When Mommy is Gone

This is what happens when Daddy feeds Nolan!

The Evolution of Sleep

By far the most difficult part of being a parent for Nate and I has been the issue of sleep. From the very beginning Nolan would wake up the second you placed him in a crib, pack n play, our bed...or anywhere! We soon learned that if we wanted to get some sleep the easiest way to do that was let him sleep on us. Which we did for 4 months! At first we loved it, but then we started not sleeping as well and Nolan moved around so much, I don't think he was sleeping well either.

At four months we made the big move to the crib. It did not go over very well. He soon learned to sleep on his belly which helped but he wasn't a big fan of the crib. We stuck with it most of the time, at least at night. During the day he almost always slept in his swing, which he loved.

During the night when he woke up (which he did A LOT) I would feed him and then put him back in his crib. Sometimes he would go right back to sleep and other times he wouldn't. You never knew what you were going to get. After a couple months he settled in a bit more and started waking up only twice a night. However, we soon grew tired of this and were ready for our big boy to sleep through the night...

And finally last night it happened!!! Oh, it was glorious! It only took 8.5 months! The previous two nights he had woken up after 2.5 hours and we decided to let him cry himself back to sleep instead of getting him. The first night he cried for 1.5 hours and then fell back asleep for 5 hours. The next night he cried for an hour and then went back to sleep for 5 hours. Both nights after the 5 hour stretches I fed him and put him back in his crib. Last night, he woke up after 3 hours, fussed for 15 minutes and fell back asleep until 6:30! We will see if the little man can keep this up...

Will Rogers State Park

In an effort to enjoying the AMAZING weather we are having this January we decided to head out and explore Will Rogers State Park near Santa Monica. Our friends had given us a backpack so we could hike with Nolan and we were excited to try it out! We decided to do a short hike up to Inspiration Point, which would give us views of the ocean and downtown LA. We parked a ways from the entrance because it cost TWELVE dollars to park the car!! I still can't believe it. We did feel a little guilty not paying though, because this is one of the parks the Governator wants to close because the lovely state of California can't handle its finances, but twelve dollars?? Nolan loved being in the backpack and was talking and squealing the whole time. It really was a beautiful day, sometimes I think we are crazy for wanting to leave a place where 76 degrees in January is not abnormal...

Here are a few pictures from the hike:

The entrance to the park

We were headed the right way!

If you look really closely you can see snow-capped mountains in the background. Also, how happy does Nolan look?

The South Bay, our home

Downtown LA

One day he will be angry about this...

I couldn't help but post this picture. On our walk at the beach today I was wondering why everyone was laughing as they walked past us. After looking at Nolan I figured out why! Good blackmail for the future!

Climb, Climb, Climb

All Nolan does these days in climb. He climbs into his carseat, he climbs up the side of the couch until he is standing, he climbs up Nate and me, he climbs everything! He is really starting to use his feet and is standing up while holding onto things much easier; it's amazing how much can change in just a couple of days!

Here's the proof:

Climbing up a stack of presents

Climbing completely into his carseat and then got mad because he didn't know how to get out!

Climbing the Costco pack of toilet paper (this entertained him for a good 10 minutes- great fun!)

Climbing in the kitchen

Climbing up my leg

Climbing up his favorite chair in the kitchen

Happy New Year! (A little late)

8 months

Nolan is 8 months old! Here's what he is up to:

• Wearing a size 3 diaper and 6-12 month clothes. We have no idea on his length and weight, but have a 9 month appointment just around the corner.
• Nolan got two new teeth this month, bringing the grand total up to eight! Four on top and four on the bottom. He loves to bite with those teeth too.
• He is crawling everywhere! He is still army crawling and will go anywhere in the house. A lot of baby proofing is going on.
• He likes to get up on all fours and rock back and forth, but hasn't switched to "normal" crawling yet. Maybe he won't...
• Loves to climb! On his carseat, boxes, presents (from Christmas) and especially his mom. My shirts are all stretched out from Nolan pulling himself up! Can easily get up onto his knees and is trying to get his feet under him, but still hasn't quite figured it out.
• He is eating three meals most days. Loves his cereal and fruit in the mornings. Loves eating puffs or O's and is working on feeding himself other fruits and veggies, but they can be so darn slippery! Tried yobaby yogurt for the first time and doesn't quite know what to think. Chicken is next on the food list.
• Starting to get a little attached to Mommy, especially when he is tired.
• Still waking up to 1-3 times a night...maybe by a year we will be sleeping through the night!
• He knows when it is time to go to bed and he doesn't like it! When we are walking down the hall to his room the waterworks start up.
• Had a great Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Lynch. Loved crawling over the presents and eating the boxes the toys came in.
• Had fun with Grandpa Rick the day after Christmas!
• Celebrated the New Year with Joe and Henna and slept through all the noise we made playing Apples to Apples and Catchphrase.

We can't believe he is already 8 months! We have never been

so sleep deprived in our lives, but we are enjoying every minute with our never sit still baby!