Taking in the view

Nora and Daddy went for a walk up to Mont St. Odile to check out the view.

 

Riding the Carousel in Obernai

We spent an afternoon visiting the town of Obernai, a beautiful Alsatian town a few kilometers south of Strasbourg. Nora loved going around the carousel and was quite upset with us when it was time to leave. 

Nora's European Adventure

We just got back last night from the big trip to France. It was a fantastic experience for all of us. Nora is a great traveler and was able to keep it together very well during all of the long flights and car rides.

Nora was a flowergirl in Marie and Olivier's wedding, which took place in Strasbourg on July 8th. She had a fantastic time meeting new friends, exploring new places, and dancing the night away at the reception dinner!

On with the pictures!

Packing

We are packing up for our big trip on Tuesday. The two backpacks April and I used to use on trips like this have been augmented with a daunting array of toddler paraphernalia:

1. The Pack and Play crib

2. Nora's red stroller

3. A booster seat for the table (unlike the US, I am not expecting very many restaurants in France to accommodate us with a high chair!)

4. Nora's carseat - we were considering just renting one once we got there, but realized that she is going to need it in the taxis/etc. that take us to and from the airports.

5. Enough distractions to keep her quiet for the trip. Door-to-door, the trip will last around 24 hours, 13 of which will be spent in planes. If Elmo loses his novelty with Nora halfway through, we are going to be in trouble!

6. A car big enough to lug all of this around once we are there. This means renting a "real" car, and not one of those tiny squirrel-powered ones that we used to use!

7. A bib with sleeves on it. April found this bib somewhere that actually has sleeves on it, like a smock. This is to prevent us having to change Nora's clothes 2-3 times a day and limiting the amount of laundry we will have to do.

We have been looking forward to this for a long time. It's hard to believe that we will be on our way in just 2 days. Our friends have a dress waiting for Nora that she will be wearing in the wedding...stay tuned for full blog coverage of the event!

Swimming Lessons

Nora had her first swimming lesson tonight. She was one of 10 other toddlers that are learning the basics about getting used to the water. We worked on kicking her feet, moving her arms in the freestyle stroke, blowing bubbles, two footed jumping (still pretty difficult for Nora) and the most fun, going completely under water.

Nora absolutely loved every minute of the class including going under water. It was the first time I had dunked her. I felt better with supervision and a specific way to do it. The teacher stressed keeping an excited look on your face when she came up and not simply pushing her down under the water. We were working on going back and forth in kind of a figure eight motion while singing the motor boat song. The final verse stopped and said, "One, two, THREE" and then she went under. Right when she came up she shouted, "AGAIN! AGAIN!"

Thank You Uncle Eric & Auntie Ruth!

 

Nap

I tried some advice from my friend from Monticello, Andi (just making sure everyone knows which Andi I'm speaking about ;-), when putting Nora down for her nap. She chose to take Elmo and her stuffed lion into the crib with her. We told them both that it was time for a nap and we sat down to read the standard two books. We got up to get into the crib and Nora start to be a little hesitant, but realized that we needed to put her friends down for a nap. We talked them through the same process that I talk Nora through when putting her down, "Mommy is going to stand next to the crib, tell you to have sweet dreams, and then give you a kiss before laying you in your bed." Same ol' same ol' except Nora was trying to say everything I was to the animals. She still wasn't very happy when I put her in the crib, but quieted down when I said she had to be quiet for Elmo and the Lion.

Leaving the room still sucked, but she only cried for 10 minutes as opposed to 30! Improvement! Much better than last nights' 90 minute cry! It was HORRIBLE! Especially because we had guests. It's hard to keep a routine when guests are here, but it still has to happen or Nora gets really thrown. Ok, maybe I do to. Fortunately Charlie and Janine are also expecting a little one and wanted to learn all about our experiences!

I just picked up a book yesterday that said kids go through periods of being comfortable with themselves and others where they aren't. 18 to 24 months is one of the most difficult times because their brains have developed so much faster than what they are physically able to do. So Nora probably believes that she should be able to communicate better than she is and gets frustrated with herself and us when it doesn't go the way she wants. The same goes for physical activity. Although she is climbing on everything, her brain may be telling her that she should be able to do so much more.

We'll just have to wait this one out, but there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Nora had a thing with Daddy's ear this weekend. 

On a Walk

 

Nice family photo

 

Charlie and Janine's Visit

Our good friends from Milwaukee came to visit this weekend and we've had a blast! In this picture Nora was picking flowers and handing them to Charlie on Alki Beach. 

"Cherries? Earrings?"

 

Nora loved these cherry earrings! 

Nora Needs a Model

Getting into the routine of putting Nora down for a nap at home as proven to be a challenge. The women at daycare have always told me she lays down without a problem and sleeps between 2 and 3 three hours on a regular basis. I must be doing something terribly wrong or Nora needs a model to fall asleep. She is a wonderful imitator, so this must be the reason she lays down so well at daycare.

This morning we packed in a lot of activities that I was sure would wear her out. We even stopped for a lunch treat at Wendys. She ate 4 chicken nuggets, mandarin oranges, and a cup of yogurt! (This amount of food intake is unusual for the little peanut) I was hoping a full tummy and lots of fun this morning was going to wear her out. However, she had enough energy to scream for a full 30 minutes until she fell asleep at 1:30. Not too much fun. I figured I better stay with this method as it worked this morning. She woke up at 4:00, cried for about 20 minutes and then went back to sleep until 6:45! An hour and forty-five minutes later than normal! Oh well. We'll get this routine figured out...right before we go to France for 10 days and mess it all up!

Nora's favorite twins, Shannon and Jillian, are coming over to babysit her this afternoon while I go to get my hair cut. She loves these girls. She runs around the house talking to herself about the two of them. I'm so happy to have found them. They are the daughters of a 4th grade teacher at my school. The family often watches her together. The other day, Kellie (their mom), stopped by my room at school to give me a CD with 100 pictures of Nora on it that they had taken when she was over the weekend before! They must be practicing to be grandparents!

New Sprinkler

The water was a little cold for Nora this afternoon, but she still had fun! 

Trip

Nora and I followed Daddy on our shortlived trip across the mountains last night. The bike came down with something on the way there and had to be towed all the way back to Kirkland. Not really what we had planned, but it was fun while it lasted! Beautiful views! 

Nora's new art table and chairs 

Before

 

After

 

Thanks Auntie Nessa!

We got a surprise in the mail today! Thank you Auntie Nessa!