Nolan is getting Big

Nolan is getting big right before our eyes. Not only can he roll from his tummy to his back,  he also can hold his head up high,

Plays so hard is his exersaucer that he falls asleep,

 and have his own baby friends.

 He still loves cuddling with his big brothers though. 

and the littlest one rolled over.....

Here is some video of Nolan's newest trick!

Thanksgiving Program Times 2

On Monday Tyler had his Thanksgiving program. I picked Carter up from Moms Morning Out as he insisted to go. Tyler was an Indian and sang along to the two songs they performed. They then enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving feast.  On Tuesday Carter had his and I picked Tyler up early from school as he insisted to go. Carter was a pilgrim and did very well too. Tyler had been in other singing programs before, but Carter really hadn't. For the first song he mainly just did the hand motions and then he sang along for the second song. He then enjoyed his Thanksgiving feast as well. I enjoyed both of my feasts as well. I will try to add video soon.

Carter's Funny Sayings

So every time we are in the car the boys ask to play Christmas music (there is a station that has been playing it non stop since the second week of November). Justin really doesn't like Christmas music so he usually tells the boys no. Carter asked if he didn't like Christmas music because it was too "Chrissy".

Carter likes to name things. But its how he does it that make me chuckle. His pumpkin was named "Pump", the yellow car he picked out is named "Yell", the porcupine on one of Nolan's shirt is names "pork". You get the idea.  

"Never do that again" is Carter's new favorite phrase. The best time he ever used it was at Tyler's wrestling practice. Tyler had an accident (which is unheard of for Tyler - still don't know what happened) and so that he could keep wrestling we were going to change him into the shorts he got for being in the club. However these are mesh shorts so he needed to wear underwear with them. We didn't have a spare pair with us so we had Carter take his off and let Tyler wear them. Carter did not like this at all and yelled in the bathroom "I  am NEVER going to share MY underwear AGAIN!!!". He is always making me laugh - love him.

This and That

Just some happenings around the Pederson house lately:

• Carter is taking swimming lessons again. For the third time he is taking Pro I (the lowest level) because before he wouldn't put his face in the water for more than 5 seconds. After his second class his teacher told us he is doing great and should be in Pro II next time - finally!! Unfortunately the place were we take their lessons will be closing in January because of city budget cuts - oh well.
• Nolan went on yet another feeding strike where he would only eat 2 ounces a bottle and would happily go 5-6 hours between feeding. We went back to the doctor and they put him on Prevacid. I am hoping this works, because with less eating comes not sleeping as long at night.
• Both Tyler and Carter had their dental appointments last week and both did great. They have great teeth with no cavities - always good news!
• I have been meaning to give an update on the bunk beds. Tyler still will not sleep on the top bunk. However, they are now happily sharing the bottom bunk and they go to bed and stay in bed just fine. I think this has more to do with the fact that they no longer take naps than anything else. 
• I have started the process of looking into Kindergartens for Tyler next fall. It makes me very sad to do this - I can't believe he is already so big.
• Nolan now plays in his exersaucer. He doesn't like to be in it longer than 10 minutes or so but he is happy in it why I make breakfast or dinner. 
• We cleaned out the downstairs family room of all Tyler and Carter's little toys and put them in their bedroom. So far I must say they are doing a very good job of cleaning up and keeping it pretty neat. They are also doing a good job of keeping the little toys out of the rooms that Nolan is in (I am trying to train them early before it comes an issue). Now the family room is filled with baby toys. So far Tyler and Carter are enjoying all the "new" toys.  
• The boys went out and used some of their chore money to buy toys for kids who don't have any. We then dropped the toys off at a toy drive. I am hoping by them using their own money and picking out the gift themselves they will get the purpose of it a little more. They also got to use some money to buy themselves a toy as well. The rest of it will be going into savings. I must say they both have collected a pretty nice amount.
• Between the boys school, church, wrestling, swimming, going to the doctor for Nolan, and everything else I feel like we are constantly going somewhere. Hopefully over Thanksgiving break we will have more time to do some fun things and more things for me to blog about!

Three Months!

On Friday Nolan you turned three months! It was a month full of firsts for you from your first laugh, to your first ambulance ride and hospital stay to your first flight on the plane. You are such a happy baby, always smiling and talking to us. You love just to lay on the floor and look around. Your biggest source of entertainment is you brothers who can make you laugh better than anyone else. You have started grabbing toys and you have found our hands and love to suck on them. When you put your hands together your brothers like to say you are praying.

Nolan you are sleeping well again! You usually fall asleep for the night around 8:30 and don't wake up again for a feeding until 6:30. You will however wake up once or twice to be re-swaddled or for you plug. We also try to dream feed you around 10:30 every night, but you usually don't eat much.  We still feed you about every 3 hours or so  and you will take anywhere from 3 to 5 ounces. While you don't like having to take your Zantac for you reflux it has helped a lot and you are not nearly as fussy. We love watching you grow Nolan and your smiles still take my breath away at how wonderful they are. We can't wait to see you even get bigger and your personality come out more!

Cuddle Brothers

Not only are Tyler and Carter great brothers to each other, they still are totally in love with Nolan. They love to make him laugh and smile and try to play with him. Tyler is always giving him hugs and kisses and Carter always wants to hold him. Here is a cute picture of Carter and Nolan taking a nap together.

Golden Rule

There is nothing I love seeing more than watching Tyler and Carter be such great brothers to each other. Justin and I are trying to make concentrated efforts on taking them out just one one one with us. Justin had to run to the store so he took Carter along with him. The boys favorite thing about going to the grocery store is that they get a free cookie. On the way out of the store Carter mentioned that they should have gotten a cookie for Tyler since he didn't go. He then came up with the idea that Tyler could have a pumpkin cookie at home instead. When he came home he went and got his brother a cookie.

Last weekend while I was at swimming with Carter, Justin took Nolan and Tyler to Walmart to get things for our monthly potluck. As they were checking out Tyler saw some Hot Wheels. He just picked one up and showed it to Justin. Since Tyler behaved so well in the store he told Tyler he could pick on out. Tyler then asked if he could get one for Carter as well. Love my sweet boys!

First Flight

Last Saturday we got news that my Uncle Steve had passed away. Thanks to Oma and Opa, Nolan and I were able to go out for the services.Nana came in on Tuesday night to help out with Tyler and Carter and on Wednesday Justin and I got up very early to make our 6 a.m. flight in Denver. Nolan did great on the flights! On both flights on the way there the planes were only half full so he was able to stay in his car seat. The first flight he slept the majority of the time and the second flight we was awake but happy. Once we got there we were picked up by Oma and Nolan was very happy to show off his smiles. From there we went to the dinner with my other uncles and then the visitation and rosary. Nolan was a little fussy but went to sleep while people talked about Uncle Steve, so at least he knew when to be good. Nolan slept well in the hotel room which I was very happy about. On Thursday morning Nolan and I both slept in a little and then went to the service. Once again Nolan did great and slept thru the entire thing not making a sound. He then got fussy at the luncheon, but after a nice nap in the hotel room he was his happy self again.

From there we went over to Flint to see Great Oma. Nolan once again showed off his smiles. We met up with My Aunt Janet, Uncle Amos and my mom's cousin Paula as well for dinner. It was great to catch up with everyone. On Friday we went over to my Aunt Paulette's house so we could spend more time with her and my cousins. Even though it was for a horrible reason I am so thankful Nolan and I got to go and spend time with my family during this time and remember my Uncle. Nolan did awesome once again on the flight home. He again had his own seat and slept the whole time despite it leaving an hour late. Justin picked us up at the airport and we came home where I was excited to see my big boys. I am told they did very well for Nana, who I am also thankful for her coming so Justin could still go to work while I was gone. They went to school as usual and did lots of puzzles and games. Tyler also showed off at wrestling for Nana. Always happy to hear that they behaved themselves!

Ute Valley Park

Last weekend we went on a hike at Ute Valley Park. Tyler and Carter had a blast walking on the trail and finding rocks. Carter really enjoyed the views saying "wow, look at that!" around every bend. Tyler liked leading us and practicing his left and right. He also had to step on every rock we went by. Nolan enjoyed being carried by me in the front pack and by daddy when he got tired of that.  Justin and I really liked this park as well for hikes so I am sure we will go again soon.

Check Ups

Tyler and Carter both had their annual check ups yesterday. I think in the future I will have them on different days as trying to fill out all the paperwork and their developmental questionnaires for both of them at the same time was a little crazy. I was filling out Carter's while talking to the doctor about Tyler.

Tyler weighs in at 35 lbs, which is the 10th percentile. He is now 42 inches tall, which is the 40th percentile and has a bmi in the 5th percentile. He went down in percentile but since he at least gained so the doctor wasn't worried. Tyler is still behind in gross motor skills, but at this point we are not going to worry about it. He can't skip yet, hop on one leg for both legs (he can do one the right leg), and doesn't always catch a ball.  However, since we held him back a year from kindergarten most likely he will be at the same level as all the other kids in his class anyway. He passed his hearing test 100% which was music to my ears as well. The only concern was his circumcision. She wants to refer us to an urologist and he may have to have the top part of it redone. I guess a lot of the skin grew back.

Carter also weighs in right at 35 lbs, which is the 50th percentile for his age. He is 39 and 3/4 inches and had a bmi in the 50th percentile. I was very happy to see that go down from the 85 percentile last year. He also passed his hearing test 100%. There were no issues for Carter at all except that he has dry skin and that he had to get shots. I was relieved that it was Carter getting the shots and not Tyler as Tyler was acting afraid of them all morning. Carter was just fine with getting them, until he got them. Then the screaming started and the "I am never going to do this again!". The nurse found that quite humorous. He continued the shot drama all the way up til bedtime where he declared he couldn't walk because of his shots and crawled every where, crying the entire time. With the drama this one creates, maybe I don't need a little girl after all.

Overall I am so happy that we are blessed with such healthy boys!