7:49am

Backyard dew with just a hint of fall.

Nora's 'fier party

We've been discussing the need to do this for several months now. Nora, who is almost three, along with resisting potty training, still has enjoyed the comfort of her pacifier, or "'fier," as it is called around these parts.

We decided that if we were going get rid of her pacifier, the most merciful time to do this would be right now, before the baby comes, so she wouldn't have to kick the habit with the constant temptation of the baby's pacifiers everywhere.

So, with Nora's help in planning, we put together a "fier" party to say goodbye to her pacifiers. She decided that an awesome party would have hot dogs and balloons and cupcakes. After dinner we tied one sacrificial pacifier to the bunch of balloons and let Nora watch as they disappeared into the sky. She did this in exchange for three new tiny dolls for her collection.

Nora has done really well, but has had her moments of going to bed and crying, "I wish I was a baby again and could have my 'fiers back!" I think that the transition has been just as hard for John, who is not thrilled about watching his baby Nora grow up. If Nora keeping her 'fier meant that she would stay his cute, adorable, two-year-old forever, I'm sure he would have agreed to it in a heartbeat and rocked her on his lap until the end of time.

But meanwhile, she continues to grow and just informed John today he can't call her "Nowee" anymore.
She prefers Nora.
And John's not happy about that.

Nora Shorts

Her poor belly button. She is convinced there is something in there she needs to get out, and works on it once or twice a day.

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She every-so-often refers to herself as "My Nora" and in the third person. i.e. "My Nora would really like a cup of milk. My Nora would like chocolate milk. In a sippy cup. Please."

"When she was five My Nora went to Japan and saw the pyramids. And there was a camel in there. He was eating thorns. And My Nora, when she was big, saw a monster. But she wasn't scay-ared at all. Except just a little bit."

(Most of her stories have not an ounce of truth in them.)

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She has very sly ways of getting what she wants. For example after dinner, she will whisper to me a cue, "Ask me if I would like some dessert." After I ask, she will tap her mouth with her index finger follow by a long, conpemplative "Hmmmm. Yes, I would please. Great idea, mom!"

Can you even say no to that? The little PR department in her brain works very hard.

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She spends most of her day playing pretend with her small dollies and doing puzzles over and over again, and she is serious about both activities. Last night when John came home from work, he went to see Nora who was in her room doing puzzles. When he greeted her, she didn't even look up, but just said, "Don't bug me Dad."

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She has picked up the silliest accent and it's from who knows where. She has attached a southern sounding drawl to all her "a" words. For example: "May I have some ray-anch?" "I cay-an't!" "Sit on the chay-air." "Here cay-atch." It's not very funny typed. But hilarious in real life.

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potty training? pffft.

Attempts: dozens and dozens
Successes: zero





update: we finally had to put a bandaid over Nora's belly button because it started bleeding from all the picking.

Hailey Shorts

Hailey loves watching nature shows on PBS. Her recent favorite was a show on cuttlefish. (I found it interesting too.) PBS is where she learned the terms "predator" and "prey." She has incorporated the "predator/prey" concept in her outdoor play with her friends.

The Only thing is she believes the word "predator" is actually "CREDITOR," and has taught all her friends her version of the term. Right now I am hearing several little kids screaming outside and yelling "RUN AWAY FROM THE CREDITOR!! RUN AWAY FROM THE CREDITOR!"

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Another unfortunate mispronunciation:

Hailey and Nora have been learning about the planets. One of the most recent things we have learned about is the difference between rocky and gaseous planets. Except, when Hailey says the word "gaseous," she replaces the last "s" with a "t" and runs around the house yelling a very profane sounding word.


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Just so you know, this next one is specifically about underwear.

I think most are aware of how particular Hailey is about her clothes. The other day Hailey was complaining that her underwear was too too tight. So I wrote underpants on my shopping list and on my next trip to target picked some up. Hailey, as you will remember as well, is above the curve for her height and growth, and when I looked for some Dora or My Little Pony or Disney Princess underwear, I realized that
they
do
not
make
character
underpants
in
her
size.

I tried to convince myself that this would not be a big deal and picked for her instead some bright solid and stripey ones and went on my way.

Of course this was a big deal, and I heard crying and complaining coming from her bedroom after she got out of the tub and discovered the unadorned pants, and then silence. She finally came into the living room fully dressed and happy, and I thought that was the end of it. Until a few days later when I was doing the wash and found:



She had gotten out my colored sharpies, and drawn a picture on each one of her pairs of plain underpants.

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She has developed a huge phobia of bees ever since John ran over a bees' nest with a lawn mower and she got stung. Poor girl.

Long-awaited house tour

FINALLY! Here's a little look at our home.



Living room. Complete with new cheap artwork from photos taken in San Diego.



The resurrected red couch and Ikea chair.



Dining room with new table and new (to us) chairs saved from the dumpster before we left Milwaukee. The beautiful flowers are from our neighbor's garden.



Typical 70's rambler kitchen.



Girls' room.



All the artwork in their room was supplied by Hailey's school class as a moving-away gift. I told her she could keep them up for the summer, but I don't think they'll get taken down until we move again. She loves them.



Our bedroom.



View from front porch.



AND the AWESOME backyard. There's also a swing set off to the left side.



Basement: used as toy room, sewing area, and TV watching place.



And last, but certainly not least, The Bar! Can you make out that stellar stucko work on the wall? BAR IS OPEN! That's right. That there is some quality craftsmanship.

July. . . (was almost 2 months ago.)

Since we have been in Ohio, life has quieted down quiet a bit. I am large and pregnant and not too up to crazy outings and long trips right now. But here's a look at our modest summer.



4th of July. I made those babies.













Hangin' out with the backyard chickens. THE best feature of the house.





24th of July parade. That is our double stroller walkin' to Zion.





Took a trip to Columbus and went to the COSI Science Museum and the Temple (which is tiny and which I took no pictures of.)







Do you think they ever fell asleep at the hotel? (They actual did, it just took a long long long time.)

Once upon a time we went on a little vacation. . .

Continuing to catch up. . .

After graduation (but before moving) we took a small trip to San Diego with Anna and Jay for a little REST and RELAXATION. And that's what we spent most of our time doing.
Rest.
Relax.
With no kids. (yea!)



This was the view from our condo on Sail Bay. How could you not relax? It just make you want to say Ahhhhhhhhh and exhale slowly. Oh, now I'm getting sad because I'm sitting on our couch in an un-cleaned-up house and not on the beach.



It was not super warm, however. We spent time on the beach, but very little in the water.



Hanging out on the balcony.



We had to make a quick stop at the San Diego Temple. I matched the flowers.





At Balboa Park.





Golfing. Anna and I just followed them around on our own golf cart and read and watched and heckled a tiny bit.









Watching the Sea World Fireworks.



USS Midway.






Leaving at the airport.



I miss you San Diego. I miss you Anna and Jay. I miss you good night's sleep probably the most.