Nora: Five Months

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by, we're nearing the 1/2 a year mark. We've had quite the week which makes it a little tougher to remember what the beginning of the month was like. Both kids have nasty colds, we've been to the doctor twice with Nora. Poor girl is so stuffy and she must have a sore throat. It's kind of cute to hear her raspy little voice or watch her try to talk but not be able to make a noise. Poor Babe. I don't notice any signs of improvement but luckily Thomas is almost 100% better.

Eat: She eats like a champ. (when she can breathe) We started cereal and she loves it! She also loves to gnaw on apple slices.

Sleep: I've been up A LOT with my sick little girl. She can't sleep for more than a few hours before her nose plugs up. I'm not going to complain because she has been a great snuggler and at least she has an appetite. Plus every little shot of breast milk she can get will aid in her recovery.

Play: She reaches for everything and can get anything in her mouth. Thomas is good about making sure she always has a toy to play with.

Measurements: We don't have a well visit this month but unfortunately we've been to the doctors office twice. She is 17lb. 5oz.

Brother: Uff da. Thomas is not a gentle play mate. I am convinced he doesn't intend to hurt her but he just hasn't learned how to verbally express all his feelings. I hate to see him hurt her but he sure makes up for it with kisses and kind words. He is so proud of her and loves Nora so much!

Daddy:  "Nora has turned into quite the little snuggler over the last month.  It's so fun to cozy up with her when I get home from work.  I've been able to get her to giggle now too, which is probably more fun for me than it is for her.  You can't beat a good baby laugh."

Mama: Now that Nora sits up (almost on her own), eats cereal, reaches for everything and giggles she seems so much older to me. There is nothing better than listening to her sweet screech of a giggle, unfortunately she doesn't appreciate my sense of humor...only Thomas and Daddy can make her laugh.

I can't believe Nora Mae will be 1/2 a year old! I better get started on her birthday party plans! 

A Fun Fall Weekend

Last Thursday was an absolutely beautiful fall day. I did not want to waste the gorgeous evening so the kids and I planned a fun little outing for our family. We started off by surprising Erik at the end of the work day. We met him in the parking lot by his car and took him from there. We drove to our favorite park and had a pizza picnic.

It's pretty hard to get Thomas to sit down and eat while we're at the park. We've found if we let him play with the pizza he'll eventually eat the whole slice.





(Please excuse the next few blurry photos.)
Erik had just as much fun playing as Thomas did.

 

Wheeeee!

He always says "I made it!" at the end of each trip down the slide.

Just swinging with my girl! Check out the red hair!

Love this picture of these two. Great smiles, great fall colors! After the pizza picnic and the park we headed to the pool! It was a great way to burn off any remaining energy. Thomas slept well that night!

Saturday we bundled up and headed to the Pumpkin Patch! It was a chilly day but that doesn't keep the Anderson's from making memories!

 

First stop, the camel. Thomas wasn't comfortable turning his back to this guy.

The pumpkin patch/apple orchard has these little playgrounds all over the place. We stopped at every slide along the way.

As Thomas would say, "Daddy, hold both babies."

Ahhh. Mama loves Thomas kisses!

Now he knows where apples come from.

Nothing better than a honey crisp right off the tree! We couldn't leave without a bag of these bad boys. They're like candy!

Taking a little break to listen to Lyndon...

 

Lyndon wasn't a one man band for long. Thomas took over the tambourine. We're all about live music.

Thomas took a little ride on Oreo. Oreo was quite the stinker. He was startled by the wind and lets just say it was a rather breezy day. There is a reason they have parents walk along side the child.

Our little pumpkin picker.

Hay ride out to the pumpkin patch!

Thomas walked around pointing at pumpkins saying "this one will work."  According to Thomas' standards, that pumpkin patch had a lot of good pumpkins.

 Playing Peek-A-Boo with Nora.

I can't believe I got a shot of both of them looking! Have to take 100 to get one good one!

Sunday morning Thomas and Erik shared a jelly donut. Thomas hands it off when he gets to the jelly. (like his Mama he doesn't care for the "red.")

The boys did some building. These blocks belonged to Erik when he was a young boy and they have provided hours of entertainment for Thomas. He mostly likes us to build tippy towers so he can do the demolition.

These two are quite the architects.

Sunday afternoon we attended an open house at the Chanhassen Fire Station. Whoa baby, that was a good time. There were lots of emergency vehicles to check out.

He is pretty proud of his Junior Fire Fighter badge.

Perhaps the best part was the ride in the fire engine. These two were extra lucky and got to ride shot gun!

Sparky was cool from a distance but not cool enough to get a high five from Thomas.

 

They finally got busted for being stinkers. Looks like Mama might get a quiet night to herself!

It was such a beautiful afternoon so we hurried home to have an early evening bon fire. Thomas had about 5 fudge stripe cookies and three marshmallows. No wonder we couldn't get him to eat dinner.

I love that for one minute he was able to sit and admire the fire.

Of course we had Kevin over for a smore.

One day Pretzy will make a great little camper.

I think Daddy enjoyed snuggling her by the fire.

 

And with that we bring to a close another fun family weekend. Can't wait to see what fun next weekend will bring!

Family Fun Weekend in Frazee

 The last weekend in September was Family Fun weekend in Frazee! My sister Lauren was home from Florida, it was Mathew's homecoming, we took some family pictures, went to Mass together and had a fabulous dinner out. I am frustrated with myself for not getting more pictures. Bad Mama!

 

Lauren moved to Florida a week after Nora was born so she was so happy to see her baby again. Nora has changed SO much since Lauren moved.

 

Grandma Janice and Auntie Lisa came for an afternoon. Grandma and Nora got some good snuggles in during nap time. So bummed I don't have a picture of Lisa and the kids. :(

Cousin Hailie came over after school. She believes she has a special bond with Nora since they both have red hair.

 

Grandpa and Thomas are both in their happy place.

 It was homecoming in Frazee so my mom served lunch for the football team. I wish I had a picture of Thomas while these guys were around. He was proud to have lunch with the big boys.

 

 After we cleaned up lunch it was time to head downtown for the Homecoming Parade. We didn't have Nora's stroller so we packed her up in the wagon.

The football team rode through the parade in a Daggett Truck...

pulled by Grandpa Fred and Thomas! Lauren had kind of planned this trip home around Mathew's football schedule. She wanted to be able to attend a game while she was home but Mathew suffered a season ending injury during the first game of the season.

Most of Saturday was spent preparing for family pictures. My parents and brother made a last minute trip to the local department store. I had a hair appointment. Erik had work to do so the aunties made sure the kids got whatever they wanted and had naps so they'd be in a good mood for pictures. After pictures most of us went straight to Mass. One car had to stop by the house to change Thomas' pants that were soaked with soda. On the bright side, he spilled after pictures and he didn't get a chance to drink the beverage!!! :) After church we went back to the house to freshen up and drop off the kiddos! Thanks so much to Grandma LaRaye and Auntie Steph for watching the babes so the rest of us could enjoy an relaxing evening out.

 

On our way to dinner with these fine individuals. Not quite sure how Lauren ended up in the back with Mathew's crutches???

Dinner. Dad and his daughters.

We also squeezed in a trip to the farm to visit Erik's grandparents. This is such a sweet picture of Nora and her Great Grandpa Dennis.

 

 As soon as we turned down Dennis and Rosie's driveway Thomas realized where we were headed and immediately asked for a ride on the blue tractor.

 

The lawn mower was next.

 

Meanwhile, Nora is inside snuggling with Uncle Peter...

and Great Grandma Rosie. Dennis and Rosie have decided to move off the farm into a smaller home in town. We are happy for them and the much simpler and more convenient life they are choosing but we will miss visiting them on the farm.

Sunday afternoon my mom and sisters and I visited our good friend Jill. Jill is a special person to us and she was over joyed to finally meet Nora. After our visit with Jill we headed out for a little shopping and ice cream!

 

After our shopping trip it was time to pack up and head back to Chanhassen. Lauren travelled back to the cities with Erik, Nora and me to catch her flight back to FL on Monday morning.

Lauren and Hannah took Thomas for a quick wagon ride.

Squeezing in one last snuggle with the freshly bathed baby!

We had a tough time getting the clean, sleeping baby out of Auntie Hannah's arms. So precious!

Lucky Thomas got to stay in Frazee for a  few extra days for some quality time with Grandpa F and Grandma Christine. Lucky for Mama, I got some quality time with Nora.
We were sad to see the weekend come to an end but we look forward to the next Family Fun Weekend in Frazee which will be the weekend before Christmas. Erik and I have some fun plans up our sleeves. Can't wait!