Norah in Minnesota!

Norah got to spend lots of time with her Grandma and Auntie Becca in Minnesota.  She especially liked staying in her jammies all day and lounging around Grandma's house, playing with all of her new toys and chasing the cat, or, as Norah would say, 'at!'  Grandma and Auntie Becca took Norah on some urban adventures: she visited the moving puppet display at the Minneapolis Macy's and then she got to go to Underwater World and make friends with lots of crazy looking fish, and then she had a special birthday dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

We had a great time in Minnesota, in spite of the freezing cold weather!  Best of all, it was so great to watch Norah just fall in love with her Grandma and Auntie Becca and Uncle Scott.  I just loved how she naturally felt so at home and comfortable with them.  It just proves that no matter how young you are and how far away you live, you just know who your family is!  I only wish it weren't so far!

Hi!

(Norah's favorite word!)

Norah DID get her two front teeth for Christmas!!!

What a big girl!

Cuddle time with Auntie Becca!

This girl loves to be upside-down!

She also loves remote controls!

Big smiles for Grandma!

Watching football with Uncle Scott

Opening presents with Auntie Becca and Uncle Scott.

She got a super cool alphabet puzzle!

Norah Visited Eighth Floor Macy's, which was "A Day in the Life of an Elf".

She liked all the moving puppets!

Getting ready to go underwater at the Mall of America!

Norah talks with the turtle.

Checking out the seahorses.

Norah touches the stars of the sea!

Merry Christmas Norah!

Norah opens a Chirstmas present with Uncle Scott and Auntie Becca.  The wrapping paper is half the fun.  I love her clap at the end.  She's such a little ham!

Gwenny and Norah

Norah has been waiting to meet Gwenny for quite some time and it finally happened, isn't that always the best part about the holidays! We travel so far and pack so many memories into such a small window of time and sometimes don't even get to realize how precious they are until they have past.  We got to see almost the whole McGergor clan for a brief, but precious moment. It was so fun to watch Norah and Gwenny together, they danced and played as if they'd always known eachother. 

Greg, Dawn, Andy, Gwenny, Martha, Heather, Will, Me, Norah, Becca and Scott.

Fox Family Fun

It didn't take much time of haning out with the Fox Family to realize why the trip is so very worth while.  We love our home in Eugene, but there isn't anything that can compare to the closeness of family.  It takes a special bond to be able to survive the winter on old fashioneds and cribbage, and nobody does it better than the Fox family.  There's no family I'd rather be stuck in a hotel with over the holidays, they keep the fun times rollin!

It takes a village!

Grandma Fox with her boy, her girl... and me!

Norah says Ahh-h-h-h-h

Look who knows where her tongue is!!

Nana nana boo boo!

Meg, Mary, Gina and Shawn getting caffeinated before the cold drive home!

Emily, Stephen, David, Frank, Ellen, and Jane (who snuck away) enjoying their last holiday moments together (next Christmas there will be one more Foldes... Congrats Emily and Stephen!).

The Boys Club:  Conner, Jack and Sam

The Boys Club... cuts loose!

Girls can wrestle too!

Aurelia tries her sleeper hold on Norah.

The Meyer Clan: Lori (and little Murry who will also be joining us next Christmas!), Sue, Greg, Steve, Aurelia, Me, Norah and Ben.

Call me Crazy, but I miss this stuff!

Snow Baby

We went outside to play in the snow and get a breath of fresh frozen air.  Emily and Stephen brought their dogs all the way from Cleaveland, and Norah was excited to keep some canine company, as Bishop was left in Oregon.  Norah was pulling her gloves off, so we zipped her up in a snow suit that made her look like a baby astronaut.  To everyone's amazement she was able to walk in the thing, it looked just like a baby moon landing!  It was rediculously cute, and while it wasn't her favorite, she certainly wasn't getting cold.

Nana Sue, its COLD!

Norah with her Fox Family: Conner, Jack and Lily.

The Meyer ladies all bundled up!

Frigid Family Fun!

Let it Snow!!!

One small step for Norah, one GIANT step for baby-kind!

Eskimo Babe.

Norah got her two front teeth for Christmas!

Holidays at the Holiday

On Christmas Day we traveled deeper into Wisconsin, going from Marshfield to Fon du Lac where the Meyer and Fox families have their roots.  The Fox family celebrates Christmas every year in style at the Holiday Inn, where we take over a corner of the hotel and spend the days grazing on homemade treats and trying to beat Grandma Fox at a game of cribbage (the trick is to be on her team!) 

The pool is a popular place to blow off some steam and burn some Christmas calories.  Norah especially loved playing motor boat with her Auntie Lori and doing lots of water acrobatics with Dad (though they made her admiring fans a bit uneasy;)  Doesn't she look like a little Olympian, breaking records for cuteness already!?

The Best Way To Spread Christmas Cheer is Singing Loud For All To Hear

The kids put on a great concert of classic carolsc with the Lories playing the piano and Gimpa on the harmonica.

There was more singing after the kids went to bed, lead by Nathan and his "Thriller" rendition the family broke out in a round of "We all live in a Yellow Submarine".

Norah plays with Mike and Lori

Three little monkeys jumpin on the bed....

don't worry, nobody bumped their head!

Claping with Nana Sue, Gina and Mary

Gettin' cozy at the tail end of Christmas Day:

Nathan, Grandma Fox, Mike and his Lori.

Merry in Marshfield

This year we journeyed East to celebrate the Holidays with those who we miss most back in the great midwestern winter wonderland.  We were greeted with snow and ice storms, weather advisories and lots of family who warmed us right up with cozy hugs and mugs of coffee and egg nog.  After a day of planes and automobiles we made it to Minneapolis without dealy (whew!!), had a brief visit with Grandma and Auntie Becca and then we were on our way to Wisconsin the following day! 

Gimpa, Nana Sue, Uncle Ben, Auntie Lori and cousin Aurelia were eagerly awaiting our arrival in Marshfield; they were very excited to see Norah and all of her new tricks!  Aurelia got a preview of life as a big sister.  She was very good at helping Norah change outfits and diapers, play with toys and she even shared her ice cream with Norah!  I'd say Murry has a top notch big sister to look forward to!

Gimpa monkey's around with Norah in the rocking chair Nanna Sue wove.

Norah shows how much more she can fill out the rocking chair compared to six months ago.

Aurelia reads to Norah, who is not so sure this rocking chair is big enough for the both of them!s

Norah is happy to help Aurelia with her ice cream cone!

And Aurelia is happy to share.

Ice cream for dinner means.... pie for desert right!?

Norah, Gimpa and Nana Sue kept the party alive with lots of song and dance!

After a big day Norah was a captive audience for some new reading material and a great storyteller.