and put his monkey costume on. I didn't get very good pictures since he wouldn't stand still for a second! I think he had fun but he was pooped by the time we were finished. Everyone was impressed with how well he was walking already, especially with the monkey feet!

Since he can't eat most of the candy, we decided not to take Nolan trick or treating this year. So I headed over to Brad's office to show off his costume when we left my office. All the girls love to see him, so we made the rounds before he got too fussy. We dropped him off at Brad's mom's work so she could show him off some more. He was definitely tired from a big day, but everyone got to see our little monkey!

Here's a picture of him at my desk...he liked spinning in the chair!

Nothing like waiting until the last minute! We carved our pumpkins last night. And by we, I mean Brad. He did a great job! I was hesitant to do it in the living room, but luckily no mess was made!

The finished product - why is mine the one with the huge mouth??

Brad's mom was over since it was "Grandma night", so she helped Brad make ears for his and Nolan's pumpkin. Pretty cute!

Since the weather's so nice we're expecting lots of trick or treaters tonight. I think Nolan will like seeing all the kids dressed up. Hopefully we don't run out of candy too early!

Happy Birthday, Nolan!

2008-10-27T09:13:00.038-07:00

We can't believe that Nolan is already one year old! It has flown by and he's all grown up now....sort of. :) His big day happened to fall on a Saturday this year, so we had a big baseball blowout - big surprise! Here are some pictures:

The personalized M & M's that I just had to have. Purple and white for the Rockies (not the Clay City Eels)!

Happy 1st birthday, Nolan!

The goodies....hot dogs, Cracker Jacks, pretzels & cheese....baseball food!

The cake....I didn't end up getting a good picture of the baseball cupcakes, but the laces are made out of licorice. They turned out great! The cake on the right is in the shape of a '1'. That was the extent of my creativity!

Presents!!

Nolan couldn't take a second to look at the camera!

Nolan's big baseball cake - all to himself!

Before the mess....

....and after!

Brinkley's no dumby!

Are all parents like this.....one with the camera, one with the camcorder? Or are we the only crazy ones?

We went straight up to the bath after this!

The 'after party'.....(funny, that used to have a whole different meaning!)

All tuckered out from a long day :)

The party turned out great and Nolan got a lot of wonderful gifts. He was especially fond of the wiffle ball set and 4-wheeler! He got lots of Vtech toys, books, and even a tee ball set (for next summer). Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate our wonderful little man! :)

I always knew that I would have kids someday, but I could never have imagined how much fun it would be once I did! Nolan is the best little boy ever and I'm thankful every day that God has blessed us with him, that He has blessed me with the most wonderful husband to share all of these experiences with, and that He has faith in us to raise Nolan to be a good, caring, and loving person.

I have to admit that I got a little teary eyed before the party just thinking of all the birthdays we'll share with him, and that one day soon he really will be all grown up. But for now, he's still our baby.....we love you, Nolan!