Too Stinkin' Cute-Part Three

Growing like a weed. And growing more beautiful every day.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, today marks the last day of Mommy's maternity leave. I took an extended leave of ten weeks rather than the allotted six in order to spend more time with my Ms. Norah. In all honesty, there were times when I was chomping at the bit to get back to work. But, after all has been said and done, taking an extended brake to bond with Norah has been the best decision ever. I was able to get to know her; her smiles, her 'coos'. I have been able to watch her grow as a little person. She is starting to lift her head and move about. And Norah has been able to get to know her Mommy. Hell, I am beginning to get to know myself as a mommy, and as a person (a process that, I know, is never ending). My daughter has taught me more about myself in the last 10 weeks than I have learned in the last 30 years.

I am in awe looking back on the last 10 weeks. At 1:57 p.m. on 1/31/09, a little girl was born. There was joy. There was fear. There was uncertainty. At 3:45 p.m. on 4/13/09 there are still all of these feelings, but there is also a never ending love and unbreakable bond that has blossomed. Parenthood is many things to me now. And I'm sure it will be many more things to come. Most importantly, however, parenthood is LOVE.

Easter Is 'EggSpecially' Excellent!

Norah and her parents had an 'eggspecially' excellent Easter Weekend '09. The fun began with a visit from wonderful family friend, Cherryl Friedman. Cherryl was able to see Norah for several days and Ms. Norah had a wonderful time!

Norah also got to meet a new playmate, Sophia, when the Webers traveled south to Mason, OH for some burgers and boardgames with friends. Sophia and Norah were due to enter the world about five days apart. As it turned out, Norah came early and Sophia was a bit late. We can wait to see these to kiddos grow up together.

Norah woke up Easter morning (decked out in her Easter Bunny Sleeper) to find that the Easter Bunny had been her and given her her first Easter basket.

Mommy and Daddy then got Norah dressed up in her first Easter Sunday outfit and headed off to Church to meet Grandpa.

After church, Norah and Daddy napped whilst Mommy made deviled eggs for Easter Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's. What a fun time! The Easter Bunny had dropped off a basket for Norah there, too! Not only that, but the food was great and Norah got plenty of face time with her Aunts, Uncles and cousins.

We hope that each of you had just as good of an Easter Weekend as we did.

Love,
D, J & Norah

Three Men and a Baby

Norah has had many adoring male visitors come to see her during her 9 weeks of life, but none are wrapped around her little finger as tightly as the three most important ones: Daddy, Grandpa & Uncle Lee. Who can blame them for loving her though? As the other pictures show, Ms. Norah is a doll. Watch out, future suitors, these guys are pretty protective! :-)

Too Stinkin' Cute-Part Two

Okay.. so the one w/ Angus popping out from under Dan's legs as he feeds Norah isn't one of her in a cute outfit...but it is TOO STINKIN' CUTE! Enjoy!

Soul Savin', Shot Takin & Nug Eatin' Hooray!

The past week has been a whirlwind of activity for our Little Norah Belle (the newest nickname that seems to be sticking very well). Last Saturday, Norah's Godparents, Chip & Cindy came in from Chicago and Pittsburgh respectively for Norah's baptism. Mommy & Daddy started Norah out with a different kind of baptism, though. What a better way to kick off a weekend of The Father, Son & Holy Spirit than by taking Norah to the revered Golden Nugget (a dining tradition from the halcyon days of college) for the first time!

Yep! D, J and friends baptized Norah with the greasy goodness that is Golden Nugget breakfast. We figure that she'll spend many more hours consuming this delectable diner food and conversing with friends once she becomes a UD Flyer, but we wanted her first experience to be with the original UD crew.

Dan & J were then able to get a sitter and go out with friends that Sat. night. Although our little angel is a joy and a blessing, it was very nice to be able to get away for a few hours and enjoy some frothy beverages and great company.

Norah got a dose of the Holy Spirit on Sunday as she got baptized at St. Albert The Great Parish. The experience was meaningful for so many reasons. Not only does this mark the first step in Norah's spiritual life, but her baptism took place at the same church where both Grandma & Grandpa and Mommy & Daddy were married and where Mommy was baptized, as well. What's even better is that Ms. Norah was a champ! She only cried a little as the deacon poured the Holy Water over her.
The day was topped off by a reception at the Weber Inn.

To say that Dan & J were touched by the support that friends and family showed for Norah at her baptism would be an understatement. Words cannot possibly describe how truly grateful we are to have such beautiful people in our lives. Even the deacon said that he'd never seen so many people show up for one baptism. Thank you, friends and family!

The past few days were capped off by a visit to the pediatrician today for Norah's 2 month check-up. We're pleased to report that our little girl is right on track. Her head circumference is 15" (up one inch from birth), weight is 9 lbs. 14 ozs (25th percentile) and height is 22" (50th percentile) Basically, she's of average height and a little on the skinny side. But, the Dr. was quite pleased w/ her weight gain.

Norah also received her first round of shots today. Although she screamed like a stuffed pig after shot #1, she quieted down quickly and promptly went to sleep! Ah...if we all could just fall asleep after such trauma! :-)

Whew! As we said, it's been quite a few days. We look forward to seeing what each new day will bring, and we'll update all of you every step of the way

Too Stinkin' Cute-Part One

As most of you know, Ms. Norah's mommy is a fashion victim. Yes. I admit it. I am a tomboy who would much rather lounge in tennis shoes (preferably pink Pumas :-), blue jeans, a sweatshirt and a baseball cap than try to match my earrings to my business slacks (although, I do clean up rather well if I do say so myself :-)

Having a little girl has changed me, though. I FREAKING LOVE TO DRESS MY LITTLE GIRL!!!! I can't get enough of the cute little outfits that we've put her in. What's more....I CAN'T WAIT TO BUY MORE CLOTHES. I know. I know. Becoming a mother has created a monster in me! :-) I like lace and pink and puppy dogs and flowers! Perhaps I'm just making up for my lack of fashion sense through my daughter. In any event, I'm having a blast (although, Norah may hate me for this later)

I've decided to randomly post pictures of our cute little girl in some of the good outfits and name the posts: Too Stinkin' Cute. So, without further adieu: