My Boys

The above is a picture that i took of my two boys one evening this week. Nolan can be quite fussy in the early evening and to give me a break from feeding (which often seems to be the only way to soothe the child) Kevin swaddled Nolan and began singing softly in his ear. Now I'm not exactly sure what song it was (it could have been a DMB song or one of the many songs that he makes up special for Nolan) but whatever it was it put Nolan right to sleep. Doesn't he look so sweet!?!?!? I love seeing these special moments of father and son...melts my heart every time. Kevin is such an amazing dad and you can tell that Nolan loves his daddy so much already. Kevin has taken an active role in taking care of Nolan right from the beginning and for this I am very grateful. I often wonder what I would do if kevin wasn't here or willing to help in caring for Nolan. I love both of my boys so much and can't wait for all the moments that we will get to spend the three of us, just me and nolan, and for the special moments that kevin will get to spend with his son.

Nolan's 1st Trip up North

Ok, so here are some pictures from our amazing visit up north. We spent the first Friday at Kevin's mom's. We enjoyed a chili dinner with them and relaxing in the evening. On Saturday we went to the Mennonite Relief Sale where we ate lots of yummy food (oh the apple fritters!!:)) and ran into lots of friends and family. On Sunday we went to church where we only spent about a total of 15 minutes in the service but Nolan was quite the hit after church meeting lots of our Waterford Mennonite family. During the week we spent a lot of time hanging out at my mom's house. We made little trips out to visit friends and family. One of our trips out was to my cousin Carrie's house where we had lunch and met her son Tyson who was born not even two weeks after Nolan. We were able to take some pictures of the 4 of us and look forward to watching these two little guys grow-up together at family gatherings. Other visits included going to see great grandpa Gingrich, visiting my friend Nichole and her darling children Jackson and Avenlea, Laura Myers and her son Luke (who loves babies and giving them kisses) came by my mom's one afternoon, and having dinner with Mary and Emery (unofficial grandparents). The last weekend we were there was spent celebrating Matt and Erin's wedding. Kevin was the best man so he and I went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday while Nolan stayed at my mom's where he was taken care of by his grandma, great grandma, uncle Jeff and Britta. Saturday was the beautiful wedding. Nolan again stayed at my mom's during the ceremony and then I picked him up to take him to the reception. He did really well during the reception except for the part when he cried all the way through Kevin's speech! :) He slept most of the time even with all the loud music and being passed between friends. On Sunday Kevin (along with some help from others) cooked a wonderful lunch which we shared with Kevin's mom and dad. I believe there were 13 of us (including Nolan) around the table that afternoon. All in all it was a great trip with lots of wonderful memories that of course went by way too quickly.

Four Generations

Visiting great grandpa

Nolan with Laura and Luke

Meeting Tyson

Tyson and Nolan were not excited about taking more pictures

First time having a bath being put directly into the water (didn't like it at first but he warmed up to it). This is now part of our new nightly routine.

We like uncle jonny

Jon's girlfriend Rachael

Where Nolan slept at Grandma Sue's :)

Cousin Helen who traveled over with Grandma...great to see her again!!

Bottle Frustrations

I promise to post more about our wonderful week up in Goshen with lots of pictures but right now I need to share my frustrations and stress with the bottle. Last week while we were in Goshen we decided that it was time that we start to introduce Nolan to the bottle. We felt that this was a good time since it would give us 3 weeks before I went back to work and might also allow me to participate in more of Matt and Erin's wedding weekend activities. The first few days we tried we didn't have much luck...lots of screaming. We tried different bottles, different nipples and my mom talked to a lactation consultant at Goshen hospital...finally last Thursday night I was able to get him to take a bottle after baiting him in with the breast. Friday night I went to the rehearsal dinner with Kevin leaving Nolan at my mom's where he successfully took a bottle. He again took a bottle on Saturday and Sunday when we got home, which was the last bottle he took. I'm starting to stress out because I have to go back to work in a week and a half and next week I have a two day training when he will need to be fed with a bottle. I never thought that getting him to take a bottle would be so difficult. It makes me think that maybe we should have started earlier, although we were told not to use a bottle or pacifier until 3-4 weeks to establish breastfeeding. We have tried getting him to use a pacifier at times as well, which he also did for a few days but has refused again today. I don't want to get him completely confused and I hate hearing him cry so hard while Kevin tries to give him a bottle. I just want to know that he is going to be ok while I'm gone. I already am not looking forward to leaving him to go back to work and him not taking a bottle is making the thought even more difficult. Your prayers and suggestions on this concern would be greatly appreciated.