Thursday, June 28, 2012

Playing without Toys

Here is a list of things that Nora likes to play with that aren't toys:

  • Backpacks, tote bags, purses
  • Shoes
  • Dressers, gliders, benches, kitchen chairs, and other pieces of furniture that are hard and have sharp edges
  • BOB, her jogging stroller
  • The gate to the stairs
  • Stella & Pearl
  • The dogs' water bowl
  • Mommy's hair
  • Mommy's jewelry
  • Daddy & Mommy's glasses
  • Daddy's chest and arm hair
  • Daddy's headset for his phone



Sunday, June 24, 2012

Photo Book from Shutterfly

How cool is this? I created a photo book of our vacation and I can post it on our blog! Technology can be pretty awesome...


Shutterfly offers exclusive layouts and designs so you can make your book just the way you want.

Vacationing in Wisconsin, Part 3: The Other Stuff

Taking the scenic route from Illinois to Wisconsin
A field of wind mills that literally went on for miles.

















Going out to eat is FUN! 
I enjoy sitting in my chair sideways (which she did at every restaurant).


Mommy & Daddy walked around town while I got to stroll in my sweet ride.

Sunblock baby mohawk



Cuddles and playtime on the couch

Afternoon Cheerio Snack Time


Walks along Geneva Lake

Vacationing in Wisconsin, Part 2: Geneva Lake

On our last day of vacation, we decided to take Nora to the beach. Her first visit to the beach! We were pretty darn excited, I must say. It would be the first time she felt sand between her toes and be in a natural body of water. Pretty neat stuff! 

It turned out to be a pretty windy experience. See that umbrella below? That didn't last. 

Nora's first trip to the beach
Geneva Lake, WI

Also, Nora cried when she touched the sand. 

HOWEVER...once we got down to the water, all was well. She loved standing at the edge of the water with her feet in the wet sand. We also went out into the lake, letting the water (which was quite choppy from the wind) lap at her feet and legs. She liked that a lot! Nora is definitely a little water baby.

Although our trip to the beach was short (we left within an hour due to the wind and no protection against the bright sun), it will always be a memorable first with Nora.




Vacationing in Wisconsin, Part 1: The Pool

We chose to stay at The Cove because it was close to Geneva Lake and because it had a couple of pools. One of the pools was a kiddie beach entry pool with low pool chairs that allowed the grown-ups to lounge in shallow water while their kids played on the SSCove (a little boat with two little people sized water slides), in the mushroom water fall, and with the bubbling water spouts. There was also a regular pool with coconut trees that dumped water on you via the coconut.

We've been taking Nora to the pool at our new Y and she has really liked it. Well, the outside pool with  all of the different things to look at was a huge hit! She was grinning from ear to ear as she took it all in. We walked through the kiddie pool, Nora laughing at the kids, and came upon the pool chairs. For some reason, these were a big hit! 


It is so much fun to watch Nora discover new things, people, and places. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing the world through her eyes. It is a great reminder of how much joy we can find in life. 

1st Family Vacation

Let me swim!


Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father's Day

Nora wanted to start Daddy's first Father Day with snuggles and by delivering all of the cards that were sent to him. Nora especially enjoyed chewing on the cards before giving them to him. Before we got  out of bed to start out day, Nora made sure to tell Daddy how much she loved him and how lucky she is to have him as her Pops.

Happy Father's Day to the #1 Daddy!

Sweet Family

Friday, June 15, 2012

Shiner

I mentioned in an earlier post how Nora is very adventurous, going after all of the things in the house that can cause harm. Yes. Well. In addition to a bump and bruise on her forehead from the corner of the dresser (after which I cried), Nora got a bit of a shiner (you can see it slightly in the photo below) from taking a tumble in her pack-n-play. She had her fruit keys in there with her and they got her right in the eye when she fell. I felt terrible. 

In an effort to keep Nora safe (and to keep me from needing to go on an anti-anxiety pill - ha!), we have instituted some "not for baby" (said sternly) zones. It is making a difference and I hope we can have fun playing with fewer knocks to the noggin'!


Thursday, June 7, 2012

A Perfect 10 (months old)

10 months old and 10 times as adorable
Double digits! 10 months old! In just two months our baby girl will be ONE YEAR OLD! Inconceivable.

As Nora enters her tenth month of life, she is doing so by crawling, pulling up on everything (especially unstable, dangerous things), walking with assistance (lots of laps around the first floor of our house), and cutting her third tooth! It's a busy month already.

Now that Nora is mobile, I pretty much live in a constant state of anxiety. Well, stifled anxiety because I don't want to inhibit Nora from exploring - but dang that girl likes to check out anything and everything that is hard, metal, wood, pointy, oversized, unstable, can pinch her fingers, crack her skull, etc. She also is totally ok with hurling herself forward to get to something. We've already had a couple of bumps on the head that not only brought tears to Nora's eyes but to Mommy's too. Sometimes a bump or tumble happens so fast!

I mentioned the pulling up, right? One morning I went in to get Nora and there she was, standing up in her crib! All smiles and filled with pride. Honestly, it was adorable. BUT not that adorable; that afternoon we lowered the crib to it's lowest setting. :) She still stands up in it, but hopefully this will keep her from catapulting herself out.

We have also joined the YMCA (they just built a brand new one in town) and have been taking Nora to the indoor baby pool there. To say she loves it is a massive understatement. It is so fun to watch her embrace something new like being in a pool. She loves walking around in the water and flicking it with her fingers. She laughs and smiles at the other kids in the pool and occasionally lets out a whoop of joy. It is so awesome! It also insures that she takes an afternoon nap, something she likes to resist now and again.

New foods continue to be introduced and we are working on lowering the amount of formula we give her. In just a couple of months we should be off the bottle, right? Wow. She's moving from baby to infant. This brings me great joy as well as a bit of sadness. My father has always talked to me about the passage of time and how that changes as we get older and have children. I'm sorry to say that he was right about this. Time is moving too fast for my taste. We're doing everything we can to savor our moments together because if they are going to keep going this fast, I want to capture every moment that I can.