Dear Sweet Nora Kathryn,
Today is the day! You are ONE!
Every day you seem less like a baby and more like a toddler. You can easily scale the stairs and climb onto the ottoman in the living room. You step onto Sam’s stool and try to climb into his bed. You love to sit in your rocking chair and ride in the Little Tykes car. You stand at the play kitchen and pour pretend tea into little plastic cups. You rock your baby doll and push her around the house in her stroller. You pull books off your bookshelf, then sit on your knees and flip through the pages. You stack rings and assemble chunky puzzles. You color with crayons and love our Water Wow books. You crawl through the tunnel and lay on pillows inside the tent. And this month we moved you out of the infant car seat and into one just like your big brother.
You mimic everything we do — from wiping our noses and washing our hands to talking on the phone and drawing on paper. You think that every time we take out the computer, we’re going to see Oma and Opa or Nini and Poppy, and you scurry over to peek at the screen.
You are very, very good at stacking blocks and are still so fascinated with Sam’s Legos. Surprisingly, I haven’t yet caught you putting any of the tiny pieces into your mouth. Instead, you very carefully try to build towers like your big brother, and you even try to sit the figurines in their cars. When Sam is in the mood, the two of you sit and play at his Lego table for as long as 20 minutes. You also love his Magna-Tiles and Octonauts.
Thanks to Santa, we finally have some pink toys in the house. You especially love your new Disney princess castle. You set the little princesses on their chairs and push them around in the horse-drawn carriage.
You like to help Mommy with chores while Sam is at school. You wipe the end tables, unload the spoons from the dishwasher, and pull all of the socks out of the laundry basket. And whenever you hear the vacuum, you crawl to me with your arms up, and I’m forced to finish vacuuming while balancing you on my hip.
This month Sam taught you how to bounce on the bed, and now you do it all the time. You even try to stand up and jump just like he does. You also insisted on getting onto the trampoline with the big kids over the holidays. You thought it was so hysterical.
You are still nursing two — sometimes three — times per day. You are much more of a comfort nurser than Sam ever was. In fact, you can be completely finished eating, and yet when I sit you up, you scream and yank at my shirt just because you want a few more minutes of snuggle time. I don’t mind! I cherish those moments with you. It’s the perfect way to start and end our days together.
Most days, you are a very good eater. Your current favorite foods include peaches, cucumbers, spaghetti, cheese quesadillas, turkey burgers, and anything chocolate. You are also a little bit obsessed with smoothies and milkshakes. You drink them so fast!
We had a very busy month with holiday celebrations, traveling, and hosting visitors. It typically takes awhile for you to warm up to unfamiliar faces, especially if I’m nearby. But your aunts and uncles got pretty good at distracting you with presents and big, shiny Christmas ornaments.
We stayed at Nini’s and Poppy’s house for five nights, and you slept in your pack’n’play in their room. Every morning around 6:15, you cried until Nini picked you up (which you never do at home). Then the two of you snuggled together until you fell back asleep about 1/2 hour later. Of course, we had to break you of this habit when we got home, but I know Nini loved it.
You just cut tooth number 7 (on the bottom), and number 8 (on the top) is close behind. The soft curls around your neck grow a little bit longer every day, and you have almost enough hair in the front to swipe your bangs to the side with a barrette. You wear size 3 diapers, size 12- and 18-month shirts, and mostly size 12-month pants. And you finally fit into your sparkly Stride Rite sneakers!
No independent walking yet, though you can easily stand from a squatting position and race around the house with your push toys.
And you are quite the chatterbox! You say mama and dada all the time, and the intonation of your voice indicates questions and answers. Sometimes you torment Sam with your repetition, and it’s actually pretty funny.
Nora, we could not have wished for a more perfect first year for you. Your sweet personality shines a bit brighter each day, and we look forward to every new milestone that awaits us. Happy birthday, little lady!
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