Totally worth a minute of your time

You really should, but if you don't read Alissa's blog, take a look at the vacation recap she put together. Then be jealous that I have such an awesome friend.

We know how to party

Besides being one of my very favorite people on the planet, Alissa is the best vacation buddy because she is happy to go at Erin and Norah speed--which is slow. We can only handle about one activity per day. But what we do get to do is pretty much awesome. Like hang out and be adorable at Laguna Beach. Seriously. Everyone needs a Norah or an Alice. Put them together and get ready for a cute overload.







I love that you can see all four of us in this picture; just check out the reflection.

And, oh, did I mention that Norah got to go to Disneyland? Now when she's older and telling me how I've ruined her life, I'll just remind her how It's A Small World blew her mind and how she should be grateful to her mother for taking her with me.

It was just a little too loud.

I won't remind her of the Finding Nemo ride though--she did not like that one even a little bit.

All that fun was exhausting.

See what I mean about a cute overload? Whole groups of people did double takes at Disneyland for Miss Alice.

To top it all off, us moms got to make our annual pilgrimage to the So You Think You Can Dance? tour. This year it was at the Staples Center and we were right smack in the center floor only six rows back. I completely lost my voice. I can't even describe how good it was. I'm obsessed. Our favorite dance? This one:

We cried.

Thanks to Jon for watching the kiddos while we went and acted like children. And thanks Alissa, Russell, and Alice for having us. We'll do it again soon!

Halloween

Norah's first Halloween was more of a three-day lobster fest. Friday it was party at my work; Saturday party with the Stewarts; and Sunday party with Mom and Alexi and off to the neighbor's for more partying.

You can't tell me you've never wanted to just gobble up a baby--especially one this delicious.

By the time we made it to the last party, she was done and done. But even when she wasn't a lobster, she was still in costume: Say hello to our little boy.

Chilly

Now that it's freezing, it is getting more tricky to walk the dogs with Norah when Nic isn't home. And they have to be walked; it's either walk them or strangle them or just open the front door and hope they don't lick a neighbor child to death. (That last option is starting to be really appealing, especially considering some of the neighbor kids.)

Last night was one of those times when I was on my own. I typically try to avoid their gazes as long as possible, but as the evening progresses I can't even walk by the door or look at a pair of shoes without sending both dogs into an Oh-Boy-She's-Really-Gonna-Take-Us-On-A-Walk-This-Time frenzy. Now they've also caught on to the fact that if I get Norah ready to go somewhere, they typically get to go too. So you can imagine their reaction when baby appeared in this:

I think it blew their minds. And hers too, apparently.

So the bunting bag I bought on clearance last year is still a little big. But you guys, it is so warm. I couldn't get her to smile at the camera, but the mirror? She loves the mirror. And those HUGE bags under my eyes? That's because she's decided that she needs to wake up every three hours at night again. I forgive her only because she is so adorable.

But the walk was a success. I didn't have to murder my dogs and Norah was warm and happy the whole time. That means I win.

I'm only, like, two and a half months behind

So remember how I mentioned Norah's blessing and said that there'd be more to come? Well, here's the more. The hold up was that in my post-baby haze I didn't take any pictures of my own and I just now got some of the pictures that Dennis took.

This first picture kind of sums up how Norah felt about the whole event. And this was even before the blessing, so you can imagine how happy she was afterward. But she did look adorable even though she acted like a turd.

We blessed her on August 1, which was particularly awesome because Josh and Jessica were in town and so were Alissa and Jon. That means that minus Nic's sister, all of our immediate family was there. And yes, Alissa, you count as immediate family.

And I know that I have mentioned the incredibleness of Norah's blessing gown, but oh my goodness, it is incredible. Seriously. Debbie made it out of raw silk, complete with hand pleating and embroidery. Norah's even wearing little handmade bloomers under there. Thank you again, Debbie, it really is a work of art.

I didn't get to visit with everyone as much as I would have liked because of one screaming five week old, but thanks again to everyone who came out to support our little family. We felt very loved.

Remember her?

Poor Moxie. Baby came along and done stole the spotlight. Don't let lack of presence on my blog fool you though. The dogs are still a prominent part of my growing entourage. In fact, wherever me and Norah happen to be, you can typically find Moxie there too. I just have two rules: Watch where you step and no face licking. She's doing really well with rule No. 1; we're still working on rule No. 2.

Sup spent his first year of life with two little girls, so this whole baby thing is old news. I think he's just biding his time until Norah gets enough hand-eye coordination to be able to pet him. Then he'll be her best friend for sure--it'll be like I grew him a whole extra set of hands.

Moxie, on the other hand, is kind of obsessed. That's why we've had to establish the no face licking rule. If Norah is playing on the floor, there's Moxie. If Norah is crying, there's Moxie trying to figure out what's wrong. If we're on the bed with Norah then ooh, ooh Moxie wants to play too--hence the watch where you step rule.

My favorite thing about our little animal family is that these guys are going to be Norah's childhood pets. As soon as she learns to grab, I'm gonna let her get a fistful of Sup and there's nothing he can do about it. And you'd better believe that both those dogs are going to be ridden like small yellow horses.

Oh, and once she's old enough to wield a shovel, Norah can scoop the poop.

This is what I mean about face licking. I take a picture, get ready for the next, and bam. Face. Licked.

Strawberry Reservoir

So before the madness of going back to work and attending my grandpa's funeral, we celebrated (mourned?) the end of my maternity leave by taking the boat and camper out for a weekend fishing trip. Have I mentioned that we have a truck-bed camper with a heater? Because we do. And I am never camping in a tent again. Really, never.

Norah kept up her track record of being awesome in the outdoors, which means we got to enjoy a full night and day out on the lake. When she gets older I think I'll make her kiss the fish like my dad used to. Just because I can.



Thanks to Mike, Emily, and Matt for joining us. You guys are always invited.