First Christmas

This Christmas has been memorable for Justin and I as our very first with little Nora. We are having such a great time watching her grow up and learn more every day. We love this little girl so much!!

Talking...

...and more talking... 

...and more talking... 

...and even more...

...talking to mommy... 

...WAIT! I see my feet. 

 Oh yes, I was saying...

White Christmas

It has been so nice lately - some cold days, but mostly some pretty mild weather. But the weatherman predicted some winter precipitation on Christmas day and guess what... IT SNOWED!!!

And not the just-a-little-bit-of-snow-mixed-with-sleet-that-immediately-melts-or-turns-to-icky-slush-and-ice-on-the-road kind of snow that we usually get in Texas. It was real-life, actual snow-flake snow that ended up sticking and making things look like winter!

It was beautiful (okay, the traffic on the roads was pretty ugly) and we went out for a sweet picture to commemorate Nora's first white Christmas!

The three of us in the SNOW! 

She is so stinkin' cute with that hat and mittens on! 

Krista & Collin

Christmas Season

We hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!!

We've been busy celebrating the season with family & friends!

We did Christmas Eve Eve brunch with the Peiperts, Amy & Hunter, and Kim & Marie. 

Nora fell asleep holding Grandpa's hand at brunch. 

We got together on Christmas Eve with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Josie. Nora was a good little girl! Then, we went to my favorite church service of the whole year... Christmas Eve by candle light! Nora looked darling but I didn't take any pictures. 

Nora loved her new toy/seat from Grandma & Grandpa! 

She's checking out that little bug... 

Fun with Grandma on Christmas Eve.

We all put on our Christmas pajamas and went to bed so Santa would come... Then woke up and opened gifts on Christmas morning!

Nora and mommy on Christmas morning! 

Gotta kiss those cheeks... 

Nora & daddy with a little bit of Ford, too! 

Nora's Christmas pajamas! 

Thanks, Santa! 

Nora loved her headband from Laine!

We went over to see Drew, Leslie & Griffin for Christmas breakfast & then got ready to head over to Mimi & Pops' house. We are so blessed to be surrounded by loving family & friends. Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year!!

We are looking forward to seeing Gr3 & the rest of our Illinois/Indiana family in a week or so!!

Seeing Santa

One more day until Christmas vacation!

I. can. not. wait.

No, I don't have my gifts wrapped. In fact, I don't even have gifts. But, I am looking forward to spending two straight weeks home with Nora & seeing family!

The way my break works out this year, we don't have a lot of time before Christmas once school gets out. But, I was determined to take Nora to see Santa!

So, after school this week I packed her up and we headed to Dallas because apparently North Park has THE BEST Santa. Nothing but the best for miss Nora Lane! We picked up Krista, parked the car, and headed towards the Santa house.

Along with a-zillion other people.

It came down to this: Do I wait in line for 2 more hours, past her bed time, to take a picture with Santa and a sleeping baby or a cranky baby OR do I leave and figure out a new plan.

New plan it was!

So the next day I rushed over to The Owl's Nest at 5:00 pm (I had an appointment at 4:00 and he was leaving at 6:00) and I walked in and started looking for the line. There was no line! The pictures were free! I got to take as many as I wanted! And it was super close! It was amazing.

Nora loved Santa, especially his beard. She even gave him a few smiles!

Meeting Santa.

Hmmm... I can pull this... 

I would like toys and diapers and a high chair and of course, headbands.

 Santa is so funny!

Baby girl and St. Nick!

Three Months

It is amazing how fast Nora develops & grows! I just went back to read my post from her two month birthday and cannot believe all that has changed in such a short amount of time! Just a week ago she was looking at her feet and now she grabs and holds them.

We don't visit the doctor this month, so I am not entirely sure how much she weighs, but I think she's been picking up some steam in that area. Maybe it's just her normal growing or maybe it's that she takes more formula now that I am back at work, but she seems so much bigger now! If I had to guess, I'd put her at 12-ish pounds.

Sweet baby girl...

I love watching her grow and seeing her discover new things every day (or so it seems). Even the things that I was SO happy & proud of at two months have become so routine and have evolved...

find her mouth with her hands Now this happens ALL the time... it seems as if she puts everything in her mouth! My hair, her toys, my scarf, her fingers, my necklace, her blanket, my arm, her burp cloth...

bring her hands together She not only brings them together, she brings them wherever she wants! Including to those feet. I think it will just be a matter of time before her feet get into her mouth!

talk/play with her "friends" She LOVES toys now. In fact, she doesn't really want to lay down anymore while she is awake unless she has a toy to play with. She is loving her activity mat. She kicks at the toys, grabs at the toys, looks at the toys, talks to the toys... 

lift/hold her head up with some bobbles This is another area where she has grown lots! She holds her head up very well and wants to sit up to look around & check things out. She tries REALLY hard and grunts to get herself up to a sitting position with some help. We even put her in her bumbo chair a couple of times! Another thing she loves to do is "stand". She bends her knees, then straightens them so that she does this little bouncy dance.

sleep through the night!  This is still going really well (yesssss! knock on wood...) Since going back to work, I have been waking her up at 6:00 so that she can nurse & we can get out the door and to Grandma's house by 7:00. She sleeps in a little later on the weekends, though. So, her last feeding is at 10:00 and she goes 8-10 hours after that, depending on the day of the week! 

look at dangly things (fan, mobile, chandelier)  She still loves looking at those far away dangly things and since her vision has improved, now she checks out other interesting things like... the TV and the Christmas tree!

recognize faces to smile at This has got to be one of my favorite things about her... she smiles ALL the time. She is one happy little baby! I swear she is going to start laughing any day now.

sleep in her CRIB at night and for naps Still going well, though nap time is a little unpredictable. Somewhere between 30-45 minutes is pretty normal and she takes 4 naps a day. 

not cry during or after bath time (usually) Nora is loving bath time (I think)... I'm pretty sure she just likes wearing her birthday suit! She kicks in the water and sometimes will play with bath toys that I give her. 

There she is, grabbing those feet!

I've read that three months is a big "milestone" and I'd have to say that I agree... She is accustomed to the world around her, highly interactive, far more predictable, and very happy. She is such an amazing little thing!

Talking... 

...making noises... 

...and smiling! Smiling's my favorite!

The things Nora does at three months old:

"scrunchy-nosed" smile

silent laughing

grab her feet with her hands

drools (all. the. time.)

holds toys & other things

squeals

rolls on her side from her back but not all the way over...

grabs for things (everything and anything)

"stands" with help

holds up her head

sits with help (Bumbo!)

talks... lots of talking...

complains (when she's tired!!)

Oh, there has to be more. It's exponential growth, people. But that's a good little snapshot.

 I could just kiss those cheeks! Oh wait, I do.

I took a couple videos on her birthday which show some of the things that she does a lot of now... talk, drool, and work out (her neck, tummy, & back). If you listen you can hear her panting a little!

Now, I'm going to bundle up in bed since it's going to get down to freezing tonight!