Whoa...it's been a long time

So it has been a whirlwind of a month and I have failed miserably with blogging; I guess life happened!
Here are a few pics of what the little guy has been up to. He is so busy. He surprisingly enjoys baking with me; perhaps it is just the AWESOME mixer. (I'll be honest, that is probably the only reason I bake anything.) He has a mixing bowl and wooden spoon and spatula that I let him play with. He likes to mix his toys in the bowl and he now makes the noise that I make when I am "testing" some of his creations. His favorite activity is probably reading; however when given the chance to go outside, he will bring you his shoes and sit "patiently" (mmmm, not so much!) Let's see....for fun we have "caught" him: tearing up tissues into tiny pieces and then picking them back up; while we were sleeping, he managed to grab the wipes container off the dresser and pulled them all out and apart; hiding in his closet! I'm sure there are more, but my tired brain isn't working right now. He loves to look at pics of anyone, but he is particularly captivated by pics of cousins Savannah and Lainy. He will go between their two pics and giggle when you say their names. I have to say, he is certainly at one of the funnest ages right now, however, this has been said before! Enjoy the pics!

Man of the house...for the weekend at least!

Daddy, of course, is irreplaceable, but I still have a little man around to do repairs and help with chores when daddy is away. Nolly loves anything that can spin, go round, etc...including wheels. You might find him doing a little repair work on one of his buggies as he was last night. He refused to keep it upright. He wanted to spin the wheels using his middle finger as always. A list of things that can be spun that I didn't know could be spun includes, but is not limited to: any book, "Captain Papa", "Buddy Ben", spoons, sippy cups, boxes, fridge garage, oh how I could go on.

And, how could I forget Nolly likes to try and spin little cousin Camden too (see the video). This video brings a smile to Tanner's face b/c if you watch it all the way through you'll notice someone falling at the end (me) b/c my toe was caught on a string. Turn the sound on and you may enjoy the sound effects. Not so funny...it hurt! Regardless of the embarrassment I may endure from this video, it does a great job of showing the cousins playing.

Despite the torment that I suffer due to this video, we still miss daddy and can't wait for him to get home today!

Is it possible...Nolan is 1 today?

We can't figure out where this year went. It doesn't seem possible that our baby is no longer a baby, but a toddler! And, he is definitely "toddling"...he "toddles" with his fridge garage, his boombox, his sippy (sometimes 2 sippy cups), and yes, even at the young age of 1, he can walk and read a book at the same time. It is only a matter of time before he can walk, rub his belly clockwise, rub his head counter-clockwise and chew gum at the same time (hmmmm, can I do that?) Ha!

We had his big "1" birthday party on Sunday with family and friends. When it came time for cake, he wasn't all that interested in eating it, but enjoyed smearing it on his belly. Here are some pics from the big day.

Before.....

A little on the tummy never hurt anyone...

After.....

Happy Birthday little man! Dada and Mama love you!

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!