Saturday, April 28, 2007
Auntie Nessa and Uncle Dan
Nora was and continues to be very excited about Auntie Nessa and Uncle Dan getting engaged this week! Congratulations!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Getting Better
Nora is starting to feel better! Her ear drops and nebulizer are really helping. She likes to practice having Mommy and Daddy take the nebulizer right after she finishes her two puffs.
She went to sleep last night at 8:30, woke up around 2:00 am for a few minutes (she just needed hugs and kisses) and was out until 6:45. She is sleeping so much better and I'm sure this is helping her get well quickly.
Hopefully we'll have some pictures for you today after Auntie Pea comes to celebrate Mommy's early birthday.
She went to sleep last night at 8:30, woke up around 2:00 am for a few minutes (she just needed hugs and kisses) and was out until 6:45. She is sleeping so much better and I'm sure this is helping her get well quickly.
Hopefully we'll have some pictures for you today after Auntie Pea comes to celebrate Mommy's early birthday.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Really Sicko
Nora has an ear infection and what is about to become pneumonia! She is on ear drops, antibiotic and a nebulizer. YIKES! She took one dose of the nebulizer at the doctors office and she was able to hear improvement in her lungs right away. Hopefully she'll be back to herself quickly. This has been a difficult week.
Brian and I were just commenting about how lucky we are to have great insurance. Our bills would be through the roof without it. It's nice to pick our prescriptions, sign the paper, and walk away!
Brian and I were just commenting about how lucky we are to have great insurance. Our bills would be through the roof without it. It's nice to pick our prescriptions, sign the paper, and walk away!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Sicko!
Nora has had a fever off and on since Sunday night. We've juggled our schedules and with the help of our great babysitter, Dyanna, we've made due. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day of red cheeks, glassy eyes, and a horrible cough.
On another note, Nora just showed me that she knows circle, square, and triangle!
On another note, Nora just showed me that she knows circle, square, and triangle!
Monday, April 16, 2007
A champion in training
After seeing Nana and Papa's post about the Easter Trival Pursuit showdown, we have started a rigorous training program for Nora. Be warned: she will be a serious contender when she comes back to Wisconsin in June!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Lullabye
Some background is necessary to truly appreciate this.
Over the past two weeks April and I have been waging a pretty relentless campaign to get Nora to sleep in her own bed through the whole night. Our strategy is a combination of restricted physical access (putting a gate up in her doorway) coupled with positive reinforcement (she gets an m&m...that's right, one m&m when she stays in her own bed for the night).
It has been working like a charm, and for the past two weeks Nora has been doing a great job of sleeping through the night and staying in her own bed. That tiny m&m is an incredible motivating factor for her. It's the last thing she talks about before falling asleep at night, and the first thing she asks for in the morning: "Daaaaaadyyyyy, I slept in my own bed, time for a chocolate treeeeeeeat!"
This morning, we were driving back home from running some errands. Nora was in the back seat, singing one of the songs from her "Lullabye" CD to herself. She kept repeating the same verse over and over again:
"yay you dowwwwwn, take a reeest, may your swumber be bwessed....."
About 2 miles from home, she decided to improvise a new verse to the song:
"yay you dowwwwwn, go to sleeep, if you stay in your bed you get a chocolate treeeeeeat"
April and I laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes.
Over the past two weeks April and I have been waging a pretty relentless campaign to get Nora to sleep in her own bed through the whole night. Our strategy is a combination of restricted physical access (putting a gate up in her doorway) coupled with positive reinforcement (she gets an m&m...that's right, one m&m when she stays in her own bed for the night).
It has been working like a charm, and for the past two weeks Nora has been doing a great job of sleeping through the night and staying in her own bed. That tiny m&m is an incredible motivating factor for her. It's the last thing she talks about before falling asleep at night, and the first thing she asks for in the morning: "Daaaaaadyyyyy, I slept in my own bed, time for a chocolate treeeeeeeat!"
This morning, we were driving back home from running some errands. Nora was in the back seat, singing one of the songs from her "Lullabye" CD to herself. She kept repeating the same verse over and over again:
"yay you dowwwwwn, take a reeest, may your swumber be bwessed....."
About 2 miles from home, she decided to improvise a new verse to the song:
"yay you dowwwwwn, go to sleeep, if you stay in your bed you get a chocolate treeeeeeat"
April and I laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Monday, April 09, 2007
Cougars and Coyotes and Bears, oh my!
This week April took Nora out with some friends to Northwest Trek, a nature park near Mount Rainier. They went on a kind of safari through the woods and got to see all kinds of cool animals that lurk around the Washington countryside: elk, bears, and even a cougar!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Success!
Last night, Nora slept, in her own bed, without waking up from 8:30 to 6:30!!!!!
For those of you that didn't know her sleeping habits, she was usually up at 1:30 and in our bed for the rest of the night. This week we decided to get tough and put the gate back on her door. It only took a few nights of being awake for a couple of minutes (while screaming bloody murder) before she would crawl back into her own bed.
We have won the sleeping war! This is a skill that MUST be mastered before the new baby arrives or we are all going to be in BIG trouble!
For those of you that didn't know her sleeping habits, she was usually up at 1:30 and in our bed for the rest of the night. This week we decided to get tough and put the gate back on her door. It only took a few nights of being awake for a couple of minutes (while screaming bloody murder) before she would crawl back into her own bed.
We have won the sleeping war! This is a skill that MUST be mastered before the new baby arrives or we are all going to be in BIG trouble!
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Nora-isms
Nora has made huge progress in her command of language. She still manages to come up with some pretty funny words of her own...here is a list of our favorites:
- "everyguys" and "allthebody" are frequently used instead of "everybody" or "you guys"
- "yesternight" instead of "last night"
- "sit down by next to me"
- "peek" instead of "hide and go seek"
- "yub you"
- When we pick her up from school and ask how her day went, she says "I had a good nice day."
Monday, April 02, 2007
Nora is going to be a big sister!
That's right! As April announced on her blog, we recently found out that we are expecting our newest addition to the family sometime around Thanksgiving. In just a few short months, Nora is going to be a big sister.
She took her first steps toward "big sisterhood" last night, by spending the whole night in her own bed. Ever since we transitioned her from the crib to the bed, she has been consistently waking up around 1 AM and crawling into bed with us. Last night she finally stayed in her bed all night long.
She has also gone over 2 weeks without any accidents at daycare...it's really amazing how motivating those little stickers can be. We have a flipchart-sized piece of paper stuck to the wall in the bathroom that is now covered with dozens of stickers...each one symbolizing a conquest of The Potty. She proudly signs her name (a little circle) next to each one with a marker.
Nora has also been doing a lot of exploration into the world of Latin music. Her favorite song for the moment is "Suavemente" by Elvis Crespo. Anytime we play it, she rushes out to the middle of the kitchen and starts wiggling her butt around with reckless abandon. When she really gets her groove on, she has even been known to lead conga lines around through the kitchen and living room.
Her favorite game these days is a variation on "Hide and Go Seek," something she calls "peek". Basically the game consists of her and an accomplice laying down on the floor and covering themselves from head to toe with a blanket. She then cries out to everyone else in the house to "come and find me", which invariably results in her getting tickled. She then covers herself back up and the process repeats. The novelty of this has not worn off, even after several weeks: every night when I get home from work, she runs up to me and says "Daddy, let's peek! Will you peek with me?"
Now it's bedtime once again. Here's hoping that tonight will be another peaceful night.
She took her first steps toward "big sisterhood" last night, by spending the whole night in her own bed. Ever since we transitioned her from the crib to the bed, she has been consistently waking up around 1 AM and crawling into bed with us. Last night she finally stayed in her bed all night long.
She has also gone over 2 weeks without any accidents at daycare...it's really amazing how motivating those little stickers can be. We have a flipchart-sized piece of paper stuck to the wall in the bathroom that is now covered with dozens of stickers...each one symbolizing a conquest of The Potty. She proudly signs her name (a little circle) next to each one with a marker.
Nora has also been doing a lot of exploration into the world of Latin music. Her favorite song for the moment is "Suavemente" by Elvis Crespo. Anytime we play it, she rushes out to the middle of the kitchen and starts wiggling her butt around with reckless abandon. When she really gets her groove on, she has even been known to lead conga lines around through the kitchen and living room.
Her favorite game these days is a variation on "Hide and Go Seek," something she calls "peek". Basically the game consists of her and an accomplice laying down on the floor and covering themselves from head to toe with a blanket. She then cries out to everyone else in the house to "come and find me", which invariably results in her getting tickled. She then covers herself back up and the process repeats. The novelty of this has not worn off, even after several weeks: every night when I get home from work, she runs up to me and says "Daddy, let's peek! Will you peek with me?"
Now it's bedtime once again. Here's hoping that tonight will be another peaceful night.
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