norah: relatives, outings, and milestones

now it's hard to imagine our life without norah. what did we do before she came?! over the past few weeks, both sets of her grandparents came to visit. it was great to have the extra help!

grammy & pop came when she was two weeks old. she also got to meet her uncle andy:nana & grandpa came when she was four weeks old.
and no, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. there are two babies there; mrs. cathy is holding daniel, our friends' newborn. they came to bring us dinner that week. the husband, adam, plays on the church softball team with christopher. his wife sarah beth & i are enjoying taking the babies to games. this was norah's first outing (other than pediatrician visits)!
norah's second outing was her very first sunday at church, which happened to be easter sunday. she wore a sweet little dress from one of christopher's parents' friends.last weekend, norah got to meet her great-grandparents on my side, grandmother & daddy buck. this was so special and warmed my heart to see! i had been praying they would live to meet their great-grandchildren. God is so good!
norah has already reached some notable milestones. of course, as her parents we are amazed at anything she does! every sneeze, every yawn, every coo seems like a miracle. she started smiling at four weeks old. here she's doing it in her sleep; we thought she must be having sweet dreams!
at four weeks, she also started reaching for things: my hair (she has quite the grip!), christopher's fingers, hanging toys on her activity mat. we have also started doing "tummy time" so she has the opportunity to strengthen her upper body & neck muscles. she is working hard at lifting that heavy little head! one of the most significant milestones (to a sleep deprived mama, anyway!) is that norah slept through the night last night! we hope this will become a regular thing.

we are so excited for christopher's brother kevin & his fiance andra's wedding later this month. this will be our first big outing/trip with norah, and her first time meeting extended family on christopher's side. we hope everything goes smoothly (for them and for us!).

our daughter

after a very short labor (less than 8 hours!), norah christy golden was born on wednesday, march 7, 2012 at 1:08pm, weighing 7 lbs 11 oz and measuring 19 1/4 inches. we were in love with her immediately, and our lives will never be the same!

one of her first pictures with daddy in the delivery room:
cuddling with mama:first family photo:meeting grammy & pop for the first time:meeting nana & grandpa for the first time:going home:we had several visitors while we were in the hospital, and we have been so grateful for people bringing us meals since we've been home. we have been eating very well! norah & eva (the dog) meeting each other went better than i expected. norah doesn't seem to mind her bark, and eva hasn't been as jealous or acted out like i thought she might. i'm sure as norah gets bigger, they will become good friends! hanging out with daddy & eva:looking sweet:meeting uncle kevin & aunt andra for the first time:i am (sort of) getting used to getting up 2-3 times a night with norah. it is exhausting, but so very sweet. we feel very blessed!

overdue

the title of this post refers to my (lack of) blogging, not my pregnancy status! we got smart phones for christmas, and i have just now learned how to transfer pictures from it directly onto my computer. i will try to give a brief overview of events since thanksgiving...

here is us at church at christmas:
we enjoyed celebrating our first christmas in our new house. here is our very first (live!) christmas tree:we got to visit both sides of the family over christmas, and of course both nana & papa (christopher's parents) and grammy & pop (my parents) couldn't resist getting norah a little something.

work has been a whirlwind since i got back from vacation. i recently finished my supervision hours for my counseling license, which has taken 2 1/2 years to complete. i am very thankful to be getting this done before our baby arrives!

in the month of january, my friends from sunday school- meg (left) & lori (right)- hosted a beautiful baby shower themed "cute as a button." both grammy (left) & nana (right) got to come up for it, which was special.later in january, i got to go to a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, andra. i didn't get a picture of the two of us on my camera, but here she is modeling her new apron.christopher has also been working very hard on the nursery. he got the furniture set up, and i have been enjoying finding places for all the baby things. i love resting in this most comfortable chair. it gives me a chance to daydream and pray for norah! i am almost 36 weeks, and it is so hard to believe she will be here so soon.my mom came up to greenville recently, and we enjoyed a mother-daughter shopping day together. we had lunch at one of my favorite bakeries, strossner's, and spent a considerable amount of time looking at baby things.
eva is doing well. we think she may be suspecting some upcoming changes. i took her to the vet last month b/c she was having some accidents in her crate. it was most likely behavioral. poor thing, i hate to think how she will be once norah is here and eva is really on the back burner! i think once she gets over her sibling rivalry, she will love having a little (soon-to-be big) sister to play with!