Happy Birthday, Nora!
You turned 9 months old yesterday. It’s hard to believe, I know.
Nora, my first, my champion. You weighed in at 22 lbs., 5 oz; 29 inches.
Tessa, my baby, my sweetheart. You weighed in at 23 lbs., 1 oz; 29 1/2 inches.
Time for new carseats.
Happy birthday, girls.
I know it looks like I posed the girls like this, but the fact of the matter is–we now live in a baby obstacle course and the main speedbump is sissy. It doesn’t matter WHICH sissy is in the way, but there is always someone to crawl over.
This isn’t the best “live action” shot (below), but you get the picture. Nora just has to get to something and Tessa’s legs are clearly in the way. Tessa usually does more of a “full body block” over Nora’s back and Nora starts screaming until someone rescues her or Tessa finishing her descent over Mt.
Nora.
The exersaucer also is a great location for crawling through. Nora was in there with Tessa but she saw the camera and bolted for me. And now the girls have started pulling THEMSELVES up on the gate (pictured below) and on the side of the saucer.
We’re in for some fun (and bumps) now!
This day, day 1, the first day I became a mother, is not as fuzzy in my mind as everyone said it would be.
In fact, I have thought about that day almost every day for the last 8 months and 27 days. It was the most joyous day of my life.
Until I had my own children I don’t think I every fully grasped the profoundness of motherhood. I never truly understood the pride a mother takes in the little things about her children…
I never really comprehended the connection that there would be…
…or the heart-bursting joy of a coo or a smile…
I had no idea how much fun, really incredible fun, this would be.
One thing that really strikes me about being a mother is the reflection of our own mothers and what they have and continue to do for me, for us. From the world view of a child, it is hard to understand the constant and deep reflection that a mother has for her own children. And then to think back to our grandmothers’ lives and the work and love it took to raise children of their own…
We are so grateful for what our mothers taught us about being wonderful parents. And we are so thankful that they can now immerse themselves in the joys of being grandparents.
To our moms, Gwen and Terry–Happy Mother’s Day! We love you. And thank you.
In just a few days, we’ve reached so many new milestones.
Both of the girls went from a crawling position to a sitting position this weekend.
I think Nora said “ba” for ball yesterday and really meant it. She’s been calling me (and every living and n0n-living thing) “ma ma ma ma ma” for the past week.
Tessa is crawling circles around all of us.
Nora pulled herself up into a standing position by herself. (Pictures forthcoming)
Both girls have decided that they are going to feed themselves from here on, thank you very much.
Both girls have starting making a ticking sound with their mouths, which, I think, is an imitation of me kissing them CONSTANTLY (will this lady ever stop with the kisses?!?!).
I was telling a friend the other day how much I love each new stage. How I rarely look back at the past month, the past year and yearn for its return. I am a proud and boastful parent of each amazing accomplishment that my girls make, together and separately. I remember cheering so loudly when Tessa rolled over for the first time that I accidentally frightened her with my reaction. My babies grew quickly from the start and so they have rarely seemed like babies to me. They already seem like little girls, little people with opinions and thoughts and emotions. Their “littleness” is not so little anymore. I can see and hear their personalities emerging in each great big triumphant cry.
Maybe it was all the changes this weekend, maybe it was the fact that so many of my friends are having babies right now, maybe its because its been so cloudy and rainy, but lately I’ve really felt myself gripping onto the past. Holding tight to those moments that now seem fleeting. It seems to be slipping away so quickly and I can hardly keep up.
I have always believed that I must enjoy my time with the girls in the moments that we are together. Time spent freting over the past or what events the future may hold is time that is wasted. But its getting harder. I have to force myself to live in the moment and savor it for what it is.
It is.
Hey! Look who! It’s our crazy cousin Vance! Vance and his folks came over to visit last weekend and we had a ball. He’s so cute! He’s almost 6 months old now.
Check out this standing position. This kid has got it DOWN!
Phew! All that standing to entertain Tessa and Nora is exhausting!
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Tessa got to chat it up with Aunt Michelle (note Vance back in standing position).
Then Tessa broke into song with Uncle Joel. He’s so much fun. Scruffy too.
Nora had to tell Cousin Vance how it is. “Look kid, all you gotta do is…”
Vance thinking, “Is she trying to kiss me?” Pucker up!
Swings are the greatest invention EVER. We LOVE to swing. In fact, the last time we went to the park we squealed so loudly on the baby swings that kids who were playing around us stopped to take note of HOW MUCH FUN WE WERE HAVING ON THE SWINGS.
Check out the white-knuckled grip Tess has on the swing.
Oh my my my. The breeze on Nori’s toes is glorious!
Loving this…
Every night during “grabfest” (ok, grabfest is usually a round-the-clock event but it just seems especially aggressive in the evenings) we try different tactics to distract the girls from the non-stop tug-of-war over every single toy. We are by no means short on toys, but it just seems like whatever toy one girl has the other one HAS to have it and slobber all over it. Case in point.
Hi, Tess! Looks like you’re playing so well by yourself. Is that your sister Nora I see inching up behind you??? I think she’s eyeballing that toy you have.
Hey sis. What’s this? Something to put in my mouth. Yum. Looks like fun!
If I could just get my mugs on it. Tessa is holding on tight!
HEY DADDY! NO TICKLING FROM BEHIND. THAT’S NOT FAIR!
Ok. We can share Daddy. He’s so much fun. Ahhhh….peace at last.
Hey! Is that the REMOTE CONTROL! Gimme!
As recent (ok, maybe two years isn’t so recent anymore) transplants from Chicago we loved the Brookfield Zoo, which is really the mother of all zoos. But we decided to give little ol’ KC’s zoo a shot. Let me begin by saying—there is nothing little about this zoo. We went on a relatively cool day last week with the girls and we thanked our lucky stars that it wasn’t hot out because the “Africa” exhibit is literally IN AFRICA. It is so far between each exhibit that I feel like I got my exercise quota filled for the week.
We had a great time. Here’s us gearing up in the parking lot. Woo hoo!
You can already see Tessa eyeballing Nora’s toy. Get ready for grabfest Kansas City-zoo-style.
The elephants were awesome. We got so close. They were “painting” pictures by spraying paint with their trunks on paper held by the zookeeper. Cool.
Birds. Lots of birds.
There was this cute little shelter with a big wooden rocking chair overlooking the lake. Who needs to travel to Lake Tahoe for a vacation if you have the KC Zoo!?!
Sooooo fun.
We got some snacks. Yum, keys at the zoo are delicious.
Those were some FAT hippos. Likely they had too many snacks, too.
The zebras, giraffes and a rhino were all in one, relatively large area. The giraffes kept charging the zebras who were just trying to get to the lake. It was fun to watch the animals RUNNING around but it seemed a little stressful for the zebras. I don’t think Zookeeper Bob got the memo on African rivalries because at one point the giraffes had the zebras cornered and we weren’t sure they were going to get to have a drink that day. Yikes.
More fun—paci-style.
Check out that kitty cat. Meow. This was the ultimate stare-down. Tessa blinked first.
By the end of the day we all fell asleep. I highly recommend the KC Zoo to anyone who enjoys walking. The zoo was beautiful and we got to see a lot of animals but a hot day would probably be tough on the parents and the kids.
Oh my goodness. The cutest thing ever!
After hours and hours of “peek-a-boo” the girls have caught on and are playing it on their own! Check it out…
Where’s Noooooraaaaa???????
THERE SHE IS. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee.
Where’s Noooooraaaaa???????
THERE SHE IS. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee.
WHERE’S NOOOOORAAAA????
This goes on for hours. So cute.
Sometimes they don’t actually cover their face but just put their head down and close their eyes. So very cute.
A couple of weeks ago we were at a restaurant and some guy was really upset about his meal and making a scene at the restaurant. The girls started playing “peek-a-boo” in their seats and it put the whole place in a better mood. Loving this…
