Spring Break Part II

Well, the second week of spring break was about just as busy as the first, but I think this time was more time for mom than for Nolan.  I got A LOT done around the house and had some great time to myself.  Nolan and I had some great playdates with his cousins, and with my college roommate Shannon's little girls, Isabella and Maeve (I wished would could have stayed in Milwaukee longer!!).  We also went to the Racine Zoo with  Ya Ya on Saturday and ran into his cousin Caroline, who was at a birthday party (he was very excited and even held her hand all the way to see the goats).  

I am up for sitting on the couch tonight--the last night before I head back out into the real world.  My break has been relaxing but I guess it's time to get back into reality.  Enjoy the video below.  Nolan had a good time pulling out ALL of my shoes (including the high heels) and trying them on.  I am sure his Uncle Cory will love making fun....

  Charles of course had to make himself feel better by getting Nolan to rock it out shortly after this --you will see them playing many musical instruments. Here's to another fun day in the Gasser household!  

Spring Break Part 1

This week started off my spring break---I say started off because I also have next week off (you can quit saying mean and nasty things about me now).  

Nolan and I have had a great week so far.  We hung out at home Monday (Charles took both my set of car keys and his set--therefore I didn't really have a choice to go anywhere).  But I did get a bunch of cleaning done with a little help from the little guy.  Tuesday I had a fun day shopping with my friend, Lara.  Lots of

great deals out there!!

Wednesday we spent the morning at my sister's playing with Quinn and Caroline.  After Nolan's nap we headed up to the Milwaukee Zoo with Ya Ya (my dad). I wasn't quit

e sure what to expect.  Would it be too cold?  Would we see many animals?  It was perfect.  Not only were the animals alert but we had almost the whole zoo to our

selves.  Nolan's favorite saying throughout the day was "Different one?" He'd basically see one animal and want to move right

onto the next thing.  I added a few short videos below of our adventure at the zoo.  Nolan's favorite part was probably the aviary----the birds fly right over your heads in one part and I think they thought Nolan was lunch.  He also really enjoyed the Big Cats (see video below).  One part I didn't get on video was when the tiger walked right by the glass and surprised Nolan.  He took a few steps back and I could see him thinking--"WHOA".  He then turned to me and said

"Do again?"  

After our trip to the zoo, we headed back to Racine.  I couldn't leave out Mimi in this blog.  Below is a video of Mimi and Nolan looking at all the treasures in Mimi's printer's box.  This is a must do every time we are there.  I don't even know if Mimi realized I taped this.  Tomorrow my mom and I head to Cedarburg for the day and Nolan will spend some time at daycare (which he is excited about because Karen, his babysitter, is getting a new roof--which is very cool to a two year old boy).  

Other things heard around the Gasser household  from Nolan:

When asking Nolan a question, he now responds nope, instead of no.

(at bedtime) Sun going down, moon waking up

Good morning, birds

Thank you, God (when he was just saying thank you to me--this is from a prayer book we read at bedtime sometimes).  

My do it (he can be very stubborn about doing things his way.)

Look Mama, look-- hey Look (He also says to Charles, Jason, Ya Ya--and is very enthusiastic about whatever it is he wants you to look at)

my personal favorite:  Itchy butt; Mama scratch it; need lotion (and then legs go up in the air).  

tickle tickle

YAY 

a doing?  (as in What are you doing?)

and he also repeats EVERYTHING you say.  Today I asked him what was his dealio and he said dealio?  Better watch my language from here on out!  

I'll try to get some of these on video because writing it out doesn't do it justice.  Looking forward to next week.  I'm hoping to take Nolan to Jelly Belly, Betty Brinn Children's Museum and am going to the Titanic Exhibit with my parents.  Should be a fun, busy week!  I will keep you posted!  And feel free to become a follower of my blog --I think you have to have a yahoo, google or AOL email account---but I'd love to have you follow us!  

Words I've been wating to hear.....

Today, in the chaos of making chicken alfredo in our very tiny kitchen (all meals seem to be a family affair in our house), Nolan looked at me and said, "I love you, Mama" and reached right over and gave me a hug.  I must say, I have been looking forward to the day he would say that since he was born.  Not only was it totally unexpected, but it made my day incredibly awesome and wonderful.  I'm pretty sure I'll never forget it.      

Nolan turns TWO!

Nolan turned TWO today.  He had a great birthday!  We celebrated at Mimi & Ya Ya's with pizza, cake and ice cream.  Nolan also opened lots of presents!  He got a few "Thomas the Train" pieces to add to his Thomas track, puzzles, a very cool hip sweatshirt with guitars on it a set of musical instruments, and a "motorcycle" as he put it....which was really a tricycle with a handle for mom and dad to push. I thought I would die laughing when he saw it and burst out---"motorcycle!"  

We had a great time, very busy, very noisy and I know Mimi & Ya Ya were glad to have their nice quiet house back to themselves by the time we left.  Nolan also has been talking about birthday cake all week.  He was very excited to see his cake---with construction vehicles---and even blew out his own candle!  I can't believe he is TWO!  

Charles and I were talking tonight about how at this time (this Sunday--not this date) we were actually coming home from the hospital with him.  And I think both of us were thinking--well, it's up to us now, we have our own little person to take care of and I am pretty sure neither of us got much sleep that first night.  Not because Nolan was waking us up, crying, but because we both kept thinking we would hear him cry and wondering if he was okay in his little crib.  That first night home from the hospital is a little nerve-racking but we made it to two--so I guess we are doing okay.  (I actually remember Charles waking up one of those first weeks from a dead sleep searching the covers for the baby.  I had to actually wake him and tell him Nolan was in the other room.  For the record....Nolan never really shares a bed with us, especially when he was an infant---must have been some dream!  

Well, here's to another wonderful year with a wonderful little boy!  Keep growing, keeping changing and keep making us laugh, Nolan!

Yeah....cool dinosaurs mom!

For anyone who knows Nolan....he says NO for every question you ask him....

Do you want to watch Elmo?  NO

Did you have fun today? NO

Are you ready to go in the car?  NO

Today, things changed.  Now everything we ask him is, "yeah".  Not "yes" but "yeah" like, when someone asks you if you had a hard day and you say, "yeah" with that little sigh at the end.

As you can imagine, my husband was taking full advantage of the situation and asking all sorts of goofy, off the wall questions just to hear him say, "yeah".

It was one of the moments you probably have to be there for, although we probably thought it was hilarious because of our lack of sleep last night, which leads me to my next story....

I put Nolan in new pajamas last night.  They were, cute, from Kohls, with dinosaurs all over them.  Little did I realize that the dinosaurs GLOWED IN THE DARK!  Imagine to my surprise (and Nolan's) when I turned off the lights and my little guy's body was glowing with dinosaurs.  I quickly covered him up with a blanket in hopes that he wouldn't notice, but at 3 a.m. when he woke up I think he figured it out and didn't want to go back to sleep.  He was still glowing by the way.  Nice.  Real nice of the clothing manufacturers to put glowing stuff on kids's pjs to keep them occupied in the middle of the night.  Thanks to whatever genius thought that was a great idea; they probably don't have kids.  Although he is sleeping in them again tonight....I am hoping the novelty wears off!  ANd I honestly do like the pjs without all the glowing!  

Brr........baby it's cold outside!

Well, being stuck inside is no fun, however being off of work is a treat!  I had off Thursday and Friday due to the cold weather--so I bundled Nolan up and we headed over to my sister's house on Thursday to celebrate Quinn's 2nd birthday!  It was a great time!  

We also decided to take the kids to Betty Brinn Children's Museum in Milwaukee on Friday with my cousin Holly and her kids.  It was a great start to a LONG weekend, but we had a wonderful time despite the cold weather.  

Back to the daily grind tomorrow!  Enjoy the pictures!

  and is always the case on Sunday night--I have trouble uploading pics--so check back Monday or Tuesday for more.....blog spot is taking forever!

Christmas 2008

Christmas this year has been hectic but fun!  As you can see in the slideshow above (which I successfully figured out how to do on my own!!!) we had a very eventful Christmas.  We had our annual Christmas party in which we received the wonderful news that two of our dearest friends, Anne and Jason, are tying the knot.  The date has been set and we will be there--we wouldn't miss it for the world!

We also had a great time with the family.  Sarah and Cory came to town and we had a wonderful Christmas celebration with them along with Clare, Josh and mom and dad (and of course all of the kids!) Christmas Day is usually quiet around our house, but we were delightfully surprised to learn that David (Charles' brother) and Kelly, our sister in law, as well as Tyler and Sammy, our niece and nephew, came to town from Illinois.  They had planned on coming in on Christmas Eve but stayed home due to bad weather.  So this year we didn't miss their trip up to Wisconsin!  

I have finally had some down time after all of the celebrating.  I fit in a girls night with girlfriends Heidi, Faith and Andrea and I also managed to celebrate Charles's 32nd birthday in Madison with Anne, Jason, Jer and Stacy--before I finally threw in the towel and decided my head cold was too much for me.  Now after two nights of trying to catch up on the computer and organize my life....I am feeling better and can't believe that the holiday season is almost over!  Enjoy the pics!  I am proud I finally figured out how to post a slideshow (even though Sarah has been promising to help me--but her two boys keep her plenty busy!).  Post a comment if you wish!  Much love and Happy New Year!  The Gassers