Deck the Halls

 Yesterday, we took our annual trip to the tree farm to get our Christmas tree.

Not too happy about all the layers

We found one!

Watching Daddy cut it down

 I love this one...Meredith is coming out from the rows of trees, and Daddy is following her with the tree he cut down.

Walking back to the wagon

Ready to decorate!

The colored lights are fun, but next year we are hoping we can talk the kids into white lights again!

 And a few other pictures of what Christmas is looking like around our home...

Dining room

Foyer table

Our "Countdown to Christmas"

Swag I made from some of the tree branches we cut off

Looking in our front door - not the greatest pic

I certainly couldn't forgo my beloved burlap....I just added some Christmas-y things to it.

Kris put up some lights outside as well, but I didn't get a good picture. 

I Just Love This Kid

 Dear Shane,

 I have really enjoyed getting some focused time with just you lately.  A few mornings a week, when both Caleb and Meredith are in school and Norah is napping, it's just me and you kiddo.

 Last year, when I was homeschooling, you spent a lot of time wandering the house dragging your blankie around looking a bit like a lost puppy.
  You weren't too interested in the activities I had set up/planned for you, and I admittedly didn't go a great job of figuring out how to keep you engaged while I was doing school with the other kiddos.  Don't get me wrong, you were not lacking in love from Mommy (you've always been my biggest snuggler), but last year I personally found it a challenge to give you 1-on-1 time with the demands of formally homeschooling your big sister and brother.

 All that blabbering just to say....I am certainly enjoying the moments I have with you, my special buddy of mine.  You are sweet, (still) snuggly, seriously silly and a bit of a stinker.  I couldn't love you more.

Norah - 11 Months

 11 months!  Only 1 month until the big O-N-E.  That went waaaaaay too fast.

 Let's see....what's new this month.  Norah isn't walking yet, though she has begun cruising along tables/furniture.  And, she will occasionally walk while pushing something (a kiddie stroller for example). 

She loves to play "peek-a-boo" and does several signs/hand motions....waves "hi" and "bye bye",  signs "more" and "all done", throws her hands in the air when someone says "how big is norah?....sooo big!", blows kisses (sorta), and claps.

Oh and just this week she started brushing her hair with her little hairbrush.  And she dances to music.  Now that's a milestone! ;)

She will give us the sweetest hugs, which include her patting our backs.  And she gives the most slobbery of kisses.

She loves dogs and kicks her legs with excitement when she sees one (daily at the bus stop).

She loves to hold baby dolls and often pats their backs as well.

She babbles a lot, but the only real word I'm confident she has and actually means anything with is "mama".  She occasionally says "dada", but it's more sporadic.

She eats pretty much everything we do, no more baby food.  Her favorite foods seems to be yogurt, blueberries, and cheese.  

Despite my best efforts with daily consistent pumping, I was unable to pump enough for what she was needing....thankfully, she finally started taking the formula.  I'm still so disappointed about this, because I had hoped to breastfeed her until at least a year.  Then when she refused to nurse anymore, I had hoped that I could at least pump enough for what she needed until 12 months.  Very sad to me, but it is what it is.

Sweet girl is not a great napper, but that might be my fault because we are often out and about due to the big kids' stuff so lately our lives aren't super conducive to a great nap schedule.  Regardless, she seems to be rested & happy enough.  Although, the past few weeks have been a bit rough for her...she was diagnosed with a double ear infection a couple of weeks ago (coincidence that her getting sick happened when she stopped getting any breastmilk?), and I went in today for a follow-up and discovered that one of her ears is still infected, or possibly re-infected.  So, more meds for her.   

Happy 11 months, Norah...you have an infected ear.  You don't seem too bothered by it.

 She has 8 teeth...4 on top, 4 on bottom.  It's so funny to me, because her big sissy didn't have ANY teeth until she was 1.  

She's our little shark. ;)

We love our Norah girl!

Comparison pics for fun...

Meredith at 11 months

Caleb at 11 months

Shane at 11 months

Little Reader

Meredith has wanted to learn to read just like her big brother.  I took a few minutes last week to sit down with her to teach her how the letter sounds go together to make words, and she picked it up quickly.  She spends a lot of time each day sitting on the couch reading these Bob books (her own choice!)...she loves it.  I recorded her reading a new book tonight...this was the first time she had tried to read this one, and I think she did really great!  She is one determined and motivated little girl.  Oh, and if you listen closely a few minutes in, you'll hear Caleb in the background (he was sitting right next to her) saying "you're doing great at reading, Meredith."  Love my kids!

Barn Dance

 Tonight, we went to Caleb's school for their annual "barn dance".  The kids have been super excited for the past several days and were thrilled that tonight had finally arrived.  They were eager to wear their cowboy/girl hats and very excited for a stay-up-past-their-bedtime party.  Good times!

Ready to go...yee haw!

 

 The kids danced/ran around in circles a lot tonight.  

Meredith meshed genres by doing a whole lot of break dancing spinning around on the floor.

 ...and Shane even managed to get in some moves while sucking his thumb.  Seriously, we are going to have to tie this kid's hand behind his back to break the habit someday.

 Caleb broke out some crazy moves that we'd never seen before.  Not sure where he learned them....maybe it's a 1st grade thing?

 

 They did lots of dancing together which was cute.

 

 Norah "danced" a bit, but mostly stayed in Daddy's arms.  She was a good girl & kept her bandana on all night.

 And, we're done.