One Year Photos

It still amazes me at how two years ago this December we began our journey into parenthood.

We were introduced to a fabulous photographer who helped us document the first year of Nora's life. Joy took our maternity pictures, and Nora's newborns and 6 month photos.

We have learned a lot about Nora through these photo shoots! I guess we should have known when she wanted to look at the camera throughout her whole newborn shoot that she would be a little ham and not camera shy at all. She braved the cool weather in March and proved she was a CHAMP and a doll at six months.

We just got Nora's one year photos back from Joy to wrap up the year! She is definitely a little cutie and the pictures are all adorable! I am in love with the "bath time" pictures that she took. They turned out great even though she was in her "I HATE BATH TIME" phase...

Here are some favorites! Family photos...

Here are some of Nora in her birthday tutu!

And the great bath time pictures!

Sooo sweet. Time to print off a whole bunch!!!

Daycare

About a month and a half ago when I started back at work, Nora started going to daycare full time.

They let us do a practice day before coming full time. I just about cried when I saw the sweet little card from the day! I think I stared at it after putting her to bed for about thirty minutes.

We chose Primrose because of the high quality staff and program and also it is really close to my school, Grandma Peipert's house, and Mimi's work, too. When the time comes, they will even bus back and forth to my elementary. We decided to start her in the infant room because they would attempt to stick to her normal nap and feeding schedule. 

Of course I took a picture of the sign with her name. Couldn't help it. 

Mommy and Nora's first "real" day of school!

These showed up at school, from Nora!

This was the sweetest thing ever. So happy!

The transition has been pretty smooth. Of course, she is a pretty easy going little thing so I'm not super surprised. I knew that she would be alright. I guess I was a little more worried about ME making it through the transition but I've been good, too! I keep super busy at work plus with having left her daily with Grandma last year helped, too. 

Nora got her first "Happy Gram" after a couple days. 

We have been saving them. We now have four! 

They make us feel loved, that's for sure!

I was worried about starting her in the toddler room because they only take one nap a day, among other things. But as it turns out, she isn't really napping much at all anyways. Since the kids are all sleeping at different times, there is always something going on which seems to keep her from sleeping at all. We are lucky if she gets an hour a day in! I am amazed at how well she does without any sleep, really. She does go to bed super early now a days because of this! Luckily though, she still naps well on the weekends for us. 

Nora celebrated her first birthday at school! 

I am sure she will remember it forever. 

Mommy and Nora (with cupcake leggings, no less) on her birthday!

We have had a couple of issues with illness which I suppose is to be expected when first starting at daycare and being around so many kids all day. Nora had her first visit to the doctor that was NOT a well visit and I had to take my first day off to watch her at home, but just some viruses that have {mostly} run their course. Hopefully things will level off now!

The plan is to try and transition her to the toddler room in October so hopefully that will go just as well. We are working on eliminating the bottle and walking in shoes for the big day!

In many ways, October will be a big month for us! It was only fitting that my fortune cookie last week taught me the word October! 

I will let you know then how the next step goes!

Twelve Months

I can't believe it. Where did the time go?????

One year ago we started the crazy adventure that parenthood when we were handed our precious daughter to meet for the first time. She was perfect and beautiful and super duper tiny!

We have since gone through hundreds (thousands??) of diapers and wipes and washed bottle upon bottle as they quickly piled up. We have also experienced seeing a baby grow into a young toddler who learned how to crawl and then walk, smile and then laugh, babble and then talk, and start to explore her world. It has been amazing and we wouldn't trade it for anything. 

I love watching her play and learn! She seems to soak up everything so quickly these days. Since eleven months...

waves bye-bye Nora will wave bye bye and hello even on her own now. When I pick her up from daycare she first frantically crawls to me (sometimes almost crying she wants to so bad) and then begins to wave bye bye to the sweet teachers as if to say "I had fun but I am totally going to leave!" 

says many different sounds (m, b, d, vowels) Nora is still mostly babbling but she can make all kinds of sounds. Recently she started saying "la la la" when you say it first. It is super cute, of course! She also makes this gargling babble sound that I think is her pretend talking. We are working on using "mama" and "dada" specifically. 

signs "more", "eat", and "all done" As I write this, Nora has sat up and signed "eat" in her crib. I better go make a bottle! She uses her signs well and also signs "up" and "help" which happens to look exactly like "more" right now. Can be a little confusing... Everytime I show her a sign she looks at it so intently. I can tell she is trying to take it all in! We are working on the "hurt" sign (which we don't have to use often so that's good), "bed" and "milk". 

plays with Ford They have a love-hate relationship still. Sometimes it's okay for him to lick her. Sometimes she pushes him away. Sometimes she wants to play with his (one and only) toy. He loves the game but if she wants his toy she doesn't want to share it. Usually brings on some tears. But they are great friends!

points to things Nora loves to point but she does it a little more purposely now, as if to say "I would like that," or "What is that?" She usually points to food or drink that she wants. She also likes to point to people in pictures! 

stands alone sometimes She has made lots or progress in the walking department! I wouldn't say she is all the way there yet, though. Nora will stand alone lots and walks very wobbly between people, toys, and furniture. She even will stand back up if she falls down and keep going. She does still like to use furniture to help her and will crawl when she wants to get somewhere fast. She is definitely almost a walker though! 

crawls everywhere and anywhere Since Nora is walking a bit more she crawls a bit less. She only crawls when she is trying to go fast, like when she wants to get to me when I pick her up from school or when she wants to play a "chase" game. She will figure out a way to get where she wants to go, one way or another!

eats finger foods There are so many transitions for Nora to make now that she is one! She has been eating more finger foods than usual, which is good, because she will start to need her calories more from that than her milk. She is still on formula due to a tummy virus that she picked up. We didn't want to throw a dietary change in the mix with that going on. We will probably be making the switch to whole milk this weekend since she is finally over it. After she switches to milk, then we are going to transition from the bottle to a cup and before you know it, she will have to transition to the toddler room at school - so many changes to come for Nora Lane! She will be great, I'm sure. She is quite the easy going little girl.

shares food with Ford She does like to share her food with Ford, probably a little too much. At the table, she will share when she is finished eating something. But if she has her snacks out, she will feed Ford before she feeds herself! I can't decide if she's being considerate or just likes the reaction. Probably the latter. Ford enjoys it either way! He is eating great. And then I don't feel bad if I forget to feed him!

has 3 (almost 4) teeth Little thing has four full teeth now. I haven't felt or seen any more, but she has been going through times of heavy drooling. This could have to do with congestion that she has going on, though so I have NO idea what is coming, or not coming! I love to see her little four-toothed smile every day, though. She is always willing to smile!

At her one year check up she weighed in at 20 pounds and 14 ounces and was 30 1/2 inches tall. We have moved her into her big girl car seat and she LOVES it. At 12 months, she...

waves hello & goodbye
talks & "sings"
signs "more," "eat," "all done," "up" and "help"
points to specific things
plays & dances
walks pretty well
stands alone 
eats finger foods
drinks milk from a bottle
drinks water from a cup
has 4 teeth

I guess I will be doing updates a little less regularly now that she is a big(ger) girl!

Baby Girl

I went to the doctor today for our monthly check up and he had to inform me of how far along I actually was. That pretty much sums up the difference between having your first child and having your second. Basically I didn't realize that after my next appointment, I have to start going every two weeks - meaning my second trimester is almost over...

Time has been flying by! I feel like things have been pretty non-stop since late July. I am hoping that next month I can start to seriously think about nursery plans for our new little one.

But since I have not given any updates on our next sweet baby since basically announcing we were expecting again, here is your big update...

The pregnancy has been pretty normal so far. I was sick a little at the beginning, but have been well (for the most part) since.

I discovered I had an allergy to an antibiotic in June, which was a long, crazy ordeal including lots of medications and doctor's appointments of all kinds, but the good that came out of it is that we got to find out the gender of baby #2 a couple weeks earlier than expected!

We are all thrilled (Nora especially) that we will be having another GIRL! We have been juggling with names and nursery ideas but basically we have not had the time to really finalize anything so we are just adding to her closet as Nora grows out of her clothes and looking forward to having two little girls grow up so close together.

Here are some picture from our sonogram at 16 weeks...

Profile view - that's a hand up there by the mouth!

Profile again

Baby girl looking right at the camera... another ham on our hands??

It's hard to tell in the picture, but that is a tiny foot on the right.

The lady parts are on there somewhere. It's a girl!!!

We celebrated with shopping for matching shirts and yummy pink cupcakes. Okay, that has Lisa written all over it but Justin did eat a pink cupcake... I think... 

Did you know that they don't make "big sister" clothing any smaller than 2T? At least something that's not custom I suppose... I guess we jumped the gun a little. Hehe... Hopefully Nora will fit into this at 16 months! 

At my last appointment (which was 23 1/2 weeks, according to my doctor - because I stopped counting) everything was fine and dandy. Her heartbeat was a strong 148. I think we will do one more official sonogram before her birthday, but I'm not sure when it will be. I am hoping to get video this time! Fun!

We are looking forward to many fun adventures with another baby girl! I can't wait to meet her! But first... I need a name, a nursery, and some long-term sub plans...

Happy Birthday Nora

After lots of planning and work the special birthday day was finally here! And our sweet little girl deserved every minute of the celebration.

We invited friends and family both to come out and enjoy time with the birthday girl and were so happy that so many people could join us. We all had a blast, but Nora especially!

I enlisted help from my good friend Leslie to take pictures and from my mom & sister with food. Thank you guys for helping! It made the day even more enjoyable for us!

I went with a pink shabby chic "theme" for the big day...

Some cute family photos (pre-cake)...

Eating CAKE!!!

Some family photos...

Opening gifts...

It was a great day for us! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate this special day with us!

Eleven Months

One month 'til one year!! Ahh! This month has flown by, as usual. I cannot believe it is August!

My big girl.

Nora has been up to lots this month! She spent her first extended weekend with Mimi and Pops at the beginning of July while we went to San Francisco. She has been communicating lots, exploring all over the house, and eating pretty well, too. Since her ten month birthday...

How long do I have to sit here?

waves on occasion Nora has gotten a lot better with her waving. Whenever we say bye-bye she starts waving furiously. Of course, not to a stranger, but oh well. It's funny when you aren't intentionally trying to get her to do it and she picks up on the words she knows and waves anyways. She also starts waving when I say "Let's go," for some reason, and usually when we are getting ready to leave the house. Super cute!

smiles, squeals, giggles, and talks Of course there is still tons of this! Nora is using lots more sounds in her "talking" and will sometimes repeat sounds that she knows if you ask her. She giggles and plays with Ford sometimes, just on her own, and she likes being tickled on her feet and in her ribs.

I love getting a good picture of a happy face!

shy around strangers We're still acting quite shy around strangers as far as social interactions go, but I did leave her in the nursery at church for the first time this week and she did really well! When the helper was ready to take her, Nora reached out and went with her without a problem. AND it was right before nap time, so that is even more impressive! 

prefers to be held, especially by mommy You sure know when Nora wants you to hold her. She will crawl after you, whining (if not crying), and then grip your legs and look at you with her big blue eyes, still whining. We are working on using the sign for "up" so that she doesn't have to get so upset about it. We'll see how long it takes for it to sink in. She definitely watches us do it, she just hasn't tried it herself yet.

explores the house Oh my gosh. She is everywhere. She wants to get into the dog bowl. She wants to pull everything out of the laundry basket whether it's clean or dirty. She wants to take every DVD off the shelf. She is everywhere. 

snuggles before sleeping This is still something that I look forward to before every nap and bed time. She's our super sweet, snuggly baby. If only she didn't get so upset when I have to put her down in her crib!

stands with support, climbs, and creeps I can tell that Nora is wanting to start walking but hasn't quite figured out that she could try if she let go of something. For now, she still enjoys moving from one piece of furniture to another. She is stretching her limits a little more, trying to go further and further away from the furniture she is holding on to. I find myself almost wishing that she were walking (I know, terrible!) because she is on her feet so much of the day and into everything anyway. If she were more stable, I would feel a little less nervous with her on our slate tile and not creeping around the corners of furniture and such. We'll see what will happen in the next few months!

stands alone on occasion (accidentally) She is definitely getting more comfortable with standing. I can stand her up and she will stay there until she wants to start moving and sits down and goes. I find her standing on her own more and more.

eats lots of different finger foods Nora definitely prefers to feed herself. It's great and all, but she has all the control. She controls how much food she eats, how much food Ford eats, and what she actually puts in her mouth. She is pretty vocal about what she wants and what she doesn't want. She signs "more" ALL the time, even when she is not eating. I think she thinks it means "gimme that" instead. She will sign "all done" but not usually on her own. If you ask her, she will sign it. She also knows the sign "eat". She correlates it with "hungry" as well. If we ask her if she is hungry or she wants to eat, she puts her pointer finger in her mouth. She's a smart little thing if I do say so myself!

drinks 4 bottles a day This will be our last month on formula! We have been SO fortunate to get formula through Nestle (thanks, Dad!) and it has saved us TONS of money. We have officially ordered our last case and so now we are just working through what we have. I figure we will make it right until the end of August/first week in September with what we've got - perfect timing for that first birthday! I am going to have to start thinking about weening her off the bottle and formula in general in a couple of weeks here! I must admit that I am quite excited actually. Those bottles have so many parts to clean! We will get a solid 3 month break before we have to do it all over again...

loves her water bottle Nora has never had juice in her life. I'm trying to keep it that way as long as I can. She really likes ice cold water and we're just going to keep on keepin' on!

reaches and points She has started doing a lot more pointing. I have convinced myself that she is curious about the things she sees and wants me to tell her about them. She will point to people in pictures, light fixtures, anything.

Pointing to the chandelier.

pulls out/down everything she can Yes, into everything. EVERYTHING.

This picture makes me smile!

Here is a snapshot of Nora at eleven months:

waves bye-bye

says many different sounds (m, b, d, vowels)

signs "more", "eat", and "all done"

plays with Ford

points to things

stands alone sometimes

crawls everywhere and anywhere

eats finger foods

shares food with Ford

has 3 (almost 4) teeth

Hi cutie!

We have a busy month ahead. I will be starting back at work in less than two weeks and Nora will be starting school (daycare). I am planning a birthday bash for the sweet girl and the first few weeks of school will of course be super crazy so her birthday will be here before we know it. My, how time flies when you're having fun!

Nora found her headband and sticker. 

I worked really hard to distract her from them!

Therefore...

We're "all done"!