Nora's 4th Birthday!

I figured I should post about her birthday before the month is up!

I can't believe our baby girl is 4!

She is such a sweet, fun, spunky, clever, entertaining addition to our family.

We don't know what we'd do without her.

I took Nora to American Girl Place for lunch and to pick out her very own American Girl Doll

She's been wanting one that looks like her...

Here she is with her new doll, "Nora"

(I mean, what else would you name a doll that looks like you)

Nora (and Nora) loves to pose for pictures

"reading" the menu

Enjoying our fancy lunch together!

I probably had more fun watching Nora-

she wanted to be so grown up and she sat up at the table while we had our "conversation"

But when a fun song came on, she had to get up and dance!

Nora loves her treats, so we had lots of treat that week...

Some yummy Minnie Mouse red velvet cupcakes

which we had on her actual birthday--

 and opened lots of fun presents ...

When Dad got back in town, we had a strawberry cake

(it didn't turn out so well looks-wise, but Nora thought it was great)

and she got birthday money and gift cards to spend on more Minnie Mouse stuff!

Happy Birthday to our Nora!

Like Aunt, Like Niece

Heather loves Diet Coke...

 And so does Nora!

(she calls me her buddy when she wants me to share with her)

Aunt Heather loves corn dogs...

 And so does Nora!

Rather fitting that we gave Nora the middle name of Heather!

Nora's 1st Day of Preschool

This is one excited girl!

After watching her siblings all leave for school, it was finally Nora's turn...

She happily sat down and started her painting project...

See you later Mom!

No tears, no sadness, just lots of excitement!

(for both of us!)

All four of my kids have now gone to this preschool and sat at this table!

It's a big day for the whole family to have our last baby go to preschool.

Mothers' Day Gift

I saw this idea on Pinterest, 

and with my new photography class learning,

thought it would make a sentimental gift for our mothers...

I was really excited at how well the pictures turned out!

I even made the same gift for me of my beautiful girls in my wedding dress!

Nora's 3rd Birthday!

We just love Nora!

Her sparkly personality, her sweet hugs, and even her mischievous streak.

We love getting to celebrate her 3rd birthday and all the wonderful things she has brought into our family!

Thanks to the Taits for her cute birthday hat!

 Nora requested a strawberry cake and really enjoyed this one!

Nora having fun on her new Minnie Mouse scooter

and in her Minnie Mouse dress-up from Uncle Troy

And with her giant Minnie and Mickey

 (sensing a theme here?)

and her polka-dot dress just like Minnie's!

Nora loves Minnie Mouse right now

 it definitely makes it easy to shop for her!

and today I took her to Target to spend her birthday money!

She knew exactly what she wanted because she's been scoping it out for weeks.  She tells me she wants something, and I just say, "Put it on your birthday list!"

 Since Paul's gone, the kids and I took Nora to Red Robin for her birthday dinner tonight.

She loved the singing waiters!

Happy Birthday to our adorable girl!

We love you Nora!

Photography Class

I'm taking a photography class from the local community college.

I think it's making a huge difference in the pictures I take of my kids

and I'm excited to keep learning more.

Here's a little sampling...

Terrible Twos

Don't let this sweet face fool you...

Nora is quite the handful right now.

She is mischievous, active, curious, and somewhat disobedient.

(and she does it all with a smile on her face too)

Nora has cut her hair three times in the past two weeks.

She has colored on numerous walls and windows.

(she has siblings who are nice enough to leave the tools of destruction out for her)

She spits her food out on the floor.

She dumps food out from the pantry.

And she frequently gets out of her bed at night, hoping to stay up longer.

She's truly giving me a run for my money.

But then she puts her face close to mine and says, 

"I love you mommy"

and all is forgiven.

Meeting the Newest Arrivals

We spent most of our July in Utah.

It was so much fun and we were very busy, 

so it'll take me a few days to catch up!

We had two new nieces and a nephew
born in the last two months,

which means we had some snuggling to do!

Lucas-Chad & Jordan's little guy

and Ella-Spencer & Britt's darling girl.

And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

The girls loved holding the new babies!

 Lucas enjoys getting to know the girls...

And Nora couldn't get enough of "Baby Ook"

 Nora also loved holding baby Ava,
Sarah & Andrew's sweet girl who arrived in June

And we were lucky enough to be there when baby Ella made her appearance.

We went by the house a week later so the kids could love on their new cousin.

You may notice someone missing from these pictures...

Matt isn't so much into the babies--he'd rather hang out with the uncles!

First Dental Visit

Nora's actually been going to the dentist for a while now,

just not as a patient!

The staff and the dentist love her and she willing gives back the love.

She was all hugs, kisses, and smiles.

Until they wanted her to lean back and open her mouth!

We had to hold her in place while the dentist did a quick check

and pronounced that her baby teeth look great.

She even got them cleaned and flossed!

We really love our pediatric dentist.

And apparently she loves our kids too.

On their webpage is a section for their favorite smiles-

And the only picture on there is this one:

(She looks so little!)

Nora's 2 Year Pictures

Here she is...

She did a great job at the photo studio--

Sweet Nora lived up to her good reputation and gave us a bunch of good shots.

I just love how they showcase 

the many aspects of her personality!

Fun, spunky, thoughtful, curious, beautiful and happy.

(adoring aunts, uncles, and grandparents--your hard copies are in the mail)

The Celebration!

Luckily, Nora is only two and
doesn't care how big the party is (or isn't)

There was a lot going on on Nora's birthday,

so her party involved a family dinner at Red Robin

Taking her to Build-A-Bear

where she picked out this bright bear and the kids helped 

picked out jammies and slippers for "Bear"

And then home for Maggie Moo cupcakes and presents

She had a great day with lots of fun and attention-

what more could a 2 year old want?!