Thank you NIFLA!

What is NIFLA you ask? And why am I thanking them? Well... NIFLA stands for the National Institute of Family Life Advocates (click here to see more: http://www.nifla.org/). They are an organization that does a lot of things, but one of the things they do is train nurses in ultrasound. They do this because if a woman sees an ultrasound of her baby she is less likely to have an abortion. This is something that I am very passionate about, so I was happy to volunteer as a "model" for the nurses to train on. I know I was suppose to be doing NIFLA a favor by volunteering, but honestly I think I am the one that won out. I got to watch an ultrasound of our baby for 45 minutes. It was really fun! Usually at the doctors I feel like they rush you in and out so they can get to all the patients, and they don't always take the time to really let you look during the ultrasound. Plus, a lot of times the nurse will tell me what she is looking at and I have no idea what she is talking about because she goes so fast. But this time was different. There were 6 different nurses who took turns using the ultrasound machine on me. The neat thing was that while they were learning what to look for, so was I. The nurse that was teaching them was very good about explaining everything - and by the 6th time of looking at it and felt like I really knew what I was looking at. According to them I have really nice anatomy :) Ultimately it was just really cool to get to watch our baby for 45 minutes. It is so rare to get to see inside the womb, so I really enjoyed it! We got to see lots of different views. We saw him/her move around, swallow, and give a peace sign - all at only 14 and a half weeks old!

Here are a few pics of the newest addition to our family:

This is our little peanut at 8 weeks:

Here is his/her (still don't know which yet!) face:

(Looks a little alien-esque, but still cool!)

Profile shot - isn't it so cool to see how much he/she has grown is just 6 weeks?

This is him/her giving a peace sign:

Another profile shot - you can't really see his/her legs, but I promise they are there! I saw them kicking all around!



News Update

I know it's been a long time since the last post, but to make it up to you I have some big news to share!

Nolan is going to be a big brother! Woo hoo!

The due date is Sept. 6th. I guess we have a knack for September birthdays. That will put Nolan and his little brother or sister at 2 years apart. My brother and I are 2 years apart and I always thought that was a good amount. Hopefully it will work out well for Nolan and Baby too!

Non-Stop

Someone asked me recently how I ever get anything done anymore. And the answer is, "I don't." Nolan goes non-stop, all the time. If you take your eye off of him for one second you never know what he'll get into. Here are a few examples:

- Today I had to call Poison Control for the first time. While I was brushing my teeth, Nolan got a hold of the mouthwash and somehow figured out how to take the top off. Next thing I know I look over and he is drinking it. On the back of the bottle are all kinds of warnings about not ingesting it and keeping it out of the reach of children, especially those under 6. Luckily when I called poison control they said he would be fine as long as I gave him something to eat and drink and he didn't throw up or get suddenly sleepy (because mouthwash contains alcohol). Oddly enough, Nolan seemed to really like it, and he's had really fresh breath all day!

- Shortly after the mouthwash incident, Nolan was eating some crackers to help settle his stomach. He then proceded to take the crackers into the bathroom, dunk them in the toilet, and tried to eat them. Since when did toilet water become the new cracker dip? Gross.

- Yesterday Nolan had to sit in time-out mutliple times at the babysitters for climbing on things he's not suppose to. He must not have learned his lesson because when we got home, he continued to try to climb on top of tables and such. Later we went over to a friend's house where he climbed on top of a desk, then on top of a computer, stood up, and started pressing buttons on the security system. I fear it's only a matter of time before I walk in and find Nolan on top of the refrigerator or somewhere else ridiculous. You just never know with this boy!

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! (a few days late). 2010 was a pretty good year. Nolan learned lots of new things - how to sit up, eat real food, got 12 teeth, how to crawl, how to walk, how to dance (which he loves to do - just like his dad), how to climb (which he also LOVES), how to say a few words, and much more. One of my favorite things about 2010 was watching him learn new things. It is so fun to see him discover something new! He is at such a fun age. I can't wait to see all that he accomplishes in 2011!

Wishing you all the best this year... May 2011 be filled with joy beyond your imagination!

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Eph. 3:16-21

Bean Bags!

I did it! I made bean bags! This might not seem like a big deal to you, but I am really proud of myself so I thought I would share....

Jack recently acquired a corn-hole set. Unfortunately we left the bean bags outside and the squirrels got to them. If you know anything about corn-hole, you know that having the boards doesn't do you much good if you don't have bean bags to throw in them. So I decided that for Christmas this year I would make Jack a set of bean bags. It seemed simple enough. However I don't really have much sewing experience so it proved more difficult than I thought. But with a little patience, and a lot of help from Nina, I was able to finish them this past week. It was quite a relief to have them done. Now I feel like I can do anything! (better not get ahead of myself... but if you know anyone that needs some bean bags let me know! =P)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is about Jesus. After all, it is His birth and gift of Grace that we celebrate. As our family grows I look forward to establishing new traditions to celebrate this holiday. But for this year we just enjoyed getting to visit lots of family and eat lots of delicious food. Here are a few pictures from our celebrations:

Boomer saw me filling up his stocking, but I wouldn't let him have what was in it until the morning. So this is how he slept all night long:

(right next to his stocking!)

Nolan checking out the toys "Santa" brought:

(his facial expression is priceless)

Nolan playing with some new trucks:

Playing with some new blocks and legos:

Pops and Nolan opening some presents:

Opening presents at the farm:

Christmas cake:

Nolan climbing on his new slide: 

Nolan got a new stool for Christmas (because he likes climbing on things). For what seemed like hours, he climbed up on this stool and waited for us to cheer. Then he would climb back down and do it again. It was pretty cute:

(sorry the picture is sideways - I couldn't figure out how to switch it)

Sporting some new batman pajamas:

New Template

What do you think of the new blog design? I decided I wanted something "wintry". This is my subtle attempt to sway Mother Nature into having lots of snow this year. We've already gotten some and it's not even Jan. yet so I have hope! Nolan has a nice new sled (and by "new" I mean I got it at a yard sale this summer for $0.25) to try out!