Norah's Fourth Birtday

You guys. You guys!! How has it been so long since I've blogged?!

We certainly haven't been busy just keeping up with life. Or juggling working from home and following two amazing girls around. Or making sure said girls aren't hurting themselves too badly/eating things they shouldn't be/generally staying busy and happy. Okay... you got me. We've been busy bees over here!!

Not to mention, after fourteen months, Emma started walking (!!!!) and FAST! That girl wants to follow her big sister-- whom she loves dearly! And Norah is totally up for the job. Big sister-dom was meant for that girl. Watching these two makes my heart hurt. 

So catching up!! There have been some adorable things to cover, starting with Norah's fourth birthday! This year she has been all about BUGS. Butterflies, spiders, creepy crawlies galore. Right in theme, my cousin Blake went to the store to get her a stick bug; they were fresh out; so he showed up with a scorpion. Meet Helen: 

At the time I wasn't too happy (to say the least) but Helen didn't end up staying (of course); and it ended up being quite a good story. Dear Blake: message received, we won't ask you to babysit any time soon! (haha! We love you my crazy cousin!) 

The next day we hit the zoo. And because they charge $25 to do face paint, I just did it myself at home. Behold the ferocious tiger!

Birthday request? Camel ride!

Finally, a trip to Build a Bear for a new stuffie (she chose a cat)

And here are her four year old answers to our quiz: 

        What is your name: Norah

        How old are you? 4

        What is your favorite:

             Color: Purple and pink

             Food: Chicken nuggets and French fries and ketsup

             TV show: Wild Kratts

             Toy: Chloe my baby doll and centipede

             Book: My butterfly book

           What is your favorite thing to do? Find bugs outside

           What do you want to be when you grow up? A bird keeper

           Who do you like to spend time with? Nani and Papa dude and Omi and Papa Vic

           What do you do really well? Play outside!

        What was the best thing that happened to you this year? My butterflies hatched!

           What makes you laugh? When somebody says funny things

           What is the best time of day? Going on walks

           What are you afraid of? Scary things like monsters

           Who is your best friend? Marley and Isaac

           What do you like to do with your family? Play outside

           What do you love to learn about?  Birds and bugs!

           Where do you like to go? Wiggleworks and on walks

        What is your favorite thing about our family? That you guys are special to me

        If you had $100, what would you buy? A pony

        What do you like best about yourself? That I can play on my own

           If you had one wish, what would it be? That I could meet all the animals

Our gal is growing up to be such an amazing kid. Four has been a fantastic year so far; she loves learning everything she can about science, bugs, and the world; has moved in to her big girl bed, and overall just been a whole heck of a lot of fun. 

Emma's First Birthday

On Sunday we celebrated Emma's first birthday (on the actual day, so nice it fell on a weekend)! It was great. It was pretty relaxed, we had a fun day of playing with balloons, running amok in the house, and preparing for family to come over for spaghetti and cake that evening. 

Opening a few presents early in the morning: Books, pop up toys, pull crocodiles and such. Sister was a great help, of course!

Appreciating new music shakers

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Getting in some Nana birthday snuggles!

We were so grateful that we got to have Papa Vic over! He is in a new home now, and we were all so happy that he was able to come and celebrate. I knew it meant a lot to everybody.

Moe, excited that he believes he finally has control of the keys. We didn't have the heart to tell him they weren't real. He was super stoked about him. (Look at the plan in that face...)

Omi and Papa Vic!

Auntie Amy, I don't think that's the right way up for people? Norah looks highly dissatisfied, of course.

Getting some cousin Brian snuggles. His girlfriend and him are moving to LA in a few weeks; it was great to get him over!

Papa Dude with his mom, Great Grandma!

'Yeeeeeeeah mom didn't listen to Pinterest and actually baked me a real cake!'

'Meh. Are there any more scrambled eggs?'

 Overall, it was a wonderful day. Norah did great sharing the spotlight, and Emma didn't have any memorable meltdowns. I was so happy to have everyone over and celebrate! (How the heck is our tiny baby already a year?!??!?!?!)

Also, I'm reflecting back. I've blogged once a week for two pregnancies, and monthly for a year each for two babies. I promise to continue to blog-- this is my photo album and journal of sorts, after all-- just seems really strange to not have a monthly commitment of some sort!! Perhaps I will post a new challenge to myself... :)

Emma: Twelve Months!

Size/Weight: 23 pounds, 31 inches I believe??

Sleep: Still... once a night waking up. She's been up a bit earlier too; which means my workdays have been a bit screwed up! Aaaaah well, you're only one once! 

Social: Oh my, has this been a fun month. She has blossomed into a full blown shy goofball. She loves playing coy, but also loves connecting with people-- across the dinner table, by touching beards (we have many bearded friends around), and so on. She loves cracking a big ol' grin at you then turning her head away shyly. She also loves telling long involved 'stories' if she's relaxed enough.

Diet: She's been the same as before, although now all restrictions are off! We've been slowly introducing all the things-- starting with MILK (the whole-fat variety) as well as other dairy-- the girl loves cheese! I've been excited to get her on to full-blown table foods (within reason). I hope to try my best not to create another picky eater :) (I started mixing whole milk in with her formula on her birthday; already the day after she drinks straight milk just fine. So weird to think that bottles are soon out of my life?!)

Clothes: 24 months! That seems to be the last glorious size when newborn chunkiness is allowed. Once you jump in to the T's, they expect you've lost your diaper tush and start 'stretching out' (and I thought shopping for jeans was hard myself!) and nothing fits. This is the time when Norah wore nothing but her 'fat pants' because nothing else fit. Good thing for Emma, she has all her big sister's pants if she needs them! (Emma can fit up to 3T depending on the style, as can Norah... it's been fun moving things out of Norah's closet and right in to Emmas!)

Likes: Saying 'hi!!!!' to dad and I, scuttle-crawling after us all (especially sister), telling us stories, eating eggs, dancing (especially to beatbelle and when Norah is dancing too), running all over the house holding on to your hands, waking you up in the morning (with help from one of us) by being held-walked up to your face and joy-screaming while blowing you screamy baby kisses.

Dislikes: There's a love-hate relationship with the changing table again, as well as a very firm line in the sand when you stop her from doing something fun (I'M NOT DONE!!)

Milestones: Movement!! All things solved since last month. She can finally navigate the world. Sit up from laying down (which has been fun at night, haha) a modified crawl which still barrels her all over the house, pulling up (relatively-- she's not really interested in crawling, but she can if she wants to) and everything else. I'm betting walking will come towards the end of last month? She seems super motivated now that she's tasted freedom (and has realized she can kind of sort of play with sister better when she can get around!)

Norah update?: 

I'm still impressed at how well she's been doing as a big sister. Not every day is perfect, but it's still so cool seeing how they interact, and how protective she is of Emma. (EMMA DON'T EAT THE FUZZ!) Granted Emma is starting to have more opinions on sharing now-- at least she seems to have the pieces together to start on the right foot. Preschool has been hard. Her teachers tell me that she's absolutely wonderful in class, but she's never had a day yet where she's excited to go. (This morning I left her in tears... breaks my heart.) I know it's hard for her, but I know she needs it. (And the more I talk to people, it seems to be a three-year old thing). Still... it's a rough journey. We've been having a lot of lessons about how to deal with things that come along in life; and how to have tools to handle it. Although throughout these discussions, I'm pretty sure she has been most focused on which My Little Pony she'd like next (because three years old). Either way, I'm trying to enjoy the ride. I can't believe how fast time has gone with both the girls. This is NUTS. I love them so, so much. 

Emma: Eleven Months!

Size/Weight: I weighed her on my scale with a diaper and clothes on, and it said 24 pounds... I'm guessing realistically she's more in the 21-22 pound mark??

Sleep: Kind of similar to last month?? Still up once a night; right at the end of the month she had two teeth pop through so that lead to two nights or so of an extra wake up, but understandably!

Social: She is still equal parts goofy and shy to folks! She loves dancing when she hears music, with a big ol' happy song herself. 

Diet: Still formula and all the salt-free foods. It was so weird, doc told us this time around no egg whites, dairy (at all) or grains until one year... (it was eight months with Norah)... so we are quickly approaching the time when eating is a whole lot more fun; I'm still very anti-salt with the little bean, so she's been having everything she's allowed to (before it's been tastily salted and seasoned though, of course!)

Clothes: 18 months are just starting to turn in to belly shirts; 24 month clothes are fitting quite well! (And, cloth diaper booty makes any number of large pants fit well!)

Likes: Still her sister, DA! (dad!), holding my arm when I'm changing her, all our friends and family, and especially MUSIC! If Norah had a love for her purple block, Emma has a love for music-- and making music. She bangs together anything she can, and loves dancing as soon as she catches a tune with a beat.

Dislikes: Getting put down when she'd rather be held (again, Mom-taxi), when Norah corrects her book reading (I WASN'T DONE WITH CHEWING ON THAT PAGE), when you take floor fuzz and random papers away from her.

Milestones: Teeth are finally here! Bottom two showed up nearly at the same time. First her left, then her right. She's getting much sturdier, but isn't pulling up yet, or even sitting up from laying down from that matter. This month she's gotten much stronger though, I'd imagine it's coming soon!



Norah update?: 
Preschool is hot and cold, but it's really helping her out! (Mornings are nearly always a bit rough when we get ready for school--she says she's nervous-- but she almost always has fun when we go. She's made a few friends, which makes it much funner. I think she was a bit intimidated by everyone in the beginning.) She really had a fantastic month this month. She's been very polite, helpful, and as always, a fabulous big sister. She loves crawling in to Emma's crib and playing with her. Also this month?? The crib wall (finally!) went away and converted her bed into a toddler bed, and Dabo is GONE! I thought it would never happen! We went to the Tacoma Children's Museum to celebrate.