it's a jolly holiday with Norah.

I didn't think I'd be in to Halloween. I'm not, really. honestly I really don't look forward to the days we come home with a bunch of candy - when Norah actually knows what it is - and wants to eat it. but as we navigate through parenthood, we're just trying to live and learn and love and have fun doing so. and a couple nights of dressing this girl up was f u n. it was also nice for me to be able to get creative and throw our costumes together. 

my one costume mistake.. Mary Poppins would never need glasses.

we went to Boo at the Zoo a couple weeks ago with some friends and she had the best time in the toddler area there. this little live band playing cute music was the highlight for her. best dancing penguin there ever was. and my mama's girl didn't hesitate for one second to be front and center (and then ON the stage!) to hear that music and dance her heart out. I love to watch her grow and bloom.

here's a short clip. she was slowing down at this point, but you can get a small glimpse of her dancing.

Halloween was last night for us here. they (I'm not sure who they are) changed the day because it's supposed to rain a lot here tonight. I didn't know you could just change it but they did. so I put Norah's costume on her and she helped me pass out candy, clapping for herself every time she put a piece in someone's bag. it was very cute. 

hope you're all having a nice weekend!

love..

norahisms.

she carried her laundry basket from her room all the way into the kitchen and wanted to get in. we've never done that before. she's hilarious. 

I've seen people share some cute things their kids have said, so I thought it would be fun to share some of Norah's latest adventures in using her words. she's not asking all of those funny questions yet, but certain things do make us laugh coming from such a little person. aside from her mumbling baby talk, which is equally hilarious. and of course, "no no" is a favorite. oy. 

she started actually saying all done while she signs it the other day. she's known the sign for a long time but now she will actually say it. mostly if I have the blender or my clairsonic out, haha. we're a little sensitive..

she has the longest list of words. I couldn't tell you how many, but I'd really like to take a few moments to jot them all down sometime. I told Chad the other day that I wish there was a camera on her constantly because there are so many cute things she'll say or do. he agreed, but then said, "at least we get to experience them." wise man.

here are just a few fun things Norah is saying..

she's always asking where something went, but it sounds like, "where dog go?"  we can usually figure out what she's talking about most of the time.

but now she will ask, "where mama?" or "where dada?" so that's cute.

"yes." (clear as day and in the right context. which for some reason has been blowing my mind.)

"sih wap?" when she wants to sit on your lap. 

"gah yit!" (got it.. one million times until we realize what she is trying to do)

and her favorite this week is this guy. 

"way da beeuh?" (where's the bear?) he's usually right under her nose.

love..

she knows no temperature, only adventure. while we stand and watch in amazement and melt.

been thinking about being a parent and judging things and how much more I judge than I think I do. we all do. but lately I've been remembering before parenthood and how much I judged parents and how sometimes now we can see others judging us. having to explain the way we do things and comparing ourselves to other parents ways of doing things. if I could go back and change something about my younger self, it would be that. who am I to even think those things? to not even try to understand their life or think if they would just do 'this'..

because everyone is different, every kid is different, every situation is different. you absolutely do not know what it is like to be in their place. to walk their steps. a situation might look terrible-or amazing-on the outside, but that's all we see. the thing we do share is that we have the same Father who is the ultimate judge and giver of life and grace and peace. And he calls us to love.

so be kind. extend grace. please don't judge such a vulnerable and precious thing we are all just trying to figure out. let's be a team.

love..

thirty.

today marks my favorite's thirtieth birthday. I couldn't even begin to have the right words to describe how great this man is. I'm really excited his birthday falls on a weekend this year. we are really excited to spoil him all weekend! his parents and sister surprised him at our door last night.. hopefully he's not too mad about me keeping that a surprise. he had no idea!

I am so thankful for this man. his strength and wisdom have given my life so much security and hope in all of the good and the hard times. he is so patient with me (seriously, I love you so much for that!), which makes for a great husband and father. to have spent the last decade with him is such an honor and we are proud to call him ours.

it may sound strange, but I'm thankful for the years before we met as well. where he was shaped and molded into the great man, partner, husband, and father he is today. and while thirty is 'just a number', I think he is going to wear it well.

he sure is a catch.

we love you so much, Chad. happy birthday!

love..

bump day.

heard it was bump day today. I don't even know what that is and I didn't look it up, but I kept seeing women post photos of themselves pregnant. thinking back to that time gives me all sorts of feels, obviously. (side note: how did that trend start? the saying "feels" trend. can't decide if I like it or hate it. am I even cool enough to say "feels"? anyway.) I had this random memory of Norah moving around in my belly and it feeling so intense and crazy in there as we got closer to her birth and as she was running out of space. then I remembered even earlier, at our first ultrasound, when her arms and legs were already moving all over so quickly.

and I kind of laughed at myself for always being surprised at how she never stops moving now. clearly she's been that way since the beginning of her time. a busy bird. God is going to show this laid back mama so much through this active girl, I can feel it. I think I'll go put on my running shoes. 

I don't have any of those. what is running? (; I'm tired.

love..

norah on set.

last week we were staying in a small town a couple of hours away. Chad has been working out of town some for this show, so Norah and I went to stay with him. it's hard to resist a free hotel stay. though we usually screw up any kind of schedule we've finally made in the process, so it's give and take. always worth it for us to all be together though! she's only one once!

one of those days we went to see him on set. I wish I had taken this photo from a slightly different angle so you could see their twinning eyes while squinting in the sun. she's a Taylor, no doubts about it. but Norah got to see a certain big shot actor doing his acting thing (I was really more excited about that than her, obviously), and an even bigger big shot (daddy) doing his thing. it was fun. and hot. I don't know how they stand outside all day in this heat. so we went to the camera truck and this is her claiming it as her own.

it was a nice day and made me forget about getting pulled over for the first time ever earlier in the day. ): I wasn't speeding, or doing anything wrong for that matter, I just didn't have a break tag stuck to my windshield. the rules for owning a car here are so silly. ah well. 

I have a hard time with Chad's job hours a lot of the time, but this day was a good reminder that it will be fun to take her to visit him as she grows. a neat experience for her.

hope you're all having a great Thursday! it is Thursday right? I never know anymore. (;

love..

thanks, wednesday.

the last couple of days have been interesting. I declared we were on the struggle bus yesterday and it was only Tuesday. Chad is out of town for work. how will we ever make it to the weekend? I had even sent out a couple of 'please pray for me and my child that has the hardest time napping' texts. there are many reasons why I felt so worn and discouraged, but I won't list them all. I will say I put on a different pair of sweatpants than I had been wearing and felt like a new person. sad, ha.

I'm still learning on this mom journey, and I know that is completely okay. I will be learning for the rest of my life. but one thing I continuously forget is to ask for prayer. or to even pray for myself sometimes because I think I should be able to handle whatever I'm struggling with, so I just need to toughen up. so I'm here today to say the obligatory, "prayer works, people". I know I'm tough. I just forget. 

this morning, Norah greeted me with a kiss. I had barely said the words, "good morning" when she leaned in with a big wet kiss. I've been given countless kisses from her all day. all unprompted. I can't say the napping went any better really. we were out running errands and she always naps great in the car, so that doesn't count as better. but her demeanor was so much sweeter all day and I went from, 'I don't know if I can do this toddler thing' to 'I love this life'. thanks, Wednesday. 

this journey is made up of so many different seasons. and I dont usually catch a new one until it's over. but I'm grateful for all of them because in each one I learn and grow and even the hard ones make me that much stronger and better of a mama. and I'm grateful for praying friends and family and wet Norah kisses and sweet little hugs around my neck. I know it's only Wednesday and I don't know what the next few days will bring, but today was a much needed breath of fresh air. have a good night. (:

love..

one year.

I know I've posted this one online before, but it's one I can sit and stare at forever. such peace. and wasn't this just yesterday? no?

well I've decided I don't have any good words to describe my feelings today or how much I love this girl, so there's that photo. I'm going to go hold my one year old for as long as she'll let me. 

love..

eleven months, an anniversary, and she's almost one.

our girl hit eleven months in April and once again, I didn't blog about it. but she's a busy bee and I just haven't had a chance to sit down and write.

eleven months.

we just got back from a celebratory trip to Idaho, visiting old friends. April 30th marked five years of marriage for us, and Norah turns one tomorrow. so we planned our first vacation without any other family since our honeymoon. so very adult of us. we spent some quality time with lots of old friends, chased our little bird around, cut a nasty tooth, climbed and drove through mountains. beautiful, beautiful mountains. I nursed Norah on Picture Rock and later that day I looked at her and said, "Norah, I fed you on a mountain! I love my life!" it was so refreshing and the days seemed to fly. please excuse these grainy, ultra-filtered iphone photos.

photos c/o christy.

and today was so long. haha. but at the same time, I'm not wishing it away because that just means tomorrow will be here and I'm. not. ready. I can't believe Norah will be one whole year already! she is the sweetest and we love her so much. here's to a week of celebrating her and us and wrapping our brains around the fact that we made it. (; more tomorrow.

love..

nine and ten months and more kind strangers.

nine.

ten.

I have missed months nine and ten by a long shot. so as eleven nears, I thought I'd throw a few photos out there and tell you this girl is crawling all over the house, standing once in a while on her own until she realizes she's not holding on to anything, and saying words I didn't think I'd hear until well after she turns one. she's real busy.

today I went grocery shopping. I made trips to two stores to get the best foods for this bird. because it's never as easy as getting everything you need at one place. I wasn't upset about that, but as everyone knows, it's not ever a quick trip to grocery shop with kids. but I had no other agenda so I just tried to take my time and not stress as she started to get a little fussy at our first stop (she fell asleep before the next one so all was well). when I got the the register at my last stop, I realized I forgot my wallet in the car, so I had to run out and get it. the cashier was great, and it wasn't an issue, but hello, Norah was napping and I was losing my hands free window. (; anyway, I was loading everything into that car and someone parking next to me said, "it's hard work grocery shopping with a baby!" you're so right sir. thank you for noticing.

he didn't stop there though. he kept talking as he got out of his car, and I thought he was either going to be a little bit weird or he was trying to encourage me. and then I saw his shirt. it said something about prayer 24/7. I've encountered people like this. some are genuine. others feel like they're supposed to say something profound, reciting a script and I walk away a little annoyed (just being honest here, sorry). he and his wife have five kids and he said she likes to grocery shop alone. he said a couple of things I hear often, like we need more full time moms because it's good for the kids and it's the hardest and least paid job there is. and he said he notices how hard it is for her and how much she works and, "so I just commend you", as he walked away. 

I could have walked away annoyed, assuming he was reciting a script. but today it gave me the fuel I needed to get home and get all of the groceries in and shove some lunch in my mouth as I wrangle my super curious and brave babe. and get through the long day. and blog. blog? what is that? I know this was God encouraging me through another stranger. they're not all bad. (;

it was just a good reminder to notice. notice the mom with the baby in an ergo, pushing her cart with one hand. I now know how hard that is. and notice the brand new mom with a sad baby in a corner probably just wanting out of the house for a minute but sort of regretting it. I now know how hard that is. notice the moms. notice the dads. notice the people. little things we might not acknowledge, but should. and then we should commend them because we know. and we get it. and sometimes they need to know someone else gets it. 

I know this stuff has been said online a lot lately. this isn't some new revelation and there is a great movement of women I see online trying to make sure moms know what they do is hard and worth it and so important, no matter what it looks like. and I know sometimes even people without kids have hard days and barely make it to the store. this has all been said before. I was just encouraged and hoping this will meet the right pair of eyes tonight.

I notice. and I commend you.

love..

eight months.

this is a little glimpse of Norah right now.

she's got five teeth and one working its way through. though it's probably more like ten that I just don't know about, because she's apparently going for the gold medal in teething. | she hasn't been interested in food, really (I'll take any encouragement in that area). we did try carrots the last two days though, and she's kind of into it. carrots win! actually, breast milk always wins, but that's okay with me! | somewhere around nineteen pounds. | she's been sitting up like a pro for a couple of months now, which made her start to protest tummy-time because, who wants to do that when you can sit up, I guess? | scooting backwards (and spinning in circles) when she does decide tummy-time is okay. I think she'd run, if she could. | she started saying, 'ooh' right before we left for Michigan.. cutest thing. I wish you could all hear it. | she's also babbling and teaching herself to scream a lot and says, 'mama' when she wants to be picked up (oh, my heart). | she just started mimicking a cough or laugh and we'll go back and forth for a minute. she thinks that's pretty funny. | already knows what to do when I say, 'hi-five!' and hold up my hand. she's fun. | still likes napping on me the best. | she has lots of blonde, fuzzy hair coming in and looks a bit like Jack Nicholson (see here) in the bath or after a good, long nap in her car seat. | I think her favorite toy right now is paper or cardboard, which is unfortunate for her books, but made for a fun Christmas. | she's really fond, and probably most content, when we read or sing to her. the ABC song is her jam.

one of the sweetest things.. since we've been back from Michigan, when Chad gets home she lets out a little shout. I think she loved having extra time with him while he was off for Christmas and now gets so excited to see him when he gets home from work.

love..