So I've realized it's been quite a while since I've updated the blog! Between a very active toddler and being pregnant and trying to enjoy time with Norah and Randy and get some rest before baby 2 comes blogging hasn't happened. This is quite possibly how it will be after baby 2 arrives in a few weeks! Free time will be very sacred at that point or at least that's what some other moms have told me! :)
Well this is a little catching up of what we've been up to the past few months.


Randy and I were able to sneak away the first week of January for a little R&R in the Bahamas! Our moms split the week and each had Norah for a few days which made it so much easier for us to go away knowing she was in such good hands and loving all the attention from her grandmas and grandpas! (I think she might have gotten a little spoiled!) I was so hard to leave her for a whole week but it was so great for Randy and I to have that time to spend together. We want to be intentional about putting our marriage first and having that stay strong and healthy and knowing that will only make us better parents. And that is a challenge to do sometimes so it was nice to just get away and have so much time together and get lots of rest and really to have no agenda for a week. Amazing! We both were ready to come home and see our little girl but we feel so refreshed having gotten away.

Randy and his yummy coconut and rum drink! Or at least he told me it was yummy!


34 weeks and counting.....

Enjoying some ocean waves

Dinner out on the town in the Bahamas.....






Bundled up and playing in the snow for the first time while we were out looking for a Chrismtas tree!



Christmas was fun this year....we stayed home and made dinner at our house and had my parents up.


Norah got several babies for Christmas and doesn't go very far without them! Good practicing for our new lil' peanut who is due to arrive in Feb.

We found the most adorable little wooden play kitchen online and she just loves it. And the cutest is when she actually puts her little apron on too! And it keeps her very content while I am cooking!


Norah and her cousins......



A few of her one year pics....

Our fall family apple picking excursion.....she learned quickly how to pick the apples and eat them too!

Norah's first b-day

August 28 our lil' Norah turned 1! It's so hard to believe! This past year has gone so fast and yet it seems like she's been part of our life forever. I am in awe of how much she has changed in just 12 months. She has been walking all over the place since a few weeks before her birthday and just exploring the world, and talking and talking. And she has gotten so funny! She giggles and giggles and it makes us laugh and laugh, and oh my does she know how to be the center of attention with all her little tricks and cuteness. She is just the most precious little peanut in the world. We are so blessed by her.

Her actual b-day we spent just relaxing. We had gone on a crazy whirlwind trip the day before to Chicago for a Cubs game with some friends so by Friday we were just exhausted so Randy took the day off and we spent Norah's first birthday together as a little family. We headed to Marie Catrib's of course for lunch....very very healthy food friendly for a healthy eating little one. And then of course she got to tear into her presents which she had a riot doing! And then we just relaxed. Fabulous!

.One of her fav. b-day presents. This little bus that has the alphabet on sings songs, so she wheels herself around the house on while at the same time doing a little dance.

Hanging out with her cousins and showing them her fav. new toy

Getting a good laugh at her party

And we officially have pig-tails! Adorable!

Opening presents with the whole gang surrounding her

She decided to crawl in the bag and see what was in there

The cute little homemade heart shaped vegan sugar-free cake....and yes it did taste quite yummy.

Enjoying this yummy goodness. As soon as we sat it down in front of her she dug in with both hands. She wasn't wasting any time. She wanted her first taste of chocolate....and my oh my did she like chocolate--just like her mama I suppose in that area!

Summer Whirlwind

It has really been a whirlwind of a summer for us this year. And it isn't because we were so busy like in years past. It started out to be a very relaxed calm summer with lots of time on the deck and good times with friends....ahh now that's summer! Then all of a sudden Randy started working a crazy amount of hours, which we are thankful his job has taken this turn instead of the opposite direction, but it has certainly been taking it's toll on him. He was working close to 60 hours a week and then just when it seemed it might slow down a bit his hours got bumped up a few more, so you can imagine he is just exhausted at this point! And on top of it trying to be dad and husband and trying occasionally to have a little bit of a social life is just overwhelming! And on top of that we found out we were PREGNANT again this summer!!! (We'll see who's really been reading the blog now!) This came as a bit of surprise to us and I have to admit we were in a bit of shock for a little while! Norah and new baby will be 18 months apart, which sounds like s little chaos to me but oh so fun for them to have a sibling so close in age. Even though it did take a little bit for this to sink in we are incredibly thankful for this little blessing of life and know that God has a beautiful plan for this little person to be coming into the world now and not in a year or two. So with that said the first trimester of pregnancy just wipes me out! Ahhh it's tough! I'd choose labor any day over that! For weeks on end just feeling so exhausted and nauseated. But oh that 12 week mark comes along and the clouds part and life is good again! Amazing how thankful I am to feel "normal". Maybe it's God's way of getting my attention and helping me realize how thankful I am for "normal' days....days of feeling well and healthy enough to go about my daily rhythms and routines. And I have been thanking him a lot more lately for the normal days and days of good health.

We did have a few high lights this summer. One was Randy and I got to go away over night and leave Norah with her grandmas (they both got a little time with her). That was beautiful....no agenda, no diapers, just us again and a totally relaxed 24 hours...and a morning to sleep in on top of it! Beautiful! Randy planned it all out and I knew nothing of where we were going or what we were going to do. He's great with that kind of thing! He rented a cabin in Saugatuck and we just hung out and walked around and ate out and had a lazy lounging day. He also surprised me that weekend with a nice new camera that we had been wanting! What a romantic!

Another fun adventure is we headed up to the U.P. for 5 days and got to spend some time in the Pictured Rocks area. We love it there....got in some hiking and lots of amazing outside time! In the summer we have no desire to travel...we just like to play and explore Michigan! It's so beautiful! And Norah loves being outside too. She did great on our hikes and even cried when we were done and took her out of the backpack.

Of course another high point of the summer was time with friends, which we just didn't have enough of but the times we had were great!

So friends our summer held a lot of naps and going to bed early and some play time in the yard and trying to keep up with the garden and occasionally trying to get my house clean and cook a nice dinner! :) We had a few adventures in there and having time loving on our little girl but it was mostly a summer of trying to rest and not feel exhausted!

She loves her little swimming pool....although it's been such a cool summer she hasn't had a lot of play time in it

Norah and Kirra having a popsicle and chilling in the pool

One of her new adventures of the summer...climbing and exploring the fridge!

She loves riding in her back-pack...so Randy had a little creative way to let me have some time to cook dinner!

Already a princess!

Happy-Happy Baby!

A few pics. from our nice long hike at pictured rocks this summer

Summer Fun

This is a bit of what we've been up to this summer.......

Camping last year looked a little more like this.....well actually we were still backpacking then. Even at 8 months pregnant the two of us together could carry in all that we needed for a couple days--no big deal. We had gotten good at this over the years.

Ahhhh...and friends this is camping this year! :) Amazing how one tiny little person completely changes a whole system of doing things. Not only did we put our two-person backpacking tent away for awhile but we upgraded to a six-person tent so we could fit a pack-n-play. Ohhh and not only that our car was packed as well. There wasn't a lot of "simplicity" in camping this year or relaxing. But we wanted to take Norah out right from the beginning and get her used to it. The experience was good--don't get me wrong it was completely exhausting and we were spent by the time we got home but glad we did it! There will be lots of family camping with the Byrne family for years to come so why not start the kiddos out from the beginning?

A little morning "camp chat"

A bedtime story in the tent

Helping daddy get some water for breakfast

Hangin' out in her buddy Isaac's pool. She loved it so much we went and bought her a pool of her own.

Norah's favorite treat are these little homemade popsicles I've been making....I picked up some popsicle molds and pureed fruit like I do for her to eat plus added a little water and froze it in the molds....and wouldn't you know they make quite yummy delish treats...no sugar added! She loves them and they are fabulous when she's teething and super healthy and cheap!

Norah loving the photo opp. post strawberry picking. She thought these things were hilarious and just kept laughing and "hamming" it up for the camera and peeking through the cut-outs. We've actually made it this year out to do some strawberry and blueberry picking.

Beach day!

Is a champ in trying new foods! She eats all kinds of healthy good foods that we've only acquired a taste for in the past few years! Our lil' vegetarian baby loves her fruits, veggies, and grains! Amazing! Hopefully this will continue....

Daddy + Daughter = absolutely precious

Full of smiles