Why, oh why??

For your enjoyment, here is a typical conversation between Nolan and me:

Nolan: I want a drink.

Me: In a minute, Nolan boy, I'm cooking dinner.

Nolan: Why mommy?

Me: Because it's dinner time and we need to eat.

Nolan: Why mommy?

Me: Because food is what helps you grow big and strong.

Nolan: Why mommy?

Me: Because that's how God made us.

Nolan: Why mommy? (this is where the grin starts to creep across his face)

Me: Nolan, quit asking why, you're just doing it to be silly.

Nolan: Why mommy?

Me: (Sigh) Because you are a silly boy. Go get in your chair.

Nolan: Why mommy?

I think you get the point. Yesterday, I started counting the number of times he asked "why" and I lost track at 27.

Easter 2010

We had an amazing Easter Sunday! Breakfast at church, Easter egg hunt, Resurrection Service, lunch and another egg hunt at Aunt Pat's house, wonderful weather....all great! I missed seeing my family this year (my parents would go to town on the egg hunt for the kids!) but we stayed close for a number of reasons.

First, our friends Rachel and Royce baptized their baby, Shellby, and they asked us to be sponsors. Sponsors, for Lutherans, are kind of like god parents....you pledge to nurture and support the baby's spiritual life as they grow up. We were very honored and, of course, needed to be a part of the sacrament of baptism. I don't have a picture of the actual baptism, but here is little Shellby when she was first born (held by her daddy and being viewed for the first time by the family).


Second, Bailey sang her very first solo in church!! I was nervous that they scheduled her on Easter Sunday, knowing our congregation would double in size on that day. But, Bailey didn't at all seem nervous and we tried not to project that emotion on her during the weeks and days leading up to the service. You may be incredibly surprised to know (if you're not, just pretend you are, mmmmkay?) that I had to fight some "stage mom" tendencies and remember that she's just 5 years old. The fact that she typically sings in a different key than what is being played on the piano was something that I didn't point out to her.....to others, maybe. :-) After all that buildup, I will say that she performed wonderfully and beautifully and I am so proud of her.

I did get video.....but on our actual video camera as opposed to my regular camera that has limited video capabilities. I've said it before so I know you won't believe me, but I'LL TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TRANSFER THE FILE SO I CAN POST IT HERE.

Here are some other pictures from church. This is the Children's Sermon.

The little boys getting ready for the big egg hunt!

And some of the kids showing off their baskets.

Nolan really enjoyed Easter this year, and knew just what to do during the egg hunts. Last year he had ZERO interest, so this year was way more fun! He did NOT like the eggs that were different - there were some at church shaped like animals and it was clear that only official Easter shapes and colors would be accepted by Nolan!!

Nolan is contemplating his egg hunt strategy.

Inspecting his loot.

Bailey is an egg hunt expert!

He's trying to beat that big kid to all the eggs!

And these are from Aunt Pat's house. This is AFTER the kids did their hunt - Joseph, Nolan, Bailey and Anna. It was hot!

This was when I asked who was going to get the most eggs. LOL!

Happy Easter! I hope each of you were able to feel the incredible blessing of our Lord and Savior who died on the cross to save us for our sins. What a spectacular gift for you and for me!

Pink Cheeks and a Little Ink

I'm ready for SUMMER! This cold-warm-cold-warm weather and crazy wind does a number on Nolan's little face. That and the spit rash he is starting to get from excessive pacifier use. We have to stop this soon, but the sheer fact that he gathers 5-6 of them at night and sleeps with them tucked underneath him makes me think it's not going to be an easy task....but I digress.


Look at this cute face! I had a recent day off and took the kids to a Positive Hip-Hop performance at a local library. We met Bailey's friend Kate and her grandma. The girls had a good time but the performance wasn't long enough for Nolan to get into it. We thought he'd be dancing all over the place, but he hung back with me and took pictures of the girls (as in I let him hold the camera and he thought he was taking pictures....it wasn't on).

Note Bailey in the background. She's trying to pick Kate up. It's just what she likes to do, we don't understand it. :-)

Here's Bailey trying to "sweet-talk" him into dancing with a sisterly back rub.

We also went to the park on one of our few nice days thus far. This is Nolan showing his exhaustion after sliding down the slide 472 times.

Nolan received a temporary tattoo at Bailey's school carnival. Jason put it on him last week and he's been very proud and protective of it. (It's R2D2 if you're wondering!)

And, finally, here's Nolan getting a good nap in the car a few weeks ago. He was really out. Note that we were in Jason's office parking lot waiting to go to dinner lest you criticize his insufficient car seat buckling. LOL!

SOCCER!!

So, as I said previously, Bailey had her first soccer game. I think I also mentioned that most of the girls on her team played last season. Bailey didn't really know what to expect and was VERY nervous about the game. Jason had to give her a few pep talks and Saturday morning was excruciatingly long with her asking, "Is it time for my game yet?" every 5 minutes.


As far as first games go, I think she did pretty well. While she wasn't aggressive enough to score any goals (here comes another Jason pep talk!), she was content to run up and down the field with the pack. Her team won 10-0 (if they had been keeping score), so she was a happy girl.

Nolan enjoyed cheering during the game. He enjoyed it so much that he cheered for her to "Go, Bailey, run, run, run!" even when she wasn't on the field!

Oh, and it was freezing.....just like I like it (or NOT)!

Peace...

Puppy Dog Eyes

Nolan has been getting hurt quite a bit lately. Sometimes he falls when he starts running too fast, and other times his sister pushes him and then denies it. Either way, we have lots of minor boo boos at our house. And EVERY time, Nolan makes a big production of it. He'll tell his grandma 6 hours later that he got a boo boo, even after the mark has faded, and usually his account is complete with the saddest voice you can imagine and a matching pout.

This is Nolan after he insisted I document his latest injury. I dare you to find the mark! But, he was very concerned about his belly. Hee, hee!

Anything you can do, I can do better! (I can do anything better than you!)

Yes I can (no you can't)! Yes I can! (no you can't)! If you don't understand what's going on here, you're clearly not the fan of musicals that I am! :-)

Well, the kids are officially "into" arguing over who can do what better, faster, sweeter, bigger, longer, etc. Even when they are sharing nicely or taking turns, Bailey sets ridiculous time limits for Nolan. Unfortunately, the poor kid doesn't realize that holding a ball for 8 seconds isn't really enough time to do anything productive. Especially when she counts really fast for his 8 seconds, and REALLY slow when it's her turn. Nolan doesn't notice.

Jason put up one of his Christmas presents (yes, we are a little slow around here.....but we did finally take DOWN the lights on the house!!) and the kids enjoyed it immensely. Jason didn't realize that you can't take video longways like you can pictures, so this may be impossible to watch. The key is that Nolan comes SO close to making a few baskets. He actually did make a few a bit later, but we'd already put the camera back up. Note Nolan trying to do a one-handed shot right after Bailey did.....and him saying "Nolan do it!"







Bailey has now started playing soccer. We've had one practice and the games will begin mid March sometime. All the other girls on the team played last season, so Bailey has a little more ground to cover before that time. Needless to say, Jason has been practicing with her! Here are some pics of the first practice. Doesn't she look cute?!

Three funny things about Nolan before I sign off:

1. He is LOVING to sing these days. At Mother's Day Out, they said he stands in the front row during song time and just goes at it with the hand motions and everything. Anytime he "freestyles it" for us, though, he still begins every song with "A-way, A-way." We think this is spillover from Bailey's constant singing of "Away in a Manger" at Christmas. Here he is serenading us Billy Joel style.

2. I think you can always tell which kids are 2nd or subsequent children by what they pick up from their older siblings. For example, one of Nolan's first two-word phrases was "my turn." He learned to fight for his turn pretty early! Now, he has begun saying, "Ahh, man" when he falls, or when his blocks fall, or whatever is a minor irritation to him. It is SOOO funny, especially since he still doesn't talk in long sentences just yet. Actually, let me rephrase. He speaks in very long sentences, we only understand the first and last words of them!!

3. He has been using the potty periodically....nothing consistent. But, I bought some pull-up training pants for a presentation at work (don't ask!), so I didn't want them to go to waste so I showed them to Nolan and he seemed very excited. Pull-ups aren't that different from a regular diaper in all reality. But, this morning, when I tried to put them on him, he acted afraid of them. I was so surprised....what could be scary about something that looks just like your regular diaper?! So, I bribed him with a lifesaver. Yep, I'm THAT mom! :-)

Peace....

Little Nolan - February Update

I don't feel like anything super major is happening with Nolan's development. He's still happy and cute, and we still wish we could understand more of what comes out of his mouth!! I think the main thing that's cracking me up lately is that he talks to the t.v. constantly. I remember when Bailey was young and watched Mickey Mouse Playhouse, I always wondered why she didn't respond to the questions asked from the screen. She would be so engrossed in what was happening, but she never spoke a response. Nolan, on the other hand, likes to tell me what's going on with whatever show is on, and he also will respond to any question even if it's just, "that one" when Mickey asks what tool to use for a particular task. I'm fairly sure that "that one" covers all his bases. LOL!

His eating has become a bit better. We still SOMETIMES have meals where he refuses to eat anything, but usually he will eat enough for me to be satisfied that he's not going to starve! Of course, he will go to town on anything sweet....regardless of how "not hungry" he might have been earlier. Jason sometimes eats ice cream in secret (I know, this is the first sign of a problem!) just to avoid the stampede that will ensue should Nolan find out about it!!

Here are a few pictures of Nolan (and Bailey) from the last few weeks.


The kids being sweet and watching t.v. together while I change the sheets.

They were trying to make silly faces at the camera.

Ice cream sandwich!! This was right after getting him nice and clean in the bathtub, too! What a pity....

Relaxing after a hard day....

See....food is actually going into his mouth!!