christmas around these parts

this holiday season has been so good to us.

i have to admit, i was bummed out that we weren't going home to either of our parents this year, but now that christmas is almost here, i'm really happy we're staying at our home.

we have our own little family now and its been so much fun to start our own traditions.

i still can't believe i'm at the point in my life where i have a husband, a daughter and a son on the way, and we're sharing these beautiful times together.

i am feeling especially blessed this year. so much has happened. 

we've moved 3 times. we've had 3 different jobs.

we're growing our family of 3, to make it a family of 4.

we've landed an incredible job and now live in our nation's capital. 

i don't know what else we need at this point.

don't get me wrong, this year has been hard. like one of the hardest years of my life.

but sitting back and thinking about all that we've done and all the places we've been,

i'm proud of us for sticking together and holding on to each other.

my little family is all i need to survive living in this crazy world. 

merry christmas!

XO

the noorda family

this last week...

trying out so many new recipes. and loving them!

trying to teach hailey that babies don't like to be smothered.

hailey's newest trick "i love you" and catching up on GG while shoving my face with as many popsicles as i can handle.

hailey practicing her photography skills (she took that picture of us) and she had her first tricycle crash :(

and we announced to the world that we're having another child. 

we're ecstatic! 

my favorite fall desserts

look at me! blogging twice in one week. 

but im not promising any form of commitment because it probably wont stick.

this week i've already made my two very favorite (and very yummy) fall desserts.

apple crisp

ingredients:

4 medium tart apples (sliced and peeled)

3/4 C brown sugar

1/2 C all purpose flour

1/2 C old fashioned oats

1/2 C butter

3/4 t ground cinnamon

3/4 t ground nutmeg

steps:

1. heat oven to 375. grease bottom and sides of 8x8 pan with shortening

2. spread apples in pan. in medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients until mixed well.

spread all over apples.

3. bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and apples are tender.

4. serve with vanilla ice cream

**i doubled this recipe and baked it in a 9x13 dish. baking time remained about the same.

pumpkin bars

ingredients:
2 C flour
2 C sugar 
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
2 C pumpkin or 1 large can
1 C oil

steps:
1. combine the dry ingredients in large bowl.
2. then add the wet ingredients (eggs, pumpkin and oil)
3. mix well and pour into a greased and floured cookie sheet.
4. bake at 350 for 18 minutes. do not over bake.
frost when cooled.

frosting:
1/2 C butter, softened 
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
3-5 C powdered sugar
1-3 T milk

steps:
1. blend butter and cream cheese until smooth.
2. slowly add powdered sugar and milk until you've reached desired consistency

ENJOY!

apple picking

last friday, my friend holly and i took our girls out to maryland

 to pick apples from a huge orchard.

we had such a great time!

the weather was perfect and the trees were the perfect size for toddlers to pick from. 
hailey loved it and felt like such a big helper.

it was incredibly refreshing to head out to the country for a few hours.

i didn't realize it, but i really needed a break from the big city.

living in a big city sure has it's perks,

but man i would love to settle in the country with my family some day.

there's just something about the country that feels so right when you're there, you know?

maybe someday we'll get to live on a big farm and teach our kids to be work horses.

but until then, i'm enjoying the city because i know it won't last forever :)

for tay tay

my best friend taylor has been begging me to blog.

so here i am tay, doing this for you because i love you so much!

sorry, i got all of these pictures from instagram, 

so some of you have already seen them.

what we've been up to:

learning how to parent a very stubborn and sassy 2 year old.

hailey finally goes to nursery all by herself now and we are so proud of her!

family walks on sunday evenings around the national monuments

papa came to visit!

she cried when he had to leave. it was so sad, and made me cry.

the temple from the free way- 

everyone slows down right here to enjoy the magnificent view.

hailey being sweet for once. (just kidding, she is sweet most of the time)

us celebrating 4 years of marriage at a yummy italian restaurant called maggiano's!

as you can see, hailey takes up the majority of my time!

i also started nannying part time for a family with a 3 month old.

its a lot of work-tiring and frustrating sometimes- but im really grateful to have a job.

life is so expensive here in the east! plus i get to bring hailey along so that's a huge blessing.

marcus loves his new job. and i just got called to be the ward music director.

that's been consuming my thoughts lately seeing as i have zero experience directing music.

the lord does funny things sometimes and im trying my best just to have a good attitude about it and learn as much as i possibly can. 

life is good around here. other than the fact that i really miss my family and friends,

i have nothing to complain about. 

if i've learned anything since we've moved,

its that life is so fragile. it goes by way too fast. 

and we just need to enjoy every moment that is given to us. 

i have a lot to be thankful for- 

especially my sweet little family.

they're my world.

it's been a really long time.

hi, folks! man, its been a long time.
and i don't feel like uploading any pictures because they're all on my phone.
if you don't already, you can follow me on instagram @makallnoorda
that's really where all the updates are.


warning: lots of words. no pictures. sorry!


here's a top 20 list of the most recent happenings of life:


1. we moved to DC. most of you already knew that.


2. marcus loves his new job. (which makes me very happy, you have no idea)


3. hailey will be 2 next week. WHAT?! crazy, i know. it freaks me out.


4. speaking of hailey, she won't sleep in her big girl bed. or her crib. 
so she sleeps in our room. on the floor. not cool, hailey. you can stop this strike any day now.

5. i miss my family, terribly. i talk to my mom at least once a day.
 and thank the good heavens for face time.


6. we had a crazy storm (while we had company in town, mind you) 1 week after we moved here and our power was out for 3 days. that was not awesome. 


7. we love, love love our ward at church. and we're very slowly making friends. 


8. hailey won't let us leave her in nursery by herself, hence the slow progress of friendship making.


9. I'm incredibly emotional as of late. no, I'm not pregnant. I've just had a lot of those "dang, I'm a very lucky lady to have an awesome husband and beautiful child" moments. i've really had to cling to those 2 like no other because they're all i've got out here!


10. our house is slowly but surely coming together. and decorating is so much fun!


11. speaking of houses, rent sucks in the DC area. like sucks as in, its outrageously expensive. boo!


12. i've never sweated (is that a word?) so much in my life. 
still getting used to the humidity. whew! its rough.


13. you know what's also rough? raising hailey. i love that girl more than anyone in the world, but my goodness she's one defiant, stubborn, hard-headed, sassy little girl. any advice on how to raise a child like that would be much appreciated. please and thank you! 


14. oh, hailey's most recent sentence, "Oh mom, you sessy!" (sexy). 
thanks honey for teaching our child that word... it is kind of funny, though.


15. we just attempted our first DIY project for our home. it's an ottoman. and i'm in love with it. but i do not recommend doing DIY projects as a couple. that can cause some serious tension on your relationship. don't worry, we've made up. 


16. i've realized now more than ever how awesome it is to be a member of the LDS church because as a stay-at-home-mom I would be feeling incredibly lonely right now. we moved out here not knowing one person and I'm just grateful I have the church to rely on for friends and "family."


17. hailey wants a bike for her birthday. i think she's a boy at heart? ha, just kidding. 


18. getting acquainted with the roads here will take me..hmm probably 3 years. seriously, though. driving is nuts out here! i seriously would not go anywhere if i didn't have a smart phone.


19. oh, read my post below about blog posts that are 2 pages long. haha I'm a hypocrite today! sorry.


20. really in truly, it's a wonderful life we're living. we're feeling very blessed as of late and we know that hard work and making good decisions always pays off.
 God is good. and we're grateful for that, too.

life lately...

 now that instagram has come into my life,

i might not ever blog or fb again.

haha im kidding! but i've thought about it. instagram is awesome.

i'm the slightest bit obsessed with it. 

it's seriously a mom's best friend! it takes 2 seconds to post a picture.

and pictures are so much more fun to look at 

rather than reading status updates or blog entries that are 2 pages long. 

anyways, life is good. 

and we are happy around these parts.

happy weekend!