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.

Tug-a-War

Norah gets a kick out of playing tug-a-war with Bishop... and so do we!

Visitors from the East

Dad and Debby cam for a whirlwind weekend visit and we packed in a lot of fun! Norah was happy to have some much needed time with her grandparents, and Greg and I were happy to take advantage of the novelty of free child care! We went out to the coast for a sneak peak at the house we rented for our wedding next summer. We also made a trip to the holiday market to shop the local arts and crafts. It was a great stay; it's amazing what you can cram into a weekend!

Can't put anything past Grandma Debby!

Are you gonna eat that scone Grandpa?

Taking in the view from the wedding house

The girl with her grandparents!

Catch me if you can!

Fam Dam

Grassy Girl

The house the we're getting married at, along Highway 101 just South of Yachats!

We are even more excited after seeing the inside!

Norah tries on a feather clip at the market.

Check out those two front teeth, I think I know what Norah's getting for Christmas!

Who hats!

Norah got to keep hers, so cute!  Thanks Grandma Debby!

Brushing her teeth after bathtime.

Playing Peek-a-Boo in the car!

Playing at the dinner table!

School's Out for the Winter!

We finished off yet another term this week. Only two more to go before we're done! It has been a great term, I did my clinicals on the pediatric unit and had an internship on the cardiac unit, where I will be for clinicals next term, and also the floor where I am hoping to be hired on to. Hopefully they will just be used to me after three terms there... we'll see! We had a ringing in of the holiday break at a local tavern after our final, even Norah got to come and say 'Hi!', which is her favorite word these days! I am looking forward to a nice break from class and a chance to reunite with family. Dad and Debby come for a visit in a couple days and we are headed to Minnesota and Wisconsin for the holidays!

Me and Darcy

The Whole Gang

Charlie and Norah

Alyssa, Jenna, Jes and Camia

Coastal Cuties

We have had a great run of sunny days and when the forecast for the coast was sunny we decided it was high time for a girls day out!  Norah, Kelsey and I headed for the beach!  The boys were playing in a disc golf tournament while we stole away to watch the waves and catch some rays!  We stopped at Cape Perpetua where the wave crashing into the rocky shore were nothing short of incredible, they gave Old Faithful a run for her money!  Norah loved walking around in the sand and watching the waves explode on the shore.  We headed to the Hobbit Trails for a mellow sunset.  There is something so completely rejuvenating about the ocean, it's such a treat to have it so close!