Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you.....

Well, Nolan's birthday week is officially over. We really crammed in a lot of stuff the last couple of days. We decided to go to Chuck E Cheese for Nolan's birthday dinner which was such a blast!! We felt like kids again. We were trying to hard to get as many tickets as possible so we could get a cool prize at the end.
On the morning of Nolan's birthday we started the day off by opening all of his presents. Seriously this kid is incredibly spoiled!! We couldn't help ourselves! And we totally justified it being his first birthday.
After the presents we "tried" to put Nolan down for a nap but he was just too excited about his new toys and only slept for 40 minutes. During that time Jake and I went to town on the cakes for the party. Jake made a studly basketball cake for Nolan and I made a birthday present cake and cupcakes. We had so much fun doing it. We aren't professional by any means but it was very enjoyable to try.
Then off to church with a very tired boy. We last all but the last 30 minutes of church. We took Nolan home and he snuck in a nap before everyone came over at 6:30. That is when the party began!!! Everyone was so cute singing to Nolan. He didn't really understand how to blow out the candle so Jake and I helped out. Then our videographer, Ricky, gave you a tour of the first comers to the party with our camera. Shortly after we sang, a ton more people came. The party really became so much fun. We hope that Nolan enjoyed his birthday week and knows how grateful we are for him. He is the best little guy!!! We love you Nolan!

Warning!!!!! This is what happens after too much cake and no sleep!

Drum roll please...............Nolan eating his first birthday cake!!!

I like cake!!!!!! Does Nolan like cake?

Nolan was a bit tentative at first with his cake but as soon as Jake helped him dig in he was gone.
We noticed by giving him this cake that he doesn't like to be really messy with his hands. He kept flicking the food off of his hands the entire time. I don't think any kid really knows what to do with their first cake anyway. Nolan got through it and I'm sure that it will only get better with each year.

What do you get with a packed house?..... a PARTY!!!!

It seems like we have been doing nothing but partying. We invited our neighbors and friends over to celebrate Nolan's 1st birthday. I don't think we could have fit anymore people in our tiny little apartment. Seriously, there was nowhere for anybody to sit. Someday we will be able to accommodate when we have parties. It was still a blast!! Nolan is really loved here in Milwaukee and has made some great friends! We are so lucky to have great neighbors too. I don't know what we would do without them. Thank heavens for church.

The goodies!!

Don't those cupcakes look delicious?! Yup, I did them myself, along with the big green present cake. Jake found that idea on the Internet. The bow is made of fruit by the foot. Cute huh? We decided to do a basketball for Nolan's cake being March Madness in all. Jake did a great job frosting it. It turned out fabulous!!! And Nolan loved it! I think that next year we will do chocolate. He kind of like the green cake better. He must be his mother's child.

I know I got a little carried away with the pictures but I was so proud of how the cakes turned out. I can't wait to do one next year. Maybe Nolan will be able to choose his favorite for me to do.

What a way to start a day!!!!!

Nolan is a very spoiled, or shall we say, loved little boy. He got so many presents!!!! It was better than Christmas. I guess you can justify going crazy for their FIRST BIRTHDAY!! He really enjoyed opening them up and checking them all out. It was funny because he thoroughly enjoyed the birthday cards that he received from both grandparents. We would like to thank the grandparents. You made Nolan's day!!!! He loves you guys and can't wait to see you next month.

Chuck E Cheese

What fun it would be to be a kid again. We took Nolan to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday for his birthday dinner. We didn't know exactly how he would take it but overall I think he liked it. There were a ton of people!! I think everyone and their dog was having a birthday party there. Nolan enjoyed the hoops the best. Our neighbor Jake challenged me to a match and I clobbered him. No competition what so ever....that's the best trash talk you'll get out of me. I did take the jackpot with a high of 65 points!!!! My Jake took the jackpot a bunch of times but never got as high as me. I still got it!!!! Yeah baby!



Our fun friends the Majors. Thanks guys for going with us.

Nolan is ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah for Nolan!!!!!!!!!!!!
We can't believe it, one year ago today our precious Nolan was born! We have had a blast this past year and can't wait to see what the next holds for him. He brings us so much laughter and joy. We love him so much! We have lots of pictures to post so stayed tuned!
We love our Nolan boy!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday little guy!

Aahh......the fresh air!

I love Spring!!!! It gets me so excited to take Nolan out and explore new sites. He is at a whole new level with his ability to get around and I know he is going to love being outside. We have a little park down the street that has a kiddie pool. I'm already predicting that we will be there everyday this summer!













Spring is "sort of" in the air. We have been getting days in between storms that are nice enough that we can walk around outside. It is still in the 30's but we'll take it!
Jake got home early today so we thought we would take a stroll outside and try to get Nolan use to walking. We really want him to walk for Nicole's wedding but I'm thinking that is going to be a no. He is really wanting to but is still a little too wobbly on his feet. We still have another 4 weeks so maybe........

A playDATE with Kate

We decided since it was Nolan's birthday week that we would have Kate come over and play with Nolan. I think she had a lot more fun with Nolan's rocking chair than with him. Kate was so funny. She would run over to the rocker and jump on it and lose her balance and almost fall off. She is a very energetic little girl. She and Nolan have become good friends.
I think that the picture of Kate reaching over Nolan was too cute!! They were fighting over all the toys. If Kate took one of the balls Nolan would grab it from her and she would do the same with him. I think we are going to have to start to teaching Nolan what the word share means. It is good for the both of them to play with each other.



Kate is in LOVE with Jake and me too!! She is so funny when she sees us. In church if she sees me she starts to yell "Jill, Jill, Jill" until her parents let her come and sit with me. I love that we get to have such close friends where we live. I hope that Nolan will do the same when he gets a little older with other people. I don't want him to be clingy. I want him to love people and enjoy others company.

Mmmm......mmmmm

We have been trying to teach Nolan how to drink from a straw just recently. He loves it!!! At first when we introduced it to him he didn't quite know how to take it. He immediately sucked it and then spit it right back out, all while making this I'm disgusted face. We kept at it and finally he has figured out that you have to swallow the water. Now every time we bring out the water bottle he starts to grunt to us indicating that he wants some of it. Now he is trying to hold onto it himself. He has become Mr. Independent lately.

I love that Nolan is becoming so independent but at the same time sad because that means he is growing up and someday he won't need me anymore. And since Nolan has become a "daddy's boy" lately I feel even more like he doesn't need me anymore. The other day when Jake left for the night Nolan crawled to the door and started grabbing it thinking if he did that then Jake would come back and be with him. He cried almost the rest of the night until I put him down for bed. I think Nolan is sick of me or something. He only wants to be with Jake. If I'm holding him and Jake is by us Nolan will push me away and lean towards Jake. I feel so unwanted. I hope he grows out of this stage fast because I'm not feeling the love people!!!!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Rabe!

Look what I can do!!!!!

Nolan is a spoiled boy. Jake's parents bought this adorable little rocker from Cracker Barrel for Nolan's first birthday!!! So cute! Nolan loves it. He thinks it's so funny to jump off of it and land on his face. That must be a boy thing.
We also gave Nolan a blue ball that we got for his birthday but decided to give it to him for Easter. Of course he fell in love with it. He chases it all over our "huge" apartment. It is so fun to see him so in to certain toys. He has a bunch of balls now and loves to yell "ball, ball, ball" all day long.

Here is a picture of the cute little rocker. Isn't that cute?!


I think this rocker is going to bring Nolan to a whole other milestone. Yesterday I took him outside for a little while and he stood all by himself, without any hands or stair, for about a minute!!!! Finally he noticed that he was doing it by himself so he started looking for something to hold on to. The whole time he was trying to find something he was giggling. I think it was because he was so excited he did that all by himself. I bet as soon as the weather is warmer this little dude is going to be walking all over the place. And probably going to be accompanied by alot of scrapes and bruises. That's how they learn right? Anyway, Happy Birthday Nolan!!!!! You are truly loved and are incredibly spoiled. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Rabe!!!!!!!!