Lovin' for their sister

There is no shortage of people to love on Norah. It helps that she's absolutely adorable and sweet and cute. Her big brothers have days/times where they are indifferent to her presence. Other times we have to practically peel them away from her. I often remind them (especially Micah) that she can see them a whole lot better if they are not two centimeters from her face. When they are kissing on her and cuddling her, it's so sweet that I can't help but grab the camera.



These pictures are from June, but things haven't changed much. They still love talking to her and kissing her and hugging her!



I love how Micah is checking out her dimpled chin in this one. He must be trying to figure out why his mother is always kissing her chin. :)



I believe Miss Norah is not going to be lacking in protectors as she grows. Future boyfriends don't have a chance. :)

Pool Fun

My sister has a pool that my kids love to visit. They love to play in it with their cousins! We had one day where my sister, sister-in-law, mom, and the kids and I could all be there. All of the children were busy getting in and out of the pool and running around in the yard.


With how busy all the children are, it's rare that we can get the oldest ones to sit still for a picture. They actually lined up like this on their own, so I ran for the camera! The only children not pictured were Kimberly and Norah--who were snoozing away in the house!


Nothing better than splashing in the pool--from L to R: Evan, Jennie, Charlie, Rachel, Kathleen, Ethan, and Micah.

Summer Fun

I need to catch up on some posting! I'm hoping to do a few posts over the next couple of days about all the fun we've been having this summer. Since I was on maternity leave for a good portion of summer we had lots of lazy days and did all sorts of activities! I decided to go through my pictures and post, post, post!

At the beginning of June we took the kids to a local parade. As always, the boys got tons of candy (which their mother happily enjoys with them!).


Waiting for the parade to start while hanging out with Charlie. The boys were excited when one of the motorcycle police officers stopped and talked with them. They were really excited when the officer gave them each a sheriff tattoo (when I put them on for the boys, Micah wanted his on his chest. It was pretty funny!).


Micah getting ready to wave at everyone. Nothing like a goofy smile!


Seriously, this child is growing so fast! Well, all my children are growing fast--Ethan just keeps looking older and older!


As you can see, Norah thoroughly enjoyed her first parade. She didn't even flinch when all the fire trucks went by with sirens blaring!


I love parades and my kids do, too! Watching this one made me really look forward to the Fourth of July!

1st grade

Another school year flew by. Ethan is already done with 1st grade! Summer break was not met with much enthusiasm from him. He keeps telling us he would rather be in school. No matter what fun activity we talk about, he still says he'd rather be in school! We are thankful he loves to learn!

Just to give you (and myself) a glimpse of how much he's grown since September, here's his first day of first grade picture:


He looks old enough to me in that picture. Then, I look at his last day of school picture:


He has really grown up! He was making me laugh when we took his picture because he kept trying different poses. Such a funny kid.

Hopefully we'll be able to keep him busy until second grade starts in the fall!

Sleepy Norah

One of my favorite things to do is watch Norah sleep. She sleeps pretty well for a little baby and I love to take her picture while she's sleeping. While she has a number of positions that she sleeps in, her favorite way is to sleep with both arms above her head. We know that she is in a really deep sleep when she is like that--she won't wake up to eat and she'll sleep through a lot of noise. I thought I would post pictures of how cute she is in her sleep.

An arms up deep sleep position--with an open hands variation.

Another arms up, this time with tight little fists.


A unique on the side "because my parents have been bothering me and and I'm trying to get them to leave me alone" position.


Deep "who needs a pacifier" sleep.


Slumped in the bouncy seat position.


Finally, the "I don't want any blankets" position,

Norah generally sleeps the best when she's cuddled with someone (and I have a hard time resisting that!). However, when we want her to sleep on her own we swaddle her with a blanket. She sleeps great that way and usually doesn't kick out of the blankets until she wakes up hungry. Such a cute baby girl!

Dirt

You may think that the birth of Miss Norah made things all "sugar and spice and everything nice" around here. Trust me, that's not happening. There's still plenty of dirt and mischief! The boys have been enjoying plenty of time in the sandbox. However, they don't just dig holes and drive trucks in it. They lay in it, roll in it, scoop it with their hands (and clothes), and generally just wholeheartedly enjoy it. Since they were remarkably filthy one day, Jason took a couple of pictures. Evidence of the dirt!


Shovels are old school around here. These guys prefer the use of the shovels God gave them. I'd also like to note that they generally scoop dirt into their shirts and pockets and then jump around laughing. While I can understand what a riot that is to a 4 and 7 year old, trying to wash it out of clothes is enough to drive this mom crazy! We'll see if my "don't put dirt in your shirt anymore" declaration will actually hold.


Thankfully they prefer not to wear shoes in the sandbox. These toes need some good scrubbing in the shower when they come in! No baths are allowed, showers only, when the toes are this dirty.


Seriously. Don't those faces cry "mischief"? I told you they roll in the dirt. I think that little boy spit plus rolling in the dirt equals one muddy face. I think Ethan already ate his fair share of dirt so he keeps his face farther away from the sand!

Despite the extra laundry, soap, and showers that they require after playing in the sandbox, it's one of the best toys we have and we love it!

Norah Elizabeth

Dear Norah,

We have been praying for you and dreaming about you for many days and months. While you were in mommy's tummy we didn't know if you were a boy or a girl and we were very anxious to find out! You were a busy girl in my tummy--always moving around! Your favorite position was often one where a little foot or elbow was in my rib cage. Your brothers thought it was "unusual" when they watched my stomach move as you moved around.


We were so excited to finally meet you, one week before your due date, on May 17, 2010. You entered this world at 1:44 p.m. and once the doctor set you on my stomach your daddy was able to declare "it's a girl!". You weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and were 19 inches long. I was surprised at how big you were--bigger than both of your brothers when they were born! Your daddy also noticed right away that you have the same dimple in your chin as he does. It's adorable!



We picked the your name, Norah, simply because we loved the name. Your middle name, Elizabeth, is the same as mine. We thought they sounded beautiful together.



Your daddy and I spent a lot of time holding you and cuddling you and getting to know you. Not only did we notice the dimple in your chin, but we loved it when we noticed the way your chin would periodically quiver.


After a while we called your grandparents, aunts, and uncles to share our good news. There were many happy exclamations as we said again and again "it's a girl!". We had a room full of people when everyone came to the hospital to meet you!


Daddy picked your brothers up and brought them to the hospital to meet you. They were happy to see you and carefully checked you out. They were each excited to hold you and I loved how proud they were as they held you.

Your dad and I are so thankful that you have joined our family. God has blessed us with another wonderful child and we love you very much. We can't wait to watch you grow and change.


With love to my baby girl,

Mom