It has been an interesting few days, but Nora finally had her fifteen month check up today with her doctor...
Don't you wait for your doctor in your undies, moccasins, and with a good book??
We determined that she is a very healthy, growing baby and there seem to be absolutely no concerns at this point! Except a looming cold, I'm afraid... but that will go away with time.
WEIGHT: 23 pounds
HEIGHT: 31 inches
She is on the tall side with a healthy height to weight ratio. Yay for my big girl!
Reading with daddy!
I am sitting here thinking about how I can't even remember what I wrote for her twelve month post because it has been THAT long and I am excited to see what it was because she has changed THAT much.
Our first shopping cart car experience.
Nora has really grown into some personality. We joke about how now she is opinionated and we kinda-sorta wish that maybe she would have less opinions sometimes! But it's true... she now has an opinion about what she wants to eat and whether or not she wants to do certain things and she has learned that she can say "no" and use it correctly... Oh my, toddlerhood.
Nora using her new word - "no"
An appropriate shirt.
So here are the updates from twelve months:
waves hello & goodbye Well, yes we still do this, but selectively of course. Nora is hesitant to wave hello to people she doesn't know and is very happy to wave goodbye to just about anyone. I was pleasantly surprised last week while at daycare she hopped straight into her teacher's arms and waved goodbye to me. So happy! When I say that it is time to go, she gets herself all ready by the garage door so that we can go to the car. Then, she waves goodbye to Ford, like we do every time we leave the house. So she definitely waves on her own in appropriate situations!
My girl!
talks & "sings" Nora is doing a little less singing these days, but she sure does try and talk a lot more. She has quite a few words that she says on a regular basis (food words and commands for the most part) and she also has started to imitate when prompted. We were looking at our Christmas tree and elf and I was telling her what they were and each time I did, she would repeat "fff" (for elf) or "ttt" (for tree). It's pretty incredible! Check out her list of words below...
Nora saying "uh oh" (one of her favorites)
signs "more," "eat," "all done," "up" and "help" Nora has learned a LOT more signs as well. It's kind of awesome because she doesn't get upset nearly as much because she can tell us what she needs through either signing or plain old pointing. She still cries, don't get me wrong, but it sure is nice to have her be able to TELL us what she needs (sometimes...) They've been working on signing at "school" too, so sometimes I feel like she knows more than I do! She also brings home little picture cards of different signs and we put them up on the fridge to practice.
From October!
points to specific things Nora is doing a lot of pointing these days. When she needs help with something, she signs "help" and then points. When she wants to eat something, she signs "eat" (or "help") and then points. When she wants to know what something is, she points and says "eh?" (or some random vowel sound that sounds like a question). She knows that is a tool to help her get what she wants or needs, that's for sure! She knows other gestures, too like "where" and blowing kisses.
Nora has been loving these shape sorters! She needs help quite a bit though...
How does she come up with these things??
plays & dances Nora loves music! She will dance when prompted, but she really likes to play on a piano. Sometimes we play the actual piano and sometimes we play one on the iPad, but either way she likes to doodle around with the keys. We listen to her music in the car sometimes and she likes to dance with me there. Her class did "Jingle Bells" for their holiday carol "show" and Nora's little face lit up when I would sing it. She shook her little hands (like ringing bells) and got very excited. She also has a little bear that recites nursery rhymes that she likes to listen to and sing her "Twinkle Twinkle" song to.
In her dancing shirt from Auntie K, playing with her magnets.
Silly baby...
walks pretty well Nora is walking VERY well now. She walks all over the place. She practically runs sometimes. She does still fall, especially if she doesn't pay attention or if she has shoes on or something, but she is a full-on big girl walker. She even tries to go up and down the stairs on her feet. UGH. Don't like that.
Sleepy girl after daycare.
stands alone The girl does lots more on her own than stand now! She likes to help us get her dressed and undressed each day. She likes to brush her own teeth. She will go and find certain toys and objects around the house. She will bring us things when asked (sometimes - this has also become a "Chase Me" game on occasion). She's not the most independent child (at least for mommy) but she definitely KNOWS a whole lot.
Brushing her teeth!
eats finger foods Nora has been eating pretty well. They say she is a good eater at school, though like I said before, she seems to be pretty opinionated about what she eats at home. I figure that if she doesn't want to eat, she must not be that hungry, though. Of course now she has opinions about WHERE she eats, too. For the most part, meals are in her chair. Last night, she was insistent upon eating her dinner while in my lap, sitting on my chair. Don't know why. She did have shots done, but other than that, can't explain it. She likes to eat her snack now sitting on the couch. We sit and snuggle at snack time sometimes. Nora has also become opinionated about WHAT she wants to eat. For example, cheese. Cheese all the time. "Chh" she will say, when we open the door to the fridge. Every time. I've had to limit her cheese intake! Well, I guess we know she is my child. And the pantry. Yesterday she pulled out all the fig bars. She likes to help herself in the pantry, which can cause some disagreements. We just keep working through them!
Nora trying to eat with her spoon. Most likely, unsuccessfully.
Mom, let me in here.
I will help myself...
drinks milk from a bottle We're completely off the bottle now. The transition was not too bad. She was in the infant room until mid-October at daycare and so she was on it until around then, when it was easier to make a clean break because I wasn't bringing in her food. She wasn't super thrilled about it at first, especially before bed, but she accepted it after a couple of days. We were using a cup with a silicone spout so it wasn't too different, really. I've actually stopped measuring her milk so I don't know how much she takes in, but she gets offered milk at meals and snacks. She drinks it up before bed time, that's for sure!
Snack time snuggles.
drinks water from a cup We have Nora drinking out of big girl sippy cups now! She switches back and forth between water and milk throughout the day, but we are still laying low on the juice since she doesn't seem to have a problem drinking her fluids. It has been so nice to only have a few different bottles to wash at home. It's going to be an adjustment to having to wash 6 bottles a day in a few weeks...
Our child has a head full of hear! Must wear ponies!
has 4 teeth Nora had an awful couple weeks where teeth kept appearing all over the place so now she has 10. She has all four of her first molars, four teeth on top, and still just two on the bottom. I expect that two more will pop up on the bottom eventually, but I have yet to see them!
You can kind of see those bottom molars in this picture!
The girl is growing! I just can't believe how quickly.
Words Nora says:
"mama" - Mommy
"dada" - Daddy
"aaa duuuu" - all done
''aaa duuuu" - up (no idea why)
"chhhh" - cheese
"caca" - cracker
"shhhh" - shoe
"oh oh" - uh oh
"ooo" - ew
"wooh" - woah
"caa caa" - quack quack/duck
Words Nora signs:
all done
up
help
more
milk
eat
please
car
dog
bird
duck
potato
mouse
bed
diaper
potty
book
hands
eye
Walking around one morning...
At fifteen months, she...
Uses social gestures, like waving, pointing, and "where"
Uses words she hears often
Uses lots of sign language
Builds with different blocks and toys
Loves sorter toys
Loves her accessories
Enjoys music and plays on the piano
Walks and runs around
Mastered the stairs
Eats table foods
Tries to eat with utensils
Drinks milk & water from sippy cups
Has 10 teeth
Accessories.
More accessories.
This post is quite long. But I have a lot to share. She is the greatest!!
