UPCHUCK and walk

Poor Nolan had a rough night and day. Last night Nolan woke up crying around 12:30 am, so I went in to the room to comfort him and that's when it all started. Nolan began throwing up all over himself. It was horrible. I picked him up and then he threw up all over me, along with the door, the floor, the toilet and the bathroom floor. This poor kid. I have never seen anything so sad in my entire life. There is nothing worse than seeing your baby throw up.
After we got him all cleaned up we put him back down and he fell asleep, but not for long. About 45 minutes later he started crying again. I ran in to the room and he started it all over again. Throwing up on himself, then me, then the floor. I didn't know what to do. The crazy thing about it was right after he would throw up he was the happiest little guy. You wouldn't have even known he had just thrown up. Well, we cleaned up the mess again and got him back down.
Morning came and I was praying that he was okay. I went in to get him once again and got him ready to eat. He acted really hungry so I fed him some bananas. Right after I had wiped his face off he threw half of it back up! That was pretty sick. Right after he saw his bottle and grabbed for it, so I gave it to him. He drank all of it. But you just wait my friends. Not even a minute later he threw half of that up as well. Poor guy!
He finally had a good nap from 1:30-4:30. Phew! When he woke up I went to get him and thought I would try to feed him since he hasn't eaten or drank hardly anything. Well, the food just didn't seem to be what he wanted. He wouldn't even take one bite. And then again, he threw up. Oh Nolan. So now we are just trying to get this kid hydrated! He will sort of drink some juice with a little formula here and there. If he doesn't have more to drink I will probably be making an appointment for the doc.
On the flip side, my sweet friend and neighbor, Amanda lent me her walker. Nolan loved it the other day so she said he could use it to get those legs a movin'. He loves it!!! It is so cute to watch him just take off. I wish we had a bigger place for him to go around, but what do you do. Even though this boy has been throwing up all day he still wants to pay and have fun. So without further ado, I introduce Nolan, the walking wonder!!!!!

We will miss our beloved PROPHET

Such sad news.... our dear Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley has passed away. He was an amazing man, to say the least. He will always have a special place in my heart. He was "MY" prophet. President Hinckely was with me my entire youth. He helped me to gain my own testimony. He truly had the love of Christ shining through him. I will miss seeing his beaming face. He always brought a smile to my face.

The good news, he is now with his precious sweetheart, Sister Hinckely. Even though he was always such a happy man, there was something different when his wife passed away. A piece of him was missing. He missed her dearly. I'm sure their reunion was a wonderful delight.
We were so blessed to have had President Hinckley for so many years. He has blessed so many of our lives and will never be forgotten. We love you Gordon B. Hinckely!

go BABY go!!!!!!!!

Finally!!!!!! Nolan boy is a crawling fool! I thought this kid would never crawl. Jake and I have been working him to th bone, no not really, but we are so glad that he is crawling. He has been worm crawling for about a month and just about a week and a half ago he started crawling for real. We love it! He loves it! It is great! He loves to follow me everywhere in the apartment. If I am getting ready in the bathroom, he follows my voice and peaks around the corner to surprise me. It is too cute!
The video was of him just this morning. He was almost ready to go down for his nap so he is a little cranky but still pretty cute.

Boy oh boy

Nolan's personality is really coming out. He is so funny! He has learned how to make funny faces and sounds with his tongue. So now, that is what he does all day long. It is pretty darn cute!

And everyone thought he was ALL Jake!

So I was curious to see who Nolan looked more like according to this look-alike-meter. Everyone always says that he looks more like Jake and they don't see much of me in him. Well, I see a lot of him in me especially his personality. So here is my proof that I am not the only one, or thing that thinks so. But when it all comes down to it....Nolan is just dang cute!!!

My week of "ME" is over

My birthday week is now over.....sad. I had a wonderful week. I have some amazing friends here and a wonderful supportive husband who lets me be a princess for a week. Thanks honey.
Jake was nice enough to get a babysitter for us to go to dinner on my birthday. Thanks Lil' Rich and Jenny! We went to a Mexican place called Pedro's. It was pretty dang good. I really liked my enchiladas. The sauce was really good. But I still miss good old Javier's.
Saturday was one of the coldest days of the year. The high was suppose to be 0 degrees with a wind chill making it -24 degrees!!!!! It took our breath away. When we were waiting for the car to heat up we decided to take pictures. As you can tell our noses are bright red. It was so cold. I have never experienced weather like this. Brrrrrr!!!!! In the picture below we tried to attempt showing how cold it was. We aren't very good actors but we tried our best to make a freezing face. Jake looks more scared than cold. I think I did a pretty good job. I guess we will have plenty of time to learn how to perfect the freezing face since we will be here for 3 1/2 more years.

On a sad note..... our Packer's lost. The game was unbelievable! Favre didn't have his best game. And I can't imagine playing in - 24 degree weather. Just think about getting tackled really hard and hitting the frozen ground. Ouch! It was a tough game to watch. I thought we had it when the Giants kicker missed two field goals and we won the possession for overtime, but no.... Favre turned it over and the Giants took the victory with a field goal. So sad. I thought we were there good luck charm, just kiddin'.
The Packer pride here was so much fun to watch. There is this place called the Rosebud Theater and they close down the place during Packer games and play the Packer game. Well, I guess they got a letter from the NFL league saying they weren't allowed to show a game on a screen bigger than 50 inches or so and if they did they would take legal action. Obviously that didn't scare them one bit because they showed the game yesterday there. So I'm sure that they will be getting sued pretty soon. The things people do to support their Packer's. I love it!!! There is always next year........right?

I love BirTHdAYs!

I have the best friends in the world here!!!!!! My cute friends Kelsey, Haley, and Tiff decided to throw me a surprise party! Aren't they the best. Haley did give it away a little bit before and so did my husband. It was so funny. As soon as we started walking over to the Barber's, Jake had a perma grin on his face. I knew for sure that something was going on.
I loved it though! Everyone was so nice to come. I was surprised to see a lot of the husbands there because they aren't too in to the whole Birthday week thing. But I totally recommend it to anyone. Because you never know if you will be able to celebrate on your exact day, especially with Jake being in school, it is the only way to go.
On Friday night the Leake's had us over for her famous dinner, which it was. Mmmm, yum. We also played Settlers with Lil' Rich, Jenny, and Anna. So fun. I enjoy a good game like that. I wish I could have taken the victory, but Jake took it so that is good enough for me.
I love it here in Milwaukee! I don't think Jake could have picked a better place for us. We have been blessed tremendously with good friends and a wonderful apartment and a great school for Jake! And most of all we have the cutest son ever!!! I love my Nolan boy! Well, that is my birthday week in a nutshell. Jake is suppose to be taking me to dinner tonight. Can't wait! I'm sure you will be hearing from me shortly. Yeah for birthdays!!!!!!!

SuRpRiSe!

BRAVO.......

My adorable friend Haley took me to dinner on Thursday night for my birthday. We went to this great place called BRAVO. It was Italian and very good. I'm a sucker for that stuff. Their bread was delicious too. I had a great time! Thanks Haley, you're the best!

Who lets their kid play by the toilet?

As I was getting ready to go to dinner on Thursday night with my friend Haley, Nolan decided to do his "worm crawl" to try to get to me in the bathroom. Well, this picture is proof that he made it to me and found his tub toys and started playing with the fish hook by the toilet. Eww sick! But he was so happy that I couldn't move him. I tried to go in to my bedroom and call for him so that he would come in there but he was too content. So we snapped a picture, of course, of our little bathroom boy. I guess the phrase is true....."boys will by boys." At least he isn't in to all the stuff in the bathroom yet, right?

Can we say......FrEEzINg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, man....it is way too cold here in Milwaukee!! As I am writing this it is 3.7 degrees plus wind chill, so that means we are really in the negatives. The wind right now brutal! It feels like the cold air is going right through your body. It doesn't matter how big of a coat or how many layers you put on, it will still chill you to the bone.
My friend Haley took me to dinner last night and just walking from the car to the restaurant we were shivering for a good ten minutes after before our bodies got back to a somewhat normal temperature. It's like we are climbing Mt. Everest out here. I have never been in such cold conditions. Somebody........SAVE ME!!! I'm thinking Aruba sounds good............

BiRtHdAy WeEk StArTs................

So we are now in to my official Birthday week. Yesterday was kind of a bummer day. We just went to church and came home and Jake watched his football while I made dinner and did the dishes and picked up the house and bathed the kid and put him to bed and then I went to bed. Normally my husband is terrific about helping but the football games got to him and he was hooked. So, note to self, never expect to have the perfect week for your birthday.
This morning though, Jake got up early, went to get Nolan, fed him, made me breakfast, and then headed off to school. So he really does care. I always give him a hard time about birthdays because they aren't really that big of a deal in his family. But where I come from you are special. You even get balloons on your seat around the dinner table. So Jake is still learning. Every year it will get easier.
So I am going to make the best of this week. First on the list, I am going to go the the YMCA and get my gym membership so I can tone up and feel good! Happy Birthday to me!!! Gosh, I love Birthday's!

Goooooo PACKER'S!!!!!!!

On Saturday all of our friends went to watch the Packer's game and the Patriots game at the Hassell's. Of course the girls stayed over at my place until the food was ready so that we wouldn't disturb our men and their precious game. But the food was amazing. Jake did his now famous ribs!!! Big hit for the game. The girls really didn't pay too much attention to the game but we are always excited when the Packer's take a victory!!!!
As time went on and the games were over, everyone began talking politics. Yippee....... sike! Haley and I weren't the least bit interested at the time so we decided to take funny pictures instead. Much better idea, don't you think? We were laughing so hard about how ugly our faces looked so we decided to switch each others faces and take another one. Then our friend Tiffany wanted in on the action so there we all are in our beautiful glory. I bet all the hot men out there want us so bad.... We had fun though. GO PACKERS!!!!

CrAzY hAiR!!!!!!

Nolan's hair has a mind of its own. We try to do it everyday and with out fail it sticks straight up. We thought that after we grew it out a little that the weight of his hair would help it go down. Boy were we wrong. So these pictures are our proof that his hair does what it wants. This is is after church yesterday. We try not to do a mohawk for church but it seems as though that is all his hair is capable of. My favorite picture is that of the back of his hair. The last picture Jake tried to part it in the middle. We couldn't stop laughing!

Phew................we're back!

What a vacation. Nolan and I were gone for almost a month. A lot happened in good old Utah. I really do miss the beautiful mountains. They were so petty all snow covered. Utah is such an amazing destination.
Nolan and I started off the adventure staying at my parents house. We first went to visit some of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time. Loved that. Then we went to see Santa Clause. I celebrated my 4th wedding anniversary without Jake. Still love him to pieces. He is the best! Then Jake finally came out after his tests were all finished on the 22nd. We were so excited to see him. Once Jake got there time just flew by. Between Grandparents and parents, so many things happened. We took way too many pictures, as usual, and laughed and played a lot.
We were lucky enough to go skiing twice! Jake really misses getting a seasons pass. In due time it will happen again. Christmas was so much fun. I can't believe that it was Nolan's first Christmas. It will get better every year. Oh, and Nolan is already 9 months old! We better get started on his birthday. You all know that I celebrate the birthday week. Oh yeah baby! Well, I hope you enjoy our pictures. We had so much fun but it is good to be back in the "land of the good earth."

HaPPy NeW YeaR!!!!!!!!!

We celebrated New Year's at the Rabe's with our friends. It was so much fun. We played a mad game of Catchphrase. We never did have enough time to break the tie. I'm sure the girls would have pulled away victorious. We finished up the night with sparkling cider and lots of laughs. What a fun New Year's.

Say hello to my little friend

Here we are with our friends Joel and Tera, better known as Lynn, Meyer. We love these guys. They invited us down to see there new town home. Loved it! They also treated us to some grub at Outback. Thanks guys. We miss hanging out with you and kickin' your trash at, well.... everything. Yeah, that's right!

















MAN HUG!!!!! We actually got this on camera. Tera and I couldn't stop laughing. We were beside ourselves. Oh Joel, you look like a fairy!

Tribute to Nolan boy

Nolan and I were getting ready to go to dinner with my parents when it started to snow. The cool thing about it was that it was sunny outside with these huge flakes coming down. I had to take a pictures. Gosh, I love Utah!

Nolan was playing with a car at my parents house that goes if you push the head. How I wish I could take that sucker home. He loved it, as you can see from the picture!

Can we say "bad hair day?" We went in one morning to get the little guy and this is what we found. Yikes!

We were at our friends party and Sophie's clip came off so someone, not going to say names, put it in Nolan's hair. So here is our precious little Nolina. Isn't she cute?

Nolan got a really cool toy from Grandma and Grandpa Rabe. He loves it. He really fits the part since the toy came with a cool hat! Monsters at work!

CHriSTmAS mORnINg

We usually spend Christmas morning with the Russell's and have an excellent time. Nolan loved watching the dog grab the wrapping paper and run with it. We had a fun time with Kim and Dan's kids. Nolan loves hanging out with his cousins. I wish we would have taken more pictures but we got so caught up with opening presents that we forgot to take pictures.
We got spoiled for sure! Christmas is so much more fun with a kid. It makes me think back on the many Christmas mornings. The excitement is so real. I love the holiday season.

ChRiStMaS EvE

Tra..di...tion......TRADITION! Every year we go to the Rabe's for Christmas Eve. It is always fun because we all get out boxes, which have our Pj's in them, and have a race to see who will open and put on their pajama's the fastest. As usual Ben wins, but totally cheats, because he just puts them on right there. You are suppose to go to the nearest room and put them on. As usual Kendra and I wait until all has settled down and then we comfortably go to the vacant room and put them on like perfect ladies should. I tease, but we really do love the jammies that we got! Thanks Brad and Ann!

Who loves skiing?....I do, I do!

My dad treated us to a day of skiing, my favorite. Utah had so much snow for December. We were stoked! The day was perfect. Not cold at all, considering we are now from Wisconsin, which is to me, the coldest place on earth. It was great to finally see my sister and her husband Dan ski. Kim still thinks she is better than me....I beg to differ. I have become quite the skier since I married Jake. He has trained me well. We can't wait till next winter for our little boy Nolan, yes that's right Nolan, to be hittin the slopes. He won't even be two yet. No matter, gotta start'em young.

We are so goofy. I don't think there is ever a dull day in the Russell house.

I think I have the sexiest man alive! He is so much fun too. We really love to go skiing together. Nothing beats being on the mountain.