Norah News: Mind Like a Steel Trap

In case you didn't' know, Norah has a mind like a steel trap!  You cannot get ANYTHING over on this kid.  She remembers stuff we've said in passing weeks before and brings them up at the most inopportune moments.  This is going to be fun when she reaches her teens!

There were a couple of interesting incidents in the past couple of days, that demonstrated her memory skills!  Yesterday, we were at our friend Laurel's birthday party.  Laurel just turned 1, and has the usual selection of books, including one that had a small piano attached to it, and pages full of musical notes inside.  Norah, and my friend Sue looking through the book and Sue flipped a page and Norah 'named that tune', so to speak - without any discernable visual clues, like a picture.  Then, she did it again!  Sue, a school teacher, was baffled!  We were too, but we realized we must be missing a piece of the puzzle - perhaps they had that book at school or something.  It wasn't until this morning that we put it all together.  We had been visiting at this same house the week before, when another friend was in town, and she had spent a few minutes with Norah and this same book - and from this, she remembered it a week later!

Then, this morning, it was raining... as we walked out to the car, Norah tells me she needs her "Hello Kitty" umbrella - which we bought well over a month ago and has been hidden in a closet ever since, waiting for the snow to end and April showers to begin.  I was so amazed that she remembered it that I actually went back into the house to get it.

A Steel Trap I tell ya

Norah's Birthday!

Norah turned 3 in February.. it's hard to believe, but it's true!  More on Norah and what she's up to later, but for now, here's a few pictures from before the party.

Here's Norah, testing out her new scooter and butterfly wings on her actual birthday



Whooopppeeeeee!

Waiting for the party to start!

Butterfly in Action!

Contemplating turning 3

Classic Family Self portrait

Mom and the kids, ready to "purple party"

Foto Finish Friday: Week 8

TGIF!

It's Friday afternoon and life is good!  The kids are off on Monday, as is Matt, so I took the day also - we don't have any plans yet, but family time sounds good to me!  We're getting a little respite from the long winter, as it's in the 50's out there today (unless you stand too close to a large snowbank, such as the one in our yard, which seems to have it's own weather system) and no big storms in sight!  We had only one pediatrician visit, and it wasn't for a sick kid!  I was on Roddie duty last night and the dear slept until 4:30 before he had to eat, so I had something resemblance of a full night's sleep.  Norah was up early, but agreed to climb into bed with me for snuggle time, and fell fast asleep.  Matt was home late today and when I got out of the shower, he and Norah were chatting away over breakfast, Rod woke up in his usual pleasant (and poopy) way, I might be finally seeing some progress on my foot, and to top it all off it's date night tonight!  Life is good indeed!

Foto Finish Friday: Week 7

Happy Birthday to ME!

You may know that I celebrated a birthday this week. It’s not one of the big milestone birthdays, but it’s close… like in a “…and holding” kind of way! Anyway, I don’t remember much about my last “… and holding” birthday, 10 years ago, but I do remember very clearly the milestone birthday that followed. I hadn’t been in the Boston area more than a couple of years, but I had moved, changed jobs and started a Masters program in that short time. I was working at a start-up, and generally still trying to find my groove here in the US. I remember clearly going out to lunch with some of the founders of that start-up, one of whom has remained a dear friend and mentor over these years. I commented, at that time, that I had no idea what I was doing or wanted with my life.

9 years later, I’m still not sure I know what else I want, but I do know that I am pretty thankful for what I have! In 2002 I wasn’t sure if I wanted children or not – today, I can tell you I could not imagine life without them. In 2002 I hadn’t quite met anyone like Matt – not even close in fact. I am resisting the urge to enumerate the (bad) first dates, funny second dates and ultimate demises of relationships that led me to him – suffice to say there were a lot of good stories over the years, and all that really matters is the end result.

Aside from Matt and the kids and the suburban mom elements of my life, the biggest thing that is different is my friends – Moving to Boston was very hard socially, and it took a few years before I found my ‘peeps. A couple of these friends are going through some rough times, one fighting for his life, and I am reminded to stop looking for what else I want from life and stop and enjoy the wonderful things I have right now. This, friends, is the most special birthday gift of all.

And after you’re done enjoying, send some prayers, or warm fuzzies or whatever you’re comfortable with calling them, out for the folks in your life and mind who need ‘em.

Roddie Report: 6 month update!

Roddie had his six month check-up today, and as expected, all is well. He’s topping the scales at 16lb 2oz and 27.5” – a little tall and a little light – 75th and 25th percentiles, respectively. He’s dropped from 50th percentile to 25th percentile in his weight, but given how much he’s been sick this winter, it’s not unexpected. He has gained a half a pound since he started the antibiotics for his ear infection last week, so I am sure he’ll be heading back to the 50th percentile before his next check up. He also had his first of a series of eye tests and all came back clear – meaning, among other things, no sign of the lazy eye issue that I have.

Also at 6 months:

• He can sit up for extended periods without assistance – he can play and lean over and grab things from Norah without falling over
• Has two bottom teeth – well one is fully in and the other is peeking through
• Has a mind of his own when it comes to eating and drinking. He is very adamant about when he’s thru with a bottle, for instance, or will grab it from you and start sucking on it if you’re not getting settled in quickly enough.
• He’s not crazy about solid foods, though he seems to enjoy at least a taste of many things – mango, carrots, pears, cereal, yogurt, bananas to name a few. He also likes frozen bits of stuff in the mesh bag feeder thing – I think it feels good on his teeth
• He is still a very, very, happy smiley baby! He is often laughing and making us all smile. He adores Norah and can often be found staring at her with a goofy smile on his face. This would be creepy later in life, but I LOVE watching it now!
• He’s very good with his hands, passing things back and forth and playing with trains and cars and such, though none seem to compete with his favorite toy, his toes
• He loves to stand – with assistance, or starting to be able to hold on to things and hold himself up. He doesn’t like to jump, like Norah did, but he does like to rock – you should see the exersaucer go! He’s also able to get the highchair moving by rocking his body back and forth
• Speaking of moving, this kid falls asleep almost instantly in the car or stroller – any time he is moving. For this reason, we love the swing also!
• He’s settled into a nice sleep routine, he goes to bed around 7 and gets up around 7 the next morning with only one feeding overnight – anywhere from 1 to 4 am. He rarely wakes up otherwise, even if Norah is having some night terrors….unless…
• He doesn’t have his blanket! He LOVES his blanket, and likes to sleep with it over his face, peek a boo style, and last night woke up because he didn’t have it! It wasn’t cold in his room at all, which is why we had forgotten to put the blanket on him, I suppose. As soon as I put it on him, and he could feel the silky edged trim, he calmed down and fell back asleep.

That about sums it up, he’s doing great overall and continues to be a joy to us all!

Foto Finish Friday: Week 6 - Do Over

These are the pictures I intended to poat last Friday, but I lacked the time and inclination to download them, so you got a couple of quickies from my blackberry instead.  So consider these a bonus on this day of love.  Enjoy

Happiness is...

Foto Finish Friday: Week 6

Roddie Report: Sick and Smilin'

We went back to the pediatrician last night, after a call near the end of the day that Roddie was running a temperature again.  Seriously, I think I am about due for preferred parking or something down there!  Anyway, the diagnosis this time was an ear infection - not surprising, given the congestion and whatnot.  SOOOOO he's home again today, attending meetings and whatnot with me.  As you can see, it doesn't really seem to be affecting him any - he's his usual smiley self!

Norah-isms

Baby Momitor - noun \ˈbā-bē\ \ˈmä-mä-tər\

A device used by mothers to monitor their child's status from another room.  May, in rare circumstances, be effectively used by fathers also (Ref: Norah's Christening)

Medicinizer - noun  \'me-də-sən'i·iz'er\

An electrically powered machine that makes little brothers scream while delivering special medicine to make him feel better.  Also known as a nebulizer.

Too cute not to share, as she INSISTS these are the proper names

Roddie Report: Mid Chew!

Roddie fell asleep in his car seat yesterday, in the middle of bringing his chewy toy up to his mouth!  That's what happens when he gets up at  5:00 AM...

Sunday Fun: Sled Mountain and Snowshoes!

A bunch of kids and parents from the neighbourhood came over to Sled Mountain again this Sunday - fun was had by all, but most kids were a little younger than Norah and didn't last all that long.  As a result, by the time I got Rod fed and ready to join the fun, they were packing up.  Not to worry, the four of us stayed outside for a while and had a great time.  Here's Norah, the Cool Dude

 Here's me and Roddie - not quite a cool, but enjoying ourselves nonetheless

I decided it was high time Roddie got to see the view from the top of Sled Mountain, so I headed up, with him still strapped to my chest, and Norah trailing closely behind.  Of course, once you get up, there is only one way down - yes, I slid down on my bum with him.  I think of this picture as "Climbing our own Everest"

This one I call my SuperMom pose - 2 kids, on top of the 'mountain' which is so high you can see the power lines in behind!

 Whew, all that mountain climbing was tough work!

Lastly, before we all ran out of steam and Roddie got too cold, we pulled out the snowshoes that Aunt Erin and Uncle Eric got Norah for Christmas - I put mine on too, to show her how it's done!  She picked it up no problem, and we had a great time shoe'ing around the backyard

Silly Sunday

The Backstory from this week's Foto Finish Friday



Snow, Yeah, we have snow

As we grow weary - very weary - of the snow, I thought it might be useful to document and share exactly HOW much snow we have around here.  As I drove the kids to school the other day, I was struck by the sight of mailboxes as I drove out of our little neighbourhood.  I think these first couple of pictures give a pretty good idea of what we're up against here.

Perhaps we should use these for storing beer instead of mail?

Another useful measure is a kid - in this case Norah!  She is over 3 feet high, and as you can see, we're getting to the point that we're going to lose her in the snow!  I actually had Matt widen the walkway to the backdoor as the snow was so high I had to carry Roddie's carrier with two hands in front of me to clear the snow!

Cars and fences are two other useful measuring sticks... as you may know, our Durango is a very tall truck, though it's dwarfed by the snowbanks.  The fence that you can see behind the truck is 6 feet high and at some points totally buried by the snowbanks - admittedly this is where the snow has been tossed by the snowblower, but still - 6 feet!

Lastly, what would a snow update be without a picture of Sled Mountain - with the house in behind for perspective.  It gets a little bigger each week/snowstorm and Matt claims he has stopped "trying" to make it bigger.  While this is true, it does keep growing, because again, there is no where left to throw the snow!  What started as a playful project has turned into a necessary neighbourhood attraction!

Foto Finish Friday: Week 5