A "Swell" Weekend

So Elias and I set off for Austin, Texas on Thursday and I have to say he is a great baby. On the first leg, a two hour flight we sat next to a gentleman who had twin one-year-old boys and said, "If he cries, don't worry, I'm used to it". But Elias didn't cry, not once. He played, played and played. Grabbed people, newspapers and the in flight magazines, but never cried. He finally fell asleep about a half-an-hour before landing. On the second leg he continually grabbed an older woman sitting next to us but thankfully she didn't mind. The flight home was just as easy with him despite an additional two hour delay in Houston because of beautiful Chicago weather. Oh and I have to give him even more props considering he got his first tooth on the flight back. Yes finally a tooth! Only 6 weeks later than we thought. He also had a cold. He's a trooper.




So we arrived in Austin to see Leanne, Chris and Asher. The boys got along great and Asher is too cute! It is absolutely amazing to spend time with your friends' kids. When we were back in high school, or in Leanne's case college, you couldn't imagine having kids. Than as you got older it was a dream to still have such close friendships and then watch our kids get to grow up together. You can't ask for anything more!

So Thursday we arrived, had a little play time, ate some great burgers and Elias slept through the night. He actually slept through the night two of the four nights, only waking up when we entered the room the second night and because of his cold the last night. That made Mom too happy.


The boys got to do a lot of playing. They rolled on the floor, grabbed each other and tried to take each other's toys. Well, Elias tried to take all of Asher's toys.

Brad came into town on Friday and Leanne and Chris had a great BBQ where we got to meet all their friends (who I have to say are very fun and cool people).




(I do have a picture of the Johnson/English family that I will post here later, it got accidentally deleted at work so check back.)

We also have to thank Aunt Leanne for babysitting on Sat. night. Shout out to her for that. It allowed me and Brad to enjoy some Austin music at The Paramount Theater. Brad and I had wanted to see The Swell Season when they came through Chicago but it was too close to the R.E.M. show. So when Leanne's friends Erin and Craig said they were going the next night we jumped at the chance. We are very glad we did. They were wonderful. I would highly recommend seeing them. The songs were energetic and even there "new stuff" was really good. Glen Hansgard is great. He's funny, energetic and can see why they cast him in Once.

Sunday we made dinner for Leanne and Chris and just relaxed. It was a wonderful end to a great weekend. We really hope the family can make it up to Chicago so the boys can go to the zoo, we can listen to some Chicago blues music and again enjoy each other's company.

Oh I almost forgot, not only is Elias saying Dada but he's also saying Dad. On Sunday when Elias was sick I was snuggling with him in bed to try and soothe him to put him back to sleep in the Pack N'Play when Brad came in. Brad went to snuggle with Elias on the other side when Elias rolled over, grabbed Brad's shirt collar and said, "Dad" in the sweetest voice I ever heard. Again, I never realized you could love somebody that much. I love ya kid!

I am 8 months old!

Guess what people I am 8 months old (35 weeks). Mom and Dad are having a heck of a time confining me to the blanket on the floor. I like to crab crawl and grab the radiator, the DVR the coffee table, well just about anything. I'm trying to pull myself up but I'm not quite there yet. However I do love yelling for Dada. Yup, everything and everyone is Dada. Dad loves it though. Mom keeps asking me to say Mama. I'm not there yet so she'll just have wait.

I can use my finger and thumb to pick things up now. Mom got me some Banana Smiley Snacks but I don't like putting them in mouth. She also has been coarsely blending peas and apricots so I get chunkier foods. At first I did NOT and I mean NOT like it. Gramma Bette was visiting and I was gagging, spitting and making faces to let them know my disgust, but they weren't getting it. Mom just kept trying to feed it to me. Eventually I gave up and now I'm eating the mushy stuff.

Gramma Sonny and I also do "So Big" as you saw from my previously posted adorable photo!

Tomorrow Mom and I are leaving for Austin to visit Leanne and Asher. It should be so much fun. My first plane ride. I think Mom's got some new hidden toys for me and I promised her that I would be as good as possible (yeah right)! Peace out...Elias.

Happy Birthday Shout Out!

I have to say Happy Birthday to my Aunt Crisanne! I sure hope I get to see you soon! Love, Elias.

So Big!

Elias is SO BIG at Ikea with Gramma Bette & Gramma Sonny. I'll post more pics from Gramma Bette's visit later this week. Then, Elias and I are off to Texas to meet Asher. Don't worry I'm sure we'll have way more pictures than anyone will want to see upon our return!

Major Milestone

As Daddy would say, "I served under Major Milestone," but I'm not talking about that type of Major. We had a momentous day in the Nolan family. First, Elias started to commando crawl and on camera to boot. I was just sitting there video taping him and all of a sudden he came forward to me. He's going to be a crawling whiz in no time.

Secondly, he started talking a few days ago but today we heard a lot of "dadadada". We know he's not actually referring to Brad but it sure sounds like Dada. And guess what, I got that on video too. So here's a little treat for you folks, my handsome baby boy!

A Worthwhile Cause

CLICK HERE to read up on and donate to a very worthwhile cause which hits close to home for us!

"The Children’s Heart Foundation is the only organization that was created to exclusively fund congenital heart defect research.
- Congenital heart defects are common and deadly, yet CHD research is grossly under-funded relative to the prevalence of the disease.- Only one penny of every dollar donated to the American Heart Association goes towards congenital heart defect research.- Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding only a fraction of a penny is directed toward congenital heart defect research.- The NHLBI has stated that Congenital Heart Defects are a serious and underappreciated global health problem.- In the last decade death rates for congenital heart defects have declined by almost 30% due to advances made through research.
As the country's leading organization solely committed to CHD research funding, CHF dedicates itself to bringing health, hope and happiness to children and families impacted by a CHD.

My new best friend!

So Alex and Auntie Erin came to visit yesterday and boy was it fun. Alex and I played cars, trucks, we played with my ball and had a really good time. All five of us went out to dinner. I got a little tired and Mom took me home to get ready for bed.

When Mom was changing my PJ's we could hear Alex calling for Mommy. He was saying "Cawee", "Cawee". Mom thought it was too cool. When she would come into the room Alex would say, "Hi Cawee" and she would say "Hi Alex". Alex would also pat my head and say, "Baby Elias is nice." I think you're nice too Alex!

I can't wait until I can talk. I'm going to talk Mom's ear off.

After I went to bed I think Mom, Dad and Auntie Erin stayed up pretty late because they all looked really tired this morning. Dad napped with me on my first nap and then Mom did on my second. It sounded like they all had a really good time though. I heard Mom telling Auntie that we should all see each other more often. I would really like that because I totally love them. It would sure be fun to go and visit them in Wisconsin. Alex has lots of cool toys.

Well, Gramma Bette is coming next weekend and in two weeks we're off to Austin to meet Asher (that's him on the right). Mom keeps asking me if I'm going to be good on the plane. I tell her, "Don't worry about it." I actually say, "THBBTT, woooo, heeeaahh" but I think she's knows what I'm talking about. Peace out...Elias

Picture Overload

Sonny Crocket - the early years...

Me & my Badger...sing with me...

The new addition to the Taco Bell Dollar Menu, the Baby Burrito. He wraps it himself!

My new toy, too cool.

Shout out!

Happy Birthday Carrie! I'll save you the heartache and leave out your age. Also, I know this picture is almost a year old but it's the only one I have! You look a little different now, expecting number three! Have a great birthday.

I'm sick...

So I have been really sick for the last two days. I haven't even gone to work. It's been almost 2 years since I've gotten sick so I guess it's my time. Of course Little Man has a cold as well but his is much less severe and he's in a MUCH better mood. He's spending the day with Gramma Sonny so Mommy can sleep in a NyQuil induced coma. However upon waking up I feel worse. My throat hurts and my nose is burning.

I've had to reschedule two interviews, one which I was really looking forward to. Thankfully she was understanding once hearing my voice. I still don't like rescheduling though, for some reason it seems like a sign of weakness. I keep telling myself that NO ONE and I mean NO ONE would want to be around me like this, plus it would be a terrible interview with snot running out of my nose.

Elias and I also had to cancel plans with Jack and his mom Meghan. We'd been looking forward to a Mom's and Baby's night out for a while. I would just feel really bad if we got either of them sick.

Being a Mom now you don't have much time to be sick. It's amazing the strength you can find when you need it. Personally, what is the most ironic thing about this situation is that Elias is finally sleeping through the night and now I'm not. Isn't that the s*#t.

Water torture?

So this weekend we set out to try and get Elias to sleep through the night. Our theory was, every time he woke up we would give him water in his bottle instead of formula. Well, the first night it worked great. He woke up, gave him the water, he fussed for 20 minutes and went back to sleep until the morning. Lo and behold, the next day he slept through the night! Not a small sleep, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. ALL NIGHT! Next night, slept through again. He cheated a little bit since we came back from Carrie & Matt's and he woke up before going down again but still through the night.

Then Sat. came. He woke up at 1:30 a.m., got the water, fussed with Brad for 20 minutes and back to sleep. But this time he slept for only 30 minutes. I always said I would only let him fuss for an hour then I'd relent and give in. He fussed for 57 minutes. Not straight but 57 minutes nonetheless.

I rocked him, gave him water (which he actually drank), he'd fall asleep and then wake up when I tried to put him down. We repeated this scenario several times. Finally he fell asleep and didn't wake up until the morning. The results were good though, he slept through the night again last night. All the way.

We don't' know what to expect tonight, tomorrow or the next night but at least we're heading in the right direction. Hopefully sometime soon we won't have to make bottles at night anymore and Little Man will get his rest. Keep your fingers crossed and wish us luck.

P.S. Check back for burrito baby!