Practice Makes Progress

That's what I always tell the kids in my class. No one is ever perfect, but the harder we try and the more effort we put in, the better we'll get at something. That's what I've had to tell myself about Nolan's mobility these days. It's easy for me to worry about why he isn't crawling or get frustrated when he is totally content to sit and play in the same place. Only now I think he's starting to get a bit bored playing with the same old toys. So I try to mix up his day with things like outings, reading, tummy time, standing and playing at the ottoman or Playschool interactive table, playing basketball at his mini hoop, and emptying and putting toys back into his basket.

Nolan has a busy schedule and homework each day! Our hard work and practice must be paying off, because, however small this may seem, he is making some progress in movement. He is now sliding and pushing backwards with his hands on his belly- mostly on the wood floor, a bit on the carpet. It is very slow going and he gets a bit unhappy when it doesn't come easy, but he does discover fun things along the way, which keeps him pushing. Like the heat register or the curtains...really fun stuff!

I know that he has a lot of weight to haul around and that the doctor tells me that crawling really isn't a milestone, but as a mom, I guess you just really want your child to do what most other babies their age are doing. So we'll just keep practicing and praying and praising God for health and for all the amazing stuff Nolan is doing! Like copying me, pointing to things that I say- the Christmas tree, lights, the clock "tick-tock", waving bye-bye, and whispering back and forth. He is such a fun boy and I am LOVING being a stay at home mom. I guess I just can't shake the teacher in me- or maybe I'm just a bit of a control freak! I'm learning to let go and trust that God is in control.

The video below is of Nolan's slow and steady progress. A few clips of the half an hour it took him to move about 10 feet total! I didn't get a lot of the action because every time he knew I was filming he would stop moving and start fussing for me to help him. So it's not terribly exciting, but I'm so proud! We celebrate the small things at our house!

blessed

This year more than ever have we felt so incredibly blessed! Nolan has brought such joy to our lives. And over this Thanksgiving weekend we have had a lot of time to relax, spend time as a family, and reflect on all of our blessings. We were visited by my brother Tyler for the holiday and have spent the past few days watching a lot of football, eating good food, and trying to stay warm! I'm sitting here now in my cozy family room with my 10 foot Christmas tree glowing and the Bears game mumbling in the background reflecting on all that I am thankful for.
Here's just a few:

* My funny, handsome, and self-sacrificing husband. Thank you for giving up your Sunday's of football for shopping and outings with Nolan. You make us feel so loved and important!

* NBJ. He's happy, silly, and so dang cute! Even when he's screaming. (Side Note: We found out all the shrieking was because not only is Nolan getting in all four top teeth, but he also has a double ear infection! So now I am also thankful for Amoxicillin.)

* Family- near and far. We have learned so much from all of you about love, faith, and fun! Thank you for your support, encouragement, and so many good times!

*Friends: Mark and I both still have close relationships with our friends from high school and college. We have been blessed by lasting friendships with those who truly know our hearts. We are so thankful to have people to talk to, laugh with, and lean on.

* Our church and Small Group...we love having a place to go to be challenged and fed, to learn more about God and to serve others. We enjoy worshiping, serving, and having a caring place for Nolan to grow up to learn about Jesus.

* I could go on and on...our jobs, our house, our day care provider, etc. etc. etc. But I'll stop there for now. But, oh, one more thing...I am so thankful that I have the next 5 weeks off!

I can't wait to sleep in, chill at home with Nolan, run errands during the day, have time to bake Christmas cookies, go Christmas shopping, and have a few night outs with Mark! I'll be able to blog a lot more and keep you up to date on all of our busy-ness!

Check out our video below to see all of our adventures from the past weekend- Thanksgiving, and pre-Christmas fun! (Hence, the music...Charlie Brown.) Thank you Uncle Tyler for a very fun visit! Nolan LOVED pointing at you, cuddling with you, and laughing at your crazy faces! See you at Christmas!

Counting Down

We had our first official snow today! I woke up, got ready, walked down the stairs to start my day and looked out the window to see what looked like a blizzard outside! It didn't snow for long, but when it did, it fell hard! The kids at school were super excited to wear their snow boots and play in the dusting that was left at recess. Mark said that Nolan was mesmerized by it as they drove to Vickie's house for the day. It will be fun to watch him experience all the joys that Winter brings! And it definitely helped us get in the spirit...yes, I know it's early, but I found myself listening to Cozy 101 today- all Christmas music, all the time, until Christmas day! We even headed out to the mall tonight to do a little browsing for ideas for Nolan for both Christmas and his birthday. That didn't last too long though- it was nearing bed time and he started to get fussy, and it was COLD! 27 degrees! So we ducked into a few stores, bought him a new pair of mittens, and were on our way.

It has been a rough month of teething and a bottle and bedtime routine are necessary at exactly 8 each night! Nolan already had his bottom front teeth, his top right tooth popped through on Halloween, and now he's working on his top left tooth! He has been a pretty easy baby, but boy, does he have it rough with these teeth! His new favorite activity seems to be screeching and screaming like a girl when he's in pain! He just wants to be held and attended to at all times! So, hopefully this is just a phase, and it will pass soon! Pray for his teeth to come in, and to come in quickly!

Despite the crankiness, we have still managed to make time for a little fun this month! I posted some pictures from the past week or two. Playing in the leaves, wearing his new and first pair of Nike's, and trying out his new front facing car seat! What a big boy! We are anxiously awaiting my next track off. I teach 7 more days and then will be off from Thanksgiving break until after the New Year! It will be a great time of year to have some down time and to get to experience all that the Holidays bring with Nolan!

A glimpse of the girlie shriek!

Happy Halloween

We had a wonderful evening celebrating Nolan's first Halloween! Growing up, my mom always made us the best, most creative costumes: the statue of liberty, a skunk, lotto ball, rubix cube, Wonder Woman. She always took the time to make sure that we didn't look like everyone else trick or treating! We were unique...and that's exactly what Nolan was this year. Keeping with the Johnson tradition, Grandma helped us make his first costume this year- a Dutch boy! To honor Mark's family heritage and to remember our good ol' times in G.R. Thanks Bing Bong we loved it!

We had a busy night hopping around from Oma and Opa's house, to our street, to Ernie and Kim's and Nolan loved wearing his costume and kept his hat on all night long! His wooden shoes were a hit and we couldn't have asked for better weather! We trick or treated with family, friends, and neighbors. Then Nolan went to bed at Uncle E.'s and we broke out our costumes. Enjoy the show!

The Incredible Scooching Boy

For some reason Nolan in COMPLETELY content to stay in one spot! He sits and plays with a basket of toys, "reads" books, or makes baskets on his mini basketball hoop. He can stay in the same place entertaining himself for a long time. No crawling. He stands, waves, claps, says Ma Ma and Da Da, pushes up on his hands, feeds himself smalls bites, rolls over- all of the developmental milestones have been met. But yet he just doesn't want to crawl! Maybe he's lazy- like his Daddy! Or maybe he doesn't want to do it unless he can do it perfectly- like his Mommy! Who knows! But for some reason over the past few weeks he has figured out his own method of movement- the scooch! He goes all the way across the floor on his bottom! Check it out!

Dedication

This morning Mark and I had the pleasure of dedicating Nolan at church. We had been wanting to do this for awhile now, but our church only does it on certain weekends during the year, and none of the previous dedication Sunday's had worked with our schedule. So today we stood before God, our church community, family, and friends to say that we are so thankful for the precious gift of Nolan in our lives. We dedicate our lives to raising him to know the Lord. We pray that he would grow up to love God and serve others. We are so blessed to have been given Nolan, he is such an easy going, happy, silly, and sweet little guy! We dream of what his future holds and can't wait to see him grow! Thank you to all of the loved ones in his life who care for him and pray for him, and will encourage and support him throughout his life.

Below is the video of parts of the dedication service for all our dear family and friends who live far away to see! We missed you and wish you all could have been there!

After the service we came back to our house for some yummy chili and fellowship! I really didn't get very many good pictures of Nolan. He stayed up for the little party when he should have been napping, and wasn't really wanting to pose for the camera. It's a shame too, because he looked so cute in his new outfit. You'll have to see it in the video I guess! Enjoy!

Murder at the Underwood Estates

Thank you Leensvaarts for an awesome night full of mystery, intrigue, and wine! Who would have known my husband was a murderer!

Busy, Busy, Busy

The past few weeks have been nothing but running from one place to the other with very little down time in between. Work, daycare, Oma's, home, shopping, errands, Bible Study, out to eat, church, and few fun outings thrown into the mix. We definitely enjoy our few quiet moments at home to play and cuddle. Good thing Nolan is such a low key little guy. He pretty much has a fun time no matter what we are doing! Fortunately, in just 6 school weeks and 2 days, we'll have 5 1/2 weeks off to relax! Not that I'm counting down or anything! Here are a few random pictures of the past week or so!

Babysitting Payton and Brady

Reading...This first grade teacher is SO proud! Nolan LOVES to read. He had just woken up- if you were wondering about the whole bed head look! And did you notice the pool of drool around his collar- yep- he's been working on his top teeth for too long now!

Playing at Small Group...standing is his new favorite past time. Don't you just love his new jeans? I'm so excited for him to be able to wear all his new winter clothes since it has gotten cooler.

Take a closer look to see what Nolan was playing with as we adults were making Hobo pies for dinner. What's a Hobo pie you're wondering? Leftovers from our rained out camping trip.

Thanks for my cool sweatshirt Uncle Tyler! Sorry if I jinxed the team yesterday!

All bundled up for the pumpkin patch. How could you not want to squeeze those cheeks? So loveable!

Nolan's favorite face these days! The crinkle nose.

Nolan looking like such a big boy in his khakis and shoes!

"My mom made me sit on all these lumpy orange things...I did not want to pose! This was the best shot she got! Ha Ha!" Nolan

Road Trippin'

This past weekend I flew to Chicago on Friday night, stayed up until 3 o'clock in the morning talking to my oldest dear friend Kerri, woke up early, hopped in the car with my besties from highschool, drove 5 hours to the good ol' town of Oskaloosa Iowa, spent an amazingly fun day with great friends and a new, especially silver one, attended the wedding and reception of my highschool hand holding friend Keith and his stunning new bride Hannah, got down on the dance floor, slept in the immaculate ? Red Carpet Inn (at least we had 2 double beds instead of our usual sleeping arrangements in highschool- 3 girls, 1 twin bed), woke up Sunday morning (early again), drove 5 hours back to Streamwood- thanks for driving Beck, Skyped with Mark and Nolan, had dinner with my family, visited my grandma, baked cookies with my mom, went to bed late, woke up at 3:30 a.m., rode to the airport with Mal, flew out by 6 a.m., arrived in Denver by 7:30, drove home with my boys, jumped in my car, sped to work, worked all day setting up my classroom and planning, left school at 3, went to class until 6, and then FINALLY made it home to cuddle on the couch for an hour and then go to bed! It was fast, furious, and a LOT of fun!

Almost 9 months! Wow!

This morning we took Nolan in for his 9 month well check at the pediatrician's office! It was a few days early, but we wanted to take care of it while I am still off track. Today is my last full day at home with Nolan. Tomorrow and Friday I have meetings and then I'm off to Iowa for the weekend for a high school friend's wedding. Mark and Nolan will be on their own! That should be fun and interesting too! I'll fill you in on Monday when I'm back! Then Monday I have a day to work in my classroom and Tuesday the kids come back and we are on track for 9 straight weeks!

I have absolutely LOVED my last 3 weeks at home with Nolan. He is growing and changing so much each day. He is now standing at a coffee table or ottoman, eating turkey and yogurt, practicing his sippy cup, waving, and saying "Ma Ma" and "Da Da" all the time! He is not on the move yet, which is actually nice for us, he will sit and play in the same spot for up to an hour!! However, when on his stomach he can turn in circles, reach for toys, and is starting to push off! He is a very happy boy, despite a few cranky moments- the doctor said all four top teeth are on their way in! Yikes!

So here's the break down of our BIG boy from his appointment today. He is extremely healthy and is meeting all his developmental milestones! He is now 30 1/4 in. long (96%). He is 24 lbs. 7.8 oz. (93%) Woah! (Why aren't my arms more toned?) And his head circumference is 45.1 cm. (50%) He is in the exact same percentile ranges as he was at his 6 month well check!

Now that I'll be back at school I'm sure my posts will be few and far between as I try to keep my head above water. Thanks for checking in!

Nolan's 1st Hair Cut

Nolan was born with a full head of hair. The nurses at the hospital said it looked like he had highlights. He lost a bit of it over the following 6 months, but from 24 weeks on, it's been growing like crazy! He has always sported the spiky look, not because we put gel or hairspray in it, but because no matter how hard we try it just sticks straight up! We finally found it too hard to manage- it stuck up so high, was starting to fall over his ears, and blew in the wind! We started with just a trim over the ears with a scissors, but that proved to be hard because boys who are 9 months old don't tend to sit still. And because this mommy was making blunt cuts! So Mark braved the clippers and Nolan loved it. We played a Baby Einstein DVD to keep him entertained and gave him his paci to comfort him despite the buzzing noise. Everything was going well until the very last section over his left ear- Nolan made a quick jerk and ended up with a little Vanilla Ice style racing stripe! Not too noticeable, and doesn't distract from the overall look- a cute buzz cut, still able to be styled with a little water- his Dad's favorite look as well. He looks like such a little boy now.

Camping Adventures

No bathrooms, beauty products, beds, or babies, just four wheelin', friends, food, and FUN! Check it out!

P.S. Special Thanks to the Syers Fam for our camping gear! And to Oma and Opa for taking great care of N.B.J.

Because I told Mark I would

Here's a little video from Monday! Nolan got to cheer on his second favorite football team...the Broncos! He fell asleep shortly into the game, being that it was a Monday night, but his extra clapping must have been enough to help them pull out the win. Yes, I may be a bit biased, but for some reason we just couldn't seem to get a great picture of him in this jersey...it must have been that he was uncomfortable with "Bailey" across his back. So enjoy this small glimpse into our lives. When Nolan's old enough we'll have to see who HE really chooses to root for.

Planes, Tanks?, and Automobiles

We spent the past weekend back home in Illinois! My dear high school friend and college room-mate, fondly known as "DAVIS", got married and I was honored to stand beside her. One of the greatest perks of being in her wedding happened to be that we got to spend the long weekend with my family, high school friends, and college roomies! It was a busy weekend of driving around the Chicago suburbs, but it was great for Nolan to get to spend time with so many people who love him more than words can say! He had a blast visiting Soo-ja at Streamwood Florist, stopping by St. Peters to visit Grandma in her classroom, laughing at Grandpa's beard, being super silly with Auntie Mal (you'll see in the video), clapping at the pretty bride during the wedding, strolling through the gardens at Cantigny, and sitting on Great Grandma's lap! We, on the other hand, enjoyed delicious food from Portillos, laughing and staying up late with my parents, relaxing pedicures (yes...even Mark- a little mother in law, son in law bonding), dancing with old friends, and taking in a bit of God's beautiful creation! Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful weekend! Congratulations and blessings to the new Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hart! And to Jiw, John, and Trey...we missed you deeply!

The Simple Things

Early Wednesday morning as I got my bags ready to go to school, I grabbed my keys off the hook in the kitchen to rush my way to school at 6:45 a.m. and I screamed at what I saw! There on my keychain was THE BEST early birthday present Mark could have EVER gotten me! A keyless entry remote control installed in our Honda Civic!

You see, things have changed now that I have a 20 plus pound baby to lug around. No longer am I screaming at the sight of new cute Puma running shoes or a Tiffany bracelet...no, now I am screaming for joy at the simplest of things...something that makes my life 2000 times easier...something we should have just had installed when we bought the car brand new 5 years ago. But you see, we were broke college graduates with only one job, about to move across the country and start our new married lives together and at that point the couple hundred extra dollars for keyless entry just didn't seem necessary. But now it absolutely is!

Imagine me, Nolan in arms and shopping cart full of groceries, trying to bend down to get the key in the hole without the shopping cart rolling away. And then, over the years, the key has slowly started to not fit very well in the hole and you have to jiggle it and position it just right to get the lock to open. So here I am struggling with all the weight and bags and trying 15 to 20 times to get the lock to open, only to have to run around to the other side of the car to open that lock and crawl across the seat to pop the lock open from the inside! (and don't forget I still have all 20 some pounds of chubby cheeks and chunky thighs and the loaded shopping cart) So after sweat, tears, and probably a few not so pleasant words, I would be in the car and driving home. As soon as I would get home, I would burst through the doors and complain to Mark day after day about this horrible situation!

For once, I think he got the hint! And I have my most awesome birthday present. It is amazing how such a simple thing has blessed my life so incredibly much! I love you babe! And now I hope you all can understand why I have found this to be blog worthy!!

Here are a few other shots from our weekend and pre-birthday celebrations!! Thanks so much to everyone who helped make my birthday so much fun so far...and it hasn't even really come yet!!


This is a picture from a fun game our super creative Aunt Sue played to help celebrate her new sprinkler system at my birthday party at her house! Yes...we are wearing goggles!

And the winners are...gold medal: Wes, silver medal: Ernie, bronze medal: Mark! I'm so proud! Nolan even joined in on the festivities!


Payton created her own artwork for my birthday card!

Swimming at Jess' Pool! Such a handsome little dude!

My Birthday Chair...a wonderful Johnson family tradition...the family decorates a special chair for the birthday person to sit in and open up their presents. It's a different theme every year. This year, Mark decorated it in a Beverly Hills 90210 theme. I am the shows number one fan...I love the DVD's and am spending my real birthday night tomorrow watching the new series.

For my birthday celebration Mark and I went indoor skydiving! I was reluctant at first, because if you know me, you know I don't like my feet to leave the ground. I'm talking no skates, skis, nothin'! But it was a fun experience- 110 mph winds shooting out and blasting you into the air. I would never do the real thing, so this was a nice way to simulate the free fall experience, have your cheeks flap in the wind, and to see your boogers fly from your nose. Video to come!

Birthday dinner at Happa Sushi Bar

Labor Day at the cabin: Nolan's first tractor ride!