Walking!

Collaborators

Now that Nolan is walking and starting to look and act more like a toddler, our lives have turned a bit chaotic. Matthew loves the fact that his little brother can help create mayhem.

Nolan will wait by the couch, and Matthew will seize the opportunity to throw all the cushions on the floor. This is done under the guise of "helping Nolan get on the couch." In reality, it is to provide Matthew with a landing pad for his incredible flying leaps off of the couch.

Nolan will wait by the screen door, and if I leave the room for even one second, Matthew will open the door and let him out. I often return to the family room to find both boys out on the deck!

Since Nolan is 11 months old today, here is a new list of his likes and dislikes.

Nolan likes:

• Toilet paper. The faster it comes off the roll, the better!
• Toilet water. YUCK. We need to buy the kid a water table!
• Putting things into containers, and taking them out again.
• Blueberries. I don't think he could ever get enough of them.
• Splashing in the tub.

Nolan dislikes:

• Separating from mommy.
• Pasta salad.
• Being carried for long periods of time- he wants DOWN!
• Long car rides. He doesn't like his rear-facing carseat and wants to be able to move around.

I have no idea what he weighs or how tall he is, since we lack a scale in our house. He goes in for his 1 year well-baby appointment in early September, so I will update then. I could buy a scale, but I'd almost rather NOT know what I weigh! For other statistics:

• He is walking more and more each day. He took his first steps on July 3, at 10 months old.
• He wears a size 3 diaper and size 12 month clothing.
• He waves bye-bye and claps.
• He signs "more" on a regular basis.
• He has attempted the signs for "ball," "all done," and "milk."
• He babbles "mamama," "dadada," "ldldldld," "bababa," and occasionally, "nanana."

I seriously can't believe we only have one month until his first birthday. These little guys grow up too fast!

Crayons..

For breakfast? Matthew has an entire set of play food (complete with play knife that really "cuts" the food in half), but far prefers cooking non-food items in his toy kitchen.

No one knows what he will choose to do as a career, but I'm pretty sure he won't make it as a chef!

Cook Forest

Nolan steals a straw from a juice box

Matt and his cousin catch tadpoles

Matthew, dirty and happy

We drove to Cook Forest on the 12th, and had a great time meeting up with Dennis's cousin and his family. If we decide to try camping with our little guys in the near future, it will be at this state park in Pennsylvania. It is only 1 1/2 hours away from our house and has a ton of amenities for the little guys. A stocked children's fishing pond (replete with tadpoles and mud), short hiking trails, and easy access to the shallow Clarion River for swimming.

As a side note, when your husband is sent to find a fishing pole for your two year old- make instructions specific! He returned from the store with a real, adult sized fishing pole. Imagine a 2 year old child equipped with a whip-like pole with a hook on the end. He had a great time, but the rest of us were frantically trying to cast the line as far away as possible so that he couldn't hook any of us! We finally took the hook off and just left the bobber on, since he just wanted to cast and reel the line back in ad infinitum.


Nolan was able to hang out on the grass and had a great time stealing bits of oreo cookie and crawling around with relative freedom. Matthew got absolutely filthy from the watermelon, mud, and oreo cookies he ate. This necessitated a quick dip in the river in a vain attempt to get some of the mud off. Mud from this region of Pennsylvania stains, and stains badly!


We will probably head back to Cook Forest later this year to camp, especially if we can get the rest of the family to join us! I have a feeling late summer/early fall would be gorgeous in this region, and Nolan should be walking well by then. Now we just need sleeping bags for the boys!

Tom Erlander Overlook

Turns out you can find really neat places when you explore your own backyard! We took a quick ride to Tom Erlander Overlook Park in Frewsburg today. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but we found a great place for Matthew to run free and a nice hiking trail. The weather was quite nice and we were able to get a lot of new vocabulary words in for Matthew: crab apples, trail blaze, mushrooms (of all different colors), fungus, pond, stream, creek.

We will definitely be returning in the fall!

First Carousel Ride

We took a trip to the Erie Zoo, where Nolan got to ride his first carousel and Matthew was finally able to ride the train. Matthew was in love with the zoo train, and Nolan was very unsure of the carousel. I'm not quite sure why, but being chased by a tiger with his brother on its back was a little unsettling for Nolan!

Next up: Tom Erlander Overview Park and Cook Forest!

Big Rocks

We decided to investigate Panama Rocks, a local geological wonder from when glaciers reigned over Western New York. We had a great time hiking among the big rocks and this place could be billed as "little boy heaven." Matthew loved climbing among the boulders and jumping over tree roots. Nolan fell asleep in my front-pack style carrier after a while, oblivious to the natural wonders. The best thing about hiking in the forest with really big rocks? Everyone takes a long nap after the hike!