Norah Catch Up

We have been woefully lacking in Norah updates lately, so I thought I would do a bit of a dump.

We've had some pockets of really nice weather, so we play in the backyard as much as possible. Norah doesn't appreciate the fact that I can't get in her playhouse, nor am I very good at running around with the soccer ball. In fact, last week she told me, 'dad is much better at this.' Thanks, kid.

Having a mom who is 9 months pregnant means you get away with a lot of stuff you never imagined was possible. Like having a tv dinner. With chocolate pudding. In the living room.

Norah has stopped napping at home (of course, she still naps like an angel for Pam). I still require her to have some 'quiet time,' meaning she spends at least an hour by herself in her room. This is usually what quiet time looks like.

We had a great date night with the B-S family a few weeks ago. Everyone ate pizza and then the grown ups actually got to talk while Norah and Simon watched Pinnochio (and cuddled on the couch).

Norah and Ruby ride around town in style.

Norah got a great Valentine apron from Bubby and she insists upon wearing it when she 'cooks.' I think here she was making me a sandwich of mustard and coffee.

On Friday we made Valentine cookies for her friends. She was in charge of the m&m's.

Waiting for her friends to arrive, wearing her 'Belle' dress. The dress is a hand me down dress up outfit from cousin Megan and I think it is actually Alice from Alice in Wonderland. But, Belle and Tiana are the only princesses she knows and so this is her Belle dress.

On Saturday we went to Sonoma to visit some of our favorite friends. K is pregnant with twins and has just been put on full bed rest so we wanted to make sure we got to see her before Funky gets here. Her nieces brought over Valentine cupcake supplies and Norah had a blast hanging out with the girls and stuffing cake in her face.

She had a funny conversation with K's sister about Loretta the cat. She apparently told her, 'my mom doesn't like Loretta because Loretta meows all the time. She drives my mom bananas.' Lately my patience has been on the short end in all respects. Getting Norah in the car seat, dealing with the cat, basically household tasks are trying my every last nerve. When I find myself losing my patience around Norah I take a deep breath, bite my tongue, and tell her that she's driving me bananas. Clearly, she's been listening.

Norah had no interest in napping, but was more than happy to have a cuddle with some lovies for the twins and watch a movie on K's bed rest couch.

She had a great Valentine's Day today. She got a new movie, a new book, and got to eat a fun size package of m&m's for breakfast in bed. Life is sweet.


She continues to rock the potty world. I have been trying to get her to use the big potty instead of the little one, and I would say 98% of the time she is fine to pee on the big one. She much prefers to poop on the little one, though. I hate cleaning it, so I tried to get her to tell me tonight why she likes the little one. She said, 'sometimes it takes a long time to poop and the little one is more comfortable.' Well, okay then.

Some of my co-workers took me out to lunch today and gave me some really sweet and awesome gifts for Funky. There were also a couple of surprises for Norah, which was so nice. One of the things for her was a bottle of bubble bath. We've never done bubble bath before because of her sensitive skin (and potential for UTI's), but it is California Baby bath and so I felt safe trying it. She was in absolute heaven.



She swam around for 45 minutes and told me that she was Swimmy and I was the 'Big Tuna'. This is from a book I read to her the other day. We read it twice and that's it, yet she had enough recall that she could re-enact (with surprising accuracy) the entire plot line. I was totally impressed. She tells me all the time that she's 'using her imagination' to do something. Like, she will ask to watch a movie and I will say no, so she'll say she's using her imagination, sit on the couch, and then recount entire plot lines. Or today she told me that she was using her imagination to pretend that her socks were actually her shoes and she got to have chocolate pudding for dinner (instead of spinach lasagna). Yesterday at Safeway the clerk asked her if she was getting a sister or a brother. She said, 'a brother, but I am using my imagination to pretend a sister.' She's a complete crack up.

Despite all the cuteness, lately, bedtime has become a real struggle. Whereas Norah never used to get out of her toddler bed herself, she does not have the same discipline in her twin bed. She gets up and opens her door all.the.freaking.time. On her third trip into the living room tonight I told her that she needed to go to bed because mom and dad needed to watch a grown up show and relax. Her lip quivered a bit and then she sighed and said, 'okay. I will leave you alone.' Man, talk about a heart breaker. That bought her 2 more stories, a song, and mom laying down with her for 15 minutes. Since then she has been up give or take, 17 more times. It is currently 10:52 pm and I can hear her in her room singing, 'but I am not tired. I am not tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrreeeeeddddd.'

It's about to make me bananas.