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!!)

a. b. c. d.....

disclaimer... the video is long...  nora has these alphabet cards.  every so often, she will hand me one and say the correct letter.  it shocks me!  but, i think she can actually recognize a good handful of the letters.  it amazes me!  other things we can do... mostly say the alphabet, put toys away (with some assistance), say please, thank-you and you're welcome unprompted (and sometimes, just to herself...  ), recognize colors, say her age and future age (ie... "how old will you be on your next birthday?")

so, that's my bragging...  or maybe, realization that i have this toddler... not a baby!  actually, my mom asked me the other day if it blew my mind that i had two kids.  the two (versus having one) doesn't blow my mind.  it's the fact that I am the mom.  i am the adult... the one (of two) responsible for shaping these children's futures.  i don't get to give them back, don't get to go home, they are MINE!!  and it doesn't matter if there is one or two...  or five for that matter!  that's what blows me away.  (yes, i have been a mom for 22 months... you would think i would have gotten it by now!!!)

cheese.....

at a party last night...  this is the two-star admiral, helping nora with her shoes!!!  at one point, he was telling me there was nothing down low enough that nora could get into, or hurt her.  just as he finished saying that, she fell into one of the weights and cut her lip...  i think he felt worst of us all!  nora was fine, but looked up at everyone with a very brown mouth.  i think everyone's heart stopped.  then, david told us she had a brownie in her mouth!!  (there was a tiny little bit of blood mixed in with that brownie!!)  she just has a little swollen lip now...  

cheese

james got new jeans yesterday (poor kid didn't have a pair!!!)

we went to play with our friends, kayden and jace.  kayden LOVED baby james.  he wanted to hold him, play with him, share his toys with him...  such a good little helper!!!

sleeping on my couch!!!  

nora is getting particular about when her picture is taken.  many times, i hear "no cheese, mommy".  then, other times, she will look at me and say "cheese???".  it's actually quite cute.  so her pictures on this post are of when she asked to have her picture taken. 

for quite awhile, nora has only had her cupeez when it was bedtime.  we don't let her just walk around with it.  and she has been fairly good about that.  she will even say "cupeez away".  but, for the last week or so, she has been asking for it quite regularly, and not wanting to give it up.  so, she stays in her bed until she is ready to put it away (which is usually not longer than 30 seconds...).  she also has become very aware of her blankets.  she has a few that she likes and can tell you who made them (and that's how she asks for them).  all of them are "new blankies".  she will ask for "new blankie" as she is getting in bed (regardless of the fact that she has had the blankets and slept with most of them since she was born...).  well, recently, it's been "grammie haile new blankie".  grammie haile made nora a quilt.  sometimes, she wants to be wrapped up, "snug as a bug", and sometimes she just wants to be covered.  again, she knows what she wants.  

the other day, nora was at a friend's house while james and i went to the clubfoot clinic.  then, we switched and my friend got her haircut.  (i got the WAY easier end of the deal...  all three kids slept most of the time i was watching them...)  anyway, i brought (THANKFULLY) "grammie haile new blankie", just to throw over her, just in case.  well, after she went down, she was screaming her head off.  it's not normal for her, so i went in there.  she was screaming for "ghnb", which we had forgotten to put in!  so, i gave it to her.  

a comparison...

james...

nora...

okay, so i just looked it up and nora was 12.5 pounds at this age... and james is 13 pounds, 3 oz.  funny how nora was 90% and james is only 75th.  otherwise, they seem to be doing things about the same.  they both smiled first around five weeks.  and love to do it!!!

as an aside, i pulled out the sheet they gave me at the doctor's that had james' weight on it.  it gave parenting tips...   such as... if your baby is crying, he may be hungry or tired or have a dirty diaper.  (or be hit by another child...)  if i haven't figured this out by now... i am in trouble.  i am sure they have to give and say all that stuff, which makes it all the more sad.  some parents haven't figured that all out yet (especially by the time they get to subsequent children!

as for the vid...  nora loves to have music on when james is in the swing.  and you can tell what a first child/little mother she is by the meticulous way she put elmo in the swing (and just asked me for a new diaper for elmo...).  she's SUCH A JOY!!