Ho-Ho-Ho, it's Santa Claus

Tonight Norah and I met Daddy at the mall so we could visit Santa Claus! A few days ago she spied Santa at Lloyd Center and couldn't wait to go back to talk to him. All dressed up and ready to go - she couldn't wait to get out the door. So cute - she was equally excited to go see Daddy as she was to see Santa.

Santa gave her TWO suckers! Santa was very authentic - check out that beard. :-) She wasn't scared at all.

We arrived right at the same time as Santa was taking a break, so we ate dinner at the diner in the mall. Norah danced and bobbed to the oldies and tried to scam sips of our milkshakes.

Ryan decided he was one of Santa's reindeer helpers...
...so Norah had to do the same!

Baby 'belle

Baby 'belle and Aunt Laurie met Norah and me for a fun playdate this morning at OMSI. Norah was really looking forward to seeing Isabelle and couldn't wait to hear what she would say. Isabelle was a sweetheart - so happy and smiley - and was crawling and rolling all over the place. It looks like she will be an early walker! She also impressed us with her eating skills - she gobbled up her jarred foods then snacked on cheerios and a sippy cup like she'd been doing it forever. Laurie looks great and like motherhood is really suiting her as well. A cute mommy/daughter match!
(My mobility is becoming more limited, so my pics are not so great - but you can see the fun they had...)

Looking at the fish

Why are they making us sit still???

Norah climbed in the locker and closed the door - I should have waited to see how long she would stay. ;-)

Carousel Rides

After a quick stop at the Jantzen Beach Target, Norah and I went on a carousel ride - this excites her incredibly, but makes me naseous. :-) In the evening she showed daddy how the horses go UP and DOWN as she ran around in circles...wow, she is more coordinated then I am...

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Happy Birthday, Norah!!

Today Norah turned 2! It was a special day for our family and we enjoyed every minute of it. Norah is such a blessing and delight; her enthusiasm is infectuous! She woke up early and in the best mood. We snuggled for a bit in her glider chair and looked at her picture book of the day she was born (which made me very vecempt) then headed down to start her special birthday breakfast. She helped mix the pankcake batter then we made Mickey and Minnie Mouse shaped pancakes. Mmmm...good... Most of the family called in the morning to sing and wish her happy birthday. She was great with the calls and even applauded for some of the singing.

Presents!

After breakfast we opened Norah's birthday presents. I had wrapped them earlier in the week, then "hidden" them in the garage. Every time I put something in our recycling bin, Norah would run to the garage door to check out her birthday presents. We finally persuaded her that birthday presents were from dad and mom, not Santa Claus. This year she was old enough to open them herself. Loved the looks on her face when she finally had enough open that she could see what they were. We spent most of the day playing with her new Legos and Train set - Norah perfected the demo and Ryan worked on the construction. :-) In the afternoon we headed over to the Disney Store at Lloyd Center to pick out some treats with her birthday money. She walked in the door and went right to a winterized Pooh Bear. Daddy also bought her Bambi, I picked up her party dress and she found a Lumpy Heffalump (yeah, that probably only makes sense to those with kids) before we left. They gave us a HUGE bag which she insisted on dragging out of the mall herself. She was so excited about everything today, it was a joy!

Family stops by to celebrate

The Blinn Family, Grammy Peggy and Uncle Dak stopped by to bring presents and watch Norah blow out her birthday candle. She was excited to see everyone - and even tried to regift her presents. Glad she is in to sharing. I think Carson was pretty excited to be the recipient of a new pair of red tights... :-) Uncle Todd even composed a special birthday song...is this his new band?

Uncle Dak is ALWAYS funny

I'm a birthday princess!

Playing Grammy Peggy and her new Lego

Auntie Lynne, Norah and her stylish new purse - Norah is in hysterical giddyness!

Cake and finally...bedtime

The last part of Norah's day was what she had really been waiting for...her cake! She currently is in love with Winnie the Pooh, so we made a special cake for her in that theme. It was sitting on the sideboard for much of the day and she was REALLY interested in when the time would come to see Pooh. Ryan held the cake, but she blew out the candle herself. She also ate the frosting flowers off the top, which was funny to watch. Its good to be two!

Whew, with such a full day she was really ready for bed. All snuggled up with her winter Pooh Bear. :-) Norah is a delight - it was a wonderful day of celebration!

Gingerbread Men

Norah had so much fun baking cookies with Aunt Kaye the other day, I decided we should go for it at home as well. Plus, she likes to wear her apron. :-) We made gingerbread men and gingerbread trees. Truthfully, I think the rolling/mashing/cutting of the dough was the most fun for her. After running a batch through the oven we took the rest of the dough and played!

Step 1 ...make a cookie
Step 2 ..."frosty" the cookie

Step 3 ...eat!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We were blessed to host our 2nd annual Thanksgiving celebration today - and were so lucky to celebrate with my mom, grandparents and younger brother, Kodiak. Norah went on a crazy/happy running spree when everyone arrived. She ran around and around the table for at least a full half hour! Her excitement for company seems endless - plus she becomes ecstatic when Grammy Peggy is over. Come bedtime, she was exhausted!

Last year we hosted almost my entire immediate family (I think there were around 15) , so this was much more laid back. I decided to take the brave step and cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner - even my first turkey! Although a little gross in the preperation process, I was so happy with how it turned out. I spent the day cooking (not something you often hear from me!) and really enjoyed it. I made turkey, sage and carmelized onion cornbread stuffing, fancy green beens, sweet sherry mashed yams, citrus-infused cranberries, smashed red potatoes, and gravy. Mom brought rolls, pumkin pie and our family's traditional spinach dish and Grandpa brought a peanut butter chocolate pie that he made himself...we'll take that with a grain of salt. :-) Mmmm...it was all so good I am going to have to go back for more. Great Grandpa and Norah, barely holding still
Great Grandma and Norah - still barely holding still!

Taking some time to digest...have to make room for all that pie!

Jonesy - Exposed

Jonesy went in for a trim today - it was about time! He was almost begining to look like an authentic Lhasa Apso, something we usually avoid at all costs. :-) He is now very naked and a bit shy. He's been walking around the house with his bottom down (very gracious of him not to expose it to us) and like to be covered at all times.

How could they do this to me????

33 days...not that I'm counting!

Today was my week 36 appt - whew, we are getting close! While respecting the issue of TMI and avoiding graphic details, Baby Boy Skogen is expected soon. The Dr doesn't think I'll make it to our due date (Dec 23) and I am perfectly happy with that. Just want to make it past Thanksgiving and Norah's birthday! We'll have to commit to a name soon, so if you have suggestions, let us know. :-) We'll be delivering at St Vincents again as thats the best choice for us. The NICU is tops in the area and I feel most comfortable there (unless Ryan has to do a home delivery - haha). There was a little girl in the waiting area that stopped me to tell me that she has a new baby brother. So cute - she was bragging to everyone that walked by. I hope Norah is just as excited! We've been talking a lot to Norah about the fact there will be a new sib in the house. Don't know how much she understands, but I bet she'll be a great sister when baby brother finally comes home!

Have a wonderful holiday tomorrow!

Baking Cookies

Norah and I visited Aunt Kaye today - lots of fun for both of us! Kaye had a holiday apron she had picked up for Norah (her first) and some easy bake cookies with reindeer. It was fun to watch them "baking" together - Norah really seemed to enjoy it and take in the experience. Now that she is a bit older, we need to begin including her in our cooking extravaganzas (Ryan and I have so many of those). Aunt Kaye also loaned us the special O'Brien family cradle/bassinet that Grandpa O'Brien made. Its beautiful! Norah slept in it, next to our bed, for the first two months of her life - then she began rolling around and we had to move her to the crib. We'll see how long it takes the next Baby S to become so mobile!

Every so often one of the unbaked cookies would hover around Norah's mouth, while she decided whether or not we would notice if she ate one. :-)

Mama, don't bother me, I am cooking!

Bean Bag Baseball

Norah and I went over to take a look at Grandpa's computer today. Sadly my skills (lack thereof) weren't able to fix his problems! We ended up chasing around Tom-Tom the cat and playing a few games of BB baseball. Norah was so happy to toss the BB around!

Today was really cold!

Yesterday we thought it was cold, but today it was REALLY cold!! Despite the freezing winds and drivign rain, we still needed to get the wiggles out. I bundled Norah up in a couple of coats and we went for a quick trip around the block.

So cool in her Vans

Foraging for leaves

We thought it was cold...

Jonesy and Norah needed to get out of the house and run around on Satruday, so we took a quick trip up to Alberta Park. Brrr...it was a little chilly. They had fun running around and playing. Afterwards I took Norah to Starbucks for her first peppermint hot chocolate. What a pefect fall activity!
Watching Daddy swing is almost as funny as swinging herself. :-)
Peekaboo!
Mmmm...chocolate... this is for those of you that think I deprive Norah of treats!

Silly Monkey - tricks are for kids!

Norah's funny bone bonked her in the head today. I don't know what it was, but she was SILLY! All day long... :-) It makes me laugh when she cracks herself up. We had an OB appt for "baby brother" and Norah had a jolly old time entertaining herself and anyone else that was interested. She can finally reach door knobs that have levers to open and thought it was so funny to open and close the exam room door - while the Dr. was trying to examine me. The Dr. eventually gave her a glove to play with, which she then insisted on wearing for the rest of the afternoon. I finally made her take it off when we went to the grocery store! Playing with toys in the waiting room. Yes, we had a lot of laughter and stares. That just added to her hilarity!

Later on in the car. Norah even managed to eat a slice of pumpkin bread with her glove on. She's such a talented monkey. :-)Umm...we haven't played the "shmear food all over" game since she first began eating solids. Don't know what got in her this evening, but thank goodness I had the forsight to take her top off. Norah did some serious finger paiting over her entire belly. Beans and sour cream, anyone??

Day with the Greats

Norah and I took my grandparents to a doctors appt up at OHSU today. It was a little hectic, but overall a good time! Norah kept us all entertained while we waited (and there was a lot of waiting) in a SMALL exam room. She was on her best behavior! On the way home Great Grandma watched her Winnie the Pooh DVD with her - that makes them best friends for life. :-) Grandma, Norah and Great Grandma

Psoing with Great Grandpa's hat - I think every grandchild has tried to wear this!

More Cute Cousins

This afternoon Norah and I visited the Ellis clan. Unfortunatly Sophie slept through our entire visit (we didn't take it personally) but Solomon and Sara kept us very entertained! Sara is THISCLOSE to walking - she showed off a few of her moves for us. She can actually stand up in the middle of the floor unassisted (at this point, while pregnant, I can't even do that trick) and without holding on to anything. Solomon spent lots of quality time channeling Strider, Grandpa and Gramma Skogen's lab. I wish I had caught a pic of him scratching his ears with his feet! We had a great time - and don't let me forget to mention, it was fun to see Marla, too. :-) Yeah...no one wanted to look at the camera...
Norah kept eyeing Sara's cookie, but Sara managed to keep her hands on it! She is so squishy and little - and with a hilarious sense of humor blossoming. Do you see those cute curls peeking out from behind her ears?