Ball-gowns and Birthdays

A few weeks ago Kirk and I attended a Masquerade Ball fill with dancing and good food! I was really hoping that know one would be able to tell who I was with a mask on, but alas, no one was fooled. We sure had a lot of fun dancing. It had been awhile!

Hard to kiss with a mask on!

Kirk put his wedding tux to use for the fourth time since we got married.

And people were impressed by my $2 garage sale ball-gown purchase (alterations required).

A couple weeks ago was my Golden Birthday. Not really too different from other birthdays except that I got to say, "Hey! I'm turning 26 on the 26th. Isn't that cool?"

Kirk surprised me in the morning with a treasure hunt that lasted throughout most of the day. It ended with the Bluetooth headset I've been wanting. Now Nolan can't pull the cord out of my ear when I'm on he phone. Ha! I feel like I've out-smarted an 11 month old!

And Red Robin for dinner (one of my all-time fav restaurants).

And the best part, my burger was free! Yay for Red Robin eClub!

They also give you a good-size Sundae for free!

But you have to wear the donkey-ear balloons. I was okay with that.

Good times!

Don't Judge Too Quickly

I thought these commercials were hilarious! Have to share.

My baby knows sign language!

Here's how he says:

• "Please change my diaper": Turns beet red and makes a straining expression, then smiles.
• "I'd like something to eat, please": Crams fist in mouth and sucks wildly.
• "I'm tired": Makes a series of weeping gestures before closing eyes and lolling head backward.
• "Please pass me that thing up there that I can't reach": Points and grunts, then continues pointing and opens mouth into screaming position.
• "No thank you. I think I've had enough": Throws food or object to floor with exaggerated grin.

Nolan the Techie

Why do babies love electronics so much? Better question: Why do they make electronics with all the flashy lights and red buttons?

Nolan's favorite items are the TV remotes (all three of them), the blue light on the computer hard drive, and cell phones. We decided to give Nolan his own gadget with the hope that he would stop playing with the spendy stuff. So Kirk gave Nolan his old laptop. This thing no longer works, and only had one flashing light bulb on it. He loves it!

Here's the funny part: while Nolan was slapping away one day, the laptop suddenly turns on and starts working again! We have no idea how he did it! But now it works!

Kids. They get smarter younger and younger these days.

The Cute Couple

Although the star of this blog is clearly the overly-photographed first child, let's not forget the creators of that cutie: The Parents! I think we deserve some credit here. At least some pictures.

These are from our stake Valentine's dance. I think they're the only pictures we've had taken of just us since Nolan was born.

Nine Months Old!

Nolan is now 9 months old (hard to tell exactly when that is though because there's no Feb 29th). Anyway, 9 months old seems like a big milestone. He's officially been OUTSIDE of my belly longer than he's been INSIDE. And I'll be the first to say that the second 9 months goes much MUCH faster than the first 9 months. He's growing up way too fast. But dang he's a cutie.

This is his new cheesy grin. It cracks me up!

Spontaneous Beach Trip!

Last week was rough (actually, by the time I'm getting around to posting this it's actually 2 weeks ago), anyway it was rough because Nolan had two more teeth coming in for a total of 8 teeth! Don't most other babies only have like 4 teeth at 8 months?? Anyway, Kirk and I had some real rough nights of interrupted sleep due to an inconsolable child who only wanted to play blocks at 3am. I'm NOT in favor of random middle-of-the-night play sessions.

Anyway, by Wednesday morning I was spent and not looking forward to a whole day head of me with a cranky baby. I was cranky too. On top of that it was an unusually gorgeous day and I really wanted to get out an enjoy it and not be stuck in the house. So Kirk said he'd go into work late and that we would all take a trip to the BEACH!

It was so spontaneously fun! Kirk's not one to miss work either, which goes to show how much of a needed trip this was. It also the first time we'd all been to the beach together since we moved to Oregon a year and a half ago.

With an hour and half drive both ways we only had about 45 mins at the actual beach, but it was worth every minute :) Plus Nolan slept in the car the whole way there and only screamed half of the way home.

Daddy and Nolan had a lot fun exploring new things like broken sand dollars and big water! Nolan wasn't too sure what to think - but he loves being outside.

This was our sad attempt at a self-portrait family picture (is that what you'd call it?). I love Nolan's face.

Much better to have someone else take the picture. (Nevermind the lady's bum in the background).

I'm SO excited for summertime and more beach trips and for Nolan to be able to run around until all his energy is spent and for me to yell at him to not run off too far and then for him to cry because he's so tired and has sand in his eye and the water is too cold......and I think that sentence was WAY to long!