She’s 1! Yay!

And cry a little too…

Some quick favorites from our birthday celebration today.

January Pictures!

Out of order, but skating with the Middlebury College hockey team.  VERY fun!

Nora’s first time in a sled.

Nora sleeping in her own room!  This was just after we set it up and she started to sleep in there.  I love her having her own room.  It really helped me be more scheduled and consistent with her.  I almost always rock and nurse her in the rocking chair then put her into her crib (sometimes asleep, sometimes awake) for every nap and nighttime if we are home. Sometimes she eventually comes into our room at night, but she spends more and more time in her own room.  One of my very favorite things is seeing my two kids sleeping in their rooms next to each other, each with their little nightlight.  So cozy.

Her horrible eczema (it has since gotten much better!)

Watching the Panther’s hockey game (Middlebury College)

Nora has many admirer's

Skating with the team was a blast

Getting autographs

Cutie

A horrible horrible night.  Ive kindof blocked this out.  I guess the transition to the crib didn’t go terribly smoothly.

In a new snowsuit from Auntie Jenn.

Warm and cozy watching brother play hockey.

I love this picture

So cute

Very wintery…

Until this point she would almost always go to sleep in the swing.  The suddenly one day all she would do was sit up and play!  It changed very quickly.

Joseph reading a chapter book for his own enjoyment (meaning not assigned by school) for the first time. 

It is hard to get him to stop reading these days.

Reading to Nora

Happy, happy girl in her Jumperoo

New car the day Brad got it!  This is what I drive now.

This fascinated me when I was a kid and Joseph loves it as well.  He always goes right to it when we visit great-gram.

The two Noras.

Telling secrets.

First day of wrestling!

And Tae Kwon Do! 

Millionaire monopoly one day when Cole was over.

Looking cute!

First day home

It makes me so sentimental looking at these pictures and thinking of our first days home… so that is why I have been posting a million pictures a little at a time.  Sorry everyone!

Brad, Nora, and I arrived home Monday evening and grandpa Bernie and Joseph pulled in right behind us after a long, fun day at the Champlain Valley Fair!

So sweet.

Out of focus, but here is Nora her first morning home.

Then Joseph got to open presents!  I had a bag of goodies all set for Joseph that I meant to bring to the hospital, but I was in such a rush when we actually left that I didn’t bring them.  Anyways, Joseph got to open all his big brother gifts our first morning home instead which worked out just fine.   

Big brother shirt!  I went totally overboard on these gifts, but I was very conflicted about the whole new sibling thing…it’s scary changing your first-born’s life so drastically!  I bought him way more stuff for this event then I have for any birthday or Christmas.

Bob came over to visit and help out.  He did TONS of cleaning which was such a help!

Too much going on to care about makeup…yikes!

But she still looks GORGEOUS!!

Awwww…

In the afternoon Joseph’s friends Cole and Alyssa came over for a visit.  Then they took Joseph for a playdate.

They were so excited to hold Nora!  It was super sweet—their mom, Courtney, actually took them all to TJ Maxx where they picked out some gifts for Nora.  They then played at Cole and Alyssa’s house and Courtney cooked us an awesome meal.  Later that evening their cousin Tanner and his mom and sister took Joseph to the school ice cream social.  It means so much to me to have such awesome friends helping out!