Christmas Tree

Sunday we went to a local Christmas tree farm and got our tree. It was such a fun experience; they just gave us a saw and we wondered all over the field until we found the "Skalet Family Christmas Tree." Henry slept the whole time and Norah wondered all around looking for that perfect 6 foot tree. Once we found it, Joel cut it down and carried it to the main isle, and stood proudly next to his pine while we waited for a guy to come load it on the trailer. Joel and a guy who worked at the farm tied the tree to the top of the car while Norah and I enjoyed some hot apple cider in the little holiday shop. Sounds fair to me.....

I of COURSE forgot my camera at home so we just got a couple pics from Joel's phone of the whole experience. Sorry there aren't more pictures of the kids, I guess Joel and I felt like the kids on Sunday! We were both first-timers and so excited to go find our tree... I think we are going to make it a tradition




Norah's watching Joel take the tree off the car! She was so excited when the tree was finally in the house.




We had such a great weekend and WOW, what a great time of year! We'll get more pics of the tree once we finish decorating it. Last year Norah was a little too young to get excited about snow and lights and Christmas music but, this year she points and squeals and hollers out whenever she sees anything Christmas related. She loves dancing to Christmas music (which we listen to pretty much all day, everyday). Her joyful heart is truly a blessing to us.

Henry's Smiling & Norah's Talking!

I forgot to mention in my last posts but, there's some breaking news from our house! Henry has started smiling when we talk to him! We're positive it is NOT gas.:) He has a couple smiles that he sports. One is a big wide open mouth, double chin, eyes almost completely closed smile then, he's got an oh so sweet little smirk which melts my heart every single time.

Norah's been impressing us with all the words she's recently learned and is currently learning to say; cheese, shoes, juice, belly, hair, ear, baby, ball, book, Henry, Jesus, nose, paci, music, done and outside. She also found her belly button... and she loves pulling her shirt up to show it off!
Here are a few pictures from Saturday morning. You can even see Henry's cute smirk in a couple of them.


Please excuse my appearance in these pictures and also the dirty diaper in the background! We were just getting ready for the day.




Have a great Tuesday!

Christmas Card?

After we tried taking a couple pictures of the kids and this turned out to be on of the best, we thought we better warn everyone that our Christmas card may be *interesting* this year. We hope you get a chuckle out of it!

LOVE.

We love these kids more than we could've ever imagined. Seeing them together has Joel and myself smiling ear to ear.




I don't know if Henry's retaliating from all the times Norah's tried to sit on him but, after they were done "snuggling" I found about 5 strands of Norah's hair in his hand!

Random

Here are a couple more pictures from this past week.

Norah climbed in all by herself! We figured if we kept the tray down she wouldn't be able to get in but, she climbed in from the side.
Henry's now 5 weeks old!


The laughter of Norah when Joel pushes her in this stroller is most contagious!

Henry has been awesome lately! Last night he slept from 10-4 then from 4:30-8. Praise the LORD for two easy-going kiddos! I have no idea how we'd manage otherwise...

Sneaking Chips

I've got a thing or two to teach this little gal about sneaking food before dinner... I guess I'd start with 1. make sure mom isn't standing 5 feet away from you taking pictures of your bad behavior and, of course 2. don't smash the evidence(baked sour cream and cheddar chips) into the couch when you're finished! and I guess I should've known to put the chips away after I was done sneaking food before dinner! Your welcome Joel, for teaching our daughter the important stuff. :)





If Norah knew I was standing in front of her, she sure did a great job of not making eye-contact! There's an excitement in Norah everytime she gets to try something new... lately she's been eye-balling soda but, we're going to keep that away from her for a while yet.

One Month Old!

We have now been loving on our little guy for a whole month! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Henry continues to be a good baby; easy-going, good eater and sleeper. He's started making some really cute cooing noises, and of course he still grunts(LOUDLY) whenever he's eating, waking up, moving around.... lots of grunting in our house!

Henry loves to watch Norah and he's become pretty good at "bracing for impact" when she walks past him; she's maybe tried laying on top of him too many times! Sometimes I even see him close his eyes when she gets close to him... almost as if he's pretending he's asleep so she'll leave him alone... it never works. She loves her brother and is still so curious about him.

Norah's been going to bed around 7 so, from then until Joel and I go to bed, Henry hangs out in the livingroom with us. That's our time to give him more attention than we can give when Norah's up. We cuddle him, do tummy time, play with toys, sometimes give him a bath and of course we still examine him to see if he's changed at all from the night before! :)He's a very strong little boy with great head/neck control.... Joel thinks that's a perk of weighing the same as a 3-month old at birth!! Here are a couple pictures from this past week.


Norah's snuggling with Henry. I wonder what he thinks of that paci in his face?!

Right now he's got a little bit of baby acne and his hair is falling out on top. Hopefully his face clears up soon. He is still as cute as a button and the sweetest little boy in the world. I rejoice being his Mommy.

Side Effect??

Since Norah was put on Amoxicillan last week, she hasn't been quite herself. Well, we see snipits of our little comedian Norah but, we can tell that she's still not feeling quite right. I did some research and found out that a couple mild side effects of Amoxicillan are headache, tummy ache and trouble sleeping. I think she's struggling with a headache and sleeping. I've seen her hold her forehead and randomly start crying. Also, taking naps have been a struggle. Her ears may be bugging her still. Friday, almost immediately after I made a big deal of her being back to her normal self, she started feeling ill. If you get a chance, please say a quick prayer for Norah, it's agony for Joel and I to see her sick. Below is a snipit I was talking about earlier.
In the picture Norah is wearing one of Henry's hats. Doesn't she look like a little elf? I'm just doing my part and spreading some early Christmas cheer!

Norah's also started picking her nose and hitting Henry but, I didn't see that as a side effect of Amoxicillan....shoot. :)

In Henry news: He will be one. month. old. on Wednesday. Where has this past month gone? I have no clue.

Happy Friday!!

This little girl is ready for a weekend of cuddling, helping her Mommy make soup and reading books with Daddy and Henry! Norah has been battling a cold for over a week now and yesterday I took her to the doctor to find out that she has a double ear infection. They put her on some amoxicillan; first perscription of her life. Today she is feeling much better and acting like her energetic little self. She's back to delighting in making us laugh. Also, she has become very(VERY) affectionate with Henry which melts my heart to see. But, still no chance that I'd leave him in a room alone with her... I've witnessed her trying to sit on top of him too many times! She likes to hold his hand and give him footrubs while he is nursing!! Awww the relaxing life of a newborn...

16 months old as of Wednesday!

Best Buds

Norah loves laying next to Henry when he's on the floor. She usually has just a moment to spare from playing or reading then she's on the move again. I catch her smelling him from time to time or rubbing his tummy. We remind her to be "gentle" and she knows what we mean.







Henry's thinking: go ahead and intervene at any time Mom!!

Pepsi Anyone?

We stayed in for Halloween this year but, Joel still attempted to get Norah to wear the Pepsi box costume he made for her. As you can see she was not overjoyed to wear a cardboard box!!

Pumpkin Carving

We decided that our family of four needed a pumpkin on our porch this Halloween. A nice simple "S" is what we would carve. Joel did a great job carving!




Norah even sampled some pumpkin!

My precious little guy. Henry took a back seat this year but, I'm sure he'll have some great carving ideas next year!

Our little librarian decided reading is more fun than carving pumpkins....

I guess I forgot to upload a picture of our finished product so, stay tuned for that.:) We hope everyone had a sweet and safe Halloween!