Olympics, Birthday, Stats

You have to wonder at some missing Olympic events - things I could really have a chance at. For example, flip-twist-crawl-wiggle-diapering. I'd be a medal contender at that one for sure. Or, the feed-the-dog-your-Cheerios-the-second-mom-blinks event, Nory would be a shoe-in! Needless to say we've been enjoying the traditional Winter Olympics on our recently discovered free cable this week. But whose idea was it to start them at 8pm??? I think it's just an evil ploy by the television industry to keep you up past your bedtime.

Wednesday we celebrated Dan's birthday. I made this cake for him - my first ever Canon cake!
I also made a mini-Thanksgiving dinner - green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and a really small turkey (you may know it by its common name, the chicken).
Dan has been enjoying Nory's new crawling skills by making little trails of puffs for her to follow through the house.
Here is a picture of bathtime, Nory's very most absolutely no competition favorite time of the day. She starts dancing and can almost take her own shirt off when she hears the water running in the tub. (If you are wondering, which you probably aren't, the disposable diaper is complements of preparing for our Seattle adventure which begins tomorrow (didn't want a partial load of diapers laying around all week!)).

And for our statistically interested audience - this week was Nory's 9 month check-up.

Height: 26.75 inches (20%)
Weight: 17lb 10oz (30%)
Head: 16.75 inches (20%)

Hmmm, where did my short and stout baby go? I guess she is going to just be short, not so much of the stout. The plump baby phase didn't last long enough! Sigh.
We skipped the shots this time around, since Nory was still sporting the runny nose tail end of a cold and because we are about to travel. The only thing on our doctor's "alternative shot schedule" for this checkup was Hep B, which the doctor said could very easily be delayed since it isn't a risk for babies. We'll catch up at the next appointment. (Also Calia? Are you there? They mentioned they normally check for hemoglobin at 9 months but that could also be delayed until 12 since our baby is healthy. However, for that they just do a finger prick, not a blood draw, so maybe it is different than what your doc did with X.)

Now, if only the laundry would finish so I can pack for our trip! I'm not as excited as I would normally be at the prospect of a trip to Seattle, because I'm going into it knowing that our kid is, as it turns out, kind of a crummy traveler. But she's so happy, fun, and easy otherwise that I feel like I still got a pretty good deal. Who knows, maybe she'll surprise us.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I think it is safe to say that when mom is sick, Valentine's Day doesn't get celebrated. At least not with cards or presents. However, we still managed to have a great, relaxing, fun family day! So perhaps that is a celebration in itself.

For starters the high in Santa Barbara was 80 degrees - which meant that we spent most of the day outdoors, reading in the shade, biking, napping (in the shade, on the back porch), and running (well, Finny and I went running).

Dan bought Nory this Valentine balloon. She LOVED it. And yes, I use the pass tense, because Nory managed to untie the string from the balloon. Note to self: do not give baby balloon outdoors.


Later we put together our new bike trailer (thanks Uncle Lindy!) and rode to lunch in Isla Vista. I had forgotten how much fun it was to go on a just-for-fun bikeride! Nory did not love her helmet, but it was non-negotiable, which meant that our first family ride was tainted with some tears. (Please note, and be impressed by, how brave and trusting I am in my blog friends to be willing to put pictures of me in spandex on the internet. Just promise me not to maximize your window in a big screen when you view these pictures.)



And a few just for fun pictures of Nory crawling this morning. Yep, she crawls. I think she's been crawling for a while, but unfortunately there is nothing in our entire house that she wants more than to pull up the edges of our area rugs and chew on pieces of the mats underneath - which are never more than 2 or 3 crawl-steps away. So for a long time (1.5 months) I've been thinking, well, she can almost crawl, but she can only go 3 steps! However when I took her outside this morning and she had a little more space with which to work before coming across something as tempting as the edge of a rug, she crawled all over the place (albeit still very cautiously).

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Everybody's Doing It

Since others of my blogosphere friends have done this recently, and because I don't have any new pictures (imagine sick cuddly and often crying baby of the last 2 weeks - not a great photo op) with which to celebrate Nory's passage into the fourth quarter of her first year, here is a random collection of cell phone pictures from the last month or so.

Hanging out on the front lawn on a sunny morning.

Playing with a toy in mommy and daddy's bed.

Asleep, finally, at the angle by which to take up the absolute most possible bed space, in our bed in Wisconsin.

I signed up for a knitting class - hoping to finish the dress I started for Nory when I was pregnant.

Nory sporting her cute rain coat during a recent Rain Event in Santa Barbara.

Cookies... cookie?

Yummmm, Oatios!

No wonder she was crying on the way home.

Nory took a spin in her friend Camilla's car.

Sick

I don't get sick. Which is to say, of course I get sick, but I stubbornly ignore any symptoms, blame "allergies," and when things get really bad, take some tylenol cold. I never take sick days, I never let myself feel sorry for myself. Who has time to be sick in this life? Not moms, that's for sure. Besides, I was sick enough during pregnancy for a lifetime.

Unfortunately it turns out that denial, while perhaps being a good self-imposed mantra, does not translate well into parenting. Last week when Nory was acting "strange," I blamed teeth, travel, and lack of sleep. She was extra snuggly, extra whiny, and a super fussy eater. After a couple days of this I finally broke down and took her temperature - which was 104 degrees. Oops. Tepid baths, baby tylenol, and several at home days later, she has recovered - and I have learned a good parenting lesson!

Wisconsin

Darn, we'll have to check her!

Last week, grandpa Sandy turned 60. So, much to his surprise, Dan, Nory, and I, as well as uncle Lindy and great Aunt Anita, all flew in for a birthday visit. Our little family flew out of LAX late Friday night on a red eye into Minneapolis, where we met up with Lindy. The four of us then flew from Minneapolis to Madison. Anita had secretly flown in the night before, arriving late, and hiding out in the house waiting for us to arrive Saturday morning. Sandy's best friend Dave had also driven up from Chicago. Everything went according to plan and boy was he ever surprised when all of us walked into the kitchen on Saturday morning!

Happy Birthday grandpa Sandy!

Nory was an okay traveler, she didn't sleep perfectly so she arrived in Wisconsin tired and cranky. But tired and cranky Nory is still a pretty fun kid. She enjoyed her time in Wisconsin, although I think she preferred her indoor time with her new books and blocks to her outdoor time where I bundled her up so tightly she could hardly move and then took her for a walk.

Nice to meet you, Auntie Anita!

These blocks are fun... but the packaging is my favorite!

Really mom, what were you thinking???

Out for a walk

Dan, Lindy, and Sandy went ice skating on one of those frozen lakes they have there. The snow was old and crusty, so I think Nory just assumed it was some sort of cold bench and not the fluffy stuff that snowmen and snowballs are made of!

Sandy and Lindy ice skating

What part of GET ME INSIDE did you not understand?

Unfortunately the way home was not as easy. I think Nory was trying to tell us she was done with traveling. She was definitely one of "those babies" on the plane, and I apologize to all the other travelers going from Minneapolis to LAX on Sunday night.

Was traveling across the country for a less than two day visit with an infant difficult? You betcha. But was it worth it? Absolutely!

I love my grandma!