Nolan's First Haircut

Today Nolan got his first haircut.  His hair was getting near the point of "how old is your little girl?"  Though it was cute how his hair curls as it gets longer.  A lot like his Uncle Andrew's hair when he was a kid.  Nolan of course cried through most of it.  He was somewhat soothed by his crackers and the other worker at Cool Cuts 4 Kids blowing bubbles. They also put on Elmo as an attempt to distract him from the strange lady snipping a way at his hair.  For your enjoyment here are his before and after pictures and a video of it all.

Before

After

Nolan's First Halloween

Nolan, Nick and Terra

Nolan at the pumpkin patch

 Halloween has come and gone.  What was special about this one is that it was Nolan's first Halloween.  Sunday morning we took Nolan down to the nearby farm to get a pumpkin.  While there we also let him see some of the animals and ride the "train".  Of course we could not resist putting our little pumpkin in among the pumpkins for a photo-op.  It was adorable indeed.

Terra in her witch's hat and Nolan as a Pumpkin

On Halloween we had our annual gathering of family and friends.  I (Nick) cooked up the Three Bean Turkey Chili I make each year.  As usual it was a hit.  Nolan was dressed up as a Jack-O-Lantern.  While I went as Dwight Schrute from the Office.  I was able to find the perfect Schrute-ish shirt at Goodwill. We took Nolan down a few streets on his first Trick or Treat.  It was unfortunately cut short as he was getting cranky and tired.  All in all it was a good time.

Halloween Dilema

We have ourselves a little problem.  Nolan's first Halloween is coming up and we cannot think of what costumes to get.  I (Nick) would like to have a theme with the three of us.  Of course with Nolan being a boy we have thought of Barney, Pebbles and Bam Bam.  I have thought of a scarecrow family.  One of the issues we have been having is that baby costumes look so hot.  I know parts of the country are cold around Halloween but it is probably going to be in the 80s or even 90s here in Mesa.  Nolan is probably not going to need a thick costume.  I'm sure we will think of something perusing the Internet for ideas.

7 Months!!

Today our little Nolie-Face is 7 months!!  He has grown into the following:

21 pounds 5 ounces

wears 9-12 month clothes

 2 teeth

can crawl..forward and backward

he can go from laying down to sitting... VERY quickly

He can pull himself up to a standing position

LOVES to bounce

Knows the difference between his family and people he does NOT know

Is a great sleeper and getting better at napping

Lover of the passies

Continues to love TV and now has a favorite show... ELMO

Loves to swim and take bathes and LOVES to splash

Can say DaDaDa and BaBaBa and sometimes he will squeak out a Mama

Screams in his high chair when he does not get his food and fast as he things he should

Loves melons

Loves to snuggle with his mommy

LOVES crawl on daddy, his favorite time of day is when daddy comes home from work

Loves other kids

His hair is also getting long... so that it sticks out over his ears, which I LOVE.  He also has the MOST expressive eyes!  I have never understood the whole "eyes are the windows to the soul" thing until I met my babe.  They REALLY are my windows into him.

A Baby Story

I have hesitated to write Nolan's birth story, partly because it still seems so vivid still but mostly because up until the moment he took his first breath, it was the worst day of my life. 

The story starts on a Saturday morning.  I don't know why, but I never wanted to pack for the hospital.  Everything, and I mean everything else was planned and prepared in great detail but my stubborn hardheaded pregnancy grumpiness kicked in and I refused to pack.  I even remember telling Nick I wasn't packing and if he wanted something at the hospital he had better pack it himself.  Aren't I sweet?  So on the morning of my trial induction we had limited supplies in the car.  I say trial induction because the plan was to rub some jells around up there and send me home.  But when we got there the doctor said I was going to be admitted... aka we were not leaving with out a baby!  Oh I was so excited that I was going to be in labor.  First things first, an ultrasound to make sure baby was in the right position.  We went down to the imaging part of the hospital and all of the sudden things started looking very familiar and anxiety and fear started to overwhelm me.  The year before I had been in the same ultrasound room as they tried to locate the source of my extreme stomach pain... that time left the hospital with out the baby I was carrying when I had arrived and with one less fallopian tube.  Nick, ever comforting, told me that THIS time would be different.  I recovered quickly once I heard the strong heart beat of my baby boy and was then happily rolled upstairs and back to my room, where after a day and a half of jells, walks, and membrane strips... I was still no closer to having my baby.

So....New plan... have an ultrasound and then go home and wait some more.  I was not all that fond of this new plan, but there was a catch.  There were a few things they had to see on the ultrasound before we could go home... 10 things in fact and they had to see them in 30 minutes.  Things like certain movements, right amount of amniotic fluid, etc.  If they saw what they needed to see in 10 minutes then, great, all done.  I watched the clock intently... 15 minutes left... it's okay he still has time to show his stuff... 10 minutes left...okay baby let's get moving... 5 minutes left... is baby okay?... 1 minute left... guess we are not going home.  I asked to tech, "so he didn't pass?"   And she sweetly told me that it was okay and that there just isn't always enough room for them to move very much.  I was again, rolled back to my room.  From that time on  the tone of the day changed... the nurse was very vague about what the ultrasound had shown, and said the doctor would be in to talk to me about it.  The nurse also told me that I needed to stay on the belly monitors, and no more walking. After I insisted I was finally allowed to walk the halls... where I could feel the other nurses' eyes following me.  Looking back, I should have known to be worried... but I wasn't, I was trying to stay positive and excited that I soon would have my baby... on the outside.  About 7 hours after that days' ultrasound the doctor finally came in to talk to us.  My sister was there visiting at the time and the doctor asked if she could leave so we could talk.  My heart sank, I thought to myself, no I'm not ready to hear this, I cannot lose another baby, not after getting this far, I cannot leave this baby here, I need him too much.  The doctor told us that the ultrasound showed results that make the doctors unable to rule out hydrops.  What the hell is a hydrop?  It is fluid on the spine and neck.  It could be nothing OR It could be an indication of a number of conditions "not compatible with life."  The doctor went on to explain that if there is an issue it would first manifest itself in his breathing and they went into what they could do the help him breath...like poke needles into his chest.  We talked about where he would go if he needed a higher level trauma rated hospital and whether or not I should leave now and go to another hospital to deliver.  And then the doctor left Nick and I with some papers to think about things.... and then I totally lost it.  I sobbed on Nick's shoulder for a long time saying over and over, I can't leave here without him while at the same time trying to prepare myself for a baby that might not be mine for very long. We called our parents and asked them to please come as quickly as possible... there was no way we could have kept it together without our parents.  And they needed to be there, to see him when he was born, just in case... there wasn't another chance.  At that point I was spent and the idea of going through labor was just more than I could bear.  I had to know NOW if he was okay.  Though the doctor said the baby was stable now and I could try to have a vaginal birth, I opted, we all opted for a c-section.  Once the decision had been made I was in the OR within minutes.

Waking up during a surgery and feeling it has ALWAYS been a fear of time.  And here I was laying on a table about to be cut open and I'm wide awake... feeling sick from the medication and overwhelmed and so so scared.  I remember telling the anesthesiologist my legs still felt tingly and asking him if the meds were working.  He asked me, can you feel any pain?  I told him I couldn't and he said good, because they've already started.  WHAT?!  I was irritated, no warning?  And then all the sudden the anesthesiologist tells Nick to stand up so he can see over the curtain... his son is about to be born... he does and sees the doctor pull Nolan out of my belly.  And then... I heard my Nolan cry... I will never forget that sound... they brought him to me and I touched his cheek and said, "on my god" like a million times... I think I may have even been yelling.  They took him to get warmed up and in a blanket and the nurse told me she was going to tell our family that Nolan was happy and healthy.  Latter my dad told me that when the nurse came to tell them, she had tears in her eyes.  The doctor told me that Nolan's head was so big that he was not going to come out any other way but by c-section... my 9 pound 3 ounce boy!  Then they gave Nolan to Nick and Nick sat by me for a while so I could see and touch and smell Nolan while they sewed me up.  I hate this part of the story, but I have to tell it, because it is part of the story...  I remember wanting Nick to take Nolan away, I couldn't handle it.  Being awake during surgery and currently being sewn up, having been so scared, having my first baby, feeling sick from the medicine... it was completely and utterly overwhelming and I kept thinking, I can't do this, I just don't have any more to give.  I never did tell Nick to take him away, but eventually the nurse told Nick it was time to for Nolan to get his bath and other things.  Nick left and I was all alone.... I was glad that Nick was with Nolan and watching over things but laying on the operating table not able to move or really talk very well was one of the most isolating feelings and I have never felt so alone in my life.  I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and I felt sick and scared and cold... really cold... I asked the nurse to hold my hand and cried.

Finally I was sewn up and they wheeled me back to recovery.  I sat in the bed thinking about my pregnancy and the pregnancy before that and what the last 10 hours had been like... I asked my nurse who was standing next to me doing paperwork. "Do you have kids?"  She said yes, I have six... SIX?? She was this super cute tiny young nurse... her oldest was 15 and youngest 6 months.  I asked her, "how did you do it? I barely survived this pregnancy and this delivery was just too much." I then told her, "I can't do this again, it was too hard."  And she told me that I would not always feel that way.  I told her I was pretty sure I would...  and then Nick, my mom and dad come into the room with my Nolan.  He was hungry and ready to eat so I nursed him and held him, and smelled him and looked at him and LOVED him.  And then I turned to my nurse and with an ear to ear completely satisfied sort of grin and said, "I could do this again."  And I would, do it again, a million times over I would do it again.  Nolan has been my JOY.  I love everything EVERYTHING about him... from his fuzzy hair to his long toes.  I love his serious personality and that he is learning and growing so much every day.  I am so smitten with him daily.  He is worth every tear and fear and pain, all of it.

Our New Addition

On Sunday January 9, 2011 at 9:55 PM we welcomed to the world Nolan Bart Gailfus.  He was 9 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long.  He came home from the hospital on Wednesday the 12th and we are loving every minute with him.

Long Overdue Update

It is hard to believe that it will be almost a year since Terra and I got married.  Terra and I also have been homeowners for a year now and love our home.

A lot has happened in the last seven months since our last post.  We have a new edition to the family.  No, it is not a baby.  The new edition is a dog.  Terra gave her to me as a present this last Christmas.  She is a dachshund or more commonly known as a weiner dog.  We named her Zoe and she is a lot of fun.  Terra just likes to call her weiner.

Terra’s sister and her Yavapai College softball team won the NCJAA College World Series for their division.  It was held up in St. George, Utah.  Terra and I managed to take time off work to see the tournament and cheer them on to victory.

Terra has also started on her way towards a master’s degree.  She is one week away from finishing her second class at University of Phoenix.  Only two more years to go and a lot more papers to write.

That’s all I can think of to write about for now.  I just wanted to post a quick update.  Hopefully we will not wait another seven months before making another post.