Happy Easter

Nora had a great first Easter! We celebrated with family & friends and Nora looked so darling in her little Easter outfit.

I just can't get enough of these bunny ears! 

Sweet Nora Lane 

Look at those chubby thighs!! Ahh!!

The Easter bunny came!

Nora enjoyed her goodies...

My love bunny!

Great Good Friday

I had Good Friday off of school, so we planned a trip to the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy the pretty flowers and a picnic outside. The weather was great! We went with Mimi, Grandma, Amy & cousin Hunter.

Hunter enjoying our picnic in the park. 

Hi Hunter!!

We took the opportunity to take some pictures of the cutie pies!

Sweet baby girl 

Look at those wrist rolls! 

Hey Hunter, how does this taste? 

Some-bunny loves you!! 

Hunter, let me tell you something. 

Mommy's girl! 

Preparing for Easter

For Easter, there are two things that every kid needs: an Easter basket filled with goodies and the most precious Easter outfit ever.

I searched online for baskets and loved the Pottery Barn ones but just couldn't commit. $60 is A LOT for a basket you've never seen or touched. So, instead of buying the expensive basket, I decided to buy a cheaper basket and spend lots of time making it into what I envisioned. So, to Target I went! (That's how these scenarios usually begin...)

I bought a $15 basket and a yard of fabric and got to crafting...

First, I made a liner for the basket using some grey and white chevron fabric and a mint colored edging.

 

 

 Then, I painted the basket pink (the same color as her changing table).

I had a friend embroider her basket liner.

And for the total price of about $25 (more than half the cost of PB) I had this cuteness:

I'm sure Nora will love it... some day. Until then, I will!!

For now though, Nora is enjoying other Easter traditions...

Lucky Charm

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Spring Break

One of the great things about being a teacher is all of the breaks you look forward to as a kid... Christmas break... summer break... spring break!

This spring break we took a trip to Florida to visit family and relax by the ocean. It was a short trip, but a good one. We hung out in Key Largo most of the time with one visit to Justin's grandfather, aunt, uncle and cousins in Miami.

Nora meeting her great-grandpappy for the first time...

Great-grandpa, Nora, & Grandpa 

Four generations photo

Nora went swimming for the first time while we were in Key Largo. Here's a re-cap of our hour-long trip to the pool...

Sunscreen on & ready to go! 

About to get in... 

How's that, Nora?? 

Nora & mommy hanging out in the pool 

 Splashing in the water

Swimming around with grandma 

I had so much fun!!!

Poolside with mommy

The view from the condo

Nora enjoying her bottle on the patio!

Six Months

Six months is SO much fun!! I loved the newborn stage a whole lot but I really love how Nora is now even more. She is interactive and starting to learn things and it is just amazing to watch.

One of my most favorite pictures, ever.

We went to our doctor visit and she weighed in at 16 pounds, 12 ounces and is 26 1/2 inches long. She is right at 50% for her weight to height ratio so she's perfect, of course!

Hi! I'm trying to crawl.

I must admit it has been a bit of a challenge to accept that my baby should be wearing 6-TWELVE month clothing... I am still squeezing her into her 3-6 month clothing but I know deep down in my heart I will just have to get over it and embrace the "big girl" in her. I mean, she's healthy and growing so I guess I can't complain.

Mom. Let me have that camera.

In the last month...

talks, laughs, and plays social games Nora is such a social little thing. She talks, makes noises, LOVES other babies, giggles, etc. We have been working on consonants and she has pretty much mastered her "da da da" babbling. In the last few weeks she has developed some other... less desirable social issues... separation anxiety! This morning I put her down to play and went to put in a load of laundry. Not five seconds after I left, the tears and screaming commenced. I mean, really. I feel awful when she cries that way but she will need to learn that she will be alright when I leave... right?? The doctor says to play peek-a-boo. Not sure that will solve all issues but we'll work on it! 

rolls over from back to tummy Nora is rolling all over the place! She hasn't figured out crawling yet but makes improvements each day. She is starting to get her knees under her belly but usually ends up falling over to one side. She even planks (like a push up) but it is usually when she is really determined or really mad. Someway somehow she manages to move herself around enough to get where she wants to go (in a like, 2 foot radius).

{almost} sits unsupported I still don't feel comfortable going too far from her when she is sitting because she will topple over, but she's still doing alright with the sitting. She enjoys standing and being on her tummy, trying to crawl, much more than sitting so I guess she gets less practice.

grabs feet and puts them in her mouth She is still putting everything in her mouth and of course I think it is the cutest thing ever!

sleeps through the night Nora is sleeping 11-12 hours a night, depending on whether I have to get her up or not (school days). She is taking three naps during the day, usually between 45 min & an hour and a half long. She is a good sleeper!!

eats pureed foods {pretty} well Eating has been quite a learning experience for all of us. Nora loves her fruit but is not enjoying her veggies so much. I am now experimenting with mixing to see if I can get her to eat more. We are going to try some protein this coming week. I can't believe it's been two months since she starting eating solids! We starting giving her the little puffs to see how she would do with finger foods and it was pretty humorous at first! Over a two week span she has gotten pretty good at getting it into her mouth and "chewing" it (they dissolve, really). 

kicking and playing in the bath tub This past week Nora discovered splashing with her hands. Needless to say, it made a mess. It's totally adorable but I have to watch her because she slips around and isn't the most steady at sitting in the tub. 

pushing up on her elbows while on her tummy Nora will push up all the way on her arms and can wiggle her way around (as mentioned above). She is much better at moving backward than forward. Pops (my dad) is going to teach her to crawl on Monday when he watches her. Ha! We'll see...

watches and pets Ford Of course Nora still loves Ford - he is the perfect toy. He moves, he makes noise, he feels different, and he is interactive! Ford though, has learned that if he gets close, he will get his hair pulled. And not just a gentle little tug. A big-handful-of-hair-gripped-between-tiny-little-fingers-of-steel kind of tug. It has to be awful. And I know that it is because she does it to me too!

Nora reading one of her favorite books!

Nora at six months:

babbles a little

loves music

"waves" hello/good-bye to people {well, inanimate objects, too}

is ticklish on her tummy

thinks daddy is hilarious

rolling {all} around

"scooting" around

{almost} sitting unsupported

bears weight on her legs

eats fruits, veggies, and cereal

splashes in tub

recognizes and reaches for people

tries to feel & eat everything she can

turns pages in her books

Look at meeee!

She is just a perfect little thing! There is no greater blessing...