3 Months Old

Today is Nolan's 3 month birthday! He is so fun now. He likes to grab toys (when he is lucky enough to get his hand near them) and try to get things in his mouth. He still loves his bouncy seat, and now grabs for the hanging toys and tries to kick them. We tried him in his bounceroo, but his feet were about 3 inches from the ground. I guess that toy will go back into the basement for another month, but isn't he still cute?

We had another check-up this morning. Nolan has gained exactly 3 pounds in 3 months. He is only at the 5 percentile for his weight, down from 10 last month, and in the 40ish percentile for length, down from 55 last month. Because he has been dropping, Ted and I have to take him to get blood drawn at Children's Hospital. They are checking him for renal tubular acidosis, which 2 of Melissa's kids had. If that is what is causing the "failure to thrive" it is easily fixed with medicine until his kidneys kick in. If that is not the problem, then we will just wait to see what he does at his 4 month appointment.

We are having so much fun with him! Aside from not growing very fast, he is healthy, happy, and a great baby. He has often slept for 11 hours straight at night. I can't complain about that. Enjoy the video of him rolling over!

Book Tag

I've been tagged! Here's the game:

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the fifth sentence on your blog.
5. Tag 5 people.

The book I am currently reading is "Tales from the Teacher's Lounge" by Robert Wilder. I have always been a big reader, always in the middle of a book with a stack by my bed to dive into when the current book is comleted. Since Nolan was born, I have read 1.5 books. The first book was "Daddy Needs a Drink," also by Robert Wilder. My good friend Melika lent it to me after Nolan was born. It is a hilarious, but sometimes crude, book about Wilder's experiences as a father with his 2 children. I would be up Nursing Nolan for the hour that it took in the beginning each time, and I would seriously laugh out loud. Very funny. He could clean up his language, though, but still a funny book. Melika is a teacher at the school I teach at, and she said he had written another, similar book, but this time about teaching. I haven't laughed as much, but I am still enjoying the book. Possibly because the book is written in short chapters, with each chapter being a separate story. Very new-mom friendly!

OK-for the tag. Page 123, 5th comlete sentence: "It wasn't my students' faults they had summer homes in Maine, housekeepers and cooks, and a fleet of SUVs."

I have to admit that I only know 2 people who blog, aside from Melissa, who tagged me, and Colleen, who tagged her. So...Whitney, you are tagged. And Ted, well, he is anti-blogging but, ha ha ha, he had to start one for school! (STL Working Dad) So you are tagged as well!

Why?

I am feeling so many emotions right now. Disgust, fear, sadness, uncertainty, and others that I cannot name. I also feel some hope.

Tonight our community of Kirkwood lit candles throughout the streets to commemorate those who were killed last Thursday at our city council meeting. I helped light candles along our little cul-de-sac while visiting with some of our neighbors. We were discussing how we can support each other and with that support, our town can move forward from this disaster.

Then I came inside to use the computer. I saw that a gunman shot 22 people at a campus outside Chicago this afternoon. Reading the details, I felt a sense of deja vu. Haven't we seen this before? Haven't we already heard about this happening?

Last week my sister and her 3 kids were in the middle of a gang gun fight at her neighborhood playground. 2 kids were shot. Today a 10 year old boy shot his sister in the face over potato chips. Yesterday a 6 year old girl was grazed by a stray bullet in Minneapolis.

I know that faith plays a big role in overcoming these things. I know that I am supposed to just do my best to be a good person and hope that everything turns out alright. I just can't help but fear for the future, regardless of faith. Every day there is something else on the news. My little town is picture-perfect. Large oak trees line the streets; the neighbors barbeque together. We have great schools, fun little shops and restaurants, and the best farmers' market in all of St. Louis. But we also had a man living and working here who kidnapped 2 young boys. Then the man who wanted revenge on our city government. A police officer of ours was shot and killed a few years ago, and the trial for his killer is going on now.

I know everyone feels these things, but I just needed to reflect. I worry about what Nolan will experience in his lifetime. How are we supposed to fix these things?

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Our Big Weekend

Nolan was blessed at church this past weekend, so we had some fun adventures! My parents, my brothers JJ, Nate, and Nate's fiance Alli all drove down from Minnesota.

Last Thursday, we had a horrible incident in Kirkwood, MO, where Ted and I live. During a city council meeting, an angry citizen shot 7 people, 5 of whom died. Our mayor was shot twice in the head, but miraculously lived. Friday night, some of us walked to City Hall to pay our respects. After this incident and what happened to Melissa, I am realizing more and more that bad things can happen wherever you live.


Saturday was a busy day for the Joneses and the Downings. We woke up and the weather was beautiful, so we went for a "hike" at a nearby nature center. Nolan had his first hike in the carrier. He slept most of the time, but it sure looks like he was enjoying!
This is JJ, me, Ted, Nolan and Grandma Kathy on our hike.

After our hike we decided to go to the zoo. It was also Nolan's first time going to the zoo, but again, he probably didn't notice too much. I don't think we ever even uncovered his stroller.That night we all went to a tasty barbeque restaurant called Super Smokers. It was very yummy! Amazingly enough, it also happened to be Nolan's first restaurant experience.

The next morning we all had to get up extra early for church. Uncle Nate performed Nolan's blessing and did a wonderful job.

Then everyone, including Ted's family, came back to our little house for brunch. We took some great family photos!

Here are the Downings: Grandpa, JJ, Grandma, me, Nolan, Ted, Nate and Alli.

Here are the Joneses: Josie, Jody, Ted, Nolan, me, Grandma Jody, Wada Steve. And an updated family photo for us.

Whew! What a weekend!

With 5 extra people staying in our 900 square foot house, we thought it would feel way more squished. Instead, we just loved having everyone visiting. Nolan is such a lucky little guy to have so many friends and family who love and care about him. Thanks everyone!

My life

I have been trying to think of something exciting that is happening in my life so this blog can be more than just Nolan pictures. Guess what? Nolan is the exciting thing in my life right now. I was wondering why it is that I can just spend hours every day looking at him, playing with him, and just being with him. I realized my reason: I have to go back to work. I don't get to have an unlimited time with him. I have to leave him in less than 2 months. I have to say that I don't care much about anything else right now. So, I am not going to feel strange about putting pictures of him on this blog whenever I feel like it. Now, when I go back to work eventually, I can just look at my blog and see him! So, if you are tired of Nolan pictures, you'll probably have to wait a while for anything else. Ahhhh. Now I feel better and I can post as many pictures as I want!


My little man has a great smile!

This is the first outfit I bought when we found out Nolan was a boy. The jacket is from our Maine trip to LLBean. He is finally wearing all 3-6 month clothes, so mom gets to enjoy!

Snow days, sick days and fun days!

Yesterday we had a nice snow storm! We currently have 6 inches on the ground. Nolan finally got the first and last chance to wear his snowsuit. The cold took his breath away at first, but eventually he figured it out. Sledding is not quite his thing...yet.

We also had a sick week in our house. Nolan had his first fever last Saturday and we had to go to the doctor. Luckily he had no other symptoms, and never developed any, so we survived. He got lots of extra snuggle time with daddy!He has also been interacting more with his environment lately. Grandma Kathy made him a cute quilt that he noticed for the first time. Isn't he getting so big?This is Nolan with his Aunt Jody, Ted's littlest sister.Finally, I just want to post some really cute pictures for all of you far away friends and relatives.