Back to School

It's amazing how time flies. Nolan is already 6 and a half weeks old. He had his 6-week check-up this week, and discovered that he has grown to over 11 and a half pounds and 23 inches. It is hard for me to believe he has grown 4 inches - I guess that explains why all of his pants are now capris! The doctor says everything looks good!

We are definitely excited and thankful that Nolan is a healthy, growing boy. Now that he is 6 weeks old that meant time to go back to work for me. Going back to school is never something that you look forward to, but I'm proud to say we all survived the week. I haven't been able to take as many naps (and therefore feel extremely sleep deprived), but otherwise all went well. Nolan was a hit at his daycare - there are 2 other little girls there that just adore the "new baby". He is a stud already. I didn't cry at all when leaving him, so I was proud of myself for that. It helps that Jack has been taking him in the mornings so I don't have to drop him off. I just get to pick him up in the afternoon which gives me something exciting to look forward to all day at work. The only nice thing about going back to work is that it has helped us begin to establish a little bit of a routine. Jack and Nolan hang out in the mornings and then go to work/daycare together. When I pick Nolan up in the afternoon he is usually wide awake. I like to think he is excited to see me and spend time together so he doesn't want to waste time sleeping. The only problem is that he stays awake all evening, so I don't get to take my usual nap ;) The good part of that though is that he usually goes to bed between 9 and 10 and will sleep sometimes until 4. It feels pretty good to get 6 hours of sleep in a row!

Anyway, enough about that. I don't really have and fun new pictures, but here are a couple random ones from the last week or so...

Here is Nolan all bundled up for the colder Fall weather... he is so cute in his hat (that Kim Hill made)!

And here is Jack and Nolan watching football together...

And here is Nolan and Boomer playing on the floor together...

Pumpkin Patch

Today we did what everyone should do on a brisk Autumn afternoon... we went to the pumpkin patch! Nolan got to experience his first trip to the pumpkin patch - he slept through a lot of it but I like to think that he had a blast. If nothing else Jack and I had a blast pretending that Nolan was having fun.

Our adventures took place at Westmoreland Berry Farm. We had never been there but it turned out to be a good time. It was much cheaper than some of the other local places. We got to go on a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch (for those of us that grew up on a farm/in the country this wasn't really that exciting, but it was fun to see everyone else so excited about it). This is us on the wagon ride:

We also saw some goats (again, probably more exciting for the city folk), drank delicious hot apple cider, and of course picked some pumpkins. Nolan picked out a little one for himself (or more like I saw him eyeing a pumpkin so I picked it up and set it next to him). All in all it was a fun time. I really love this time of year!

Here is a picture of Nolan meeting the goat:

And one of him pretending to be a pig:

Sunny Days

The past few days have been extremely rainy and cold so Nolan hasn't been outside much. This week has started off on a different note though, so we have been trying to enjoy the beautiful weather before it turns cold for good! One of our favorite things to do during the day is go for walks. It's nice to get fresh air, and it helps Boomer and I both get our exercise for the day.

Boomer leading the way

Boomer checking up on his buddy

Happy Birthday Nolan!

It is hard to believe but this week we celebrated Nolan's 1 month birthday! I can't believe he is that old already. Time flies! I can really tell in the last week that he has grown. He is officially too big for newborn size diapers and is outgrowing some of his clothes. He is still as cute as ever though!

Here are some pictures to show how much he has grown...

20 weeks old in the womb:

the day he was born:

1 month old:

Nolan's 1st Roadtrip

This past weekend Nolan got to experience his 1st roadtrip. Jack was in a wedding in TN, but we decided that might be a little far to take Nolan in the car. So Nolan and I hung out in Blacksburg for the weekend. I made sure to dress him in as much VT stuff as possible to get him in the mood for the trip...

You can't really tell but he is wearing a VT shirt and socks in this pic to go with his blanket. Nolan got to watch the Tech vs. BC game with his grandparents. He is a good fan - Tech is undefeated during his lifetime!

 

We both had a great time visiting with everyone in town. Nolan especially enjoyed hanging out with Pat and Nina. Maybe because they spoil us so much? :)

Nolan also got to visit his Uncle Ben and see his dorm room. He was a big hit with the ladies! Actually, Nolan was a big hit with everyone. He also got to meet the Mock's, Sarah, Kim, Rocky, and lots of people from BCF and BMS (Nina's teacher friends).

Overall it was a great trip and we are excited to go back soon (hopefully Jack can join us next time)!

Down on the Farm

Yesterday Nolan got his first real taste of being on the farm...


It was a little cooler so we had to get him bundled up... notice he is wearing his special farm outfit!

One of our favorite things to do at the farm is go for a walk. To do this Nolan got his first "ride" in the backpack. He seemed to really enjoy it. He stayed awake for the whole thing!

On our walk Nolan got to see his first ever cows! I don't think he knew what was going on, but I like to think he enjoyed it.

He also got to meet his first cat! Hopefully he didn't like it too much because Jack and I don't have very good luck keeping cats... so that is one pet Nolan will probably never get to have.

Man's Best Friend

A lot of people ask us how Boomer is doing with Nolan. So here is an update...

Here are some pictures from the first time Boomer and Nolan met:

Boomer mostly likes to sniff him...

But he can also be very calm and protective...

Most of the time if Nolan is at sniff level, Boomer will go for it. Any time he is in his car seat or bouncy seat Boomer likes to be in his face... Most of the time Nolan doesn't seem to mind which is good. I can already tell they are going to grow up being great friends!

Whenever Nolan makes a noise (no matter how big or small) Boomer has to go over and check it out. I think he is still really confused as to how someone that small can make that much noise (or any noise at all for that matter). I guess if I were to somehow go deaf I would still know when Nolan is upset because Boomer would let me know.

He especially loves to check on Nolan while he's in his cradle. I don't think he means to do it, but he likes to paw at the cradle and make it rock back and forth. (I had a picture but not sure what I did with it)

The other day I was getting out the shower and Nolan was getting cranky. I need not worry though, Boomer was laying right next to his cradle keeping watch over him. It's not like Boomer could really do much to quiet his crying, but I like to think that Boomer thinks he is looking out for him. This seems to be the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship!

Happy Birthday Nolan!

It is hard to believe but today is Nolan's 3 week birthday! I can't believe he has been with us for that long. Time really flies! He has been growing lots in those first 3 weeks. He started at 8 lbs 8 oz. He lost a lot of weight though initially and got down to 7 lbs 13 oz. Now he has turned into a regular ol' pigger. At his 2 week checkup he weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz. So he is a growing boy!

This is just a random picture of him enjoying his bouncy seat. Can you tell how he's grown?

Bath TIme

Over the last week Nolan has gotten to enjoy real bath time. Surprisingly he seems to enjoy it. I haven't seen a single tear while in the tub. He likes to try to put his soapy fingers in his mouth, but otherwise he does great! Here are a few pics from his first bath...

Getting dried off...

All clean! He is perfectly content!