Instant Friends

A week or so ago, my long lasting friend Angela and I drove down to see an old/dear friend Nikki who lives in Springfield, IL. Nikki, Angela, and I all worked together at A.G. Edwards back in the early 2000s. We had a blast together and have remained close over the years. Distance and life have caused us not to see each other as often as we would have liked, but we always pick up where we left off. So Nikki moved to Texas for several years and is back in the midwest. We've been meaning to get together, but just have not been able to set plans, so we just decided to do it! We loved their house and Tia loved getting to know Nikki's children, Chloe and Dominick. They all seemed to be instant friends! Can't wait to get them together again soon.

Tia's Dark Legs

When Tia was born, I made the comment, she was my 'white white' baby. I said this because I was hoping Tia would get a little bit of my color, but she wasn't very dark when she was born. Of course, I love her all the same, and then I just prayed she'd tan as easy as I do. Well, it is safe to say that she definitely tans as easy as I do. She goes outside everyday at daycare and her legs are very dark. I am happy she has the opportunity to have a good complexion. I've really never had to worry about burning, etc. I hope she doesn't either. She is so adorable!

Lexi's Toe

Lexi has a bad callous on her middle toe. It started out like a small bump, but keeps growing larger and larger. It is a very tough, hard mass. The doctor says it is a callous, but I'm just not quite sure. I get why it could definitely be a callous, but it just seems weird that it is growing bigger and bigger. It is right near her toe nail and it seems to be moving down her toe so that her toe nail is getting smaller and smaller over time. She does not act like it hurts her, but it hurts me to see it on her. Of course, we don't want to see our children in pain or have deformities. The doctor said that she may have to have it removed one day if it starts to bother her, but for the time being, I think we'll just have to let it run it's course. My poor baby!

Talking Tia

Tia is constantly talking. We love that she can form complete sentences and have full conversations with us, as well as her being a little show boat, BUT wow, she is non-stop energy to the fullest. From the minute we pick her up at school to the minute she goes to bed, it is 'look at this', 'come on let's go play', 'hey mommy, hey daddy', 'why', 'what's that', singing - singing - and more - singing, etc. etc. etc. It is so entertaining and she is sooo sweet, but wow - she can really talk. I love that she is social!

The Norris's Future Lock

I know that Chris loves having girls, however the thought of how he needs to protect them over their lives I know scares him. Should he invest in baseball bats, or sledge hammers to scare of the boys? Or the joke right now is the average cost of weddings in 2012. In 2012, the average cost of a U.S. wedding is between $26K-$27K, not including the honeymoon. I think he heard it was much lower and when I told him what it really ways, his eye balls popped out and he asked me if the girls could go back in my belly! ha. But I suggested that we give the girls an alternative wedding option similar to how we got married in Cabo. Our wedding in Cabo including the flight/accommodations/wedding/photographer/videographer/reception in Cabo was less than $5k. Our reception back in St. Louis was a DIY party at a hall where we brought in our own food and liquor. We had pasta/pizza from Racanelli's for Chris being half Italian. We had my mom's thai food for me being half Thai, and we had mexican food from Hacienda for getting married in Mexico. We had a friend DJ, friends bartend, and we did everything ourselves from the slideshow to the decor to the food. Yes, I have wonderful friends who helped me make this happen. We encouraged everyone to wear beach attire and boy did we have fun. We spent less than $3k on the reception. So knowing that wedding prices may go up over the next 20 years, if we offer the girls a package similar to what we had in Cabo/reception back in STL OR the equivalent money, they could pitch in if they wanted to do something that costs more than what this will be....but we'll see how it goes over the years. Maybe we'll win the lottery, lol Regardless, I saw this picture and laughed because it reminds me of a lock Chris would get to keep those boys away. I pray he doesn't use the same tactic my dad did which was make sure I had coke bottle glasses that were too large for my face along with my fro/boy hair cut. Thank you to my Grandma and Aunts for helping me 'bloom' with contacts and a new hair-do when I was in 6th grade. Regardless, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I think my girls are beautiful and it will be nice for them to have the problem of catching the eye of some boys along the years. Guess we'll see how it goes!

Lexi's Sick

Lexi has been sick the past several days. Not sure what she has, but a stomach flu has it our family over the past couple weeks. Chris was in his cousin Jeremy's wedding and the entire wedding party had the flu the week prior to the wedding. Then after the rehearsal dinner, Chris came down with it and even was sick during the wedding. It seems to be a 48 hour stomach flu. Major headache, stomach cramps, no appetite, can't move/can't eat/can't do anything but lay there in the fetal position. Oh and you are either vomiting or have major runny diarrhea every time you go. My Aunt Kina watched the girls during the wedding and she got it. Then I had it (boy was I miserable), then Meamaw Kathi got it, and I heard Chris's sister had it. Well not sure if this is what Lexi has, but over the past three days, she has had a mustard, seedy, runny BM pretty much every hour or two. Her poor bottom is so red and raw that she was screaming out in pain. Sunday night, she cried all night and Tia nor myself got much sleep. Then Monday night, I had Lexi all to myself and she did not sleep a wink. I think I got a 45 minute sleep here or there throughout the night. Last night, Lexi surprised me and slept 10 hours straight from 6pm to 4am. This is the longest she's slept and no BM during this time so I was hopeful that she was over this bug. However, this morning at 7, she had a BM. It wasn't runny and it wasn't mustardy, but it was still seedy. So I am hoping it is starting to turn a corner. We've been letting her air out as much as possible and using so many ointments to protect and create a barrier. I pray this is over soon. My vacation from me being sick last week and now Lexi is depleting quickly! lol

Sisters

Lexi and Tia are so great right now with each other. I know over the years, they will have their moments and ups and downs, but right now things are great. Tia may have a bit of jealousy, but she is really sweet about not showing it. She is creative in getting me and daddy's attention when the time is opportune. She loves helping with Lexi and loves trying to make Lexi laugh and smile. I love seeing them interact. I was worried when I first got pregnant with Lexi that Tia would be super jealous or possessive, but on the contrary, she has been quite adaptable to having a baby sister. Right now things are great between them and I hope it stays that way. The thing that just makes me smile is when Lexi cries out, Tia will jump in and say the exact same thing I would normally say 'It's okay Lexi...I'll be right there...It's gonna be alright...hold on baby girl' and it is just so darn cute. I can tell she has a generous and kind heart. She loves sharing her toys (right now) with Lexi and I hope that throughout their life, they can be close sisters!

Tia's Ears are Great

Tia went to the ear doctor this week. I have been eager to know how she is doing. I know some times with kids who get tubes in their ears, they can develop some level of hearing loss. I was so afraid of this. Tia had her hearing test first. She did phenomenal. She passed everything. Of course, she was a ham too. She was entertaining the two specialists and was jumping for joy when they gave her a sticker. We went to see Doctor Forsen, her ENT. Ironically, Meamaw Kathi had started working for Doctor Forsen's office shortly after she graduated with her Medical Assistant degree. Of course when Tia saw Meamaw, she went running and jumped into her arms. Once we got into the doctor's room and it was just me and Tia, Tia froze up realizing that this was not a place she wanted to be. Doctor Forsen came in and with his soft voice spoke to Tia. She had not to do with him until he said the word 'sucker'. Then her face lit up and basically was willing to do whatever he asked. She turned her head so he could look in 1 ear and then the other. She opened her mouth, looked up at the ceiling, and said 'ahhhhh'. She was just so excited about the sucker. Dr. Forsen said her ears look great. She lost one of her tubes but her ear looks great. The other still has the tube halfway falling out, but we decided to let it fall out on its own. He said that he was very pleased about Tia's ears. Yay!

Family Wedding

When I was pregnant with Tia, Chris's cousin Jeremy still lived with us. I remember being 7 months pregnant and walking up the driveway when Jeremy was living with us. He and Chris lived together for over 5 years before I moved in. Jeremy moved out two months before Tia was born. He is now a father himself and married Leslie last Saturday. Even though the wedding was an outdoor wedding outside with 108 degree weather, I have to say it was one of the funnest weddings I've been to. I actually was pretty comfortable but being a girl, I was able to wear a strapless dress that was quite comfy. Chris was the best man and was in a tux and was quite hot for a while. He wasn't feeling the greatest, but prevailed giving a great toast and doing his best to enjoy himself. I was having a blast, but I always do with Chris's family. Congrats Jeremy, Leslie, and Elliot.

5 More Mimutes

Tia is so cute. When she is playing something she loves, but won't give it up so she can go to bed, we'll say '5 more minutes', '4 more minutes', etc. Well, it has come back on us lately. Now she is using that same line of thinking with us. Chris was on the iPad and Tia ran over and said 'My Turn' and Chris said 'Tia, can you share with daddy' and Tia said 'okay daddy, 5 more mimutes'. We were cracking up. She has been using that lately - and negotiates too. I'll give Tia one cookie and she'll say 'two' before she even eats the first. That girl is so cute and smart!

New Mommy Mobile

Our family has a new vehicle. I love my BMW X5, but we couldn't pass up buying this new Nissan Murano. One of our dear friend's lease was up and she was getting ready to get a new car instead of buying the lease out. Therefore, we were able to snatch it up and buy it. Knowing that the Murano has 100,000 less miles, is a safe vehicle, and is exactly the type of car I like - we just couldn't pass it up. My BMW has 162,000 miles on it, has it's aches and pains, and has been a great vehicle for 5 and a half years. Honestly, I'd keep it if I didn't have the girls. However, knowing that I have some precious cargo now with Tia and Lexi - I want to make sure our vehicles are safe. For the past two weeks, I've been driving both cars here and there. Tia would say 'Mommy's car' then point to the Murano and say 'My Car' - so cute. I'm loving my new ride!!!!!

No Ear Infections

I took Lexi to the doctor last week because she finished her ear infection medicine on Tuesday and still sounded awful. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. The good news is that she has no ear infections! Yay! She has a small bug that only needs some nebulizer treatments. She weighed almost 16 pounds.