sweet babies...

on our walk the other day....  nora wanted to hold daddy's hand from her stroller...  

james looked so snuggly in his side of the stroller...

nora was patiently waiting to be ready to go

my sweet big boy...  look how big he's getting!!

a picture of james' "room"...  i don't think i have posted one yet.  he's on the "changing table" portion!

nora had elmo in the exersaucer yesterday and was dancing for him and playing with him!  it was too cute. 

nora loves to read "mommy/daddy book".  it's a photo album of us, just before we had kids.  she absolutely LOVES it!

so, some interesting thoughts...  symptoms of swine flu... high fever, cough, sore throat, achy, bad headache...

symptoms of whatever david and i had two weeks ago...  high fever, sore throat, achy, bad headache...  hmm....  interesting!

so, yesterday we accomplished something HUGE!!  nora, james and i went to costco!  we met a friend and her baby there and shopped.  nora was an ANGEL (as she was bribed with a sucker if she behaved...)  caleb was in his carseat next to nora, and she kept trying to help put (or shove) his cupeez back into his mouth...  then, she had to be bribed NOT to do that!  

afterwards, we had some of their awesome frozen yogurt (more bribery), and got to see the trolley passing by (the trolley is our public transit system).  nora was thrilled!  she loves the "choo-choo".  she kept saying "choo-choo... bye nora".  what a fun kid!  

people always have interesting responses to james' casts.  some people will just make comments about the small casts, or how young he is to be in casts.  i am never sure if they are asking why he is in casts, and want me to explain it...  but, i don't want to explain to everyone if they aren't interested!  (nor do i want people to think i am a neglectful or abusive mother and it's MY fault he is in casts!!!)  but yesterday, we had two interesting interactions.  one mom told me all about her daughter's hip problems and similar situation.  another woman came up and asked his name.  she then said he would be in their prayers for a quick recovery.  i guess i can't say no to prayers!!  they definitely work!

birth control...

on sunday night, we babysat for our friends two kids.  we realized that all of the kids could almost be ours...  four under four.  in case we weren't convinced about birth control before, we are now!!  the kids were great... but it wasn't what i would want to do all day, everyday.  i have the utmost respect for people who have that many kids close together!!

that said, two kids hasn't been bad.  i think we are making the transition nicely.  it's helped by the fact that my little boy is only waking up once a night, and they both sleep in until at least 7am!  i can usually feed james before i get nora up.  we even made it out of the house on time yesterday!  (our first attempt....)  sadie was an angel, too.  

i was getting ready for church on sunday, and nora saw me putting on a necklace.  she asked for one, too.  so, i found her a necklace that would be okay to wear.  so, there's a pic of that.  

james got his new casts yesterday.  again, he hated getting them changed, but the doctor said he looked great.  the ultrasound of his hips was perfect, and the doctor said they would make the decision about his surgery at our appointment next week, but she really didn't think he would need it.  so, we'll see.  but, his feet look great!!  so, we are probably halfway through our casting process...  crazy to think!  

a mom of two...

this is me, right now!!!  both kids are sleeping... one has been up and fed, then played while i showered and got dressed, etc.  now he is back to bed.  the other is still asleep!!  this could be a nice routine!!!


so, yesterday was great... with the exception of about 45 minutes.  nora broke down and james was a little fussy at the same time, meanwhile we were all hungry and i was trying to warm up dinner while one kid didn't want to be put down and the other wailed "hold you....".  

my sweet, old (as in previous) roommate lindsey and her little boy came to visit.  they don't live here anymore, and we hadn't seen them in FOREVER!!!  nora loved playing with david....  she would read to him, sit down next to him and even say "sit down".  it was so cute.  and, biggest surprise of all... she loved to give him his cupeeze.  it was so fun to watch!  lindsey sat down to feed him, and nora got as close as she could (she probably would have been in one of their laps if we let her...), and kept opening her mouth when lindsey would give david food... like she was trying to show him how to eat!  i am even more excited to watch what she is going to be like as james grows up!  

i did realize, however, that my first day alone was also a day when david didn't get home until 9pm!  quite an initiation!  well... i should go wake the girl up and get her going for the day!  today, we have TWO things planned...  getting adventurous!  (again, neither require leaving the house, yet...)

and i wouldn't change a thing...

so, yesterday was my birthday...  and it was a perfect day!  it was also david's last day of being home on leave.  both my kids gave me the best present ever and slept in until 8 am!  it was awesome.  we got ready in a hurry and went to my favorite breakfast/brunch place to eat in la jolla.... cody's.  i had awesome french toast (that's seriously what it's called!  and it is absolutely incredible) and a pomegranate mimosa.  heaven!  and both kids were angels.  then, we walked down by the water, saw the seals (animals not boys), and nora and daddy played in the grass (and danced the pookie dance).  both kids seem to take their nap at the same time (i hope i am not speaking too soon!!!), so they napped and david and i just read on the couch.  it was such a lovely day with my family.  thanks to all who called, emailed and facebooked.  love you all!!

today is our first day on our own!  david is back at work, and the fam is gone.  so far, it's been a great morning.  my residual birthday present from james was that he woke up ONCE last night!!!  so, i had a great sleep, and so did he!  maybe i CAN be the mom of two!  

so, i wasn't thinking, and uploaded the pictures out of order...  this picture is of james' feet last week...  

what a cute little body...  check out her tan lines (those are just from yesterday...  oops!!)  thankfully she didn't get burned at all!!  today, she and her daddy went out to do some more jumps!  (james had just gone down for a nap...)

then, this is the picture of yesterday.  the doctor said his feet look awesome.  she seemed to have some surprise in her voice at how fast they were moving!  his left food is correcting faster than his right, but that's normal.  next week, we are also doing an ultrasound of his hips to make sure everything is still normal and the casts aren't causing any problems (it sounded routine, not like they were worried at all...)  

and, she said there is a possible they may not have to to the tendonectomy.  we'll see!!!  they also told us not to worry if the feet seem to point outwards.  they tend to overcorrect, so it's normal!

did i mention how much i love our doctors?  they have all been great.  and in case i didn't mention it, they did call to say that the chest x-ray looked perfectly normal!  

tomorrow is david's last day of leave.  we will be sad to have him go back to work!  it's been nice having him around!  today we took it easy... david got sunburned yesterday, and it was too hot to do the zoo or anything not in the water!!!  here's to cooler weather!!

and, enjoy the video of nora reading!  she is just absolutely precious!  i love hearing her read to us!!!  it's her favorite book... hop on pop!  if you can understand her, you notice that she gets a lot of the major words.  there is one part where all fall off the wall... nora kisses them all better. 

baby announcement...

okay, so we got sick this weekend.  thankfully not the two babies, just david and me.  and it was miserable!  fevers, sore throat, achy, headaches.  and our symptoms hit about six hours apart.  i would feel something, and sure enough, six hours later, david would!  the kids were great, however!!  

and, i decided that anyone i would send a baby announcement to reads the blog (okay, most anyone), so i am boycotting them.  not because i don't have time or anything.  i was going to sit down and do them now, while both kids are sleeping.  and i am not tired.  but, you all see the great pictures online, and hear all about our lives.  so, why waste all that paper (i'm being green!!!), money and stamps.  if you really want one, call me and i will print you out one!  (or, if you know of someone who would be offended...)

alright, the pics.  we have cute kids!  and they, at least nora, know it!  nora really likes to hold james' hand.  and she loves when i put him in her bed (i do it when i want to do something with her in her room and he is up... change her diaper, play, get her dressed, etc)  usually she just begs to get back in bed with him!  

she also asks for "two babies" quite often.  this means, she wants mommy (or daddy) to hold two babies.  it seems to squelch the crying and temper tantrum of whoever is holding james not holding nora.  i sometimes offer it, or she will ask when i am nursing, and she will snuggle up next to me on the couch.  she gets bored after a minute!!

since the temp is hovering around 100*, we have been spending some time at the pool...  nora enjoying laying out with her friend moira, and jumping in to daddy.  she did learn, the hard way, that it's not near as fun to jump in when daddy isn't there to catch her!  mmm...  swim lessons, here we come!  

daddy's home!!!

watching soccer with daddy...  

who's bigger... baby max or baby james???

so, david is on leave this week and it is HEAVENLY!!  we are having so much fun as a family.  on monday, we went to the library, then stef came over (she didn't leave till the evening).  james got his new casts... see the pics below for a weekly comparison!  tuesday, we went to dog beach with the WHOLE fam!  james had his first visit to the beach.  it was chilly and windy, and james slept the whole time in the carrier, but it was fun!

today, we went to sea world.  again, chilly and windy and james slept the whole time!  but we had fun.  nora loved petting the bat rays.  so much so that she tried to swim with them (david caught her before she fell ALL the way in!)  the biggest attraction there for nora was elmo! 

then, denise came over to bring a meal.  she brought her just over two month old boy, max.  we were trying to decide who weighed more!!!  alright, i am about to go enjoy denise's dinner!  (if you don't remember, denise delivered nora!)

new casts...

sweet, squeeze the lovin' out of you, hugs!!

nora and jeffrey looked so cute in their easter outfits.  we had a great easter brunch at nick's on the pier.  great ocean view!!

thanks auntie coco for the great (nordy) easter dress!!!

easter sunday!!

this was just too cute... sadie and james!!

sweet baby boy!

chilling with aunite coco

nora just looked too cute, carrying a hop-hop (you can't see it), and her blanket.  

jeffrey and chelsey came to stay for a night, and the kids enjoyed listening to the ipod!  

fun with auntie coco!!!

james' casts...

celebrating my birthday with the fam... my fav- red velvet!
james got his second set of casts today.  i will upload the pic tomorrow, but it is AMAZING the difference in one week.  his feet looked so much better.  and he is tolerating the new casts so much better!  actually, after that first 24 hours last time, he has done pretty well.  they started rubbing his thighs raw, and we went in and they put stuff on the tops of the casts.  but, even that, he did alright with!  he HATED getting the casts on today, but that was it.  

i do have to say, while we were waiting to go into the cast room, you could hear the saw (to take off the casts), and three different kids screaming.  one kid even said "help me".  didn't make me want to go in!  (seriously, though, they do a great job.  and i watched the "saw" and it doesn't get close to the skin!)