Eleven Months of Nora

Well this is it, folks! The last Nora update before she turns ONE!!! (*sob*) After that I’ll switch to yearly updates for her like I do with Jameson. I’ll still post other things here and there and I’m hoping to keep up with some school-related posts too, since I just started homeschool preschool with Jameson this week. 🙂

This year has honestly gone by so fast. Twelve months is nothing. It absolutely flew. Here’s what’s new for our sweet NoJo girl at eleven months old…

Weight & Length: She’s right around 19 pounds (about a pound more than last month) but I won’t know about her length and percentiles until next month at her one-year-old appointment (I honestly thought I typed that by mistake for a second, HOW IS SHE ALMOST ONE THO?!).

Clothing: She’s in 12 month clothes for the most part now unless it’s from Old Navy or Gymboree and then it’s their 6-12 month size. I have yet to buy her (or Jameson) any fall/winter clothes since it’s still soooo hot here. Like 100 degrees every day. In a way, though, that’s good because by the time we need long sleeves and pants in AZ all the fall stuff will be on sale so I’ll be able to buy it for cheap! Probably the only good thing about missing out on the nice fall weather. 😦

Eyes & Hair: Eyes are still blue and hair is still wildly curly! As my sister put it the other day, “Wow, Nora’s hair is getting so…tall.” Hahaha. It is. It’s tall. And wide. It’s becoming a bit of a fro, actually. And if there’s no product in it she looks like a fuzzy little dandelion. I love it though!!! I love seeing her big fluffy hair bopping all over the house! Just kills me dead. We switched to curly-hair-specific shampoo this month but I haven’t gotten her any conditioner yet. It seems to be working for the time being, as long as I also put some of her Shea Moisture Kids Curling Butter Cream in it. The problem is her hair is so fine that it doesn’t hold product very well. That, combined with the fact that she’s a baby and she’s constantly wrestling and rolling and smashing her head into pillows or whatever, means that her hair is most often a giant fluffball. I feel like we’re just going to be in a kind of awkward fuzzy stage for awhile until she gets more volume and length. Which, because her ringlets are so tight, could be a loooong time.

Sleep: Her naps are fairly consistently good (an hour and a half in the morning around 9am, and an hour and a half in the afternoon around 1 or 2). She goes to bed for the night around 7:30 and is up and at ’em by 6am or 6:30 at the latest. She quit waking up and trying to party in the middle of the night, but she does still wake up around 4am wanting to nurse. Alex brings her into our bed and we snuggle until she wakes up for real a little later. I’m giving her until she turns one with this habit and then I think we’re going to try and break it. She definitely doesn’t need to nurse during the night but I know it’s more of a comfort thing so I’m okay with it for a little while longer.

Eating: She looooves to eat! She’ll shout at you if she notices you’re eating something and not sharing with her. We’ve let her try most everything we eat by now, except for peanut butter, honey, and desserts. She’ll get a cupcake on her birthday, though, and I’m so excited to see how she reacts! She doesn’t even know that kind of food exists! She still nurses here and there throughout the day, and still likes her 4am feed like I said. No end in sight for breastfeeding and that’s just fine with me!

Milestones:  She’s standing independently for long periods of time now and has even attempted to take a step several times! She doesn’t quite have the balance and coordination for it yet but it’s coming soon. She got THREE new teeth this month (the top two and the one right next to them on the right…I have no idea what it’s called hahah). She’s also still getting the one on the left. It’s been…rough. Teething makes for a cranky and clingy Nora, who is already inclined to clinginess. She’s been in my arms most of the month and it’s been exhausting. But she’s got three new teeth to show for it and hopefully after this last one busts through she’ll be in a better mood.

Communication: I can tell she understands a lot of familiar words and I think I’ve seen her sign “milk” a couple of times. She also tries to wave her finger for “no, no, no” and will remind herself of the off-limit areas just like Jameson used to do when he was a baby. Her babbling has changed this month and sounds more like jargon (“weedoe beedoe” instead of just “dadada” or “mamama”). She copies Jameson as often as she can and she loves to play “Where’s Nora?”

Loves: Food and drinking water from her sippy cup, wrestling Jameson, music and dancing, pulling all the books off the shelves (especially the paperback ones), throwing all our DVDs out of the ottoman, chasing the vacuum, playing with things she shouldn’t touch, baths, reading (favorites are “Brown Bear Brown Bear” and a touch and feel baby animals book we have), and jumping on the little trampoline my parents have at their house.

Hates: When I leave the room without her, when we make her lay still for diaper changes, and being left out of things. She’s also getting a lot more sensitive to things that are a little scary (she got scared watching the movie “Up” the other day).

Things I want to remember: How you come a’running immediately after you hear the bath turn on. How you do the choreographed moves that Jameson and I made up to the end of “A Spoonful of Sugar.” How you wiggle excitedly when I get a book out to read to you. How you love to share everything with me (if you’re chewing a toy, you’ll give me a taste. If you’re enjoying your meal, you’ll hand me a bite). How sometimes you hand me nothing at all but wait and stare expectantly at me until I say thank you. How you give me a kiss every time we get to the bunny page in your touch and feel book. How cute you look playing “Where’s Nora” with your dress during diaper changes. How you can hold your own during wrestling matches with Jameson. And how you love to give Daddy hugs when he comes home from work.

Oh Nora baby, I can’t believe you’re almost one! This year has been the best of our lives because of you. I can’t wait to see how much you grow in this last month before your very first birthday! We love you so, sweet girl.