Happily Ever After

Memphis

2012-01-30T21:41:00.001-06:00

This past weekend we flew to Memphis to visit our friends. We had a great time!

We stayed with Jay and Junko. They have a beautiful house and are very gracious hosts. We had a wonderful time at their house and were able to really relax and enjoy our mini vacation.

We even managed to get the kids to bed early so that we could enjoy a nice steak dinner with adult conversation!

On Sunday, we went back to East Win Christian Church to worship with our friends. Claire had the best time!

Elie, Claire, Katie and Sophie playing after church

Lunch with our church friends at Red Robin. “Yummmm!” (Steven, Kim, Kelsie, Dan, Amy, Cale, Steve, Bryan, Katie, Emily, Sophie, Claire and Elie)

We had a great time in Memphis and are looking forward to our next visit.

We’re taking this coming weekend off from travels, but we will be in Tulsa the following weekend to celebrate Analise’s 5th birthday!

Christmas Celebrations

2011-12-29T22:04:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday, Claire made cookies for Santa. First she made peanut butter cookies and pressed Hershey’s kisses into them; and then she made some chocolate chip cookies.

Claire unwrapping Hershey’s kisses

Pressing them into peanut butter cookies hot out of the oven

Leaving her freshly-baked cookies out for Santa to enjoy

The aftermath – Santa was a bit messy, but at least he used a napkin!

Claire’s presents

Cale’s presents

After opening presents and enjoying some playtime, we loaded up the van and headed to Tulsa.

Friday morning we visited GiGi. (Here are some pictures from our visit with her. There are more pictures on Cale’s blog.)

MiMi and PopPop with their grandbabies (Analise, Kenley, Claire, Allie and Cale)

GiGi with her great-grandbabies

Thursday afternoon was spent shopping and playing. Grandma Robin sent Claire $2 which she used to ride the carousel at the mall. She also got to play on the playground with Analise. So much fun!

Friday, we went to see the Jolly Old Elf.

Cale meeting Santa

The Norton Kids and The Big Guy

Friday afternoon we had Nanny’s 90th birthday party. It was a lot of fun. Friday night, Santa came to MiMi and PopPop’s house.

Claire telling us about Santa (He brings presents and says “Ho! Ho! Ho!”)

Claire talking to Santa

Santa brought all of the girls matching jammies, and he brought Cale some Santa jammies.

On Saturday, we celebrated Christmas.

Opening presents

Our girls

Singing “Jingle Bells” with jingle bell bracelets

Listening to PopPop read the Christmas Story from the Bible

Reading “The Night Before Christmas” with PopPop

On Sunday, we went to Adam and Shannon’s house for lunch. Analise and Allie got a pony from Santa Claus, and Claire got to ride him!

Claire and Analise wearing their cowgirl boots – ready to ride!

Claire’s first pony ride

Claire on Cherokee with Aunt Shannon and Uncle Adam (also known as simply “Uncle”)

We had a great time in Tulsa. We did quite a bit of shopping, eating, partying and celebrating. Hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!

Playing “Snowman”

2011-12-12T18:31:00.001-06:00

Claire and her daddy had a pillow fight and destroyed a pillow. Claire had so much fun with the stuffing! She says she’s playing “snowman.” What a doll!!!

Family

2011-12-10T15:41:00.001-06:00

We took these pictures at the Mercer Botanic Gardens last week. Claire is 2 1/2 years old. Cale was just three days old when these pictures were taken.

We are so very blessed!!!

Thank you, PopPop, for being our photographer. And thank you, MiMi, for helping us tote our stuff and for helping to keep Claire’s attention. You guys are the best!! We love you!

Cale

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Cale has arrived!! There are pictures on his blog.

Claire

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Claire is 2 1/2 today! She is so much fun!!

Happy Half, Baby!! We love you!!!

An Afternoon at the Botanical Garden

2011-11-13T21:35:00.001-06:00

We had a great day today! We started off with an amazing church service, followed by lunch at Rudy’s (Yummy!!!), then a stroll through the Botanical Garden, naps, tacos, a trip to the park, a partial viewing of The Lion King (a gift from Claire and Cale’s Grandma and Grandpa Martin), chats with MiMi and PopPop and now a Christmas movie with brownies and ice cream.

Pics from the garden:

Claire standing on tippy toe to look at the koi

Posing for pictures

My sweet girl

MiMi and PopPop

Claire loves having MiMi and PopPop here!

Sweet girl

Me and my love

My belly is getting HUGE! I’m getting really excited to meet my baby boy!

I will be going to my weekly midwife appointment tomorrow morning. Cale is due this coming Friday, but we all know that babies come when babies are ready. Here’s hoping he’ll be here sooner rather than later.

Fabulous Fall Festival

2011-11-01T08:17:00.001-05:00

Since moving back to Houston, we have been attending Grace Church. We love it! They have amazing praise and worship and incredible and anointed preaching. It’s not too big and not too small. Claire loves it too. She asks almost daily if we are going to church. It’s the perfect church home for us! Last night was no exception. Grace hosted a Fall Festival for the children of the community. It was fabulous!

Claire had a wonderful time and woke up this morning telling me all about it. She’s been talking almost non-stop for the last hour about how much fun she had last night.

Claire dressed up as Minnie Mouse. She loved her “pickle dot Minnie princess costume” with the “headband” and “hands.”

Checking out her “hands”

Buckled up and ready to go!

Playing in a bouncy house

Playing games for candy

At all but one game, Claire got to pick out her candy. She always chose Dum Dum Pops. I’m going to have to teach her to pick out chocolate before we go again next year!

Claire saw a girl dressed up as Strawberry Shortcake, and she believed that she was meeting the REAL Strawberry. Here they are posing together for a picture. What a sweet girl! She was so patient and kind with my baby girl!

Claire also got to hug the Chick-Fil-A cow.

Claire had a great time! So did her mommy and daddy!

My Girl

2011-10-31T13:14:00.001-05:00

We went to the botanical gardens yesterday to take some pictures. Here are a few of Claire.

There are some new baby bump pictures on Cale’s blog.

Tonight we are heading to our church’s Fall Festival. Check out the blog later this week to see pictures of Claire enjoying the festivities in her costume.

“Boons!”

2011-10-23T14:54:00.001-05:00

Last night we drove down to NASA to attend the Ballunar Liftoff Festival. The weather was great – somewhere in the 70s! Totally unheard of in Houston at this time of year. We loved it! And thankfully, they let us park in the handicapped parking area since I’m nine months pregnant. We were able to park right next to the balloon field!

We had so much fun!

Balloons in flight

While waiting for the balloon glow, Claire played in a bouncy house…

and an obstacle course. (I’m amazed at how well she can climb the wall!) At the end of the video, Steve was running around to get her sliding down the slide. There were multiple slides though, so it took a few seconds to find her.

Balloon Glow

Memphis

2011-10-05T20:36:00.001-05:00

This week Steve had to go to Memphis for a meeting at work. Since this is the last week I would be able to safely fly before Cale’s arrival, Claire and I tagged along.

First stop for me and Claire – The Memphis Zoo. Claire had a blast! So did I! The weather was perfect!

Claire got to ride the carousel. She chose to ride the zebra.

Claire loves the elephants…

and the giraffes.

After a day at the zoo, we met some of our friends for BBQ at Rendezvous. It was delicious, and we had such a good time catching up with our pals.

Steve, Amy, Claire, Kati, Jason, Dan and Kelsie

The girls – Claire, Amy & Kati

Today Claire and I did a little shopping while Steve attended more meetings. Early this afternoon, we caught a flight back to Houston – our last flight without Cale in our arms. How exciting!

Claire and I are both very tired after two full days of running around Memphis. It was so nice to go back and visit. We’re looking forward to returning in the springtime to attend a baby shower for Kati and Jason who are expecting twins!!

Our Beautiful Girl

2011-09-30T19:41:00.001-05:00

We went to the park today to take some family pictures and some baby bump pictures. You can check those out on Cale’s blog.

Some of My Favorite Claire-isms

2011-09-27T08:05:00.001-05:00

Claire is a chatterbox these days. She talks almost non-stop and is very entertaining. She’ll do anything for a laugh and then will repeat it a hundred times if you laugh just to keep you laughing. What a girl!

Some of the funny words/phrases she uses:

“Pickle Dots” – translation polka dots (We have no idea where she got pickle dots, but we LOVE it!)

“Eee Yelcome” – translation you’re welcome (This must have something to do with raising her in Memphis and in Houston. She’s got a crazy Southern way about her.)

“I are a princess” – Claire loves princesses these days, and she loves to dress up. She loves necklaces and bracelets and tiaras. Every time she puts on a dress, she twirls in it and says, “I are a princess.” (We definitely agree. She is the princess in our world!)

“Shimming” – translation swimming (Claire’s favorite activity. She’s a great swimmer and improves every time we head to the pool.)

“Meal” – translation oatmeal (Recently Claire has started requesting “meal” for breakfast. Of course, it must have brown sugar and half-and-half in it! She loves it!)

“Strawberry Comes Out!” – translation “I’m bleeding” (Claire fell and skinned her knee. When she realized it was bleeding, she exclaimed “Look, Daddy! Strawberry comes out!” We’re not sure where she got this, but it’s very cute. And it stops the tears since it’s strawberry.)

Topics of Discussion:

“Monkey Eating Banana” – A few months ago, during Claire’s two-year-old check-up, her doctor needed to look into her ears. To get her to hold still, the doctor told her that she had a monkey eating a banana in her ear. Claire still tells everyone on a regular basis that she has monkeys in her ears that are eating bananas. If you question her about it, she tells you that the doctor said so.

“Horsie Naughty on the Floor” - In June, we went to the stables with Aunt Shannon to watch her ride her horse. While Shannon’s horse was in the stall to get brushed down, he went to the potty. Almost every single day since, and often several times a day, at some point Claire will announce, “Horsie naughty on the floor. Eww! (while holding her nose) Shannon cleaned it up.”

Claire is so sweet and entertaining. We’re having a blast being her parents!

“Pedal! Pedal!”

2011-09-24T09:49:00.001-05:00

For Claire’s second birthday, she received a pink tricycle. She loves it! She gets on it almost everyday and says, “Pedal, pedal.” She puts her feet on the pedals and wants to be pushed.

But today my baby pedaled herself!!! Check it out! (At the end of the video she puts her feet down and does a celebratory dance. Then she runs to her daddy for a big hug.) What a big girl!!! How fun!!!

I’m so proud of you, Claire!!!

“Let’s Go To The Movies!”

2011-09-18T21:01:00.001-05:00

Today we took Claire to the movie theater for the very first time! We went to see The Lion King. We had popcorn and root beer during the movie. Claire LOVED it!!

I sneaked a picture on my iPhone. (Well, as much as one can sneak a picture in the dark with the flash on the camera going off.)

After the movie, we did a little shopping and then came home for dinner. After dinner, we went to the park. Claire’s favorite thing at the park is the swings. Check out how high she goes. The whole time she yells, “Higher, Daddy!”

What a fun day!

A Few Pics from Tulsa and a New Train

2011-09-17T18:44:00.001-05:00

I took these while in Tulsa and failed to get them posted.

Here’s PopPop with three of his girls. (All of whom think that PopPop belongs just to them. It’s quite entertaining to watch them “fight” over him. He, of course, adores the girls and the attention they give him.) PopPop, Allie, Analise and Claire

Here’s Claire, GiGi and Mommy

Today, we got Daddy a new train to put around the Christmas tree this year. Claire couldn’t wait to get home to play with the “choo-choo.”

Claire thought Bear should go for a ride.

Daddy and Claire playing with the choo-choo train!

Bring on Christmas!

Update: Cale is due in about 8 or 9 weeks. (Babies come when babies are ready, so we can’t be more specific than that.) He’s doing well. He’s growing and kicking a lot. I’m doing well. I am much more tired with this pregnancy since I’m playing with Claire all day as well; but I have no swelling and no other complications or side effects other than some heartburn which seems to have subsided lately. All is well, and we are just looking forward to meeting our little man.

Tomorrow we are taking Claire to her first movie in the theater – The Lion King! We can’t wait!

“Livin’ On Tulsa Time”

2011-08-23T21:05:00.001-05:00

Steve has been in St. Louis for the past two weeks completing his Q400 training. He successfully passed his check ride on Saturday and is now a Q pilot!!! I am so very proud of him!!

This week Steve is completing his IOE, so Claire and I have been in Tulsa for almost three weeks. We’ve had a great time, but we are really missing Steve.

Uncle Doug (GiGi’s brother), Aunt Marilyn and Lynette came to visit. We met them and Uncle Duie (another of GiGi’s brothers) for lunch and then went by to see GiGi.

Uncle Duie, Uncle Doug, Claire, GiGi and PopPop

Aunt Marilyn and Claire putting together a puzzle. Playing with Aunt Marilyn is so much fun!!!

MiMi and I took Claire to Reasor’s. She got to drive the grocery car! She was so serious and so cute!

Claire and Analise had a pajama party at PopPop and MiMi’s house. We had McDonald’s Happy Meals and ice cream. We painted finger nails and toe nails. We had a tea party. We brushed each other’s hair and watched movies. It was a great party!

Claire brushing Analise’s hair during the movie – I LOVE my girls! They are so sweet!

On another night, we took the girls to Incredible Pizza. They had so much fun! We did too!

Claire and Analise loved driving the car. They rode this ride the most.

They also liked riding “the horsies.”

This ride was great! The girls watched the screen, and their seat moved according to what was on the screen.

Enjoying a roller coaster (Aunt Shannon was having fun too!)

We also enjoyed some mini bowling. The girls had a blast!

Steve and Aunt Shannon showing Claire and Analise how to bowl while Allie looks on.

Claire showing off her pro-bowling skills

We’ve had a great time in Tulsa! Steve is flying in tomorrow night and will overnight here. We’ll fly out with him on Thursday. (How exciting that he’ll actually be the pilot of our plane!) Can’t wait to see him!

Pregnancy update: I am now in my third trimester. Cale kicks a lot and is growing. I’ve done a lot of shopping for him while in Tulsa. (Since we live in a tropical climate, we can wear “summer” clothes year round. All of the summer clothes are on clearance right now, so I’ve been able to buy Cale a full wardrobe for his first year of life without spending too much money.) It’s been a lot of fun preparing for his arrival!

My Baby Daddy

2011-08-04T20:48:00.001-05:00

I failed to blog about Father’s Day this year, mostly because I was waiting to show you Steve’s Father’s Day present, which we didn’t buy until this past weekend.

I knew what we wanted to get Steve, but he’s so picky about some of his gadgets (as most men are) that I wanted him to go with me to pick it up. Turns out that it wasn’t that easy to just go pick up. We searched for months and finally found the right one this past weekend.

Here’s my wonderful Baby Daddy making use of his Father’s Day present:

When we moved to Memphis last year, we left our grill behind for our renters to use. (We didn’t really have a place to keep it at our apartment.) We have really missed grilling. So this year, I decided to buy Steve a small, portable grill. Steve wanted one that would last (This one is stainless steel.) and one that could be built into an outdoor kitchen once we eventually move back to our house or get a new house. We finally found the perfect grill!

Happy Father’s Day, Steven! You are an amazing husband and father. Our babies are so blessed to have you as their daddy. I love how fun and sweet you are with Claire. I love hearing her laugh when she’s playing with you. I love that you’re willing to “eat” what she “cooks” in her little kitchen and that you’re willing to love on her babies and play anything she wants to play. I love that you “nuggle” her and comfort her. I love that you’re a “hands-on” dad, helping me with every aspect of parenting - from bathing to changing diapers to playing to disciplining to feeding, etc. You are the best daddy,and I love being the mommy to your babies. I’m really excited that we’ll soon have a boy to play with too.

I hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day and that you enjoy your grill. I know that Claire, Cale and I will certainly enjoy the delicacies that you prepare on it!

I love you more than anything, Steven Lee Norton! I love sharing my life with you. I’m so glad you married me, and I love having babies with you! Happy Father’s Day!

Sum-Sum-Summer Time!

2011-07-28T19:27:00.001-05:00

This past week, we spent some time in Oregon and Washington with Steve’s family.

First stop – Aunt Lori’s house!

Aunt Lori and Uncle Clay gave Claire the book I’m A Big Sister. Here Aunt Lori is reading it to her.

Next stop: Grandma Robin and Grandpa D’Wayne’s house

We walked over to see their neighbor, Joe, and his dogs’ new puppies. They were only a week old when these pictures were taken. Claire was totally in love!

Joe playing babies with Claire

Hanging with Uncle John and Gayle

Claire found a pair of Aunt Nicole’s high heels and decided to take them for a spin.

Swimming with Grandma Robin

Splashing with Aunt Nicole

Playing catch with Uncle John

Helping Grandpa D’Wayne water his garden

Claire had so much fun with her Aunt Emily.

I took this picture during our drive from the desert to the beach. What a beautiful contrast between the desert mountain and the snow-capped mountain!

Next we headed to Gramps’ beach house.

At the beach

Riding the four-wheeler with Daddy

Loving the beach!

Aunt Dawn, Cousin Jordan, Cousin Caleb, Aunt Kasey, Claire and Cousin Toni

Playing in the sand with Aunt Kasey, Jordan and Aunt Dawn

Watching the girls ride the four-wheeler through her “glasses”

Next up: Grandpa LeRoy and Grandma Faye’s house

Taking a walk with Grandpa LeRoy

Kisses from Chocolate

Snuggling with Grandpa LeRoy

Then we headed to Grandpa and Grandma Osterholm’s house.

Playing in the yard with Grandpa O

Having fun with Grandma O (who made her some homemade peanut butter cookies!)

The last stop on our trip – Grandma Jan and Grandpa Art’s house

Claire loves her cousin, Jared

The Girls – Aunt Dawn, Alexis, me, Aunt Lori, Aunt Kasey

We had a great visit with our family! Thank you to everyone – you made my birthday special! Claire had a wonderful time and enjoyed playing with everyone. We’re really looking forward to visiting again in the spring and introducing everyone to Baby Cale. We love you!!!

Birthday Pie

2011-07-16T21:35:00.001-05:00

Since we’re going to be out of town next weekend, Steve and Claire decided to celebrate my birthday this weekend.

My family celebrates with pie. It needs no other name. Merely the mention of pie in my family makes everyone salivate. Pie is quite complicated to make. The crust alone frustrates many who attempt it. However, my darling husband, out of his love for me, has worked to perfect it. Every year on my birthday, Steve makes pie. This year Claire helped.

Getting ready to make pie

Sifting the dry ingredients for the crust

Mixing the crust

Pricking the crust

Adding the ingredients for the filling

Setting the timer

Filling the crust

Topping the pie

The chef always has the right to sample

And the best part – chocolate crust on top!

“Ta-da!”

Claire’s finished pie

It was totally de-lish!! Thank you, Steve and Claire for making me pie for my birthday! I loved it! And I love both of you with all of my heart!!! What a wonderful birthday present!

Party Weekend

2011-07-13T13:15:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we went to Tulsa to celebrate the July birthdays.

Claire and I flew in for lunch on Friday with MiMi, PopPop, Aunt Susie and Uncle Laban.

Headed to lunch at Los Cabos with PopPop and MiMi

Loving her Aunt Susie and Uncle Laban

It was so nice getting to spend time with Susie and Laban. We love you!!!

Steve flew in Friday night, and we celebrated birthdays on Saturday. We have four July birthdays:

Aunt Shannon

Aunt Frances

and MiMi

On Sunday, we had breakfast with GiGi.

It was a great weekend! We birthday girls had a great time!

Introducing…

2011-07-11T14:06:00.001-05:00

Today I had an ultrasound, and I would like to introduce the newest member of the Norton family. Click here to see our baby.

Big Girl Bed!!

2011-07-04T10:13:00.001-05:00

Today we took the front off of Claire’s crib and turned it into a daybed. She is officially in a big girl bed!!

Say “goodbye” to the crib.

Helping Daddy assemble the bed rail

Climbing in to test it out

It’s naptime. Night-night.

A Day At The Beach

2011-07-03T21:54:00.001-05:00

Today we headed to Galveston Island to play at the beach. It was a beautiful day, and we had so much fun!!

According to Claire, today we went “shymming in the dirt. It was fun!”

I Don't Get Out Much These Days

2011-06-23T07:34:00.003-05:00

I can't remember the last time I blogged for the fun of it - but I found something today that I couldn't pass up. Our dear friend Don Lapre is being charged in a Federal Court on a number of counts essentially accusing him of being a fraud. He has taken in nearly 52 million dollars in the last few years as a result of his 'Greatest Vitamin in the World Scheme,' and the Feds aren't happy.

You'll recall from a post several years ago I was also a vicitm in the 90s of one of Mr. Lapre's little scams - I was just sure I too could hit it big using his simple program of 'Tiny Classified Ads.' The sad part was once I received the box of crap I bought I relaized actual work was involved and quickly lost interest.

An even better story comes out of the great State of Florida. A couple paid cash for a home that had been forclosed on by the evil Bank of America. After finally getting settled in the Sherrifs office showed up one day to advise them they were being evicted from their home due to a forclosure.

Attempts to reason with BOA and even try to show the local nit wits at the Bank a copy of the their deed, canceled check and title insurance went no where. The couple's laywer eventually got a judge to rule in the couples favor certifying that the Bank indeed made an error and in fact owed the couple $2500 in legal fees.

Of course Bank of America scoffed at the idea that they made an error and refused to pay. Left with no choice the ever so eagar lawyer got himself a seizure of assets order and showed up to a local Bank of America branch with a moving van, a crew of guys to help and several hand carts. With great flare and drama they burst into the local branch and inform the local Manager of their intent to sieze items like phones, chairs and desks in an effort to make the couple whole.

It took one hour for a check reimbursing all expenses and a letter of appology to be presented to the couple - I love this story, I'm not a big fan of big banks but in my opinion Bank of America is the worst - finally a score for the little guy.

My wee one is stiring - I gotta go!

Jernigan Reunion

2011-06-16T21:19:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we attended the Jernigan Family Reunion at my uncle and aunt’s ranch in Stone Bluff, OK.

The Jernigans (Uncle Doug, Uncle Duie, Grandma and Aunt LaVerne) – These are four of the six Jernigan children. Aunt Vi was unable to attend this time.

Some of my favorite people:

Chris, Tim, Laura and Nathan (Uncle Duie’s grandchildren)

Lana and Gary (Aunt Vi’s daughter and son-in-law)

Mildred Jernigan McComber’s family – Steve, Amy, Matt, Linda (MiMi), Doyce (PopPop), Aunt Cheryl, Becky, Jon, Shannon, Randi, Kenley, GiGi (Mildred), Allie, Angie, David, Claire, Analise, Evan and Keaton (Adam had to work and didn’t come until later in the day. Bobby, Kari and Marq were unable to attend.)

Doye, a Major in the US Army and one of my favorite cousins, taught me how to shoot!!!

Here I am firing off a 9mm.

Then we pulled out the big guns. I shot an AR-15!! I’m totally awesome!

Claire and her daddy took a paddle boat ride on the pond.

On Sunday morning, we had church outdoors by the pond.

Claire folding her hands during the prayer

Singing

Aunt LaVerne and Grandma

My daddy praying over our family (He is the oldest grandson.)

Our reunion was a three-day event, beginning Friday afternoon and lasting until Sunday afternoon. We had a lot of events. I spent most of my time enjoying my cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, nieces, parents, grandma, husband and daughter. As a result, I didn’t take very many pictures. It was a great event, and I loved spending time with my wonderful family. I can’t wait until we get together again!

Equestrian Entertainment

2011-06-10T22:35:00.001-05:00

Steve, Claire and I went with Aunt Shannon and Allie to watch Aunt Shannon ride her horse today. Claire got to ride Bullet, and she helped to give him a bath and walked him back to his stall. Here are some pictures.

Bullet and Claire

Claire and her daddy petting horses

Claire riding with her Aunt Shannon

Claire giving Bullet a bath

Claire walking Bullet back to his stall

Claire loved the “horsies.” We had a great time today!

Swappin’ My Ride

2011-06-02T21:29:00.001-05:00

I am officially a mini van mom!!! I am SO excited!

My previous ride

My new ride

My new decals (After all, what is a mini van without a stick-figure family?!)

complete with a built-in DVD player

Leather seats with one car seat already installed

Lots of storage

It comfortably seats seven and is easy to drive and easy to park. We Nortons are really going to enjoy cruising around in our new ride!

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T08:59:00.001-05:00

We partied all weekend. Saturday night we went to Kati and Jason’s house for tacos and board games. We had a blast! Sunday night we went to the zoo. And last night we went to Stephen and Kim’s for a cookout. I failed to take pictures at Kati and Jason’s, but pictures from the zoo can be seen on Claire’s blog. Here are a few pictures from last night.

Our girl is ready to go!

Claire and Elie “shymming”

playing with sand

swinging

We had a great time with our friends this weekend! Hope you enjoyed your holiday!

Falling In Love Again

2011-05-24T08:08:00.001-05:00

I had an ultrasound on Sunday. Here’s a picture of my latest love. (This is a profile. The head is on the right. The baby is face-up.)

Our pastor’s daughter is a good friend of ours. She works at St. Jude’s as an ultrasound tech. She’s leaving on Saturday for a medical missions trip to El Salvador and has a portable ultrasound on-loan for that trip. She’ll be doing primarily OB ultrasounds while in El Salvador and wanted someone to practice on before the trip so that she could get used to the portable machine. It just so happens that we were willing “guinea pigs.” And Pastor Jeff was kind enough to let us use his office.

Claire, of course, had to be up in the middle of it all. (Me, Claire and Patti – Steve took the pictures.)

The baby is now lying face-down. You can see the spine at the top. The head is on the right.

We were unable to determine if the baby is a girl or a boy. (It’s still a little early.) The baby was very wiggly and kept crossing its legs. (For my brother, Matt – I asked for a gender prediction based on the heartbeat. Patti said she doesn’t believe any of that, so she doesn’t know what the threshold is. However, Pastor Jeff came in during the ultrasound; and he said that if the heartbeat sounded like the hoof beats of a horse, it’s a boy. If the heartbeat sounded like drops of water in a bucket, it’s a girl. He said that he heard hoof beats. Patti told him she thought it was all hogwash. The Chinese Gender Predictor says it’s a girl. We’ll just have to wait a little longer to find out.)

We’re having another ultrasound Thursday night. I’ll post more pictures this weekend.

Additionally, we were able to determine that the heart and lungs look good. The kidneys are functioning properly. The brain looks good. Every single part is formed perfectly. Our baby is healthy and growing.

All three of us (Claire included) are so in love with this baby. We’re really looking forward to finding out if we’re having a boy or a girl so that we can start preparing for his or her arrival.

Mother’s Day

2011-05-23T10:29:00.001-05:00

I realize Mother’s Day was two weeks ago, but I am just now finding time to blog about it.

We spent Mother’s Day at my parents’ house. It was a wonderful day! Steve let me catch up on some much-needed sleep and played with Claire while I slept until around 10:00 a.m. When I woke up, Steve brought me breakfast in bed – chocolate chip pancakes and sausage – Yummy!!! I spent the remainder of the day with my family and my baby girl. It was a perfect Mother’s Day!

Me, MiMi, Nanny and Claire

PopPop, Me, GiGi and Claire

Claire had a blast playing with Analise and Aunt Shannon. Silly girls!

Steve and I have decided to redecorate when we relocate to Houston. We’ll be getting all new furniture! For Mother’s Day, Steve and Claire bought me some new lamps to go with our new decor. They are beautiful! I’ll post pictures once we unpack them in our new apartment.

I LOVE being a mommy! Claire is such a joy! I am totally in love with her! And I am so excited about the new baby that will be joining our family in just about six months! God has truly blessed me more than I could have ever asked, thought or even imagined!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Claire Elise!!

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Check out Claire’s birthday video on her blog. Click here.

Birthday Party

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We were in Tulsa last weekend to celebrate PopPop’s birthday, Claire’s birthday and Allie’s birthday. (PopPop and Claire share the same birthday. Allie was born the day after Claire’s first birthday.) We had so much fun!

For lunch we had salad and pizza. Yummy! (Pictured: McKenzie, Reagan, Claire and Analise)

Claire’s party

Waiting to open presents

Presents!

Getting good at opening presents

So excited!

Time for cake!

She blew out the candle on the first try!!

Mmm… Good!

Allie’s party

Allie’s favorite gift – a rocking horse

What’s this?!

Yummers!

I love this stuff!

PopPop’s birthday

My daddy

Analise and PopPop

Claire gets in on the fun

“Helping” PopPop

Me and my daddy

Party Goers

Christian (Shannon’s brother), Alicia (Shannon’s sister-in-law), GG, Barb (Shannon’s mom), PopPop, MiMi, Arnold (Shannon’s dad) and Nanny (Fran was there too, but she was sitting off to the side of Nanny; and I couldn’t get her into the picture. Sorry, Fran.)

GG, MiMi and Nanny

Adam

Outdoor fun

Steve and Adam

Analise, Claire, Steve, Josie and Jenny

Allie riding her worm

A great time was had by all!!

(There are more pictures of Claire on her blog http://claire-elise-norton.blogspot.com/)

A Little Taste of Everything

2011-05-01T20:16:00.001-05:00

It seems that I am a bit behind in my posting. Here are several pictures to get you all caught up on the life of the Nortons.

First – Easter pictures (We didn’t take many, but we had a great day! We spent the day at our friend Patti’s house along with many of our friends. It was so much fun!!)

We also took pictures in the red clover that is blooming all over Memphis (or at least it was when we took the pictures – it seems to be gone now).

Yesterday, we helped our friends Dan and Kelsie with some yard work. It was great fun to be outside and to play in the dirt. Claire even got to ride in the wheelbarrow.

Today we went back to Patti’s house to watch the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Oklahoma City Thunder. (I realize that being an Okie girl I should have probably been rooting for the Thunder; but when in Memphis…) It was a great game, and it’s a lot of fun rooting for the winning team with a group of friends.

Lauren and Claire had their own ball game going on.

Kelsie has some great games on her phone that she always shares with Claire.

I’m not really sure what Claire was doing here, but it’s a great picture of Claire and Patti.

Petting Digit, Dan and Kelsie’s dog

After the game, we headed outside for a little fun with the dogs – the smaller dog is Digit (Dan and Kelsie’s dog) and the larger dog is a great dane named Solomon (Patti’s dog). Claire loves them both, and they love her. So much fun!

Claire and Solomon both love bubbles.

We had a wonderful day!

Today is also the first day of the birthday month! Again, Claire will receive a gift a day for the month of May. Please check out her blog daily to keep up with this and to see more pictures of her.

We’ll be traveling again this week, so we should have more travel pictures coming up as well.

Easter Egg Hunt

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Today we attended our church’s Easter Egg Hunt. (We were supposed to go to Washington this weekend to spend the holiday with Steve’s family, but the flights filled up.) It was Claire’s first egg hunt, and she caught on very quickly. We had a great time!!

The Easter Bunny was a little scary. Fortunately, Daddy was there to make it “all better.”

Here’s a video of the beginning of the hunt.

Our church collected and filled 10,000 eggs. There were eggs everywhere in the field. What fun!

The eggs were filled with candy, but I don’t think Claire ever knew that. Here’s her take – a basket-full!

After the egg hunt, we went to the park. For the very first time, Claire wanted to swing. And she LOVED it!

It’s been a great day!!

Baby Norton’s Heartbeat – Love at first sound!!

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You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it! You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (Psalm 139:13-16 NLT)

How amazing!!!

Fun With MiMi and PopPop

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MiMi and PopPop came to visit last weekend. They came in on Friday and stayed until Monday. We had a wonderful time!!

We just relaxed on Friday night and let Claire play with MiMi and PopPop. She had the best time! On Saturday PopPop, Steve and Claire stayed home while MiMi and I went out to lunch and went shopping. We had a wonderful time! It’s always nice to spend an afternoon with my mommy!

Ready for church on Sunday morning

Lately Claire has started cutting her eyes at everyone. This is usually followed by loud giggles. I finally got a picture of this silliness!

After church, MiMi and PopPop treated us to Neely’s Interstate Bar-B-Que! It was de-lish!! (You might be familiar with Down Home with the Neelys, a show on The Food Network. Their family owns Interstate Bar-B-Que in Memphis.)

Yummy!

To work off our delicious lunch, we headed to Mud Island River Park.

At Mud Island, they have a scale model of the Mississippi River. Claire and I waded through it. Claire said the water was “icy,” but she wanted to play in it anyway.

MiMi and PopPop

View of downtown from Mud Island

MiMi and Claire

MiMi and PopPop took us to Cracker Barrel for breakfast Monday morning.

Claire and MiMi playing the peg game

Stopping to smell the pansies

We had a great time with MiMi and PopPop! We are so glad you came to visit!! We love you!!!

Stop and Kiss the Tulips

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Most of us are familiar with the phrase, “Stop, and smell the roses.” But in Claire’s world, we stop and kiss the tulips.

Today we went to the St. Louis Zoo. It’s one of our favorite places to visit.

In the butterfly garden

In Claire’s world, we also kiss butterflies.

Elephants!

Muntee (or as the rest of us call it “monkey”)

One of our favorite St. Louis Zoo exhibits

Claire and Daddy with the penguins

Claire and Daddy with the puffins

In the tulip garden

After we left the zoo, we went to the YMCA to swim. They have a zero-depth entry and great water toys as well as a water slide. Claire LOVES it!

After a very full and fun day, it’s time for night-nights. Our sleeping beauty!

Shymming!!

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Almost every evening for the past two weeks we have gone swimming, or as Claire calls it “shymming.” She LOVES it! I took some video tonight, although she was distracted by all of the other kids in the pool and was not showing off all of her skills. It’s a lot of fun, and she’s doing great!

Claire’s pro-shymming skills

We are so proud of our girl! And we LOVE the way she says “shymming!”

I had a few other short videos, but I never could get the them to load. (I suspect it’s the incredibly slow hotel internet.) Hope you enjoyed these!

Missouri’s First State Capitol

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Today we went back to St. Charles and toured Missouri’s first state capitol building. The picture above is the street view and is actually the backside of the building as all buildings in the area actually faced the Missouri River. Here’s a picture of the front.

It was a great tour. They have done an amazing job preserving everything from 1820. Claire felt a little stifled, as she was unable to run around or touch things; but she managed just fine.

I didn’t take any pictures inside. I should have, but I was just too busy looking things over.

A few other buildings in St. Charles

I highly recommend a visit to St. Charles if you’re ever in the St. Louis area.

Spelunking, Hiking, Sliding and Frolicking

2011-04-03T08:44:00.001-05:00

Today was a busy day! We started off exploring Historic St. Charles. This place is amazing! It still has the cobblestone streets and all of the old houses and buildings. It’s beautiful! It’s also famous for being the home place of Daniel Boone, the beginning of the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe Trail and for being a stop-off in the Lewis and Clark expedition. It’s a pretty neat place.

Claire with the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and Seaman statue in Frontier Park.

We didn’t take a lot of pictures of St. Charles, but we may go back tomorrow to tour the first capital. It’s a really neat looking building. We’ll be sure to take some pictures if we go back.

Next stop – Graham Cave State Park. As soon as we arrived, Claire spotted the playground and started hollering to “slide! – slide! – slide!” We indulged her, of course!

Claire’s new sliding technique involves laying down flat on the slide.

Claire’s daddy climbed on top of the monkey bars to teach her how to use them.

My monkeys!

Off for some hiking. My beautiful family!

Our girl

Spelunking (cave exploring)

Do you see Steve and Claire?

They’re on top of the cave.

What a fun day! We are now very tired and are going to get some rest.

Duds ‘n Suds

2011-04-01T21:27:00.001-05:00

Since we are living in a hotel for two weeks, one without a laundry room or laundry service, Steve sent me to the laundromat today to wash clothes. (I am fully aware that it is April Fools’ Day; however, I am not joking about this one.) My mother was quite appalled. This was my first laundromat experience, as well as Claire’s.

Here’s a picture of the place – just to the left of the Subway. (The downfall to the outside was the Indian restaurant just down the strip to the right. For those of you who love Indian food, don’t get offended. I’ve eaten lots of Indian food and liked some of it; however, I don’t think it quite agreed with my pregnant sense of smell. It just smelled so strongly for so early in the morning.)

Inside it wasn’t so bad. Claire loved pushing the basket around. Fortunately, when we arrived there weren’t too many people there; so she had a great time.

All in all, it wasn’t so bad. The place looked just like I expected to, only maybe a little cleaner. There were vending machines, a bar, [Steve here – As I was reading this wonderful post Amy put together, I realized she didn’t mention that there was an actual bar at this washing wonderland. Yes, a bar. One could get a martini, a draft or a Long Island Iced Tea all while Tide and a few quarters are getting their stain fighting power on. I’ve had my laugh for the day. Thank you, Sweetie, for doing our laundry today!] a video poker machine, a few arcade games, couches around a TV in the back corner, tables and chairs where people read books while waiting for their clothes to get clean. It was pretty much exactly like what you see on TV, except the people were friendly and not at all scary. In just a short hour and a half, for less than $10 (not counting the cost of detergent, bleach and dryer sheets), Claire and I did three loads of clothes. Not too shabby.

P.S. After Steve added his commentary, I find it important to point out that no one was drinking alcoholic beverages while we were there this morning. I think perhaps it might be “the place be” when the “Cards” are playing as the place is quite decked out with St. Louis Cardinals paraphernalia. At which point, I’m sure the game is on, the bar is open and the machines are spinning – much like "Cheers” with the addition of coin-operated washing machines and dryers.

Claire’s First Day in STL

2011-03-28T20:16:00.001-05:00

Claire had a really busy day today. It started off fairly normally – breakfast, shower, a little play time, a nap, lunch, a little shopping, a phone conversation with MiMi – and then things got a bit more exciting.

While typing my previous blog post, I noticed that Claire was just a little too quiet. Our hotel room is nice-sized, but it’s still just one room and the bathroom. How much trouble can one little girl get into? Well, not too much; but enough that she found this quite fun.

When she discovered I had the camera, she tried to rush back in and clean it up.

Oh my! First the crayon on the wall, now one and a half rolls of toilet paper unrolled. What’s next?! (I’m actually very excited to find out and am keeping the camera charged and at the ready.)

Since it actually gets cold in Memphis (unlike Houston), it has been some time since Claire has been swimming. Fortunately our hotel has an indoor pool! We are so excited to be able to swim again!

Claire in her new swimsuit. (I must brag about my bargain. I bought this at the end-of-season sale last year at Gymboree for $3.19!!! What a steal!!!!)

Daddy teaching Claire “the basics” – blowing bubbles, putting her face in the water, “monkey on the wall,” kicking, etc.

My loves – both sleepy after a very busy day.

Road Trip to St. Louis

2011-03-28T19:31:00.001-05:00

We’re in St. Louis for the next two weeks while Steve attends Q school. (The airline he works for flies two types of airplanes – the Saab 340 and the Q400. Steve was hired on the Saab and is now learning to fly the Q.) Claire and I decided to tag along rather than stay at home for two weeks sans Daddy.

St. Louis is a fairly short drive from Memphis, at least for most people. Steve, however, prefers the scenic route. It was quite the adventure getting here.

On Saturday, we drove from Memphis to Hayti, TN (just 90 miles away) in four short hours. We decided rather than taking the highway, we would follow the Great River Road. The Great River Road follows the Mississippi River from Canada to the Gulf, and spans 10 states.

From Memphis to Hayti, we saw little more than cotton fields, so we have no pictures of that. And Hayti, well, let’s just say it’s not exactly photo-worthy.

On Sunday, we got back on the GRR and headed toward St. Louis. The road less traveled…

Our first stop – Reelfoot Lake. We drove around and actually got out for a few pictures at Reelfoot Lake. In the Visitor’s Center, they had this little screech owl who was recovering from being hit by a car. (It’s tiny, but it is full-grown.) Claire kept hooting at it.

Close-up of the owl

We also passed this great little local shop – Hillbilly Junction. If they had been open, a certain sister-in-law would surely have received an AWESOME birthday present from this place. It should be noted that they sell “Hillbilly Gags” and “Nite Shirts.” Oh how I wish we could have shopped in this place!!

We also passed this sign and couldn’t resist taking a picture. Duck plucking!!! Hilarious!

My Girl

We drove on. Then we saw this on the side of the road.

Need a close-up?

Yep – bald eagles, with their babies, on the ground.

Who knew that bald eagles live in Tennessee? Surely not I, until now.

We continued our drive and reached Kentucky!

And then we happened upon this road.

Steve thought we should have proof that this bit of gravel, just wide enough for one vehicle, is an actual road.

There really wasn’t anything too photo-worthy in Kentucky, so we continued on to Illinois.

These signs were the highlight of the section of Illinois we drove through. So we continued on to Missouri. Here’s the bridge over the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri.

Once we crossed over into Missouri, we decided to get on the highway and cruise on in to St. Louis. The closer we got to St. Louis, the more snow we saw. Here’s a picture of the landscape.

At last, we arrived at our hotel where we shall stay for the next two weeks. I’m sure there will be several posts in the next few days, as St. Louis has so much to do.

Preggers!!

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As all of you should know by now, we are expecting baby number two – due in November!! I have had many people ask me the same questions. Here the questions and the answers:

What are we having? We’re having a baby. We won’t know if it’s a boy or a girl until I’m 20 weeks along, which won’t be until mid-June. That being said, according to the Chinese Gender Chart, we’re having a girl! According to Steve, the Chinese Gender Chart is good enough.

What does Claire think? Claire is just as happy as she’s always been. I look like I've always looked, so she doesn’t realize that we have a baby on the way. However, Claire loves babies, especially her baby cousins, Allie and Kenley; so I’m sure she’s going to love being a big sister.

What are going to name the baby? We have not yet chosen names for the baby. We had Claire’s name picked out long before we found out we were expecting her, so it was easy to name her. However, baby number two is going to be a challenge for us. Aunt Lori has offered a suggestion of the name Hannah Grace if it’s girl. Feel free to offer your suggestions as well, boy or girl.

How am I feeling? I feel great! I admit to taking a few naps with Claire these days. And I’m eating Claussen pickles like they’re going out of style. But I feel good and am excited about our new baby!

Just when I thought life was perfect, God went and made it even better!!

Our Artist

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While we’re very proud of Claire’s artistic abilities, we prefer that she color on her coloring book pages and not the walls.

Here her daddy is explaining that she should not color on the walls.

After explaining her naughtiness to her, her daddy handed her a Magic Eraser to wash the walls.

I think she enjoyed cleaning it up as much as she enjoyed coloring it.

Scrub! Scrub! Scrub!

PopPop called to wish Claire a happy 22 months just as she was getting in trouble for her artwork. He reminded me that she comes from a long line of artists who think the world is our canvas, as both PopPop and Mommy were known to color on walls.

Claire is 22-months-old today. A few things you might not know about our beautiful girl – she can count to 10; she knows the names of most of the animals; she’s very affectionate and will often volunteer an “I lud you!” to her family; she loves to run; she’s started pronouncing the ends of words (i.e. previously she would say “cash” now she says “caTCH” with an emphasis on the end; previously “wa” now “waLK”, again with the emphasis on the end); she loves to sing and knows all of the words to the songs she hears most often; and she loves to dance. We could not be prouder of her! She is such a joy!

Happy 22 months to Our Little Artist!

Little Leprechaun

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Complete with green toenails!

Happy St. Patty’s!!

“Croquet, Anyone?”

2011-03-12T20:14:00.001-06:00

The weather was gorgeous today, so we met some friends at a park and played croquet. The Memphis Croquet Club has two courts at the park, and we played on one while they played on the other.

And, of course, no day at the park is complete without playing on the slide.

And Daddy and Claire had fun playing airplane.

It was a little windy today. At one point, Claire’s ball blew off the back of the court, down the hill and across the pond. Here are some pics of Steve retrieving it. It was hilarious! Every time Steve would get close to the ball, it would float just out of his reach. These pictures are posted in sequential order.

The ball stayed in this position until just before Steve got close enough to pick it up.

Just as he gets there (after running all the way around the pond), it moves out from the shoreline just a little…

Then a little more…

Then downstream a little…

Then closer to the shore…

Then Steve found a stick!

At last!

Our hero! (All of the other park patrons were cheering him on as well!)

And, for your viewing pleasure, a few pics of Claire.

We had a great time at the park today! What a gorgeous day!

And for those of you who are not members of Facebook, perhaps you have not heard, but Claire went poo in the loo this morning! What a big girl!

We decorated for Easter this morning. When we got home from the park, Claire kept dancing with her bunny. (Her bunny is flying an airplane.) Here’s a video. (And she thinks it’s sneezing, but it’s really saying “Whoo!” not “a-choo!” Too cute!) Enjoy!

And last night, my little cookie baked me a cake. We let her stir up the batter. She’s quite the messy cook!

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Graceland

2011-03-04T20:50:00.001-06:00

Today we partook of the quintessential Memphian icon known as Graceland. We were expecting it to be really cheesy, but it was actually interesting, entertaining and a lot of fun. We really enjoyed it. And I got a free ticket, so it was worth a visit. Enjoy!

Ready for Graceland!!

First – The Mansion

Steve and Claire in the family room with the music room behind, divided by the peacock stained glass windows.

Elvis promised his parents that he would take care of them, so he moved them into his house. This is a picture of the walls of their bathroom. I LOVE the wallpaper.

Here’s a close up of those cute little doggies! You can just bet that wallpaper like this will exist in my new home if I can find it or something similar. So cute!!

The jungle room – such strange furniture. I did, however, like the wall fountain.

Elvis’ media room – notice the wall of mirrors as well as the ceiling of mirrors.

The pool room – Yes, the walls and ceiling are covered in matching fabric.

But Elvis didn’t stop there – he made sure the couches in the room matched the ceiling and walls. Hmm…

Checking out some of the exhibits

JUMPSUITS!!

Elvis’ final resting place – in the Meditation Garden

Claire in the Meditation Garden

Claire just outside the front gate

the gate

Next up – the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum

THE Pink Cadillac

PopPop’s dream car belonged to Elvis

More exhibits

The Elvis Radio studio

The Lisa Marie – incredible plane – totally the way to travel!

We took the Platinum tour, so we saw the Studio 68 exhibit and the Fashion King exhibit as well; however, I did not take any pictures of those exhibits.

We had a great day today! We definitely recommend a visit to Graceland for anyone visiting Memphis.

Thank you, Steve, for the taking the day off to hang with your ladies! We had a marvelous time with you!!

Bye, Matt.

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Our roommate, Matt, moved out this morning. He’s on his way back home to Chicago and is starting his new job with Southwest Airlines in a week and a half.

We’re so proud of you and so excited for you, Matt! We wish you the best and hope to see you again soon!

Go, Horsey! Go!

2011-02-27T20:41:00.001-06:00

We’re in Tulsa. We arrived on Friday and are staying until Tuesday or Wednesday. Steve, Claire and I went to the mall on Saturday, and Claire and her daddy got to ride the carousel. There are a lot of great pictures, so I decided to post them all. Enjoy!

Claire and her daddy waiting in line to ride the carousel

Claire’s horse’s name was Boomer.

PopPop also makes a great horse. Here Analise and Claire are going for a ride.

And I just had to post this series of pictures because it’s cute to watch Claire’s falling off. She loved it and got back up just so she could fall off again.

Poor PopPop needed a break. Next up – story time.

We’re having a lot of fun with PopPop, MiMi, Aunt Shannon, Analise and Allie!!

Playing With Play-Doh

2011-02-22T14:45:00.001-06:00

Today Claire and I played with Play-Doh for the first time. She was so cute!!

Initially she was very unsure about what it was.

Then she figured out how fun it was!

Claire’s handprint

Ready to Shop!

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Claire rarely goes anywhere without her purse these days. She’s getting so big. (The contents of the purse – crayons, a page out of a coloring book and a Little People figurine – today it was the birthday girl with a red balloon.) She’s a great shopping buddy! Love my girl!!

At the Zoo with Elie

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Claire and I have some good friends from church, Eloise and her mom, Kim, who we took to the zoo with us today. Here are some great pics of the girls.

Eli and Claire were very excited to see the elephants.

Giraffes!

Love this picture I got of the panda

Sweet girls!!!

Chickens!!

Claire had so much fun splashing in the puddles left by the waterfall in the Teton Trek.

The polar bear was swimming today.

We had a great day!! We’re looking forward to our next play date with Kim and Elie.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Claire received more valentines.

From Daddy

Claire has been playing with her airplane all morning long. It’s her new favorite thing.

From Mommy

Happy Valentine’s Day, Claire! Mommy and Daddy love you oodles and oodles! We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Steve!! I am so in love with you! Thank you for marrying me! I love being your wife. I love the life we share. I love you!!

My Valentine!!

2011-02-13T20:47:00.001-06:00

Steve came home today!!! He spent the last two weeks in Dallas attending 737 school. He had his check ride today and passed with flying colors. He is now a 737 pilot!!! I am so proud!

Me and my valentine!! I’m so glad he’s home!!! I’m so in love with him!!!

Me and my girl! I totally heart her!!

Our beautiful family

Steve took us to Texas de Brazil for dinner. It was a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day! So yummy!!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy time with the ones you love!!

Happy Valentine’s Eve

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Claire has already had a big Valentine’s Day! Thank you to everyone who sent valentines.

MiMi and PopPop celebrated with Claire yesterday morning before we left Tulsa.

Thank you, PopPop and MiMi!

Claire celebrated Valentine’s Day with GiGi Friday night. GiGi made this valentine especially for Claire.

Thanks, GiGi!!

Claire also received some valentines in the mail.

Thank you, Grandpa LeRoy and Grandma Faye!

Thank you, Aunt Lori and Uncle Clay!

Thank you, Grandma Robin and Grandpa D’Wayne!

Thank you, Aunt Emily!

It’s shaping up to be a very fun Valentine’s Day for our girl!

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

2011-02-07T21:28:00.001-06:00

These were the exact words out of Claire’s mouth as she took her very first ride on the carousel today. She LOVED it!

Claire had the best time riding the carousel. Her horse’s name was Mustang Sally. According to the man who ran the carousel, “She’s our fastest horse. Hold on tight, girls. It’s going to be a great ride.” And he was right – it was a GREAT ride!!

Steve is at 737 school. He passed his oral exam today and started the simulator portion of his training. He’ll have his check ride on Sunday, and then he’ll come home to us!!!

Claire and I are currently in Snowklahoma. We arrived last Monday, and Claire was very happy to see MiMi and PopPop!

We went to visit Uncle Adam, Aunt Shannon, Analise, Allie and their new puppy, Josie. Claire loves Josie, and I think the feeling is mutual!

We had a blizzard here that started last Monday night. We got 15” of snow and wind gusts over 40 mph. Temps were as low as –12. I have no idea what the windchill was, but who really cares when the temps are that low? It’s a real “snowmaggedon.” Needless to say, we have been stuck indoors. But it’s been fun. The snow is beautiful. We’re staying at MiMi and PopPop’s, so we’ve had a great time! Claire and PopPop have been reading books…

and playing dollhouse.

We’ve been coloring…

and wearing PopPop’s shoes.

We’re having a fabulous time!

Today the temps warmed up above freezing (35 is above freezing!), so we bundled up and ventured out to the mall.

Claire wanted to wear my glasses to protect her eyes from the glare of the sun reflecting off of the snow. She’s so Hollywood!

We had a great day today! MiMi, Claire and I found some great bargains!! Claire got two outfits and a pair of shoes for less than $30!! I got two pairs of jeans and two tops for $100! MiMi and I also found some birthday gifts for Claire at The Disney Store. We had a wonderful day!!

More snow falling tomorrow…

Home Sweet Tennessee Home

2011-02-02T11:25:00.001-06:00

I’ve been meaning to blog with pictures of our apartment since we moved all of our things from Houston. Here are some before and after shots.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER As you can see, Claire is now sleeping in her crib again. This time, in our bedroom.

BEFORE

AFTER We sold everything that is not pictured, with the exceptions of our guest bed and Claire’s white dresser, both of which are now in Matt’s room. (Matt is our roommate.) That’s quite a bit of downsizing from our house, but we kept all the things we love.

We’re still enjoying Tennessee and have some great friends here.

Steve is in 737 school this week and next, and it sounds like we could be moving again this year. Our family mantra is becoming “Be led; and be flexible.”

God is faithful, and we are excited about being in Tennessee and about what lies ahead.

Beautiful Girl!

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It’s A Beautiful Day!!

2011-01-29T23:11:00.001-06:00

Gorgeous weather today! We spent the afternoon at the park.

Strike A Pose

2011-01-16T14:09:00.001-06:00

Our little runway model looked adorable as she headed out to church this morning wearing a pink fuzzy vest, a fabulously wonderful Christmas gift from Aunt Lori.

Thanks, Aunt Lori!! Claire was the cutest and most stylish girl in church this morning!

Our Baby Loves Babies

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Granny Wines made Claire three doll blankets for Christmas. They arrived today. Here’s Claire with one of her dolls wrapped in one of the new blankets. Thanks, Granny!! The blankets are perfect!!

An Evening With Daddy

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Daddy was craving chocolate chip cookies tonight, so he and Claire made cookies.

While the cookies were baking, Claire performed a concert for us on her new Little Tikes Tunes the Tiger piano/xylophone.

And now Claire is in bed and Daddy is studying for 737 school. I love our life! It just doesn’t get any better than this!!

Tutu cute!!

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Claire received this tutu from Grandma Robin for Christmas. It’s so adorable, and she loves it! Thanks, Grandma Robin!!

Whee!

2011-01-10T21:07:00.001-06:00

All of this time travel is making me dizzy. It’s the 10th day of the new year, and I’m just now getting around to posting pictures from Christmas.

We headed to Tulsa the Wednesday before Christmas. We took Claire to see the lights at Rhema. It was 29 degrees outside, so we didn’t spend too much time out there. But she loved the lights!

Fuzzy pic, but at least it proves we were there.

We stayed with MiMi and PopPop in Tulsa. Uncle Matt, Aunt Randi and Baby Kenley stayed there too. Claire loved playing with her Uncle Matt.

MiMi and Allie

Santa was a little scary

Santa loves the girls! Kenley, Claire, Allie and Analise love Santa!

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated at Uncle Adam and Aunt Shannon’s house.

Santa’s little helper

Reading with Aunt Randi

Christmas was very different this year. Grandma and Grandpa were both in the hospital. Nanny and Frances went to see my cousins in Missouri. So that left me, my parents and my brothers, along with each of our families to celebrate in a non-traditional way this year. So we decided to change everything. Mom and Dad had been spending countless hours at the hospital, so Adam and Shannon hosted. Shannon, Steve and I cooked dinner – we decided to go with enchiladas! It was very different but a lot of fun.

The chefs

We Nortons

Allie

Claire, Shannon and Analise

Aunt Randi, Kenley, MiMi and Uncle Matt opening presents

Kenley and Claire on Christmas morning

Kenley

Matt, Kenley and Randi

We drove back home on the 26th. Steve spent the evening putting together Claire’s Christmas gifts.

PopPop and MiMi gave Claire a chair for Christmas

Claire seeing her chair for the first time

Uncle Adam and Aunt Shannon gave Claire a Little Tikes stroller / cart. She loves it!

Claire received some great gifts for Christmas, including a pearl necklace, a baby doll that can go in the bathtub with her (She really, really LOVES having a baby in the bath.), a tutu, a pack-n-play for her dolls, a Daisy Duck doll, clothes, books, hairbows, savings bonds, money, etc. She is a very blessed little girl. (I know I haven’t listed every gift she received, but please know that we appreciate each and every one of them.)

Steve and I also got some great gifts and are enjoying them all. It was a great holiday!!

A lot of other things have taken place as well since my last regular post. My grandpa went home to Heaven. I’m really missing him. Thank you to those who sent sympathy cards. That means so much. My grandma was sent home and put on hospice due to a resident error. Fortunately we realized the mistake and got her back to the hospital two days later. She is now recovering in rehab and is expected to return to her assisted living apartment soon.

While we were in Tulsa, we celebrated Nanny’s 89th birthday. I got some great pics of her on my iPhone, but I don’t yet know how to download those to my laptop. I’ll post those pictures soon.

Claire is growing up so quickly. One of her favorite things to do these days is to wear my shoes. Here’s a pic of her with her purse and my shoes.

Happy New Year!

Claire

2011-01-07T10:44:00.001-06:00

Bloggin’ MiMi

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MiMi has started a blog!!! Check it out: http://www.mimiandpoppop.blogspot.com/

More About Grandpa

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My brother’s blog has more pictures and more info about our wonderful grandpa. Check it out: http://mattandrandi.blogspot.com/

Grandpa

2010-12-30T07:43:00.001-06:00

My paternal grandfather, Albert Frank McComber, “Grandpa,” died on Tuesday. His funeral is today.

He was such a wonderful man. I’m missing him so much. Here’s a little info so you’ll know just how wonderful he really was. (I’ll be reading this at his funeral this afternoon.)

Albert Frank McComber was born on September 29, 1921. He entered Heaven’s gates on December 28, 2010. He was satisfied with long life and lived to be 89 years and three months old. He was known by many names – Honey, Mac, Mr. Mac, Uncle Al, Brother Albert, Al; his kids called him Dad, but his favorite name was Grandpa.

How do you summarize the life of such a wonderful and amazing man? With two words – he loved.

First and foremost, he loved God. He was saved as a young man and lived his life serving the Lord. He served the local church as Sunday School Teacher, Sunday School Superintendent, Choir Director, Youth Leader, Deacon, choir member and faithful attendee. He was the first to arrive, unlocking the doors and greeting each person who came to the service. And he was the last to leave, wishing everyone a wonderful and blessed week, locking the doors behind him. He was kind and friendly. He was a wonderful example of a Christian. In the Gospel of John, chapter 21, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him. After Peter’s affirmation, Jesus instructed him to “Feed my sheep.” And like Peter, Grandpa loved Jesus and fed His sheep.

He loved Grandma. Lela Mildred Jernigan McComber was the great love of his life. They were married just three months after they met, and their love lasted a lifetime. They were married for 64 years. Their love withstood the test of time. I had the privilege of spending many nights with my grandparents. And every night, as they were getting into bed, I heard my grandpa say to my grandma, “Goodnight, Baby Doll. Thank you for marrying me.”

He loved his family. Albert and Mildred had two children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. To Grandpa, there was nothing better than a day spent with his kids. I can remember his carrying me and both of my brothers around – all at the same time. I remember climbing up in our tree house to yell hi to him as he gardened in his backyard two doors down. I remember riding my bicycle to his house and walking my dog with him. I remember sitting in his lap as he read Bible stories to us just before bed. He always had ice cream for us. He told us stories about when we were little, when our dad and Aunt Cheryl were little and when he was little. He was a great storyteller.

He had four brothers and one sister, lots of brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins. He loved them all.

He loved his country. He served in World War II, traveling by ship around the world. He told stories about that too. But his favorite thing about that trip was the people he met. He took care of those who became sick on the ship. He cared about his army buddies. He learned the languages of the countries he visited and conversed with the peoples there. He liked to show off his linguistic skills with us as well. He loved to ask us to pass him the potatoes in Arabic; and when we learned Spanish in school, he wanted to speak to us only in that language.

He loved being outdoors. He gardened and picked every weed out of his lawn by hand. His yard was beautiful, and the grass was great to walk on barefoot.

He loved food. Grandma loves to cook, and he’s always been her biggest fan. Grandpa would eat anything. He would even take wonderful vegetables, like okra and tomatoes and corn and zucchini that he grew in his garden, downtown to an old produce shop where he would trade them for things like turnips and beets – things we kids would never eat. But I loved being outside in his garden with him. And I loved going with him to the produce shop.

He loved dogs. He always had a dog. He would tell us stories about the dogs he had growing up and the dogs my dad had as a boy.

He loved to sing. He loved to sing in the choir at church, and he would sing while he was gardening or getting ready to go somewhere or while he did the dishes. And he always wanted to sing when the family got together.

He loved people. He never met a stranger. Within ten minutes of meeting anyone, he had figured out the six degrees of separation that had kept them apart this long. He knew everyone’s grandparents and parents and kids and cousins and in-laws and neighbors. He loved to talk, but he also loved to listen. He knew how to make anyone who met him feel important. He never forgot a name or a face or their life story.

He loved life. Grandpa was never one for speed. He walked slowly. He drove slowly. He talked slowly. He got ready slowly. He ate slowly. But his mind was quick. I believe that he wasn’t in a hurry for life to pass him by. Rather he moved slowly and took it all in – soaking up every second and enjoying the small things.

Grandpa loved. He loved life. He loved each of you. He loved me. We didn’t doubt it. We didn’t question it. He was affectionate and kind and gentle. He loved us. He loved extravagantly. And we loved him.

Time Travel

2010-12-24T00:16:00.001-06:00

I am so far behind in my posting. This post will have a little bit of everything. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving dinner (Claire was napping and missed dinner and the picture.)

And here’s my gorgeous niece, Analise – I love this girl!!

Analise and Claire love VeggieTales. Here they are dancing to The Bellybutton Song. Too cute!!

Grandma and Adam celebrated their birthdays together. Gram is 86. Adam is 37.

Happy 86th, Gram!

the girls watching a movie together

We leased our house in Houston and made our move to Memphis more permanent. This meant packing everything we decided to keep, selling the rest (and majority of what we owned) and driving to Memphis where we unpacked it all and decorated our apartment. Pictures of our newly-decorated apartment will follow in a future post.

We took Claire to NYC to see Santa at Macy’s in Herald Square. It was amazing! (See previous post for more pics.)

We’ve been celebrating Christmas this week with presents from Grandma Robin and Grandpa D’Wayne and presents from Aunt Jill, Uncle Ryan and the seven Dolan children. Pictures will follow in a future post.

We also celebrated Christmas with our roommate, Matt, this week. Claire got several presents, including a stuffed dog from Matt and her stocking.

Claire was very excited about her new camera.

Matt and Steve got “Southwest” gloves. (Apparently these are very handy when checking airplane wheel wells.)

Everyone really enjoyed their gifts, but I’m sure that my gift was the best. Steve got me a new iPhone 4. I’m loving it!

Claire in her Christmas dress just before church on Sunday

Wednesday afternoon we headed to Tulsa to celebrate Christmas with the McCombers. We are having so much fun!! Posts to follow later this week.

Merry Christmas to all!

Santa Land!

2010-12-06T21:07:00.001-06:00

We flew into NYC on Sunday to take Claire to meet the REAL Santa at Macy’s in Herald Square. Their Santa Land is AMAZING!!! The line was not nearly as bad as we anticipated. It winds around into the back parts of the store, through the human resources area and private areas intended for employees only. Then you enter the much-anticipated Santa Land. It begins with a train ride. You climb aboard a fabulous train that actually rumbles under your feet so that it feels like you’re riding the rail. Then you arrive at the North Pole. It’s beautiful! There’s lots of snow and beautiful trees. There are dancing bears and bears who play instruments. There are presents galore. And then you enter Santa Land. It’s truly magical as you are greeted by an elf who ushers you into Santa’s cabin. Santa takes his time and talks with you. You can take as many pictures with him as you want. He said that Claire had been a very good girl this year and that he will leave her lots of wonderful surprises on Christmas morning! Here are some pics and a video.

the beginning of the line – note the elf to my left – the elves are everywhere along the line and are very nice and welcoming

the line

the carolers who sang Christmas songs while we waited in line

Claire twirling in line – so excited!

Claire ringing the train’s bell as we climbed aboard

Claire feeling the train rumble under her feet

Claire running through Santa Land – so excited!!

meeting the elf who would take us to Santa

(We each received one of the Santa Land buttons that the elf is wearing on her hat.)

Santa!!!

the PERFECT Christmas card picture

me and my love in Rockefeller Center

our baby in Rockefeller Center

all ready for bed in her Christmas jammies after a full day in the City

It was a perfect day! What a wonderful memory we made!!

WOW!

2010-12-01T22:04:00.001-06:00

We Nortons have had a lot going on recently.

Steve and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary in Las Vegas. We had a blast! Claire stayed with MiMi and PopPop in Tulsa and had a great time.

We then spent Thanksgiving in Tulsa with my family. What a great day! That was followed up with some fabulous Black Friday shopping, beginning at 3:30 a.m. We got some great deals and had a wonderful time.

Then this week we leased our house in Houston. Our tenants sound perfect – a couple in their 60s. He is a contractor in the oil business and has been on assignment in Austria for the last year. They have recently returned to the States and want to be near their children and grandchildren (which all live within a five mile radius of our house). They fell in love with our house. I’m so glad to have good renters.

We are headed back to Houston on Friday to start packing up the remainder of our house. We’re flying to NYC on Sunday to take Claire to see Santa at Macy’s in Herald Square. (I can’t wait!!) Then we’re headed back to Houston to finalize everything and have a huge garage sale. The following Sunday (the 12th), we will load up a U-Haul and our pickup with the few things we’re keeping and will drive once again to Memphis, officially making this our home.

We’ll spend Christmas in Tulsa with my family and are really looking forward to that. We have four little girls in our family this year with the additions of Allie and Kenley. It’s going to be a fun Christmas!!

Steve starts 737 school in January. He will be in Dallas for two weeks to complete this training. Hopefully he’ll interview with Southwest in February or shortly thereafter.

Big changes are headed our way. I keep meaning to blog, but I don’t seem to have the time to sort through all of our pictures. I’ll keep working on them; but for now, this short note will have to do.

And for those wondering about the latest on Claire, she is 33” tall and weighs 22 lbs. She is an absolute doll and such a joy! She’s talking a lot more. Now when you ask her how old she is, she will hold up one finger and scream “one!” Then she giggles. She loves to dance and loves to sing. She’s very friendly and loves people. She loves babies and animals, especially dogs. She’s absolute perfection in my book!

It’s bedtime once again. More as soon as I can find time to post. So for now, nighty-night.

Vegas, Baby!

2010-11-19T02:59:00.001-06:00

This week Steve and I took our first vacation without Claire. She stayed at MiMi and PopPop’s this week while Steve and I headed to Vegas. (I must admit to shedding a few tears at the airport and again aboard the plane. I’ve never been apart from her for more than a couple of hours at a time. But I finally managed to get my emotions under control and have immensely enjoyed my vacation!) But I can’t wait to get back to Claire later today!

Claire is having a wonderful time. We’ve talked to her on the phone several times, and she’s having a blast with MiMi and PopPop. She even got to spend the day with Analise yesterday. Sounds like fun!

They say “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” In keeping with that, this post will be short and to the point without any details that would give too much away.

We’ve had a great time here in Vegas. We’ve eaten a little (or a lot). We signed up for the all-day buffet. Steven loved it!

We’ve played some games. We won some. We lost some. We’re going home happy.

We had a great time just hanging out as husband and wife.

Just for fun: Steve highlighting some of the unique architecture of Las Vegas.

It’s been a wonderful vacation! Thank you, Steve, for planning this trip for our anniversary. The past six years have been wonderful wedded bliss. I love you so very much! Thank you for marrying me! Happy Anniversary!!

Ready for Church

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We took these this morning before we left for church. She’s just too cute!

Total sweetness!

I love the zoo!

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Steve took off early today. Claire and I picked him up and took him to the zoo. It was a perfect afternoon.

I love the zoo. I love fall. I love fall at the zoo. And I love spending a fall afternoon with my hubby and baby at the zoo!

Claire pet a cow today.

Claire loved the panda.

We had a great time today and enjoyed the fall weather.

The zoo is preparing for their zoolightful celebration which begins next week. We will post some pictures of that soon.

My Monkey Loves Bananas!

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I LOVE this girl!!!

Sea World and Packing

2010-11-10T11:38:00.001-06:00

MiMi and PopPop met us in Houston on Thursday to help us pack up the house. We accomplished a lot and celebrated with a trip to Sea World.

Prior to Sea World, we stopped for lunch at Taco Bueno. Yummy!

Claire checking out the fish in the coral reef

Sea World has a great playground. Claire, of course, wanted to slide. This slide was very big and very fast. Claire had to slide on it many times. “Whee!”

Steve rode Journey to Atlantis

my lovelies

Watching a show at Sea World with PopPop and MiMi

It was a perfect day!

We grabbed dinner to go and ate in the car on the way home. Claire fell asleep right in the middle of dinner. She had a really big day.

Current pics of the house after a weekend of packing.

the gallery without the family pictures

Claire’s room without her monogram and most of her things. (I admit to shedding a few tears while removing her monogram and packing things up in here.)

All of the pictures have been taken down. The bric-a-brac has been packed. And the Fostoria has been packed.

The Wilton Armetale has been packed, along with the apothecary jars.

the guest room is no longer welcoming but is full of boxes

We accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. Thanks, MiMi and PopPop for coming down to help us pack it up. We had a great time with you!

Love completes each other

2010-11-03T08:28:00.001-05:00

“This ‘completing’ aspect of love was revealed to mankind from the beginning. God originated the human race with a male and a female – two similar but complementary designs meant to function in harmony. Our bodies are made for each other. Our natures and temperaments provide balance, enabling us to more effectively complete the tasks at hand. Our oneness can produce children, and our teamwork can best raise them to health and maturity. Where one is weak, the other is strong. When one needs building up, the other is equipped to enhance and encourage. We multiply one another’s joys and divide one another’s sorrows. When we learn to accept the distinctions in our mate, we can bypass criticism and go straight to helping and appreciating one another. The effectiveness of your marriage is dependent upon both of you working together. Don’t try doing all the analysis yourself. Don’t disqualify his or her right to voice an opinion on matters that affect both of you. Love realizes that God has put you together on purpose. And though you may wind up disagreeing with your spouse’s perspectives, you should still give their views respect and strong consideration. This honors God’s design for your relationship and guards the oneness He intends. Joined together, you are greater than your independent parts. You need each other. You complete each other.”

Today’s Dare: Recognize that your spouse is integral to your future success. Let them know today that you desire to include them in your upcoming decisions and that you need their perspective and counsel. If you have ignored their input in the past, admit your oversight and ask them to forgive you.

Steve and I have had a lot of decisions to make recently regarding our future plans. Many of these decisions involve Steve’s career. He has listened to my opinions and concerns about his possible decisions, and I believe that together we have reached the correct one. There are many upcoming changes in our very near future, but I am excited to continue on this adventure with my husband and daughter. The best is yet to come!