Norah recently.

Norah recently turned 5.5! We didn't make a big deal of it, but we told her it was her half birthday and what that meant, and then I later heard her tell our neighbor's mom that she was 5.5 when she asked how old she was. Norah is looking and acting more like a young girl sometimes instead of a little kid! I am excited for her to go to Kindergarten- she is ready and it will be good for her- but I'm really going to miss my sidekick! She talks about Kindergarten like she is excited and says she is looking forward to recess and eating lunch at school. A favorite activity now is to ride bikes past the elementary school, just so she can look at it.

We are currently in the middle of COVID-19, which has been crazy! We have been doing “social distancing” since March 16. Overall, I am incredibly proud of how well Norah has handled it. Some days were harder than others, but she didn't complain too much and did a good job of staying busy at home. I know she really misses family, friends, and regular activities. We've talked about how this will be an important event talked about in history, and how Norah will be able to talk about it and remember it. They have been doing virtual preschool, Kindermusik, and library videos, which has helped it feel a tad more normal and nice to have a routine and something to do each day. We are all ready to go back to normal! Norah's last day of preschool was today, and she has her last Kindermusik on Monday. Norah has learned so much this year in all areas. She grew in friendships and social skills, and learned so much about letters, phonics, writing, etc. Her preschool teachers were fabulous this year and had great things to say about her at her conference, which is always great to hear as a parent! Way to go, Norah!

Norah has taken off so much on her bike now that the weather is getting warmer! We are all loving the weather so much and the girls love to play outside! At the end of last summer, Norah learned how to ride without training wheels, but didn't have much stamina (as in she could barely make it a couple blocks before getting tired), but this summer has been loving riding and has rode for miles! She is quick! She has been playing a lot with our neighbor friend, Elizabeth, which has been so nice for her to at least have one friend around (we share backyards, so it's really hard to keep them apart, and they only play together outside without hugging or anything during this time). Elizabeth is three years older and is super sweet and a good friend to Norah.

Norah switched to a size 12 shoe last month, and is still wearing 6/small clothes. Norah has been excited to break out some capris and shorts on the really nice days. Norah still isn't a big fan of taking her vitamins and needs several reminders everyday. Both of Norah's bottom 6 year molars are coming in- one is all the way in and started a few months ago, and the other is about halfway in. In my last update I mentioned how great it was that Norah started going to the bathroom by herself in the night, but that took a big regression after having influenza B and then shortly after that getting the throw-up flu. Yuck! Poor girl was super sick for a month. For a good while, she was up a couple times every night, and thankfully we are just starting to get back on track again. We were able to sneak in visiting her new cousin, Murphy, in between sicknesses back in January, which was great!

Norah loves to color and make crafts, which I love. I prayed for daughters who loved to color, and I'm so grateful God answered that request. I love watching all of them sit and color together. Norah loves to play babies, both doll babies and pretend babies where she's the mom and Lucy and Ellory are her babies. She likes to go golfing with Kley, guide her sisters (a nice way of saying boss- usually it goes well, at least in the beginning, but sometimes gets out of hand- typical oldest child), try to write words, pretend cook (her and Kley watch cooking shows), and make sand/mud creations outside with our sand and kitchen toys. Norah does a great job of staying in her room during rest time and playing quietly. She took naps again for awhile back when she was sick, but regularly does not nap.

The greatest news of all time that we have to report about Norah is that on March 5, Jesus came to live in Norah's heart! We are thrilled and so happy that Norah loves Jesus! We love you so much, Norah, and being your parents is a great blessing!