That time we left Norah with Grandma Wendy

Back in September we took our first real vacation without the toddler. And I'm not going to lie, it was amazing. At one point Nic and I were on stand up paddle boards in La Jolla Cove with sea lions swimming all around us and I looked over and declared, "We could never have done this with Norah!" Love her, but we were able to do SO much without her there to run the show.

And you guys, we did so much.

We went to a live taping of So You Think You Can Dance? with Jon and Alissa. Cat Deeley is just as adorable in person, although a couple of hamburgers wouldn't hurt her. And the dancing! I'm glad I had Alissa there so I wasn't the only 30 year old feeling like a teenage super fan.

We spent a day chasing car parts and visiting hot rod shops, which took us from Anaheim to Riverside to L.A. and back. We also squeezed in a movie and a Dodger's game in the same day. That's what happens when you don't have to work around nap times.

This is Nic's version of sightseeing. It was only fair since we did spend the previous day obsessing about dancing and shopping at The Grove.

La Jolla was fantastically filled with seals, sea lions, and yummy food. We shopped, bummed around the beach, learned how to use a stand up paddle board, hiked, and went deep sea fishing. We basically did whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.

 
Norah had just as much fun without us as we did. She gardened, had play dates, went on bike rides, and on and on. And the best part? Squeezing her whole body after an entire week of missing it.

Haircut

As a highschooler in Alpine, I came across a little white kitten living in the bushes near the side of our house. To claim her as my own, I spent days coaxing her into a sense of security. I set food out every morning and sat down to watch her eat. Each time I would sit a little bit closer to the food bowl until she finally let me hold her.

This is not unlike how I tricked Norah into letting me do her hair.

At first I was not allowed to touch. Then I could sometimes sneak in a clip. One day I managed to get a ponytail holder in there. And slowly but surely, we got to the point where she usually lets me do her hair.

A haircut, however, seemed like it would be asking too much. Until recently, which is why the pictures of her first haircut are coming when she's well over two years old. We finally said goodbye to the baby mullet, and she did awesome! It helped that Cookie Cutters had special seats, a TV, balloons, candy, and sparkle hair spray.