Norah- Two year update.

Our baby is TWO years old! These have been the most fun two years. Parenting is demanding, but oh so rewarding, and there's something so intensely beautiful about being so needed. Every stage so far has been pretty full of joy! Norah, being your parents is our favorite gift and has been such a blessing. You are so beautiful and watching your personality grow is amazing. You are loving and tender, empathetic and caring, pleasant and loyal, happy and smart, and much more.

Norah is a great sleeper, and for that we are very grateful! She sleeps all night, about 10-8:45, and naps for about 2 hours in the afternoon. She doesn't like to eat breakfast, but eats a pretty good lunch and supper. She doesn't have snacks often, but always wants a bedtime snack. Some of your current favorite foods are noodles (especially macaroni and cheese), cheese (especially string cheese and shredded cheese), watermelon, pineapple, fruit snacks, goldfish, and chocolate. Norah enjoys taking her gummy vitamin and brushing her teeth. She has been doing pretty well on the potty. She consistently poops on the potty and tells me when she needs to go, and sometimes pees on the potty. We tried to wear underwear one morning and that didn't go well, but we try to sit on the potty and try a couple times a day. At her two year check up, Norah was 37” (99^th %- always been a tall baby!), and weighed 28 lbs. (79%).

Norah's communication is growing all the time and many people comment that she speaks really well for her age. This month she went from saying 2-3 word sentences to saying 3-4. (She still uses two word sometimes, but have been hearing four more frequently.) She spells her name NORH and tries to write it, with excellent pencil grip! She says she draws circles and a couple times has said what her scribbles are. She can almost consistently count to 13 and sings most of the alphabet, along with many many other songs. Her current favorite song is definitely Old McDonald, and she loves to watch farm videos on our phones. She loves to identify animals and their sounds. She loves going to her Kindermusik class and talks about going to “class” often. She is getting a little more adventurous during it and will wander a little farther from us than before, though she still loves to be close, and still doesn't like nursery!

Norah's understanding is incredible too. She gets so much and we are starting to be able to reason with her, like explaining things during discipline or things that will happen later, etc. She remembers a lot and will bring up things from weeks, or even months, before. There were a couple times this month where she didn't listen, and we talked about it, and a few minutes after the situation was over she came back up and apologized and gave me a big hug.

Norah likes to play with hair, and she's been enjoying brushing my hair and trying to put a ponytail in. She loves to sing, read books, color, use stickers, build towers with legos, play with her baby doll, play with sensory bins, and help “clean.” She loves to wipe things, use the duster, and sweep. Norah is very kind to her friends. She loves to play with them and help them. We watch another little girl weekly, and she likes to give her more love than she wants to receive! She loves having her over and even gets mad when her mom comes to get her. We had a little girl with us just for one night and I told her that she might feel scared because she doesn't know us, and she rubbed her back and said hi to her so sweetly.

Happy birthday, sweet girl! You are so very loved. 

Here are some of her cute 2 year shots!