Thanks Were Given

Oh my goodness, it has been a CRAZY two weeks. So much has happened, that I feel the need to split this entry into three different posts.

The craziness started the day before Thanksgiving. We were under the impression that the Petersens would be the only ones making the trek to Spokane for Thanksgiving this year, so we headed over to Grandma and Poppa's house Wednesday evening thinking we would see the Petersens in a couple hours. We pulled up to the house and saw a car with Utah plates in the driveway and were a little confused at first... Then Rich said, "Doesn't that look like Jed's car?"

Surprise! The Harrisons made the trip, too! Hooray! Grandma almost ruined the surprise the night before but lied through her teeth to play it off. Nice job, Edie!

Thanksgiving was lots of fun. Much delicious food (I'm proud of myself for contributing two crowd pleasers this year: green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole), and even better company. We really do have a lot to be thankful for, especially our families.

The Harrisons stayed until Sunday morning, and then we got to hang out with the Petersens until the next Tuesday.

Poppa with the new Zack Danger. You can't really be considered his grandchild until he's fallen asleep holding you. 

Some more Zack Danger shots. Those cheeks! 

The Thanksgiving festivities

She did this on her own, and it was way too cute.

Playing Rock Band with Dre is a tradition. 

Zack Danger hung out with us while his folks went to the Pearl Jam concert.

Have you ever played Telestrations? You should. The idea of the game is to draw a picture of a word, then the next person has to guess the word, then the next person draws a picture, and so on. We had many laughs with Andrea and Jed with some of our drawings (I am not afraid to admit that I am a TERRIBLE artist). This one was my favorite of the night.

The word was mouse trap.

Yep, that's a mouse trap.

Yep, also a mouse trap. 

And that's a...? Final answer - exercise mat.

Somewhere amidst the relatives we squeezed in church and Norah's first day of nursery. She loved it. Didn't even notice we left her.

We also got the Christmas tree up somehow, too. Norah loves it and is actually doing pretty well at not touching it.

Norah was not a fan of sharing Poppa's affection. "Sorry, Zack, Poppa's mine."

And, of course, there were several trips to Eat Fresh. (Ainsley was in timeout for this picture.)

We found this little guy roaming the aisles of Costco, pecking for food in the cracks in the floor. 

Game time with the Nelsons also means cold ones. I discovered this delicious drink, which tastes how I'd imagine cold butterbeer to taste.

Norah loves this horse in Grandma and Poppa'a basement. She'd sit up there all day if I'd let her.

Another trip to Subway. 

 

 I think she thought Zack was a baby doll. At least she was being soft(ish) with him.

Putting last year's Christmas present from the West Jordan Nelsons to good use. It doubles as a pillow and a babysitter!

 Christmas cookie baking, led by Uncle Rich.

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. But this was only part one of the craziness. To be continued...

Surprisingly Few Pictures Today

I guess I don't really have much to say today. I just want to keep up with my weekly blog post because I have been doing so well!

On Saturday, Rich's sister Andrea competed at NCAA Cross Country Nationals in Terra Haute, Indiana, and placed 86th! Awesome job, especially for her first time there, and she was first of the BYU girls! Way to go, Dre!

Rich and I didn't get to go, but we heard all about it from his parents who were able to fly out. Apparently, it was absolutely freezing and the wind was ridiculous (which we saw on the live video feed). Here are a few photos I stole from Edie, who needed a little help getting the pictures off her camera.

Andrea and her hubby Jed. Jed didn't grow up watching cross country races like the Nelsons have (me neither, Jed), but it seems like he's learned quickly. After watching him run around at Nationals to cheer on Andrea, Doug said that Jed's become quite the cross country spectator.

And I have to include this picture because it's hilarious. After the race, they were trying to warm up Andrea's feet anyway they could. I guess gloves were the best thing they could find.

The BYU men also did fantastic, placing 4th overall and getting 2 All-Americans. Rich both loves and hates watching them race. Loves because he obviously wants to cheer on his fellow running Cougars, but hates because he misses racing along with them.

In Norah news this week, her favorite word is officially, "No!" She uses it all the time, even if she doesn't mean it.

"Norah, do you want to come inside?"

"No!"

"Norah, do you want to take a bath?"

"No!" (She loves bathtime.)

"Norah, are you cute?"

"No!" (Okay, now she knows she's just lying because she's just doing that to be cute.)

Other than that, I'll let our pictures do most of the talking for the rest of the week.

 Going on a walk requires a lot more gear these days. Norah absolutely loves our walks and throws a royal tantrum when it's time to go in.

We never watch TV and eat dinner, but we decided it would be fun on Friday night to watch a movie for once at dinner time. Norah has not eaten that well in a long time. She was so distracted by the show that she just kept eating and eating and eating.

 Grandma and Poppa came over for dinner on Sunday, and Norah cuddled right up to her Poppa to cheer on the Broncos (Poppa's team, if you can say he has a team).

Carrying all her blankets around because that's how she rolls

 Why have I never done this before? Norah could keep herself entertained for hours in the bathroom mirror. It made getting ready much easier for me today, until I had to get her down so I could plug in my straightener.

And, finally, Norah got to play with Alivia again today. She got the biggest grin on her face when she saw Alivia at the door. Almost as soon as she walked in, they started chasing each other around the apartment and hardly stopped the whole time she was over (which is probably why Norah fell asleep so well for her nap today).

This next week promises to be a much more exciting one for us. The Petersens are on their way here as we speak, and we are excited to spend time with them and meet their newest addition, baby Zack!

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Norah at 18 Months

18 Months

a.k.a NURSERY AGE

Hallelujah! Thank goodness this child will be going to nursery. Church has become a chore, trying to keep Norah entertained for three whole hours. Now that she's old enough for nursery, I might be able to attend a full Sunday school lesson for the first time in over 9 months. I am hoping that Norah has no problem with nursery. Rich has been bringing her in during the third hour and sitting with her, and she loves it. I am not sure what her reaction will be when both parents leave her with the nursery leaders, but I honestly don't see her having much of a problem with it.

Norah had her 18-month checkup last week. She held steady in weight percentile (20 lbs. 11 oz, 25th percentile), but her height has dropped (32 /14 in, down from 90th to 75th percentile). I'm expecting that percentile to just keep dropping from here on out because she does not have height in her genes.

For some reason, she insisted on her boots and her bow while we waited for the doctor to come in.

A week ago today, our ward's Young Women had their Young Women in Excellence program. I had to snap some photos of how cute it turned out! Since the mutual theme this year was "Stand ye in holy places," our program had a shoe motif. 

 

  

Each leader was in charge of decorating a value table. Mine was the red one (Individual Worth).

 These were the cute little favors for each girl to bring home.

I have also been working on getting more pictures up on our walls. What's the point in taking the pictures if I'm not going to display them?

Rich put up with my bossiness directions.

 This is in the family room above our couch.

 This is above Norah's crib. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.

This is above Norah's changing table. My super talented friend Becca made this (and the "Dream big little one" sign in the above picture) for Norah when she was born, but I just barely hung them up. Sorry it took us so long, Becca, but I really do love them! I still have more I want to put up, but I'm loving it already.

And, let's finish with some of my favorite pictures from the week.

"Daddy, don't you want something to cuddle with?" The best part is that he actually slept through this.

 Rock Band!

It's getting cold outside, so we went hat shopping to keep that little head warm. 

For Norah's first birthday, my mom signed her up for a monthly book club. This month's book featured Elmo, and it was, of course, an instant favorite. 

 Rich went out of town for the last time of the season last weekend, so I put on "Monsters, Inc." to keep Norah entertained while I attempted to regain some sanity.

I probably shouldn't encourage her laying on the bathroom floor, but it cracks me up every time she does it. 

Completely mismatched here, but she can totally pull it off. 

Watching Adam Sandler's "A Song About Elmo." Her face says it all. 

The last few hours before Rich got home. We went to the mall play place, again to help me regain sanity.

 Okay, I know I show my Pinterest projects a lot, but check out this oven! It has probably not been this clean for thirty years. I love Pinterest! This oven was a DISASTER, but, using only baking soda, vinegar, and Dawn dish soap, it now looks this amazing!

 

And, finally, this wonderful shot. We always open Norah's door at night, and Rich came in last night after opening her door saying he had to get a picture of her. I have seen this child in some crazy positions, but this one is pretty far up there. I guess this explains why the ties on her bumper pad keep ripping off.