Happy Easter!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

We usually make a bigger deal out of holidays, but I'm embarrassed to admit it, I almost completely forgot St. Patrick's Day this year! Nora and I did manage to make some shamrock sugar cookies, though. It takes all the patience that I can muster to get through such an activity with an almost two year-old. I choose not to think about all the raw egg she ingested in the process. Her diving across (and fully ON to) my newly floured surface to grab the green sprinkles almost did me in. I hope she had fun!

Easter Egg Hunt

Nora had her first egg hunt of the year on Saturday at the church. It took her a little while to get the idea, but once she did, she was able to come away with, drum roll, please... one egg. I grabbed a few that some of the kids were putting back because they had taken too many (there were supposed to be nine eggs for each child) so that she wouldn't feel bad when she saw how many the other kids had found. Needless to say, she was thrilled to discover that the egg she found was filled with candy. What could be better? Nora has the biggest sweet tooth I have ever seen. She wakes up from her nap almost every day talking about candy. Does that mean she was dreaming about it too?

makin' pizza

We went to a very cool mothers' group activity today at a pizzeria that allowed the kids to make their own pizzas and watch them go through the oven (is it starting to seem like all of our posts are somehow about food?)

chocolate dipped baby

For an after church treat yesterday, Josh and I decided to do some chocolate dipping. Nora was in heaven. This was the first time she was actually allowed to have as much as she wanted of something deliciously sweet (except maybe on her birthday) and she ate an amazing number of these huge chocolate covered strawberries. I justified it somehow because afterall, deep down inside they were only strawberries...

It's a...

I thought for sure we were having another girl. It takes a big person to admit when you're wrong and this time I was. Our ultrasound on friday clearly showed a little BOY! Nora wasn't sure about what she was seeing on the monitor screen but at gym class walked proudly up to her teacher and announced "I am getting a baby brother!" I was so proud of her. We are thrilled with the news and are a little relieved to have only one name to figure out instead of two this time! (with Nora we didn't know we were getting a girl until the day she was born) Only 20 weeks to go!

Nora's first Sleep-Over!

One of Nora's adorable friends is getting a baby sister so we got to take her for the night. The girls have had an absolute blast. The only hard part was getting them to sleep! Josh thought it was a good idea to put them in the same room. For a about an hour we kept hearing them singing and talking to each other "do you want to sing that song, the itsy bitsy spider?" "Do you have your bear?" "My jammies have hearts" and kicking, screaming and laughing. It really took me back to my sleep-over days except what I remember saying to my friends at night was "truth or dare?"

A Day at the Zoo!

I couldn't believe when it got up to 45 degrees on Monday. We hit the zoo! Nora loves animals with a passion that has no end. I'm putting my favorite picture first. Nora was pretending to be the sleeping wolf. A lot of the cages said it was too cold for certain animals to be out, but we still got to see quite a lot- including a cougar fight! Nora's favorites were the reindeer, river otters and llamas (whom she stood and talked to for about 10 minutes before I could pull her away).

Gym Class

I signed Nora up for a gym class to beat the cold this winter. I felt like she needed some more opportunities for exercise and socializing on days that we wouldn't normally leave the house except maybe to hit the grocery store or mall and it's way too cold to play outside (for me anyway...) It's been a big hit. Nora loves her class and has made all sorts of new friends and skills there. Check her out!

The Boston Aquarium

We visited the aquarium on Saturday courtesy of some of Josh's friends from school who volunteer there. Nora's favorite parts were: the touching tank, the turtle and the gift shop merchandise. Her least favorites were the shark swimming feet from her face, leaving the gift shop without any loot, and dropping Josh off at school afterward. Our favorite part was watching Nora's reaction to everything. Our least favorite part was a neon orange envelope that we found under the windshield upon returning to our car... who ever heard of a parking ticket for an expired inspection?

What do you do when you're snowed in on a Friday night?

You paint! This was Nora's first painting experience and not only did she love it, but she put out a pile of museum worthy pieces. My little Picasso!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a day! I decided to splurge and get Nora something special for Valentine's day. I found this little tent, complete with a back pack (actually cute!), pint-sized sleeping bag, water bottle, flash light, and even a head band in a set at target for $20. Nora was so excited that she screamed out loud when she came downstairs and saw it. We have had a hard time getting her out since. Despite the fact that it takes up all the floor space in our living room, I think it was a good move. Here is Nora enjoying a present from Nana in her new tent followed by a few heart shaped waffles for breakfast. It was all we could do to get her to the table. Everytime we asked if she was hungy she would say "no, I'm in my tent". When Josh finally got home from school (after sitting in traffic for an hour) we went out to dinner. Nora didn't eat much of her kids meal, but she did have fun playing in Daddy's sprite and coloring on the menu. So much for romance!

Holy Moly, That's a Huge Bubble!

Nora has always loved bubbles. I started blowing them for her at bathtime when she was a newborn. I think she is still in as much awe of them as the first time we got them out. Lately she's been using the phrase 'Holy Moly!', something I didn't even think I ever said. The other night at bathtime we caught her saying 'Holy Moly, that's a huge bubble!' about every bubble, huge or not. I guess when you're that small, everything seems huge. She loves to catch them in her incredibly soft hands. Whenever I try this, they pop immediately but she manages to play with them for amazing amounts of time before they bite the dust. She also tries to eat them, but that's a story for another day. Here are some photos of Nora playing in the bath. Please ignore the mildew in the tile grout behind her which absolutely WILL NOT come off, no matter what I scrub with or for how long. The last picture is her reaction when I tell her it's time to put the bubbles away and wash her hair.

Tagged and some good news

I've been tagged! So I'm supposed to write some exciting stuff about myself and then ask other people to do the same thing. Here goes!

10 years ago:

Ahh, 1998. The year I finished High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania, spent the summer teaching canoeing at an all girls' camp and left for my first semester at BYU. I guess ten years ago today I was actually not quite done high school but almost and definitely iching to get out of town!

5 things on my 'to do' list today:

Well, let's see...

1) feed, dress and keep a clean diaper on Nora
2) library storytime
3) time-out for Nora for running away from me and screaming in the library
4) nap (battle) then bath (battle) for Nora
5) visiting teaching

I guess that pretty much sums it up!

Snacks I enjoy:

These pregnant days, it's any salty chips I can get my hands on! And this great new specialty edition ice cream that Edy's makes called 'most orange-inal'- it tastes just like the yummiest creamsicle of all your childhood summers!

What I would do if I was suddenly made a billionare:

Oh the possiblities! First, I already have the house picked out. We just need more space- for practical reasons, of course. I'd probably update my wardrobe, enroll Nora is the greatest toddler and mom education programs available, and have dinner delivered to our doorstep every night! Oh yea, we also need a really great get-away vacation. Something tropical... twice a year... All selfish, I know! I hope I'd search out some great charities in all the free time I'd have not making dinner.
Oh yea, and we'd finally fix the back bumper on the carolla where I backed into a fire hydrant.

3 of my bad habits:

These days,
1. Losing or almost losing my temper- most times this involves Nora and her carseat, shopping cart, or stroller- the little girl is almost stronger than me!
2. Falling asleep in the chair in Nora's room at her bedtime- too tired to move!
3. Over eating junk food at every possible opportunity- hate that!

5 places I have lived:

1) Wayne, Pa
2) Provo, Ut
3) Orem, Ut
4) Dayton, Oh (only 12 weeks but I needed this to add to 5!)
5) Boston area, Ma

Things people don't know about me:

I hate roller coasters, I'm usually a night owl (except when pregnant), I love sleeping in (but never do anymore), one of my worst fears involves speaking in front of crowds.

Sorry this took so long for me to finally do! I was tagged almost 2 weeks ago and have been putting it off ever since- should have added procrastination to my list of bad habits!

The good news that I promised at the end of all this useless information is that Josh passed his qualifying exams! All those lonely days and nights as a single parent have suddenly been validated. Only 2 1/2 years of school to go (hopefully)!

Helping Mummy

No matter what I am trying to do, Nora is always "helping Mummy". I wish I was more creative about finding ways that she can actually help instead of just pretending to. The other day I was trying to make a pie crust (actually, this is really one of the most stressful activities of my life- sad, but true) and Nora was so determined to help that she was stuffing spinach for the quiesh into an empty grapefruit rind left over from snack and periodically bringing me random cans from the pantry. I was about to loose my mind! Then I had the bright idea to get her tiny rolling pin and really let her help flatten out the crust. She was thrilled!

We're Positive!

Try to read the sign Nora's holding.

As many of you already know, we're having another baby! This sign is how I told Josh that we are pregnant. I guess you could say it's a tradition since I made one when I told him we were expecting Nora. Nothing like chocolate and sugar to get a message across that he couldn't miss! Our due date is July 28. Nora insists that she's getting a 'baby sister' and I have a hunch that she's right. We think this time we may find out at our ultrasound in March-- or should we torture ourselves and wait till July?? Opinion polls are open.

Our Little Lady

A friend gave me a book that her kids had outgrown about kermit's adventures with potty-training. I wasn't sure if Nora was ready for it, but seemed to catch on right away and wanted that book all the time for about a week. Since she's been showing so much interest, we decided and get her the cushie-tooshie, a toilet seat just her size. Although she's only pooped in the toilet once, she loves her new seat and looks so cute up there that we couldn't help but grab the camera. What a big girl she's becoming!

Baby Dolls

Dispite our best efforts to offer gender neutral toys, Nora has clear favorites. She has played with her toy train probably a total of 3 times- all at the encouragement and involvement of her Dad. We haven't pushed dolls on her in the least degree, but she asks for them constantly and is often found cuddling, feeding, bringing toys to and reading with her dolls (both of which were presents from grand and great grandparents). She endearingly calls them baby doll and little baby doll. What can I say- she is all girl!

I Am Like a Star

Nora surprised us the other day by singing an entire song that we didn't even know she knew. In fact, I don't believe we had ever even sung it to her. It is called "I am Like a Star" and we figure she must have picked it up in nursery. She's in the advanced learners group (jk). Anyway, most of our attempts at getting her to sing for the camera have ended in failure. This one almost ended in a strip show but we thought it was cute none the less...

Chucky Cheese

Nora's friend Lillie called the other day to invite Nora to a play date at Chucky Cheese. At first I thought 'oh no.' The place doesn't have the best of reputations amoung adults, if you know what I mean... But, we decided for a cold January evening, what the heck, it may be a good opportunity to get some wiggles out. It ended up being great fun! Nora and Lillie enjoyed some pizza and then hit the games and rides. Nora had a blast and for under $10 we came away with some great munchies, a few hours of fun, and even some prizes from the coupon exchange. Nora scored a hair bow, purple plastic frog, and two tootsie rolls. Josh even showed up after school to join in the fun (and steal the candy plus a few rounds of skee ball...)