October 7 – No Nap Nolan

Since starting preschool, Nolan has rarely been taking naps. I still have him stay in his room for quiet time, but sometimes quiet time isn’t so quiet and I open his door to a huge mess. No naps makes for an exhausted, cranky, miserable 3 year old come 4:00ish. I ran upstairs to get Spencer up from nap while Nolan was on the couch watching TV. I then ran downstairs to put in a load of laundry and when Spencer and I came back up, Nolan was asleep on the couch. I guess the lack of naps finally caught up with him. This is the first time he’s ever fallen asleep like this.

October 8 – Meeting Miss Mia

When we arrived in Easton, I went to Uncle Brad’s and Aunt Megan’s by myself to meet Mia quickly before dinner. She was everything I’d dreamed: sweet, perfect, tiny, quiet, precious, etc. I still can’t believe I have a niece. I told her we’re going to get into so much trouble together which is totally true. I brought her headbands and Uncle Brad put the pink one on her right away. Her other gift is arriving in a few days, but I had to bring my niece something when I first met her.

“Only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, keep secrets like a sister, and share love like a friend.”

October 9 – Nolan and Spencer Meet Their Cousin

We went over to Uncle Brad’s and Aunt Megan’s before lunch so the boys could meet their cousin. Nolan was very quiet, gentle and sweet and Spencer grabbed her nose and smacked her. Nolan had a great time hanging out with Uncle Brad and Spencer wanted me to hold him instead of Mia.

Spencer checked her out first: 

Mimi was trying to find her hands to show Nolan how small they are, but they were hidden well:

I love this (check out Nolan’s shirt):

And this:

 

Auntie Cait came over before nap to give Spencer his 1st birthday gift. Nolan was downstairs with Pop looking for new toys to bring upstairs so Spencer actually got to open this gift by himself. Then Auntie Cait and I had a great lunch out at Lutzi’s.

 

October 10 – Palmer Nursery Fall Festival

We headed to Palmer Nursery this morning to check out their fall festival. Nolan played in the “cornbox” (a box filled with corn kernals) for a bit. Then we went to check out the swing set. After that, Nolan went in the Castle Mania which was an obstacle course with a wobbly bridge, ball pit, rope climber, and tube slide twice. He then rode on the car merry go round and chose the Mustang to ride in. Then he went on the airplanes (twice), bounce house, and finished with Castle Mania again. Mimi got a funnel cake and shared it with us and then we went home for lunch.

Playing in the corn table: 

Spencer enjoyed it too:

Spencer loved listening to the live band (and this is a great shot of that awesome head of hair!):

Back on the swing set: 

This is Castle Mania. Nolan loved the pall pit section and kept crawling up the ramp so he could jump in it over and over. 

After the ball pit, he climbs up the rope ladder:

Walking across the wobbly bridge:

After Castle Mania, he decided to go on his first ride ever, the cars! He picked the orange Mustang and as you can tell, he loved it:

After explaining that the airplanes not only go around, but they go up and down, too he still decided to check them out: 

He went right back on after he got off the first time:

First family picture: 

October 10 – Saying good-bye:

 

October 16 – STTN

I stopped nursing Nolan altogether at 12 months. He actually started nursing 2 times per day (before bed and once throughout the night) when he was 9 months old. I basically made him keep nursing until 12 months. Well, Spencer is a different story and has no intentions of quitting nursing anytime soon. Since an almost 13 month old does not need to nurse throughout the night, I decided to do some research to figure out how I could get him to sleep through the night since he was waking up consistently around 2:30 and 5:30 every night to nurse and go right back to sleep. Friday night, I got Spencer dressed and nursed him, but had Nevin put him down. I also had Nevin go in when he woke up at his regular 2:30 and 5:30. Saturday night, Spencer only got up 1 time. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday he only got up one time until he finally, for the first time in his 13 months, slept through the night on Wednesday, a day after his 13 month birthday! He has since continued to sleep through the night with some minor wakings here and there due to cutting molars (he’s getting 4 all at once)! If I would have known it would have been that easy, I would have done it months ago!

 

October 19 – Fun at Home

October 24 – Pumpkin Patch – Way Fruit Farm

We wanted to go to Wasson Farm again this year for pumpkins, but we missed the 2 weekends they offered hay rides, so we ended up at Way again. It was cold which is the complete opposite of the last time we were at Way: It was 85 degrees and we had shorts on!

A tractor showed up as soon as we got there, but it was pretty full so we decided to hang out for the next one. It was a short 5-10 minute wait (I just now noticed that Spencer’s fact was in the “girl” pumpkin, haha).  

Waiting for the tractor and playing with the apples:

On the hayride:

Nolan weaseled his way up to the front so he could watch the tractor:

Nolan wanted to get this green pumpkin for Spencer, but I convinced him to get an orange one for him:

This is the first pumpkin we found for Spencer, but we ended up finding one we liked better. The selection of pumpkins was horrible. I had heard that all farms had trouble with their pumpkins this year. Nevin and I planned on getting pumpkins for ourselves to carve, but we would have spent an extra hour there looking for some for us.

Nolan found the perfect pumpkin and Nevin had to get it off the vine:

Here are 2015’s pumpkins. Nolan’s was 19 pounds and Spencer’s was 9 pounds for a grand total of $8.96 (32 cents per pound).

Nolan weaseled his way up front on the ride back again:

October 28 – Nolan’s First Field Trip – Harner Farms

Unfortunately, It was pouring rain and cold for Nolan’s first field trip. When we were getting in the car to drive to school, a police car drove by and Nolan ran to wave, but tripped and fell flat out on his belly instead. We were already running late and his clothes were now soaked, so I carried him back into the house (crying) and quickly changed his clothes. When we got to school, I was happy to see that the children were doing their usual morning activities before the bus arrived so we had some time to gather ourselves. Nolan was partnered with his buddy Eli. This was Nolan’s first time on a school bus and he enjoyed the ride. We were supposed to go on a hayride to pick an apple off the tree, but since it was so wet and muddy, we picked a small pumpkin from the barrel instead. The children then played with some of the Halloween decorations they had on display. We then got back on the bus and headed back to school around 10:00. We had a choice if we wanted to stay until 11:30 or leave now, but Nolan picked to stay. We watched a movie, had some apples from the farm for snack, sang songs, and read books. It was very interesting to see Nolan in that environment and to see what goes on in his classroom. It also made me realize that I don’t miss teaching!

Nolan and Eli with their pumpkins:

Walking back to the bus:

Looking out the window on the way home:    

Nolan had some soup for lunch and wanted to feed Spencer. What a great big brother he is!

October 28 – Pumpkin Carving

Nolan wanted a fire truck carved into his pumpkin this year and Nevin delivered. Spencer played in the pumpkin “guts” for about 2 minutes and then lost interest. Nolan got his construction trucks and played for as long as it took Nevin to carve.

Waiting for Daddy to start carving (check out Spencer with the photobomb):    

Checking out the guts:

First time exploring the guts:

Finished product:

Lighting the pumpkin:

October 29 – Trick or Treat 

Yes, you read that date correctly. There is a Penn State football game on the 31st, so they moved trick or treat to make sure it’s safe for the children. Nolan had a blast! We got started right at 6:00, went down Brittany, then up Brittany and finished around 7:20 on Earl. When Nolan proclaimed that he wanted to take his boots off and get in the stroller, we knew it was time to head home. Spencer was trooper and was in the stroller for half of the time and then Nevin and I took turns holding him for the other half. When we got home, Nolan checked out his loot and the boys enjoyed a few treats before bed. It was a fun, successful trick or treat!

Fireman Nolan:

Cheeseburger:

Our attempt at a sibling picture: 

And we’re off: 

Walking down Brittany:

Checking out the loot: 

Many houses offered Nolan to take 2 pieces of candy, one for his “sister” (Nolan started telling them that he’s not a sister, he’s a brother):

 

October 31 – Mimi and Pop Visit

We tried to take a picture of Nolan with his pumpkin lit up, but he would sit right next to it and as soon as Mimi or I would hold up the camera to take his picture, he’d get up and run. He laughed so hard and thought it was the best game ever. It did make for some pretty funny pictures!

It looks really cool lit up:

LOVE his smile: 

Looks similar to last year’s: