Norah's Race

After watching Norah get faster and faster as she ran around the house, we decided she was ready to enter her very first competitive race. While Dan and Maggie ran the event's 10K, the 1/8 mile Kid's Race for 2-5 year olds was more Norah's speed. And speedy she was! She finished in a chip-timed (very official!) 1:38.58. She was the second two-year old and the first two-year old girl. All of the training she did with Daddy to get ready really paid off :) The whole event was very cute (and hilarious to watch)! Thanks to Maggie the videographer, you can watch it to! Enjoy.

The runners... At the starting line


Running... The finish line


Congratulations on a great race!

A Story of Hope

This story begins on December 1, 2010, and is one that has taken a long time for us to be ready to share. We had just told our families that we were expecting the week before, only to learn on that day that I was having a miscarriage. I’m sure this news is always shocking, but having had a relatively easy pregnancy with Norah, I hadn’t even really considered the possibility that it could happen to me. Of course I’ve read the statistics and know that lots of women – many of whom have no increased risk factors – have miscarriages, often for no explainable reason at all. Still, when we got the news, we didn’t know how to cope. We went through a grieving process, we looked for answers, and we thanked God for the support of our family and the blessing of our precious Norah. While this experience tested our faith in some ways (how could God let this life begin if it was going to end such a short time later?), our faith is also what helped us make it through. And eventually, things did get better. Of course, there were (and are) still moments or days when the sadness comes back – the day I was supposed to be due was one of the tougher ones. But all in all, we have been able to process what happened, accept that this loss will always be part of our lives, and look ahead to the future with hope. Which brings us to December 1, 2011.

I would have expected to feel a certain sense of sadness this past December 1, as the one year anniversary of one of the hardest days of our lives. But this time I didn’t. Maybe it was my long, busy day at work that took my mind off of it. Maybe it was the huge windstorm that day that blew down our fence and caused other damage at our house that distracted me. Maybe I had just reached a point in the grieving process that days like this wouldn’t cause the same reaction anymore. Or maybe it was something else – a higher power at work. The next day, I got my answer. On December 2, we found out that I was pregnant! With that news, I knew that it wasn’t just distraction that had caused my calmness the day before, but rather God resting his hand on my shoulder and telling me that this time, a special guardian angel would be watching over us.

Of course, there were many times I forgot that sense of calmness over the next several months. As anyone who has had a miscarriage can tell you, the next pregnancy can be terrifying, especially in the first trimester. I wanted to feel nothing but hope for this new life, but there were many days that fear got the best of me. For the first several weeks after we found out, I didn’t feel pregnant, just scared that something was going to go wrong. I needed reassurance, a sign that things were okay. That sign soon arrived – in the form of morning sickness. Many doctors will tell you that morning sickness is actually a good indication that the pregnancy is progressing well. It also took away my energy to worry – since I spent most of my non-working hours in January and February on the couch. Dan has been a rock star through this all, taking on all of the load of cooking, cleaning, shopping (have you ever really smelled the inside of a grocery store?) and caring for Norah. I know that without his efforts, the house would have been a disaster and Norah would have been subsisting on stale Cheerios and granola bars for these past several months. I know I didn’t look particularly grateful as I gagged down my dinner and then went to lie in a ball on the couch, but right below the nausea and exhaustion, I was so thankful for everything that Dan was and is doing to keep our lives going. He is the best!

We finally told our parents (and Norah) about the new baby in the middle of February – nearly three months into the pregnancy. Norah has a couple of friends at school who have new siblings, so at this point she seems to be excited by the idea of having a baby brother or sister. We’re prepared for the fact that her feelings might change once she really understands what it all means. Also, like last time, we’re not planning on finding out if we’re having a boy or a girl before the birth day. We really enjoyed the surprise last time, so we’re going to do the same thing again. I’m finally starting to feel better and more energetic again, now that I’m nearing the four-month mark. And we’re finally ready to share the good news with everyone. So there it is – sometime in the first week or two of August, we’re going to welcome a new member to the McCoy family. While I’m not looking forward to the prospect of being eight months pregnant in July in Fresno, we are looking forward – more than anything – to meeting this new baby this summer. Love to all!

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!