Is this still a blog?

Gosh, it seems this has become a "Nolan's Picture Album" site.

So consider this the update!

Parenthood is something else. It seems like Nolan does something new every day. His latest tricks include a few tentative steps, and refusing to eat anything but "num-nums", a bottle or fingerfood. None of this baby food spoon-feeding for him!

So far, we haven't made any mistakes that seem like they'll permanantly scar him; he's taken a header or two, but those have been mostly unpreventable...like when he was climbing on daddy and took a dive right into the floor. His new nickname is "Lawn Dart" He likes to climb up on anything...the chair, the dog, Daddy's head. He just hasn't figured out how to *stay* up yet.

He crawls like a maniac and it looks like he might skip the walking and proceed directly to run. His few steps that he's managed to stay upright for have been all out. He seems surprised when he takes more than one and he stays up. He pauses, and looks around like "What the heck am I still doing up here?" And then goes back to heading in whatever direction he was aimed at. When he falls, it's usually one continuous motion...walk to fall to crawl.

He's learned to play "chase" now, too. I point at him and ask "What's going on over there?!" He laughs and turns away, then I say "Am I gonna hafta get you?" - which is his cue to scream at the top of his lungs and take off.

As for Jerry and I, it's fun. Nolan's a hoot, and we have a ball. Jerry'll have a couple of weeks off over Christmas (ah, the benefits of working at a college - Christmas vacation and health insurance!) so we'll probably ski as much as we can find someone to come with and sit in the lodge watching the child. I missed skiing last year while I was impersonating a beached whale. I think I'll have to relearn everything. It's always a challenge trying to keep up with Jerry, and a winter off isn't going to help matters.

I'm done with school; had my Biology final on Monday. I'm pretty sure I got an A in that class; the last time I checked I had a 99% average, but that was before the term paper was due and bthe final happened. American National Government, I'm not so sure. I've gotten an A and two B's on the first three tests, and I submitted papers on the two tests that I got the B's on to raise them to A's. However, the final test I've not gotten results on, and the teacher has not emailed me back to tell me if I need to do a paper on the last test. I do not want to ruin my GPA on a class that is "required"... it's funny, I'm not going to have a 4.0, because some of the classes I will use toward this degree come from Gracleand College and I didn't care so much about my GPA then, but now, anything less than an A feels like I don't know the subject matter well enough. Especially in the science classes. It feels like if I get less than a 100% on a test that it's a failure, since it's all "fact", and no abstractions. Facts are facts, either you know them or you don't.

At any rate, I'm done with this semester; next semester I'll be taking Chem 111 and Educ 203; the chem class I'm really looking forward to; I just like science! The Education class is a work-for-credit class; I'm going to be getting 2 credits for my past experience as an assistant coach for the Wendell High School track team. And, I can take it again so I'l have 4 credits total. Hopefully they transfer to BSU! It seems like it's going to take forever for this degree.

Dinosaur Jammies

 

Trapped!

 

Escape?

 

Climber!

 

Christmas Picture

 

I have a test today.

Yep, a Biology test. Riiiggghhhtt. 25 miles away. Uh.huh.

The dogs are absolutely going out of their minds with glee.

Now I know I live in Idaho, but I live in what the locals term the "banana belt" along the Snake River, and we do not get snow like this on a regular basis.

Now I've got the skiing bug, bigtime.

And more SNOW!

And the view out the back door. 

Let it snow!!

I LOVE SNOW!!!!!!

This is the view out my front door this morning. 

LOTR quiz

Which Race of Middle Earth do you belong to?




If you're someone who ;-knew me as a child, you know just how appropriate it is that I turned out to be a horse-lord. :-)

Nolan's Costume

Nolan was a pumpkin for Halloween. Isn't he just the cutest thing ever? 

He likes his carseat

This morning, Nolan crawled into his carseat all by himself. It was in the living room because we used it in Jerry's truck last night, and needed to switch it back to my Jeep. I guess he wanted to go for a ride. 

Nolan LOVES the kitties

Max is pretty patient with him. Nolan can pretty much do anything at all and Max just lays there. 

Nolan as of late

Here's the little tyke, so big and strong! He can go just about anywhere in his walker now, or by crawling. Here, he's in his walker and Paris is watching warily to make sure he does not run her over. 

And Yet More School

And Yet More School

I’m really getting in the groove of this school thing.  I’ve always liked school, but now that I have a clear purpose and goal, and I *KNOW* what I would like to do (it only took me a decade to decide!) I’m truly enjoying it.  I like it all.  The papers, the tests, the lectures, the lab.  Fun, fun fun.

This semester, I have Biology 1 and American National Government.

The government class is not too bad, since I believe that every person should have a working knowledge of his/her government, and especially in the US where every person has a say in what the government is.  The people that believe their vote doesn’t count just irritate me…hello?  George W. Bush’s first presidential election???!!!
Anyway, I digress.  For my degree, I need to become “core certified” which  means that I have several general education classes I must take before I can get a degree.  I already have an AAS in Computer-aided-drafting, but an AAS (Associate of Applied Science) is a technical degree, not an Academic one, so I skipped all the “extraneous” stuff.  Basically, I have to take a Social Sciences class and two humanities classes.  American National Govermnent had the added bonus of being an independent study course.  So I go once a month and take a test on the reading assigned in the study guide.  The first test wasn’t bad, but man, this second one…so many court cases to memorize!  I am certain I pretty much bombed it.  I haven’t gotten the results back, though…and it’s been a couple of weeks.  

My Biology course is a different story.  I love everything about it.  I love the lecture, the lecture instructor is a kick in the pants and very knowledgeable.  She also makes it fun to be there and easy to understand.  And the lab.  Cool as beans.  I love doing the experiments.  In fact, we have a practical exam tomorrow.  I even love those.

Next semester may be a different story.  I’m taking only one class, it’s Chemistry 111…basically, it’s one I need, and fits into my schedule, but it’s a five credit class, 1 hour four days a week and three hours one day a week for lab.  Whew!  That’s going to cut into my time, for sure.

Knife of Dreams

I'm an avid reader of the fantasy genre. Not so much the Forgotten Realms D&D stuff. I mean epic fantasy. Robert Jordan. George R. R. Martin, Elizabeth Haydon. But especially Robert Jordan.

I've been reading his series since I was a sophomore in high school. The kid sitting behind me in English class loaned me his copy of "The Eye of the World" and I was hooked. Since then it's been a waiting game. The books have come out roughly 18 months to 2 years apart, and I just got book 11 the other day.

At first, I'd wait very impatiently for the book to come out and buy it on the first day available. I'd take a day off work and just sit there and read it all in one go. I also used to read the entire series again just before a new book was published. The story's so involved it's good to refresh your memory.

Then books 8, 9, and 10 came out. Ugh. Talk about plot disaster. I think a few weeks of time were all that was covered in 3 books! SSSLLLLOOOOWWWW. I even quit rereads before I got a new book.

So, for the first time, I did not show up at Barnes & Noble at opening to get Knife of Dreams, the 11th installment of the Wheel of Time. But once I got into it, I was pleasantly surprised. Would you believe there was *plot advancement*? AND, even better, some plot *resolution*

I'll be surprised if it only takes one more book, like RJ says, to finish the series. But he at least got a good start. There were some *great* moments, like Mat, the confirmed ladies man, getting married, and figuring out how to rescue Moiraine, the series' Merlin/Gandalf character. Everyone's thought she was dead since about book 6. Of course, in true RJ style, she wasn't actually *rescued* in this book.

All in all a good read. Nothing compared to the first three books, but good just the same. It gives me hope for the finale.

On Vacation!

This weekend we ar roadtripping through Yellowstone, and will go down to Jackson, WY. Here are some pictures from Bear World in Rexburg. Nolan was good in the car


This is Nolan petting the baby moose.

This is me feeding the baby black bears.







These are the two grizzly cubs. Their names are Bridger and Bridgette. Those are donuts that they are eating that you can purchase to feed them from the tour truck.












These are two bears reaching up the truck for slices of bread and donuts. In the background are the two wolves that also live at the park








This is a grizzly at the bear park in West Yellowstone.

That School Thang

So far so good! I have had 3 tests and one assignment due so far. The tests came back pretty good. Government 91%, Bio lecture 100% and Bio Lab 96% - that one should have been 100, also, but I didn't use quite the right phrasology to describe "depth of focus" so missed one question. I knew what it was, I just didn't quite explain myself well enough. THAT irritated me to no end. It should have been right. Grrrrrr.

The lab instructor just pointed to my 96% and looked at me like I was nuts for complaining, but I really don't like missing a question when I know what the right answer is! Argh.

The assignment that was due was the rough draft of my Title, Introduction, and Methods sections of the scientific paper I am writing. So far so good. I will need to do a little polishing on it before the final draft of those sections are due next Tuesday. Mainly, I need to get my citations in order and fill in some blanks in my background research, which is basically how the body processes carbohydrates.

We have a tooth!!

Yep, the first one peeked out just a little bit yesterday. He's a little cranky, but not anything like what I thought it would be like.

An Adventure Story

There was once a little baby named Nolan. One day, Nolan's mommy had to go to the bathroom, so she put Nolan in the living room on the soft rug and blankets, with many toys and things to entertain himself with. Nolan was unsatisfied with her offerings of playthings, so he decided to go on an adventure to find his own.


First, he saw a huge shaggy orange striped tiger. He decided to go tiger hunting. He crept closer and closer. Oh NO! The tiger saw him and ran away! Oh well, maybe some other day.





Next, he saw shiny gold rings on the floor of the kitchen. They were very pretty so he decided to go get them. He crawled and crawled, and soon he could play with the ring. But this got boring, so he decided to go exploring some more.



He looked up and saw a deep, dark cave. Funny thumping sounds were coming from the cave. Interesting. So he crawled and crawled until he was in the cave. It was dark and there were lots of strange big things to touch and feel. He found a big plastic jug of something, so he grabbed it and tried to pull it into the light of the kitchen where he could play with it. It was really heavy. He pulled and pulled but he could only tip it over and move it a little bit.

Meanwhile, Mommy was done using the bathroom. She went out to the living room where she left Nolan and his toys. There were toys everywhere, but no Nolan! Mommy was worried. Where could Nolan have gone? He was not in the living room. He was not in the kitchen, and he was not in Mommy's bedroom. Where was he?

Then she heard a thump coming from the Laundry Room. She went into the dark laundry room, and there was Nolan! Mommy picked him up and gave him a hug. She was very happy that Nolan wasn't lost.

And that is Nolan's adventure.

Homework

Homework. So far so good. We had to come up with a title and hypothesis for our lab paper. SO, mine is:

THE EFFECT OF DREAMFIELDS PASTA ON BLOOD SUGAR VS TRADITIONAL PASTA

My hypothesis is that Dreamfields pasta will impact blood sugar less than regular run-of-the-mill pasta.

So now I'm looking for guinea pigs. To apply, you have to be in the Magic Valley, and you have to agree to get your finger stuck multiple times, and you have to be willing to eat plain pasta for breakfast. Yum.

Oh, and the good thing? Two of my group's members were not in lab yesterday, and the other decided to do a different project. So YAY, I'm doing it by myself!

Some of the people in the class are quite creative. One group is going to see which is more explosive when shaken - Shasta Cola or Coca Cola Classic. One group is going to see what cat food cats like better, and one is going to see if beer or water goes through a human's system faster. (???!!!)

Lecture is just that...lecture. Not much going on there except note taking. My American National Government Class is self-study. I have until September 12 to read one more chapter and take a test. There are 4 tests total, so I have plenty of time.

Starstruck...or should that be starSTUCK?

Back to School

So I've started classes. And yes, it was *exactly* as scary as I thought it would be. I've forgotten how to go to school. Forgotten how to take notes, forgotten how to do the entire class experience.

I'm taking 2 courses. Biology 201 and Political Science 101 (American Government) The government class is self-study, so I just need to read the book and take tests. I hope to jam right through that class so I have it off my mind and can focus on Biology.

So for Biology, my schedule worked out that I had Lab before I ever had leture. I was surprised. I thought the lab would closely follow the lecture, but it is like taking a completely different course. The instructor is different, even. I'm taking Lab from Heidi Hawkins, and we used to climb with her and her husband, "long ago". Long enough ago that she didn't remember me, and I had to remind her.

I managed to be 5 minutes late for class. Way to go CJ, late for the first lab! Long story. I actually got to the college 1/2 hour before lab started, but the line in financial aid was about 4 miles long with all the secretaries out to lunch or something. I know, excuses excuses.

And I got roped into a group project. Our "project" for the semester is to do a simple experiment using the Scientific Method. We can do it on our own, or with a group. The table I was sitting at had 4 people, and I made the ...well, I wouldn't call it a "mistake", really...but it's ended up that we will probably do the project together. I think I'd probably prefer to do it on my own. We're going to be testing the assertion that Dreamfield's pasta does not spike blood sugar levels like regular pasta does. One of the people at my table kept trying to "modify" my experiment, so I finally said that this was the experiment I was doing, they could do it or not if they wanted. It looks like they want. Which is OK, really. I need to learn to do group projects. At least the paper we write is not a group thing...we all must write our own lab reports.

That's scary in and of itself. I've never written a lab report, and my writing skills are not what you'd call great. I made it into the Honor's English program at Graceland, simply on my ACT/SAT scores, but I've never had good luck in a College English class. All the instructors want me to see these deep meanings in boring stories, and I'm afraid the deep meanings they want me to see are simply not there. And I certainly can't write about them. I can't even manage to fake it well enough.

SO, I'm hoping that writing a lab report will be easier, since it's suppposedly based on fact. We'll see. For Tuesday's lab, I'm supposed to have the topic and hypothesis of my lab report done. Easy. I can do that. If I remember, I'll try and put up my assignmnets here.

Lab Lecture scared me to death. The instructor is wonderful. She's cute and funny and interesting. And so far the information is nothing I haven't had before in either high school biology, or in the bio100 I took at Graceland. BUT, when the instructor walks in and says "This is Biology 1. This is a class for Science majors. This is a hard class. This class has [something like] a 50% drop rate", someone who hasn't gone to school for almost a decade has a heart attack. That would be me. Heart attack.

Anyway, I'm stuck now. Bought my $250 worth of books, and took them out of their wrappers, so they're non-refundable.

Sitting Up

Nolan's new trick for this week is sitting up.

He's so interesting. It seems to me like he'll never do something that he's supposed to be doing by now, not even a little bit, then, all of a sudden, he can do it and he can do it perfectly with no practice. It was like that with his sitting. One minute, he didn't even try to keep himself upright when I propped him up, the next, he was sitting like he's been doing it for weeks.

Getting up on his hands and knees was like that, too. He just layed there like a lump, then I guess he decided that he wanted to get up on his hands and knees, so he did it. Now, I'm expecting him to just all of a sudden one day be crawling like a champ.

I like NASCAR

Hug the Wolf

Time Out Wolf

Getting Full!

MMMMMM carrots

Carrot flavored hands

6 Months

Nolan is now 6 months, so he had his latest set of immunizations (only 2 this time!) and his checkup.

He is 20 pounds, 3 oz. 90th percentile
28 inches tall, 90th percentile
44cm head circumference, 50th percentile.

So, a little smaller than he has been in comparison to ther babies. Ah, well. I don't suppose that he can remain a giant his entire life. The NP who did his checkup says that it's likely he'll be somewhere "over 6 feet"...the figure she gave me was 6'2, but you know how that goes. "They" said Ben was going to be something like 5'10"...and we all know how that turned out. :-)

For those that don't know, my brother is around 6'2" and over 200 pounds.

What Nolan can do

Boy, I've been terrible at updating this thing.

Nolan had his 6 month birthday 2 days ago, and he decided now that he's six months, he can crawl. Ok, so it was only one little "step" but he can do military regulation pushups, and sometimes he can get on his hands and knees.

He is quite the little creature of habit. He wakes up at 6:30 every morning, eats breakfast, plays, then goes to sleep at 8:30 for his first nap. He then sleeps for 2 hours. He has second breakfast, plays, then takes another nap at 10:30. He sleeps for 2 hours. Repeat every 2 hours. He goes to bed at 8:30 and sleeps all night. Then we wake up and do it all over again.

He likes his baby food, for the most part. We gave up on rice cereal, since he vomits every time I try to give it to him. He likes applesauce, bananas, carrots, and green beans. In other words, everything we've tried so far he seems to enjoy.

What *I* don't enjoy are the diapers since he started eating 'real' food. P.U.

The carseat we got him was a Britax Companion. It's supposed to fit them up to 1 year. Yeah, right. We ended up getting him the Britax Wizard 2 weeks ago. At least this one will fit him for a while. The first time I put him in it, it took approximately .5 seconds for him to throw up in it. Story of my life lately. What *hasn't* the kid puked on?

Naked Baby

Totally Out

I like my Walker

First Cereal

Meeshka's World

Meeshka's World

Army Crawl

Surgery Report

I had so many people asking about Nolan's surgery and how it went that I finally got off my duff and wrote out something for the blog. It seems like forever since I've updated.

Anyway.

Monday night, I, of course, was completely unable to sleep; I think I finally went to bed about 2:30am. We had to get up at 4:30 to feed him, since at 5am we had to start withholding food and we also had to leave for Boise. We got there a bit before 7 and checked in...St. Lukes is great for streamlined checkin. We were probably only there for 15 minutes before they came to get him into pre-op.

We were able to go with him into pre-op, dress him in his little gown, and then proceded to go through the 5 different people who all ask you the same questions:

When did he eat last?
Is he allergic to anything?
What exactly are we doing today?

And then we waited for the surgeon to arrive...surgery was scheduled for 9am, but he didn't go in until about 9:30. The two surgical nurses that came to get him were both male, and the first one picked him up, and Nolan immediately started to cry. The poor guy was completely flustered, so the other nurse took Nolan from him and said "Well, he can tell *you* don't have 4 of these at home." Of course Nolan stopped crying the instant the experienced daddy got ahold of him. I was ok until he started to cry, then I was just a goner.

St. Lukes also has a great waiting room system. There's a large computer screen up on the wall that lists the patients' names that are in surgery. It has an icon to show what's going on at the time, whether they are going under anesthesia, are in the actual surgery, when they're "closing", when they are transferred to recovery, and when they can have visitors.

From the time he was sent to recovery until that 'visitors' icon popped up, I was glued to the screen! The instant I saw it come on, I ran up to the front desk, and found out they'd already sent someone to take us back to see him. We were very impressed with the efficiency at the hospital.

He is officially the "best baby of the week" because he never fussed other than that first little cry. He's also the cutest baby. Everyone kept finding excuses to come down to our side of pre-op to peek at him.

The only criteria for him to be released was that he had to eat and keep it down, and it took about an hour and a half before he was interested in eating anything, but he did and they sent us home. He can have infant's Motrin for pain, and I gave it to him all afternoon Tuesday, and a couple of times Wednesday, but for the most part, he's never really shown any signs of pain.

As of now, he's really back to normal. He has a recheck on the 11th in Boise, but that's more routine than anything. He doesn't have any stitches to remove; the only sutures are internal, and they sealed the incision with a skin glue that totally seals over so we don't have to worry about poopy diapers getting into the incision. He can even take baths normally. In fact, this whole thing didn't even upset his schedule. He took naps normally and slept normally Tuesday night.

At any rate, he is great; I'll put up some more pictures soon!

Superman

4 Month Checkup

Nolan's 4 month checkup and immunizations went pretty well!

He's 18 pounds 5 oz (97th Percentile), 27 inches (100th percentile +) and I can't remember the head circumference, but it was 75th percentile.

He didn't like his shots much, and they seemed to set him back more than they did the first time. He got a little fever, but Tylenol is good for that.

First 4-wheeler ride

In the camper

Eskimo baby

My little Rapper