the eleventh month

My baby is 11 months old! Crazy! Whats even crazier is that he is walking around like a full blown toddler. I'm definitely not ready to have a toddler! He is growing up too fast! I swear he is getting so long and lanky these days. I measured him today and he was about 29in long and 22lbs. He has thinned out quite a bit though. He is definitely losing his baby chub.

As I mentioned, Nolan is walking this month! He starts out walking wherever he plans to go. But when he falls, he just keeps crawling. I have yet to see him stand up without holding onto something, so maybe that is part of the problem. Oh, well. He'll get it soon enough! :)

Nolan loves his food, he will eat anything and everything. We always feed him part of what we're eating (with the exception of dairy because I think he is still pretty sensitive to it) and he LOVES it all! He loves flavorful food and will even eat things that are a little bit spicy. He has also somehow figured out which things are food and will hand me granola bars and things he's never eaten before and want me to open them. He also loves to get into the food pantry and will go pick out some baby food when I tell him to. :)

Nolan uses a sippy cup of water but can also drink from a straw and a cup with our help. He especially loves drinking out of water bottles and will beg for some water if he sees me drinking from one. :)

Nolan loves to communicate with his hands. He waves hi and bye, beckons when he wants something from us, and points at things he's looking at. It is actually really funny. He takes a little while to warm up to most people. I think he is trying to decide whether he likes them or not. But if they are smiling and waving and him, he just points at them. :) It is hilarious to Scott and me and luckily most people think its cute!

Nolan loves to take baths and play in the water.

He is tentative about grass (its been forever since we've seen any- we're definitely enjoying the weather here in Phoenix!).

He loves his mama and will only cuddle with me (sometimes, and for only about 30 seconds, but I'll take what I can get!). When he does, I'll usually say "aw, how sweet Nolan!" so now, he'll come over to me and lay his head on me and say awwww, awwww"). Its the cutest thing! :)

And, he is getting really great with his schedule. He always knows when its time to eat and he knows that after his second nap, Dad comes home! He usually goes and bangs on the front door calling for his dada!

One of the best things about this stage is that he can understand so much of what I tell him and he is starting to communicate back to me. The other day I ask him if he needed his diaper changed and he went right into his room and over to his changing table. He also imitates my "all done?" at meal time with an "ah-duh" if he's through! I'm so excited for when he really starts talking and letting me know whats going on inside his head!

 I love this little guy so much and I can't imagine my life without him!

march resolution: spriritual health

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but I've been pretty busy during Nolan's nap times right now and its hard to get anything done on the computer while he's awake. :)

Our new ward (congregation) here in Phoenix has set goals for each month of the year. I decided to take the challenge and devote this month to my spirituality. Of course, I hope to maintain these goals in the future as well.

This month, I'm specifically working on creating daily habits. I plan to read my scriptures and pray every single day (and I haven't missed one yet!). I also want to work on getting better at seeking inspiration and following the promptings I receive. It is also my goal to get to the temple this month. Hopefully we can find a baby sitter... or we might just have to take turns so that Scott and I can both have a chance! :)

I guess the ward really wanted to help me with my goal, because they have already given us an assignment to speak in Sacrament Meeting. I have devoted some of my study time this past week to preparing my talk. My topic is teaching the youth righteous habits. Let me know if you have any great ideas I can incorporate! :)

february celebrations

It seems like most people don't like February very much. I guess its because its dark and cold in many parts of the world. But I LOVE February. :) Not only is it the month of love, but it is also my birthday month. Sometimes I wish it wasn't such a short one!

Valentine's Day::

This year we didn't do much celebrating. Valentine's day was just a few days after we arrived in Phoenix and we had a lot of things to get done. We were lucky enough to have my mom with us that day though and she was kind enough to babysit so we could go see a movie. I decided I wanted to watch something a little bit romantic/chick flick-y so we went to see Safe Haven which is based on a book by Nicholas Sparks. It was pretty good, but as always a little but cheesy and fairly predictable. Also, Scott gave me a giant Reese's Peanut Butter heart. So I can't complain much on that front. :)

My Birthday::

My birthday was on a Friday this year so we ended up celebrating most of the weekend. Scott surprised me by coming home during his lunch hour on Friday. AND, he brought me a flour-less chocolate cake from a local bakery and then for dinner we went to Chili's.

Scott let me sleep in on Saturday morning and then after Nolan's morning nap we decided to do a little exploring around Phoenix. We were trying to decide between visiting the Phoenix Zoo and Papago Park. We choose to go to Papago and take a little hike/explore the area. When we got the there, we realize the Zoo is literally right next door to Papago! Ha! We didn't go to the Zoo, but we'll have to check it out soon. We spent a few hours there going on a small hike, eating a picnic lunch, and watching the ducks by the lakes. It was fun and free!

This is what we hiked.

I don't know if you can tell, but there are a couple of lakes in the background, surrounded by palm trees.

Not the best picture of me, but oh well. :)

Later that night, Scott made me a nice steak dinner with mashed potatoes, asparagus, and artisan bread. It was very tasty!