The Happiest of Birthdays

Norah's birthday was simply perfect. Of course, she wasn't at home. She wasn't free of life-supporting medical equipment. But she was alive, happy, smiling, breathing, and so very loved. I can't believe it has been a year (sometimes it feels like days, other times it feels like a decade). Every once in awhile I think about the typical things that our family has missed out on. But those thoughts are fleeting, as Norah's smile reminds me that it is all worth it. Our life is our own, and while I'm eager to someday take Norah home, I'm also grateful for what we do have.

There had to be something like 75 people that came to wish Norah a happy birthday. It was totally, completely crazy, especially when you consider that there were only about 30 people at our wedding. We're low-key sort of people. But that's just not how Norah rolls. My only regret for the day was that I wasn't better able to spend time with each one of the partygoers. It meant so much that our loved ones celebrated with us, both near and from afar. It meant even more that our family was able to see the love that so many carry for Norah. As one of her PICU nurses said, Norah is love.

We had a slideshow of this last year's photos of Norah. Even those that know her best were a little surprised by how she looked when she was first born (we included one of the scary NICU photos). The contrast between the struggling newborn babe and the smiling 1-year old is striking.

Oh - and we finally set-up a donation button on the righthand side of the blog. Several of you have asked for it, though we have been hesitant. We are admittedly prideful about asking for help, but we've given in... After all, it is for Norah. So thank you to everyone that has, and will donate. Your contribution will help with medical costs, travel expenses, and time away from work to be with our girl when she needs us most.

It's been a year for the record books, and I thank all of you for supporting us through it.

xoxoxo

Norah meets her great grandma, Jeff's mom's mom.

Norah meets her newest cousin, 5-day old Dreyden. They're close to the same size!

Norah and Dreyden's feet. Norah's are barely bigger. I love her feet. 

Harper dealt with the chaos by losing himself in his Nintendo DS and daddy's iPhone. This poor kid puts up with so much despite his social discomforts.

Norah kept her eyes locked on her speech therapist from PCMC. She wanted Leann to help reassure her during the whole eating/tasting experience. She wasn't used to the audience while eating. She has come so far with her oral aversion, thanks to her therapists at both PCMC and SDCH.

Norah was wired after the party. In this photo she's showing us that she knows how to take the oximeter (it measures the oxygen percentage in her blood) off of her foot and put it in her mouth.

The 5th Beatle

We've had one heck of a holiday filled with family, fun, sand & waves (unfortunately not of the oceanic variety), video games (shout out to Lego Harry Potter!!) and lots of yummy food. Yesterday, Harper tried to prove that he is the true fifth Beatle. For a toddler, he sure knows how to rock the drum pads!

Father's Day

We had a nice, quiet Father's Day that involved grocery shopping, dinner with lots of family, and some fun goofy time with our little family of three. We've (well, mostly just me) had this silly music from a video game stuck in our heads ALL DAY! It's just too catchy! Singing it to one another has led to some contagious giggles.

For those of you that know Jeff, you know how lucky I am to have him for a husband and father to my son. I've said it a few times on this blog, but I just can't resist the opportunity to reiterate how great he is. He's hilarious, caring, doting, selfless, and the love we share never fails to make me smile. When we met then got married (all within about a year), I knew I had found my best friend, and the most incredible person. Now, I have seen him grow even more as a father. He continues to amaze me. He really is the best dad out there. Both Harper and I are so fortunate.

Thanks for everything hunny, we love you! xoxoxo

EA Sports Active > Wii Fit

I have a shiny new toy! For those that have a Wii and are interested in fitness or losing weight, I highly recommend EA Sports Active. Sure, it's a little pricey at $60, but cheaper than a gym membership in the long run. Jeff and I picked it up this morning (it released today), as I've been dying for this to come out for for a month or so. I've taken it for a spin, and have already decided (from my first impression), that it is a better workout tool than the Wii Fit.

Let me give a little background here. When the Wii Fit was announced then available for pre-order, I wasted no time securing one. I pre-ordered it through Amazon, which was good because it was in such high demand, that they ran out of pre-orders, and continued to be out of stock for quite some time. It's release was almost as highly anticipated as the Wii console itself. I was thrilled when I got it, but I'll have to admit that I didn't drop any pounds by playing it. Also, it didn't really hold my interest as I had hoped - though I still love the yoga!

EA Sports Active helps you set realistic goals, lets you select your workout intensity, and mimics a gym and trainer experience overall. Really, it is continuous circuit training at its best. In my opinion, the problem with the Wii Fit is that it doesn't put you through an actual workout - it just has you select random activities at your leisure.

Alison Sweeney from The Biggest Loser describes it as a "trainer-in-a-box", and I definitely agree. The trainers are much more effective than those in Wii Fit. It employs new peripherals with a leg strap to sense leg movements as well as a resistance band. Though the leg strap is great (it detects leg movements), the resistance band is less than impressive. I'm sure when mine inevitably breaks, I'll just go get a "real" one.

So, I am beginning a fat-busting journey to get rid of these post-pregnancy (yikes, 9 months later) pounds... and some pre-pregnancy pounds too. I'm excited for my shiny new toy... I highly recommend it!

Be Your Own Señor Spielbergo - Flip Video

We recently purchased a Flip Video-Ultra(yep, the orange one you see to the left here). We were looking for something cheap, lightweight and convenient that we could use to take quick videos of Baby 1.o when he/she arrives without worrying about about flying oatmeal dirtying up the lens of a super expensive camcorder. It's about the size of a bulky cell phone, and actually takes pretty good video(640x480). We got the Ultra version($129 on Amazon)that stores up to 60 minutes of video(runs on 2 AA), and the cool thing is that it will break them up into chapters for you. For example, if we take a 3 minute video of the dogs chewing up the furniture, and then later a 2 minute video of us chewing out the dogs, it will save them as separate videos, instead of one 5 minute video. This makes it easy to upload mini-clips. It has a built in USB connector which makes it easy to connect to your Mac or PC. Lastly, the interface on the device is incredibly easy to use. Basically there are about 4 buttons. Play, record, Trash can and then a 4 way track pad that you use to zoom or navigate stored videos. We'll upload some videos soon to show the overall quality!

One last thing, for those of you playing Mario Kart Wii, add us as a friend so we can race! Our code: 3308 5053 2476

J