Nora-isms

Nora, like most toddlers has a plethora of bath toys. We visit the land of Dora the Princess while traveling in our pirate ship or small tug boat, whatever the mood is. Some nights, she puts on a show and requests our attendance.
Nora: “Dad, come watch!”
Nora: “Ladies and junglemen.”
Keith: “What?”
Nora: “Ladies and junglemen.”
Me: “Nora, its Ladies and Gentlemen.”
Nora: “Right, mom. Ladies and junglemen.”

Then there was last night when I was drying her hair.
Me: “Nora, please be still.”
Nora: “Mom, get on the ball. That means hurry up.”

And the mockingbird syndrome that lately cracks me up. If you’re around our house for any amount of time, you’ll hear me call Nora missy. As in, “Come on, missy. Time to clean up.” Or “Alright, missy, don’t be mean”. So guess what I was called approximately 15 times yesterday. Yep. You got it, missy. Although when Nora said it, it sounded more like messy.

I can’t post the Nora-isms without mentioning this sweet moment last night. Nora had been dancing around saying, “Happy, Happy Day!” She is usually obsessed with wishing everyone a Happy Birthday even when it isn’t anyone's birthday. Anyway, last night she was eating and I heard her faintly whispering to herself. I turned to look at her and saw that she was sitting with her eyes closed and her head bowed. This is what I heard:

“Thank you Jesus for Happy, Happy Day. This is Nora Faith. Amen.”

From the mouths of babes. Truly it is a Happy, Happy Day that He has given us.

Snow in Varnell

So we didn’t exactly get the big snow I was hoping for, but we did have enough for Nora to try and catch some. She and Keith were outside as the snow came down. Nora loves it! She definitely takes after me in that respect. I would be ecstatic to get a few inches of the fluffy white stuff, but realize that will probably not happen any time soon.

Here’s a picture of Nora trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue. She thinks it’s the greatest thing to do except for the wet stuff getting in her eyes. The last flurries we had, I told her to close her eyes when she was catching them, thus generating the below response.

The other picture is probably her reaction when she was unsuccessful. Even frustrated, she’s just too cute.

My Little Skating Lady

We took our youth group skating yesterday. Nora was so excited she barely slept Friday night. I think she finally went to sleep around 1:00 a.m., Saturday. Then, she woke up around 8:00 a.m. and told Keith it was time to go skating. Instead of her usual argument over what to wear, she was upset because we weren't ready to change her clothes. Here's a couple of pictures of her skating adventure.

Nora and Alissa:





















Nora and Keith:









































When she got tired of skating, she headed to the arcade games. Of course, she thinks she's bigger than she is and can play the big games. This was a truck driving game.

The Joys of Toddlerdom

Looking at such a sweet little face you could never imagine the phase of toddlerhood we’re going through.

Ah, yes. Nora has taken to screaming when she doesn’t get what she wants. And, for the first time, this past weekend she actually cried over not getting a toy she wanted. Actually, it was the first three times all in one weekend.

We have tried to explain to Nora that she can’t have everything she sees that she wants. Of course, we always get the dreaded, “Why??”. After repeating this same statement over and over and over and over this weekend, Nora finally said, “but Mom, I want EVERYTHING!” If you have forgotten, please see my Note to Santa post that will show this repeat of history.

On a side note, Nora is about 90% potty trained. She only wears pull-ups at night and when we are going out for a long period of time. For those members of my family reading this, I believe she has a little spirit of Granny Dietz in her. She absolutely refuses to use any public restroom. Period. It has gone as far as us going into a bathroom, putting a pull-up on her, her doing her business and then putting her underwear back on. Tell me how messed up that is??? Like I said, a little spirit of Granny is in there.

Also this past weekend, we attended the birthday party of Titus, my best friend, Elizabeth’s, son. Titus turned the big 1. This was a great event because Nora and Avery, Titus’s older sister, are “best friends”. They had the cutest little conversation about poop while they were eating. It was soooo funny. We were sitting at a table with Matt’s dad (Titus’s Popsy) and Matt’s Granny (Titus’s Great-Granny). Keith and I found it all quite humorous and, of course, were encouraging their little chat. However, Avery and Nora were informed by Granny that potty talk was not appropriate at the dinner table. Too funny. After they ate, Nora and Avery were off. Those two ran so much that they were OUT-OF-BREATH. Can you imagine?? Two 3 year olds breathless. That’s how much they ran.

I know there have been so many funny things that Nora has said lately, but I’m old and can’t remember them. I need to start posting as she says things to keep up with it all. Here is one such tale that I can remember:

Last night, Nora pulled one of her I have-to-go-the-bathroom-instead-of-going-to-sleep routines. After she was through, Keith decided to go, too, since he was up. Anyway, from the bathroom he is telling Nora that she better be going to sleep when comes in the room, blah, blah, blah. So, I, being the sarcasm lover that I am, said, “Alright dad, but either pee or get off the pot.” Ha. Ha. And, Nora, being the mocking bird she is replied, “Yeah, dad. Either pee or get off the pot. That’s your options.”

Where has she heard that before, you might ask. Oh, about 5 minutes before she went to the bathroom, I told her she needed to get on her pillow or get in her own bed. Those were her options.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

A Note to Santa

Oh, yes. It is that time of year again. We have been asking Nora what she would like for Santa to bring her. Last year it was a bike, a bike hat (aka helmet), and drums. Of course, these items were all aglow on Christmas morning for her as she ran away crying.

So, this year we are hoping for a little more happiness on Christmas. When asked this year what she wants, Nora continuously says, "I still want a dolly house." Its the only thing she has consistently asked for, until this morning.

She had a little accident last night that kept us up all night and so I stayed home with her today. As we sat on the couch watching volcano Dora for the third time, she pulled out the Fisher Price catalog that came in the mail and asked me to read it to her. I had her pick out what pages she wanted me to read. And I read. And read. And read. I sounded like an advertisement for them as I read all the little ads for the products they were selling.

After quite a while of reading, she took the catalog from my hand and closed it. She then proceeded to give it back to me and said, "Tell Santa, I want everything."

Enough said.

Oh, but I guess there is one more thing. Santa, if you're reading this, Nora wants everything in the Fisher-Price Fall 2008 Shop-at-Home Catalog.

And, she still wants that dolly house.