A Comparison

I love looking back at pictures of Nolan and seeing what he was doing in regards to what the girls are doing. The girls are bringing back to many memories of Nolan as a baby and it's fun to find pictures of them doing the same things!

Olivia in the bottom of the exersaucer (excuse the bad iphone pic)

Nolan doing the same thing in December 2009

It's crazy to see how much bigger he was than the girls! He started crawling and moving way earlier than the girls did. I look at the picture of Nolan and can't quite believe he is already 2.5. It goes so fast!

A New Skill

Nolan started walking shortly after his first birthday, but it took a couple of months for him to figure out how to go from crawling to standing without having something to hold onto. Soon after he learned the skill we caught it on film at Point Defiance Park, just across the bridge from us!

Crawling...

Booty in the air...

One hand off the ground!

Switched hands, about to push off!

So close...Almost all the way up!

Off and running! That was easy!

Movin On Up

Nolan moved into his new car seat a couple of weeks ago! We had this seat before he was born, but we had been using an infant car seat. It was great when he didn't weigh a lot and when he would fall asleep easily in the car. But he was just getting too big for his old seat and he never really fell asleep in the car anymore, so it was time. He really likes it because he can see out the windows so much easier!

Such a big boy!

Happy Birthday Nolan!

This little guy turned one on Saturday. He really enjoyed the cake.

Nolan is 11 months

Well we finally might be catchin' up on this little blog here...

I can't believe my little baby boy is almost one! We went to a first birthday party for one of Nolan's friends and it made me so excited and so sad at the same time. He is just so much fun right now, I love this stage so much, but I just can't get over how fast this year has gone by and how much he has changed! Anyhoo...on to the highlights:

His hair is getting so long!

• Still don't know his current weight and height. I could try and weight him on our scale, but I don't think he will sit still long enough. I do think to myself quite often how heavy he has seemed lately!
• After a crazy and busy month, it seems like this one was kinda quiet in a good way!
• Still waking up 1-2 times a night...grr! I am really ready for the little man to be sleeping through, but that might (will) involve letting him cry which is so hard at 3 am when I know feeding him will have him back asleep in about 5 minutes.
• Nolan started giving kisses this month! It is now my new favorite thing he does! I'm sure it will change soon, but it is just so sweet! He won't always give them and they are open-mouthed and slobbery, but so worth it.

• He loves to stand up! He will pull himself up on anything now and we have caught him a few times balancing completely on his own. I'm sure that walking isn't too far off! Yikes!
• We have spent a lot of time at the beach this month! The weather has been great, so we have been getting out and enjoying all the sun. We take walks/runs, play in the sand and go on the swings a lot! I think he has a swing addiction!
• Eating three meals a day and trying to work in a couple of snacks each day as well. He loves string cheese, which makes for a nice and easy and non messy snack. He is still very much into his yobaby yogurt also.
• Made a trip up to Santa Barbara to see some family and go to a Westmont track meet on their brand new gorgeous track. It was fun and exhausting day!

Now we will be preparing for his first birthday! Just crazy!

Ha! I love this picture. He didn't want the glasses on so he was crying, but I had to get a picture of it first!

Nolan is 10 months! (1 month ago)

Goodness! Time just seems to be flying right now. Here is an update of Nolan at 10 months:

• Not sure on current weight and height...doesn't go back to the doctor until he is one! Yikes!
• The biggest consumption of our time in his 10th month was his first cold! It hung around for quite a while (I think about two weeks) and Nate and I also got sick as well. His first sickness also led to his first urgent care trip. He seemed to have trouble breathing one day so we decided to take him in just in case. Of course by the next day he was 100% better! Better safe than sorry...
• Grandpa Rick came down for a visit while Daddy was in Phoenix for a conference. Nate also went to Seattle a couple of week later, which might explain why the month went by so fast!

• Nolan started clapping this month! Most of the time it is spontaneous, but sometimes he seems to understand when you ask him to "clap, clap, clap"!
• Still waking up during the night, but we are getting closer to averaging one time a night than two times, so it seems as if we are improving!
• Eating three meals of solids a day. We have been working on offering finger foods a lot more often. Family dinners are starting to become more common, (instead of us feeding Nolan and then we eat once he goes to bed) and it is fast becoming one of our favorite parts of the day! His favorite food is yobaby yogurt, when he refuses everything else we break out the yogurt which he practically inhales in about 5 seconds!

• Celebrated Daddy's birthday! It's amazing how much more special and fun big events are with Nolan around!
• It's hard getting good pictures of him now! Every time the camera is out he starts crawling towards it and he is getting fast!
• We had been practicing for a few months with a sippy cup and it wasn't progressing very well. He could pick it up, lift it to his head, tilt his head back, and then...chew on it! Just like he does everything else. So we decided to try a cup that has a straw instead (we might have known he could a use a straw when we put a milkshake with a straw in his mouth and he slurped it right up...) and he picked it up right away! He loves drinking water and playing with his cups.

Attacking the camera!

We just have so much fun with our little guy! He has brought so much joy and happiness to our lives!

With his sippy/straw cup!

Nolan is 9 months! (Two weeks ago)

Our sweet boy is 9 months old! He is full of energy and in constant motion. He keeps us on our toes! Here is what he is up to at 9 months:

• He weighs 19 lb 1 oz, (25 percentile) and is 29 1/2 in long (90 percentile). His weight has definitely dropped off a bit, but it isn't too surprising because he doesn't stay in the same place for more than 30 seconds.
• Still wearing size 3 diapers.
• He is wearing 6-12 months clothes, although his pants are starting to get a little short!
• He is eating three meals a day (most days), but now that he is 9 months I am trying to buckle down and makes sure he gets three meals a day, everyday.
• Still waking up 1-2 times a night, but it seems like we have more nights with only 1 waking, especially lately.
• New foods include: yogurt, cauliflower, chicken, and many others, it is hard keeping up with all of it!
• Nolan has completely given up army crawling and is crawling the "normal" way now. It was sad to see it go away, but he gets around pretty quick! He seems to have two speeds, normal and turbo. He loves to turbo crawl to Daddy every night when he gets home from work.

• He pulls himself to a standing position on everything! The couch, coffee table, kitchen chairs, and especially in his crib. He loves standing up! His balance is getting much better and he is able to stand for quite awhile.
• Took a weekly "swimming" class in January and he loved the water!
• Took our first trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Loved looking at all the fish! More in another post...
• Still loves to play with things that are not actually toys, like remote controls. He also loves to pull books off of the shelves and take the covers off!

I can't believe how fast his first year is going by! We already have his 12 month appointment scheduled which doesn't seem possible. We enjoy every minute with our little guy and look forward to celebrating many more milestones.

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

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!

7 months

On his seven month birthday.

His expressions are starting to get pretty funny!

I can't believe our sweet baby boy is already seven months old! It's going by so quickly! Nolan is so much fun right now, well he always is, but especially now. Here's what he is up to:

• The biggest news of the month is that he is crawling! On November 9th, he army crawled a few feet and since then he keeps moving farther and faster.
• He is now consistently eating two meals of solids a day and we are going to be working our way up to three meals a day in the next couple of weeks.
• New foods: mangos, pears and blueberries, applesauce and carrots.

On Thanksgiving, after the drive home

• He got FOUR new teeth this month! He now has a total of six, three on top and three on the bottom. It looks like one more will be through any day. He is a champ and has been a happy baby even with all those teeth coming in.
• He is really starting to respond a lot more when you talk to him. Obviously, he isn't talking, but he seems to know when you are talking to him and will give some sort of response, normally a loud squeal or a big smile.
• He finally met his Grandma Teri and four of his aunts! We had a great time when they were here and he loved all of the attention and love.
• He spent two days at Disneyland and did a great job! He went on a lot of rides and slept pretty well while we were on the move.
• For his first Thanksgiving we went up to Santa Barbara and saw Grandpa Rick and Great Grandma Rosa and then went and ate with my mom's side of the family at Aunt Elaine's house. He did excellent on the car ride both ways...I think it was the first time we didn't have to stop either way!
• We are so excited to celebrate our first Christmas with Nolan and now that he is crawling I'm sure he will love exploring the Christmas tree!

The months seem to be flying by and we are loving every minute with him!

Crawling around the house and finding new things to play with

6 months- in words

Here's what Nolan is up to at 6 months:

• You weigh 17 pounds 6 ounces, which is at the 50 percentile
• You are 27 1/4 inches long, 87 percentile
• You are wearing size 2-3 diapers
• Depending on the brand you are wearing 3-6 mo, 9 mo, or 6-12 mo clothing right now
• You have perfected sitting up! We don't have to guard you with our hands nearly as much and if you fall over you are starting to catch yourself.
• In just the last couple of days you have started to army crawl/scoot. If you see a cell phone, remote control or a water bottle you take off after it! You aren't moving too far or too quickly yet, but I am sure it is only a matter of days! Mom and Dad need to start baby-proofing the house quickly!

• You took your first plane ride (to Colorado) and did a great job!
• You went to your first wedding (two of them!)
• Sleep keeps getting better and better. You rarely wake up 3 times a night now (thank goodness!) and the last few nights you have only woken up once!! Hopefully I didn't jinx it by writing that.
• You now have 3 teeth! Your top right lateral incisor came in and you have four more (3 on top and 1 on the bottom) coming in anytime now. Even with all those teeth coming in you are still a happy baby! It doesn't seem to be bothering you.
• You have now tried many different baby foods. Likes: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas, bananas. Dislikes: pears, prunes, green beans. Most days you are eating 2 meals of solid food.
• You have completed your first 5k! Mom and Dad pushed you in the Santa Monica 5000 while you slept.
• For your first Halloween you were a giraffe. You got a lot of use out of your costume by going to the pumpkin patch twice, the Robinson Elementary Halloween parade (where Mom used to work) and on Halloween we took you out to dinner and for a walk around Manhattan Beach!
• We love you so much and have the best time with you! This month you finally get to meet your other Grandma and your Aunt Sarah, Veronica, Callista and Jenny!

5 months

So this post is a few days late, but here is what you're doing at 5 months:

• You are still wearing a size 2 diaper, but those are starting to get small. Too bad for you, because we still have a whole box of them!
• You are rolling over all the time! You roll from back to tummy and tummy to back now.
• When on your tummy you still get quite frustrated and we think it's because you want to move, but just don't know how. We are starting to worry you are going to be an early crawler...
• You are working on sitting up by yourself. Your balance is getting better and better! Maybe by 6 months!
• You smile all the time! At your mommy and daddy, people you don't know, and even at big advertisements in Target, which is your favorite store (because we are there almost every day).
• Your favorite song is The Wheels on the Bus. It always makes you smile and laugh!
• You are sleeping in your crib every night now...
• However, you are still waking up a lot! We need to work on that pretty soon.

• You started eating solids just a couple of days before you were 5 months. You seem to like rice cereal, although it did not help you sleep any longer!
• You made another trip to Santa Barbara and did a great job! The car really is becoming your friend.
• College football season has started and you don't quite know what to think. You like when people come over to the house and play with you, but you DO NOT like when we cheer loudly or yell at the TV!
• You love your toes and grab onto them all the time, especially in the mornings!
• Your mommy and daddy love you Bubba!

First Teeth

After a month or so of heavy amounts of drooling we were pretty sure that Nolan was teething. By heavy drooling I mean going through 3 outfits a day and not being able to take a picture of him without a "drool bomb" hanging from his lip or chin. Sure enough it turned out to be true. On September 5th his first tooth (bottom right) came in and shortly after on September 15th his second tooth (bottom left) followed. Teething didn't seem to bother him too much, just a couple of fussy nights, but otherwise he was our normal happy baby. If you look closely at the pictures below you can see them...

4 months

What a fun month this has been!  Here are some facts about your fourth month of life:

• You weight 15 pounds, 4 oz.
• You are 25.5 inches long
• You now wear a size two diaper, however we have a few size 1-2 left that we are squeezing you into...hopefully you aren't too uncomfortable.
• This month you started rolling over from your back to your tummy.  You do it all the time, but you get quite frustrated on your tummy because you won't roll the other way, even though we have proof (video) that you know how!
• Molly and Cooper are your buddies!  You love to watch them play.

• The exersaucer is one of your favorite toys.  You especially like the little wheels that spin and make noise.
  
• Thankfully you are over your dislike of the carseat.   Trips are much more enjoyable with you!  You actually like to play with the toys hanging from the handle.
• You aren't sleeping through the night, but we are working on it.  The crib is becoming your friend slowly but surely.
• You just started laughing in the last week.  It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, oh...it's just the best sound in the world!
• You took a trip to Santa Barbara to see family and you did a great job!
• You have discovered your toes and love to grab onto them, especially when your diaper is being changed.

• Your mom and dad love being with you!  We could watch you all day, everyday!

Roll Baby Roll

A few days ago Nolan rolled over for the first time.  We caught the second one on video!  However, since that day he has shown zero interest in rolling around, so we aren't sure if it was a fluke or not.  Either way, it's pretty cute. **He also has a nice face plant right before the roll over!

Nolan has a bouncy chair that our friends Joe and Henna got him.  He recently figured out how to make the chair bounce and has had quite a "kick" with it!

In other news on the Lynch front, serious family time is about to come to an end.  Nate starts his first day of work tomorrow, which means it's just Becca and Nolan at home now.   The last few weeks have been great!  We have spent our days playing with Nolan, taking walks, watching movies, and trying to teach Nolan good sleep habits, which is not easy!