It's In the Bag

As I look at today's photos of Norah, I couldn't help but be reminded of some timeless lyrics from my fifth grade musical, "It's in the bag, tootsie toots, it's in the bag!" Go ahead and laugh, but while these words may hold no meaning to you, they commemorate years of torment and ridicule from my immediate family, who still threaten to pull out that incredibly embaressing video tape, and occassionally sing the songs now and then. (Which they must admit were catchy, as they've certainly stood the test of time!)


As you can probably tell from the photo, Norah loves her baby bag. Her favorite game to play is "Where's Norah?" I load her in the bag and then sneak into the bathroom, where I pose the question, "Where's Norah?" (in a very sing-song voice), then I open the bag so that she can see her reflexion, which is always met with squeals of glee. (Oh, how I long for the day when looking at myself in the mirror brought that cheerful a reaction!) She also loves to play this game with bystanders in the house. "Where's Daddy?" is another favorite variation, and no, we dont put Jason in the bag, he just stands and waits while Norah hides in the bag and peeks out at him. I'm telling you, this girl loves to hide!

The bag (a priceless gift from Aunt Paige and Uncle Grant) has been such a help. Norah has loved it from the time she was a newborn. It was the only way I managed to get my grocery shopping done in the beginning, and it was always a lot of fun seeing people's reactions when they realized "You have a baby in there!?" Even now, nothing calms her crying faster than strapping her into the bag, and swaying back and forth. I guess the close confines must remind her of being back in the womb, because it calms her even more than just holding her does. It is made of a thin, breathable fabric, and has a soft matress cushion for her back, so it keeps her pretty comfy.

Now for an update on my knitting efforts...I'm really loving it! So far, I've made two little bears, like the one pictured to the left, one and a half washrags, and I'm in also in the middle of my first blanket. I'm a part of a new knitting group at our church called "Threads of Love". Each week, we get together and have a Bible study while we knit items to be donated to different ministries, such as blankets for the local Hope Pregnancy Center, and bears, blankets, and scarves for a children's home in Romania. I have met so many amazing women through this group--there are probably close to 90 women total (between three groups that meet on different nights). It has been a great means of fellowship for women of different ages--there are girls age 13 all the way up to women in their 60's knitting together. The bear in the photo is actually one I made for Norah...she was pretty sad when I gave away the first one I was working on, but she loves this one even more. (She likes to sit and hold the yarn for me while I work, which is fine with me, as long as she doesn't try to make a snack of it!) The blanket I'm in the middle of is for the Hope Pregnancy Center...I might post a photo of it when I finish it, if it isn't too terrible looking!

Well, Norah is waking up from her morning nap, and making her presence known, so I'd better go check on her. Have a happy Thursday! (And Gilmores, you can thank me later for getting that marvelous tune stuck in your head!)