Sisters

While I was finishing getting ready for church this weekend Vic took this little video of our girls. Caylee just loves to make girlie noises when she's talking to her baby sister. Poor Haedyn is so patient :)

Oh Christmas Tree part 2

Oh Christmas Tree

This is Caylee's newest funny thing...she just bursts into dance wherever she is! She stomps her feet quickly and shakes her arms and just has a blast.

This particular dance was in the Christmas tree lot as we were loading the tree onto our car...she just had to "boogie"

FANCY!

playing dress-up has become a new favorite game...

Sweet angel baby

some cute shots of Haedyn being peaceful and sweet.

Reading books, endlessly

Have I ever mentioned that Caylee loves to "read"?? ...over and over and over and over. In this shot she is reading to her new dolly that her baby sister got for her. "see red stars, boo fla-fla (blue flowers), yellwow heart" :)

We LOVE Gramma!!

Cute girls!!

The Norris girls

Here's a picture of what life is like lately...nursing Haedyn and trying to keep Caylee entertained. Thank goodness for Gramma Connie's help - what am I gonna do when she leaves?! I think Haedyn was about 1 1/2 wks in this picture.

Haedyn Claire Norris is HERE!!

Born Wed 22 Oct 08

7 lbs 12 oz 19 inches long

We are all feeling great - and feeling VERY blessed!

haircut

i have been wanting a haircut for a few months now...you can see how long it was at the MOPS shower two weeks ago. So, here's a closer shot...its the shortest i've had it since i was a kid...and I LOVE how easy it is!! sorry 'bout the red-eye but at least i'm getting the pictures online already!

okay - that's lots of postings for one night...i'll try to keep up more the next few weeks.

xoxoxo to all!!

9 1/2 months preggo

as of my appt on the 15th i've dialated to 3 cm and 50% effaced (sp?P)...having a few contractions every now and then, but nothing consistent and nothing too strong.

i keep asking the little one to hold on a few more days..so far she's being obedient :)

here's the pictures of my 38 wk belly - woah!!

Day out with Daddy

My sweet friend Jessica gave me a "girls day out" for my birthday - complete with a pedicure and leisurely lunch. So, that meant Caylee had the day to hang with dada. Here are some pics and videos of their time at the park...so fun!!

Love those MOPS friends!

We had a regularly scheduled MOPS steering team meeting on Tues 7 Oct. Well, wouldn't you know Caylee woke up on Monday with a raging fever and was not a happy camper. I took her into the Dr. that afternoon and they did a test for strep throat (its been going around here lately) but told me they didn't think it would come back positive. poor thing had a fever of 103 most of the day...so at dinnertime i decided that i would only stop in for the mtg and not leave Caylee with the other kids to get them all sick. I think that is the meanest thing a mommy can do to her friends - bring her sick kid to play with their healthy kids :)
So...the whole ST is walking down the hall to preview our new table arrangement in another room and i'm the last one in line because i'm pushing the stroller with quarrantined Caylee...and I step into the room and hear "SURPRISE!" it was a baby shower!!!! I was soooo shocked and taken aback. Those girls really know how to throw a party - everything was brown and pink including the cupcakes - and we had lunch and visited while i opened some REALLY great presents!! Did I say I was surprised? I was so blessed!! What a great God that He would provide such a wonderful overflow of love and support for this new baby...so cool!
Here are some pictures - again, it was just the coolest thing! Thanks friends!!

updates...

whew, its been a while since i've posted. its because i've been "slowing down" and gearing up at the same time...this season of the last few weeks of pregnancy is so full of emotions and preparations! so, i'm gonna do seperate posts for all the things going on...its been a busy few weeks.

second attempt at video

Having fun with dada!

9 months!

well, i had my 36 wk appt today - everything is looking good. baby girl is head down, size is good...so now its just a matter of time. Technically, after next Saturday she is considered "full term" so the dr.s won't stop labor if it happens...but we are praying and hoping that the little one will hold out until at least 30 Oct when Gramma Connie arrives. my appts are weekly now, so i'll keep updating as info comes.

tomorrow is Vic's 30th birthday - crazy!

Playing in the yard

Well, as I mentioned the weather here in sunny florida has FINALLY changed a bit for fall...its been a long summer for this pregnant lady!! it still gets into the 80's during the hottest part of the day but the mornings and evenings are much more mild now and I'm LOVING it! Did I mention that I'm happy about this??

Friday it was so nice out we decided to have dinner on the deck and enjoy it. Caylee and Vic couldn't resist running around in the grass a bit..and I was able to finally get video of Caylee that has decent audio of her laughing.

ARGH - having trouble uploading the video...will try in another posting.

8 months preggo

this is the only picture i was able to get of my 8 month profile...there are just bigger fish to fry than taking pictures of my belly this time around :) this was two weeks ago.

one week from tomorrow I'll hit 9 months (holy cow!) and will try to get a few pictures then.

Fingerpainting

On Thursday we went to a friends house and sat on their back patio - PRAISE GOD THE WEATHER IS CHANGING!!!! - and Caylee got to fingerpaint for the first time. She was kind of indifferent to it...mostly wanted to do something else but participated to be polite :) I think she'll enjoy coloring with pens or markers or crayons more...but i'm not ready to tackle that mess just yet. Here's a cute shot one of the other moms took of us painting.

Enjoy!

Videos of Caylee in the water

Fun at the beach

More pictures from today's BBQ at the beach...Caylee had soooo much fun!

"Master Vic"

Well...its been a long time coming (our entire marriage!) but its finally over. Today we celebrated Vic earning his Master's Degree in Telecommunications Management from UMUC.

Caylee and I are very proud of him and all the hard work that went into finishing this program. We had a big BBQ on the beach with some of Vic's co-workers who also have finished in the last few months. It was lots of fun - a great way to celebrate a great accomplishment!

Here's a picture of the proud graduates. From left to right its Keith, Vic, Tom, Mike, Eric and Scott.

Happy Constitution Day!

Today is Constitution Day...visit heritage.org (my former employer!) to request a FREE copy of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Its worth a re-read in this super political climate.

sleepy girl

Caylee feel asleep in the shopping cart this morning...it was only 11 and she normally goes down for a nap around 1 or so...i guess she just needed a little extra sleep today :)

Cute girl!

this one is for gramma

ok - here's a funny little video of Caylee asking to sit in daddy's lap..."UP?"
enjoy!

CAYLEE LOVES TO EAT

snapped this picture of Caylee tonight at dinner...lasagna face! this is really a great representation of her personality...she is so funny and just loves to ham-it-up!

MOPS project

As most of you know, I'm loving being involved in our local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. Great friends and great encouragement...

So, the theme for this "year" is Adventures in Mothering and I decided to make a "circus tent" for the entryway into our meeting room...here's how it turned out. I'm pretty proud of it.

We had our first meeting today and it was GREAT! But I'm exhausted now :)

Anyhow, just thought i would share my creation :)

Virginia Trip

Well, we made it! Spent the long holiday weekend with the VA friends and family. Good times for all - we took Caylee and Jon Paul (Vic's nephew) to Busch Gardens Williamsburg on Friday. They have this Salute to Heroes program for military folks so we all got in for FREE! We had lunch in the German FestHaus...just a little taste of our time overseas. Vic and Jon went on a few rides while Caylee and I shopped...it was REALLY hot but tons of fun. Unfortunately, our camera battery was dead, so we don't have any pictures - ugh! One part that we all really enjoyed was the Budweiser Clydesdale horses, the wolf valley and the Bald Eagle reserve...we also went to a show "pet shenannigans" and saw some funny stuff. There is also a bird sanctuary that you can walk thru where the birds fly freely around you...yeah, that was a job for DADDY since mommy is freaked out by birds. Caylee seemed to like it but I was wierded out the whole time...is that a word... wierded?? Anyhow. Then we went back to our hotel where Caylee and mama took a nap and Vic and Jon went to see a movie - a rare treat for Vic! On Saturday we met up for breakfast with Vic Sr. and the family...had a nice time just visiting and playing with the kids at their house for awhile. Vic got to watch the USC-UVA game where USC totally blew them away! good times.
Sunday we went to the nice mall in Norfolk with Vic's sister Missy, newphew Jon Paul and brother in law Rod. Was nice for Missy to get out of the house and see Caylee running around and being funny. Then, as we were leaving the mall I heard a voice behind me "Cheri Lund" - ha ha, my maiden name - I turned to see our good friends Alison and Jody!!! Holy cow what a cool surprise, they just happened to be in town when we were!! We were so excited! We visited for about 45 minutes before we had to get going...so so SO great to see them in such a surprise way! Spent the rest of Sunday evening with Vic's old roommate Matt and his wife Sharon. Got to meet their new baby Caleb, sweet 7 months old, and some of their friends. I was great to visit with them and see their home!
Then, as Hurricane Gustav pounded Louisianna, we flew back to FL to find our home safe and sound. Whew!!! Only "damage" was our bbq cover had blown off - no biggie!
All in all, it was a long overdue trip that we really enjoyed. Thanks to everyone we saw for making the time to hang with us - we love ya!
Oh, the picture is of Jon Paul, Vic Sr., me, Vic and Caylee at Vic Sr.'s house.

Preggo - 7 months

Well, here's the belly shot for 7 months...I'm feeling much bigger than I did with Caylee at this point. I think the Florida heat is playing into that...we've determined that I MUST take a nap when Caylee does, otherwise I am useless after 6 pm. I used to think of it as a luxury to nap, now I see it as a necessity! Baby is growing great and I'm gaining weight just like I should.

Weekend Fun - Saturday

On Saturday we went over to our good friends' Chris and Jessica house to help Chris with the trimwork on his wood floor...well, Vic helped and Caylee and I just played with their dog, True.

Caylee just LOVES animals and has NO FEAR...it so funny how she just squeals with delight anytime we get near a doggie. She also really enjoyed climbing their stairs (our house doesn't have stairs) "up" and "down" are getting really clear to her now...