Week 30

Months ago I proudly declared that my little man was STTN. An abbreviation I saw hundreds of other mommies using, and yearned to use myself. STTN= Sleeping through the night. The rule of thumb seemed to be when your little one reached 5 consecutive hours of sleep your could claim the term. Waking at 12, 2, and 5 however hardly seems like STTN. Well folks this time it's for REAL! After 3 nights in a row (knock on wood) we are Sleeping Through the Night!!! I'm talking 6:30om- 5:30am!!! It only took us 7 1/2 months to get here. The past few days I've woken up and thought:

1. Wow, he did it again, this is the first time he's woken up!

2. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...must feed baby NOW...ow, ow, ow, ow... (the girls are still adjusting to the new sleeping arrangements.)

I've been experimenting for the past months deciding what makes good nights and what makes bad nights. For awhile I thought that peas made him sleep good. It seemed every night that he had peas for dinner he slept just that extra bit. Wrong. Next I thought that going to bed later (then 7) made him sleep good. Wrong. It just made him extra tired the next day. Next I thought our special "relaxing," $20 a bottle, lotion made him sleep better. Wrong. It just made him smell good. All my theories had been put to rest until my most recent. The most simplest of all. Not having a 2nd (sometimes 3rd) cup of coffee in the afternoon. Duh! I feel so silly for not thinking of this sooner. 7 months in and we're just now realizing that caffeine can interrupt a babies sleep. Alrighty then.

Nolen insisted on trying on his cousin Peri's tutu

(it may or may not have had anything to do with Mommy.)

Gap Baby!

I feel it... this is our month... first we won a blog give-a-way, next we're going to win the Gap baby search! I mean couldn't you just see this little red-head strutting his stuff at baby gap? Now lend a vote and help us please. Everyday (or at least once.) Thank you in advance!!!

Nolen's Baby Gap Vote

Or maybe you think he'd be more suited as a Pottery Barn Baby... you can help there too!

Nolen's Pottery Barn Kids Vote

week 29

Working full time and having a baby doesn't leave much time for Mommy. I'm okay with this, my eyebrows may have a different opinion. I had an eyebrow girl in Orlando who I LOVED. She knew just how to shape my brows to perfection. I've thought about heading back to Orlando every few months for a quick appointment, but that would be a bit extreme. So here I sat in Augusta, with a Uni-brow growing bigger by the minute. We had family pictures on Saturday so I knew something had to be done. I headed into the local nail salon (first mistake.) They put me in the back room to wait. In walks the nail lady, immediately throwing hot wax toward my face, while ON HER PHONE! I should have run, but I laid frozen in shock of what was happening (second mistake.) I am now missing half an eyebrow, sweet. That trip to Orlando doesn't seem so crazy anymore.

After our one eye-browed pics on Saturday (which I can't wait to see by the way) Nolen and I headed out to our community yard sale. First house we came to was a driveway full of baby things, nice baby things, pottery barn baby things, score! We got a push walker, an outdoor water play table and a leapfrog standing play station all for $20, yeehaw! These toys are all meant for a baby who can stand so I thought they'd be great to have on hand for the coming months. Wrong. Little man LOVES them now! He makes us hold him up for hours on end so he can play with his new goods. Things are changing, and a little to quickly for this momma. First he grew a mouthful of teeth, next he decided to start sitting up, now he only like big boy toys. Forget little rattles and plush baby toys. Don't even try teethers or baby swings. The boy thinks big. He's 7 months going on 17.

We won!!!

I'm one of those people who never wins anything. I enter contests all the time, but I never win. (Ever year I convince myself I'm going to win the HGTV dream home give-a-way.) You can imagine my surprise when I won a blog give-a-way over at Karen at Home! I've been following this blog since we both were pregnant. She's one of my bloggy friends who I've never met, but I feel like I know.
This gift is a win win... Nolen get's a new chew toy and Mommy gets to go shopping! Thanks Karen!

Week 28

We have a fancy camera. We have the fancy camera lenses. Our photographer (me) is not so fancy. I need some help. I love photographs, I love taking them, I just don't know how. I would love to learn, nothing fancy, just the basics. I would also love to learn how to fix pictures. Make the greens a little greener, the blues a little bluer, make mommies muffin top disappear. I'm thinking for my next present (I plan presents months & years in advance) I might take some beginner photography classes and get the latest addition of Photo-shop. Or maybe I'll just watch the instructional DVD that came with our fancy camera. In the meantime I'm just going to keep taking pictures, lots of pictures. Out of 1,000 we always manage to get a few cute ones.

Little man... he got his first set of wheels this week. A Jeep Liberty. It's a baby walker, a super cute one! We test drove all the cars at the baby store. The mustang made him scream ( I think it was the leather seats,) the Elmo ride didn't move well, but the Jeep was just right. Instant smile. Sold! Our whole downstairs is an open floor plan, with hardwoods, making it the perfect racetrack. He uses both feet (well his whole body actually) racing from room to room. He explores everything in his tracks, the refrigerator, the kitchen table, the basket on the steps, the faux plant on the floor...just about everything. I thought about taking him outside to drive, but I'm afraid he would hit the open road. For now we'll keep the driving indoors. Vroom....

7 months young!

We're over the half way hump. We're officially closer to a year old then a newborn. You know what that means, time to start planning the party of the century. T-Minus 5 months and counting. (Has anyone ever sent out save the dates for a 1st birthday?!?)

I said it last month, I'm saying it this month, and I'll say it again next month...I can't believe how quickly your growing little man. It's actaully getting a bit ridiculous. Here's what your up to these days...

• You can SIT! You were so sick of laying all day everyday. Your a new baby now that you can see the world from another angle. You love sitting and look so grown-up!


• Mommy and Daddy had their first (and last) trip away from you. We left you with MomMom and PopPop while we went to Oklahoma for a long weekend.


• You take all you naps in your crib now, no more swing. (tear)


• You wear big-boy PJ's to bed now, instead of a onesie and sleepsack. Let me tell you...a baby in baby Gap Pj's is just delicious, so cute!


• You've said baba, Mom, hi, and hello!


• Your favorite toys are a school bus that scoots, your talking Elmo and your spatula.


• You own your first car. A jeep. You whiz around the house as fast as you can. Forward, backward, and into walls. You get your driving lessons from Mommy.


• We're going 7 months strong with nursing! In fact, you call it your 'Ba.' When I'm laying you down on your Boppy you get super excited. You start dancing, smiling, and saying "Babababa." (Better then saying "tittytittytitty.")


• Your becoming a big boy sleeper. You go to bed at 7, wake up once around 1:30 and then your up for the day at 5:00. Rise and Shine everyone!


• Your squeezing into your 3-6 month clothes, and comfortably wearing 6-12. Your still in size 2 diapees!


• You love to stand on the second floor and look down the balcony at everyone. We put your hands in the air and say "I'm the biggest baby in the world."


• Mommy calls you from work everyday during lunch. You "talk" to me while blowing raspberries into the phone, and trying to eat it all at once.


• You love cups. You love when we fill a cup with water. You start to 'cough' when we do. You "need" a sip of water. (And by sip, I mean you put your lips to the cups rim, and blow a few raspberries.)


• You can sit in the big boy shopping carts and restraunt highchairs! (With an adorable cover to keep all those grimey germs away oh course!)


• Teeth...you have 7. We're still waiting on the other bottom, side tooth. Any day now...


• You not crawling but your preparing. Your learning how to lunge yourself forward, pull your knees in, and scoot with your arms.


• You went to your first KinderMusic class with MomMom and Daddy. You sang, and danced and had a ball with all the other babies

Oh how we love you little man. Your sweet, smiling face makes getting up at 5:00 so easy (most days.) You just keep getting cuter, and cuter, and...

Week 28

We have a sitter. He's been sitting for a few weeks now. A little wobbly at first, but now he's a sitting machine. It's so nice to be able to sit him down and not have to lay him down. Just another one of the many things happening to my baby, or should I say, my little man. sigh.

There's something so heartbreaking about Nolen growing up so fast. It's the one comment you hear over and over again and don't listen too. "Enjoy him, they grow so fast." Whatever you think, I was pregnant for a decade so how fast could this baby possibly grow? Well, fast, super fast, blink your eyes and he's got 8 teeth fast.

I teared up packing up his teeny, tiny newborn clothes. I cried putting away his 0-3 months. I sobbed adding in his 3-6 months. As if clothes weren't enough... he's outgrowing hats, shoes, toys, ugh, even his SWING! He's been a swing napper from day one, but not any more. My big boy is a tummy sleeper and the swing doesn't allow for that. So he's now a crib napping, tummy sleeping, blankie holding little man.

I would say I don't want him to grow for awhile, but I have to admit, the more he grows the more fun he becomes. So I guess I'll stop my complaining and just enjoy the ride. (And maybe I'll just say a little prayer that he grows *a tad bit slower.*)