Nolan's New Experiences

Nolan has been developing at such a rapid pace it's incredible the things that he does every day. I just wanted to post a few of the fun photos that I've taken since we've moved here so that you all can see how big our little guy is getting.

He's discovered the "take it out" game so I've made sure to leave a box of old tupperware out so that he can help Mommy "unpack", however when I hear him grunting I know that he's reached for something just a little too far down in the box and needs some help getting out!

We've made some new friends with some other little kids and it's been so fun to watch how he interacts with kids close to his age.

He spends his days actively moving from one toy to the next, cruising along the couches and standing up next to my little asian end table and trunk-they are just the right size. He's playing with his shape sorters and his tent and the little corner over by the fireplace are his favorite things right now, but they might change by tomorrow.

Our little guy is doing great and we're loving every minute with him.

Hello Wisconsin!!

Hi Everyone!

I know that we've been forever in getting a post, and our friend Steve Forsey has been sending me "polite" reminder emails about an update so here's a quick one to bring us somewhat up to date!

We got here on August 9th and Kenny spent his 26th birthday (the 10th) unloading our ABF UPACK truck into a big 'ol Uhaul truck and then uloading the Uhaul truck into our 2nd floor duplex! He had some help from some great guys in our Branch here in Milwaukee, thank goodness for friends in the church! We also need to thank my family for helping us pack up and especially Dad, Lance & Jason for all of the countless hours that they spent getting us loaded from one trailer, to another and getting our cars repaired and ready for the drive out here. We love you guys and can't tell how much we appreciated it!

The first weeks here were fun-however very hot and humid-we were not expecting that!Kenny started Med school orientation, and David, Debbie and Brittany made the 1460 mile treck across the country to visit us for about a week. The white coat ceremony that the school held to honor the first year med students was awesome and really made us feel great about finally getting to this point in our lives!

We were so grateful to have David, Debbie and Brittany here-it made the adjustment quite a bit easier for all of us!

We really like our new house and are making friends quickly. There are about 10 LDS guys plus families in Kenny's M-1 class alone, and a lot more in the M-2, M-3, M-4 classes as well. We go to the City Branch and are really liking it a lot-we expect to be getting some new callings soon and look forward to getting to know the church members and missionaries in the area.

We're settling in really well to the area and look forward to the new friends and experiences that will be coming up for us. We do however miss all of our family and friends back at home, we think of everyone often.

But for now we've got a lot to keep us busy, Kenny has got lots to study at school, and I've got a crawling, climing, curious little boy to keep me on my toes. Life is pretty great right now.

May 2007-Part 2

The Debut of the "Wiggle Worm"! We recorded a great video of Nolan "wiggling" on command and we've posted it on our YouTube account. Here's the link and login information: http://youtube.com/watch?v=xZKHJAelWHk

Username: nolankm Password: sept16

*You have to log in and go to My Account/My Videos to view-we didn't want the whole world to see them-just you guys.

Noan was sick for the first time from May 20th-25th he had a high fever of about 101-102 degrees and was just a miserable little boy until his fever finally broke on the 23rd and then the next day he broke out in a rash. A visit to the Dr. had diagnosed it has a "Viral tummy bug", but both Grandma's Whittaker and Merrell said that it sounded like Roseola once they heard his symptoms and I'll have to say-the grandmas made the better diagnosis this time because that was exactly what it was!

Memorial Day Weekend 2007

Nolan started feeling better just in time for the much anticipated Memorial Day trip to the cabin. We headed up early on Thursday with my parents and then Kenny came up Saturday after he'd finished up work on his master's research. Nolan had started to do more "Revving" as we called it in preparation to start crawling. On one particular "Rev" he reached out for Beagsly's tail, and as you can see from the look on his face he was quite shocked that he got it, as well as not sure what to do with it after he did!

He had his first bath in the cabin tub and thought that it was really fun.

Nolan learned how to run on the deck in his walker.

Played in his pack-n-play outside with his bandanna on to protect from the bugs.

He discovered pine needles:

and chipmunks....

and watched the big boys hard at work....

But the most exciting event of all was when he learned how to kick a ball! Sunday afternoon Kenny was helping Nolan play catch with Jason & Heidi and he surprised everyone when he lifted up his left leg and kicked the ball back to them several times in a row. That was also followed by giggles and lots of adult cheers! He has since then learned how to kick a ball all the way down our hallway, and also uses the kick mechanism to approach Beaglsy or the cats Boris and Natasha...oh well, all good soccer players like to kick things right??

May 2007

Nolan is 8 Months old!


May was such a fun month for our family-we did a lot of fun things and made some great memories. It started with taking Nolan to a couple of local parks and letting him swing and walk around the bark dust on the playground....and digging out the chunks that made it into his mouth in the nanosecond that I looked away. He started wearing shorts and sandals and we found out how hard it was going to be to keep shoes on his skinny little feet!


First time in a swing!!


Wresting with Daddy


Lunch Break with Grandma Whitt


Saturday May 12th, 2007
We had a Bomfire/BBQ up in Hobble Creek canyon with some friends, the Forsey's, Gibb's, & Timpson's. That was the first campfire Nolan had seen, and his first time wearing bug spray-they were pretty thick until we got the blaze a-goin. It was the rescheduled annual Cinco-de-Mayo bomfire that the Forsey's always sponser, but the large furniture was replaced with a truck full of firewood instead. It was a great time and probably the last Cinco-de-mayo bomfire that we'll all get together to celebrate for a while. The Forsey's are moving to Pocatello, ID in Aug. for Steve's Audiology degree so we'll all be apart for the first time....we're so glad to have made so many special memories with such great friends over the years. We're really going to miss each other.

Kenny, Nolan, Jonah, Steve, Nate, & Jason


Anita, Tera, Echo & Mandy



May 14th- Happy Birthday Grandma Whitt!
For my mom's birthday they always decorate their cubicles at her work, usually themed from something that the employee likes, or a hobby that they have mentioned. Well this year Mom had said something about liking Johnny Depp as a Pirate in the Disney movies and so the theme for her cubicle was pirates. Needless to say when I found this out I thought that it would be fitting for a pirate that is far cuter than Johnny Depp to pay her a visit. I was pretty impressed how easily my little pirate costume came together for Nolan, a head wrap from me, a necktie from Kenny and a little eyeliner mustache and "shiver me timbers" you've got an awesome little pirate. Mom was suprised and once again Nolan made the rounds to every person in the office so that he could effectively be shown off.

Part 3...Las Vegas Baby!

April 28th, 2007

We all piled into the Dodge Durango that David had rented for the trip and headed for Vegas! We left early (5:20am to be exact) so that it would be easier for Nolan since he would still want to sleep and so would the rest of us really. Kenny and David chatted pretty much the whole 5 hours-as they do whenever they are together I've come to learn, while the "Girls" snacked, slept and played with Nolan. We got to Vegas about noon just in time for Val, Matt & Naomi to get back from the Triathlon that Val had raced in earlier that morning which was the reason that we all gathered in Vegas.

It was so fun to see the two cousins interact-Nolan hadn't really spent much time with other kids at this point-but he was sure curious about Naomi. We were sharing a room with Matt and Val; David, Debbie, Allyson and Brittany were in the room next to us. When it finally came time for naps for both kids and especially Val, little Naomi just had too many people to watch instead of sleep and so finally she ended up taking her nap at "Grandma's place" so that poor Val could try to get a power nap in. Which was completely fine by them and they had a lot of fun with her.

Before the naps we went to Applebee's for lunch-Val's parents Edward and Connie were there as well-it was really fun to see them again. While at lunch Nolan started getting fussy and this was before we had tried too many finger foods with him-so Matt and Val introduced us to Naomi's "puffs" and Nolan has become a huge fan of them ever since then. However, in a moment of curiosity, or incredible talent he decided to "amuse" us with a magic trick. It went a little something like this: Debbie was holding him, he spotted Allyson's french fries resting nicely on a checkered red/white paper liner on her plate and he thought it would be amazing to see what they looked like in her lap....viola!! Fries in lap and all over table...adults scrambling to clean it up...Me embarrassed & now walking Nolan outside for a "breather"...now do you see the magic trick? Nolan wanted to get out of that booth and go outside....Nolan got it. Amazing.

After the fun at the restaurant we went to visit Cousin Angie, and her two boys Carter and Jensen-we had a really nice visit and got to play with Carter for a while and chat with Angie. I got to hold little Jensen, and I was amazed to be reminded how small newborn babies are and he was still around 8 or 9lbs (I think).. Nolan was 6lbs when he came home from the hospital but they both felt so tiny. They all were doing well and getting ready to move in August for more school as well-so we were really glad to get to see them before they move farther away.

Later that night we went to the Buffet at Palace Station and had a pretty good meal and had fun watching the babies smile at each other. They seemed to be getting along quite well...little did we know what was about to follow. After dinner Val and I wanted to get the kids back to the hotel to get to bed so Kenny volunteered to drive us in the Durango while the rest went with Matt to tour down the strip and stop at the Excalibur hotel for Princess Brittany.

*Before we left the Palace Station...happy little campers

We loaded the kids up and decided to take the drive down the strip as well on the way back to the hotel. The kids both watched with wide eyes at all of the lights and were happy and cheerful...until we reached the end of the strip when it got dark outside and their sleepiness started to settle in. Naomi started to whimper softly so Val started to sing to her...wasn't seeming to help and she was getting a bit louder to compete with the singing...Nolan was starting to get a little unsure about the noises that were coming out of little Naomi and he starting to fuss and whimper as well. Now it is hard to imagine the next 15 mins unless you were lucky enough to be there, but just give it a try. Both babies are wailing...I mean wailing...both Moms are trying-in vain-to calm her child by singing and reassuring...just as it starts to calm one of the babies, the other one starts up again and restarts the other one and it just gets worse and worse, and Kenny is trying to get to the hotel as safely and quickly as possible all the while trying not to laugh since it was only okay to laugh at the situation for the first 5 mins, but has now been instructed by Echo that "IT IS NOT FUNNY-THEY ARE REALLY SCARED!" and this whole thing finally culminates at the parking lot of the hotel when we get each child out of their car seat and into their respective Mommy's arms...and then we are met with smiles and sniffles. Insane....but now that I look back at it, I guess it was kinda funny.

Well I've done so much typing I'd better quickly get on with the rest of the trip. Sunday morning we decided to take the kids (and Brittany of course) swimming in the hotel pool. It was Nolan's first time so it had to be well documented. He loved it, and started kicking his feet before they hit the water. We played and played and by the end of time in the pool he was just kicked back on my shoulder sucking on his fingers and lounging in the "waves".

After the swim we put the cousins in the tub together and got them all cleaned up and ready to head for home.

It was a great trip and we made some really fun memories. Thanks to Val for being such a trooper and racing in the triathlon that brought the family together!

April 2007 Part 2

Okay Folks, Here's part 2 of April as promised.

On Tues. April 23rd we had our first family portraits taken. We picked the 11am slot to hopefully fit it in between naps or eating and we ended up quite successful. We had a pretty good time, our photographer wasn't the greatest-but thankfully Nolan was a very cooperative subject. Here is a few of some of the photos that we liked. We ordered quite a few, but the funniest thing was that my Mom went ahead and pretty much ordered every portrait taken (we had a $2.99 per sheet deal) except like 4 poses. Ha ha! What a proud 1st time Grandma!

Awww...what a good looking group!

This is definitely a favorite!

One more...cause they don't get much cuter than this!


Now on to BYU Graduation!! Friday April 27th, 11am

David, Debbie and Brittany drove down yet again to Utah for the occasion and stayed with us which is always fun because we get so much more visiting time in. The last time that they had seen Nolan was in January for his blessing and he was a much more active and funny boy now! It was great to watch him interact with everyone and share his happy personality. We were excited about Graduation-but more for Allyson's sake than for Kenny's. Again this graduation would take place and we'd take all of the pictures and go through the motions, but Kenny would be back to school or in the lab the following Monday. Someday I hope, for my husband's sake, that he'll actually feel the accomplishment and have a week or two off from being the hardest working guy I know. I'd love to see him do nothing for a week but mountain bike, workout on his Bowflex and hang out with Nolan and I....hmm maybe someday.

Despite this, Graduation was really fun! It was great to have Allyson and Kenny in the same department and be able to see them both walk at the same ceremony. Brittany even did quite well when the crowd cheered, better than Nolan did-however he was sound asleep when a loud group sounded off and totally un-nerved him. But when the surrounding people saw his reaction they warned us when they were about to cheer for their graduate...which was very considerate I thought. After the ceremony we attended the department lunch and chatted with some of their professors, it was fun to meet the people that you hear about often-especially when they are all dressed up in their regalia as well. We took some fun pictures so here are a few.

Allyson, Prof. Chin Yo Lin and Kenny

The 3 Graduates of 2007!

David and Debbie are so proud! :)

This is how Grandma Debbie got Nolan to be happy during the last part of Graduation...she tickle, tickle, tickled his back!! Obviously it worked!

Well, apparently I've met my allowed photo MB size for the eBlogger website, so I guess there will be a part 3 for April of 2007!

To be continued....

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!

March 2007

Nolan is 6 Mos Old!

March was a very exciting month for our family-especially for Nolan. He had even more firsts to enjoy! We began learning how much of a social boy Nolan was going to be. Giggles weren't too hard to come by and he was pretty smiley when encouraged just slightly. He was also a lot more agreable to playing on his tummy and willing to lift his head and watch people or toys for longer periods of time. But that was only the beginning of the firsts he would accomplish by the end of the month.

On Thursday March 8th,we started him on his first solid foods after finally getting the okay from his doctor. Watery rice cereal was first on the menu, and as you can see in the pictures he knew what he was supposed to do, however the cereal was definitely something new....

We also started to teach him how to drink out of a regular cup (which he prefers) and a sippy cup. He started grabbing his toes on March 10th, and then he started to sit up by himself on Monday, March 19th and then wonder of wonders...he rolled over for the first while we were hanging out with Jason and Alannah at our house. He was reaching for his toy dump truck that his Grandma Merrell had given him for Christmas and rolled over to grab it. Of course he was as suprised as we were and then stared at amazement when the 4 adults started cheering and clapping. That is a funny thing about being a parent...getting so excited about something that will just become common activity in the upcoming weeks ahead.