Busy, busy

Norah doesn't want to be cuddled or even sit still, she just wants to explore--which is terrifying because what in the world am I going to do with her when she's mobile? Train Moxie to corral her? Put a saddle on Sup?

Right now she's busy working on controlling her bobble head, uncrossing her eyes, cooing, and smiling. I know these little milestones happen to everyone and I don't expect anyone else to be as entranced by her as I am, but can I just tell you how incredible she is? Those little eyes that I made in my body recognize who I am and that little mouth that I made knows how to smile.

I've never been a morning person, but waking up to a happy baby has got to be the best way ever to start the day. My favorite is when she hears Nic's voice and it sends a smile through her entire body. Morning Norah is awesome and I kind of want to eat her sweetness for breakfast with a tall glass of milk. And if I could only convince Evening Norah that life is this good, we'd be golden.

For the Norwhal

Leave it to Colman to come up with a nickname for my daughter. Each time I see him I'm greeted with "Hey Erin, how's the Norwhal?" And I have to admit that I think it's kind of adorable (I can imagine the Halloween costume now). So when I saw this print on Etsy, I had to have it for Norah's nursery:

Um, how cute is that? Narwhal Love for the Norwhal. I'm pretty pleased with my purchase.

The only problem is we haven't quite put the finishing touches on Norah's room. We're so very, very close, but I don't want to post pics until it's done. Hopefully soon, which means that I'm going to have to start nagging Nic and Debbie for a few favors.

Norah's on a boat

Norah's going on seven weeks now so we figured it's high time she get out on the lake. Translation: We needed to test the boat motor and didn't have a babysitter.

I'm still super nervous when we take her very far from home. Nervous because I'm the mom and it still feels like any outing could end in a screaming, tear-filled disaster that makes me never want to go anywhere again. In reality she's always been amazing whenever we've taken her anywhere--I'm just a little high anxiety. I've never been responsible for an infant.

Turns out she LOVES the boat. She was completely helpless against the calming powers of its noisy, bumpy ride. Maybe she's used to it because of how many times we tried boat rides to shake her out of me those last few weeks of pregnancy.

And if you're ever out on Utah Lake there's a little spot at the southwest end where all the pelicans go to hide. Just make sure that your propeller is up if you go in for a closer look. We may have hit bottom the first time we tried to get there.

Pelicans could be my very favorite type of bird. I saw them for the first time as a little girl in San Francisco and my dad recited this:

"A pelican, a pelican. The only bird whose bill can hold more than its belly can."

The fact that I now say this every time we see or hear mention of a pelican makes Nic want to stick sharp objects in his ears. He refuses to say it; he says it's too long and lame. Which means that it makes it even more fun for me to sing the pelican ditty as much as possible. My point being that last night on the lake was Norah's first pelican encounter and you'd better believe that she's going to learn how to drive her dad nuts by singing about them. It's gonna be two against one.




Oh and this last picture is my new favorite. There is nothing in this world that is more incredible than your husband holding your child. Nothing.

Someone discovered her angry voice

Being at home with an infant is unlike anything I've done before--obviously. I used to marvel at the moms who could never eat a meal while it was still warm. Couldn't they just put the baby down? How hard could it be to find time for yourself? It couldn't be that time consuming, could it? Silly, silly me.

This little girl runs the show. At first I was trying to fight it; trying to hold on to the old life where I did what I wanted exactly when I wanted. But as I let life slow down I'm starting to understand how important this time is. Sure, I haven't showered today. Yesterday was the first time I got dressed up in five weeks. I don't get to visit with friends like I used to. But I only have until September and then it will be back to work and I know I'm going to wish I had more time to spend at home with Norah on my lap all day long.

Here she is at four weeks. I cannot even describe the particular sort of joy that I get from those tiny crossed eyes.

Now she's five weeks and is discovering that she can be grumpy. Everything will be fine and then she'll remember that she can cry and will proceed to practice screaming to the best of her ability.

I always thought that I wouldn't have a problem letting my baby cry. Now I'm discovering the tugging on my heart that happens whenever Norah isn't happy. There have been times when I've been able to calm her and there have been times when I've had to set her down a walk away. Yesterday we discovered the magical powers of the vacuum cleaner, which has made today a lot easier.

Sometimes she just decides that her life is too hard and that everyone needs to know about it. Maybe she's just mad at her mom for taking photos instead of taking her seriously.

Yesterday was her blessing and she decided that she wanted to be antisocial. She must take after me when it comes to group settings. It was still a great day and I'll have more about it to come. But right now she's awake again meaning she must be held.

Sweet sixteen

The youngest of the Wilcoxes turned sixteen this weekend. How is that even possible? We're glad you had a fun day Lexi.

The best part for me? Not being pregnant. I swam and tubed and did it all in my own regular swimsuit (well, the larger-sized, more-coverage swimsuit I purchased in anticipation of lake days with a post-baby body). It seems like it's been an eternity since I felt this close to a normal person. Norah graciously slept the day away so I could have a little me time. She did, however, pay me back big time yesterday by being the grumpiest baby ever on her blessing day of all days. But getting a chance to play all day with the big people made the repercussions totally worth it.

Yes, I'm wearing a helmet. You would too if you knew how awesome it is to get whipped off the tube and slammed into the water without even feeling it in your head or ears.

Nic finally got to ride his new wakeboard. I, of course, forgot my camera though and didn't get any pictures.