Christmas Tree Hunting

Another great year for hunting for Christmas trees! We were going to leave the kids with G.G. but decided not to since Owen was sick (pink eye). Then I was just going to go and leave Clark with the kids but at the last minute we decided to all pack up and go and I'm so glad that we did! We put Nora in her sling and she snuggled up and slept most of the time. Owen had a blast, but how could he not? Clark picked out such a cute tree, if only it hadn't started to die on us way before the season was over! 

Nora: 6 months

I can't believe we've hit the half year mark. I can't even talk about it, it's too crazy. 

At 6 months Nora...

::: Weighs 15 pound 15 ounces (43 percentile)

::: Is 25.75 inches long (38th percentile)

::: Has the teeniest, tiniest feet. I had to special order her some shoes and the lady could not believe they were for a 6 month old, she was so worried they wouldn't fit! but yep, they did. With room to grow!

::: Can sit up for a little bit in her own (until she decides she needs to reach for something. Which is always)

::: like I said above, she grabs EVARYTHANG that comes remotely close to her. If she gets a hold of it, it goes straight to her mouth. 

::: Her favorite toys are the ones that make noise. 

::: We borrowed a jumparoo from our neighbors and she loves it! She especially loves when her brother tries to show her how to jump. She laughs and laughs. 

::: It's impossible to keep her on her back. She instantly flips right over to her belly every time. 

::: We learned we can't leave her in her bouncer not strapped in when she somehow wriggled her way out and scraped her head on the filing cabinet. It's still a mystery to me. 

::: She is so happy all the time. We get comments all the time like "does she ever cry?!" Yes. Yes she does. 

::: She's (finally!) started sleeping pretty good at night. She still wakes up once a night, anywhere from 1-6 and then usually sleeps until 9:30 ish. 

::: Usually takes 3 naps a day. One an hour or so after she wakes up, one in the afternoon (I try to get it as close to Owen's nap as possible) and one around 6. 

::: Eats one meal of rice cereal or oatmeal and half a jar of baby food per day. She loves it. She's tried all the vegetables that are offered in stage 1 and peaches and bananas. 

::: LOVES food. She has to be at the table when we are eating and begs for tastes of everything. We have yet to find anything she doesn't like. (Actually she does not like the medicine we gave her yesterday for the first time) 

6 months calls for a letter

Nora Girl,

I can't even begin to tell you what a joy it is to have you in our family. You have fit in perfectly and I already can't imagine life without you. I can tell you are going to be a trouble maker. You get into everything and I know it's just going to get worse as you get more mobile. I love watching the relationship between you and your brother grow, nothing makes me happier than seeing you two laughing and playing.  I absolutely love how much you love food and how excited you get when I finally give in and give you a taste of whatever I'm eating, you'll play around with it with your tongue and then you'll smile and giggle. I love when you open your mouth for a bite your tongue sticks straight out. And I love how you growl when you are happy and roll your tongue when you are upset. I love how I can tell you are trying to get someone's attention sitting behind us at church and I can tell exactly when they look at you because you break into the biggest smile and then bury your face in my neck. Everyone who meets you loves you. It's only been six months and you've already changed our lives big! I love you something fierce, sweet pumpkin!

Love,

Momma

A Tractor and a Mouse

This year was a good one for Halloween! Everytime we asked Owen what he wanted to be he went from saying a truck, to a trailer, to a truck pulling a trailer, to a tractor, and finally settled on a back hoe. It's a good thing we have Pinterest these days so I searched "back hoe costumes" and came up with this. It turned out super cute and even though Owen didn't love wearing it, he suffered through it for the trunk or treat and stole the show. Everyone thought he was the cutest. He loved getting the candy. His favorite was the licorice. And Nora made the cutest little mouse I've ever seen. I always say I want to do some cute themed family costumes. But maybe next year.. 

^^ let me explain this picture.. We thought it would be really cute to have Nora curled up in Owen's bucket, but as you can see, it was a fail. Ha ha ha.

^^ my parents always have the coolest trunk or treat car. This year it was a prison. All the kids were lining up to get a piece of candy from the prisoner. 

Cuz this is Thriller!!

The week before Halloween my family drove down to St. George to see Thriller at the Tuacahn. Clark and the kids and I drove down a day early to spend some time with Clark's high school friend Matt, his wife Kimmie and little boy, Brodie. We had fun catching up with them. Owen loved playing with Brodie's tractors. Then we went out to dinner with my family and Clark took the kids back to Matt's while I went to Thriller with everyone else. It was such a cool show! I hope next year Clark will be able to see it. 

On the drive home we made a detour up Cedar Canyon. It was super windy, but super beautiful. 

The Red Barn

We went to the red barn in Santaquin a few months ago with my mom and sisters. There was so much to do! A potato sack slide, a hay maze, sandbox, hayrides, and a pumpkin patch. We ended the day with delish apple cider donuts and ice cream. That day was the epitome of fall. 

Nora Eats Cereal

For the past few weeks we've been able to tell Nora was ready to eat some solids. She gets really frustrated when we are all around the table eating without her. So at her 4 month check up we got the okay to start her on some cereal! She loves it! You can tell by the pictures, at first she was playing it cool, all "yeah, this is alright" but by the last picture she couldn't help but show her excitement. 

She would kick her legs and get super excited with each bite. She is just so cute! So far she isn't a fan of squash but loved sweet potatoes!

And here's another picture for your viewing pleasure, because everytime I look at it I laugh and laugh and laugh...

Nora: 4 months

Can you believe our little Nora Girl is already 4 months old?! I've never wanted time to stop as badly as I do right now. What I wouldn't give to stay 25 with a cute little two year old Owen Pants and a sweet little baby Nora. But I can't help but love watching them grow and learn.

At four months old Nora...

::: weighs 14 pounds 2 ounces (46 %ile)

::: is 24.5 inches long (48 %ile) 

::: rolled over twice from her belly to her back (on her 4 month birthday!)

::: Still isn't a fan of tummy time

::: LOVES any attention she can get. All you have to do is look at her to get her smiling and kicking. 

::: Giggles when tickled, or when her brother shakes her bouncer while she's sitting in it. 

::: has such a silly personality. She loves to scream at the top of her lungs and is so playful already!

::: Sits perfectly in the bumbo seat and walker

::: Loves playing with toys and looking at books

::: Loves watching TV

::: Loves her wubbanub, won't take any other binky. 

::: Loves to be kissed

::: Pretty much loves everything. She is such an easy going kid! 

::: Anything she can get her hands on goes straight to her mouth. 

::: Gets so excited watching us eat, she kicks and watches us so closely and mimicks us chewing (I think she's ready for some solids!) 

::: Generally takes 3 naps a day, the afternoon one being the longest. 

::: Still no change at night... Sigh

::: Her favorites are bath time, watching Owen play and being tossed (lightly) in the air. 

::: My favorites are her chunky thighs, the way she arches her back as soon as you unbuckle her seatbelt, her cute little noises when she chatters, the way she sucks her bottom lip, and pretty much everything about her. 

Random Day at the Park

So the other day we were having a rough day! We've been in a funk where we have a really hard time getting up and going in the morning! We usually don't leave the house until noon or later if we leave at all! So we were having a day like that. Luckily, though, we have an awesome aunt Hannah who will meet us at the park when we need to get out of the house and who will play with Owen and give me some grown up conversation. What will we do when she leaves us?! 

Onion Days '14

You know Payson Onion Days is one of my favorite holidays, and I will always live close enough to participate in all the fun traditions. :) this year was exceptionally fun because Owen is getting old enough to really enjoy the parade and rides, and everything is more fun with Nora around.

We started things out on Thursday with the free concert at Peteetneet. To be honest, I can't even remember the name of the band. Reckless Hearts, maybe? But we had fun hanging out and eating pizza. 

On Friday we had the annual Fiesta, which is my very favorite thing. So much yummy food!! Then we went to watch the fire works, which both the kids we're mesmerized by. 

 

On Saturday we drove to yuba to go boating. Owen even went in the tube, and the ski doos! And, yep, you guessed it, Nora slept almost the entire time. 

Then that evening we took Owen to the carnival. Rissy was such a trooper to go on the kiddy rides. 

Sunday we went to the band concert in the park. We sat on blankets, ate popcorn, horsed around, rolled down the hill, and listened to no music.

And on Monday we went to the parade, had a BBQ at my family's house and then walked through the booths at the park where both the kids passed out from a very long and exciting weekend.