Fabulous Fathers, Flipsy Flopsies & Food

Hello, All! June 21st not only marked the first day of Summer; it was also Daddy's first Father's Day. The day began with a great gift for both Mommy and Daddy: Norah slept until 8:00 a.m. ! D & J were very happy to get the extra sleep, and even had to wake Norah up to have breakfast.

After some coffee and some card-opening and gift-giving (Norah got Daddy the oh-so-traditional-gift of a tie :-), Dan went off to practice his new hobby, fly-fishing, whilst Mommy and Norah cleaned the house up and went grocery shopping.

The day was capped off by Chinese food and cuddles with Grandma and Grandpa. All said and done, Daddy had a wonderful first Father's Day.

This week has seen even more action out of our sweet little girl A few weeks back, J and Grandma went to Babies R Us to purchase a Jump and Go. At first, Norah wanted nothing to do with it. But, as time has moved on, Ms. Norah Belle is just B-Boppin' around and havin' fun in her new toy. Check out the video for all of the action.

We have also begun to try to feed Norah solids this week. Let's just say that the foreign feel of a spoon compared to the comforting, familiar feel of a bottle has proven to be a little too much for our little one. She has spent more time grabbing the spoon and spitting the rice cereal out than actually consuming the stuff. What can we say, we wouldn't really like the taste and consistency of 'gruel' either! :-) But, we're getting there.

That's all for now. We're coming up on some very big travels to Indy, North Carolina and New York, so stay-tuned for more updates. Enjoy the pictures.

Hope you're all well.
Love,
D&J

Rollin' Rollin' Rolin'

Hello, All. First, let's begin with the details: Norah had her 4 1/2 month check up today and here are the stats: Weight: 14.2 lbs (still so petite). Length: 25". Head Circumference: 41 cm. Our little one is just growing, growing, growing. She had her 2nd round of shots today and, even though there were a few crocodile tears, Norah took it like a brave little girl!

All of this growing is going to require more energy. So, the Dr. has given Mom and Dad the green light to start Ms. Norah on rice cereal and then work our way up through the food chain (pureed fruits, veggies etc...). We're going to take it slow and begin w/ some very small, VERY soupy helpings of yummy rice cereal next weekend.

The energy that Norah gets from her food is going to fuel her to continue to engage in all of the fun activities that she's been taking part in...LIKE ROLLING OVER! That's right. Our little Norah has discovered how to roll from tummy to back and is even starting to roll from back to tummy in her sleep. Imagine Mommy's surprise this morning when she went in to wake Norah up and found her on her belly instead of her back! It's gonna be a whole new world of movement now.

In addition to all of this new-found movement, Norah has been able to spend some really good QT with friends and family. Her favorite playmate, by far, is Grandpa. Oh! How Grandpa can make Norah laugh. She just loves to study him and play with him.

Enjoy the pictures. Hope you're all well.

Love,
J&D

The Sand Between Her Toes

Norah got to visit 'The Beach' for the first time on Sat., 5/30/09. The Webers headed up to Lake Choctaw just outside of Springfield, OH that day for a friend's daughter's graduation party. It was a bit chilly, but Norah was really interested in the beach. This was great preparation for 'The Real Beach' in Florida in September!

Love to all,
J & D

Norah's Got the Travel Bug

Well, it seems as now that Ms. Norah has discovered how to raise her upper body with her arms, that there's no stopping her from traveling all over the place.

Norah's travels began with her movin' and shakin' in her brand new Exersaucer! Daddy did a lot of research to find the safest, nicest and most pink Exersaucer in the world. And Norah has been lovin' it. She has kept her head and upper body up and has rotated all around the fun play stations.

Memorial Day weekend saw a lot of travel for our girl, too. Not only did Norah make it to not one, not two but THREE barbecues, but she had her first interstate travel to Indiana to visit her Uncle Matt and Aunt Courtney for the first time! What fun she had! Not only did J & Dan get to visit with her family for a time, but Norah got to be held, cuddled and loved on by the Craig's.

She can't wait to see them again really soon!

The Greatest Mother's Day Gift...Ever

May 10th was memorable for many reasons. J turned 30 and 1/2 (okay....that's pretty lame...no one celebrates half-birthdays), celebrated her first Mother's Day as a Mommy herself and got the greatest Mother's Day gift EVER.

The day started off very well. Daddy let Mommy sleep in by tending to Norah. When Mommy woke up and came downstairs, Norah had the greatest surprise for her: For the first time, Ms. Norah Belle pushed herself up with her arms and lifted her head. Now, for those of you who do not have children, you may be thinking: "So. What's the big deal about lifting up on your arms to lift your head?!?!" Well, let me just tell you that this is a MAJOR accomplishment as far as baby-milestones go, and to have Norah do it on Mother's Day made it all the sweeter. (the picture is blurry...but we had to post it to capture the moment).

After a wonderful breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast (made perfectly by Dan), Mom and Dad just generally chilled out, took a walk with Norah and Angus and capped off the day by having a great dinner of Chinese food with Grandma and Grandpa. What fun!

J's first Mother's Day was made special for one more reason. As most of you know, J's mother, Mamma Craig, passed away 10 years ago this October. The last Mother's Day Mamma Craig was alive, J bought her mother a shirt that said "World's Greatest Mom". J kept this shirt with the intention of wearing it on her first Mother's Day as a Mom. It was worn with pride; in honor of Mamma Craig...and her new granddaughter.

We love you all,
D&J

The Silnes' Come to Visit!!!!!!!!!!!!

The weekend before Mother's Day, Dan and J were honored to host two very special guests: Andrea and Mark Silnes. Andrea and Mark are probably two of our favorite people, and now they are two of Norah's favorite people, also. They came in from Columbus to spend the night.

Not only did Ms. Norah get some serious cuddle time with Andrea and Mark, but her Mom and Dad got to have some fun, too.

We ate fabulous Italian food, played euchre and just generally talked and caught-up....until 3:00 a.m.!!!!!!!!!! (good thing Norah went down and 9 and slept all the way 'til 7).

Thanks, Andrea and Mark. We had a great time and can't wait to see you again soon.

Catchin' Some Zzzzzzzz's

You've all seen the pictures we've posted of our cute little Norah, and you may have noticed that she's sleeping in many of them. What you have not seen are pictures of Norah Belle swaddled up nicely resting in her crib at night. That's because, up until, about a week ago, Mommy and Daddy were still being awakened each night anywhere from about 2:30-4:00 a.m. to the sounds of 'hunger and change-me cries'.

Now, all of a sudden, Norah has decided to let Mom and Dad get some more shut eye during the night; and catch some more Zzzzzz's herself. Our little angel has been going to bed consistently at around 9-9:30 and sleeping until around 5:30-6:00 a.m. Last night, she went down at 9:00 and made it until 7:00 a.m.!!!!!!!!!

Don't get us wrong, Norah's night-time sleeping habits have never really been that bad, but it sure is a nice change to get a few more hours of un-interrupted sleep each evening.

We pray it lasts!

Hope all is well with each of you,
D&J