Sunday, March 2, 2014

How 'Bout a Parade?

Naps? Who needs naps!? With her grandparents here Nora has thrown out her schedule and doesn't want to miss anything! So, without a nap, we headed to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Winter Park.
Despite being completely exhausted, after the parade Nora toddled up and down Park Ave. and then played in the park for a bit. After the parade it was home for dinner (off the grill of course) and then, once Nora crashed, we settled in and sipped champagne while we watched the Oscars on the back porch. It's sad to see such an awesome weekend come to an end!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Beer Run

We kicked off St. Patrick's Day this morning by participating in the St. Paddy's Day 5k sponsored by the local irish bar. After our jaunt it was off to Fiddler's for breakfast and a couple beers. We did a quick loop of the farmers' market, picked up some strawberries and then headed home for a relaxing afternoon. After a delicious fish dinner off the grill we took Nora to her first movie in the park (Monsters University) we made it most of the way through and then hit up Jeremiah's for dessert!! A great Saturday in the books!

Friday, February 28, 2014

Sun Fun!

My mom and dad took full advantage of the lovely weather today and Nora and I both reaped the benefits. Nora got to play outside all afternoon, my mom got to soak up sun and play with Nora, my dad weeded the cage while working on his tan, Cort chased and treed some squirrels and I got to take pictures! We topped our great day off with a Park Avenue dress hunt and dinner at Sweet Tomatoes!!! Fun weekend ahead of us and an early morning run to kick it all off tomorrow!!

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Take a Hike!

We have visitors!!! What better way to welcome my parents to Florida than to take them out into the wilderness! It was hiking day today and the weather was pretty awesome for it. Cool and a little cloudy with peeks of sun. The dogs did their thing...Nora got to ride on her Grumps' back and we all made it out in one piece, thanks to Jessica of course! Good way to kick off a fun visit!!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Lucky 13!

Holy moly! Nora has become a toddler! Every time I see someone hold her I'm blown away by how tall she is! It didn't sink in how big she's gotten until I saw her next to her cousin Keaton. In the last month she has mastered walking and moved on to climbing. I'm really impressed with her balance! Trying to walk on new surfaces has become a fun new challenge but she seems to prefer bare feet for tackling new walking textures. She knows what she wants and lets you know if you're not getting it to her quickly enough or correctly, including helping to pick out her clothes each day. Her signing is getting better and better, adding some new ones to the mix - milk, water and working on popcorn. She likes to shake hands and loves to say hi to anyone who isn't paying attention to her and play shy with a lot of those who do. We're going through a phase of separation anxiety leading to some short workouts at the Y. Her credit card swiping skills at the grocery store are becoming quite impressive. Much of her day is spent chattering away, pretending to be on the "phone" and she surprises us by peppering a new "sounds like a word" into "conversation" every now and again. She clearly understands just about everything we say and I know one of these days words are going to spill out of her mouth as though she's been talking all along! Overall, Nora is still generally happy, very independent and easy going but definitely has opinions and likes to share them. She has such an expressive face - no question where she got that - but she never fails to make us stop in our tracks to take notice of a different look at least once a day. I can't get over how much she loves her books and I always find her tucked away in her room, or sitting on Cort's couch bed, or out on the porch flipping through them or of course carrying them around the house. She also loves being outside playing in the grass & dirt or going for bike rides & runs, could play in a bath for hours if we'd let her, likes her puzzle pieces and has started to enjoy coloring almost as much as she likes eating the crayons! She's growing up!!!

Two Sides to Every Story

So I posted this little ditty on Facebook today showing sad Cort watching Nora during her afternoon popcorn snack time then her sharing with him. Super cute, super sweet - it must be love. BUT every story has two sides...and while not the best quality photo, here's what else happened...
It wasn't all innocent, patient, fun, there was A LOT of teasing and a few teases turned steals!!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Kennel Up!

It was only a matter of time until she tried to move in. I'm not sure how happy Cort is about this recent development seeing as how he already shares his couch bed with her! We're doing our best to deter her interest in the perfect Nora sized club house but it's going to be an uphill battle. Something new everyday!