Week 40- 2.5 Years

Nora turned 2.5 years old yesterday. Today, she is closer to 3 than 2. I'm sure any parent can relate to my mixed feelings. It's hard to watch time pass so quickly and wonder if I'm making the most of each day. How long will it be before I forget what her little 2.5 year old body feels like wrapped around me or how sweet her hair smells when she is curled up on me before bed time?  I'm trying to just soak it all up like a sponge because I know the next time I blink, she will be a little bit bigger than she is right now.

We took Nora to see Disney on Ice on her half-year birthday (complete coincidence!) and we had so much fun. We stopped by one of the booths filled with Disney "stuff", and Nora picked out her very own princess. "That one", she told the cashier with confidence. I was pretty proud of her assertiveness. She's been carrying "Cindella" around with her pretty much ever since. Once the show started, she spent the first half awe-struck, much as she was when we went to see Sesame Street back in April.

She had a "moment" during the Aladdin scene that made me giggle. I can't blame her for being kind of freaked out.

I think her favorites during the first half were Nemo and when all of the princes and princesses were on the ice together.

Mommy might have teared up just a little bit during "It's a Small World". I was not expecting it to be a part of the show at all. It's definitely a favorite of mine, and I can't wait to share it with Nora when we go to Disney World in a few years.

The second half of the show brought a wardrobe change (a minor potty incident.. sigh), popcorn, and a more lively audience participant in Nora. She danced and pointed excitedly at the different characters.

Here she is waving goodbye to the whole gang.

On our drive home, Nora talked excitedly about Minnie, Mickey, and the princesses. I sat in the back with her to try to keep her from falling asleep as it was so close to nap time.

Cinderella for Nora; tiara for Mommy. I bought the tiara for her, but she refused to wear it!

Also, notice how close her head is to the top of her car seat? That means we have to turn her around. Mommy is having some anxiety about this, but at this point, it becomes safer for her to ride forward in this particular seat. I considered getting her a new seat with a higher rear-facing limit, but I don't think it's in the cards at this time, so around she goes. I think I'll go hyperventilate into a paper bag now.

Week 39- Sweet and Ordinary

Week 39 didn't bring anything exciting to the table for Nora, but there are always sweet moments among the ordinary.

On Saturday, Brad and I got to visit with Naomi for the first time since she went home. We both got to hold her, but I think she and her favorite uncle seriously bonded.

 

Because it's flu and RSV season, it looks like it's going to be a while until Nora gets to meet her new cousin face-to-face, but she asks every day to see pictures of "baby cousin" or "baby Naomi" on the computer. 

While we were visiting, Allison was kind enough to watch Nora, so she got to have some play time with her BFF Amelia. They ate applesauce, shared stickers, and had a Peppa Pig tea party with "birthday cake".

Allison said they shared nicely and had sweet conversations. I can't believe how much they have grown.

Over the weekend, I started swapping out some of Nora's summer clothes for fall clothes. It's still getting up into the low 80s during the day, but mornings and nights are cooler. Plus, it's October. It was time to make the switch. On Sunday, Nora got to wear one of her "new" dresses. She had so much fun spinning around and watching the skirt flare out around her. She said she was a princess. I love that little girl so much. So, while I was getting ready for church, she was spinning around in her new dress and building block towers. 

In that 2nd picture, she is trying to blow over her tower. I'm not sure where she got this idea. Maybe from the "Big Bad Wolf"? We have so much fun trying to blow down her block towers, and if we can't, she slyly pushes it down with her nose. Silly girl!

Sunday night, we decided to visit the UT campus for dinner, so I dressed her accordingly.

I wanted to get a nice picture for Brad's "Daddy's Little Volunteer" frame. I didn't quite get what we were looking for, but I thought these were pretty cute. She looks like a mini sorority girl getting ready to go to a football game. Future Chi O, perhaps, to follow in the Pratt family's footsteps? Brad says only if she gets a full scholarship because we won't be paying for her to live in campus housing. I guess we have a few years to figure it out.

Weeks 37 and 38- Lullaby and Goodnight

I think this is a first. I did not do a blog entry at all last week. It's not because we didn't have pictures to share. It's not because I forgot. The problem is that a certain little someone will not go to sleep at night in her own crib. She is falling asleep on me, still, in the rocking chair, and by the time I get her down, I've been dog tired with a thousand things to still get done. Each day I would think, "Tonight I'll update the blog", and then 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 PM would roll around, and it would get pushed to the back burner once again.

So anyway, playing catch up.

Last weekend, we took Nora to the Tennessee Valley Fair. Last year when we took her, she was really only interested in the animals. She wasn't big enough to ride many (if any) rides, and the rest of the fair was completely lost on her at just 18 months old. This year, it wasn't much different. She liked the animals, the carousel, the fish pond, and sitting by the water.

We got on the teacups ride, which she thought was fun for about 20 seconds before deciding she wanted to get off immediately. Thankfully, we were the only people on the ride, so the operator was able to stop and let us off.

However, there was one thing she absolutely loved. The tractors. Color me surprised by this.

We walked through the barn on 2 separate occasions, and she insisted on climbing up on every single one. She would have stayed longer if I didn't drag her way for nap time.

And this is how she felt about nap time that day.

Dreaming about tractors.

After nap time, she did enjoy showing off her fish pond prize, an orange elephant, while eating her fair food: Animal Crackers! (It could have been much worse. Deep fried Oreos, anyone?)

I wish I could say that as these weeks come to a close that her bedtime routine was getting back to normal, but...

As much as I want her to have an easier time going to bed at night, I know this, too, shall pas. Plus, I can't even be upset at a this face.

Week 36- Go Big Orange

It is Football Time in Tennessee, and lucky for Nora, she looks good in orange, since I'm pretty sure it's a color that will be a staple in her fall wardrobe for many years to come.

While we were watching the Tennessee vs Western Kentucky game (52-20 GBO!), Nora shushed me while I was singing Rocky Top and then she told me "no" when I yelled "touchdown". She has a lot to learn about being a Vols fan!

Nora and I have had some fun around the house this week. Two of her favorite places to hang out are in "my" chair (the leather recliner) and in her tent. She likes to run and hide in her tent whenever it is time for her to have her diaper changed.

 

She likes to sit in the chair and order me to either sit next to her, which is a pretty tight squeeze, or to sit on the couch across from her. On this particular afternoon, she ordered me to the couch and did not appreciate having her picture taken while she was trying to watch her new favorite TV show, Peppa Pig.

Will you kindly put that camera away, please?

"No cheese!"

Drama queen.

As a side-note, when did my chunky monkey baby become less of a chunky baby and more of a monkey toddler with long and strong legs instead of little sausage rolls??

This afternoon, Nora had a chance to play with her friend Amelia. We haven't had a chance to get together in a while now, and Nora was super excited when she woke up from her nap to learn that we were going to meet "Meeya" at the playground. The girls had fun climbing all over the playground equipment, and they got a huge kick out of swinging side-by-side.

 

 

Something else huge happened this week. Brad and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. It's been a wonderful 10 years with a wonderful man, and I am almost certain that I speak for both of us when I say that I can't wait to see what the next 40+ have in store for us.

Sweet flowers from a sweet husband

Week 35- Boomsday

Labor Day weekend means one thing if you live in Knoxville: Boomsday. This is one of the largest fireworks shows in the southeast and is known to attract over 300,000 people. We've gone a few times in the past 10 years, but it can be hard to find a good spot. Plus, traffic is awful. This year, though, a work friend invited us to watch from her house. They have a great view! You can't see the light show on the bridge over the water, but you can see all of the main fireworks from her front yard! They had homemade ice cream, apple dumplings, and lemonade on what was a perfect summer's night.

Whoa.

We knew that I would know some people there from work, but we were pleasantly surprised that Nora's beloved Ms. Tracy as well as one of her day care friends was also there tonight. It's a small world!

Nora and one of her day care besties, Dylan.

Tonight was the first time we purposely kept Nora up past her bedtime. She was so sleepy on the ride home in the car. It didn't take her long to pass out once I got her into her jammies and into bed. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her sweet little sleeping face, but it wasn't worth the risk of waking her ha!

Earlier today, we spent some time over at Sam and Patsy's because it is one of those rare times that all of Brad's brothers are in town at the same time.

Nora's treasure trove of toys from decades long gone.

Something else we are doing this weekend is dog-sitting Dodge and Nova for Jessica. That's right. We have FIVE dogs here this weekend. Nora  loves antagonizing playing with Nova, the big yellow lab, and she and Dodge had some time to chill together on the couch this afternoon.

And finally, earlier this week one evening when I had a lot of school work to get done, Brad took Nora over to his parents house to give me some time and space to work.

This is Nora's paradise. Sitting on Dede and Grandpa's front porch, watching the world go by while Peppa Pig plays on the Ipad. Life is good.