A warm winter...

The 28th came along with sunshine, and "warm" temperatures of 8-9 degrees Celsius... very strange, when the rest of Canada is experiencing the snow of winter. Scott took the kids outside for a walk... Here's Miss "Hello Kitty".

Scott got a new camera for Christmas, so he was happy to shoot a variety of shots, including this one!

Lewis wasn't far away to help out...

Down by the Fraser River... this camera is making everything look so much better!

The hidden beauty of the cedar sawmill?! This is why our home sometimes smells like fresh cedar when we come home after a week away. (And also why dust lines all the porch railings etc. )

As for me, I was happy to take in an hour of raking in the back yard... I'm so behind with the fall clean-up.

Later in the evening, Uncle Paul (mine) dropped by for a lovely visit. It was a very relaxing day.

Christmas, Round Two...

We celebrated Christmas again on the 27th with my sister's family, at my brother's home. This time pizza was on the menu, which Nora enjoyed for the first time.

Nora is getting to know that Grandpa is always available for hanging out with...

Uncle Steve was finally able to get a photo with Nora... very nice.

He knows how to make the girls smile! :)

Blowing "raspberries" with Charles...

Can you believe this? Charles and James stuffed Nora's pants with her dress... their idea of a "baby wedgie!" Nora's going to learn a lot of things from her older brothers, if this is any indication! :) Cousin Abby looks on...

Boxing Day Outing

Our wonderful neighbours, Mike and Sharon, were so kind to invite us for dinner with their long-time friends as well. The turkey is "left-over", but the meal is as fantastic as the first time around. (And Sharon is the greatest baker, too.)  Nora was able to make some new friends. She enjoyed her first shortbread cookie, too. Thanks so much!

Can you tell that I didn't take time to fix Nora's hair after her nap? I definitely will need some help in the "hair" department! :)

Merry Christmas 2010

We hope you all had an awesome day... We wanted to call so many of you to say our greetings, but it took all day to get organized for our dinner meal etc.  However, it was still a very good day, especially in the morning as we enjoyed Nora's presence with us this year. Our family is complete. One of Nora's gifts was a doll stroller... James was compelled to push her around in it, without any seatbelt. I was very unnerved about that! He's still just a boy in that almost 17 year old body!

I found another Asian "Groovy Girl" at my favourite toy store to add to Nora's collection... turns out she is Japanese... her name is Tomiko. Nora was quick to quick her dolly "hugs". Check out Nora's tights... pretty wild, hey?!

I much prefer the doll in the stroller instead of Nora! :)

The doll is getting "kisses" now, as well! Nora is very affectionate... so nice! (This is when I see differences between boys and girls, as despite having had very sweet boys who loved blankets and stuffed animals, there wasn't a lot of spontaneous hugs and kisses like Nora gives out.)

A quick shot of Nora with a hat on, before she ripped it off again...

Opening gifts with Grandpa... Nora enjoys the tissue paper more than what's inside the box.

Later on, cousins Kailey and Kieren entertain Nora with her wooden dessert set. (I'm teaching Nora about the fifth food group, chocolate!)

The end of a very sweet day with our girl. Her favourite gift was the $3 plastic doll bottle that lights up and plays music. Typical! :)

Princess Nora

These photos are from October 26th, after the boys had reminded me that Nora needed her picture taken professionally so that it could join their framed baby pictures that line front entrance wall. (With a matching blue background...) My first task was finding the right dress, and with a label of "Cinderella", how could I go wrong with this one? :) I just couldn't find the right size, with searching three of the same stores, so she'll get to wear this maybe for Easter.

 

 

Slowly on the mend...

Nora's on the move again, back to walking and picking garbage off the floor, among other things. So glad to see her active. The nose is still running, and a cough attack brought back up all of her dinner plus more, but that seems to be more of a reflex action than say, the flu. Last evening was really when she seemed to turn the corner, and we had some fun with Nora around the Christmas tree. We were so excited when she made the sign for "dog" for the first time, as she was trying to walk around something to get closer to Rosie. I'm so proud of each word that she does sign language for, I can't imagine how I'll beam when she speaks! (She can say "Ma-ma" on request, which is pretty nice, too.) Nora doesn't miss much.

This is such a cute little outfit, but I'd have to say that turtlenecks might not be Nora's best fashion look! Or maybe that just goes without saying for anyone with a minimal neck! :)

She likes to pull off the ornaments!

Just before getting her sleeper on... Sleep tight, all night!

A rough week...

Poor Nora so generously received the gift of Lewis' cold that he had last week... he's such a generous boy. Early Monday morning, she awoke with a high fever and proceeded to have fevers for four days. At times her body was completely pink and hot, except her hands and feet remained very cold. Of course, doing internet searches about that brings up scary topics like meningitis, so that wasn't particularly reassuring. By Wednesday, my awesome Dr. and staff squeezed us in for an appointment when I desperately called in the morning... they are so good. Nora had a definite ear infection in at least one ear, and there was some concern about her chest getting involved. This is when I once again say "Thank you, God, for antibiotics!" (It's coming back to me that I've said that in the past...) Charles is a great help in the cuddling department.

Thursday wasn't much better of a day, with the cough progressing, and the fever remaining. Let's just say we're not getting much sleep, and we try to get in whatever milk and pureed fruits we can as Nora's appetite has been poor. She couldn't even keep her balance to stand last evening. We've been bonding in a new way this week, as she has flaked out in our laps just wanting to be held, often falling asleep. This has not been the case before, as she's been so active and not particularly cuddly. Everything understandably goes on hold when your child is that sick. The boys have been helpful, and have put up with having limited food selections from the cupboards as grocery shopping has not been a priority.

Here's Nora on Friday... we managed a brief smile out of her, but that was probably it for the day.

Today is looking somewhat better. The fever is gone, and Nora's nose is less plugged. However, her cough is more pronounced and has made it harder for her to keep anything she drinks down. We made a brief appearance at Scott's Taekwondo Christmas party at noon... She did okay until she threw up over herself and Scott... fortunately most of the adults had left by then. It wasn't a pretty picture! After a good nap this afternoon, Nora is moving around the TV room here, trying to get at the DVD player, so this is a good sign that she is improving. Now if only I felt a little better... I think I'm next. :(

Here's one last photo of the one time we got out this week, when I didn't think Nora was doing too badly. We had a wonderful lunch in Richmond with my girlfriends, Laura and Heather, on Tuesday.

Three months together...

It's the 13th of the month, the now special day of recalling when we first held Nora in our arms and she gave us glimpses of her beautiful smile and outgoing personality. She's changed so much already... her hair is growing out, she's filling in her outfits and she can walk across a room, even if she looks like Frankenstein in the process. She's learned to say baby sign language for the words "more, drink, milk, cereal, eat, and sleep." Lewis thinks we should teach her the sign for "must", because then she could learn to sign "Must drink more milk!" (A popular milk commercial slogan....) With gestures of  shaking her head "no" or nodding "yes", clapping, pointing at objects, giving "high-fives", blowing kisses, waving hello and goodbye, and giving hugs and kisses when asked... she is communicating really well. We're not too fond of the recent trend of high-pitched screaming/squealing when Nora wants immediate attention, but we'll work on that. Must be a girl-thing!

 

Nora has developed a cold overnight... woke with a high fever and cough. I guess Lewis was just too generous last week in sharing his cold virus with her. I hope this week will be alright, as it's my last one before the boys are home from school for Christmas vacation, and I'm not ready for that! :)

This past week, Nora attended the primary Christmas concert, but we had to sit at the back of the auditorium. She's a little too distracting to everyone. Playing with my cell phone case was her entertainment. (Please don't tell Lewis that I had a hard time focusing on the performance.) Daddy's shoelace was also exciting. Do you think we should start carrying more toys on our person? :)

As the concert was finished early, I fed Miss "Hello Kitty" her lunch in the van while we waited for Lewis. Can you tell that she was eating sweet potatoes? It's great that Nora can be so flexible. I just hope that people don't watch me feeding her in the car-seat from baby food jars, and wonder what I'm doing!

Friday evening, we enjoyed seeing our good friends, Gary and Suzette, who we were blessed to have as neighbours for many years. We snuck out to a late night movie after Nora went to bed, thanks to our live-in babysitters. :)

 

The week's highlight was definitely last evening, when we visited our friends at our former church in Langley. The Christmas dinner was delicious, and we so enjoyed introducing Nora to everyone. I just hope she didn't share her virus with anyone.

Here are a couple of pictures from the afternoon when Nora was still feeling 100%. She really enjoys her brothers.

 

The past week ending Dec. 6th, 2010

On Monday last week, we made a "visit" to our family dentist... what a wonderful surprise to receive a beautifully wrapped gift from the staff for Nora! Thank you so much.

 

The Barbie "piano" book was a huge hit, especially with the younger guys! I may need to hide it soon, as I've heard enough of "Here we go looby-loo..."  But it is very cute.

 

 

Tuesday morning was a play-date with Auntie Ann, as Abby had a Pro-D day. The little cousins were sweet together.

 It's hard to resist this smile!

  

Thursday evening brought the arrival of Rosie's best friend, Maisie, who will be will us for a week. Both dogs are very gentle around Nora, and she doesn't mind them at all.

  

Nora wears some interesting outfits at home... we just "mix and match" with whatever's in the drawer! :)

 

 

Another "keeper"!

  

Nora is always happy to see Daddy come home at night!

 

Today, Nora turned 13 months old! She has certainly come a long way. It's great to see her hair growing in...

Her newest endeavors include walking multiple steps... we've witnessed up to 15 at a time. She is so proud of herself after she lands on her bottom. She's also made for the stairs when we're not looking, which is not so good.

 

Lewis is having a fun time showing Nora the Christmas train, which travels around the tree base. He's being pretty good-natured about her frequent derailing activity.

I really enjoy seeing moments like this... I think we'll have a special Christmas together.