why??? am i crazy??

today, it's something around 80 degrees... notice nora and me, both in t-shirts and shorts. then, you might notice david and byss in fleeces surrounded by white. in san diego, we aren't really sure what to call that white. we have to drive to it. or, like i am doing tomorrow, fly to it! some might ask why! why would i fly to it when i could stay in the beautiful, sunny, san diego.

today, our friend kayden came over to play. we had so much fun!!! yesterday, we went shopping. it was another nice day. we had so much fun! and nora was such a good little girl! but, that's nothing new!! alright, to all you in the snow... i'll see you tomorrow. to you in san diego... i'll miss you!!!

by the way... nora made it through the whole of jazzercise in the daycare!

a sunny tuesday morning

okay, so nora has tried the childcare in jazzercise three times now. i just think she is not happy that time of morning no matter what i do! today, she went in at the beginning, and

got sad about halfway through. it was right as we started the weight section. for a bit, she sat up next to me and played. then, i used her as my weight! i bench pressed her (all 18.5 pounds!)... quite a workout! i think we are working hard on a tooth! still... for three months! but, she is handling it well! she is such a sweet, happy baby! not much else going on. she was helping dad pay bills this week. then, after she went to bed.... we played wii!! it was fun! i even won at bowling, and was winning at golf, until i tried to show off, and ended up in the trees every time! oh well.... more later...

still raining!!

in our Bible study, there are two sets of twins... and then nora (and four other babies. there is nora and one other girl. nora seems to be surrounded by a ton of boys!!!)... so, this was the group on thursday. nora loved staring at steven and playing with all the boys on the blanket.

the video is from today, nora sitting up so big! she is so cute! and a little fussy... i really hope these teeth come through sometime soon.

nora had a first today... she went into the childcare at jazzercise! sometimes she gets a little cranky, then will fall asleep. today, she wasn't having it AT ALL!!! so, after picking her up and trying to calm her down, i tried to put her back in her seat. it didn't work. it was either give up on my workout (which i REALLY didn't want to do), or put her in. she seemed to really enjoy the childcare. it's probably more fun playing with other kids than watching jazzercise.

can i digress about jazzercise for just one minute? i was thinking today... here is a room full of about fifty women, all 20-60-somethings... probably about half around my age, half around my mom's. there is one girl who looks like she is trying out to be jenna jameson (maybe that's her other job), an older women who looks like she needs a pole, and a bunch of other women rocking out to justin timerberlake, usher and j lo. i mean, where else can you totally rock out and have a blast while getting an awesome workout? that's all i have for now... hope my description wasn't too graphic! i really do love it!

it's only rain, people!!

nora will occasionally give me kisses on demand. she will do it several times in a row, then not do it for awhile. also, today she discovered how to make the blah blah (see previous video) herself. she rubs her hand over her mouth and has a GREAT time! i think, however, we are either REALLY teething or starting seperation anxiety. i have barely been able to set her down the last two days. she just screams!

today, she started babbling a little more. i thought i could hear a "dadadada" in there, but nothing intentional! each day, she gets so much more fun! except for right now. she is trying to go down for a nap and screaming. it's time to go get her! have a good afternoon!

oh... it's raining here! and people forget how to drive. on the bright side, i forgot what green looked like! EVERYTHING is so amazingly green from the rain we have had!

laughing nora

nora thinks her dad is HI-larious!! she just laughs at him... so, enjoy! on sunday morning, while i got ready for church, dad and bean checked out what had happened overnight in the sports world. it's a cute pic of them hanging out in bed! she keeps trying to crawl more every day. she gets up on all fours and just rocks back and forth. no actual movement yet!

david was home from work yesterday, and was somewhat involved in what i did during the day. usually, we plan stuff for when he's off, and weekends can be busy. so, he asked what i did during a typical day, since he's not there to play games with, etc. he decided that it must be VERY lonely at home all day without him!

it's hard to describe to someone who doesn't do it regularly what a typical day is like... by the time we get home from jazzercise, it's about time for nora to eat, then she goes down for a nap. i eat, and then have 1.5-2 hours to do anything i want to do without her up (shower, check email, watch a tv show, clean, start dinner, unload the dishwasher, do my Bible study, make phone calls, or nap). my sister asked this weekend why i don't nap every day when nora does... again, it goes back to pure, unadulterated time ALL to myself!

it's suprising how i don't really miss sleep. okay, i miss it, but i don't need it (i think i wrote about that). i really tried to enjoy my sleeping in days those last few days before nora was born. and, it's fun to have her around. i enjoy playing with her. i LOVE not working. i love excercising regularly and being involved in a Bible study. i love lunch dates with friends. the one thing i REALLY miss is how easy it was just to run into a store. first, without a baby in tow and second, without the extra hassle of getting someone out of the carseat, into the sling/stroller/cart and entertaining her while i try to remember what i went into the store for in the first place! but, i still wouldn't trade her. i just do most of it when david's home!

enjoy the pics and vid....

fun weekend!!!

nora has discovered a new talent. she realizes that she can make noise!!! what a cute baby. she cracked herself (and us) up all afternoon. we went to la jolla to see the seals after a nice breakfast by the ocean. there was a baby seal getting it's nummies! nora was jealous... we also visited the graves. nora LOVED zoey the dog. she even asked daddy for one! tunnie coco and i went to a day spa on friday (hence the mud bath), and i left nora for 12 whole hours! she had a GREAT time with aunt nancy and then daddy... and i didn't worry too long, either. it was fun having tunnie coco out here! we miss you!! we went to java mama cafe, also and met a girl named lyric. she was dressed in a power ranger outfit, that was quite tight over her pink sweatsuit. she had a blunt haircut and it was in need of a wash. she started a monologue with stef while i got our drinks. she couldn't say her "s", but it took stef awhile to realize that. she kept calling nora "he" and making stef so mad. then, she gave nora her "hicker" (sticker) and told us about her "hister" (sister), in a husky voice. she also told us about her dad's "hinky" something or other. we weren't sure what that meant, exactly. i was in tears with laughter before realizing the girl's mother was RIGHT behind us. i needn't have worried. she got up to check on her other daughter (a 10 yr old sulking in the corner) and the mom just rolled her eyes. so, stef and i left the coffee shop... mostly cause i felt so bad laughing at this girl, and i couldn't get a girl in edgewise with my sister. we just wanted to chat!
more great video and pics from our weekend to follow!!!

another first

daddy's new favorite game with nora is nora in the box. he seems to think she enjoys it! we also bought her a bath seat, since she has grown out of her little bathtub, and it was a lot of work trying to hold her up and wash her by myself!

and lastly, nora was a big girl at the grocery store today! don't worry, her hand is okay... that's just how my phone takes pics. she had so much fun playing that way (and it was MUCH easier than keeping her in the sling the whole time!!)

well, my little girl just woke up, so it's time to feed the baby! more tomorrow...

the gross and the incredible!!

okay, so two stories for the day... nora is trying VERY hard to crawl! she went from not being able to roll back to front to now doing it ALL the time! and, she is pushing herself up like she wants to crawl! i am SO not ready for that. but, she's getting bigger. she gets excited for things she recognizes (pacifier, etc) and is almost reaching out to you to hold her. sadly, the video i took won't post... but still, what an angel....

except for in this next story. she was asleep in her carseat and i wanted to run into target. so, i kept her in her carseat (instead of the sling) and put her in a cart. i was in the dressing room, trying things on when i heard a little gas. now, nora is notorious for letting them rip! i didn't think much of it. so, we get back in the car, and i had one more stop to make. i get her out to put her in the sling, and there is poop EVERYWHERE! so, she can't go back in the carseat to even just go home. i stripped her down and changed her. then, i scrubbed her carseat (with as many diaper wipes as i could!!). i figured we were out and clean, so i ran my errand. i put her back in the carseat, and we make the two minute drive home. (spoiler... this is where it gets really bad...) nora is getting hungry, and basically just looking for something to go in her mouth. and she finds the straps to the carseat. she bends over and starts sucking on them. the same straps i was just scrubbing! i KNOW they are not THAT clean! so i try to distract her... but that's all she wanted to munch on!

we are home, the carseat and clothes are soaking and nora is still naked, but loving rolling around. she has covered quite a bit of ground, so i have to go get her back now!! have a great day!!

a few more pics from the weekend!!

feeling better!!

so, we seem to be feeling mostly better. by saturday morning, nora was back to her normal self. when i put her to sleep on friday night, her temp was totally gone. it's nice to have my little girl back! we had a good rest of the weekend.... going out to dinner with dad's work friends and then to brunch with great-grandparents! it was a fun week. our schedules are a little off today, because nora is not a fan of sleeping at night, right now. we were up early and just snuggling. nora was watching baby einstein and LOVING it! it was so cute to see her so entranced! alright... back to our day!

being a mom

Okay, so nora had her first fever last night... 103.8! she woke up to eat, and was SO HOT... i had gone to bed not feeling very well, and was hoping she would be just fine. i even went to bed early to get extra sleep and hopefully not get sick. let's just say, God gives moms the grace they need to survive. I remember watching my mom as i was growing up, thinking "how does she stay up so late and then get up so early and never stop for a nap?" i understand now... she was staying up late to finish laundry, cleaning, dishes and then just anything she had to do for herself before she went to bed. but i never understood how she managed it so well. now, i am the mom, staying up late, getting up to feed the baby at night and then getting up early, but never seeming to get in a nap. and i don't feel too tired most of the time. another way i have become my mom... my bedtime routine. maybe it's just getting older and wiser, but realizing that things like flossing are good for you makes me add it to my routine.

back to the grace from God. so, nora wakes up in the middle of the night to eat and is hot. so i feed her and then take her temp. it's high and that's only from under her arm (she wouldn't let me take it anywhere else)... so, i change her clothes, give her some medicine, and try to put her back in bed. but, i think she felt as miserable as i did when i went to bed. she just wanted to snuggle. so, we came downstairs and rocked. suprisingly, i felt okay. not at all like i did before going to bed. within an half hour, we were both ready for bed, and her fever was down SIGNIFICANTLY! it was so nice. she went to sleep, and then i laid in bed thinking about all the horrible things that could happen with a fever. by the time i was ready to fall back asleep, nora was awake again. she needed to snuggle. dad tried for a few minutes, then nora came into bed with us. she slept so well! and she's been doing that for most of the day so far. and i feel like a new person! thank you for the grace...

yesterday, david had nora laughing SO hard! it's on my mom's camera, so as soon as i can get the video, i'll post it. it was so funny... this laugh from the gut! she thought her daddy was so silly and funny! i'll be working on that....

i know this won't be the last fever or sickness, but thanks for listening to my first experience!

march madness!!!

Okay, a funny conversation for you all to enjoy...

on feb 2nd 2008...

David- do you know what two months from today is?

Michelle- no, what is it?

David- it's opening day for the tribe!!!

Michelle- that's awesome (trying to have some enthusiasm in my voice!!)

David- but don't worry, we still have march madness (i think that was supposed to be comforting, that even though we had to wait two whole months, there was still this whole other sports entity that could envelope so much time and passion!!!)

Okay, some pics... the first one is from downstairs, looking upstairs. i hope it doesn't look too much like michael jackson!

the next is nora in bed with her daddy while mommy got ready for church! and then nora and jeffrey again. later on in the day, nora started taking all jeffrey's toys when he just wanted to play with her. i have to work on sharing! we were at a friends for the superbowl and they had dogs... nora went nuts. she loved them! and they were so good with her. someday we will be getting one!

have a great day!