The boys they are a changin'

I feel like each week I say the same thing in my blog about how much the boys are growing, but this week both boys really blew me away. It started last Sunday night when Nicholas was up all night because of an ear infection. At 11:00 he started saying that he wasn't going to suck his thumb anymore. "Sure, Baby, uh huh" was my reaction. Now, we had attempted to get him to stop sucking his thumb months ago, even taking him to Toys R Us and telling him that he could pick out any toy if he showed us he could stop sucking his thumb for 2 weeks. His reaction back then was thanks, but no thanks. I like my thumb more than any toy in that store! We decided not to push the issue and instead made the rule that puppy and kitty (and therefore sucking his thumb) must stay in his room. So I'm a little ashamed to say that when he made this statement out of the blue, it did not even occur to me that he would actually follow through with it. But here we are more than a week later and he has not sucked his thumb (that I know of!). I am so proud of him! Also this week he started going to the bathroom completely on his own with no help and he's actually understanding privacy--woohoo! Then yesterday I read him a new book with sight words that we got from Mimi. I read it to him once and then he has read it to me multiple times since then, working on sight words. He is learning by leaps and bounds and it is such a joy to witness. Most of all I love seeing his sweet, kind heart. He loves to tell me, Graham, and Nolan how much he loves us all and he loves to talk about God and Jesus. It is my joy to dive into the Bible with him each day!

Nolan is off and running and loving life! His "orangatan" walk turned into "muscle man" (he shows of his gun show!) and then finally today he suddenly just walked around the house with his hands by his side like a pro. It's funny how that looked so strange after getting used to his other adorable ways of walking. In this last month of him walking, Nolan's personality has come out so much. He has so much fun exploring the whole house going from one place to another, picking up fun things along the way. He almost always carries something in one or both hands as he walks around--toy, clothes, remote, etc. Almost all of those items end up in our master bath tub, naturally of course. He's learned more words this week and is finally signing all the time! More, eat, all done, cup, mouth, head, nose, and blowing kisses are all signs that he learned this week and he's doing all the time now! It's unbelievable to see him in action.

This weekend we hosted our Sunday School class on Saturday night for Chili Night at our house. It was so much fun and we had a great turn out. A few of our new families were even able to make it so it was great getting to know them better. It was wonderful chaos inside and outside of our house with lots of very small kids and even more adults. My perfectly cleaned home was covered in toys in a matter of minutes! We have been so blessed by our group of friends and we are so happy to open our home for fellowship and fun.

A Disney Wedding

On Thursday morning we packed up the car and headed out for Disney. We were headed down for the weekend for Kari Wiedenbeck's wedding. Things got off to a bit of a rocky start as Graham got a horrible migraine headache right in the middle of our 7 hour drive to Orlando. He says that it was no coincidence that he felt at his absolute worst as we drove through Gainesville, FL. This migraine was so bad and the poor guy was stuck in a car for 7 hours with a 1 year old and 3 year old behind him. While there were some crying moments for Nolan, thankfully they were minimal. Graham started to feel a little relief by the time we made it to the beautiful Swan Hotel at Disney. We decided to stay behind at the hotel that night and not join the family out to dinner in order to make sure Graham was feeling all better. So we took the boys around and explored the beautiful hotels and the pool and game areas. That night we learned very quickly that all 4 of us sleeping in one room was going to be quite a challenge. Graham and I had to go to bed at the same time as the boys but Nolan still cried for a couple of hours until I finally brought him in to bed with Nicholas and me. Nolan spent the night rolling on top of his brother and me, kicking us, hitting us, and playing with our faces. Nicholas slept right through it. I did not.
The next day I joined the ladies at the Bridesmaid Luncheon and the guys and PopPop went to the Disney Boardwalk and ate at ESPNZone. Nicholas enjoyed playing some fun games there. That night while the rest of the family went to the Rehearsal dinner, our family of 4 went swimming at the pool, walked around the Boardwalk, rode a boat back to the hotel and then ate dinner. That night of sleep managed to be worse than the first as Nicholas coughed all night long in his sleep which kept waking Nolan up. I spent most of the night holding Nolan in a chair.
Saturday we had a Character breakfast in the hotel with Goofy and Pluto. Nicholas was so excited about meeting them and I was so proud of Nolan for not crying! Then Nicholas and I went swimming at the beautiful pool while Nolan napped in the room. Poor Graham spent much of the time there in a blacked out room while Nolan napped! That afternoon the babysitter arrived to watch the boys in the hotel while we went to the wedding. The wedding was so beautiful and I'm so glad that we were able to be there for it. I was quite emotional through the whole thing and couldn't stop crying! It was a great party too with wonderful food. Aunt Betsy did a wonderful job in her toast and blessing to the new couple, I know that must not have been easy to do on her own without Uncle Dick. Kari and Scott make such a cute couple and I know they will be very happy. The party was lots of fun but Graham and I ducked out to get back to the kiddos. They did very well for the babysitter thankfully!
On Sunday we packed up and headed home. We were all so exhausted after 3 nights of no sleep for Graham and me and poor Nolan was so frustrated in that hotel room with no space to walk around and none of his toys to play with. The drive home was a long one as Nolan cried for a while. But we made it home and boy was Nolan so glad to get home. He was so happy to be able to walk around and play with his toys, it was so funny to see! Nicholas had a great time on the trip, and while Graham and I did too, it was very nice to get back to home sweet home.

Walk This Way, Talk This Way

Our precious Nolan is finally walking! He took his first steps on Sunday, January 23rd. Graham was out at his first Journey Bible Study meeting and I was home with the kids alone. It was after dinner and we were playing on the living room floor when I noticed that Nolan was standing by himself next to his ball popping toy. So I moved the toy a little bit away from him and I moved a few steps away and encouraged him to walk to me and he did!! Nicholas and I screamed in excitement and I threw Nolan into the air and he was so excited and proud of himself! Two minutes later Graham got home and got to see Nolan in action. We spent 30 minutes that night having him walk back and forth a few steps between us. We were all so excited for this new accomplishment in his little life! For that next week Nolan would take steps mostly when we would encourage him to come to us. Each day he would take more and more steps on his own initiative. Then last Monday while we were over at a play date at a friends house he just started taking off for the first time on his own and going all the way across the room! It was so exciting! The funniest thing is that because he spent the last many months walking with our assistance by holding his hands, he still walks with his hands held above his head and wobbles around! Graham calls him our little Orangutan--that's exactly what he looks like!
I also discovered last night that I believe he has been saying more words than I realized. He's always making noises and "talking" all the time but I thought that the only "words" he was actually saying were: Mama, Dada, bye-bye, Ni Ni (night night), mo (more) and an occasional BaBa for Baxter. The other night in the bathtub I realized that he was saying Brother (Bubba) and Nicholas (also NiNI). Every time I would say those words he would repeat them! Who knows what other sounds and words he's been saying that I have not figured out yet. Oops! Second child syndrome!

Papa, 92 years young!

With the start of this new year, I've just finished studying the book of Genesis again. Genesis is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I love reading about God's Creation and following the stories of God's people. My favorite thing about Genesis though is seeing God's love through each generation of the Four Fathers. It's amazing to me how when God blesses us for our faithfulness and love, He doesn't just bless that person, but He blesses them for generations to come and their descendents experience God's blessings, all because of that one person. I am certain that Papa has experienced that same generational blessing! What an amazing life he has led. It is quite an accomplishment to celebrate your 92nd birthday as Papa has done today, but it is even more remarkable to have lived 92 years full of faith, love, courage, generousity, dedication, and joy as he has done!! I am so thankful for his legacy both for my life, and for my boys. So often it is the other way around and families pass along generational sins and troubles. Instead when I look through our family line, I see God's love and faithfulness. I pray that we all will continue these blessings for many generations to come! Thank you Papa for your example of a life well lived!
Nolan, Ashley and I had fun taking Papa out to lunch at Jason's Deli today to celebrate. Then Papa came with me to pick up Nicholas at carpool and that was very exciting for Nicholas too. Tonight we celebrated again with dinner at the Olive Garden with Mimi, Graham, Ashley, Nicholas, Nolan, myself and of course the Birthday boy. It was a great day! And even though he doesn't look over his sixties as the waitress said, as Papa says "It adds up to 92!" And our celebration will continue this weekend with cousin Ryan coming into town for his birthday.
Here's to many more Papa! Maybe one day Willard Scott will tell him Happy Birthday!