Day 31- Crocodile Tears

Can you see those big, pitiful tears? No? That's because when Nora saw the camera, she put her crying on hold long enough to say "cheese". She's loves the camera, and (in my completely unbiased opinion) the camera loves her.

Here she is all wrapped up in her personalized hooded towel after bath time.

Day 30- Pieces of Me (Mouth)

Rarely does a day go by that we don't get a comment about Nora's mouth: Those lips! Those teeth! That smile! My sister once compared her lips to those of a Steven Tyler/Angelina Jolie love child. I'm not sure I'd go that far.



Here's Nora turning into a pumpkin, as Brad likes to say, at 6:30 when we weren't moving fast enough to get her into her PJs and to stick a bottle in her pretty little mouth.

Day 29- Shop 'til you Drop

I love to take Nora shopping. Most of the time, she sits happily in the cart smiling and waving at passers-by. Early this evening, we went to Marshalls to hit the Carters clearance rack. She wasn't quite as cheerful as she usually is because she has a little cold that is hanging on for dear life, and it's messing just a bit with her usual sunny disposition.

Then we headed over to Walmart for groceries.



Unfortunately, just as our Walmart excursion got underway, I realized it was getting too close to Nora's dinner time for comfort. I had some Mum-mums with me, which Nora snacked on while we picked up some necessities. We had to leave before we could get through our whole shopping list, as a meltdown was on the horizon. Thankfully, we made it home before Nora realized the error of our ways.

Day 28- Playdate

Here are Nora and Amelia, having a lunch time playdate. I know Amelia's mom, Allison, from Team in Training. We were due exactly 10 weeks apart, and the girls were born 10 weeks and 1 day apart.

I learned today that Nora does not understand "share" or "gentle" quite yet.

Day 27- First class passenger

You'd think she's be a little happier about her big girl seat, right? She actually likes the seat just fine, but we had just gotten home from a doctor's appointment, and she was waking up from a nap. I feel like I need to point out that I loosened her straps while she finished napping and before this picture was taken!

While this seat looks and feels more comfortable, I already miss the infant seat. We're having a hard time properly adjusting the straps on her new seat, plus, if she falls asleep in it, we have to either wake her up or drive around until she wakes up on her own.

Day 26- First friends

Nora has a couple of "friends". Besides her day care friends, there is Amelia, who is 10 weeks younger than Nora, and Kaitlyn, who is 3.5 years older.

Kaitlyn, seen in this picture when she and Jessica came over for dinner this evening, is my best friend's daughter, and she absolutely loves "playing" with Nora. Since Nora was born, Kaitlyn has been so sweet to her. I especially love when she tries to comfort Nora when she is crying. She shushes her, pats her arm or her leg or her butt, and sweetly says, "Don't cry baby Nora." For now, Kaitlyn seems so much older than Nora, but I hope that someday, when 3.5 years is not so much of a gap, they will be the best of friends.

P.S. I like how Kaitlyn is holding the "K" for her name. She also picked up "N" for Nora and "M" for Mommy. :)

Day 25- Our future tech support

Of course, now that Nora is mobile, we can't leave her alone for a second. Especially since her favorite place to play and pull up is near on our entertainment center. (We may need to pull that Pack n' Play that has gotten ZERO use back out of the closet.) She loves pushing buttons on the DVD player and seeing the lights come on. She also loves to play with the remote control, and she delights in changing the channel. She is definitely her Daddy's daughter when it comes to techie-gadgets and doodads.

Day 24- Doggone Fun

For the first several months of Nora's life, she was nothing more than a curiosity to the dogs, and vice versa. The girls would check on her every once in a while to make sure she was ok. Copper all but ignored her. Recently, though, 2 big things have happened:

1. She's started eating real food.
2. She's become mobile.

Nora is suddenly a lot more interesting to the pups, and they're a lot more fun for her to (try to) play with.

Day 23- Famous Last Words

I had hoped to get a picture of Nora in her new "big girl" car seat for you today, but when she left for day care this morning it was dark and rainy, so that's going to have to wait until (hopefully) tomorrow.

Since that didn't work out, and nothing terribly interesting happened today, I was all set for this to be our picture.



I was going to tell you about how Nora loves to crawl to the kitchen (now that she can crawl) and how she's been biting on her thumbs because her 1 year molars are coming through already. That was all I had for today.

Nora had her bath and was all snuggled in to her crib (or so I thought) when she started crying a very loud and alarming cry. Brad high-tailed it in, and he called for me to come quickly.



Apparently somebody figured out how to stand up in her crib, but she couldn't figure out how to get back down. Funny. It was just 2 short hours ago that I responded "no" to Ms. Tracy when she asked if Nora was pulling up to her feet in her crib yet like she is in her play pen at day care.

Day 22- Sunday afternoons at Dede and Grandpa's

Sunday afternoons are almost always spent at Brad's parents' house. We go there for lunch and spend a couple of hours with Dede, Grandpa, Auntie Elisabeth, and Uncle Patrick. Sometimes, we also get to visit with great-Auntie Rachel Hambright and cousins Kiersten, Brooke, and Tori. If it's the weekend of a special occassion or someone's birthday, you can expect a bigger crowd.

Sometimes Nora gets passed around from one person to the next, while other times she happily plays in her high chair (What used to be Brad's high chair. My mother-in-law keeps *everything*!) and on the family room floor.

I know this is a Sunday tradition that Nora will grow to cherish.

Day 21- The Flying Game

One of Nora's favorite "games" is the flying game. When we play, we count to 3 and then we throw her up in the air. I love the giggles of anticipation now as we count. When we get to 3 and hoist her way up high over our head, we get the best smiles.

Her other favorite is one that I call "Drop the baby". (Don't worry, Mom, we don't actually drop the baby.) Anyway, it starts the same way: 1...2...*giggle*...3... and then we say "Whoops! I almost dropped my baby!" while letting her drop down low or dipping her down low near the floor. She laughs every time, and of course, we'll do just about anything to get her to laugh.

Dede and Grandpa hate when we play either of these games, but Nora loves being thrown around. :)

Day 20- Pieces of Me (Feet)

Feeeeet!!! Every time I am dressing or undressing Nora, I grab one of her feet, hold it up so she can see it, and I squeal this with delight. I kiss them, I clap them together for her, I tickle them, and she loves it.

Nora has the cutest and funniest looking little feet I've ever seen. Her second toe on each foot is longer than the others, and it sort of curls over. I wonder if this is what my great-grandmother, Jennie, used to refer to as "Keough toes"?

(Edited to add: Brad says his toes are exactly the same as Nora's. I'm going to have to do an inspection before I pronounce her toes Daddy's and not of the Keough variety.)

Also, those adorable feet are attached to the most chubbalicious little legs on which I've ever had the pleasure of blowing raspberries.



(Edited again to add: My mom has confirmed that these are *not* Keough toes. Nora must have her Daddy's feet.)

Day 19- Messy Face

The messy face baby is such an obvious choice for a picture, but sometimes I just can't resist. Tonight, Nora refused to eat her purees. That is, until I smeared her blueberry and peach puree across a piece of bread, and then she went to town. I know this isn't a very balanced meal, but she turned down both veggies I offered her. And by turned down, I mean swatted the spoon away with great enthusiasm and then gave me the sassiest, most defiant look you might be able to imagine coming from the face of a 9.5 month old.

Since she got her way, she seems pretty pleased with herself, doesn't she?

Day 18- Winding Down

Nora needs to be in her crib by 7 p.m. at the *latest* and preferrably between 6:30 and 6:45 in order for a meltdown to not occur. As the 6:00 hour hits, she tends to get a little extra fussy and clingy. She needs to be literally attached to either Brad or me (as seen in this picture) in order to stay anything that resembles "pleasant".

And if we miss the mark by even a minute, she will let us know, as she did about 15 minutes after this 6:00 picture was taken and we were trying to give her a bath when she was ready to be in her jammies and snuggled in for her bedtime bottle instead.

Day 17- Brought to you by the number 9

Our house is pretty much wall-to-wall hardwood, except for the kitchen and bathroom, which have tiles. So, we got Nora a spongy ABC puzzle play mat, which is currently the focus of our living room.

Unfortunately, Nora prefers to crawl around the perimeter of the mat, pull it apart, and eat it than to play on it as we intended. I like that she thinks outside the box. I just wish she wouldn't pull the germy box apart and stick it in her mouth.

Day 16- Time to upgrade

Here is Nora when she was 4 days old. I can not even begin to reinact for you how nervous and crazy Brad and I were trying to get her situated into her car seat. It seemed so huge, and I couldn't imagine that she would grown into it any time soon.



Well, her days in her infant seat are numbered. She is well under the weight limit but she's only 2-3 inches shy of the height limit, and so it's time to upgrade. This makes me unreasonably sad.

Here she is on our way to have lunch with friends this afternoon.



We have her new snazzy big girl car seat: the Graco MyRide 65. First class travel coming right up!

We keep saying we'll install it "tomorrow". We're going to do it this week for sure. She'll still be rear-facing in her new seat. The current AAP recommendation is to leave babies that way until age 2, so we will. Her seat will grow with her, though. We can turn it around when she's 2, and she'll stay in it until she is 4.

Day 15- Houston, we have a crawler!

::Heart bursts with pride::

Nora has been "on all 4s" since she was 5 months old. I was sure I was going to have an early crawler because everyone I talked to said that once she started rocking, she'd be crawling in no time. Well, we waited and waited, both excited and anxious while she mastered downward dog, backwards scooting, and "the worm". I wondered if she'd be one of those kiddos who never crawled.

Then, 3 days ago, she started taking a few crawling steps. Today, she crawled the entire length of our hallway. I realize that this means that "Operation Babyproofing" needs to go into full-effect asap.

Day 14- Peek-a-boo

This is a picture from yesterday instead of today.

We had to lower Nora's crib *again* because she was pulling up to her knees and leaning over the rail. So, it is now at its lowest setting, and all she can do is peek at us. I feel better now.

Nora is not yet able to pull herself up to the standing position, but if I place her there, she can stand on her own for a little while. Now, when she figures out how to pull herself all the way up and hike her leg over the side, then we're really in trouble.

Day 13- If you're happy and you know it...

... clap your hands!

She's getting pretty good at smushing her hands together when I sing this song to her. My favorite, though, is when she does it when I walk through the door of her day care or when Brad or I walk into a room. Pair the hand-clapping with her big, cheesy grin, and I melt.

She might be able to get away with just about anything for the rest of her life if she continues to clap and smile when I walk into the room.

Day 12- Playing and Climbing

Climbing and playing. Nora is becoming more mobile every day. We actually have to lower her crib mattress for a second time this weekend. She loves playing with her Leap Frog Musical Activity Table, and she almost lays on top of it to play sometimes.

Maybe I should attach the legs to see if she'll pull up to a standing position.

Day 11- Rubber Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you.

Every other night, between 6:15 and 6:30 P.M., Brad gives Nora a bath. Bath time has been an evolution of sorts. It started out in her "whale" tub on our kitchen counter, and she hated bath time. Eventually, she learned to tolerate her baths, and she discovered the joys of splashing water everywhere. That's when we moved her whale tub to the big tub. Now, she enjoys bath time with Daddy, and she has even started to play with some bath toys, like her little rubber duckie.

I guess soon, we'll have to move her out of the infant tub, but I really don't want to. It's just one more thing to signify that she is growing into a big girl.

Day 10- Starving Baby Alert!

This is Nora's "WhattookyousolongtogivemeabottleIalmoststarvedtodeath" look. Thankfully, by the time she finishes her bottle, she's all grins and giggles again.

Day 9- Christmas (Take 2)

Nora got to celebrate Christmas again today when Nanny and Grampy's package finally arrived from Nova Scotia. We think the post office took the term "snail mail" quite literally when my Mom sent out the box.

Anyway, here Nora is with her new Sock Monkey (love!), a couple of other rattle/light up/musical toys, and of course, wrapping paper.

Day 8- PREP Time

At my school, PREP stands for "Pleasure Reading, Everyone Participates". Think of SSR, RIF, and DEAR from the "good ol" days.

Most evenings around 6 p.m., after Nora has eaten dinner but before bath time, we hunker down on my bed and read. Well, I read. She laughs, rolls around, swats the books, tries to eat the books, and so forth. Though, in this picture, she looks like she's actually reading, which is adorable. Trust me, the next picture I took was one of her licking this same page.

Anyway, I will continue to read with her and hope that she learns love books (for more than their deliciousness) the same way her Daddy and I do.

Day 7- Bedtime Routine

I am going to miss this SO much.

Nora currently takes 4 bottles a day. Brad and I rotate who gets up with her for her first in the morning. Depending on what time it is, either the one of us who gets up feeds her the bottle, or if it is time to get ready for work, she feeds herself the bottle. She feeds the two bottles she takes during the day to herself. The only constant is that I give her her bedtime bottle.

I love this time with Nora. It's some of my favorite bonding time. As you can see from the picture, Nora likes to touch my face when I'm feeding her. Sometimes she closes her eyes and drifts off a little; sometimes she has a lock on my eyes for several minutes. I am getting teary just thinking about how much I love and am going to miss this special time together once she's no longer taking a "bedtime bottle".

I know we need to do make this change soon, but for now, I'm going to just soak in these few precious moments that I spend with my beautiful daughter each night.

Day 6- Bedtime Baby

Getting a squirmy, active baby ready for bed is a challenge. I lay her on her changing table, and she flips to her tummy. So, tonight I took the opportunity to get a fluffy butt (cloth diaper) picture while she was there. That's a Swaddlebee Simplex AIO, which is my absolutely favorite daytime diaper.

Just for comparison, here is Nora in her very first cloth diaper when she was just 5 days old. This is an XS Bum Genius 3.0 AIO.



When did my baby get to be so giant???

Day 5- Nine months old!

9 months old?? What choo talkin' about?

I know everyone says it, but this is definitely one of those, "Oh, now I understand..." things. I can NOT believe how fast these 9 months have flown. On the other hand, I can hardly remember my life before this sweet, silly baby.

Nora weighs 20 lbs 4 oz, and she is 29 inches long. She is in the 75th %ile for weight and the 90th for height. The tear duct in her right eye needs to be looked at by a pediatric opthamologist, and she has a little fluid in her ears that is being treated, but all-in-all, she is healthy and thriving.

I love her to the moon and back.

Day 4- Bundled up and back to day care

I know any of my northern friends will laugh at the notion, but it was COLD here this morning! When we sent Nora off to daycare today, it was 20 degrees fahrenheit, which is about -6 or -7 celsius. A chilly morning in the south, for sure. Anyway, we bundled her up with a couple of layers, some mittens (which aren't on yet in this picture), and a blanket before shipping her off to Ms. Tracy.

I chose this particular picture instead of the one where she was smiling at me because this pretty much represents her feelings about going back to day care this morning. Though, Tracy tells me that once Brad dropped her off and she had her breakfast, she settled in and had a good day.

Day 3- No one puts baby in a crib!

Day 3, and I'm already cheating. This picture was taken yesterday, but it's too good not to share. My normally very smiley baby gets cranky fast when you try to put her down for a nap. She's felt like naps are for sissies since she was just a few months old. Of course, at day care, I've been told she takes 2 hour naps in the afternoon. I think I'll have to see it to believe it.

This was taken after she woke up from a nap (if you can call 20 minutes a nap). She was apparently angry that I'd tricked her into one in the first place.

Day 2- Feed Me, Seymour!

I had a discussion with a friend of mine recently about how the most stressful part of parenting (for me)thus far has been making decisions about how to feed my child.

When to stop breastfeeding?
What formula to feed her?
How much?
How often?
Store bought food?
Home made purees?
Baby-led weaning?
When to start finger foods?
When to introduce a sippy cup?

I'm becoming more laid back about it, and Nora has transitioned from each phase to the next with relative ease.

I had a really hard time choosing a picture today. I have several cute ones of her feeding herself with a spoon and making adorable faces at me while doing so. However, the main idea I wanted to share with you today is that Nora is becoming not only an independent eater, but also she is entering the world of finger foods! Here she is enjoying a juicy chunk of watermelon. Yummmmm!

P.S. It has come to my attention that there are 366 days this year because it's a leap year. I have adjusted the title of the blog accordingly.

Day 1- Happy New Year!

Nora rang in the new year in alarming style as she was woken up by fireworks and sirens just shortly after midnight. Despite the unhappy 45 minutes we spent with her in the wee hours of the morning as we comforted her back to sleep, she managed to have a pretty good first New Year's Day.

The day was spent mostly at home, though she did spend a few hours at Dede and Grandpa's, like we do almost every Sunday.

Since it was a lovely and sunny 60 degree day (in January??), we spent a few minutes out in the fresh air to celebrate a fresh new year.



Here she is reflecting on 2011. She thinks it's been the best year of her life so far.

2011- Looking Back

2011 was amazing year. It's going to be hard to beat.























It's going to be REALLY hard to beat, but we are looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for us.