At the beach during our camping trip

 

At the beach with Auntie Nessa

 

Camping

 
Nora at the beach while camping after she sat in Chex Mix.

Watching Fireworks with Uncle Dan

 

On a positive note

Nora is now telling us when she needs to go to the bathroom and making it through most nights dry! YEAH!

The Terrible Twos Have Arrived

Nora is officially in her "terrible twos" phase of life. Just in time for our trip to the Midwest, she has started giving us an attitude for most everything. "Nora, please put on your shoes" used to be greeted with "OK Mommy!" Now even "Nora, here's a bowl of ice cream!" is received with an "UNH" and a quick turn of the head to the side.

Brian and I are having to switch off and on because we both have a short fuse for this type of behavior. One of us will come storming out of one room or another exclaiming, "Your turn" after a short period of time playing with Nora.

This too shall pass, I know, I know, but WHEN???

A kiss?

 

Bubble bath with Mommy

 

Cupcake Royale

 We followed up our kite-flying escapades with a visit to Cupcake Royale, one of our favorite places in Ballard.

Gasworks Park

 

Master kite flyer at work

 A look of focus and concentration.

Beautiful day for a kite

 

Let's go fly a kite!

 
Nora and Uncle Eric spent the afternoon flying kites at Gasworks Park this afternoon. Nora seemed to have a lot better success with her kite than Eric and I did with the other one.

Playing with Uncle Eric

 

Clean Freak

Nora just told me we need to vacuum the floor tonight...it's apparently too dirty for her.

Happy Birthday Auntie Pea!

 

Nora's God Mommies visited this weekend!

 

Nora knows

Nora just proclaimed to us tonight that her birthday is in October! We've randomly asked her a few more times and she's continued to answer the question correctly. Way to go daycare!

Favorite Phrase Update

These are just a few of Nora's favorite phrases to date:

- "I wasn't mean to!" (Translation: I didn't mean to)

- "Go read your book and use Sponge Bob" (This is what she tells us as she closes the door to go to sleep at night...Sponge Bob is on her hand soap in her bathroom)

- "You've got a plumber crack!" (Thanks Auntie Pea)

- "Go me up in the air!" (Throw me in the air...she and Daddy like to play this game)

- "Can you walk away?" (This is what she says to us when going to the bathroom. She has a new-found need to be alone when going to the bathroom!)

I am also happy to report that not only does my daughter look like me, but she also snorts when she laughs like me!

Running in the sprinkler

It was hot here last week (translation: "hot" in Washington-speak means 80 degrees) and so we decided to get out the sprinkler. Nora was quite hesitant at first but started running and jumping into the spray after a couple of minutes.

Blowing in the Wind with Auntie Pea

 

Mother's Day 2007

 
For Mother's Day this year we decided to go visit Auntie Pea in Ellensburg. We went on a wonderful hike with Amber's friend Melissa. We had a blast...so did Nora! She loved all the wind. She was sure she was going to blow away!

My Cutie Pies

 

Loving Our Hike

 

Family Picture

 
Wake up Auntie Pea!

Railroad Tracks

 
This picture is for Nora's train-loving cousins.

Asleep

 
Nora didn't manage to stay awake for the hike back down.

Picnic in the forest

 

Hiking with Tata Morgane

 

At Twin Falls

 

Tata Morgane comes to visit!

  This weekend Tata Morgane came to visit us from Belgium by way of Milwaukee. (it's complicated.) We had a great time showing her around and Nora had lots of fun playing with her and learning new words in French!

On Saturday we met Auntie Pea for a bowl of borshch at the market, and then set out in search of the ingredients for a special Pacific Northwest dinner: fresh king salmon, whole dungeness crabs, rhubarb, and a couple of excellent Washington Cabernets.

We took Morgane east into the mountains on Sunday, where we hiked Twin Falls and took in the scenery. Nora did a great job on the trail, stopping frequently along the way to pick up rocks.

The pictures tell the story...enjoy!

Merci d'être venue nous voir Tata Morgane!!

"Let's take it out!"

This was Nora's proclamation when she learned that I was feeling sick because of the baby in my tummy! I was laying on the bed after getting out of the shower when she laid beside me This was how the exchange of information went:

"Mommy are you feeling sick? Does the baby in your tummy hurt you?"

"Yes honey, sometimes the baby makes me feel sick."

"Well, let's take it out!"

"We can't take the baby out for a long time, it isn't ready to come out yet."

Nora starts playing with my belly button...

"That's not how the baby comes out honey."

Strange look with a cocked head...

"The baby comes out my vagina."

"The baby comes out your bagina? I have a bagina! You have your own bagina!"

"Yes you do honey, but a baby won't come out of your vagina for a long time!"

Under his breath Daddy comments, "Damn right!"

I'm sure the other little girls at day care are learning quite a bit about sex ed from our little one!