Splish Splash

Norah's class at daycare has water fun once a week. This past week it was too hot to go outside (temps in the high 90's and heat index well over 100). They had water fun indoors and Norah had a blast. Her teachers said she was very excited about the water and almost climbed into the bucket. She splashed and splashed until everyone was wet.

One-year photos

Norah had her one-year photos taken at JCPenney and they turned out great. So great, that we had a hard time choosing one pose to purchase. Even the photographer (who takes pictures of fussy kids all day, everyday) said Norah did incredibly well for a one year old.
We did choose just one pose (the first one below), but the prints were able to be viewed online so I am able to post some of them here.

Huber Farm

We enjoy going into Southern Indiana to Huber Farm for an old fashioned dinner, seasonal fruits and the farmer's market. In the fall, they also have pumpkins which is a lot of fun. We missed the strawberry picking season by a few weeks, but we did recently make a trip up there for some peaches. The seasonal fruits were peaches, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. We took the kids out on the tractor to the peach orchard and picked a couple dozen peaches, but since the weather was steamy hot, we did not stay out to pick any of the berries. They have a wonderful farmer's market with homegrown produce to purchase so we did buy some blackberries, which are delicious.

Berry Nathan
(he insisted on getting his picture taken in every fruit/vegetable cut-out, but I won't bore you with all of those pictures)

Pretty Norah in her strawberry dress

Nathan was so proud of picking his own peaches

Belle of Louisville

During the summer, our church offers a few family activities. This past week, Jeff, Norah and I (Nathan was out of town at Mamaw Camp - that will be a separate blog later) took a cruise along the Ohio River on the historic Belle of Louisville steam boat. We met up with some friends and had a great time. Thank you Highview for offering these fun events for us to enjoy as a family.

All Norah really wanted to do was climb out the window into the water below

Our crazy friends, the Shell's
(Zephan, Brenda and Patrick)

Zoo/Splash Park

I know I've said it before, but I need to say it again: We love the zoo. Nathan loves going to the zoo and we go often. Last year they built a no-standing-water slash park, but Nathan was a little too young to participate. This year, he has swim lessons under his belt and he is much more comfortable with the water so we have been to the splash park at the zoo. What he enjoys most of all is standing on the little water geysers and letting the water splash up his shorts and into his face.


Also while at the zoo, Norah got to ride the carousel for the first time. She was a little apprehensive, but seemed to enjoy herself.

Almost

Norah is almost walking. She discovered the push toy that helps her learn to walk and she loves it. So far, her steps are a little jerky without a lot of purpose, but she will be walking on her own before we know it.

11 months

Norah is now 11 months old (almost a year old, Oh My!!!)
She can do so much now. She is definitely not my little baby girl anymore.
You can barely see in the picture (you may have to zoom in), she has 2 teeth on the bottom only. I would more call them teeth nubbins, but they are there.
Still no hair to speak of, but what is there looks very blond
Norah weighs 16 pounds, 14 ounces (almost 17 pounds)...still a little peanut
She loves to eat, anything, but her favorites are black beans, bread, cheese and apple juice.
She is not walking yet, but will pull up on everything and cruise around everywhere. It is just a matter of time before she takes off walking...running.
She is such a ham and boy does she love her daddy. She lights up when he comes to her and she calls out "Dada" to him anytime she is happy.
Although daddy is a favorite, she loves Nathan more than anything. Nathan can get her laughing better than anyone. She will crawl after him no matter where he goes. She has even learned to crawl up into his bed to wake him up if he is sleeping. They are great brother and sister.

Playpen fun

We have a playpen set up in the kitchen for Norah to play in while we are preparing dinner, cleaning the house, or otherwise occupied. We had the same set up when Nathan was little and they both seem to enjoy it while keeping them contained at an age when they are prone to crawl into trouble. When Nathan was about a year old he discovered that it was fun to throw his toys out of the playpen one at a time and make a big mess on the kitchen floor. When Norah discovered this fun game a few weeks ago, I had to get a picture and send it to Jeff at work. He was thrilled that she had reached this milestone just like her brother. He has always liked the picture we have of Nathan standing in his playpen surrounded by toys all over the floor with a proud grin on his face, so when Norah did it too, he loved seeing it all over again.

Nathan: age 12 months


Norah: age 11 months

Soccer Superstar

Nathan finished his first season on YMCA soccer. He was definitely not the star of the team (he rarely even made contact with the ball), but there were times that he had fun. He enjoyed the practice time before the games where everyone had their own ball and they did stretches and drills. His other favorite part was the high fives with the opposing team at the end of each game and of course the snacks afterward. He could have skipped the actual game part in the middle. I don't know if he will want to do it again in the fall, but after receiving his award, he may be up for it again if he gets another cool medal for participating.

Before the final game, Nathan showed off his ball dribbling skills
He was kicking the ball toward the goal

Nathan was so proud of his medal
He wore it for the rest of the day

Playground

As stated in an earlier post, we built a playground in our backyard recently. About 3 years ago, Jeff was working at the Home Depot and came across a discontinued playground kit that contained all of the brackets, screws and accessories for building a playground. The kit was marked down incredibly cheap so we bought it and held onto it until we moved and would be able to put it up in a more permanent location. Fast forward 3 years and now was the time. The instructions in the kit give you a very specific lumber list with all the cuts needed to put the structure together. Jeff set aside a long weekend to build the structure with a friend who ended up not being available as he thought. Fortunately, my dad called saying he had 3 days off and would be coming to help with the build project. In preparation for the weekend, Jeff had the playground surround built, most of the lumber cut and some of the main support structures assembled.

Build Day

Unloading the Home Depot rental truck full of uncut lumber

A garage full of lumber waiting to become a playground

The large playground enclosure
A view from our deck
It sure was bigger than we had originally pictured

Nathan helping with the measurements to build the main support structures

Jeff and my dad building

The end of build day #1. Look at all that was accomplished!!!

Nathan and Norah testing out their new swings


7 cubic yard of playground mulch was dumped into the pre-built surround
for added cushion and as a designated play area for the kids.
Boy was that some pile of mulch!!

The finished product
A view from our deck