Nora at 10 months

Nora Grace is 10 months! I just can't believe that in 2 months we'll have a one year old and technically two toddlers.

Nora, this is what you're doing at 10 months:

• I think you weigh about 17 lbs
• You are army crawling EVERYWHERE 
• You have started pulling up on things and have even stood on your own a few times
• Are starting to eat more solids. You really enjoy rice crackers, veggie/fruit melts, and watermelon, in addition to your pureed baby food. You still have trouble with gluten, milk, fish, peanuts and some other things that I can't quite pin down.
• Squeal frequently, just so we don't forget that you're around
• Trying to play with your sister, it's really cute how you follow her around
• Wave "Hi" and "Bye"
• Make random noises: Ba, Da (sometimes in reference to DaDa), Mmm and lots of laughing

Since it's summer we decided to take pictures in your bathing suit!

"Hi Mom!"

Being bashful

"Look how big I am!"

"Kisses!"

Daddy and his girls on Father's Day

Nora Grace,

You are the happiest baby that I know. You are so content and just happy to be around your family. Today I asked Ellis what you were doing and she said, "Hanging out". I'm not sure where she learned that but it definitely describes her little sister. You are our baby who will go anywhere, barely gets fussy & if it's time to eat or nap you'll just do it wherever.  We love you!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Ellis turns 2!!!

It's hard to believe but yes, we have a 2 year old! Ellis is so much fun and she is truly our joy. We love this little girl so much. With her there is never a dull moment and we are never lacking laughter. She's smart, talkative, funny and sweet.

Ellis, here are some things you are doing at 2:

• You weigh 25 lbs and are 34"
• You love playing outside and in water. We had your birthday party at the splash park and you had so much fun
• You are completely potty trained during the day and have been for a few months
• Your favorite foods are: turkey, hot dogs, cherry tomatoes & hummus, applesauce & rice cakes with almond butter. You eat a lot of other things but these are your staples. 
• You talk all the time and we can understand most of it. You tell us about your day, books you've read, sing songs, talk about your friends and like to tell "stories". We've even bribed you to eat dinner by telling you that you couldn't talk any more until you took a bite of food :) 
• You still consistently take at least a 2 hour nap every day
• You are opinionated but you come by it naturally. You have great examples (mommy & daddy) to mimic
• You are strong willed and a problem solver. If something isn't going how you planned you are determined to find a solution.
• You are a sweet big sister and always ask Nora "Are you okay baby?" when she's crying
• Your favorite songs to sing are "Let It Go", "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" (both from the movie Frozen), "Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye", "This Little Light of Mine", & "Jesus Loves Me"
• You have your first obsession and it's the movie Frozen and the soundtrack. I might have told you that the CD in the car is broken just to have a break from the music...
• You're a ham. You will show us your mad, sad, scared, happy and cute faces. They are all adorable. 

This girl loves water & has no fear!

Cousins having fun

All the party guests

Blowing out the candles

All the kids (minus Copeland who's in his mommas lap,

Graham who's in the bottom right corner & Nora)

Ellis was so excited about every present she opened

Big girl on her new bike

After the party

Pretty Princess

Of course we had to take pictures in her chair. 

This is her "cheese" face.

"Happy" face

"Mad face"

I wasn't planning on a basket picture but I had it out for Nora so of course Ellis had to hop in.

It's amazing how much she's grown!

Sassy girl wearing her swimming suit around the house

These girls love each other & for that we're thankful!

Miss Priss... she LOVES jewelry & SHOES... 

Ellis Claire-bear,

We are so glad that God gave us a little girly girl who is full of life, energy, spunk and sweetness. You  are smart and always learning new things. You keep us on our toes and we love it! You are such a special part of our family! 

Love you,

Mommy & Daddy 

Catching Up: Nora at 8 months & 9 months

So it's finally summer break, which means I can catch up on the blog!!! Yay!!! Even though I've been really behind on posting Nora's monthly updates, I have been taking her pictures... even if they're a couple of weeks late sometimes. During her 8th & 9th month Nora continued to grow and change. The highlights were that she really caught on to eating baby food and is our little piggy. She also started army crawling around 9 months and boy is she fast! She definitely does NOT stay in one place anymore! Here are some pictures of Nora at 8 & 9 months. And don't worry, a 10 month blog post is coming soon.

8 months, 2 weeks

Always smiling!

9 Months:

So excited that the chair rocks! (That's why the sign is a little blurry)

"What?!? There's paper under my chair... I must get it!"

There were no more chair pictures taken this day. She wouldn't sit in it 

because she was too busy grabbing the paper. 

Cool summer time mesh pajamas that I wore when I was about her age. 

She sleeps SO well in these and I wish we could find more just like them!

Not too sure about laying down in the laundry basket

Sitting up is much better!

Nora at 7 months

This month Nora has really started to show her personality. She loves to giggle and is always entertained by Ellis. It seems like she learns something new every day.

Nora you...

• Weigh 13 lb 13 oz
• Are eating solid food 2-3 times a day
• You have liked every food that you've tried and are pretty much eating every kind of jarred fruit, veggie, and meat/veggie mixes
• Have started saying "ba ba ba" and something that sounds kind of like "hi" but I'm not sure if that's what you mean
• Laugh and smile all the time
• Are our little roly poly. If we look away for a second you are across the room and underneath a piece of furniture
• Can sit unsupported for 5 minutes but this doesn't happen often because you are more interested in rolling
• Are wanting to crawl but can't quite get up on your arms
• Are wearing 6-9 month clothes
• Wake up happy in the morning, which is good because Ellis likes to jump in your crib to wake you up
• Are really close to sleeping through the night without eating. I think that you'll be there soon!
• Are fascinated with faces. You love to touch my face & daddy's face. You try to touch Ellis' face, hands, shirt, leg, etc and she always tattles on you. 

Nora,

You are our easy going, sweet girl. You just go with the flow and are happy as long as you're in the same room as everyone. Your favorite thing to do is lay on the floor, roll around and play with your toys.  We love you so much!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Nora at 6 Months

Nora was 6 months old at the end of February. I guess since it wasn't a leap year she was 6 months on the 28th. To ring in her 6 month birthday she had RSV. Thankfully we caught it early and after a few weeks of breathing treatments she's back to her normal self. For her 6 month pictures I took them in my baptismal gown. Ellis wore the gown for her baby dedication but for Nora the baby dedication keeps getting pushed back because of weather. I wanted to get her picture in it in case she outgrows it.

Nora, here are some fun things about you at 6 months:

• You weigh 12 lb 13oz but lost a little weight and were 12 lb 9 oz at your 6 month check up due to RSV
• You are 25 inches long
• You like to giggle at your big sister
• You are wearing 3-6 month clothes
• You have gotten into a good habit of going to bed around 7pm. You still wake up at least once a night to nurse.
• During the day you nurse every 2.5-3 hours
• You have a favorite little doll that you slobber all over
• You can roll from your back to tummy and tummy to back
• You started rice cereal and aren't quite sure about it. I'm sure you'll like it sooner or later.

 She's starting to get too big for the basket

 Someday I'll pull this out as proof that they really do love each other

Our bright eyed girl

Nora,

You have the sweetest personality and love to smile at everyone around you. You are such a happy baby and easy going, unless you're hungry or tired. We love watching you grow and seeing all of the things you're learning. We love you!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Nora at 4 & 5 months

After a couple months hiatus I'm back on the blog! I think the saying is "Technology is great...when it works" or something like that. Our computer has been having difficulties the last couple of months and finally bit the dust. We haven't gotten a new one yet so I've finally decided to use my work computer to catch up on blog posts. Little Miss Nora was 6 months old at the end of February so I thought it'd be fitting to post pictures of her at 4 & 5 months, ha. I'll put a 6 month post up but need to take some pictures of her first. She's had RSV, so didn't feel up to taking pictures on her 1/2 birthday. Hopefully she'll be in a great mood after her nap this afternoon so we can get a few taken. Enjoy the pictures!

4 Months

Always happy

Look how long I am!

Sisters!

Ellis had to sit in the chair too (20 months)

Ellis loves her daddy

5 months

5 months

Constantly moving (thus the blurry hands)

She loves playing on her tummy

You can't tell but Ellis did want her picture taken (21 months)