April 2007 (Part 1....Busy Month)

Nolan is 7 Months Old!

For the Spring session of Conference we had a great visit with a whole bunch of Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and Cousins from Kenny's side of the Family. The Blatters from California, the Kurtzes from Richland, Wa and Grandma Jean and Grandpa Norm Wing, and Debbie and Brittany all came to SLC for Conference weekend. Allyson, Kenny, Nolan and I drove up to their SLC hotel to hang out and play for the evening. It was so fun to see everyone and show off our boy-Kenny couldn't have been a prouder Papa that night. Nolan was up to the performance and as you can see in these pictures. He had a great time bonding with his extended family members. Nolan also started making his "Lil Monster Noises" as we call them on Sunday during conference...not sure what inspired them but they are noises that he still makes to this day. They are hard to imitate, it's something that he does in the back of his throat and it usually indicates that he is having a good time. Grandma Debbie, Allyson and Brittany were present to hear them with us...hopefully a fun memory for them as well.

We also spent some time getting to know his Great-Grandma & Grandpa Farnworth-we have visited about once a week and Nolan has gone from being a little unsure about Grandpa and his noises, to (as of the date of this writing June 21st) just smiling or chuckling at Grandpa's growls or yelps as he reaches out to pat him on the face.

Then (April 12) Now (June 8)

Easter Surprises!! Sunday, April 8th, 2007
The Easter Bunny was pretty good to our little one this year. He brought Nolan a little red wagon full of fun toys including his stacker rings....but he saved the candy for Mom & Dad. We got dressed up for church and enjoyed a nice Easter dinner at the Whittaker's house in Springville. Grandma Kenna had an extra special surprise-she'd gotten Nolan a walker/activity center which she had kept a secret for 2 whole weeks! -(Side Note: This was pretty impressive because when it comes to a new thing that Grandma has bought for Nolan, usually it is in his hands the next day or sooner!) He also enjoyed his first Jello Jiggler Easter eggs while the rest of us colored the traditional ones. What a great First Easter! We all had a great time!

We took a trip up to the cabin in Mount Pleasant on April 14th and Nolan had his first ride in an Argo (a 6-wheeled ATV) and surprised us all with a super chatty session during a movie that evening that culminated in him repeatedly saying "Da, da, da, da, da, da".

I must admit, I teared up a little-not because he said Dada first...just because it was made me so happy to have Kenny and my family present for what would become his first words.

Nolan cut his first tooth-the lower front left on Sunday, April 15th. I noticed it when we were getting ready for bed and he was trying to bite on my fingers since that has always been his favorite teething toy. I was surprised to feel something sharp in there!

On Tues. the 17th we went to Allyson's figure skating debut (or final as she called it) and Nolan eagerly watched as I held both him and the video camera in the same arm while I was trying to accurately record the whole performance for her posterity...hope they don't mind a few wiggles in the tape!

Well that will wrap up the first part of April. We had so much happen that I thought it deserved at least two posts to fit everything in.

So on the next posting I'll talk about our first family photos, Kenny & Allyson's Graduation at BYU, our Merrell family trip to Las Vegas to visit with Matt, Val and Naomi, and Nolan's first time in a swimming pool...and this all took place in the last week or so of April! What a crazy, fun month!