Friends New and Old

One of the benefits of our now, slower-paced lifestyle is more time to see friends new and old.

At dinner with one of Mommy's high school friends and her two kids. 

Playing in the sprinkler with Kiira

Dinner at Kimi and Kody's house 

Nora loves animals and Captain and The Doctor (the dogs) were no exception. 

Reading Rainbow

If you've ever been to our house, you know that we have more than our share of books. I have a degree in English so it's no surprising that my collection of books is extensive and Dug has his share of classic sci-fi to add to the heap. As a result of our love of books, Nora has quite the collection of books herself that can be found in every room of the house and in my car. She "asks" to have books read to her a zillion times a day by putting a book in your lap (sometimes with more force than necessary) and then signing "please". She also likes to sit and flip through her books; I can't resist snapping pictures of her when she's sitting in a grown up chair with a pile of books! 

In the rocking chair in her room

In the office, with Blue keeping her company

Do not disturb, Mommy! I'm reading. 

May the May Be With you

Hello, all!  The month of May has been absolutely jam packed since I am wrapping up my time at UT and launching into the world of part-time, freelance/contract work from home.  Dug and I have been struggling with our mismatched schedules for the last year and this is the solution we came up with. Never a dull moment in the Schulz household :)

Anywho, here are some pictures from the month of may and please expect more frequent (maybe even weekly!) blog posts from this pair of significantly-less-over-booked parents. 

Star Wars shirts for May the 4th! Also, Nora requesting that we sing "Head and Shoulders" for the 10,000 time that day

Reading a book! Nora is really into books right now.

She has discovered corn on the cob and likes it almost as much as she likes books. 

Books are great in the car, too. 

Working on eating with a fork

But hands are still the utensil of choice

Wearing a hat to keep the sun out of her face

Playing on the splash pad that Grammie brought 

She was so frustrated that this slide wouldn't stay in place for her to climb up it.

Daddy helping her sit on the slide.

Blowing bubbles with Grammie 

Eating cheerios in the waiting room at the ENT. Note that she has no shoes because Mommy and Daddy forgot to put them back on after nap time.  Ooops. 

For Mother's Day I post pictures from before Easter

So I, Dug, have become terrible at blogging recently. I have tons of photos on my phone and other devices. Maybe a quarter of those get shared online for y'all to ogle. I hope to fix that today. Below are pictures from Nora's fist egg hunt (which took place at her day care) and some ones too cute not to post. 

In the meanwhile the little one has been steadily increasing her mobility. Her speed has increased, not so much as to a run just yet, but definitely walking fast. She's had her first skinned knee, already. And we've developed a technique to get out the back door. We have to kneel down, twist on one knee, and and inch the other leg out until we've hit ground, then we're outside!

She also really likes saying "Hi!" and waving. She loves it when you wave back.

Also, she has developed a "fake" laugh. She does it when something is funny or exciting to her, but it's purposeful and I think trying to imitate my laugh. This causes me to laugh. Which, in turn, causes more "fake" laughs mixed with real laughs from her. We then enter an endless cycle of laughter.

Delicious plastic eggs are delicious

Even posing with daddy she wouldn't stop chewing on them

Are there more eggs to chew on in here?

Yay!

Once outside, she went straight for this little car thing. Then she defended it from the other toddlers. 

mmmmmm....

This is from Easter day. She systematically opened the egg, poured out the confetti, and went on to the next one. Serious business. 

Slides are fun!

Daddy I want peas and broccoli. I already got the peas, but I can't find the broccoli. 

Oscar, the Cat

Nora is a big fan of all non-human living creatures including our cat, Oscar. Oscar is taking all of the attention in stride; he just moves when he's had enough attention or goes outside if he would like some time to himself. Here is a series of pictures in which Nora successfully captures Oscar for a series of tale pulls, petting that is more like hitting, and a hug.

Catching Up

We haven't updated the blog in a month because we've been busy watching Nora chase the cat, going for walks, gardening, making new friends, swinging, climbing on things, visiting the Thinkery, and just generally enjoying much of the few weeks of beautiful weather as possible. 

Nora is walking!!!!!! So far this has been my very favorite phase developmentally; its just so much fun! 

Dug and I have vowed to update more regularly so please feel free to harass us. 

Here is a video of Nora walking: http://youtu.be/zHv8-toWakA

Here are a whole bunch of pictures. 

Robot pajamas, mermaid eyepatch

She loves to play with these two suction cups

Swinging at the park

She loves to swing so we go to the local park often

Crying because Daddy won't let her play in the dishwasher

Eating with no shirt on helps to reduce the amount of stain removal work Mommy does

Drinking from Mommy's cup

Bath time is still a popular activity

She also enjoys drawing on the chalk board door. And eating chalk.

Playing in the grocery store section of the Thinkery. Taking things out of bins and then putting them back in is a favorite past time. 

Blue smile break. Isn't he handsome? 

Enjoying the spring weather

Getting so big! 

So excited about this Nora-sized chair that Mommy found