Just a note...

Today, Bailey said the following:

"Nolan's party is going to be stupendous."

Astonished, I asked her what stupendous means.

She said, "It means the same as great."

Seriously, she's four.

Randomness Abounds

So, according to the little graphic on this page (and, well, his birth certificate), Nolan is almost a year old. This year has been a whirlwind and it really is true how quickly time ticks by as you get older. As Jason always laments, it will be Bailey's high school graduation day before we know it. The challenge is to enjoy each day and live life to its fullest!!




Since I'm pretty singularly focused on Nolan's birthday party (and Thanksgiving and Christmas - the trifecta of big events), I don't have a lot of new content for this post. However, I have some random old stuff that I have wanted to post and just never got around to it.




I spoke too soon...this is new. Nolan was ill this week. I think it was his teeth again, as the illness coincided with one of his top teeth poking through. We have 3 now! Anyway, he was feverish and lethargic. Here's a picture of him one evening....he sat like this for 4 hours straight. Poor kid.




And a few other sicky pictures. The one of him on the bed I took just in case it would be his last - he slept on our bed without moving for 2 1/2 hours straight. He hardly ever does that unless there's something wrong with him.

Here's a video of Bailey waxing philosophic about the election. Too bad I think she thinks Barack Obama is a PLACE rather than a PERSON. You'll see what I mean. I meant to edit out the end where I start talking to Nolan, but I forgot...so you get the exclusive rough cut. Lucky you!! Smile.

Here's some video of Bailey one evening when we were all having a dance contest. Yes, this is what we do to pass the time at the Cox household. There are 2 videos and, after much thought and consideration, I have decided to include the one where she gets mad at Jason for ruining her performance. This will provide some insight into some of my descriptions of our little Bailey and her legendary breakdowns.

That's all for now, folks!

My Sweet Boy at 11 Months

Nolan is the sweetest little boy I could imagine. Yes, sometimes he's way more interested in playing with sister or his toys than giving mom and dad any attention. But other times he is content to sit on my lap and snuggle. I'm not gonna lie - I love me some baby Nolan attention!! A few nights ago, he started crying 30 minutes or so after we put both kids to bed. As the good, non-bad-habit-forming parents that we are, we let him cry for awhile in hopes he would go back to sleep. When it was clear this wasn't going to happen, Jason went and picked him up. Of course, the minute this happened, Nolan's frown turned upside down and he just started grinning. They learn to manipulate so fast!! But, I didn't care. I almost felt like he knew Bailey was in bed and wanted to take advantage of having both his parents at his disposal. He sat on the couch with us and went back and forth between the two of us, giving his sweet little baby kisses and hugs. He would put his head on my shoulder or in my lap and just smile up at me like he was having the time of his life. Soooo cute!!

We've also developed a new game around our house - it's called, "I love my sister." Bailey sits across the room and Nolan walks toward her and, once he's close, he puts his arms out to her and falls into a big Bailey bear hug. She, of course, loves this. Earlier today they did this over and over again until Nolan got tired of being squeezed. Then it was time for a different game where mom has to keep sister away from Nolan with a multitude of distractions or everyone has a meltdown....that's my favorite. Smile.

They have also returned to a game from Nolan's early days - Bailey pushing him around in her doll stroller. If you've been a long-time reader of this blog, you may remember pictures of this activity. If not, here's the recap: he didn't like it. Not one bit. Now, however, he "asks" her to play by finding the stroller and pushing it into her over and over again while whining. He can't get himself into the seat by himself, so he has to rely on one of us to get him ready for the ride. He is just happy as a clam to be strapped into that thing and pushed all over the house by his reckless 4-year-old sister. Yes, we supervise the activity.....mostly. Smile.

Here are some pics from trick-or-treating and a video of Nolan enjoying his first sucker. Yum!!

Bailey was really scared of this display!

Nolan carried his basket for exactly one minute.

Here's another video of his walking skills!

Finally, here's the soapbox portion of the program. I'm tired of two things: 1) people commenting on how small he is, and, 2) people thinking he's a girl. My frustration is not aimed at blog readers or commenters, mind you, but at random strangers and acquaintances we see as we go about our daily lives. On the size thing, yes he eats and yes, he's almost a year old. There's no need to question either of these facts just because he's smaller than YOUR kid/grandkid/sister's brother-in-law's babysitter's nephew. Thus far he and Bailey have tracked along at almost the same exact size. She's just a girl, so her percentage on the growth chart is quite a bit higher than his is as a boy. They were born at 7.13 and 21 1/2 inches (B) and 7.12 and 21 inches (N). At 9 months they were 16.14 (B) and 16.12 (N). We'll see how things go at 12 months....Bailey was 19.4. I don't think Nolan's gonna get there. It's just my suspicion after looking at pictures from Bailey's first birthday party this past week. But, Bailey's growth didn't get to the upper % levels until after 18 months. So, Nolan may still have a shot at a football career.

As for the other issue, I'm not sure I have an explanation for it. We've always thought Nolan looked very BOY, even from his earliest moments. However, I don't kid myself about the fact that it's often difficult to tell the sex of babies. However, he's almost a year now so the true baby thing is starting to wear off. He wears blue and other "boy" colors at all times....I do not put him in sweet little yellow outfits (not that there's anything wrong with that), so it's not like there's any ambiguity with his clothing. As for the hair, Jason has buzzed it with a "1" guard so, again, he's not a kid that has long flowing hair that would obviously make it hard for people to tell the difference. Heck, I don't know, maybe it's related to the size issue. I just know that 4 or 5 people just in the last month have commented on how "pretty she is." I don't really care much about it, really, I just periodically wonder what it is that makes people think "girl" when they look at him. Anytime someone says that, I just smile and say, "Yes, we think he is."

That's all for now....have a great week everyone!!

K