Getting ready for Christmas

  

Yea, Jamie and Jeannie are home.  Although they didn't make it to their final destination, they made it from Norway to Seattle.  Jamie drove the rest of the way down to Bend to meet Nora.  They'll both be here after Christmas for a week.     

Bath time...luvin it

Bath time.....who hooooooooo, what fun!!  I wish I could silence the audio, as I sound kinda annoying.  Nora is pretty cute, though

She hates tummy time, but loves to stand

The snow has arrived.  I switched out tires yesterday so we can have a little advantage driving on the slippery roads.  Since the car was waiting in line at Les Schwab all morning Nora and I couldn't make it to the mommy & me spin class.  We went x-country skiing with Casey and the dogs instead.  5 degree temps made me wonder if it was too cold for Nora, but I bundled her up, put her in the baby bjorn, and (with Casey's help) clicked into our sweet 1989 ski set-up.  With Nora on my chest under a down jacket, I looked like the abominable snow made sliding down the road.  Nora seemed to be very cozy and comfortable while I sweated my brains out.  

                                               

      

No matter how we tweak it, Nora doesn't enjoy tummy time.  She'll start huffing and puffing, drooling, and kicking, and a full blown melt down usually ensues.  She does however, love to stand.  

The Jingle Bell run

Last Saturday Casey, Mom, Dad, the dogs and I all did the jingle bell run.  

Nora riding Bean and Ralph introducing her to riding a mountain bike by watching mountain biking videos 

another weigh in

At 9 weeks Nora has grown 3 inches, now measuring 23 inches and weighs 11lbs, 6.5 ounces.  I didn't realize, but she was also scheduled for her 1st immunization.  I believe in, and agree with the importance of (most) immunizations (Measles still kills 500 kids a day worldwide---crazy), I just didn't realize it was going to be at this visit.  It was hard to watch her get an injection into her innocent pudgy little thigh, she did great though, didn't even cry until the needle was withdrawn.  

Essie, Nora's East Coast girlfriend

Nora and Ralph practicing "tummy time"

"Gitty up!!"  Nora rodeoing a reluctant Lester

Grandpa and Nora

Essie and her parents Sara and Paul all visited for Thanksgiving from Saranac Lake, NY.  

Nora and Essie conversing on the differences between 2 months old and 6 months old

Essie checking to see if Nora has any teeth yet

Sara and Essie and Ralph and Nora on Thanksgiving

Hawaii!!!

Aloha!!  It went by in a blink.  Although we missed our families, it wasn't too difficult to adjust to life in paradise.  

Ralph and I rented the "dream beach cottage", a small little house on Molokai's east end.  It had a great deck and a private little beach with a great swimming area.  We couldn't have dreamt up a better place to slow down and get to know our new little baby girl.  

We had a fantastic time.  We walked up the road from our house along the coast almost everyday, went on a couple good hikes, swam,  explored the island, even played 9 holes of golf.  Nora participated in her first 10K (via Ralph's man power and a stroller) and made the podium with her Dad bringing home a nice wooden bowl trophy.  I ran too and took 1st place for women, won a trophy and 100 dollars!!!!  I couldn't believe it, a definite funny surprise.

We met a nice man, Jim, who gave us a stroller, and a great guy, Dave who lent us surf boards and taught us how to stand up paddle board.  

  
We met a woman, Debbie, that ran a little veggie delivery service.  Each Saturday she would delivery an enormous box of organic fruits and veggies to the house.  There was consistently a lot of basil, cilatro, banans and greens, but  other than that you never knew what you were going to get. Everything on the island is super expensive (over 8 dollars for a gallon of milk or a quart of plain yogurt) so this was a super deal.  

Me, my trusty sneakers and my trophy 

Ralph and Nora on one of our many walks

Father, daughter surf check

Nora checking out the feeling of sand between her toes for the first time

Our new friend, Jim, took us on a spectacular hike in his back yard.  He shuttled us up on a 4 wheeler as far as we could get then we hiked up further to enjoy a great view of the island, the ocean and neighboring Maui.  The east side of the island, where we stayed, is really pretty wet and therefore very green and lush. 

   

I keep telling her maroon is good color on her.

This is phallic rock, you can't tell as well from the side view, but is was certainly named appropriately.  It was in a really beautiful pine forest.

We hiked up to a really beautiful water fall with a friend we met, Bo.  You hike through an incredibly lush, dense, exotic forest to get there;  lots of big trees with crazy root systems, wonderful flowers, and no other people.  It was definitely our idea of paradise. 

Halloween

Nora dressed as a pumpkin with Elvis glasses and sideburns.  I was a forest service employee, Ralph was questionable and Bean was a bee keeper.  

Nora kickin it in her new tent.  Bean fell asleep during his shift of baby watching.  
 I think she approves of her tent.  Throwing up in it doesn't mean she doesn't like it, right?  Yep, perhaps she's like her Grandma Kaplan, she throws up whenever she gets excited.  

We leave for Hawaii Monday morning bright and early.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us, we're all a little nervous about the plane ride.  We don't want to be "those people with the screaming baby."  The potential is good for her to be just fine, but you never know.  Please send calm, chill, happy, sleepy well wishes Nora's way:)

Shevlin Park

We went with Nora to Shevlin Park for a walk last week.  We both wonder about how bumpy it is, worrying about her little brain getting bounced around too much, but she seems to love

 nothing more than bouncing along a bumpy road

Chantrelle hunting

We went Chantrelle mushroom picking west of Bend off the Santiam river on Sunday.  We hit the the mother load, and now how mushrooms coming out our ears.  

Ralph made a chantrelle, chevre cheese, and elk sausage pizza the first night.  We had chantrelles and eggs this morning. They seem to be agreeing with Nora just fine.  

She was great, rode in the baby bjorn the entire day and was happy as a clam.  She got pine needles in her hair and diaper (don't know how they got down there, but they did), and had her first encounter with a salamander.  She also shot poop across the hood of the Saab.  I was changing her and apparently wasn't quite quick enough.  Yep, driving around with poop across the hood of your car definitely screams "baby on board" more than any little sign hanging in your window.  

Happy days despite pimples and peeling skin

This week has been absolutely gorgeous.  The leaves are turning and the mountains have snow, the air smells of winter, but the sky is cloudless and blue.  All that and the weather is warm!  It's the type of weather that reminds us all why we live in Bend.

Nora and I met some friends to watch a Rugby game.

And they say babies don't smile until 3 months.....all I said was "say cheese!"

Nora listening closely as Ralph reads over the different measures to fill out his voting ballot.

Once I figured out that Nora didn't appreciate what I was eating last week ( onions and garlic), things began to look up.  10pm to midnight still seems to be a witching hour, but other than that she's been a real trooper.  Her baby acne has gotten a little worse, spreading to her neck now, and she continues to shed a layer of skin, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by either.