Stinkeye!

Libby learned from one who should remain nameless (me) to give a very dirty look that Derek labeled the Stinkeye. She now gives it on command. Awesome!

Sarah and Grandpa

Grandpa loves to entertain the little ones by giving them rides on the table. Sarah was a bit dubious, but in the end I think she liked it.

Christmas Traditions

One of my favorite traditions is making gingerbread houses with the family. Here are the amazing results. We aren't purists, by the way. We use graham crackers and hot glue for the base. But the rest is pure sugar!

Sarah and Grandma

Sarah finally got to meet her Grandma Louise. Here is Sarah Louise Norton with Louise Randall.

Woof!

My brother Nick has 2 mini dobermans. They are pretty yappy, but if you like pets, they aren't too bad. Libby has a hilarious love/hate relationship going on with them. She loves to look at them and say "Woof!" "Doggies!" She LOVES to feed them her food at meals. She gets kind of freaked out, though, when they come too close. I think this picture captures the moment quite well.

Christmas Pageant

Every year since I can remember, we have gotten together with our Harris cousins and my Grandma and Grandpa Randall to put on a Christmas pageant and celebrate my Grandpa's birthday. Last year due to weather and illness we didn't get to have the nativity. This year we did it in grand style. My Grandma has made amazing costumes and it is so fun. This year my 2 kids had important parts. Libby was a sheep (although she pulled off the "sheep" costume and turned to her favorite job, leading the singing). Sarah was baby Jesus (although she missed her big entrance because she was eating and had to replace the body double part way through the nativity). It was a pretty perfect evening.

I WASN'T DREAMING..

of a white Christmas. In fact, I was praying not to have a white Christmas. But, the snow came, it came just the same. So, our dreams of driving our beautiful Honda Odyssey to UT were buried in the powdery white stuff. Instead we bought last minute plane tickets. So off we go (without daddy of course--he has his wrestlers keeping him company) to deck the halls with the Randall crew in UT. It will be Uncle Budd's funeral, then Josie's wedding, then the cousin party...then we will start breathing again. Whew. Thank goodness my amazing brother Dave is here in Seattle now so he can fly with us.
Here is a clip of Libby experiencing the snow. As you can see, she is not a big fan...especially once she fell down and it got on her hands.

Libby's Baby

Today I came into the living room to find Libby playing around with Sarah's carseat. I thought it was cute, and since I haven't taken a single pic of Libby lately, I ran to get the camera. When I got to the carseat I realized what she was doing. She had taken her "baby" and put it in the carseat. She had even covered it with the blanket. It was SO cute. When I got there she was trying to climb in too. Also when she was pulling baby out she was whacking the doll's head on the bar...so she has some learning to do before I would let her put our real baby in the carseat, but I am always so amazed when I realize how much she does know.
Also, the last few nights Sarah has been sleeping in the swing because of her cold. When Libby comes out of her room in the morning and sees Sarah in the swing she says "Sarah!" in the cutest most excited way. It makes me love being a mommy of 2.

Feeling Old?

I have continued to tell myself that despite the fact that I am in my 30s I am very young. I am a young mother. But today I discovered that
I HAVE A GRAY HAIR!
And where there is one, there are bound to be more. Wow. Aging is crazy.

Our Growing Girl

Here is a picture of Sarah in an outfit that she is now growing out of that was SO big for her when she was born. (She looks suspicious of me here, I love it.) I am so happy that she is growing! She has a super stuffy nose right now, and now she is coughing too. Poor girl. I am starting to feel a little bit better and so is Derek. I can't decide if Libby is feeling better or not. She is certainly into throwing little tantrums.

Our Turtle

We think that Sarah looks like an adorable little turtle when you hold her close and she looks up at you.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like...

...Cold season at our house. Yuck. Libby has been sick for 2 weeks + at this point. Sarah is sniffling like crazy. I have a sore throat, and Derek has body aches and chills. Hmmm. Gotta love that stressful time of year when everyone gets sick.
Last week was Derek's first big activity as ward activities committee chair. Two major problems. He has a disfunctional commitee (only 3 helpers) and he had wrestling all night the night before and all day on the day of. So I called on the faithful Fillmores, my brother Dave, and my in-laws and we got it all done. Whew. Actually, all of the participants in the Nativity helped set up and take down or we would have died trying to get it all done. It turned out pretty good, but we learned a few tough lessons.
Now, on to Christmas!

Bathtime Sarah

She just looked so cute when I gave her a bath the other night I took about 10 pictures. Here are my favorites.

Holiday Decor

Framed Christmas cards are one of my favorite decorations.

Here is my Christmas tea set.

Yes, Libby is part of the decor :) The shelves on either side of the fireplace house my collection of Christmas stars, candles, and cute gift bags. The cards above the mantle and the stockings are key parts of my snowman theme this year. I have snowflake lights across the top of the front window. The theme was inspired by the number of snowmen ornaments I had that would be fine if Libby got to them. I also made paper snowflakes for the tree which I don't mind if she ruins.

I am quite proud of this...I cut some stars off a light strand that no longer worked and used them and some of my cornhusk angels from Europe to make this wall hanging since I didn't dare use the angels on my tree this year. Libby would love to eat them.

Of course, the nativity, the centerpiece of the season!

I am full of posts today! I am quite thankful that Derek was home this weekend to help entertain the girls so I could do my holiday decorating. It is so fun to be decorating my own home!

Thanksgiving Blessings

It is not hard to figure out who is who in this set of pictures from about the same age. Looking at these pictures makes me thankful that Libby pulled through her reflux and not eating. It also makes me thankful that Sarah is eating and growing and that we aren't spending time in the hospital to help her learn to eat. Both my girls are so wonderful! This morning I caught Libby counting 8, 9, 10...I couldn't get her to do it again, but I guess all those episodes of Sesame Street she is demanding are paying off (more than just allowing me to get a few things done).

Happy Thanksgiving

In the Norton family Thanksgiving is a dressy-ish affair. Derek wore khakis with his flip flops and polo. But the girls went all out :) Libby even kept the hat on for a little while she was so distracted by her cousins and aunts and uncles.

Whoops!

One interesting thing about moving into a new place is that you learn new things as the seasons change. We learned right after we bought our van that as it gets colder, the squirrells around here like to crawl up into warm engines and steal wires. Would have been an expensive ($230) fix, but Lynnwood Honda felt sorry for us (since we had only had the van 3 days before the animals got to it) and picked up the tab.

Another thing I learned a very hard way this morning. Our front steps get SERIOUSLY icy. Picture me (you have to use your imagination since sadly don't have video of this) hurrying out to the car with Sarah in car seat over one arm and two bags over my body (oh wait, only one bag over body. had to turn around 1/2 way to the gym and go back and get the other bag that should have been over my body). I step one foot onto the steps and FLY! I land in a heap at the bottom of the stairs with my ankle twisted under me. Sarah's carseat landed right side up, luckily about 2 feet away from my body. I am so glad I wasn't carrying Libby too! Anyway, don't worry, I slowly got up and went to the gym where I taught a BodyPump class (my 2nd in less than 24 hours).

Needless to say, I have been pretty tired today. I did ice my ankle and wear a brace today. I think it will be okay by tomorrow when I am going to help with the Thanksgiving extravaganza class at the gym.

I hope Sarah goes to bed before 12:30 am tonight.

The Amazing Libby

Libby continues to amaze me. Today I went to cut her toenails. To distract her I said, this little piggy went to market and she immediately responded "wee wee wee wee". So funny.

On the not funny amazing side, today I turned around and she was standing on the table. I found out yesterday that she was capable of this feat. She pulls the chairs out from the table, climbs on the chair, then climbs onto the table. I cannot really watch her 24/7, so I decided to watch and let her play today to see what would happen. She can actually get up and down quite proficiently. But, of course, I started mopping the floor and she decided to put her weight onto the chair back and the chair tipped over. I was hoping that if she did fall, it would help her realize that she shouldn't play on the table. Unfortunately, she cried for a minute, shook it off, and after dinner tonight went back to climbing on the table. Hmmm....What to do? I am considering becoming japanese for awhile, ditching the table altogether and getting some pillows? But she has to learn?

Sarah is also amazing. Much lower maintenance than Libby these days.

Finally

Okay, I finally created a facebook, and it is a bit addicting and fun looking for friends.

Sarah's Blessing

Libby the Count

Libby is currently obsessed with Sesame Street. I didn't know I could create a TV addict so easily. The Count is her favorite character. She knows that if I say one, she should say two. She holds up one finger though, not two. Then she does the Count laugh. I love it. (Plus I love that I can finish my emails while she is entertained by the TV, as horrible as that is). My brother Brian captured this on video for your viewing enjoyment.

Sisters?

Another pop quiz. Which is which?

Sarah's First Video

Here she is, starting to play with the toys on the bouncy seat. I am not sure if it was totally on purpose, but it seemed like it.

Where's Libby?

I guess I should be posting more Sarah pictures...and I promise I will. But Libby is so funny right now. This is her newest favorite game.

Discovery Bay

Over the long weekend we went to Discovery Bay with the Norton family. Travelling with kids is such an adventure. I was so stressed out about making the trip. (It is only about an hour away.) I had a breakdown the first evening there, but after that is was great. Only trouble is that I took no pictures. I was too busy playing rumikube (sp?) with Maren and Paige when I wasn't keeping Libby from eating the fake apples, falling down the stairs, playing in the toilet, etc. I also managed to get in a game of Settlers. Fun times.

Sunday Best Sarah

Here is Sarah all ready for Church on Sunday.

She kept the ballet slippers on longer than Libby ever did. Sarah looks skinny in this picture, but there are fat rolls forming on those legs and arms :)

Our New Toy

This week we finally broke down and became true grown ups with a family. We bought a mini-van. We got the Honda Odyssey. Of course, since Derek and I are such savvy shoppers, we bought the first one we looked at. It is the Touring Sport Odyssey. I think Peyton Manning would almost approve ;) It is super sweet. Seat warmers, navigation system, DVD player, reverse camera, backing sensors, folding back seats, leather interior...wow. I am so excited to be able to get places more easily and with all the stuff required for my kids!

Phat and Fat Baby!

Not only is baby Sarah cool (phat!) but she is getting fat! She weighed in today at 8 lbs. 5 oz. That is more than an ounce a day since her last weigh in! It is such a huge relief to have a baby who is eating and growing.

Happy Halloween Grandmas!

Sarah with each of her Grandmothers in her costume. Sarah obviously finds Halloween VERY interesting!

Husky Cheer

Well there hasn't been much cheer for the Huskies this season...but these cheerleaders sure are cute! Libby was super excited to hold Sarah. She wanted to do a cheerleader toss with her I think, but mom was right there to prevent that :)

Libby and Sarah

Libby continues to adore Sarah. Sarah has had more kisses from Libby than I can begin to count. She has also started "shhh-ing" when Sarah cries. Libby wants to help wipe her face when she spits up and help pat her when I am burping her. Libby also wants to suck on Sarah's binkie (lots more than Sarah does, it turns out). When I put Sarah down on the floor with Libby and I, Libby wants to either, wrap the blanket around Sarah (she has watched us swaddle her I guess) or pick her up. Needless to say, Sarah is usually on the counter or the table, well out of Libby range unless I am right there. It is tough parenting two! But Libby has made it super adorable!

Trunk or Treat

Libby got her first taste of Halloween at the Edmonds Ward Party on Saturday night (which we technically crashed since we aren't in the ward anymore, but it was fun to see everyone). Here is momma bee and her two little ladybugs. Libby was so fascinated watching everything going on that she didn't even pull off her headband. (When we got official pictures on Monday, she wouldn't leave the headband on for more than 1 second.)

Thanks Grandma Debbi!

This is Sarah's beautiful bed. We want to thank Grandma Debbi for making the quilt and pillow. The wedge is from Libby's Children's Hosptial days. Sarah seems to enjoy sleeping in it, even though she doesn't seem to have reflux issues like Libby.

Sarah's Special Birthday Mates

Sarah shares her birthday with one aunt and one uncle (and one cousin's husband too!). Her uncle Leroy who lives in New Zealand and her aunt Sissy (Sandra) who lives in Reno. My cousin Shelley's husband Neil also was born on Oct. 14th. She is lucky to share a birthday with such a fun crowd! We almost decided to change her name to Sandra (as hoped by her aunt on this package label) but we thought that Sandra Leroy Neil Norton didn't sound very good, and we couldn't be unfair.

Homegirl Sarah

Sarah's Growth

Sarah had her 2nd weigh in today. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz. on Friday. Usually they like to see babies gain an ounce a day. I was so happy when Sarah surpassed this and has regained her birthweight! 6 lbs. 15 oz. Not only is this about 8 weeks faster than Libby regained her birthweight but faster than the average baby too! All this nursing isn't going for nothing :)

Libby on a Pedestal

Derek caught this great footage of Libby's new climbing skills. She can now get up on the couch, the glider, and the library footstool. Nothing is safe. (She also loves this Wisconsin Cheese Dave brought from Wisconsin :)

Sarah's First Sunday

Today Sarah went with us to hear the Primary Program in the Barrett's primary program in Everett. It is so nice to have cousins nearby.

Sisters

I explained to Libby that if she held out her finger to Baby Sarah, Sarah would grab it. Libby was super excited about this idea. But then she got distracted and wanted to poke Sarah--so I had to move her. But it is so adorable to watch them together. Here they are in matching PJs. Libby was so excited to be able to hold Sarah. She did a good job. She clapped for joy! She did start patting Sarah on the head eventually, but she held her for several pictures before that.

Sarah's First Days

Which is Which?

So do our girls look alike?

Guess which is Sarah and which is Libby in their hospital pics.

Libby and Sarah

Here is the video of Libby and Sarah's first interaction.

Welcome Baby Sarah!

Baby Sarah decided to make her appearance! And when she decided, she really was ready. She was born on Tuesday evening at 9:53 pm after about 5 total hours of labor, only 13 minutes of pushing! It was kind of wild and crazy labor, with some seriously long contractions, hyperventilation, and a failed epidural, but we made it.

Stats:

Weight 6 lbs. 15 oz.

Height 20 inches

She is already shaping up to be a good eater (it looks like so far). This is a huge relief after Libby. Libby loves her sister! Dave is going to post the best video of this love and I will link it later today.

I need to get pictures from those who took them, because I have only a few that aren't so good. But here is one so that you can see our new larger family (Libby was growling in this picture, btw--hence the strange face).

Libby's Newest

Derek taught her today to give herself a kiss. She doesnt' like to give us kisses, so I guess it is the next best thing?

High Chair Gymnast

I don't know how she managed this, but I was checking my email and she pulled her feet out and up. We keep trying to work on the "all done" sign...but she prefers making a ruckus however she can when she is done instead.

Milestone!

Today I let Libby out of the stroller at the park. She walked around and played on the big toy, even going down one slide on her own because I accidentally let go too early. (This pregnant body couldn't get down on the slide fast enough!) Anyway, the big milestone is that she did all of this WITHOUT PUTTING THINGS IN HER MOUTH! In reality she did pick up ONE woodchip and ONE pinecone, but she was more interested in playing than in eating everything in sight. HOORAY! She is growing up!
Then, she lost one of her new shoes on the walk home. 5 hours later a prayer and a tennis player at the park helped me find it in a place I never would have looked. What a day.

A day, however, with NO contractions. I guess I will carry little Sarah to term. I am wondering if she is still in there because tomorrow I am teaching a primary in-service lesson and the president is praying I will be there to teach it. Oh well, I can handle being pregnant a little longer. What can I do? I drank 3 pots of rasperry tea today and it doesn't seem to help.

Libby the Rockstar!

My brother Dave moved to Seattle yesterday. Hooray! He brought his playstation and his rockband set. Libby was trying to play while the boys were playing. She really wanted to! Finally after they were really done, Derek gave her a chance to hit the drum. She loved it. She also enjoyed tasting the stick.

Waiting for Baby

Well, there is a part of me that is starting to get frustrated with the waiting thing (no surprise here) but I am seeing some benefits. I was super worried about how I was going to nurse because Libby had not been at all interested in being read to, which I keep hearing is the #1 way to entertain child 1 while you nurse child 2. All of a sudden in the past couple of days she has had a total change of heart. She wants to be read to all the time! She doesn't just grab the book and start eating it or slapping it. She actually wants you to read it to her and she looks at the pictures and responds to what you read. Her favorite book is Hey Diddle Diddle. Wow am I going to get tired of that dish running away with the spoon, but I am feeling blessed with this new development.

Check it out!

My brother Dave (who is amazing!) is moving to Seattle to work for Tom and "Feed", his buddies from high school who now live up here. They do some amazing things with computers and photography. Their newest application is featured in iTunes in "What's Hot" under Apps. If you have an iPhone, you should buy it! It is 2nd today! It is called CameraBag and it lets you change the way your pictures look so that they look like they were taken with different kinds of cameras. Super cool.

Life is Like a Rollercoaster

Everything about my life right now is like a rollercoaster. Start with the contours of my body...that is an absolute hilly ride. But while Derek and I were on our hospital tour on Tuesday night I was like--wow, we have been standing in this line to get on this rollercoaster again--and now I think I changed my mind! A baby was born while we were standing outside one of the doors and hearing that newborn cry I was freaked out! At the same time I feel like I am already on the rollercoaster (still having multiple contractions today, and some this evening were pretty strong, I am now dilated to a 3 1/2) but we keep getting up that big hill and then stopping at the top. Man, how much longer can I go on like this? I am up at 4:45 am for a baby feeding already even though she is still inside, so she might as well hurry up and get here!

Libby's Toys

Libby has a real thing for making toys out of anything that isn't a toy. She had a blast with this metal mixing bowl on Sunday. She was walking around with it on her head, but we missed getting that on video.

Pregnancy update: I am now dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. Lots of contractions throughout the day yesterday, but not strong enough or close enough to be the real thing. I am now convinced I will probably make it to my due date which is only 2 weeks away. Tonight we have our hospital tour, since we are having Sarah at a different hospital than we had Libby. Guess we will be ready after that...I also finished the major purchases for Sarah's room yesterday. I got a used rocking chair for $35.00 and a baby monitor.

Getting Ready for Baby

To help Libby get ready for baby, we bought her a baby doll last night. She can rock the baby, pat the baby, kiss the baby, and hug the baby. Unfortunately she likes drinking the baby's bottle, carrying the baby around by the neck, and pulling off the baby's clothes more than the gentle stuff so far.

PS. Pregnancy update: As of yesterday afternoon I was 2 1/2 cm dilated, 60% effaced and the baby is at -2. Hooray! I keep progressing.

Genius!

Libby figured out how to get up on the table so she could get the camera case. Just pull the baby seat up next to the chair and voila! It works like a ladder. Yikes!