Valupak...Bill...Junk...Junk...Oh, my God!

For those of you who think that you get a lot of weird junk mail...

This arrived on our doorstep unsolicited with a pack of pamphlets. I guess that's the hazard of being married to a urologist, but still....

Let's address the obvious questions one at a time:

1. Yup, it is.

2. I'm sure someone out there would carry this on their keyring.

3. I can't answer why he's wearing a jacket, but I think that the heart-shaped lily is to make him look like a sensitive, romantic guy. And not at all creepy.

ADDENDUM: Eric got home from the hospital just now and I showed him Mr. Sta-Man. He was immediately tickled and put it on his keychain. [sigh] I guess they know their audience after all.

Nora and her puppy

Nora tries on Daddy's hat. Suma helps.

Nora explores dog anatomy.
(Best. Dog. Ever. )


Having a puppy is delightful!

Where the flowers come to bloom

It's somewhat of an understatement to say that Nora Lee likes to be outside. Rain, shine, blizzard conditions- it doesn't matter. Luckily, tonight was lovely.
She looks a little like a ruffian in her James Dean white shirt and jeans ensemble, but that was just because she lost her cute shirt during dinner. If you look closely, you may be able to pick out some spaghetti sauce still on her face. Suma found it and then refused to leave the child alone. The delicious, delicious child.



We have also been gardening, which in Norish translates to discovering which of the flowers are yummy. Delicious= salvia, catmint, alliums. Ironically not so delicious= mint, swiss chard, spring onions. I believe here she was eating the tulips that Eric was cutting back.

OK, so we decided that tulips are not, in fact, so tasty. But they are good for chucking. Everything is good for chucking these days.

Jonesin' for Photos?

You're in luck! While I'm a terrible parent and don't take enough pictures, Jenni McCord is not. Check out her last few posts, chock-full of adorableness in the form of Nora and Lilly pictures. They played together Saturday afternoon and Jenni took 196 pictures. Look here:
greggandjenni.blogspot.com

Bike Ride

The kid is changing pretty quickly these days. Her newest word/vocalization that is not entirely random is "wheee," which is used for, "Hey! That was fun. Do it again!"

She went for her first bike ride yesterday and we heard a lot of "wheeee." She is very much her father's daughter. As soon as she saw a bike for the first time, she tried to climb up on it. We ended up holding her on the seat and pushing her around. There was much giggling.

She has a pink helmet that she thinks is the greatest fashion accessory ever and refuses to take off, even after 4 hours. As Aunt Kristin put it, that'll save on haircuts.

Shamed into Communication

It's true.
I've finally been bludgeoned into creating a weblog, or "blog" as the kids call it these days.
After the fifteenth friend mentioned in passing that they only have the blog so that their out-of-town friends and families can keep up with their lives and children, I started to feel this uncomfortable feeling that I can only describe as crushing guilt.
So, "Hello Starling" was born. Why "Hello Starling"? Katanderic, noralee, lauerfamily and goddamnhippy.blogspot.com were all taken.
Seriously.
Also, it's the title of a Josh Ritter album and is a line from the song "Snow is Gone." Check it out here: http://www.joshritter.com/album_starling.shtml
We sang this album to Nora in it's entirety many nights when she was a newborn and still use it as a soporific frequently.
Now that the blog is created, I promise to post exactly often enough to keep the demons of guilt at bay.