Happy Halloween & Anniversary!

Today is Halloween! I LOVE Halloween! It's also my parents anniversary...38 years and counting! I have some things to say about that, but I'm tired, and what I think they'd really like today is to see Norah in her costume! So, Mom and Dad, as usual, your Anniversary stuff gets bumped a day or so... but in the mean time, HHHEEEEEERRRRREEEEE's NORAH!

Booger Womom and Monkey Girl

You can infer from the title of the post what kind of morning we had today... let's just say it was one of Norah's clingy mornings, she has a cold, and everything I was wearing is now covered in her snot!

So, I was thinking, maybe I could come up with a comic book, or maybe a TV series, based on the antics of Booger Womom and Monkey Girl... kind of like Batman and Robin, but in this story Booger Womom gets her superpowers from Monkey Girls snots - the more snots the more powers. Monkey Girls powers, would of course be producing the magic snot, but she'll also have super powers of her own... she'll be able to scamper up tall buildings and average mommies, in a wiggly wriggly way that makes her impossible to catch! Of course, she'll also have the power to charm the pants off of people! (figuratively, not literally, get your minds out of the gutter people!!!)

But wait, Norah already has 2/3 of Monkey Girl's powers, so maybe that means that I am going to have some awesome super powers as soon as this magic snot kicks in.

Gotta go, I need to be ready to fight some crime! Or at least a cold.

ATTENTION!

I don't know if it's just Norah, or all babies. Or all babies with fluffy pink coats on. But traveling around with Norah generates a lot of attention.

I'd say I'm pretty average looking in most respects... not to short, not too tall, not too big, not too small... you get the idea, I am generally not the kind of person who makes a room stop and pay attention (at least not without opening my mouth, but that is a different story) so I've spent the majority of my life going about my business relatively uninterrupted.

Until Norah.

I've blogged before about how she seems to have a way with people, smiling at just the right time, rewarding total strangers for talking silly with her two-tooth grin, but this past weekend it got me thinking - most of the time, it's kind of fun, being out and about with Norah, but we do occasionally feel self conscious. Of course people stare at her because she's cute, and smiles easily, and it's fun... all positive things. But what if they stared because she had some kind of abnormality or behavioral problem or other negative trait?

It makes me think of those experiments you see on TV, where people are disguised in various ways to 'walk a mile in someone else's shoes'. Sure, Norah is "perfect" (at least in our eyes) but it did give me pause to stop and think about what it might be like if she wasn't. Only time will tell if she'll continue to stand out or blend in, but in the mean time, I'm going to make an extra effort to treat everyone equally and set a good example for her.

Norah News: Splish Splash!

Norah and I had our first swimming lesson on Saturday. The whole experience can best be described as chaos, though I think we all enjoyed ourselves, and I'm looking forward to next week. Thankfully we had Matt with us, who not only captured the event on virtual film, but also managed to get us there on time, despite my best efforts to the contrary. Suffice to say, google maps is a great tool when used correctly.

(ahem) moving on... we arrived at the pool at about 11:10, for what I thought was an 11 am class, only to find to find out (to my great relief) that I also had the time wrong. The class is only 30 minutes long, so I was one disappointed little girl, I mean Mommy, when I thought we were going to miss it. Norah of course, was not only oblivious to our pending adventure, but fast asleep as we looked for the pool!

The pool deck was full of parents and kids from our class and other classes, I couldn't locate a changing room of any sort, nor determine who was in charge. So I stripped down to my bathing suit in a hallway and was in the midst of changing Norah when Matt returned from parking the car. At that moment I was thankful for all the time I've spent in pools over the years, as I was ready to hit the water in about 90 seconds flat!

I had hoped to be able to spend a couple of minutes with her on the pool deck, taking in the huge space before we jumped in, but there wasn't time. The water was pleasant and Norah had no problems at all getting into the spirit of things. She was definitely the youngest in her class, but many of the kids have returned form other sessions and had started when they were her age (the class goes up to age 3) She was her alert and engaging self, and didn't mind being dunked or splashed one bit! Oddly, she wasn't crazy about laying on her back in the water, and I sacrificed both of my earrings (lost), my gold necklace (broken) and a lot of hair (pulled out!) in the process. As usual, lesson learned!

You can call me Bob

For a while now, Norah has been saying bah, bah, Bab and Matt and I look at each other and say "Who the heck is Bob???" She doesn't say it when she's hungry (bottle) and she doesn't really know any Bob's so we had started thinking of Bob as her imaginary friend.

In the mean time, I've been trying to get her to say Mama, or anything remotely close! In fact I've recruited help, numerous other people have been saying "Mama" to her, to no avail. I even made a deal with Lauren's mom - Norah would teach Lauren to crawl, if Lauren would teach Norah to say Mama. As it happens, deals made between moms have no bearing in the lives of babes...

Anyway yesterday I had her on the changing table, getting ready in the morning, and of course I made another plea with her....MAMAMAMA. She looked me right in the eye and said, "Bah Bah Bab"

So please call me Bob until further notice.

Norah's First Class Picture

I started this post the other day, and didn't realize it shows up when I started it, not when I finished it... so you'll have to click again for today's fix... and I've learned something new about blogger

http://bugleonline.blogspot.com/2008/10/norahs-first-class-picture.html

Norah News: Just say NO!

I guess there comes a time in every parents life when they have to say "No" to their children. We have decided now was the time we said "no" to Norah once in a while... not to worry, she still gets her way on most things, it's just little things like putting her fingers in electrical outlets, or chewing on a pair of Dad's shoes where we have started with this new discipline.

Seriously though, we've started trying to tell her not to do things, instead of simply rushing over and taking them from her. It's been a pretty interesting experience so far. At nearly 8 months, when a "No" is spoken in a firm tone, she certainly knows she is supposed to stop what she's doing... and generally speaking she does... for a minute at least. The interesting part of it is that once she stops, she'll do one of her cute little tricks - you know, a silly laugh, clap or wave "hi" - before attempting to return to the task at hand, all the while with one eye on you to see if you're going to try to stop her again.

I'd estimate that somewhere more than half the time she will either give up or get distracted by something else, and we won't have to physically remove her from whatever harm she is about to get into, but it's fascinating to me that she's exerting her independence and testing the limits already... what is this going to mean for her teenaged years???

I'd also like to know is where she learned such a thing!

Norah News: What she's doing now

Norah is doing a whole bunch of new things lately, so I thought I'd just give you a quick rundown

• She's added apples, grapes and yogurt to her diet... next up is chicken, brown rice cereal and spinach. She isn't sure if she likes the grapes yet, but she feeds them to herself.
• In addition to clapping, she now waves "Hi" when you wave "Hi" to her... still trying to get this on video!
• She crawls really fast! I put her on the bed this morning while I changed my shirt and she was just about over the edge in the time it took me to take my shirt off!
• She stands up at the side of her crib... it was only a matter of time really, she's been pulling herself up on everything the past few weeks
• She weighs in around 17 lbs, according to our bathroom scale
• She can sit up in a shopping cart, as seen yesterday
• She's wearing fleece PJ's now that it's getting cooler outside... let me tell you there is nothing better than snuggling a baby in fleece jammies!

Norah News: The Mayor of Market Basket

We went for groceries yesterday after church and breakfast as we usually do. Norah worked the crowd at church and in the diner like she usually does. But this time, she was working the shoppers at Market Basket almost to the point that it was getting hard to get any shopping done! Maybe it was her super cute pink fur coat that Donna made her, maybe it was that she's learned how to wave hi to people, maybe it was the fact that she's big enough now to sit in the cart, heck, maybe it was the full moon, I don't know! All I know is that it was a LOT of fun shopping with Norah this week! Check out the Mayor of Market Basket!

Now, if I could only get her to do the shopping on her own, we'd be in business!

Norah's First Class Picture

A month or so ago, some photographers came in took pictures of the kids. I've already shown you Norah's personal pics, and now here is her class picture! Given the nature of kids to keep on growing, her class has changed already, as one little guy (Our buddy Quentin) has moved up to the next class, and a couple more kids have started.

In this picture you'll see Digna and Stephanie (L and R). Digna is holding Jack and Blake on her lap. They're both 2-3 months older than Norah. Stephanie has Quentin and Norah on her lap. Sharon, who is sitting on the floor, wears many hats. She's the director of our location of daycare. She also helps out in the infant room, and most importantly, she's Cassandra's Mom. That's Cassandra on the right. Lauren is on the left.

What's cool about Norah's class is that there are now FOUR girls, who are all born within a couple of weeks of each other... Norah, Cassandra, Lauren, and now Savannah. It's fun to see how they are developing relative to each other. Some are ahead on one thing, and others on different things.

Norah News: Play Date!

Norah and I had our first real play date this morning... we met up with Quentin, one of her buddies from "school' for a walk in the woods. It was a clear and brisk morning (35 deg when I left the house) so Norah had to dress warmly... what to wear, what to wear... luckily her Nanny had bought her this Cape Breton tartan fleece number that was just the ticket.

Now, I think most of you reading this know that Quentin is a slightly older man, but did you know he was ready to start driving.... check this out! Q-man is all boy, and likes to make vroom vroom noises and growl like a lion! So cute! He and Norah seemed to hit it off at daycare, and he always toddles over to say hello when I drop her off in the morning... sometimes he even offers to share his cheerios with me! It's funny how kids that young can make buddies. Norah has recently become mobile and has been nicknamed "Norah the Explorer"... for those adventures she has a partner in crime named Cassandra.

Anyway, Quentin's Mom and I took the two of them out for a walk in the woods in our local conservation area. It was a beautiful day, and there were lots of other folks out for a walk too... even at 9:30 on a Saturday morning. Norah and Quentin both slept through part of the walk, but we had a nice time nonetheless. Here's a picture of the two of them post walk.

Norah News: Clap Clap Clap

Two videos for you today... Norah will now clap and smile if you clap to her... the first video shows off her new skill well... the second one is funnier and is more typically Norah -- she wanted to grab the camera so it was tough to get a video of her. Enjoy!

(thanks Dad for showing me the way to flip the video...)

Norah News: I'm done!

As you may know, around the 7 month mark I decided it was time to wean Norah. Breastfeeding has been wonderful, but it is also very demanding. Well yesterday was the first day I didn't feed my daughter in the 231 or so days since she was born. *sniff* Not only was it the first day I didn't nurse her, even for a few minutes, but it was also the first time I didn't feed her at all.

We didn't plan it that way. Matt has obviously been able to take a bigger role in looking after Norah's nutritional needs since the change, and the way things worked out yesterday morning, she woke for her morning feeding just as it was time for him to get up for work - so he gave her the first bottle of the day. Then, I had an appointment for a haircut at 6:00, so it just made sense for me to head there directly from the office... so again Matt was in charge of her evening meal and bottle. Of course Digna and Stephanie looked after her during the day as usual, though by this time I pack her bottles from a can and not from my hard work with the pump the day before.

I don't feel elation at my new found freedom, but I don't feel unbearably sad either. Norah didn't seem to miss a beat, and has not resisted taking a bottle from me. I am happy to pack up the pump, though I will miss my increased cup size once my body fully adjusts. In some small ways I will miss the close and quiet times she and I shared, but she is getting bigger and ever more curious, so our nursing sessions were changing anyway. Those times won't go away, they'll just become cherished memories. I still spend plenty of time cuddling her, but now I actually spend time with her in the mornings - playing, practicing and chatting instead of trying to fit in one last session before we run out the door.

I know some Moms and doctors feel that nursing for a year or more is the only way to go, but while that may be true in the strictest sense of the word, what's best overall for a particular family is not so clear. Kudos to those Moms who can keep it up that long! For our family, I felt that I would know when it was time, and as we proceed through this transition, I am quite confident it was the right time for us. Given the opportunity, I'd do it exactly the same way.

Travel News

This past weekend we went to PA to attend a wedding. We also got to see a lot of Norah's cousins, her grandparents, and her Great-Grandmother, Matt's Nana Helen. Norah, never one to miss a party, ended up joining us at the wedding. She was very well behaved, as usual, and ended up sleeping through the party portion of the event in her stroller in a corner.

Here she is with her Great Nana Helen. Norah loves her bling, as you can see here with Nana's pearls!
On Saturday night Norah's cousins Abby and Morgan came over, as well as her second cousin Brian, who is just 2 months younger than Norah. In this picture we have Oma with the cousins. Three generations in one picture!

Norah knows that her Opa gives good hugs, and here she is spending a little quality time with him in his easy chair

The little cousins were all quite curious about each other, as you can see here as Abby keeps a close eye on Norah and Brian checking each other out.

Norah News: Gangsta

In these pictures, Norah shows her true Gangsta colors... don't mess with her man, she's wearing her pumpkin jammies!

The Myth of Mommy Time

Things are busy here today, but I did run across this lighthearted article that just about sums things up! Enjoy -- I did :)

http://www.oprah.com/article/relationships/parenting/pkgomoms/con_200404_mommytime?cnn=yes

Thanksgiving: My cup runneth over!

Despite the number of blog posts I write about days that are rough, there are plenty of days that are not. In fact, there are plenty of days I have a spring in my step just thinking about how fortunate I am in so many ways!

Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend (in Canada!) so maybe that is why I'm writing about it, but just so you know, I do think about it often. I'm thankful for little things, like the thermos on our coffee maker, and my new fleece gym pants. (Today I didn't get to have coffee until about 2 hours after I made it, and it was a little cool out this morning, so I am loving the new pants.)

I'm also thankful for the big things, like Matt and Norah. (for those of you who know the joke, no, I am not calling Matt fat) That she arrived to us healthy and brings a lot of joy to us daily. That he loves me unconditionally and I know without question we're in this together.

I'm thankful for some more practical things, like having a house we can afford, and a job with such flexibility, being able to still afford gas and other things we need without losing sleep at night.

I'm thankful for so many great people in my life. Friends, family, neighbours, co-workers - if you're reading this, I am probably thankful for you (and I probably haven't seen nearly enough of you in the past 7 months or so!) I know I am blessed with special people all across the board.

So over the next few days, even if you are not in Canada, I encourage you to take a few minutes to say give thanks -nothing wrong with giving thanks any 'ol day of the year!

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

The Downside of Progress

Babies are pretty amazing (ours in particular, of course!) Sometimes when I spend the day with Norah, she seems so wise, and knowing. Then other times, I look at her, and she seems so tiny, and vulnerable. When I compare her to Haley, the latest addition to her class, she is most certainly older and wiser, but really, she's still just our little bean.

Yesterday we took her to the local pumpkin patch (pics later - sorry ma!) thinking that in addition the cool pumpkin pictures we'd get, she would probably like all the kids and people. Turns out, poor little Norah didn't really know what to think of a field of pumpkins as big as she was... she cried at first, and then the rest of the half hour or so we spent snapping pictures, I don't think she cracked a smile the whole time. She was very pensive however, and of course very very curious.

As I mentioned yesterday, she is definitely crawling now. Like Crazy. Like her Mom, Norah doesn't seem to be one to go after things half way. She's also pulling herself to standing on pretty much anything she can - her favorite being her leapfrog learning table (something I never would have thought to buy, but the kids seem to love it!)

I am psyched for her that she is crawling, but it has one really big downside... no, not the baby proofing, or the fact that she can (and will!) get into everything...those things I can live with. I can even live with keeping the floors cleaner (In fact, I am thinking of making her a 'Swiffer Suit' so she can dust the floors while she is motoring about, it's about time she starts helping out around the house!)

It was the fact that she tried to follow me out the door at 'school' this morning. Talk about heartbreaking! It took me a while to leave, and even then, it was rough. It's been nearly 2 months, and this was by far the toughest morning to leave her. Not sure if the rough night last night, or the fact that we are about 75% weaned has anything to do with it, but I guess that's progress for ya!

Norah News: Crawling it is!

I think we can officially say that Norah can crawl now... not every time, but I saw her take 8 'steps' on her hands and knees, in a row, this morning. She is still anxious to stand, and does a funny kind of 'squat' thing, so I think it won't be long until she decides that being upright is the way to go...

I tried to get her crawling on video, but she had other ideas... here you go!

Fall Has Fell?

If we say "Spring has Sprung" why don't we say Fall has Fell? Who knows, but it happened here! The leaves are turning and falling, and that old familiar bite is in the air. It seems sudden, but maybe it always does... I LOVE fall, and was really happy that Matt and I both got home tonight in time to take Norah for a walk and get us all some fresh air!

I also fed my baby a bottle for the first time, ever, tonight and it went really well - there were no tears, from either of us. She was hungry when I took her in my arms, but she happily grabbed the bottle, not noticing the boobies that were also close at hand. I was relieved, to say the least! The weaning will go on!

Lots to say today I guess... apparently they do "Class Pictures" at daycare now... I haven't seen her class picture yet, but here are the proofs of her pictures... what do you think, should I buy some?

Norah News: Norah Reads?

Since I've been a little light on pictures the past few days, here are a couple showing what she's been up to lately... reading the paper (note that she is reading an article about a local man who is big into mountaineering)

OK, maybe the princess book that Nanny gave her is more her speed...

When she isn't reading, we've been trying on some new winter Duds that Nanny's pal Donna made her