A Trip to the Monkey Farm

Well, really, a trip to the Duke Lemur Center, but it's a funnier to say "Monkey farm."  And it's unusual that I am talking about someplace other than my house, as a monkey farm :)

The Campbell's invited us to take a tour of the Duke Lemur center this past weekend, and even though Anthony had to work, I wanted to take Nolan.  So, we crammed in a vet visit for Vegas right before we left, and headed to Durham for the 9:30 tour of the center.

I had heard a lot of people from work had been to the center, and that it was really cool.  We joined  tour of 10 or so other people for a walking tour through the lemur grounds.  The land was really pretty, and the lemurs were housed in huge round cages that looked like giant birdcages.

Yeah, he stayed in his stroller all of 2 minutes...

 

Nolan was pretty interested in them, at least for the first few minutes.  The guide would stop and talk for 10 or so minutes at each cage, and that doesn't bode well for a fidgety toddler :)  I swear the guide kept giving me the side eye to make sure Nolan wasn't going to scamper into a cage or something!

Afraid Nolan was going to come in a join him :)

 

The lemurs were really cute - the baby ones especially.  The weather was just perfect, so it was a great day to be outside!  It was a very interesting trip, but next time we may wait until he gets a bit older! 

Mommy/Son Picnic

This past Sunday I tried to let Anthony sleep in a little bit since he had worn himself out in the yard the day before, so Nolan and I headed out early on Sunday morning for a little breakfast picnic!  We grabbed our favorite (Bojangle's, which has now replaced Chick-fil-A gasp) and headed to downtown Clayton for a quick little picnic.

The weather was beautiful and we sat on our towel and ate our egg biscuits.  Nolan did pretty good at sitting down for a while, but then was too busy to finish eating :)

 

This was such a sweet little morning with him.  It seems like I am always rushing from one cleaning/household project to the next, so it's important that I remember to take time out for just the two of us.  I may make this a Sunday morning tradition :)

Love you my monkey!

Around the House - Picture Dump!

I love these...I have so many pictures I don't want to forget, but let's be honest, typing up a blog post for everything is a little time consuming too :)

 

He found Daddy's funny hat in the closet and had to wear it.

 

Examining his French fry...yes, I let him eat French fries every now and then!

 

The Library had "superhero" day to celebrate the end of the Summer reading program.  My, it was....interesting...

 

Helping Daddy by walking on his back...

 

That pinky!

 

Watching videos of himself on Mama's phone.

 

Mid hair swing :)

 

And NO we are NOT announcing anything...it was just funny!

A Visit from Mama y Papa!

Anthony's parents were finally able to make a trip to see us and the house a few weekends ago, and we were SO happy to have them visit!  It has been way too long since we have seen them, and it was a great weekend with lots of good weather and of course, Nolan entertaining :)

 

They arrived early on Friday, just in time for Anthony to do a miracle-clean of the garage before they arrived.  They picked Nolan up from school early, and took him on a marathon of a wagon ride around the neighborhood.  I was impressed with how far they went - glad I was still at work for that one...

We ordered pizza and ate outside on the porch.  It was just nice and relaxing and a beautiful night.  Nolan ate like a little pig, and tasted his first pizza (to my knowledge - there is no telling what others feed him when I am away - ha!)

We were up bright and early Saturday morning for our usual breakfast at Jones'.  We took a walk down through Clayton and got some more books at the library, before heading to my parents' house for them to meet Iris and Angel.  It had been a long time coming - Anthony and I have been together almost 11 years - so it was a big deal!  Of course, it was short and sweet and everyone got along like they had know each other forever.  Such a great family we have!  We headed out shortly thereafter to get little man home for his nap, and for me to prepare our picnic for later.

Once Nolan woke up, we headed to White Deer Park for some playtime and a picnic.  We all had fun entertaining Nolan and taking loads of pictures.  Anthony's dad is just like him, and Nolan was in heaven with two super fun active dudes around!

 

So loved and so spoiled :)

 

It was hot outside, but luckily a lot of the part is shaded, so we enjoyed our lunch outside on some logs and didn't get too sweaty.

 

 

This is Nolan dancing...he does this little "kick" that is hilarious and adorable!

 

Smooching our boy - he was clearly not into it :)

 

We headed home later in the day.  Just in time for some of Iris' yummy Puerto Rican food, and my plain food :)  We grilled out after Nolan went to bed, and had a great time just talking and hearing stories.  Anthony's parents are incredibly easygoing and just easy to be around.  It's so nice to have an extra set of hands around to entertain Nolan, and you can tell there was no shortage of attention on either end.  It was great to have them in town, and I am keeping my fingers crossed they visit more often when Angel retires soon!

 





Ice Cream Sundae's...Yum!

Nolan's school hosted an "Ice Cream Sundae" day a couple of weeks ago, and I volunteered to bring in the crushed oreos.  Thank goodness they did it after morning playtime and not later in the day ... major sugar rush avoidance!

They said everyone loved it, and I can't imagine why :)  Nolan decided to help me crush the Oreos (and taste test one or two...gasp!)

 

(Just don't tell them my helper was in his underwear :)

A Second Opinion at the ENT

Since Nolan is still having problems with being sick a lot, we decided to get a second opinion from another ENT before moving onto another surgery (adenoids).  I know this is most likely our next logical step, but I wasn't thrilled with his first ENT that did his ear tubes, so we figured we would try one more doctor to at least get a second opinion.

 

It's literally IMpossible to get a "sitting still" shot of him these days! 

This doctor was referred to me by a co-worker, so I hoped he would be a bit better than the first ENT.  Nolan's first ENT was perfectly fine, but lacked a good interaction with Nolan, and was always so quick to just prescribe medicine and/or surgery that I really wanted to try and find someone that would explore all other options first before operating on my baby.

It was quite a hike to this doctor's office in Cary, but thankfully G was with us and we got a very early appointment.  Nolan (with his ever-so-perfect timing, blew up his diaper right as we got into the room, so I had to do a quick diaper change first.  Boys and their stinkiness...haha!  We had to air out the exam room I swear!)

Anyway, I got sidetracked.  The new doctor was nice enough, and interacted with Nolan a lot more than the first doctor.  He agreed that yes, removing his adenoids was most likely our next step, but that his tonsils should stay put.  I was so relieved to hear that the recovery from the adenoid surgery was pretty easy, and most kids are back at 'em the next day.  His other option (which he said he would try first after I asked him what he would do on his own kids), was to try a 3-week round of antibiotics, topped with a 6-week dose of a steroid nose spray.  This, in theory, would completely clear up any possible remaining infection that he had in his head/nasal cavity.  It seems that whatever is causing him to be sick all the time is a bacterial infection, since antibiotics will make him better, but will only last for a couple of weeks before he is sick again.

We hope that maybe this will clear up any lingering infection once and for all, and that we won't need surgery after all.  Here is praying that this works!

Summer 2015

This past summer with Jacob and Lexie was a whirlwind, and I still can't believe we have TEENagers and a toddler...what a combo!

The "kids" flew in late May, and stayed until mid-June.  We are officially in the stage of life where being at home with friends/girlfriends/boyfriends is officially cooler than being at home, so they were itching to get back I think :)  Plus, we sort of live in the middle of nowhere, so there isn't as much at our fingertips anymore. 

I snapped random pictures here and there, but nowhere near the amount I used to do.  I am sad because I didn't get the official family  photo shoot I was hoping for, but maybe next  year.

Part of the reason I didn't get many photos is because most of them looked like this ....

 

... and this!  Constant wrestling and shenanigans...I had a house full of monkeys!

 

Next summer, Jacob will have his DRIVER'S PERMIT, and Lexie will be in high school too - buckle your seatbelts!

22 Months!

Our little stinker pinker is inching closer and close to two years old, and I want time to just stand still for a little while.  He is at such a fun age, and we are really enjoying it!  He has SUCH a personality - he is super sweet (and still gives anyone a hug/kiss anytime they ask for it), is a bit feisty (he gets that from his Daddy) and sometimes a bit stubborn (Okay, he get's that from me!)

But oh I could just eat him up he is so dang cute!  It has been a great month, aside from some bouts with strep throat, but overall he is learning and changing so much.

(Horrible picture, but it's the only way I get pictures of the two of us nowadays!)

 

Social: We have a little social butterfly on our hands, that's for sure!  He never meets a stranger, and is a high-fiving, fist-bumping pro :)  He goes "boom!" after a fist-bump, and everyone gets such a kick out of it.  It really amazes me, but there have been very few things that actually scared him.  One time was when a dog knocked him down (and he got over it quickly), and another was when he was a little unsure of a costume character (but ended up high-fiving him later).  Guess that means he won't be too afraid of Disney characters so we have to go to Disney World someday...oh joy...

 

(Getting a little too close for Mama's comfort with Miss J on a visit with friends...)

Eating: I suppose this is an up and down sort of thing for any kid, and Nolan is no exception.  Just this past weekend he would eat everything in sight, but the couple of weeks before that he ate like a bird.  He still has the same favorites, but is starting to enjoy some condiments (sparingly) like dressing and ketchup.  He L-O-V-E-S cheese just like his Daddy; cottage cheese, feta cheese, mozzarella, string cheese, you name it!  I am pretty sure he would eat cheese at every meal.  He has also started to really like noodles, which I am surprised it took this long.  He eats them with homemade spinach pesto and marinara now, and the other night I swear he ate a whole cup full of noodles!

 

(His favorite ritual of our Saturday morning breakfast at Jones' Café...the toy machine!)

 

Size/Growth:  We still have a tiny little squirt on our hands, although he has grown a shoe size finally!  He is now in size 4 (close to 4.5) shoes, and wears size 5 diapers (I really think we are about to switch to size 6 diapers though).  He is comfortable in 12-month clothes still, which means we have a whole bin of 18-month summer clothes waiting that have never been worn - oops!  Mom and I have learned not to shop too far ahead for him - but maybe he can wear those next year!  He has grown out of some of his little hats, so we need to refresh his hat game for fall/winter :)

 

(He looks so grown up here!  These are the shoes Tio Cade gave him for his baby shower...

and now he can wear them!)

 

Health:  This is still an uphill battle as well, as little man has experience two bouts of strep throat over the last month or so.  He didn't seem to respond too well to the Amoxicillin they gave him the first time around, so we hope the Augmentin has finally cleared it up.  He has been waking up again in the middle of the night, so I hope it's not a sign of something else coming!  He is getting in more and more teeth, and the full front row is almost in on the bottom.  He still likes to use his friends at daycare as "teething toys" so we are ready for them to ALL be in!

 

 

Language/Speech:  Oh man he is really picking up so many words now!  He just started his 3-word sentences about a month or so ago, and it still surprises me sometimes when he does it.  It's usually something like "Where did _____ go?" or "Thank you, Mommy," or "Here, Mommy, here!"  He said "Thank you Mommy" so clearly the other day in the car I about teared up.  For some reason "Two" is a huge word now, and he says it all the time.  He does pretty good at repeating his 1-2-3's or the alphabet, but lately "two" is his response for the next number every time :)  His new favorite friend is "Elmo" and sometimes it comes out as "Melmo."  I personally like that better - ha.

(His little "kick" he does while dancing...TOO CUTE!)

 

Fun stuff:  He loves ice, and will ask for ice in his drink every time now.  He also loves water, and we have a water table that he loves to use outside.  He also is the last one to come in every day for Splash Day at school, and usually runs down the yard to the older classes to play with their water toys.  We bought him a little plastic grill that he plays with, and will offer bites of what he cooks to anyone that is around (including Vegas)!  He tries to mimick the "thumbs up" hand symbol, but usually that results in him sticking two fingers together, but he is working on it!  Anthony took him to work outside in the yard the other day and he loved it!  He needed a bath before he could even take a nap - that's a sign of hard work!

 

If there are any folks out there with a way to make time stand still, I will pay top dollar just to keep him like this for a little longer!

 



 

 

 

Fun Weekend

Nani and Tio Cade came to visit us this weekend so that Cade could help Anthony with a side job.  That was perfectly fine with me and Nani since we had Nolan all to ourselves and had a girls' (plus Nolan) day!

We ate our breakfast at Jones', and then ran to the Smithfield outlets to do some shopping before Nolan's nap.  The shopping trip was a bust, we had a good time anyway!  We took Nolan home for his nap and then headed back out for a little more shopping when he woke up.

 

To award him for hanging with us all day, we figured we would bust out his new sprinkler and baby pool for some afternoon water fun.  I let him run around in his birthday suit for a while, and he loved it!  Personally, if he didn't want to keep going down his water slide, I would have let him do it the whole time!  It was hilarious when our neighbors came home right as I undressed him and he excitedly ran over to see them :)  Good thing they have kids too - ha.