Day 244- Good Ol' Rocky Top

Tonight was kick-off.  College football season is underway for the Vols!  As I put together this blog entry, we're in the 3rd quarter, and Tennessee is up 32-14 over NC State. So, of course, Nora was all decked out in Tennesee Orange today.

I know that babies change a lot and quickly, but this comparison of Nora on her 1st gameday last year versus this year made me smile while feeling a little sad that my baby is such a big girl!

I hope Nora likes wearing orange because it's going to be a staple in her wardrobe for years to come!

Day 243- Play Time

Jessica and Kaitlyn came to visit tonight after Kaity's dance class. Nora absolutely loves being around other kids. She mostly just plays independently along side or watches them play right now, but she is starting to engage more through laughing, facial expressions, and by handing toys off for others to play with. Kaitlyn tries to engage her in play, and Nora is showing interest in that, but she's not quite there yet.

Here are Nora and Kaitlyn being sweet and then playing near each other.

Awwww!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Sweet girls.

This last one is cracking me up!

Day 242- Sweetheart

I love my little sweetheart.

She throws her hands in the air and stomps her feet, dancing so joyfully, and it makes me happy.

 

Also, she gives the best hugs.

 

My sweetheart.

Day 241- Tiptoeing in the Tulips

I've shared quite a few pictures of Nora playing in our back yard with our pups, but you may have noticed that she generally doesn't go  beyond the concrete patio. She's never been a fan of walking in the grass. Well, this evening she ventured out into the "amazon" to play with our dogs and the neighbors' dogs!

This isn't so bad!

Visiting with Rita and Little Wolfie next door.

Nora has definitely become more adventurous when it comes to exploring the world around her, even if that "world" is literally just in her own backyard.

Day 240- Up!

Up!

How could you possibly say "no" to that??

Day 239- Church Goin'

 

I found the cutest little pastel pink, blue, and white gingham dress and bloomers among a box of clothes we inherited for Nora. She wore it to church this morning, and she was adorable. The outfit got lots of compliments. And while Nora was not too pleased with me when I left her in the nursery (she recovered from the trauma within a few minutes of me leaving her), by the time we had lunch with her grandparents and got back home, she was in much better spirits.

Wandering around the front yard

She still loves her changing table!

 

Then, after her afternoon nap, we headed back to church for a "Family Night" potluck dinner and playtime.

 

Fruit and beans were the biggest hits.

Contemplating the "big kid" slide

Cornhole- You've been doing it wrong.

Day 238- Low-Key Saturday

We had planned to take Nora down to Market Square or World's Fair Park after lunch, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. Nora decided to skip her morning nap, which meant that instead of taking a late afternoon nap, she was ready to sleep after lunch. She slept for 2 hours.

We also had a little incident with all 3 dogs getting out of the yard, and Brad had to chase them down. So, we never did end up getting downtown with Nora. Tomorrow, we will do better and get our sweet girl out of the house for a while.

Here we are wrapping up our low-key day at home.

Sweet potato! With a fork!

Bathtime and soapy hands



Just one more show before bedtime? Pleeease??



And a few of the family as Nora was getting ready for bed and we were getting ready to head out on the town. These make me giggle...




Crazy-eyed Momma

Giant baby in the foreground

Our best shot?

 

Day 237- Who Loves You, Baby?

These frames are above our dining room table. Nora will stand on the floor pointing to the pictures and begging to be picked up so she can look more carefully. She will point to the people in the pictures, asking for them to be identified. Once we tell her who each person is, she either agrees with us ("yeah!") or she'll try to repeat their name (which she still hasn't really mastered, but she gets close with "Tessa".)

Why yes, she is standing on the dining room table.

Pictures of people she knows are a new fascination for Nora, but whether we are at home or at Dede and Grandpa's, she is always eager to play the "Who dat?" game with family photos.

Day 236- Une Artiste Extraordinaire

Nora's Melissa&Doug jumbo coloring book and crayons arrived in the mail today. Nora took her art work very seriously.

A little pink here...

... and a little purple there...

Is that Thomas the Train on TV?

As you can see, she is a budding talent.

"Un bel oiseau"- An Elinor C. Lyle original.

Day 235- Bookworm

I'm cheating. This is a picture Ms. Tracy sent me today of Nora "reading", but she took it yesterday.  I know it's not very clear, but I just love it. Seeing her happily work her way through a book is definitely among my most favorite things.

Day 234- Head of the Class

Tonight, Nora accompanied me to Open House. She only stayed until Brad got off work and was able to come get her, but for the short time she was there, she enjoyed playing in my classroom.

Snack time!

I know you're hungry, but please don't eat the desk.

She's quite advanced for her age, no?

If you look very closely, you can see a small stage area with 3 steps leading up to it at the very back of the room. Nora spent a good amount of her time in my room climbing up and down the stairs. I would have loved to take pictures, but I was so nervous that she was going to fall (we don't have stairs in our house!) that I decided to spot her instead.

Day 233- Outside

Nora loves outside. Brad and I are really looking forward to the fall so we can spend more time outside with her instead of hiding out in the air conditioning. Mostly, she just gets to hang out in our back yard, but it is fun to see her get braver and more confident as she wanders around our carport, patio, and a little bit into the actual yard with the dogs.

Walk like an Egyptian.

Nora is giving her dogs the side-eye.

Left, right, left, right...

Dada! (Because heaven forbid she call me Mama.)

Ok guys, let's go inside now.

As an aside, I am giggling at the mis-matched outfit she wore home from day care. I guess she must have spilled something on the shorts she was wearing this morning.

Day 232- A Girl's Best Friends

Today, Brad, his father, his brother, and his aunt went on a little genealogy excursion, and he took our camera with him. Too bad because Nora had a couple of super cute playdates this afternoon!

However, we've taken a few pics of her hangin' with her pups last week that are worth sharing.



What are we looking at?



Brandy, Bailey, Nora

Nora telling stories to the girls. Copper is nowhere to be seen.

Nora trying to tell Copper a story, but he isn't interested.

Feeding the princess pup.

Peek-a-boo!

Day 231- Spoon Feedings

Nora has been showing more and more interest in feeding herself with utensils. All I have for her right now are her baby spoons, so new "toddler utensils" are on the list of things to buy.  Tonight, she fed herself a whole container of yogurt (mostly) with a spoon.

She ditched the spoon as she got closer to the bottom of the cup, though.

Sweet, silly, messy, big girl! Your big girl fork and spoon are on their way.