The Hurter Family - Three Men & A Lady

Fa la la la la.....

2009-12-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again for holiday pictures. Getting two kids to cooperate (mainly Nolan) was stressful, but we managed to get some good ones. Happy holidays everyone!

...and now from Downers Grove!

2009-12-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody! Sorry for the long blog hiatus. The move went well and we're starting to feel more and more settled. The boys are doing great. Cole just had his 6 month check-up and weighed in at 20 lb, 6 oz. and is 28 inches tall (95th percentile for both). He started rice cereal at 5 months and fruits/veggies baby food at 6 months. He has liked everything he has tried so far (squash, carrots, pears, peaches, applesauce) except for green beans. He made this horrible face and practically gagged throughout the feeding. He's starting to sit up on his own and is loving his Jumperoo these days. A few weeks ago, Cole finally started sleeping through the night!! So now Nolan and Cole go to bed at the same time (8:00ish), then Nolan wakes up at about 6:30am and Cole doesn't wake up until 7:00/7:30. I'll take that! It makes for two happy parents.

Nolan's latest obsession is puzzles! He can't get enough of them and it amazes us that he's doing 48 piece puzzles completely on his own. He was a ring bearer on November 7th in my cousin Bill's wedding. I was a little nervous about how it would go because I didn't know if he would freak out when he saw 200+ people watching him. It ended up going fine, but he got a little distracted in the first half of the aisle...started wandering into a pew, said "I don't want to go by myself" since he saw all the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down in pairs (there wasn't a flower girl), he wanted to stop and play in the baptismal fountain...fun times! =) Dave ended up walking down with him for a little bit, then Nolan finally saw me standing at the end of the aisle holding the new Thomas train named "Bill" that Bill and Meghan gave him the night before. He then ran down the second half of the aisle to me. Pretty funny. We're staying busy during the week with various park district classes plus storyime at the library. I'm in the process of checking out preschools for Nolan. Registration is next month and he'll start next fall...most likely Tues, Wed, Thurs from 9:00-11:30. It'll be nice to get some 1-on-1 time with Cole on those days.

The following slideshows are my attempt to capture the last couple months. Enjoy!

10/11/09 - Sonny Acres Pumpkin Patch

10/31/09 - Halloween

11/1/09 - Cole's Baptism

The ceremony was very nice and Cole is a lucky little boy to have my brother Ryan and my cousin Jennie as his godparents. Grandpa George participated in the ceremony which made it that much more special.

Slideshow preview

Thanksgiving 2009 (Cincinnati)

All of the other pictures from the past couple months:

I post all of my pictures on Picasa, so at anytime you can check them out at http://www.picasaweb.google.com/kristen.hurter

We're still here....

2009-09-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. Between selling our old house, buying a new house and living at my parents' house for the last month, life has been a little hectic. But we're all hanging in there and doing well. Cole turned 4 months old yesterday...can you believe it! Time seems to be going a lot quicker with the second. We had his check-up on Monday night and he's doing great. He's 18 lbs, 4 oz. and 27 5/8 inches which is 97+ percentile for both height and weight. No surprise there...we grow 'em big! Just for comparison, Nolan was 19 lbs, 2 oz. and 27 inches at 4 months old. Cole is a sweet little boy and has a very mellow disposition. He just lights up when Nolan talks to him and you can just tell that Cole adores his big brother. Over the last couple weeks, Cole has started sleeping 7-8 hour stretches at night so that is a much welcomed change!! He's cooing/"talking" all the time and the doctor thinks it'll be no time before he's rolling over.

We closed on our old house on Tuesday, August 25th and closed on our new house in Downers Grove on Tuesday, September 15th. We hope to move in there in the next 3-4 weeks. We're getting the whole inside of the house repainted and new carpeting laid before we move in. We're really excited about the house and can't wait to have people over! We also had the back wooden deck ripped out and we're currently in the middle of having a Unilock patio installed. Here's a picture of the outside of the house. Don't mind the weeds...we're in the midst of getting the lawn and landscaping under control. It was a foreclosure and pretty much sat empty for the last year.
We've been able to squeeze in some fun despite all the craziness lately. Uncle Bob and Uncle Ryan took Nolan fishing for the first time and he caught his very first fish! It was cute...Nolan really enjoyed using his Spiderman fishing pool that he got as a 2nd b-day gift from Uncle Ryan. Here's a slideshow of pics from that same weekend up at the lake. It was extra special because Jennie and Damien were back in the states visiting.

We discovered the River Trail Nature Center by our old house. It's along the Des Plaines River in Northbrook and has a nice walking trail. Nolan liked seeing the frogs and bald eagle and thought it was cool to use binoculars to look for birds. He was also really proud of himself using his big walking stick that he found as he used it on our "adventure walk".

One of the highlights of Nolan's summer was going to the "Day Out with Thomas" on August 22nd. It was at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL and everything was Thomas themed and we even went on a train ride pulled by Thomas.

We helped Brandon Beth celebrate his 1st birthday on August 16th. Here's a picture of Nolan being very brave on the inflatable water slide they had set up for the party.
We went to Brookfield Zoo on Sept. 11th with our good friends Ronan & Josephine Marsh and Luke & Dexter Honda.

On Sept. 19th, we went to a party called "Paint the Town" in our friend Susan's hometown of Morrison, IL. It's a small town just north of I-88 just before you get to the Quad Cities. It's a cute city-wide party where you buy a 5x5 ft. square on the main street and the kids/adults paint until their heart is content. Most kids end up covered in paint. Nolan clearly displayed his love of yellow! It was a great day. Afterwards we went to Susan's parents' house where we BBQ'd, went on Ranger rides (that was even equipped with a car seat!), explored their farm, and the kids caught frogs.

Here's a slideshow of the rest of the pictures from the past couple months. Enjoy!

Hurter Family Photo Shoot

2009-07-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

We went and got pictures taken today (Nolan 2.5 years old and Cole 2 months old). Here are some of my favorites:

Here's a slideshow of everything:

Recap of the last month

2009-07-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures that make me smile! Cole is smiling now...he started at about six weeks old and now he flashes us big grins all the time which we love.

Ever since Cole was born, life has been pretty crazy at the Hurter household. On top of having a newborn and getting used to life with two kids, we accepted an offer on our house on June 2nd with a July 20th close date!? Our house had been on the market for almost ten months. Cole was only a week and a half old at the time when we accepted the offer! Aagh...so not much tme to find a place and move. We're focusing our home search in Downers Grove. With the closing quickly approaching, we still hadn't found a place yet so Plan B was to live with my parents until we found something. Then...the Friday before the closing we get a call from our lawyer saying that the buyer's mortgage was denied at the last minute...you've got to be kidding me! Half of our house was in boxes at this point. To make a long story short...we have a new close date set (August 24th) and it looks like the buyers will be able to get a mortgage through another lender. Thank God we hadn't bought another house yet! We're still house hunting and have a couple good prospects. We'll most likely still be moving in with my parents for a little bit though unless we make an offer on something really quickly and can get a quick closing date.

Despite the craziness, we were able to get away to the lake at the end of June. My parents took Nolan up on Thursday and Dave, Cole, and I came up on Saturday. We went to a fly-in at the small local airport which Nolan really enjoyed. They also had a pancake breakfast there so Nolan was loving life...airplanes and pancakes. We also went to the annual neighborhood summer party. Here's a slideshow of pictures from that weekend:

Becky and George came in for a visit over the 4th and we had a nice time sticking close to home. This is the first time that we've stayed in Mt. Prospect for the 4th and it was fun taking Nolan to the parade. They don't mess around in Mt. Prospect...the parade was an hour and 45 minutes long with over 100 entries. And it seemed like everyone in the parade was throwing candy so Nolan had fun chasing after that. We also went to the Mt. Prospect pancake breakfast that morning. Do you notice a theme here...our little guy loves pancakes!! Having George and Becky here was especially helpful because it let Dave and I scoot away to go look at houses without taking along two kids. We made an offer on a house that weekend and had a few rounds of negotiations back and forth, but we ultimately didn't meet on a price. We think they're overpriced and we kind of think we could still ultimately end up at the house if we just sit tight and wait it out. The sellers are building a house which is done in October and we think they'll start getting nervous at the thought of two mortgages. Time will tell. Here are pics from the 4th and others from this summer:

I can't believe that Cole turned two months yesterday. This maternity leave has flown by. I'm supposed to return back to work this coming Monday. After a lot of thought, I came to the decision that I really want to be a full-time stay at home mom. Right now I'm working part-time (20 hours/week). With that, I had to make the dreaded call to my boss last Friday to give her my two weeks notice. I was so nervous. They have been so good to me at Hospira and I've had such a great part-time set-up since Nolan was born. But I just know for me personally, trying to juggle work with two kids is going to be too much. I feel fortunate that we're in a situation that I'm able to stay home. I'll go into the office this Monday to turn in my laptop and clean out my desk. Then marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I think it will be wonderful. June 17th was Nolan's last day at daycare which was bittersweet. They have been wonderful with him and he has learned so much by being in daycare. He's been going twice a week since he was 15 weeks old. He really enjoys his friends and teachers there and I'm hoping he likes staying home with mommy full-time just as much. =) Here are pics from his last day:

Cole is doing great and growing like a weed! At 1 month old he was 11 lb, 11 oz. and at his six week check-up he was 13 lb, 8 oz and 24 inches!! He had grown 4 inches and 5 pounds in six weeks! We grow 'em big! He's been in 6 month clothes now for the past couple weeks. Nolan is so good with Cole...he's very sweet and gentle and has no jealousy towards him...knock on wood. It's been a fun, crazy ride so far and we wouldn't change it for anything! We hope you're all doing well and enjoying your summer.

Cole is 1 month old!

2009-06-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Nolan's "Friends"

2009-06-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Nolan is doing well and has been a great big brother. He is completely obsessed with trains these days. He refers to Thomas & Friends as "my friends" and he carries them everywhere and is very possesive of them. Good luck asking Nolan if you can play with them. No such luck. And at naptime and bedtime, he's insistent that his friends get lined up on the dresser so he can see them. It's actually pretty cute. He knows them all by name and he would watch Thomas shows all day long if I would let him.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

Lake Geneva Visit

2009-06-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma Betty meeting Cole:

Getting Settled In...

2009-06-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Things are going well on our end. Having two kids is definitely a whole different ball game than having one. Needless to say we're both wiped out at the end of the day! Cole is such a sweet little baby and very mellow. George and Becky left this past Tuesday. It was absolutely wonderful having them here...they were so helpful. Then my mom came out on Thursday morning and stayed with us for a couple days and that was also a huge help. Dave's birthday was on Thursday so the two of us were able to get away for a little bit and do dinner and a movie which was nice. Nolan has been a wonderful big brother so far and hasn't had any jealousy issues. He calls him both "Baby Cole" and "Cole Robert" which is so cute to hear him say. He'll frequently ask "Cole, are you doing ok?" So cute! It excites me to think that they'll end up being the best of buddies. Here's a slideshow of pictures from the past couple weeks. Enjoy!

Bella Baby Professional Pictures

2009-05-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken at the hospital:

Welcome to the world Cole Robert Hurter!

2009-05-25T17:47:00.000-07:00

Dave and I were so excited to meet our newest little man on Friday, May 22, 2009. He was born via a planned C-section at 10:48am and was 8 lb, 14 oz. and 20 inches. Everything went very smoothly and Cole is a very healthy little baby. We're heading home tomorrow where the true test begins of what life will be like with two kids! =)

Here is a slideshow of all the hospital pics. You can double-click on any of the pictures and it will bring you to the Picasa website where you can see a bigger version of the slideshow.

This baby has a mind of its own already!

2009-05-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

So our little guy is still completely transverse (sideways). It could make for a trickier C-section, so please say a prayer that everything goes smoothly this Friday. My C-section is scheduled for 10:30am Friday morning. Less than three days away! We'll keep everyone posted. We appreciate all your well wishes...thank you! We're so excited to meet our little boy and anxious to have Nolan meet his little brother!

Baby Shower for Baby Boy Hurter #2

2009-04-18T19:53:00.000-07:00

My mom hosted a small family baby shower for me which was really sweet. It was fun having an afternoon with the girls. Everyone was so generous...thanks for hosting Mom! We can't wait for everyone to meet our new little guy!

One Yellow Egg!

2009-04-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter weekend up at my parents' house in Fontana, WI. It was a nice change of pace and good to get away for a little bit. I think the funniest part of the weekend had to be the Easter Egg Hunt. We had "practiced" at the house before going over by having a mini Easter egg hunt in the family room. Nolan seemed to totally get it and loved putting all the different eggs in his basket. So we get there and it's roped off by age which was nice, so Nolan was in the "2 & under" category. He tells us right before the start that he only wanted yellow eggs. So here's all these kids going to town and filling their baskets and Nolan would pick up eggs and put them back on the ground if they weren't yellow. And here we are saying "It's ok Nolan, just put them in your basket..." Nolan definitely has a mind of his own...he only wanted yellow. So at the end of the hunt, how many eggs does Nolan have in his basket?? One! We're thinking he was the only kid to leave there with only one egg, but he was completely content so that's what made it especially funny. Yellow is definitely his favorite color right now.

Overall, it was a fun weekend...lots of quality time with Mana Jeanne, Papa, & Uncle Ryan. We went out to eat a couple times, colored Easter eggs, read lots of books, went to the park, made cookies, and explored Uncle Ryan's new boat and new house which is just a couple blocks away.

Playdate at Elliot's House

2009-04-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

On our way up to Lake Geneva for the Easter weekend, we stopped at my friend Amy's house for a playdate with her adorable little guy Elliot. Check out the blue eyes on these two!

Grandpa George and Mana Becky's Visit

2009-04-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a nice visit from Becky and George and celebrated an early Easter with them. Nolan just adores them and he loves when they visit. When they're here, he asks for them right away when he wakes up. We enjoyed storytime at the library, a trip to the park, and a visit to the children's museum. We had a lot of time to kill outside the house because we had five showings in three days while they were here. They were troopers helping us get the house together each time we got a call. They joined us on Saturday night at our friend Jeff and Bonnie's house to watch the Final Four games. I think they got a kick out of seeing a bunch of our friends' little ones all running around. They'll be back in town to help when the baby is born and we're so grateful for their willingness to help with whatever!!

Nolan discovered a fun, new way to travel! I think Becky (or at least her back) is eventually going to regret offering piggy-back rides!

We were proud of Nolan for being so adaptable and sleeping on an Aerobed so that George and Becky could have a bed. We're definitely outgrowing this house!
Nolan says "Thanks for the Easter basket!"
Nolan loves the stuffed alligator that he also got from Mana Becky and Grandpa George for Easter:

Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew!

2009-03-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

"Andrew is 3, Nolan is 2"! That's what Nolan was saying all day. And he got a kick out of practicing singing "Happy Birthday" several times before getting to the party. The party was at the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville and all the kids had a great time.

Playdate with Aunt Laurie!

2009-03-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

Nolan and I had fun meeting up with Aunt Laurie in the city a couple Fridays ago. She was working from home that day, so we went and hung out over her lunch break. We had lunch at Einsteins, then checked out the local library where Nolan enjoyed having Laurie read him a bunch of books.

Nolan's Big Boy Room

2009-03-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Nolan is officially in his big boy room now! We made the switch the night we got back from Florida (Feb. 28th) because we figured it had been a week since he had been in his crib at home. We really talked up his "big boy room" on the plane ride home and reminded him that his new bed had a lot of the same animals on it that we had just seen at Animal Kingdom. When we get home he ran straight into his new room...yeah! We used our friends Kevin and Susan's suggestion and just put pillows under the fitted sheet vs. using rails. We told Nolan that when he woke up in the morning he had to stay in bed until we came in and promised that if he slept that night in his new bed that we would make pankcakes (his favorite) in the morning! So besides one minor mishap (falling out of bed in the middle of the night near the top of the bed where there wasn't a pillow?!), Nolan slept through the night no problem and the first thing out of his mouth in the morning was "Pancakes"! He doesn't forgot a thing! So it's been a month now in his new bed and knock on wood it's been smooth sailing. He doesn't ever talk about the crib which surprised me because he loved his crib and I thought for sure it would be a painful transition. And he's still staying in bed once he wakes up and as soon as we open the door, that's when he bolts out of the bed. Most mornings I wake up to hearing "Mommy, where are you?" or "Mommy, wake up!" on the monitor. It's pretty cute.

I framed pictures from Animal Kingdom to use as art in the room:

Fun Afternoon at Navy Pier

2009-03-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

We meet up with Lora, Ronan, & Josephine at Navy Pier and the kids had a great time at the Children's Museum.

Does anybody remember Ella Jenkins? She was putting on a free show that day and it brought back memories of my childhood. I went on a fieldtrip to see her in concert when I think I was in first grade! I talked to her after the show and she told me that she's 84 years old! Amazing - the kids still adore her!

Playdate with Wyatt Campbell at our house

2009-03-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

Day Eight: All Good Things Must Come to an End

2009-02-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

We had a 1:45 flight back home today. Overall, the trip was wonderful with lots of great memories.

The portable DVD player was a lifesaver:

Day Seven: Visiting Great Grandma Hamman in Fort Myers Beach

2009-02-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

No rest for the weary! After Nolan got up and we got him fed, we drove down to Ft. Myers Beach to visit Great Grandma Hamman for the day. It's a 200 mile drive from Orlando and all highway except for the last 15 miles so it was a pretty easy drive. We made it there by lunch and Grandma knows that her goulash is my favorite and she had it there waiting for us! Aunt Donna and Ron were there as well so it was nice getting to visit with them too. Nolan had fun feeding the birds out on the canal in the back of Grandma's house. We also took advantage of the 85 degree sunny weather by heading down to the clubhouse pool for a little bit. We hit the road by 7:30 that night and Nolan was asleep before we even started the car! It made for a peaceful drive back given that he slept the entire ride.

Day Six: Magic Kingdom

2009-02-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful day in Orlando...high 70's and sunny. We decided that late February was a really good time to be going to the parks...not too hot, not too crowded, and the lines were manageable. Dave and I remember going to Magic Kingdom as kids and it was cool to experience it through Nolan's eyes. We quickly realized that we're in a new phase of our lives when Disney/Orlando is a vacation spot for us.

There were a lot of great toddler rides at Magic Kingdom. Here's a list of everything we went on:

- It's a Small World
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Peter Pan's Flight
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Jungle Cruise
- Walt Disney World Railroad
- Pooh's Playful Spot (playground)

We knew we wanted to go to the 7:15pm lights parade so we knew Nolan had to get a nap in if he was going to last. We grabbed lunch at the park, then made our way back to the condo. Nolan slept during the monorail and tram rides back to the parking lot, then slept during the car ride back to the condo. By the time we got back to the condo, he had been sleeping for 30 minutes...he woke up as we were getting him out of the car and decided he was reenergized! A nap at the condo failed miserably, but at least he got some down time talking and singing in his crib. We made our way back to the park after a couple hours and stood in line for about 45 minutes for the Jungle Cruise. It was cute (fake animals), but definitely nowhere close to as good as the Kilimanjaro Safari Cruise at Animal Kingdom.

The lights parade was fun for the kids. We got seats in the front row along the parade route and Nolan got a kick out of seeing "Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck" who he had been talking about all week. He also was excited to see Pluto and Goofy or "the two dogs" as he calls them. The fireworks afterwards were really good...it was pretty having the Disney castle as the backdrop. We also got to see Tinkerbell fly out of the castle at the start of the fireworks.

All in all a good day...we felt like we hit everything there that a 2 year old would like. I look forward to coming back when the kids are older (and I'm not pregnant) and we can go on all the great roller coasters (Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, etc).

Slideshow of all the pictures from the day:

Day Five: A Little R&R

2009-02-25T20:39:00.000-08:00

Today was a much needed low-key day. We basically hung out at the condo all day and did a whole lot of nothing. Nolan got in a three hour nap. Since it was cloudy and a little bit cool we decided to skip the pool. Nolan was all about having us read him books and watch videos for most of the day. It was good for all of us to rest up before our big day at the Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

Dave and Kevin's fraternity brother Mike Mueller lives in Orlando with his wife Renee and six year old daughter Emily. They invited us over to their house for dinner. We had a fun night of catching up and making homemade pizza. Emily was so good with the boys.

Just in case you're wondering, we didn't purposely dress the kids alike! It was just a completely random coincidence.

Nolan, Andrew, and Emily at the kids' table:

Day Four: SeaWorld

2009-02-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

Day Three: Animal Kingdom

2009-02-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

What a great day! Nolan was such a happy little guy and absolutely loved seeing all the animals. I wasn't sure how long he would last, but believe it or not we were at the park from 10:00 - 5:00 and he was full of energy the entire day and in a great mood. We initially were thinking we would go back to the condo for lunch/naptime, but since it was only open until 6:00 and there was so much to see, we decided to just keep chugging along. I don't think Nolan has ever gone a day without having some sort of nap, but he did great today. He was asleep for the night by 7:00. Dave and I had so much fun seeing his reactions to the animals. The highlight of the day was the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride. It was another beautiful day today...low to mid 70's, sunny with blue skies. The plan for tomorrow is SeaWorld! Here's a slideshow of the Animal Kingdom pictures:

Day Two: Off to a rough start...

2009-02-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

We all decided that we should stick by the condo today and not hit the parks right away. That way the boys were able to get a good night's sleep last night and got a good nap in today. That turned out to be a really good decision because Nolan ended up spiking a fever last night and was pretty out of it and lethargic today...just not himself at all. He seemed to be doing a little better after naptime so we went to the pool and playground for a little bit. We went to downtown Disney for dinner and he ended up just falling asleep in the stroller and skipped dinner altogether. Once again...not like Nolan at all. By the time we got back to the condo, he had a 103 fever and his breaths were really shallow...yikes!! So after yet another dose of Ibuprofen and some puffs on his inhaler, we put him to bed and hoped for the best. He slept great through the night and was like a new man in the morning! Happy, cheery...and ready to see "lots of animals" at Animal Kingdom he told us! So we decided to give Animal Kingdom a go.

Nolan was definitely out of sorts today:

We're going to Disney World!

2009-02-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

DAY ONE: ORLANDO OR BUST!!

After hearing that Chicago was supposed to get six inches of snow today, we were nervous about our flight getting out. We woke up to three inches of snow on the ground and it was supposed to keep snowing all day. Our 12:10 flight was still supposedly on-time so we took a cab to Midway and hoped for the best. You have to give it to Southwest. They manage to fly rain or shine and our flight ended up only being delayed by 45 minutes. Dave is convinced that if we had been flying out of O'Hare we would have had a several hour delay. Nolan did great on the flight except he only managed to nap for 30 minutes all day. He was pretty animated during the takeoff and landing and thought the whole thing was pretty cool. Needless to say he crashed hard tonight! And on top of that he has a pretty bad cold which started yesterday so I'm hoping he's going to be up for everything this week. Go figure he would get sick the day before we left. His poor little nose is like a faucet.

When we got to Orlando, it was sunny and 70 degrees here...much better than back home! The condo we're staying at is gorgeous! It's the Wyndham Bonnet Creek - http://www.wyndhambonnetcreek.com/photo-gallery.php - and is practially right across the street from the Disney property. Dave's Aunt Linda and Uncle Lou were so generous and let us use a week of their time share as a wedding gift. It's 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom which is fabulous...it's great that Nolan can have his own room. Our friends Kevin, Susan, and their son Andrew were also wanting to take a family trip, so they booked at the same place and our condos are on the same floor right next to each other, so we're definitely looking forward to a fun week with them. The plan is to go to three parks over the course of the week - Animal Kingdom, SeaWorld, and Magic Kingdom.

Here is a slideshow of pictures of our condo:

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T15:40:00.000-08:00

Nolan and I had fun making Valentine's cupcakes. He loves being my little helper in the kitchen these days. Helping stir the batter:

Helping with the frosting:

Final product....they were yummy!

Nolan had fun making a homemade card for Dada. He insisted that he use every single crayon and marker!

Dave and I enjoyed a kid-free night for Valentine's Day. Nolan stayed overnight at my parents' house. He loved it and we loved getting to sleep in!

Bring on the PB&J sandwich!

2009-02-05T15:30:00.000-08:00

We got Nolan's allergy test results back. Of the six nuts they tested for (peanut, walnut, almond, cashew, pecan, & Brazil nut), the only one that he had a reaction to was cashews. And even that, they're calling a "low-level sensitivity" whatever that means. So the doctor gave the go-ahead for the five other nuts. I gave Nolan his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich today and he really liked it. It's been five hours and no signs of a reaction so I think we're definitely in the clear with peanuts.

One last birthday celebration!

2009-02-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

Pada George and Mana Becky (as Nolan call thems) came for a visit this past weekend and we had a belated birthday celebration for George's 70th and Nolan's 2nd birthdays. We went to Rainforst Cafe for a fun lunch since Nolan had loved it so much when we went a couple months ago. It didn't go so well this time. The thunder and rain noises freaked him out and the tiger that was right above our table would roar ever 5-10 minutes or so and that really freaked him out! Then combine that with a dessert with sparks flying out of it and ten or so servers singing to him, he didn't know what to make of the chaos! Oh well...we tried. George, Becky, Dave, and I enjoyed a delicious brownie dessert that they brought out. Surprisingly, Nolan doesn't really get into sweets and wanted no part of the brownie or ice cream. He prefers chicken (or any type of meat) over sweets any day...we call him our little carnivore.

Mommy and her mini-me!

2009-01-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

Height at 2 years old x 2 = Adult Height?

2009-01-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

If this theory turns out to be true, then Nolan would end up being 6 ft, 0.5 inches. I'm guessing he'll be taller than that given his 5'11" mom and 6'4" dad, but you never know. Nolan had his 2 yr. check-up this morning and measured 36.25 inches (90th percentile) and 30 lb, 5 oz. (75th percentile). The pediatrician said he's a happy, healthy little guy and is doing great with all the developmental milestones. The only bummer about the appointment is that Nolan had to have his blood drawn since the doctor decided to have him tested for nut allergies. Nolan had a reaction to walnuts a few months ago (threw up and had little red dots), so before we start trying peanuts and other nuts, we're going to play it safe and test for allergies. They'll test for six different nut allergies (peanut, walnut, pecan, almond, cashew, and Brazil nut). I'm anxious to find out the results...they should be back in about a week.

Birthday Boy!

2009-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend....we celebrated Nolan's 2nd birthday on Saturday night with a party at the house. It was a Sesame Street theme and Nolan loved pointing out all the Sesame Street characters in the decorations. And unlike last year, he actually liked his cake this year and didn't cry! Thanks everybody for the generous gifts...Nolan is having fun playing with all of his new toys!

Nolan's friends in his daycare class helped him celebrate on his actual birthday. We brought in mini-cupcakes for the class to enjoy at snacktime!
The celebration continues...we sang "Happy Birthday" again when we got home tonight.
Nolan is taking after his Mommy...extending his birthday for as long as he can!

Here's a slideshow of all the birthday festivities:

Where does the time go?

2009-01-23T11:40:00.000-08:00

Our little guy turns two on Monday, so I went and got his 2 yr. old pictures taken this morning. Nolan cooperated so that was a relief...it's amazing the goofy things that the photographer and I resort to in order to get a smile. By clicking on any of the pictures in the slideshow, it should bring you to the Picasa website where you can view a larger version of the slideshow. Let me know if you have any problems seeing the pictures. Have a great weekend!

"Mommy....Eyes Up!"

2009-01-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

Nolan is really starting to talk up a storm. I started dozing off on the couch tonight which Nolan clearly didn't want me to do...so he told me "Mommy...eyes up!" And if he walks into a room in the house and if either myself or Dave isn't there, he'll say "Mommy, where are you?" or "Dada, where are you?". It's hard to believe our little boy will turn 2 in a week. We're getting ready for his Sesame Street themed party...should be fun! =) Have a great week!

Sesame Street Live!

2009-01-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

We went to see "Elmo Makes Music" at the Rialto Theater in downtown Joliet. Nolan was in all his glory! He was pretty mesmerized and had no problems sitting through the 90 minute show.

On our way to the big show!

Hurter Christmas Party

2009-01-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

We went to the Hurter Christmas Party in Owensboro, KY on January 3rd at Dave's cousin Sharon's house. Here's Grandpa George with his brothers and sisters:Even though it doesn't look like it in this picture, Nolan had a great time playing with Isaac and Kaitlyn.Reading with Kaitlyn.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Nolan with Andrew and Brandon Beth on NYE.

DuPage Children's Museum

2008-12-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

We were all convinced that Papa had even more fun at the museum than Nolan!
Having fun at the water table with Grandma Jeanne.

Driving to the Basket!

2008-12-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

"Santa, House"

2008-12-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is what Nolan told me as I put him to bed on Christmas Eve. He is definitely starting to get the concept of Santa which was cute to watch. Nolan really enjoyed his 2nd Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we went to the children's service at our church, then had fondue at our house with some of my family and Becky and George. Yum! We spent Christmas morning at our house opening gifts, then went over to Grandma Jeanne and Papa's house for dinner. Nolan thoroughly loved opening his presents and has been having fun playing with all of them. He's especially loving the basketball hoop, books, and safari animal set from Santa, a tabletop easel from Bob and Laurie, a big stuffed dinosaur (duckador as Nolan calls it) from Uncle Ryan, a motorized ride-on truck from "Mana" Jeanne & Papa!, Mr. Potato Head and Tonka trucks from Uncle Boo, Aunt Jeanne, David, & John, a Finding Nemo View-Master from Aunt Beth and Uncle Keith, and a portable DVD player from "Mana" Becky and "Pada" George which was a livesaver on our 7+ hour drive this weekend (January 2nd) to the Hurter Christmas party in KY. Nolan even got a cool Budapest T-shirt from his world traveler cousin Jennie who was back in the states for Christmas. It was so great seeing her.

Fondue at our house on Christmas Eve:

Check out my new animals!

What could it be?
A basketball hoop!

Family pic on Christmas morning.
Nolan made us a plaster handprint at daycare. These are the best kinds of gifts!
Nolan loves looking at pictures on the camera after I take them.

Nolan took Jennie's hat right off her head and wanted to wear it!

Sugar Cookies!

2008-12-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

We made sugar cookies on Christmas Eve and Nolan really got into putting on the different kinds of sprinkles. Then he really enjoyed eating them when they were done. He kept saying, "More, more". I had to cut him off!
Works of art!I hope the cookies are done soon!

Hamman Christmas Party

2008-12-21T07:53:00.000-08:00

The extended Hamman family gets together every year the week before Christmas. It's always nice to see everybody. The party rotates between my parents' house and my dad's siblings' houses. This year it was at Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jim's house. Nolan had a blast. Here is Grandma Hamman (Nolan's Great Grandma) with all her grandkids and great-grandkids that were able to make it to the party. Everyone was so generous and Nolan had fun opening presents.Reading his new Thomas the Train book with Uncle Ryan.Grandma Hamman with her kids.Then came the highlight of the night for Nolan....Santa Claus made an appearance at the party to hand out all the presents!! We had seen Santa the week before and Nolan wanted no part of him, but this time after taking a few minutes to warm up to him, he talked to Santa, sat on his lap, and even gave him a hug!

Lincoln Park Zoo Lights with Uncle Bob & Aunt "Lulie"

2008-12-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Dave and I took Bob and Laurie up on their offer to babysit this past Saturday. So while we enjoyed a nice dinner in the city, they took Nolan over to Lincoln Park Zoo to see all the cool lights. Nolan had so much fun and just adores the two of them. Aunt "Lulie" as he calls her is Nolan's new favorite person. He asks for her all the time...so cute! They got him a box of animal crackers at the zoo and a wooden animal puzzle so he was loving life! Thanks Bob and Laurie for a fun night!

You can click on any of the pictures in the slideshow to see it bigger.

Wheee!!

2008-12-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

Ever since the first snowfall of the season, Nolan says "Walk on snow!" anytime he looks out the window and sees snow. He loves telling me all about his boots and snowpants. We took him sledding this weekend and he went down a pretty good size hill all by himself! He has a toddler sled that is the perfect size for him. Whenever he sees a sled he says "Wheee!" So Dave stood at the top of the hill and I caught Nolan at the bottom. Nolan thought it was pretty fun the first few times, but then said "bye-bye" and looked at the car in the parking lot. He had his fill and was ready to go home. Granted it was pretty cold out too. Here's a video clip of Nolan's sledding debut:

'Tis the Season

2008-12-07T19:31:00.001-08:00

We took a trip out to the farm this afternoon for our tree. We went with our friends Kevin, Susan, and thier boys Andrew and Brandon. Afterwards, we took the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch where Nolan and Andrew loved going on all the different rides.
We had a few ornament casualties since Nolan thought the round bulbs were balls that he could throw!
Becky and I turned my wedding dress into a Christmas tree skirt a few years ago. It brings a smile to my face when I bring it out each year.

The Prince

2008-12-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

Nolan made this crown at daycare awhile back. We found it in his closet the other day and he now wants to wear it all the time! This is the same kid who until recently would never keep a hat on his head. But now he'll actually keep on his winter hat without putting up a fight. I'm hoping this means he'll wear a hat next summer (along with his sunglasses).

This absolutely cracked me up!

2008-12-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

So after a long seven hour drive home on Monday night, Nolan was completely wiped. It had been a busy week and he was such a trooper going from place to place and seeing new people each day. After I put him down for bed, he decided it was time for a meltdown. He cried and cried and wasn't very consolable. He finally fell asleep (several hours past his normal bedtime) and when I peeked in his room, this is what I saw. Nolan fell asleep sitting Indian style with his head practically in his lap.

Please keep Aunt Linda in your prayers

2008-11-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

Dave's Aunt Linda (Becky's sister) got a call at 1:00 in the morning on Sunday, 11/30 that a kidney had become available and that she was #1 on the list. By 7:00 that evening she was in surgery having a kidney transplant. The surgery went extremely well and the doctors are thrilled with her recovery. Please pray that it continues to go well for her. We love you Aunt Linda!

Thanksgiving in Cincinnati

2008-11-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner with Grandpa George and Grandma Becky:Yummy food!Playing with Grandma's decorations:Taking a walk after dinner with Grandpa George:I love wagon rides!Being silly:We went to the Cincinnati Children's Museum on Friday where they had a "Holiday Junction" model train exhibit. Nolan thought it was pretty cool.They even had toy trains there for me to play with!Nolan went right up to Clifford and gave him a big hug. It was so cute!

On Saturday, Becky's cousin Melanie and her husband Jeff had us over for a delicious brunch. Melanie's sister Rosanne, her husband Larry and their three boys were there as well from North Carolina. It was great to see everyone. They were so good with Nolan and had so much fun meeting him and playing with him.On Saturday night, we went to George's friend Otto's birthday party. Happy Birthday Otto! Thanks for the toy truck!
On Sunday night, Nolan got to play with Drew Rohner. They had a lot of fun together.

Nolan loves elephants!

2008-11-25T08:56:00.000-08:00

Over the past month or so, Nolan has been all about elephants! He loves reading about elephants, pointing out elephants in books, talking about elephants "long noses", playing with toy elephants, making elephant noises while pretenting he has a long nose. Given this new obsession of his, I thought it would be fun to take Nolan to the Rainforest Cafe. Dave and I had never been to one, so we didn't really know what to expect. Nolan was all about it and loved it!

Fun times at My Gym!

2008-11-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Nolan went to Henry Cabage's 1st birthday party at My Gym and had a great time.

Mr. Cool!

2008-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Nolan loves wearing Mommy's sunglasses these days. He despised his sunglasses the last couple summers. Maybe this means he'll actually start wearing them next summer.

Playdate at the Honda's House

2008-11-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Best Buddies

2008-11-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Nolan and Andrew showing support for their favorite teams. It looks like they're being brainwashed by their dads already!

Happy Birthday Papa!

2008-11-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

Nolan helping Papa blow out his birthday candles. My dad's birthday cake of choice is the rum cake that my grandma makes for him most years.
Thanks for having us all over for a delicious lasagna dinner Grandma! It was yummy!
Grandma bought me these cool Elmo apple juice boxes!

Russell's BBQ

2008-11-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

Russell's Barbeque is in Elmwood Park and has been around since 1930. My mom loves this place and has great memories of going there as a kid. I don't think Nolan enjoyed the beef as much as my mom, but it was still fun taking him there. All the kid's meals come with a token that you put in a big machine on the wall and it gives you a prize. I remember that being a big deal when my parents took us there when we were little. Nolan's prize was a stick-on tattoo...woo-hoo! =)

Nolan loves his Dadda!

2008-11-08T19:49:00.000-08:00

Election Day is Finally Here!

2008-11-04T05:38:00.000-08:00

Dave and I did our civic duty this morning. The lines weren't as bad as we expected. Dave got there about 30 minutes before the polls opened so he was in and out really quickly once the doors opened. He said there were only a few other people there waiting. I went over as soon as Dave got back home and there were about 20 people in line ahead of me. It took about 40 minutes from the time I got there until I was done voting. It feels great to have voted and to be part of such an important election. Energy and excitement was definitely in the air this morning at our polling place. I have a feeling lots of us will be glued to the TV today and will be useless at work tomorrow!

Big Helper!

2008-11-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

Nolan helping Dad rake the leaves.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

I can definitely say that Nolan loved Halloween! He loved every single aspect of it...everything from wearing his Elmo costume, handing out candy, going trick-or-treating. He had a blast.

No more hospital visits - twice in one week is enough!

2008-10-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

This past week was a tough one on Nolan. He had to stay overnight at the hospital two different times this week for two procedures. Two Fridays ago (10/17), Nolan had a follow-up appointment to check the progress of a boil that he had on his groin/diaper line. It had started has a pimple and within a couple days had turned into a boil. We thought they would say it was fine since it seemed to be draining on its own. They didn't like that it was still pretty big and they were convinced it couldn't completely drain on its own....so we had to go the ER to get it lanced. Ugh! We went to the ER at 3:30 in the afternoon and the procedure didn't end up happening until after midnight. Nolan was such a little trooper. He then had this 3/4 inch incision that needed lots of TLC while it healed. In come George and Becky to the rescue! They drove to Chicago with hardly any heads-up so that Nolan wouldn't have to go to daycare and Dave and I didn't have to use vacation days. Nolan loved all the attention from Grandma and Grandpa...they are so wonderful with him.

Then six days later (Thursday) Nolan had to be a back in the hospital for a planned EGD (endoscope) and a 24 hour pH study to look into the acid reflux that Nolan has been having since he's been about 4 months old. The doctor said that everything she saw in the camera (esophagus, stomach, small intestines) looks normal, so that was great news. He definitely has reflux but it doesn't look like there are other underlying issues. The doctor will go over all the official test results with me on November 6th. She took a biopsy of each of the three different areas so we'll see what those show. I'm assuming she'll tell us to just keep him on the Prevacid and just hope that he eventually outgrows it.

Becky and George stayed in town for this procedure as well and we really appreciated having had all the help. Nolan is hoping we don't have to go to the hospital again for a long time!

Walks with Grandpa George

2008-10-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

Whenever we visit Becky and George or they come here, one definite is that George will take Nolan on multiple walks a day. It's definitely "their thing" and it's cute to see how much they both enjoy it. Nolan usually rides in a Radio Flyer wagon (that used to be Dave's when he was little)! This past visit Nolan also enjoyed Grandpa pushing him around in his toy car.

Hair Cuts

2008-10-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

Nolan's hair grows so fast and we end up taking him for a haircut every 6-7 weeks. We go to a place called KidSnips where he enjoys sitting in a car and getting to watch a video while getting his hair cut.

2008-10-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

Watching Thomas the Train with his buddy Andrew.

Play Time!

2008-10-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

Nolan having fun with his friends Ronan & Josephine Marsh and Luke Honda.

Nolan's Fun-Filled Weekend with Grandma & Grandpa!

2008-10-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Dave and I were in Michigan last Friday - Sunday for Dave's cousin Michael's wedding. My parents were wonderful and watched Nolan all three days. Nolan had a great time with them and they kept him busy with all sorts of fun stuff! My dad watched Nolan on Friday while my mom was at school. He took him to Phillips Park Zoo in Aurora and Nolan got to see all sorts of cool animals. He even pet a snake! He's much braver than me!

Then on Saturday they took Nolan to Sonny Acres Pumpkin Farm. My mom was a trooper and took him on a ride in a mini-train. And check out the pictures of my dad taking Nolan down the giant slide! My dad even took him in a little haunted house. The only thing that Nolan wanted no part of was the pony rides. Maybe next year.

They had a great weekend!

So Cute!

2008-09-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Rain, Rain Go Away

2008-09-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

The weather in Chicago this past weekend was completely unreal. Dave and I kept saying that it felt very apocalyptic. We survived 9+ inches of rain and amazingly, the house managed to stay dry!! We feel very fortunate.

I continue to work on Mondays and Wednesdays and Nolan and I stay busy with a gym class on Tuesdays, a music class on Thursdays, and storytime at the library on Fridays. Nolan is really starting to talk up a storm. It's so fun to hear his new words and we're understanding more and more of what he's saying.

Uncle Bob and Aunt Laurie's Wedding

2008-09-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Bob and Laurie's wedding was this past Saturday. It was absolutely beautiful and we're so happy for them. They're off on their honeymoon right now in Hawaii. Nolan did such a great job as a ringbearer. He made it down the entire aisle on his own...without any crying!! I was a proud and relieved Mommy!! I posted a bunch of pics from the big day.

Happy Fall!

Four more days until Uncle Bob's wedding!

2008-09-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Nolan is going to be a ring bearer on Saturday for my brother's wedding. He's wearing a tux and it is so darn cute! I'll definitely post pics after the big day. Nolan is excited to be getting an aunt...we can't wait to help Bob and Laurie celebrate this weekend. Here's a new clip of the little man:

Our little boy is getting so big!

2008-08-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

We took Nolan to the Wisconsin State Fair this past weekend with my parents. He enjoyed seeing all the different animals and going on a carousel ride with Grandpa Bob!

Nolan had his 18 month check-up last night and is still growing like a weed. He is 28 lbs, 8 oz. (80th percentile) and 34 inches (90th percentile). We knew that the pediatrician would ask us how many words Nolan can say, so on the drive over Dave and I did some brianstorming. Here is a list of the words Nolan can say on his own: mama, dada, hi, bye, ball, dog, truck, airplane, choo-choo, up, hot, off, beep, bubble, milk, applesauce, Cheerios, shoe, socks, box, Elmo, No, tractor, Moo, "all done", more, and nana (for banana). I'm sure there are a few more that I can't think of off the top of my head...but basically Nolan is now saying twenty-something words and can repeat even more. It's great being able to communicate with him more and more. Here's a clip of Nolan saying one of his latest words:

A year and a half!

2008-08-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's August and our little guy is 18 months old already! I added a bunch of pictures to the 17 month album and a handful of pictures to the 18 month album.

Nolan figured out how to jump a few weeks ago. We'll say "Nolan, can you show me how you jump?" Then he gets all focused and puts all his might into jumping. After he does it, you can tell that he's so proud of himself. Here's a clip of Nolan jumping:

We're having a fun summer and staying very busy. Nolan is saying and repeating so many more words now. He figured out how to say "applesauce" this week. And today when I asked him what a cow says, he clearly said "Moo". He's starting to get interested in learning his ABCs....he'll sing "A, B, C, D" but that's about as far as he can get. I bought a LeapFrog video called "Letter Factory" so I can work on letter sounds with him. It really keeps his attention and he seems to definitely enjoy it.

Nolan is still completed mesmerized by trucks, airplanes, and trains. He says "Truck", "Airplane", or "Choo-Choo" as one goes by and he can spot them and hear them a mile away. He makes sure to point each and every one out to us. And he still loves Elmo and just lights up each time we watch "Elmo's World" on Sesame Street.

We've been spending a lot of time in the water this summer with the six weeks of parent/tot swimming lessons that just finished up along with the time we spend up in Lake Geneva with my family. Nolan also really enjoys going to storytime at our library. It's called "Bibs to Books" and is for babies 23 months and under so it works out great. We're also going to sign up for a music class this fall.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Nolan's 1st Dentist Appointment

2008-07-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

Nolan had been chewing on his finger a lot this past week and I figured out why this morning. I noticed three new teeth that must have all broken through over the past week. That brings his grand total to 16 teeth! The dentist was surprised that he has so many teeth. Only four more to go until he has his complete set of baby teeth. I had low expectations as far as how Nolan would react to the dentist and being in the chair. He cried throughout the whole thing but at least they were super friendly and very quick! Nolan sat on my lap and we both laid back in the chair together for the appointment. Even though he cried during the cleaning, at least I could hold his arms down and attempt to comfort him. So needless to say, I'm glad it's done and Nolan now has a mouthful of clean pearly whites!

Happy 4th!

2008-07-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

I hope you're all having a fabulous summer! We just got back from the Hurter Reunion at the family farm in Paris, KY (just outside of Lexington). Nolan had a lot of fun playing with all the little kids and loved being able to see cows, horses, and dogs!

We're looking forward to a laid-back relaxing weekend up in Lake Geneva for the 4th. My parents can't wait to get Nolan to the beach and out on the boat! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we're taking parent/tot swimming lessons at our park district pool and he's doing really well. Yesterday he was all about sticking his whole face in the water to try and blow bubbles. He kept doing it over and over again. Pretty funny.

Nolan's latest fascination is trucks. He points out each and every one as it passes on the street and he tries to say "truck". He's repeating so many more words lately. And he's obsessed with humming the tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". The first time Dave and I heard him do it, we just sort of looked at each other and asked "Did he really just sing Twinkle, Twinkle"?! I found out that they sing it at daycare a lot so that's where he picked it up.

Everytime Nolan sees Elmo now whether on a book, toy, or on TV, he'll clearly say "Elmo" so that's definitely his newest word. And just a couple weeks ago he started saying "cheese" everytime we took his picture. What a ham!

Have a great holiday weekend!

What a fun week!

2008-06-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

It has been such a fun and busy week! Nolan got tons of grandparent attention this week and loved it! He spent Tuesday and Wednesday night at my parents house so Dave and I could celebrate Dave's 35th birthday kid-free. We took full advantage and went out both nights. We saw Avenue Q downtown at the Cadillac Palace on Tuesday night. We really enjoyed it! And then we went to dinner and a movie on Wednesday night. My parents had a great time with Nolan.

Dave's parents came into town on Thursday night and leave tomorrow morning. Grandpa George took Nolan on multiple wagon rides each day which they both love. We went to Ravinia on Saturday night to see James Taylor. The four us went with my family and my future sister-in-law Laurie's family. We left Nolan with a babysitter and he did really well. His daycare teacher came over to babysit. I was so thrilled to find out that she babysits during her off-hours.

We had a bridal shower today for Laurie which was a lot of fun. Laurie and Bob are getting married on September 6th so it's coming up soon. We're really excited for them.

Have a great week!

Mr. Personality

2008-05-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I last posted an update. We're all doing well and Nolan continues to keep us busy and laughing! He is turning into such a little boy before our eyes. His 13th tooth broke through a couple days ago and it's still a struggle to brush his teeth. He hates it and puts up a fight each time, so we pretty much have to pin him down to get in there.

He has also been testing us a little bit when going down stairs. He had been going down no problem on his belly, but the last few times he's been holding the railing and wanting to walk down the stairs. He just sort of looks at me to see if I'll let him get away with it. He took a tumble down a couple stairs trying to do this...luckily Dad was there to catch him. He definitely wants to always do what Mommy and Daddy are doing. He loves giving kisses which is just so adorable.

I'm excited that summer is just about here. Nolan and I hit the park most mornings which is a lot of fun so I'm hoping that we'll get some consistenly nice weather.

Nolan can say about 9 words - mama, dada, hi, hello, bye-bye, doggy, ball, milk, & happy.

We hope you're all doing well.

Whirlwind of Energy!

2008-04-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Dave and I joke that Nolan has turned into a little tornado. He is into EVERYTHING and leaves any and everything in his wake!! In the blink of an eye, our little guy is definitely a "toddler" now. He touches and explores everything. There is no cabinet or drawer in his reach that goes unattempted to open. We designated a "Nolan drawer" in the kitchen this week that I put a bunch of unbreakable stuff in - plastic spoons, spatulas, etc. He just has a hayday with it.

Nolan's 15 month check-up was uneventful which is a good thing! The doctor said he's doing great. He is in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight.

Nolan is looking forward to visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Cincinnati this weekend. But Dave is convinced that Nolan is mad because Mommy won't let him go to the Kentucky Derby to spend the whole day in the infield with Daddy! =) Dave is going to the Derby on Saturday with a couple of buddies. They've been going there together since 1990 and have only missed a few years. Nolan and I will hang out back at the house with George and Becky.

15 Months Old

2008-04-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nolan will be 15 months old tomorrow! He's getting so big! We have his check-up on Monday night. He is really good at walking now and it amazes me how fast he can walk already. He's on the verge of being able to run. He's also really getting into climbing lately, especially onto the fireplace ledge. His latest new trick is giving kisses! Dave and I were just eating it up last night when he started doing it out of the blue. It's so adorable...he puckers up and walks over with a big wet one! And half the time he gives us a big open-mouth kiss which is hilarious.

I think Nolan is ready to transition to one nap a day. He's been taking great morning naps lately but it's been taking a really long time for him to fall asleep in the afternoon. He just sits and talks in his crib for the longest time. So I think I'm going to try one afternoon nap (right after lunch) and see how he does with that.

Have a great weekend!

Nolan Update

2008-04-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a gorgeous, sunny, 65 degree day in Chicago and people were out in droves enjoying it! Nolan and I met my parents, Bob, Laurie, & Anne down in the city for lunch, then a visit to Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a great day. Dave drove to Cincinnati this morning for his mom's hip replacement surgery tomorrow. Please say a prayer that Becky has a safe and speedy recovery! Dave is planning on driving back home on Thursday.

Nolan gave us a scare last weekend. He had something along the lines of an asthma attack. He had very shallow, labored breathing and was wheezing pretty badly. He ended up needing to stay overnight at the hospital for observation and did breathing treatments every two hours around the clock. The doctors said that we'll never know for sure what triggered it but my gut instinct tells me that it's from the dust stirred up and residual paint fumes from the work we had done in our house. So for those of you with little ones...be careful when painting!! I'm really hoping that this was a one-time thing vs. Nolan truly having asthma. Time will tell I guess. It's something we'll have to keep an eye on. The doctors won't diagnose it as asthma unless it happens 3-4 times.

Nolan is back to his normal self and is such a happy little boy! He makes us laugh everyday and is getting so much more animated and is communicating more and more with us. He is loving the fact that he can walk and I'm sure he'll be running in no time! He loves holding our hand and walking along side us when we're out and about. He also loves waving to people and saying "bye" when they leave. "Bye" is definitely his favorite word and he says it all the time. He said "bye" to every doctor, nurse, etc. as they left the room. It was pretty comical...everyone seemed to get a kick out of it.

Another one of Nolan's new tricks is opening drawers and he especially loves the drawer in the master bathroom that has all of Dave's stuff in it. Nolan can't get enough of the long, springy charging cord for Dave's electric razor. He walks the cord around like it's his pet?! Pretty funny.

Have an excellent week!

Spring is in the air (and lots of basketball)!!

2008-03-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Nolan got spoiled and ended up getting four different Easter baskets! Nolan is doing well. He's getting better and better at walking and now prefers it over crawling. Separation anxiety has started to kick-in over the last week. I really hope this is a short-lived phase. He was so upset this morning when I dropped him off at daycare. It just broke my heart. I stood outside the room (out of Nolan's view) until he calmed down. He cried for no more than a minute so that was good. He's transitioning into the toddler room at daycare so maybe that has something to do with it? The kids sleep on cots in the toddler room which I didn't think Nolan was ready for yet. But to my surprise, he's been sleeping great on the cot. He's been taking 2 1/2 to 3 hour naps on the cot and doesn't try to get off. It helps that all the kids take a nap at the same time in the toddler room. They dim the lights and play music so that has really helped improve Nolan's napping situation at daycare.

Our house is all torn up right now. We're having a bunch of work done...ripping down of wallpaper, removal of "popcorn" ceilings in the bathrooms, new crown molding in our bedroom, getting rid of the beams in the family room, and most of the inside of the house is getting painted. So we can't wait to see the finished product! It should all be done later this week. I'll post some pictures when it's done.

Given that we're in the middle of March Madness, my husband is in all his glory! I'm pretty much a basketball widow this time of year. =)

That's all for now.

13 Months Old and Walking!

2008-03-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

Nolan is officially walking! He had been taking a few steps at a time since a week after his first birthday, but on Tuesday (the day he turned 13 months) he decided to take off! He surprised both of us by taking 10 or so steps before falling down and there's been no stopping him since then! I posted a video clip of him walking.

We had a great time in Cincinnati. Becky and George's house had what felt like a revolving door of visitors, so it was fun getting to see so many family friends and Dave's high school friends and their kids. Nolan had his first taste of Skyline Chili and actually liked it which excited Dave!

Have a great week.

Here comes the sun!

2008-02-23T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today was the first nice, sunny day in what feels like forever! We took Nolan to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview and he seemed to really enjoy it. We went ahead and bought an annual membership and it's good at a bunch of other children's museums including the one on Navy Pier and in Naperville and Cincinnati. So we're excited about that. The membership allows four adults plus Nolan to get in, so we're thinking it could be fun for the grandparents or anybody else that wants to go.

In general, there's not much to update. Nolan is getting more and more confident on his feet, but isn't officially walking yet. He's consistenly taking 3-4 steps then plopping down. I keep saying that he'll be walking anyday now! We'll keep you posted.

We're driving to Cincinnati on Thursday and will stay through the weekend. Have a great week!

First Steps

2008-02-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

Nolan took his first steps this past weekend!! A few different times he would take two steps on his own, then plop down and once he even took three steps on his own. So we don't think walking is too far off!

Nolan had his 1 year check-up tonight and the doctor said that Nolan is extremely healthy and doing great. He's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. And he has four molars that have all recently broken through and are coming in at the same time. So that makes 12 teeth for Nolan. And now that Nolan is a year old, he's done with formula and is now drinking milk.

Dave and I took Nolan sledding out in the front yard this past weekend. He was very neutral about it all and just kept studying everything around him. He didn't crack a smile once, but at the same time he didn't cry either. I'm thinking he'll enjoy it more next winter.

We had 12 inches of snow at our house on Friday and there's more to come tomorrow. I'm ready for spring! Stay warm!

Birthday Boy!!

2008-01-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

Nolan is officially one! He had a great time at his birthday party last night and everyone was so generous to him. He's having fun today playing with all his new toys! When it came to his cake, Nolan wanted no part of it. He hated the feeling of the frosting and was bawling after I tried to give him a taste. So much for the thought of having the cute pictures of him smearing frosting all over his face and digging right in! It was a great day and we're looking forward to seeing what this next year has in store for Nolan.

Almost One!

2008-01-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

We hope the New Year is treating all of you well. It's been brutally cold here in Chicago the past couple days. As I'm writing this, it's -5 outside! So I'm happy to be curled up under an afghan. Nolan turns one next weekend and is looking forward to digging in to his cake!!

The latest Nolan update is that he has officially transitioned off the bottle. He's drinking his formula out of a sippy cup and will switch over to milk in the next week or two. It was a very painless process and Nolan doesn't seem to miss the bottle at all. As long as he has his formula he's a happy kid and doesn't care what it comes in. One of his bottom molars came in last week, so that makes 9 teeth now for Nolan. He's not walking yet and is still very content to be crawling and cruising everywhere.

I'll post all the 1st birthday party pics next week! Have a great week!

Cancun Vacation

2008-01-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

We had a great time down in Cancun with my parents, Bob, Laurie, & Ryan. Nolan went on his first plane ride - we got lucky and had an empty seat next to us each way so Nolan was able to sit in his car seat. He slept a good part of each flight and the take-offs and landings didn't seem to bother his ears one bit. So Dave and I were thrilled with how things went.
We all really enjoyed having so much time to just relax and visit with each other. The guys and Laurie spent one of the days going out to the Chichen Itza ruins while my mom and I stayed back with Nolan. They enjoyed it even if they had some scary moments where they had to drive 100 miles on less than a 1/4 tank of gas in the rental car! I guess the trip was a straight shot on a road in the middle of the jungle without a gas station in sight! Luckily they made it!

Dave, Bob, Laurie, Ryan, and I went out to dinner one night while my parents watched Nolan. That was a lot of fun. We went to Senor Frogs afterwards for a "yard" and all agreed that we felt really old there!

We got back home on Sunday and we're back to our normal routine. Nolan is doing well - he loves playing peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. He says "mama" and "dada" to me and Dave now which is exciting. I can't believe that Nolan's first birthday is less than three weeks away! It sounds cliche, but the time really does go by so fast!

Happy New Year!

Nolan's First Christmas

2007-12-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas even though Nolan is under the weather. Nolan passed his cold to me, so we're in the process of trying to get everyone healthy! Nolan had a lot of fun seeing so much family these last couple days. Everyone was so generous to Nolan. He has lots of new fun toys to play with!

Bob and Laurie asked the three of us to be in their wedding! We feel very honored and we're excited about the big day! Nolan and Laurie's nephew Trey will be ring bearers. They're going to look so cute in their little tuxes!

Two Weeks Until Christmas!

2007-12-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas is only two weeks away! We have a Christmas party this Sunday at my parents' house for the extended Hamman side of the family and we'll spend Christmas day with my mom's side of the family. On 12/28, we'll drive to Owensboro, KY for the Hurter Christmas party, then on January 1st we're going to Cancun with my parents, Bob, Laurie, & Ryan to celebrate my parents' 30th anniversary! I can't wait! Their 30th was actually last December, but we had to postpone the trip because a certain someone ended up being pregnant, due January 17th, and couldn't fly. =) It'll be Nolan's first plane ride, so I'm really hoping that he travels well. So we definitely have a busy and exciting few weeks coming up!

Nolan turned ten months old a couple weeks ago. He's doing really well. Dave and I were noticing last night that he's getting to be an extremely fast crawler and is getting very adventurous as far as where he will crawl and what he'll pull himself up on.

Nolan had the stomach flu again last week, but is feeling great now! I think he got it from a little boy in his daycare class. That's definitely a negative about daycare. If one kid gets sick, it's almost inevitable that all the other kids will get sick.

Uncle Bob and Aunt Laurie babysat Nolan last Friday while we went to Dave's company holiday party. They took him to see the lights at Lincoln Park Zoo and Nolan even went on his first carousel ride!

We wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season!

It's the Holiday Season!

2007-11-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Michigan. Dave's cousin Michael and Michael's girlfriend Tonia hosted a fabulous dinner - Nolan loved the sweet potatoes!

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and Nolan was mesmerized with the colored strands of lights as we put them on the tree. Now we'll just have to avoid him pulling the tree over! We purposely put the non-breakable ornaments on the bottom half of the tree.

Nolan is going to have an aunt!

2007-11-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

My brother Bob and his girlfriend Laurie got engaged on Saturday! We're so thrilled for them! I'm excited to be getting a sister-in-law and Nolan is excited to be getting his first aunt! Laurie is such a great person and I've never seen Bob happier.

Ireland Trip

2007-11-14T20:50:00.000-08:00

Dave and I had a fabulous vacation! We saw a ton in five days. We landed at Shannon Airport, then immediately drove to the Cliffs of Moher, then drove back towards the aiport to tour the Bunratty Castle. We crashed really hard the first night (slept 12 hours). It's tough adjusting to the six hour time difference that first day. We spent the second day driving the Ring of Kerry. Dave drove the whole trip and did a really great job driving on the left side of road and dealing with the ton of roundabouts (aka rotaries) in Ireland. It was refreshing not dealing with many traffic lights. The roundabouts weren't bad at all after getting used to reading the signs. The Ring of Kerry is beautiful. We had fun stopping at a couple of cute towns along the drive. We stayed at a B&B in Killarney that night. On the third day we drove from Killarney to Galway. On the way we stopped at my good friend Lora's grandparents' house. We had a really nice visit with them...I had never met them. They live in a really small town out in the country about 45 minutes outside of Galway. They were so hospitable. Lora's grandma made us an Irish "fry" consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon (reminds me of what we think of as ham), sausage, and black pudding (aka blood sausage??!!). The black pudding kind of freaked me out, so I took one bite to be polite. Lora's grandma also insisted that I have some Jameson whiskey...pretty funny!

The last couple days of the trip were spent exploring Galway and Connemara. We saw a lot of countryside and the driving got interesting. We're talking roads that are 1.5 lanes wide. So basically when you came head on to another car, one person had to pull over to let the other pass....especially if you came head on to a semi-truck...kind of scary! We got stopped a few times by sheep and cattle crossing the road. There were sheep practically everywhere you looked in Ireland! It surprised me how big the homes are in Ireland...no matter where you were. We stayed at a castle in Connemara which we enjoyed a lot. We somehow managed to score a corner "tower" room, so the room was rounded and huge!

I did better than I thought being away from Nolan. By the time we were on the flight home though I was getting extremely antsy to see him! Nolan had so much fun with Grandma Becky and Grandpa George. Grandpa took him on two stroller rides a day and they did lots of playing and laughing! Dave and I are very grateful that they were willing to come out for the week to watch him.

Nolan is doing great. He says "ma-ma, da-da, and ba-ba" but no real correlation to what they mean. He's starting to learn how to wave hi and bye. He's really enjoying table food and we keep trying new things.

It's hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving already! We're heading to Michigan to visit Dave's Aunt Linda, Uncle Lou, and his cousin Michael.

That's all for now!

Nolan's 1st Halloween

2007-10-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's been fun dressing up Nolan the last couple days in his giraffe costume! We visited Grandma Jeanne's 1st grade classroom yesterday and the kids got a kick out of meeting Nolan. Then we drove over to Great Grandma Hamman's house and she made a fabulous lunch for myself, Grandpa Bob, and Uncle Ryan. Great Aunt Beth also stopped by Great Grandma Hamman's house to visit.

I had to work on Halloween, but Nolan got to be in a costume parade at daycare and he finger-painted a spider! We went trick-or-treating at our next door neighbors' houses when we got home. It was a fun day! Nolan crashed hard...he fell asleep for the night at 7:00.

Nolan amazes us each day with how mobile he is becoming! He is a really fast crawler now and is getting the hang out of cruising along furniture. Anything in Nolan's reach is fair game in his eyes and we really have to be careful as far as what he is grabbing! He really seems to love electronics - whether it be our laptop, power cords, remotes, or the TV!

Less than a week until Dave and I leave for Ireland! We're really excited about the trip! I'm trying not to think about the fact that I won't see Nolan for almost a week. The longest I've been away from him is 24 hours. I know he'll be in great hands though.

Long Week

2007-10-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I updated the site, but the Hurter household has pretty much been out of commission this past week. Last weekend, we all ended up catching the stomach flu. It started with Nolan who I'm convinced got it at daycare and then he gave it to us. Four of the six babies in Nolan's class got the flu the week prior, so I guess it was just a matter of time. And then in addition to me puking and being nauseous, I pinched the sciatic nerve in my lower back on Saturday and by Sunday, I could barely walk and definitely couldn't pick up Nolan. Dave was great and took care of Nolan and everything else while I laid on the couch reeking of Icy Hot! And poor Dave was achy and nauseous this whole time but was in the best shape between the two of us. So Dave and I both took sick days on Monday and sent Nolan to daycare since he seemed to be doing ok. I went to the doctor and she prescribed me Flexeril (muscle relaxer) and Naproxen (for pain) and by Wednesday morning I was feeling much better and went in to work. I pinched my sciatic nerve a couple years ago out of nowhere and I'm really hoping that this isn't a frequent occurrence. Dave and I are completely healthy now, but Nolan is now fighting a cold. It's just one thing after the next!

We were still able to get in some laughs last weekend. On Friday, I asked my mom if she would cut Nolan's hair. She had always cut my brothers' hair growing up and she cuts my Dad's hair to this day. So I thought this will be great. Nolan had another agenda. He was very squirmy and uncooperative. To make a long story short, Nolan ended up looking like he got in a fight with the clippers and the clippers won! He had 80's style "steps" in several different spots. Basically just visible lines all over the place. Plus he ended up having a nearly bald spot on the top of his head! Against my mom's wishes, I had her go back a couple different times to see if we could make it look any better and it just ended up making things worse each time! Looking back, it was pretty funny! So the next day, Dave and I took Nolan to KidSnips and they were able to make everything uniform. So that's why it looks like Nolan has a buzz now! He looks like he should be signing up for the ROTC! It'll grow back...that's what I keep telling myself! =)

We took Nolan to Sonny Acres pumpkin farm today. It was a gorgeous day. We went with our good friends Kevin, Susan, and their son Andrew. Nolan was too little to appreciate the trip, but I think he had fun going in the petting zoo and looking at all the animals.

The fun news around here is that Dave and I booked a trip to Ireland! We found a deal that was just too good to pass up. We're going November 6-12 and it'll be our first trip away from Nolan. Grandma Becky and Grandpa George are coming to our house to watch Nolan. We're really excited about the trip! Dave and I will also get to enjoy a night out next Saturday for my 30th birthday. Anne is coming over to babysit.

Nolan is doing great and he's going to turn 9 months old this week! We have a check-up on Monday. I just noticed a couple days ago that teeth 6 and 7 broke through. Over the last few days all Nolan has been saying is "ma-ma, ma-ma" which of course I'm loving! =) Not that he has made the connection that I'm "mama", but I'll still take it! Nolan is pulling himself to a standing position on pretty much anything that he can get his hands on. And he's starting to "cruise" along furniture.

I'm excited for Halloween...Nolan is going to be a giraffe. Do you think the neighbors will be on to me if I take Nolan trick-or-treating and collect candy? Will they realize that I'm just getting the candy for myself? =)

We hope you're all doing well. Take care and hopefully we'll see you soon!

Watch out world!

2007-10-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's a lot of fun watching Nolan each day as he discovers more about the world around him. Over the past week, he's gone from learning how to crawl to being very close to pulling himself up on furniture and his crib. Looks like we need to move the crib mattress down to the lowest setting! We just recently moved it to the middle setting and I thought that would be fine for awhile. Little did I know! And just over the last couple days, Nolan figured out that the crib is a great teether!!?? Agh! Not the nice new wooden crib! So I bought a crib rail protector that is made of this gummi material specifically for babies to be able to chew on. We'll see if it works. Where is the time going? Nolan is definitely more of a little boy now vs. a baby.

Nolan is on the move!

2007-09-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Nolan turned 8 months old today and crawled for the first time last night (check out the video clips)! Dave and I were so excited...we were both on the ground playing with him when he did it! So that was fun that we both got to see it. Looks like we really need to finish babyproofing the house! We bought three gates, but just need to finish installing them.

Nolan tried his first finger foods this week (Gerber Banana Puffs)...kind of like Cheerios, but they melt in your mouth so he can't choke on them. He's not sure what to make of them. He can pick them up no problem, but doesn't really know how to put them in his mouth to chew. I have no doubt he'll learn very quickly. If I put one in his mouth he'll chomp down on it no problem with his five teeth and will then just sort of gum it for awhile.

I have a feeling that life's about to get a lot more interesting now that Nolan is mobile! He continues to make us laugh each day and he is such a happy boy! Each day definitely brings something new!

Nolan's Baptism

2007-09-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Nolan was baptized today and Grandpa George who is a retired minister helped out with the ceremony. That really meant a lot to us. We were thrilled that so many of our family members were there for Nolan's big day! He is a very loved little boy. Nolan held up really well throughout the day even though the festivities occurred over what is normally naptime. He didn't make a peep during the actual baptism. He amused himself by pulling his shoelace undone from his shoe and playing with/chewing the shoelace the entire time we stood up in front of the church. Everyone was pretty amused by it. Hey...whatever works!

Nolan is lucky to have two wonderful godparents. His godfather is my brother Bob and his godmother is my cousin Anne. Nolan was excited to get lots of kisses today from both sets of grandparents and also both great-grandmas!

Nolan wore the same baptism outfit that Dave wore when he was baptized. Becky made it from the train of her wedding dress! So that was fun!

After the baptism, we had brunch at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton. Nolan crashed the moment we hit the car for the ride back home. He took a two hour nap when we got home. George and Becky will be here on Monday and will watch Nolan while I go to work. It works out great that he'll get to be at home with them and not have to go to daycare. They're heading back to Cincinnati on Tuesday. It's been a great visit. We also had a nice visit with Dave's cousin Michael, his girlfriend Tonia, and her two girls who all came in from Michigan for the baptism. We're really glad that they could be here.

We couldn't have asked for a more special day!