Where Have You Been?!

Hello! It's been a while since I updated this space. Last year felt so crazy that I needed to take a break from regular posting, which turned into a much longer break than I expected. Recently I came back to reference an old post and remembered how much I loved having this space to record all of our family memories. All of our photos are buried in folders on my computer, it's so much better to have them neatly complied with captions to remember the special moments we've shared as a family. So here I am! Back at it. I'm excited to utilize this space again.

So without further ado, here is a massive update of everything that's happened in the past six months!

Nora became an official toddler! I held on to the baby stage as long as I could but there's no denying it anymore. She's a big sassy toddler. She likes to dance (specifically on tables), play with blocks, do puzzles, sing songs (it's incredibly cute) and probably watches too much Paw Patrol for her own good. Her hair is long enough to be put in pigtails. She can count to 10, and sometimes throws in 11, 12 and 16. She's going to be 2 in April and we can already see the terrible twos coming. She's definitely opinionated and stubborn, but maybe we should have expected that give who her parents are... Regardless, she's the sweetest little girl ever and when she gives you a hug all of your troubles melt away.

Adorable 16 month old Nora. She's so sweet.

Here she is in her makeshift reading nook. It's just a pile of extra pillows and blankets but she loved it. 

Flash forward- 17 month old Nora! Looking at these pictures is making me miss Summer so much.

We had a moment where Nora didn't want to nap so Madison thought if he snuggled her in her crib, she'd fall asleep.

It didn't work. 

This is probably one of the cutest picture I've ever taken of Nora. She was a little Native American for Halloween. We didn't go trick or treating, because Mama does not want to deal with that sugar high, and stayed in to hand out candy instead. She was super confused at first, then got really excited about it. She would run up to the door and watch us hand out the candy, and as soon as the trick or treaters left, she'd says "tricky? tricky?" and look for more down the street.

In October, we went on our first family vacation ever! Madison and I have actually never taken a trip together before this, so it was a long time in the making. We flew out to Sacramento, California to visit Madison's dad, step mother, and sister. I'm going to write a separate post about that trip soon. It was so much fun and we want to go back soon. 

Probably the biggest update of all is that we moved back to Massachusetts, got a new car, I went back to work and Madison got a job at my company! While we were on vacation we decided to make the move back, so within 2 weeks of coming home we leased a new car, rented an apartment, and got our old jobs back. I definitely appreciate the time I had at home with Nora, I really think part of the reason she is so smart and wonderful is because she got so much one on one time with me at an integral state of her development. While I love working, at times I do miss being able to play with her all day and taking our daily walk to the park. I have tons of great memories from our time in Connecticut that I will cherish forever.

Our new car! We leased a 2013 Toyota Camry. After being carless for 10 months, it was so nice to finally have a new vehicle again. Freedom!!!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in our new apartment with just the 3 of us. Usually we go and have dinner with family on Thanksgiving, but we decided to have a quiet day in this year. It was really nice. We relaxed and decorated our Christmas tree, and didn't have to get stuck in traffic on the Mass Pike. The year before this, it took us 3 hours on the Mass Pike to get to my family's house, when they only live 1 hour away. Yikes. So glad we didn't have to deal with that this year.

Wearing a super cute sweater dress her Auntie Merrill got her for Christmas last year. She's still so small.

Excited about something.

Nora was very interested in decorating the tree this year. She was my little helper and would hand me ornaments to put up.

He loves her so much. 

Decorating trees is hard work.

Nora's second Christmas was such a success! She finally understands presents, and that if you unwrap them- there are nice things inside! Christmas morning we spent at home opening gifts from Santa, watching movies and having a nice big breakfast. In the afternoon, we headed out to Western Mass to my cousin's house to celebrate with my family. 

Santa came!

 

This kitten was her favorite gift. She carried it around with her everywhere we went for a week. Now it sleeps in her crib with her every night.

Close second for favorite gift was this tiny Paw Patrol chair. 

This was Nora's Christmas outfit. We got this dress so long ago and it finally fits her, even though the tag says 6-12 months. Santa brought her the sparkly silver shoes. We finally got a bow in her hair. She looked great. We got to my cousin's house, and what is the first thing she did? Found a full cup of coffee on a side table, grabbed it, and dumped it all over herself. She spent the rest of Christmas in the pajamas we brought to take her home in. 

Feeding her new baby doll that her great grandmother got her for Christmas.

And then it started snowing. And hasn't stopped.

Her first braid! I can't believe how long her hair is now.

Part of the reason I have neglected this space was because of how busy life has been since our move. Madison and I are both working full time Monday-Friday jobs. This is the first time in our relationship that we have had nights and weekends to spend together, so we have been relishing that, as well as trying to fill our days with lots of fun activities to do as a family.

We're still in the process of filling our home with things we love, so I don't have any photos of our new apartment just yet. We are hoping this is our last year renting and are looking to buy our first home in the near future.

Nora is in day care now and she loves it. She's learning even more now and comes home almost everyday singing new songs they taught her. Probably the cutest thing was their Valentine's Day party. I have never cared for Valentine's Day, but when it came to making Valentines for all of her friends at school I was so excited. Holidays are 1000 times more fun with kids around. Here's her outfit for the party, picked out by her Daddy. He's better at dressing her than I am.

As for personal updates, I started Whole 30 last month! If you don't know about the program, you can read about it on their website, www.whole30.com. Since having Nora, and honestly for a long time before that, I stopped taking care of myself the way that I should be. This program is basically a very strict Paleo diet that you follow for 30 days. It is tough, I still have cravings for unapproved foods, but I feel so amazing that it outweighs that feeling. My first week was rough because it was the week of Valentine's Day and I was offered cupcakes and cookies on 5 different occasions. It is so hard to say no when you have as big of a sweet tooth as I do! But I did it, I resisted the sweets and lived to tell the tale. I'll post results and my feelings on the program once my 30 days are up. I'm really excited I finally found something that works and I can stick to!

If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I'm looking forward to updating here more often. One last baby picture for the road: