July 2011

The month of July seems like it was fast and furious. We filled it with quite a bit starting with our family vacation to Donnelly with the whole Mairs Clan and it ended with the birth of Ian. We had lots of fun and made lots of memories with everyone.

Nolan definitely grows like a weed. he is such a fun happy kiddo, and for that I'm very grateful. He is full of such happy energy, so you can't help but smile when he's around. He had lots of fun learning about water and playing and growing. Love that kid!

We are very blessed to have a dear friend Laurie watch Nolan for us when we're at work. She is so great with him. They have such a good time together learning about things outside and life in general. Laurie is always capturing good pictures of him as well.

This is a picture of what Laurie calls a backyard salad made by her and Nolan!

Nolan and Daddy also spent some good quality time together in July too. Daddy decided to take Nolan to a Hawk's baseball game, and Nolan completely loved it. He loved Humphrey the Hawk, and he was spoiled with lots of yummy food. Daddy took a picture for me since I had to work that night.

Nolan enjoying the game

Later in the month from July 11 to July 22 Nolan had swimming lessons with mommy. I loved it. We got out at least three times a week, and we got to play in the water. We had lessons at Ivy Wild, and they have a great little kiddie area.

The first few days Nolan was definitely hesitant. To get all of the kids excited about the lessons, they first played "Ring Around the Roses". Nolan wanted nothing to do with it for the first few lessons, but he eventually came around. I think he just didn't like the fact that the water can get on your face.

He has always loved water, but would never let it get on his face or head. Nolan also had issues going down the little kiddie slide at first, but once he saw that I wouldn't let his face get in the water, he was fearless. Eventually, he would put his whole head under the water and walk around in the kiddie pool while holding his breath.

After he had mastered the kiddie slide and putting his head in the water, he was always begging to go down the "big daddy slide". I told him we would have to wait until the weekend to go with daddy, thus the "big daddy slide". We were never able to make it to the pool on the weekends in July, but thankfully on the last day of swim lessons, the instructors let the kiddos go down with their parents. Nolan was so excited and he waited so patiently in line. I wish I could have gone down the slide and taken pictures of him at the same time, but it didn't work out that way. I'm sure it would have been funny seeing a 9 month pregnant woman going down the slide with her 3 yr old.

Because we never were able to go to the pool with Nolan, we did fill the kiddie pool in the back and play with our water guns. Nolan had a blast of course doing that, and he got both Mommy and Daddy wet, but mostly Daddy.

Daddy and NolanMommy, Nolan, and Ian too!

Nolan was given tickets to the Boise Zoo for his birthday from Auntie Karissa (Krissy), Uncle Paul, Mandi, and Alli. It included a Safari hat that was perfect for the visit! So on July 23 (the weekend before Ian's due date) the whole family went for a visit. Nolan had a blast. He loved the animals, the slides, and the gift shop!

The first thing we did when we got there was go on the giraffe slide. In fact, he went down that slide many, many times and would have stayed longer had we not wanted to walk and see all the other fun animals and sights. (We were hoping that it would kick start labor for me. No such luck.)

Nolan riding a Komodo DragonNolan on the slide outside the reptile house

Nolan also had a blast feeding the goats and sheep there. He wanted to always be feeding the little ones, but some of the big ones just pushed their noses right in. It was worth a try though, and Nolan really did have a good time with it.

Once again Nolan, Mommy, and Baby Ian

Another fun place to go at the zoo is the butterfly area. They are very careful in this area and give you lots of instructions so that the area is kept safe. They tell you to watch out for butterflies in the walkways, and to wait for assistance to remove them. Before you can go in or out of the area, you step into a room where everyone is inspected to make sure none of them have escaped. When you go in, they are everywhere. It was so peaceful in there with them even with a large group of people.

Nolan was luck enough to have one land on his hat. Of course he didn't know that, and it was probably better that way. The butterfly was content to just sit there for quite a while. I was surprised that it didn't fly away sooner.

Nolan and his butterfly Nick got this picture. I loved it!

The zoo was great fun and a super birthday present for Nolan. He was even able to get a present from the gift shop with the gift card he was given. He chose an animal rescue man in a helicopter with all of his tools. We will definitely have to look into getting a family pass sometime for birthdays or Christmas.

Later that night, Nick and I decided to take Nolan to get some ice cream. Instead of driving, we decided to walk there. (Again, for Ian's sake.) We went to Big Bun which is now also Fancy Freeze. Nick calculated that it is only about two miles from the house, so we walked about 4 miles that day. Nolan switched between the stroller and walking with us, and he actually did a great job. I didn't go into labor though...Good thing the ice cream was good!

The next day we had Bella and Emi's birthday at Gramma Leeny's and Papa's house. Elisa made cute bug cake and cupcakes with worms and dirt and the whole bit. It was so cute. Nolan also was able to play in the water. Gramma Leeny got a little water slide for all of the grand kids, and it was a big success.

Elisa giving the big belly a rubMom, Me and ElisaNolan and Emi playing on the water slide

Still after all of the excitement of the weekend, no baby and only little tummy tightenings. It was sure a lot of fun though, and it was nice to spend time with the Peavey's before they had to head back to Oklahoma. We will be so happy when they are able to move back out west again and be closer to the family.

July was awesome for so many reasons like vacation, parties, swimming, and outside play time, but the biggest reason is because our little man Ian was born on July 27, 2011. It was a great day for the whole family. More about that later...