Happy Thanksgiving!

1 Chronicles 16:34

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Updated Family Pictures

Now that we're a family of four it was time to get some updated professional pictures taken. So a couple of weekends ago we met up with my friend Kate of Platinum Photography to have our holiday pictures taken. This past Monday, I reunited with her to go over the pictures she took and pick out the one we wanted to use for the 16" x 24" canvas. It's included in our session package and I'm super excited because I've never actually ordered photo canvases before. I love them but they can be quite pricy, otherwise my walls would be littered with them.

Yesterday afternoon I was able to get both kids down for their afternoon nap at the same time, so I sat down and focused my attention on getting our Christmas cards ordered. I had snagged a Groupon deal a few weeks ago for Zazzle so I just had to go design the one I wanted. It took longer than I thought it would because I had a hard time choosing which template to use. I love sending (and receiving!) Christmas cards and I'm so glad I was able to get those knocked off my to-do list. Now I just have to hope I can get them addressed and mailed as quickly as I ordered them.

Here are some of my favorite pictures that were captured that I wanted to share.

A Stroll Through the Neighborhood

Nolan: Three Months

And we're here. Where your newborn is pretty much no longer a newborn and has graduated to being an infant. And while there were some really great parts to Nolan's newborn phase, I'm also glad to see some of the harder parts getting easier because he's growing up. You always hear that three months is usually a benchmark for something big and positive. I was hoping his would be sleeping through the night, but it doesn't appear to be in my immediate future quite yet. His sleeping in general this past month took a bit of a nosedive for the worse. He was doing well with stretches up to six hours, but then all of the sudden he went to only sleeping for two hours at a time, sometimes only one hour. I thought maybe it was time to up the ounces on his bottle, but that wasn't it as he wouldn't finish the bottle. Then I noticed a reoccurring reason for waking up: gas. So I switched his formula to Similac Sensitive last weekend and have already noticed a difference. I'm crossing my fingers that the longer stretches he's been sleeping since the switch will continue so not only does he get better sleep, but me too. I miss continuous sleep so bad. Now I know why people who can afford nighttime baby nurses get them.

One of the latest tricks to get him to go to sleep quickly is to wrap him up in a fleece blanket like a cocoon. He absolutely loves it; just starts nuzzling away as soon as he feels the fleece on his face. And he'll get himself all buried too so I have to check on him every once in awhile to make sure he's still able to breathe. Looks like we might have another blankie-kid on our hands. Its also clear that Nolan is going to be the kid that I will always have to strap into the buckles that are provided on the baby gear because he moves around so much that he starts to fall out if he's not buckled. And he clearly knows what he's doing; it's like his mission each time you set him down somewhere is to figure out how to get away.

Lots of spit and saliva coming out of his mouth lately. He loves playing with his tongue, creating bubbles and drool as if though it's going out of style. There's no way he could be teething this early, right?! His love for his momma is very obvious. He smiles and flirts with me way more than anyone else; it's super cute. His half-laugh is also super adorable. Usually laughs the most when Mallory is laughing around him. Almost as if though he's trying to mimic her, but clearly the sound that comes out is that of a rookie.

Now that Nolan is becoming more aware of his surroundings and wants to be more involved, I'm re-thinking ways to keep him more entertained. We recently visited a second-hand store and came out with some pretty good floor toys that he likes. He's been having fun exploring what his hands are capable of; gripping, pulling, reaching, and picking things up. Mallory is good about showing him how to use his toys which I also think is another excuse for her to play with his toys instead of her own. She is already proving to be a great big sister though, and I can't wait for them to be able to interact and play together more. He's definitely a happy little boy and we love him dearly!

A Weekend Away

Sasha's hubby was out of town this past weekend for a hunting trip, so the kids and I moved in for an extended sleepover to keep Sasha company and get some extra Auntie-time in. We got to go at our own pace the whole weekend - or should I say the kids' pace - with plenty of time to relax, play, and just take it easy. Both kids slept well which meant even I got to catch up on some of the continuous sleep that I never get anymore; it was a grand feeling for sure. Maybe I need to get away more often if it means that the kids will let me sleep!