New Flip Flops

Remember a while ago when I posted something about Nolan and Boomer fighting over a flip flop (that was a dog chew toy)? Well that flip flop is long gone (eaten by the dog), but there are new flip flops in the Donohoe house... last weekend my friend Stacy (the source of the original flip flop) came by and brought BOTH of the boys (Nolan and Boomer) a flip flop. Theoretically that would mean they wouldn't need to fight over it anymore right? Wrong. Any parent knows (or anyone who works with children for that matter) knows that whatever someone else has is way more exciting that what you have (even if the things are the EXACT SAME - like in this case). So needless to say, Stacy's brilliant plan didn't quite work, although it was very thoughtful! Here's a recap of what happened when they got their flip flops:

At first they both played with their own respective flip flops - everyone was happy.

Then Nolan lost interest (I guess a 10 month old doesn't really have a long attention span), at which point Boomer quickly took advantage and stole both flip flops into his own possession.

Then Nolan decided he wanted it back, and clearly the best way to accomplish that was to tackle Boomer.

Eventually a friendly game of tug-of-war ensued (Nolan seemed to enjoy this, but I don't think Boomer was amused).







I am so thankful Boomer is such a patient dog - otherwise Nolan probably wouldn't have all of his fingers right now. In the end Boomer ended up with both flip flops, which is probably a good thing, because Nolan kept trying to eat his like Boomer was doing, and I can't imagine that's very sanitary for little boys...

Hi!

Nolan's newest trick is waving hello and goodbye. It seems like a simple task, but it is so cute! Here is a quick video of it (pardon the food in his mouth... I guess that's what you get for trying to get your child to talk while he's eating). If you listen closely you can hear him sort of say "hi"...

Fun Day at the Beach!

This weekend Nolan and I got to spend some time in Virginia Beach visiting Rachel! As you know it was beastly hot, so we didn't spend too much time outside. We got up and went to the beach early (thank goodness, because it was already 100+ there by noon). Then we spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around and catching up. It was a fun day! Here are a few pics from the day:

Playing in the shade, deciding what to do next:

Apparently what to do next was digging in the sand:

checking out the waves*:

*this was Nolan's first time getting in the ocean water. He wasn't super thrilled about it, but he didn't hate it either.

Posing with Rachel (so cute!):

Totally zonked out after a day of fun in the sun:

(doesn't Rachel look JUST like her mom in this picture!? :)

More Vacation Pictures

I realized I never put up the rest of our pictures from vacation at Deep Creek Lake. Sorry about that! Here are some more for your viewing pleasure:

Nolan playing on the sandy shore:

Nolan with Nini:

Nolan with MeeMaw:

*I hope the grandma's don't hate me for posting pics of them in their bathing suits on the internet - but don't they both look great!?

Nolan with Jack - cute matching chins :)

Me and Nolan:

Nolan stuffing his face with bluberry pancakes - have I mentioned that he loves eating everything!?

There are lots more pictures - Click here to check out the whole album!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2526239&id=6209724&l=3c009e487f

Sorry I haven't been good at updating lately. This summer has been busy with lots of play dates :) I have to admit I haven't been super productive. But I only have a few weeks left of being a stay-at-home mom and then it's back to school time - so I'm trying to enjoy every minute! (and I definitely am!)

10 months!

Yesterday was Nolan's 10 month birthday! I can't believe time is going so fast. In just 2 months he will be a whole year old! So, what is 10 month old Nolan up to these days? Here are a few highlights:

- making a mess (see pic).

- Walking. Nolan is gaining more and more confidence. He's started taking steps more on his own (without our coaxing)! He still needs to work on his balance but he is getting better!

- Talking. He still can't say any words other than "Dada" and "Mama" but he mumbles up a storm! Once he learns to talk for real I have a feeling he is going to be a real motor mouth!

- He still loves mirrors. I took him into a dressing room at Target the other day and he had a blast! He had mirrors on 2 or 3 different walls in there - he probably laughed the whole time I was in there! When I came out the lady that worked there said she had the best time listening to him. He is still such a smilely, happy baby!

- Playing in water. This includes bath time, pool time, and still (much to my dismay) playing in Boomer's water dish. At least now he doesn't eat Boomer's food. Now he just takes the dog food and dunks it in the water. For some reason he finds this incredibly entertaining.

- Eating. He eats pretty much anything and everything he can get his hands on now. He definitely prefers eating finger foods instead of baby food (from a jar).

 

It's been really fun to be home with him this summer. He is at such a fun age!

Walking!

Yes, it's true. Nolan is walking! Well, not exactly "walking" - but he can take a few steps! He normally only does it with a little coaxing, but today I have noticed him doing it on his own a couple of times. He still thinks that crawling is much more efficient (which, for him I guess it is) so he's not extremely motivated to work on it. But it sure is cute! I've been trying really hard over the past week to get a video of him taking a few steps, but it's been difficult. Here's what I've come up with so far...

(He doesn't always have the greatest balance... and when you're learning to walk you are bound to take some falls. But I'll give him credit - he just gets right back up and tries again!)

Usually he takes just enough steps to get close to you and then falls into your arms.

Last one:

Swallow Falls

One of the things we did while we were on vacation was hike to Swallow Falls at one of the state parks. I say "hike" loosely because it really wasn't much of a hike. We actually spent most of the time admiring the falls and swimming in the water. It was beautiful! Here are some pictures:

This is us on the steps heading to the water fall:

A view of the water fall (this is the tallest water fall in MD!):

At the bottom of the falls the water was deep enough to go swimming in. Some of the boys even went right underneath/behind the water fall! At another place (not in the picture) there were some spots to jump off of big rocks into the water. It was great fun!

Family pic in front of the falls:

Jack and his dad in front of the falls:

Nolan and Mom:

We're Back!

We are back from vacation! The end of vacation is always bittersweet - sad because it is over, but nice to get back to some sort of a routine. We had a blast at the lake though! I will post more later after we have settled in and dug out from the mound of laundry we created!

Have a Good Weekend!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Weekend! This is one of my favorite weekends of the year - I just love 4th of July fireworks! We have a busy weekend planned but it promises to be a good one. We are leaving on Sunday to head to Deep Creek Lake for a week. This will be Nolan's longest vacation yet! I'll be sure to post updates and pictures when we get back. In the meantime, have a great weekend, and enjoy the picture of Nolan playing at the pool :)

Sneak Peek

This past week Nolan got some 9-month pictures done. He did AWESOME! I know I am biased, but I really think this might be the cutest baby ever! All of his pictures turned out so well I couldn't choose just 1 to get developed so I am getting them all on a cd. When that comes in a week or so I'll post them on here. But in the meantime here is a little preview...