Hair

Nora was born with hair and quite a bit of it. She has always had hair, but it was a little wild at times! Lately, I've been able to start doing her hair in new ways and it's been so fun! I can't believe how long her hair is now... I was looking back at pictures and I feel as if her hair's evolution can be appreciated in a blog post, all it's own...

Nora had a good amount of dark brown hair when she was born. Everyone at the hospital loved it and said she looked like the Gerber baby. When they gave her a bath for the first time, the nurses even did her hair in a little curly-Q just like the Gerber baby on the packaging.

Awwww...

I loved that Nora had so much hair! I put headbands in it all the time and thought it was just the cutest thing EVER!

Baby Nora's dark brown hair.

But... babies sleep on their backs and therefore rub off a bunch of hair on the back and sides. Plus, I think she may have lost a bit of hair in general. So, after a few months of that, we ended up with a little bit of a toupee-like hair do - long on top, barely there on the sides, and bald in back! Her hair was also starting to get a little bit lighter than it was when she was born.

Nora, around 4 months old.

Well, around then she also started to roll over and not sleep on her back as much so the hair rubbing stopped, but the damage was already done. She was cute nonetheless and we just embraced the strange hair-do. She eventually started growing her hair back in the bald spots.

Nora's 6 month photo!

But the hair evolution continued. The mop top kept on growing and became curly! 

Nora is frustrated.

See the back of her baldie head?

And the top. And look... baby Janie!

I thought about cutting it so many times!! But just didn't. Or couldn't. Doesn't matter.

Top curls.

See that hair hanging down???

It really reached it's peak when Nora was 9-10 months old. It would look like ringlets on top and just plain crazy! Plus, she wouldn't let me put headbands in any more! She figured out how to yank them out. Every time. So we just went with crazy.

4th of July - 10 months old

What a chunk!

It must have been humid...

I have LOTS more of where those came from! 

So finally I could start to put a little ponytail in without it looking like I'd shaved the sides of her head around when she was around one year old, maybe a little after. And she turned out to be a bit of a blondie!

Now, we have to get that hair up and out of her face every day! Luckily she has gotten used to me doing it and will usually sit through one or two ponytails. She will even keep a little bow in (for the most part). No headbands yet, though!

I've even managed to get one large ponytail in her hair! It doesn't stay well but it is exciting (for mommy at least)!

And you don't want to know what happens if we don't do her hair. Or worse - if it comes out! Or do you...?

And then there's always Auntie K's hair we can borrow when we need to...

I still haven't cut her hair. Not sure when I will! And since Janie is a bit of a baldie I don't think we will be visiting the salon for either of the girls for a while. So until then, we will watch and wait!

Janie's Baptism

We had Janie baptized on March 9th, which also happens to be Justin's birthday!

Sweet, sweet little Janie

We had a great time celebrating with family and friends. My Grandpa Gruben was in town so that made it extra special. We really missed having Godmother Auntie Josie with us!

Love our little family!

Godmother Auntie Amy

with Grandma & Grandpa

with Mimi, Pops & Great Grandpa Gruben

I really enjoyed seeing MY grandpa interact with the girls. Nora really liked his notepad and pen, which he always keeps in his pocket, and Grandpa Gruben was nice enough to let her draw in it! I do not know how he had FOUR kids under the age of 6... 

A visit from Great Grandpa Gruben

Four generations of Grubens, part two! 

The last time we were together was at Nora's baptism, about a year ago!

Mommy & Daddy are so happy that God gave us you, Janie!

Daddy & Janie

Mommy & Janie

Little Helper

One of the big things that happened to Nora since her last update at 15 months was that she became a big sister!!

I went into labor before Janie's due date so I wasn't expecting her arrival, but luckily we had spent the entire day before Janie's birthday as a family. We went shopping and to lunch and took care of some errands knowing that we needed to get things done.

Sweet Nora the day before Janie's birthday!

Love my big girl...

We couldn't be more proud of how Nora has been with Janie. She has exceeded our expectations as to how she would react to and treat a new baby. It seemed like she didn't even need to be told how to help with a newborn. She rocked Janie and tried to give her a pacifier whenever she cried... or whenever she wasn't... She brings me every single "baby" thing she can find - burp cloths, blankets, pacifiers, bibs, toys, etc. She is quite the little helper!

Trying to put in Janie's pacifier.

Rocking Janie in the car seat.

We put Janie in the car seat as part of our morning routine - can you tell??

But now, she even does more. She tries to pick up Janie (unsuccessfully, thank goodness), likes to "play" with her (heavily supervised), and enjoys talking to her while she sits in her car seat or in the Bumbo seat. She knows where Janie's room is and likes to go in to get her up from naps. She giggles with excitement whenever we go in to get her. She says "shhh" when she knows Janie is sleeping, even when we are on the opposite side of the house. She likes to watch her on the monitor. She will say "Jay-Jay?" and point to her when she starts crying in another room. She likes to point out the parts of the body that she knows on her (which is a lot...). She knows how to be gentle (usually).

Taking care of the soother.

She is a phenomenal big sister!!

My shirt says big sister!

It will be so fun to see how she interacts with Janie as they both get older. I'm sure we will need to continue to watch closely but Nora's face lights up when Janie smiles at her so I can only imagine what will happen when she eventually reacts to something that Nora does. Yay for sweet sisters!

Snuggling with both sweet girls.

Eighteen Months

My big girl Nora is now one and a half years old!! I don't think I'm going to be allowed to count in months anymore...

Nora & daddy - I love this shot taken by our sweet friend!!

Uh oh! I'm growing too fast!

For her half birthday, I decided to keep her home from school with Janie and me. We hung out with Auntie K in the morning, ran a few errands, ate brunch at Mimi's Cafe, and let Nora take a good, long nap in her own bed.

We had her well check in the afternoon at the doctor's office. I had no doubt in my mind that she was growing because she has started wearing 2T clothes. Some of them are still too big and some fit just right but the 18 month clothing is definitely snug and short. She is a tall girl! Her official stats...

 Sweet Nora, 18 months

WEIGHT: 25 pounds

HEIGHT: 32 1/2 inches

Nora seemed to hate getting her vitals taken more than getting a shot. She apparently does not like strangers touching her. I guess that means she's normal! 

Updates since her 15 month post:

Uses social gestures, like waving, pointing, and "where" Nora continues to tell us the things that she wants and needs using her hands and sometimes her words. She likes to nod her head yes when she thinks you know what she wants (and when you only sometimes do). She will basically point or look at something and start nodding as if to say, "Yes, I would like you to take off my other shoe." or "Yes, I would like to play on the iPad."

Uses words she hears often She has started talking quite a bit more. She can use a word by itself but hasn't started putting multiple words together quite yet. She is getting a little bit better at saying words that have more than one syllable. She has started to pick up on the differences in words and tries to use them. (ex. Daddy has become more like "daddy" than "dada".) She often times repeats what we say with her version of the word. Then there are times when she is just babbling away, telling stories that make entirely no sense at all! You can tell when she is really comfortable somewhere because she starts to get very "chatty". It's hard to believe that just a few months ago she was only using a few words!

Uses lots of sign language Nora is still using lots of sign language when talking with us. She usually combines a word with a sign. She learns lots of new sign at school! It's amazing to me that I can show her once or twice and she will use it after that. I hope that means she will be a quick learner later in life, too!

Builds with different blocks and toys Nora is good at stacking but she doesn't choose this type of play much any more. She is more into puzzles. She will sit and play with puzzles and sorting toys for long periods of time! As long as you are sitting close, that is...

Working on a puzzle!

Loves sorter toys Nora is getting very good at her sorting toys! She mostly plays with them and her kitchen foods. She likes to go "shopping" with a gift bag and just walk it around. She will pack it up and then say "bye". She has associated packing a bag with leaving the house!

Nora with her bag and accessories - "bye!"

Loves her accessories Nora is warming back up to bows. She still won't wear a headband for me! She very much enjoys putting on necklaces, sunglasses and purses. But only for a minute. Then she takes them off. But only for a minute. Then she wants them back on. It's a vicious cycle.

Shoes!

Rockin' the sunglasses.

Janie's not in love with them yet...

Enjoys music and plays on the piano Nora likes to listen to music in the car and dance! I've noticed that she is starting to imitate me when I dance in the car, too. She is very observant! It's a good thing I have killer dance moves...

Walks and runs around It's super cute to see her walk around on a mission. Once she had decided she's going to do something, she will march around to get it done - throwing away a tissue, getting a book, bringing you a magnet, etc. She also loves to play "chase" whether you want to participate in the game or not. She especially likes to run away when you want to get something from her that she should not have... stinker.

Speaking of stinker... She tried to undress herself I guess!

Mastered the stairs I'm still not comfortable with her going up and down alone because now she wants to carry things up and down when she goes. Luckily, she does prefer that someone carries her. If I offer, she is eager to jump up and let me carry her. I am happy to do it mostly because it takes about six times as long if I let her go up and down on her own. And that is a long time for Janie to get worked up about whatever Janie may be working herself up about (food, nap, ya know...)

Eats table foods We're trying to get Nora in the habit of eating what we put in front of her. She has been a little less persistent about getting her own food out of the pantry and the fridge so I think we've been more successful with that. She still has days where she doesn't want what we put in front of her at all, but she doesn't seem to mind not eating much for some meals. We have decided she needs to drink less milk, so that may help with her appetite. She's definitely not starved - in the 80th percentile for weight!

Checking out the insides of her green beans.

Tries to eat with utensils Nora has gotten very good with her spoon. She will scoop up her little beans or yogurt or whatever and make it to her mouth with the food. I call that a success. It's not very CLEAN but it is nonetheless a success. She sometimes prefers to eat with utensils which makes for interesting meals.

Eating with her spoon!

Drinks milk & water from sippy cups She continues to drink all fluids from cups. She uses her hard spout sippy cup as well as a cup with a straw. She tried to drink out of a regular cup once or twice and had no idea what she was doing, though it was entertaining!

Has 10 teeth Not too many new teeth these last few months. She did get one on the bottom and it's opposite bottom tooth has just broken through, so if you count that she has two more. I think the canines will come in soon, but her teeth can take FOREVER to come in so who knows. I am looking forward to seeing her with a full smile!

Smiling sweetie.

Words Nora says:

"mama" - Mommy

"dada" - Daddy
"Jay-Jay" - Janie
"Ah K" - Auntie K
"Paw" - Pops
(basically will repeat anyone's name in her own way)

"aaa duuuu" - all done

''up-ah" - up (figured it out!)

no (no variation there...)
"hah" - hot
"snah" - snack
"nah" - milk (??)
"chess" - cheese

"caca" - cracker

"shhhh" - shoe
"dah" - sock

"oh oh" - uh oh

"ooo" - ew

"wooh" - woah

"caa caa" - quack quack/duck
body parts - from nose to thumb... she's got 'em down!

Words Nora signs:

all done

up

help

more

milk

eat

please

car

dog

bird

duck

potato

mouse

bed

diaper

potty

book

hands

eye
boat
airplane
pig
coat
present
house
cat
tickle
baby
bath

There's probably more to those lists, but I figure next time I update it won't be necessary since she will be talking so much (I'm hoping at least!) She learns new words all the time and is always trying to say new things. 

Nora's silly faces.

We love our sweet Nora so much!

Two Months

Our little Janie is now two months old!

Two months old!!

She is a REALLY good little baby. She doesn't fuss a whole lot and is easily calmed down. She does spit up a bit but she doesn't have any other feeding issues. She hasn't been the greatest sleeper, but the last few days have been VERY good and we're hoping that they continue. I said that last month though and then things got very out of whack... Let's hope they continue to be good so when mommy goes back to work she isn't exhausted!!

We went to the doctor yesterday and got her well check done, complete with 3 rounds of vaccines! She took them like a champ. She slept a little more and ate a little less but otherwise they didn't make her too upset throughout the day.

Our pediatrician is happy with her progress as she is meeting her milestones and is continuing to grow. She seems to have a preference with turning her head to the right which is a little bit of an issue but for now we are just working on making her use both directions and watching it carefully. We are all hoping it will resolve itself on its own with more practice. Doctor is still not worried about it at this point!

Janie Elizabeth

WEIGHT: 10 pounds, 14 ounces

HEIGHT: 23 inches

Since her one month birthday...

Nurses every 3 hours during the day We are still on a three hour schedule. She is pretty predictable during the day which is great. I can tell that she is starting to eat a little bit more than she was even a couple weeks ago!

Nurses once through the night The last few nights Janie has not waken up to eat. She has been going about 10 hours straight. We are really hoping that this will continue and are very happy that she has finally decided to get some good stretches of sleep! Just a week ago we were getting up every few hours and then all of a sudden she stretched it out. No idea why, but it's a good thing for everyone!

Can take a bottle We are continuing to work on Janie taking a bottle since she will have to do it for more than just the occasional feeding in a week or two. I've started to give her a bottle for one feeding  day, every day, and I'm about to up it to two as soon as I feel that my body can take it. I find that she prefers it warmed!

I'm a cutie!!

Uses her pacifier Janie loves her pacifier. She uses it before she falls asleep. We don't go anywhere without it!

Sleeps swaddled in the Mamaroo We are still in the Mamaroo. I tried to move her to the crib a couple of times but both were unsuccessful. I think that she has a bit more reflux than Nora did and it makes her a little uncomfortable being flat. I'm going to continue with the Mamaroo until her sleep habits are a bit more regular. I was hoping that by now they would be, but we haven't had one whole week of a solid sleep pattern yet. So... when that happens I'll start to consider it again! I know I said this last month, but maybe NEXT month we'll get there...

Sleeps in her own room She has been a big girl in her own room! Nora now knows that this is Janie's room, too. She likes to go in and check on her and says "ssshhh" when she is sleeping.

Likes to look at ceiling fans Janie loves looking around at everything! She sees mostly shadows and light in the distance but she's always looking. She likes to sit up and stand up and use her little bobbly head to check the world out around her. She even sits in her Bumbo seat sometimes!

Janie, 8 weeks

Makes little squeaky sounds She has graduated to some cooing! She has a sweet little voice. She has also started smiling at faces! Nora really likes this about her but mommy likes it more...

Grasps our fingers (and anything else her hand touches...) She still has her baby reflexes so this still happens, too. She has also learned to find her mouth with her hands. She likes to suck on them when she doesn't have her pacifier and she is getting tired, or when she is hungry. She does like to look at her toys, but hasn't figured out how to grab them quite yet.

Wears newborn diapers & clothing We went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and learned that Janie was 10 1/2 pounds and realized we should be using bigger diapers! I hadn't realized how much we'd grown out of them! Explains the blow outs... So we are in size 1 diapers and I have retired the newborn clothing as of a week or two ago. I'm going to start packing things away already - can't believe it!!

My sweet little baby...

So, our two month wrap up...

Eats every 3 hours during the day

Eats breast milk and some formula

Eats 1 meal from a bottle

Sleeps through the night

Sleeps swaddled in the swing

Loves a pacifier

Holds her head up with bobbles

Lifts her chest & head up off the floor

Coos 

Smiles at faces

Tracks objects and people

Wears size 1 diapers

Wears 0-3 month clothing