Praying For This Kid

This family's story has caught my heart. Please pray for them, too.

Why I Haven't Posted

The nights are starting to look like this with greater frequency- Nora is so excited to see the incredible new world around her that she thinks that the middle-of-the-night feedings are great opportunities for further exploration of her environment. Fortunately for us, she's relatively content, as long as the pipe stays in her mouth... but still it's made for some long nights lately, and by the time I finally get to a quieter part of the day after Carolyn is down for the night (well in her room anyway)- I am so brain fried that I have nothing of any sort of value to say. So I have pictures, but just don't have it in me to create a post worthy of the pictures... so you'll just have to wait.

Poll Results

Here they are, the long-awaited results of our little poll. 62% of you are right- though I think people who "knew" must have voted later, because for most of the polling period, it was about 50/50! They really are very much alike!
This is Carolyn (Exhibit A).
This is Nora (Exhibit B).

Baby Faces

In quest of the ever-elusive smile, we got pictures of several other sweet little Nora faces today. Some of them remind me strongly of Carolyn; others just seem to be her own. They look so much alike; I'm interested in seeing what Nora ends up looking like as she grows! Her hair is already beginning to lighten up, just like Carolyn's did. My mom thinks Nora will have light eyes like Carolyn does- they are certainly looking very blue right now- but genetic probabilities really are against her! Daddy and Mommy both have brown eyes! Guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Carolyn and the Baby

Today when it was time for dinner, we went to get Carolyn and this is what we saw her doing.
She is feeding the baby "with my tummy." :)
Later the baby had to spend some time in time-out for "hitting Mommy." :) Naughty baby!
Perhaps Carolyn's increased interest in "time-out" is because she has been deserving them more and more lately. She is really going through a defiant phase! Tonight she peed in her pants ON PURPOSE because she wanted me to come in and take her to the potty (AGAIN, although she had gone to the potty just about 15 minutes before!)- another bedtime avoidance technique! Does it make me a bad mommy that I made her keep the (slightly) wet pull-up on and refused to take her to the potty again because I knew she didn't really need to go? Any suggestions on how to navigate these dicey waters of bedtime battles? Any thoughts on how to encourage your child to keep her pants on? I'm taking any suggestions! Last night after she realized she was a little wet, she took the pull-up off herself, put her pants back on, and went to sleep- only to wake up soaking wet this morning! No one wishes more than I do that she was ready to stay dry overnight- but she just physically isn't there yet- so the pull-ups have to stay in our life for at least a little while longer!

Our Day

Today is Brad's birthday, and for the first time since we were married, we're not in the same place today- he's at a medical conference in Tucson, and we, of course, are holding down the fort at home. Thank goodness for Ammy and Papa, who came to keep us company (and help Mommy stay sane!) And also, thank goodness for the beautiful weather we've had the past few days- over 70 today! We've been having a good time and I've been trying to take lots of pictures so Brad can see his girls while he's away. We miss him!! Happy birthday honey!

Nora's been starting to smile more. They're still very quick, fleeting smiles; almost experimental, but they're happening with more regularity. I still haven't caught a real picture of one; they're just too speedy- this picture was a smidge too late, but you can still see her eyes smiling. :)
Today we went to the zoo. Grand Rapids doesn't have the world's largest or greatest zoo, but it's still a nice place for a walk and Carolyn enjoyed seeing the animals.
There is a new lion exhibit which is easily the nicest part of the whole zoo (the stinky penguin exhibit could really use a makeover!) This lady lion was nice and close to the glass- and also awake, which isn't always usual with zoo animals. Carolyn enjoyed this part the best.
This is what our "wild one" (see shirt she's wearing) Nora did the whole time.

Sunday Dresses

Everyone should have at least one little girl so they can revel in the delights of dressing her! I'm lucky enough to have TWO little girls, which is just TWICE as much fun. :) I love it all- shopping for cute clothes, getting them all dolled up, and taking lots of pictures! They may hate me someday, but I'm having fun now. :)
Here's Thing One: she allowed us to French braid her hair (upon promise of a jelly bean after we were done). I love Carolyn's long hair, but I'm seriously considering cutting it shorter later this week; she's kind of "done" with having her hair clipped over to the side and unless I put it up in a ponytail or something, it gets into EVERYTHING. I'm thinking that a shorter 'do would be easier for everyone (but I might cry to see her hair go!) What do you think?
Here's Thing Two: thanks Krysia for the adorable denim dress! She looked so cute in it this morning!
Sisters Together! Carolyn got a jelly bean after this... Nora didn't get a choice. ;)