i'd rather be camping

Seventeen Months

11/15/2011 - Posted by Allison - 0 comments

At 17 months Nora is into:

broccoli (tees!)
clinking glasses (salut!)
doing it herself
chasing after Gatsby(Ats-ee) the papillon carrying around a large tupperware tray filled with sippy cups
her lovey, Booboo (tiny fleece blanket with a lamb/hippo/rabbit head depending on which one is clean)
her stuffed turtle (Tuh-tle) from "Uncle Brandon"
being done with dinner when she she is done with dinner
tea

Why am I giving a 17 month update? Because we had 17 month photos taken and I feel the need to write something and not just post photos. The timing is slightly less random than you might think. Basically, I wanted 18 month photos/holiday photos taken but our wonderful photography Tanya of Precious Moments Photography is due with her second child in early December and wasn't going to be available closer to the time Nora hits 18 months. So we went with 17 months. I'm keeping the holiday photos under wraps (pun totally intended) until a more appropriate time. I refuse to give into the holiday spirit until Thanksgiving has passed.

Catfish Kisses

11/13/2011 - Posted by Allison - 0 comments

Finally! A schedule-free Sunday with no Packer game. Thank you Monday Night Football. It's not that I'm anti-football or anything. It's just when the Badgers take up a chunk of every Saturday and the Packers overwhelm Sundays and the Brewers were in the playoff for far too long, weekends tend to get kind of crowded. That's way more sports than this barely casual fan can handle.

Plus, we were running out of food. And though the local Piggly Wiggly manages to keep us stocked with staples, getting real groceries requires an hour and a half roundtrip drive to Dubuque. Since there was no game to get home for, we used the opportunity to visit the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Mike and I had been before, mainly through Girl Scout trips when I was in grad school and working for GSUSA. As the admission price is borderline outrageous (I would prefer Smithsonian affliates charge what the Smithsonian does...ie. nothing) I made an executive decision that we should probably go before we have to start paying for Nora, and it gave us an excuse to see the new addition in the old Diamond Jo Casino. I hope Nora appreciated the trip - because we're now broke and future trips to an aquarium will probably involve the fish section at PetSmart.

Loving the toddler accessible fishies.

Giant Channel Cat (I know this guy has a name) coming in for a smooch.

Puckering up.

Can you feel the love?

He (she?) has many secrets. Some of which Nora now knows.

Checking out the giant Gar in the recessed window that almost led to an injury.

Petting the badger pelt. Daddy basically skipped all the other animals and went straight to Bucky.

Halloween #2

10/31/2011 - Posted by Allison - 1 comments

I love Halloween. Mainly for the chocolate. Not so much for the Whoppers (which, as far as I am concerned, are as much a waste of sugar as Sweet Tarts, Smarties, and anything made with white "chocolate"). I also love Halloween because, unless you take yourself a little too seriously and you're out protesting in the streets (and to be honest, if it weren't for you, I'm pretty sure NOBODY would remember Halloween's evil, horrendous, scary "pagan" roots), it is the one holiday that really is just about collecting and consuming enormous amounts of sugary goodness. I don't have to feel thankful for anything (except that last Reeses Peanut Butter Cup I discovered after thinking I eaten all of them), be annoyed by people reminding me "the reason for the season" (yes, got it, thank you), or hurt my brain by attempting to figure out the whole bunny/resurrection link (how come nobody goes door to door on Easter complaining?) not to mention having to avoid Cadbury Cream Eggs...gross.

I trick or treated a bit longer than most kids (I was short and got away with it), had quite the time in Madison during and after college (before the whole riot thing started), but frankly, having a kid at Halloween is definitely a parental perk. Especially if said child is too young to really eat much of the candy but looks absolutely adorable in costume. And what kid doesn't.

This year, Mike announced in August that he and Nora were going as Mario and Luigi. He is, after all, a plumber. Seriously the easiest costume ever. Two inexpensive felt hats off Etsy, a pair of overalls for Mike from the bargain bin at Farm and Fleet, and a little eyeliner for moustaches and we were set. Babies come equipped with red onesies and overalls. Wisconsinites come equipped with green Packer shirts. I think they turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself.

Luigi & Mario. Mario obviously needs to find a mushroom or a fireflower stat.

The best part of Nora's night (and this includes eating candy) was spending most of the evening on Daddy's shoulders.

What? You don't have a small mustachioed Pebbles Flintstone in your bathtub?

Vesperman Farms Pumpkin Patch

10/22/2011 - Posted by Allison - 0 comments

As it was a spectacularly beautiful October day, we took a short drive out of town to the Vesperman Farms Pumpkin Patch right outside of Lancaster. While we skipped the corn maze...

Nora had a delightful time sitting on giant pumpkins.