Monday, October 31, 2011

Spooky celebrations

Today we're celebrating two events:
(1)  It's finally Halloween, my favorite holiday of the year. 
(2)  It's the one year anniversary of my blog.  *Throws imaginary confetti in the air and blows noisemaker*

As we all know, Charlie just loves wearing costumes.  (As seen here and here.)  With the new addition to our family, Charlie was gracious enough to whip up two matching costumes, inspired by Dr. Seuss characters.   Although Baby Norris is still too young to fully appreciate this holiday, I do think he enjoyed dressing up. 

DIY baby thing 1 Halloween costume
Baby Norris- "So this is what it feels like to have hair.  I kind of like it."

DIY dog Halloween Costume Thing 1
Charlie- "Aw mom, I'm having a bad hair day."

Happy Halloween!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

A mum's prayer

Lately I've been finding myself praying for more
more patience,
more peace,
more wisdom,
more hope,
more understanding
more strength,
more bravery,
and more love.

Because having a child is more wonderful
and more difficult than I could have ever imagined.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Faster than a fleeting smile

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."  ~  Mother Teresa 
 
We finally captured that sweet smile.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

(To see our previous smile-capturing attempts, click here and here.) 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pumpkin play (Part 2)

Not only did we carve this round orange vegetable, we gobbled it up too! 

(Left) Roasted pumpkin seeds       (Right) Pumpkin pie brownie

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Baby baptism

This past Sunday, hubby and I officially became members of our local church and our pastor baptized Baby Norris. 

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Pumpkin play (Part 1)

This past weekend hubby, Baby Chuck, and I were invited to a pumpkin carving party.  We had a lot of fun and I learned a few new carving tips and tricks. 

Here's my finished pumpkin:
My homage to pumpkin pi.  (Get it?  Get it?  Oy vey, I'm too corny. )

Five finished pumpkins sitting in a row.

Let the countdown to Halloween begin!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Friday, October 21, 2011

I wonder what that feels like?


 I can attest to the wonders of swaddling a baby.  We do it every night to Baby Norris and it helps him to sleep.  The transformation really is remarkable.  One moment he's upset, arms flailing about, bottom lip quivering and then, once swaddled, he calms down.


And the wails become whimpers.

And then...
they...
disappear (and we sigh in relief.) 

Why does swaddling work?  Why does it calm him down?  Does it remind him of being in the womb?  Or, does it prevent him from jerking himself awake?

I asked Baby Norris, but he didn't have anything to say on the matter (go figure).  So, I tried another tactic to understand the swaddling phenomenon...

and asked hubby to swaddle me for a late evening nap.
Charlie, of course, had to investigate.
Conclusions?
I still don't understand it.  Babies are weird.

I hated being swaddled.  I didn't feel secure, I felt claustrophobic.  I couldn't roll around.  I couldn't find a comfortable sleeping position. And  I most certainly could not scratch a very annoying itch on my nose.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I may be out of a job soon...

Lately hubby has been teaching Baby Norris to drink from a bottle. (Isn't this surprising?  Who knew that babies could struggle with this?)  Although most of the milk initially ended up on baby's clothing, we never gave up.  After a week of experimenting and coaxing, Baby Norris finally finished a whole ounce of milk!

Baby Norris-  "Hmm, I could get used to this..."

Baby Norris- "Dad, can we do this again?"

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

How cute is this kid?

Does anyone know where I can find a very large watermelon?  I'd like to try this out...

Monday, October 17, 2011

Play with your food!

If I had my way, this poor panda bread would soon be extinct.   Muah ha ha ha!


Image taken from here and first seen on this lovely food blog

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Ringing alarms



Tonight our apartment complex was buzzing with sirens and flashing lights.  There was a fire in the apartment building adjacent to ours.  I'm so thankful the Fire Department arrived on the scene and promptly put the fire out.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Virtual art gallery

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  My niece is no longer in preschool!  She's now in elementary school and making beautiful artwork.

What lovely colors!

Perhaps one day she will be a famous painter like Kadinsky?  (And a chef on the side!)

(Frame borrowed from here)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Trip list

If you were to travel across the country, what would you bring?  Toothpaste?  Underwear?  Socks?  While visiting hubby at work the other day I spotted this list posted on one of the student worker's walls:

I imagine this cross-country traveler to be one active and sassy girl. :)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Items I can't live without

I am a clutter-aphobe and hate having tons of stuff lying about.

With Baby Norris's arrival, hubby and I really struggled to figure out which items to purchase.  Besides the basics (crib, car seat, stroller, etc...) we didn't know what else to get.

Although we're still figuring all this stuff out (and the amount of baby stuff that we own will surely increase as time goes on), we have found two items particularly helpful for navigating these early days of parenthood.   

(a) the ERGObaby carrier and (b) the Swaddleme blanket

I love the carrier because it allows me to take Baby Norris on long walks.  (Hooray for freedom and exercise!)  Plus, I love the blanket because it helps Baby to sleep better at night. (In case you didn't know, I'm a big fan of sleep.)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Middle of the week treat

Here are some recent baby photos to help you get through Wednesday.  Enjoy!

He's getting so big...

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

When you don't have a canvas...

We spotted this colorful bus during one of our walks.

"The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street."  ~ Robert Doisneau

Monday, October 10, 2011

Whipping it out...

This week Hubby and I put on our brave-pants and took Baby Norris out to.... the mall!  This particular adventure took longer than our typical in-town trips, so we packed an extra big diaper bag and ventured out.  While out, we had to complete two large tasks:  diapering and feeding. 

Our first challenge:  Diapering a crying baby in public
Phew! All baby waste was contained, managed, and removed.

Our second challenge:  Feeding a baby sans bottle
Luckily, there was a special room to help us out with task.

Inside we had privacy and a comfy chair.  I really couldn't have asked for more. 

Overall, the trip was a success. 
Who knew that a simple trip to the mall could make me so happy and proud?  

Who is the man behind Elmo?

We can't wait for this documentary to come out.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Get psyched...

it's finally Friday!  I thought the weekend would never come.  We're definitely going to enjoy the outdoors before winter sneaks up on us again...

Excitement is clearly written all over Baby Norris's face.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Austen-ophile

I love Jane Austen's novels.

I love them so much that I almost convinced hubby to name our child Fitzwilliam (after my beloved Mr. Darcy.)   So, imagine my delight when I saw this Pride and Prejudice board book shown on this lovely blog.  (Photos taken from blog)



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Men's shirtdress

While reading one of my favorite blogs, I happened to see this amazing video:


Ex-men's shirt as new dress for you from general ink on Vimeo.

I tried it out with hubby's shirt, but it didn't quite work.  I would have posted a picture, but the shirt stretched in weird ways over my post-pregnant belly.  Plus, no one wants to see a large bum exposed to the cool autumn air.

Monday, October 3, 2011

First major outing

This weekend we took Baby Norris out for his first major outing.  Our town was holding a fruit carving competition and we decided to check it out.

Although Baby Norris slept through the trip, I'd like to think that he enjoyed himself too.