Our New "Normal"

Life has definitely changed since the additional of Nolan to our family. We are trying to figure out our new "normal." That might take some time!

Nolan was eating every 2.5 to 3 hours however the past two nights he has stretched that to about every 4 hours which is REALLY nice! I hope I didn't jinx myself! There seems to be a lot more laundry now even though we have only added a miniature wardrobe to the normal load. Wait, maybe it's just piling up higher before I get to it...I bet thats it! :0) Nolan continues to grow at a rapid pace. He only lasted about a week in newborn diapers. I have him in size 1-2 now and even those seem to be getting small. He is wearing 3 month clothes already too.

Nash likes to know where his brother is at all times. He will say "Where Nolan?" or "Nolan, where are you?" if he can't find him. He also seems to be creeping into the terrible twos. If he doesn't get his way he has started to throw tantrums...like the ones I've seen other kids throw and said to myself "my child will NEVER act like that." Yep, those kind. He throws himself to the floor and cries. They end rather quickly however if we choose to ignore them. Between the rare tantrums however he is a very happy boy. He loves to play with trucks and his little toy animals. I think he is starting to work his imagination a little bit and he is able to entertain himself for a while. Madagascar and Shrek are the most requested movies right now.

Yesterday Nash and Aunt Nini were at the table coloring. She started to write his name and said "N." Nash was able to finish his name saying "A-S-H." I couldn't believe it. Of course I couldn't get him to do it for the camera even though I attempted many times.

Nash is taking one nap during the day. The timing depends on what time he wakes up in the morning. Sometimes it ends up being in the morning and other days it's right after lunch. But one thing is certain...he still needs one good nap during the day! Today we have been busy trying to get the house in order and making some snacks here and there. Tonight we are having some friends over to watch the Iowa Hawkeye football team play in the FedEx Orange Bowl. GO HAWKS!!!

Holiday Happenings

Nash helping prepare a cake for Baby Jesus's birthday.

Nolan chillaxin'

Christmas Eve picture (Megan and Nolan, Jason, Great Grandma Phyl, Will, Daniele, Rick, Peg, Whitney, Evan and Nash)

Iowa Wentlands on Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to ALL!!!

Great Grandma Phyliss arrived last night from Tipton to celebrate Christmas with us. YAY!!!

Visit from Grama Jo

Grama Jo came to visit us from California from Dec 11th to Dec 20th. I was great to have her here to spend time with us and having the extra set of hands was an added bonus! Thanks for all of your help Grama Jo. She timed her visit so she could also attend a very important event. Jason graduated with his MBA from the University of Iowa on Dec 18th!!! YAY! He had a permanent smile on his face ALL DAY! We drove to Iowa City on Friday evening to attend the ceremony and dinner. We are so proud of you Jason! He had his last class on Dec 19th and is relieved to be done...finally!

Nolan's Two Week Checkup

Yesterday we went in to see Dr. Anderson for Nolan's two week checkup. My mom went with us to chase Nash while I was occupied with Nolan. He was 8 pounds 1 oz at birth and dropped slightly to 7 pounds 11 oz before we left the hospital. A few days later, Maggie, the visiting nurse came over and Nolan weighed 8 pounds 5 oz. Jason thought for sure he was up to 9 pounds yesterday but I refused to believe it. When the nurse weighed him at his appointment the scale read 9 pounds 12 oz. My jaw dropped. I told the nurse I didn't think it was possible but she insisted that it was correct. When we saw the doctor, he was in disbelief too. He sent us back out to the scale for a re-do. Sure enough, 9 pounds 12 oz. I still can't believe it. His length measured 20 1/8 inches and head circumference measured 37.8 cm. I asked the doctor what percentile Nolan was in and he just said, "big." I had some concerns about a few things: Nolan's tongue is attached almost all the way to the the tip, when he spits up it also shoots out his nose and he has a rash on his bottom. Dr. Anderson recommended we get some zinc oxide for Nolan's bottom but was not too concerned about anything else. A good report overall! Nash and Nolan both have appointments in February.

Nolan's Homecoming

We left the hospital on Monday, December 7th, around 11am or so. The lactation consultant came in to talk to us right before we left to talk about the obvious. She also discussed how to best introduce Nolan and Nash. I started crying (freakin' hormones) and then cried all the way home. I was nervous about introducing them and SO excited to see Nash. He wasn't allowed to visit us at the hospital because of flu season.

This was the sign we saw on our garage when we pulled up to the house!

Nash was plastered to the front door as we walked up. He was yelling "Daddy, Daddy!"

Right away Nash wanted to see the baby. He was clapping and saying "baby, baby!" He started rocking Nolan in his carseat and kissing him right away. It was such a relief to see how excited he was...a moment I will never forget.

Nash and Nolan are getting along quite well. Nash likes to hold him (for brief periods of time) and loves to share his stuffed animals. He even tries to share his raisins. We have to keep a pretty close eye on them.

My boys.

It's a BOY!!!

My water broke around 2am on the morning of 12.5.09. Nana and Papa drove down from Grand Mound to stay with Nash while Jason and I headed to the hospital. I think it was around 9:30 when I finally dilated to 4cm and was able to get my epidural. Life was MUCH better after that! The nurses kept a very close eye on the baby's heart rate because it was dropping after contractions (same thing happened when Nash was born). This time however we were able to pull through it without a c-section. By 11:30 I was 6cm dilated and by 12:15 I was 8cm dilated. Around 3:15 the real work started and at 4:58 pm Nolan Jace Wentland entered the world! He weighed 8 pounds 1 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Slightly bigger than his older brother was at birth (6 pounds 13 oz and 18.5 inches long). We are so blessed to have such a happy, healthy little guy and we look forward to introducing him to his big brother Nash.