Panties

I just wanted to record a cute thing Norah said this morning. So Jan. 5th is the start of potty training. We get home from Ontario on the 3rd and then we're diving in right away. So we've started telling Norah that when we get home from Nanna and Poppa's there will be no more diapers, only panties. So today I said to her, oh, 2 weeks from today...what does that mean? And she knew what I was talking about and quietly said something like no more diapers. So I started chanting "No more diapers, only panties" over and over. Then she told me not to say that and said "it's not panty time yet". I thought that was so cute!

How Far we've Come

Just wanted to record how i've thought several times recently that I can't believe how far we've come with Jack's sleep. He's still not a perfect sleeper by any stretch of the imagination, but compared to what he was like as a very little baby....I was used to how Norah was as a baby. I could lie her down and she'd just go to sleep right from the beginning - no rocking, bouncing or anything. So it was a real surprise with Jack, who I had to fight with to get to sleep. But he has learned to fall asleep on his own and it's so amazing. Just now I lay him down in his crib on his tummy and put his little puppy beside him and immediately he lays his head down to go to sleep. This isn't always the case, but usually it is and it's just so amazing....and so cute!

He's learned to put his soother in his mouth on his own...if only he'd find it in his crib at night when he wakes up!

On another note...this one about Norah. Here's her latest that she was doing today. She found an old Walkman and an old Discman and then she'd want me to watch her "bideo" and dance. So we'd stand up in the family room and she would tell me I couddn't dance yet. Then she'd press the buttons on both machines which turned them "on" and then we had to dance. Not sure where her love of dancing comes from - sure not from my mennonite roots!! Oh, and along those lines, the other day and again today, she wanted me to go to the livingroom on the hardwoods and "spin like a pincess". So we had to count to three, then spin around on the floor as fast as we could. When I asked her where she learned that, she said "Agex and Janna's house" (Alex and Julianna's house). Guess when they were downstairs at their place the other day, they must have been spinning like princesses!!

Jolly Jumper Part 2!

Just wanted to quickly post a picture of Jack in the JJ again (don't have time for more - this is already the third post of the day!!). Anyway, he's figured it out now and loves it in there! Good for me to know - provides entertainment for a good long while!
(sorry it's going to be sideways again)

Christmas Prep

I am enjoying watching Norah with all the Christmas stuff this year. First we took her to the Santa Claus parade which she quite enjoyed. And then I picked up this little set of Christmas CD and two little Christmas books which were actually the words to two of the songs on the CD. Anyway, we have sung those songs and read those books MANY times already. She's got one almost memorized I think - it's very cute. And we've read some other Christmas stories in her Bible books, too. Anyway, Sunday we set up our "Kismas tree". She quite enjoyed it and was excited to help put the decorations on. And she thinks the lights have to be on ALL the time. We turn them off for night of course and this morning when Norah went downstairs she was quite perturbed about what happened to the Kismas tree and the lights. So Nate went and turned them on for her right away and then all was good.

I had put up my porcelain nativity scene Sunday during her nap time and forgot to point it out ot her. Well, this morning after Nate turned on the kismas tree lights, she suddenly noticed it. And was very excited! She pulled a chair up right away and got up to look at it and apparently told Nate "baby Jesus is sleeping in a manger" or something like that. Then she pointed at Mary and said something about "there's Mary - the baby's mommy". I can't believe how much she takes in so fast. Well, then throughout the morning she'd climb up on the chair to play with the figurines. She does have a bit of the details a bit mixed up. She thought Joseph was Jesus and that baby Jesus was Baby Bethlehem. But hey, she's doing pretty good! I saw a cute little kid friendly nativity scene at Superstore that I'm going to pick up for her tonight since she loves playing with all the figures now with the Christmas talk. And she loves singing Away in a Manger with us "really loud" - meaning in our opera voices.

It'll be neat to see how exciting Christmas itself will be for her.

Socks

So I don't know what it is with babies and socks...or maybe it's just my babies who have a fixation with putting socks in their mouths! I remember Norah loved having a sock in her mouth at one point in her "babyhood". (Norah around 8 months)

Anyway, I didn't have the camera with me, but I could have the same picture of Jack. The other day I was getting him lotioned up and dressed after a bath and there was a sock on the change table. He was lying on his tummy and all of a sudden I looked and he had that sock in his mouth the same as this! And they think it's so exciting - waving arms and kicking legs to go along with it!

Then, still with the socks, I still put socks on Jack's hands for sleeping cause he's got such an itchy head from excema and cradle cap that he's constantly scratching his head and making himself bleed. But he finds a way to get those socks off. This morning he was supposed to be napping but I heard noise from his room so I peeked in. He was lying on his back, with both socks off his hands and he was holding one in each hand and very animatedly waving his arms around and kicking his legs....guess socks are easy entertainment for these babies! Was very cute to see how excited he got over his socks waving around in the air!

Gingerbread House

So I bought a gingerbread kit at the grocery store last week thinking I wanted to start a new yearly tradition with Norah (and Jack once he's old enough). Well, I made the mistake of showing it to Norah right away and every day she's been asking for it. So this morning I asked if we wanted to make the gingerbread house today. She got so excited immediately that she was almost beside herself. She ran to daddy in excitement telling him that we were going to do the gingerbread house today. So once Jack was down for his nap and we were finally all dressed and ready for the day (the gingerbread house was great incentive for her to get dressed with no issues today!) we started. We "built the house" then had to let it sit for 15 minutes to "dry" I guess. Well, she just wanted to sit there and look at it. But I told her we'd read 2 stories and then we could put the candies on. So we did and after the second story she hopped up and ran to the stairs saying we could put the candy on now. And we did. It was just about the right length of project for her cause before we were even totally done, her interest in it was waning.
Our house looks nothing like the pretty one on the box that I was trying to copy, but hey, I learned a lesson myself - not to cut the icing hole quite so big next time. And she had fun putting on the candy. I'm sure we'll do it again next year!

Norah all excited about the gingerbread house making as it was getting taken out of the package!

Putting candy on the house...the one on the right (under my arm!) was the one on the box that I was sort of trying to copy...ours looked nowhere near as nice!

Norah did great with putting candies on...though there were several that were licked and THEN put on the house!!

Norah admiring the finished product while licking the icing off the gingerbread man!

potty

Just a short little note and it's nothing too great - just a little phrase Norah said that I want to remember cause I thought it was kinda cute. So she's not potty trained yet (though I am starting to pump up the fact that after Christmas when we get home from Nanna and Poppa's there will be no more diapers for her!) but has for the last year almost occasionally gone on the potty and often it's when she asks to go.

So last night I was putting Jack to bed and when I came downstairs after, Norah was running around with no diaper on. Scary cause she has had the occasional pee on the floor incident when she's done that. So I asked Nate what was up and she had apparently wanted to go on the potty and had proceded to rip her diaper off and go to the toilet. Ususally when she does that it's not very long before she actually goes. So I guess last night she sat there and nothing was happening. So she said to Nate "daddy please help me...my pee's not working". So cute!!! Anyway, I guess she asked him to do the usual potty routine - sitting on the little stool and singing The Wheels on the Bus (that's the only place we've every sung that song but somehow she knows that's the potty song!) and I think Jesus Loves Me.

I'm sure I'll have more potty stories to tell come Jan. 5th!

A Wiggle and a Percussionist

This post will be filled with videos since that's what I'm writing about in both cases! Yesterday I noticed Jack doing a new little wiggle. Guess his better sleep is giving him more energy to try and imitate a fish who's out of the water. Enjoy his little wiggle! Glad he did it for the camera! (Unfortunately I don't know how to rotate the video so you'll have to watch it with your head cranked sideways).

We also started Jack on rice cereal the other day. Here's a picture of him enjoying some of the first bites (well, it was actually his second cereal feeding but we'll still count it as some of his first bites!) It was quite funny actually....when I gave it to him the first time, he made a funny little face after I put it in his mouth and Norah looked all concerned and said "Jack don't yike that I don't think." Anyway, if he keeps up with how he's eating now, we'll be going through much more babyfood than we ever did with Norah!

Now, on to Norah. She discovered my pot lids today...and how they can resemble the instruments she must be learning more about at music lessons. Anyway, she was banging the lids together as cymbals and then she was using a wooden spoon to hit the pot or pot lid with. Then she wanted Nate or I to sing with her. So I'm posting a few videos of her singing....if you can hear any singing above all the pot banging. If you watch till the end, you'll catch her taking a bow! The first video is Norah on her own and the next one debuts Nate as well!

Take a Bow!

So Norah has added a new element to her bedtime routine (or at least last night!). Now when we sing her songs, she stands in her crib and dances and sings along. Then at the end of each song, she takes a bow! And she says it, too "I take a bow". Who knows where she picks this stuff up from?! Well, I do have a pretty good idea....! And the first I heard of this taking a bow business was on Sunday at my sister's house. My sister and Norah were downstairs and when they came up, my sister was saying how Norah had been spinning around and then at the end she looked like she was taking a bow. My sister asked her what she was doing and she said "just taking a bow"!

Imagination and farting (unrelated though!)

Lately we've really started to see Norah's imagination take off...it's so cute...and along with that are new words. It's so neat to see what goes on in her mind. Today she was playing what seemed to be house or something with mommy and daddy anyway with her "people". Meaning her little people that she's got all lined up and likes to play with. Then all of a sudden she was dancing a round the family room with one of the people's umbrellas singing the "it's raining, it's pouring" song. Earlier, when we had come home, I was already in the family room and she comes in and tells me she has ice cream for me. So she hands me the imaginary ice cream and says it's so "ee-yish-iss". She's said that before and I didn't know we said delicious that much so i'm not sure where she picked that one up.

Lately she's been into playing "yion"(lion). She likes to roar and have us roar. And whatever it is she wants to do or play, she'll often say "i know" and then something about "i got an idea" and then say what we should play. I can't believe sometimes how old she's getting and what she's all saying. Very cute but in a way, a bit sad that she really is growing up quite fast.

And that makes me think of another cute thing she's been saying sometimes. Awhile ago, she and I went out on the back deck in the morning for something to do. As soon as she stepped outside she said something about it being a "yoo-ful" day - meaning "beautiful"! She really does hear and pick up stuff fast. It always amazes me.

On another note...and while we find this funny, not all would, so excuse our lame sense of humor in our family. But we used to talk about "toot" when we'd talk about passing gas. However, that is just not natural for Nate and I and since Norah picks up on almost everything, she's heard us talk about "fart"...and now that's what she says. The problem is, we think it's so funny when she uses the word (cause she enunciates it perfectly!!) that we don't correct her. For example she'll say "I just farted". And we try not to laugh...but don't nearly always succeed. BUT we're at least trying to teach her to then say "excuse me". And she's quite good at it -in fact if she hears someone else in our house "pass gas"! (not like that EVER happens around here!) she'll say excuse me for them.

I wish I could write down all the cute things she says. And she's got 4-5 word sentences sometimes which totally amazes me. Maybe that's why I expect so much from her and expect her to be able to voice all thoughts and emotions to me...not quite realistic for a 2 year old.

I'll think of something more to write about Jack next time. He just keeps being a cute baby with lots of smiles and laughs. He loves watching Norah. Whenever he's in the room with her, his eyes are glued to whatever she's doing. And when she "plays" with him, he usually thinks it's very fun and has a big smile on his face. Can't wait to see what the two of them will be like when he's not a baby anymore!

Jolly Jumper

So i got out the jolly jumper today for Jack for the first time. He just kind of hung there, but when i bounced it up and down for him, he was full of giggles! He hasn't grasped the concept of jumping in it yet.

Norah, however, saw it after her nap and right away asked if she could jump in it. I checked and since the max weight is 33 pounds, I figured we were safe. It took her a few minutes, but then she got "hopping" away. Unlike when she was a baby - at the time i figured that jolly jumper was a waste of money cause she always just kind of hung in it. Now I think she needs to get into gymnastics cause she loves jumping. But then she loves swimming and a bunch of other things, too. Anyway, as she was hopping away in there, she said "you buy this at the store?" i answered "yes" and she said "that's cool"! She has said that before about something and it's so cute, and yet scary, how she mimics so much of what she hears other people say.

ABC's

Norah learned the ABC song and never ever gets tired of it. And when she's tired or wants to rile us, the volume keeps going up and up and up. I have to say, she's quite good at it. She learned it from Elmo on the internet. She skips a few of the letters, but overall quite good for 2 years old I figure. I'll try and capture it on video cause it's so cute. We were shopping the other day and all of a sudden she broke out in song - the ABC one and Jesus Loves Me, too. Anyway, so at the end of the ABC song, instead of saying "now I know my ABC's...", she often says "now I know my yetters..." I love that she says "yetters" first of all!

And she's got a growing repetoire of songs to sing at bedtime. First is always Jesus Loves Me (meaning I, or Nate and I sing and she usually joins in). Then is "Children of the World" (Jesus Loves the Little Children), then is Hippopotamus (a song I think I learned at daycamp years and years ago), and now she's added the ABC song. It's quite cute anyway. Maybe sometime I'll sneak the camera up at bedtime and tape the whole thing.

dancing

Norah loves to dance!...not sure where she got that love. But this last week at grandma and grandpa's house she'd get out the barbie boombox, turn it on and say "let's dance". it's very cute. it's much more fun to watch her by herself but she's a bit self conscious when caught! I think actually her love for dancing may have grown when Uncle Dan was here and would play her singing Elmo doll and he'd dance to it. Now she often turns it on and wants us to dance with her. Well, then she combined that with dancing in the laundry room...with the lights off. So there she and I would be in the dark laundry room with Elmo singing his heart out and us dancing...fun little memory!

Smiles and Curiosity

Baby Jack, as he's affectionately known in our house, has become such a different baby. He is such a happy little boy all the time. He just loves to smile and coo and laugh and kick his legs. Today in church, he laid beside me on the pew for a good long while just looking around and being happy. When he's supposed to be going to bed, he'll cry if he loses his soother and if we go into his room to put it in his mouth, he's so busy smiling up at us that he can't even keep it in his mouth! And I love going in his room in the morning when I hear him up and he'll lie there and be so happy to be up and see me. And speaking of him sleeping, he seems to be so much more comfortable at night now that we've got his ezcema under control. In fact, I hardly recognize the guy anymore now that he's not just a big red rash from head to toe. That maybe part of why he's so much happier now, too. He's started grabbing things more, too.

Norah used to always ask "what doing mommy?" Well, now that phrase has become "what'cha doing mommy?". It's quite cute to hear. And today she said "take it easy". Guess she hears that some around here!!

One of Norah's favorite games

So Norah LOVES to be chased. Anytime one of her little friends even acts like they're going to start running, she'll chase after and want to get chased, too. She and her little friend Ty enjoy chasing each other around the little island in our kitchen giggling at the top of their lungs. Well, lately I guess she hasn't had enough chasing time with friends cause she'll ask Nate and I to do it. So as much as it makes me dizzy, how can I resist "mommy, peas chase me?" in such a hopeful tone! So I do and she giggles and I smile cause it's so cute how she finds such joy in the little pleasures of life!

Our bedroom

Norah now likes to play on our bed under the covers. Today after her nap she wanted me to play there with her. She says "peas pay under here". So then we had to get her dolls and their bottles and accessories and play under the covers - feeding the babies and so on. She obviously has no sense of claustrophobia which is good because I sure couldn't stand to be right under there like she is for as long as she wants! She also likes to pretend she's sleeping in our bed. When my mom was babysitting one time it was quiet and she went in search of Norah and found her "seeping" in our bed - she gets right under the covers and lies her head on the pillow and even closes her eyes sometimes!

She also likes to "get dressed" in our closet. She pretends she's showering in there and then she'll rifle through my shirts hanging on the low bar in the closet and act like she's getting dressed. Guess she's seen that a few times...!!

Tinkertown and Therapy!

We went to Tinkertown with our friends Jon and Janelle and their son, Ty, the other day. Ty and Norah are 3 months apart in age and are such great little buddies. They rode the rides and Norah had a blast. As soon as we got through the gate, the first ride you can see is the carousel. I could see she was just longing to go on that ride. She pointed at it and said something about wanting to go on it. So that was the first ride we went on. I took her on it and the experience for me was absolutely priceless. She sat on the "horsie" and thought that was great to begin with. But then when it started and the music came on and the horse started moving...the look on her face literally brought tears to my eyes - it's really not that big a deal but the look of wonder and excitement made the entire trip there worth it for me. Then later, when we got home, I was in Jack's room feeding him and Nate was in Norah's room trying to get her ready and into bed. All of a sudden she came to Jack's room where I was and just started saying things. It was stuff like.."horsies, cars, bang Ty car, aiplan, boat, apple..." and so on. I realized she was listing all the rides she had been on that day. I think her mind was just reeling and whirring with all she had done that day - it was so cute to realize she had such a good time there, too she was wanting to tell me all about what she all did.

On a completely different note, the other day, Norah was coloring with crayons. She has in the past had some trouble remembering that crayons only color on paper, not on walls and other things. Well, this one morning, she had started to color on something again and I reminded her that we don't do that or we'll take the crayons away. Well, I was on the computer typing away and she came running into the room to admit that she had colored on the table. I went to check and yes, she definitely had taken the brown crayon to her little table. So I started packing up the crayons and took them away. She had such a huge fit (not sure when she'll figure out that she at least shouldn't come admit something to me that she purposefully did wrong!) and we couldn't get her to stop crying. So I came back to the computer and kept on typing. She eventually came and sat on the chair with me (still wearing her pj's!) and picked up the cordless phone on the desk and started talking. She was still sniffling and getting over her big cry and talking away. I heard the words "crayon, table, obey mommy, obey daddy". I don't know who she thought she was talking to but it was if it it was therapy for her to tell whoever it was what had gone on. After that she was fine!

Words Disappearing

Well, it's a good thing I'm recording some of Norah's cute versions of words cause some of them are becoming extinct. "Bakka" has become "campa" and no doubt others are on their way out, too. And she went through a phase when she would hear ANY noise and say "hear that?". I don't think I've heard that in awhile now. It's exciting that her language and vocabulary is growing and changing, but sad to hear these cute renditions go.

A variety of things

Norah somehow has gotten into scissors. Not sure why or what prompted it. But she wanted to cut with my scissors. So I went and bought some kid ones and let her cut some paper. First of all, she calls them "sharps". Not sure why but it's so cute that I don't have the heart to correct her and I even call them "sharps" too around her cause i think it's so cute! I'm assuming she calls them that cause she's heard me tell her so much that my scissors are sharp and she can't play with them. But anyway, I've realized that she needs constant supervision when using them or else she'll all of a sudden be missing a chunk of hair or a piece from her clothes (not that she's that proficient with them yet - I usually have to help her to get a good cut and then she's quite fascinated). The other day she made a comment when she was playing with them "i cut hair" and then about cutting Jack's hair (his is almost all missing anyway from having combed out his cradle cap so much!!)

Norah is becoming a bit of mommy's helper. She now likes to help me set the table. Here's a picture of how she sets it. I love how she puts the cutlery so neatly sideways at the edge! And all the stuff ends up right at the edge, but she has such a smile on her face as I hand her things one at a time to carry to the table. Too bad it won't stay a treat for her to help out with things like that!

The other day I gave Norah her snack to eat downstairs as she usually wants it. Well, no more will that happen when she has this particular food item. It was one of those pretzels and cheeze whiz handi-snacks. I got a phone call while she was in the middle of the snack and by the time I got off the phone (it was not a social call!) she has smeared the cheese whiz all over her legs like lotion. I didn't let her know that I thought it was kind of funny - she just heard how that's not allowed.

Some cute things Norah has said lately (cute, but not necessarily "good"!).

- this morning when I came downstairs dressed, she said "cute shirt mommy"

- then later when i accidentally spilled her snack out of the bowl and was picking it up, she said "good job putting back mommy" - nice to know she mimics the praise comments as well as the getting in trouble comments!

- this one is kinda cute but not necessarily one to be so proud of - i've heard her saying "oh my gosh" - i guess i've said that one too many times around her

Little Jack just melted my heart tonight! He's got such bad cradle cap that I've been oiling his head every night before bed. Well, tonight I decided to put a little hat on top of the oil. So he was lying all swaddled in his bed and I was rubbing oil on his head. I've realized he LOVES to have his head rubbed. He was starting to fuss a bit and as soon as I started rubbing, he calmed right down and was smiling up at me. I thought for sure he'd object to the hat, but nope, he was fine with that, too! So I gave him his soother to get him to go to sleep but he couldn't even keep it in his mouth cause he was so busy looking at me and smiling. Boy, I wished I had a camera cause it was just too cute for words even - him smiling all happy and content swaddled up tight in his blanket with a little toque on his head. But he went to sleep like a dream so hey, maybe i'll continue with the oil and hat even after his cradle cap is gone!

Pictures and Video

Just a few pictures and videos from this morning. Norah has started asking for some water in her little teapots and dishes to play with. At first I was hesitant about it, but then I thought it's only water, it'll dry - let her be a kid. So now we give it to her sometimes. Here's a few pictures of her playing and pouring this morning.


The other picture is of her displaying her paper with stickers and writing on. She went to a birthday party last weekend where she got some stickers and a little pencil in her goodie bag. That has provided endless entertainment for her (thanks Samanta's!). We gave her one paper and she spends time putting her stickers on, using the pencil to write and draw on the paper, taking the stickers back off and so on. It's very cute - she usually voluntarily sits nicely at the table to do it, too.





And I finally got on tape a bit of her singing Jesus Loves Me. She has gotten quite self-conscious about it lately and isn't so openly singing it anymore. Cute anyway. The other video is of her counting. I was sitting there with the camera on, hoping she would start to sing but out of the blue she started counting. (for some reason I couldn't figure out how to rotate the videos so they're sideways!)

Bugs

Not sure where Norah got her love of bugs, but she is so fascinated by them. And I try not to let my true feelings show (that I hate them!) so that she won't develop a fear of them. And every kind of bug is a "yadybug" whether it's black and red or not. So this morning she saw this tiny black bug on the carpet which I thought was a fuzz or if it was a bug, I thought it was dead. Well, she picked it up and carried it around with her for a good while. How that bug survived as long as it did I have no idea cause she had it pinched between her thumb and pointer finger pretty good while she carried it around. Then she'd sit down and let it crawl on her leg while she talked to it "bye yadybug" or whatever. Next she was trying to put it in her baby's ear or mouth. Then she'd pick it up again and put it in her purse. Well, we finally got him out of there and then she wanted to put it on me and Jack. Well, I drew the line there. I may not want to let my true feelings show but I quickly found a reason why no bugs are allowed on me! So then she carried it over to her little teaset area and wanted to put it in her teapot. Not sure if she had success with that but all of a sudden she was on to something else and the bug is forgotten...until she spots the next one!

A bit of This and That

Another important Norah word that I thought of...sii-sis - meaning soother. We have no idea how that word ever got started since it sounds nothing like the real word...but it's cute anyway. She's only allowed to have it for sleeping and when she gets up in the morning or from her nap, she's supposed to put it on her dresser in her room. Yesterday morning when Nate got her up and told her to put the soother on the dresser, she said "sii-sis two minutes". So we gave in and let her have it for a couple more minutes...her request was just so cute!

Another word of hers, because she can't say "l's" is "bankie" for blankie. I didn't know just how precious these were to her (she's got 3 in her bed, but 2 are really special apparently). I really had to wash her bunny and I know not to ask her to do it cause she doesn't like when he gets washed (seeing him in the washing machine is the issue I think or parting with it). Anyway, so today after her nap I snuck upstairs and got her bunny, her blankies and Jack's bedding to wash. I wrapped her stuff up in Jack's so that she wouldn't see it and stuck it in the front-loading with a window washing machine. Well, she followed me into the laundry room and I had just started the washing machine and she saw a little corner of her blankie in there. She pointed and said "bankie" in such a sad voice and then her lower lip came out and she started to cry. It was so cute and yet so sad at the same time. She was so sad her bankie was in the washing machine. She seriously cried about it for about 10 minutes I think. Finally I gave in and let her watch a little movie and she calmed down. At least now we have a clean bunny and blankies again until the next traumatic time when they need washing.

Norah has liked books since she was very young (as if she's so old now!). She will often say "weed sto-wies". Well, I can't believe how much she takes in when a book is read to her. Though I guess when you re-read a book millions of times, some would start to sink in. She now sometimes "reads" her own stories. And she'll talk out loud and say some of the words that are on the page. It's really quite cute and amazing to me how she can memorize that. She'll be chattering away in a language I can't understand and all of a sudden a totally clear English word pops out and I know which page she's on. And now when I read to her, she is also often wanting to know what everything on the page is. So she'll point to each thing, sometimes several times, and say "wass dat?". And then you can tell she's storing it away in her brain cause she'll repeat it and next time she'll know what it is. Or sometimes, she'll point at each thing and tell me what it is. I find it so amazing the stage she is at with learning and grasping stuff and how much she understands and has in her little brain.

And now something about Jack since he seems to be getting a bit left out. But he's finally starting to get interesting! Unless you consider bi-weekly blowouts interesting (though for anyone who's interested, he had one 2 days in a row!!!). Anyway, he's really starting to like his little playmat. He's long enough that he can bat at the toys hanging by his head and kick the ball at his feet. This morning he was really going at it with a smile on his face. He's such a cute little boy. This evening when I put him to bed, he was so calmly lying there looking up at me and it was so precious. Wish I could stamp some of those pictures on my brain cause even if I did have a camera there, it doesn't always do it justice.

No Fear

Yes, that's our little Norah. We've thought that before about stuff - animals, water, people, climbing on play structures...she just doesn't have much fear of people and things. If she sees an older kid do it, she thinks, hey why can't she?! She's finally developing a bit of a fear (a healthy fear I would say!) of men. She warms up to them quite quickly but at least she may not just go walking off with someone. However, if she saw a dog or a kid or something, she wouldn't hesitate to leave my side and follow it and not worry about where mommy is. Kinda scary.

Today we were at my sister and brother-in-law's and went swimming in their town's pool, which by the way is amazing for kids. Norah swam for 2 hours straight after not napping and she would have kept going except we wanted to leave. They had a little waterslide for kids and after Nate helped her up and down once, she would climb up the steps, slide down on her own with a huge smile on her face, walk from the slide to the side of the pool, climb out and do it again...and again...and again. Then she walked across the little shallow end of the pool to the other side to play there. Then she was enjoying jumping off the side of the pool into the water (with my help) but was ready to jump into a deeper area by herself I think. At one point I was sitting on the edge of the pool at the bottom of the kiddie slide and this couple next to me was observing her when she was coming down the slide and they commented to me about how she has no fear. I guess I figure what she does is normal for 2 year olds but maybe not...seemed there were a few more people surprised at what she was all doing on her own with no fear.

Bakka, Steeka and Steekers

Grandpa is "Bakka", Auntie Krista is "Steeka" and stickers are "steekers". We enjoy listening to Norah's versions of different words! There are so many more cute ones that I'll have to add when I hear them or think of them. To me, a lot of these words now sound normal!

Tea Party

So this was the cutest thing that happened in our house in awhile I thought! Norah often goes to our basement to watch cartoons in the morning. This morning she was down there and she usually plays around with her toys. She's got my exercise step set up in front of the TV as a little bench and wanted me to sit there with her this morning. I had to go bath Jack so I told her I'd come down when I was done the bath. So when I got down there, she had a "tea party" all set up. She had the "table" (which is really a stand for plants) and the "chair" (the exercise step) all ready and stuff on it.

So then she said "mommy, peas sit here...eat (with) me" and patted the spot beside her. So of course how could I resist that?!

So I sat with her and then she said we had to pray.

So she started praying which was the cutest yet! She put her hands over her eyes like she does when we pray and then I heard"....Je-us....(a bunch of words I didn't understand)....tea party....(more words I didn't understand)...Amen". Then we started eating and pouring. This happened several more times. I had so much fun and was so glad I took those few moments out of my day to play with her. Often I get frustrated and wish she would play more on her own or I'm busy with Jack at the moment, but it's moments like these which I hope to repeat more and not forget. I love having tea parties with my little girl!!! (and I was so glad it happened when Nate was still home and could capture it on camera!)

I have to say it's so cute to see kids mimic the things they learn at home. Makes you feel as if something's stickin' in their minds at least. Though that's a bit scary, too at the same time!

Miss Rana

Norah will occasionally say, out of the blue, "i miss Rana". Rana is the sitter who looked after her at the second daycare she was at while I was working. Today, we were driving on the road that we would take to drop her off there and she said it again. I feel a bit bad for her every time she says it cause I do think she enjoyed playing with the kids there. Usually after she says she misses Rana she names the little girls she played with there - Sophie (who used to be "Hophie"), Chelsea and Elly. It's funny cause somehow I asked her once a long time ago if she missed Rana and she picked up on that and says it now.

Saying Bye

Well, Norah knows that when daddy wears his suit, he's going to work. Now, as soon as she sees him with his dress shirt and pants on, even if he's not leaving for another 15 minutes, she says "bye bye daddy, see you soon". It's quite cute!

Kind Strangers

Well, I've now fully realized and accepted that Jack is not a real portable evening baby...and that he for sure doesn't do well shopping. Last night I took him grocery shopping wondering if he was different now than he was a couple of weeks ago with shopping...he's not. I left right after I had fed him so I knew he wasn't hungry, but he cried/screamed almost the whole time I was in Superstore. By the time I got to bagging my groceries, I had the sympathy of several strangers around. I kept having to alternate between bagging a few groceries and then putting and trying to keep the soother in his mouth. The lady behind me in line offered to, and did, hold his soother in for me while I quickly bagged as much as I could. In the meantime this really nice older couple was walking by and looking at me (he's not the quietest cryer so I think almost everyone in the checkout area heard him cause he was real worked up and mad by this point). The lady came over and helped me bag the rest of my groceries so I could get out of there. And then just when I put the last of my groceries in the cart, the lady from the customer service desk came over and asked if there was something she could help me with. I told her I was thankfully done and leaving. I was so thankful for the help of these kind strangers cause I honestly have very little tolerance for crying and my stress level continues to rise as the crying continues. Not sure if they felt sorry for me or just wanted me out of there fast, too so they didn't have to listen to it anymore! In any case, little Jack will not be making trips to the grocery store anymore for quite awhile...that's OK though - just the way his little body and mind are wired.

Non Stop Talk

Well, I didn't realize how much Norah chattered until my sister recently asked her if she just talks all day long. Then I thought about it and realized how true that is -from the moment she gets up till she goes to bed basically. Maybe that's why I need the break in the afternoon when she naps for silence if nothing else! And it's getting progressively worse now that she's had an attentive audience of Nanna, Poppa and Uncle Dan for the last several days. It's very cute to hear all the new words and phrases that she comes up with and mimics, but man sometimes I do have to say I wish she had an "off" button or at least a volume button!

Guys

So the last couple of days when I've gotten Norah up from her nap have been so cute. Today for example, I thought I had heard her awake but wasn't sure. So eventually I went closer to her room and just heard her happily singing and talking away. When I went in there, she was sitting there talking to and holding a couple of her many "guys" (the numerous teddy bears she has in her bed with her). Yesterday she had put a couple of them on her pillow and covered them with her "bankie". It was so cute!! Glad she has entertainment in her bed to keep her occupied - there's almost so many "guys" in there that she barely has room herself!

Pee-yuh!

Yes, this is what Norah says whenever someone toots or poops as she calls it. I think she gets all those bodily functions mixed up and thinks they're the same thing. Anyway, still on poop-watch for little Jack. It's been 10 days since he last went...and counting. I can't remember what Norah's record was - it was around the same time that she hardly ever went, too.

2 Minutes

I guess I must have used "2 minutes" as the warning time for a little too long. Now often when we want Norah to do something, she'll look at us very seriously, lift her pointer finger and say "2 mintues". I think if she knew how long 2 minutes really was, she wouldn't be so eager to say it!

Little Miss Independent

Yep, that's Norah nowadays! Everything is "I do it" or "Nowah do it". Which is great that she wants to learn and do those things, but it does require some patience. And some things just don't work so well yet for her to do them herself. But whether it's climbing into and buckling into her booster seat or her carseat, to just about anything else, she wants to do it herself.

Norah also loves "su-shine" or the word at least! We bought

a window shade for her window in the car cause otherwise

we'd hear the entire car ride "su-shine in my eyes, su-shine in my eyes". It's quite cute, but gets a bit old! And whenever she wants to color in her coloring books, she wants you to look through every page to find the su-shine and then that's all she colors! And one time when we were playing with playdough, I made her a su-shine and now that's her request every time we get out the playdough - it's quite cute and thankfully something easy for me to make!

And oh, this morning I wished I had a camera with me! I think it's a new phase we're getting into which kind of scares me a bit - getting closer to her wanting to pick out what she'll wear out of the house! Today I had to go to the chiropractor and she wanted to wear her sunglasses which was so cute. Then she wanted to take her purse as well! She just hangs it around her neck and it was so cute with her glasses on!

And now a little something about Jack. I noticed today the cutest thing. Sometimes when he's about to cry, he sticks out his lower lip and whimpers just a bit. It's the cutest thing (or at least his mommy thinks so!). I think it happens when he's kind of on the verge of falling asleep.

Some Thoughts

So these first few posts will likely just be "catch up" ones where I'll just ramble about things that come to mind, not necessarily that they just happened.

Anyway, we'll start with Jack since he's the newest! I think with having a busy toddler to look after, and Jack not having been the happiest baby ever, I've kind of overlooked the really cute and amazing things about him as a newborn. Like for instance this afternoon I was sitting on the couch and when I finished nursing him, he just closed his eyes and was laying on my lap sleeping so peacefully. And that makes me think of how I need to enjoy this now cause if he's anything like Norah as an older baby, there will be no more baby falling asleep on my lap a few months from now!

And he's starting to smile and make sounds like he wants to laugh. Last night Nate was lying on the floor right beside looking right at him and doing some funny faces or sounds or something and Jack was smiling away and thinking it was funny.

He sometimes just looks up at you with these big wide eyes as if he's taking in all that he can.

I'm sure I'll have some better and more interesting stories to post about him as time goes on.

As for Norah, well, she's at an interesting point in life! She can test my patience to the absolute limit with her toddler antics, but she also does the absolute cutest things. I wish I could have a mental camera that would capture these images and stories in my brain forever. Like the other morning when I wanted to get her dressed, which is usually a big struggle to begin with. Well, I decided that day to give her her clothes and tell her to put them on. I turned my back and when I looked back, she was proudly wearing her gauchos - with both legs through one pant leg. It was so cute!!

And she has the sharpest eyes - she can spot things that I would never have seen. When we look out her bedroom window, we can see into our neighbour's beautifully landscaped backyard and immediately saw a "gutterfly" on the far fence (one of those decorative ones). Then today we were getting into our truck outside our friend's house and she noticed some "gutterflys" (decorative again) a few houses away (decorative again) on the wall outside the front door.

She has gone through different phases or liking her bath or not liking it. Right now, she loves it. She is obsessed with "yetters" (letters) so we bought her some for the bath tub. She likes to say all the letters as she puts them up and displays them. I don't think she actually knows any letters but it's really cute to hear her say all the letters with such confidence! And as you can see in the picture, she also likes to line up all her little containers with water, and all her little duckies. Then the ducks drink out of the cups and all kinds of other things. She can keep herself entertained in there for quite a good long time.

After thinking that I hadn't been consistent enough with having her say "please" when requesting something, and that she would never get the hang of it, she is now so good with it. And it's so cute to her "peas have more" whatever it is. Makes it so hard to say no when she asks so nicely!

Norah has liked to sing since she was quite young. And it's so cute to hear. She'll look you in the eye and start to sing "Jesus Loves Me" in this high soprano tone that just melts your heart. She'll sing along with most of it and then with gusto "YES, Jesus loves me..." and so on. I really hope we can record it on our camera sometime when she doesn't know that's what we're doing cause I'd love to have a copy of that to watch later.

I've noticed in the last few weeks that her imagination and role playing has taken off. It's quite cute to watch her when she doesn't know it or to hear what she's pretending. Grocery shopping is one of her favorites and she loves to play different things with all her "people" (her Little People and farm animals). She's also big into diaper changes on her dolls - too bad she's not as eager to get hers changed.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. Who knows how often I'll post but hopefully as little things happen that we don't want to forget, I'll remember to post them and some pictures, too.