Movin' On Up!

So our darling little baby is moving to the toddler room this month! How in the world did that happen so fast? We have been working towards this for months now really, but sometimes you don't notice that your goal is becoming reality until the very last second, and then it takes you by surprise.

I was convinced that we would never be able to accomplish the transition from baby to toddler and that she would be the only 5 year old still in the infant room. I guess I was wrong. The first big ticket item was weaning her from breast milk in a bottle to cow’s milk in a sippy. I just knew that she would never drink anything from a sippy, let alone cow’s milk. Oops! Wrong again! Although it was a very slow process, she now downs almost a full sippy of milk with each meal. Next we had to convert her diet to all table foods. She had started to refuse baby food anyway, so I had no doubts that this one would be easy... other than the giant doubt of whether she is getting enough nutrients now! My initiation into the picky eating toddler club has been completed. We have just successfully condensed two naps into one, and are now working on drinking from an open cup! Laundry anyone?

I am not sure who this will be harder on, me or Norah! Her teacher informed me that they are going to start visiting the toddler room with her early because they think she will have an especially hard time. Apparently she is very possessive of her teachers and always wants to be the center of attention (e.g. if someone else is getting the teacher's attention Norah will literally push them out of the way and take their place! I've seen it first hand.) If anyone knows how I raised her to be this way please tell me! Is this just a product of being an only child? Is it time for a baby brother or sister? Oh wait... I just Googled this and it is completely normal. I guess she just really loves her teachers. Whew! (what would I do without Google?) I really love her teachers too and will miss them deeply. I hope the toddler room teachers are just as great ;o)

Well here are some pics from the park we took this past weekend and a few from Halloween (I forgot to make a Halloween post!)

Miss Itsy Bitsy Spider looooved handing out candy on Halloween!

Love ~ Renee

The Pumpkin Patch!

We decided at the last minute Saturday morning to head out to the pumpkin patch since this was probably going to be the last nice day for the next 6 months or so. A friend recommended Eveland Family Farm and I must say it is indeed the most fun pumpkin patch we've ever been to! They had the most kind and gentle free roaming potbelly pig, a couple of escapee artist goats, 2 shy peacocks, and some really cool llamas and miniature donkeys. We went on a hayride with Norah, which she loved, but only after we had waited for a very long 5 minutes and it began to actually move ;o) Then after all that fun we let Miss Norah pick out a couple of pumpkins and we called it a day!

Love ~ Renee

Barrels O' Fun at the Apple Orchard!

We took a trip to the apple orchard with the grandparents the weekend before last. Norah had such a great time picking her very own apples. She even grew quite attached to a couple of the smaller, bright red and perfectly round apples.

After we got our fill of apples Norah discovered her love of apple cider and kettle corn. This girl could not get enough of either, and was a little upset when we finally took the popcorn away :(. When we finished our treats we headed over to the petting zoo, which she was oh so excited about... until the animals started sniffing her hand, then we had to enjoy it a few steps back! Maybe next year she will work up her courage to feed them.

Before we left we all enjoyed some apple pie a la mode, and Norah made some new friends. She spotted a couple of little girls dancing a few yards away, so she walked right over and joined in! It was one of the cutest things I've seen her do, until she started to lift up one of the girls shirts to see her belly button! I had to quickly intervene, apologize to the little girl and explain that we only do that to our own shirts ;o)

As soon as we got there she found kids to play with!

What's this mom? Apples don't have leaves at the grocery store!

Her very favorite perfectly round bright red apple
(she didn't want to put this one in the bag).

My sweet girl seems to always be saying

"Let me down! Don't you know I walk everywhere now!" lately.

Love ~ Renee

Every Princess Needs a Castle

Daddy made her the most fabulous castle... complete with a fancy pink door, windows in the shapes of circles and diamonds, and a peek-a-boo panel in the back! Mommy painted pretty pink flowers and yellow polka-dots on it, but the princess couldn't have cared any less. She just wants to play peek-a-boo!

Love ~ Renee

Back from the cabin!

We took Norah up north for a long weekend and boy did she have fun! I think her favorite part was the Chocolate Ox candy store in Nisswa. The owner spotted us as soon as we walked in, and she knew right away that this was Norah's first trip to a candy store. She asked us if it was OK to offer Norah her very first lollipop. Of course we said yes, but I think she could tell that we were nervous because she very sweetly said "She must be your first" and reassured us that it was not sticky and too big to choke on. Norah loved her lollipop and was enthralled with the owner, who was just as sweet and fun as you'd imagine her to be!

This is just what we needed... a little summer fun before fall begins to set in ;o)

Norah and her lollipop

Please... this hat is too BIG!

Roaming around with Mom collecting rocks and acorns

mmm... dirt tastes great mom!

The water was a little cold at first

Oooh... look at this seashell!

Lookin' cool in her new shades

Love ~ Renee

I've underestimated the intelligence of a 1 year old!

It just creeped up on me I suppose... all of a sudden Norah is responding to us like a little girl instead of like the tiny baby I once knew. I say "let's take off your shoes" and she lifts up her feet for me one at a time. She happily shells out hugs and kisses at our request. I ask "where is your belly?" and she lifts up her shirt so I can tickle her! I hear her say new words one right after another: "hi kitty", "doggie", "duckie", "book" and "ball". She already has two favorite songs; "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "A Little Love" by Meghan Smith ;o) She askes us to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider by wiggling her little fingers together (the crawling spider) about 4,000 times a day, and at daycare they put that song on repeat just for her. If she is fussing in the car, I will play her fav Meghan Smith song, and all is well with the world again. Where did my baby go? This little girl snuck up on me... but she sure is cute!


Doesn't she look so grown-up in this picure?!

Love ~ Renee

Things that make me smile...

~ Norah has recently become a snugglebug, and she lovingly pats your back when she gives you a hug.

~ The way she pants when she opens her mouth for her next bite of food if she really likes it. Her current fav is veggie booty puffs, avocado and blueberries!

~ Her crazy fake laugh... all of a sudden there is a loud "HAHAHAHA HAHA HA HA HEEHEEHE" from the backseat of the car, and when I turn to look at her, she has the biggest wide open grin you've ever seen on such a little face.

~ When she claps for me after every song I sing to her ;o)

~ The way Norah looooves to read! She will go through an entire book pointing out all the kids and animals, all while "talking" with her head bobbing up and down. (I think I even heard her say "Doggie" once!)

~ Her wave. Norah waves to everyone, even cars driving by, and with each wave is the sweetest smile to go with it.

~ When she sees something exciting, she shoots her arm straight up in the air and looks around to see who else saw it!

Excitement at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

Love ~ Renee

And we have a walker!!! Norah took her first steps tonight... a day after she turned one! Nothing is more exciting! Nothing.

Happy 1st Birthday Miss Norah Scarlett!

I hope you had a wonderful day... Wearing your birthday dress with your party shoes and sharing cupcakes with the kids at daycare! I hear everyone sang Happy Birthday to you and made you a crown! It really is the cutest crown I have ever seen.

I had the most fun with you and Daddy eating ice cream this afternoon at the Grand Ole Creamery and taking thousands of pictures (I could have taken more!). Your love of ice cream is too cute, and so are your shoes ;o)

And tonight, when it was time to open the presents from Mommy & Daddy, you knew exactly how to tear the paper right off! The excitement on your face when you opened your laughing, jiggly Elmo/Cookie Monster head and your "Busy Zoo" was priceless.

Love you always and forever ~ Mommy

Firsts...

I had thought Norah would have been a liiiitle bit older when she had her first kiss, but boy was I wrong! On Wednesday when we picked her up from her beloved daycare, the teacher informed us that there is a new boy in her room. Apparently he has quite the crush on Miss Norah because he walked right up to her and gave her a kiss! Then the teacher went on to tell us that Norah sat and watched him as he walked away. How sweet is that?! I just hope this doesn't happen again until she is 28.

Norah also had her 1st Birthday Party this past weekend!! We rented out a pavilion at Wolfe Park, decorated it to the hilt, and had a blast! Almost all of our family and friends were there and it was so much fun to celebrate her birthday with everyone. The only tiny glitch was the birthday girl's cake. She absolutely LOVED her 4-tier pink ruffle cake that mommy made her, so much so that she only wanted to gently touch the cake and admire it from afar. When I took her hand and demonstrated what a girl ought to do with her cake on her 1st birthday, she cried in protest! Mommy had ruined her beautiful cake!!!

So... I thought a taste of this delicious cake might cheer her up. I popped a little piece in her mouth and next thing I know she has broken out in hives! She quickly had purple splotches of hives spreading all over her poor little face. They spread to her ears, neck, chest & back in just minutes and it was all I could do not to panic! Luckily my Aunt is a nurse and she kept a close eye on her while Daddy ran to the store to get some baby Benadryl. Norah ended up being fine after we gave her a dose of that miracle drug (that stuff works FAST!) and we proceeded to open gifts, albeit a little sleepily.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated Norah's day with us. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family.

Here are the Before and After photos courtesy of cousin Jim...

Before Mommy destroyed her cake

After Mommy destroyed her cake

Love ~ Renee

Better late than never.

Last year at this time I was 1 week overdue. I was swollen to the point that my shoes no longer fit and I had forgotten what my ankles looked like. I was still waddling a mile twice a day through downtown Mpls to carpool with my uncle so I could get my exercise, even though I had a constant side ache and I felt as though the skin on my belly would tear apart at any second from being stretched to the max. I was hot and uncomfortable to say the least, but I knew the end was near, and I also knew that when it was over I would miss it dearly. So I tried my best to enjoy every minute.

Those weeks went by so very slowly and I can remember them clearly, but the weeks and months after our little bundle of joy had arrived have gone by so fast! So fast indeed that my memory of it all is a blur. Of course I do have quite a few vivid memories, but I find myself trying so hard to remember what she was like at 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, etc... What was she doing? What sounds was she making? I remember gazing at her beautiful face trying to burn her adorable expressions, funny sounds and heart melting baby scent into my memory, but sadly it didn't quite work as I had planned.

So now here I am, joining all the cool kids and starting a blog. I have never had a desire to be a blogger, especially since it is the "in thing" to do now, but I think it may just help me record the little whiles of our life that I have tried so hard to keep locked tight in my heart.

Oh, and I must confess... I stole the title for this blog from someone whom I admire. Sheye Rosemeyer. We've never met, but I came across her story after I had started reading the blog of our photographer (who is absolutely amazing and I will talk about later!) Sheye lost her daughter in a tragic accident that could have happened to anyone. Her writings about her experience inspire me to cherish all the little things that might otherwise stress me out as a new mom. Yes, my sweet little Norah can be a challenge sometimes, and when I find myself getting frustrated or stressed, I try to think of Sheye and remember that I will miss these things when my baby girl is all grown up. (oh, and Sheye is also an amazing photographer! http://www.sheyerosemeyerphotography.com/blog/)

Hopefully I will get the hang of this and keep it up.

Then (8 days old) & Now (amlost 11 months old - Lincoln Park Zoo)

Love ~ Renee