It's official!

After a few weeks of being able to walk about 10 steps by himself, Nolan is now walking all over the house. It's bizarre to see this little being walking around and knowing where he wants to go! It all came about on Christmas at Papa and Gran's house. He was pivoting and walking back and forth and it continued when we arrived home.

Is this walking a covert mission? The new year is just around the corner....I'm afraid I don't want him to lose all of his "chunkiness" quite yet!!! Those legs are too cute!

MOUTH FULL O' TEETH...

Monster and I were playing around today when I noticed he went from having 4 teeth to having 6 teeth... overnight! When he giggles and tilts his head back you can see them really well. Two buck teeth on top, two teeth on bottom and now there are two more teeth on top. Amazing how quickly they change...awe!

Look out toddlers

Wow, 11 months went way too quickly! I am joyful yet saddened to know that the one year mark is only a few weeks away:( It seems like only a short while ago I was saying that my due date was in a few weeks...now my baby is almost a toddler. A comment that we have heard frequently since he was a newborn is "look at those eyelashes; he has his mama's eyelashes". So here they are...check 'em out! They make most women jealous!

Last night he was very ambitious right before bedtime and took at least 10 steps on his own and he did it again and again. He was thrilled with himself and smiling all the while with a few screams in there to make mama and dada smile. Then his sleepiness caught up with him and it was time to retire for the evening. The little monster is quite the reader. I got him a new book "That's not my snowman..." and he loves it; it is a "touchy feely" book so go figure!

Last weekend my sister got married in Crofton Nebraska. It was a beautiful wedding. She looked awesome (pics to come)...and Mitch did too of course;) Family, food...all was well! It was a long drive, but Nolan was such a champ. He slept most of the way up there (3 1/2 hours) and on the way home about 1 1/2 hours. He was quietly (or not so quietly; ie: not yelling) reading during the ceremony, which thankfully for him was very short. He provided some of us with entertainment before and after the ceremony. He's such a ham!

Walking...???

Maybe it's around the corner. Nolan has discovered the wonderful world of walk-behind toys. Saturday we got him started behind his fire truck (which does not have a wide base at all so we bonked a few times) and by Sunday he was doing it by himself behind much sturdier toys. He can't figure out the turns yet, but we have the straightaways figured out! Once we start, we don't stop (except to eat of course!) Thanks to these toys, our backs are getting some much needed rest and Nolan is feeling more independent. Video hopefully to come....need some help with that one!

Well here are some Halloween pics for your viewing pleasure...

Well, here they are, some Halloween pics of our little elephant! He actually didn't mind the costume! He spent much of his time trying to eat the zipper and then pulling at the trunk! It was pretty amusing watching him crawl around. We didn't go many places. We went to Uncle Tyler and Aunt Leslie's for a little while and then to Great Uncle Pat's house across the street. Then it was time to put the little elephant to bed! Next year should be a little more entertaining I'm sure, but it was a beautiful evening.

The past couple of weekends have been very busy. Great Grandpa and Grandma Engel were here a few weekends ago. We spent some good time and good food at the good ole' Texas Roadhouse .... yummmmm! We took some good pics of the kiddo too! Thanks for visiting Great Grands Engels'!

That same weekend we went to Roca Berry Farm Pumpkin Patch with my parents. It was fun to look around and see what things Nolan can enjoy next Halloween! We took a hay rack ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. On the way out, Nolan flirted with a little girl that sat across from us. On the way back, he watched the wheels on the tractor go round and round! The kid loves wheels, balls, anything that goes round! He was in awe!

9 months, seriously?

Wow, we can't believe monster man is already 9 months. He has been keeping us very busy lately...getting into everything, but he does keep himself entertained fairly well. He'll be giggling in the play room and we'll check on him and this is what he is doing...open, close, open, close, open.....you get the idea. He'll do this for a long time. For added fun, he'll put a doorstop punch in there.

Or you might find him doing this....

He is starting to get a tooth in on the top so acting like a sucker fish on the window must feel good!?! What a strange kid.

9 months milestones:

23lbs 1oz

29 inches

*pulls himself up on anything/everything

*still army crawling everywhere, he can do the real crawling, but doesn't like it and he's not as fast

*giggling about everything--deep belly laugh once in awhile

*understanding what is and isn't a toy

*eating more foods: feeds himself graham crackers and cheese w/ a tortilla, but still gags a little

Man he is growing up quickly! We need to freeze time somehow.

Welcome Isabella Gilbertson

We would like to welcome Isabella Gilbertson. She was born on October 16 to our good friends Conrad and Megan. She is a little bundle of joy weighing in at 6lbs 5oz. She is a beauty and would melt anyone's heart. Apparently there is already competition for who the first boyfriend will be. As we have mentioned before, Nolan will be a cagefighter with specialties in Brazilian jiu jitsu...so watch out competitors. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone. Of course I am just kidding. We are so excited for them! Here are a few pics of Isabella (Izzy)!

8 months...do I need to think of a birthday theme?

Wow, 8 months has flown by. Leslie and I took the kiddos to the park today and she mentioned Savannah's upcoming b-day, which got me to thinking...I probably should start thinking of a theme for this little guy for his first b-day! Between work and keeping him out of everything or keeping him occupied so daddy can work on the kitchen, I need to start squeezing some planning in there too.
So here are a few things Nolan is up to now...





daddy was making "fish lips" at him on Sunday and by Monday he had it down...of course we have pics of it. Kind of hard to see with the food and this is just about the only time he does this!

mommy has been working on getting him to clap, which he started on Sunday when mommy left for work!?! (a little confused...maybe he was happy to go down for a nap as soon as I left??? Yeah right!)



























Monster man is army crawling everywhere. Today he pulled himself up on to his walker by himself and he was using daddy as a jungle gym. He'd pull himself up to a standing position and then launch himself over daddy's belly in an attempt to get mama's hands (he'd rather play with hands then toys); what fun! I'm sure he is going to have some carpet burn on his nose tomorrow!






And he crosses his fit for everything...when he drinks milk, eats at the table, plays on his belly or back. What adorable chunky feet! Love 'em! I'm enjoying every part of mommyhood!

IS FALL COMING???

Wow, what a beautiful day. It feels as if fall is just around the corner! Yesterday, Nolan and I watched out the back glass door as the rain fell down. He seemed enthralled with the rain. He couldn't quite figure out the glass part of the window and kept bonking his head; he has his daddy's tough melon though. Since he is getting over whatever illness he had (cold?), he is wanting to be held or play with your hands. He wasn't real sure what he wanted. So I had to be creative in order to get a few things done around the house. As you can see from the picture, I had clean laundry to fold, but that would come last since this was where he was happy. I pulled Nolan in the bucket around the house to do a few chores and he LOVED it. He was moving, he could see mommy and he had his book...LIFE IS GOOD!

This evening the three of us went on a nice evening walk. The temperature was perfect, the sun was still out; it was a perfect evening. We had to bundle the little guy up especially since he is still getting over his cold. When we were finished with our walk, we played on the front lawn and it was a great opportunity to get some pics of the fam. Man am I a lucky gal; I have two awesome boys that I get to call mine!!! Here they are...

And here are a few pics of the little monster playing with the grass..couldn't get enough pics of him he's so....garsh (haha Les) cute!

Yes folks, that's right our kid is standing on his own at 8months...it's not for very long, but he's doing it and he is so proud of himself.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

So, we had a long 3 day weekend...YEAH! Come Monday morning though it was starting to feel real long. Nolan came down with a fever (103 - HOT TAMALE) and did not sleep well Sunday night or all day Monday! YIKES...and the way it is sounding now, he is again going to be having a tough night; poor little guy! In all it was a good weekend. G-ma and G-pa T. came down Saturday morning and played until Sunday morning before they were off to visit Mitch and Celeste in Omaha. Tyler, Leslie, Savannah, and Camden came over to watch the Husker game on Saturday. Nolan and Camden were decked all out in Husker gear...they looked so cute...I mean handsome, masculine....uhhh you know what I mean. Future Huskers???? Daddy always jokes and says he can play, it will have to be kicker though so he doesn't get injured and can still play basketball!

We saw Gran and Papa on Sunday for awhile before they were on their way back to Gibbon. We celebrated Papa's birthday with a lemon jello cake that Savannah made (how sweet she is)! With so much action this weekend, Nolan's nap schedule was kind of goofie and he didn't feel real well. Savannah must have agreed and said "Nolan nap". She was right. He needed to sleep, so off to sleepy-time he went! Tanner and Savannah built a tent to read books in.

So many changes at once

"He's growing up too fast"...Nolan is popping two teeth through! His little chiclets (as daddy calls them) are cute, but so sharp! He is army crawling everywhere so it is going to be soon when we are chasing him around and wondering where he is! We aren't wishing this to come too soon; he's growing up too fast as it is.