Happy 1st Birthday Nora

Notes to Nora

It’s 11pm on May 17^th 2013. I distinctly remember the painful labor contractions I was feeling on this same couch exactly 1 year ago today. I spent the entire night focusing on ignoring the pain and concentrating on counting the seconds in between each increasingly painful contraction. What a difference a year makes!! You turn 1 year old tomorrow and the sheer thought of it brings tears to my eyes. Did I know when I stayed up that night with those contractions that I would be blessed with such a beautiful and kind daughter? Did I have any idea that you would be is so easy-going and lovely? Did I anticipate how calm and soulfully happy you would be or that you would make everyone happy with your endless smiles? Was it on my radar that you and your sister would enjoy each other so much and having you in our world makes me love Leia even more? And did I realize that I was on the brink of discovering what it felt like have my heart expand instantaneously with so much love AGAIN?

 

You are one of the most powerful human beings in my world and you are merely 1 year old. Nora, I love your sweet mannerisms. I love that we can take you anywhere and you never complain. I love that your juicy roles invite everyone around us no matter where we are to request to squeeze you. I love your sweet ringlet curls and your big brown eyes. I love that you can’t stand when I leave the room and you follow me everywhere I go. I love that you still to this day hate being dressed but as soon as we put your arms in the outfit, you smile and laugh as if to say “that was no big deal”. I love that your laughter can be heard throughout the house at all times. I love that you are my Curious George and no matter how many times we child-proof our house; you find a way to undo the protective device. I love that cartoons can hypnotize you in an instant and you fall right to sleep in your Daddy’s arms. I love that you make sure to stay up past Leia’s bed-time so you can enjoy one-on-one time with Mommy and Daddy, I love that you never cry in the middle of the night from your crib if you are hungry but instead just stand up and in the sweetest voice holler “Baaahh” like a little sheep until we come get you. I love that you enjoy swimming and never get scared when we put you under the water. I love that you are my human vacuum and eat anything and everything (edible or not).  I love that music makes you dance and shake your booty as soon as you hear a tune. I love the way you look at your sister with such admiration and enjoyment. Nora Suzanne Robertson, I love you with every beat of my heart. You have completed our family and I am so grateful to have you in my life. You have made us so happy.

Happy 1^st Birthday my sweet angel!  

We love you so much.

 

11 months



11 months and nearly walking 

11 months at park with sister

11 months with Daddy doing pull-ups

10 months playing with Mommy's breast pump supplies

9 months in bath

9 months playing with Grandma

9 months enjoying books at library

First ice cream sundae at 8 months

crawling at 7 months
 

7 months enjoying stroller rides



6 months playing in your jumper

5 months

5 month Pumpkin for Halloween





4 months

3 months

10 days old



2 minutes old

 

Happy 3rd Birthday Leia

Letters to Leia

Happy Happy 3^rd birthday to my Princess Leia!!  Where do I begin to explain how happy you have made everyone in your life. I was joking with Daddy that I never received so many calls, presents, videos, and texts wishing you a Happy Birthday today than I can ever remember receiving for myself. It reminds me that in the 3 short years that you have been with us, you have changed our world forever. Your passion for life and your zest to live each moment to the fullest is contagious to everyone you meet and I can’t believe I am lucky enough to be your Mommy.

 

You have endured a big life transition with the move from Monterey to Scottsdale, AZ. You frequently asked me to take you back to the “old house” in Monterey so you can hug your friends again. I have made every effort to find new friends for you here in AZ as I know how much it means to you to have friends and I will do anything to make my Leia happy. It made me so happy when you found your best friend Scarlett here in AZ. You two are inseparable and it reminds me that soul-mates do truly exist, even for 2 year olds.

 

 

 

You wake up every morning singing “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood” and ask for your carrot juice. We laugh that your skin is turning orange because the only calories you are ingesting these days is from carrot juice. You are still not interested in eating solid foods and you would rather forgo any meal in lieu of having fun. Maybe you get that from your Daddy who always wishes he could have a TPN placed instead of having to eat.

You and Nora are the best of friends. No one could make her laugh like you can and you make it a point everyday to make sure she is well-fed, always has her favorite toy in hand, and is included in EVERY activity we do. I love that you love her so much. I was laughing tonight as I watched the two of you play hide-and-seek. You are always wanting to protect her and several times throughout the day you bring me a foreign object that you pulled out of Nora’s mouth and report “I saved Nora’s life again”.  I truly hope you grow up to be the best of friends. It says a lot about your loving and maternal nature that you have embraced the addition of Nora in our family so gracefully. I love you for that.

 

 

I have had the unbelievable opportunity to be a stay-at-home Mommy the past couple of months here in AZ and we have had the best time ever. We spend most of our days playing with friends at the fountain and swimming at the gym. When we moved here 2 months ago, you were terrified of swimming in the water, even screamed for the full 30 minutes of swim lessons, now you are my very own “Little Mermaid”. You beg me everyday to take you swimming and as soon as you get to the pool, I can tell you truly love being in the water.

 

You have been taking dance classes for the past few months and you love it so much more than I expected. Music truly moves your soul and I can’t wait to see your recital in a couple of weeks. Daddy just got you a Princess bike that you have been dreaming about and it was so fun to see your face light up when he brought it home. You stayed on the bike with your helmet on until 10pm and asked to sleep with it. You love wearing tutu’s and Princess dresses and especially high heels. Your nails are always painted and you beg me to let you wear make-up everyday. I’m not exactly sure where you came from between Daddy and me, but you bring a whole new meaning to “Princess Leia”.

 

I love our nightly ritual consisting of “spa time” in which you wash and rub my feet with all the lotions and potions of your choice. Then we sing songs, you ask me to scratch your back, we read a book and you are fast asleep in my arms. You still want to sleep with me every night and I know I will miss hugging your sweet body at night. You have made my dreams come true and my world is so wonderful and amazing with you in it. You are my very best friend and I love being your Mommy. Please stay passionate, kind, respectful, loving, generous and most of all happy. Thank you for being you angel girl. You make life worth living. We love you so much.

 

 

We are in Escrow!

We are back in the Escrow process, except this time we are the buyers instead. We have been living in an apartment for the past 4 months and as much as we like the convenience of apartment living, we are ready to move into a house where at least the princess palace items can be quarantined to a couple of rooms instead of taking over all of our living space. I have never seen so much pink in my life! We have been working with a realtor for a few weeks now and have found that although it is relatively less expensive to live in Arizona, the lot sizes of most homes are quite small. Last week I ran across a home on a 2 acre lot that I thought we can make into something really special. We looked at it this past weekend and knew that if we were going to be able to put an offer on it, an awful lot of miracles had to happen before that, including me passing my AZ pharmacist license exam, interviewing and getting a job lined up, getting pre-approved, and the sellers accepting our offer. All of these events have transpired within the last 4 days. So excited to report that as of today, we are hoping to close Escrow and move into our new home this month. Fingers crossed.