Oh thank goodness-

We're finally functioning at a semi-normal level! After four long days of sickness all around, a day of recovery, and another sick night, Nora finally seems to be feeling significantly better. She and Shane had a pretty awful weekend extending through Monday. Yesterday Nora seemed much better and I brought her into town while I had class. Unfortunately, I think I may have overwhelmed her a bit, because last night she threw up again. By six am this morning she was up and starving, so I think she's feeling better.
This past Saturday, while Shane and Nora were sick at home, I took Tara and Wylie on a little trip to celebrate Tara's birthday. First we drove to Brunswick to check out the new gluten-free bakery we had heard about.

There were plenty of packaged products and frozen goods, but the really exciting part was the bakery case. If you're gluten-free, you know you rarely, if ever, can go into a bakery in Maine and choose from a variety of fresh baked goods. Tara and I sampled three things, including a raspberry coconut muffin, a bagel, and a chocolate-peanut butter treat.

After checking out the bakery, we went to a thrift store we had noticed on the way through town It's called Estilo, and is fantastic! This dress hanging outside was what caught our eye, and things just got better inside.

Tara actually purchased one of these dresses among other things, and I found pants, shirts and a coat for only $34! I love a good deal!

After leaving the store, we realized we were running a bit late, so we headed right to lunch in Newcastle, at the Publick House. It was affordable, delicious, and fun to go out together without two other kids running around and throwing things.

It was also nice just to spend time with little Wylie. He doesn't get a ton of one on one time when he has his brother and cousin always hanging around! Of course, when he gets a little older, I don't think Tara will mind of just the two of us go out sometime!

Back at home Nora was content to lay around and watch Snoopy (aka A Charlie Brown Christmas), which is an obvious sign to me that she's sick. That girl never just lays around.

She's up and around again and even though I'm sure she'll take an extra nap today, I'm just happy she's interested in playing again!

Update

Well, she's still sick. I thought yesterday that she was getting better, but last night was more of the same. When she got up this morning we went into the Emergency Room, thinking they would want to hook her up to an IV in case of dehydration, but they were so busy that they said it would be a long wait, and maybe I should also call her pediatrician. (Duh! I was thinking since it's Sunday that wouldn't work, but there is an answering service.)
I called her doctor and she said that since she has finally nursed and not thrown up since then (about four hours ago) I should give her some Tylenol and bring her home for a few hours. If things don't improve, we're headed back to the ER this afternoon. (Fingers crossed we don't!)
In other fun news, Shane came home last night and almost immediately went into the bathroom, where he spent the rest of the night and most of today. Poor guy hates throwing up, so the last twelve hours have been his own personal nightmare.
Well, that's our weekend! I did get to sneak away yesterday for a fun birthday trip with Tara, and I'll be sure to post all about our day later.
When no one is throwing up.

Fun times! (And not so fun times)

Yesterday before Nora and I left for class we had a bit of fun playing around the living room. Nora has a new water bottle but when it's full of a cold drink her little hands freeze, so I pull one of her socks over it. Works like a charm!

I had started some whole milk yogurt the day before and yesterday morning it was ready for sampling. Nora wasn't a huge fan until we drizzled some honey and vanilla into it.

Later, after breakfast, a dance party ensued. There wasn't actually any music playing, but Nora has a new song that she likes to sing and dance to. It goes something like this:

Rock-a-baby! Rock-a-baby!

Unfortunately, last night and this morning were not as fun. Nora woke up around 4 am complaining her 'belly hurt!' Within a few minutes she was throwing up, and since then has thrown up nine or ten times. She's gone through five outfits today; I've gone through three. I'm hoping tonight goes a little smoother and the poor thing recovers soon.

She's in great spirits when not about to throw up, but just can't seem to keep anything down. Throughout the day she's tried water, juice, oranges, and crackers, and all have come up.
Again and again.

Sometimes (usually) she doesn't make it anywhere near the bowl; then we get the opportunity to take a nice photo.

I'm definitely underpaid.

I was a bit surprised when I opened up this blog and realized that I hadn't posted for a week. It seems as if I've been away for a lot longer than that. Things have been steady around here. We have a weekly schedule now that involves two days a week in Bangor for my class and three days a week at the YMCA, where Nora gets to spend an hour with the babysitters while I get to work out. It was a bit of a rocky start for her, and while I'm sure we'll still have bad days, for now she is doing great. This morning she didn't even notice when I left, just headed right over to her favorite toys and started playing. Both babysitters mentioned that they felt like she had taken a 180 degree turn and was a different child. I'm not sure about that but it sure beats the screaming she was doing last week and the week before!

This past weekend we got to visit with Tara and her boys when they came up to Nanny and Grampy's house for a visit. It seems like little by little Kalen and Nora are able to play with each other a bit more. Of course, there's still yelling/biting/grabbing going on between the two of them, but at least in between their fights they're able to hold 'real' conversations and occasionally even play. I'll take any steps forward, even if they're baby steps!

Ah, and here's Wylie. He was my subject this weekend. I came home with numerous pictures of this little guy. I just can't help it; when the light is right and I have a model like this, I can't resist.

And because he's my nephew, and I really can't resist, I have to post this one.

On Sunday, before going to a Super Bowl party with friends, I went to a bridal shower for Kate, a friend from book club. She's getting married in a few weeks (!) and I will be photographing her wedding. I thought the shower might be a good place to test out my new camera and get a few shots for Kate to include in her wedding album.

There are many more, but I'll save those for Kate. I have a lot more to post, including a dance party Nora held here in the living room this morning and a special treat we made last night, but I'll save those for later. For now, a little shot to keep all the grandparents satisfied. Enjoy!

A visit to the archives

Alternatively titled: I'm sorry, I have no new pictures for you.

You read right, folks. Believe it or not I don't have a single new picture to post here, unless you're interested in a dozen or so shots of the stop light down the street. I've been taking a photography class and part of my homework was to play with aperture and shutter speed, which did not involve Nora.
(Not because she isn't a willing subject, but because sometimes I like to try a little harder in my work, push myself a little farther. Like down the street. To the stoplight.)
So, because it's snowing hard outside at the moment and I'm feeling all warm and cozy here in our tiny apartment, today you'll be treated to a little walk down memory lane. Or, in this case, a stroll through the archives of my photo library. Shall we begin?
To start, a candid from our wedding.It was a totally dry affair. Not a drop of that repulsive wine or beer to be seen. And look how prim and proper I was as a result!

This next shot is from a trip I took to Seattle with my Mom and two sisters for a good friend's wedding. We brought along Kalen because, well, he was only two months old.
In all likelihood I was probably pretending to nurse him inside my sick little mind. Little did I know of the torturous nursing experience I would endure in the next year.

Speaking of the coming year- this picture was taken a few weeks before Nora made her arrival. Can you tell which one is me? (Hint: I had recently swallowed a beach ball.)
I'm not sure what to say about the next picture.
Take from it what you will.
While Shane was away letting the good times roll and attaching clothes pins to his face, I was laboring away to deliver this bundle of goodness.I'm just kidding, you know.
Shane was there the whole time, never once fainting.
I was very impressed. That last photo represents the bane of my existence. If any of you have listened to Shane describe, in all it's glory, his 'chair' then you know what I'm talking about.
For everyone else, I'll just say that Shane and I are a bit divided on whether this chair will ever make it inside our future house.
We love Hermione.
With that said, I can't really explain how this photo came to be in my photo archive. I'm definitely blaming Shane.
Well, you've reached the end of this exciting photo tour, and to thank you for reading this entire post, I've decided to let my guilt-ridden self off the hook and snap a picture of Nora. I had just let her eat two (gluten-free) cookies. Once I had taken the picture, I let her have a look at it. She immediately said, 'Nora. Cookie. Face.' Then ran off to grab the washcloth.
That side of her comes from her Nanny, I just know it.

A quick post

I just wanted to stop in here for a minute and post some adorable pictures of baby Jonas, who stopped by our apartment with his mom, Emily, yesterday.

I managed to snap these in between Nora's attempts to bite the poor baby.

Sure, she's cute, but those little chompers are razor sharp!

Did I ever tell you...

About the great little dinner party we had last week with our friends Jay and Kristin? While house sitting for Shane's aunt and uncle, we used their awesome raclette set-up. Raclette is kind of an alternative version of fondue. A tabletop grill is set up for vegetables and meat, and underneath is a broiler with individual 'shovels' for each guest. You place a piece of the special cheese in the shovel and broil it until it's melted to your liking, then pour it over your finished meat and vegetables that you've grilled and moved to your plate. Viola! A delicious meal!

I went a little overboard with the vegetables, and we ended up having two full platters of summer squash, peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower and red potatoes. We also had shrimp and marinated chicken. What can I say; I really love veggies.

Nora wasn't as big a fan of everything as we were. She ended up eating a yogurt instead.

We always have a great time visiting with these two, but I'm pretty sure
it's Nora they come to see. She turns up the charm for them.

The morning after the party Nora decided Elmo needed a little nurse.
She's so thoughtful.A few days later we were back at our apartment.
Nora had Camella over for a little visit and I had some fun with my camera.

Yesterday we went into town for the class I'm taking and got to visit with Nanny. Nora had some work to do on Nanny's "puter", as Nora would say.
Of course, she needed her glasses to see.

My, she really does look distinguished, doesn't she?

Finally, a nice parting shot I took on the way out of town. This is why I like to always have my camera with me. That way, when I see a nice sunset, I can try to find a place to pull over, scramble around in the back seat trying to find my camera bag, find my camera, find my zoom lens, switch lenses, jump out of the car without getting hit by another car and look like an idiot standing on the side of the road staring at the sun as cars drive by. Ah, good times.