In Bloom

Last year at this time we were only a couple weeks into this parenting thing. I remember thinking that I could make it if I could just get Nora to stop crying. Some nights I wasnt sure if I'd sleep again. Unfortunately I am a lite sleeper so I ended up getting up a lot. That and I think Angie had a lot of selctive hearing moments! "Oh, I didn't hear her crying." Obviously you didn't hear me telling you that she was crying either! Ha. That was the least I could do though after all that Ang had gone thru to bring Nora into the fam. My immediate late night/early morning thoughts were to change her, quicky tear the house up to find gas drops, give her to Ang to feed her or shove the coveted "paci" in her mouth. If that didnt work, I was out of luck. I'd say that I lost my cool more than I'd like to admit. Ang was a little better at all of this than I was.

It's cliche, but things move fast. Now Nora and I talk to each other. No, I have no idea what she is saying except when she calls for Daisy (the excitement in her voice when she sees Daisy and Denver is priceless). I am well versed at being dumb and I'll say anything, or make odd faces to make her feel like we're actually talking. We feed the dogs. We water the plants. We throw the tennis ball. I get to take Nora to daycare every day and we listen to all the greats. All the great rock bands that is. Yesterday was Stevie Wonder (I know, not a rock band but definitely great)and today was my band (not one of the greats, but maybe one of the goods). She will shake her toosh, or bob her head on command while we listen and it cracks me up every time. I guess of all of the things she does right now, that's what I love the most. She's starting to sing along and it so fun to watch. Oh and it's hilarious when she looks us in the eye, and in one swoop, knocks all of her food onto the floor. That's frustratingly funny. Parenting books anyone? This 2nd year is gonna be fun.

My two babes. Here's a gross pic of Nora eating spaghetti. . .and by popular demand, here's the winning St. Patrick's day outfit at Amerisure Insurance. I'm so proud!

We just returned from our visit to Texas and man am I whipped. We had such a great time and I got a much needed break while my parents spoiled Nora rotten. I got to hang out with my two college roommates and see Chelsea's new baby, I got to see my other roommate, Laurie, who is expecting a baby. I missed out on seeing my friend, Julie (sorry Julie!) because I became deathly ill during part of the trip, went to the doctor, and two hours later left with a Z pack and some good drugs. Feeling much better now.

We also had some great cousin time. Nora loved her aunt Tammie's house and playing with her cousins Bryce and Brayden. She is only three months younger than Brayden so the two of them were fun together. The most fun part of the trip for me was that Nora decided she likes the whole walking thing, not just taking five or six steps. She's now walking most all of the time and can walk laps around the house. We're just sad that it happened when dad wasn't around, but she was quick to show off for him when we got home. She spent some quality time with Mammaw and Papaw, and I included a picture of her sitting in this rocking chair my mom has that plays music when you rock. Nora loves it and now thinks every chair is supposed to play music. She also loved sitting in Bryce's Elmo chair that shakes when you sit down. She kept sitting then standing and sitting again so it would shake. Hilarious. She got to see her Grandma Dada, my grandmother, which was really nice since we don't get to see her very much.

Today is our 5th anniversary, so we're going to celebrate tomorrow at Ruths Chris, one of our favs. Thanks to my dear friend who is keeping Nora, we'll be able to have a much needed night out. I'd marry Kevin 100 times over if given the chance. He's the best husband and father, and I can't wait to add to our family. No Mom and Dad, I'm not. I'm just sayin. . .

Nora's Partehhh

Happy Birthday To Me!