RYAN & STACI

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Nolan meets more of the Denver family

Even though we live across the country, Nolan has been so lucky to have met many family members in his first month of life. Here are some pictures...

Nolan with his great grandma Mendenhall

Aunt Sandy's dog Sophie - she loves Nolan and wants to know where he is at all times

Tyler and Sandy with Nolan

Denver or Bust...

After a long chain of events, Ryan was offered an internship for the summer in Denver, Colorado with Fentress Architects. Fentress is a great firm and we are lucky to have been given the opportunity to work there. Timing was perfect for this really, I am on FMLA leave I have 12 weeks off from work and that made it so we were all able to move to Denver for the summer. I was very nervous about moving there with Nolan since he is so little. Add on pre-pregnancy hormones, plus the long drive and being in a new city, I was a nervous wreck. We started our drive on Tuesday, May 17 and made it to Denver on Friday, May 20. Ryan's first day of work was Monday, May 23.

Day 1
We left the house around 9:00 am which was pretty good considering we had to get 3 people ready and the car all loaded and feed Nolan one more time before leaving the house. I sat in the back with Nolan and Ryan drove the whole trip. He was a rockstar for driving all that way - it really is a long drive and one that I don't want to do too many more times. We had to stop every couple of hours to feed Nolan and give him a break from his car seat. He was a champ and didn't cry or fuss at all until the very last leg of our trip from somewhere in eastern Colorado to Denver (the last 1 1/2 hours). I think he was just tired of being in the car that day. It was a long 11 hour day for everyone in the car.
Back to day one...we drove through Asheville, NC and ate lunch at Arby's. It was raining that day so we couldn't get out of the car to walk around, but we were able to drive around and look at the city. We really like Asheville a lot and hope to go there at least one more time before our time on the east coast is up. We stopped again in Tennessee and saw the University of Tennessee. The campus is pretty nice and is right along a river which was pretty. We spent the night in Nashville at an Econolodge.

Just hanging out after a long day in the car

Day 2
We got up pretty early and drove around downtown Nashville. We stopped by the country music hall of fame and centennial park where there is an actual size replica of the Parthenon. Our goal today was to make it to Tulsa, Oklahoma where we would stay with Ryan's gram and Aunt Vicki. We made it there around 10:00 pm and were greeted with smiles and a nice pot roast dinner. We chatted with them for a bit and went to bed.

We were glad we weren't stuck in that traffic!

Nolan after one of his feedings/breaks from the car seat

Day 3
We didn't drive anywhere today. We thought it would be good to give Nolan a break from the car and driving. We slept in (as much as you can with a newborn) and spent the day looking at the Boston Avenue cathederal where Ryan's parents were first married and driving around Tulsa. Of course Ryan had to see a Frank Lloyd Wright house that is in a neighborhood in Tulsa. :) It was fun spending the day with gram and Aunt Vicki. They spoiled us and we loved seeing them!! That night we went over and saw Ryan's sister Ashleigh and her family. They live in Tulsa and will be moving to Denver in a few weeks.

Gram and Nolan

Day 4

We wanted to make it to Denver today and Ryan told me how long the drive was once we got in the car....it was going to be a long day. We left Tulsa as early as possible and went through Kansas and the eastern part of Colorado. We pulled into Ryan's parents house around 9:30 or so. I was so glad that we had made it safely and that Nolan had done so well in the car. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be traveling with a newborn. He slept the whole way and was an excellent passenger.

I am excited to be closer to family for a couple of months while we are here!!

2 Weeks Old

I can't believe Nolan is 2 weeks old! We have had a lot of visitors and a ton of help with Nolan. Our friends have been so great and so helpful. We haven't had to do our own laundry yet! :)

Nolan and the Phillie Fanatic - our friend Devin gave this to Nolan and I seriously love it!

Doing what Nolan does best...sleeping

Mom and Dad Come to Town

Before Nolan was born, my parents booked tickets to come out and see him. I didn't want them to book the tickets before his due date not knowing if I would go past my due date. They came out on Friday, May 6 and it was so good to have them visit us. They left on Wednesday, May 11. It was nice having some extra hands around to hold Nolan so I could get a few things done. Ryan was still finishing up his semester with a few odds and ends so he had to be at the school quite a bit. It was also nice just relaxing and taking it easy around the house. We watched some movies, me and my mom went to the mall and I got some new shoes (thanks!), dad spoiled us by making us great meals and going grocery shopping for us. We had a great time with them here and i'm so glad they were able to meet Nolan!

Three of my favorite guys!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

My First Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

It has been a great first mother's day so far. Nolan slept through most of the night which was fantastic! He only woke up once - which is unheard of. Ryan and Nolan gave me a cute card and flowers. Since I have been a little emotional this week- the card of course brought tears to my eyes. I was able to get "ready" for the first time this week. By ready I mean blow dry my hair, straighten etc. It felt great! It's amazing how the small things that you used to take for granted now make your day!! Ryan and dad went to church, while me and mom stayed home with Nolan.

My parents are in town and I am soaking up every second with them. I have loved having them here and don't want them to leave. We are having a great dinner tonight and I am glad I get to spend the day with my mom (and dad too :)).

The first week in pictures

What a week it has been - at times I can't believe it has been a week and at other times I can't believe I have a one week old child. It has been an emotional, exciting, exhausting, and every other emotion you can think of week. It is crazy how much you can love someone so much and already don't want anything to happen to them. When he gets the hiccups I get sad and can't wait for them to get over so his whole body doesn't jerk around. :) Ryan has been a great dad and I have loved watching him with his son. Our relationship has grown in ways that I can't even explain. He loves kissing and spending time with Nolan, which I love.

We have been overwhelmed with all the support from friends, people in the church and people at work. People have brought in meals, groceries, done our laundry, helped clean the house, brought lunches over, organized and arranged the apartment since we are still trying to get settled in. As my grandpa would say, "We are really livin'!" We are so blessed to have such great friends and appreciate everything they have done for us!

Enough of the emotional stuff - here are some pictures from the hospital and his first week at home.