Big Changes this Fall....

The most exciting news for us this fall would be that we have moved into a new house! Shane and I started looking in September with no serious intentions, but then found the home of our dreams. We couldn't pass up the opportunity so we made an offer.  After much negotiating and sleepless nights, our offer was accepted and everything finally worked out.
We put our house on the market "For Sale By Owner" and ended up finding a wonderful family who now currently rent our first home on Argenta Drive.

Talk about an emotional experience! Little did I know that our tiny first house would be so hard for me to leave. This was the home I bought with Shane after our engagement. This is the home that Shane and I came home to on our wedding night. This is the home that we painted every wall in and over time decorated and made into a place that was near perfect for us. This is the home that we brought our first baby boy home to :) So many memories inside those walls.
I knew I was excited for a bigger, new home that we actually had enough room to breath in, but I didn't realize that our cramped crazy life on 109 Argenta had become what I defined "home."
Throughout this whole experience I've come to find that home is where your family is. As long as I have Shane and Nolan, that "homey" feeling finds its way into the nooks and crannies of any house.

We now live at 331 Newcombe Lane, Chatham, Illinois, and I couldn't be happier. This is the house I will raise my family in! After only being here for a week, we are already getting settled in. Nolan's room seems almost perfect..... Except for the electric blue walls and the name "Leon" painted largely above his changing table. HAHA
The family that lived here before us had a little boy named Leon- they were a super sweet family who even left us a card and a gift. The gift was a precious little outfit for Nolan, compliments of Leon.We've just decided that Nolan has a new nickname...... Leon......
The room seems perfect :)

It's funny how everything works out. God is definitely good!  I'm very thankful. Thankful for my new home, thankful for my family and friends who were so supportive and generous during this whole moving process, and thankful for everything that has become part of our new life here in Chatham.

Nolan's First Words....

"DaDaDaDaDa....."
 Nolan's sweet little voice babbles these words daily now :) As our little guy turns 5 months old this week, he continues to amaze us. We went to the Dr. a  couple weeks ago, and Nolan weighed in at 15 lbs. and 1/2 oz., and was 25.5 inches long. He's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 80th percentile for height. Dr. Sapetti said he was such a strong little boy and told us to go ahead and start feeding him cereal :) Nolan took to eating like a big boy quite well! He currently eats cereal twice a day and wants to grab the spoon from my hand and feed himself! This of course means that he thinks he should be eating everything that mom and dad eat! We set his little bumbo at the table now during meals, and to keep him satisfied he insists on drinking water from our glasses and trying out any food that we're eating. I always tear off a little piece of bread that I let him nibble and drool on and he so proudly "dines" with us at the big kid table. He's so proud of his new ability to eat and feed himself. I am excited to see where this goes! The next step is mixing in fruit with the cereal, and then trying out those yummy vegetables!!

Nolan weebles and wobbles and can almost set up on his own now! His favorite toy is definitely his exersaucer, and he really loves to lay big wet kisses on his little bird. His chunky little thighs get bigger every day and he's currently sporting 6-9 months clothing! He's still not ready to grow hair on that perfect little noggin of his, but I think his baldness only adds to his cuteness!

When it's time for bed, Nolan still loves for me to sing "Ohh my Baby Boy" and he's out like a light within minutes. His bouncer chair still serves as his nightly rocker as well while were reading his favorite books, Goodnight Moon always being on the list.... 

Nolan's new tricks:

Getting up once or twice a night now for a feeding.
Sucking in his lips and smacking his gums....
Cutting teeth : - /
And screaming a really loud funny scream that we call his Pterodactyl Scream!

We are truly blessed!

"I am your parent, you are my child. I am your quiet place, you are my wild...."

From our new favorite book- "You Are My I Love You"

No No Nolan.....

Today is Sunday, November 14th and I for the first time think Nolan needed disciplined! Isn't 5 months too early for him to already try and test me?? We were reading our bed time stories and he screamed and slapped his hands down as I went to switch books.... It was an ornery "I'm yelling at you mom" type of scream! Needless to say, we had a talk..... And I think he listened :)


Nolan Jay, you sure are a strong-willed little boy..... I think you and I may butt heads from time to time, but I hope you always remember that I'll love you forever and like you for always ;)

Here are some shots of him throwing fits this evening.....

As you can see... he thinks he's funny, and then fakes these little fits in efforts to get what his little heart desires....