Arizona & Christmas

We traveled this year to Arizona for Christmas to see Grandma & Grandpa and Great-Grandad, Ellen & Jo. Shelly & Dan were visiting too. Right before we left, Stephan's choir class put on a Christmas concert. (He is in the center of the back row.)

The view of Black Mountain from Grandma's patio. One day Shelly said something about the desrt to Norah to which she replied "That's not the desert! That's Grandma's backyard."

Stephan's toes had not felt sand in a long time!

One afternoon Stephan and I went shopping just the two of us at a few little "cowboy stores." We stopped for Mexican food at a restaurant that had a pond in the middle of the patio with ducks everywhere!

They even came up to the tables!

Just one of the many metal sculptures at Frontier Village that I made Stephan pose with...

Norah's new smile involves scrunching up her entire face!

We forgot to tell her "You better not pout..."

This is a smile, but she sure looks up to something sneaky, doesn't she?

We went to a fun railroad park that was decorated for Christmas. Stephan & Grandma visited the railroad museum while Casey, Norah and I played on the playground.

The kids enjoyed the merry-go-round

A ride on the train past more decorations.

Back in WI on Christmas morning...watching the snow...

Just what he wanted!

Jude & Norah

with special gifts from Aunt Jessie

On Christmas night, we went to Elise's house for a lovely dinner.

Josh & Stephan with their game store loot!

In the middle of a dance party! Norah is crazy about singing & dancing. Pops plugged in his Ipod for a wild night of dancing. After every song, Norah said "Do it again!"

Norah was Rachel's little shadow for the night! Between her Aunts Rachel & Jessie, Norah thinks everyone in Boston dances & twirls all the time.

Ready for a spin...

The kids and Grammy


We hope you all had wonderful holidays!

Getting Ready For Christmas

Norah in her letter N Christmas dress getting ready for Casey's office party.

Santa paid a special visit to Norah's holiday open house.

She was very sweet about meeting him.

While we waited for her turn, she kept saying "His name is SANTA!"

The 2, 3, & 4 year olds sang four Christmas songs for the parents.

In the middle of "We wish you a Merry Christmas..."

Last week, the kids and I went to one of our favorite coffee shops for hot chocolate. We walked up and down the main street to look at the pretty Christmas lights.

St. Nick

Do you celebrate St. Nick? I never did as a young child until Gramps married Jude because Jude is from Milwaukee. I've discovered over the years that celebrating St. Nick is a regional tradition. We do celebrate it in our home, but we try to limit it to small treats or one small gift. Some of Stephan's friends get quite large gifts, but I've always tried to remain a little closer to the tradition of candy in a shoe.

A good brother helping Norah rip open the paper....what could it be?!?

At church we had an exciting visitor....St. Nick! How did he get to church so fast after delivering surprises to our house?

Although Norah looks pensive, she was VERY excited to meet St. Nick & get her chocolate coin!

Waiting to meet the saint himself....

We had our first dusting of snow this week & I am so excited about the Christmas season! As I type, Casey and Stephan are playing with Stephan's new poker set (How on Earth did St. Nick know Stephan wanted the poker set in the silver case at Target?!?) and we're watching Up in front of a roaring fire!

27+ months

Life is pretty wonderful when you are just over two. Every morning on the way to school, Norah tells Stephan and me that "It's such a beautiful day!" On the gray mornings we had last week, Stephan questioned this observation, but to a happy toddler, every day is a beautiful and fun day!

Norah's FAVORITE thing to do at home and school is play with dolls. She loves to undress & dress them, change their imaginary diapers, walk them to "the park" (aka the other room) and be a mommy. I am very excited to give her the doll furniture we bought for Christmas...I mean Santa made for Christmas.

At school, Norah learned to count backwards and continues to practice Spanish. Yesterday when we went Christmas shopping, she sang a Spanish on top of her lungs the entire time. (We got some weird looks...) She continues to learn new words that she tosses into conversation from time to time.

She recognizes her letters very well and has been doing a great job of matching picture flashcards with the right letters. She has an eye for the letter N and can spot it everywhere & knows what letters are at the start of her family member's names.

Norah always says things that bring a smile to my face. On the same shopping trip yesterday, Norah asked an older girl for her name. Even though the girl didn't reply, Norah said "I am Norah Paige & I like to dance!" Norah also loves to sing. She knows the first few lines of the Christmas songs she is learning at school & loves to "sing along" with the church choir. Although, one Sunday she flipped open the hymn book and belted out "Old MacDonald..." before we quickly covered her mouth. (Luckily no one minded...)

It is SO much fun to watch her this Christmas! Everything is so new for her. She can't wait to visit Santa and tell him she wants a backpack (she calls it a "pack pack") and a car seat for her doll. She is CRAZY for the lights and often says "It's almost baby Jesus' birthday!"