Day 91- Dog Lover

"Dog" is absolutely Nora's favorite word. Not a surprise, really. She LOVES her dogs, even though they're a little stand-offish since she's become more mobile and vocal.

Nora's love for dogs extends to all four-legged furry creatures. This afternoon, while having lunch at my friend, Jessica's, she snuggled up with Nova, the yellow lab. Every time she crawled past, she'd stop for a hug.



I love my sweet snuggle baby.

Day 90- Upgrades

Nora is still insisting on being crammed into her infant bath tub.



It's getting to be close quarters in there. Maybe we'll try to upgrade to the big tub again soon and see if it is any less scary than last time.

Speaking of upgrades, we ditched the finger tooth brush. Nora now takes her teeth brushing very seriously.

Day 89- Group Training

Tonight, Brad had a GT track workout at Tom Black Track, which is on the UT campus. It was a gorgeous evening, and since Nora is no longer going to bed before the sun goes down, we tagged along.



That hat lasted on her head exactly as long as it took me to snap this picture.

Nora's BFF Amelia was there because her Daddy is also training with Team in Training for the Country Music Marathon. They had fun playing in the grass.



We cheered for the Dads as they ran past. Nora and Amelia waved and squealed and yelled at random passers-by. Then, when Brad was ready to walk his final quarter-mile cool down lap, he grabbed Nora, and he took her for the ride. Here they are finishing strong.



Go Team!

Day 88- Backyard Shenanigans

One really nice thing about Nora going to bed just a little bit later at night is that we can spend some extra quality time together in the evenings. The weather has been so fantastic lately that we try to get some fresh air each day, even if it is just in our own back yard.

Day 87- Show and Tell

A quick visit to Mommy's classroom.



Tonight was "Report Card Night", so I had to be at school from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Thankfully, Nora's bedtime has moved to 8:00. (It was 6:30-7:00 p.m. for a long time.) I wouldn't miss putting her to bed, but 30 minutes with her wasn't going to be enough for the day. So, I left work shortly after our students were dismissed and picked her up from day care early. I brought her back to school with me, so I could have some time with her, and of course, so I could show her off to some of my co-workers.

She was a big hit. She let one of our teachers hold her, and she even gave hugs. She smiled and waved and charmed the hearts of everyone around her.

Day 86- Cloth Diapers

I've posted a fluffy butt picture before, but I just love our cloth diapers so much, I wanted to take a few pictures tonight. Here Nora is showing off one of my favorites, the Swaddlebee Simplex all-in-one.



I love this diaper because it's low-maintenance. No pockets to stuff! Also, it's not too bulky-- almost as trim as a disposable. See how happy it makes her?



Because of a food related diaper rash that just my cloth friendly diaper cream couldn't seem to clear up, we put her in Pampers for about 2 weeks. See how just the mention of disposable diapers makes her cry?



We're back in cloth now. If only I could find a night time diaper that I love as much as our day time diapers, our diapering life would be complete.

Day 85- Family Time

Nora had a great day today. She slept straight through until 6:15 (she often wakes between 5 and 5:30), she ate well, napped well, and had a wonderful time spending time with family at Dede and Grandpa's for lunch.

After lunch, still relaxing at the dining room table.



I think she's watching Grandpa in this picture.



Hanging out with Auntie Elisabeth.



Just a few short weeks ago, Nora wouldn't let anybody but Brad or me touch her while visiting on Sundays, but today, she hung out with and gave hugs to everyone. We really enjoyed watching her have fun.

Day 84- Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

A quick stop by Kroger for dog food turned into a photo op when I noticed a rainbow overhead.



At first, I think people were wondering why I was taking pictures in the parking lot of a grocery store, but once they noticed the rainbow, I saw several others pull out their phones and cameras as well.

And now I can't get "The Rainbow Connection" out of my head.

Day 83- Playing dress-up

I saw some cute pictures on Pinterest. If you're living in a bubble and don't know Pinterest, it's basically a social networking website where you can search for, share, and "pin" your favorite things into neat little categorized photo boards. Anyway, the pictures were of babies dressed up and standing in adult shoes, such as cowboy boots, running shoes, and high heels. I thought I'd give it a try.

Here's our best shot:



I love this picture. She looks ready to run, doesn't she??

The high heels and cowboy boots were a complete no-go. The heels made her as mad as a hornet, and the cowboy boots were up to her belly button, so she couldn't even stand in them.

Once I gave up on playing dress up, Nora happily moved over to her book case to play.



I'm pretty pleased that my girl prefers books to high heels, anyway.

Day 82- Quality Time

When we picked Nora up from day care today, we went downtown to Market Square for a little while. We stopped by Rita's Ice and played in the grass before the rain started.

I love her silly faces.



Walking back to the parking garage because it was starting to rain.



Once we got home, it was back to our typical dinner, play, read, bath, bedtime routine.

Day 81- Beautiful

In case you couldn't tell from the "Faces" entry a couple of days ago, I can not get enough of this face! It's actually Brad who likes to take the extreme close-ups, but can you blame him?



Check out that after-bath squeaky clean face and those big, beautiful, brown eyes!

Here is my sweetheart baby winding down for the day with her bed time bottle. Good night, sweet girl.

Day 80- Our brave girl!

Today, Nora had surgery. It was a tear duct probe and irrigation on her right eye. At 5:10 a.m., I gently picked her up from her crib, changed her diaper, and set her in her car seat still in her PJs. I was worried that she would be very upset with me since I wasn't feeding her, but she surprised me. She smiled the whole way to the hospital. She was calm during check-in and vitals. By the time we got to her room to wait for her surgery, she was having a good ol' time.



Nothing to see here.



Brad's mother showed up for moral support around this same time, and she stayed with us the rest of the morning.

Shortly after these pictures were taken, Nora was given some "happy juice" to help with any separation anxiety she might experience, and it worked like a charm. She relaxed even more than she was already, and when she was wheeled away, she was smiling at me. I was nervous but so proud of my big girl.

It was only about 20 minutes later that we got the call from Dr. Gitschlag that surgery was complete and had gone off without a hitch. We headed back to wait on Nora in her room. It wasn't too much longer until she was wheeled in to us, a little more ornery than when she left. I guess she realized she was hungry.



Once she got some liquids into her and some snuggles from Momma, she was much better.



All of the hospital staff seemed to be taken with her. They commented on how good she was, how sweet she was, and what a little "lover" she was, giving hugs, smiling, and waving to passers-by.

About 30 minutes after having some Pedialite and apple juice, we were given the ok to head home and feed her solid food. The minute we got in the car, I gave her a bottle.



I underestimated my girl again, thinking that the rest of the day would be shot, but for Nora, it was business as usual. She napped at her regular times, ate at her regular times, and went to bed at her regular time. She was happy and care-free all day. We were even able to get her out for a shopping excursion and dinner at Tomato Head!



Today, I am a very proud and happy Momma.

Day 79- Faces

I didn't take a single picture today. Shame on me.

I'm going to share some of Nora's silly, sweet, fussy, beautiful faces from the past week or so.

Day 78- Cousins

This evening, Nora got to spend some time with her cousins Matthew (4), Jack (3), and Adelle (6 months), who are visiting from Ohio.

First, she chased Matthew and Jack from window to window while they "sprayed" her with water guns.



After Adelle had a short nap, she and Nora got to know each other.







While Nora ate dinner, Matthew, who loves babies, stopped by for a photo op.



After dinner, I changed Nora into her PJs. I thought I'd try to steal a little snuggle time with Adelle, but Nora wasn't too impressed with that idea.



Once I gave Adelle back to Katy, Nora cheered up and all was right with the world once again. It was great seeing the Wroblewskis, and we look forward to their next visit, whenever that may be.

Day 77- Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today, we had a lunch and play date with Allison and Amelia.







They were both dressed in a festive green!



Green is her color, isn't it? And can you see the hair bow? That's a clip in her hair! She has enough hair for a bow! Can you tell I am excited??