American Girl!!

We met Patrick's Uncle Buck & Aunt Alicia for dinner while in Dallas. The Galleria had an American Girl doll store and I was dying to take Sophia there! Alicia mentioned eating dinner there so we jumped at the chance. The store is full of dolls and every single accessory you could ever imagine! The resturaunt is built for little girls & their dolls! Sooooo cute!!!!

Nora @ American Girl!


Watching Sophia in this store was just precious! She was soooo excited to eat dinner with a doll! She named her "Cutie Honey"

Drinking the tea for the doll

Helping Cutie Honey drink her tea!

"Cheese!"

How could we not leave with a doll! Welcome Cutie Honey to the family!

Time for Texas!

We decided to get out of Ohio! We left for Texas on Tuesday, March 8th and stopped in Nashville to break the trip in half. Our plan was to leave Wednesday morning, but not as early as we left!

I took this picture right before we left the hotel! Yes, it does say 3:55AM!

Nora's first time in a pool!

The water was FREEZING!


Sophia & Nora waiting to get in the pool!

Dallas Arboretum

We spent Thursday at the Dallas Arboretum. It was such a beautiful day & all of the flowers were just gorgeous. Sophia had a blast and the rest of us had a good time too!

They cut the grass EVERY day & by hand.....YUCK!

Daddy & Sophia

She decided she needed to take a break!

Mommy & Nora

Daddy & his girls under the fountain

Sophia was so excited to have a small bench to sit on with Nora!

They are holding hands :)

Smelling the flowers

Which one to smell?? Of course they were all her favorites :)

Nora's first time in the umbrella stroller!

February Fun!

Nora is now 7 months old! We just cannot believe how quickly the time is slipping by! She sure is a cutie though, and very sweet! She weighs approx 16 lbs and is approx 28" long! What a big girl!

Nora's official 7 month photo

Patrick took this picture and I just think it is too cute! "You talkin' to me!"

"hmmm.....why isn't this working?"

Sophia decided she wanted to marry me! Since she really has no idea what happens at a wedding, she loaded me up with jewelry and we danced!

This is us after the wedding! HAHAHAHA!

Yes, this is Nora standing - she has been able to do this for awhile now!

I just think she looks so beautiful in this picture!

OMG!!! Sophia decided she needed to make some milk as well!

My pretty little girl!

Which one???

Time to test your knowledge! Who is in each photo below?!?!?!

The pictures alternate between Nora & Sophia! They look VERY similar :)

My 2 girls!

How is it that I can never upload these pictures in the right order! Ok, scroll to the bottom, yes....go on and scroll all the way down :)

These were their Christmas Eve pajamas, matching of course! Now whenever Sophia sees I am putting Nora in these pajamas, she runs to find her matching set!

I know many of you have seen this picture, but I love it! I was determined to get a picture of them in these shirts while they still fit!!! When I first found out our lives would be full of (at least) 8 homecomings, 4 proms & 2 weddings I was a little nervous, but now I couldn't imagine my life without these two little girls!!!!

Two of Nora's favorite things, splashing in the tub & Sophia!

Yes, Sophia is naked from the waist down.....this is what happens when you are toilet training w/ a newborn around!!

Nora just loves to watch Sophia! Just tonight I had them both in Nora's crib while getting things ready for their bath and Sophia had Nora cracking up laughing! Nora's first official smile was for Sophia :)

Nora & Sophia, they are going to be quite the pair I am sure!

We were actually shocked at how accepting Sophia was, not as possesive over me as we thought she would be. That came later, in subtle ways....Sophia crying when Nora is crying, Sophia asking me to hold her just because I picked up Nora, etc...

Sophia still in her "eyes closed, cheesy smile" stage & Nora in her "camera? what? Is there food somewhere" stage


Sitting on the couch (b/c I made them - it was easier then!)

The first time Sophia saw Nora! She was shy but excited, after all we had been telling her about this baby sister for a few months and now here she was! Even at the hospital Sophia started sharing all she knew with Nora :) "Look at this baby sister!" "Can I hold her?"

Far too long!

I've been wanting to start the blog up again and I feel like I finally have time! YEAH!!!! So here it is, Nora's first post! How sad, she is almost 7 months old. This is the quick trip through her first six months!

Welcome to the family Nora Ann Shepherd!

7-19-2010

6lbs 12oz

20.5"

What an amazing experience, even the second time around! Since I was aware of what was happening this time, I got to see for myself that Nora was a girl (we didn't want to jinx ourselves!) and watch her be weighed & measured! We made sure to give ourselves a little time alone before we let the family come in and it was wonderful to have those few minutes to welcome Nora.

She was so tiny! We couldn't believe how little she was!

Sophia's first time holding her baby sister! This was definitely not the last as she often asks to hold her, she is of course, Sophia's life size baby doll!

My little sleeping baby!

She really liked to sleep, lots of napping - which was great!

My little burrito! My babies loved to be swaddled. This time we started swaddling right from the beginning - what a difference it made! These swaddle me's were a life savor!!


4 months old!
By this time Nora had figured out laughing, though it took a while for her to get the hang of it. We started putting her in the bumbo seat and let her sit at the table with us during dinner. Patrick and I laughed because when Sophia was 4 months old, we still enjoyed dinner on the couch! Now eating on the couch is a treat!!


5 months old!
This month reminded me that 5 month old babies like to reach for everything! Sophia was the first to get Nora to belly laugh! It was hysterical!! By this time, Nora experienced her first Halloween & Thanksgiving!

Look at that BIG smile!!!!!

Nora's first time having cereal!

Most people talk about how the second child gets moved through milestones quicker than the first, well not in this case. We waited till she was 5 months old and even then she only had cereal a small handful of times until right around her 6 month birthday. Now she is eating peas, squash, green beans and carrots! She loves to eat babyfood!

6 months old!

She can sit up and LOVES it! She gets better & better at sitting all of the time. She can even lean for toys without falling, at least most of the time :) At her last check up she was 27.25" long (94%tile) and 15lbs (36%tile). Nora is such a sweet baby! What the perfect addition, she definitely will add balance to our little family!