Gimme More

"Gimme More"- the title of this post and video...it also happens to be the title of a Britney Spears song that we sang over and over again this weekend as we fed Nolan. It just seems like that's what he's thinking as he opens his mouth so wide wanting more plums, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, or anything else you put near his face. If you couldn't tell, we can't quite shovel it in fast enough! But, it's also what we're thinking as my sister and Billy left today! "Gimme More"!

We had a wonderful week of laughing, cooking, eating, driving, game playing, watching t.v., taking care of Nolan, and dreaming of a future for them in Colorado! We so wish they lived closer so we could spend quality time like this whenever we want! Thank you Mallory and Billy for coming out and for watching and spoiling Nolan all week! Nolan loves you and so do we! You are missed already!

P.S. "My Lip Gloss Be Poppin" I apologize in advance for my stellar rapping abilities...I wanna give a shout out to Lil' Mama!
(By the way, did you know she's only 18?)

Like Father Like Son

Mark LOVES baseball! He records every Rockies game and stay up until all hours watching them after we have watched our plethora of Reality Shows each night. He has started from an early age to introduce the sport to Nolan. His room is a baseball theme, he has numerous baseball outfits, he attended his first game at Coors Field in early Spring, and he has even joked about tying his right hand behind his back. You know, to strengthen the left arm, because left handed pitchers are a hot commodity! Nolan got his first baseball cap this week, and we think he is quite cute wearing it! Just wanted to share his new look!

Meeting Mylie

Last night we went over to Kim and Ernie's house to meet their new puppy...Mylie! We have been awaiting her arrival for quite some time now. And Nolan was so excited to meet his new friend. When we got there Mylie came right to me when I called her name and she let me hold her for a long time! She loves to cuddle! See, I can handle dogs when they are tiny and sweet, and love to snuggle, and especially when we can say goodbye and leave them at someone else's house at the end of the night! We had a fun night relaxing with great friends, playing with Mylie and Nolan, watching "America's Best Dance Crew", and laughing a lot! Check out Nolan's first interactions with the pup! Kim and Ernie, we hope you got more sleep last night! We love your little girl!

Randomness

So I've been in a bit of a blogging lull. I dove head first into my new teaching year and have been spending every single second of down time hanging out with the very awesome Nolan. We have so much fun every night playing and snuggling on the couch until bed time! He is very active right now- bouncing in the exersaucer, weighing down the swing, rolling over and pushing up onto his hands, reaching and raking things closer to him, teething and fussing over sore gums, and almost mastering sitting up. I put together a quick video of some things we've been up to around the house!

On another note, my very dear friend Jill tagged me a LONG time ago on her blog. I was to write 5 random things about myself on my blog. So here goes...

1. I HATE ONIONS! Yuck! Their texture and flavor is disgusting. I literally barfed in my mouth once when Mark secretly slipped one onto my McFish sandwich at McDonalds!

2. There's glass in my elbow. I had glass embedded deep into my tissue after a roll over van accident. Once in awhile I feel the glass work it's way up to the surface and rub against the bone. I've had some removed awhile ago, but it is kind of hard to locate exactly, so I just live with the rest.

3. I have Scoleosis. If you look at my back...it's very jacked up! I had to wear a back brace for 12 hours a day, in 7th grade. What a great time for that fun, huh? But I mostly wore it at night so, it wasn't that bad! It was this hard plastic thing, so not the most comfortable to sleep in, but better than wearing it to school. Zits and glasses were bad enough!

4. I think purple is a wretched color! I had this purple Disney character shirt, you know the ones where the characters pop out of the buttons. I wore it to Student Impact at church my freshman year of high school and I walked into the basement bathroom. The lighting wasn't very forgiving in there, I looked into the mirror and could not believe how terrible I looked in that shirt. Don't know if it was the fact that Winnie the Pooh was peeking out of my buttons or if it was the particularly bright shade, but ever since then, I have despised the color purple.

5. I make a really funny noise in my throat when it's itchy or when my ears are itchy! It kind of sounds like a frog. Anyone who has lived with me has grown to love and adore this beautiful sound!

And that's it! Now I have to tag three people to do the same.
I tag: Cara, Brad, and Gwen. Have fun!

4th of July Fun!

We have had a wonderful, relaxing, long weekend full of food, fun, friends, and fireworks! Take a look at our 4th of July adventures at Mark's family cabin in Indian Hills!

6 Months!

Nolan Bradley is now officially 6 months old! It's crazy how fast the time has flown! It has been pure joy being home with him for the past two weeks! He is at such a fun stage...standing and playing in the exersaucer, sitting up with his pots and pans toy, rolling over and over, and screeching and gasping at the top of his lungs just to hear himself talk. At our 6 month well check with our pediatrician she stated, "He's all boy!" And that he is! A BIG boy! He is now 20 lbs. 9 oz. (93%) and 28 1/2 inches long (96%). So needless to say, Mark and I will have some buff arms after lugging him around everywhere!

Nolan's New Buddy

What have we gotten ourselves into? Check out Nolan's new best friend...Puppy! Yes, a dog has entered the Jansen household. For those of you who know us well, you know a dog is merely something we look at, occasionally pet, not cuddle, play with, or let slobber on us! But, somehow Nolan is surrounded by dogs... Auntie Sue's precious Sammie, D.J.'s buddy Tucker, The Leensvaart's pup Murphy, and soon to be the new Krauth addition- Miley. He LOVES them. So it wasn't a surprise when he became attached to his new pal...a blue stuffed animal puppy. Puppy goes with Nolan everywhere- in the car, outside, for naps, and especially to bed. He sucks on his nose, grabs his ears, and stretches his arms out to hug him close. Apparently Puppy is also hilarious! Nolan laughs and laughs as his ears fly back and forth. So here's to hoping that this new found affection for four legged friends will stay in the plush kind.
But we have a feeling we're doomed!

Weekend in Breck

"School's out for summer!" Well at least for 2 weeks!
The life of a year round teacher is a crazy one! I will have the next two weeks off, and in the mean time, get my classroom set up and plans ready for my next school year to begin. July 7th I will start my 6th year teaching...wow! So to celebrate another year down and to try to relax a bit before gearing up for the next school year, we decided to take a quick trip to the mountains! We sat by the pool in Breckenridge, went out to eat, walked around downtown, went to bed early, took a short hike, and hit up the alpine slides! What a great get-away and some quality time with my mom before she leaves on Tuesday!

Wild Week

I haven't blogged in awhile! I've barely had time to sit down! We have had a wild week or so! I am wrapping up school- only 1 and a half days left! Woo hoo! Then my mom came into town...which has been SO wonderful! We have been spending time with her, AND all of our best friends and family members who came into town from all over to celebrate Ernie and Kim's wedding! What a blast to have almost everyone you love in the same place! Here are a bunch of pictures from our hectic but totally amazing week!

Rafting Bachelor Party on the Arkansas River! The water was VERY high, thank goodness everyone survived...especially the groom. a.k.a. Bridezilla


Hanging out with Uncle Patrick! Nolan can't wait for his first Philly cheese steak!

Congratulations Ernie and Kim! We can't wait to be married couples with you! Hurry home from the British Virgin Islands...we miss you already!


Grandma's in Town! She spoils us with meals and serves us by taking care of Nolan, cleaning our house, and doing odd jobs! Nolan has an awesome Grandma!


The Jansen Fam got down at the wedding!


Nolan got to meet his Auntie Jayne and Uncle Brad for the 1st time! He was waiting for their visit and had so much fun chillin' with his cool aunt & uncle from California!


Mark and his highschool buds: Rick, D.J., Ernie, Nate, and James


The Calvin Crew
(Back Row L-R: Bryan, Nate, James, Pat, Jason, Jeff, Ben)
(Front Row L-R: Sara, Mark, Me, Steph, Ernie, Angie, Betsy)


Mark's first Father's Day at Daniels Park... Nolan is one blessed boy! Mark is a wonderful Dad! Nolan loves laughing at Daddy's belly kisses and silly dancing! He loves their morning quality time as Mark gives him his breakfast and gets him ready for the day! And he loves sitting on the couch and cheering on the Rockies with him! I look forward to watching this bond grow over the years! Thanks for a fun 6 months Mark!


And finally, Nolan's new joy: The exersaucer!

Date Night

Mark had a HOT date tonight! And nope...not with me! With our beautiful, smart, and super fun niece Payton! Mark was unable to go to her 4th Birthday Pool Party last weekend. So he told her he would make it up to her by taking her out on a date. Being that we have the hook ups with movie tickets, we have taken Payton to a couple of movies over the years. She decided for her date night that she would like to go to a new movie and out for ice cream. Mark picked her up for their night on the town and she was ready and waiting, in a very lovely dress. When Mark walked in the door she asked him, "Why are you late, we need to get to our movie?!" They had a great time, saw Kung Fu Panda, and had dipped cones from Dairy Queen! Nolan and I were lucky enough to join them for ice cream and then later pizza. We broke all the rules and had dessert first and then dinner! The joys of being an aunt and uncle! We have loved being able to spend so much time with Payton over the years and to have watched her grow up to be the spirited, creative, and sensitive young girl she is...she truly takes such good care of Nolan, wrapping him up in blankets and showering him with kisses! Thanks for a great night P.R.! Uncle Marky loves you and so do I!!! Your tickling giggles tonight were the best!!

Summer Lovin'

Here are a few pictures from our very fun weekend in the sun! I had the pleasure of taking Nolan swimming for the first time at Payton's fourth birthday party! He loved it and just soaked it all in. The next day Mark got to join in on the fun, we took him swimming at our good friend Jess' apartment pool! Jess just happens to be a life guard and taught Mark the proper way of dunking Nolan. Check out the footage, he cried briefly, but then went right back to laughing with Daddy!

Mellow Man

Everyone always comments about how mellow Nolan is. And thank goodness for that, because we drag him around everywhere with us! We had another busy weekend full of friends, family, and fun! And Nolan just went along for the ride. Being that we are the first of all our friends to have a baby, we don't want to miss out on any of the fun, so we just bring him along. And he is more than happy to be held by anyone and everyone! Here are just a few pictures from a wonderful long weekend! Happy Memorial Day!

Congrats Uncle E and Auntie Kim on your new home!

Moving Day!
"Tri Circle Pecks" striking a senior portrait pose in
Ernie and Kim's tree

A rainy Memorial Day at the Cabin

Naked Nolan

Just a few snapshots of Nolan's new favorite past-time...being naked! It has been so hot here, and he has proven to be a true Jansen, he is warm all the time, the less clothes he has on, the happier he is! Check out his awesome rolls!

Whirlwind Week

So I haven't posted in over a week because I really don't think that I have had a chance to sit down and relax in over a week! I am now back at school and after teaching all week, after school commitments, and getting ready for Barbie's Birthday Bash tonight...I'm wiped! A few highlights from the past week: Nolan's fist adventures with rice cereal, a WONDERFUL Mother's Day, and a great night with family! Here are some pictures to document our fun times!

I'm not so sure about this mushy stuff!

Nolan bearing Mother's Day gifts...a new ipod and
a gift certificate for a facial!

More Kisses from Nolan's favorite cousin Payton!

It's really hard to get all the kids to smile at once...
so Nolan decides to nod off!
(Gwen, Rylan, Cara, Brady,Payton, Abby, Nolan)

Sweet Home Chicago!

We are back in Denver after our wonderful trip to Illinois and Michigan. Nolan had a stomach virus and got off to a rocky start, but hung in there as we visited with one friend or family member after the next. With one bottle of Pedialyte consumed and an average of 4 dirty diapers an hour, by Sunday we had our precious Nolan back to his normal healthy self. The last few days were just as busy, but much easier with a happy boy on our hands! Here's a video of all our adventures. It's a bit long, so sit tight, relax, and enjoy!