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First Swim Meet

Todd — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:58:53 +0000

Its Henry’s first swim meet and big sister is there to offer some moral support.

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Henry the Graduate

Todd — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:37:41 +0000

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First Swim Meet

First Swim Meet

Happy First Birthday, Cora Belle!

Todd — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:46:27 +0000

It’s hard to believe that an entire year has passed since Cora joined us but time does fly, especially when you are having fun.

We had an excellent birthday shindig this evening, attended by many and enjoyed by all. A few photos for now with more to come. As you can see, of course, the birthday girl enjoyed both her first slice of pizza as well as the yummy cake that followed.

Cora’s First Crawl

Todd — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:29:01 +0000

Cora has been slow to get moving (despite her love for the movey-movey) so we were delighted when she took her first tentative crawl on Tuesday night. It was only three feet but after months of watching her be frustrated anything was a spectacular success.

The next day I recorded this short video. Just overnight she’d doubled her distance. Today, one day after this video was recorded, she’s been crawling all over Marla’s parents’ house in Woodinville. We’ll have to baby proof as soon as we return from vacation.

Way to go, Cora!

First Day of First Grade

Todd — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:52:10 +0000

Just after Labor Day Emma embarked on her latest adventure: first grade. She was very excited about it, having talked all summer long about all of the wonderful things she was destined to learn.

With Cora being brand new the task of back-to-school shopping fell on my shoulders. Emma, Henry and I went to the mall on weekend and searched for some suitable outfits. Somehow, we came back home with fancy pink plaid dresses and matching boots. What a shocker!

The first day arrived and we decided on a more tame outfit, the swirly blue and purple dress you see here. The boots would make their debut later.

We’re lucky enough to live within walking distance of the school so we make the short trek to school each morning. Emma and Henry stayed close by and chatted excitedly on the way up. Once we arrived we stood in line with her classmates until the bell rang and the teacher called us in.

While some children clung to their parents in fear, others broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Emma, on the other hand, barely glanced back and waved.

“You can go now Daddy!”

And with that, our little girl was off.

Cora’s First Bath

Todd — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:18:07 +0000

Some wise men once asked, “What do you do in the bath?” If your name is Cora and it is your very first bath, you quietly look around and, generally, look cute.

Cora Belle Northcutt

Todd — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:55:00 +0000

Continuing what appears to be a Northcutt family trend, Cora Belle Northcutt arrived this morning at 10:50 AM, four weeks early but healthy and happy.

Marla’s water broke yesterday while the kids and I were at the pool. She walked out to meet us poolside and calmly informed me that we probably ought to make our way to the hospital. Emma and Henry were picked up by some local friends – thank you Chris and Rain! – and by 6:30 PM on the 9th we were admitted to Mission Hospital.

Marla had no contractions to speak of and the doctor was in no hurry to induce so we waited through the night, hoping Mother Nature would take her course.

Alas, this was not to be. By 7 AM this morning, 12 hours after admission, the doctor had decided to induce. Remembering the last time around, when I barely made it to the hospital, I wisely waited by Marla’s side the whole time.

I impressed the nurse with my geekiness when, after asking for some history on the last delivery, I whipped up our website on the iPhone and read off the details of Henry’s birth. Score one point for all nerds out there.

Marla had wanted a natural child birth but by 10:15 the pain was too much and she called for an epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived at 10:40 and began the laborious process of inserting the catheter.

After pronouncing success he said he was ready to administer the “test dose” to make sure he’d hit the right spot when Marla called for him to stop.

“I have to push!” she said.

We were all a bit stunned, nurses included. They patronizingly said, “No, no. Just breathe…” Checking Marla, though, they discovered that the baby was crowning and immediately called for the doctor.

Cora was determined to be free, though, and had no patience for this “doctor” person. And, so, at 10:50 AM she arrived, weighing in at 5 lbs 1 oz and measuring 17 1/2 inches.

The doctor arrived 15 minutes later in time to give Marla a hug and tell her nice work.

Nanny Goats Gruff

Todd — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:03:24 +0000

Nanny goats; One, two and there.

Nanny goats; brave as can be.

There’s Annie and Fannie and Big Bertha Lee; Oh!

Nanny goats; One, two and three.

Emma’s first school play was held a few weeks ago. The kindergarten class had been practicing for weeks to bring us a spectacular production of The Nanny Goats Gruff.

The songs were surprisingly infectious. Emma was singing them nearly non-stop at home and I invariably found myself humming them at work or spontaneously breaking into song with the kids when at home. Take a look at the video and let me know if you’re singing the song, too, later in the week!

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Emma’s First Book

Todd — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:56:48 +0000

There’s a long tradition of book-writing in the Northcutt household. I started it in first grade with The Adventures of Spiderman and Bubblegum Man, a lengthy tome of 5 or 6 pages. Many years later I penned the masterpiece Return of The Jedi Trivia, filled with 8 or so deep questions that only an elementary school Jedi could answer.

You can imagine my excitement, then, when Emma put ~~pen~~ marker to paper and Me and Henry was the result. Over three illustrated pages (that’s four pages, for those who might not have encountered such marketing-speak before) she told the story of a beautiful princess, Emma, and a happy prince, Henry.

I won’t give away the ending but, suffice it to say that Queen Marla makes a surprise entrance and closes out the story in rousing fashion.

The Tooth Is Loose

Todd — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 05:41:42 +0000

We had a surprise visitor to the house a few days ago… the tooth fairy!

After a few weeks of wiggling, Emma has lost her first tooth. She went to bed on Friday and we were certain it would be coming out the next day. As it turned out she lay in bed and played with the tooth just after we turned the lights out until it finally came free.

She bounded down stairs moments later as excited as could be, holding the tooth in her hand and jumping around giggling. The tooth looked so tiny in her hands! After a little settling down she went back to bed.

The next night we put the tooth in a little jewelry box on a soft pillow and she anxiously awaited the tooth fairy’s visit that night. Emma was pleasantly surprised the next morning with “a beautiful gold coin.” (That’s a Sacagawea dollar to you and I.)

On Monday she got to put her name on the “Lost A Tooth” board at school which, of course, she was especially proud of. Tooth number two, also on the bottom, is already starting to loosen so she may just get two entries this month.

PS – After typing in the title for this post, “The Tooth is Loose” I could not get that old Starburst commercial out of my head. “The juice, the juice, the juice is loose!” Gaaah! I hope to have now infected you, too.