I'm still cute!

What a Tuesday

Tuesday afternoon was going to be busy. I needed to get laundry done, grocery shop, go look at Nora's 1 year photos and get my hair cut. Fortunately, I got everything done, but it wasn't without drama! Nora finally decided to take her nap at 2pm, and slept until 3:30pm. I figured, great, I have just enough time to grocery shop before the photo viewing. I went to the store, did the shopping, loaded the car and then brought the cart back to the cart return. When I took Nora out of the cart, my engagement ring fell off! I couldn't believe it! That has never happened before! I spent a good 20-30 minutes crawling around the parking lot looking for the ring. I even offered some teenagers a reward if they found it (they weren't interested). I finally broke down and called Andy. I was nearly in tears on the phone. After I talked to him, I went inside just in case someone picked it up while I was putting Nora in the stroller and getting a blanket on her (it wasn't overly warm outside). Anyway, Andy arrived, asked me a few questions and then the overhead lights came on. Literally, two minutes after he arrived, he found my ring!!! I was so excited and relieved. I now have my wedding ring (slightly smaller ring) on the outside so my engagement ring won't fall off.

Walking and Talking!

Nora has been feeling better for a few days. It was a pretty tough few days and nights, and poor Nora lost a bit of weight, but she seems to be getting her appetite back. I had heard that childhood illnesses, especially around birthdays, can cause big changes in kids, but I was amazed to see it happen. Nora got a bit more confidence walking. She'll still only take a few steps at a time, but each day she goes further and further. She's pretty stable when she walks, now it's just a matter of getting the confidence to let go. Nora has also made big leaps in her vocabulary. She says tay-coo (Thank you), baby, mama, dada, uh-oh, boo!, yah, no (noooooh), hi. She has also started talking to herself. It is quite humorous, she just starts chattering in her own language and talking to her baby (doll). She talks to he baby every morning while waiting for mommy or daddy to come pick her up!

Poor Nora

Nora has been sick for the last few days. Over the weekend, she was snotty and had a bit of a cough. Then on Sunday night, she vomited. Poor thing hasn't eaten much since Monday morning. Anytime she eats, a few hours later she vomits. Fortunately, most of the time she can still hold down milk, so we are keeping her from getting dehydrated by nursing all the time. Last night was the worst - she was pale and just kept vomiting. Andy and I felt so bad because there was not much we could do to comfort her. Hopefully, our little one will be feeling better soon.

Still loves the Ergo

Nora still loves to ride in the Ergo. It's a great way to carry her around. However, she has discovered that she can lean over to one side to peak around me. I think I remember seeing a photo of her dad when he was little doing something similar...

Fun with leaves!

Nora and I did some yard work last week. We had lots of fun. I raked the leaves, she crawled through them. I got some good photos of her playing in the leaves though.




I put one of the pumpkins in the pile for her to check out.


Once she realized I was taking photos, she once again crawled right up to the camera. What a goof!

Nora's Birthday Party

We celebrated Nora's First Birthday on October 11. It was lots of fun! We had lots of friends and family come to play, and Nora had a good time. Nora had a great time destroying her cake and playing with many of her new toys. Andy and I are very glad the day went pretty smoothly.

Here are some photos from her Birthday celebration.

The cakes. One for her to destroy, the other for everyone else to enjoy.


The beautiful window. Nora's Grams did a great job decorating the window! Thank goodness there is loads of talent in my family. I'm not very good at decorating like this. Andy and I did decide that we will turn the windowsill into a nature table for Nora when she gets older.


Nora all dressed up in her Birthday dress.


Nora hamming it up for the camera after she got her cake.


Here she is just starting to realize how much fun it is to get frosting on your fingers!


After playing for a few minutes, she finally decided to taste the cake. She didn't end up eating much of it, but she sure destroyed it by playing with it.

1 Year Old!

It's hard to believe, but Nora arrived a year ago! It's been amazing watching her grow over the last year!

In the last month, Nora has figured out how to stack her rings on the tower and take them off. She does that many times each day and is clearly very proud of herself! She's also working very hard on language skills. She babbles and talks to herself all day long. It's quite humorous to listen to her in the car. She has gotten in the habit of pointing at something and screaming when she wants something, so we are working hard to encourage her to use her signs instead of screaming.

Nora is not quite walking yet, but will grab your finger and pull you around the house. She's very sturdy, but just has not figured out that she can let go yet. I'm guessing it will happen very soon, then we are really in trouble!

Nora is also still testing boundaries. If we tell her not okay, she gets a big mischievous grin on her face and does it anyway!

I'm still having a hard time believing birthing day was a year ago. It seems like just yesterday, but at the same time, it seems like she has always been a part of the family, and I can't imagine life without her. I could spend all day watching her explore the world around her.

Here are some photos from the last two weeks.

12 months old in the high chair!


"Touchdown!"


12 months with Teddy


As you can see, it's getting more difficult to get the photos with teddy. This may be the last month of this photo!


Nora loves the magnets on our fridge. She's even figured out that they stick to the fridge (but only one side), but they don't stick to mum and dad!



Nora got herself stuck under the learning tower a few days ago. She was fussing, but as soon as I pulled out the camera, she hammed it up!


Eating Broccoli. Mmmmm


Nora likes to stick her arm in the small hole in the back of the high chair.

Belly Button

The other day in the high chair, Nora found her belly button. It was pretty funny. She kept lifting her shirt and checking out her belly!

Go Patriots!

Nora showed her team spirit during the Patriots - Jets game.

Touchdown!


Waving at Daddy.