Bad Daddy

Well it seems that my computer has seen better days. It's taking longer and longer to put pictures on it and editing them is a nightmare, which is why there haven't been any blog updates in a while. The pictures haven't stopped, just the postings. And I'm kind of in a holding pattern on purchasing a new computer until my parents get back from vacation, as I'd like to get my Dad's input on some minimum requirements (size and speed) for the photo editing..

Norah's doing very well, we think she's starting to work on some teeth now, so there should be some fun nights ahead. Her and Mom are spending lots of time together now because Mom is home for summer vacation now. So here's a picture that Lauri had sent to me from her cell phone the other day. Norah loves to play with her jungle gym during the day with Mom.

I love getting these pictures during the day, it's like a little ray of sunshine in a crazy day at work.

Norah

So while I'm putzing around trying to edit the pictures I took on Saturday (they're not even on my computer yet), from the baby shower that Lauri's Dad and Step-Mom threw for us, my Dad has posted some pictures for everyone to see over on his blog (click here). He watched Norah for us yesterday, so I'm not too surprised that there was a photoshoot. Now be very careful when viewing these pictures, when I looked at them I literally laughed out loud. So if your employer doesn't appreciate you looking at Super-Duper-Ultra-Cute Baby pictures while you're "on the clock", you may want to wait till you get home because you're probably going to get caught. :)

Thanks for the great shots Dad!

Enjoy.
John

2 Months!

I've been trying to take some 2 month pictures of Norah for the last 6 days, and for one reason or another it never happened after I got home from work. Either she was fussy, or we were too busy. So to start off the holiday weekend we had a mini photo shoot this morning after her bottle. You'll see how she gets a little sleepy afterwards too, so cute.

These are some shots I took to show how much she loves her bouncy chair, from the animals on it to the lights and music that it plays, it keeps us occupied for a while. the first shot is from a few weeks before hand to show what she's looking at in the next two. While I love the shots of her laughing, the expression on her face in the second shot is great too. It's like you can watch her learn something! P.S. I included both color and Black and White shots here because I like the Black and White but everyone else likes the color shots.

And last but certainly not least, here's Norah's first "Someone who loves went to (insert your favorite city here) and all I got was this T-shirt" T-shirt. It's from her Uncle Jim and Aunt Jen from their trip to Scottsdale, AZ. A trip that taught us all the valuable lesson of why you should never accidentally drop your cell phone in a taxi cab. Thank you Jim.

Norah's Baptism

Yesterday was a very big day for Norah as she was baptized, and she couldn't have made it through the day any better. We had LOTS of family and friends on hand to help us celebrate and welcome her into the christian family. I didn't take any pictures with my camera, but that's only because my Dad was there with his camera. So if there was a shot I wanted to take, I just grabbed his camera and shot away. But as a result, you'll need to go to his blog to see the slideshow that he already has up. Thanks Dad! And a big thank you to Norah's new God Parents, Jim and Lindsey. We know you'll always be there for her.

Eyes Open!

I've gotten numerous requests, since my last post of Norah, for some pictures of her with her eyes OPEN! I never actually realized that most of the pictures I've taken of her are from when she's sleeping, but as you can imagine this is the easiest time to take her picture...

But today Norah was hanging out with Dad and, after she got a new dialper on, was wide awake and in a great mood, so I raced to the office, grabbed my camera, and took a few quick shots. Enjoy!

Kentucky Derby

For the past couple of years it's been tradition that Lauri, her mom, stepdad, and myself have put a little cash on the Kentucky Derby (just amongst ourselves). And I'm not talking big money here, but like the "Not So Annual" Shields Family Golf Outing, it's one of those - biggest grudge matches for just a buck - type of deals.

So we each do our research the day of the race (read the newspaper, watch ESPN before the race, pretend like we know what we're talking about) and pick a horse. It's also been a good reason to get together for a drink or three. Well this year Joan and Conrad will be in Florida on the day of the race so we'll have to try and get our picks posted online here, or maybe just over the phone. I also found a website that lets me put a widget on my blog with info about the Derby in it. Check it out. And by all means, get a group of friends and family together and watch the derby. You may not care who wins, but hopefully you care about the people your watching it with.

A little bit more Norah

This past week has been quite an experience, let me tell you. Poor little Norah has been really fussy most of this past week (also known as gassy in the baby world), and Lauri and I couldn't figure it out. For the most part she'd been a picture perfect baby up until then. Then Lauri decided to try a different type of bottle to feed her with, and VOILA! We have our perfect little angel back!

If Lauri and I had to pick one word to describe parenting for this past week, I think it would have to be "humbling", hands down...

I got home a little earlier today so, with the weather being as nice as it was, we headed to the new local outdoor mall and went for a family walk. Well Lauri and I walked, Norah slept. We even managed to go out for our first family dinner at a restaurant!!! Lauri and I have never been that excited to go to Max and Erma's! And wouldn't you know it, Norah slept through that too, even with a screaming toddler right next to us for half our meal.

And how fitting, this transformation came just in time for her to model a recent gift she received from one of my former college roomates. Norah would like to thank you for the personalized onesie Aunt Kacy! In fact it's so pretty she couldn't wait to try it on, even if it is a size or two too big for now. We're very thankful for all of the clothes that Norah has gotten, but I wanted to post a picture of what Kacy made for Norah.

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