Guess I Signed Up For This...

Deep breath. Inhale, exhale.

That's what I'm telling myself over-and-over after this living through this long insane week! And now that it's almost over, after all the mini melt-downs and sweat and headaches (and yes, a few flustered tears!), it's hard not to giggle at the thought of everything that managed to happen in only five days! I'll let the week's stats tell the story. There were:

-5 nights that the baby didn't sleep through the night (by the way, anyone out there have any suggestions on how to get the little one to sleep through? I feel like I've tried every trick in the book, multiple times! "Crying it out," gradually phasing out night time feedings, waking the baby up after a couple of hours to "top him off..." I mean, holy cow!)

-3 nights that my toddler slept in my room because his baby brother was busy "crying it out"

-4 days that I woke up at 5:30 am for the day (not my cup of tea)

-2 days that the kids' books were thrown off their shelves

-2 days that my toddler didn't take a nap

-1 day that my baby didn't get a nap

-1 day that the cashier at the shopping warehouse turned me away because I had my husband's membership card (dumb, I know...but I was at the near the breaking point by then)

-1 day that I missed my appointment with the optometrist

-1 day that my toddler spread a new bottle of baby powder and baby lotion all over the de-shelved books, carpet and furniture

-1 day that I had to completely rearrange the kids' bedroom furniture to prevent future mishaps

-1 night/day that my hubby went to Keystone for a scout overnighter (of course, it was right after the book/baby powder/lotion thing happened) :)

Wow, right?

In my early moments of shock and frustration after Taylor completely trashed his bedroom, I called my mom to commiserate. She reminded me that she too had been there before, when my brother Larz and I were little. She said that we managed to trash our room even more artistically though--complete, not only with books off the shelves, baby powder, and lotion every where (in her case, the ever more destructive Desitin cream was the culprit)--but with crayon markings adorning the walls, curtains torn down, a mattress out of place, all the toys dumped out of their bins, and to top it all off...a little Larry wedged motionless high on a closet shelf.

Well Mom, I guess I'm getting what was coming to me! Why oh why wasn't I a sweeter child?...

Special Moments 1/17/2011

Prayer time

After I concluded a family prayer one morning, Taylor got up from perfect head bowing, eye closing, arm folding action and said: "Mom, that was a GOOD prayer!" Then under his breath he added, "I'm SO proud."

Upside down

My little Russell is such a naturally happy baby--I don't know how he manages it. And somehow, being upside down makes him even happier! Take a look at a game that he invented last week:

(If it had a name, I'm sure it'd be something like, "How to Make Dad Look Even Funnier at Dinner Time")

Special Moments in the Week of 1/10/2011

The Nutcracker

I was watching Disney's "Fantasia" with Taylor and he asked me about the music he was hearing. I told him that it came from a ballet called "The Nutcracker" and then proceeded to try and explain what a ballet was.

To give him a better idea of the concept, I turned to YouTube and found a clip of a Russian dance company, dressed in belly dancing-esque attire, performing the "Arabian Dance" movement of The Nutcracker. Hoping for awe and enjoyment from my son's uncultured eyes, he instead chuckled a response that a typical little boy would give: "Ha! BELLIES!! That's silly."

I suppose I'm glad that dancing and bellies aren't his thing.

Wet Hands

Late last week Taylor cleaned his plate before Andrew and I were finished with our meals. Stuffed and bored, he decided that putting his fingers into Andrew's drink would be a fun way to pass the time. His little passtime quickly became a game as he got a rise from Andrew's protests, such as:

"Hey!" "Stop that, please!" and "No, no!" After a minute or two of this, I looked Taylor in the eye and firmly said:

"Taylor, please keep your little fingers out of Daddy's drink. He doesn't like that." To which he replied,

"Only big ones?"

Boys' Club

While I was doing laundry this week, Taylor thought it would be fun to play in the nearby linen closet. He brought several of his favorite toys that could fit in the tiny space and closed the accordion door behind him. I chuckled to myself and let him do "his thing." Every few seconds of closet play time, he would slide the door open, poke his little head out, look in my direction and say: "Mom?"

"Yes?" I'd look in response.

"Only big boys."

He'd then disappear behind the closed door as quickly as he had appeared. His privacy was ensured!

"Baby Tonight"

While in Utah for Christmas, my mom was rifling through the family iTunes library and stumbled upon the one of the latest Usher hits, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love." Taylor asked her what the song was and she replied something like, "I don't know; what is this song, Taylor?" To which he informed her that the song was called "Baby Tonight" (words he heard in the song's chorus).

I guess Nanny + recognized song lyrics is a pretty magical combination for a toddler, because after that, Taylor caught "Baby Tonight" fever! Now, no matter where we are (at home, in the car, shopping...), that's all he ever wants to hear. Needless to say, the music video is now part of our iTunes repertoire.

Think of our singing, jumping, dancing-in-circles Taylor as you view the video yourself:

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

There's something magical about Christmas.

It's a time when my idea of Heaven becomes reality: It's where I'm surrounded by family (whom I love so much, I feel my heart practically bursting out of my chest as I write this); watching my children laugh and play; with my wonderful husband with me, not having to think about work pressures looming overhead; where state borders don't divide us from our loved ones and I when I feel the Spirit of Christ is so near that you could almost cut it with a knife.

It is "the most wonderful time of the year."

It's crazy to think that this is how it began:

True!

My good friend, MariLouise and her little Jonathan drove to Utah with me for Christmas--lucky for me (not so lucky for them, after I assured them that I-80 would be a wiser travel choice than I-70)! This is much what I-80 in Wyoming looked like for most of our 13 hour drive to Provo.

Perhaps this was just one of life's firey furnaces? Or, freezing cold blizzards?! Yikes.

Once safely in Utah, the warm fuzzies came back as Andrew and I enjoyed the company of our beloved friends and extended family, most of whom we don't see so frequently anymore.

Our boys had a blast bonding with their Nanny and Papa.

So did I. My parents are such amazing examples of positive thinking, good humor, patience, and love. I learned so much during this trip to Utah about how to approach parenting and life in general through observing their examples. Sometimes I feel like I should pinch myself at the thought that I'm their daughter. I am so blessed.

We also loved spending time with my best friends: my brothers (the group isn't complete without Kyle--we're missing him in this pic). I think they make me laugh harder than anyone in the world. After spending several days with them, I'm probably cured of all potential depression for a year! We have so much fun together.

Here's Devin, talking to "Le-der" Kyle on Christmas morning. He's serving a mission for our church in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We all had a chance to talk with him a little that day; he sounded great.

It was so neat to watch the magic of Christmas come alive through the eyes of our little ones (or in this case, through the eyes of their new blue Mr. Potato Head glasses). I could have re-lived our Christmas moments with them over-and-over. They are so pure. Again, I'm pinching myself.

Of course, the very reason why we celebrate Christmas is the same reason why I risked traveling through a blizzard in the first place. Family coming together, opening gifts with the little ones, seeing old friends--we do it all because of one special little baby. Christ is the reason that Christmas, for me anyway, truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Having had such an uplifting stay in Utah last month recharged me and made me feel both eager and excited for a new start in 2011. This is a year that I hope to be one of my best yet. Cheers!

You Broke my Heart

During dinner last night, Andrew and I were struggling to get our very reluctant Taylor to eat a piece of avocado. We had given him a small lecture about it, tried playing games with the avocado, and it had come down to the dreaded choice:

"Taylor, you may choose to eat your avocado, or you may choose to go to bed."

Through soft tears of frustration he responded something that we never expected to come out of our two year-old's mouth:

"Daddy, you broke my heart!"

Where does he get this stuff? Taylor, you crack us up!

Thanksgiving in the South

I think this was a Thanksgiving for the record books. Anyone out there hosted more than 86 guests for Thanksgiving dinner? That was our number this year! My sweet mother in-law possesses the epitome of southern hospitality: I have learned that at the Norris home, every one is always welcome.

There was good food (yes, traditional southern dishes were there, like country ham, corn pudding, and pecan pie), LOTS of good company, and great memories were made. And it was beautifully done, too: complete with glass goblets and real china at every place setting. The only misfortune was that poor sick Taylor threw-up all over the kitchen floor as the large group was dishing-up their dinners. (He did this again over a half-dozen times during our stay there!) Sweet little guy.

Thanksgiving day was just the beginning. We were able to vacation in Alabama for eleven days! This gave us the fun opportunity to spend one-on-one time with each of Andrew's seven siblings and their families and witness some exciting events too. Namely:

Seeing THE RING, THE LUCKY GUY (Drew Downs--we love you!) and watching Rachel try on wedding dresses for the first time. We are so pumped that Andrew's sister is getting married!

Taylor adores him: we celebrated cousin Scott's fourth birthday and met Cindy and Cameron's newest little addition, Cayden, now three months old.

We celebrated Don and Mindi's announcement that they're expecting their second baby--due to join our family in May :), and Don being admitted to the Orthodonics Program at UAB Dental School! It was only after congratulating them on achieving this great accomplishment that we learned what an honor it is: Don was one of thousands of applicants to the ortho program, who then was awarded one of only four available spots at the school. Wow. Way to go, Orthodonny! (Totally love that!)

We were able to attend Grandmother's annual christmas party. Somehow, we managed to dress 19 little Norris grandchildren in festive attire TWICE for pictures that morning: once in live nativity clothing, and a few rushed moments later, in cute Christmas pajamas that Andrew's mom gave to all the kids. I'm telling you, this was quite the gymnastic act! I think the pictures tell the story of our exciting adventures.

Russell riding on an airplane for the first time and Taylor riding on an airplane for the first time as a paid-for-it passenger. They both handled the trip pretty well and Taylor really especially enjoyed that we got to ride in a Shamu airplane on the journey home. (For a 2 year-old, does it get much better than that?!)

I can't think of a better way to spend Thanksgiving than with family, whom we are so thankful for! Making memories with all of Andrew's family together was such a treat, as we don't get to do that very often. In our perfect world, Alabama wouldn't be so far away! We're glad that we have the wedding in June to look forward to when we can be together again. Thanks for deciding to tie the knot, Rach! :)

6 Months Old

Really? MY baby is NOT the newborn baby anymore?? How did this happen?!

Russell Macfarlane Norris

Growth Stats as of 12/7/2010:

Height: 26 3/4" (55th %ile)

Weight: 17 lb. 6 oz. (50th %ile)

Sleep Pattern: 7-9 hours at night

And he's grown so much just in the past 4-6 weeks especially: changed from resting calmly in my arms to wanting to look around for every sound he hears, from remaining relatively quiet throughout the day to frequently testing-out his vocal chords with boyish baby babble, from keeping to himself when I enter a room to insisting that I give him my full attention, from just looking when an object is interesting to trying to rip each new scene to shreds. My baby is growing at lightning speeds...and no matter how I beg him to quit, he just won't!

As Russell has given me the opportunity to be a mother to more than one, I'm really discovering for myself that no two kids are alike. Besides the obvious physical contrasts, baby Ruh-russ is so different from his brother.

Baby Russell, 6 months old (November 2010)

Baby Taylor, 6 months old (December 2008)

My baby LOVES to eat! I remember having such difficulties getting baby Taylor to nurse, eat from a spoon, drink from a sippy cup. So far, little Russell hasn't presented such stressors. It's been so fun to nurse him without any problems, bottle feed him when I need to, and introduce new tastes to his little palate, as he audibly approves with his Chewbacca-esque baby "mmm, mmm" sounds.

Russell is such a sweet, mild-natured baby. His brother enjoyed discovering new toys and body movements at this age, but Russell prefers spending quiet time with others: being cuddled and talked to, and observing people around him. This includes himself. I love it when I catch him quietly rotating his little wrists around in front of his face, as he loves checking-out his chubby baby hands.

Oh, how I love this little one! I can truly feel that a very blessed, Christlike little person has come to our family. One whom I can feel the Spirit telling me has come to this earth for a purpose. It's a humbling, overwhelming, and touching feeling. I sometimes have to pinch myself that I am his mother!