Busy Baby

Being a first-time parent is so much fun. I think we're learning as much as Norah is! The past few weeks have been a blast because our little girl is really on the move. She's been pulling up on everything--and she has the bruises to prove it! (See the one over her right eyebrow?)

Friday she decided that the school house is way more fun to play with from the outside. She crawled over to it, then pulled herself up and started pushing all of her favorite buttons. I thought maybe she was hinting that she'd like to be put in her little school house seat, but I was quite mistaken. She started fussing when I picked her up, so I put her back on the ground and she pulled back up and resumed play. She "walked" her way around and played with everything. I think she's definately proud that she is a biped (even if she still requires a little bit of help staying upright)



When she got bored walking around the school house, she discovered another way to make it fun again. She must have figured if it was that much fun playing outside of it, imagine how fun it would be playing under it! She quickly found out how fun. She crawled right under it and amused herself for a good 30 minutes. My favorite pose was when she kicked her feet up over her head and rested them on the base of the school house seat. She just looked like she was "just chillin'". (Her little legs look so long in those pants!)

But that wasn't the end of our play day. Oh no. Next, we got out all of Norah's usually preferred toys. As you can see from the picture, we had quite an array of rainbow colors cluttering the floor. But our little smarty pants knew that there were still a few more toys left in her "toy box". She crawled over to it, pulled up on it, and was doing her best to open it. I had to laugh--after I took advantage of the photo op, of course.

She tried and tried to open the box herself, but to no avail. (She even clued into the little latch on the front of the box...smart girl!) Finally, she turned around to beckon me for an assist, and I gladly complied. Once I put out the remaining toys, she was perfectly content, playing with the ones that were already out. I guess she just wanted the back up toys out, just in case.

13 Current RC Quirks

Today's T-13 is a rare glimpse into some of the random quirks you'll find on any given day in Robinson County. (Warning: After you find out how weird we are, you may not want to come back to visit us!)

1. I subconciously tap the top of my coke (read: Dr. Pepper) can twice before I open it. This particular quirk is of great annoyance to Jason, who originally brought it to my attention, and I do attempt to surpress the urge when I catch myself doing it.
2. Jason truly believes that "everything's better with a little ranch dressing". He's been known to douse pizza, fried rice, pork chops...you name it. And as far as salads go, there is no better companion for lettuce (Jason's "salad" of choice) than ranch dressing, and if you don't have ranch, he'd rather pass.
3. Norah has developed a chronic (fake) cough and uses it (quite effectively, I might add) to get attention. Jason and I have learned, however, that we can use this to our advantage. Norah thinks the cough is funny--that's why she does it. So when she starts to fuss, Jason and I have figured out that we can do our fake cough, and Norah will forget her woes and start coughing with us, instead.
4. The "dollop swirl" in the center of a new tub of butter is off-limits until the sides of the tub have been hollowed out. I think its pretty and kindly ask that it not be disturbed until necessary.
5. Sweet tea is the only tea in Robinson County.
6. Norah can be in a room full of toys, and the "playthings" she seems most interested in are: electrical cords, shoes, and the telephone.
7. Jason feels it his duty to our family (or was it his right as a free American...I can't remember which) to peel the label from any product that he comes into contact with. This includes (but is not limited to): water bottles, soup cans, and salad dressing (why would he need the label when all he'll EVER use is Ranch anyway?)
8. I am very particular about the pen that I write with. I prefer to use a Pilot G7, in black, otherwise known to my close family and friends as my "inky pen". I carry one with me at all times so that I can write with my pen, as opposed to the one provided for me at the bank, check-out stand, etc. I also keep several stashed around the house and will search all of my "hiding places" for one before succombing to using a lesser, albeit more easily accessible pen.
9. Norah has taken to singing in unison with me in the afternoons. We pick a note and hold it for a while, then start again. We're thinking about taking our act on the road.
10. Jason is nearly incapable of walking past a refrigerator without opening the door and looking inside. It doesn't matter if he's not hungry. It doesn't matter whose fridge.
11. There is no cable television in the Robinson house. Hasn't been for the past 6 years since we've been married...and I'd just as soon keep it that way. We do, occassionally bum cable from friends and relatives if there's a good football game on, or something we deem worthwhile, but other than that, I really don't feel like we've missed too much.
12. Our daughter is a shameless flirt. She loves to go shopping just so she can talk to the people around us in the stores. Her funniest flirt-tactic is saying "Aaa" to anyone with their back to her, then she stares them down with her sweet smile until they look her way. It has almost a 100% effectivity rate. The "Aaa-eee" usually turns around and starts talking to her as soon as they see the grin.
    
13. I've mentioned in previous posts that my husband is an awesome ball player. The secret to his strength (much like Samson's was his hair), are his vintage 1978 tube socks, in varying colors. It doesn't really matter if they match his uniform--in fact, sometimes I think he picks the pair that clashes the most, on purpose. He likes to wear them hiked up almost to his knees. I'm usually in deep trouble if its game day and he doesn't have a clean pair...speaking of which, he has a double header tonight, so I'd better get some laundry going!

A New Like and a Dislike

Norah has officially "outgrown" the bouncer. The past 3 times we've put her in it, she has bailed out (still strapped in, but hanging upside down), so we finally decided it was time to return it to Jenny. Jen, being the generous soul that she is, offered us a trade--bouncer for jumperoo.

We took the jumperoo over to Grammy and Grandpa's house Saturday night to let Norah try it out, and I think its safe to say, it was a very good trade! For two straight hours (and I assure you, I am not exaggerating--we timed it), Norah bounced and jumped and laughed and shrieked. She loved the boooiiinng (pronounced: boy - eee - oing) sound effects, and of course, the jumping. But I think her favorite part of the evening was watching Grandpa and Uncle Johnny's dogs. Sally and Doby didn't know what to think of the new contraption in their livingroom (let alone the energetic girl at the helm). They kept pacing past her--never getting too close--and each time they would pass by, Norah would go into hyper-jumping/shrieking mode, as though she was putting on a show for them. I wish you could see in the pictures how high she was jumping--she was really getting some good air. And let me tell you, she slept like a log Saturday night!

As for the "dislike" promised in today's title...we have finally stumbled across a food that Norah does not enjoy. Sweet peas. I still can't believe it. I love peas. How can my own child hate them so? Oh wait...I think I may know the answer to that question. Grammy. My mom hates peas with an unmatched passion...that is it was unmatched, up until I tried to feed them to Norah this week. The first two bites, she just smacked the peas in her mouth, as though something wasn't quite right. Then she began with the tongue-out show of disgust. Finally, around bite 5-6, she held the entire contents of the spoon on top of her tongue and started making a gagging noise. At this point, I decided we'd had enough peas for one night. Still, I didn't want her to learn that she can make a few yucky faces and get chocolate cake, so I went into the kitchen and got jar of green beans to fake her out. She was pretty apprehensive about the first couple of bites, but quickly adjusted to switched menu and devoured the entire jar.

I am not ready to give up on peas just yet. I've read that it sometimes takes several tries to gain success with a new food. In fact, we tried peas again last night and made it to about 10 bites before Norah's gagging tendancies returned. (Please spare me any nasty comments on how insensitive and mean I am...it was only a few bites, and she was rewarded with her favorite, bananas, when we got through with the peas) I wont push her too hard, and I am proud of what a good eater she is already, even if she doesn't share my love for peas.

Blogger's Block

I've been suffering from a severe case of "blogger's block". It's not for lack of material--Norah's been up to all kinds of fun...I just haven't had the words (or the drive) to blog lately.

One such noteworthy acheivement is her new-found discovery of inhailing through her nose. She started this about 2 weeks ago, but has been pretty illusive as far as letting us capture "the face" on film. Pictures just don't do it justice. It's hillarious! She scrunches up her nose and puckers up her lips and breathes in (rather loudly). We're not really sure where she picked up this new talent, but we've enjoyed the show!

In other news, Jason and I played disc golf this weekend (it was the first time in about 8 months for him, and the first time in over a year for me). Aggie Disc Golf Club league play started today, so we went out to Research Park yesterday to see if we were still able to throw worth beans. We took Norah in the stoller, and Jonathan brought his jack russell, Doby, much to Norah's delight. (She laughed at him every time he ran closeby). We also saw a huge softshell turtle, and some baby ducklings. Norah seemed to really enjoy her long walk in the park.

We had a pretty decent round yesterday, so Jason's mom and grandmother came to our house and watched Norah this afternoon so Jason and I could go play our "league" rounds. (Thank you so much!) It was (I believe) the first "baby-less date" we've had in the past 7 months. Norah did great--Mom R said she didn't fuss at all. And we really enjoyed our time together (we held hands and everything!) We both played really well too. (He finished 7 under, I finished 4 over--and yes, he's MUCH better than me!)

What a blessing to have so much family here in town so that Jason and I can steal a few moments alone together. (Not that we dont love our "together time" with Norah.)

13 Things That Smell Good

This week's T-13 goes out to my friend, Checky Becky, who requested a "Good Smellin' Stuff" topic. It's amazing to me just how many memories I have tied to smells! (Oh, and if you're wondering about the cow...see #3)

1. Norah's Head--ahhh...I love that subtle mix of Johnson's Head-to-Toe and Baby Magic! Fresh and clean and sweet as can be.
2. Popcorn--it reminds me of spending the night with Memaw and Papaw when I was a little girl...seems like they ate popcorn every night while they watched the news. As a child, I hated watching the news...except at Memaw and Papaw's house.
3. Cow Mannure--not kidding. Ever since I was a kid and got to play at my Uncle Robert and Aunt Johnny Ruth's farm, I've loved the faint smell of cow poo that was noticable as soon as we got out of dad's truck at the farm. It makes me want to play in the hay loft and go fishing with grasshoppers. And no, I dont like the smell of poop, in general...I guess I just associate the smell of cow mannure with farm, and farm with fun.
4. Leather--It just smells so fresh. I go weak in the knees everytime we go into a sporting goods store when I'm hit with that overwhelming leather smell (from all the shoes and baseball gloves, I guess). We even have an awesome leather candle that is my most favorite one to burn.
5. Blue Pinesol
--what my house smells like when it's clean.

6. Cinnamon
--one whiff of this and I've instantly got Christmas on the brain...although, it's never too far from there, anyway.

7. Sawdust
--I love the smell of fresh sawdust. It usually means that Jason is making something amazing. (I'm not as crazy about the sawdust when it finds its way into our house...but its a fair trade-off, I suppose, for all the treasures he makes for our house)
8. Rain--especially a good, soaking rain after a long dry spell.
9. Fresh Sliced, Juicy Watermelon--It makes me think of happy summer memories--seed spitting contests with the Gilmore cousins, and late-night 4th of July swims (which always end with the family sharing watermelon)
   
10. The Coffee Aisle at Walmart--I've never been a coffee drinker--can't stand the taste. But I savor every second of my weekly processional down the Walmart coffee aisle. (Which, by the way, I've discovered is more fragrant when traversed from west to east)
    
11. Sharpies--(the marker, not the dog) Yeah, go ahead and make your wise cracks. I don't sniff them to get high, I just like the smell. It reminds me of the beginning of the school year.
    
12. White Cake, Hot Out of the Oven--I've been baking and decorating cakes for nearly 6 years, and to this day, I still love the way it makes our kitchen smell. (And at the expense of a lot fewer calories, since we rarely eat the cake!)
13. Jason's Armpits--seriously. He's really good about remembering to shower and he even wears deodorant...and it smells really nice!

Who Needs a Yellow Submarine?

Norah has one more reason to love the water...a super-cool, inflatable rocket ship! While on our previously blogged, spontaneous trip to Academy, Mommy and Daddy picked up this sweet ride for 20% off! We cracked it open Friday night for a dip in Gramps and Grandad's pool. Norah had a ball! Her favorite feature is the horn, which actually honks (think: old-school bicycle horn).





She's been kicking in the water for a few weeks now, so this little boat is perfect for her because it has little holes cut-out for her legs to hang down so she can kick to her heart's content. As you can probably tell from the pictures, she was very proud of her new ride. (I mean, who wouldn't be--it's neon green with purple and yellow racing stripes!)





In all of our anxious anticipation to get to the pool and test drive Norah's new boat, we forgot to pack her swimsuit! (We did, thankfully, have some swim diapers, so at least she didn't have to skinny dip) She didn't seem to mind her lack of attire, one bit. She was pretty much in hog heaven zooming around in her rocketship.

Breakfast and a Bug Book

Norah got to meet her new buddy, Bella Kay, this morning. Karen and Shane were passing through town, so we met for breakfast at IHOP. Norah sat in a high chair for the first time Thankfully, mommy remembered to pack her trusty germ cover. (Cause everyone knows that cotton repels all sorts of germs). If nothing else, it definately made the highchair more comfy, and kept any left-over renegade syrup from finding its way into Norah's mouth (as pretty much anything she can get her hands on does)

I'd say the girls really hit it off...Norah could hardly take her eyes off of Bella. She spent half of breakfast hunched over her high chair, trying to get a closer look. I don't know what Bella thought of Norah. As you can see in the picture above, she was yawning a lot, so I think Norah may need to work on her conversation skills so she wont bore all her friends to sleep. She definately kept the people at the table next to ours entertained...when she wasn't looking at Bella, she was turning around staring at the couple behind her. Now I have to teach her its not polite to stare...Mom's have a lot of responsibility!


I also discovered today that Norah has a new favorite book. I started reading "Ten Little Ladybugs" with her a couple of weeks ago and right off the bat, she seemed really interested in the bright pictures and the bumpy, textured ladybugs. Two weeks later, she loves this book so much, she's been choosing it over her toys! (That's my girl!) She doesn't even need me to read it to her anymore. She put on quite a show this afternoon, reading and entertaining herself with her latest pick in children's fiction. (So of course, I had to get out the camera to provide you with a little diversion in what may have otherwise been a boring day)

We're definately getting our money's worth out of our books. Norah is a tiny book worm. (But she didn't eat those holes in the book...it came like that) I can't wait until she's old enough to really read! There are so many great books I'd love to share with her!