Whew, it's good to be home

Sorry for the lack of posts- it's been a very busy few weeks.  We stayed with my parents for a week (thanks guys!) and then moved into our new home last Tues/Wed.  It's been so nice to see my parents and my sister and so great to have their help with watching Nora while we've been moving in.  It really does make such a difference to have that help.

We also took a brief trip up to Fort Collins to see my sister-in-law and her husband.  They just had a new baby boy, and I was excited to meet my new nephew!  But first, we took Nora and her cousin (who's almost exactly a year older than her) to the new Museum of Discovery up there.  It was such a cool place!  They have a large music section where you can play all kinds of instruments, and then another section very similar to the science center in Maryland.  It's all very new and the kids loved it!

Here's Nora jamming on the drums:

I love this photo of Nora and her cousin in the wind ("tornado") machine... they both closed their eyes!  I was impressed that neither of them thought it was scary.

Kevin holding our new nephew!  He was so cute and tiny and sleepy it almost made me miss the newborn stage.  Almost.

Hanging out on the bench outside the restaurant we ate at- Nora and her cousin look like they could be brother and sister in some ways, doesn't it?  They both have the same curly hair and button nose.  It will be fun to see them spend time together as they get older.

It was great to spend the morning with their family.  We're excited to see both our families more often now!

Last Days in Baltimore, Part II

We are now officially in Colorado, waiting for our moving truck to arrive and our new lease to begin.  It's been a hectic week!  I thought I would share the last few pictures of our time in Baltimore...

First, we had a fun visit to Patterson Park.  They have a pond to feed the ducks and a great kids' playground.

We also played a lot in our little "backyard" area because the inside of our house was a mess of boxes and things strewn about, and most of Nora's toys were getting packed up.  She loves this little inch worm toy!

She also had fun digging in the dirt and transferring dirt with a spoon between pots. :)  She liked smelling the oregano I had potted up last year!

Our rose bush was in bloom and it made a great backdrop for photos- though Nora was feeling a little serious that day. :)

Finally, we celebrated this little lady's birthday! (her family party is actually this weekend).  One of the things Kevin and I gave her was her first necklace and bracelet set.  She was super excited!  I just love this picture of her. Those curls kill me!  I can't believe she's getting so big.

Then we went out to dinner for Nora's favorite food- pizza! She opened presents while we waited for the food.

We also managed to get in Nora's 2 year well-check on our last day in Baltimore. She's 35" tall and weighs 30lbs. She was so brave when she got her HepA shot and finger prick and didn't even cry. :) She is doing great, and we are so glad she is healthy and happy. She's talking in full sentences quite often these days and the things that come out are so funny. It's amazing the things she remembers from days or weeks ago and will bring up out of nowhere! Her sleep right now is another matter- this girl is having trouble falling asleep for bedtime and naps, and waking up early and sometimes in the middle of the night. Not sure if it's a two-year sleep regression or just all the changes in her life right now but I'm hoping she gets back on track with sleep soon! Well, my computer is all packed up but once we get moved in I'll try to post more about the last week.

Our baby is TWO!

Happy birthday to our dearest daughter... such a blessing this last year has been!  You are such a joy.  One year olds are amazing. :)  You amaze us every day!

Here's to being two!



Here's Nora's one year birthday post.

And here's her very first birthday post!

Last Days in Baltimore, Part I

It's actually been a pleasant May here- even a little on the cool side (which I suppose is better than the sweltering pit of despair it's occasionally known to be).  The generally sunny weather has meant lots of time at the local parks, and in our "backyard" (aka enclosed slab of concrete).  I'm a fan because it's much easier to entertain Nora outside for the most part.  She can spend a lot of time digging in the dirt, picking up rocks and sticks, chasing squirrels... and I just realized she sounds like a puppy.  Ha!

The other afternoon she pushed Mo all over in the pink cart (though, when he didn't stay on, she got *quite* annoyed).  She really likes to blow bubbles too.



At the park, she's been really into (1) climbing up structures- ladders, rock walls, the slide, etc. and (2) hanging from things. Kevin is supremely happy that she's showing early signs of being a rock climber. ;) I mean, look at that determination in her face!



And a new favorite of my two favorites:



Nora also likes to walk by herself when she's allowed. In one park near us, she likes to walk up this hill, then down again, then back up. It's awesome, Kevin and I can just sit on the park bench and watch.

 



Finally, our favorite babysitter and friend gave Nora lacrosse sticks for her birthday- so we've gone out practicing in the field near our house quite often in the last week. Nora's favorite part is the ball and putting it into the goal- I think we'll have to work on some of the finer points of the game with her. It's going to be hard to find another sitter as wonderful as Emilee!



My little cutie. :)

Med School Graduation

Kevin's dad came into town for graduation day- it was nice to have him out here!  His mom would have come too but my sister-in-law just had her second baby, so grandma was understandably needed. :)

The graduation ceremony was held at the symphony hall in Baltimore. It was a pretty long ceremony and we had had the foresight to send Nora to daycare rather than have her sit through 3 hours of name-reading. It was so wonderful to reflect on the last four years and see Kevin achieve this degree. There is a lot more hard work ahead, but at least we've gotten this far!  My husband is SO smart and it's really amazing to see all he's accomplished since he first told me about 6 years ago he was thinking of going to medical school.

And now our time in Baltimore is coming to a close... I have 4 more days of work, lots of packing to do, cars to ship, addresses to change... and then we are Colorado-bound!

Life is moving fast...

... and I have oh so little time to blog.  But a couple of things:

(1) Our house is under contract.  I'm nervous about the inspection and all the other steps along the way, so I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but at least something is happening. :)

(2)  Nora's school photo.  I wish she were smiling, but oh my gosh I love how prim and proper she's sitting.  What a little lady!  How I love this girl... (apologies for the dust on the scan.  Why in the world don't they sell digital images instead of printed images?  What is this, 1995?).

(3) Today as I left to go to work, Nora said "Mommy looks pretty!".  I mean, how can my day start off any better?

(4)  Kevin graduates tomorrow!  Hopefully more about this later... I'm enjoying my last night as the only "Dr" in the house. :)  I'm so proud of all his hard work.

(5) I have a new nephew!  I can't wait to meet him.  We've been working with Nora on his name and I think she's doing a good job though I'm not quite sure she gets what she is memorizing.

A visit home

Being back home reminded me of the wonderful things we have to look forward to... namely, family!  We saw my parents, my sister and her husband, and Kevin's cousins on this particular visit.  Kevin's cousin has two little girls who are a few years older than Nora and she just idolizes them! Sadly I totally forgot to take any pictures of them, or of my sister and Nora.  But here are some of Nora and her Nana and Papa, Dante the dog, and the three of us...

Dante was eating grass here or something.  He and Nora are regular buddies!  Nora could spend hours throwing him the ball.  One morning she fed him his entire breakfast, piece by piece, by hand.

We've been trying to do Nora's hair up in pigtails more often or else it gets totally crazy.  Actually, it gets pretty crazy even in pigtails.  I don't think I'm adept at hairstyling...

My dad used to push on the swings and say "Over the top!" and we would squeal in delight because it felt like we really were about to go over the top.  Now Nora gets to experience the same joy. :)

This would be an amazing picture except nothing was making Nora smile (even though her Nana was trying to tickle her).  At least she's looking in the right direction!

 

The three of us- I keep looking at this and trying to figure out what Nora gets from me and what she gets from Kevin.  She definitely looks a lot like Kevin!  But, I can see aspects of her that resemble me too.  I don't think she looks like either of our "mini me", though.