Travel

There were entire fields full of wishes to make!

A camel stole my bucket!

A zebra right outside the window!




Grandma Donna and Nora Lee




VMI Parade

Grandpa Mike and Nora Lee

Military Parade at VMI



Grandpa Mike and Nora Lee

We just returned from spending a week in San Diego and then a week in Lexington, Virginia - all visiting family. Nora Lee did beautifully on the flight to and from the east coast. We only had one mishap when she fell in the toilet in the airport and bruised her leg. I was holding onto her and then lifted one of my arms so that I could grab the toilet paper. When I did, she fell in and started screaming "Mama you're hurting me!" Everyone in the bathroom (and outside the bathroom) were convinced I was torturing my child. When we finally got cleaned up and left the restroom Matt said, "What was going on in there!" Nora Lee dried her tears and said so sincerely to Matt, "Daddy, did that ever happen to you when you were little?" He lied and said yes.

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Donna live in a beautiful tiny town (about 7,000 people) in Virginia. It takes about ten minutes to drive into this town from where they live which is located in the Shenandoah Valley and absolutely stunning. Green everywhere and my personal heaven. We played in the yard and Grandpa Mike showed Nora Lee how to play golf, football and soccer. She even had her own sized golf clubs!

One of my favorite things on the trip was going to Safari Park. Incredible animals lived on acres of land and we got to drive our car through and feed them. They would actually stick their heads into the car! It was scary at times and totally thrilling!

We were in Virginia for five days and then we flew home. We ended up on an international flight with our own TVs and tons of movie choices. Nora Lee watched movies the whole way which was awesome. She got really tired near the end and fell asleep. Unfortunately we hadn't put her in a diaper so when we lifted her up to carry her out we realized she was sleeping in a pool of pee. Luckily the seats were leather and I got it cleaned up quickly and gave the flight attendant a heads up.

We are happy to be home and with Hogarth again. it was our first time away from him and all went well.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

We shot this a month or so ago when Nora Lee still couldn't saw her "L's". Its so cute! Matt worked with her and now she says "little star" but its so fun to have this version on tape.

Hogarth Steps in For Santa!

Nora Goes to Disneyland!

Last week we took Nora Lee on her first visit to Disneyland. When we first arrived we sat down to a wonderful buffet breakfast where many of the Disney characters come visit you at your table. She met Minnie and Chip but was very nervous when Captain Hook approached us. I asked him to keep on goin' which he gladly did :)

After breakfast we visited Sleeping Beauty's castle which was a little scary for her. As we exited she said, "We are safe at last."

We then went on Peter Pan and Its a Small World, both of which she loved. We also got to take a princess tour and meet Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine. This was also a big hit.

The other exciting things were when she got to drive the car in Autopia and the candy store (Im still excited by that!)

After about four hours she was pooped and ready to go home again.

It was such a sweet day.

Santa

Nora Lee met Santa the day after Thanksgiving. When it was her turn, she went up to him, looked him right in the eyes and said she wanted a new shirt, a lollipop, underwear and a wig. Santa got a heartbroken look on his face as he wondered if Nora Lee was a cancer patient wearing a wig. Mimi straightened him out and then, with a look of relief, he said, "So you'd like Halloween costume." Nora replied, "No, I want a wig!"

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving here in Los Angeles at home and were delighted to have my mom and Dario and my in-laws, Lee and John come join us for the holiday. It was such a treat to have them all here! We cooked delicious food, sat around chatting, Matt played the banjo and we had a feast. The next day we did a little Christmas shopping and then decorated our house for Christmas. It was a blast!

Nora Lee Tap Dances