Dear Nora,
You are no longer a baby. You are a feisty, opinionated, hilarious little kid. I can’t hardly handle it. And, yet, I love it at the same time.
You are officially walking everywhere! You basically skipped the holding onto our hands phase and the pushing things around the house phase and went straight to this adorable little toddle that gets less wobbly every day. I’m still sometimes surprised to find you behind me in the laundry room, or at my feet while I’m prepping dinner. You are fast. And I think you’ll be off and running before we know it.
Your communication skills are improving daily. You have added “yeah” to your vocabulary, and you say “ehh” in various intonations to create little conversations. “Ehh” accompanied by a point for “I want that” and “Eh?” is your response to every question we ask. You say “moo” when you see a cow and sniff your nose for a pig. And when you shake your head “no,” your whole body moves back and forth.
You point to your belly, your hair, and your teeth. You love “this little piggy” (thanks to Nini!), and you try so hard to step your feet into your shoes.
We have dance parties almost every night. We recently introduced you to “duck, duck, goose,” which you think is so funny. You love to jump on Sam’s bed, and when we went to a trampoline park with Auntie Laura and Uncle Steepie, you begged to join them. You put your hands straight up and tried so hard to jump as high as Sam.
You love the remote control and my iPhone, the Little Tykes car and bouncing on Mommy’s exercise ball, your princess castle and Sammy’s LEGOs. You always take the spoons out of the dishwasher when I open it and pull the washcloths from the bottom of the laundry basket. You are quite good at filling our Keurig carousel and your pink piggy bank. You help yourself to Goldfish and pouches of applesauce from the snack cupboard. And you would much rather drink from Sammy’s Superman cup than your own straw cup. You love to brush your teeth and wash your hands. And you can easily climb up and slide down the stairs.
You will often pull several books off the shelf, then sit on the floor and flip through them. But the best is when you bring one to me and sit in my lap to read. You also love wooden puzzles, crayons and water wow books, pushing the grocery cart or your baby doll stroller around the house, and playing tea party.
You love to throw things, walk to pick them up, and then throw them again: plastic strawberries from our play kitchen, your O-ball, little Octonaut figurines. You spent at least 10 minutes throwing crayons around the big red barn during Tiny Wonder Time. And I’m just grateful that you didn’t face plant onto the cement floor.
We are over halfway through our second semester of Music Together, and you love when I play the songs at home. You tap your legs to the “Hello Song,” just like we do in class.
You dislike diaper changes — especially in public restrooms. And you dislike milk from a sippy cup. But we will keep trying because …
You are no longer nursing! You weaned yourself completely naturally about two weeks after your first birthday. You were too congested to nurse comfortably for two consecutive nights, and by the third night, you no longer seemed interested. I’m so thankful that the timing felt right for both of us.
Of course, no more breast milk means that I am even more conscious of what I put onto your plate. Unfortunately, this also coincides with a particular picky phase of eating. About a quarter of everything I give to you, you throw directly onto the floor. But I can almost always guarantee that you will eat watermelon, grapes, pizza, pasta, quesadillas, and blueberry waffles. And, of course, everything tastes better from Mommy’s plate. You often beg for bites of whatever is on my plate, including quinoa, chili, sausage and kale soup. And I happily oblige, as long as you are eating!
I love to hear the sound of your voice every morning singing, “ma ma ma ma ma ma,” until I come in and scoop you out of your crib. You sleep from about 7:30pm until 7:30am. Though sometimes you are in bed as early as 6:30am, depending on your naps that day. I suspect we will phase out the morning nap in the next month or two because some days you are fine without it.
You have had a constant runny nose since January — darn preschool germs! I can’t tell you how many boxes of tissues and containers of boogie wipes we have gone through in this house. Teething only makes it worse. You cut all four molars since your first birthday, and we had several long, miserable days when you only wanted to be held and wouldn’t eat anything but strawberry smoothies. I have become very good at vacuuming the house with you on one hip and can easily pour my morning coffee and prepare breakfast with you attached to me. A momma has to do what a momma has to do!
We have had several incredibly cold days so far this year and have spent a lot of time inside the house. Yuck! You and Sam definitely have sibling spats, but you are also capable of playing so well together.
You especially love to play “grocery store” with Sam. You hand him pieces of food, he rings them up at his cash register, and then you put them into your bag.
You also just adore Lucy. You bring her bones and pet her so gently. And you always share your food with her. I suspect we have about two more years until she’s covered in lipstick and hair bows!
When we finally had a break in the frigid temperatures (up to a whole 38 degrees!), we ventured outside for your first experience in the snow. You stood in awe as the snowflakes fell around you. And then I pushed you in the sled around the cul de sac. Sam even shoveled a nice seat for you into the bank beside our driveway. Then we came inside and made snow ice cream.
I love that you are curious and confident. I love that you are a little bit stubborn and a little bit dramatic. I love the way you lift your arms for me to pick you up. And the way you wrap your arms around my neck. I love you to the moon and back, sweet girl.
