love you forever

happy halloween!!

david and nora were reading together the other night... i thought this was so precious! for anyone who has read "Love You Forever", did you make up a song, too? i did when the kids were little, and david had his own version! it was funny to hear a different version...

the fires are well contained and not a threat anymore. they say the air quality is getting better. we are outside more now. nora is growing and so much more involved with us now! it's so much fun. i think she is trying to roll over. all in good time!

thursday

i love hanging out with everyone here!! my mom-mom braved the fires to come and visit. and i get to read books with my daddy!! mommy and i hang out every day... nora

so, the fires are getting more contained. my mom said the news makes it sound worse for you all than our news does. (don't misunderstand that... it's been devestating for many people!!) the fires are 10-50% contained (there are 4 major fires out here), and none are threatening to us anymore.

mom and i went walking in a mall today, just to get out (every child in the southern california area was at this, the only indoor mall around!), and we saw quite a few firefighters. i wanted to run up and hug them. there were little kids getting their autographs and just talking to them. it was so sweet! (we said thanks to them, too)

nora gets bigger every day. in the last few days, she has been intentional about grabbing at things. that's been really fun to watch. she still goes with me to the gym and she just sits and talks to her frog or sleeps! so many people tell me that their baby NEVER would have done that!

that's all for now... will write more soon! thanks for all the calls about our safety!

fire update

okay... nothing really new. the closest fire (the one in the pics) is not doing a whole lot. they say there are about 1500 homes in danger of it tonight, but we don't seem to be one of them. today, that fire only spread 2000 acres (it's now a 72000 acre fire) and NO homes were lost from THAT fire today. there is the other fire north and east of us, but we seem to be far enough away.

i can't even see as far as the flames or clouds from the pictures i last put up. it's definitely hazy and smoky here. we have our air recirculating in our house, and i can't smell smoke. david said he could smell it a little when he took the trash out.

so, that's the update. i will try to write more as things change. it is definitely devastating to the north and east... so far, friends and their homes are all safe.

this morning

alright... here's the latest... the fire we can see from our roof is somewhere less than 10 miles away. it seems to be "sitting on itself"- per the news people. here's the view this morning. that's all smoke and ash you can see in the air.

over 300,000 people have evacuated. we haven't, and should have ample warning if we have to. the closest area has quite a ways to go before it really gets to us. the other areas are all at least 25 minutes away on the highways.

a lot of people are asking... i think only 2 people have died- one from a retirement community as it evacuated, not due to actual burning. over 1000 homes and businesses have burned.

david and i have talked about what we would take and we have a plan. we aren't going to be stupid, but right now, there is no need to go anywhere yet.

san diego fires

okay, so they are asking us not to use our cell phones, so as long as i have access, i will try to keep this updated about us!

i woke up at 3:30 to feed nora. after i put her back into bed, my throat hurt (because of all the smoke), so i got a drink. then, i took a peek outside, just to see what i could see. much to my suprise, i could see flames!!! there is a new fire coming over mount miguel... there is a retirement community there where i have friends... so far, we are safe! this is the view from our bedroom... and then a few of nora for good measure! since i can't sleep (i went to bed at 9pm!- and now am too wide awake to sleep), i figured i could at least keep you entertained!

david is asleep, and not too worried at this point. i am taking my lead from him! and i'll keep you updated.

we are okay...

no picture today, cause i don't have time at the moment. i am trying to get a bunch of stuff done while nora is sleeping!! and... it's a busy day. but, if you have heard about the fires... we are okay and safe at the moment. i can hear planes flying above (i am guessing some are being routed to where the air is a little more clear), and i see our firetrucks leaving to go help others.

the fires are not anywhere close to us, relatively, at the moment. the closest one is about a 20 minute drive. i feel fairly safe at the moment. but, it makes you think... what would i take if i HAD to leave. i had friends struggle with that this morning. one of my friends had to take her new baby and evacuate. pray for them.

i'll update more later!

go tribe

so... let's be honest... she is her father's daughter! the shirt says it all!! nora and daddy are watching the game together tonight while mommy goes to play keeno with her girls! i made nora a shirt today, so she could be in the spirit!

GO TRIBE!!

going crazy!!!

so, i have some awesome hair ribbons... my dad thinks they're weird!! but, mom says i look cute....

so, seriously... i find myself having conversations with myself through the baby. i talk to her, and i say back what she says... david and i do it to each other, too. if anyone else saw me, they would think i am crazy!

we've had a good week. did i mention last time that i had taken nora shopping with me? i was just looking for one or two things, but stopped in nordstrom to change and feed her (they have a great women's lounge with comfy couches and all). when i was done, we browsed a little bit, but nora cried the whole way through nordstrom. i started to wonder whos daughter she really was... (okay, she takes after more of david right now in that department!)

today, we tried to play with the nice other baby in bible study, but nora cried. she also doesn't take after her mother in the social department!! we'll work on that. enjoy more video... and the pics!

the zoo... and other adventures!!!

at the zoo... nora was having a GREAT time! i think she opened her eyes for about ten minutes all day... mommy, nora and the hippo... the hippo is the one in the glass! just kidding. we were having fun!

here is more video. if you get bored, just stop it! i put a lot of her not doing much on there for the grandmas and aunts. but, i am not offended if you don't watch it all.

i am sitting here watching baby signs, so i can eventually start teaching them to nora. it's kinda fun! the moms on the dvd are kinda cheesy! oh well. my favorite is play. it's the hang-ten sign. makes sense!

today, we went to bible study, and there are several other babies around nora's age in the group. last week, a few of the babies laid on the floor and talked to each other all class. nora slept. this week, she was awake for a bit, and since she loves looking at her babydoll and froggy, i laid her next to one of the babies to talk to. she was not having any of it. she turned her head away and laid there by herself until she was hungry a few mintues later. she looked at me like "mom, why are you making me talk to this other baby?" oh well... maybe next week.

last thing... my new favorite. i would take a picture, but blogspot won't let me put obscene things on the blog and this might qualify. nora's new favorite eating habit is smiling and laughing as she tries to eat. it's so funny to watch, because she just wants to talk, but she wants to eat as well. she's not sure what to do more! (can you see why i can't take a video??) she has discovered that there are other things going on when she is eating, and she might be missing something.

one more favorite! sleep.... last night, nora slept for 11 hours straight! she has been sleeping for about 12 hours total, waking up only once to eat. but last night, we slept through the whole night! and, she woke up happy, not starving! it's so nice, but my baby is growing up... as much as i love sleep, i am not sure i am ready for that! okay, this is a long post. i will write more often so as not to go on so long... enjoy!

nora talking

nora loves to talk to this frog... she stares at it all during jazzercize, or when mom is cleaning or making dinner!

she is also in her bumbo for the first time. she really seems to enjoy sitting up! she is so cute (i could be a little biased).

the last one is nora cheering for the indians with daddy. as you can imagine, we are having fun watching the indians! she likes to have a matching hat with daddy. and it looks so cute on her (again, not biased).

today, we went to octoberfest in downtown la mesa. she is such a good baby. i made a comment about how much she is sleeping (11 hours total, waking up once after 8 hours to eat), and they commented on how peaceful she was in her stroller... everyone is quite jealous. she's such a good girl! we are quite thankful. and, i LOVE having more sleep at night! she really only cries when hungry or tired... or when the indians make a bad play (i think she was just tired, but daddy thought differently). alright, back to the game...

waking up!!!

nora loves waking up from naptime! it's so fun to watch. so, now i am trying to let you all enjoy it, too! plus, i got her smiling! next time, i will try to do the video right side up... so just tilt your head for now! sorry about that. again, a new experience! but, have fun watching her and listening to david and me in the background! this might become a new obsession... i could put video on ALL the time (i know the grandmas would vote for that!) have fun and we'll see you soon!!!

EIGHT HOURS!!!

Last night, Nora slept for eight hours!!! She woke up long enough to eat, and slept for three more hours! It was such a nice night... the first picture is my trying to get her to smile and the second is her after a nap. Nora loves to smile and flirt as she wakes up from her naps. She hadn't quite gotten her eyes open yet, but she was happy to see mommy!

Today, we applied for her passport... can I tell you how hard it is to get someone to do passport photos on a baby? But, they turned out so awesome! I wanted to get a copy for me. But, you'll just have to get a look at her passport sometime soon.

Did I mention that at her doctors appointment on Friday, Nora weighed 12.5 pounds and was 22.5 inches? She is in the 90th percentile! What a good eater!!! Alright, that's all I have to add for today. Love to you all