As usual it has been ages since I was last on here. However, that it simply because life is so full, I just don't have the time to be constantly updating my blog. Life has been going so well for us. Ryan has just two terms left for school. He will be graduating in December. I am so excited!
Nolan is growing by leaps and bounds. His first word was uh-oh. He loves to say that. He also recently added yeah and dada and we got him to say yesu jidu which is Jesus Christ in Chinese. He is sleeping the night through in his own toddler bed and he is so good at following directions. He also self entertains.
Nolan will get to be a big brother in December as well. We are having a baby girl, due December 19th. We are so excited. Now, if it was only December already! :)
I am doing well. I am just over 21 weeks or so and I am not nearly as big this pregnancy this time around as I was with Nolan. I love being a lot smaller. I also haven't been sick at all and that is always a blessing.
We enjoyed a great trip in June up to Washington State to visit with my family and extended family. We really enjoyed it and had a great time getting to know the aunts, uncles, and cousins a lot better.
All in all, things are going fairly smoothly right now. Probably the calm before the storm but we'll take it! :P.

Playing Catch-Up

Ok, so the last time I updated this was.......well yeah over 6 months ago. In the meantime we took a trip to Hawaii, celebrated 2 years of marriage, celebrated Christmas and New Years and Nolan turned 1! Time flies when you're having fun.....or just too busy to notice. Life is still going well overall and it never gets dull with Nolan around. He is a very curious and creative little boy.
I don't have much time to write, but here are some fun pictures.

Mixed Plate

Well...I have been waiting to write for a while so that hopefully I would feel a little more objective about recent events but that may take years at this rate so I'll just write away. We had some company for some time that over-stayed their welcome and a lot of other things. I was just so disappointed because they lied to us, they were lazy, the were doing nothing to help themselves and they were just leeching. It annoyed me so much. We ended up asking them to leave even though they had no place to go and still no jobs. Really though, it wasn't from lack of effort on Ryan and my parts as we gave them lists of available places in their price range and even got them job information. It just irritates me so much. What a waste or intelligence.

Well, now on to the good stuff. Nolan has progressed from rice cereal to mixed cereal and on to carrots. I think he actually likd the carrots better than he did any of the cereals. At least he didn't make any weird faces when he tried them. He has also atarted to sit up leaning forward. He is so cute when he does. Of course, he inevitably falls over after a few minutes but he doesn't seem to mind. He has also become fascinated with Sphinx lately and after watching both Ryan and I play with her, has started to try to play with her as well. He will wave his feet at her whenever he sees her watching him. Fortunately Sphinx hasn't pounced using her claws so thus far its all good. Nolan also figured out how to grab Ryan's glasses and pull them off. Poor Ryan is going to have to clean his glasses a little more often from now on. :) Nolan has also started sucking on his toes, which Ryan thinks is hilarious.

Ryan is still doing well in school and is ranked #1 in his class. He will be finished with his first semester tomorrow! I can't believe he's almost done with one semester. It still seems like he just started. The best part is that next semester he won't be gone quite as much so I'll get to spend a little more time with him.

We went out to North Platte over Labor Day weekend and had a nice break from Lincoln. We also looked at some property (an acre) that is in the same subdivision as Ryan's parents. The land is owned by a guy who got it in a divorce and was asking $25,000 for it. Well, Pat and Bobbie put in an offer and ended up buying it for $17,500, which Ryan and I will then pay them for it when we get the money! So, we're kind of land owners! I'm way excited about that. It's nice to have something a little more concrete to be saving up for instead of just a nice dream!

We are going to Hawaii on Saturday. I have seriously been counting down the days! I'm so excited to go relax and be with my family and just have fun for a week. The only bad thing is that we will miss Sunday general conference because we'll be flying home but we can always listen to it later. Besides, spending time with my family and having some relax time will make up for it!

Running In Circles

Well life has been really busy the last couple of weeks. Nolan of course is just growing in leaps and bounds. He is eating rice cereal regularly and we are getting ready to start a mixed cereal in the next couple of days. He has also started on pear juice and using a sippy cup. I think he likes to chew on it more than drink from it but he does seem to like the juice as well. He is also rolling over a lot faster and he loves to get on his tummy and then scoot around in a circle. It is so cute. Nolan has also surprisingly started teething. I was hoping he would wait a few more months for that but it looks like we're gonna have an early teether. He has had a few days of major discomfort but once we figured out exactly what was going on, we've been able to help him out and keep him mostly comfortable. Nolan also had his 4 month check-up and he weighed in at 17lbs and 2oz and was 25 3/4 inches. He is one big kid and definitely taking after his daddy.
Ryan is still at the top of his class in auto and still loving every moment. Somehow with him being in school and working as much as we both do, we're still finding quite a bit of time to spend together as a family which is so nice. Nolan absolutley loves playing with Ryan. I love just watching them play.
Also, this week we have some house guests. Nena and Chiron and their little one, Kishaun, are staying with us while they look for an apartment here in Lincoln. It has been different having someone around during the day. At the same time it will also be nice when they have their own space. I think that seems to be the way it always goes when you have someone stay with you. You enjoy it while they are there but then you are grateful to have your space back when they are gone. I'm just glad we can help them out right now.

Growing Pains

This week flew by quickly and Nolan seemed to feel it was time to hit several milestones all at once. To begin with he is starting to laugh and giggle when he is tickled. I love baby laughs. They are so funny. Also, we started Nolan on rice cereal this week. It is still a few more weeks til he is four months and our pediatrician was actually saying they might recommend waiting until six months, but I'm a believer in the sooner the better. Besides, Nolan is so big already and growing so much that it just seemed like it was time. He seems to like the cereal fairly well, which is great for me. Nolan also finally figured out how to roll over this week. The first time he did it he didn't realize Ryan and I were watching so when we cheered and got excited, Nolan got scared and jumped. We were really excited though and Nolan loves to show off now. Nolan is also starting to stay awake about three hours at a time now. It still makes him a little more cranky but this is all his own choice. I'm hoping this will eventually also lead to longer naps.
Ryan took apart the engine on the Bonneville this week. He is repairing all the gaskets and who knows what else. I'm just excited that I will have a car with some air conditioning.
I had my gall bladder removed on Firday. It was an out patient surgery do not too major but I am sore. They gave me a narcotic for the pain but it didn't do anything other than make me sleepy so I am taking Tylenol. That is actually helping with the pain.
Ryan is enjoying spending more and more time with Nolan recently. I think it has helped that Nolan is defintely developing more of a personality. They look a lot alike too. It is so fun to watch Ryan interact with Nolan. He is such a good father.

The Crazy-ness

Well, these [ast couple of weeks have been very eventful. Nolan is growing so much and so fast and learning so much. He is learning to grab things and feel things. Last week he began petting out cat Sphinx and then he decided to grab a fistful of her neck. Fortunatley Sphinx is fairly patient and she just looked at him. Nolan also really enjoys watching Sphinx run around and play on her climbing posts.
Nolan's also found his toes and feet this past week. He hasn't quite got them up to his mouth yet, but he loves to hold them. It is so cute.
Ryan is doing really well with his classes. It is rough having him be gone at classes and work for most of the day but he is doing what he loves and so it will pay off in the long run. Ryan's birthday is today and so Nolan and I surprised him at school for lunch. I wish I could do that more often.
I'm doing well for the most part. We found out two weeks ago that I have gallstones as a result of being pregnant and last week we met with a surgical consult. We have decided to get my gall bladder removed because my chances of having gallstones again are high and I will definitely get them every time I get pregnant. Fortunately it is a minor surgery and won't throw a wrench in our schedules.
My most exciting news this week is that my brother Andy is engaged!!!! I'm so excited. He and Leilani are planning to get married next May or June in Washington. I can't wait!

Starting Out

I have finally decided to start one of these, mostly to help me actually document some things in my family's life. I figure this way I can at least have jotted down some where some of the things that Nolan does.