Notes to Nora

Nora, you may in fact be the happiest human being I have ever met. Your giggles can be heard throughout the whole house at any time and your contagious smile lights up every room. I just can’t believe how much joyfulness can be bottled up in a 1 and a half year old. You are Daddy’s little sweet heart. Every single night when I am putting you and Leia to sleep, you wait until I finish reading our bedtime stories, then you strategically sneak out of bed and spend the rest of the evening laughing, playing, and bonding with your Daddy until you are fast asleep against his chest. He will never forget those special moments with you.  You have truly wormed your way deep into his heart and when I see the way he looks at you, my heart melts with happiness. This is what I have dreamed of my whole life. You really have made me fall more in love with your Daddy, just because of your beautiful relationship.

I will never forget the look on your face when I pick you up from school and you run into my eyes smiling and giggling. I swoop you up in my arms and you give me about 20 kisses all over my face. You never forget to say Thank you to all of your teachers before we leave. Your teachers can't stop talking about how happy you are all day and how you spend your days making the other children laugh. You have been hard at work prepping yourself for your future role as big sister as you stroll your baby throughout the house, feeding her, changing her, reading to her and putting her to sleep. I would say you are the MOST easy-going person UNTIL someone tries to snatch your baby from you, then you scream "MINE"!!!!! as if you are protecting your baby from harm. :) I love how you look at your sister so adoringly and constantly follow her everywhere she goes. You play so nicely together. You genuinely know her soul and how to make her happy. If Leia is sad, you run up to her and hug, kiss her and give her one of your most prized-possession toys. You two are soul-mates and I can see how the differences in your personalities will lend you to being best friends as you grow up. When I talk to Leia about the baby growing inside me, she pleads and begs that this baby is EXACTLY like you--she even requires that we name the new baby Nora! That's the effect you have on us.
You even put on dresses to look like Leia and grab a microphone and sing like her. You are always holding onto your jeweled dog purse. It makes me wonder "is the girly-girl gene innate or is that the strong influence from your big sissy?" Either way, I am in heaven watching you two. I count the minutes while I am work until I get to see you everyday; as if you are so addicting that I can't ever get enough of you.  I wish I could spend every waking moment with you. Thank you for making me the happiest Mommy in the world. You are my miracle, my heart, my soul and my best friend. We are SO lucky to have you in our family. Thank you Nora for all the happiness you bring to us. We love you so much!!

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RQVjuY6_8g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM5pP6mg7LU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

So excited she can't stand it!

Sister Leia reading you to sleep

Silly girls playing in the fountains

You can never have enough babies

"who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?"

Matching Princesses

Still always matching at school

Going out with a BANG—Good bye 2013…

Well, just when we thought life was beginning to settle down, we are tossed a miraculous curve ball--the addition of a 3rd little angel in our world! Yes, we thought we were complete with our 2 girls but destiny won and after the initial shock, we are so excited to welcome our new addition in July of 2014. I was so nervous about James’ reaction knowing he was complete with his 2 little angels, that I couldn’t tell him the news for nearly 2 weeks after I found out. Much to my surprise, when I did tell him, he took it as graceful as he takes any endeavor in his life with his instant response accompanied by a chuckle “So you’re telling me I need to get moving on building that guest house for the grandma’s”. That’s why I love this man! We told the girls and they are extremely excited for a new baby in the house especially in light of the fact that 90% of their days are spent pushing their own baby dolls in strollers. Leia is delighted in the idea that she gets to be a Mommy again, but her level of excitement terminates immediately if you tell her that it might be a boy  She said she only wants to raise another Nora. This pregnancy has been uneventful thankfully, except for the occasional nausea that lasted about 3 weeks, a bout of strep throat, and the ongoing fatigue. I am now 16 weeks and feeling amazing. I have my energy back and I am looking forward to preparing our hearts, our minds, and our house for our 3rd arrival. I decided along my early pregnancy journey of seeing a new OBGYN here in AZ that this baby deserves more than just an OB with bad bed-side manner treating this miracle as if it was an irritating root canal that had to be removed. I know for a fact, not all OBs are this insensitive, but I am grateful for this experience as it prompted me to discover another option of pregnancy and child birth. I have decided to be seen by a midwife and deliver at a free-standing birthing center (if all goes well that is). I took Sandra, my mother-in-law with me for the tour and I immediately knew this was where I was destined to deliver this little one. I am looking forward to this new experience and will continue to update this blog with my pregnancy progress.