Norah Rose

15 Months Old...

2007-12-01T21:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a couple of months....time for an update! Norah is quite the character, and her personality seems to get funnier with each passing day. She's also an affectionate little bugger. She loves to pick up a picture of her big sister Ashley, and walk around the house with it, hugging it tighly and then kissing it. She also kisses mommy and daddy all the time and we love every minute of it. Moments like that make up for her exorcist moments...fellow parents: you know what I mean!

Things she says: Mama, Da da or da, Ba ba, Bye Bye, Doggie, Fishy, All Done, Sit Down, Norah and probably the most famous of all is her very stern "No" that she'll tell you, as she points. Everyone finds this pretty humorous!

There are probably more things she says, but those are the words that audibly we can comprehend! She's pretty good at telling us off in Baby Babble.

Let's see...what else is new with her? She still has the attention span of a gnat, which I'm sure is normal for her age. She loves baths. She hates to get dressed, however she insists to put her shoes on, even if we're not going anywhere. She likes to brush her hair and play with trucks and boats (even making motor sounds). She likes to carry around her purse and she also loves leggos; mommy and daddy's little structural engineer, perhaps?

Enough talking. How about pictures? I have lots, but I'll share the most recent. These are photos taken by my friend Andrea, who was in visiting from Atlanta. She captured some amazing expressions! (Click on the picture for the full size image)

We hope this finds you well...drop us a line and stay in touch!

Who's kid is this?

2007-09-21T21:37:00.000-05:00

We really do have to wonder sometimes where she gets her personality from... Last week while en route to the bathroom for a dip in the tub, she managed to get her diaper off herself and then proceeded to throw it on the floor. She then squatted down on the kitchen floor and peed. She ran away from us, opening up the snack drawer and flinging Pringles all over the floor in the process. She ended her little mid-day joy ride by hopping on her ride on fire engine backwards. Naked, of course and laughing, mind you, the entire time. And a few more photos, while we're at it:

She's also carrying a picture of big sister Ashley around the house and hugging and kissing the picture! Isn't that something?!

Babbling like crazy. New words she's saying: Doggie, Duck, Mom, Mama, Mam Maw, Dada, All Done. And the most exciting one yet? She saw a fire engine last night and yelled "Weeeeeee ooooooooo" That's our girl. :)

Ma ma ma ma ma ma

Watch Norah's face as the fire engine goes by and sounds the air horn. So funny!

Oh, how time flies...

2007-09-05T19:52:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time and we really feel like we just can't let another day pass by before we update this thing! We have had a lot going on in our lives these past few months and have been doing well, despite the obstacles.

As you know, Norah and Ashley's Nana (Snook) passed away unexpectedly in the beginning of July. We definitely leaned on the amazing support of our family and friends to help us through. Life does go on, but we don't forget. But we do have to look toward the future...

Anyway, on to happier topics. Pictures! We have lots!

** Apologies for some of the pixelated shots below, I don't know why some of them are displaying that way! **

Norah was so excited to finally meet her big sister, Ashley, this past week! Ashley flew in from Portland and spent a few days with us. We were both on a very much needed vacation away from our jobs and we had a week devoted to nothing but spending time together. It was tons of fun. One day we went to the zoo...

We also went to Kings Island while she was here. It was a first for both girls. Norah did well and Ashley was all about the roller coasters by the end of the night!

And of course, Saturday was the day for celebrating!

Little Miss On the Go

Cake Time

We're all doing well..busy, but good. More later, but today is Norah's actual birthday and we were feeling nostalgic and had to update this thing! More later. Hope everyone is doing well. :)

We're getting there, slowly but surely...

2007-04-27T09:47:00.000-05:00

Norah started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. Which we're thankful for. BUT all it takes is teething, a cold, a growth spurt, constipation, whatever, to throw her sleeping off. She hasn't slept through the night this time since April 6th. She's been waking once, sometimes twice a night.

Anyway, now that I know she's on the mend from her recent gastro issues, I decided to let her fuss the last couple of nights when she woke. She fussed for maybe 3 or 4 minutes and then she was back out! Big success! Let's hope it sticks this time!

Today Norah and Daddy are home hanging out together today. From the phone call I received a little while ago, it sounds like they are having too much fun at home. I think one day I might just come home to find them both passed out on the floor laying next to their sippy cups or something, surrounded by toys and books. Ha.

I don't have any new pictures, but here are a couple of videos....

Norah tasting a lemon for the first time

Though the use of a walker is debatable, Norah was fussy one afternoon and Shari had brought over Austin's old fire engine walker. It calmed Norah down for a few minutes so I could get a couple of things done, so that's what I did for a bit so I wouldn't lose my sanity. Look how slap happy she was! She's CRACKING up! What a funny kid...she laughs if you yell, "Boo!" or "Rawrrrr!"

Have a good weekend!

Keep up with Norah via e-mail

2007-04-24T08:06:00.000-05:00

We've made it easier to stay current on things. We know it's a pain to keep checking this site for updates. Now you can actually get a digest version sent to you via e-mail. Click below:

Spring has Sprung...

2007-04-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

And so has Norah! Would you believe she gained an entire pound in one week?! She really had slowed down there from January to April but BAM she's now not just a little baby anymore...she's starting to look more and more like a little girl everyday. CRAZY. She's now 7 and a half months. Before I know it, I'll be planning a birthday party!

(Click on the pics as they are low resolution, they'll open into the full clear images)

Some of her new things?

1. TEETH! Houston, we finally have teeth...and two of them at that! One day the bottom two finally popped all the way through and I got all excited. I think I scared at her. She looked at me as if to say, "Mom, c'mon. I'm growing up. What is the big deal? Get over it."

2. SITTING...and PULLING UP TO STAND! She's been sitting up by herself since the day she turned 6 months, but as of right now, she is showing absolutely no interest in crawling. Just in the last couple of days though, she's really started to pull herself up to stand while using other objects. Amazing. It will be interesting to see if she skips crawling altogether. She'll be on all fours and get mad because she can't "go" anywhere, she's much happier just sitting and rolling and goofing off. Crazy kid.

3. LITTLE TURTLE! She's hilarious now (well, not if she's screaming) when we go to get her from her crib. She gets on her belly and lifts her head up like a little turtle and peers around to look for us, as if she's saying, "I'm going to stop crying now, and look around the room to see if you're coming to get me." It's pretty funny. She's smarter than we give her credit for!

4. WHAT'S NEW WITH US... Just enjoying each day (some are more frustrating than others, I'm sure you can imagine) with Norah. Our childcare situation seems to be evening out now. Rich had been working doubleshifts in order to care for Norah on Mondays. We now have to find a sitter for just Mondays and what a task that was! We finally have someone. Rich keeps Norah on Tues and Wed and part of Friday and Norah's Nana (Rich's mom) keeps her the remaining 1.5 days. We're lucky to have been able to work something out like this! In other news, we're just busy....busy with Norah and everything else that comes with it. When we're not at home with her, spending time together, one of us is at work. Add that to regular household stuff, running errands, etc....and there you have it. It's our life right now. And we were just talking about this tonight, we wouldn't change anything.

5. RUN, NORAH, RUN! Ok, well, Norah's not running, but her mommy is! It will be my first post-baby 5k. I know 5k is nothing to you marathoners, but it's an accomplishment for me. Heck, I'm just going to try to run 3/4's of it! It's hard to actually get some running in. There. is. just. no. time. I refuse to run at 5am, and it's hard to squeeze in a run after work, but before Norah's 7pm bedtime. Anyway, I might be burning some serious energy, but Norah isn't. Ha!

Random photos

Not exactly sure how this one happened, as I was at work, but Rich thought it was funny that Norah managed to snag a bra out of the pile as he was folding laundry. Her face is saying, "Arrrrrrrrr"

Do you see how ornery she is?

Gotta love her dimples...she cracks us up!

Norah's First Easter. The idea was nice. You know, have grandma make a pretty little dress (it turned out beautiful), the Easter bunny came to our house, go to church, etc. Norah had other plans in mind. She SCREAMED all day. By the end of the day, Norah wasn't the only one in tears. (We later found out she had an ear infection, severe constipation and teething issues all at the same time.) We tried to make the best of it and even managed to get some good pictures in the process.

Last series of pictures...Norah's second wedding was last weekend. You know, we kind of have to laugh. What baby at 7.5 months has been to two weddings, one bridal shower, one bachelorette party? That's what happens when your mommy is an event planner. I guess she'll have great party ettiquette in preschool, right? If Norah wasn't so all over the place (active baby!) I might've gotten a good shot of her and daddy! (At least now we have one decent picture of her in the beautiful, infamous Easter dress!)

Ok, last thing! HILARIOUS. These are must see videos!

Getting tickled by daddy's mustache...too funny!

Gasp! We actually caught one moment during Easter where she was happy!

And my favorite...reflecting by the window. She looks like such a big girl here!

I have more videos and pictures, but I'll save those for later!

2007-03-10T14:48:00.000-05:00

It's MARCH. And that means....Norah is 6 months! Yes, that's right. As of March 5th, she's halfway to her first birthday.

Each day is bringing something new and exciting! She loves soaking up the world around her. Her current obsessions include ceiling fans at the fire station, picking up odds and ends at Wal-Mart (she loves the electronics department, go figure...she's so Rich's kid) and watching other babies and kids, especially her cousins.

Norah went for her big 6 month appointment last Monday and it looks like our once height-off-the-charts kid has slowed down a little. The doctor thinks she just had one heck of a growth spurt in December! She got 4 shots and as usual was a champ. She was out like a light before we even hit the parking lot.

The girl still desperately wants her sleep when she wants it. No bargaining on that one. She's finally starting some sort of regular napping routine during the day and still continues to go to bed super early, around 7:30p.m. depending on the night. She'll sleep until about 6am or so. But it never fails, she'll always wait until the night before I have a meeting the next day or something and she'll decide to have a party in her crib at 2am on random nights. Nice. For the most part, we've got the sleep thing under control. For now anyway!

She still loves her swing. She'll love it all the way until her legs fall over the edges.

I completey did a double take looking at this one. This is a face that Rich makes all the time. I laughed when I saw this.

Later on if this weather stays nice (nice meaning no sub-zero temps, no unearthly winds, no snow) then Norah and I are headed out in the stroller for a walk. We plan on doing a lot of that when the weather's nice.

2007-02-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

I’m behind, so I’m making up for lost times and including pictures that I should’ve been sharing in here all along. This is long, so perhaps read it over morning coffee. Or your beer. Or whatever beverage you choose, but I promise it’ll be worth your time!

Wow! So much time has elapsed since I last had a moment to post in here. I'm sure you'll forgive me; life has been crazy to say the least! I now do truly understand when people say, "Amazing how time flies - they grow so fast!" No kidding.

Where did December go? Where did January go? And holy cow, it's almost March. March?! That means Norah's almost 6 months old.

And though we've nearly survived this first 6 months, it still seems surreal to have here her. Last year she was merely a bean and now she's our beautiful little baby girl, her personality blossoming each and every day.

How about an update? December was a great month for us. Norah was baptized with her newborn cousin, Shelby Lyn-Marie at our family church. It was wonderful to be surrounded by loved ones for their special day.

And...Norah got her ears pierced! (Yes, daddy approved).

Christmas was wonderful. Having a baby this year at Christmas time brought new meaning to the holiday season. The holidays are a lovely time, but it was even more beautiful this year because we got to see it through the eyes of a child. Of course Norah had no idea what was going on, but her mommy and daddy had fun capturing everything on film!

Oh, sorry to disappoint you. No pictures from New Year's Eve. I was tired. Rich was tired (and sick!). We were old party poopers this year (no table dancing for us) and tried to just stay up and watch the ball drop. And well...guess who else decided she couldn't miss out either! Yep. You guessed it. That sneaky turkey.

So January was the month of no sleep for us around here. Our 10+ hours of sleep-calgon-take-me-away-angel turned into waking 2, sometimes 3 times a night. This of course is lovely when her mommy has to work each day! After a couple of visits to the doctor, we realized that it was the teething realm that was to blame! Drool city around here. Now I know that teething can majorly throw off a baby's schedule. And I didn't like it one bit, but what can you do? Just hug and kiss her and comfort her as much as possible...(but oh, how I missed my bed!)

During the month of teething madness, the hand was ALWAYS in the mouth.

As many of you know, Valentine's Day was disasterous around here. Norah had no date. Neither did cousin, Shelby. Her mommy and I captured the moment perfectly.

Also February brought the exciting, but unknown. We finally got to break away as Rich and Stacy the couple and not parents for an evening out of town for a George Strait concert. Of course I was a basketcase leaving Norah overnight (it was inevitable) but all was well. We were sure upon our return that we definitely missed her more than she missed us!

So this brings us to March. We're so excited for the things to come. Easter! And she gets to go to her second wedding in April! And swim lessons! Every day something is new! Parenthood is just the BEST. There are no words. I don't even remember what life was like before I was a mother... (and respectively, Rich feels the same way)

Some of Norah's cool new things:

1. GROWLING. Yes. She growls. Beware. (I think she probably learned this from Rich. C'mon, you have to agree!)

2. BABY YOGA. As you'll see in the video, she loves her floor gym. In fact, she taught herself baby pilates. She's almost mastered the tree pose. As far as flipping, she never flipped either way for the longest time, but finally at 5 months old she flipped front to back AND back to front in the same day!

3. TEETH. The middle of January brought two teeth. (Thank God! Something to show for all of this teething agony!) They were juststartingtopeerthrough and bam. Now they're gone and have receeded. We're hoping they come back through soon. This teething stuff is the pits.

4. FOOD. The girl loves her food. I was really trying to wait a little longer to start solids, but a few weeks ago I knew it was time when the poor girl actually started watching my mother in law eat crackers. She'd watch them go from the bag to my mother in law's mouth. Also, she cried at my nephew's birthday party when she watched him sink his teeth into cake and she didn't get any. See the video below and you'll see. (Um. Leave it up to me to document my kid eating cereal for the first time and the tv talking about a sex tape. Niiiiiice.)

5. MOMMY! DADDY! Perhaps our favorite new thing. Everyone is right. She's getting to the stage where she doesn't just lay there and stuff (I loved that phase too, by the way) and with that comes fun opportunities to intereact more with the world around her. Something has clicked in her and a friend was right. There's nothing like going into her room in the morning, and from the moment she sees me, she begins kicking her legs and cooing and breaking out in this huge dimply smile. She knows who her mommy and daddy are and she lets us know! If that's not the most rewarding thing in the world, I don't know what is!

6. ALMOST SITTING UP! She doesn’t want to be on her back. I think it’s just a matter of days before she figures out how to do this on her own.

Attempt #2. I reallyreallyreally promise that I'll try to do better at this blogging thing. Aside from still learning the ropes at this parenting thing, I've got a couple of side jobs for the business right now and Rich is pulling some overtime shifts when possible. We're hanging in there...but incredibly blessed to have what we have.

Stay tuned!

So young, such great pals...

2006-12-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

Moira and Norah have always best friends, even while in utero. I mean, how could they not be? They share all the same hobbies. When one is cranky, she passes it on to the other. If one doesn't sleep, then surely enough within days, the other has issues too. What is it with these girls? If this is going on now while Moira is 8 months old and Norah is 3 months old, then God help us when they are teenagers!

They like to hang together in their carseats, as you can see. They first met up when Norah was 11 days old and Moira was 5 months.

Still chillin' in the carseat - Norah is 3 months and Moira is 8 months...

And tonight they really got to hang out. We had a small disaster when Moira went to embrace Norah with a hug and a kiss (ha!) and she accidentally dropped the mirror from the Ocean Wonders gym on her nose. Moira said she was sorry and that it was an accident and Norah told her it was ok. They then finally hugged and all was well in infant land.

And so it begins...

2006-12-10T15:10:00.000-05:00

Amazing how things can change in such a short time, really. One year ago we were focused on our own endeavors - Stacy's job and side business, Rich on his jobs and well, getting some sleep in between them. And now, 3 months and 5 days after the birth of our baby, things have changed even more than ever. But in the best way possible. We're still juggling the things we were before, but now we're spending our days/nights/seconds/everybreathingmoment on our little innocent bright eyed girl...Norah Rose.

And in those few short months we've had so far, it's truly amazing how much she's growing and changing each and every day...literally before our eyes. As we settle into our new life, it's still a struggle to balance home, work and somehow time for ourselves (what's that?).

We've finally marked our spot and created a little place on the web just for Norah....We're excited to capture what we can, when we can. Check back often; we plan to keep things current around here!

First Smile

Tired Baby In Search of Thumb