Grand Junction, Mother's Day, Preggo Pic!

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!!

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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!