Road Trip!

For our summer trip this year we decided to travel across the country – first to Chicago, then Minnesota, then Nebraska, and back home. My biggest concern going into the trip was traveling with a toddler and a hugely pregnant momma (me). But I am relieved to say that Nolan did AWESOME and I was able to control my bladder to a reasonable amount of bathroom stops. All in all, we had a great time! I will be posting some highlights from our trip (but it may take a couple of posts worth, so be patient!)

Pt. 1: Driving (and driving, and driving some more…)

Here is us packed and ready to go... -->

Throughout the 10 days of our trip we spend about 48 hours in the car. Yikes!

Nolan usually does ok in the car, but he is so active that he gets restless after a certain amount of time. This could pose an obvious problem when you’re traveling for a bazillion hours. Thankfully though we were able to plan accordingly (thanks to much advice from friends!) and we all survived! Here is a glimpse of his time in the car:

We left around noon which is the time Nolan usually takes a nap. He was bathed and fed so he fell asleep pretty quickly in the car, and slept for 3 hours!

After "nap time" we stopped for gas, bathroom, and to stretch our legs. Afterwards Nolan was perfectly content to eat his popcorn and watch Toy Story on our portable DVD player (best. invention. ever.)

By the time we stopped again it was time for dinner. We ate and stuffed Nolan full of french fries (a reward for being so good). Then he played some in the car - with an empty cup no less. I couldn't care less what he was playing with, as long as he was happy!

And for the final lef of the trip, it was bed time! While we drove through the dreadful state of Illinois (tons of tolls and terrible roads!), Nolan slept. We finally arrived at our destination about 1am Central Time.

The rest of the traveling days followed in a similar manner, although this was the longest day of driving. The others were 7, 7, 12, and 9 respectively.

More to come soon...

Swimming!

A few weekends ago, Jack, Nolan and I took an impromptu trip to VA Beach to visit some friends. We were only there for about 24 hours, and wouldn't you know it, as soon as we started to get ready for the beach is started storming. I was excited to see what Nolan would do at the beach. Last summer when we went he just sat there and tried to eat fist-fuls of sand. yuck! I think he's old enough now to actually play in the sand and in the water. So hopefully sometime soon we'll get to go back.

Since we didn't get to go to the beach, we went in the pool instead. Jack and Nolan didn't seem to care that it was raining since they were going to get wet anyway. I wasn't sure how Nolan would do. Last summer we went to the pool a lot, and he loved it, but he was either in the baby pool or in an inner tube thing (neither of which we had available this time). But I'm proud to say that he was not scared of the water at all! He jumped right on in there! He enjoyed swimming around (with the help of Daddy and a life jacket) and jumping off the edge of the pool. He even jumped off the diving board (into Jack's arms)! I was impressed, but I should have known he would have no fear. Now I need to watch him VERY carefully if we are ever near water since I know he has no problems jumping right in.

Here are a few pics of Jack and Nolan in the pool... I didn't get a whole lot because it was raining and the water was making the camera lense blurry. But you can tell in just 2 shots that they seemed to be having a great time!

Hot Days

This week it has been uncomfortably hot. That hasn't stopped Nolan though. All he wants to do is play outside. He doesn't seem to care that within 5 minutes his cheeks are bright red and his hair is soaked with sweat. The first thing he does when he gets up and the last thing he does before bed is stand at the door begging to go outside. He just can't get enough. Yesterday I decided if we were going to be outside we might as well get cool. So I pulled out the baby pool and filled it up with nice cold hose water (previously this pool was solely for Boomer, but I figured they could share now). Boomer jumped right in. Nolan was a little tentative at first, but once he adjusted to the temparature, he went nuts. They both had a ball! Boomer splashed and Nolan laughed. It was fun to watch them. I get the feeling that was only the first of many times the pool will be in use this year!

Here are a few pics:

This is Nolan getting use to the water (clearly loving it though):

Eventually we put the slide so that it would go right into the pool...

... Best. Idea. Ever!

The look on Nolan's face is that of sheer joy:

The Big Move

Well, we have officially moved! This past weekend we packed up all of our belongings and moved them to either storage or to the apartment where we will be staying for the next little while. We are both happy and sad about this transition... Happy because we will have the opportunity to save some money, and because we will have free reign of the farm for Nolan and Boomer to run around (which they both LOVE). It's ironic because when I was growing up, all I wanted to do was live in "town" in a neighborhood like everyone else. Now that I have that, all I want is to move back to the country. So I think it will be a good thing to move, but we are sad to leave behind so many good memories. After all, this was the first place we lived together as a married couple, our first home to fix up and decorate, the first home Boomer knew, the home we took Nolan home from the hospital to - and the only home he's ever known.

Anyway, we are moved, and settling in to the apartment. I think Nolan and Boomer are having to make the biggest adjustments to the move. Boomer has pretty much given up sleeping with us. He prefers to stay in the house now so that he doesn't miss anything exciting - like going for walks or tractor rides. Plus, everytime he has been there before that is where he's stayed, so that's what he's use to. Nolan is also getting use to his new surroundings. Bed time has been a struggle only because he would much rather be playing outside than going to bed. It doesn't help that one of the windows in his room is missing a shade so it isn't as dark in there. This is particularly problematic in the mornings when the sun comes shining through and wakes him up at 5:45. Today he slept until 6:15 so I hope we are making some progress. I'm going to stop on my way home and pick up some room darkening shades for his room. Hopefully that will help!

To wrap this up, here is a picture from the last week or so (taken at the old house):

I thought it was funny because of all the camo Nolan was wearing. Boy does he love those boots! I couldn't help thinking to myself "This boy needs to get out to the country ASAP!" Now he can wear his camo boots and fit right in!

1st Hair Cut!

It may have taken 19 months, but Nolan finally grew enough hair to get a hair cut! One of the things Jack always talks about from his childhood is going to the barber in downtown Blacksburg with his Dad on Saturday mornings. While we were in Blacksburg this past weekend we decided to give Nolan a shot at this experience for himself. Here are a few pics from the big day:

Hair before:

Poppa and Nolan walking in Blacksburg toward the barber shop:

Getting his hair done (they gave him a sucker which really helped to keep him still):

Overall he did very well. I was proud of him for sitting still for so long (I didn't think it was possible!):

Hair cut after:



It's a GIRL!

I can't hardly believe I'm saying this, but Donohoe Baby #2 is going to be a girl! I thought for sure we were destined to have all boys. Jack comes from a family of 3 boys, and I have all brothers and almost ALL boy cousins. Girls just don't come along very often in the Massey family - but when they do, boy are they special! :)

It was really fun to get to see the baby in the sonogram yesterday. We got to see a few 3-D images which was cool (I'll post pictures at some point). The whole time the nurse was showing us all of the different body parts - head, abdomen, feet, kidneys, heart, etc. I kept thinking "So... what is it!? Am I going to be buying pink? or more blue? playing with dolls? or more trucks? softball? or more baseball?" And then finally (at the very end) she showed us... it's a girl! She kept her legs open just long enough for us to get a look, and then she closed them right back up. Very lady like already!

 I remember with Nolan thinking how cool it was to get a glimpse of the baby that's inside of you. But this time was different. I think now that I've had Nolan I know what a joy children are. Just looking at the baby girl, I was already overcome with love. As I was sitting there in the sonogram room, I just kept thinking "I love you so much already!" (for the record, this would have happened if it was a boy too). I know every baby is different, and no one could ever "replace" my Nolan - he is so very special to me is so many ways. But my motherly instincts are already kicking in for his little sister. I find it interesting that as soon as I found out this was going to be a girl I already started worrying more. I wonder why I feel the need to protect her more than I remember feeling that with Nolan? Obviously I want to protect Nolan too. But I guess being a boy I know he is going to be able to fend for himself. With a girl, I am already worried that there won't be any good guys out there to treat her right, or that girls are going to be caddy and lower her self esteem. I hope that doesn't happen. She is already so beautiful. And she deserves the best! And plus she has a great older brother who will kick anyone's butt if they try to mess with her! :) I am lucky to have 2 great brothers. I am excited to see the bond that she and Nolan will have!

Fun on the Farm

Nolan has been learning a lot of new words lately. One of his favorite words is "ride". The other one is "outside". Put those together and you can make this child happy for hours!

It should come as no surprise then that Nolan LOVES to go to the farm. There are so many things to explore and "ride". We've been going out there a lot recently to help out with things and work on the apartment. Nolan lucks out because while we work, he gets to play. Here are some pictures of his adventures there recently:

Nolan meeting the pigs:

Nolan riding on the tractor with Pops:

Checking out the 4-wheeler:

Going for a walk:

The Christmas trees that we helped plant: