T-ball and Twirling

Saturday was Nolan's first day of T-ball.  To say it was hilarious was an understatement.  Our son definitely takes after his parents.  At first he was scared and needed us close-by.  He didn't want to run the bases like the other kids and wanted Mommy or Daddy to do it with him.  However, that was preferable to the rest of the practice.  Once he gained a little bit of confidence, he took it upon himself to reinvent the game of T-ball.  While the coach gave directions, he spun in circles.  While the kids were practicing throwing, Nolan collected as many balls as he could and hid them under the orange cones.  While he was supposed to be catching balls, he ran around the gym.

And as the final disagreeable act, our son sat defiantly with his back to his teammates while they all put their hands in for the team cheer.  His marches to the beat of his own drum, that's for sure....

Little Movers!

This week Nolan began his first class at the YMCA called Little Movers.  He calls it an obstacle course and he was SO EXCITED.  

He really enjoyed running like a maniac, jumping on the trampoline, and being rolled around in the barrel.  It was really fun to see him have such a great time!

Look at that tongue stick out as he concentrates! ;)

Olivia's 6 months old!

Olivia turned 6 months old on February 7, so we headed over to Katie's house for her to work her photography magic.  Livi was just in her glory - smiling and giggling and flirting with the camera and Katie got some gorgeous shots.  I love how the pictures show her beautiful blue eyes and her adorable personality.  We even got one with her sucking her thumb - which is so HER.  She is sitting on her own now and has two adorable bottom teeth that show whenever she smiles.  Nolan even joined her for some really precious sibling shots.  They just melt my heart.


Look at the beautiful blue eyes on my babies!  I never imagined with how widespread brown eyes are in my family, that I would ever have two blue eyed children!

 Nolan is such a loving and proud big brother.  Every morning, as soon as he hears her wake up, he races in her room to snuggle with her and wish her good morning. He gives her kisses constantly and loves to make her laugh - particularly by making silly noises with his mouth.

I scoured Pinterest a bit to look for some pose ideas and thought we could recreate this teddy bear pose.  Some of these bears were made by Eric's Aunt Jackie for him when he was a little boy.  And the beads Livi is wearing belong to her Grandma Marcia.

This shot took about 5 seconds.  She posed like a model.  I love her cute little dimpled butt! :)

She is a girl of many expressions and I can't get over all her little rolls and the tuft of hair on the top of her head.

And here she is sucking her thumb...

And her toes...

And reading her "Olivia" book...

I mean, I know I biased, but I don't think they come any cuter! :)

I'm so lucky to have such beautiful, happy, and healthy kids!  And I love all these gorgeous pictures of them to remember each of their stages and watch their personalities grow in the coming years.  But with all these amazing photos, I may have to start wallpapering my house with them - I don't know where I'm going to put them all! 

Cabin Day!

Today we spent the afternoon out at the cabin with our friends, the Lindners.  Nolan was absolutely elated to get to spend time at his favorite place with some of his favorite friends!  (We were excited, too!) We went sledding and played in the snow for a while (throwing snowballs was the big hit...). It was unseasonably warm - 41 degrees - so it was really sloppy and wet but fun to get some fresh air.


These two buddies are too cute!  I'm so glad Nolan has a good pal in Isaac, and I love how the older kids play with them and look out for them.

After everyone was good and wet, it was time to head inside to warm up and have some snacks.  The kids watched a movie and played ping pong while the adults visited and it was such a nice, relaxing time.  Katie showed me the latest pictures she just finished editing of Olivia and they are gorgeous (see the next post...!)  and we finished up the evening with a yummy dinner.  

Eric and I have lived a lot of places in the past several years - and have been blessed with many wonderful friends along the way.  But, with every move, we struggle with leaving our old friends and with making new ones.  It can be so hard to meet people and build new friendships. We've been so unbelievably thankful and excited to have become friends with Katie and Andy and their family.  We look forward to many more fun times together and are so glad we got to have a special day with them at the cabin.

Scarf-ghan

When my parents came to visit last weekend, my Mom brought this scarf that my Uncle Todd made for me before I was born. This is one of my very favorite family treasures because of the story that goes with it. Uncle Todd was 12 at the time and had recently learned to crochet under the direction of my Great Grandma Lucy. He intended to make an afghan for the new baby boy in the family (my mom thought I was going to be a boy...much the same as I was certain Nolan was going to be a girl.) Anyway, the day came for me to be born and Grandma Edie told Todd it was time to go to the hospital to meet me, but the afghan wasn't finished. So he quickly tied on the tassels and the afghan became a scarf. I love that the stitches are uneven and the tassels are tattered and that it has a curve to it because of uneven tension, because I know it was made with love.  It's a good reminder of the purpose of giving - that the actual material gift is so much less important than the thought and love that goes into it.  

Nolan J. Ory, Author

Nolan's story as told to Mommy:

(Age 3)

Once upon a time there was a little duck having some tea.  And then he cried and got frozen in gold.  And he met some polar bears and ran away and screamed. And then he was happy again to see the polar bears so they could play catch.  THE END

Fussy Eater!

I gave Livi her first solids about six weeks ago and she still absolutely HATES everything I give her!  I have tried avocado, cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, and prunes and so far she is just not interested.  She makes such a horrified face - usually closes one eye, scrunches her nose, and sometimes even gags.  It's so surprising to me as she has looked interested in what I've been eating for months.  Here she is after an attempt of eating prunes...I'm nearly certain that NONE of it actually made it into her belly...!

Parade

Nolan has still been the king of early risers.  It is not uncommon for him to be up before 5.  And we have tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep better.  His busy-boy brain just will not turn off long enough to get a good night's sleep.  This morning he woke Eric up at 4:45 to show him his "parade"...

Bring on the coffee...it's gonna be a long day.

My sweet babies

Don't I just have the sweetest babies?

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit!

On Valentine's weekend my parents came up to visit.  They got here late morning on Saturday - Nolan was on the lookout for hours from the front window.  We had a quick lunch together and Eric and I headed off to the Honda Dealer to get our new van - ("Happy Van-entines Day!), a 2016 Honda Odyssey SE complete with DVD player, automatic doors, and even a vacuum cleaner.  I still don't like change, so I was a ball of nervous energy until it was time to go, but I think we're going to love our new van.  After signing all the paperwork, we came home and the girls headed off to do some shopping.  We went to the brand new Hobby Lobby and wow, was I in heaven!  Aisle upon aisle of every possible craft project and cool home furnishings and lots of neat fabric...I think a nursery re-do is in order...more on that later!

The plan was to have a special meal that night to celebrate my dad's big promotion at work to Vice President of the company.  Eric cooked us bacon-wrapped filet, scallops and shrimp in a white wine butter sauce, crab cakes, macaroni and cheese, and roasted asparagus.  We also had cheesecake for dessert.  We are all so proud of Dad and his hard work and accomplishments.  The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed - church in the morning with my first rehearsal as the new choir director at Trinity, Culver's lunch with both sets of grandparents after church, and some play with the kiddos once we got home.  

Could this little peanut get any cuter - seriously?!?

Nolan and Grandma danced around the kitchen with Grandma sporting her cool helmet...

And Grandma and Grandpa brought some nice Valentine's presents - some books and treats, Ernie the Elephant for Nolan, and this adorable teddy bear for Livi.

We're grateful for a fun and relaxing weekend and look forward to more time together soon!

1000 Books!

We spend most of our Thursday mornings at our local library participating in their weekly Storytime.  Nolan and Livi both enjoy going and we are grateful for the many programs they offer.  Last May, Nolan started the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program and he just finished his thousandth book last week!  (It took about 8 months - which averages 125 books per month, or about 31 books a week, or a little over 4 a day!) It's been fun logging the many books he has read and watching his vocabulary and love of reading blossom.  He is so proud! (Mommy is, too!)

This week was Valentine's week and he got to frost some heart cookies with his buddy, Isaac.  

And by some miracle, I happened to snap a picture of the both of them sitting still after completing their alphabet train puzzle!

Cheers to my favorite little bookworm!  Here's to a lifetime of loving to read and loving to learn!

Children's Museum and Soda Pops

This weekend was Eric's long anticipated Beer and Board Games weekend at the cabin.  Zak, Ricky, Andrew, Lance, and Ray all made the trek to the cabin for the nerdy fun.  I was lucky enough to have Brigid come to help me with the kiddos, and Abby and Ada were in Rhinelander too, staying with Ray's family.  We made a plan to take the kids to the Northwoods Children Museum in Eagle River on Saturday morning.

Nolan was so excited to meet and play with Ada, Ray and Abby's 2 year old daughter.  The two had a great time checking out all the cool exhibits!

Olivia was such a good sport, and quietly and happily took it all in.

Both of the kids had a lot of fun playing in the grocery store.  They both spent a lot of time filling their carts with all the different fruits and veggies and bringing them to Auntie Brigid to check them out.

They also spent some time playing in the tree house.

After the museum, we headed to Soda Pops for lunch.  Nolan and Ada got to sit at their own little table (for a little while, anyway) and we all enjoyed burgers, chicken, cheese fries, cheese curds and malts.  The highlight of the visit was when the waitress brought a balloon for each kiddo to take home!  

It was so fun to have the opportunity to see our friends.  Sometimes it's hard, knowing so many of our friends live so far away.  We see them so little and it can be so hard to stay connected. But when we get together, it's like no time has passed and we have such a good time. We are lucky to have such good friends in our lives and we are grateful for every opportunity we get to spend together.