Six Month Shoot Out

Norah has arrived at six months with a growing curiosity and determination. She is scooting all over the place, having fully mastered her comando crawl. She has expensive tast, cameras, phones and computers being the most enticing treats. Her babbles are full of creative vowel and consonant combinations and surprising articulation.... she has said 'daddy', 'hi', 'mama', 'i don't think so', and many others. Although we are not counting them as an official first word until she knows what she is saying and why.
Norah and I are home now in Minnesota to celebrate the fourth and get some long overdue pampering from Grandma Gigi, Auntie Becca, and Aunties Becky and Katie... they also dote on Norah too when they're not busy pampering me ;D Sunday we are off to Wisconsin to visit Gimpa and Nana Sue who are going to take us to meet Norah's Great-grandma Fox and her Uncle Ben, Aunt Lori and one and only cousin, Auralia. She is so excited she can hardly sleep... literally!
Stay posted for fun posts to follow!

Grandpa and his girl

Last weekend Grandpa Roy was able to stay and play Grandpa for a few days.  Norah took to him like a bee to a flower, it was so sweet.  We drove out the McKenzie Highway and did the Sahalie Kooshah Falls hike; it was beautiful.  Dad and I treated Norah to many of the lullabies from my childhood, lots of Kingston Trio and Harry Belefonte.  It was so great to have Grandpa here longer, as is first meeting with Norah when she was three weeks was only a few wonderful hours.  Norah and I will be traveling to Cincinnati in the middle of August to visit with Grandpa Roy, Grandma Debby and Auntie Becca.  Norah is very excited to meet her Grandma Debby. I can only imagine the new tricks she'll have to show off by then!

Shizzle Bishop!

Daddy's girl!

Norah wants her morning pick-me-up too!

I ordered that with cream!

Chillin with Gramps

Norah and Big Brother Bishop

Norah gets Grampa to read to her from the liberal media.  

Now that's persuasion!

Norah has a point to make.

Loves her Grandpa Roy

Sahalie Falls

Why aren't we moving?!

Hiking is tiring even for the littlest hiker!

But you just got here!

I hate good-byes!

Norah's First Family Picnic

I go to school with some stellar folks and while we were all very excited for the freedom of summer, there will be a little void in our lives without each other's company for the next four months.   So to start the summer off right we had a big ol' picnic.  Tegan did a great job organizing and the turn out was impressive.  Norah was the only one in uniform, with this gene pool we figure its never too early to introduce her to the health care system.  She looks like a natural!  

Nurse Norah

Norah's first Patient ;D

One-armed Mom

Like father like daughter

Adrian dishin' up

Brian,  baby Sophie (who was born over spring break!), Darcy, Angela and Allen (mom and dad)

One of Norah's many role models, Tanya

the rain waited until we were packing up, beautiful day!

  Brian and Darcy giving Norah nursing 001

Ed an Stephanie (I think hat's her name;) McNeil and Trisha, future babysitter extraordinaire!

Sierra and Alyssachillin with some boys...(I'll get their names at the next picnic!)

Check out the show that Ed put on!

Go Pitch a Tent!

The weekend that Norah hit five months we decided that she was big enough to handle a night in the woods... or rather, Greg and I had finally decided to test our parenting skills in the great outdoors!  We camped along the Umpqua River at Whistler's Bend in southern Oregon, which is also, conveniently, home to one of the more scenic and challenging disc golf courses in the state!  Sean and Kelsey, Scott, Ben, Levi and our little family all spent the night along the river. It was a scorching hot day followed by a crisp, clear night.   Norah loved listening to Levi strum the guitar and was completely captivated by the dancing flames of our humble fire.  We were under threat of thunder storms (bear in mind that an Oregon thunderstorm is defined by audible thunder and a few rustling leaves!), but were far south enough to just enjoy the sky scape.  To be fair the day after our camping adventure there was quite a thunderstorm, even by my Midwestern standards, complete with lightening bolts and proper claps of thunder.  I was loving it!  So while we were open to getting a little wet, the coals were still smoking and ready to make coffee in the morning.  We were also joined by the Grant's Pass crew who met us for a morning of disc golf, Dan and Robyn, Jared and their baby Stella, who is just three weeks younger than Norah (although it may not look like it!)   All were in agreement that this will have to happen again, soon and often!

Trail Times

Many of my trail pictures are self taken... it has just always been that way.  Norah and I did another lovely hike on the McKenzie River Trail the other week and these are the self-taken highlights!  She is a great hiking buddy, very alert in the beginning and then she'll doze off and nap through the second half.  The Ergo is an absolute must have!  My shoulders don't even realize how hard they're workin!  Thanks Auntie Becca!