Schaefer Showtime!

Valentine’s Day

schaefnet — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:19:37 +0000

How things have changed in a year! On Valentine’s Day, one year ago, I was just getting permission to be off bedrest and we were rejoicing that I had made it to full-term pregnancy. So to celebrate our last holiday “just the two of us” before Nora was born, we ate dinner at Portillo’s and picked up Culver’s custard on the way home – two of my favorite comfort foods. That was two weeks before Nora was born.

Fast forward to the present – we enjoyed our first Valentine’s Day with our little valentine! The day began with cards, chocolates, and a surprise for Nora from Jonathan – an Elmo balloon. Boy, was that a hit; Nora loves the balloon! (See pics below.) For dinner the three of us headed to downtown Naperville to Francesca’s, a restaurant we’ve been wanting to try. With a 5:30 pm reservation, we enjoyed a delicious pasta dinner. Nora did amazingly well sitting in the highchair eating her food and playing with toys, during the long wait of a busy restaurant night on a holiday. The food was delicious, but not superb, and the prices were pricey. But the best part was the fellowship. A special time it was, spending the evening with my honey and my sweets.

What a fun surprise from Daddy!

She’s all smiles for Elmo

Balloon fun

Eleven Months Old

schaefnet — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:31:24 +0000

At eleven months Nora continues to be such a happy baby! She is definitely a girl on the move. She loves to crawl from room to room, looking for her next adventure.

Nora…1) weighs somewhere around 19 pounds. 2) has a new tooth popping through – right top, next to the center two. 3) enjoys climbing stairs, being chased by Daddy, and turning the pages of her books. 4) can mimic us! Nora buzzes her lips together after watching us do it and can repeat “oh”, “ma”, and “da”. 5) has gotten really good at waving! 6) is a great player – she loves her toys. :)

First attempt at the bear picture

“Look at me, Mom!”

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

Silly girl with her tongue out!

Book Time with Mommy
Nora started to climb – yikes!

Soccer Ball Fun!

schaefnet — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:34:31 +0000

Nora LOVES her awesome Christmas gift from Aunt Julie! :)

Nora’s First Snow

schaefnet — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:08:16 +0000

We were excited to put Nora’s Christmas gift to use today – her sled! The preparation part was the hardest. Getting snow pants on a baby is tough! But once we got outside Nora was a happy girl. She really enjoyed her ride in the sled. (It helped that we had taken several practice rides along the carpet over the past few weeks.) Sledding is such fun playtime with Daddy.

all bundled up

Ready to take off

“Here I come!”

“wee…”

Snowy Smiles

Ten Months Old

schaefnet — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:45:19 +0000

Nora turned ten months old on January 2nd, my mom’s birthday. Her favorite things to do include reading books – she loves to turn the pages, listening to music – she shakes her hands and smiles, and playing with her toys – she is a great independent player! Some milestones of this month include:

* Getting her two top teeth – four total now.

* Walking with a push toy. She has three push toys (from Christmas) that she loves walking behind. In the family room or kitchen we stand her behind the toy and, if she has a cleared path, she will walk until she runs into something.

* Eating table food – small bits of meat, peeled fruit, and stuffing are foods she enjoys.

The bear pictures are getting harder to take as Nora gets older. She would much rather crawl away then sit and pose for a picture!

Chewing on her new toothbrush.

Nora & cousin Abby – what cuties!

Pushing her alligators

Dupage Children’s Museum fun!

on the go!

Christmas Day

schaefnet — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:19:20 +0000

Christmas morning began with just the three of us. Nora enjoyed opening her stocking (with her first toothbrush!) and sled from us. We had a truly worshipful experience at church Christmas morning and we were able to fellowship with some small group friends and their babies. We then enjoyed a fabulous day of festivities at the Schaefer house – Christmas turkey dinner, gifts, a game together, and dessert.

How special this first Christmas was with Nora! She was surprisingly able to rip the wrapping paper off the gifts quite well. …Even though she seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper more than the gifts at first. As we reflect on Christ’s birth, we look forward to sharing the meaning of Christmas every year with Nora.

Family Picture at Church

Nora and her two church friends celebrate their first Christmas together!

Jared and Jonathan show off Jared’s new GPS,which they will enjoy using for geocaching.

OUT! Her Christmas morning nap.

Christmas Eve

schaefnet — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:07:55 +0000

Christmas Eve was celebrated at the Vater’s where we enjoyed a full day of yummy food, gifts, music, and fellowship. With the four granddaughters, who are all under four, it proved to be an exciting day filled with lots of excitement and just a few tears. With the Fisher Price Nativity Scene, Anna (almost four) helped act out the Christmas Story and Dad recited the whole Luke 2 story from memory. It was a special time together.

“Hi Daddy!”Two babies and a GrammieThree sister shot
Nora liked holding Mary. Maybe next year she can place Mary in the stable.

Jammy Time! Nora is loved by her cousins. :)

The days before Christmas

schaefnet — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:33:02 +0000

Like every year the Vater girls and Mom enjoyed a Christmas cookie baking session. Our traditional cut-out sugar cookies are the annual favorites. The cookie cutters we use are the ones my grandma used when my mom was young. (They are the nice, sturdy metal cutters, not the plastic ones that you purchase today.) It’s fascinating to think about how many generations may use those same cookie cutters for years to come.

Nora’s first cookie baking experience!

Reindeer cupcakes Julie and I made

Just down the street from us is a “Santa House” (as we call it), which means the house and yard are covered in lights and decorations. On a warmer evening we took a walk to show Nora all the lights. She enjoyed riding behind Daddy.

Nine and 3/4 Months

schaefnet — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:37:39 +0000

I am almost refusing to believe that next week Nora will turn 10 months. Into the double digits! Our baby girl is getting so big. Here are some pictures of her at 9 3/4 months. :)

precious.

peekaboo in the crib

surprise!

Walking with Stroller

schaefnet — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:07:16 +0000