13 Special Dates in My Life

1. January 15, 1980--My birth date.
   
2. April 17, 1980--Barbara Robinson gave birth to her second son, Jason Scott.
   
3. August 5, 1982--My sister, lifelong friend, and occassional partner in crime, Amanda McCall was born into the Gilmore family.
4. January 24, 1985---Amanda and I were estatic to have a new "little" brother to play with and pick on...little did we know, Jonathan would be taller than both of us in about 20 years.
5. August 6, 1993--I was baptized by Doug Berny in the Medina River. (It was also my dad's 33rd birthday.)
   
6. October 4, 1997--I took my SATs, my senior portraits, and went on my first date with Jason Robinson. We watched "The Man From Snowy River" on his mom's couch. (He couldn't go "out" because he was laid up with a football injury.
   
7. December 24, 1997--My first kiss (ever)... and yes, it was Jason, and yes, he's still the only man I've ever kissed (Dad excluded, of course).
   
8. May 16, 1998--Jason told me he loved me for the first (of many) time(s).
9. April 17, 1999--Jason celebrated his 19th birthday...and he proposed!
   
10. June 10, 2000--We were married at Central Church of Christ, the same church we grew up in.
11. September 1, 2001--I finally got the older brother and older sister I'd always wanted. (Jason's older brother, Grant, married one of my best friends, Paige Davidson)
12. January 19, 2006--Jason and I welcomed our firstborn, Norah Ashley Robinson, on the birthday of my Grandad Shelby. (He was more than willing to share)
    
13. June 10, 2050--Jason and I will celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary.
    

Baby Buggy

I'm telling you, that girl can make anything look fun! You'd think she was riding the Texas Giant from the look on her face! (She's even got both hands firmly gripping the handle, just like Mommy does) Norah took her first-ever (carseat-less) spin in a shopping cart tonight. Jason and I made a leisurely trip to Academy and decided to see how Norah would handle riding in a buggy. I have one of those nifty shopping cart covers to keep the germs off/make it more comfy, but this was an unplanned, spur of the moment trip, so I didn't pack accordingly. As you can see from the photo, she loved it! We wheeled all over Academy, and she grinned the whole time. It was funny watching her adjust to this new mode of transportation. She didn't particularly care for having her back to the direction in which we were headed. (She spent a great deal of our excursion craning her neck to see behind her--she wanted to know where we were going)

Where's Daddy? Where's Mommy?

Norah and Daddy had a good time playing together last night. They even invented a new off-shoot game of "Where's Norah?", called, "Where's Daddy?". Jason would put his head down, then Norah would tap him on his head, and he would pop up and grin at her. I lost count of how many times they played (it was a lot), but Norah definately caught on that this was a cause and effect game, and that Daddy would not rouse from his false-slumber until she tapped his head. (She even tried to fake him out a couple of times by pausing and watching carefully to see if he would forget and pop up untapped, but to no avail.) She also spent a good part of the evening chasing around a little, blue plastic ball (she's really into balls this week) and rolling it back and forth with Mommy. (Although sometimes our aim wasn't the greatest)

Jason and I are amazed at how strong she is. She is definately trying to pull-up. She has done so successfully on people a couple of times, but so far, she hasn't quite accomplished the feat on anything that is non-living. Last night she spied the lever on the easy-chair and made a bee line for it. Jason and I watched as she grabbed hold of the lever (which was about level with her eyes when she was lying on her stomach), and she managed to pull herself almost completly into standing position (all she lacked was to walk her legs forward, but because of the height of the lever, she wouldn't have had anything to hold onto if she stood straight up, so she was basically in a fully-extended push-up position on the lever) I know the photo makes it look like she is trying to eat the lever, but actually, that's just phase one of the pull-up process.

After all our playtime antics, (which, in case you were wondering, were done in only a diaper because they occurred post-dinner, pre-bath) I had my first "Girls' Night Out", sans Norah. I bathed her, fed her, and put her to bed (without protest) at 8pm, then headed to the new movie theater (which is right by our house!) with a bunch of girls from church, to see "Step Up". It marked the first time post-baby that I've carried a purse (not a diaper bag). I had a blast, and I loved the movie! It had a little bit of language, and the dancers' outfits were a little revealing (but I think that's pretty much the way it is), other than that, it was a pretty clean movie. I loved the music and the dancing was great!

I had to laugh because the theater had a total of 10 people in it, 8 girls in our group, and then one couple...poor guy. And at one point, his girlfriend got up and left to go to the restroom, leaving him sitting alone, by himself in the back row of the biggest chick-flick I've seen in a while. I got home around 11:30pm and was completely wired and wanted to dance...but then after that brief moment of deliria, I snapped back to reality and remembered that I'll always be a very white, C of C girl with no rhythm, whatsoever. So I decided to go to bed, instead where I could at least dream of being a good dancer.

Working Girls

Norah and I have had the pleasure of reliving my "Glory Days" at my old workplace for the past 3 weeks. We've been filling in for the front desk receptionist for 4 hours, daily, while she recovers from surgery. Today will (hopefully) be our last day.

Norah has been a great sport for most of our time at work. She spends some of the morning playing on a palette beside the front desk, some watching Baby Einstein on our laptop from home, some playing in the exersaucer I have occassionally borrowed from the church nursery (see photo), a little time eating lunch, and then she usually naps for at least an hour or so before we head home.

Everyone in the church office has been so nice and accomodating. (Becky always schedules her trip to the far-away outside mailbox when Norah starts to get a little fussy--not so she can get away from Norah, but so she can take her with her. (A good stroll in the Texas heat of August always cheers my little girl up...and to think, most of the rest of us are complaining about it...go figure!) And the little "side job" came at a good time...our summer utility bill is outrageous! Oh...and for those of you who are as excited as I am...there are exactly four months til Christmas!!!

13 "Together" Things

This week's 13 is a list of things that Jason and I have enjoyed together. Some of my favorite memories have stemmed from these times of "Recreational Companionship", that remind me how thankful I am to have married my best friend.

1. Softball---the first few years we were married we played co-ed softball both on city teams and a church team (my favorite--Man! I miss that--I think our team was dead last, but we had more fun) When we ran out of co-ed teams to play with, Jason joined an all-guys team, and I go along and keep the book--not quite as much fun as playing, but still pretty fun.
2. Worship--I love that Jason and I are able to worship together every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night at church. It is such a blessing to be able to hold hands when we pray, and to hear his voice when we sing. I love that Norah will have the memory of us going to church as a family.
3. Snorkling--We experienced this for the first time on our honeymoon in Cancun. It was far and away the coolest outting we had. We saw baracudas close-up, along with lots of coral and exotic fish. It was so beautiful...we've both said we'd love the chance to do it again.
4. Harry Potter--These were the first books Jason and I ever read together. It started when we were newlyweds and didn't have much money for entertainment. Jason has read all 6 exisiting HP books to me, and we've really enjoyed them together. We're anxiously anticipating the release of the 7th and final book, but it will be bittersweet for it to end.
5. The Legend of Zelda--I know, we're big dorks. This was, yet another of our newlywed low budget pass-times. Jason would do the actual playing of the game (its a video game on Nintendo 64, in case you're too cool to know that), but I watched every minute of it, and served as his "spotter". I still maintain that "The Legend of Zelda" is the greatest game ever made.
6. Disc Golf--We got sucked into this "way funner than it sounds" passtime a couple of years ago, when we were introduced to it by our good friends, Scott & Sara Nickson. Some of my happiest recreational companionship memories involve Jason and I rushing home from work to get a quick round of DG in before Wednesday night church. (We used to have the world's best park 2 blocks from our house, but some crotchity people in the neighborhood had it taken it without even asking everyone how they felt about it)
7. Kite Flying--We haven't been on a kite flying date in ages, but they were so much fun! We bought our first kites while we were dating, in college. They were the plastic, $2 jobs from Wal-mart, and we flew the way out of them! (I remember we skipped Chemistry one blustery day...ahhhh, memories) We don't have our original kites anymore (his Buzz Lightyear took out my Winnie the Pooh in a nasty kite fight that he and his brother indulged in, unbeknownst to me at the time), but we did buy a fancy "real" kite (no plastic) on our first anniversary at South Padre Island.
8. The Inheritance Trilogy--Another book series that Jason & and are in the middle of reading together. We've read the first two and are waiting for the release of the third. (We both agreed the other day that next series we read needs to be a finished one...but then again, the anticipation is half the fun!) Its been especially fun reading these because they're fantasy, and they're adolescent books--so the "kid" in Jason really comes out. (Though, he'll be the first to tell you, that the kid in him is never fully supressed, anyhow)
   
9. Going to the Movies...at Home--We are definately the pass on the theater, rent it when it comes out on DVD type of movie-goers (except for the occassional blockbuster release that you just have to see on the big screen). We have a pretty extensive dvd collection (both old and new), and we like watching new movies as they come out. One of my favorite "dates" is cuddling on the couch in front of a good movie.
   
10. Cooking--Most nights I try to have dinner at least close to ready when Jason gets home...but on the occassion that we're entertaining, we usually tag-team it. My favorite meal that we cook together is fajitas. It has LOTS of sides and it is so helpful to have an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. I think the reason I enjoy cooking with Jason so much now, is that we've come so far at it. When we were first married, I couldn't hardly stand to share the kitchen (granted, we're in a little bigger kitchen than we were in our first apartment), but now, we're learned how to work
    
11. Snowboarding and Skiing--Jason and I have been every year since 1999. His brother and sister-in-law used to live in Salida, CO, so we would take a trip up to see them, and enjoy the slopes at Monarch Pass. We both learned (Jason to snowboard, me to ski) the same year, so we're on pretty much the same skill level, and we have loved every memory we have made--from riding the lift together, to taking our first "jump", to the biggest "yard sale" you've ever seen! Now that Grant and Paige have moved back to Texas, we'll have to come up with another excuse to go to Colorado so we can play.
12. Teaching Bible Hour--Jason and I taught the kindergarten Children's Bible Hour together at the A&M Church for three consecutive years. We loved getting to know our classes and working with them to help them learn the 15 Judges, the 12 sons of Jacob, and the 10 Commandments. (We used the same songs to teach them that Jason and I grew up learning at the Central Church of Christ, in Bryan) We were always so amazed at how quickly the kids could learn, and how much they could retain. Those three years were truly a blessing to us, and I hope that some day we will be able to teach together again.
13. Norah-Watching--probably our most favorite passtime of late. We never tire of looking at our beautiful baby. She is a source of constant delight for both of us.

First Bath in the "Big Tub"

Up until Monday night, all of Norah's baths have taken place in the kitchen sink. It's been fun standing there and washing her at stomach level, but not always the most convenient location in our house...especially when bath-time typically follows dinner, and Mommy has a tendancy to use a lot of pans and dishes in the process (of dinner preparation, not bath rituals).

1 Sink full of dishes + 1 carrot clad, 7-month-old baby = Norah's first bath in the "big tub"!

Naturally, we had to document the occassion. Norah absolutely loved it. (Is it just me, or does she look totally proud of herself?) Of course, we had to bring ducky along so she would understand that this was still bathtime, even though she has a new chair (courtesy of Jenny) and a much bigger place to splash around in (which I guess doesn't really matter much since she's pretty much confined to the chair, which provides good censorship for bath pics, and can swivel around 360 degrees in case Norah wants a change of scenery ). She seemed to enjoy herself, but then, she has never turned down a bath! She didn't even mind when Mommy styled her hair, which I might add, is much easier to manage when it is wet and full of soapy bubbles!

Another noteable benchmark this week is a very noticable increase in babbling, accompanied by several new "phrases". Her current favorite is "Blah-Blah-Blah". It doesn't matter how many times I hear it, it still cracks me up. (And to think, this girl's never even seen The Peanuts let-alone heard Charlie Brown's teacher talk!) She gets pretty excited if any one talks back to her--especially if we use her words. I guess when she hears us say "blah-blah-blah?" maybe she feels like we understand. Sometimes I answer her jabber with, "What's that? You're hungry?" (A phrase I think she really does understand ) And then I promptly feed her, in hopes that someday she'll be able to (sweetly) tell me in real words what she needs. I can't wait to hear what her voice will be like when she learns to talk...but for now, I'll cherish her endearing baby-talk.

"Welcome to My Crib"

Today was a great day! After church, we had Mom R, Grandmother, Paige, and Jonathan over for Sunday dinner (potroast, salad, and Neiman Marcus bars). Norah and I decided to take a nap after our guests went home (some of them, probably to do the same). I got restless after about 30 minutes and didn't feel right about leaving Norah alone in my big bed (its a pretty long fall if she decided to go for a roll), so I put her in her crib...and there she stayed, without a peep for 2 hours. When she had uncharacteristically slept 30 minutes past her feeding, I snuck in her room to see if she was at least starting to stir.

It sounded like she was playing quietly, so I got down on all fours to sneak up to her crib and surprise her (this almost always is met with uncontrollable giggles). Well, turns out, Norah's no dummy...she must've heard my old bones a-creakin', cause she pulled down her bumper pads and surprised me with a little shriek. I got so tickled, I called Jason in so he could see her peering out between the slats in her crib. Priceless! We played a few rounds of our new version of "Where's Norah" and marveled over how smart she was for figuring out that she could hijack our game of hide-and-seek by pulling down the bumper pads (a first).

Since she was so content when I found her, I got to wondering how long she'd been awake, and if she'd ever really been napping at all (or if she had just played opposum so Mommy would leave her to her fun and games). So just for kicks, I decided to spy on her for a few minutes to see what she was doing to entertain herself, and let me tell you, she was busy! Here are just a few photos I snapped in about a 5 minute span.

I especially like the one of her playing with her mobile with her feet so she could free up her arm for chewing (guess that accounts for her being late for her afternoon feeding...which, by the way, she did receive as soon as Mommy finished her documentary).