Just Like Old Times!

The Monday before Christmas we met up with Hillary and Lincoln for a play date.

Christmas

Christmas is more and more fun every year for us thanks to Norah. We tried really hard to explain to Norah the true meaning of Christmas in terms she could understand. We talked about how Christmas was Jesus’s birthday but this alarmed her because she feared all the presents under the tree were not for her so she started insisting “No, Norah’s birthday.” Eventually we gave up on it and just enjoyed the secondary meaning of Christmas: Presents. We even had Norah put out Oreos and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.

Santa was very good to Norah – here she is wearing her princess dress, apron and chef hatGrandpa Guy giving Norah a beat to dance to in her princess dressCourtney with her two nieces in their Christmas dresses from MimiWe had church at 1:00 and by the time we were home and giving Norah lunch she was completely exhausted and fell asleep

Alice’s Blessing

Bryan blessed Alice with his dad and Kimball on December 23rd at his parents home. Alice wore her Aunt Courtney’s blessing dressAhhh, life with a big sister.Norah gave Alice lots of kisses once she realized how much attention she’d get for it. When we were done taking pictures of her with Alice she promptly pushed her off her lap. Fortunately we were all near by to catch Alice.Ashley, Matt and Louis came down for the blessing.Norah with Baby Louis. He is soooooo cute.

Norah's Nutcracker

Norah decided that she couldn't let Courtney take all the limelight and decided to do her own performance of the nutcracker.

The Nutcracker

Bryan’s little sister Courtney was the Sugar Plum Fairy in her ballet academy’s performance of the Nutcracker. She has been in the Nutcracker every Christmas as long as I have known her but we’ve never made it down to Virginia in time to see it. Since she is her academy’s prima ballerina this year and a senior in High School we decided we wouldn’t miss it for anything – not even a two week old baby could stop us!  She did a fantastic job. Her choreography was extremely difficult and her dance teachers said that she was their first Sugar Plum Fairy to completely nail the routine. She was absolutely lovely and I’m so glad we were able to see her perform.

Norah fell asleep in the car on the way and slept through most of the first half but didn’t miss any of Courtney’s numbersNorah handing Courtney a bouquet after the performanceCourtney posing with some of her friends after the showThis is Norah very seriously imitating the ballerinasAnd this is Susan with sweet little Alice after the Nutcracker

Alice’s Newborn Pictures

My friend Stacy Hutchison is building a portfolio and kindly offered to take pictures of baby Alice. These are my favorites:

Sleeping on the Job

I put an awake Alice on her brand new baby quilt from Mimi today for some tummy time and she promptly fell back asleep. She had a rough night last night so I guess she was making up for it. This is Alice having tummy time after her nap under the tutelage of her big sister.Norah showing Alice advanced tummy time moves – notice Norah AND the dog are doing downward dog

Branch Christmas Party

Friday was our Branch Christmas Party and we had a great time. My mom stayed home with Alice so we could focus on Norah and enjoy talking to friends. Norah loved running around the gym with her pals.And she enjoyed “playing baby Jesus” as Mary in the Nursery’s nativity
It was a little like herding cats, but darling none the less. Graham was Joseph, Ellie and baby Callie were angels, Drew and Ethan were sheep and J.J. was a shepherd.Norah and Dad

Jammies and Stuff

Norah has been particular about her pajamas for a long long time but it has gotten ridiculous lately. She has this one Christmas nightgown (featured below) that she wants to wear every single night – because it is a “dress.”But we have to wash it at some point and since we don’t have a washer and dryer sometimes she just needs to wear other jammies. She dug in her heels tonight so I told her she had to stay in her room until she was ready to put on other jammies. When she came out of her room she was dressed like this:She came out marching and said “I got all my stuff. I got my hat, my doctor bag, my pack pack and my dresses.”  Please note that both dresses are inside out and one is backwards. Also, you can’t see it but she is wearing a tutu under her dresses.

Alice at One Week

Alice is a sweet little baby at one week. She is sleeping and eating like a champ and as of Friday she was almost back to her birth weight. We all love to snuggle this sleepy baby and watch the funny faces she makes in her sleep. I wasn’t able to capture it in a picture, but Alice has a big dimple on her left cheek just like her Aunt Natalie and Great Grandma Hyer.

Fohawk