Oops! Nolan Notes

I forgot my thoughts on the little kiddo - oops!! 

At six months, Nolan enjoys...

watching every move his brother makes...

laughing when Grayson does silly things...

playing with his hands and chewing on anything within reach...

anything with bananas inside...

listening to the sound of his voice when he yells...

watching our reactions when he fake-coughs...

playing with his feet and kicking his legs high in the air...

making all of us laugh with his infectious giggles. :)

Graysonisms and Nolan Notes

When I was tucking the big boy into bed the other night, we began talking about his Build-a-Bear he received when he was born.  This discussion stemmed from the dog Cousin Taylor made for Nolan.  Grayson brought the bear to his room and gave big hugs to him, telling me his name is "Teddy Soccer Bear" (if you haven't guessed, he is outfitted in soccer gear).  He then proceeded to tell me that Teddy would protect him if there was thunder, and that we needed to get him a bed.  We used a plastic bin as his bed, and found a blanket from Grayson's NICU time to cover him.  Once he was in bed, Grayson stopped in his tracks and said, "Wait Mommy.  Teddy needs a pillow for his head!"  We found the perfect pillow in his closet, cradled his head lovingly, and both Grayson and his stuffed friend tucked in for the night.  Where did this come from?  I'm guessing that Grayson is learning from us about taking care of children (i.e. Nolan and his daycare friends), and it is beginning to really show in his play.  So sweet!!
In addition, Grayson has really gotten into math activities and card games lately.  At work, I have to assess students often for their abilities in math and reading.  In doing these assessments, I often wonder about my kiddo at home, so I've used him as my guinea pig.  My studies have found that he can count to 50 (fab for his age) and that he knows each of his letter sounds through the letter "R" (also really great).  He also has good number sense in 0-10 and is good at identifying rhyming words (a kindergarten skill).  I have no plans to sign him up for enriched programs at any point, but I am happy with his progress as a student, and the activities we've been doing have been really fun!!

MEA Madness

Life continues to fly by, and Nolan reached a milestone last week - he is 6 months old!!  I cannot believe just how quickly the time has gone; I don't remember things moving so fast with Grayson.  We often wonder if the circumstances around Grayson's birth and his immediate early needs has something to do with it, or if parents just become so much busier with two. 
Last week was MEA, which means two days without kids - woo hoo!!  I had glamorous thoughts prior to the week, but the time filled up fast with simple life work and events.  Some of the "highlights":
Grayson and I ventured to the eye doctor for his yearly in-depth check of his eyes (a preemie thing).  He did a great job with getting his eyes dialated, though it took nearly two days for him to stop looking dazed and confused.  Much to our happiness, the only preemie thing they saw was "puffy optic nerves" - considered normal for some early kiddos - and he doesn't have to have another checkup for 3 years!  Yay!
I chopped a few inches off of my hair in hopes I can learn how to do my "new" hair.  Since Nolan's birth it has become much thinner and somewhat straighter, and I'm working hard to find new products and ways to work with it to make it look better.  I don't want to sound like it's a big deal, as there are so many other things to wrap my head around, but it is an interesting phenomenon for me. 
Russ and I also had the opportunity to wrap up the majority of a house project on Friday, and we had a lovely time wandering the aisles of Lowes (sad, isn't it?).  The laundry room is now birdhouse wallpaper-free and adorned with great oak shelving.  We just have a few finishing touches and it will be complete. 
To round out the weekend, we traveled to LC for Nolan and Dylan's baptism and lunch celebration.  I will post some pics soon, as well as my reflections on an amazing and touching event. 

October...

Whew...it is 10 PM on Mon.Oct 18th and I am FINALLY finished with late-night work at school for the immediate future.  I've had multiple Literacy and Math nights since September, parent nights, and conferences, and am ready for "normal" life!  Yay!!
School is great, and I am enjoying my job and my new responsiblities.  One thing outside my comfort zone - I am teaching math!!  I was never really a fan as a child, but it is so interesting to do, and I never realized just how much teaching reading occurs when teaching math.  Who would have thought that the word "digit" would bring such confusion and questioning to third graders???
Grayson and Nolan are fantastic - I have been learning many new games at school, as well as using new reading tools, and Grayson is a great guinea-pig.  It is exciting to watch him grow as a learner and to understand how he will continue to develop as he ages.  I also am enjoying the connection my boys already have!  They search each other out every day, and I love to see the smiles they bring to one another, especially as Nolan is becoming more and more interactive. 
Work for Russ continues to be quite busy; membership sales are growing as the weather gets colder, and the club always needs new upkeep.  At home, we have begun tearing the laundry room apart, with Russ building a bench and cubby system, and the stripping of some pretty gaudy birdhouse wallpaper (yay!).  It is a little more time-consuming with two kids, but we should be set up pretty soon. 
As a family, we've had some good fun this month.  We've had to avoid hive-inducing weather lately (more on that in the future), but with the nice weather we've gone out fishing in the boat as a family, visited an apple orchard and a pumpkin farm, carved and painted a pumpkin, and played in the leaves. We've also had some good visits with the Myers clan, had a special visit from Vega and her new family, and are preparing for Nolan and Dylan's dual baptism this Sunday.  Here are some pics from the latest events...

My Favorite Things...

I feel the need to pay homage to my many brushes with "The Sound of Music" - here are some of my favorite things right now...

-Telling Grayson about the many things he used to do as a baby that I now see Nolan doing...
-Turning on the fireplace on chilly mornings...
-Having grown-up conversations with Grayson about the sights and sounds of life...
-Snuggling with Nolan in the rocker during the wee hours of the morning...
-The sights of the crisp blues, greens, and fiery colors of fall...
-Cooking anything with apples...
-The brush of happiness I feel every day when Russ comes through the door...
-Listening to the laughs, coos, and bubbles that Nolan makes...
-Hot chocolate, tea, or a Diet Coke in the morning... :)

Luck...

Growing up, and even yet into adulthood, my sister has always been quite the lucky gal.  When we played bingo at the VFW with our mom and grandma as children, she often had the lucky cards or pull tabs (or should I say, Mom and Grandma always did?).  If she enters a contest or drawing, her name is often chosen, and she's even been a winner of a sizeable pot on a scratch-off. While she is a lucky woman in many ways, I feel pretty special myself.  I may not always own the winning number or ticket, but I know I am a really lucky person to be surrounded by the friends and family I have.  I am a part of an amazing, caring teaching team at work, and have a fantastic job where I make an impact on someone's life each day.  I live in a big, beautiful house, and have the most fabulous husband and kids I could ever wish for!  Wow, I am blessed!