She's 4!

We moved across the country in early August, and in a few weeks Nora's much anticipated birthday finally arrived.  We'd been in Birmingham just long enough to have made friends with a few very sweet families with children the all about the same sizes as ours and we had a fun little party in our tiny back yard.  Thankfully Nora easily agreed to decorating cupcakes as the main activity of the party, so I didn't have to expend too much energy putting everything together! 

We blew bubbles, decorated cupcakes, played with balloons, and were so very thankful for new friends so quickly. 

I lover her satisfied expression, compete with the blue sprinkle on her nose!

Nora immediately suffered a pretty sever sugar coma immediately following her (several!?!) cupcake creations, but we did manage to convince her to play a bit more and open her presents!

Joel filled his usual roles of Master of Ceremonies and Facilitator of Children's Games.   As I mentioned we went simple for this party - several rounds of Keep the Balloons Off the Ground seemed to please the crowd rather well!

Nora is not quite as dramatic as her big sister.  This can be clearly seen in the vast difference in how they responded to their birthday presents:  Nora LOVED this set of wooden pets to go in the dollhouse - can't you tell?

... and chocolate is her FAVORITE!!!

We finally got a happy smile out her after we remembered what she really wanted for her birthday - what she asks for each year - her favorite blanket and pooh bear.  Joel remembered just in time and grabbed it from her bed, stuffed it in a used gift bag, and ran back out side for a grand finale that finally brought a big smile!

Our dear, sweet, content little girl.  We love you Nora Juliet!

Baby collage

Beatrice has been quite the distraction as I've been trying to pack and get ready for our move (a week and a half to go, aagh!).  She is a great sleeper (Praise God!), but when she's awake she is just too beautiful to put down! I love all the rounded baby lines and the random, swimmy feeling of her newborn movement.  I keep trying to capture them on film (as if someway I could actually capture the feel of the newness of her skin and kicks and curious eyes - I know she will mature so fast, and the photographs will never do it justice no matter how good the lighting is).  After some inspiration from baby collages on Pinterest I remembered that I didn't have to fit her whole body in the frame - I could focus part by part and to get the roundness of her belly or where her hair smooths around her ear.  

She's waking up

Beatrice has been waking up more and more.  She is still a very mellow baby, and we are loving her calm inquisitiveness as she learns to focus on our faces (Mama, baby Bea is looking at me!  I think she likes me!). 

Sister lovin'

4th of July

My mom often made this flag cake with us as we were growing up, and Nora and Elsa were very happy to help frost and assemble the top.

Elsa had been talking about the big fireworks display all day and we were thinking about trying to go, but we were thrilled to get a last minute invitation to join a friends a few blocks away for a neighborhood culd-e-sac version.  With all the kids and friends around, easy front row seats, and no traffic jam on the way home, it was hard to beat!

Nora found the noise from the little firecrackers to be a bit too much, so our friend lent her his safety ear protection:

Gideon and Beatrice

The cats have been demoted yet again, but I think they've finally resigned themselves to their place in the family.  They hissed at baby Elsa, steered clear of baby Nora, sniffed at baby Oliver, and barely blinked when baby Beatrice came home.  

He knows what I like

I like orange-y peach roses.  I love them when he gives them to me fresh and new in the hospital the when our babies are first born, 

 and I love them a week and a half later at home when their orange dries into a vibrant surprising contrast.  I couldn't bring myself to toss them before I tried to captured their colors and lines in the morning kitchen window light.