Už mluvím!

Kdybyste nevěděli co říkám, tak se zeptejte mojí sestřenice Esterky. Ta vám to určitě poví. :) Kdyby ani Esterka nepomohla s překladem, tak vězte že Norinka přála babičce brzské uzdravení a ŠŤASTNÉ NAROZENINY!

In case you don't understand what I'm saying, just ask my cousin Ester. She can tell you. (Ester is Nora and Adéla's cousin who will turn 1 in June. Check out their blog on the right: Havleni. It's all in Czech, but you can enjoy the pictures! :)

Passing of Time

Nora at 12 weeks

Last night Leo was looking at some old video footage from my first year in the Czech Republic. I realized that I didn't even want to watch it. For some reason, it bothered me to see that I've gotten older and that those special days are already past. I didn't think I was a person who would mind "getting older." I even wondered if there was any point to videotaping events in our lives if I never wanted to watch them! I must admit though that I do like rewatching our wedding video. It was a fairytale wedding (I absolutely loved my dress) and truly a gift from the Lord that He would bless me with such an amazing and Christlike husband. I also love to videotape our daughters (wow! I have daughterS!) I like to compare pictures of Adela when she was 3 months old to pictures of Nora now. I'm constantly reminded how quickly time passes and the huge responsibility I have as a parent. May the Lord give me wisdom daily to use my time wisely to teach my sweet girls to walk in His ways. "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways." Psalm 128:1

Nora Update 3

More good news today! Nora's hip has continued to improve. She will continue to wear the brace for the next 4 weeks at least until her next appointment on June 3rd. Thank you all again for your prayers. Here is a video of Nora in her crib. You can catch a hint of a smile. We think she looks more like Leo's side of the family.

Thumb Sucking

About 3 weeks ago, Nora or Norinka as we affectionately call her, discovered her thumb. Since then, she often happily soothes herself to sleep with her little thumb. I think it is cute and I'm actually quite happy that I don't have to keep up with a pacifier and that she can soothe herself. Of course, I have heard all the horror stories: "My son sucked his thumb until he was 12 and cost us thousands in dental work...oh,no, you have a thumb sucker, she'll never stop...it's easier to throw away a pacifier than to break them of a thumb..." I'm sure you've heard them too.
For now I think I'll take the advice of the authers of "What to Expect The First Year." Here is what they say about thumb sucking: "It isn't easy being a baby. Every time you latch on to something that gives you the comfort and satisfaction you're searching for, somebody wants to take it away from you...stop worrying and start letting your baby indulge himself." Of course though, "if you yourself are disturbed by the thumb sucking because of prior programming, try to psych yourself out of it. If that doesn't work, you might want to substitute a pacifier for your baby's thumb temporarily - assuming you don't also have an aversion to that. But, of course, that will leave you with a new habit to break."

Finally found that thumb!

Adela's idea of fun is loading Nora up with all her toys! This morning as I was doing some laundry, I noticed that Adela had gotten very quiet. I went down the hall to find her in the crib with Nora! She had used a step stool to climb over. She said she DIDN'T wake her, but I'm not so sure about that.