Crazy Love Gamble-Style

Have you ever been so far behind on something you feel like there is NO WAY you will ever accomplish what you need to get done?  Oh my gosh, I just ordered 3, filled to the brim, photos books and got myself COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP with the entire lives of my children thus far.  I am in shock.  Wow.  I wish I could convey the magnitude of this project, it was crazy and quite maddening, now I must vow never to get that far behind on this again!!  Yay!!!! To give you a slight idea how far behind I was, lets just say about 4 months of Norah's life had made it into a book and she is nearly three years old!!  I'm such a slacker!  Ava had about 4 books filled by the time Norah was born.  Now I put WAY more pictures in each though, so they take forever.  Here are a few of the throw-backs, so fun to look through! I feel so accomplished, but now my brain is completely fried...

 Is she serious with all this cute????

Poor little Norie is sick.   She goes from this: To this:  In about 2 seconds.  For no reason. Well, I guess there is a reason, she feels awful.   Thankfully Ava has been trying to help me entertain her.  Here they are pretending that  the yoga mat is water and the laundry basket is their boat.  I love that Ava plays so well with her. It doesn't always go great, but she tries. Thankfully Norah also has her friends to  keep her company.  Melmo, kitty & baby, as she refers to them.  I hope she is back to healthy again soon, as cute as she is in these pictures her  temperament is so very fragile and I'm  ready to have my happy girl back.

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday,  I have a TON of photos to share from that. But some?    They need their own post.   : )

Norah is STRONG WILLED.   Yes I had to put that in all caps. This is VERY serious.  She is driving me crazy.    She is seriously one of the cutest kids ever, most of the time. She makes me laugh constantly all through the day. Norah can be so happy, sweet & loving.   Love, love, love her BUT... She gets these ideas in her head, sees something out  of the corner of her eye and then SHE MUST HAVE IT!!!  RIGHT NOW!!!  No, don't try to distract her, it will just make her ANGRY!!!  So ANGRY.   She has MASTERED the art of the perfect tantrum. Why?  Why can't she just be calm & happy & RATIONAL? Please, remind me the best way to handle this.   I don't remember Ava being this crazy. Love little Norah but WOW.   HELP. Please??? Don't let her cuteness fool you!  

I love this weather.  When it's this nice, we tend to hit up the parks everyday.  I can't say Norah is easy or fun at the park right now, but I'm getting used to it.   It's definitely a full time job keeping her alive  and well as it seems everything is an accident  waiting to happen when you are toddling through  a park meant for older children and you aren't  concerned with gravity or watching where you are going.   Norah, who has never used a binky EVER stole one out of her friends stroller.  I still can't believe I got  it back, she was in love.  We are so not starting that now. Could it of been a prettier day?? 

 I super can't get over the cuteness of this dress on little tiny Noria.  So much so, rather then just showing you one or two cute photos of her wearing it, I will  provide SEVERAL.  But really?  What else is new.  I love digging out the Summer clothes.  Although that nice hot day was short lived,  it's already cold and rainy again.   But there is hope... I also want to share a little video of Ava skiing on  her own.  This is on Buttercup, so not a super steep hill but a good notch above the bunny hill.  She is so good at turning!   Please excuse how shaky the video is, I took it on  my phone, skiing behind her.  I was more concerned  with watching her then actually making a good video. I love how that guy almost takes her out.   She didn't even flinch, such a trooper.

It is not exactly easy for me to leave either  of my kids, but when an opportunity arises  to spend some real quality time with  one of them I really try to make it happen.  We wanted to take Ava skiing and I wanted to  be up there on the mountain with her, which really gets tricky with Norah so Auntie Linda volunteered to watch her overnight on Thursday with John picking her up the next day, but me  not seeing her until Saturday!   That is the longest time I have ever been apart  from her.    It was bitter sweet.   It is amazing how much simpler things seem  with just one child, no naps to juggle, stairs to block, night wakings, needs to be met... But I missed her terribly.  I just kept thinking  about her, whether she was having fun, if she was sleeping well, getting spoiled, missing me.  It was great spending that time with Ava though.  I talked ...

Our poor little baby is really sick,  it is so sad. And it's driving us crazy.   Sorry, that's the truth. I thought maybe playing the drums might help.  She had other ideas.  She was determined to squeeze her little body in to that drum! And she is in! Happy little drummer girl : )   Every time I took her out, she would get back in.  This is sure to cause problems later, but for now, she was really digging it.  When they are sick we let them get away with  things, just to make them happy.  : )  Ava really liked having Norah in there, she spun her around and around.  She did feel a little jealous that she can't fit in there. I told her not to try but of course she did and got her bottom a little stuck.   That didn't deter her for long,  she came up with another solution.  Who knew a drum could be so much fun?  ...And qui...