18 months

I cannot believe Nolan is already 18 months old.

Some new tricks that we learned this month are trying to do a hand stand, and he's fabulous at the wheel barrow!

Nolan sure is soaking everything up at this stage. He is now organizing his shoes into size and color order. He learns very quickly which switch and button does what. We are pretty sure he has every pair of keys, remotes and light switches figured out more than we do. The scary new trick that he learned is opening doors, including twist knobs. We now have to dead-bolt lock the doors...but the little sticker points to the deadbolt and yells, so he already knows that's what opens the door. Nolan is starting to become independent and self feed with a spoon correctly and accurately. He can also drink from a cup without spilling and set it down gently.

Nolan is starting to really assert himself. We are starting to get tantrums. And he is insisting on doing things he knows he will get yelled at for. He will generally get a special naughty look in his eye, stick out his tongue and  quickly do said task while watching you.

And our little boy is finally starting to talk! Words that we have figured out are;  mom, dad, duck, dog, dop(stop), dadas(treats), davee(tv). But he sure understands everything  When asked to go find your legos or go get your Thomas he quickly runs to grab said item. With this new found skill, mom and dad have started bribing Nolan at the dinner table. Eating has never been a strong suit of Nolans, so now we bribe you get to go downstairs if all your beans are gone. And he eats them joyfully, throws his hands in the air (his sign language for all done), and downstairs we go! This is probably my favorite new skill.

This month we had a great time in Wisconsin at the Children's Museum! This was such a cute place and we look forward to visiting it again on our next trip.

We spent the first weekend in March at Wisconsin Dells celebrating Matt's birthday. It was so nice getting together with family and using the waterpark. Nolan LOVED the water park. We went down the slides, he loved playing with all the bolts and screws that hold the water worlds together. He is also still terrified of the giant dumping bucket. As soon as he hears it dinging, he insists on watching in fear.

Here are some of our favorite photos.