Nolan turned 8 months old on April 27th; this year is flying by! Nolan is crawling all over the house. Figuring out new ways to baby proof everything has just about become a hobby for Aaron. He and Nolan continue to spend their days at home together. Erica comes over and helps out with Nolan when she is available. Nolan is crawling and pulling up on furniture and has even started to take small steps along the furniture. It is very fun to watch him learn how to use his body. He first stood up on his own (pulling himself to his feet) against the mirror in his play area on April 27.
We have continued to (try to) feed Nolan solids. However he has decided that he is not really that interested in eating any of them. He starts out very happy and excited to eat when I put him in his chair, but then once we get down to the actual putting food in his mouth, well that is when he starts getting upset. It doesn’t seem to matter what we are eating cereal, veggies or fruits; he usually ends up trying to hold the spoon and finger paint in any of the food that drips on the tray. It is quite an ordeal, but I am trying to stick with it in hopes that he will start to like it. Sometimes I think he knows he will get to take a bath right after dinner so he just cries and then we go take a bath. He LOVES the bathtub. He plays with his bath toys chasing them all over the tub and splashing and kicking the whole time. I am really looking forward to going to the pool this summer with him.
Nolan does not yet have any teeth. Which is fine by me as long as they decide to come in at some point. 🙂 He has been battling a cold for the last week which has made him a little fussy and I cannot tell if he is over the cold or if he is starting to teeth. Although I have though he was teething since he was about 5 months old!
He doesn’t yet have any real words but he seems to be doing a little more experimentation with sounds than he was before. He still screams but usually only when he is really happy and excited.
There are so many people and places I want to see this summer, I hope I find the time to do so. At the beginning of July we are planning to have Nolan’s baptism ceremony in Sharon at St. Boniface, the same church Aaron and I got married in.
At the end of April I found out that I was accepted in to the Early Childhood Unified-Master of Arts in Teaching program at Wichita State University . I am very excited to get started! This program is an 18 month program that starts in June 2012. So back to school I go. I will most likely be leaving my job at TFI in the fall to start working in a school, preschool or childcare center, which is part of the requirement of the ECU-MAT program. I know it is going to be intense but I really look forward to being a teacher and working with kids. I especially like the idea of have my summers free to spend with my own little one.
This summer is going to go so quickly I just know it! The next two weekends we are celebrating the achievements of Andrew and Erica! Andrew has finished the course work at University of Missouri at St. Louis to be a Doctor of Optometry while Erica has completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College. I know they have both been waiting for the completion of these degrees and we are very excited to share in their achievements!
Aaron is becoming increasingly obsessed with improving his golf game. I can’t blame him for wanting to get out and play 18 holes after spending all week with Nolan. Aaron’s most recent upgrade to his equipment included a new driver. From what I have heard he seems to be pretty happy with the results.
Harvest is coming, probably early this year. I was driving down by Winfield yesterday and some of the wheat fields were already turning gold. Aaron always looks forward to heading down to Sharon and cutting wheat. It will be fun to get Nolan out for a quick photo with the combines this year.
Aaron and I are trying to find a different place to rent. Since we are not planning on staying in Wichita too long after I graduate from WSU we don’t think it is in our best interest to buy a home. So the search is on for a rental house. We actually like the place we are in right now but the floor plan is not great. So hopefully we can find a set up that will be more conducive to “Daddy Daycare”.