Lately...

Lately things have been so busy, I have been so tired and there have been way too many of my favorite TV shows to catch up on to Blog. Sorry! I'm sure we have been missed greatly! :) Here is what the Broderick-Kartye family has been up to lately.

Christmas...wow, it's been that long since I've blogged?! Sheesh!



Not a fan of Santa!



Went swinging for the first time.



Helped Kevin paint our bedroom for my Christmas present. A baby chewing on caulk, probably not the best idea. I was at work of course when all of this went on.



Nora and I flew to New York to visit my sister and my bro-in-law. Props to Ryan for flying us out to go to the Joshua Radin concert. I still can't believe I flew across the country by myself with a 10 month old. She was amazing! I still can't believe Ryan gave me that special gift to spend time with my best friend/sister. I still can't believe we got to see Joshua Radin....again! I still can't believe Nora woke up twice every night (which hasn't happened since she was 1 month old).







On the subway. Nobody talks on New York subways...that is until Nora arrived. :)





Rocking our Joshua Radin shirts, CDs and tickets.



We dedicated Nora at our church. It was such a special day!







I hope you enjoyed what we have been doing lately!

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.