Dear Nolan... You're 10 Months Old!

My sweet Mr. Squishy,

10 months old.  Lovable, sweet, smiley, and the cuddliest baby ever!  Nolan, you have a smile that makes me melt, and every month I fall more and more in love with you.  I still look at your squishy little body and am amazed that you're my son.  Goodness, you make me so proud.

This month, you have really gotten comfortable on your feet.  You're getting more and more stable with standing.  You can hoist yourself up into the standing position from a toy or any piece of furniture and stay standing unassisted for long periods of time.  You are crawling, quite fast, everywhere you want to go.  You like to follow your sister around and watch what she is doing.  You also started standing in your crib when you're ready to get out.  I was quite surprised when I saw you standing up when I opened the door at the beginning of the month. :)  You're not quite ready to walk, but you have taken a step - and immediately fell over.  You are walking easily when pushing toys or chairs around.

You started taking baths in the tub with out the duck this month.  You love bath time, especially when the water is very warm, and you and your sister are sometimes in there for 20 or more minutes playing.  You seem to like playing with toys and splashing!

Much to my happiness, you are doing much better in the car.  You have been doing better for about the last 6 weeks.  You still have an occasional freak out when you get strapped in, but overall, it has been a huge switch from how it used to be with you in the car.  You also started sleeping much better this month.  On October 16th, you slept a solid 10 hours in your crib, which was your longest stretch ever!  Lately, you're going all night.  You still are up occasionally at midnight, or very early in the morning to have a snack.  Your dad and I can't believe how suddenly it happened that you started sleeping through the night.  You went from waking up 2 or 3 times, to just sleeping through.

You love to eat and are a very good eater these days.  You still eat lots of pureed baby food...but this month you made a huge jump into more and more solid foods.  You eat pretty much everything we eat, and you aren't picky yet.  You eat a lot of pasta, bread, veggies, fruit, beans, and some meat.  You like yogurt... and sweet potatoes are still a favorite of yours.  You really love feeding yourself the baby teething biscuits.  Usually, you require a bath immediately after eating because you manage to get it everywhere... your face, arms, belly, legs and hair!  You are still exclusively breastfeeding and eat about 4 times through out the day and if you are up at night.

You are wearing size 12 month & 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.  You have 4 teeth and are working on getting 4 more (we think) on the top right now.  You are babbling like crazy and started saying "dada" this month.  I think you know I am "mama" and "dada" is dada.  When he facetimed us from work the other day, I showed you his face and you babbled out "dada".  It could be a fluke, but I think you know who we are.

We've taken a few trips to the pumpkin patch this month with your cousins and friends and are getting ready to celebrate your first halloween.  Even though you don't understand everything that is going on, I am enjoying dressing you up in your halloween themed stuff.

I can't believe it's already time to start thinking about your 1st Birthday party.  It's hard to believe how much you've changed and grown in the last few months.  You are truly one of the sweetest, most mellow babies.  I love and adore you so much.  You have such a precious demeanor.  You love being around your family, snuggling, and exploring.  I am so lucky to be your mama.  I love you through and through... yesterday, today, forever.

Love,
Your mama

We're leaving our nest

I remember the first time we saw this house... we walked in and immediately fell in love with the feeling it gave us.  It was clean, bright, had beautiful views and seemed to be a perfect fit.  I remember picturing a line of tiny shoes in the laundry room, knowing which room would someday be a nursery, and imagined having family and friends fill the kitchen and living room.  We were so excited to move in.  I vividly remember seeing it empty on the day we got the keys and being amazed that we got to live here.  We only got this house because 2 other offers had fallen through and we were the back up.

A little more than 5 years later, and this home has been a blessing.  We brought two babies home from the hospital.  We've spent countless hours on the big shaggy rug in our living room with our kids - crawling, snuggling and playing.

One of my favorite things about this home is watching the rain fall.  I can see the drops in contrast to our neighbors house.  It is so quiet here.  The big windows have always given us a beautiful show of the dark clouds, lightening, and sunsets.  They've also provided us with beautiful natural light to take pictures of these babies... thousands and thousands of them!

On the walk from our room to theirs for the middle of the night feedings, I would peek out the windows at the lights.  It's always been a comfort for me.  I have felt safe here.  It's home to our little family.  So much life has happened in these big 4 walls.

About 4 months ago, TL and I found another house, a single story, that we really liked in a different area.  We put an offer on it, but didn't get it because we weren't competitive with a contingency of our house not being sold.  I hadn't even imagined moving... but something about this other house made me start thinking about something different.  It was a single story, smaller, and all of the rooms were near each other.  As fabulous as our house is, it's multi-level with big balconies with a long drop to the bottom.  Andie is now sleeping on a different level than us, and we don't have an accessible back yard.  Before babies, I never thought I would be nervous about a child falling over the railing, or needing a place to run outside with out worrying about cars.  Things change, life changes... and our needs are very different then they were 5 years ago.

So... we decided to list the house and see what happened.  And now, another young couple is purchasing it.  We've had so many second thoughts... how do you leave something you love so much?  It's been a roller coaster of decisions, but we've finally decided this is for the best.

Home is where my family is.  We are going to be renting for the foreseeable future and looking into the possibility of building a home.  It's crazy how life works out... how people come into our lives.  We bought this house from the builder who happened to be living here... we established a relationship with him because he has a reputable business and does a lot of things for people in our neighborhood.  And now, he may be building our next home as well.

I am not always a huge fan of big change.  I think this will be an interesting year for us.  Life is an adventure, and why not just say 'yes' and see what different things may be waiting around the corner.

We have found a potential lot we like... but lots of things will have to fall into place for us to build. It's so hard to imagine a home on the big pile of dirt and weeds.  Who knows where to road will take us.  Just as long as we are together, that's all that matters.  I want to start writing about our journey, as honestly as I can, to building our own home if things work out.

Now... who wants to come over and help me organize, pack, and box up our stuff?  I will provide the wine. ;)