Playing Catch Up

I have been told by my sister that I need to "catch up" on my blogging. It's true. So...here are a few pics of our little Nora. Halloween, Thanksgiving, cutting down our Christmas tree, spending time with family, 7 month old picture, etc. We have been busy!

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

About a week ago we went to the pumpkin patch. We all had a great time. Nora enjoyed chewing on hay and sucking on pumpkin stems. All in all, a fun family day. I tried to get one picture of Nora looking at the camera while sitting next to the pumpkins. Needless to say, she was WAY too distracted! I think I took 20 pictures and didn't get one with her looking right at me. Oh well!

Book Lovers

Watch out...2 posts in 2 days. I don't know what has gotten into me.

Below are our future readers/lovers of books. My sister-in-law and I were hanging out in her daughter's room. The room is full of toys and books. What do we do...read to our girls and look at books. Yeah, that's right. We are good moms.








On a separate day...



And just when I think she knows what to do with a book (I know she's only 6 months old), she does this-



Can you say "teething?"

Where has the time gone?

October 9, 2010
6 months
Half a Year
182.5 days
4,380 hours
262,800 minutes
15,768,000 seconds

A picture post to see the growth of our sweet little Nora.

Newborn


1 month


2 months


3 months


4 months


5 months


6 months

Oh and I am already planning her 1st birthday party!

Milestones

mile·stone [mahyl-stohn]

-noun

1. a stone functioning as a milepost.
2. a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc.

This last week we definitely experienced definition number 2. It was a big week for "milestones" in the Broderick-Kartye house. Both milestones didn't actually occur at our house, they occurred while we were in Sacramento visiting family.

Milestone #1: Nora rolled over from her back to her stomach. Woohoo! Take a look! Pretty darn cute.



Milestone #2: Nora reached her arms out for me to hold her. It just about melted my heart. Poor Kevin. She ADORES Kevin but when it is time for bed in the evening, she wants her Mom.

Every day that goes by, and every discovery Nora makes (I think I like the word discovery better than milestone), feels bittersweet. I have LOVED every stage, and each one gets better and better. I am just not ready for her to "grow up" and get all childlike on me. I want to freeze time, yet I'm excited for what the future brings.

We are looking forward to many more discoveries from our little Nora Belle.

Balance

I never thought this day would come. In fact I felt like all summer I was trying to fight time, hoping it would just stand still and the school year would never make an appearance. I was wrong.

Well, the school year did arrive which meant that I would be heading back to work. I knew I wasn't going to be going back full time but it brought a lot of anxiety back into my life. I have never been a mom, wife and teacher all at the same time and I didn't know what to expect. I wanted to give 100% to all areas and thought that once the year started I would fail in something. That frightened me. More than anything I didn't want to be away from Nora. Knowing though that she would be with family, in her own home, peace began to settle in.

The first few days were so hard. Not to say that it is any easier now. It is so hard to leave her chubby cheeks, high pitched squeal, adorable thighs and loving personality. I know that I have to leave and I just have to make the best of it. The good thing is, she is with family and she is at our home. Also, I only work Monday, Tuesday and then every other Wednesday.

So far, it feels good to be out. I know that I will get a shower, teeth brushed, hair and makeup done all before 8 am., so that is a plus. And the best part...I get to have that "coming home" moment. I get to be the one to walk in the door and see her face light up and smile.

It definitely is a balancing act. Kuddos to all the working moms out there. I never thought I would be a working mom, but I am learning to enjoy it and it isn't as bad as what I thought it would be. I definitely savor every moment with her. And...like I said, I get to leave and come home to a happy baby girl.

As you can see, she is doing pretty well. With that double chin, it's apparent she is having no trouble taking a bottle. I seriously could eat her up.

My Little Fish

Today we took Nora to the pool for the first time. I was so excited to get her in the water. I was given/purchased 2 swimsuits and couldn't wait to put her chubby body in one. And of course, I really wanted to dunk her. Kevin wasn't too thrilled about the dunking part. We went to the Courthouse Athletic Club where we workout. The pool was a little cooler than her bath water but she didn't seem to mind. However, she had a very serious expression on her face the entire time. I dunked her twice, Kevin-not once. She didn't even cry. I could tell she wanted to the first time but we distracted her and she was okay. We can't wait to go again!

Beach Trip

This last week Kevin had 2 days off in a row. This is only the second time this has happened since he started working for AT&T. It was so nice! It felt like a vacation to him and to me as well. We decided to go to Lincoln City for the 2 days and relax before I go back to work. We loved it! Nora loved it! And as you can see by the pic of Zeus, he loved it! Yes, he got his very own bed. Spoiled. Rotten. Dog! We walked the beach, ate taffy, enjoyed clam chowder at Mo's, watched a movie, napped, woke up twice in the middle of the night with Nora (this is very unusual), and just enjoyed being together as a family. We are claiming to do this more often. I really hope we do.





She didn't enjoy her sunglasses as much as we enjoyed seeing her in them.

Summer Fun

Two days ago we went up to Portland to spend time with my brother Ty, sister in law Morekka and niece Olive. We had such a great time hanging out outside, entertained by my 14 month old niece. Nora enjoyed herself too...even put herself to sleep laying in the grass! So sweet!








I love my Aunt Mo. We share the same birthday!

Best of Friends (Maybe someday more!)

Every Wednesday Kari, Wyatt, Nora and I get together for lunch or coffee. I work with Kari's husband and she and I got to know each other throughout our pregnancy. Our babies have given us a very special bond.

Our due dates were about 3 weeks apart. Kari was due before me. Poor thing, she went about a week or more overdue and I was 2 weeks early. So, needless to say Nora was born just one day before Wyatt.

It is so great to have her friendship and have this special connection with our babies. It's wonderful to be able to text or call her and ask if Wyatt is doing the same thing and how she handled it. It's been a lot of fun! I always said I wanted twins. With the two of them together, it's like having twins. Let's just say I don't want twins now.

Now that the babies are getting a little older it's been a lot more fun to put them on the floor next to one another. They ALWAYS hold hands. It's so cute. Wyatt would be a great match for Nora...let's just hope he keeps growing! So...here is a pic of their first encounter. They were only about 2 weeks old. Nora put the moves on and tried to do the old yawn and stretch move.






And now here they are at 4 months! Our little lovebirds.

Wyatt, "Mom, she's trying to hold my hand again!"


Wyatt, "Should I let her?"


They are too cute!