6 months ago...

I was getting a whole lot more sleep. Sleep is very valuable to me, and that is something I have been without for WAY TOO LONG!

However, this little princess wasn't here 6 months ago, and even if I don't get to sleep more than 6 hours until she is over a year old, she is worth it!

She is wonderful! She has been taking really good afternoon naps (2 hours +), finally eating 1/2 a container of baby food in one sitting, she has had peas, green beans, squash (which might give her a belly ache), sweet potatoes, applesauce and pears.
She loves to be naked, take baths, and doesn't mind running errands in her carseat-awake or asleep.
She is very smiley and loves to laugh. We love that about her.

She is getting better at sitting every day! Not crawling yet, but is moving backwards and doing 360's on her belly. She loves to do these things in her crib awake, and in her sleep.

And of course- a celebration of this little man becoming a big brother! He loves to give Nora kisses, doesn't like when she grabs at his glasses, and likes to help feed her her fruits & vegetables. He's a great kid!

A special treat!

It was a normal Friday night. We sat down to eat tacos for dinner and chat before Dan had a Fantasy Football Draft (his 2nd of 3) and we saw flashing lights outside our front window. A fire fighter was out walking along the corner, but no other emergency vehicles were in sight. It was rather odd so we went outside to take a look at the fire truck. Jack loved it!

Apparently someone called in that they smelled natural gas at our intersection, so they were just there to check it out. No one could smell anything so it quickly became an awesome opportunity to get a VIP look into our city's newest fire truck!

Pretty lucky!

NOAH'S ARK

One of my favorite things about Summer- going to Noah's Ark!
We got it in on the 3rd last day of the open season, which was a little colder than we would have liked, but it was still a lot of fun!

The whole clan (minus my mom and Nora) on the Adventure River.
Jack loved this waterslide! (He loved everything there, but he was so cold!)
Cousin Cade and Jack watching the big boat going down the hill, making the big big splash.
Grandma and Cousin Lauren.
The Bumper Boats
Nora- the sun came out at one point so I dressed her to go in the water, but it was short lived. Honestly, she only was awake for an hour at a time so she was just too tired.
And the kiddie-coaster.

Still today- Jack is asking me to see Sponge-Bob (there was a statue of him at the park) and to go on waterslides. I am amazed at what Jack remembers from day to day.
We had a lot of fun, hopefully next year it will be a little warmer!

One day at a time...

I need a vacation. Don't get me wrong- I love being a mom- but sometimes it's a lot of work, with little reward, and no matter how much you prepare & plan, things just don't go my way. Some days I just would love for life to work out in my favor.

I'm sure we all feel like that sometimes...

At our house, we have sleeping problems. Besides still being up with Nora, once maybe twice a night, her favorite place to sleep during the day is in my bed sideways. That is the only place I have gotten her to nap more than 45 min. at a time in the past month. Some nights I even let her fall asleep there just to make my life easier.

Jack- well he wants to sleep on his floor. The greatest was when Jack came out of his room and dragged a pillow and his Mickey Mouse blanket all the way to the kitchen floor and made a bed there. I was making phonecalls and doing paperwork at the kitchen table. what a homer! at least he is sleeping. :)
Other things that cause me headaches- FRUIT FLIES, cleaning, pens that go through the laundry, naptimes, and the ever recurring scheduling malfunctions (it seems I like to schedule too much in too little time.)

On the plus side...

Nora and Jack are becoming best friends. I love that! They play together, and Nora just loves to watch him run around and be crazy. He definitely gets the best giggles out of her.


Oh- Nora has 2 teeth! Jack was 7 1/2 months old, so when these babies popped through at 5 months, I was less than thrilled!

Also- Nora should be eating rice cereal by now. I have been trying every day for the past 3 weeks, and she still can't figure it out!

But her smile makes it all worth it.