Pictures

Easter

Nora had a great Easter. The Easter bunny brought her a bunch of books, some crayons (yummy ones, judging by how she was eating them), a baby dressed as a bunny, some bubbles and a few (very few) pieces of candy. She was insanely proud of her dress. If someone at church failed to comment on it she would pat it and pull out it, just in case they hadn't seen it yet. Because that could really be the only reason an 80 year old man would not comment on her dress.

I know I haven't been updating a lot recently but I've been swamped with packing. The new plan is that my Aunt Scotty will fly out here on the 21st and she, Nora and I will drive to her condo in Florida on the 22nd. We'll spend a few days on the beach before I bring her back to Houma. Nora and I will head to Houston from there. This will break up the trip for Nora and give her some time with her Nanny on the beach. It's a sacrifice, I know, but one I'm willing to make! In the meantime her Daddy will work his last day here on the 23rd. Then he will go to Atlanta to spend a long weekend with his best friend, Tom. After that he'll bum around and mooch off of his friends for a few days since everything in the house will be packed. He, his dad and his friend, Canadian Dave, will leave with our stuff on the 1st of May.

Here are a few more Easter pics. They're pretty bad, since they were taken with a disposable camera, but I'm getting a new one in a few days! Yay! Thanks Dad!

War Wounds

Nora has a boo boo. Exactly one week ago today Nora tripped on the sidewalk outside church and skinned both her knees. One knee took more of the impact than the other and it got several small little bruises on it. Now, I know it's hard to believe, but this wasn't the first time Nora has tripped. It was, however, the first time she's tripped while wearing a dress and it was her first skinned knees. All week when she saw a knee she would make a whimpering sound and point. Then she would patiently wait for you to comfort her. Yesterday she learned a new word. "Boo boo". That, combined with wearing her short overalls, led to perfect strangers hearing about the knees. It also led to make-it-better-kisses from mommy and daddy. A lot of them. I wonder how she'll react the first time she gets a scab.

Bits and Pieces

The last few nights Nora has been waking up every few hours. I think this might be a growth spurt because she's eating a lot, too. She'll wake up, cry until I come in (she keeps crying if Daddy comes in), then half a minute later want to go back to her crib. Basically, it's just enough to really screw up my sleep cycles. Fun.

This morning Nora was leaning on the back door while I made her breakfast. I heard a few toots come from that area and I looked over. Nora reached down and very helpfully patted her diaper to show me where they had come from.

Last night Nora pulled all of her wipes out of the box. This was the second time that day she had done this and her Daddy picked her up to talk to her before she got a spanking. Nora kept making faces at him while he talked and he kept saying, aloud, in the middle of his sentences "Don't laugh" as a caution to himself.

Nora has found her old car seat and has been using it all morning as a seat/rocker.

We went to Walgreen's. I was letting Nora walk around when she saw a stuffed bunny on the floor. She ran over, grabbed it and yelled "Hop! Hop!", nearly giving the elderly lady standing next to it a heart attack.

In other news our mailbox has a new use. We live in an older neighborhood and the mailbox is one the front door. The other day we came home from running errands and playing in the park to find it packed with leaves and sticks. Matt cleaned it out (I wasn't about to stick my hand in there) and this morning I heard a noise at the door. I looked and saw a little bird refilling it. It's a very quick little bird and it's completely full again.

Helper Ant

Nora has become a big help around the house. She helps me unload the dryer and put the clothes in the living room to be folded. She takes the folded clothes to the bedrooms (although they usually need to be refolded) and loves to push the button to start the dryer. She will put her place mat on the table and choose a plate for dinner. The other day she helped me put away the groceries. This morning she decided to help me with the biggest project we've got. She packed a few of her books in an empty moving box and then climbed in after them. That's one less thing to pack!

My Kingdom For A Camera

After Matt got off of work today we were packing up in Nora's room (which is where we keep all of Matt's theology books and study type stuff). We closed the door to our bedroom and the bathroom, put up the gate and let Nora have the run of her room and the hallway while we worked. She amused herself for quite a while by pulling her clothes out of her dresser and throwing them over the gate. I would have given anything for a camera, though, when she wandered into her room wearing a sundress around her neck as a cape and Mardi Gras beads. She thought she looked great and wore it for another half hour or so!

TMI

Last night Matt's dad, Gary, came over for dinner. We ate late and Nora had to go to bed soon after. We followed the normal night time routine and gave her a bath before bringing her back to our bed to dress and diaper. Before the diaper was on Nora let go and peed all over my leg. We laughed, dressed her and brought her in to tell her Granddaddy good night. When we walked out I told him about Nora peeing on me. Nora heard and decided to add to the telling. She looked at Gary and pointed to where the pee came out. Such a lady-like little girl we're raising!