I’m no longer doing the monthly Nora updates and “growth pictures” however, it’s been 3 full months since her 1-year update, so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite pictures from the past 3 months…
Christmas was good to Nora this year — Santa must not have known how naughty she is!
Seriously, doesn’t this face just look like she’s up to no good?
She still only has 7 teeth (4 on top, 3 on bottom) and it looks SO funny when she smiles — like her jaw is lopsided because of the odd number!
She figured out how to turn our radio alarm clock on and off (and how to change the time). Now, any time I can’t find her, I just listen for the radio and she’s usually in there dancing away.
Nora is relatively quiet around strangers, but once she starts to feel comfortable around you, she “talks” non-stop. Her days are filled with lengthy cell phone conversations — all of which start with “yo” (hello) and require the person on the other end to talk to mommy at some point or another.
The only real words she can say are: mama, dada, no, ball, baby, hello, uh-oh… and we’re working on “please”. But even with a limited vocabulary, it’s amazing how well she can still communicate. She just grabs our hand, walks us over to what she wants, points at it, and (when prodded) will often say “eeze” (please).
She knows her animals and the sounds they make quite well, and she can point to many body parts when we ask “where’s Nora’s _____”. My favorite is when we ask “Where’s Nora’s mouth?” and then she promptly opens up and lets her tongue hang out (yes, Dave also knows where his mouth is! 🙂
Her favorite activities include: paging through her photo album…
Playing on the iPad…
Reading…
Sitting on ANYTHING that’s available to sit on…
And of course, playing outside!
We’ve had quite a bit of snow this year… and Nora loves every bit of it. We’re outside almost every day sledding, playing, or just sitting…
She’s still loving her bath time — and yes, she still takes a bath in the little blow-up bathtub we’ve been using since she was about 5 months old!
Nora isn’t doing extremely well with eating solid food — so far, she really likes yogurt, cheese, and chocolate. (we use these reusable squeeze pouches for yogurt as Nora likes to feed herself)
Some of these foods are messier than others!
Nora spends a lot of time in her bouncy seat — thankfully, it’s made to hold a child up to age 2 or 3 so it can still support her weight (it’s a Baby Bjorn Bouncer that I got for a fraction of the price on Craigslist). I think her favorite part is getting out and in… and then repeating. She doesn’t actually do much bouncing! And if you’re wondering why she’s so happy in the picture below, she’s eating more cheese 🙂
I swear, Nora learns something new every single day. And although there are plenty of days when it’s totally exhausting — it’s also starting to get more “fun” now that she can better interact and respond.
Just wait, Nora will be running the blog before you know it 🙂
Carrie says
What brand are those reusable pouches? I have some, but am always looking for more…
Ruth M says
My favorite picture is the last one…. beautiful Mommy and beautiful toddler!!
Eleni says
Nora is perfect! Can I order one like her too? You should be the happiest mommy ever.
Andrea says
Thanks Eleni — you must have missed all my posts about the fact that she NEVER sleeps 🙂
Jenny C. says
So sweet! I just love your Nora pics!!! She’s growing up :-).
Christin says
I’ve been reading your blog for a while and feel your pain when you talk about your daughter’s sleep habits. My 3 year old daughter was never a sleeper (and unfortunately is still not a sleeper). We’ve cried it out, switched to a bed early, etc, etc. She just doesn’t like to sleep. My son is a day older than Nora so I’ve been enjoying your updates. The funny thing is that he only has 7 teeth as well. Also 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. It’s been like that for a few months. It made me laugh to see your comment about that. By the way – he’s a 12 hour sleeper and takes great naps so there is hope if you ever have more kids. I enjoy your blog. Thanks for writing.
Andrea says
Thanks Christin — oh that makes me sad to know that your daughter STILL doesn’t sleep. People keep telling me that “it will get better” but it doesn’t 🙂 I’m kind of to the point where I’ve decided that she’s probably just one of those kids that doesn’t need much sleep. She’s honestly not grumpy during the day… so it’s not like she’s tired but just can’t fall asleep. Sigh, we’ll both sleep when our kids go off to college some day 🙂
Oh, and Nora just cut her 8th tooth last night!!
Janie says
Adorable….and she likes to READ! Great!
Kerrie says
Beautiful pictures. My daughter ate the same at that age, and used to look for cheese when someone asked her to say it for the camera, as she couldn’t risk missing it. She branched out when we let her dip things in ketchup (slowly, she is texture sensitive and still gags after accidentally eating applesauce or mashed potatoes). She’s one year older than Nora and now loves meat, anything with sugar, liquid foods like yoghurt, and some vegetables with ketchup. She is also a not-great sleeper who has been in a big bed for over a year, before she would cry until vomiting and wake up every few hours. I love seeing similarities between her and other kids because it’s nice knowing we’re not the only parents dealing with these issues, AND I can assure you that it gets better, as we’re even getting the occasional full nights’ sleep these days:) and now that she can talk the adventures and food specifications make more sense. She even listens, and we can convince her to try things a second time. And she’s so much fun and makes us laugh every day 🙂
Andrea says
Thanks Kerrie! Dave and I have often said how much easier things would be if Nora could just talk and tell us why she refuses to eat or why she can’t stay sleeping (sometimes, I swear she’s having nightmares because she’s shaking when I go into her room). As for now, we’ll just keep eating lots of cheese and yogurt… and getting very little sleep!
Jill says
Your pictures always look great! What kind/style number camera do you have? I am looking into getting a new one and love how your pictures turn out!
Andrea says
Oh Jill, you just made my day!! I actually just use my phone to take pictures (iphone 4) and then I edit them with PicMonkey. I feel like I’m a horrible photographer though, so thanks for the much appreciated compliment!
Five4FiveMeals says
Please tell me the name and brand of that bouncy seat! My child is a good sleeper at night but won’t nap in his crib, just the swing he has outgrown! I think that bouncer might work for him.
Andrea says
You are like the 10th person to ask about this (email, facebook, and comments) so I just updated the post to include the link! It’s a Baby Bjorn Bouncer that I purchased on Craigslist. It’s awesome!
Deni says
Nora is just adorable!!! I smiled through the whole post : ) Not only is she beautiful, she is so comical. I can’t believe all that she gets into, especially using the ipad. Like you I am a type A personality and it was hard for me to relax and adjust to my first childs first year, the second went alot more smoothly. I once heard that being a Mother is the hardest job in the world, but the most rewarding and the best.
Nicole D says
You capture the best pictures of Nora. She is adorable. My daughter is 2 weeks younger than Nora, and I can never seem to get good pictures of her. Any chance you could do a post on tips for getting good pictures of a toddler who never stops moving?
Andrea says
Here’s a good post I have in my archives, however this IS a good idea for a future post.
Thanks Nicole!
Jen says
Nora is absolutely beautiful! You take amazing pictures that seem to really capture her personality!
Kimberley says
She is adorable! Love the face she is making during bath time…it made me laugh out loud! Thanks for sharing…it’s been a rough morning (yes, already) and these made me smile!