A shirt like Pop Pop's

It feels like it has been a busy week, although we have very few pictures to show for it.

Joshua came home from day care early Thursday with a stomach bug which made for a long weekend. But we survived and now we are on to the challenge of changing his sleeping pattern. We are hoping all 3 of us survive the change.

Fall has come to our neighborhood. Our neighbors across the street have the prettiest tree on the block.

For as long as I can remember, my Pop Pop has worn short sleeved golf shirts that have a pocket to hold his magnifying glass. Joshua wore a shirt this week that reminds me of something Pop Pop would wear. It has a tiny little pocket that might hold a quarter. Of course Joshua looked handsome in his Pop Pop shirt.

We are looking forward to the weekend. Aunt B is coming to hang out and we are gearing up for the trick or treat stampede we experienced last year. Details to come...

In Health News Today...

We learned from his 9-month check-up that Joshua is growing. He weighs 18 lbs 8 oz and is 27.75 inches tall.

We can see that he is growing by how grown up he looks in his blue jeans. They are a little big so the Huckleberry Finn pant leg roll is necessary, but he is quite cute in them nonetheless.

Seriously weighing the costs vs. benefits of disobeying.

Have a great week from the editorial staff of Nolen News

9-month old boy charms his way to a free pumpkin

Joshua and I make frequent trips to Wal-Mart. He loves going and riding in the cart. Joshua flashes smiles at passersby and will clap and laugh when anyone gives him attention.
Monday, Joshua stole the heart of a 70-something year old gentleman. We were headed to the checkout by way of the produce section. As we passed the pumpkin display Joshua went crazy with delight. He started squealing, clapping, kicking his legs and laughing. The man handed Joshua a small pumpkin and Joshua kissed it and smiled the biggest 2-tooth smile I have ever seen. The gentleman said, "Oh, I think that little boy needs this pumpkin," to which I replied, "No, we already have a great pumpkin at home." Not taking "no" for an answer, he hands me $1 and says, "You go buy this pumpkin for that baby." I had no option but to say, "Yes sir and thank you very much."
So Joshua has his free pumpkin. Too bad Joshua didn't make a scene around the flat screen TVs or we could have been watching Saturday's game in style!
We tried to get a picture of him with both of our pumpkins but he was much more excited about licking the pumpkin or bouncing it on the floor like a basketball. Here are our best shots.

"Wow, that pumpkin has a really cool curl in it's stem! I've never seen anything like it."
"This looks like a basketball, let's see if it bounces like one."

"So this is what pumpkin pie tastes like without the pie."

"Look, its as big as my head!"

0.75 years of age

Joshua is 9-months old today!

Being Joshua's parents is such fun. We are constantly learning how to best teach and care for him. Some things we now know:

• Punishment. It usually only takes us saying "no" to something for Joshua to burst into tears. But the buttons of the dvd player and the picture frames and candles on the end table are so cool, Joshua is willing to get in trouble just for a few seconds of playtime with them.
• It is not a good idea to laugh when Joshua disobeys in a humorous manner. (for example: While eating dinner, it is funny when a fraction of a second after telling Joshua not to throw cheerios on the floor, he looks at you, holds his fist full of cheerios over the floor and opens his hand without blinking. However, it is not ok to laugh in that moment.)
• Joshua has some kind of 6th sense that wakes him from his nap as soon as I lay down to rest.
• No matter how difficult we make it for him, Joshua will find a way to climb behind the chair and then behind the couch.
• Joshua is a fast crawler.
• Don't worry, he'll let you know if he wants something.

"Mr. Personality" is the best descriptive name for Joshua right now. He smiles big, laughs a lot and cries when he doesn't get his way. Things we know about Joshua:

• Joshua is observant. He will sit quietly and watch what is going on around him. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before he starts trying to do the things he has been watching others do.
• Joshua is all boy. He likes to bang his sippy cup on the table and yell during supper, he loves to wrestle with Dave, and already thinks it is funny to pass gas.
• Joshua's legs are ticklish.
• He loves to eat. Last Wednesday Joshua ate the following foods for lunch: carrots, apricots and mixed fruit, country berry applesauce, meatloaf, mac and cheese and green beans.
• Joshua loves books. He will sit and turn the pages of his books over and over. When he gets fussy at school his teacher puts him in his bed with some books and he quickly calms down and entertains himself for a while.
• He likes to be startled or scared. There are very few things that can get Joshua laughing harder then Dave jumping out from behind the door and scaring him. (The same is not true for Joshua's mom!)

We have some fun family things coming up in the next few months. Aunt B will be here for Halloween and her birthday weekend, Abigail's 1st birthday, a family reunion at Thanksgiving, and of course Dave is looking forward to hunting season. I'm sure all of these events will produce some excellent blog entries.

Thanks for reading our blog. We'll see you again next week!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Larry!

We want to wish our Uncle Larry a Happy Birthday!

We cheered for your hogs last weekend and were excited they beat the tigers.

Thanks for my Arkansas t-shirt.

I can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving!

Love, Joshua

Star Wars, Pirate or Ninja

For Dave's birthday, Joshua wore his new Star Wars t-shirt. Old Navy has "vintage" t-shirts for small children and I couldn't pass this Star Wars t-shirt up knowing how much Dave loves those movies (at least the first 3 movies). We also have a pretty cool Batman shirt that will be debuted later in the winter-stay tuned.

We are finally getting a video taken over Labor Day weekend posted. Joshua loved playing with a small toy sand shovel at Coach and Nana's that weekend. He swung it around like a sword and started making "pirate" noises each time he picked the shovel up. Maybe Joshua is trying to tell us what he wants to be for Halloween.

Or maybe he wants to be a ninja. Although the pajamas featured in this video are Christmas related, Joshua looks like a ninja in them. Dave has been teaching him ninja fighting techniques for a while now. See what you think about his fighting skills...

Celebration Weekend!

Last weekend we celebrated!

October is a popular birthday month in our family so we made a weekend of celebrating birthdays. Uncle Chad, Aunt Glo, Abigail and Aunt B came Friday to hang out and spend the night. After Joshua and Abigail both napped at different times throughout the afternoon we went for a walk on campus to enjoy a gorgeous day. Saturday the 2nd wave of celebrationists arrived. Coach, Nana, GG, Aunt Gay (all the way from Fayetteville, AR), Gumby, Aunt Joy, Tanner, Travis, Trevor and Jessica came to our house. We had lunch and celebrated Aunt Joy's 50th birthday, Jessica's birthday and mine and Dave's 30th birthdays. We had a great time!
Dave's birthday was Monday. Joshua and I made his favorite supper and gave him some funny cards. Today is my birthday and Dave let me sleep in and graciously got up with Joshua this morning. They went on a "secret mission" to Wal-Mart at 7:45 am to get me flowers and birthday cards. They both seemed quite pleased that they made it there and back without me knowing they were gone. It's been a fun week of celebrating!

Kick up your feet and enjoy the walk.

Abigail and Bully

Joshua and Bully

Joshua has not been sleeping well at night. So after everyone else went home, he and Aunt B took a nap in his rocking chair Saturday afternoon.

Happy 30th Birthday Dad!

Happy 30th Birthday, Mom!