tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18175726195563265852024-03-19T03:56:54.277-05:00Just Sayin'...rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.comBlogger373125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-79961146461598465482019-10-11T13:24:00.000-05:002019-10-11T13:36:24.349-05:00Oh hey!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh hey everyone! (or anyone? hm...) Look at what I found? The password to my account! The beauty of the internet is that it never dies!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Yesterday was my 39th birthday, which I always thought would be/feel like a big deal. And (not) surprisingly, it wasn't. But next year is 40... so woo hoo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Huge and I went to Smyth for dinner and it was amazing and beautiful! A fun way to kick of the year.</span><br />
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-10171181576301346522017-03-07T17:14:00.003-06:002017-03-07T17:14:55.669-06:00School Pictures<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always say how different my kids' personalities are... and it's never been more apparent than in pictures. Take their school pictures for example.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This one, cheesy</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, but adorable...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then this one. Ya, she's not having it...</span><br />
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-63329253925781802152016-04-01T09:29:00.001-05:002016-04-01T09:29:54.177-05:00Dear Nora...<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dear Nora...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You are THREE years old... what the heck. You are a bonna fide kid now. You don't fit into the toddler category anymore. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What can I say about you that sums up the little bundle of personality you are.... You are funny... you do things for a laugh. You tell terrible jokes (your favorite knock, knock jokes don't make any sense), laugh at yourself, make ridiculously funny faces and even foray into physical comedy when you launch yourself on to the floor pretending to fall (or your latest, "oh, I die", which technically isn't as funny, but I'm going to let it slide since you really have no idea what that means). You love and adore your brother (thankfully he feels the same way about you) and when you're not completely annoying him (and bullying him, by sitting on him, kicking him, messing up his legos/games, etc), you mimic him and play with him and love doing what he's doing. I call you a copy cat, but you claim you're a copy dog. You guys will play legos, dolls, "mcdonalds", store, "cooker" (restaurant) and super heroes together all the time. You also love your snacks. You don't necessarily have a sweet tooth, in fact I'd say you favor more on the salty, but you love to graze. All day long you want a snack and you'll tell me how you're "SOOO hungry". We haven't done your 3 year old doctor's appointment, but I'm pretty sure you weigh more than your brother (or close to it). I feel every pound of it when I'm forced to lug you up and down the stairs, neighborhood, etc. We went on vacation in February with nana, papa, Uncle Matt, Ming Nat, Noah, baby Liam and Uncle Dave and we decided not to bring a stroller for you, but I had the baby carrier and wore you around the airport and a few places in Puerto Rico... and yah, that might be the last time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">What else... <span style="font-family: "times new roman";">y</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">ou're pretty much potty trained although still wear a pull up at night. You still are in a crib and want to get bunk beds with Callan, but don't want to get rid of your crib. You're excited to go to school next year (fingers crossed CPS gets its act together) and</span> you love to snuggle, although you like to wipe my kisses off (you find it funny). You love your dolls, stuffed animals and blankets. Oh and how could I forget, you LOVE bags... doesn't matter what kind, it could be a purse, backpack, Ziploc even grocery bag, but you are a bag lady. You stuff everything into bags and lug them around the house, the car, everywhere. I usually try to convince you to leave it in the car because when we get wherever we're going you don't actually want to hold the bag, but up until that point it's the most important thing to you. If things don't work out in the future, you'll make a lovely bag lady. You also have an impressive rock collection. Not so much in the diversity or beauty of the rocks you collect, but in your commitment to picking up loose gravel and declaring it something special.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">You're a stereotypical girl in your love for princesses, dolls, etc, but I also love that you play super heroes and wear Callan's clothes and do other not so girly things. You are your own person and that's what makes you so fun and unique. You'll watch "scary" shows/movies and will tell me you won't be scared and will be brave, and will ask Callan (or someone) to hold your hand through it. And I think that's so important... you need to be brave and willing to be your own person, but know that someone will be there to support you and help you through... Nora bug, you are such a joy (well, except for when you're being a pain), and there are so many new amazing adventures we're going to go on together. I can't wait to see where those take us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Love, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Mama</span><br />
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-26550971812347020492016-01-06T22:13:00.001-06:002016-01-06T22:50:44.698-06:00It's 2016!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, that's the first time I've typed that (correction, that was 5 days ago, I've obviously written it since, I just haven't published this until now)... hard to believe it's 2016. There's a lot that's been going on and I hope to one day catch up, but for now, we'll start fresh -isn't that what new year's are all about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first post of the year, let's do New Year's resolutions! The last set I have on the blog are from 2012 - guess if one of them was to blog about new year's resolutions, I failed! Anyway, let's see how many of these I'm going to recycle!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">2012, I mean 2016 resolutions:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>1. Work out! Or get back to running. Or just try to be healthier.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My goal is to run this year. I've talked about it a lot, but this is the year I actually do it. I'm not sure if this means running a 10k, or a 10 miler or a half marathon, but I will do some race... I figure this is the year I decide truly whether running is for me. I figure if I don't do it this year, then I can cross it off my list. No pressure, just reality. There are other ways to be active and stay fit (I think). My diet could also use some cleaning up. I'm back to eating too much processed food, drinking too much diet soda and booze. I know I'm not giving it up (ever), but I could probably clean it up a wee bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>2. Organize my house! Or finally start living like an adult. </strong></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">(This one is straight up being recycled from 2012... I clearly am still failing at this!)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is the term, "live like an adult", that I use when I'm complaining to Huge about the state of our house -we need to start living like adults. I shouldn't have to step over a pile of laundry to get to the bathroom (not that I do now...) but we need to seriously purge and organize our house. An organized house leads to an organized life. I figure to truly do this I need to get Huge on board... any suggestions? I threatened just throwing all his stuff out, but</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> he would</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> just go and buy new stuff. Hm... I guess I'll have to look at taking away all of his credit cards as well. Ha</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>2a. Finally do stuff to the house.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've been putting off doing stuff or updating stuff, but there are things I want to do and this is the year I'm going to do it. First on the list, buy a rug for the living room. It drives me insane that the rug we have in there is too small for the space. We (ahem, Huge) bought it on a whim and it just doesn't fit. And it annoys me ALL.THE.TIME. But I always had "better" things to spend my money on... but I realized it's not that expensive to replace and it will make me less annoyed. Win-win! So small improvements that will make me less stabb-y (yes, I realize this makes it seem like my priorities are all warped, but indulge me in my hyperbole), are worth doing. I've already ordered the rug so we're on our way!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>3. Read 25 books this year.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I had a goal last year to read 20 and I made it to 22 (very proud of myself), so I do believe it's doable, I just need to make more of an effort to read instead of spending time on the inter webs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>4. I had a goal in 2012 about work -it was something along the lines of work less, stress less</b> (If I wasn't so lazy I would look up the exact wording). I'm in a new job (as of 8 days ago), so I can't comment on the workload (expected or self-imposed) will be,but I think my goal for work is to stay out of my comfort zone. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of opportunities for stretch assignments and growth if I'm willing to take them and ask for them. So my goal is to be aware that sometimes I don't like being out of my comfort zone and to do it. Prime example, I'm blindly setting up meet and greets with department heads -something I would never do before. I literally have no idea what they do or how we'll be working together so not having a fixed "agenda" is scary. But it's been met positively and I think is a valuable foundation to build these work relationships. I'm the new person, something I haven't been in a long time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>5. Be more present and as I like to say "just be".</b> I find myself on my phone or not really being engaged as much as I should be... this happens at work and at home and I'm doing everyone a disservice. So it's cliche, but it's a reminder to be more content and to be more present.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>6. Get back on track financially</b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Don't worry dad (if you're reading this), we're not in the poor house (yet), but we're not as financially secure as I'd be comfortable with. I'd like to have more liquid savings, I'd like to have more in the retirement and kids' accounts and I'd like to have more money to spend on things I deem important. Again, nothing crazy, but I'd like to just feel more "adult" about my life. Maybe that's the theme for 2016.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>7. Blog more!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pretty self explanatory, but I have not documented Nora's life nearly as much as Callan's and there are so many things to remember that I've already forgotten. And she is a she-devil, but she's funny! And Callan is turning into this actual little boy! It's crazy how that works :) But, I'm forgetting all these things and there are so many people who want to know about the nuanced monotony of their day-to-day that they're missing out on... so as a service to them (and me), I want to blog more. Get back into it because it is fun to go back down memory lane.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">That ended up being more than I thought I would have, but I think that's it. Oh ya, there is this, my favorite resolution of all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2016, bring it on -I have a feeling it's going to be a good one.</span></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-26155703857606997832015-10-26T08:54:00.001-05:002015-10-26T08:54:29.759-05:00Pumpkins in the Park 2015<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh hey guys, Happy Monday! Guess what I did this weekend? Well, one of the things I did. I went for a run! Ha, it probably doesn't seem so newsworthy, but this was the first organized run I've done in a long time. It was only a 5k, but considering I haven't run in forever, this seemed like a big accomplishment. I was never concerned about not finishing, but considering it was the most I had run this month I'm pretty proud of myself -although slightly concerned about how my quads still hurt today. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anywho... it was a lovely day for a run and I got to it with some lovely ladies. The best part was probably the (pre and) post race drinks and going out to a bar on a Saturday night in running wear (so comfy)! I may even be crazy enough to do it again... although next time I do think I'll train (or you know, do a few laps before the run).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other weekend news, the kiddos test drove their Halloween costumes and their trick-or-treating skills at the Halloween event on Southport. It was a gorgeous day and the kids loved seeing all the fun costumes. Huge is gone for actual Halloween so it was nice to do a little holiday stuff as a family.</span></div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-38556240332199910162015-02-03T21:36:00.001-06:002015-02-03T21:36:09.887-06:00Um... hello?*taps mic* so... ya... this is awkward... it's been a looong time... so, um, hi there! I feel like I should just jump back in, but it's been soo incredibly long that it might seem odd that I don't mention that... but then again, does anyone really care?<br />
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Well, it's now 2015... and this blog hasn't seen action since the spring of 2014... wrap your head around that one. I, also, do not know where the time has gone. I can't pretend to say nothing has happened, because that clearly is a big fat lie, but at the same time nothing is ridiculously different. </div>
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My brother-in-law and sister-in-law, along with their darling 7 month old twin girls were here visiting us and we got to talking about the blog and she asked if I still wrote on it. I told her I hadn't kept up with it although I have lots of posts in draft form, but never bothered to finish and publish them. Anyway, we started looking through my (limited) archives and I realized how great the blog really is/was. There were many things I had already forgotten and seeing pictures and reliving it was a lot of fun. And, I always gripe about not having any (productive) hobbies... so maybe this can count as one. Wow... that is a very long intro to say, hey guys, I'm back!</div>
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And to kick it off... here's a picture of the 2 muchkins that have been keeping me busy these past few months.</div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-28855191988071311172014-10-18T21:39:00.000-05:002015-05-16T16:45:05.669-05:00Pumpkin farm<div class="mobile-photo">
The kids and I went to the pumpkin farm with some dear friends of ours. The good news is that this wasn't any ordinary, pick-a-pumpkin farm... there was also a pumpkin eating dinosaur:<br />
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An entire petting zoo (and regular zoo for that matter), including lots of animals you could feed. Callan especially enjoyed the giraffe (not pictured obviously, but in case you needed to brush up on your zoology).<br />
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And of course since we're in the midwest (which, I do sometimes forget), we got to witness our first (but not last) pig race.<br />
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-48066375503506901852014-05-08T20:03:00.001-05:002014-05-08T20:03:24.357-05:00My little monkeys<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My 2 little monkeys enjoyed the nice weather at the zoo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sigh, they are getting so big!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfOr83qB6K26RnTMHCt6rS8X7wxio-YGZc0PTQroByPq3dg-RNThUEYZzkbT-YXGJKC4O_eAyjFcKmj7WdCAva5nWIwXAMGzPh3Re1ahLx0bbugVfTBQjvy6J40qou8LigametRwUVgGQ/s1600/photo+5-742003.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfOr83qB6K26RnTMHCt6rS8X7wxio-YGZc0PTQroByPq3dg-RNThUEYZzkbT-YXGJKC4O_eAyjFcKmj7WdCAva5nWIwXAMGzPh3Re1ahLx0bbugVfTBQjvy6J40qou8LigametRwUVgGQ/s320/photo+5-742003.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6010717580036830482" /></span></a></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-88528825370680850242014-04-02T14:26:00.000-05:002014-04-02T14:26:06.602-05:00Nora's 12 month appt<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today was Nora's 1 year appointment and she passed with flying colors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She's still giant and in the 90+ percentile across the board for height, weight and head circumference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since her 9 month appointment she grew about 2 inches and is 30.75 inches (93%), gained less than a pound (25 lbs 1.5 oz (97%) and her head is 18.74 inches (97.5%!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She didn't really enjoy getting her shots, but it was worth celebrating her year with a cheeseburger and fries!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZJJVmNZiwal3PZks7VUsEjZbz_gVEp7FBS4DQnLtOP8Qj0PGtACLlkHRLNF7zPDRN3sQAUmbQbvRk5EkbDZTD0I2Rqkk_m_S9eQKSTdhWcwPDp585hnyI4SzExM_soowOe8VbCb0W8zx/s1600/image-716502.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZJJVmNZiwal3PZks7VUsEjZbz_gVEp7FBS4DQnLtOP8Qj0PGtACLlkHRLNF7zPDRN3sQAUmbQbvRk5EkbDZTD0I2Rqkk_m_S9eQKSTdhWcwPDp585hnyI4SzExM_soowOe8VbCb0W8zx/s320/image-716502.jpeg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5997777165227118402" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These pictures totally crack me up. I love it.</span></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-44009907260233108052014-03-31T22:29:00.001-05:002014-03-31T22:30:36.820-05:00Dear Nora: Happy 1st birthday!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Nora bug-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can you believe it? It has been 12 months (and a few days) since you popped into this world, and what a crazy fast year it's been. It's been an amazing year to say the least, but it really has flown by at warp speed. I thought your brother's first year was fast, but when I think back I can remember some of his first year more vividly than yours. It's always amazing to watch babies grow -especially in their first year and especially when they're your babies. There's so much that's changed over the last 12 months and so many things that I want to hold onto and remember. Every day you grow bigger and bigger and I get to see more and more of your personality shine though. I get to see glimpses of the girl you're going to be and I'm so excited to be a part of that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You've done so much this year and you've been such a great baby girl. Callan was a pretty great baby, so I was worried I was going to have to pay for it with a second, not as easy baby. But, you've proved all the sayings wrong. IF it's even possible, you were even MORE of a laid back baby than Callan. You are not (however) as good of a night sleeper as he was, but you go to bed early, take long day naps and are generally one of the happiest, fun babies I know. You have been teased a lot this first year by your gigantism, but it's just because there's so much of you to love! Everyone thought Callan was a big baby, but you've proven (once again) that you can do anything he can do and better! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nora bug, your first year truly has been amazing and I'm sad it's over and that it went by in the blink of an eye, but I know how much fun the next stages are going to be and I'm so excited for that. You already are showing so much personality and you and your brother are going to have so much fun together. Thanks Nora bug for making me a mom again and for making me look good at that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really had plans on learning how to make a proper video (i.e. editing it and cutting it down to fit perfectly in time with a song), but we all know that time around here is precious and there are some things I can't be bothered with... so here's your first year video. Mostly of pictures I took on my phone, unedited and too long b/c I couldn't cut out any more pictures (so sorry you're going to hear the song repeated).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy first birthday baby girl. You light up my life and I love you more than you can imagine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mama</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-16363019599117621672014-03-03T06:00:00.000-06:002014-03-03T06:00:01.071-06:00Look at these chompers<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teeth!</span></div>
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<br />rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-67417150548750069862014-02-28T23:17:00.000-06:002014-02-28T23:17:00.338-06:00What the heck<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holy moly. It is March. Which means that spring is around the corner (hopefully) and the kids' birthdays are coming up. Yikes. We are so behind in posting around here. There's a whole vacation that went undocumented and lots of little day to day stories. I NEED to get better about it... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, someone is happy to hear that Spring is on the way... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This one isn't so sure it's really going to come soon. He'll believe it when he sees it...</span></div>
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<br />rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-13264255337606294272014-01-27T13:43:00.001-06:002014-01-27T13:49:36.217-06:00Selfies<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selfies really are all the rage these days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I let Callan play with my phone and when I get it back, I inevitably have about 20 of these kind of pictures (and then 20 of the corner of a chair or of his trucks).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzKKc1_aD_pkZjXTO0NqOIWkVqrGOWHRGKNzX8Rj4IHshvfcKrlu6XqnE9lXJqxLUE-fsv6ZBE4ZtBlItY_Pq2mQ3ChZ3pFhi2_j85yX7mJD42_XcvVWFU3oDwSEYLOE4W_-mS0o_H5gi/s1600/photo+2-748926.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYzKKc1_aD_pkZjXTO0NqOIWkVqrGOWHRGKNzX8Rj4IHshvfcKrlu6XqnE9lXJqxLUE-fsv6ZBE4ZtBlItY_Pq2mQ3ChZ3pFhi2_j85yX7mJD42_XcvVWFU3oDwSEYLOE4W_-mS0o_H5gi/s320/photo+2-748926.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5973664066094564610" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although every now and then, he'll let me in on the action.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTr4EHh8MUn3kEtKKDk8g5l2RSAgEj0njbWTOppFsHJ16-hf4h32R3HGY0SV2KZo6U7SffP8RFOIzgM5_ijl8ipGttiDPf2zWzKh0l9RIvciZf2SHMbyMo_JR3KzJaGLpI_ZDen66cAv-3/s1600/image-773604.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTr4EHh8MUn3kEtKKDk8g5l2RSAgEj0njbWTOppFsHJ16-hf4h32R3HGY0SV2KZo6U7SffP8RFOIzgM5_ijl8ipGttiDPf2zWzKh0l9RIvciZf2SHMbyMo_JR3KzJaGLpI_ZDen66cAv-3/s320/image-773604.jpeg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5973574411558306978" /></span></a></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-86088128050443448182014-01-16T14:27:00.001-06:002014-01-16T14:27:14.234-06:002014? Really?<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh hi there! Are you still around?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHiq_is2pWnXtKhpc0ESq3mswyaLSvaSh5XDk9RFVqesbzvgN-5rYFI719ehX3ppr1yNNrx5iTVADzYiB7Pq1vofaZ83nhrpjnQWeX0DC1I3IrzsAW2Bl_Zba6-om2y6yEOJmFUEKYl0p/s1600/image-763513.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHiq_is2pWnXtKhpc0ESq3mswyaLSvaSh5XDk9RFVqesbzvgN-5rYFI719ehX3ppr1yNNrx5iTVADzYiB7Pq1vofaZ83nhrpjnQWeX0DC1I3IrzsAW2Bl_Zba6-om2y6yEOJmFUEKYl0p/s320/image-763513.jpeg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5969526361286455938" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been quiet around these parts and I have no idea how the time has been going by so quickly. It's already 2014. There was no Christmas post (spoiler alert, it was awesome), or year end wrap up or even a list of New Year's resolutions... And (shocker) there was no "Dear Nora" newsletter (or Dear Callan one for that matter). But you've reached the 9 month mark and that seems like a noteworthy month. I said with Callan, it was 9 months in, 9 months out and oh what a difference!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here goes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Nora:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are 9 months old... and amazing. You so desperately want to walk and are getting ready. The past month had you crawling with your belly (finally) off the ground. I realize that there is a lot of it, so I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon, but you are amazingly mobil. Once you set your sights on something you are off. For awhile the army crawl was your preferred method of transportation -and you were quick, but now you've got a proper crawl down. Now that you've mastered that, you are pulling yourself up on everything and sort of shuffling around. Walking can't be too far behind, but I'd like to wait a little bit longer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are a pretty sweet baby still although you'll get vocal about things that displease you. Generally those things are minor, but you do not like being told "no" or being told not to play with hazardous things (plugs, lights, cords, etc). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ5iMdrDWmwfVmJVZr7Y1FpiZciSeLwoT7XoXtICQcTaBtv3cX2ea07tgIq9MvjFZ1_qe1aAUjYmcv9YHY3a_Le5_xVX66N33yDraUux5lyT-k70pg-4JbtDMrt8WJHGdJso28BhrLgFa/s1600/image-767514.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQ5iMdrDWmwfVmJVZr7Y1FpiZciSeLwoT7XoXtICQcTaBtv3cX2ea07tgIq9MvjFZ1_qe1aAUjYmcv9YHY3a_Le5_xVX66N33yDraUux5lyT-k70pg-4JbtDMrt8WJHGdJso28BhrLgFa/s320/image-767514.jpeg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5969526374408810834" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are eating like a champ although you're slowly starting to show less and less interest in milk. But, I get it... once you've tasted real food, who a liquid diet! So far there isn't a whole lot you don't like. You prefer to feed yourself, so you sometimes will lose interest in soft/puree foods that need to be fed to you, but you love to eat and you're drinking from a straw cup like a champ. The transition to solids took a little toll on your bowels, which your dad is oddly obsessed with, but I think you're ok.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You (please, please continue) are sleeping pretty well. Your naps are generally good (and on the long side) and you sleep (almost) through the night. You sometimes get up around 3/4am to eat, but most of the time go right back to bed until 6/7am (a few times you've decided that it's a good time to get up, but yeesh, it is not).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What else, you've finally got your first set of teeth -your bottom two. But that's it. I try not to compare too much between you and your brother, but your brother had 5 by his 9 month birthday. But don't worry, the lack of teeth are not slowing you down from chomping away at your favorite goodies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We celebrated your first Christmas (yea!) with nana and papa in town and your first new year's eve party (that you slept straight through). Now that it's 2014, I need to gear up for your first birthday (what the what) and come to terms with the fact that my little baby is no more. You are a pretty awesome little girl and can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mama</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQ3g_urwOZF9SyEwPtKSA5AqlwQ4XirobzDp2DyYGqNFxjTqzWvmB2SAM7VCi44OCZe2UG4-aL0wAzlzOh2Nw_U_dTyE3ipTkNM3VvVyxPZXpKTzZpQ01bDe728QseYj-3GAPORzpC3TY/s1600/photo-771307.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZQ3g_urwOZF9SyEwPtKSA5AqlwQ4XirobzDp2DyYGqNFxjTqzWvmB2SAM7VCi44OCZe2UG4-aL0wAzlzOh2Nw_U_dTyE3ipTkNM3VvVyxPZXpKTzZpQ01bDe728QseYj-3GAPORzpC3TY/s320/photo-771307.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5969526393185126978" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">p.s. Although this picture depicts otherwise, you really did have a good time at Christmas dinner at the Four Seasons. I mean, think of all the food!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">p.p.s. We had your 9 month well baby visit and it was pretty great. You are still giant -bigger (i.e. heavier) than Callan was, but shorter (you've stayed consistently 2 inches shorter than him since birth). You're in the 88th percentile for height (29 inches) and 99th percentile for weight (24 lbs, 14 ounces) and 100 percent perfect.</span></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-10478219578520543022014-01-03T17:02:00.002-06:002014-01-03T17:02:53.207-06:00Happy new year <div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's to a fantastic 2014!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPATBRx8kcIhHkHuFrOq3ClEraRAcqsEEE1-3j_c6jflrhFFlW_GlY7PX5WmChpljd_bak5H26RkjR-KG3-1clOeS79SRS581VzdtKbcimEbgVqyy0TbxMd7IBjlE1NUZt1LmRFq1TE1R/s1600/photo-764123.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5964625373685933298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPATBRx8kcIhHkHuFrOq3ClEraRAcqsEEE1-3j_c6jflrhFFlW_GlY7PX5WmChpljd_bak5H26RkjR-KG3-1clOeS79SRS581VzdtKbcimEbgVqyy0TbxMd7IBjlE1NUZt1LmRFq1TE1R/s320/photo-764123.JPG" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nora was fast asleep by the time the above picture was snapped, so here's a random one of her popping in to wish you a happy new year too.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVG7dYsjqMNxoBRWbNiMFqNxF4zMR69zfatqfJs-wldTIoz3ha7ykFmZbgVqd9Jl6NDbAvBY-l6V_d6MGUdmdsDAOEYB3b1xsg0LETB5-q73nlVuk9vzHsiI3362nTWePZWEuKv_IKWAsc/s1600/photo-703205.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5964808080105134290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVG7dYsjqMNxoBRWbNiMFqNxF4zMR69zfatqfJs-wldTIoz3ha7ykFmZbgVqd9Jl6NDbAvBY-l6V_d6MGUdmdsDAOEYB3b1xsg0LETB5-q73nlVuk9vzHsiI3362nTWePZWEuKv_IKWAsc/s320/photo-703205.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-67651374604724168552013-12-10T09:06:00.003-06:002013-12-10T09:06:39.141-06:00Snow days<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather has gotten very cold and snowy here, so it's perfect to spend indoors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Callan spent yesterday with daddy building a gingerbread house.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgng4FD2ngjz6nmJJ32885GwfBQsdkt4RElbFTNrUDKDhBm5LY868-ZpyflqSSVQs0jW6G68G6kf2-cxEj4ucKyGdo616hwI_Op-rYCRt6TOQ-g_XNH0g0Yhzx-jET9Tbd2OwbsgiDtjPy0/s1600/photo+3-750572.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5955775968134626658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgng4FD2ngjz6nmJJ32885GwfBQsdkt4RElbFTNrUDKDhBm5LY868-ZpyflqSSVQs0jW6G68G6kf2-cxEj4ucKyGdo616hwI_Op-rYCRt6TOQ-g_XNH0g0Yhzx-jET9Tbd2OwbsgiDtjPy0/s320/photo+3-750572.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The finished product looked suspiciously well put together and Huge confirmed that Callan wanted to place the candy, but not the frosting.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia80d5jTUe36HMyLB39tBQPYhvWWFazxCPaRfMM0sHji8By_qyxlbmWzt_z00l8seEfxCHyO_Cy1MLXhO9KT2jM_vDk20a9m99LN72fhRl8P3gz1siJNnXp-WbTgO-kALxe73wVMhPFJy_/s1600/photo+2-742586.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5955775935711983938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia80d5jTUe36HMyLB39tBQPYhvWWFazxCPaRfMM0sHji8By_qyxlbmWzt_z00l8seEfxCHyO_Cy1MLXhO9KT2jM_vDk20a9m99LN72fhRl8P3gz1siJNnXp-WbTgO-kALxe73wVMhPFJy_/s320/photo+2-742586.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll have to think of some other good crafts to do because it's a long time until Spring!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although if you do need to venture out, it's best to bundle up!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_H9L-8Yf9-96sq_KKtTHeniqv1GAgzQiiIVoGnuRJAMQpsYHPsZDoHjOFJmhZl5UM6nTQd26OTihBqCTTZpfiaMs6StQj-PqWEtKkuxJWUNep4N7BDcTWPyQBAhWCuzRHwo83E7zgtMVA/s1600/photo+1-735550.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5955775906524498722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_H9L-8Yf9-96sq_KKtTHeniqv1GAgzQiiIVoGnuRJAMQpsYHPsZDoHjOFJmhZl5UM6nTQd26OTihBqCTTZpfiaMs6StQj-PqWEtKkuxJWUNep4N7BDcTWPyQBAhWCuzRHwo83E7zgtMVA/s320/photo+1-735550.JPG" /></span></a></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-33203475960508618602013-12-04T12:19:00.001-06:002013-12-04T12:19:44.855-06:00My little gymnast<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We try to sign Callan up for at least 1 class a season and the last few sessions have been gymnastics. There's a great program through the Park District and Callan loves it. Unfortunately we were wait listed for the next session (seriously, sign up started at 9 am and I tried signing up at 9:01!), so we might try soccer or swimming for the winter. Here are some pictures of Callan from class -clearly the Olympics are in his future.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzvLf6fGJlGJUba7oCIWrSdyKUC-oRLUSVIfu_vQyp7VaaCQlw95J6V_7Lgtjz3VG5FMV_z_C8HRm1yE7TqmlFAc6q_QKQQo1epTK99olD9ic5omVgS7WzkMUb9u07BZcGVGgEVIKsy1K/s1600/photo+1-704270.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5953601659097842434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzvLf6fGJlGJUba7oCIWrSdyKUC-oRLUSVIfu_vQyp7VaaCQlw95J6V_7Lgtjz3VG5FMV_z_C8HRm1yE7TqmlFAc6q_QKQQo1epTK99olD9ic5omVgS7WzkMUb9u07BZcGVGgEVIKsy1K/s320/photo+1-704270.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAXZoXayLOzo9ruwF581QsF5AG1E1ZMPYIhWevK0tmfA0cwUYkleSUn1K53Yoq-qhWTX8WLCuoQAS-K9wtoRrKmj2z9YjVL2wNIn7N5ZYtb6BsmtgIh_ZuBlcarKMnBnsMBieSYJ9WVNG/s1600/photo+2-709483.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5953601678317880386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAXZoXayLOzo9ruwF581QsF5AG1E1ZMPYIhWevK0tmfA0cwUYkleSUn1K53Yoq-qhWTX8WLCuoQAS-K9wtoRrKmj2z9YjVL2wNIn7N5ZYtb6BsmtgIh_ZuBlcarKMnBnsMBieSYJ9WVNG/s320/photo+2-709483.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v1cDq0tlD0sNdsN5aoFo9FAjAOiv_Eb8qscIZx0xSt5QeaAP9XwEvH9BIh_JRkvZAZj3yku7ZXbL4RQ8-kIeUX8aXxY2-AYQk4odnis7iRcMkqrKq89AANGNkHZJMNJ1TP-uGs3XT7pE/s1600/photo+3-715254.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5953601700934943090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v1cDq0tlD0sNdsN5aoFo9FAjAOiv_Eb8qscIZx0xSt5QeaAP9XwEvH9BIh_JRkvZAZj3yku7ZXbL4RQ8-kIeUX8aXxY2-AYQk4odnis7iRcMkqrKq89AANGNkHZJMNJ1TP-uGs3XT7pE/s320/photo+3-715254.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWChrzY5VvWunnSn5RwguwvAZfv1EgWKu09XkxcTbVMeHQavHOI8qf86FEnAzm_Ua4YvuiqG7iWhOIQFqinmqla_KsQFT-HEZ4mqYRZlfgPEJ0QDotR3aEycpONqzLnVt7S6-EpalUvDPc/s1600/photo+4-720082.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5953601723761316722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWChrzY5VvWunnSn5RwguwvAZfv1EgWKu09XkxcTbVMeHQavHOI8qf86FEnAzm_Ua4YvuiqG7iWhOIQFqinmqla_KsQFT-HEZ4mqYRZlfgPEJ0QDotR3aEycpONqzLnVt7S6-EpalUvDPc/s320/photo+4-720082.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52obTqpHg9638D8M_ihjCGKe2vk0566bPzmvng1ha9-zQgJXU93s8op5RZpt2lO2NMyWqlOpPfn5RcliZXcfn8bIdxkoGB7NtuTkT1kg5OA_eBhsnOpQ6Te3HUJqOBvw766k_KjYSuFOy/s1600/photo+5-724187.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5953601739256038498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52obTqpHg9638D8M_ihjCGKe2vk0566bPzmvng1ha9-zQgJXU93s8op5RZpt2lO2NMyWqlOpPfn5RcliZXcfn8bIdxkoGB7NtuTkT1kg5OA_eBhsnOpQ6Te3HUJqOBvw766k_KjYSuFOy/s320/photo+5-724187.JPG" /></span></a></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-29252391762362572722013-11-26T11:12:00.004-06:002013-11-26T11:12:58.268-06:00Thanksgiving is coming<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And someone is very excited...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSinjgrCNPwK2rYAOS1TZQ1LFZZB5B2oDUbBcllzhnKHLS7_FwRPeGzaYYocCSSde2_4j2CxyOe_BLpeVJJSEtrP7-DB6IvyePKgsg4PtcqCdPMENCtU5GEpRYc-7iVNyHjE8qlqphKs5o/s1600/image-742490.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5950606937685294306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSinjgrCNPwK2rYAOS1TZQ1LFZZB5B2oDUbBcllzhnKHLS7_FwRPeGzaYYocCSSde2_4j2CxyOe_BLpeVJJSEtrP7-DB6IvyePKgsg4PtcqCdPMENCtU5GEpRYc-7iVNyHjE8qlqphKs5o/s320/image-742490.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She heard there was turkey, stuffing and pie involved!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXzj6bMJUQAxdtlmxrIKZCC9sYk9aC0br4_N3GW0Zhv20i3hm1Gtc2jbLbO-w6LZUgC9qHqJtAqiXfrypoPwm0U3rwriVzWd4hX1d_Y9eQGHXgdc8nVLe3xO6sUFBGc1suM09mfch8Qs7/s1600/image-739201.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5950606923970942642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXzj6bMJUQAxdtlmxrIKZCC9sYk9aC0br4_N3GW0Zhv20i3hm1Gtc2jbLbO-w6LZUgC9qHqJtAqiXfrypoPwm0U3rwriVzWd4hX1d_Y9eQGHXgdc8nVLe3xO6sUFBGc1suM09mfch8Qs7/s320/image-739201.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">p.s. How much do they look alike? Here's Callan 2 years ago wearing the same outfit...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpZrhs8SGOKztQipEHMLEsjROwbl8ryiIyK3qyo-YUzbe9iqAo4-RZ48uYfzzaRkSTKXtomyQt-jyracqRuu1LmIlR1SEteDwfsG1WiTQxxiYgpgODQnB_kq5zNUkucF3Vxd_X1qSCjD_/s1600/turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" closure_lm_349651="null" dua="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpZrhs8SGOKztQipEHMLEsjROwbl8ryiIyK3qyo-YUzbe9iqAo4-RZ48uYfzzaRkSTKXtomyQt-jyracqRuu1LmIlR1SEteDwfsG1WiTQxxiYgpgODQnB_kq5zNUkucF3Vxd_X1qSCjD_/s320/turkey.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-59302233950573157692013-11-21T06:30:00.000-06:002013-11-21T06:30:00.250-06:00Dear Callan and Nora: the VERY overdue newsletter<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Callan and Nora:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point I can't even keep up with the passing of time. Days and weeks fly by and before I know it, another amazing month passes by. I can't keep up with it and I find myself having to count on my fingers trying to figure out exactly how old you are. We've had a lot going on recently and it's been hard to keep track of it all. I also know with the holidays coming up, the rest of this year is probably going to be a blur and soon we'll be celebrating birthdays (gah!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Callan, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are now officially two and a half. I am no longer counting exact months because it's too hard for me to keep up with, so you will be two and a half for a while (or until next year when I'll probably start referring to you as "almost three"). Your vocabulary and speech is growing in leaps and bounds and it's so fun to be able to "talk" to you. Your stories still require a little bit of interpretation and sometimes we make you repeat words (which I think annoys you at times since you so clearly are trying to tell us something!), but it's really remarkable to have these conversations with you. You have started the toddler "why" phase, which is both exciting and at times frustrating as you really want an answer to your questions that I sometimes don't have. I mean you want to know why it's windy outside or why it's raining. It's a good thing that we can ask Miss Frizzle some of these questions! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> You're the only 2.5 year old I know that watches the Magic School Bus (kids from the 80s, remember this show? So great), but I can't blame you since you've got your father's nerdy science genes. The other shows in rotation currently are Word World, Curious George and Super Why. Thankfully, we got out of the Caillou rotation (although occasionally you do ask for it) and Mater Tales (from Cars). Since Nora's arrival, you've gotten to watch more tv since I need a few minutes in the morning to get ready for work and a few quiet moments to put Nora to bed, but I figure we held out for awhile and your tv time is still pretty limited in the grand scheme of things, so I can't feel too badly.</span></div>
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You also LOVE singing and you're getting much better at it. Your favorite songs to sing are A-B-Cs, twinkle, twinkle, Rock-a-bye-baby and wheels on the bus. Sometimes I try to sing along with you and you'll stop your song and tell me, "no sing mommy". I understand this -my singing voice has never been great.<br />
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You're also a great big brother. You love making your sister laugh and you'll sometimes get upset when Nora gets bored of your game and stops laughing. You'll tell me with a concerned voice that "Nora not laughing at me", which is so cute and melts my heart. You will go give her hugs and kisses unprompted and although we're still working on making sure you're not grabbing toys from her, you do seem (for the most part) concerned with her well-being and will at least try to "trade" her a toy.<br />
You aren't the greatest sleeper and you are still unusually attached to your mommy, but I figure this phase will eventually pass (and when it does it'll seem too fast), so I'm trying to enjoy it as much as I can. You're almost fully potty trained (during the day -we haven't quite mastered the overnight thing yet) and you are getting to be more and more like a big kid every day and it's sometimes hard to remember you as a baby, even though it wasn't that long ago.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWCUrkpQaEwbrQWqvAff7Xntl2SGeK1qFqqnMqyfcgsRWF_4y9qBWXy4X75RTvJStl3T-EFfX18j5N2bnID4MfhMFMqsVseCFPhs0bDmniq8Vm75B0pcsW5uA8Wcy_bdGEf1Cyac8AnxL/s1600/photo+1-789449.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5936948290300731938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAWCUrkpQaEwbrQWqvAff7Xntl2SGeK1qFqqnMqyfcgsRWF_4y9qBWXy4X75RTvJStl3T-EFfX18j5N2bnID4MfhMFMqsVseCFPhs0bDmniq8Vm75B0pcsW5uA8Wcy_bdGEf1Cyac8AnxL/s320/photo+1-789449.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(This is you with the pumpkin eating dinosaur at the pumpkin farm. You reference this dinosaur a lot, which confuses most people since they were not there with you.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Nora bug,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You are 6/7 months old (?) and just great. I don't know what I have to say about you, but you're just so amazing and fun. You've got the best smile and with your giant cheeks, there's something really satisfying about getting a giant gummy grin from you. Your whole face lights up when you're happy and I won't lie, you're pretty happy most of the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You started moving this month and although you're not quite officially crawling on all fours (that might take a while, your belly kind of drags on the ground), you've got the army crawl down pat. And you're fast -especially when you set your sights on something (like Callan's toy).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">You were just like Callan and a great sleeper, but something has been throwing you off (probably your teeth) and you've been waking up at night. It's not too terrible though. You're also the opposite of your brother and go to bed really early. I don't know if it's because of the time change, but your 7/7:30 bedtime has gotten bumped up. It means I don't get to play too much with you after work during the week, but I do usually get an extra snuggle or two from you during the middle of the night wake up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We started you on solids around 6 months via the baby led weaning approach we used with your brother and you L-O-V-E it. You love feeding yourself and even though you don't have any teeth, you're eating like you've known how to do it your whole life. Unfortunately the introduction of solids has impacted your bowels, so we've been giving you some pureed prunes/pears/etc. So far it seems like you don't have any aversions or allergies, but we've mostly been sticking to the green veggies and fruits. You've had yogurt and a little bit of meat/fish and so far you're loving it all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anyway, Nora bug, you're awesome and although you might not have as much of your life documented as your brother, you're no less loved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Mama</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc36MjUHBj_PI-Wuvu1bj8czsxggs8fyHvcq_LU7Av20ep98x6gn77wPVg1Y0im8_5_Zq1qZh_wQxqVn7z_mAV4VZQYYlZyK7eEWRGKiJG9eP2_aupySne_yN54njf5_8mbuzt8u6ix8NZ/s1600/photo+2-793963.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5936948311513136434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc36MjUHBj_PI-Wuvu1bj8czsxggs8fyHvcq_LU7Av20ep98x6gn77wPVg1Y0im8_5_Zq1qZh_wQxqVn7z_mAV4VZQYYlZyK7eEWRGKiJG9eP2_aupySne_yN54njf5_8mbuzt8u6ix8NZ/s320/photo+2-793963.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(seriously, look at those cheeks!)</span></div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-84500222952921135292013-11-20T09:45:00.002-06:002013-11-20T09:45:38.660-06:00Brr... It's chilly out there!<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has suddenly turned to winter around here so it's time to pull out the winter gear!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASGSIigPltGfF9B34ct1S4QuybdrmRmblABl6xACFN0gvJLC1adqB1LJf1XYVUex8i9cFgrVel-W3d-r5g54GhY8Q_NzJ7P1CwQtaibMgf1Z69-AsrZgK7UVVk4j45xH5L3bGV_HUY9R_/s1600/image-796152.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5948118238073428226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASGSIigPltGfF9B34ct1S4QuybdrmRmblABl6xACFN0gvJLC1adqB1LJf1XYVUex8i9cFgrVel-W3d-r5g54GhY8Q_NzJ7P1CwQtaibMgf1Z69-AsrZgK7UVVk4j45xH5L3bGV_HUY9R_/s320/image-796152.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-75122706221901290742013-10-31T10:34:00.001-05:002013-10-31T10:34:30.068-05:00Happy Halloween! 2013<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am so behind on posting, but I thought I'd take a pause to wish everyone a Happy Halloween!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't be alarmed... Nora may not look too happy about being a cow, but really it's just because her nap got interrupted. I'll try to get a happier version of this picture posted.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMAma8H-0wOc66u5BpbDh59tn2MxIwGahePboYrj7_D3I2qBOEFsGpReOUzkhdolelCpbUN5sr2vgt_wJg6rRjD1IH9y46fwaLjr06sYJ-7QJ-3ciKrM7dHEaqg5bJsDUgxtq9FTcMbXx/s1600/photo+2-737772.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5940941528350186674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGMAma8H-0wOc66u5BpbDh59tn2MxIwGahePboYrj7_D3I2qBOEFsGpReOUzkhdolelCpbUN5sr2vgt_wJg6rRjD1IH9y46fwaLjr06sYJ-7QJ-3ciKrM7dHEaqg5bJsDUgxtq9FTcMbXx/s320/photo+2-737772.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Howdy partner! (costume complete with horse!)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysC2v7LQargykCqtIgMXpX-fBUlg9ixPMGZST5plh38w3mNargkcX0_c5hmIcRZLnliyjnAetvYnz-kOObhzrELVoTTReagS0CKEAS0UrzE5D2N8M89P2_wQs31khJQgKxMG71EhhfmIW/s1600/photo+1-733971.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5940941513900000738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgysC2v7LQargykCqtIgMXpX-fBUlg9ixPMGZST5plh38w3mNargkcX0_c5hmIcRZLnliyjnAetvYnz-kOObhzrELVoTTReagS0CKEAS0UrzE5D2N8M89P2_wQs31khJQgKxMG71EhhfmIW/s320/photo+1-733971.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a look back at Halloweens of yesteryear:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2012</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" qea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMyaFqldXWcdxo2ukGyizqyiWFLox15Wqg_1lr2_78nxBHr57qGDIit9o6KFIqtuBWLtdDNYOUtv97NLNdtpWfN9viX_R9ncwuMZuJESJQiL6n8erVVdqqy1OonA1TwaiSYiLNju7HJi9/s320/yoda.jpg" width="320" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2011</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftF9G_azxDEe_LQpxNAHnypKZHFRSxUFWC87IV8waCa_Gq78TmMIS_itF2LYNFbwTcRh85uXzPbNXd6r7FUyShVluONpFzpcr3G2gQNs7TM51D9H-fNXEtKOQbDRWlw5NpvKJsjaY9mmr/s1600/halloween2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" qea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftF9G_azxDEe_LQpxNAHnypKZHFRSxUFWC87IV8waCa_Gq78TmMIS_itF2LYNFbwTcRh85uXzPbNXd6r7FUyShVluONpFzpcr3G2gQNs7TM51D9H-fNXEtKOQbDRWlw5NpvKJsjaY9mmr/s320/halloween2.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-15508374919372290272013-10-04T11:16:00.003-05:002013-10-04T11:16:41.363-05:00Excuse me...<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Um, excuse me, flight attendant, are there snacks served on this flight?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcg1IIn5crS-AVCbKLSlcXm41ucTNNXqGowLDDOat7Euu_NP_mtrbDVzknnYDkG-YD_Wfdmn_lUQ2pBGbuycNIGD8Rz8dtwEj0wRRUDTNRAjrLLDwHTohieQITp5fE0grwagtKdEH2aLx/s1600/photo+2-793469.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5927945191540226914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcg1IIn5crS-AVCbKLSlcXm41ucTNNXqGowLDDOat7Euu_NP_mtrbDVzknnYDkG-YD_Wfdmn_lUQ2pBGbuycNIGD8Rz8dtwEj0wRRUDTNRAjrLLDwHTohieQITp5fE0grwagtKdEH2aLx/s320/photo+2-793469.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh no? That's fine, I brought my own.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia25VyBlXDNKRAlfzeMdR_VGMwlEfa2sxBU56x735fiAogky91G4CV1mlng_kuHJc1zFr70RgsqNcqaGiBYHLllUukhBFKsbBmkNcfBE4h8AU9Nnm7PUBaLsW86dSJP4PTyDDZpxwlNFSZ/s1600/photo+1-790325.JPG"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5927945178384539170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia25VyBlXDNKRAlfzeMdR_VGMwlEfa2sxBU56x735fiAogky91G4CV1mlng_kuHJc1zFr70RgsqNcqaGiBYHLllUukhBFKsbBmkNcfBE4h8AU9Nnm7PUBaLsW86dSJP4PTyDDZpxwlNFSZ/s320/photo+1-790325.JPG" /></span></a></div>
rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-89552355925284613392013-09-24T14:58:00.000-05:002013-09-25T09:33:49.945-05:00August family vacation<div class="mobile-photo">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">** So I started this post back in August when we got back... now it's almost October. Yikes.**</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in January/February (? a long time ago, back when we only had 1 kid each) we discussed with our good friends starting some new family traditions and going on a family vacation together. After lots of searching we found the perfect house in Maine. The only problem was that it was an almost 4 hour drive from Boston and flights to Portland were $2-300 more expensive. But, we all decided that we could hack the drive and booked the house and flights. Fast forward a few months and our August family vacation finally arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off to the airport. Callan thought he was a bigshot with his rolling backpack (and we got a lot of "oh, how adorable!").</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArF_FdQVzBfXX1tIih8NUtt9-D6QR0NNQ-1zgd0sMfNN7U8oADS8SswvJKHPFZ8sQeno-B0as7hEonMEPumrHwbf7-KQm05IOILHgZuDacnJe1rIg7bXnjO697Gr_vGF53aS7ZQiYUUI1/s1600/image-753872.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867473774259042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArF_FdQVzBfXX1tIih8NUtt9-D6QR0NNQ-1zgd0sMfNN7U8oADS8SswvJKHPFZ8sQeno-B0as7hEonMEPumrHwbf7-KQm05IOILHgZuDacnJe1rIg7bXnjO697Gr_vGF53aS7ZQiYUUI1/s320/image-753872.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then the flight there was great. Callan had his own seat (and of course, a lollipop for his "ears")</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXctY-wVmY9asR_dtUwyNcBM3VIAchT0X4bz0tmTv9ZCC4W6EcUbGIxncCu_hzPKVs7QmZTbVCpAD5EVQH4v6mV3QeSd7w6TKiIRH0upnp2RCgCqGaPIClUs0fDJoQW7I5kvPP2XJmO0w5/s1600/image-751069.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867462023705202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXctY-wVmY9asR_dtUwyNcBM3VIAchT0X4bz0tmTv9ZCC4W6EcUbGIxncCu_hzPKVs7QmZTbVCpAD5EVQH4v6mV3QeSd7w6TKiIRH0upnp2RCgCqGaPIClUs0fDJoQW7I5kvPP2XJmO0w5/s320/image-751069.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The house was amazing and just as advertised. I don't have any pictures (of course). There was some good family time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBIAhyphenhyphenxyyDdVisoODCA6VZlsFy1RD0Zx-w5SpaNHYtppl2yJ3z7nrzRzLZLD_TtZCAosXx9VuD2VlqArl4zzC4P9IB1lykVhxIMWZWYGjmh2TVmZ3QIOrVXuVFXokhnIOfJNbj5uwgl6K/s1600/image-780287.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867587683101474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBIAhyphenhyphenxyyDdVisoODCA6VZlsFy1RD0Zx-w5SpaNHYtppl2yJ3z7nrzRzLZLD_TtZCAosXx9VuD2VlqArl4zzC4P9IB1lykVhxIMWZWYGjmh2TVmZ3QIOrVXuVFXokhnIOfJNbj5uwgl6K/s320/image-780287.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a fair amount of napping (although I wish I did more of it personally).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxI0tvV1I_3lGq9y3wM4jyY5nFJWAfFKmR09KwVZU3pfXtDnzLhbN2u8D11yI-r30Bj_7xV2do8rxPXOVjhFRz7YxhuQiHpDP2jrVMnhLCoQmhMS2UwtyUE7jkwYvs5TcLTLAghxWBtHJe/s1600/image-757901.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867493608433426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxI0tvV1I_3lGq9y3wM4jyY5nFJWAfFKmR09KwVZU3pfXtDnzLhbN2u8D11yI-r30Bj_7xV2do8rxPXOVjhFRz7YxhuQiHpDP2jrVMnhLCoQmhMS2UwtyUE7jkwYvs5TcLTLAghxWBtHJe/s320/image-757901.jpeg" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And relaxing.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ykm-8AzsgVgS6q8R_Y-KlkM1rbg2RawwZHUbwmXIPbQ-uzyS3PGTX526-mb-aGHl_QU5krvmKxRRjtP9vyfpaSPJhtOwNkzBkMd2luGYRvng_5uW2CCI9M_O-GJGEhQMM9dpqMWPcq1p/s1600/image-764537.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867523237490194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ykm-8AzsgVgS6q8R_Y-KlkM1rbg2RawwZHUbwmXIPbQ-uzyS3PGTX526-mb-aGHl_QU5krvmKxRRjtP9vyfpaSPJhtOwNkzBkMd2luGYRvng_5uW2CCI9M_O-GJGEhQMM9dpqMWPcq1p/s320/image-764537.jpeg" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course lots of eating (lobster).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sW5bcqroFhZET3x1k_I9f7n3s6uVRDVm38q_RWsZR1tNO0DEykFaG2wamwyj_Fz5Lbolam1TwCUQzIfKGItmdPpuJQdOGVpIqBHMZ9nP_IIkZZEXPdK9up-fVAISeRJdIcuqlquJvhTC/s1600/image-761045.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867507853425842" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sW5bcqroFhZET3x1k_I9f7n3s6uVRDVm38q_RWsZR1tNO0DEykFaG2wamwyj_Fz5Lbolam1TwCUQzIfKGItmdPpuJQdOGVpIqBHMZ9nP_IIkZZEXPdK9up-fVAISeRJdIcuqlquJvhTC/s320/image-761045.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Callan making this New England mama proud eating "steamers" with gusto.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSFQtLhCEfhm8HVez7SHwA52gFGY3IeYYDP27uu3aKU9wjzeU8xwL54RRsVHuiuuhsCF1n4X0OCklU-En4Bu9qH9hVyVo7Tw6mPYBa5MBrNkwENIMyl-WsxcKWh3ta_OaMMsGgysX7hhJ/s1600/image-747435.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867450526745922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSFQtLhCEfhm8HVez7SHwA52gFGY3IeYYDP27uu3aKU9wjzeU8xwL54RRsVHuiuuhsCF1n4X0OCklU-En4Bu9qH9hVyVo7Tw6mPYBa5MBrNkwENIMyl-WsxcKWh3ta_OaMMsGgysX7hhJ/s320/image-747435.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And ice cream!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWIkrm9s0Jf0OWOsiyTb5iSZ8-V7sQm9KOEPEeAfZA4V1_aw5EhTs7COHMYDxGBpBE4skRwH1mgz1mZYKuCq6J6056vkr8W-TgEqjcMAfFIM8LL4qJ58lZZFNWIlOZxugqpf12edl23NR/s1600/image-776268.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867571172900754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWIkrm9s0Jf0OWOsiyTb5iSZ8-V7sQm9KOEPEeAfZA4V1_aw5EhTs7COHMYDxGBpBE4skRwH1mgz1mZYKuCq6J6056vkr8W-TgEqjcMAfFIM8LL4qJ58lZZFNWIlOZxugqpf12edl23NR/s320/image-776268.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lots of ice cream!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvFBSrtH8was7vIJAfSOatK9sBxoi1rBU07hu_nydBEjNqUXy0Z3GXIOdfwS1D_Z4dy25sDear22X2COr5eHLgw52fjp06ngZSWE_XOYmf6xPk3bMA-UYpnqzczX6m-7keDvHg00Q9Lfg/s1600/image-783369.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867605685193810" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvFBSrtH8was7vIJAfSOatK9sBxoi1rBU07hu_nydBEjNqUXy0Z3GXIOdfwS1D_Z4dy25sDear22X2COr5eHLgw52fjp06ngZSWE_XOYmf6xPk3bMA-UYpnqzczX6m-7keDvHg00Q9Lfg/s320/image-783369.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The week flew by and before we knew it we were heading back to Chicago.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFz0Gh0Jh7j7tyFu7fZXvYxdmhXuml0jZlfPQW102n30OtXR5dydlqD7oVkUoGc7-elpOgNAhy6SupXdbqWqfoNGaymlKyJTw0g3FMVCtRnuZ5dx1r2nikQxaoysGRee6e_VjG2653m1s/s1600/image-790299.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867632889767970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFz0Gh0Jh7j7tyFu7fZXvYxdmhXuml0jZlfPQW102n30OtXR5dydlqD7oVkUoGc7-elpOgNAhy6SupXdbqWqfoNGaymlKyJTw0g3FMVCtRnuZ5dx1r2nikQxaoysGRee6e_VjG2653m1s/s320/image-790299.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good news. They're still friends after a week together.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjMsmOVTqWUMmlpH7UKMSeiIjJ6z7t-Zai4xCkPX_Gw5h2hZs3ggRc5QnJAuVdQzOihqrkJj8fltIGqJvTOLOXihF4CpUqKCrc0uHQoqOUxA7jJzatamhwgcXtJ4-Ol62iWSL-HRKxS5I/s1600/image-737265.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867408112503026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjMsmOVTqWUMmlpH7UKMSeiIjJ6z7t-Zai4xCkPX_Gw5h2hZs3ggRc5QnJAuVdQzOihqrkJj8fltIGqJvTOLOXihF4CpUqKCrc0uHQoqOUxA7jJzatamhwgcXtJ4-Ol62iWSL-HRKxS5I/s320/image-737265.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And hey, look, clouds!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAvr7KhD0SUEJNGzIcDgYxDW7E9xDeSUK8BSQdMXRNwlmjIGMWLXrv1ga0FODrNue6bz83JufL8mGWTOXhporY7qzFBc4oSpvF5Rr78lseNtJfr5J0gDVWBXdFXD4xXvzhofSeq9tntjW/s1600/image-793560.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867647785131138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAvr7KhD0SUEJNGzIcDgYxDW7E9xDeSUK8BSQdMXRNwlmjIGMWLXrv1ga0FODrNue6bz83JufL8mGWTOXhporY7qzFBc4oSpvF5Rr78lseNtJfr5J0gDVWBXdFXD4xXvzhofSeq9tntjW/s320/image-793560.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a long day of travel, but totally worth it to hang out on vacation with friends and family.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-kkpZIVV_A1lWd2Bc79zUlRw9pSAf-FOg0q3ea41flpIv2pGHhKPigmdUSNaD5UTxwubW89HlOpw6Wqrtq0Rz3-fQdkD7Zh8XezyqhpJw2ovmCGru-Rk3ZWE7BmlGlDRvzylaeQW7sNC/s1600/image-733800.jpeg"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5919867390803675138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-kkpZIVV_A1lWd2Bc79zUlRw9pSAf-FOg0q3ea41flpIv2pGHhKPigmdUSNaD5UTxwubW89HlOpw6Wqrtq0Rz3-fQdkD7Zh8XezyqhpJw2ovmCGru-Rk3ZWE7BmlGlDRvzylaeQW7sNC/s320/image-733800.jpeg" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can't wait to do it again next year!</span><br />
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-79338782439798555622013-09-13T08:03:00.001-05:002013-09-13T08:11:38.748-05:00Fun with play-do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Huge has been away a fair amount this year, travelling with work and the kids and I have relied on the kindness of friends to fill up those weekends. One of Callan's favorite visitors (although, let's be honest, he loves everyone) is Sabrina (and I love her because she always comes and cooks me dinner). He's gotten to cook with her, play silly games and his favorite, do funny things with Play-do. Watch out Tom Selleck, Callan can rock a 'stache!</span></div>
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rdghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01210078642092946773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817572619556326585.post-84869302138921889682013-09-08T14:45:00.001-05:002013-09-08T14:58:26.105-05:00Dear Callan & Nora: 28 & 5<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Callan and Nora-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure why I'm still trying to eek these out every month... maybe it's to prove to myself that 2nd children aren't as forgotten as "they" say they are... or it's a good excuse to sit down every month and talk about what's happening... but either way, I'm kind of failing at it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past month (August) was a great month for us all. We finally went on our first family vacation to Maine with our good friends the Permans. Callan you loved having your best friend around all day to play with and because you're such a water baby, you loved the pool and beach. Nora, this vacation was the first time you went on a plane and as usual, you were a champ. I would claim the vacation a success and hopefully we'll get to do it again next year.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg387SvjdcSJFSDjmVTUyrC_QnaSuTfnwYvHdX1kDuffRqn1aw_20GGExxNLqtj_-TqsYs-tOc5fTCd7YIaaTWOqn6sgkPDm_hKSFZEII-ICVbVy9i49YlAeJaLyZNDwzT-EMc5RuDCf0pE/s1600/1167207_10101282836622057_1272789180_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg387SvjdcSJFSDjmVTUyrC_QnaSuTfnwYvHdX1kDuffRqn1aw_20GGExxNLqtj_-TqsYs-tOc5fTCd7YIaaTWOqn6sgkPDm_hKSFZEII-ICVbVy9i49YlAeJaLyZNDwzT-EMc5RuDCf0pE/s320/1167207_10101282836622057_1272789180_o.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What else... Callan, there's nothing really new to report, but yet, so much is new. You're talking so much more and it's so fun to hear the expressions you've picked up. You have your moments -fake tears, foot stomping and "no, right now", but for the most part, you're a really great kid. You've got an imagination on you and it's fun to hear you use it and you've got a sense of humor too. You're kind of a ham and when you do certain things, you'll look for a reaction from us. Sometimes your dad and I work hard to keep a straight face since we don't want to encourage certain things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You also are pretty good with your sister. There are obviously times you're not (since you're not perfect), but for the most part, I can't complain. The best part is when I catch you being sweet to Nora and you'll be showing her something or will give her random hugs and kisses or will just tell her "I lub you Nora" without prompting. I hope your relationship with her grows and that you'll eventually be best friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This past month we also took a big step in your potty training. Adelia really did most (ok 90%) of the work on this one, but we finally ripped off the band-aid and have been putting you in undies during the day. We haven't gotten overnights down yet since you still LOVE to chug a glass of milk/water before bed, but that will be the next step. I'm so proud of you and most days are accident free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only complaint I'd have is your inability to stay the night in your bed. You start off there, but sometime between 1-5am you come creeping into ours. I keep hoping this will be a phase that you'll eventually get over yourself, but we're definitely months into this habit. I don't necessarily hate it, but I would like just a little bit more room on the bed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And Nora buggy, what can I say. You're still a giant roly-poly baby, but you're so happy and lovable. You seem serious at times, but you'll break out into giggles and smiles for pretty much anyone. You especially love your brother (and seem to tolerate a great deal of abuse from him). But whenever you're playing near each other, you'll always try to find him and follow his voice. It'll be interesting to see how it'll be once you start becoming mobile. You are rolling a lot and you aren't quite sitting, but you don't love being left on your back or stomach since you can't see everything. You're pretty happy in your swing or seat and your exersaucer can keep you entertained for a long time. I think you're working on some teeth, but none have popped up yet. Your sleep is pretty solid (although recently you're back to waking up at night to eat), but we were spoiled and it could be a lot worse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This next month will be your half birthday and I'm still pretty incredulous of how the time has flown by. My maternity leave with you was over in an instant and now it seems like your first year will be too. You're already wearing 9 month clothes and so much will change in the next few months that you'll be like a whole new person. We're going to start solids with you in the next little bit and I think you'll be like Callan and really excited for it. We gave you a piece of steamed broccoli the other day to play with and you were pretty content to hang out and gum at it for awhile. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Callan and Nora, I want to freeze time to be able to soak in everything, but I'm also so excited to see what the future holds for you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love you immensely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mama</span><br />
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