72 and sunny...

this was what i was greeted with when i went to pick up nora to put her in her highchair for breakfast... quite a site!! wearing adult shoes is her favorite right now! (and i am not sure where she found her cupeez, but she did and snuck it back in her mouth!!)

nora loves to snuggle her brother...

and, apparently put her feet in her mouth!!!

james loves watching his big sister...

and she loves to kiss him!!!

and hold hands....

she asked for "nusic" (music), and i turned on the music i have on my phone... we just danced and sang. this is her shaking her head along to the nusic! it was such a fun afternoon with my two kids!!!

it looks like she is pulling on him, but really, she was saying "hold you hands, baby james..." and then "cheese". she wanted to love his hand... and it was so sweet and gentle!! he loved it!

i got them to pose for just a minute!!!

this was right after nora got up, and realized she got to lay on mommy's bed! (but i told her... daddy wasn't home, so there was NO jumping!!!)

pre-nora waking up, i got some great shots of james... my camera wasn't working so well (someone may or may not have let it fall....), so it started with me trying to fix it! i think i did... take that best buy!!! (shouldn't talk too fast, because i may be in there for a fix, anyway... with my luck!)

james is such a cute boy!!! (but i'm not biased, or anything....)

we were trying on "cool dudes" today... thanks to mrs. lindsey and baby david. (he's about to grow into the outfit they got, too!!) if you can believe it, he's in 6 months or 6-9 mo clothes..

and in case anyone cared, these clothes are from a resale shop... i have found the cutest (and name brand) clothes there recently... awesome!!!

so, it's 72 and sunny today... and we are at jeffrey and miss chelsey's house. she is taking a much needed day to do errands, and we get to play with besties... more pictures on that later!!

it's one of those days where the kids are ANGELS (i do realize that i am jinxing myself as i right this), but they are sharing a baggie of gorilla munch back and forth... no fighting... perfect parallel play (and a little together play, jumping on jeffrey's bed...)

james is sleeping. it's gorgeous outside (we may go into jeffrey's little pool). i got an AWESOME praise report about a friend we were praying for... God is good... all the time.

one of nora's new favorite phrases is "good job". sometimes, i will turn on the tv, or stand up, or something so minute, and nora will praise, saying "good job, mommy". it's so sweet, and a constant reminder that even the little things are so important! and, if i don't praise her in 0.005 seconds of her doing something good, she won't hesitate to say "good job, nora"!

have i also mentioned that she is becoming quite independent? "no, nora do it" is another favorite line of hers. and i usually try to let her. or when she asks for help, and i know it's something she can do, i encourage her to do it on her own! it's so fun to see her growing up and taking on the world by herself!!!

last thing... we are MOVING!!! to a real house, with a real garage and a real washer and dryer!!! praise the LORD!!! i couldn't be more excited. and, we get to paint the kids bedrooms!!! we are renting, and it will only be for a year, but SO FUN!! oh, and a HUGE backyard!

getting nothing done...

sweet kids on saturday morning... nora loves having baby james in her crib!! and he seemed to enjoy it, too!!

james sat up for the first time in his bumbo. he only lasted a few minutes... but we tried it again last night, so we could all eat at the same time!!

james just looked so cute the other day.. what a fun boy!

nora and i went to a birthday party the other day, and the kids got to dress up. nora loved her big, poufy dress!! (and yes, that is a boy in pirate get-up and a pink dress!!! his mom wasn't sure what to think... girls costumes are just more fun!!)

i held my "two babies" after church on sunday...

i couldn't get the picture to take just right, but nora's toes are pink!! she's so happy about them... we have matching toes!

then, it was bathtime for babies... the kids had fun!

then, we went to "coey's" house... our friend courtney has an apartment on the beach (for less than i pay... it's sick), so we have spent a few mornings there. nora kept getting very tempted to climb the rock wall... finally, she remembered she just learned "ring around the rosy", and did it until we were all dizzy! i was sitting on the towels with the girls, when nora grabbed my hand and said "walk the beach, mommy". how do you say no to that?? so, we walked and spun around in the waves. i am glad that she loves the beach so much.

we took a picture of the three of us, because we have all been walking together for the last few months. such good friends and walking buddies (courtney walks sadie while i push the kids). courtney's husband deploys soon, and she is moving home... we are so sad!!! then, kristen moves to the other coast...

i came home and made myself this AWESOME salad for lunch... but james didn't want to go to sleep, or just sit. he sat for a few minutes watching me eat, then wanted to be held. i had so much i wanted to get done during naptime, but ended up getting nothing done, and holding my boy (which, i think is the most important thing in the world!!!). he eventually fell asleep, and every so often i hear nora, but she may be back asleep too!! so, i did eventually get a few things done!

plus, i got lost in facebook for awhile... i went to look for a website on a friend's page, and ended up reading about everyone else's lives, too!!!

grandparents...

one of my favs... i was nursing james, and nora grabbed the bar and said "nora bar". it was so hilarious!!! she knows the bar is james', and if it's off his feet, she gets annoyed!

sorry about the lack of posts recently... we've been having too much fun!!! these pics kind of work backwards. on tues, we went to "daddy beach". it's a great beach right outside of david's office. so, naturally, he came to meet us. (as an aside, jeffrey's dad also works there, when he's not deployed!!)

the kids thoroughly enjoyed the sand... and chels and i enjoyed the sun!!

oh, and james enjoyed his nap!! what a good boy... he ate, then slept on the beach...

we went to the zoo with the in-laws... the hailes were in town for a long weekend and we had a GREAT time! i think nora would have climbed in the elephant area, if those little wires hadn't been there.

then, we had an appointment for james. he and daddy hung out while we waited for the doctor. his feet look good, but not great. they took x-rays, and the doctor said she liked his feet "clinically" more than on the films. basically, we go back in two months, and if a bone in his heels hasn't moved to the right way, he will have that little tendon surgery. so, we'll see!

nora was so glad to see her friend "yibby" (libby) at home. she talked about her all week!!!

yes, we went home for the first week of june. james was so glad to finally be able to snuggle with his uncle david!!! (and i was so thankful for his baby-sitting!!!)
my bestie came home for a few days while her mister is gone... we had fun!!!

nora loved being with auntie byssa....

nora and jeffrey had fun with mcdonalds. except nora got very good at boxing jeffrey out of any toy he wanted. even if she hadn't wanted it until jeffrey wanted it!!!

james loved to snuggle with mom-mom

and mom-mom loved the two kids....

nora loved to read and play with "grammy-grandpa". she was so sad to see them go!!!

we have been spending a lot of time at the beach recently... on saturday, we went to dog beach, and tired everyone out!!!

madagascar

nora is obsessed with her "roar bean show".  the movie is actually "madacascar".  and she LOVES it!  (memo (or finding nemo) is also a close second...)  today, she asked to watch it.  it was too cute... and perfect!  the house needed to be cleaned and i needed to unpack.  so, here's a cute video!  

good news... the house is clean, and i finally showered!  bad news... no ohio pictures yet.  

nora has the sweetest manners.  today, when i would do something, she would jump up and down and say the sweetest "thank-you", like i had just done the best thing in the whole world!  sometimes, she says "please, thank-you, and you're welcome" in the same breath.  she seems to mostly know when and how to say the correct phrases.  and, if you bump into her, she will say "sorry".  it's so fun!

however, i have realized that i am not near as polite as i want my kids to be.  i often ask (nicely) for something, or for someone to do something, only to realize that i haven't said "please".  i think it, and even mean it.  i am trying to be better about that.  my lack of politeness is not intentional...  just good raising gone by the wayside.  good thing we have kids to teach us how to be polite again!

i'd like to thank...

this was in the airport... before the other two pictures were taken.  in her stroller...  passed out.  she passed out during the final descent.  after crying for what felt like 10 minutes (it was probably less than three).  i got her up enough to get her into the stroller.  she slept through our 1 hour layover.  (i got starbucks... thanks to some giftcards!!)  then, we had to get on the second plane.  james was in the beco carrier.  i picked up nora and set her on the wheelchair-type thing at the end of the plane.  all she needed was a bowl of spaghetti to fall into!  it was entertaining to watch.  then, carried her and the boy onto the plane and she passed out again, for the next 1.5 hours!  yeah for good naps. 

i'd like to thank all those who prayed!  God is good... all the time.  and i really felt it today.  we got upgraded to first class on our way home from ohio.  that was the beginning of the goodness today!  i'd like to thank dad and dyh who have supported my traveling over the last year to allow for upgrades!  (gotta love frequent flyer points)

thanks to trader joe's chocolate covered sunflower seeds...  they kept nora so happy!!!

and to the creators and inventors of the portable dvd player... and finding nemo! 

and the stewardesses on my second flight (the one's on the first flight were not the most helpful... ie...  "i can't hold your baby while you go to the bathroom because it's a liability".  she eventually did, realizing that i might wet my pants instead!)  on the second flight, they would have let me do their job while they sat with the kids (i really considered it!!!  i think i would have had it easier!!!).  

and the makers of the good chardonnay...  both kids were sleeping and james had just nursed!!!

and the ground crew guys who, on four different legs of my flight, did not ruin my $$$ stroller....  i was scared!!!

and CUPEEZ!!!!  for both kids...  keeps them quiet!

no thanks to all those who gave me dirty looks as i traveled by myself with two kids

the makers of my $$$ stroller who don't have any way for it to stay folded up... i had to create my own way (and it didn't work so well...)

my bottle of breastmilk that exploded all over my bag (thankfully not on the aforementioned dvd player or nice camera or cell phone!!!)

in all...not a bad flight!!  i might try it again by myself.  as i write, my sweet husband is massaging my feet!!!  what a good man.  he said i was his hero!  actually, several fellow passengers said the same thing.  i love my good kids!  james cried on the way home, and i could hear nora saying "it's okay james, in the car-car".  what a sweet big sister!  i just love them both!!!

more on the trip to ohio to come!!!

baby #1

baby #1 down for the count on the plane!!!

baby #2

baby number two, down for the count on the plane... (actually, he didn't sleep that much, but he was good!!)