Progress...

It's March the 29th and just three more weeks till we move into our new house... Wait, just four more weeks... No maybe five more... Okay, a few set backs, delays yada yada yada looks like the first week in May (Geeze Louise!) Advice 101- Never have set plans when building a house... cause they never are set in stone, rather they are set in jelly.

Whatever!! We have a nice, modern condo in downtown Edmonton, close to many shops, cafe's, grocery stores (and) most important close to scrapbooking stores- what more could a girl want?

As for Nolan, he is doing well... Teething pains have begun, so he is a little fussy and wants to chew on everything (including me.. ouch!).

We have a few plans this weekend- visiting with the grandparents, working on the house, enjoying river valley walks and best of all I get to let loose and have a few cocktails... Whooo hooo!

River Valley

It was a beautiful afternoon... Zak Francis, Nolan and I enjoyed a lovely stroll in the river bottom. I bought Nolan some sunglasses last month, and today we got to use them. Nolan looked as cute as ever!!

You can imagine the muddy mess Zak was in at the end of our walk. Fortunately we had booked Zak in for a shampoo and a hair cut.

I found a "January picture" of Nolan in his car seat... He is much bigger now- I'll let you decide for yourself.

New Faces

We attended Ruth's 80th birthday party. It was nice to see all the Hughson/Aaquist family... We had a nice visit, and were able to show off Nolan to a few more faces. Nolan met his cousin Marshall- who is only 2 and a half months and has already surpassed Nolan by a couple of pounds... wow!

I dressed Keith and Nolan in a matching button up shirt and jeans... How cute! What a great pair those two are... I love them both to pieces

Sweep this sweep that...

Another early morning... up at the crack of dawn. Keith and I met a couple of friends for a very tasty breakfast. Then Keith went out to work on the finishing for the new house; I came out for a couple of hours to take some pictures and to sweep and vacuum the upstairs- What a dirty and dusty job that was. Nolan was in the best company of gramma and grampa Pearce.

I have added some new pictures of our house. Things are moving along smoothly, and we are getting more anxious to move in. On the flip side... the yard is a total mud pit, so I am not excited to see what kind of trouble Zak Francis can get into.

Sleepy Saturday

It was all Ahh's, Ooh's and Booo's at quarter to seven this morning... Nolan was wide awake and ready to take on this bright and cheery Saturday morning. I went to the gym and Keith stayed home with Nolan... Daddy actually got Nolan to take the bottle too- A big improvement, since Nolan has objected the bottle the last few times we have tried. When I got home, Keith headed out to work on our new house, then Nolan and I played a little, ate a bit more and for the last 3 hours, Nolan has been sleeping... Boy oh Boy! I have been trying to get out and enjoy this beautiful warm Saturday before the sun goes down.

Nolan, Zak and I will be heading out to Morinville to check out Daddy's work on the house and get out for a walk while the sun is out.

Well, I better get a move on... we're running out of afternoon... I can't wait to be in the new house... the time is getting soooooo close.

A spoon full of Benadryl... Helps the rash go away

A quick trip to the walk in clinic and a few prescriptions later, we were off to get rid of this bumpy rash.

We definitely picked the quickest medicenter, we were in and out of there within the hour. We saw a relatively young doctor, who seemed very good at diagnosing.. fortunately Nolan's rash was nothing more than a common virus- As for Nolan, he is probably quite uncomfortable with the itch.

It's benadryl and tylenol for the next week! We are hopeful that this will be the end of the "rash season". Otherwise, Nolan seems to be in good spirits... Back to the smiles and laughter we all love, thanks to some good ol' medication.

As for Keith, he is busy with building the new house. The interior doors and remainder of the base boards will be going up this weekend; the electrician will be in this week to finish the electrical and the plumber will be back to finish his job and that means things are moving along nicely.

As for myself, I am busy trying to fit in 'me' time with house cleaning, groceries and motherhood... So far so good... I will be back at Dr. Rod's for an adjustment, I have put my back out of line and need a fine tuning.

I'mma Fuss Pot

Geeze the past few days have been a real challenge. Our poor little man has been feeling a little off. We're not too sure if it's the beginning of teething season, an upset stomach, growing pains or (who really knows). Nolan is not his usual happy self, his smiles and laughs have been been replaced with tears.

Just as Nolan's impetigo had cleared up, his rash has been replaced with contact dermatitis. If it's not one thing, it's sure to be another... I guess the next few days will be trial and error- what works best for the newest rash.

Fortuneately today is better than yesturday (for both of us)... Nolan has found his tiger, and is quite happy chewing on the tiger's ears, paws and tail along with his six fingers.

Ooh I hear a howl from the bedroom... I guess Nolan's awake from his much needed cat nap.

An evening with Gramma

After finally convincing me for an evening away from Nolan; a chance to go out and let loose. Gramma Pearce came over to watch Nolan. Unfortunately he was a little cranky and sore from his immunizations on Friday. I fed Nolan then rocked him off to bed... Keith and I headed out...

Only to find ourselves in an hour and a half line up outside the Druid. When we were the next people to head in the bar, Gramma Pearce called- Nolan was inconsolable, screaming, and she had run out of soothing ideas. Dear me... He wanted the boob, not the bottle, not the pablum, the swing, the vibrating chair, a cuddle with Gramma... he wanted mommy. Keith convinced Gramma to try a few more things, we would be home in the next half hour.

Fortunately, Gramma calmed Nolan, and he cried himself to sleep. We were able to have our pint of Guinness, say hello to our friends, then we called it a night.

Wow! What an evening... Things sure do change when kids come into your life!

Pablum 101

Nolan had his check up with the pediatrician and everything looks just the way it should at four and a half months. Nolan is now 12 and a half pounds of beautiful blubber. His rash has almost cleared up and with the help of some topical cream, it should be gone in no time. Nolan is now able to have some rice cereal two times a day. Keith and I were so excited to witness Nolan's first attempt at eating pablum. Much to our disappointment, he hated it... Most of the cereal ended up on his face and his pajamas- oopsie, I forgot the bib. The doctor did mention that he wouldn't be too interested in it at first but with persistence, he will end up loving it!!

We had much better luck Saturday morning- Nolan actually opened his mouth, although most of it came back out, he did manage to swallow some of it.

It's St. Patrick's Day and Keith and I are actually going out tonight. Gramma Pearce will be coming over to babysit Nolan for a few hours. We are headed to the Druid for a couple pints of Guinness. We figured it would be a good excuse to get out of the house and to hang out with some friends, besides Gramma is very excited to have some one on one time with her grandson.

Speaking of which, this house needs a good ol' clean up before this evening... Gotta Scoot...

Immunization Blues

It's Friday, and we have had a truly busy week. We had Nolan's four month immunizations this morning. Two needles in one leg and one needle in the other... poor guy. Keith also had his immunizations today as well, although, I am not feeling as sorry for Keith as I am for Nolan. Keith will be good for the next ten years, as for Nolan... he'll be back for more needles in two months.

Here come the Solids! We will be giving Nolan a taste of some rice cereal at the end of this month. He will be 5 months old, and his pediatrician feels it's time to start some solids. We are excited to feed Nolan, although, he will continue to be breastfed till his first birthday.

Well the last of the wedding invitations went out today... I am officially finished with making them, it was a lot of work, but I am very happy on how they all turned out. So far we have 90 people on our list and 8 people on the "waiting list". It's too bad we had to have a waiting list but when our venue can only hold so many people what are you to do?

As the months get closer to our wedding date, I am getting more excited. I can hardly wait to finally be married; to Finally share the same last name as Nolan and Keith... to be officially a Pearce.

It's my party and I cry if I want too...

Day four on antibiotics... and a fight to get every drop into his mouth. The taste is awful and it must be taken on an empty stomach :( It has been quite a challenge for Nolan to take the antibiotics 4 times a day, two hours after a feed and one hour before a feed. We are struggling with this strict schedule but are reminding each other that the end is near. Nolan however, is quite distraught about the whole ordeal.

Wow what a week!

Wow, the past few days have really been a challenge... Sunday was our first trip to the hospital since we brought Nolan home. Somewhere along the dusty road, he contacted Impetigo; a very contagious rash- that is extremely gross. We spent Sunday afternoon at the hospital, but fortunately came home before dark. Nolan will be on antibiotics for the next week. His rash has improved significantly since the weekend.

On Tuesday we went for Nolan's hearing test, and lucky for us, Nolan's hearing was perfect. When Nolan was in the hospital for his gastroschesis, he was on a certain medication that increased his chances for having a hearing loss. We will be back at the follow- up clinic in three months for further developmental testing. So far, so good; Nolan continues to meet his milestones and has surpassed his motor milestones by one month.

Today- Wednesday, Keith and I were driving back from St. Albert, when we stopped for gas, we locked the keys in the car along with Nolan and Zak Francis... Panic !! Fortunately for AMA, we were back in the car within 15 minutes, thank goodness.

Like I said... We have had a busy few days, and it's only mid week. We have Nolan's and Keith's immunizations on Friday, a follow up appointment with our pediatrician later on in the day and a baby shower after that... Friday will be a busy day for us.