Monday, September 28, 2015

Afternoon at the zoo.

We spent last Saturday afternoon at Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day outside, and so nice to spend time with family and show Norah the animals! The only thing missing was Karlie and Zack (my sister/her fiance).



Norah loved checking out the fish!




Love my family! 


Uncle Keaton LOVES to wear Norah in the carrier!













Giraffes are my favorite!




Feeding the turtles. I actually thought it was fascinating to hear her talk about them and I think it would be fun to work at the zoo. (I was going to say "aside from cleaning up the poop," but then I thought that was ridiculous because I clean up human poop all the time, whether it was when I worked in the 2's room at school or Norah's. Ha.)



What a great Saturday! Hope yours was great too!

Friday, September 25, 2015

Norah- Eleven Months.

Norah is 11 months! Lots of people have commented about how grown up you are starting to look! You are turning into such a big girl and it’s a joy to watch! Norah started wearing 18 month clothes at 10.5 months, and did not get any new teeth.

Norah is still on the same schedule as the last few months. She sleeps from about 10-9 (sometimes 10:30-8:30ish) at night, and takes two naps, usually a two hour nap around 12, and an hour and a half about 5. Norah still nurses 4 times a day (about 9, 2, 5, and 10), has yogurt for breakfast, veggies/protein for lunch, and fruit for dinner (both mixed with milk and cereal). She is starting to supplement even more solids for snacks and what we eat for dinner.

Norah had her 9 month check up this month (finally!), and weighed 21 lbs. 8 oz. (83%), head circumference was 18” (81%), and was 30.25” (96%). We’ve got a tall girl! Her percentages have stayed very close to the same at every appointment- a good sign of healthy growth!

Norah went through a two week phase at the beginning of the month of struggling to go to sleep- she would just cry and cry. It was sad and we are glad that’s over! We tried to go in and comfort her, but that only seemed to prolong it even more, so we eventually had to let her cry it out, which was not fun! Norah’s hair grew this month, and now she puts her left hand behind her head to comfort herself when upset/falling asleep, and will play with her hair/clothes. She always liked to hold onto something, usually her clothes, but now always puts her left hand behind her head, and sucks her thumb with her right hand. It’s pretty cute!

Norah grasped how to tip the sippy cup up by herself this month, and is quite good at drinking now! She crawls “normal” and very quickly, although sometimes still crawls with one leg up like she did when she first started crawling. She pulls herself up to stand on everything, and can even stand for a few seconds on her own! She can even climb up on a few things, like the stairs in the basement and the dishwasher.

Norah learned how to clap this month and loves to do it, and enjoys patty-cake. She can also shake hands and pretends to hold the phone to her ear. She loves to look out the window and watch what’s going on outside. She started dancing this month and moves a little whenever music comes on. She loves to give kisses, and can even do eskimo and butterfly kisses! She will occasionally do a few signs (we have seen up, more, and all done), but she doesn’t do it often. We think she has said “dada” and “wow” a few times, but we didn’t have an exact moment where we thought she said her first word. We can tell she tries to copy what we say sometimes! She is growing in being able to play by herself and does pretty well while I unload the dishwasher or fold a load of laundry, but she still prefers to be close and playing with us. If I push her “playing alone” time, she definitely lets me know by whining/crying and pulling on my pant leg to be picked up!

Overall, Norah is such a happy, pleasant baby. She still hates the nursery, but if that’s the worst thing, we’ll totally take it! I wish it wouldn’t make her so upset, but it’s actually really sweet that she just wants to be with us so much. Thankfully she does well with being with family. She smiles, laughs, and babbles often. She loves to explore and take in the world around her. Being Norah’s parents is the best! Can’t believe she is almost one! It’s gone so quickly, but it also feels like we have always had her. We love you Norah!










As you can tell, Norah was not really into the photo shoot. The older they get, the harder it is to get a good picture, especially when you are trying to get them to look, smile, and see the sticker all at the same time. This next one is a real winner- she was done!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Why moms get nothing done.

Why Moms Get Nothing Done

This video is so funny. If you have young children (or been around them/know anything about what that's like), you should watch!


Monday, September 21, 2015

Swearing in ceremony.

We were so thrilled to find out last week that Kley passed the bar! Friday he had his swearing in ceremony in Des Moines. It was a neat ceremony. It was great that we got to celebrate again and see family!

The ceremony was at the Hoyt Sherman Place, which I had never been to before, but it was a cool building! The theatre space was so unique. 


I thought this picture of Kley taking the oath was really cool!


Kley getting his official license!


(This picture is incredibly dark, I know. Oops.)


We are so proud of you, Kley! 


It was so special to celebrate all of Kley's hard work over the past years. You did it!


Kley's parents. 


My parents.


Kley's a real lawyer now!

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Funny.

With numerous friends posting about the 21 day fix, PiYo workouts, and Shakeology, I have found this incredibly funny:


Kley and I also saw this on FB somewhere and had a good laugh:

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Pumpkinland!

I have grandparents that live in Sioux Center, so I remember coming to Pumpkinland often when I was growing up, and I always loved it. Even in the past few years, I always wanted to go to Pumpkinland whenever we visited OC to get fall things for my classroom (when I used to teach preschool). Now, we live here and we got to bring Norah for her first time!

She's still a bit young to fully enjoy it, but that didn't stop us. We checked out the animals, which Norah would stare at from a safe distance and nothing closer (ha), and all the pumpkins, where Norah had to thoroughly touch each one she saw to make sure it was okay.


Norah and Daddy!


Little Norah!


In the above picture I think she looks to tiny, but in this picture she looks like such a big girl sitting all by herself on the bench!


Checking out the tall corn!




Pick you own pumpkin patch.


Norah enjoyed getting a few pumpkins!


We are welcoming fall and enjoying the cooler temps!