The Babysitter

I don't think Norah's quite ready for me to leave her home alone with Eli, but she sure does a great job entertaining him! I am so thankful that she looks at Eli as her "little buddy", and not competition or her "annoying little brother" (at least not yet).



N showed E how to make the overhead toys jingle. And he watched her, soaking in all the new playtime strategies she had to offer.


And Mommy got not one...











not two...













but three cakes finished!

You Can Stand Under My Um-ber-ella

Rainy days and Mondays might get the Carpenters down, but I know of at least one Robinson who gets a big kick out of them.

Norah always looks forward to Monday mornings because it's our standing grocery shopping day--rain or shine. (We always go with my mom, which is a HUGE blessing!) It was pouring this morning, but we still suited up (even Eli had a little rain hat) and made the trek to Wal-mart.

It was a great opportunity to review Norah's recent Bible school lessons on Noah and the ark. Last week she brought home an umbrella craft from Bible Hour (to remind her that it rained for 40 days and nights), so she was elated to use the "real deal" this morning. I had to laugh because she kept calling it her "rain-brella".

Our conversation while getting ready to go out this morning went as follows...
A: Norah, it's Monday--guess we're we're going to go?
N: CHINA!!?
A: Ummmm...no. But we are going to Walmart.

Look at Him Go!

I know I’ve mentioned more than once that our little man likes to eat. This week he’s been working it off! He loves his tummy time, and as crazy as it sounds, at 9 weeks, he acts much more interested in crawling (army style) than rolling. Time will tell.

Norah really enjoys getting down on the floor and coaching E, and he responds great to her encouragement. I can't wait until he's old enough to have a real conversation with her! (Actually, I CAN wait...but at least it's something to look forward to!)

PS–for the record, these “barefoot pictures” were taken two days ago, when it was a balmy 78 degrees outside, as opposed to this morning, when the massive snowflakes were flitting about. Gotta love central Texas weather!

Our Little Helper

Norah loves being a helper. She is a great go-fer. She is great at calming Eli down. She’s more than happy to stir anything in the kitchen (especially if it contains chocolate chips!). But this time, our eager, little helper may have crossed the line.

While walking in the park this week, we encountered another mom, calling her son home. The son was not coming, so the mom did what a lot of moms might do in such a situation–she started counting, in true “Mom” fashion…”ONE!!!” (pause for effect) when my little helper chimed in, “TWO!!! (in a strikingly similar voice tone and at an almost identical volume). I think I turned 7 shades of red when the other mom turned her head around to see who was upstaging her. But it worked out great, and as a result we met a new friend in our neighborhood (who thankfully has a 3-year old, and a good sense of humor!). Having kids is such a great equalizer!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

If you're reading this post, then I thank you for sticking with me through my wishy-washy platform skipping (and the shortest "new blog" stint ever). After several requests to keep the "old" blog, and a little frustration on my part with some of the differences in Blogger and Word Press, I've decided to compromise and return to Blogger with my new page header--so at least I can feel like I have gained something from this experience. The more I've thought about it, the better sense it makes to keep all of my blog entries at one address (this one)--for simplicity's sake. So, thanks again for following me around the web, and I'll try to stay in one place for a while. Oh, and don't forget to update your blog subscriptions (Google Reader, Feedburner, etc.)...again...sorry!

We're Moving!

I'll bet that caught at least a few people's attention (ie--our parents and close friends, who are probably thinking, "What?! I thought they loved their house. I didn't even know they were looking!"). In actuality, only the blog is moving. I've been contemplating a move to Word Press (another blog publishing platform) for a while, and have finally decided it's time. (No hard feelings, Blogger, it's been a good 2 years)

The new address for all things Robinson County-related will be www.robinsoncountypost.wordpress.com. If you use a feed reader (like Google Reader or Feed Burner), please update my address. Please keep in mind that we're only just "moving in", so the new blog is pretty bare bones, but I've got big plans for it, so bear with me!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, this blog will remain here, complete with all my old posts and pictures, for all eternity (like I'm gonna throw away a 2-year effort!) .

So THAT'S What Those Holes Are For

She requested colored pencils yesterday.
I didn't question her, but complied.






My narrow mind simply assumed another Dora coloring book page would bear her marks, but she had something better in mind...



...which, she excitedly shared, once her colorful masterpiece was complete.







Oh, for a fresh set of eyes-- full of wonder and completely attuned to each one of life's possibilities, large and small!


As a side note, this might explain Norah's crocs obsession of late. Sunday night she wanted to wear hers, brought Daddy's to him, and then instructed me to get mine as well. We looked like quite the croc-rific family...poor Eli, we haven't found a pair in his size yet, so he just had to be the odd man out. Thankfully, he didn't seem too bothered about the whole ordeal.