11 months old!-WALKING!

 

Nolan is nearly a year old! Where has he time gone. Nolan continues to be very active! He is a super fast crawler, he crawls on his hands and feet. He must think it is faster than his knees. He took his first steps (that I witnessed) on July 18th!

Nolan has many “words” now he says mama and finally decided to say dada after holding out for many months. I think that really felt good for Aaron to finally hear Nolan say dada. He also says baba and ooooooo.

When we went in for his 9 month appointment (which didn’t happen until he was 10.5 months old). He weighted about 19 pounds and was 29 inches tall. Although he is only wearing 9 month clothes the doctor says that she doesn’t see any reason for concern as he is obviously a very happy and BUSY baby.

Nolan has two teeth on the bottom, which you can see in some of his pictures. In the last month he also got two teeth on the top. I think he may have a third breaking through on the top, right side. He has been a little fussy lately and I think it has to do with breaking all those teeth through.

Nolan’s favorite game is peek-a-boo he loves playing with anyone who will join in. He also enjoys giving hugs and snuggling when he is sleepy. He even snuggles his stuffed animals.

Nolan started daycare at the beginning of July. It has been a smooth transition. He enjoys the other kids and loves all of the toys. He has only cried one day when I was dropping him off. The ladies all seem to enjoy him as well. He gets to see cousin Kylee everyday now too as she attends the same center. Last week he had an incident involving another child…Nolan got bit on the forehead by another little boy in the class. Thank goodness he was okay.

I just completed my first semester of graduate school at Wichita State University. Only 16 more months until graduation! Once I finish I will have a Master’s of Arts in Teaching-Early Childhood Unified which will qualify me to teach birth-3rd grade. I will be starting up classes again on August 20th.

It has been a difficult summer for the Traffas family. In June we lost Brian, Aaron’s dad. He was only 59 and passed much too soon. I never imagine that Nolan’s first harvest would be Brian’s last. I continue to pray for strength for his children and for Marilyn to make it through this difficult time. Aaron will be taking over the farming operations. So Nolan and I have not seen much of Aaron in the last couple of months. As Aaron plants the fields we are living in Wichita and trying to go about our business as usual and seeing him whenever possible. Aaron is happy to get the opportunity to farm his father’s and grandfather’s land, he has always said it is his dream job, of course he never thought this is how it would happen. I know Aaron was really looking forward to moving home and farming with his dad.  I think it is bittersweet for Aaron.

On July 8th Nolan was baptized in Sharon at St. Boniface church. It was so nice to be surrounded by family as Nolan joined the catholic church. We got some very cute pictures of Nolan and Kylee in their black and white outfits.

We finally got moved into our new place in Wichita. We could not have done it without lots of help from our families. Thank you so much. This place is so much better than our duplex was. There is plenty of space for Nolan to roam and I don’t feel so cramped.

In the coming months we are going to be a busy bunch. Part of the requirements of the Master’s program is that I have at least 20 hours per week in a classroom setting. So I am leaving the job I have had for the last 3 years in hopes that I get a job in the next couple of weeks at a school. If I don’t get a job I will be volunteering in a classroom.  The classroom hours are of course in addition to WSU course work. Aaron will continue to spend most of his time in Sharon planting the wheat. And Nolan well he will be walking and playing and learning all day. We are planning his 1st birthday party for the end of August in Wichita. This year has absolutely flown by. Aaron and I are so lucky to have not only each other, but our wonderful, happy, healthy  little boy.

 

 

Harvest!

Harvest is upon us! The Traffas men started cutting on May 25th. Aaron said he doesn’t remember starting harvest before the beginning of June in previous years. So it is a special year. It is of course Nolan’s first harvest! He has already had his first ride on the combine. And as of yesterday his second. It has been quite a busy time around Sharon. Nolan is staying with Grandma Marilyn while Aaron is in the field.  I am commuting to work each day from Sharon to reduce the amount of time Nolan has to spend in the car. We are so lucky to have so much help with Nolan. Erica has also been home studying for her NCLEX test (licensing test for Nurses) and helping watch Nolan.

Nolan is growing up so quickly! He is now 9 months old and crawling everywhere. He often crawls up on his feet rather than just using his knees. It is adorable. He is pulling up on EVERYTHING; in turn he is also falling down more and bonking his head on everything.  Nolan has started waving. Aaron calls it the motorcycle wave because his hand is in a fist and he just rotates it to wave. Nolan grabbed Grandpa Brian’s heart after he had been working in the field all day and Nolan crawled over and raised his tiny right hand up and gave him a wave. After a long day’s work I think that was a wonderful welcome home. Most of the time Nolan waves at people including people on TV, but sometimes he also will wave at toys. 

Nolan has decided that solid food is not so bad. This is such an exciting thing to report! Nolan has started to show a lot more interest in eating solid foods. I had read some advice that said to let him have his own spoon during feedings. I couldn’t believe that this simple change reduced his frustration and enable me to get him to take more bites of food. He is not consuming a lot of food but just that fact that he is interested in eating is such an improvement over last month. On May 12th I noticed his first tooth coming in, it was the lower center right side tooth and just a day or two later the left side started to break out of the gums too. Now he has two little teeth on the bottom. Nolan is so independent when it comes to eating he just wants to do it all himself. So we have given him more of an opportunity to feed himself with some fruits and veggies. He loves to gnaw on apple slices; using those two tiny teeth to the fullest. He has also tried sweet potato cubes, watermelon and a little bit of an ice cream sandwich. He seems to respond so much better to things he can pick up and eat than trying to feed him with a spoon.

We have had so many things to celebrate lately. Andrew graduated from the University of Missouri at St. Louis as a Dr. of Optometry and Erica graduated from Bethel College with her BSN-Bachelor of Science in Nursing! I am starting classes next week at Wichita State University!  Oh what a busy month. What would be do if life slowed down?

Holly finished her first year teaching at Junction City Middle school and will start teaching summer school next week. The theme this year is the Olympics, which is pretty fitting for Holly because she loves watching the Olympics. I am so proud of her and can’t wait until we are both teachers and have our summers free to spend time together making crafts, baking tasty treats and sewing fun projects.

7 Months

Nolan is growing and changing so fast! The month of March flew by so quickly. Aaron had to travel almost every weekend this month so Nolan and I had a lot of time to hang out at home together. Nolan is able to sit unassisted and play with his toys for several minutes. He is also trying very hard to crawl. He has not figured out that he needs to lift his head while moving his legs, but that doesn’t seem to slow him down. I think he may end up with rug burn on his face soon. He is mobile enough to scoot reach or roll to  get just about anything he wants. Of course the things he wants are usually not this things we want him to have, including our cell phones, remotes, computers, cords etc.

Nolan cannot get enough of my necklaces, I think he believes I wear they as a chew toy for him. So each day when I get home from work I have to remember to take them off before he gets his slobbery little hands on them.  Nolan has tried a few new foods. He is still just eating one solid meal  a day in addition to his milk. We usually feed him in the evenings so that he can have the necessary bath right after he eats. So far he has not complained too much about any of the vegetables he has tried.  Nolan loves bath time, he enjoys kicking and splashing in the water. As long as he has his squirting toys he is happy the whole time. I am trying to get him used to water and make sure he is not scared of it, because I am hoping to take a “Mommy and Me” swimming class this summer.

Nolan has his first round of antibiotic a couple of weeks ago. We took him in to the clinic because he had a fever, cough and runny nose.  As it turns out he also has a slight ear infection. He just finished his antibiotic and is doing much better; but there for a few days he really struggled. His temperature topped out at 102 F.  Which was very concerning, but with a little Tylenol and forcing him to eat it came down.  It was so hard to watch him not want to play or eat.

So glad is his back on track. While Aaron was in Indiana my mom was on Spring Break so she got to come up to Wichita and spend a couple of days with Nolan while I was at work. I was so thankful we didn’t have to take him back to the daycare center for the whole time Aaron was away. I think Nolan like the center just fine but that is where I believe he picked up that nasty cold and I just wanted him to stay healthy for awhile before having another sickness.  The rest of the time Aaron was gone Nolan got to play with cousin Marissa as she was on Spring Break. It was so nice having family watch Nolan.

Once Aaron finally got home from Indiana Nolan and I were so happy to see him. Nolan just smiled and wanted to play with his Dad and I think Aaron wanted the same thing.

I am looking forward to April so that we can have more family time! I also hope this rain lets us so we might be able to take more walks. Nolan loves taking walks, he likes to look at the trees and hear all the sounds of the kids around the block playing. I enjoy the walks just daydreaming about when Nolan is running around kicking a soccer ball like the kids in the park. I know those days are not too far off.

 

 

Nolan has Arrived!

Nolan Traffas

I am thrilled to announce that our wonderful Nolan arrived on 27 August at 3:56pm. He was born one week before his scheduled due date. Nolan weighed 8 lbs 2.6oz and was 21 inches long.

He took his time making his grand entrance.  I started having contractions 5-7 minutes apart on Friday (8/26) at 5:30am, the contractions continued very consistently for the next 34 hours, but unfortunately Nolan was not able to be born naturally because he was positioned in the birth canal “OP” or occiput posterior which basically means he was face up rather than face down. Babies can make it through this way but after four hours of pushing and no progress we and the doctor decided to go ahead and proceed with a cesarean birth.  I was very nervous and scared to have a cesarean, but as it turns out everything went well in the operating room and I am recovering well.

Nolan has been a dream come true for both Aaron and me. He is absolutely adorable and has for the most part been pretty easy to get along with.  While in the hospital Aaron and I were a little worried about him because he didn’t seem to cry about anything.  He has since rediscovered this ability so no worries about that anymore.

We were released from the hospital on Monday evening. Everything seemed to be going pretty well until we tried to go to sleep that night.  Basically none of us slept at all the entire night.  I am trying to breastfeed, but my milk has not come in yet and Nolan was hungry, he tried to nurse for 3 hours straight with only small breaks. It was exhausting and very frustrating for all of us.  After an appointment with our new doctor today she gave us instructions on supplementing with formula until I am able to produce milk. Everyone has been much happier and feeling better today. I believe tonight will be much easier as well. Hopefully we will all get some sleep.

Nolan has another appointment tomorrow with the to get his bilirubin levels checked. He has been measuring a little high. These levels indicate jaundice.  Hopefully getting a little food in his belly and sun bathing today will help him.  Nolan also has an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor tomorrow, the tongue connective tissue is connect near the end of the tongue, apparently this can cause orthodontic issues and speech problems so we are going to have that taken care of in the afternoon to hopefully prevent any issues in the future.

I am so happy with our new little family. It feels so good to be  a parent and I could not ask for a better partner in this.  Aaron has done a wonderful job taking care of both of us.

38 Week Appointment

Cake at the surprise baby shower

11 days till our due date! I can’t believe it.  It feels like it has gone so quickly, but yet these last few weeks time has started to slow down. I have started to slow down.  I think our little guy is going to be a healthy weight. I feel like he is packing on the pounds. Thankfully I am still able to sleep almost all the way through the night and I do not yet feel like I am “waddling”.  I have continued walking but my walks have gotten shorter as I find myself tired faster than before.

I was surprised on Monday at work with a baby shower by my coworkers. It was so sweet.  I think Aaron and I have decided on a glider rocker, I plan to go order it after work today at Babies R Us.  We are also still deciding on a crib.  Otherwise I think most of the purchases that need to be made have been made and we will we ready to go when Nolan makes his grand entrance.

Showing off the 38 week bump

Today’s appointment went well. Some people have been telling me they think I have “dropped” I am not sure, I am experiencing more lower pressure, so maybe. Nolan’s heat rate was 142 beats/minute. He is still moving around a fair amount but not quite a wildly as before.  The doctor said I have not made any progress towards labor, so it is just a waiting game now.

Being so close to the due date it is hard to wait, I am trying to stay focused and finish up all of the work I need to do before I go on maternity leave, but all I want to do is head to the hospital and meet my little guy. Someday soon, can’t wait to share pictures!

36 week appointment

Baby Nolan's Car Seat

Well we are in the home stretch here. Today we had our 36 week appointment. Everything went well, nothing really to report. Our normal doctor is on vacation this week so we met with a nurse/midwife just to make sure there were no problems.

We did find out however that I am a carrier of Group B Strep (GBS), therefore once I go into labor I will need to have antibiotic through an IV to try to ensure that the baby does not become ill. For low risk carriers such as myself, if I am given antibiotics during labor there is only a 1 in 4000 chance of delivering a baby with GBS. So hopefully everything goes well and the medication prevents the transmission of GBS to our little guy.

Today Baby Nolan’s heart beat was 157 beats/minute.  The nurse said she believes he is still head down.  I have been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions for about 3 days now, that are pretty frequent. I have been having abdominal tightening for about two months, but these definitely feel a little different. More discomfort than before  that is for sure.  I finally have my bag packed for the hospital. I have also been spending some time this week washing tiny little baby clothes. Why is laundry so much cuter when it is tiny?

Tomorrow is my last scheduled travel day for work. I have a meeting in Emporia, then I am in my office until D-day. It will be nice knowing I don’t have to travel anymore. It is just not very comfortable to drive and I get so tired.

Our 37 week appointment is set for next Tuesday, August 16th. That same day we have our final class, Car Seat Safety, so we will have the car seat installed and ready for Nolan’s first ride. Nolan’s car seat arrived last week on our door step thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Traffas. Aaron and I love the car seat and look forward to having it filled with a little boy.

ONE MONTH!

Today is one month from our due date! I can’t believe it, we are getting so close to meeting our little boy.  Aaron and I had an appointment today with our doctor, she checked to make sure the baby is head down. She did a quick sonogram to confirm at which time she also definitively confirm that we are indeed having a little boy. What a relief we don’t need to worry about returning any of the wonderful gifts we received at the shower last weekend. He was a little feisty when the nurse tried to check his heart rate he kicked the wand two times. However she was able to record his heart rate at 145 beats/minute.

I am absolutely thrilled that we are getting so close.  I have been feeling pretty good, the heat is irritating, but it is for everyone else too. My feet have been a little swollen, but it has stayed manageable.  It is just so exciting to think that we are going to be able to hold him so soon. I can’t wait and I know Aaron is excited too. I love having sonograms, being able to see the little guy moving around just makes real for me. This is such an amazing time, I am so glad I get to share it with Aaron.

The list of things that we “need” to do before our little one arrives seems to just keep growing and growing.  After a wonderful baby shower on Saturday I do feel a little more prepared.  But we still need to buy a crib, install the car seat, pack the bag for the hospital, pick up a few more essentials, get the baby’s room ready, etc, etc, etc. I don’t think there is any way for us to really be ready for all of the changes that are about to happen in our lives. Hopefully we make good choices and are able to be good parents to what I am sure will be a wonderful son.

Ready or Not

Aaron is back from harvest!  They finished cutting last Friday thanks to no rain delays this summer.  Now we are trying to get everything together in preparation for our new edition to our family. I luckily have continued to feel pretty good.  I have noticed I am increasingly more tired and little hungrier than normal.  My first introduction to leg cramps woke me up in the middle of the night with terrible cramping in my calf that seemed to last for 3 days. I am hope I do not have any more of those.

Aaron and I are attempting to get a baby registry started.  I just can’t decide where it should be…target, wal-mart, babies r us.  I have started a registry on Amazon.  It is so hard deciding which items we want. I am really looking forward to our baby shower at the end of July; it is always so much fun to see friends and family!

Aaron and I had a doctor’s appointment on June 26th. Everything went well our doctor said that the growth looks good.  Our little guy’s heart beat was 143 beats/minute. Which is a little slower than previously recorded but still within normal range.  We start going to the doctor every two weeks now so our next appointment will be July 11th.  Aaron will be in Orlando for the NAA (National Auctioneer Association) Conference and Show, so I guess I will have to handle this appointment on my own.  With the increase in appointments and the rapid growth of my tummy it is really starting to get real.  We are 66 days from our due date.   My doctor told us we should be ready for anything by the beginning of August.  Wow, it is coming quickly. I have been able to stay pretty calm and not get to worked up about things, however knowing that we will be holding our little baby in about two months if not sooner, well that just gets me nervous and excited!

Since Aaron was away so much in June he had not really had a chance to feel the baby kicking yet. Well on Monday night he felt the little guy kick for the first time. It was really neat to share that experience with Aaron. Our little guy continued to kick for about 20-30 minutes in the same place, I think he knew it was his Daddy and wanted to make his presence known. 🙂

We are looking forward to a busy weekend.  Aaron is playing shows in Sharon and Medicine Lodge this weekend and as it turns out Sharon is celebrating its 125th Birthday so they are having some fun activities over the weekend as well.  Hopefully the temperatures stay moderate, but I think it will probably be dreadfully hot. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Less than 90 days

We have entered the 3rd trimester!  Aaron and I are both getting very excited about meeting our son.  I know that we are not completely ready yet, but that is alright. I think most parenting is done by trial and error anyway, right? There are a thousand things left for use to do in preparation, but sticking the our true nature we will get it together, right toward the due date.  Hopefully he doesn’t come too early…

We have attended several Childbirth Preparation classes that  have done less to prepare me and more to scare me about the labor and delivery process. Just like every other first time mom I am praying for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby.

According to the doctor everything is going well with my pregnancy. I had my blood glucose tested at my last appointment, I have not received the results yet, but my doctor said that if it was high they would have contacted me to schedule the 3 hour test.  So because I haven’t been contacted I am assuming I must be within normal range.  I have been trying to keep walking, but the weather is starting to get out of control. We are expecting record highs tomorrow of 105+. Time to start looking into a gym membership! I think this is going to be  a long summer, I will probably remember the heat and discomfort for the rest of my life!

It is the beginning of June and you know what that means…Harvest. Aaron is on harvest leave until further notice. Luckily being only an hour from Sharon  does make it a little easier for him to come back to Wichita and see me.  The last few months have just been flying by and I am sure that June will be no exception. I may not even notice his absence, although I think that is pretty unlikely.

Aaron and I were so excited to find out that Aaron’s sister Megan and her husband Andrew are expect a little girl on October 22, 2011!  What a blessing to be able to experience being first time parents together.  Congratulations Megan and Andrew!

Just can’t wait to meet these babies!

Baby Traffas’s Quilt


While Aaron was away this weekend in Sacramento. I decided that I would trust the sonogram technician and go ahead and start a quilt for a little baby BOY!  I was so excited to get started on something for the little one. Aaron and I haven’t really bought anything yet as we were waiting to find out the gender.

Quilt fabric selections

I have made quilts in the past with my Grandma Poe but that has been many many years and they were always squares of the same size. Anyhow I found this pattern at a local quilting shop and I just love it.

By the end of the day on Saturday I had been to 4 quilting/fabric shops in town looking for just the right fabric. I really thought I had nailed it when I got home with my selections.  So I started cutting away making tons of little blocks to be sewn back together. I worked and worked all day, but had to get some sleep so I called it quits when I had 1/4 of the squares assembled.  I felt so proud of myself.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling terrible as I have been battling a sinus cold, but then I saw all of the cute little square laying there just waiting to be sewn together, so got back to work. I sewed all of the squares together to complete the front of the quilt. Then I laid the quilt on the bed to take a look at my progress.  I was somehow disappointed with my work. I had tried so hard to choose fabrics that complimented each other but  now the only color I was seeing when I looked at the quilt was ORANGE!

Baby Boy’s Quilt

I thought, “what can I do now it is completely sewn together.” So I did something very silly and started ripping out the seams. I also added some large solid squares of the blue fabrics. Then re-sewed the quilt back together. I am much happier with it now, but it is still not exactly what I was thinking in my head.

Last night I finished adding the quilt batting and the quilt backing. The quilt backing is the dark blue fabric already used in the quilt. Now I still need to decide if I am going to try actually quilting the blanket with the wandering stitch as the pattern picture had shown or stick with just hand tying the quilt.  Either way I think will be fine. I know that the hand tied would take less time, but I think the stitched quilting would look really nice. I have no experience with stitching a quilt. My Grandma always preferred the hand tied when we were young because it took less time and we (the kids) could help. So for now I will stay undecided about how I will be finishing up the quilt. The final step will be to decide on binding for the edges. The patterns says it is not something that is completely necessary but it just seems like it would be a nice finishing touch. I think I may use the same dark blue fabric that I used for the backing.

Baby’s Quilt Close Up

I think this could be a really fun starting point for our little guy’s room. I love the baby dinosaurs fabric and I was thinking about trying to use it somewhere else in the room. Possible curtains, who knows at this point. Luckily I have plenty of time to decide.

Just over 150 days till he is due to arrive. Can’t wait to meet him.