saturday morning...

a saturday morning... you can't really see her, but sadie is also in the chair!

nora yesterday... she had an accident on the couch, so i was cleaning the cushion. and, hadn't put on clothes yet. but she looked so cute!

james. yes, those are leggings. yes, they are for boys. and they are to keep his legs warm. and no, i don't take him out in public like that!

coloring...

don't mind the videographer. we just were having fun!! james felt fine yesterday, but has a fever again today. poor buddy. we slept together last night, because he couldn't sleep in his crib. nora and i, meanwhile, have cabin fever. yesterday, we went out for a bit. i wanted to go to the store, but realized my two crabby children wouldn't make it. so, we went for a drive. on the way home, james coughed a bit, then threw up (i could see it in the mirror). i thought, hmm... weird. but, he's got a lot of phlem, and could be that. nora has done that before. then, he did it again, and i could see a sticker in the throw up. my heart about stopped. i am not quite sure it's beating normally yet.

nora just disobeyed, and got disciplined. i turned to finish doing something for her, and i hear her saying "i'm sorry. i forgive you". bless her heart! she gets it!!

nora has been telling jamey, every time he cries, that "it's okay, daddy will be home soon". regardless of the fact that david is out of town. or that it's 9am. and what's up with that... mommy's not good enough? daddy's coming home to rescue them? seriously! but, seriously, it's been so cute how she is trying to comfort him. she loves to kiss him and gives him toys and wants to play with him. all this when she's not trying to steal his toys or jealous of him. but, it's cute.

i was talking to a friend today who really only knows me before i met david and has only met him once. i can't even remember what i said, but he said "it sounds like you married a good man". it struck me how incredibly true that was. it's so easy to forget that, or talk about the annoying stuff, and not mention how madly in love with him i am, or how awesome of a dad he is to my kids (or my friend's kids... who all adore david because he plays with them), or what a fun guy he is or how well he takes care of us and i never have to worry about a thing! he fixes my parking tickets (mostly because it's not my fault!!!), cooks and does dishes regularly!

i married a good one. i think so often, husbands or dads are portrayed as doofs. i was just watching a show the other night and the dad was so pathetic. that just hasn't been my experience... with my dad or my husband! i am so thankful for the men in my life. and i did... marry a good one! and, he's on his way home!! hooray!

my new mother...

my sweet little pumpkin...

he really wants to be crawling! he backs himself into corners all the time! and gets so frustrated.

someone, who will remain nameless, taught nora how to do this... awesome! she had so much fun!

she just looked so big... and only ate the frosting of her cookie.

still looking so big... thanks mom-mom for the awesome shirt!

umm... ready to go? yeah, those aren't her shoes. but she can walk AMAZINGLY WELL in them!!

my two babies! while i was making dinner the other night...

a boy and his dog. he's getting so big!!

snuggling with nora. she loves to kiss him!

dude, check me out. i can sit up! all by myself.

waiting for daddy to get home. both girls were quite excited!!! notice how she only puts stickers on her back... quite interesting!

how i found my boy when i went to get him up from a nap. just staring and waiting for me! he's so sweet. also, he got an OUTSTANDING report the other day from the orthopedic surgeon. his x-rays looked "impressive" and "like a normal foot". she was very pleased, and very happy we went ahead with the surgery. so, he's still in the shoes and bar 18 hours a day until december 11th, then just at night. NOT at naps, JUST at night!!

so, my new mother... i was standing on a chair this morning to get something off a high shelf. nora told me "do not stand on chairs. you will fall and get hurt". she routinely tells me "no shoes on my couch". also, i have been trying encourage that we sit down to eat our meals. even if we are eating at her table in the family room, she has to be sitting. i wasn't following that this morning and walking around with my bowl of oatmeal (since it's FREEZING here... 60* when i woke up... which means only 66* in the house!!!). she told me "we do not eat standing up. come sit down at the table. here, i'll get you a chair", and proceeded to pull me up a chair.

this week has been SO MUCH better obedience-wise. the last few weeks were incredibly frustrating, but we are having a better week. i am quite thankful. i felt like all i ever did was discipline. today, especially, we've had a TON of fun!

the kids woke up from their naps yesterday with fevers. kind of a bummer, since we were supposed to go to a pumpkin patch with friends today. oh well. speaking of getting sick... one comment. i don't usually do this, but here you go. states were told in july to stop tracking the h1n1 cases. but, they still are. and anything that is flu-like is counted as h1n1/swine flu. so that means, if you have food poisoning and see a doctor, they will count it as the flu. but what about those early pregnant women... feeling flu-like is common. and the majority of them don't even have h1n1.

(Image from CBS News)

so, why are we so scared about this epidemic? don't get me wrong... i'm not saying it's not scary to get the flu, especially for little kids, and i know people can die from both this and the seasonal flu. but, seriously, the panic? for some false-positive tests? it's scary how the majority of the media isn't reporting on this, and when cbs went to do their story on this, got NO help from the cdc.

so, my kids have fevers. we'll use good handwashing, good nutrition, and stay away from other kids for a few days. no reason to spread what we have. and, hopefully, they'll feel better soon, and i won't get it!!!

that's all i have to say... thanks for listening!

God knew...

you might not be able to tell, but this is a shirt. and it's my two babies footprints and a bum. this is what we were going to be doing on our playdate today. so, i decided to go ahead and do my shirt. i am quite excited for it to dry and to try it on!

we were watching "the little mermaid" and i started singing along. nora told me "just let sebastian sing, mom".

we had a bit of a disney marathon, and all of a sudden, she's feeling better. still a little white, however! so, there it is! i think God knew that i needed a sweet day with my sweet girl, since we are having some consistent discipline recently! i needed to not really discipline today! (except for the fact that she just bit her brother... awesome!) anyway.... have a good day!

sick day...

nora taking a sick day. my poor baby girl doesn't feel very well.

the bummer of it all was that we had a HUGE playdate scheduled here this morning. nineteen of our closest friends.

no more playdate. just snuggles!!

no joke... this is how i found jamey after his nap the other day. just smiling and lounging at an awkward angle!

you can kind of see that james is so happy that his sister has jumped in the crib with him!!

laughing at his sister.

the new look... checking out his new tooth!

since grammie has coffee every morning, nora now wants some. she is instead getting tea! but she loves it!!

we went to visit daddy at work again yesterday. there is nothing sweeter than this picture...

except maybe this picture and the sweet sound of her gut laugh. she loves her daddy and brother!

nora was not wanting to pose for pictures at this point. she was kind of over it!

he was watching forlornly as his sister got to ride the up and down horses... someday soon, sweet boy!!

"helping" push the stroller... and smiling with grammie

this is a new look for him. he pulls in that bottom lip, as i am sure he is trying to feel his new tooth (almost new teeth!!!)

"cheese"

look at that big boy sitting up so nicely! we have had grammie here for a few days and are LOVING IT! i got a nap the other day, and grammie has been such a huge help. she is currently doing some sewing i keep meaning to get to! and the kids have been enjoying it! ironically, she came in from boston and david had to fly out to boston today for some last minute work stuff... oh well. he will get to see his dad and some other family!

Bible verses

here are the two verses i promised. in the one, nora stops EVERY TIME to say "wait, how does it go?". she knows. she's just testing me! it's so cute. TOTALLY not sure where she learned the first one. it's not the one they are learning at Bible study. maybe sunday school?

james got his first tooth yesterday! i was so glad to see it had broken through!!

it's been a fun and busy week! i love four day weeks! they go by so much faster. we have struggled a bit with obedience, so if anyone has any creative measures, let me know!

here was something i am considering... check it out on youtube. sorry, i can't figure out how to actually get the video on here! but, a friend said she tried this and got some awesome stares and comments! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WwGtzAacVA

hands and knees...

a self portrait in a new hat. thought you'd like it!

my sweet baby boy. sitting up in the wagon.

sitting in amber's wagon... she wasn't so excited about it! he was... he tried to take off her clothes!

you guessed it... driving a car!!!

now for the slide. notice the miami shirt!

my family at the park! so much fun.

james hung out in the swing forever! he seemed to enjoy it!

waiting for us to be ready to go to the park...

trying new foods.. this is butternut squash. he's not a fan.

making his big sister laugh and laugh...

the cutest boy on earth!! i love him!!

so, lots of jamey today. he gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth, back and forth! it's so sweet. the fact that he isn't crawling yet isn't stopping him from covering a lot of ground, rolling!

and, we had a LONG and PAINFUL visit to the doctor's office, in which we never got seen in over TWO HOURS! but, jamey was so sweet and happy the whole time!!!

a busy weekend... but so much fun! i love federal holidays! it's so much fun to have david home on a random day! we had a great time. the girls, their fams and i walked the water tower hill again yesterday. so good to be doing that again! (last time, it was over 100*... at least now, it's about 70*) we are all bundled up and it's 70*. sweaters, hats... it's cold here! i am loving it!

one side note. i love to blog. i also love to scrapbook. over the weekend, i became a creative memories consultant. if you like to scrapbook and are interested in info on the products, let me know! i love them and would love to share them. however, i won't be pressuring you into buying anything!! no worries... i'm doing it to support my habit!! or, you can go to my site... www.mycmsite.com/michellehaile. that's all i'll say for now.

dear nora...

fun with the cheese!!

we had a bonfire last night. we haven't done that really since the night before our wedding!

it was SO MUCH fun!!!

while we were waiting for friends to come, i got to see God paint the sky! it was INCREDIBLE!!

today was princesses... here's my memories of it! while daddy and nora were there, jamey and i got to clean the condo and wait while the carpets were cleaned. YEAH for a renter!!!

dear nora. i am not sure if you will remember today. but i will. forever. today, you and daddy had a date. you went to princesses on ice. all week, that is what you talked about. in fact, when i told you we were going to bible study on thursday, you thought i was taking you there instead of princesses, and that made you sad (of course, you were excited to go once you realized you weren't missing princesses). you might not remember that you were a little antsy and left early, or that you got chick-fil-a for lunch (daddy's favorite) or the songs that were sung or who was actually there. maybe you will.

but, here's what i'll remember. waking up that morning, you were so excited. we all piled into mommy and daddy's bed. then, you and daddy almost forgot about breakfast because you were snuggled up on the couch watching music videos online. and the memory that makes me cry when i think of it... hearing a song that brings me to tears every time. "cinderella" by steven curtis chapman. you and daddy were watching it and daddy was snuggling you. do you remember how he just held you? you were a little antsy to get down. you didn't understand the song was about how little girls grow up too fast.

will you remember how excited daddy was to take you? how his friends made fun of him, but he couldn't wait. he was so excited to get to do this with you. to spend time with his little princess. will you remember how tired you were when you came home and you were almost limp in daddy's arms? just snuggled up to the daddy you love so much? i will. and i will help remind you! because you have such a good daddy!

"cinderella" by steven curtis chapman

She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me
Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

She will be gone

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

for all the fans...

daddy is taking nora to "princesses on ice" tomorrow (did i mention that already?). anyway, he came home from work yesterday with pictures of all the different princesses, so she could practice. then, he showed her a video. not sure who is more excited!

sweet boy at the dinner table.

this morning... just hanging out!

pretty much how he looks all the time! so happy... and easy-going.

i think they are hazel. his eyes, that is. it totally depends on what color he is wearing. not deep brown, like his daddy's, but not blue, either.

baby burrito after bath time.

it was too cute to pass up!!!

sitting up in the bath!! he loved playing!

multitasking. helping me make cookies AND talking on the phone (for real this time..)

she was such a good stirrer. but, she told me... "i want the chocolate chips in my mouth, and chew them all up!". hmm... wonder where she gets that?

loving the heck out of her dog!

waiting for daddy to get home, and to prove that she's excited, she put on her princess dress (yes, there are many in this house!!)

in addition to naming all of the princesses, she can also say two Bible verses. i will post those soon! she is loving going potty "all by myself" (meaning she goes in, goes, wipes and flushes the toilet). kinda of freeing for me! anyway... she is in there right now, "brushing her teeth". i should go check on that, and save our water bill from her!!!