Christmas Program

Norah had her first Christmas program this past Friday. Her class of 2-year-olds sang a couple of songs, and Norah did very well! She was pretty interested in watching herself on the big video screen, instead of looking at the audience, but she did seem to know most of the words. She's the one in the video with the pink dress and blonde pigtails.

Happy Halloween

It's hard to believe it's almost Thanksgiving (and I'm finally getting around to posting Halloween pictures)! So, here's what we've been up to...

Norah moved into her big-girl bed a month or so ago. We kept waiting for her to climb out of her crib (which she never did), but eventually we decided it was just time to make the switch. Actually, most of the bed is still the same pieces of her crib, but the old front came off and was replaced by a toddler railing. Her favorite part about this: the new railing gives her the ability to get in and out on her own. For the most part, this has gone just fine. There have been a few occasions, however, that she has taken advantage of her new freedom and decided to get up and wander (mostly just around her room to grab a toy, but sometimes around the house).

Getting ready for the first night in the new bed

Judie came out to visit us for Halloween weekend (and just in time to watch the Cardinals win Game 7 of the World Series- on TV instead of in person). Norah had lots of fun showing her Grammy all of her toys and spending time playing, reading, and generally being silly. Grammy got to go with us to the pumpkin patch and trick-or-treating, which was a big treat for everyone. Norah really got the hang of trick-or-treating this year (or at least the I-go-up-to-your-door, you-give-me-candy part). She was still a little too shy to say "trick-or-treat," but as soon as the door opened, she would open the flap on her Mrs. Potato Head purse/candy sack and hold it out to be filled up. Since she's two, everyone seemed to find this adorable, and she got tons of candy.

On the hay ride... The perfect pumpkin (never mind that she found it at the very far edge of the pumpkin patch and shortly after this picture was taken, Norah turned pumpkin-hauling duties over to Grammy)

Mrs. Potato Head... Trick-or-Treating... Evaluating her stash

Since then, Dan and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary and Dan's 32nd birthday. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family, and I love them very much. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Willoughby Wallaby Wazy

We bought another Raffi album on itunes. I think our goal was to at least diversify the children's songs we are hearing on a daily basis, but we may just be getting soft. It's hard to remember the last time we listened to regular radio in the car with Norah. Kristin's been doing it a lot longer than me, so if she gets a faraway look in her eyes and starts humming while you are talking to her, try to understand.

On the upside, I found the song Willoughby Wallaby Woo (listen)to be remarkably catchy, and versatile. You can really do anything with it. I'm considering using it in the work place for counseling people.

Willoughby Wallaby wate; your paperwork's been coming in late.
Willoughby Wallaby wired.... you can fill in the blank.

It's also useful for ordering at restaurants, dealing with customer service representatives on the phone and scaring away door to door salesmen.

Raffi may just be a genius.

Where's Raffi?

Norah has recently become very engaged with music, specifically children's music, more specifically children's music sung by Raffi. Maggie, Laura, and I used to listen to Raffi's music when we were kids, so we had an old tape of his that my mom had saved all of these years. Dan went on iTunes a couple of months ago and downloaded another album for us to listen to in (my) car. Thanks sweetie:) Now, our morning commute goes something like this:

(Pulling out of the driveway)

Norah: I don't like this station. Where's Raffi?
Me: So you don't want to listen to NPR this morning?
Norah: I want Raffi. Where's Raffi? (repeat until Raffi starts playing)

(A few blocks later, as the CD is ending and the player is threatening to cycle to the next CD)

Norah: Where's Raffi?
Me: I'll start him over (again)

I'll give Raffi a lot of credit- his tunes are catchy. I fell asleep last night to an endless loop of Baby Beluga playing in my head. We downloaded another album from iTunes the other day, just to add a little variety to the inevitable choice of music in the car. Now Dan can have the old CD in his car so he can join in the fun.

Fun Weekend!

Norah has been busy the last couple of weeks getting used to not one, but two new schools! Obviously this is not an ideal situation to be throwing at her, especially since she was really starting to make some friends in the Fresno State childcare program (where she spent the summer). However, their schedule and ours just weren't meshing, so we started over. Actually, one of the new schools is not so new- she was there in the winter and spring a couple of days a week- so that seems to be making the transition a bit easier. Hopefully we'll be all settled in within the next couple of weeks and ready for the rest of the school year.

First day of school

She's had some good Norah-isms lately, though I know she's picking some of them up from school, and not from Dan or me. The term "real bad" has now entered her vocabulary, as in, "I real bad want the ice cream." She also told my mom that "I'm just watching," when asked to help pick up her toys. Of course, she also continues to use some old favorites: "cheese hops" are her cheddar bunny crackers and "Bamabampa" (in the singular) are Grandma and Grandpa.

We spent a fun Labor Day weekend at the beach house/in San Francisco. Laura flew in for a short, but well-deserved, vacation, and Mom, Dad, Maggie, Dan, Norah, and I will never turn down an opportunity to head to the coast. We spent a pretty relaxing (and kind of foggy) few days hanging out, eating, watching Notre Dame lose, going to the park, etc. On Sunday, we headed to San Francisco to meet up with Dan's Aunt Linda, Uncle Scott, cousins Sara and Kate, and Bob, and Matt. We took a very fun tour through Muir Woods and on to Sonoma wine country. Norah enjoyed her first real bus ride (after spending many a car ride pointing out all the buses that we passed), and we all had fun seeing the sites, tasting some wine (Norah had to sit this part out), and catching up with family.

Seeing the trees in Muir Woods (I can't figure out how to rotate the last image!)

Thanks to Linda and Scott for including us in their family vacation! We also got a chance to have a (short) visit with Aunt Sue, Lee, and Grandma Nell. Thanks to Lee for making Norah a beautiful toy box. Eventually we'll get to fill it up with toys, but right now Norah is having fun putting herself in the box.

Norah's new toy box (made by Lee, with embellishments by Aunt Sue!)

Norah perfecting her "cheese" face

Fun at the beach house

Now it's back to the real world of work and school. Even though it still feels like summer here in Fresno, happy September to all!

I love you, too

Two cute, Daddy-related Norah-isms:

Norah and I were riding in the car and singing "The Wheels on the Bus." Sometimes, when we run out of verses that we know, we make up new ones. We had just finished the verse about the mommies on the bus, when Norah added, "The daddies on the bus say 'I love you, too." Very sweet.

Later that day we were in the pool. While Dan was inside getting changed, I pointed out a spider to Norah. She yelled out, "Dan, come and get the spider!" Hmm, I think she might have heard me say that a time or two...

Sick Day

Norah was home sick for a couple days. Don't worry. It was nothing too bad, just a low fever and some sniffles. It did mean that she couldn't go to school though. This mean that Kristin and I had to alternate half-days taking care of her. I think it's pretty obvious from this video how bad she was feeling.

Poor little girl...

We had to find creative ways to keep her amused. Luckily, couch cushions are very versatile. I never hope for Norah to be sick, but we did make the best of the time off.

Fort Living Room

Amen!

Norah hamming it up at the ballgame

Every night when we say our prayers before dinner, Norah adds her short prayer at the end. She started our by saying, "Thank-you Jesus..." and then choosing her favorite food on her plate that night. Sometimes she had to pause a minute to look things over to see if she could find anything she was thankful to be eating. She slowly started adding items, and now says thank-you for everything on her plate, plus the plate itself, the placemat, napkin, fork, and cup. Tonight it was "Thank-you Jesus for my hamburger and my corn and my topatoes and my ketchup and my plate and my fork and my placemat and my napkin and my milk. Amen!" Dan and I think it's very cute, and a lot of times we have to try very hard not to giggle at her very serious prayers. We definitely have a lot to be thankful for.

ABCDEFG...

Norah loves to sing- Ring Around the Rosie, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row Row Row Your Boat, etc. Here she sings her ABC's- pretty cute!

Norah-isms

My favorite Norah-ism for this week:

Me: Did Daddy put lots of cinnamon in your oatmeal?
Dan: Oh, I forgot to put it in.
Norah: How about we do it now?

Wait a minute, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, I said it to her a couple of nights ago when I asked her to help me pick up her books and she told me, "Maybe tomorrow." She really listens to everything she hears and carefully files it away for later (and always perfectly relevant) use. Consider this your warning, dear family and friends, no more bad language around the baby!

Going to the Airport

Ever since Norah and I dropped Dan off at the airport a couple of weeks ago for his trip to Festus, Norah has been talking about going to the airport to take an airplane ride.

Beach Time!

Dan, Norah, and I are having a fun summer- busy with work and school during the week and enjoying weekends at the beach or with visitors. Norah started going to the daycare/preschool program at Fresno State in June. It has made for some early days for her (I have to be at work at 7 in the summers, so I drop her off around 6:45), but she seems to like the teachers and the other kids and it's nice for me having her nearby. Dan and I have even been able to join her for lunch a couple of times. She is definitely exploring her messier side there, since she often comes home with paint in funny places (i.e. her armpit or her hair). Dan and I have had to establish her "school" outfits, which are the same 2-3 pairs of shorts and shirts that she wears every day so we don't ruin her entire wardrobe:) I know, she's just learning and being creative!

Norah is also starting to come up with some pretty funny sayings (most of which are variations of things she must hear Dan and I say to her a lot). For example, she now answers most yes or no questions with a short pause, and then "Um, probably yes." or "Um, probably no." As in, "Would you like some yogurt for a snack?" "Um (let me consider that for a moment), probably yes." She has also come up with some very polite ways of saying no when I ask her to do things that she does not want to do- "Not right now" and "Maybe tomorrow" are current favorites; "Ma (I'm) full" (pointing to stomach) applies to dinner. ("Can you help me clean up your toys?" "Maybe tomorrow." or "How about another bite of your chicken?" "Ma full.") So endearing!

We've been lucky to be able to head over to the beach for several long weekends- trying to escape the Fresno heat! My mom and dad, Maggie, Jake, Laura, Norah, and I enjoyed a fun 4th of July weekend there, with Dan joining us for the last couple of days. Norah was a little unsure about the fireworks (especially since it was WAY past her normal bedtime), but she is otherwise turning into quite a beach baby. Dan got to spend most of the weekend in Festus celebrating his Grandma McCoy's 90th birthday. It was a special time for his whole family- and a very fun party, I hear- so Norah and I were sad to miss the festivities.

Sweatshirts in July? (we're definitely not in Fresno!)... Run faster Daddy!

The next weekend, my cousin Julia and her family traveled from Idaho to visit us (they're brave to make the drive from Boise to California with toddlers, but we sure loved seeing them!). Norah enjoyed playing with her cousins Liam (almost 3) and Owen (1)- and even did a pretty good job of sharing.

Liam helping Norah on the bike... Playing together... Cousins!

We made another trip to the beach last weekend for some quiet family time. It's nice to be able to get away at the spur of the moment:) As you can see in the pictures and video below, a trip to the beach is a little more involved with a toddler- get sunscreen and beach outfit on, pack up all the toys/blankets/chairs, walk to the beach, build sandcastles/play in the water, get VERY dirty (don't even think about sitting down and reading a magazine Mommy and Daddy), walk back (make a stop at the park on the way), take off beach outfit, hose down entire body, catch naked toddler who is now running at full speed around the backyard, put on new outfit, etc. Norah loves it!

Look- I found a sand dollar... A very sandy Norah... Sunscreen+sand+Norah=very dirty!

Happy July to all!

Congrats!

Congrats to my sister Maggie, who graduated from her MBA program at UC Davis yesterday! Thanks for letting us join in the celebration!

Three MBA's... Norah was very proud of her Aunt Maggie (and happy to be able to run around outside after the ceremony!)

So we are still blogging...

So obviously it's been a little while since our last post (sorry about that!). Here's a quick rundown of life in the McCoy house since February. Norah started preschool back in early February, and after some initial hesitation about Mommy leaving her, she really loved going. She enjoyed playing with some new friends (who were her own age, instead of the adults she's around most of the time), and had fun doing all kinds of art projects. Her vocabulary also grew by leaps and bounds almost immediately after starting school. She went from occasionally saying "bear" or "ball" to forming 2-3 word sentances and using words like "artichoke" and "hummus"- all within a month. It's been really fun for Dan and I to get this new window into her world. We knew she was thinking about all kinds of good stuff, but now it's really nice for her to be able to verbalize her preferences and tell us what she's thinking or what she wants to do.

In February, I also started a new job. Actually, I'm still working for the MESA program at Fresno State, but since my boss left, I'm now the Interim Director of the program. This has been a really great opportunity professionally, but it also meant that I had to go back to working full time. I miss my time with Norah, but between preschool and some extra days at Grandma's, Norah seems to be fine with the arrangement.

Between work, classes, and projects around the house for Dan and I, the spring flew by. We have been re-doing some of the landscaping in our backyard, and Dan was busy with some fence repairs, faucet and light installations, and lots of sprinkler work. (He's so handy!) Even as we finish one project, there are always many more we want to do. With the summer heat coming, we won't be doing much more outside until the fall.

We were lucky to be able to spend Easter in Festus with Dan's family. Norah loved playing with her cousins Ember and Autumn, and we got to catch up with Dan's parents, brother/sister-in-law, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Ember taught Norah how to hunt for Easter eggs, so next year she'll be a pro! While we were in Festus, Norah got to experience her first tornado warning, but luckily for all of us Festus escaped with no damage.

Bubbles with Grammy... Easter Bunny fun with the cousins...


Easter in Festus... Being silly

Norah and Dan treated me to a very special Mother's Day, complete with blueberry pancakes, a bike ride, and lots of good play time. We got to celebrate Mother's Day for my mom a few weeks later when both Maggie and Laura were in town, and Dan got to celebrate with Judie in person when she was here at the end of May.

Norah's ABC's


Dan's Graduation

After a particularly busy semester, Dan received his MBA at the end of May. He graduated with distinction - and a perfect 4.0! Norah and I are so proud of him, and very excited that he'll be home more in the evenings now. Of course, he's excited that he won't have all the late nights filled with homework! Judie, Mike, Maggie, and Laura were able to come out to share the celebration.

Dan's Graduation

We combined Dan's graduation party with Norah's 2nd birthday party, so in addition to a nice lunch for Dan, we all got to have chocolate birthday cake with blue frosting (Norah's very specific request.) For her actual birthday, Norah decided she wanted pizza and green cupcakes with green frosting. (Can you tell we're working on colors?) All in all, Norah is very excited to be two. (She's also working on her numbers, and has quickly grasped the idea that two cookies/books/toys/etc. are better than one- so she couldn't wait to be two years old, too.

Making blue frosting...Birthday cake #1

Tea with Grammy...Birthday cake #2

So that's the quick version of what we've been up to. Hope everyone is having a good start to the summer!

These boots are made for walkin'

Norah loves her boots, and that means she wants to wear them every day- regardless of what outfit she has on. It's not that I don't suggest other shoes, ones that might coordinate a bit better, it's just that she is more persistent than me and after awhile, it's not worth the fight. She's not even two yet!

Wednesday and Thursday...


...Friday and Saturday (today)

Anyone placing bets on what shoes she wants to wear tomorrow? My money is on the boots.

Norah's First Day of School

Norah started a preschool-readiness program yesterday- such a big girl already! She'll be going two days a week, which should give her a great opportunity to play with some other one and two-year-olds (instead of just the adults she's usually around!). So far she seems to love it. She came home yesterday with some Valentines from her new friends, a picture that she got to paint, and a grass stain on her pants. That seems like a pretty good day to me!

Showing off her new backpack on the way to school... Lots of things to do on the first day

Happy New Year!

So now that it's the middle of January, I'm finally getting around to doing a post with our Christmas pictures and an update of our our activities during the first part of the new year. We had a wonderful Christmas- lots of time to relax with family and celebrate the season. Norah had lots of fun opening her presents, though it took her over a week to open everything since she only wanted to open one present at a sitting. What fun is a gift if you can't play with it immediately? Everyone was very generous, and she will be enjoying her new toys, books, clothes, etc. for some time! We were lucky to have both of my sisters home for Christmas, but missed being able to see everyone in Missouri this year.

All dressed up for Christmas Eve mass... Leaving cookies for Santa

Playing with her toys on Christmas morning... Sisters!

The day after Christmas we were able to travel to the Bay Area to see my extended family there. Norah loves playing with her great-grandparents and aunts and uncles, and Dan and I enjoy the time to catch up with everyone. Thanks to Rachel, Ali, and Grace for entertaining her this year so Dan and I could finish our dinners!

Visiting in Livermore... Showing off her new tutu in Castro Valley

I got to take two weeks off work this year, but Dan wasn't quite so lucky, so we spent most of the week between Christmas and New Year's in Fresno hanging out. I love just being able to spend days at home with Norah- though her Aunt Maggie and Aunt Laura demanded some of her time as well. Oh, the busy life of a 19-month old! My Dad got to celebrate his (big) birthday with his whole family before Laura headed back to Chicago, then we enjoyed a quiet weekend of family time and Wii before we all had to go back to work on the 3rd.

Norah's new ride (she finally opened it just before New Year's)... A basketball from Daddy

Now we're back into our usual routines of work, and Dan starts his final semester of his MBA program this coming week. He has turned into an amazing student- with a 4.0 through five semesters of classes! Norah and I are so proud of him! Norah continues to enjoy her days with Grandma while I'm at work. (I think she wishes I worked more often, since she always seems a little disappointed to leave when I arrive to pick her up at the end of the day.) She has been taking a gymnastics class this fall and winter, and she just had a recital yesterday to show off all the skills she has learned. She invited her Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa to come and watch and really enjoyed being able to show off for them. Since she's had such fun with gymnastics so far, we decided to continue the class this spring- though she gets to move up an age level now, so she'll be with the bigger kids this time around.

Happy 2011 to all!