Nolan turns 6 years old!

Wow! 6 years have flown by and I find myself often thinking back to the amazing changes which were in store for us back then (and still today!) First and foremost, we have been blessed with a healthy baby boy who is growing into a handsome (yet spirited) boy. From the sleepless nights to wondering if he'd ever be potty trained we have enjoyed watching him witness so many things for the very first time! Over the past year he welcomed with open arms his baby brother Dane, has learned to ride his bike, has become an independent swimmer and a pretty good t-ball player too! He graduated from pre-K and joined the world of the big kids when Kindergarten began in August. He is learning to read (I actually found him doing flash cards in his room over the past weekend) and celebrated his 6th birthday with his best buddy Brian at the Great Wolf Lodge's indoor waterpark! Nolan is a no-fear kid when it comes to thrills and would have ridden all of the water slides but he was 1" shy of clearing the height requirement for 2 of the slides. Next year he'll be good to go! After we left the waterpark we picked up some pizza and invited our friends and Texas family members over to celebrate and eat Nolan's "wolf" cake! I hope you enjoy viewing pictures of Nolan celebrating his birthday over the past 6 years!

We were ratted out!

Nolan's t-ball team played their All-Star game last Monday evening and it sure was a lot of fun. It was played in the evening under the bright lights with announcements (favorite player, food, tv show, etc), music and lots of hoopla! Even though Nolan's cast was removed earlier that day he is still on 4 weeks of restricted activity (sigh). So, he attended the All-Star game in an "honorary" role and got to join in on most of the festivities (besides the actual game).

So, how were we ratted out you ask? This past Sunday afternoon we went to the park to hit some balls which technically was off limits but because the cast was coming off the next day we thought, what could it hurt (famous last words!). During the visit the doctor informed us that his activities were to be restricted for another 4 weeks and we agreed but leave it up to a 5 year old to gleefully chirp in with the following..."I got to play t-ball last night!" I thought I was going to crawl under the table when the 20-something nurse practitioner who was attending to Nolan's factured leg enforced her rules again "NO ACTIVITY"!

As for his leg, it healed very well but I swear, it still stinks! His skin is peeling and the skin on his foot is dry and cracked but otherwise all is good! I just set up our health insurance policy for 2010 and I'm going with the optimistic, glass half-full approach that there will be no broken bones next year! Now...where's the wood at? I have some knocking I need to attend to!!!!

Batter up!

Look at this cutie patootie! Have you ever seen anything so adorable in your life? Luke just finished his 1st season of Blastball. The goal? Hit the ball and run to the squeeky first base and then return to the dugout! He had such a good time! After his last game he got his first trophy ever and he couldn't wait to put it in his room!

Happy Halloween y'all!

We truly lucked out this Halloween with the wonderful weather we had for trick or treating! I think it rained 30 of the 31 days in the month of October and was unseasonably cold most of those days. I totally felt cheated out of our beautiful Texas October weather but in just the nick of time, mother nature treated us with a mid-70s degree day to ensure a successful trick or treating event!

Jackie and Jeff joined us again this year for our festivities and we enjoyed a weekend with just enough activities! This year's Halloween costume theme was "what's cookin'?" Nolan and Luke were chefs while Dane was their lobster who almost got away! We had a lot of fun this year as you can see in the pictures I took right before we set out to gather our loot! We walked our entire neighborhood with the boys next door and when we returned home at 8:30pm Luke requested to be put to bed, no tv, no books, just bed! That has NEVER happened before and I LOVED IT! We should trick or treat every night!

Homecoming, Baptism and the Farm, Oh My!

I sure wish I could get to making my posts in a more timely manner however until my children graduate from college I suspect my life is always going to be about playing "catch up"! A few weeks ago we Wilson's made the long drive to MO and after arriving were so glad we did! We spent Saturday watching the MU Homecoming parade with many extended family and friends. The boys LOVED catching the candy thrown by those in the parade and it wasn't even Halloween yet! Nolan has really become a fan of Truman the Tiger so after the parade we walked through campus, took a few pictures at the columns and looked in the windows of Jesse Hall because Nolan just knew Truman would be inside (he believes that Truman's home IS Jesse Hall)! I snapped picture after picture of the beautiful fall foliage which we simply do not see in Texas. While I enjoy the extended "green" of Texas the color of the trees is like candy for my eyes! Of course the loss to UT was a bit disappointing but Nolan didn't care, he proclaimed this football game to "the best football game EVER" and why not, right? He got candy at the parade, had extended time to hang out with all of his cousins (are they once removed or twice removed?!?!) and at the very end of the game got his picture taken with Truman the Tiger!

On Sunday we attended the baptism of Amelia Grace, daughter of Drew's cousin Susan and Michael. Drew and I were choosen to be her Godparents! What an honor this will be and what's even better is that I now have a little girl to spoil with pretty dresses and frilly things! Sunday afternoon we made our way down to the Wilson family farm (not to be confused with the funny farm) and sloshed around in the rain. We took the biggest family picture ever and I even captured a picture of what I refer to as "the crop of 2009". Great Grandma Beulah was blessed with 5 new Great Grandbabies in 5 months bringing her total of Great Grandchildren up to a whopping 16! G-ma looks great (as always) and I love it that our kids get to know her! Keep up the good work Grandma!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end so we headed home to Texas on Monday morning. We can't wait to see everyone again at the next Wilson family reunion...wherever it may be!

5 little pumpkins sitting on a bench...

Call us crazy but Drew, Liz, Katie and I took all 5 Wilson grandsons to the Pumpkin Patch! I was thrilled to try out my fancy new camera but of course when we got there they all wanted to split! So, the big boys got to play a bit while I took pictures of Dane and Dylan. When everyone was done I snapped a few more and attempted to capture the moment! The boys had a great time racing through the corn maze, piling pumpkins in a wagon and going on a hayride! I've officially adopted the rule "hiney on the hay!" which means STAY SEATED! My boys have a terrible time remembering that rule. We can't wait for Halloween to get here in our new "kid friendly" neighborhood!

Another broken leg?!?!

Most of you have probably already heard about Nolan's cast but I thought I better blog about it anyway! Being a Mom of 3 boys I'm starting to get the picture that injuries are going to happen and happen frequently. All of you know that Nolan fractured his right leg at 23 months which required a hip to toe cast. It's amazing how fast he adjusted to his new cast and managed to get around without a problem. This time around his injury wasn't as apparent as he complained of a hurting leg but I said, "It's growing pains!" A few days later he played a t-ball game and it was apparent that the leg was obviously hurting as my lightening speed runner hobbled to 1st base. Hummm...I wonder what was going on?! On Monday we took him to see the Nurse Practitioner who felt it was a muscle sprain and to alternate cold and hot but by Friday there was no improvement. So off to get an X-ray Friday morning (Nolan enjoyed that because Daddy picked him up, got a quick X-ray, grabbed a hamburger at McDonald's and returned him back to school in an hour). The results (why do they always give you the results at 5pm on a Friday night?) stated he needed follow up so on Monday we took him to see a Pediatric Orthopedic who agreed that he needed a cast. It was at that moment that Nolan's life probably felt like it came crashing down around him...no PE...no recess...no T-ball...no scoccer...no swimming! He kept a brave face until it was over and shed a few tears on the way out of the doctor's office. Everything is better now as his friends have signed his neon yellow cast with a black sharpie and he says his cast is a Missouri Tiger cast! You gotta love how quickly kids bounce back! Here are a few pictures of him a 2 years old and at 5 years old.

What's the hurry little man?

1 week ago tonight Dane showed me his crawling skills and in the past week has progressed substantially, so much that on Sunday I caught him standing up by the end table. He couldn't really see over it but he was proud of himself nonetheless. This afternoon his babysitter said how much happier he is now that he's crawling. As you can see in this picture, we have a staircase that doesn't really allow for a traditional gate to be installed. I said, "No worries, he just started crawling, I've got some time before I need to figure THAT out." No sooner than 2 hours later after I said those words did I find Dane with one knee up on the bottom step! I snapped a picture because I don't think anyone would believe me otherwise! A few moments later he figured out how to get both knees up on the bottom step. He turns 7 months on Saturday! Looks like Dane just gave me a weekend project!

Good Mom or Bad Mom...you decide!

Is it bad that I fed Nolan and Luke yogurt and cereal last night for supper? They didn't get any veggies in them but they definiately meet their dairy and calcium requirements for the day! I wonder what's on the menu tonight? Pop Tarts and Toaster Strudels perhaps!

Baby Dane begins crawling on 9/29/09!

At the tender age of 6 months and 3 weeks and after what seemed like weeks of rocking, stretching, lunging and frustration Dane has finally made strides forward! He successfully did a hand, knee sequence several times last night to make his way to me! Yeah! I'm excited and a little saddened as he's reached another milestone which has now enabled this sweet baby to become more independent, not to mention mobile! What's worse is he loves to stand and is even beginning to pull himself up! Last night at 3am I heard him squawking so I made my way upstairs to his room and when I walked in I had to chuckle because he had both hands on the crib railing with his eyes peaking over the side and he was sitting on his knees. Picture a baby version of "Wilson" from the sitcom Home Improvement! I can think of no better way to spend my time at 3am!

Dane 6 Months Stats

Dane had his 6 month check up last week and here are his stats:

Height: 25.5" - 5 Percentile

Weight: 17lbs 2 oz - 45 Percentile

Head: 17.5" - 50 Percentile

Dane is definiately growing, just not necessarily longer! He's measuring on the short side (extremely short) but his motor skills appear to be advanced for his age. He's eagerly rocking and getting ready to crawl (and is clearly frustrated because he can't). Sometimes he becomes a "tripod" with both legs straight and 1 hand on the floor trying to reach out with the other. Other times he's practicing his "downward dog" yoga pose! He can get into a sitting position from laying on his stomach and our Pediatrician said that skill is typically a 7-8 month skill, not a 6 month skill. Dr Robert's quote of the visit was, "He's got the perfect amount of baby fat on him!"

Opening Day

What a great weekend...busy & exciting! It was Opening Weekend for Nolan's T-ball team and Luke's Blastball team. Nolan played his first game on Friday night and his team has made huge improvements from last season! They can field, they are making good decisions and throwing the ball to the right people and making OUTS! And they won both their Friday night and Saturday afternoon games. Congrats to Daddy too, Nolan's very patient coach!

Luke played his first, ever game of Blastball and enjoyed every moment of it. He loved fielding the ball, hitting and running to first base (the base "honks" when you hop in it!) Oh...and getting dirty, he loved that too! Today I purchased a huge refill of Shout stain remover because there is nothing like cleaning dirt out of a 3 year olds white baseball pants. Daddy is the assistant coach on Luke's team as well so he truly is a "super dad". He starts the day in an Angels uniform, finds a phone booth and magically becomes a Rangers coach!

Let's not forget about little bubby Dane! He cheered on his brothers and didn't once complain. Now that's a stupendous baby!

Frog Prince?

Although we didn't do much this past Labor Day weekend I still felt as busy as a beaver and on Monday I ran to the grocery store just before the boys had to head out to t-ball practice. Seems like my days are planned down to each and every minute so I wasn't prepared when Nolan just HAD to tell me something. Finally, when he got my attention he presented what he found in our backyard...a frog! Of course, he wanted to keep his new pet and proceeded to make him a home in a little tupperware container which I immediately and secretly questioned...keep or pitch? He added some water and blades of grass and voila! a home any toad would love! After about an hour of toting around his new friend I encouraged him to set his frog free to eat insects and hop through greener pastures. He was sad but agreed to send Kermit on his way. But before he hopped off I took this picture so we'd always remember him!

1st Day of School

It was a BIG day at the Wilson household this morning! Both boys were up and at 'em by 6:50am this morning, dressed, brushed (teeth and hair) and downstairs by 7am and ready for breakfast! After some pictures outside Nolan and I met our neighbors, Evan and Adam, and together we made our way to school. Nolan was excited and walked to his new classroom with the confidence of a high school senior! He hung up his bag, got a quick picture with his teacher, sat down and began playing with some Play Doh at his seat. I gave him a hug and asked him if it was ok for me to go and he says "yep!" There's not a doubt in my mind that he's completely ready for Kindergarten!

Now that Nolan was off to school it was Luke's turn! He was thrilled to no end to wear his big red back pack! He marched into his classroom, also with great confidence, and began playing. We chatted a moment or two with his teachers and headed out. He didn't even notice! I do hope he finds comfort in his teddy that I packed in his bag especially for nap time!

Dane sits!

He's at it again...continuing to learn new skills all the time. In the past week he's managed to push up to his hands and knees and rocks, eats cereal and now he's sitting! We captured these pictures after church this morning (btw, he was the BEST behaved of the three boys, of course) and he was prime time! If his smile got any bigger we'd see his tonsils.