Nolan: 42 Weeks

Another crazy busy week this past week, and Nolan is finally feeling better so it's glorious!  He has been back at school, and even cut a tooth!  I knew we were thisclose to a tooth coming in, but it seemed like forever until it finally came through.  It's a sharp little thing, too!

I also surprised Anthony and had our dear friend, the Stewart's, up from Atlanta to surprise him for his birthday!  It was a month-long planning process, and I am amazed that we never spoiled the surprise.  The plan was for them to come up Saturday while Anthony and the kids were out, but they ended up being able to come up Friday night instead.  This worked out perfectly, since Anthony and the kids had plans to go to Frankie's Fun Park, and my mom was coming over anyway to help with Nolan.

While Anthony and the kids were gone, I frantically cleaned house and went grocery shopping (hiding Anthony's cake in Jacob's closet upstairs...more on that later).  The Stewart's arrive a little past 10:00 p.m., so we took their car up the street to the clubhouse and parked it so Anthony wouldn't have a clue when he got home.  After they arrived, I had Lexie start the whole "I don't feel good" routine that we had planned earlier in the week, and that forced them to come home earlier than they had planned.  Around 10:45, Anthony and the kids walked in to me and the Stewart's all in the kitchen, and were blown away!  It was such a great surprise, and everyone was so excited to see each other.

 

I cannot get over how big our kids are getting!

Saturday after breakfast, we made the trip downtown to check out the Museum of Natural Science.  It was an awesome (and free!) museum.  We hung out for a little while and then headed to the Flying Saucer for a yummy lunch.  Nolan kicked it the whole day with us, and was a trooper.  We will for sure be going back to both places in the future!

We were all excited to head to the pool afterwards, and this was going to be Nolan's first trip to the pool!  Sadly, the baby pool/splash pad at our pool is freezing, so we chose to plop Nolan in his little float instead.  As I was sure, he loved the water and was just  content to float around and watch the action.

N = (Now weighs) I am sure he is probably holding steady right now.

O = (Oomph!)  First little teeth are sharp!  Reminds me of a little alligator :)  At least some of his pain has subsided from teething right now...

L = (Loves) Being in the action.  He can hang out all day long, and is truly a wonderful little sidekick.  He rarely gets fussy, and is good about eating anywhere.

A = (About this week)  We are done with his antibiotic, and are so glad!  His "vocabulary" has also exploded this week.  For the past week and a half, he has barely made any noise (I guess he just felt that bad).  Now that he is better, he has lots to say!  He is starting to say "Ma Ma" a whole lot more, and is even adding on other consonants as well.

N = (Not a fan of) Can't think of much now that he is healthy!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Anthony celebrated his 34th birthday today, and man he is a good-looking 34 year-old in my book :)  We celebrated with the Stewart's this past weekend, and I had a glorious "Mommy fail!"  As I mentioned, I kept his cake hidden in Jacob's closet for when he got home.  Well, I forgot about it, and when we went to eat it Saturday night, the icing had melted off - ha!  Our upstairs gets quite hot during the day, and the icing had no hope :)

It still tasted yummy though!

 

Tonight we went with Ollie and G to a little Italian place to celebrate his official birthday.  The food was pretty good, and Nolan got into the Italian mood by kissing everyone :)

 

 



 

Birthdays get a bit more laid back after you have children, but they are no less important.  Celebrating a day of life of the most wonderful husband in the world is a blessing, and I am so thankful to have him in my life.  I pray for many more birthdays to celebrate together, and will always celebrate the fact that he is older than me! :)

Nolan's 9 Month Appointment

This appointment was short and sweet; I mean, it's not like we haven't been to the doctor enough lately!  We had to reschedule his appointment from last week since he was still on meds, so we were a bit later than usual for this one.  Nolan's 9-month appointment was with Dr. Garrish, and we have seen her quite regularly (she is my favorite at his new pediatrician's office).

I had a couple of questions for her about Nolan and food (basically, is he eating enough, what types of foods should he be eating now, etc.)  She said it sounds like he is doing great, but to work on "sleep training" him.  Ha, okay, we will work on that ;)  She also seemed to agree that getting him checked out by Raleigh Neurology was the safe way to go, just to make sure he wasn't have any seizure issues.

He only had to get one shot today, and I was so happy about that.  I expected him to do the usual cry like crazy for a minute, but he just screwed up his face in an almost-cry look, and went about his business!  Such a brave little boy!

 

This was the best picture I could get: he loves the paper...

 

Some stats (I can't remember exact numbers, only percentiles at this point!):

 

Weight: 17th percentile (around 18 pounds)



Length: 4th percentile (25 inches or so)

Head circumference: 45th percentile (ha!)

 

 

A Beautiful Reminder

Just when I thought I was at my lowest in terms of faith and strength, the Lord showed me his beauty, and I have not, since this evening, looked back.

We were on the way home from daycare after a crazy round of rain, and were greeted with the most beautiful rainbow.  We followed it all the way home, and when we arrived at the house, I could not help but take a picture.

I know He is there, and I know HE watches over us.  Such a beautiful way he has of reminding me of such!

Nolan: 41 Weeks

My little man is finally starting to feel better, and we had a very fun and busy weekend!  The "other" Maldonado's joined us this weekend: Andre, Sammi, Bella, Marli, and Donovan.  It was a house full for sure, but we were so excited for everyone to come by and for Nolan to finally meet his cousins!

I tell you what, Noland and I stick out like sore thumbs in this group :)  We were, by far, the fairest of them all.  Everyone kept asking why "Nolan was so white," and I said, "look at me!"  The genes are strong in this one, I tell you :)

We spent the weekend going to the pool, and even trekked downtown to check out a sneaker store and ate some yummy chicken and waffles.

 

What a beautiful bunch of little tan babes!

 

 

Marli wouldn't smile until she could hold Nolan :)

 

Nolan's preferred sleeping position, apparently :)

N = (Now weighs) I am sure he hasn't gained a lot, if anything, from last week.

O = (Oomph!)  I saw first hand what it would be like to have six kids this past weekend, and let's just say I will stick with the ones we have ;)  How in the heck the Duggars do it, I will never know!

L = (Loves) Being around his cousins.  He was so content just to watch them all (and try his best to keep up with them!)

A = (About this week)  After tending to his super torn up bottom from the antibiotic, he seems to be feeling much better and is back to his old self.  He never did get grumpy, but didn't sleep well and was generally puny last week.

N = (Not a fan of) Not being able to move as fast as the big kids!

Hot Tub Fun!

Anthony and the kids went to my mom's house a few weekends ago so I could "regroup" at the house (which basically means clean my house from top to bottom like a crazy person).  I couldn't resist these adorable pictures, even though his little trunk bottoms were on backwards...haha.

A Day In The Life

One day, I suppose I will want to look back and remember what I did each day (just to make myself tired all over again!)  But, there is something so sweet about this time in our lives; it's a story so many parents have - how your days run into nights and you do 100 million things at a time, but yet you are so happy.  These will be days I will miss once Nolan is too "grown up" for me or goes off to college, so I want to remind myself just how much of a crazy, beautiful, whirlwind they were.

5:20 - 6:30 a.m. - Nolan wakes up.  My alarm technically doesn't go off until 5:45, but he never wakes at the same time - ever.  Some days he wakes super early and will either be up for the day or will snooze until a bit later.  Depending on what he does, Anthony and I will either snuggle/snooze while he crawls all over us in the bed, or we will just get up. 

First thing once waking - I go downstairs and fix Nolan's bottles and lunch box for the day.  This involves adding cereal to some of his bottles, and packing his food containers (+ spoons and cereal) for the day.  His little "row" in the fridge at daycare is usually the fullest - ha.  And depending on whether Ms. Vegas has decided to wake up yet, I will either take her out now or wait until we go downstairs again.

6:10 - 6:40 a.m - Depending on how well Nolan is cooperating, I will get ready during this time.  He will usually either be sleeping, or playing in his pack and play in our room with this toys.  I can usually get my hair washed, makeup on, and teeth brushed before he starts getting fussy.  Generally, though, he is content to play and watch me during this time.  I will always remember the songs his toy phone plays, and the "Shapes" and "Colors" song his little cd player toy thing plays; I swear I hear/sing them at least 10 times each morning :)

6:45 - 7:00 a.m. - Depending on the mood listed above, I will get Nolan dressed for the day.  At this time, I will still be in my pajamas with wet hair :)  I usually have to get him dressed and then go back and finish my hair while he plays just a bit longer until I can feed him.  Some days, he can be quite fussy just depending on how hungry he is, so some days this can be quite the frantic mad dash to get my hair done (and it looks it - ha).

7:00 - 7:15 a.m. - Nolan has become quite the "quick" eater, so it doesn't take long for me to feed him in the mornings.  He still exclusively nurses in the mornings, but I imagine sometime soon we will either add cereal to this routine or have them feed him at daycare.  Lately, we will follow up his breakfast with two teething tablets just to keep him comfortable for a little while. 

7:15 - 7:20 a.m. - I will get dressed in my work clothes for the day, then turn off all the lights and grab Nolan and head downstairs.  I put him in his little walker chair so that I can grab ALL of our bags and load the car.  Anthony is usually gone by this time, so it's just the two of us!  I load: (1) my purse, (2) my pump bag/cooler, (3) Nolan's lunch box, (4) Nolan's nebulizer, and (5) any miscellaneous items he needs (i.e., extra diapers, clothes, etc.)  I look like a bag lady but I can usually make this all in one trip!  Once I get all of that loaded, I grab Nolan and we head out!  I am SO thankful to have a garage that only has two steps in it rather than loading everything from the condo now.

7:20 a.m. - We leave the house and head for daycare!  It takes about 12-15 minutes to get to daycare from home, and we spend this time listening to the radio.  I also have two songs that I sing to him every single morning on his way to school, and I sing them in the same order and at the same place in our drive.  I think he knows them by now, and will listen each time.  One is his daily prayer that I made up, and the other one is his "Mama Loves Nolan" song.

7:35 ish - I drop Nolan off at daycare and get him settled in and unload his lunch box and stuff.  He isn't using his Nebulizer at school anymore, but we take it just in case.  He is usually in his favorite bouncy seat or playing on the floor when I leave, and will give me a great big smile when I say goodbye.  I love that he loves it there, but it still makes me sad to leave him!

7:40 - 8:20 a.m. - I drive to work.  My commute has pretty much doubled since we moved here, but I go a back way and don't usually have too much traffic.  I actually enjoy my morning drive, and it goes by quickly.  I don't however, love using all that gas!  I am still hooked on getting my breakfast in the morning and sitting in my car in the parking garage, eating, and listening to my books on CD.  I am a huge dork, but Nolan doesn't know this yet :)

8:30 - 8:45 a.m. - I clock in at work.  My hours are technically 9-5:30 p.m., but I get in early every day.  I have lots to do, and it works out well for us and this schedule, so I am early each day.  I am afraid if I waited too much longer, traffic would be nuts so I haven't wanted to chance it yet!

10:00 a.m. - First pumping session of the day.

Workday - I won't delve into details (since they aren't that exciting), but I do enjoy my new job and the people that I work with.  It's nice that my office is in Raleigh, so a lot of days at lunch I am able to run various errands and such that I don't have time for on the weekends.

2:00 p.m. - Second pumping session of the day.

4:45 p.m. - Third (and final - yay!) pumping session of the day.  I will admit, pumping at work is hard and can be stressful when I am super busy and need to be at my desk around the clock.  But I am thankful that my work is very supportive (I don't have to clock out or anything), and I get to use the "relaxation room" to pump in.  It's a room they designed specifically for quiet time, and it has a recliner, CD player, and a bench that I use.  There is also a little fridge that I store my milk in each day until I leave (which is nice since it doesn't get mixed in with everyone else's stuff in the cafeteria).  Most days, I sit on the bench and lust for the recliner :)

5:30 p.m. - I am off like a shot out the door and on the road to get my little man!  Traffic can be "iffy" in the afternoons, and I like to make sure I have plenty of time to get to Nolan's daycare before they close at 6:30.  Some days, Anthony is able to get him when he gets off before me, which is nice too.

6:10 p.m. - Arrive and daycare and scoop my little man up and give him lots of kisses.  He has been napping around this time lately when I arrive, so I wake him up and pack up his things and talk with his teachers about his day.

6:35 p.m. - We arrive home and try to have some "play time" with Nolan before our nightly routine ensues.  Most of the time, Anthony will be home by now or not far from it.  We will take Vegas out to potty, play on the floor with our toys, and sometimes Nolan will play in his play yard if I have to make a batch of his food.  I usually will throw all of his bottles/food containers/my pump parts into the sink with hot soapy water to let them sit until after I put him to bed.

7:00 p.m. - Dinnertime!  For Nolan, anyway.  This has become a fun part of our night, and now that he is doing much better at eating, goes a bit more smoothly than before :)  He will usually have a variety of foods for dinner (sometimes a fruit/vegetable + protein + cereal).  He is eating more and more these days which is awesome.  Depending on what needs to be done, either I or Anthony will feed him while the other one does chores/preps our dinner.

7:30 or so - It's time to start Nolan's nighttime routine and I am constantly amazed at how fast the night goes by.  He is usually starting to show signs of being tired by now, but his bath always makes him happy.  Again, depending on what needs to be done (or who hasn't seen him much that day), we will take turns giving him his bath.  I am sure he loves Daddy's baths better since they are full of lots of play time!

7:45 p.m. - Time for the dreaded nightly breathing treatment.  Now that he is on Pulmicort, he only has one breathing treatment a day.  You would think (after the hundreds he has had in his life), that he would be used to them by now, but nope!  Especially if he is really tired, this can be a very rough part of the night.  Most times, he will end up asleep/very drousy by the time it's over, but some nights he can get really fired up!

8:00 - 8:15 p.m. - It's now time for my favorite (and Nolan's too I think) part of the night.  I turn on his sound machine, close the blinds and turn off the lights, and it's time to nurse and go to sleep.  Regardless of how riled up he became during his breathing treatment, he usually instantly settles down now.  Some nights he will be a little wiggle worm, but will always eat and by the time he is done, is either asleep or very close to it.  Some nights it takes a bit of effort to get him to go down (20 minutes or so), but most nights he is full and goes right to sleep.

While I am feeding Nolan - There is no "down time" in our schedule nowadays!  While I feed Nolan, Anthony will usually begin working on our dinner and washing the bottles in the sink.  I secretly like my part of this deal a whole lot better :)  It really takes two of us to accomplish everything we have to do each evening, so we don't do a whole lot else during the week.

9:00 p.m. - Nolan is usually down to sleep now, and I head back downstairs and try to wake up for my "second" half of the night.  I will pick up with the bottles/dinner where Anthony has left off, and depending on that, will start Nolan's bottles/food for the next day.  I usually prep all of this the night before since it's quite the task.  I label all of his bottles/food containers, then fill them up and put them back in the fridge ready for the next morning.  The whole labeling/dating each container everyday for daycare is for the birds, but it must be done!

10:00 p.m. - Unless we did something super easy, Anthony and I eat dinner.  I know it's terrible to eat dinner so late, but there isn't any other possible time to do it!  We are both usually exhausted by now, so our menus haven't been that exciting lately.  Anthony is my hero and will clean up the kitchen afterwards while I tend to a few other things and then get ready for bed myself.

10:30 or 11:00 p.m. - My second favorite part of the day - bedtime! I am asleep literally 20 seconds after my head hits the pillow...but it's not over yet!

Around 1:30 a.m. or so - Nolan is up for the first time of the night.  He is hungry (or he eats at least), then will go back to sleep quickly.

Anywhere from 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. - Nolan wakes up a second time, and will hopefully eat and go back to sleep ASAP!  I try to not look at my alarm clock to see how short of a time I have left before it goes off :)  They say cereal before bed is supposed to help them sleep through the night, but I believe he will do it when he wants to.  So far, he doesn't want to ;)

...then start all over again! :)  But, this face makes it totally worth it ...

 

Nolan: 40 Weeks

Boy oh boy.  I don't have any pictures from this past week; Nolan has been sicker than he has been in quite some time, and it has been scary.  He had a fever from Wednesday until Sunday, and we took him to the doctor on Friday.  On the way there, he had an "episode" that appeared like a seizure, and scared my mom to death.  She was taking him to meet me at the doctor's office since I was working and she kept him for the day.  She pulled the car over and had to shake Nolan before he would respond.  The doctor didn't say much on Friday, except for watch his fever, give him lots of liquids, yada yada.  I wanted to be like, "lady, we do this all the time."

Anyway, she mentioned to keep an eye on the "episode" thing, and hopefully it was just due to his high fever and not anything more serious.  Well, his fever still had not broken by Sunday, so we took him back to the doctor (since that's what the one on Friday said to do if his fever was not gone).  After a lot of back and forth, the nurse finally realized that our little guy had a sinus infection, plus a virus (that caused blisters in his throat).  Oopmh.  I was just finally glad we could get some medicine for him, and was optimistic that his ongoing issues may have just been caused by a sinus infection that we never got totally cleared up.

Fast forward to Monday (when I stayed home again), and he broke out in a rash.  Back to the doctor we went, since we weren't sure if he was having a reaction to the antibiotic he was on.  If you are counting, this makes three doctor's visits (not counting allergist last week), in four days.  This doctor (all part of same practice group) said he thought Nolan had roseola (baby measles; not serious) instead of a reaction to the drugs.  But just to be safe, we switched him back to Augmentin.  He also discovered that Nolan had thrush, and gave him a prescription for that.

Now when I say I was at my breaking point, I was at my breaking point.  And I hate to recapture what seems like months of illnesses on this blog, but I know each phase is teaching me valuable lessons, and I want to remember them.  However, during this past week, I had trouble seeing my "lesson" or the "will" in any of this.

My son was so sick, he had lost close to a pound since his last checkup.  Why does this happy little guy have to suffer so much?  Why can't I be sick?  Give me the fever, pain, and suffering.  I will take it.  Gladly.  I was mad, and I don't waiver on my faith very often.  Actually, almost never.  But this had me shaken; I was tired, and couldn't see any reason why my son had to be this sick.  And much more, to learn that he had to see a neurologist to make sure he wasn't having seizures all the time and we just didn't know it.  Really?  A neurologist?  As if an allergist/asthma person wasn't enough, now we have to get his brain checked out.  Enough.  I was done.

N = (Now weighs) Almost a pound less than normal.  His eating (for the first time) has been affected by how bad he feels.

O = (Oomph!)  I hate doctor's offices.  I am thankful for them, but I have been to the doctor more times in the last nine months with my little guy than I have in the last 20 years, I bet.  He has also been on more drugs than I have probably taken in the last 25 years.

L = (Loves) Not a whole lot right now.  I pray for him to sleep, because at least then I know he doesn't feel anything.

A = (About this week)  See above.

N = (Not a fan of) See above.

Nolan: 39 Weeks

This past week we celebrated Nolan's first Fourth of July, which deserved it's own post instead!  Little monkey also surprised us all by crawling for the first time that day - nothing like celebrating his OWN independence that day!

It was a busy week for little guy: he had the asthma doctor on Tuesday, and then got sick on Wednesday.  I am currently home with him, and we are battling another round of fever/cough/runny nose, etc.  Bless his heart.

These pictures are from this past Sunday at G and Ollie's hot tub :)  Anthony took the kids over there while I furiously cleaned the house...

N = (Now weighs) He probably gained an ounce or two after all the goodies I ate this weekend.  I probable gained that too -ha!

 

O = (Oomph!)  Badminton is harder than I remember, or, I am just that out of shape...

L = (Loves) Now we know he loves his swimming pool just as much as the bathtub (as if that is a surprise!)

A = (About this week)  We have a crawler!  He is sort of slow still, but I am sure it's only a matter of time before he picks up some speed!

N = (Not a fan of) Being sick - and neither am I!

A Trip to the Asthma Doctor

After yet ANOTHER round of Nolan's cold/coughing spells, I was finally to the point where I felt we needed to see a specialist for his breathing issues.  I just didn't feel like we were getting anywhere, and having my poor baby sick all the time just killed me.

We went to Carolina Allergy and Asthma, at the recommendation of one of my co-workers.  I was really nervous about this appointment: I was somewhat scared of what we may find out, but more than ready to have some answers.

Welp, we got some good answers, but not a whole lot else!  The doctor ran a "small" panel for allergies on him of all of the common allergens (peanuts, cats, dogs, grass, etc).  I was suprised that this "small" panel still meant he had to get stuck like 16 times or something!  I had to hold him on my lap facing me while the nurse drew out her grid with a marker.  Thankfully, the sticks were quick and I just sang to him and distracted him while she worked.  Nolan had a couple of, "what the heck are you doing back there lady?!" looks, but thankfully did not cry.

 

(At least he had fun playing with the paper...)

After the sticks, we had to keep him still for 15 minutes to wait for any reactions.  I was especially worried about the dog one, because Vegas has been our only constant throughout all of this, and I didn't want to even think about what we would have to do if Nolan was allergic to her!

With a great relief, Nolan didn't react to ANYthing, so at least we know that it's most likely not allergies that are causing him to have these issues.  Basically, the only thing that changed was that we are now to give him a Pulmicort breathing treatment twice a day, and hope that everything settles down long enough to tell what his lungs are really like without being sick.  They sounded clear that day, and the doctor kept saying that most kids "grow out of this stuff."  I am SO hopeful that it will indeed be something that he outgrows, and not something he will have to manage his whole life.

We go back in September for a follow-up, so we will see what kind of progress he has made by then!

Fourth of July!!

Nolan's first Fourth of July ended up being a great one, even though some of our plans were cancelled due to Hurricane Arthur.  We intended to leave Thursday night and drive to Ollie and G's beach house, but the hurricane was supposed to hit that night and we didn't want to take our chances (not to mention the drive there is already long enough without flooding or bad weather).  Sadly, we decided not to go to the beach, since we would be driving 7 hours for only a day and a half at the beach; not my idea of a good time with an 8-month old!

Instead, Papa, Nani, and Tio Cade drove to stay with us on Thursday, and after the downpours ended from the hurricane late Thursday night, the weather for the rest of the weekend was absolutely beautiful!  Thankfully, the weather was a bit cooler and we just turned our backyard into our own carnival: we bought a badminton set, a bocce ball set, slip n' slide, sprinkler, and a baby pool for Nolan.  It was wonderful to have our huge backyard, since we could set everything up in it's own area and still have lots of room to play!

Nolan was sick this weekend, but was still a happy little guy so we just loved on him bunches and did his breathing treatments in between all the fun.

We made our way to downtown Clayton on Friday night for their 4th of July festival, and I have to say, we were really impressed by the fireworks display!  They were fantastic, and we had a great view sitting on a small lawn near our cars away from the big crowd of the festival.  The best part was that as soon as it was over, we hopped in our cars and were out of there in 10 minutes!  Nolan did great the whole time, and was mesmerized by the fireworks.

On Saturday, apparently some of our more "well off" neighbors decided to do a fireworks show of their own!  We kept hearing fireworks while we were in the backyard, and finally went out front to see what was going on.  Across the course from us we saw huge fireworks just like we had seen the night before.  I couldn't figure out what town they were coming from, and was stumped until I realized they were coming from a cul de sac in our neighborhood!  These folks spent thousands, and set off some awesome fireworks for about 30 minutes.  It was really impressive, and it was awesome to have two free fireworks shows over the weekend!

We spent the rest of the weekend playing in the backyard and eating lots of yummy food.  While we were bummed our plans for the beach got cancelled, the weekend turned out wonderful and I think we celebrated Nolan's first 4th of July right!

Testing out the water in his new pool, and his sunglasses :)

 



 

 

His new bathing "suit"... looked more like a diaper to me, but still C-U-T-E!

Nolan: 38 Weeks

We have had a busy week getting ready for lots of fun happenings over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.  While we intended to head out of town, Arthur had another idea and scrapped our plans.  Luckily, Papa and Nani are coming last minute, so I am sure there will be lots of fun had by all.  My only wish is that Ollie and G decided not to go to the beach too so we could all celebrate together!

The weather was pretty fierece today at work, causing power spikes and lots of heavy rain, so I hope the worst of it clears pretty quickly and we have nice weather for the weekend.

N = (Now weighs) I think Nolan has hit that 9-month plateau I hear about.  He moves so much, there is no way he could gain weight!

O = (Oomph!)  Hurricanes stink :)

L = (Loves) Water and pulling himself up on whatever is around - unfortunately it's not always stable! He will NOT lay flat.

A = (About this week)  He is thisclose to crawling - I can feel it!

N = (Not a fan of)  The usual stuff - sitting still, laying down, cleaning his nose.

Homemade Baby Food

I never even considered making my own baby food until the time arrived for Nolan to start eating solid foods.  It sort of started out of convenience, then out of me wanting to give him a healthy start (plus, it's kinda fun to do, and I hope saves us some money).

The convenience factor kicked in when we gave him his first food (besides cereal): avocado.  I wanted to try and make his food, but we had so much going on with living with Mom and Tom during our move, that I didn't have the time to search for recipes (much less "make") anything.  So, I read that avocados are an awesome first food, and even better, require no cooking!  Nolan wasn't extremely fond of it, but it at least got me through to the next food without having to buy jarred baby food.

My mom ended up finding a recipe online for homemade applesauce, and to this day, it's still one of Nolan's favorite foods.  It's super healthy, and since it only has apples and cinnamon, an easy recipe too.  Once I realized that the food is easy to make, I wanted to try and make all of his food for as long as I could.

Now, here we are at almost 9 months, and I am looking forward to expanding his menu!  He still is not a huge fan of very chunky foods, so fully-pureed foods will be the item for the next little while. 

The foods I have made him so far/he has tried are:

Avocado
Banana
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans
Green Peas
Pears
Chicken (which is totally gross, by the way)
Blueberries
Greek Yogurt

He actually enjoys all of them, and will only get finicky sometimes about the green peas.  He seems to like tart foods the best; yogurt is on a daily rotation for protein, and the blueberry "jam" I made him the other night was a big hit as well.

In a given day, it's easy for me to balance his foods just by using the color wheel: I give him something orange (sweet potatoes or squash), something green (duh), something with protein (chicken or yogurt) and a fruit.

 

My recipe for my "lactation cookies..." they are actually really good!

(He seems to be enjoying my food...so far!) 

 

(Butternut squash, apple/pears, and peas...these are frozen and ready to go!)

I have found that Trader Joe's is an excellent place for some organic items that are easily prepared by steaming or roasting, and while I have only done one big cooking weekend so far, I usually just make a small batch of something during the weekday and freeze overnight.  I keep the cubes in the freezer until the night before, when I will take them out and put them in containers for school the next day.  I know that some of this adds a bit of extra work on my list, but I hope I am setting Nolan up for healthy habits later in life (because if anyone knows me, they know I am a fast-food junkie!)