One week!

Miss Elise is one week old today. Wow. It's been a wonderful week - I (as well as Nora) will really miss having Chris home when he goes back to work next week. Luckily, I'll have my mom and then my dad here for extended stays and Chris's mom around to help, so it will still be a couple weeks before I'm truly home alone w/ the two munchkins. I can't really imagine it.

Elise is a joy. She sleeps a lot, but not nearly as much as Nora did. So far, she has a few awake/alert stages each day that last anywhere from one to three hours during which she mostly wants to nurse. Unfortunately, she's a bit of a spitter upper so all that cluster nursing generally leads to many costume changes and clean ups. Hopefully as she gets bigger and as my milk supply evens out (it's haywire right now, with both girls nursing and the inevitable immediate postpartum over supply) she'll be able to keep the good stuff down. Until then, we're going to have to invest in some more bibs.

She's also been a good night sleeper, so far. She had a few nights of longer 5 to 6 hour sleep stretches, but she seems to have settled into a two to three wakings every two to three hour schedule. Fine by me. Nora doesn't seem at all confused about why Elise can nurse at night when she has to wait until the morning - hopefully that will last.

Nora has been great. She's definitely testing her limits a bit, but has been very gentle with Elise and very patient when she wants something from me and needs to wait a bit for it. She's such a sweetheart. I've had a handful of hormonal cries just looking at Nora and realizing that she's not my little baby anymore (tearing up right now just typing it).

I should post this before one of the angels wakes up. :)

So, some pictures:

Nora, reading...with crazy post-nap hair:


Such a good big sister:



Uncle Deets came to visit Monday and Tuesday - Nora was very excited.


Elise was also excited, but she has a better game face so it's hard to tell.


So tiny...


Elise has dimples, just like her big sis!



Funny hat...


Touchdown!


Sleeping with one eye open. You can never be too careful...



Girl's got style...


Elise, with Aunt Jen...


Nora, all geared up to go out in the cold...so cute.


Grandpa Rex, Uncle Bull and Heather are visiting this weekend - hopefully we'll post pictures soon!

Elise Evelyn Bongorno

Miss Elise made her grand entrance on Saturday, Jan 23rd at 8:30am. Like her sister, she was born at home, but she made quite sure that her birth was uniquely hers! After 3 hours of fast and intense labor (3 3/4 hours after my water broke) our wonderful midwife caught her (literally...I was standing/squatting next to our bed with Chris holding me up and Elise shot right out!) before we could get the birth pool set up and before my mom or our doula (Melissa) could get there (they both arrived within an hour)! Phew. Elise was 6 pounds10 ounces, 19 and 1/2 inches long. She was pink with a touch of dark hair and she nursed like a champ from the start!

Big sister Nora slept through the first 2.5 hours and woke up just as Grandma B arrived to play with her. Nora was a good little doula herself, helping with a few contractions before Grandma B made it upstairs. I could hear her giggling and reading in the bathroom, which was a wonderful thing to focus on as the contractions got stronger.

Moments after birth, Chris brought Nora upstairs to meet the baby. This photo was taken by Grandma B 5 minutes after Elise was born:

We opened the curtains to let the sun in and Melissa captured a few great shots:

Nora was very eager to hold Baby Elise and she was immediately a natural, gentle big Sister:

Grandma B held Elise while Nora got her first mums as a big sister:

Elise was calm and alert from the start:

She is clearly a genius
Nora made red velvet birthday cupcakes downstairs with Grandma B & Mimi:


Nora checking Elise's umbilical cord:

Downstairs for the first time:

Christmas 2009 - Part 2

Sorry for the delay between Parts 1 and 2. Now we're into the second week of January and in danger of falling even farther behind! Let's get us up to the New Year...

Naomi & Nora heading downstairs to see what Santa has brought us on Christmas morning

Nora was just fine with eating breakfast before getting to the pile under the tree

Nora read some books to her doll while waiting for her uncles to wake up

Opening her stocking at Mimi's house... she put a gift bag on her head!

She was actually thrilled to get an orange!

Uncles Deets and Bull got some sweet shades in their stockings

Nora wore them best!

She looks good in just about anything, though!

One of her favorite activities is re-organizing Mimi's cupboard

Heather showed up and got into some good tickles!

Time for lunch!

Mimi and Nora shared a laugh during story time

Later on, we all went to the high school to watch the alumni basketball tourney

Nora had seen better games...

Nora found this awesome hat and put on a great fashion show!

More goofiness

Sikes-Bongorno Family Photos

Nora got sleepy with Great Grandma Sikes

Kate & Jason had a party on New Year's Eve to celebrate their recent nuptials

The band

Matthew (Tiger's dad) got in some Nora time

Eli & Nora and their big girl friend, Hanna

Later on in the weekend, Nora , Eli and Eli's papa, Kevin

Tea Party with Tiger, Eli & Mimi


We had visitors from Cincinnati on New Year's Day: Adam, Sarah & Finn:

Caroline & baby Julian + Jake (Finn's papa):

More Caroline & Julian (not pictured - papa Chris)

A little out of order here, but not to be missed, we were champs and stayed up late on New Year's Eve, which meant we walked downtown for the big Yellow Springs ball drop!

Tish & Morgan always represent well on NYE

She's got her PJs on under there!

The Mattesons stayed up late too!

Eli, Kevin, Chris & Nora

Hugs after the ball drop

Happy New Year!

Christmas 2009 - Part 1

Christmas 2009 has been split into 3 stages: Stage 1, with Grandpa Rex in Cleveland; Stage 2 with the Sikes family in Yellow Springs; and Stage 3 still to come in Cleveland with the Bongornos. Here are some of the most prized moments of the first two stages, which has been captured on our new camera - a Christmas present from Rex! This also happens to be our excuse for not having any pictures of Stage 1... our old camera was out of order!

Nora has a newfound love for her sit 'n' spin:

She also loves reading on her little book bench:

Cute, anyone?

Nora got a new wagon for Christmas from Grandpa Rex:

Nora & Papa, caught dancing:

We practiced using the "smile meter" on our new camera, which Nora nearly broke with this big adorable dimple grin!

Nora got a new carseat from Grandma and Grandpa B:

Which definitely did the trick on the ride down to Yellow Springs:

Poor Sadie, crammed in the boot of our Subaru for the ride:

Down in Yellow Springs, where we baked cookies on Christmas Eve:

Nora and "Bull" played with toys, which was just adorable:

Then she got a new dollhouse from Grandma Mimi:

And a couple Christmas books from Mama & Papa:

But that wasn't enough... she snuck another one under the tree while we weren't looking!

The rest of us enjoyed a "Yankee Swap" after that, including some real gems:

Great Grandpa Sikes read Nora some Christmas tales before bedtime:

Christmas Day and more, coming soon!

Happy Holidays!!!

Love,
Naomi, Nora & Chris

A month and a half to go!!

Apparently, being pregnant and chasing around a 2 year old has dire consequences for this blog. So sorry, loyal readers. This will be short and will, hopefully, be followed up with some more substantive updates on our wonderful Nora and our growing little b!

I'm feeling good (assuming the normal complaints of late pregnancy). I seem to be carrying the same as last time - perhaps slightly lower - but everything else about this pregnancy feels totally different to me! Little b is a big time mover (although s/he is getting a bit cramped) and I get to frequently enjoy those wonderful sensations of feet/butt in the ribs, punching of the bladder, and that weird (TMI) feeling that can only be described as him/her "pinching" my cervix. I love feeling the baby move, but am a little worried that it means we're going to have a "no sleeper"! Ah well, we'll love him/her anyway.

Here's me earlier this week (at 33 weeks):


And, me at 34 weeks with Nora (wearing the same pants)!


Nora is growing more adorable and hilarious by the minute. Last night she was fighting sleep (again) and chatting in her crib (while I lay on our bed) and said "Mama! Mama! Whatcha' doin', Mama?! when she received no response: Mama! What's your name, Mama?! no response again...Nomi - Nomi Bongorno". SO cute!

Here she is walking across Wade Oval last weekend at the annual Holiday Circlefest...



With Papa, at the Natural History Museum...


Petting a reindeer!


With her pal, Sofia...


And, a cute pic with G'ma B...


Until next time!

The Many Moods of Nora

Nora has been a riot of late. As some of you surely saw, I posted on Facebook the other day that she said her superhero name is "Ats" and that her super power is dancing - So true! Her favorite words are "delicious" and "apple piss," which of course means octopus. We've got tons of ladybugs around the house (happens every fall... not sure why) and she's enamored with them. She's named the baby in mommy's belly "Joe," no matter if it's a boy or girl. Her sentences have gotten longer and more coherent. She's also been great at making faces on cue. The best one may be the "hairy eyeball," which is hard to capture on camera and can intimidate even the hardest among us. Here are a few of them and a video roundup to boot!

Surprise, part 1 (this makes me think of me for some reason):

Full surprise face:

So sad:

Don't mess with Nora! Angry face:

Watch out! It's the hairy eyeball!



Here are a few other photos from post-birthday. Nora has been loving her new stroller, doll house, big-girl booster seat, and STICKERS (they're everywhere!). It's impossible to cook anything without her pushing a stool across the kitchen, saying "Nora help Papa/Mama."

The only downside to this is that she's a bit of a slow, deliberate walker!

One of the aforementioned ladybugs:

Cooking with Papa:

Sitting on her Mama perch:

We spent Halloween weekend in Yellow Springs. It was great to trick-or-treat with Corrie & Tiger (the ginger bread woman) around Naomi's old neighborhood, where Mimi and Carolion (Corrie's mom) live. Naomi made the most awesome flamingo costume for Nora. She loved it and wore it proud! See for yourself:

Corrie doing the makeup:

Nora & Naomi get ready for the cold YS night:

Nora's fabulous headdress:

Tiger & Nora's first treat, from Big Foot/Sideshow Bob (?) (Donna):

Nora & Tiger started out in the bike buggy, pushed by Corrie:

It didn't last long, as they had to run up to every house for candy!

In other news, Nora is still kicking me out of bed when she's ready for mommy to "nurse mums" so she can go to sleep. I'll get her washed up (baths are enjoyable again - hooray!) and brush her teeth and then we read books until lights-out. Then she starts pushing me out of bed with her "papa moose please!" It hurts my feelings a little bit, but it's so cute! One of my favorite times with her since day one has been the towel wrap-up immediately after bathtime. Sure, she's bigger now than she once was, but she still fits snugly in an adult-sized towel and I just love to wrap her up and hold her in front of the mirror to show her that she's still my little baby. It's one of those things that I'd like to believe neither of us will ever forget.