Thanksgiving, again

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Jensens yesterday. In addition to the usual suspects, Gisele's aunt and uncle who are visiting from Brazil joined us. We hadn't seen them for over three years so it was their first time meeting Alena and Nora. Nora was happy to have people holding her and paying attention to her, and Alena got along well with Jorge. He taught her how to say "more" in Portuguese. She gave him an arm hug and multiple kisses when he left. How does he rate so high?

Martha and Nora

Jorge learns more about Thanksgiving traditions--sitting around watching football after overeating.

Alena showed Rusty proper blanket smelling technique. He was pretty brave as I don't think kitty blanket had been washed in awhile.

Baby Nora playing with Grandpa Steve

Early Thanksgiving

We went up to Minnesota for an early Thanksgiving last weekend. We got to see Angela's and Julianne's new houses. The whole family was there, as well as Cousin Steve and Krista. Angela and Julianne did a great job on the feast! Nora played with toys the entire meal and we hardly heard a peep from her. She did crawl over and started to eat a magazine when nobody was watching, though.

It snowed on Saturday, so Uncle Tyler pulled Lily and Alena around on the sled. Lily was nice enough to give Alena a pair of princess boots to wear.

Nora reads a magazine while relaxing with Mommy and Aunt Julianne

Nora and Finn played together a lot while the big girls did their thing. Finn is really good at sharing with Nora and she loves him!

Angela put on the Baby Bjorn for old time's sake. Finn spent a lot of hours in that thing.

Crawling

After a couple of weeks of scooting around, Nora finally is starting to crawl! It is pretty cute; too bad I can't get the video to post. Here she is hanging out with the toy pile Alena made for her. She is trying to look in the mirror on the yellow block.

Big red barn

We brought home Ben's barn toy box so we could store some toys. Alena put it to other use. She brings her flashlight and toys and climbs into the box to hang out. Yesterday I came into the living room and I heard her laptop but couldn't find Alena. She soon peeked her head up--yep, she was in the barn. She also encourages others to join her in the barn. No, Nora cannot join you in the barn. Yes, Jones and Ruby can come in if they want.

Crawling lessons

Nora has been working on her crawling skills lately. She has the "get on hands and knees and rock" technique down, but when it comes time to move her legs she collapses. She will do an army crawl to get what she wants, but has yet to move more than a couple of feet at a time. Favorite temptations are pretty standard: cell phones, paper, remote controls, and of course the most tempting of all--Alena's toys!

She leaves a pile of her toys behind to go for her big sister's stuff

Nora "eating" the toy

Alena is sharing some wisdom, obviously. She has the pacifier in because she is pretending to be "Baby Alena." The lemon container is pretend medicine and is dosed using a nerf dart. Alena's imagination is serious stuff. Right now she is sad because her friend Nonie broke her leg and can't come over to play.

Crawling position in gnome hat. She even has a rosy nose from her cold.

Trick-or-treaters

The girls got decked out in their costumes to get some candy. They lucked out and got to see both sets of grandparents! Nora was a little grumpy due to sickness and lack of sleep, but she perked up once she was being carried around outside. It was a perfect night for trick-or-treating!

Alena (monster dog)

Nora (teddy bear)

Let's get this show on the road!

Happy Halloween!

Alena and Nora pose in their super cute Halloween outfits with the pumpkin that Alena gutted and Daddy carved. What cute girls!

"See Baby Nower, this is where the seeds were."

Today, Alena and Daddy roasted the seeds harvested from yesterday's Jack-o-lantern. They are seasoned with garlic salt, butter, and worcestershire sauce - delicious!

More birthdays

Alena wasn't the only one with a birthday last week--Nora celebrated 6 months on the 13th. She didn't get a cake, but she did try sweet potatoes and I think she might have swallowed some. The girls had their check-ups with the Dr this week. They both got a clean bill of health and the doctor said that they made her day because they were so cooperative. Who doesn't like to hear that about their kids (even if it isn't true at home!) Nora continues to be on the little side weighing in at 13 pounds, 6 ounces. She is just too busy trying to keep up with Alena to gain too much.

A birthday crown and wand for the birthday girl

The drooler also celebrated. Constant drool!

Alena tried on new clothes immediately after opening them.

Nora with the Clipo blocks. Now that Nora is sitting, this is one of her favorite toys to play with. She likes to take apart towers and stick them in her mouth. They taste as good as they feel.

Happy Birthday, Alena!

Guess who is three tomorrow? Alena got a jump-start on the big day with a pizza party last night. Monsters continue to be a big thing for Alena right now, so Daddy put a monster on her cake. Alena told me the other day that a very little pink and purple monster ate Tillie's mom. (Don't worry, it was only make-believe.)

Apple Pinchard

We headed out to the apple orchard, or as Alena calls it, the apple pinchard, on Saturday. We sampled plenty of apples and went on a hay rack ride.

The little pickers get pumped up

A little apple, just right for a little baby!

All of that fresh air was exhausting! Nora's new favorite place to nap. Very convenient for me.

First food

Nora tried her first food Friday night. It was the always exciting rice cereal. It didn't knock her socks off, but she was content for a long time after her meal.

First bite

Alena wanted to feed Nora

Alena was tired of all the squirming and tried to keep Nora focused. Alena really just wanted to get the job done and when the spoon was going too slowly she picked up the bowl and tried to pour cereal into Nora's mouth.

Done eating this time. Please don't make me do it again.

Old friends

While we are on the Jones kick, here is some reminiscing. Same window, but they have both grown. Alena is almost 3 now. The second picture she was about 17 months and Jones wasn't even a year. Who knew he would grow to be so giant? Obviously he is a gentle giant to put up with as much attention as he does!

Finally as big as Jones?

Nora is about as big as Jones now. He probably still weighs a little more, though. Jones allows such abuse. His policy is pretty much any attention is better than nothing!

Riding Jones

Eating Jones

Hugging Jones

Time to give Jones a break!

Putting her foot in her mouth

Nora had her 4 month check-up today. The doctor said she is looking great! Nora got two shots today. The first one I don't think she even noticed, and the second she made a five second complaint. Having a big sister has really toughened her up. I think I complain more about getting a shot. What did Alena do while all of this fun was going on? She went to visit Daddy at work where she made food dishes for Jones and Ruby and ate grapes and Goldfish crackers.

Nora is weighing in at 12 pounds, 7.5 ounces and is two feet tall! Speaking of two feet...

Best newly discovered playthings

I'm going to get you guys!

Yum!

But don't take the good old thumb for granted.

Who, me?

"I don't know how Kirstin's shirt got all dirty. Don't blame me!"
--Baby Nora

Alena went to bed for her afternoon nap with her clothes on. She woke up in these pajamas. She told me she put them on so her legs wouldn't get cold (it was probably 85 degrees in her room yesterday.)

Practicing sitting

Excellent posture

But not too stable at sitting yet

I meant to do that--now I can eat this blanket

A quick roll gets her back onto her belly again