want, need, wear, read

As per my previous post, we have decided to limit our Christmas gifts to four items that fit in the categories: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. Below are some of the things we want that fit in each category!

WANT:

Scott is really excited to get the last game in his favorite video game trilogy!

Since  laptop died about a year ago, I've been having to wait until Scott gets home if I need to use a laptop. Since I started my new job, I really need access to a computer more often. ...AND it would be really nice to have a new laptop! :)

Nolan gets excited about any new toy. I get excited about these colorful wooden toys. I'm all for getting Nolan something wooden instead of plastic so that it has less chemicals and will last longer! I love this cute little crane and block set from Ikea. The blocks have magnets on them so they can be picked up by the crane.

NEED:

I have started cutting Scott's hair to save a little money. We have some clippers but no shears. We've been using regular scissors and to be honest it's just not cutting it! Scott needs some real shears!

I need a foam roller to help me stretch out my leg muscles. My brother Nathan has one that I tried out and it is so much better than the stretches I learned in physical therapy!

Nolan has just about outgrown his infant car seat...and we will be returning it to my sister-in-law who is having a baby in January. We will be getting him a convertible car seat so we can keep him rear facing hopefully until he turns two.

WEAR:

Scott would like some new dress slacks for work.

I would love this cute necklace engraved with Nolan's name. And I can add more when I have more kids!

Scott picked out this superhero shirt for Nolan to grow into!

READ:

Scott is looking forward to reading the final book in the Wheel Of Time series!

I'd really like to read this book by an American mother about the great ideas she learned about French parenting.

Nolan loves lift the flap books. I'd love to get him any flap book about Christmas.

 SANTA:

This year, Santa will be bringing Nolan this cute little rocking moose! :)

simplifying christmas

I LOVE Christmas! It is one of my absolute favorite times of the year. I love all of the Christmas decorations, all the Christmas music, all the feel good movies (even the Hallmark ones!). I love baking and I love all of the treats I only make at Christmas time. I love getting the perfect gift for someone and I love doing service for others. There are so many opportunities to do good this time of year, but I think there are also so many opportunities to give in to commercialization and to turn the holidays into a time of greed.

I am SO excited to have Nolan around for Christmas this year! Something about having my own "tiny tot" has made the season even more exciting! Scott and I have been talking a lot about trying to make the Christmas season about getting rather than receiving. We don't want to spoil our kids with presents; we want to teach them the true meaning of the season.

So... we've decided on a few things we want to do to minimize the worldliness of the season. We want to start by setting a limit on gifts. We decided that each year our kids will get a stocking and one present from Santa. As parents, we will give them each four gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. We will probably also to a Christmas Eve family gift box every year that will include pajamas, a Christmas book, maybe a Christmas movie, hot chocolate, and maybe another fun treat. We will probably make these different every year. We feel like this will be PLENTY of gifts since they will also get things from their grandparents and cousins.

We also want to make sure that we do some sort of service project every year. We really want to emphasize how important it is to help others. Scott and his siblings decided last year that instead of getting gifts for each other, they wanted to donate the money they would have spent to a good cause. We ended up buying gifts for a family in my sister in laws ward. I'm not sure what we're going to do this year, but I would really like to help out some of the families in our ward as some sort of service project.

Anyway, I'm really excited about the ideas we've come up with although they will probably change over the years as we adapt to our growing family.

the eighth month

Nolan turned eight months old yesterday! Part of me can't believe he is already eight months and the other part feels like he's been a part of our family for so much longer! Here are a few things that have developed over the past month:

Nolan has become SO mobile. He loves to crawl all over the place and usually follows me wherever I go. Most people talk about how awful it is when they become mobile, but I like that he can get around by himself and find things to play with - except when he gets into things he shouldn't. :) We're learning to always keep the bathroom doors closed and to keep anything we don't want him getting into off of the floor.

Not only is this little guy crawling like a champ, he is also pulling himself up onto his feet on anything and everything. He will take a few steps while holding onto furniture, but he usually gets down and crawls since its faster. He loves to walk if we hold his hands though!

The past couple weeks have been rough around here. Scott brought home a cold that I got from him and then gave to Nolan. Just as that was clearing up, Nolan caught another bug during Thanksgiving. He ended up with a fever for a few days and is now left with congestion and a cough. I think he might have croup so we've been keeping him away from any other little kids. He also gave me this cold so we've both been home sick.

Despite his illnesses, Nolan is a pretty happy guy most of the time. He has been babbling up a storm over here! He says "dada" all the time, but I'm not sure he knows what he is saying quite yet. He is always repeating the sounds I make though and it sounds like he is trying to say different words like "okay" and "alright". I can't wait for him to start talking to us!

Chasing Pookie around :)

 Nolan has learned to give kisses! It is my favorite thing! All you have to do is pucker up and say "can I have a kiss?" and he leans in and gives you a big sloppy open mouthed kiss! Its the best! :)

Nolan also got his first two teeth this month! Two little ones on the bottom. We definitely have to watch out now because he likes to bite our fingers!

Trying to see himself in the mirror

This month we moved him from three naps to two and it has been so much better! He used to take 3 naps that were 30-45 minutes. Now he takes two naps a day that are at least an hour if not 1.5-2 hours. It is SO much easier for me to get things done when I have two hours at a time!

Napping in mom's bed!

We have also been making SO much progress in finding out what Nolan is allergic to so that we can eliminate them from his (and my) diet. As I have started to eliminate things, his eczema has finally started clearing up! Yay! Nolan is definitely allergic to tomatoes. I actually think that he is allergic to an antioxidant in tomatoes called Lycopene. It is what makes tomatoes red. Lycopene is also in some other foods like watermelon, apricots, guava, red grapefruit, and asparagus. So...although its limiting our diets, at least now I know what to avoid. Here's to hoping his skin gets a lot better and he starts sleeping better!

Playing with dad's tape measure!