From NC to PA...: 18 Month Recap

Nolan is officially 1.5 years old! October was yet another VERY busy month (the fall has been crazy!) It consisted with the end of our Austin getaway, a quick day trip to NJ to visit my Icelandic friend Hlin and her baby Eva, a visit to Linvilla Farms Pumpkinland, Nolan's (3rd!) picture day, Joe going BACK to Texas (San Antonio) for conference recruiting, Penn State Women's Hockey Alumni Weekend, me attending a conference in Washington DC, Fall Festival at Nolan's school, and of course Halloween! Whew. I'm tired just reading all the things we did :) Here's a glimpse of our every day life courtesy of my iPhone.

Nolan - 18 Months Old

Nolan and I made the NJ trip solo to visit Hlin, her boyfriend Kiddi, and her daughter Eva. Nolan loves seeing "Nonna and Pop Pop" and it was fun to see Hlin as a mom - we've been international friends since we were very young. Our dads went to graduate school together, and I love that we are both have kids now!

Nolan and I at Nonna and Pop Pop's house

Group shot before Hlin's family headed to a wedding nearby

It was a gorgeous fall weekend (we went to Linvilla Farms the next day in PA), which made for a very pretty drive to NJ and a nice walk with Nonna and Pop Pop on their street before we left. Nolan loved seeing the horse farms!

A walk with Nonna

Nolan checking out the horses

Smiles all around

All about Nolan at 18 months:

Speech: Again, this is where the most changes have been. Some new words include: Wada or Wadoo (Water), Malk (Milk), Nigh Nigh (Night Nights), Bye (Door), Hot, Ha (Hat), Nah-no (Nolan), Buh-wee! (Swing), Butt (button), Elwa (Ella) and Emma (his classmates), Niguo (stroller), How (House), Elmo, Na Na (Banana), Bop Bop (Pop Pop). If you work with him on almost any word, he will try to mimic it. He surprises me almost daily with new words - this kid is really listening and taking everything in (fascinating and scary at the same time haha!) One of my favorite things is that when we leave the house every morning he yells "bye bye Dee Dee!" to Dean!

Nolan continues to be very music-oriented and loves listening and dancing to music. Some of his favorite songs to sing are Whoa Whoa Whoa (your boat) and D-I-D-I-D (EIEIO) - it goes without saying that listening to him is absolutely adorable. He will walk over to his play tractor/animal set and start singing D-I-D-I-D! :) He is also a dancing machine! Daycare has mentioned several times now how much he dances and that his favorite CD is the one with Motown songs - his favorite song is "Do you love me" by the Contours. We also catch him wiggling to the Thomas theme song and any songs that his toys play at home.

Wearing the coat Hlin made! How talented is she?!

Sleeping and Eating: No big change from last month. He still sleeps like a dream (spoiler alert, this is not the case for month 19!) and is a pretty picky eater (but normal by toddler standards). He sleeps from about 8pm-8am reliably and takes one ~2hr nap from 1-3pm. His favorite foods are still carbs - mac n cheese holding the top spot along with any pasta/ravioli/tortellini. He also still loves pizza, dumplings, cheese sticks, and yogurt. The best way to get him to eat veggies are to mix them in with his pasta (Peas and corn are the easiest). His favorite fruits are mandarin oranges, apples (sliced or apple sauce), and sliced grapes. Bananas are hit or miss - he hates the texture and will only eat them with a fork or right out of the peel. We've never had luck with berries.

When did he become a TEENAGER?! He looks exactly like Joe in this picture to me (it helps he's wearing his hat!)

18 Month Favorites:
Activities: BUH WEE! (Swings or sometimes referred to slides) - Nolan loves going to the playground. He loves climbing up stairs, running up and down the ramps, going down the slide, swinging, and crawling through tunnels. It's amazing how much more he can do then just a few short months ago. He is much more sturdy on his feet and even has gone down the big kid slides! He also loves bubbles and riding in the car shopping cart.

Nolan in his "Buh Wee"

Tunnel cruising

Toys: Push toys are still a big hit - he loves his "popcorn popper"and RadioFlyer wagon. He also loves books (he will often pick one out and back up into my lap for me to read to him) and shape sorting toys. He is falling right into the boy stereotype of loving to throw everything - balls are a huge hit, and all his car/truck/bus toys. Of course, the most fun toys are the non-toys that he sees mommy and daddy using like the garden hose, hair dryer, electric toothbrush, iPhones, remotes, pots and pans, dean's food container etc. He is very eager to do what we do!

Time to water the lawn!

The curtains are a fun toy!

Toddler adventures: As Nolan is cruising right into toddler-dom, we are dealing with new challenges. He got his first bite from another kid at daycare (very common at this age!) and he has taken to hitting and throwing objects at us. We spend several moments each day reminding him that we don't hit and it's not nice to throw things at people. I actually think training a puppy has come in handy in learning not to reward negative behaviors with attention. If he hits me, the best thing is to just put him down and turn my back or walk away - that is hugely upsetting to him. I'm sure more challenges will come our way as Nolan inches towards the terrible two's as we've already seen hints of tantrums and frustration (read: Month 19 has been a doozy already). We just have to keep in mind that he is learning independence and becomes frustrated that he can't voice what he wants and try to be as patient as possible (this is not always easy, but that is the goal!)

Outside NOW! You try explaining it's too rainy/cold/dark/etc to this face! :)

I do love that he has reached an age where he can really interact and play with other kids (especially if they are a little older). Virginia came over this month with Cylar and we had such a blast watching the kids feed off each other and play games. They were pushing each other in the wagon and mimicking sounds back and forth. I'm so excited for him to develop friendships and am thankful for good friends that live nearby with kids close in age. Plus Virginia and I were able to bake and decorate halloween cookies while both kids were napping - Nolan even helped decorate when he woke up early and loved it!

Playing with his BFF Cylar

Snapshot of this time: All in all, 18months has been a really sweet time. Nolan is such a cuddle bug and a MAMA'S BOY. I try to soak it all in and enjoy every moment, but there are definitely times where I feel suffocated and permanently attached to a 20lb weight as well. It is sometimes hard to do anything around the house while he is awake since he always wants to be held or lead me to things he wants to do. I do love all the cuddles though and know other mom's would kill for a cuddly child so no complaints here!

Mommy cuddles are the BEST!

Nolan is such a fun loving and silly boy. I love all the little games we come up with as we roll around on the floor every night and make each other laugh. His squeals of delight can make all stresses fade away. He is such a sweet boy.