We've been wanting to take Nolan to a splash pad for a while now because we just knew he would love it and it's been so hot lately that now seemed to be as good a time as any. By the time we got out of the house though we were all dying of hunger so we headed to In n Out first for a quick bite. With 'fies' involved you know Nolan was happy with the dining choice ☺
Justin talking to his dad while Nolan munches away on his favorite food.
After In n Out we headed to Mountain View Park for some fun in the sun.
The only problem? There were A LOT of people. Sometimes at parks or playgrounds Nolan has just the best time, but other times he's over it in about a minute. We wonder if maybe he just doesn't like being around too many people? And/or maybe he gets a little intimidated by all the big kids? Anyway, it wasn't for long, but he did have fun in these little fountains for a few minutes!
This particular park has lots of fun things to do. Nolan loved this little game that involved pushing buttons. Of course.
I also loved that the park had several different, completely separate playgrounds for various ages. Nolan basically had this toddler playground all to himself!
This little roller thing kept him occupied him for quite awhile.
Hi mom and dad!
Once we got tired of the park we headed down to Sandy to hit up Nordstrom Rack. Overall I'd say it was a fun Saturday! Way more fun than cleaning and running errands which is what we usually end up doing☺
Well Mr. Nolan is really starting to develop his personality lately and we might have the makings of a class clown (of course a super smart class clown haha). At nursery last week they were singing Give, Said the Little Stream and one of the leaders asked him if he wanted to go sit in the "stream" (a piece of cloth on the floor). He responded, "No, I get sick." hahaha. He knows he's funny too because sometimes he'll say or do something and when we laugh he'll say "I funny!"
Several months ago, Justin and I started having to spell words out if we don't want him to know what we're talking about. Unfortunately he's already caught on to some of them. He knows that P-H-O-N-E means "phone," and even tries to spell it himself as "P-E-E-E-O."
He has started wanting to text people. He'll see my phone, reach out his hand and say, 'I hold' then 'I text.' When I ask him who he wants to text he usually says "gamma."
He also has a purple toy phone that he'll often grab and say "hello?" "hello?" "ya." When he's talking to someone else on the phone it's usually "Paul."
Playing with Legos at Barnes and Noble. Uncle BJ is super excited for these nephews to start building lego creations with him! Soon enough Beej!
Every time I comb Nolan's hair I always start by combing it back first to make it easier to get a good part. Justin has termed this look, "The Mike Mathews" haha. So now I think of my dad every time I comb his hair. I showed this pic and description to my parents and siblings and everyone agrees he looks like a little "Mini Mike," especially with the button up, short sleeve, 'old faithful' type shirt!
Last week the Family History Dept held a party at Murray Park. It had a little something for everyone - Justin loved the catered Cafe Rio, I loved the snow cones, and Nolan had fun with his balloon sword.
He would come up to us like this and say, "I seeeee you!"
I particularly love these two pictures
I got Justin some pickleball equipment for his birthday, but since we didn't get to try it out then, we decided to get together with our friends Stephanie and Jack (and baby Charlie) and play. It was so much fun to get outside, see friends, and do something fun! After playing we went to Jersey Mike's for lunch.
The guys on baby duty while Stephanie and I played.
I'm still definitely in the learning stage of my new job at FamilySearch, but I'm already so glad I made the change. I love being closer to home, having a bit more flexibility as far as hours go, and the ability to get lunch with Justin at least once a week. Plus, the additional money is nice ☺
And on top of all that, I love working on Temple Square where I get to pass this beautiful, historic, wonderfully significant temple every day!
Last week my friend Melanie was in town for a family reunion so we got together for some ice cream! We were historic sites interns for the Church History Dept together back in 2008. She's a professor at Dixie State now and is one of the smartest, sweetest people I know!
We're still in the middle of our softball season and so far Nolan loves going to the games. Probably because he gets to hang out with cousin "Pau" (who is amazing and watches him for us at all the games!).
He has discovered the fun of spraying his water bottle and had a blast spraying himself in the face! Silly boy!
Pull up those pants boy! ☺
Justin went to the ribbon cutting for Ancestry.com's new building at Traverse Mountain (his partner was the broker most heavily involved in the deal) and said Gov Herbert gave a really cool speech where he talked about one of his ancestors.
He loves closing doors lately. Sometimes he'll close the door and shout from the other side, "knock!" Or, as he did last Sunday when we were all in our room changing after church, he looked at me, pointed at the open door, and said, "eh out!" (get out!) That's right, my toddler is ordering me out of my own room haha.
Right now Nolan's usual request for story time is "Opposites" and "Moo, Baa, La La La." It's too bad because I think the night after we took this video he started actually 'reading' along with Justin while he reads 'Opposites.' Justin will say "short" and Nolan will say "tall!" Justin: "fast" Nolan: "slow." It's too cute! Especially the one where Justin says "whisper" and Nolan responds with a resounding "SHOUT!" and when Nolan makes a muscle and says "strooong" in response to "weak."
We'll have to get that on video next time, but in this one he does the animal noises really well!
He loves "SPINNING!"
It's kind of hard to hear because I had to sneak the video and I'm right next to the air conditioner :( but 1. Nolan has been doing really well with his shapes sorter. He knows how to say "tiangle" and "cicle" and can get at least 5 of them in the right spot. 2. He's also attempting to sing the "ABC's." Cute!
We took Nolan to our last doctor's appointment and he got to meet Dr. Loewen who delivered him. He was a bit nervous haha.
This is what he does when you ask him to smile for a picture these days.
Other pics from Jeanni's house, the park, and toddler time at the library.
Nolan where is your hair? Where's your nose?
And last, my favorite picture from the past little while.
Lately, whenever we go out to the car, Nolan requests to "Sit!" in the front seat of the car (only) with the door closed (no exceptions). He usually also wants the keys in his hand or in his lap so he can 'drive' and he is NOT happy when I kick him out.
It's no secret that Justin and I love sports! We always have and still do. So even though we don't want to force our children to play sports necessarily (we'd be happy if they did music, dance, robot building club, or whatever) it just seems to sort of happen naturally with our family. Sports are just part of life for us, so we'd be lying if we said we weren't super excited that Nolan seems to love playing with balls and watching sports on TV. And we're happy to teach him all we know ☺
Here's a sampling of what Nolan has been learning and experiencing in the sports world lately.
Baseball
First you have to be a loyal fan. Go Mariners (and Giants!)
He hasn't yet learned how to actually swing a bat and hit a ball, BUT he kind of knows what to do. He'll take a bat and ball (or a ball and racket, etc) and bang them together because he knows you have to hit the ball for it to go haha.
"Put me in coach! I'm ready!"
Justin took Nolan to a small field and showed him how to run the bases. If his parents have anything to do with it, Nolan will definitely NOT be one of those kids the first day of t-ball that runs to third base instead of first ☺
But we still have a bit of work to do on that front ☺
I love how he 'tags' the base
Hockey
Go Penguins!
Nolan is learning there's nothing like playoff hockey! I love how right now he 'plays hockey' by hitting his stick on the ground (or sometimes on his leg, ouch!).
Sometimes you just have to eat while watching a game (only sometimes).
Especially when your team wins the Stanley Cup! GO PENGUINS!!
Nolan even got to stay up late one night to watch the Penguins play!
We had put him to bed and about 15 minutes later heard him yelling "hockey!" from his room. When I went in he repeated it again and pointed to the door. Sure it was probably a stall tactic, but how could I resist a son that wants to watch hockey?!!
Football
Nolan loves playing "Hike!" with daddy. Can you imagine a quarterback reacting this way to the ball being hiked to him? ☺
Bowling
I think he liked it AND he got a spare!!
Hangin' with the girls between turns (Sara, Lis, Sue, Brittany)
Tetherball
According to Justin, he rocked it on the tetherball court in elementary school and needs to pass on the skills to his son :)
