Butterfly in the Sky, I can fly twice as high!

We've been singing the Reading Rainbow song around here for weeks now.  My mom has a great blog where she shares her magnificent gardening experiences with the rest of the world.  She has always loved Monarch Butterfly's but has never been lucky enough to spot any in her gardens.  While we have been staying with my parents, Ben has also become intrigued with Monarch Butterfly's and decided to do a little research and locate a caterpillar for my mom.  Eventually he found several for her and we have been watching them all hatch into butterfly's for the last month.  Check out This Grandmother's Garden for the whole story, complete with an amazing video of one of the butterfly's leaving the cacoon.

As a sidenote-one of the caterpillars got lose one day, not sure if it was on the counter or the floor or what, but next thing I know Norah is toddling over to me with something black in her little pinchers.  Poor caterpillar didn't even see it coming!  Sadly it did not live but it was somewhat funny as Norah had no idea what it even was, she just was excited to have discovered it. And then a few weeks later my mom thought Norah would be ok holding one of the butterfly's.  Within seconds Norah clamped down on the butterfly and we scrambled to pry it out of her hands.  Happy to report the butterfly survived.  She know's all about butterfly's now and squeals with delight when she spots one outside.

Britax

oh how we love Britax.  My sister in law Linda let us borrow her infant chaperone when Norah was born.  It was so convenient and Norah slept in it often.  It was very unusual for Norah to cry in the car or out of the car when she was in this amazing carseat.  Actually I guess I don't have anything to compare it to, since Norah was our first baby. But I am hoping to get another infant chaperone for the next babe when that day comes, should it ever.  In the meantime, couldn't pass up this giveaway for a free carseat...Check it out here.

Labor Day Hiking

Does this girl look like her Daddy or what? :)

Mom and Dad

It was a perfect day for a hike, so we took advantage of the Holiday and headed outdoors.  We went with my parents and Emilee up Albion Basin and hiked up to Cecret Lake.  It was pretty neat, many others thought so too.  I had never been hiking with so many others in my life.  Luckily we started pretty early so it wasn't as crowded until we were on our way out. 

 This was Norah's first adventure in a back pack.  We borrowed the pack from Ben's bro's fam, it was perfect for the job and Norah loved it!  We took her hiking a few times in a tummy pack when she was younger, but she was never really alert or awake for those adventures, so this was pretty exciting to her.  She did fall asleep on the way down the mountain though, which was good because we were really pushing it with her nap time.  All in all it was a great day!

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

These were just too delicious not to share.  Head on over to Our Sweet Lemons for the recipe.  I found this recipe last week and I'd been dying to make it ever since.  Finally the stars aligned last night and I had all the ingredients and even better, a sleeping baby.  They did take a bit of work, but they were worth it, so yummy.  I am trying to limit myself to just two today...we'll see if I can make it!

Don't Quit

It feels like I've had my share of tough times in the past few years, but I've also experienced blessing after blessing.  After my Grandmother passed away last month my mom and I were at the house cleaning out some of the drawers.  I found this poem on a card in a drawer that belonged to my Grandpa.  I wondered how many times he had read it himself, and what kinds of struggles he had been going through at the time.  I'm sure it was probably much more than I will ever have to experience, nor would I want to.  That's the thing about trials, they say that if we were to put all of our problems and trials into one big pile, most of us would be content to just take our own and be on our way.  I am sure when I look back on my life, I wouldn't want things changed any other way.  This poem helps me to feel hopeful when I just can't see the big picture.

Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.  


Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.


Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.


Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

-Author unknown

Baby Doll

We've added another member to our family!  Every little girl needs her own baby doll, and I thought a year old was the perfect age to bring one home for Norah.  She was in love the moment she laid eyes on "Baby Doll".  It was amazing to see the natural instincts come out when she held it for the first time.  She tucked it right under her arms and smothered the head with kisses.  She also likes to chew on the baby's hand while she is carrying her around, or drag her through the house by one arm, and sometimes she throws the baby to the floor and yells in delight...ok so we are working on the mothering.  Ben and I laugh when she brings the baby over to us to hold.  He teases her that he's not ready to be a Grandpa and that she can't just drop the baby off with Grandma and Grandpa anytime she'd like.  (Have I mentioned lately that I love my husband?  Constantly making me laugh, especially when he is with Norah; he was made to be a daddy :)

I tried to get her to turn the baby so I could get a pic of the face but she had a death grip on it.

This was as close to the face as she'd let me get.

Where Norah goes, baby goes.

Norah is so into books lately that she can't even pause to look at the camera, and there's Baby Doll right beside her.

Summer Fun

Norah and her Cousin Madeline

Breanne(Madeline) and Norah and I

Grandpa and Norah

I don't usually like the summer much, I'd prefer it was Fall or Spring all year long, but this is shaping up to be a pretty fun summer.  Yes we are still unemployed and "homeless", but we are enjoying spending so much time with family.  My brother Cason and his family came into town for a few weeks and we had a great time.  These pictures are from our trip up to the canyon on the 24th of July.

My sister Kelly and her baby McCord were also in town for a few days this summer.  We went to a petting Zoo; Norah is a big fan of animals.  My sister and two of my sisters in law all had babies last year within a few months of each other.  I have loved watching Norah get to know her cousins.

So despite some difficult circumstances, we are also counting the many blessings and know that Heavenly Father is mindful of our needs.  Guess he thought we just needed a summer vacation :)

Norah's Birthday! aka "The 4th of July"

In the morning, when Norah awoke, I had filled the living room with tons of balloons, she was a little confused by it all, but so excited!  She played with the balloons constantly for several weeks after her birthday.  She insisted on picking up two at a time, and by the tail end of them, it was funny to watch.

Between my mom and I we must have taken over 100 pictures of Norah on her Special Day.  There were just too many first's that I didn't want to miss.  So crazy how fast time really does fly by!  I have little one year old on my hands, and we couldn't be more grateful for her.

 After opening some books from Grandma, Norah walked around and handed the book to each person in the room until everyone had read her the book.  She likes books!

New Shoes!

Birthday Party Dress, she doesn't look too thrilled ;)

Ben and I bought this play tent/tunnel for Norah several months ago and I was dying to give it to her. It took her a few minutes to get use to the idea of going inside, but once she got in she went through it over and over again; she loves it!

I had planned on making her a big chocolate cupcake for her Birthday, but we had some mini cupcakes leftover from her Birthday Party with Ben's family the night before, so I thought I'd save myself some trouble.  She probably didn't need that much sugar anyway.  She was DELIGHTED to experience her first cupcake.  Gonna have to hide my treats from her now, she knows what she's missing out on :

 We ended Norah's 1st Birthday with a bang!  Ben and I plan on teaching Norah that the Fireworks on the 4th of July are just for her Birthday!  She had fallen asleep on the way to the show but I woke her up so she could get in a few ohhh's and ahhhs, and then she zonked out again on the ride home.  All in all in was a pretty magical day.  Happy Birthday Norah!

The Big Move

Time finally came for us to pack up our belongings and get outta town.  I had been anxious to pack up all month but didn't want to have boxes all over our tiny apartment, plus we were using a lot of things still.  A few days before the big day I started packing boxes as often as Norah would allow.  She knew something was going on and became super clingy and whiny.  We did the best we could though all while still working as apartment managers and Ben as a student.  He took his last final on Thursday morning and we loaded up the truck that evening.  Luckily Ben had two guys from the ward come help out, such a blessing!  We finally put Norah to bed and got to work cleaning the apartment around 9:00 p.m.  Once we had everything clean and loaded up it was 12:00.  We got our air mattresses out and set the alarm for 4:00 am.  We didn't get much sleep at all(Ben's air mattress deflated!) and it was painful trying to get up and going when the alarm rang.  We knew we had to go though in hopes that Norah would continue to sleep for us a majority of the morning.

Norah was a great traveler.  We only had to stop a few times for food, diaper changes, gas, and just to stretch our legs.  Norah took several long naps throughout the drive which was another blessing because Ben was driving our moving truck and Norah and I were in the car.  I'll spare you the details of our long and tedious trip.

Every time we tried to pack a box Norah would come and drop a few toys inside as well, such a good helper.

Norah was so excited to discover that, once we packed up the bed frame, she could climb up on top of the mattress.

Fast forward to three weeks later.  Norah is finally adjusting to the family and we are getting into the swing of things around here.  Ben spends his days job hunting and I am a full time mommy as Norah is definitely discovering all the new hideouts and fun things to get into around my parents house.  We are hopeful that we will have a job very soon but we are enjoying spending so much time with family.  We are ever so thankful for their love and support as well.  At times it is tough to feel so lost (and unemployed) at this point in our lives but as they say "It's darkest just before the dawn".  Praying that dawn is just around the corner.

Playing in Grandma's beautiful backyard.

She's not so sure about the grass yet, but she's learning.

1st experience with a trampoline, she LOVED it.

Getting cozy with Grandma

Norah and her cousin McCord