Christmastime

Wow, we have had a busy season. We got Nolan up Christmas morning and he crawled out to the living room and saw the kitchen that Santa left for him, he was thrilled. He didn't want to open any more presents.He got a baseball bean bag chair, a bead maze, a bell for his bike, jazz cds, an electric toothbrush to mention a few. He was actually great at opening presents; however, he was not interested after he saw his kitchen.

We opted for just sugar and cinnamon toast for breakfast and headed to my sister Amanda's house for the day. We spent time with my family. Nolan had so many great gifts. His favorite of all was the silverware set my mother bought him. Who knew? He was wiped out when we finally headed home, he felt asleep immediately. When we got home, he would not go to bed.

In fact, he threw everything out of his crib, took his pants off and tried to jump out.

To see more of our Christmas fun, you can click on the top right of the page where it says Our Pictures and you will be directed to flickr. I have uploaded a lot there.

It's Almost Christmas!

I can't believe it is almost the end of the year. We have had a rollercoaster 2008 to say the least. Nolan was diagnosed in February, Jeff got laid off in March, but it has been all up from there. Nolan has been walking assisted since Saturday at our house and previously at Marcia's (his sitter). What a miracle that is! It was just this year that we were praying that this day would happen. We anxiously await the big day when he walks unassisted. We feel it will be soon and what a celebration it will be. I have the day planned in my head already. And, of course, Jeff got a new job in August. His time off and hard work with Nolan is evident in Nolan's success and boy does he love his daddy!

We've been getting ready for Christmas and excited to see family. We took Nolan to see Santa which was an experience to say the least. You can see the pictures at the left. We decided on the Somerset Santa because we thought it would be "easier". Uh, no. I got up at 6 a.m. to get ready, get Nolan ready and get out the door. Then, I waited in line to get our time slot. We ran around until our time, 10:53 a.m. We checked in and waited again. Then, it was our turn. We went up to Santa and I told him, "Santa, please don't look at or speak to Nolan." He said, "Nooooo, it's ok. Hiiiii, Nolan!" Then, all hell broke loose as you will see in the pictures. Maybe next year. I have to say that my favorite pictures are the ones of him sitting at a desk and writing his letter to Santa at Macy's. Then, he was so proud of himself when he could stand at the mailbox and drop it in the slot. It was probably the highlight of his day.

Check out Nolan's videos on YouTube and pictures on flickr. You can access that at the right. We're so proud of him. He is kickin' his walker's a$$.

Time is Flying!

I can't believe that it's almost Christmas...feels like it was just Halloween. We've been getting ready for the holidays and trying to keep up with all of the therapies and appointments. Nolan got his tricycle two weeks ago and doesn't seem to like it much, especially the helmet. We'll be working on this.We got him a helmet that fits better than this one; however, he still doesn't like it. I can't help but laugh at his expressions sometimes.

For Thanksgiving, we were supposed to go to the Lions game, but didn't end up going. We spent a nice day at home, then went to Maggiano's for dinner and Michael's craft shopping. It was a very unconventional, yet relaxing Thanksgiving. Nolan still wore his Lions gear eventhough we didn't go.That weekend, we also decorated our Christmas tree. It is a tradition at our house to have a theme each year and it usually revolves around something that happened that year. This year we chose Childhood Stroke Awareness since Nolan was diagnosed this year. It was a great time to reflect on everything he's accomplished this year. And, it's pretty, too!Jeff bought Nolan a toy on Wednesday night. He uses these beads in therapy, but for some reason, he just likes to wear it as a necklace or put it on the dogs.I bought Nolan a Curious George to enhance his nurturing skills. This is something we work on continuously because he loves to throw things. I finally got Nolan to hold George the other night. Next, we'll move on to hugging. It is funny that Nolan doesn't like George because he is a very loving child.After this picture, he threw George at the camera. Ha, ha, ha.

On our way home from the store tonight, we passed a church that was having a living Nativity. Nolan loved all of the animals. It was snowing making it quite cold, but we enjoyed it for a little bit.

Yup, He's Ours

Jeff was cleaning out the basement yesterday and found this picture of my dad. I believe he was 2 years old. It was like looking at a picture of Nolan! The side-swept hair, the big forehead, the nose, the lips, the round cheeks, the ticked off look on his face!

Fear, Fun and Funniness

A lot has been going on lately as usual. As you know, Nolan is quite tall. I guess I didn't realize this until Sunday when I got him up from his nap. His crib side is all the way up and the mattress is lowered all of the way and the side only comes to a little above his waist! Jeff and I joke that we'll need to put padding on the floor. I am very fearful that he will jump out soon. I have caught him trying to throw his leg over the edge. Yikes!He had tons of fun at Allie's first birthday party. It was held at the Nature Center in Madison Heights, a little known treasure. We bundled up and went on a nature walk. I realized that if I am going to be a mom, I need to brush up on my nature skills. I didn't know anything! I definitely wasn't paying attention in Biology! Nolan got to see his Allie, her mother Marcia who is also Nolan's sitter and his other girlfriend Addison. They light up when they see each other. Allie's grandmother said that the first time she smiled that day was when she saw Nolan at the party. Awwwwe...

Sunday, Nolan got a new toy. We couldn't wait until Christmas. He got a racetrack. It has a ramp for the cars. Well, Nolan seems to think it's a slide for him although it is only about two to three inches wide. I put the toy together, he crawled over to it, stood up, turned around, sat on it and slid down the ramp! We were cracking up. He is a goofball!Please excuse the disaster in the background. We couldn't wait to play.

In this next picture, look at Nolan's right heel. It is almost flat to the floor. This is thanks to his day and night braces. They are giving him a good stretch so he can eventually put his heel on the ground. This will prevent him from walking on his toes, limping or tripping on his foot.

So, Nolan saw his neurologist this week. She thinks he is making great progress in most areas. We are still concerned about his speech and eating. She is requesting a speech evaluation and swallow study. Hopefully, we can get that done before the beginning of the year.

Nolan's diet has added a few items: rotini with alfredo sauce, breadsticks, cereal bars and watermelon. We are now supplementing his milk with protein powder and an organic fruit/veggie powder for all of his vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. I think he's gained five pounds this week from the protein. At least that's what it feels like!

He Did It!

Nolan ate a whole piece of pizza and a breadstick last night...in the record time of 1 hour, 10 minutes. It is taking me until today to post it because I am still tired from the event. I hate to feed my baby pizza, but at least he's eating I keep telling myself.

In that hour, I obviously had a lot of time to take pictures.

We Have a Three Footer!

Nolan had his 18 month well baby visit this week. He's officially three feet tall now! I can't believe that he is potentially half way to his adult height at only 18 months old. As you know, we have been struggling with Nolan's eating. It's hard for the doctor to be concerned as Nolan still registers in the 95th percentile for weight. He has lost a few pounds in the past six months, but he has also grown four inches. Now that he is moving more, it is common for their weight to drop a little. Where Nolan is now in his physical development, most children reach at 10-12 months. The doctor gave us a protein powder and a vitamin/antioxidant powder to put in his food to help him out. We will go back at 20 months, instead of 24 months, for a height and weight check to make sure he isn't losing more. We have developed some new techniques with meal time and things have been going pretty smooth this week. We pray it continues. The newest item in his menu is grilled cheese. However, from time to time, he opens the bread, picks the cheese off and throws it on the floor. sigh...... Nolan's other new trick...he is now tall enough to stand at the sink and pull the dishes out. I caught him cruising along the kitchen counter. He saw his sippy cup with old milk in it on a heap of dishes and pulled it out. He was so proud. Now, I have another thing to monitor...dirty dishes. I also caught him trying to pull the pans off the stove. This is a whole new world for me. We're so used to him barely moving, now he's everywhere. It truly is a blessing that he can move like this now. We weren't sure if we'd ever get here. Thank God we have.

Goin' to the Top!

Nolan has been really excelling this past week. He started cruising along the furniture and really liking to stand and take steps back and forth. He has started talking more and singing often. He likes to say, "Ha-ro." That is his way of saying 'Hello'; however, he sounds like a parrot when he says it. It is adorable. He is saying "bu-bye" and "nigh nigh". We have songs that we sing and I will stop when he knows a word and he says the word. It is so amazing to me. Jeff thinks he is singing the tunes from his cricket machine, too. He has really become a fan of his full size football that Daddy bought him. He especially likes to throw it at the dogs' head.

He is showing himself the football in the mirror.We use the football a lot to work on balance while standing and for squatting down to pick it up and return to the standing position.

We had the rare opportunity this evening to go to the playground. It's November 4!

Oh, and one last piece of other exciting news, Nolan ate an apple today. That's huge! He loved the crunchiness and crispness of it. He did choke from time to time, but he handled it well. His OT said this week that he is almost on schedule with his fine motor skills. Go Nolan! You the man! Do you know anyone that has a better work ethic than Nolan? I certainly don't!

Go Grandma!

Nolan has a message for his grandma. I hope you can read it.

We are the Champions!

Jeff is the coach of the Huskers, a flag football team that is part of City Mission. They had the most wins for their age group. At the All Star Game, the team he coached won as well. It was a great year for the kids.

Halloween-y

Nolan is still unaware of what Halloween is except his parents dress him funny and try to get him to wear things he hates. This year Jeff picked out his costume...a fighter pilot. The suit was ok, the sunglass and headset were not. We couldn't even get one picture. Nolan got to wear his costume to therapy two days in a row, once at Miss Marcia's house when she took him and Allie to the zoo and once on Halloween night at the Weatherly's. We went Trick or Treating at the Weatherly's with him and Dominic in the wagon. Nolan was only interested in drinking milk, snacking and enjoying the ride.

Here he is posing Halloween night in front of the house before we left.

This picture is one of my favorites. Nolan is scared of his friends' costumes and they are looking at him like, "What the heck is wrong with him, we look sweet?"
Dominic took Nolan's cup and he is TO'd.Nolan spent the remainder of his time at the Weatherly's crawling through the leaves while we passed out candy.
Can't wait until next year.

We're Cruisin'!

Nolan started cruising along the couch tonight! We've barely been working on it. He mostly taught himself. He is standing and moving like a crazy man! I am so excited for him. He is such a champion! There is a video of it to the right.

This is Life...

As some of you know, I finally got someone to clean my house. It has been the best experience ever. It really frees up my time at night so that I can focus on Nolan and it frees up our weekends to spend time as a family. She passed my most important test...can I walk through my house barefoot and have nothing stick to my feet? Now, that's clean. We had a great Saturday and it was followed by an ever better Sunday. First, we went to The Goalie's Den. Nolan got some new Detroit Red Wings gear and Jeff met coach Mike Babcock and got his autograph. Nolan is always such a good trooper during Dad's excursions. Plus, he looked like hot stuff in his new shirt. Nolan that is. The only bad part was Nolan practicing "no" at the top of his lungs in line. It's so cute because we don't use "no" at home and Marcia doesn't at her house, so we are starting to believe it is normal development. Tell that to the people around us.

After that, we went to the Franklin Cider Mill. That place was insanely crazy; however, it was beautiful and felt like we were out of the city. We decided not to wait in line to see the mill, we went straight to the line for cider and donuts. Nolan surprisingly didn't like the donut, but he loved the cider. When he wasn't drinking it out of the cup, he was sticking his entire hand in the cup, then licking it off. Whatever works I guess. He did good drinking out of a regular cup. It was another wonderful day in our life.

You can tell how hard he is concentrating on his drinking by looking at how hard he has his right hand clenched.There he goes sticking his hand in the cup again...

I have no idea what Nolan was looking at, obviously not the camera.

So Much in So Little Time

Whew...we've had a busy day. We went to a church in Royal Oak that we have been going to for a few years that sells pumpkins and other Fall fun stuff. We tried to stand Nolan next to some pumpkins, but he wasn't too excited. He did like to scoot between them. Then it happened...he took off crawling at record pace back and forth across this lawn. I have never seen him crawl this fast for this long. If I only knew all I needed was a nice lawn, I would have bought one this summer. Next year, I guess.

Nolan finally ate something this week. We got him to eat a couple pieces of pasta and some of a breadstick. His eating habits haven't been the best. We even snuck in a few pieces of chicken. He caught on, but did eat a few.

My Uncle John and Aunt Georgia came to visit this week. They brought Nolan a truck that he just loves. He loves to look at and study every detail.

And, last but not least, I got the opportunity to scrapbook my second set of pages ever. I love it. I didn't think I would. There's a great place in Novi called Archiver's. I got a chance to go and get some new things. These two pages are to commemorate Nolan celebrating his dad's birthday for the first time. It brought back great memories.