Happy Birthday, Baby!

This little girl has changed our lives for the better in so many ways.

She's taught us about ourselves and the people around us.

She makes every day special and fun just by being herself. 

The days go by too quickly and every evening we're surprised and grateful for another perfect day. (We tell her so, too!)

 She finds joy in so many simple things: the kitty on one birthday card, the puppy on another...

She is our greatest blessing.

Happy birthday, angel baby! We're SO lucky you're ours! Or we're yours...

papel picado party preview

We (Michelle and I) made these to decorate for Nohemi's party.

 We thought it would be a quick project, but nothing ever is. Imagine poking out every piece. It was a good excuse to enjoy a few days together, though.

 More than 40 flags later, we had a very festive porch.

Now let's see her party!

Treasure

You probably haven't noticed, but we switched Nohemi's earrings. I had the nurse take them out because I was too nervous to do it. You know how those starter earrings are. I replaced them with the diamonds my mom gave me when I graduated high school. I imagine she knows they're special even though I'm sure she has no idea.



taken 2 Thursdays ago

Last Thursday I was nursing her in the morning and noticed the right one was missing. Nohemi and I said a prayer; "It's really important to me, and even if we just find the front..." Very specific. Maybe too specific. I searched Nohemi's sheets, pajamas, and even used mom's "crossword style" carpet search (imagine going back and forth and back and forth a milimeter away to continue the process). No luck.

Meanwhile, Nohemi had been telling me she needed a new diaper. "Just a minute." Throw a new toy in the crib. "Where's your earring, babydoll?" Check the bathroom, towel... "Wait, what's tha... ew."

Finally, I gave in and put her on the changing pad. You will never guess-- oh, you already did.

THE EARRING WAS IN HER DIAPER.

(just hanging out there--still tidy and sparkly if you know what I mean)

It made me think. 1) Saying a prayer is absolutely the way to go if you need something, 2) if you are doing what you should be (instead of wasting your time combing through carpet), Heavenly Father will have a much easier time answering said prayer, and 3) He's totally listening.

I keep looking for the back of this thing in the carpet, her clothing, her... diapers but still haven't found it.



winner

A couple of weeks ago Nohemi met Santa,

Just a little freaked out

 rode a pony,

Right after this she ate her first Goldfish cracker, too.

 and entered a coloring contest.

Is she ashamed that she tried to eat all the crayons?

 We just got a phone call that she won!

Maybe it was beginner's luck; that was her first picture.

twins

 Dad sent these two days ago.

 I wrote the captions as an elementary school project.

happy thanksg... halloween!

these two pirates caught a little parrot. she squaked, flapped her wings, and held crackers to play the part.

we watched "shoot the turkey" (kids of all ages shooting a bee bee gun at priests very convincingly dressed as turkeys), trunk-or-treated, and enjoyed the bonfire on Saturday at the ward activity.

on Monday we were in Sharonville, OH and trick or treated in a friendly neighborhood near the hotel. i asked everyone what they thought she was: "oh, honey, i don't watch those cartoons," "a... monster?," "a dragon," and my fav, "a Christmas angel." maybe they didn't see the obvious parrot tail in the back? ;)

next year we'll start her costume in June and she'll be able to decide.

Noah finally

got a coat. I asked him last night, and he says he thinks he had one as a kid. I've never known him to have one.

Ok, it doesn't look very special here, but it looks great on Noah. He's at work.

Mom gave her input in Kentucky, and Noah gave his in Cincy. We made a call on a "red phone" that wasn't red. I haggled with the salesperson. Did you know you could do that? $100 off and free shipping.