I Ain't Gonna Paint no More

This is one of Nolan's favorite books. It is about a boy who likes to paint--well everything!





One day the momma discovered the boy's creation and wasn't so impressed. He was told, "Ya ain't gonna paint no more!" But of course, he listened about as well as a two year old would.

Well, monkey see, monkey do!

OK...OK! Here are the Prego Pics!

I have been telling family and friends that I'd post some prego belly pictures for the last 2 months and I'm just finally getting around to it! Since Nolan is a much better photo subject then either myself or Kenny he usually gets most of the shutter time. But last week Kenny and I finally decided to get some photos of this big belly just in case our little girl also decides to join us earlier than her 40 week due date.

Reflections on my 28 yrs.

When I think of myself, I think that I will always see myself as a 25 year old. By the time I was 25, I was happily married, pregnant with my first child and still oblivious to the upcoming challenges and joys ahead of our little family. Now 3 years later, so much has changed, yet still remains the same. It's just mostly the location of the main events that have taken place-but I still find that our days are filled with the same joy, laughter, frustration, and "character building" experiences that have always occurred whether in Utah or Wisconsin. But the one thing that I am most sure of is that I have chosen the right path for my life. I truly believe that I chose the right partner and embarked on a journey that only he and I could navigate together. The Lord has blessed us with two wonderful children so far, some incredibly supportive parents and siblings, and a group of friends to keep our spirits up when things get tough. So although I have a hard time wrapping my head around being 28yrs old this year, I know that things will only get better and the Lord has much more in store for us from here on out.
On a less serious note, here are a few pictures of my birthday. It was a great day full of phone calls from friends and family, a trip to the children's museum with Nolan, Kenny came home early bearing tulips (my favorite) and took us to the TGI Fridays at Miller Park for dinner and Oscars for Tiramisu custard for dessert. As Nolan put it "mmm...mmm...mmm...nummy....nummy"!

Nolan and I at Miller Park-

Gifts from Kenny & Nolan-a temperature/clock and a book light-I've been wanting these things forever but never think to ask for them-Thanks to Kenny for remembering!




And my gorgeous tulips...

Our funny boy

A day doesn't go by that Nolan doesn't do or say something so funny that I laugh when it happens, and then usually laugh when I tell Kenny or a grandparent about it later. His sense of humor has really developed and he is constantly humoring us with new tricks or sayings. When I get a picture of something really funny, that is just icing on the cake. Here are a few of the highlights.

Here he is modeling his new big boy undies from Grandma Whittaker.



This picture needs a little explanation right? Well, while having quite time in his room while I was making some calls for work I heard him saying "Mommy...ha ha ha...funny" (this was said in a very devious way mind you) I finally gave in and went to see what he was up to. He had discovered his swim diapers and decided to try a few on...he was very proud of the results.


We have always done lots of art projects-mostly finger painting with Nolan, but lately he loves to color or paint or glue anytime we get the chance.


Three months of sub-zero temperatures (ok maybe not every day-but most) will drive you to find entertainment in the simple things.


And finally, sofa cushion forts provide some hair-raising entertainment as well.

Whittaker Parents Visit

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so I'll be going back to December to start. We had a great Christmas and took tons of pictures, but I think we'll just have to save those for our own scrapbook.

I have to post this first picture of myself and
the ultrasound because I remember thinking at the time that my belly was pretty big...hah!! Wait until you see me now!


Here is a great picture of Nolan and his Gramma and Papa Whittaker when they came out to visit just after Christmas...we had a great time!


Since my parents have a Harley, we went to the new Harley Museum downtown to educate ourselves on the history of the all American motorcycle. (On a side note-to Nolan any motorcycle is a Harley)


Afterwards we hit the bar for a nice cold one in our souvenir cups...mmm Sprite...

Christmas Eve Suprise!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
This Christmas Eve had in store a wonderful surprise for our little family. As most of you know we had the ultrasound of our baby last week, but decided to have the nurse seal up the photo of the gender of our baby in an envelope and we would not open that until Christmas Eve. Well, it's been a long 7 days later and I'll admit I've actually lost some sleep over that envelope tucked into our Christmas tree containing vital details to my future! But it was worth the wait, and also really quite exciting!
When we FINALLY sat down on the couch last night we asked Nolan if he thought the baby would be a boy or a girl, his reply was "it's a girl"... AND HE WAS RIGHT!!!
We're having a girl!
We're so excited! Kenny is a little shocked-and has already started talking about buying a shotgun for when she starts dating! I had thought this baby was a girl all along, until the day of the ultrasound and after watching how wiggly and jumpy the baby was I was convinved I was having another boy! I was really getting used to the idea though, we'd have the ultimate little boy's room and not have to buy too many new clothes we'd be all set.
Oh well, Break out the student loans-we're going BABY GIRL shopping!

Breakfast anyone?

This lion and elephant was a gift to Nolan from Aunt Allyson. They sometimes don't get along though, and Nolan has to put them in time out because the lion will bite the elephant's trunck or attack him in a not so nice manner (He'll tell the lion "No bites!" and then make him give the elephant a kiss better). This morning though things were going pretty well, and all three of them were having some "nummies" together. Nolan thought it was very nice to share, so each glob you see in front of the animals is their yogurt, and his grin shows just how proud he is of himself.


I also wanted to show his method for drinking hot chocolate...it's very effective.

Thanksgiving Break

We had been counting down to our Thanksgiving break for about a month. Kenny had been SOOO busy with school exams and tutoring etc. that we all just really wanted some time to inhale as a family.
So we decided the Weds before to take a little day trip to Lake Geneva about 60 miles from our house. It was a nice, chilly day and it was a beautiful little ride to remind us that not everywhere in Wisconsin is city. Nolan slept in the car for the first time in a VERY long time (he likes the car ride a lot more since we got our van). Lake Geneva is a nice little town-I think it may be more of a retirement community/tourist trap, but definitely worth a look.
We visited the lake, fed some ducks and took a little walk and had dinner at McDonalds. Nothing too exciting, but it was still really nice.



We spent Thanksgiving dinner with some close friends hosted by John and Karisa McAllister. Everyone brought a few yummy dishes to share and the food was fantastic-but the company was better. Here is the only picture that was taken of the group-thanks to Karisa for being smart enough to have her camera!Too bad we don't have a picture of her though! In the photo are: Todd, Jessica & Malia Pitts, John, Garrett, Kenny & Echo,and Chelsea & Matt Rowan. Nolan and Isabel Rowan are in their repectable seats to the side of the table.

Once there was a snowman...

Nolan is very excited about the snow this year, and after a nice snowfall on Nov. 23rd, we decided to go have some fun. The snow was perfect for snowman building, so Nolan and I built our first snowman together (with him actually helping this time). We had him built in just a few minutes and found some rocks and sticks for his face and arms. Nolan had lots of fun playing with our new friend and would only leave him when his fingers got cold enough through the gloves that he kept saying "It hurts...it hurts...". Thankfully, hot chocolate helped cure that though. Later that day we had to run some errands and when we came home the head had fallen off of the snow man, of course that was the first thing Nolan noticed and we quickly rebuilt him almost to his original glory. We continued to do that each day when little parts of him would disappear, like an eye or nose or ear. Eventually he melted and it's just been too cold since to go out and build a new one. But don't worry, Frosty will be back again to play some day!





A few more modifications....


Perfect!

Hide-n-Seek

Nolan has been learning some new games and doing more and more pretend play lately. He likes to take his trucks, trains, cars and anything with wheels and make long trains with them-he's always very proud of his results.



Another new game is Hide-n-seek, here are some pictures from our first lesson, it was pretty successful. See if you can find him in these photos....it's pretty tricky-Good luck!