Our good friends, James & Katy Garner, welcomed their second daughter, Zoe, into their family early this morning. Norah helped me pick out some fabric and I sewed up a shirt for little Zoe and new big sister, Shelby.
Norah loves hats! Lately, she can't get enough of them, so she's been inventing her own. One of her favorites is pictured at left. Its a plastic case that Grandma gave her, which is normally filled with plastic animals. At first, when she brought it to me, I thought she wanted me to unzip it to "free" her animals...but she was much more interested in wearing the bag on her head. Jason and I haven't decided whether she's an aspiring school lunch lady, or maybe an astronaut?
Here is in one of her favorite places...on the footrest of daddy's rocking chair. Anytime Norah hears daddy open up his chair to recline, she races over to sit down with him. She loves to "Rockie, rockie!"
Another favorite "hat" of late is her shorts. We've been potty training a little here and there, and Norah refuses to do her business until she has her shorts completely off...probably just so she can wear them on her head, but it seems to help, so we humor her.
What do you get when you cross size 4t feet with double-digit adult-size ankle socks? Soots (Sock-Boots)...and Norah loved them! Now, I'm not going to disclose the owner of these roomy, green vessels, but I will mention that her right leg just might be visible in the first picture.
By the way she raced around the living room, you would have thought we'd given Norah a pair of PF Fliers.
Norah has found her "butt". No, I'm not referring to her derrière. The "butt" to which I refer would be her belly button. For about the past week she has been mildly obsessed with this simple discovery. She loves to pull up her shirt and point to her naval, proclaiming "butt!" Each time, I try to correct her, enunciating "butt-UHN", but she just keeps on grinning and saying it her way. The funny thing is, she calls buttons (like you would find on a dress shirt) "buh-tees", so I'm not really sure what the pronunciation hang up is when it comes to her belly button.
Today, I tried my hand at another House on Hill Road tutorial, resulting in the outfit at left. The skirt fabric is not something I would normally have chosen, but Norah really does love strawberries, so I thought she'd like it...and I was right. Norah loves her "berries" shirt and matching skirt.
One non-sewing related bit of news I want to chronicle is Norah's increasing ability to repeat and recall things she hears. In Bible Class, there is a song the teacher sings , during which she has a child figurine "run" toward a mommy figurine, while singing "I'm happy to obey, I'm happy to obey. I'll come quickly when Mommy calls. I'm happy to obey." Last night I was bathing Norah, and she found two of her tub toys--hippos that stand upright, and she started the smaller hippo out "running" toward the larger one, while singing, "Bay! Bay! Happy!" I had to laugh because I knew exactly what she was talking about. I've also noticed that if I call Norah and she isn't coming as fast as I'd like, I can sing "I'm Happy to Obey" and she comes running. Anyone who says toddlers are "don't really get anything from Bible Class" should visit our house. I beg to differ.
Today was a fun day. Norah and I headed over to Grammy's house bright and early to tackle a new sewing project. Grammy and I had been looking forward to this project ever since we read about it on House on Hill Road.
The top went together in just a few hours (thanks to Mom's help, and Norah's cooperation) and I was tickled pink at how it turned out. We actually made this one for Norah's friend, Patti, who lovingly handed down tons of clothes to Norah, but their measurements are very close, so I was able to have Norah model it for me so I could be sure it would fit. (Don't worry, I would never leave Norah out--a shirt for her is next on my list!)
Here is the finished product. It's amazing how big it started out, vs. how tiny it finished up...but it stretches nicely and fits well. Norah really seemed to enjoy wearing it, too...let's hope Patti has similar taste in clothes!
Grammy and I were so proud of Norah for being so patient and entertaining herself while we sewed today. She was especially fascinated with Grammy's thread collection, attempting to name the colors of each spool she saw. (Of course right now, everything is initially "blue", but as soon as we would tell her the correct color, she would begin calling it the right thing).
Inspired, perhaps by a recent post by Sheri D, in which she posed that sometimes you just have to deal with the mess, smile, and let your kids be kids, I decided to let Norah have her first taste of Spaghettio's yesterday.
Phase Two: Eyelids Droopy-ous. This is the stage in which our subject begins to question the prudence of that last scoop of Spaghettio's. A futile attempt to cleanse the hands is made, but to no avail, as our subject already begins to show signs of crankiness and exhaustion brought on by the ingestion of far too much sodium-rich, tomato-paste product in far too short a period of time.
Phase Three: The Peaceful Slumber. Our subject succumbs to complete and total fatigue, giving way to a sleep so deep, it defies all necessity for cleanliness or comfort.
Phase Four: The Babe Rouses. In this phase, our subject either A) Hears a loud noise, B) Realizes the discomfort of sleeping in a sea of tomato paste, or C) Is awakened by her mother, who needs to leave the house and cannot do so whilst the child remains fettered to her sticky, orange chair. Regardless of how transition to phase four is attained, the subject will likely show signs of confusion.
Phase Five: Epilogue. By this point, the subject has regained consciousness and at least some semblance of where she is. She is somewhat more cooperative and willing to be cleaned, but may let out a series of fierce stretches, without warning. This is also the stage in which the subject's mother may determine that Spaghettio's, while fun for a season, are perhaps a treat best reserved for rare occasions, or at least until the subject can hold a spoon more steadily.
