7 Months Old

Norah was 7 months old on September 5th!  She has had quite a fun month with several "firsts"!  Here are a few of them:

*Solid foods!!  Norah tried solid foods this past month.  The first thing she tried was carrots, she wasn't quite so sure at first but then has eaten pretty much anything we have given her.  Besides carrots she has also had green beans, apple sauce, and bananas.  

*Sitting better!!  Norah has done a lot better with sitting lately.  She still doesn't have a lot of desire to sit for very long though because she usually sees something she wants to play with, so most of her sitting sessions end in a face plant very soon because she lunges toward a toy.  

*MOVING!!  That's right, Norah is on the move!  She figured out the army crawl this month.  She isn't up on all fours crawling "normal" yet, but she can definitely get where she wants with her army crawl method.  She uses her arms to pull her forward while she pushes with her knees and feet.  Nothing is safe anymore! :)

7 Months Old!

Happy Girl!

Last boat ride of the year!

Playing "peek-a-boo" with Kyler :)

1st Taste of Real Food!

Loves the Jumperoo!

Norah's 6 Month Pictures

Here are a few of Norah's 6 month pictures:

Iowa State Fair

Well it's been a while since I last posted, so I'm going to try and catch up with the blog posts in the next week or so! :)

8/16-We headed down to the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday.  Tuesdays are Erik's day off, so it worked out well for us to head down on that day.  Also, the weather wasn't supposed to be super hot, so we thought this would be a good day to go.  As we left we heard that there was rain down in Des Moines, but it was supposed to end, and we were hoping that by the time we got down there it would do just that!  We left in the morning and got down there just before lunch time.  It had pretty much stopped raining and was just kind of cloudy when we got there.  We decided to eat lunch first, so we headed over to the Iowa Pork Producers Tent.  They always serve a great meal for a good price!  After lunch we went to check out the Family Birthing Building.  It is always so fun to see all of the baby animals in this building.

Here's Kyler checking out a baby cow!

Checking out more babies!

After the birthing center, we headed over to see the butter cow in the Ag building.  The line was really long, so we just kind of snuck up behind just enough so Kyler could see it. :)  Then we went over to all of the animal barns to see the pigs, cows, horses, etc.  We of course had to see the BIG bull and BIG boar (or as Kyler has called it BIG board) :).  Kyler loved looking at all the animals, especially the horses, they were his favorite.  He kept asking to go "see another one". :)  Kyler was not too fond of the sheep though...one came up right next to the cage while he was looking at them and said "BAAAAA" really loud right in his face....a combination of no nap yet, and being tired caused for a bit of a scare.  

Checking out the BIG bull

Horses with Dad

Looking at the sheep...

Oooops, too close.....

After the animals, we headed over to the Varied Industries building to walk through all the booths and check out what was in there.  Next, we walked to the DNR building to see the fish.  While we were walking, we got a text from Lauren, saying she was on her way over to see us!  We finished at the DNR building and then headed over to the Grandstand to see the State Patrol, The Family Leader, etc. and wait for Lauren.  As soon as Lauren got there, it was time for Norah to eat, so Erik decided to take Kyler through the "Little Hands on the Farm" exhibit while I fed Norah and talked to Lauren.  

Picking some produce

Heading to the grain bin to get some corn and soybeans

Proud farmer! :)

After little hands on the farm, it was way past nap time, so we thought we would walk over to the 4H building in hopes that Kyler and Norah would take a little snooze.  At the 4H building, Kyler and Norah didn't fall asleep, but we were able to see one of Erik's workers' 4H projects!  Hannah had made a place setting and a quilt that were both on display, so we got to see both of them and they looked great!  It was cool to see something that someone we knew made.

Following the 4H building we headed up to where they have all the pictures displayed (I can't remember what the building is called).  They also have a big sand sculpture in here too.  This year it was of the butter cow.  While we were walking through here, Kyler and Norah FINALLY fell asleep! :)  

After all the pictures, we decided it was about time to get some dinner.  Lauren wanted some cheese curds, so we stopped by that booth and then headed over to the Cattlemen's Beef Quarters for dinner.  I had to have a Hot Beef Sunday.  :)  After we ate dinner we walked back through the fair, said goodbye to Lauren and headed home!  It was a great day at the fair and was fun to watch Kyler see everything.  He is really starting to get to the age where he can enjoy things like this and remember them after we get home.  He still talks about going to the State Fair and if you ask him what he saw he says "butter cow", and "big bull, big board, big boar hiding behind wall, hiding behind fence."  It was also fun that Lauren could come and hang out with us for the afternoon.  We don't get to see her as often right now since she's in DM, so we were glad it worked out that she could meet up with us!  Kyler already wants to go back to the State Fair, so I'm sure this will definitely be in our plans for next summer! 

6 Months Old!!

Norah turned 6 months old on August 5th!  It's hard to believe our little girl has been in our family for 1/2 a year!  Norah has had an exciting month-she became mobile! :)  Norah could definitely roll from front to back and back to front before this past month, but this past month she 1) started to do it ANY time you lay her down and 2) now does them together.  I can no longer leave Norah on the couch, changing table, bed, etc. without standing right next to her to make sure she doesn't roll off, she rolls ALL THE TIME.  It is not uncommon to lay her down in the middle of the living room floor and come back in a few minutes and find her half way across the room, then come back in another few minutes and find her on the completely other side of the room.  You can tell her motivation for this is watching Kyler run around.  She wants to just get up and go and do what he does.  In fact, this is making it hard to work on sitting because she doesn't want to sit in one spot, she lunges forward and wants to move toward something she sees.  Norah can sit okay when she isn't holding on to something and doesn't see something she wants to go get....which only lasts for about 30 seconds or so. :)

Since Norah started rolling over all the time, this hindered her sleeping habits a bit this month.  Before, she was waking up once maybe twice a night and was sleeping pretty well.  Since she started rolling all the time, she started to roll in her sleep too, well she didn't know how to sleep like that, so it has taken some time for her to get used to sleeping on her side and even on her belly.  I remember one night I came up after putting her to bed and found her sleeping on her belly for the first time...I was a little nervous because I know babies aren't supposed to sleep on their belly until about 9 months or even a year.  So I rolled her back over to her back.  Well, I have since decided it is okay for her to sleep on her belly because I'm not going to sit by her bed and make sure she doesn't roll over all night. :)  She has been stating to sleep better, but we are still not back to what she was.  

I probably said this before, but Kyler and Norah's relationship is developing more and more.  She LOVES to watch her big brother.  Norah usually gets up before Kyler in the morning, so we will turn the monitor on to listen for him.  As soon as she hears him talking on the monitor, she swings her head around looking for him trying to figure out where he is.  Then when we go upstairs to his room to get him, and we get to the door, even before I open it, she starts going "ooooooh ooooooh" because she is so excited to see him.  Another thing for Norah relationship wise is her attachment to her mommy right now. :)  Norah LOVES me and likes to be held by me, and usually only me.  Even Erik cannot be sufficient enough sometimes, which makes getting things done a challenge for me. :)

Norah also tried cereal this past month!!  She wasn't quite sure what to think of it, but was willing to eat it.  She has been doing better as we have been having it almost every morning for breakfast.  She is willing to lean her head forward and starts sticking out her tongue like she is going to lick the spoon off.  We hope to try some fruits and veggies in the upcoming weeks! 

6 months old!

Love the drool running from her mouth :)

Putting on a bib for a 1st taste of cereal....

Ummmm what is this stuff mom?

I don't know if I like it....

Happy Girl!

A Visit From A Friend!

The week of the 4th of July, right after we had gotten back from the lake, we had a visit from some friends we haven't seen in several years!!  Jamie went to college with us, but then moved to the Chicago area with her husband after graduation for grad school.  Since being there, they had a little girl, Lauren, who is just a few month younger than Kyler.  They have not been back to Cedar Falls since they had Lauren, so we were very excited to meet her!!  Jamie was staying with her family during the week of the 4th, so her and Lauren made the trip up to Cedar Falls one day so we could play.  Our other friend Karen brought her two kids, Ayden and Ahnie to hang out too.  We decided to meet a park for the kids to play with and bring our own picnic lunches to enjoy while we played.  We had such a fun time catching up and watching the kids run around together.  I don't think any of the kids ever actually sat down to eat any lunch because they were having so much fun running around.  It was more of an "eat a bite and run" kind of time. :)  

So glad we were able to see you Jamie and finally meet Lauren!!  I hope it isn't another several years before we see you again!! :)    

Norah hanging out

Ahnie sleeping :)

Lauren and Ayden playing

Kyler and Ayden having fun together!

A kiss from Lauren :)

Lauren heading down the slide!

4th of July at the Lake

Once again we spent the 4th of July at my parent's cabin in Northern Minnesota.  We were a little hesitant to go, as a couple days before we were going to leave we found out my Grandma (who lived in the Lutheran Home) was not doing very well.  Her health has been very up and down the past few years and so this was not a surprise.  Also, knowing how up and down it has been, we had no idea how long she would be like this, or if she would improve once again.  We went and saw her the Tuesday before we left, and she opened her eyes, saw us, said a couple things and then that was about all she could do.  We called my mom Wednesday morning (the morning we were supposed to leave) to see if she had heard anything different, and she hadn't, so we decided to head to the lake.  We arrived Wednesday evening, but then found out Thursday morning that she had passed away.  Since it was the 4th of July weekend, the funeral wasn't until the next Wednesday, so we were still able to enjoy quite a few days at the lake.  

My brother joined us on the ride up to the cabin.  He helped entertain Kyler on they way.  Kyler and Norah both traveled very well, as we only stopped twice during the trip to eat lunch and feed Norah.  We had a great time while we were there.  My mom and dad were also at the cabin for the week so Kyler loved being around Grandpa and Grandma.  We enjoyed great weather, good food, the beach, the boat, the water, and just hanging out.  I was especially excited to go this year because I really wanted to ski behind my parent's boat.  Last summer they bought a used ski boat, but I was unable to ski because I was pregnant with Norah! :)  Kyler has been talking about being "ready go Minnesota" for the last couple months.  He has also been talking about riding in the boat, so one of the first evenings we were there we all went out in the boat so we could ski.  We don't know if Kyler didn't like me jumping in the water to ski or seeing me behind the boat, or he just didn't like riding in the boat, but that was his last boat ride while we were there.  He refused to get in the boat after that night and didn't even want to put on his life jacket-which he had been wearing around the house at home. :)  

Kyler LOVED the beach though.  He spent hours and hours playing in the sand, digging, driving trucks, and building.  Playing in the water was hit or miss.  Some days he walked right in, other days you had to convince him to get in the water.  The lake is so nice as it has a sandy bottom, and is very shallow and you can walk right in gradually, so it is great for little kids.  Norah loved splashing her feet in the water.  If you took her out in the water and lowered her down towards it, she would immediately start kicking her legs up and down so she could splash.

It's always fun to be at the lake, but we have to come back home sometime! :)  Thankfully we get to go back up at the end of August for another week-and we can't wait!  Here are some pictures from our trip!    

Norah's first time in the lake!

Riding in the paddle boat with dad!

Golfing on the beach :)

How Kyler spent many hours

Norah enjoying the lake

Helping Grandpa fix the dock

Hanging out with Grandpa!

Norah enjoying the tube :)

My little beauty queen :)

Yes, Kyler is wearing a stocking hat in the lake :)

Shooting Mommy with the squirt gun!

Happy 4th of July!

Mommy & Norah

Love them!!!

5 Months Old!

Norah was 5 months old on July 5th! I can't believe we are just one month away from being 6 months old!  Norah is our happy little girl as she loves to flash big smiles at anyone that comes up to see her.  She really likes to be held by Mommy most of the time, especially when she's tired, she doesn't even want Daddy. :)  Norah could roll from back to tummy before this month but has really done it a lot more this past month.  She also rolled from tummy to back for the first time this month.  It took her doing it a couple of times before we were able to see her do it.  She isn't that good at it yet though and has only done it a few times, so she often gets frustrated after being on her tummy for a while.  The first time she did it, she was laying on the floor in the morning and looked over and saw she had rolled from her back to her tummy.  Then I looked over again later and she was back on her back, so I guessed she had figured it out or kind of done it on accident. :)  Another thing Norah has done this month is start to figure out that she can grasp things with her hands.  She's not great at it yet, but she is really starting to figure out that she can reach out and grab something and then hang on to it or stick it in her mouth. :)  Norah continues to love to chew on her hands, your hands, your shirt, or anything else she can get a hold of.  She also is still drooling A LOT.  It is not uncommon to see a large drip of drool coming out of her mouth, in fact, I have stopped trying to catch it with a cloth. :)  Something else Norah has started to do the last week or so is yell really loud.  It's like all of a sudden she has discovered she has a loud voice.  She is often heard just sitting there going "AHHHHHHHHH" and she's completely happy when doing it, it's like she's saying, "hey, I can talk too!!". :)  Norah also LOVES to watch Kyler.  It is fun to see their relationship start to develop as Norah is getting older and more interactive.  She will sit and watch him run around the room or just play.  If she gets up from her nap first and Kyler is still sleeping, it's like she looks around for him wondering where he's at.  She will also get so excited when he comes up to her  to talk to her or give her a hug.  This is one of the times she yells the loudest, and then Kyler will yell back-like they have their own little language. :)  Here are some pictures from the last month:

    

5 Months Old!!

Love the string of drool! :)

All ready to go swimming!

Watching the TV :)

Loving the Jumperoo!!  We got this out this month and she really likes hanging out in there!

Can't quite reach the floor yet, so we put some books under....a blanket works better though :)

Our two kiddos!! :)